Abbey policy holders Essay Example for Free

Abbey policy holders Essay But the massive loss suffered by Abbey in 2003 has affected shareholders. At a time where other banks are making record profits (Royal Bank of Scotland recorded 6.2 billion profit before tax9), the Abbey shareholders may not even receive any spare capital that has came from the sale of assets in the wholesale bank. As Abbey sold off over 80 per cent of the assets of the wholesale bank, analysts were hoping that Abbey could return between 1.2bn and 1.5bn to investors via a special dividend or share buy back. However, the chief executive of Abbey, Luqman Arnold was said to be increasingly cautious about the amount of cash that would be released due to regulatory changes. Whether or not this will affect the position of the shareholders is still unknown. Customers are an important group of stakeholders for Abbey. They are outside stakeholders. Communicating with them is a vital part of Abbeys strategic plan. They do this by advertising on various mediums, (television, radio, etc). This has proved successful in the past, as Abbey have won various awards for their Plain English approach. This strategy of not using banking terminology was very successful. However, should customers not be satisfied, there is also a customer relations unit available to help solve disputes. But a recent development regarding profits has upset many customers. For the second year in a row, those customers with a with-profits policy will not receive their annual bonus. There will also be higher exit penalties for those who choose to leave the with-profit policy, which could reach up to 10 per cent. This affects nearly 400.000 of Abbey policy holders.  According to Abbeys employee report Employee involvement and effective communication remain vital to {our} success. 10 There are various means of communication, from an intranet site, to a quarterly magazine (abbeyview). There are a growing amount of concerns among the staff in Abbey however, in the amount of job losses that are occurring within the organisation. As part of their return to traditional banking, Abbey has been cutting a vast number of jobs, many in the fund management sector. Many jobs have gone abroad to India. This has caused conflict not only amongst employees, but among the general public also, who are outside stakeholders of Abbey also. They see it as downsizing and taking jobs away from Britain. Recently, eight executive directors of Abbey have been paid à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½2.8 million made up of cash bonuses and shares between them, at a time when the company has suffered massive losses. The banks staff got an average of about six percent of their salary as a bonus last year, which was a rise of two percent from a year earlier. A member of the ANGU, (Abbey National General Union) said Staff were very pleased with the bonus that was paid out in a difficult year. However, in light of what management received it wasnt very much. This could lead to further problems in the future. Conclusion Abbey are still in the middle of a three year turnaround, so are asking their stakeholders to bear with them. But with the massive losses, and the seeming disregard for employees, shareholders and customers alike, they may find that it will take longer than three years to have their strategy.

European Disease in the New World Essay -- American America History

European Disease in the New World Humans possess an innate curiosity that drives us to explore the unknown. Documentation of exploration by sea goes as far back as 3200 B.C., when Pharaoh Snefru brought 40 ships from Byblus to Phoenicia, followed by the first recorded expedition of exploration from Egypt in 2750 B.C, (http://www.mariner.org/age/histexp.html). Events such as these would eventually give way to a period of vigorous exploration known as the Age of Exploration. At the height of the Age of Exploration in the early fifteenth century, European nations became poised to expand their influence to the rest of the world. Due to their remarkable programs of sustained and systematic exploration, they were well equipped for countless expeditions driven by the desire for fortune and conquest, often disguised by a religious agenda. What resulted in their efforts, however, was not the enlightenment of a people, but rather, the transformation, and in some cases, the destruction of the cultures that these Europeans "disc overed." They brought more than materials, technologies, and i...

Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau

Civil Disobedience was written by Henry David Thoreau. The Letter From A Birmingham Jail was written by Martin Luther King Jr. They both had similarities and differences. There were injustices that were done wrong to each of them by others in the society in which they both lived. The injustices and civil disobedience they incurred should never happen to anyone. Henry David Thoreau spoke in an emotional tone in his essay â€Å"Civil Disobedience. † The emotional part of his essay of Civil Disobedience is that he wants the people to speak up about what type of government they would want to have.Another emotional part was when he started to tell the people to stop paying their taxes so that if the government doesn’t get what they want then maybe they will reform and change their ways. Most of the people are afraid of the government and what the government will do to them and their property if someone disobeys their orders. The government has the right to take their propert y away from them. The government lets them keep their property if the people listen and obey what they say. The people feel that the government is protecting their rights.Thoreau want the people to rebel against the government and revolutionize together because they are treated like slaves and subjected to military law. People want a better government but they won’t do anything to correct the situation. They always think someone else will do something but no one ever does so nothing ever changes. It is very hard to change the minds of people who support the government the way it is. Men are afraid it will make things much worse for them if they go against the government even if they know they are right and the government is wrong.Thoreau says, â€Å"If you think you are right in your opinion then you are the majority and stand up for your rights against the government. Stop giving the government what it wants and maybe the government will reform to what the people want. â₠¬  He wants people to stand up for their rights and risk being put in jail. People should join together as one to put an end to the injustices they have had to deal with from the government. People need to elect the right person to make changes in the government. In Henry David Thoreau’s â€Å"Civil Disobedience†, he makes an ethical appeal to he people because he thinks it is better not to have a government at all and that the American government makes more problems instead of making things better. Although not all is wrong, certain things need changing. The government doesn’t care about the people, it just wants them to do what they tell you to do, like to go to war and serve in the army whether you want to or not and pay taxes to the church whether you attend church or not. If the laws are not obeyed by the people and the people don’t do as the government tells them to do then the government would put you in jail for an undetermined amount of time.Tho reau thinks the constitution is evil and wants to make things better by petitioning the people because he wants to have a better place to live in. He also is saying that being in jail is better than obeying the government and paying taxes and going to war. When you are in jail you get everything you need like free room and board and three meals a day, but it would all just be a waste of time because nothing would change. People need to stand up for their rights and what they believe in if they want things to change.Martin Luther King Jr wrote the â€Å"Letter From A Birmingham Jail†. In his essay he said many strongly spoken emotional appeals. He tries to appeal to the people about the segregation of black people when he says, â€Å"When you suddenly find your tongue twisted and your speech stammering as you seek to explain to your six-year old daughter why she can’t go the public amusement park that has just been advertised on television, and see tears welling up in her eyes when she is told that Fun-town is closed to colored children. † This quote has a lot of meaning to the colored people.This is racism and it is wrong and it is an injustice that the colored people had to face and deal with for many, many years. Martin Luther King Jr loves the church and wants the blacks to be included in everything that white people are. He was grateful to one reverend for including the black people in a Sunday service in a non-segregated way because it was the right thing to do. Segregation has been an injustice that many people have had to deal with for too many years. An ethical appeal that Martin Luther King Jr. was arguing about were the injustices that colored people face each day of their lives.He was arguing about what was right and what was wrong. He wanted people to realize that they were â€Å"victims of a broken promise†. They were promised that racial signs would be removed but they were not. He was using a non-violent direct action protest and got arrested for it because the whites kept the black people out of everything. The black people were being segregated and not allowed the same rights and courtesies as the white people. Colored people had a separate bathroom than the white people. Colored people couldn’t sit at the lunch counter or ride in the front of a bus.Rosa Parks took a stand and protested in a non-violent way. She decided one day to sit in the front of the bus and was arrested. Martin Luther King Jr. says that â€Å"non-violent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue†. Negro leaders have tried to speak about these issues with white officials but nothing has changed. This is why Rosa Parks took a stand for what she believed in and also why Martin Luther King Jr. ook a stand for his rights by going on a march from Montgomery to Birmingham, Alabama. Martin Luther Ki ng Jr. also states that â€Å"A just law is a man-made code that squares with moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law†. In his essay he thanks one Reverend for allowing black people into his church on a non-segregated basis. This was just a small step in their actions to change the way people think because they have suffered these injustices for way too many years. Both Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. ave made excellent points in their essays about the injustices that have been inflicted upon them in their society. They both have had to deal with many injustices and a lot of people whose wrong doings toward them have made their society a bad place in which to live. Each person was seeking ways to make their society a better place to live in, now and in the future. They both hope that people will see that they way they are being treated is wrong and will stand up for what is right instead of going along with what is wrong.

Comparing Hamlet and Oedipus the King Essay example

Images of disease dominate Shakespeares Hamlet as well as Sophocles play, Oedipus the King, Both Hamlet and Oedipus face many problems with death. Hamlet is seeking out the killer of his father as well as Oedipus. They feel that justice hasnt been served properly and they must seek out the killer of their fathers in order for justice to be served. In both Hamlet and Oedipus the King, there is mass turmoil amongst family relationships, the inner problems they face, and the lack of free will they had. In Shakespeares Hamlet, there is much skepticism as to what exactly is rotten in Denmark. Claudius, the incestuous, adulterate beast, essentially adopts this title as he exists as the root of all evil within the play†¦show more content†¦Tiresias, master of all omens-public and secret, in the sky and on the earth-your mind, if not your eyes, sees how the city lives with a plague (Sophocles 1.305). When asked to reveal the pollutant, Tiresias was apprehensive do to the understanding of what he knew. Let me go home! If you will listen to me, You will endure your troubles better-and I mine (1.325). Tiriesias wisdom was so great that once he revealed it, even Oedipus cried out that the profit was not blind. Sophocles points out that there is great power behind understanding through Tiresias. Oedipus could not escape his destiny and had lack of free will to do as he pleased. His life was mapped out for him the moment he was brought into the world. Hamlet has many problems dealing with the fact that his mother married his uncle less than two months after the death of his father. Hamlet sees his mothers remarriage as disgusting and sees murdering Claudius as a way of freeing his mother of an incestuous marriage as well as avenging his father. Hamlet and his mothers relationship is also shown as more sexual than the traditional mother son relationship because of Hamlets long and private conversation with his mother, as well as his rivalry toward Claudius for his mothers attentions. Hamlet makes numerous sexually allusions. The closet scene in Act 3 Scene 4, proves to be essential in understanding Hamlets and Gertrudes relationship because theShow MoreRelatedComparing Hamlet And Oedipus The King1263 Words   |  6 PagesShakespeare’s Hamlet, and Sophocles, Oedipus the King, both of the main characters conform to the same classic tragic hero formula. Oedipus suffers a life based on a pre†birth prophecy, whereas Haml et finds himself burdened with the task of avenging his father’s death. In both situations, two kings must leave their innocence behind as the truth leads them first, to enlightenment and then to their downfall. They battle between the light, the truth and the darkness, the lie. Both Hamlet and Oedipus are similarRead More Comparing the Tragedies of Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman1023 Words   |  5 PagesComparing the Tragedies of Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman The tragedies Hamlet, Oedipus the King, and Death of a Salesman have strikingly different plots and characters; however, each play shares common elements in its resolution. The events in the plays’ closings derive from a tragic flaw possessed by the protagonist in each play. The downfall of each protagonist is caused by his inability to effectively cope with his tragic flaw. The various similarities in the closingRead MoreOedipus vs. Hamlet: a Character Comparison Essay1077 Words   |  5 Pagessuch errors in it. Oedipus vs. Hamlet: A Character Comparison After reading Sophocles Oedipus the King and Shakespeares Hamlet, it is quiet clear that Oedipus is by far the more admirable character of the two. Aside from Oedipus history and life experience, his superior character traits are also displayed in the way he handles several incidents throughout the play. One of the primary reasons Oedipus is more admirable than Hamlet is just their history. Oedipus is a king. He got there by savingRead More Comparison of Oedipus and Hamlet Essay1322 Words   |  6 PagesComparison of Oedipus and Hamlet Compare and contrast Oedipus and Hamlet. Is Oedipus more a man of action? Or is he more a man driven by whim and sudden, rash decisions? Which character is more selfless? Does Hamlet show any signs of selfish motives in his actions or inactions? Which protagonist seems more learned? wiser? more religious? more loving? more incestuous? Which seems to be a better murder investigator? Does Oedipus have any of Claudius motives when he kills the king, Laius? ThenRead MoreComparing Hamlet And Oedipus Rex1868 Words   |  8 PagesMartinez John Q. Davis English 103 Date†¦.. Hamlet Oedipus Rex In Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, there is a seemingly close common relationship shown between the two plays regarding mainly the community and era in which they took place in. As well as different scenes throughout both stories which show very similar ideas from the writers such as, murder being the common theme in both plays. One example comes from the story, Oedipus the King, and it is that there is a direct relationshipRead MoreWhy Did Freud Use Oedipis As Basis?1355 Words   |  6 Pages?!! HAMLET Freudian theories are most prominent in Hamlet out of all Shakespeare’s plays. The most common repressed desire is that of Oedipus. In the myth Oedipus killed his father, and went on to marry his mother, without knowing who each of them were. In this myth the feelings are brought to light however in Hamlet they stay repressed. We only learn of it through the effects it causes. Hamlet is all about incest. After his father’s death his mother plans to marry his uncle. This is Hamlets firstRead More From Homer’s Odyssey to Star Wars - The Unchanging Path of the Hero2789 Words   |  12 Pagesdifferent. From comics or TV it is seen that heroes change physically and spiritually through time, but the heroic pattern stays always the same when moving from ancient times to todays heroes. The first hero whose pattern I am going to unfold is Oedipus. Just like all other heroes he lives an extraordinary experience which normal people would not live, and that is one of the reasons that the heroic pattern seems so appealing to people. People could read and think about the situations that would notRead MoreLiterary Criticisms of Shakespeare’s Hamlet Essay1234 Words   |  5 Pages This essay will discuss several literary criticisms of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. After skimming through several articles, I ended up with four peer-reviewed journal articles, each a different critical perspectives of the play: feminist, psychoanalytical/freudian, moral, and new historicism. My previous studies of Hamlet, as well as my rereading of the play this semester, has collectively given me a general knowledge of the text. My familiarity of the play made it easier for me to decipherRead More A Freudian Reading of Hamlet and Titus Andronicus Essay2542 Words   |  11 PagesA Freudian Reading of Hamlet and Titus Andronicus  Ã‚     Ã‚   In 1900 the eminent Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud produced a seminal work entitled The Interpretation of Dreams which contains the idea that dreams allow psychic exploration of the soul, that dreams contain psychological meanings which can be arrived at by interpretation. Freud states that â€Å"every dream will reveal itself as a psychological structure, full of significance, and one which may be assigned to a specific place in the psychicRead MoreEssay Death of a Salesman, Tragic Hero. Willy Loman.1503 Words   |  7 Pagesperfect tragedy is Oedipus Rex by Sophocles. ‘Death of a Salesman’ is definitely a tragic play, but is Willy Loman, the main protagonist, a tragic hero? According to Aristotle a tragic hero must possess ‘Megalopyschia’, otherwise known as an elevated status. Willy Loman is an unsuccessful salesman of the late 1940s. He is not perceived to be ‘great’ or ‘noble’ such as other characters in traditional tragedies including Oedipus Rex, Macbeth and Hamlet all of which whom are kings. Willy’s last name