Politeness

Politeness 1.0 Background of the study Over the last three decades, politeness has become one of the central discussions in pragmatic and sociolinguistic research. A large number of theoretical, empirical books and articles about linguistic politeness have been published, shows that politeness has become one of the most active areas of research in language use. Interest in politeness, both as a social and linguistic phenomenon, has increased significantly in the past two decades. However, many studies have drawn on spoken data. Only a few scholars have studied politeness in written texts such as scientific written materials. Myers (1989) initiated in his study the model proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987) onto written data, namely that of scientific journal articles, and had found this theory to applicable to investigate and categorise politeness strategies in scientific writing. The researcher hopes that this study is able to contribute to the existing pool of knowledge on politeness strategies used in academic writing, particularly that in the writing of economic journal articles of two identified economic journals. 1.1 Statement of the Problem The main purpose of this study is to indentify the politeness strategies employed by the economists and analyze the politeness kinds of strategies in economic journals. 1.2 Objective of the Study The objective of this study is: 1. To investigate how economists use language to present findings in polite way 2. To investigates the use of politeness strategies in economics text 3. To compare the use of politeness strategies in a local and international economic journals 1.3 Research Questions 1) What kinds of politeness strategies are employed by writers in local and international economic journal articles? 2) In what ways are local and international journals similar or different in the use of politeness strategies? 1.4 Scope and Limitation of The Study This present study is limited to two identified journals, namely, Malaysia Journal of Economic Studies and the Journal of Economic Growth 2. Review of Related Literature It is possible to define generic types of politeness strategies to explain and predict the adoption of politeness in oral or written discourse. Brown and Levinson (1978), Myers (1989) 2.1. Politeness and Scientific Articles an Overview Brown and Levinsons (1987) theory of politeness has become the â€Å"model against which most research on politeness defines itself†. Brown and Levinson categorize politeness as either positive politeness or negative politeness and tie both strategies to the importance of face in every culture. They define ‘face as â€Å"the public self-image that every member wants to claim for himself† roughly the want to be unimpeded and the want to be approved in certain respects. Politeness strategies are developed for the main purpose of dealing with FTA. Myers (1989) discovered that politeness strategies are employed explicitly in scientific articles, used to create and maintain a friendly atmosphere for relations, to close distance between authors and audiences and to mitigate the impact of impositions. Most of the scholars that had studied politeness in different perspectives shares the same opinion that linguistic politeness is generally associated with social behaviour as a strategic conflict avoidance, and the politeness strategies is an arrangement of behave strategies along a continuum from least polite to most polite, also allows them to engage in conflict- free communication, 2.2 Academic Journal as a Genre An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research. Content typically takes the form of articles presenting original research, review articles, and book reviews. The function of a journal is to distribute knowledge. The Language of Economists in Journal Donald McCloskey, (1986:5) asserts that economists have two attitudes to their discourse, termed the official and unofficial, the explicit and implicit. He argues that economists in practice dont follow the rules as laid down by this official methodology, but in reality argue using the unofficial, implicit rhetoric of economics. 3.1. Methodology Since the present study tries to focus on the analyzing the use of politeness strategies in written texts, the categories used by Myers (1989) adapted from Brown and Levinson (1987) proposed in their book â€Å"Politeness; Some Universal in language Usage as underlying theoretical structure. According to them, it is possible to define generic types of politeness strategies to explain and predict the adoption of politeness in oral or written discourse. 3.2 Corpus Corpus will consist of selected articles from local economic journals, namely, Malaysia Journal of Economic Studies published by University Malaya/Malaysian Economic Association and the Journal of Economic Growth by American Economic Association. These journals were chosen on recommendation by two University Malaya lecturers, Associate Profesor Dr. Rohana Abd. Jani and Dr. Rodia Talib, who are presently the two head of departments from the Faculty of Economics. They have assisted in identifying journals which are considered to be reputable and used frequently as references in the economic field. 3.3 Sample Size The total number of articles will be 10 articles, that is, five (5) from each of the selected economics journals. A minimum of 50,000 words is expected from the total number of articles. Systematic sampling technique will be employed in which the first article of every first issue of every year from 2004 to 2008 will be selected as corpus from all the identified local and international economic journals. 3.4 Data Analysis Discourse analysis will be the main qualitative tool in this study. The study will focus on analyzing the politeness strategies of the selected articles as described earlier. The patterns of politeness strategies identified by Myers (1989) based on Brown and Levinson (1987) politeness framework will be the underlying theoretical structure. The corpus will be analysed and categorised as positive politeness, negative politeness, bald on record, off record strategies. The tactics employed will be identified such as the use of passives, nominalizations, hedges, acknowledgements, etc. All the politeness features will be coded and classification. The frequency of these strategies will be included in the presentation of the findings. The strategies found in both local and international journals will be compared to identify which politeness strategies are more predominant and used more frequently. 4.0 Gantt Chart Schedule Aug 08 Sept 08 Oct 08 Nov 08 Dec 08 Jan 09 Feb 09 Mac 09 Apr 09 Literature Review X X X Data Collection X Data Analysis X X X Writing the report X X X X Finalizing X X Submission X References Brown, H.D. 2000. Principles of language learning and teaching (4th ed.), Longman, NY Brown, P., Levinson, S.C. 1978. Politeness. Some universals in language usage (2nd ed. 1987). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Dudley-Evans and Henderson. 1990. The language of Economics: The Aanalysis of Economic Discourse. University of Birmingham. Macmillan publishers and the British Council. Gino Eelen. 2001. A Critique of Politeness Theories, St. Jerome Publishing, Manchester Goffman Erving. 1967. Interaction Ritual: Essays on Face to Face Behavior, Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago, IL Myers, Greg. 1989. The Pragmatics of Politeness in Scientific Articles. Jurnal of Applied Linguistics, vol.10. no. 1. Oxford University Press. Mc.Closkey, Donald.1986. The Rhetoric of Economics. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Ron Scollon and Suzanne W. Scollon. 2001. Intercultural Communication (second ed.), Blackwell, Malden, MA Rubinstein, Ariel. 2000. Economic and Languages. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge Watts, R.J. 2003. Politeness, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

The Importance of the Ozone :: essays research papers fc

The Importance of the Ozone â€Å"Like an infection that grows more and more virulent, the continent-size hole in Earth’s ozone layer keeps getting bigger and bigger†(Beyond Discovery). The ozone is a protective layer that occurs naturally in the stratosphere, 6 to 28 miles in altitude. Each year, since the late 1970’s, much of the ozone layer above Antarctica has disappeared, creating what is popularly known as the â€Å"ozone hole.† This hole now measures about 9 million square miles, nearly the size of North America. Less dramatic, but still significant, depletion of ozone levels has been recorded around the globe. With less ozone in the atmosphere, more ultraviolet radiation strikes Earth, causing more skin cancer, eye damage, and possible harm to crops.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main causes of ozone depletion are chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), such as coolants, aerosols, and fire extinguishers. When CFC’s are released, they rise into the ozone layer. The UV (ultraviolet) radiation then releases chlorine from the CFC’s. Chlorine is a chemical that disintegrates the ozone. Other everyday items that contribute Cottrell 2 to the devastation of the ozone include household refrigerants and exhaust fumes emitted from automobiles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Without the ozone layer the health of every single living being on planet Earth would be jeopardized. Ozone depletion leads to an increased exposure to ultraviolet light, which can cause many health problems. Exposure to ultraviolet light greatly increases the risks of skin cancer and cataract development. Skin cancers are very treatable in their early stages but very deadly in the advanced stages. Cataracts are growths in the eyes that cloud vision and can lead to blindness. Increased UV exposure also causes decreased growth of phytoplankton. This is the light-sensitive organism that not only forms the base of the ocean’s food web, but also is responsible for removing much of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Last, a thinning ozone layer would produce lower crop yields. Some crops, such as rice, are sensitive to ultraviolet light. Increased UV exposure could make these crops less productive or even kill them. Much of the world relies on rice as a pri mary source of food.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The people who need it most are destroying the ozone layer. This problem can be traced back to the overwhelming increase in the world’s population. With more people on the planet, there will be use of more automobiles, CFC’s, and refrigerants. In turn, an increase in these products will yield an increase in air pollution.

The Evolution of Human Skin Color Essay -- Human Evolution, 2015

According to Darwin and his theory on evolution, organisms are presented with nature’s challenge of environmental change. Those that possess the characteristics of adapting to such challenges are successful in leaving their genes behind and ensuring that their lineage will continue. It is natural selection, where nature can perform tiny to mass sporadic experiments on its organisms, and the results can be interesting from extinction to significant changes within a species. Human beings are no exception to biological evolution. Like other organisms around the world, humans have significantly changed overtime and have developed all sorts of diverse characteristics. One noticeable characteristic of human beings is the variation of skin color. Skin color has been used to identify, classify, and verify the variation that exists in the human population around the world. How did such a distinct variation arise and how did it play into adaptation? I’ve often heard that â€Å"humans came from monkeys,† or something similar. It is true that humans’ ancestors were primates, who first resided in warm and sunny Africa; they had similar features to today’s apes, such as a hairy body. The purpose of the vast amount of hair was to protect the body from the sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays and to prevent overheating, mainly by acting as a barrier for the skin underneath the hair (Jablonski, 598). Some parts of the body such as palms were not covered with hair, but with sweat glands. Sweat glands allowed the body to cool off via evaporation at the surface of the skin; sweat glands were more efficient at thermoregulation. Overtime, early humans with a high amount of sweat glands were selected for since they had the best method at the time to keep themselves cool in warm environments (Kirchweger). This meant that overtime, humans lost most of their hair on their bodies, leaving their skin exposed. Sweat gland s were going to help the body to cool down, but they couldn’t protect the skin from harmful UV rays. This is where melanin worked its magic, and it’s the reason for the diversity in skin color today. Melanin helps reduce the absorption of wavelengths into the skin (Chaplin, Jablonski, 59). The more melanin in the skin, the greater the protection against harmful UV rays, and the amount of melanin in the skin correlates with the skin’s color (more melanin means darker skin).... ...m all over the world, with all hues of skin colors. With interracial dating and marriages and more â€Å"mixing† of skin colors, there are multiracial children with various skin colors. Genetically, it enhances variation within the individual, but what about variation within the species? I heard a joke once that eventually in the future, everyone will be beige. Will everyone mix together to an extent that there will be little to no variation anymore, at least skin deep? It’s an interesting concept to think of. At the moment, I believe that there is enough diversity within the human species that we don’t need to worry about the lack of variation in the near future. For now, we can appreciate the diversity of skin colors that has allowed our ancestors to adapt to their environments and survive. It has allowed them to create a lineage of who we are today. Works Cited: 1) Chaplin, G. Jablonski, N. â€Å"The Evolution of Human Skin Coloration.† Journal of Human Evolution 39 (2000) 57-106 2) Jablonski N. â€Å"The Evolution of Human Skin and Skin Color† Annual Reviews Anthropology 33 (2004) 585-623 3) Kirchweger G. â€Å"The Biology of†¦ Skin Color† Discover 22 (2001)

ICT in Logistics Management Essay

Surviving in the competitive nature of the modern-day business environment calls for organizations to be creative and robust enough in securing competitive advantages. For this to be achieved, all aspects within an organization ought to upgraded to counter these challenges while at the same time reducing running costs and delivery time. Logistics management is not an exception to this. Fortunately, technological advancement offers wide range opportunities for firms to improve the functioning of logistical operations. This is because it has become vital for any firm in logistics management to review the working of its logistical processes as key strategy to create a competitive edge. Developments in the business world as well as the rapidly evolving customer preferences has made provision of services and goods a challenging task, since customers prefer to receive better quality products at an even shorter time. While it is still a recent development, Information Communication Technology (ICT) has a lot to offer the logistics industry. The most compelling truth is that ICT is not industry specific but rather is applicable to all types and all sizes of industries. Statistical data shows that a number of firms have already adopted the technology and are already reaping the benefits (Bourlakis & Bourlakis, 2006). Application of the internet, computers and information communication systems into various aspects of logistics management such as procurement, warehousing, transportation and inventory management has been shown to be highly beneficial. As business operations change with the changing consumer markets, businesses are pursuing opportunities by integrating, coordinating, collaborating and cooperating with respect to the supply chain management. It is essential that businesses work together to benefit from collective advantages resulting from working as a chain rather than a single entity. This calls for effective information sharing and this is only capable with the application of ICT. However, the most challenging task for firms then is to identify the best ICT model that fits their logistical processes.

Cost Accounting Essay

Problem 1: Different management levels in Bates, Inc., require varying degrees of managerial accounting information. Because of the need to comply with the managers’ requests, four different variances for manufacturing overhead are computed each month. The information for the September overhead expenditures is as follows: Budgeted output units3,200units Budgeted fixed manufacturing overhead$20,000 Budgeted variable manufacturing overhead$5per direct labor hour Budgeted direct manufacturing labor hours2hours per unit Fixed manufacturing costs incurred$26,000 Direct manufacturing labor hours used7,200 Variable manufacturing costs incurred$35,600 Actual units manufactured3,400 Required: a.Compute a 4-variance analysis for the plant controller. b.Compute a 3-variance analysis for the plant manager. c.Compute a 2-variance analysis for the corporate controller. Problem 2: McKenna Company manufactured 1,000 units during April with a total overhead budget of $12,400. However, while manufacturing the 1,000 units the microcomputer that contained the month’s cost information broke down. With the computer out of commission, the accountant has been unable to complete the variance analysis report. The information missing from the report is lettered in the following set of data: Variable overhead: Standard cost per unit: 0.4 labor hour at $4 per hour Actual costs: $2,100 for 376 hours Flexible budget: a Total flexible-budget variance: b Variable overhead spending variance: c Variable overhead efficiency variance: d Fixed overhead: Budgeted costs: e Actual costs: f Flexible-budget variance: $500 favorable Required: Compute the missing elements in the report represented by the lettered items.

Night World : Dark Angel Chapter 8

Gillian stood perfectly still and watched David disappear around a corner. (It's not time for the plan yet, kid. Now buck up. A cheery face is worth diamonds.) Gillian tried to put on a cheery face. The strange day continued. In each class, Gillian appealed to the teacher for a new book. In each class, she was bombarded with offers of notes and other help. And through it all Angel whispered in her ear, always suggesting just the right thing to say to each person. He was witty, irreverent, occasionally cutting-and so was Gillian. She had an advantage, she realized. Since nobody had ever noticed her before, it was almost like being a new girl. She could be anything she wanted to be, present herself as anyone, and be believed. (Like Cinderella at the ball. The mystery princess.) Angel's voice was amused but tender. In journalism class, Gillian found herself beside Daryl Novak, a languid girl with sloe eyes and drooping contemptuous lashes. Daryl the Rich Girl, Daryl the World-weary World Traveler. She talked to Gillian as if Gillian knew all about Paris and Rome and California. At lunch, Gillian hesitated as she walked into the cafeteria. Usually she sat with Amy in an obscure corner at the back. But recently Eugene had been sitting with Amy, and up front she could see a group that included Amanda the Cheerleader, Kim the Gymnast, and others from The Clique. David and Tanya were at the edge. (Do I sit with them? Nobody asked me.) (Not with them, my little rutabaga. But near them. Sit at the end of that table just beside them. Don't look at them as you walk by. Look at your lunch. Start eating it.) Gillian had never eaten her lunch alone before-or at least not in a public place. On days Amy was absent, if she couldn't find one of the few other juniors she felt comfortable with, she snuck into the library and ate there. In the old days she would have felt horribly exposed, but now she wasn't really alone; she had Angel cracking jokes in her ear. And she had a new confidence. She could almost see herself eating, calm and indifferent to stares, thoughtful to the point of being dreamy. She tried to make her movements a little languid, like Daryl the Rich Girl's. (And I hope Amy doesn't think I'm snubbing her. I mean, it's not as if she's back there alone. She's got Eugene.) (Yeah. We're gonna have to talk about Amy sometime, kid. But right now you're being paged. Smile and be gracious.) â€Å"Jill! Earth to Jill!† â€Å"Hey, Jill, c'mon over.† They wanted her. She was moving her lunch over to their table, and she wasn't spilling anything and she wasn't falling as she slid in. She was little and graceful, thistledown light in her movements, and they were surging around her to form a warm and friendly bulwark. And she wasn't afraid of them. That was the most wonderful thing of all. These kids who'd seemed to her like stars in some TV show about teenagers, were real people who got crumbs on themselves and made jokes she could understand. Gillian had always wondered what they found so funny when they were laughing together. But now she knew it was just the heady atmosphere, the knowledge that they were special. It made it easy to laugh at everything. She knew David, sitting quietly there with Tanya, could see her laughing. She could hear other voices occasionally, from people on the fringes of her group, people on the outside looking in. Mostly bright chatter and murmurs of admiration. She thought she heard her name mentioned. †¦ And then she focused on the words. â€Å"I heard her mom's a drunk.† They sounded horribly loud and dear to Gillian, standing out against the background noise. She could feel her whole skin tingling with shock and she lost track of the story Kim the Gymnast was telling. (Angel-who said that? Was it about me-my mom?) She didn't dare look behind her. â€Å"-started drinking a few years ago and having these hallucinations-â€Å" This time the voice was so loud that it cut through the banter of Gillian's group. Kim stopped in mid-sentence. Bruce the Athlete's smile faltered. An awkward silence fell. Gillian felt a wave of anger that made her dizzy. (Who said that? I'll kill them-) (Calm down! Calm down. That's not the way to handle it at all.) (But-) (I said, calm down. Look at your lunch. No, at your lunch. Now say-and make your voice absolutely cool-â€Å"I really hate rumors, don't you? I don't know what kind of people start them.†) Gillian breathed twice and obeyed, although her voice wasn't absolutely cool. It had a little tremor. â€Å"I don't know either,† a new voice said. Gillian glanced up to see that David was on his feet, his face hard as he surveyed the table behind her as if looking for the person who'd spoken. â€Å"But I think they're pretty sick and they should get a life.† There was the cold glint in his eyes that had given him his reputation as a tough guy. Gillian felt as if a hand had steadied her. Gratitude rushed through her-and a longing that made her bite down on her lip. â€Å"I hate rumors, too,† J.Z. Oberlin said in her absent voice. J. Z. the Model was the one who looked like a Calvin Klein ad, breathlessly sexy and rather blank, but right now she seemed oddly focused. â€Å"Somebody was putting around the rumor last year that I tried to kill myself. I never did find out who started it.† Her hazy blue-green eyes were narrowed. And then everyone was talking about rumors, and people who spread rumors, and what scum they were. The group was rallying around Gillian. But it was David who stood up for me first, she thought. She had just looked over at him, trying to catch his eye, when she heard the tinkling noise. It was almost musical, but the kind of sound that draws attention immediately in a cafeteria. Somebody had broken a glass. Gillian, along with everyone else, glanced around to see who'd done it. She couldn't see anybody. No one had the right expression of dismay, no one was focused on anything definite. Everybody was looking around in search mode. Then she heard it again, and two people standing near the cafeteria doors looked down and then up. Above the doors, far above, was a semi-circular window in the red brick. As Gillian stared at the window she realized that light was reflecting off it oddly, almost prismatically. There seemed to be crazy rainbows in the glass†¦ And something was sparkling down, falling like a few specks of snow. It hit the ground and tinkled, and the people by the door stared at it on the cafeteria floor. They looked puzzled. Realization flashed on Gillian. She was on her feet, but the only words that she could find were, â€Å"Oh, my God!† â€Å"Get out! It's all going to go! Get out of there!† It was David, waving at the people under the window. He was running toward them, which was stupid, Gillian thought numbly, her heart seeming to stop. Other people were shouting. Cory and Amanda and Bruce-and Tanya. Kim the Gymnast was shrieking. And then the window was going, chunks of it falling almost poetically, raining and crumbling, shining and crashing. It fell and fell and fell. Gillian felt as if she were watching an avalanche in slow motion. At last it was over, and the window was just an arch-shaped hole with jagged teeth clinging to the edges. Glass had flown and bounced and skittered all over the cafeteria, where it lay like hailstones. And people from tables amazingly distant were examining cuts from ricocheting bits. But nobody had been directly underneath, and nobody seemed seriously hurt. (Thanks to David.) Gillian was still numb, but now with relief. (He got them all out of the way in time. Oh, God, he isn't hurt, is he?) (He's fine. And what makes you think he did it all alone? Maybe I had some part. I can do that, you know-put it into people's heads to do things. And they never even know I'm doing it.) Angel's voice sounded almost-well-piqued. (Huh? You did that? Well, that was really nice of you.) Gillian was watching David across the room, watching Tanya examine his arm, nod, shrug, look around. He's not hurt. Thank heaven. Gillian felt so relieved it was almost painful. It was then that it occurred to her to wonder what had happened. That window-before the glass fell it had looked just like the mirror in her bathroom. Evenly shattered from side to side, spidery cracks over every inch of the surface. The bathroom mirror had cracked while Tanya was being catty about Gillian's room. Now Gillian remembered the last thing she'd wanted to ask Angel last night. It had been about how the mirror came to do that. This window †¦ it had started falling a few minutes after someone insulted Gillian's mother. Nobody had heard it actually break, but it couldn't have happened too long ago. The small hairs on the back of Gillian's neck stirred and she felt a fluttering inside. It couldn't be. Angel hadn't even appeared to her yet†¦ But he'd said he was always with her†¦ An angel wouldn't destroy things†¦ But Angel was a different kind of angel. (Ah, excuse me. Hello? Do you want to share some thoughts with me?) (Angel!) For the first time since his soft voice had sounded in her ear, Gillian felt a sense ofover- crowdedness. Of her own lack of privacy. The uneasy fluttering inside her increased. (Angel, I was just-just wondering†¦) And then the silent words burst out. (Angel, you wouldn't-would you? You didn't do those things for my sake- â€Å"break the mirror and that window-?) A pause. And then, in her head, riotous laughter. Genuine laughter. Angel was whooping. Finally, the sounds died to mental hiccups. (Me?) Gillian was embarrassed. (I shouldn't have asked. It was just so weird†¦) (Yeah, wasn't it.) This time Angel sounded grimly amused. (Well, never mind; you're already late for class. The bell rang five minutes ago.) Gillian coasted through her last two classes in a daze. So much had happened today-she felt as if she'd led a full life between waking up and now. But the day wasn't over yet. In her last class, studio art, she once again found herself talking to Daryl the Rich Girl. Daryl was the only one of that crowd that took art or journalism. And in the last minutes before school ended, she regarded Gillian from under drooping eyelashes. â€Å"You know, there are other rumors going around about you. That you and Davey-boy have something going behind Tanya's back. That you meet secretly in the mornings and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Daryl shrugged, pushing back frosted hair with a hand dripping with rings. Gillian felt jolted awake. â€Å"So?† â€Å"So you really should do something about it. Rumors spread fast, and they grow. I know. You want to either deny them, or†-Daryl's lips .quirked in a smile-â€Å"disarm them.† (Oh, yeah? And just how do I do that?) (Shut up and listen to her, kid. This is one smart cookie.) â€Å"If there're parts that are true, it's usually best to admit those in public. That takes some of the punch out. And it's always helpful to track down the person starting the rumors-if you can.† (Tell her you know that. And that you're going to see Tanya after school.) (Tanya? You mean-?) (Just tell her.) Somehow Gillian gathered herself enough to repeat Angel's words. Daryl the Rich Girl looked at her with a new expression of respect. â€Å"You're sharper than I thought. Maybe you didn't need my help after all.† â€Å"No,† Gillian said without Angel's prompting. â€Å"I'm always glad for help. It's-it's a rough world.† â€Å"Isn't it, though?† Daryl said and raised already arched eyebrows. (So it was Tanya who spread that stuff about my mom.) Gillian almost stumbled as she trudged out of art class. She was tired and bewildered. Somehow, she'd have thought Tanya was above that. (She had help. It takes a really efficient system to get a rumor to peak circulation that fast. But she was the instigator. Turn left here.) (Where am I going?) (You're gonna catch her coming out of marketing education. She's alone in there right now. The teacher asked to see her after class, then unexpectedly had to run to the bathroom.) Gillian felt distantly amused. She sensed Angel's hand in these arrangements. And when she poked her head inside the marketing ed room, she saw that Tanya was indeed alone. The tall girl was standing by a cloudy green blackboard. â€Å"Tanya, we need to talk.† Tanya's shoulders stiffened. Then she ran a hand across her already perfect dark hair and turned. She looked more like a future executive than ever, with her face set in cool lines and her exotic gray eyes running over Gillian in appraisal. Without Angel, Gillian would have dried up and withered away under that scrutiny. Tanya said one word. â€Å"Talk.† What followed was more like a play than a conversation for Gillian. She repeated what Angel whispered to her, but she never had any idea what was coming. The only way to survive was to give herself up completely to his direction. â€Å"Look, I know you're upset with me, Tanya. But I'd like to deal with this with a little maturity, okay?† She followed Angel's instructions over to a desk and brushed absent fingers over its imitation-wood top. â€Å"I don't think there's any need for us to act like children.† â€Å"And I don't think I know what you're talking about.† â€Å"Oh, really?† Gillian turned and looked Tanya in the face. â€Å"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about.† (Angel, I feel just like one of those people in a soap opera-) â€Å"Well, you're wrong. And, as a matter of fact, I happen to be busy-â€Å" â€Å"I'm talking about the rumors, Tanya. I'm talking about the stories about my mom. And I'm talking about David.† Tanya stood perfectly still. For a moment she seemed surprised that Gillian was taking such a direct approach. Then her gray eyes hardened with the clear light of battle. â€Å"All right, let's talk about David,† she said in a pleasant voice, moving tigerishly toward Gillian, â€Å"I don't know about any rumors, but I'd like to hear what you and David were doing this morning. Care to tell me?† (Angel, she's actually enjoying this. Look at her! And she's bigger than me.) (Trust me, kid.) â€Å"We weren't doing anything,† Gillian said. She had to tip her chin up to look Tanya in the face. Then she looked aside and shook her head. â€Å"All right. I'll be honest about that. I like David, Tanya. I have ever since he moved in. He's good and he's noble and he's honest and he's sweet. But that doesn't mean I want to take him away from you. In fact, it's just the opposite.† She turned and walked away, looking into the distance. â€Å"I think David deserves the best. And I know he really cares about you. And that's what happened this morning-he told me you guys had made a promise to each other. So you see, you've got no reason to be suspicious.† Tanya's eyes were glittering. â€Å"Don't try to pull that. All this †¦Ã¢â‚¬  She waved a hand to indicate Gillian's dress and hair. â€Å"In one day you turn from Little Miss Invisible to this. And you start prancing around the school like you own it. You can't pretend you're not trying to get him.† â€Å"Tanya, the way I dress has nothing at all to do with David.† Gillian told the lie calmly, facing the chalk-misted blackboard again. â€Å"It's just-something I needed to do. I was-tired of being invisible.† She turned her head slightly, not enough to see Tanya. â€Å"But that's beside the point. The real issue here is what's best for David. And I think you're best for him-as long as you treat him fairly.† â€Å"And what is that supposed to mean?† Tanya was losing her legendary cool. She sounded venomous, almost shrill. â€Å"It means no more fooling around with Bruce Faber.† (Oh, my God, Angel! Bruce Faber? Bruce the Athlete? She's been fooling around with Bruce Faber?) Tanya's voice cracked like a whip. â€Å"What are you talking about? What do you know?† â€Å"I'm talking about those nights at the pool parties last summer in Macon's cabana. While David was up north at his grandma's. I'm talking about what happened in Bruce's car after the Halloween dance.† (In a cabana?) There was a silence. When Tanya spoke again, her voice was a sort of icy explosion. â€Å"How did you find out?† Gillian shrugged. â€Å"People who're good at spreading rumors can be a two-edged sword.† â€Å"I thought so. That brat Kim! Her and her mouth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Then Tanya's voice changed. It became a voice with claws and Gillian could tell she was moving closer. â€Å"I suppose you're planning to tell David about this?† â€Å"Huh?† For a moment Gillian was too confused to follow Angel's directions. Then she got hold of herself. â€Å"Oh, of course I'm not going to tell David. That's why I'm telling you. I just want you to promise that you're not going to do anything like that anymore. And I'd appreciate it if you'd stop telling people things about my mom-â€Å" â€Å"I'll do worse than that!† Suddenly Tanya was standing right behind Gillian. Her voice was a yelling hiss. â€Å"You have no idea what I'll do if you try to mess with me, you snotty little midget. You are going to be so sorry-â€Å" â€Å"No, I think you've done plenty already.† The voice came from the door. Gillian heard it, and in that instant she understood everything.

Barings Bank’s Failure

When establishments, businesses and organizations are prosperous and very successful, barely anyone anticipates that someday they would fall down. Instead, people tend to envision a more dynamic, booming and more successful business whose position would seem stable that no problem can shake it down. This is exactly the case with the Barings Bank. After its share of success, the bank failed due to organizational architecture.The debacle of the Barings Bank, also called the â€Å"Queen’s Bank† (FundingUniverse, n. d.), became one of the hot topics when it comes to banking, finance, economics and management. The case shows an example of how one powerful company can be ruined by its shortcomings.The Barings Bank achieved success for a long time and was even respected as it was the United Kingdom’s oldest merchant bank (Sungard, 2009). It was established by a team of brothers, Francis and John, in London during the 1700s. During the Napoleonic Wars, the company financ ed military campaigns in Britain and helped France to recover financially.The company was also known for assisting America in buying Louisiana from France. Prosperity also rained down when the bank went into international trade (FundingUniverse, n. d. ). Barings Bank has $900 million in capital, but its share of success suddenly went to a halt in 1995 when it suffered from unauthorized trading losses which amounted to $1 billion (Sungard, 2009). Some experts say that the losses showed the ineffective controls and inappropriate incentives within the company (Hentschel and Smith, 1996).Others think that the demise was a result of financial risk management that went wrong (Riskglossary. com, 1996). For whatever reason, the person responsible behind the bank’s demise was Nick Leeson, a trader promoted as general manager in the Singapore branch. Although he was capable of making millions for the company, he got involved in unauthorized trading activities that initially went unnoti ced because he handled trading and back office functions (Sungard, 2009). Leeson traded and made mistakes which the bank’s management did not notice. The more bets Leeson made, the more money he lost.This indicates that Leeson, who has gained much power and authority, has acted outside the bank’s official authority and worked not in the best interests of the bank’s owners (Hentschel and Smith, 1996). This kind of problem occurs in different settings wherein employees, shareholders and senior management have different interests. It occurs when an agent such as Leeson enjoys private incentives to stray from things that would maximize the company’s value. Also, the structure of the organization can affect employee’s incentives. Thus it can worsen or control the problems.Three facets of organizational architecture that have effects are reward systems, decision rights and control systems. In reward systems, a compensation package must be readily availab le and must have â€Å"strong incentive components. † In Leeson’s case, however, the objective is to generate profits and not to stabilize firm value. Compensation based on the contract’s payoff can have bad side effects. Decision rights, on the other hand, indicate that decision rights must be allocated to treasury employees so that internal controls at low cost will be improved.However, traders and dealers like Leeson have extensive decision rights over their positions. Meanwhile, control systems in the Barings Bank case failed because a difficulty in monitoring within the company existed. The senior management at Barings Bank claimed that they were unaware of Leeson’s activities. To prevent such cases there should be strict control and supervision on business activities. The company could have set position limits so that traders and dealers will not be able to abuse their positions. Another shortcoming of Barings Bank was that it did not separate settl ement and trading responsibilities.Otherwise the company could have monitored all sorts of activities because the separation can facilitate agreement with the set position limits (Hentschel and Smith, 1996). The failure of Barings Bank was attributed to its organizational architecture. Nick Leeson, a trader whose losses caused the bank to go into bankruptcy, worked to generate profits. The power and authority that came with his position blinded him into making bets that he did not win. The bank, on the other hand, failed to make careful control and monitoring over the activities done on its part. References FundingUniverse.(n. d. ). Barings PLC. Retrieved January 8, 2009, from http://www. fundinguniverse. com/company-histories/Barings-PLC-Company-History. html Hentschel, L. and Smith, C. W. (1996). Derivatives regulation: Implications for Central Banks. Retrieved January 8, 2009, from http://www. simon. rochester. edu/fac/Hentschel/PDFs/DRICB. pdf Riskglossary. com. (1996). Barings debacle. Retrieved January 8, 2009, from http://www. riskglossary. com/link/barings_debacle. htm Sungard. (2009). Barings Bank. Retrieved January 8, 2009, from http://www3. sungard. com/bancware/default. aspx? id=4704