Thursday, December 26, 2019

Study Of The Operations Management In Barclays Bank Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 10 Words: 3041 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Research paper Did you like this example? Operations management  is an area of business concerned with the production of goods and services, and involves the responsibility of ensuring that  business operations  are  efficient  in terms of using as little resource as needed, and  effective  in terms of meeting customer requirements. It is concerned with managing the process that converts inputs (in the forms of materials, labor and energy) into outputs (in the form of goods and services). Operations traditionally refers to the production of goods and services separately, although the distinction between these two main types of operations is increasingly difficult to make as manufacturers tend to merge product and service offerings. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Study Of The Operations Management In Barclays Bank Finance Essay" essay for you Create order More generally, Operations Management aims to increase the content of value-added activities in any given process. Fundamentally, these value-adding creative activities should be aligned with market opportunity (see  Marketing) for optimal enterprise performance. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Operations Management [is the field concerned with managing and directing] the physical and/or technical functions of a firm or organization, particularly those relating to development, production, and manufacturing. [Operations Management programs typically include] instruction in principles of general management, manufacturing and production systems, plant management, equipment maintenance management, production control, industrial labor relations and skilled trades supervision, strategic manufacturing policy, systems analysis, productivity analysis and cost control, and materials planning. Company Overview Barclays is one of the leading financial services prov iders globally.The company is engaged in retail and commercial banking, credit cards, investment banking, wealth management and investment management services. The companys operations are spread across 50 countries spanning over the Europe, the US, and Africa. It is headquartered in London, United Kingdom and employs about 123,000 people. The company recorded revenues of  £23,492 million in the fiscal year ended December 2007, an increase of 6% over 2006. Operating income in the fiscal year ended December 2007 amounted to  £7,006 million, an increase of 3.5% over 2006. Its revenue growth was due to strong performance from Barclays Capital, Barclays Global Investors, and Barclays wealth. During the fiscal year 2007, its net interest income grew by 5.1% while its net fee and commission income increased by 6.6%. Barclays cost to income ratio favorably declined from 59.8% in 2006 to 58.3% in 2007. However, the net profit fell to  £4,417 million in the fiscal year 2007, a decrease of 3.4% over 2006. The companys total assets registerd double-digit growth of 23.1% to reach  £1,227.36 billion at the end of fiscal year 2007. Barclays Strategy Our strategy Barclays strategy is to achieve good growth through time by diversifying its business base and increasing its presence in markets and segments that are growing rapidly. Build the best bank in the UK Accelerate the growth of global businesses Develop retail and commercial banking activities in selected countries outside the UK Enhance operational excellence. Winning together   achieving collective and individual success Best people   developing talented colleagues to reach their full potential, to ensure Barclays retains a leading position in the global financial services industry Customer and client focus   understanding customers and serving them brilliantly Pioneering   driving new ideas, adding diverse skills and improving operational excellence Trusted   acting with the highest integrity to retain the trust of customers, external stakeholders and colleagues. Barclays Group Chief Executive John Varley said in an op inion piece published on Saturday, 26 June 2010 in the UKs  Daily Telegraph  newspaper: Banks have an obligation to extend credit to households and businesses, enabling them to create growth and jobs it is their prime social purpose. Marketing strategy Barclays Marketing strategy is focused on the customer,their main aim is to attract customer which help the company to grow their market share in quick time with such a fast rate. Their marketing strategy is -Buy to let mortgages are designed for people who invest in the property market by purchasing one or more houses and letting them out to tenants. The importance of this market increased sharply over the last few years. Since 1997, buy-to-let has accounted for four-fifths of the total increase in the number of mortgages outstanding and has seen an 11.1% increase in gross mortgage advances in 2006. Buy-to-let accounted for 9% of the total new loans in 2006 up from 9% in 2003. This market contin ues to be strong, representing approximately 10% of UK gross residential lending in 2006. While the wider mortgage market faltered in 2005, the buy-to-let mortgage market has continued to deliver a resilient performance and reached an impressive  £38.4 billion ($55.6 billion) in gross lending in 2006. Buy-to-let gross advances are expected to reach  £69.1 billion by 2011. While a sound macro-economic environment has contributed to the expansion of the buy-to-let mortgage sector, a number of factors specific to this sector have further boosted supply of and demand for buy-to-let properties. Buy-to-let ranks high in the popularity stakes for investors. Immigration, greater job mobility, growth in the number of households and the rise in the student population has been driving the growth in the buy-to-let market.The company has presence in this segment through Its Woolwich subsidiary. Barclays could leverage its market position, brand strength and distrib ution capacity to further grow in this market. Corporate strategy Extensive network in Europe provides business sustenance Barclays (Barclays) is a leading global financial services provider operating in over 50 countries in Europe, the US, the Middle East, Latin America, Australia, Asia and Africa. Barclays has one of the largest branch networks in the UK with 1,733 branches and an extensive network of cash machines. Barclays customer base exceeds 30 million. Out of this customer base, UK accounts for 15 million retail customers and more than 724,000 business customers in the UK. This platform helped it become one of the leading credit card providers in Europe. Out of the total 19 million card customers, 8.8 million are non-UK customers. Barclays strong UK franchise and network in Europe enable it to become one of the leading global financial services providers.Focus on cost efficiencies ensuring relatively higher profitability Over the past few yea rs, Barclays remained focus on cost optimization and was able to contain its operating costs. The companys productivity as measured by its cost to income ratio improved from 62.1% in 2005 to 58% in 2009. A major part of the productivity gain can be attributed to control of underlying costs within GRCB and a reduction in the compensation to income ratio within Barclays Capital to 38% (2008: 44%). In the previous years, the improvement in cost to income ratio at Barclays UK banking helped the company to reduce operating costs. As a result, the company was able to increase its operating income and net income by high double digit margins in 2009. Focused control over costs enables the company to continually post reasonably higher profits relative to its peers even in difficult global financial conditions. Ability to lend amidst reduced balance sheet size At the end of 2009 Barclays balance sheet was reduced to one third of its size at the end of 2008. The majority of t his came from a decrease in derivative assets. The reduction in loans and advances was largely in Barclays Capital, especially in relation to financial institutions. Adjusted gross leverage improved from 28 times in FY2008 to 20 times in FY2009. At the end of 2009, risk weighted assets at Barclays were reduced by 12% to  £383 billion ($610 billion), with the bulk of that reduction coming from Barclays Capital. Core Tier 1 Ratio almost doubled to 10% and Tier 1 ratio reached 13% as the company retained earnings of  £9.6 billion. Despite reduction in the size of the balance sheet, Barclays was still able to extend  £35 billion ($55.7 billion) of new loans in the UK during 2009. The companys ability to lend amidst resource constraints helps it to maintain a profitable business run-rate. Internation Business Machine(IBM) COMPANY OVERVIEW International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is the worlds largest information technology company, engaged in providing business, technology and consulting services. It offers a variety of services ranging from business transformation consulting to software, hardware, fundamental research, financing and the component technologies.The company operates in 170 countries across the world.The company is headquartered in Armonk, New York, and employs about 398,460 people. The company recorded revenues of $103,630 million during the financial year ended December 2008 (FY2008), an increase of 4.9% over 2007. The operating profit of the company was $17,091 million in FY2008, an increase of 18.1% over 2007. Its net profit was $12,334 million in FY2008, an increase of 18.4% over 2007. IBM strategy Marketing Startegy Growing demand for cloud services The worldwide demand for cloud computing services is forecast to record strong growth in coming years . Cloud computing is a computing infrastructure model which enables delivery of software as a service (SaaS). This reduces the upfront royalty or licensing payments, investment in hardware and other operating expenses. As result of its benefits, the cloud services market is forecast to grow by over 20% in 2009 to cross a value of $55 billion. Further, this market is forecast to record a CAGR of 22% to reach value of $150 billion by 2013. IBM has been expanding its presence in this market in recent years. In October 2008, the company introduced cloud computing services for businesses of all sizes in November 2008. Through these services, IBM applies its industry-specific consulting expertise and technology to offer services to companies in public, private and hybrid cloud models. Subsequently, in December 2008, IBM introduced its cloud service for Web conferencing, Lotus Sametime Unyte 8.2 (www.sametimeunyte.com). In January 2009, it introduced LotusLive , a cloud-based portfolio of social networking and collaboration services designed for business. In April 2009, it introduced two new products that allow customers extend their investment in service-oriented architecture (SOA) into a cloud services environment. These new offerings enable creation of application environments that can be deployed and managed in a private cloud. Subsequently, in May 2009, Hubspan, a provider of business integration solutions, and IBM introduced WebSpan, a new SaaS integration platform.WebSpan combined the Hubspan on-demand integration platform and IBM WebSphere integration software into a single platform. It also entered into an agreement with Intuit to deliver Intuits accounting software through cloud services. Growing demand for cloud services will facilitate the companys revenue and market share growth in coming years. Positive outlook for healthcare IT spending The worldwide healthcare IT spending is forecast to grow in coming years. The healthcare industry is forecast to record over 2% growth in 2009. The increase is driven by healthcare public funding. For instance, in the US, the new government under the leadership of Mr. Obama passed a legislation to spend more than $170 billion in federal healthcare for childrens health coverage, public insurance programs for the poor, health IT and disease research. Further, the US national healthcare expenditures, which are the highest in the world, are expected to grow an average of 6.2% every year from 2008 to 2018, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Additionally, China also announced its intention to spend about $123 billion by 2011 on universal health care for its people. IBM is one of the leading providers of IT solutions. Further, the company has been positioning itself to take advantage of the growing healthcare spending. In April 2009, IBM announced its intention to add a significant financing component to its extensive efforts towards the development of technology solutions related to the US economic stimulus. IBM Global Financing intends contribute up to $2 billion to finance IT initiatives in economic stimulus areas. In February 2009, IBM launched a new suite of healthcare information sharing and analytics technologies at the Guang Dong Hospital of International Business Machines Corporation Page 8  © Datamonitor International Business Machines Corporation SWOT Analysis Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), combining the strengths of TCM and Modern Western Medicine (MWM). IBM offers CHAS (Clinical and Health Records Analytics and Sharing), which was designed to enable the sharing of electronic medical records that incorporates TCM and MWM data across the hospital network. Subsequently, in May 2009, IBM opened a Healthcare Industry Solution Lab in Beijing, China to work with hospitals and rural medical cooperatives to address the Chinese governments healthcare reform. The companys constant efforts in a growing health care IT market would ensure steady revenues for its healthcare practice in coming years. Steady growth in IT outsourcing The outsourcing market is forecast to growth despite the economic slowdown in near term. The demand for IT outsourcing would grow in 2009, as organizations try to outsource their non-core operations, and existing players try to find better deals. For instance, in 2008, over 75% of the outsourcing deals announced where new, while remaining were expansions and renewals. IBM is one of the leading providers of outsourcing services. The company will be benefitted from the growth in IT outsourcing in near term. The worldwide demand for various IT products of the company are forecast to contract in near term. The recession in developed economies in North American and Europe, as well as Japan and worldwide slowdown in economy, has resulted in slowdown in demand for IT market. In the US, turmoil in the financial markets, very weak housing market indicators and negative consumer sentiments, has resulted in its real GDP growth to decline from 2% in 2007 to 1.1% in 2008. Further, the GDP of the US is forecast to contract by 2% in 2009. Additionally, the GDP growth rate of the UK, which declined from 3% in 2007 to 0.7% in 2008, is forecast to contract by 2.8% in 2009. The Japanese economy, which entered recession in 2008 by rep orting GDP contraction of 0.3%, is forecast to report a decline of 2.6% in its GDP for 2009. This condition created challenging business environment, resulting in contraction of IT spending. For instance, the worldwide IT spending in 2009 is forecast to decline by approximately 4% from 2008. More importantly, IT hardware segment is forecast to report highest decline of all the segments. The IT hardware market is forecast to contract by approximately 15% in 2009 over 2008. IBM is one of the leading providers of IT solutions in the world. The economic uncertainties also affected the companys revenues in the first quarter of FY2009 were. IBMs total revenues reached a value of $21.7 billion in the first quarter of 2009, a decrease of 11% over first quarter of 2008. International Business Machines Corporation Page 9  © Datamonitor International Business Machines Corporation SWOT Analysis Contraction in end markets will continue to affect the company, as customers postpone their capital and replacement decisions. Intense competition IBM is facing intense competition from several large players. In the consulting and outsourcing industry, the company faces stiff competition from Accenture, Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) and Hewlett Packard (HP). Further, it also competes with the Indian IT services companies, such as Wipro Technologies, Infosys and Satyam Computer Services. In the application infrastructure software business, IBM faces competition from Oracle, Sun Microsystems and Microsoft. In the market for servers, IBMs position is challenged by HP, Sun Microsystems and Dell. Further, consolidation in the IT industry further intensified the competition. Significant consolidations in recent times, include Oracles acquisition of BEA Systems; SAP acquisition of Business Objects; and HPs acquisition of EDS. Moreove r, Oracle entered into definitive acquisition agreement to acquire Sun Microsystems in April 2009. Further, most of these acquisitions extended the capabilities of acquirers into new areas as well as enhanced their scale. Intense competition may affect the operating performance and market share of the company Corporate strategy Leading provider of IT services IBM is one of the leading providers of IT services. IBM is the world leader in middleware and the second-largest software company overall. IBM is the market leader in information management software, all application integration and middleware categories, instant messaging software for corporations, portal software, and systems management and systems operations software. IBM is a major IT operations management software provider. The company is one of the leading players in consulting services market segment. With approximately 398,455 employees globally, the companys offerings include business transformation services, consulting, systems integration, application management services, infrastructure, outsourcing, system maintenance and web hosting, among others. IBM is among the prominent players in the server and storage devices market, as well as leads in supercomputers market. Moreover, the company also has strong brand recognition. Its was ranked second on the list of top 100 Best Global Brands ranking in 2008, by Interbrand, a brand consultancy. International Business Machines Corporation Page 5  © Datamonitor International Business Machines Corporation SWOT Analysis Leading position in the industry enhances the companys brand image and competitive position. Strong RD capabilities IBM has developed strong research, development and engineering (RD) capabilities.The company annually spends approximately $6 billion on RD, focusing its investments on high-growth, high-value opportunities. The companys investments in RD were over 15% of its combined hardware and software revenue in FY2008, 2007 and 2006. Its investments in RD also result in intellectual property (IP) income of approximately $1 billion annually.The companys RD expenditure was $6,337 million, $6,153 million and $6,107 million, respectively, in FYs 2008, 2007 and 2006. Its RD investments in 2008 were in scientific research and the application of scientific advances to the development of new and improved products and their uses, as well as services and their application. Moreover, its RD has enabled it to receive more US patents than any ot her company in 2008, for the 16th consecutive year. In 2008, it also became the first company to achieve over 4,000 patents in a year. The companys RD investments has also resulted in major product launches including next-generation System z mainframe; virtualization, could computing and energy efficient solutions. Additionally, the company complemented its organic investment with strategic acquisitions. For instance, its strategic acquisitions of Cognos and Telelogic have extended its middleware capabilities. Further, the acquisition of ILOG in December 2008 added significant capability across IBMs entire software platform and its existing rules management offerings. Strong RD capabilities provide a competitive advantage to the company. Continuous improvement in profitability IBM continues to improve its profitability over the years.The company has been strategically focusing on increasing its profitability in recent years by focusing on highly valu e businesses, while divesting commoditized businesses such as personal computers and printing solutions. As a result, its operating and net profit margins improved from 11.2% and 7.8%, respectively, in 2004 to 16.5% and 11.9%, respectively, in 2008. This also allowed the company to improve its Return on Equity (RoE), Return on Capital Employed (RoCE), and Return on Assets (RoA) from 23.6%, 15.1% and 6.7%, respectively, in 2004 to 58.8%, 25.5% and 10.7%, respectively, in 2008. By contrast, the companys major competitors reported either lower margins or lower returns. For example, HP reported operating and net profit margins of 8.9% and 7%, respectively, in 2008; Dell reported operating and net profit margins in FY ended February 2009 of 5.2% and 4.1%, respectively; EMC (10.6% and 9.4%); and Accenture (11.6% and 8%). The RoE, RoCE and RoA of HP stood at 21.5%, 17.3% and 8.3%, respectively; EMC stood at 10.5%, 8.4% and 5.8%, respectively. IBMs continuin g improvement in profitability enhances its investors confidence, as well as allows it to invest in growth avenues.

Wednesday, December 18, 2019

biblical themes in shakespeares the tempest Essay

Biblical Themes in Shakespeare’s The Tempest nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Shakespeare is one of the most prolific and admired writers who ever lived. He certainly knew his craft and was familiar with all of the literature available at the time. One of the greatest books ever written was of course the bible. Written over the course of more than a thousand years it is a miracle in itself that the book exists. Shakespeare knew his bible, and his work often incorporated and examined biblical themes. Shakespeare’s last completed work was The Tempest, and it is as complex and deeply moving as any of his works. Readers of the play respond on a much deeper level than the literal. In and of itself it is actually a very simple tale, it is the†¦show more content†¦As both works move toward concerns of procreation, their creator use â€Å"qualifying tests† to determine â€Å"the elected† who will be given conditional rewards (1.). At the beginning of Genesis, God creates the world by dividing it into a system of d oubles, the sun and the moon, light and dark, the land and the sea and male and female. It is not long into the story that good and evil, positive and negative and lesser and greater enter the world. The system of doubles or opposites is clearly evident in Shakespeare’s work. The characters of Caliban and Ariel are opposites; both are representative of the master-servant dynamic, which is at the heart of the bible. While both Caliban and Ariel are slaves, their temperament and treatment are opposite. While Ariel is â€Å"an airy spirit,† Caliban is of the earth. Ariel serves much more willingly and completely than does Caliban, causing each to achieve a different sort of dignity. God is Master of all and all humans are to be his servants, willing servants if they are to desire â€Å"selection† as â€Å"good† and therefore allowed to participate in the covenant, which is a place by His side in heaven. Just as the Bible explores the social dynamics of power relationships throughout, so does The Tempest. Almost every scene of the play, every interaction, with the exception of the scenes between Miranda andShow MoreRelatedEssay about Biblical Themes in Shakespeares the Tempest1742 Words   |  7 PagesBiblical Themes in Shakespeares The Tempest Shakespeare is one of the most prolific and admired writers who ever lived. He certainly knew his craft and was familiar with all of the literature available at the time. One of the greatest books ever written was of course the bible. Written over the course of more than a thousand years it is a miracle in itself that the book exists. Shakespeare knew his bible, and his work often incorporated and examined biblical themes. Shakespeares last completedRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Tragicomedy The Tempest1935 Words   |  8 Pagesincluding elements from other influences. William Shakespeare’s tragicomedy The Tempest (c:1611) is a play that uses intertextuality to enhance ideas about natural order. Banished to an island, Prospero, the rightful Duke of Milan, conjures up a tempest that brings him his usurping brother, Antonio in an attempt to restore his Dukedom. The play’s amalgamation of tragicomedy and the pastoral genre allows Shakespeare to warn his audience ab out unbalance, criticising the lavish lifestyle of his JacobeanRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Othello And The English Language1649 Words   |  7 PagesPoet, playwright, actor and dramatist, William Shakespeare is one of the most influential and greatest writers up to this day in poetry and the English language. Known, for his many acclaimed works such as his famous plays, â€Å"Othello,† â€Å"King Lear,† and â€Å"Romeo and Juliet† etc. More than four hundred years have passed and William Shakespeare’s work still alive as if it was during the early ages of Shakespeare work. 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Through a cleverly worded dialogue between Antonio and Sebastian, Antonio convinces him to kill his brother, the king of Naples, in order to attain the throne. â€Å"O† (2.1.252) laments Antonio beginning the passage with an informal introduction. Through this one syllable, Shakespeare uses diction to convey how Antonio views Sebastian as intellectual ly inferior to him. To reinforce this Shakespeare beginsRead MoreZen and the Art of William Shakespeare Essay2389 Words   |  10 PagesZen and the Art of Shakespeare      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like all Buddhism, Zen is a means by which one can achieve Buddha-consciousness, or in effect total-consciousness. Total-consciousness means being aware of the true self and its role in regard to the infinite cosmos of all existence. This awareness allows one insight into or perhaps understanding of the Tao, the essential singularity to which all things belong. Understanding the Tao, for Taoists and Zen Buddhists alike, is the equivalent of NirvanaRead More The Seriousness of in Shakespeares Comedy of Errors Essay examples1916 Words   |  8 Pageshas often been dismissed as a mere farce, unworthy of any serious attention. Yet, when the author is Shakespeare, even a farce is well worth a second look. Shakespeare himself may have takent his comedic work quite seriously, for audiences expected comedy of his day not only to entertain, but also to morally instruct. It is not surprising, therefore, that for one of his earliest comedies, Shakespeare found a model in t he plays of Plautus and Terence, which were studied in all Elizabethan Grammar SchoolsRead More Love in To His Coy Mistress, Shall I Compare Thee, Let Me Not, and The Flea3166 Words   |  13 Pagesfour of these poems are based on the subject matter of love. The four poems have a lot in common but each poem touches a different aspect of love. 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There certainly was a large number of them, but none of them could come anywhere near Shakespeare.Just as after Chaucer, poetry in England suffered a decline, similarly after Shakespeare had given his best (that is, after the sixteenth century)Read MoreThe Power of Fate vs. Free Will in Medea and Macbeth1850 Words   |  8 Pagesdestiny, or are their fates already written? Fate is described as â€Å"that  which  is  inevitably  predetermined;  destiny.† It can be said that it is the gods who are in charge of creating the character’s fates. In both Medea and Macbeth, there is a common theme of placing too much trust into fate, rather than taking responsibility for their personal actions. In ancient Greek society, it was believed that the gods were in charge of creating people’s destinies. People could make their own small life decisions

Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Spain is party to a large numb... free essay sample

Spain is party to a large number of environmental agreements that have been ratified by the EU. Despite passing legislation for a wide range of environmental policies, its success in implementation remains weak. It faces important challenges concerning marine life, climate change and regional air pollution. Its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions increased by 49% during 1990–2004, one of the highest rates among the signatories of the Kyoto Protocol. In 2009, the country released around 359 million metric tons of CO2 emissions and its marine environment performance also remained unsatisfactory. The government of Spain has made little use of environmental taxes or other instruments that may have resulted in better implementation of environmental laws. Many municipal governments do not charge for services such as water and sewerage. Many industrialized nations meet their financial needs by using the polluter pays principle. The principle has been introduced in the new climate change strategy, but the desired results are yet to be achieved. EU membership has given the country an opportunity to undertake measures to meet the environmental and technological standards of its EU peers. The countrys performance on environmental indicators, despite lagging behind other EU nations, has shown improvement. PESTLEPoliticalSpain has ratified a number of international environmental treaties and has been at the forefront among the EU nations, as far as the implementation of the environmental agenda goes. Its basic environmental policy adheres to the EU norms. The strategy on sustainable development and on climate change has been approved to reduce GHG emissions by developing a technical construction code and a bonus system to enhance the purchase of energy efficient vehicles. According to the climate strategy of the Spanish government, it plans to achieve this target by cutting its GHG emissions to 37% above 1990 levels by 2008–12. It will then achieve the balance by buying carbon credits from clean energy projects in other countries. Furthermore, the government is planning to use carbon sinks, such as reforestation projects.EconomicalThe government of Spain has resorted to subsidies and financial assistance to ensure compliance with environmental regulations. The government has made little use of environmental taxes or other instruments, which will result in better implementation. Many municipal governments do not charge for services like water and sewerage. A high proportion of industrialized nations meet their financial needs by using the polluter pays principle. The principle was introduced in the new climate change strategy but the desired results are yet to be achieved. Because of lack of implementation, the government has been devoid of funds that may have been used for bringing improvements in the environment.SocialThe age structure shows that 67.4% of the population belongs to the broad 15–64 age group, 14. 5% of the population is in the 0–14 age group and 18.1% of the population is aged above 65 years. With this age structure, Spain reflects a similar demographic trend to that seen across the rest of Europe. There is an increase in the number of the elderly population and fewer people are entering the workforce. The gender ratio at birth is 1.07 males per female. Life expectancy for the total population is 80. 05 years. For the male population it is 76.74 years and for the female population it is 83.57 years. In addition, Spain has a literacy rate of 97.9% for the total population. While the male literacy rate is at 98. 7%, the female literacy rate is slightly lower at 97.2%. TechnologicalSpain has been slow to adopt technological advancements compared to the other EU countries, although policy measures have been undertaken in this regard. Spain ranks 16th on the European innovation index in a list of 27 nations. Although it performs well in terms of knowledge creation, the innovation climate is not particularly productive. The situation has arisen because of the larger role of the public sector with respect to R;D. The private sector has limited participation in enhancing R;D levels. EnvironmentIn the policy-making process, the environment emerged as an important topic after Spain became a member of the EU. The national and regional government is responsible for the legislation and implementation of environmental directives. After the continued efforts of the government coupled with participation from the private sector, the country has met with only partial success in improving its environmental conditions. The new strategy for sustainable development is intended to speed up the process of meeting the countrys Kyoto Protocol targets, which require it to limit its emissions by a maximum of 15% during 2008–12, compared with 1990 levels. In the absence of more stringent measures and the current level of high emissions, the government may fail to achieve the target.LegalDoing business in Spain is comparable to any other country in the EU as foreign investment restrictions and exchange controls have been abolished to a great extent, in line with the EU legisla tion on deregulation. A foreign investor can invest in Spain by opening a branch or representative office, or by forming a Spanish company. Traditionally, corporations were the most common form of corporate entities but limited liability companies are also becoming common. Foreign investors can also enter the country by entering into a joint venture partnership with Spanish firms.

Tuesday, December 3, 2019

King Arthur Essays (372 words) - Knights Of The Round Table

King Arthur Sir Launcelot and Sir Mordred have many similarities with each other but I will focus on the main relation between them, their betrayal of King Arthur. Betrayal is to be unfaithful in guarding, maintaining, or fulfilling a task. Sir Launcelot was unfaithful to maintaining his knighthood because he had an affair with Guinevere. my lord, said Sir Bors, do you not fear Sir Aggravayne/ and Sir Mordred, who never cease to spy on you, and who I/ am sure must sooner or later contrive to betray you? Sir Launcelot, I fear that disaster must befall you and/ the queen and all at this court! (495). This quote is a turning point in the book because this is when King Arthur discovers that one of his most trusted and loyal knights has betrayed him and has made him look like a fool in front of his court. King Arthur is also forced to show a side that he does not want to, he must follow through with his laws and burn his wife on the stake although he despises the thought of doing so. Sir Launcelot la ter stole Guinevere from the stake when Arthur was going to burn her, this was another act by Sir Launcelot in which he betrayed his king this later leads to a war. During the absence of King Arthur from Britain, Sir/ Mordred, already vested with sovereign powers, had/ decided to upsurp the throne. Accordingly, he had false letters/ written-announcing the death of King Arthur in battle and (Mordred) persuaded the nobility to/ elect him king.(518). This quote shows that Sir Mordred was unfaithful to King Arthur by telling the Kingdom of Camelot that Arthur had died in battle thus crowning himself king. This act by Sir Mordred caused Arthurss Kingdom to become divided and this later leads to the Arthurs last battle. Sir Mordred is later fighting King Arthur and he is stabbed by Arthur but then he delivers a fatal blow to King Arthur on his helmet, just a little while after the blow Arthur dies. Sir Launcelot and Sir Mordred both betrayed Arthur and his court but only Mordred planned t o overthrow the king from his first breath.