Equity and Trusts †Problem Question

Equity and Trusts – Problem Question James has died recently, and has left a properly executed will in respect of his estate. There are a number of provisions in this will, including a substantial financial legacy to his sister, a trust over James’ leasehold estate for which the trustee has since died, a trust of  £100,000 for the purpose of benefitting James’ friends’ dependants completing studies, a gift of his collection of coins and mints, and a gift of Jack Daniels whiskey and some money to his niece. Each of these provisions of the will present certain problems. The provisions will be addressed individually in order to assess their status, and determine who will actually get what under James’ will. The first provision, then, is a gift of  £100,000 to his â€Å"beloved sister† Emily, with an obligation on Emily to use a â€Å"reasonable amount† to look after James’ step-daughter, Mary. This would appear to create a trust over a portion, but not all, of the  £100,000 in question. As identified in the seminal case of Milroy v Lord (1862), a trust can be created either where a person declares himself or herself a trustee over property the legal title of which he or she holds, for the benefit of (that is, beneficial ownership lies with) another; or where a person transfers his property to trustees on trust. It is established, however, that a trust obligation can only subsist in relation to specific trust property. James’ clear intention here to create a trust will not, on its own, be sufficient to benefit his step-daughter if it cannot be ascertained exactly what the trust property was intended to be. This brings us to a fundamental requisite of valid trusts; the so-called three certainties, identified by Lord Langdale in Knight v Knight (1840), when he was Master of the Roll. The three certainties that must be present are certainty of words (or intention), certainty of subject matter and certainty of objects. In relation to certainty of intention, one must consider James’ wording. He does not specifically mention a â€Å"trust†. This may not be fatal to the successful establishment of one, however, as his â€Å"absolute confidence† that his sister will use some of the money for the specified purpose would probably qualify as â€Å"precatory words†; which would be sufficient. In Re Adams and Kensington Vestry (1884), the words used in a similar provision were â€Å"in full confidence that [the testator’s wife] would do what was right as to the disposal [of the trust property] between his children†. Cotton J, in the Court of Appeal, suggest ed precatory words alone were insufficient, but a valid trust may be created in the wider context of the will. Again, James’ words would appear to qualify as he has created other trusts. There may also be a problem with this provision in relation to the specific subject matter of the trust. Trust property must be clearly defined, otherwise the trust will fail for lack of certainty. Here, James has asked that a â€Å"reasonable amount† be used for the upbringing of his step-daughter. The court may be prepared to define a â€Å"reasonable amount†, however, following such cases as Re Golay’s Will Trusts (1965). Here, the wording provided for a â€Å"reasonable income† for the legatee, and Ungoed-Thomas J considered the term to be sufficiently objective to be capable of quantification. It seems this provision will be valid if two conditions are met; namely James’ use of precatory words are considered sufficient in the context to create a trust, which seems likely, and the court is prepared to define â€Å"reasonable amount† as the subject matter of the trust which, again, seems likely. The second provision in James’ will relates to his leasehold estate in Blackacre, which he wishes to pass to his nephew John, whom he desires to use the rent for the estate for either James’ children who John thinks are most deserving, or for John’s own children. There are a number of interesting, and potentially problematic, aspects of this provision. The first is that it relates to a trust over land. Under the Law of Property Act 1925, there are further formalities that must be observed when creating a trust over land. The trust will only be validly constituted if legal title to the trust property is effectively transferred to the trustee, John. Section 52 of the LPA 1925 states that any conveyance of land must be effected by deed. Mere writing (such as in James’ will) or an oral transfer, or even physical possession of the land will be insufficient. An assignment of title to a testator’s leasehold estate to an intended beneficiary’s mother was held invalid because it was not done by deed in Richards v Delbridge (1874). It seems that this trust would have failed for this reason. The trustee, John, however, died without distributing any of the rent from the leasehold property. The trust has therefore failed for two reasons (the trustee’s death and the absence of a proper assignment of legal title to the trustee). What, then, happens to the leasehold estate? It will become a resulting trust. The beneficial interest â€Å"results† back to the settlor or his successors, and the trustee holds on bare trust for that party. This is known as an Automatic Resulting Trust (ART). In probate terms, the interest will revert to James’ estate and will be distributed in accordance either with other provisions of his will, or with the intestacy rules. The third provision in James’ will relates to  £100,000 which he has given to Mark in order that Mark can invest it and use the income to help â€Å"any of [James’] friends’ dependants complete law degrees. This will meet the requirements of an express trust in terms of its certainty of subject matter. The  £100,000 is a specific sum of money that is to be made the subject of the trust. In this instance, however, we must consider the nature of purposes in the context of trusts. The law of trusts allows individuals to devote their property to the carrying out of specific purposes. There are, however, a number of restrictions on how this can be done. Purposes often involve both trusts and contractual obligations to carry out some action. The general starting point in this discussion is that unless it is a charitable purpose, the law in England does not generally allow the simple transfer of property on trust to carry out a particular purpose. Using Penner†™s example, â€Å" £10,000 on trust to oppose UK entry into the common European currency† would be likely to fail.[1] In order to assess whether James’ provision to Mark of  £100,000 for the designated purpose is valid, the â€Å"beneficiary principle† must be considered. This states that for a trust to be valid, it must be for the benefit of ascertainable individuals. This provision is not a pure purpose trust, which would fail under English law, but rather it is for the benefit of certain individuals. In Morice v Bishop of Durham (1805), Sir William Grant, then Master of the Rolls, said â€Å"there can be no trust, over the exercise of which this Court will not assume a control; for an uncontrollable power of disposition would be ownership, and not trust †¦ There must be somebody, in whose favour the court can decree performance.† In this case, as mentioned, there are a particular group of potential beneficiaries of the trust; it is not simply â€Å"for the general advancement of legal studies†, for example. Although the beneficiary principle would appear to be m et, then, it is a corollary of the requirement of certainty of objects, to which we now turn. For a trust to be valid, the objects of the trust (that is, the beneficiaries), must be certain. In other words the trust must be expressed in such a way as to enable the trustees, or in their default, the court, to identify who exactly the beneficiaries are. The trust of  £100,000 to Mark is characteristic of a discretionary, rather than a fixed, trust, meaning that the precise benefit to specific individuals is not defined by James. Rather, Mark will exercise discretion as to who, from the group of possible beneficiaries, will benefit. In McPhail v Doulton (1971), the House of Lords stated that the test for certainty of objects in trusts such as this one should be similar to the test for objects of powers. It should, in other words, be possible to say of any given individual that he or she is, or is not, part of the specified class of beneficiaries. Subsequently, in Re Baden’s Deed Trusts (No 2) (1972), the Court of Appeal stated that when this test is applied, a discretio nary trust will be valid so long as the beneficiaries can be identified with â€Å"conceptual certainty†. How does this apply to the present case? The discretionary trust relates to â€Å"any of my friends’ dependants†. This is of course, subjective. Who is, or is not, James’ friend? And who qualifies as a dependant of those friends? An early test for this problem was the so-called â€Å"complete list† test, which was applied in IRC v Broadway Cottages Trust (1955). Jenkins LJ stated that â€Å"a trust for such members of a given class of objects as the trustees shall select is void for uncertainty, unless the whole range of objects eligible for selection is ascertained or capable of ascertainment.†[2] Clearly, in the present case, it is unlikely that an exhaustive list of the potential beneficiaries will be able to be compiled. The test was, however, criticised in subsequent cases as failing to deal adequately with developing discretionary trusts that covered larger groups of potential beneficiaries. In McPhail v Doulton (mentioned above, in which the purported discretionary trust was very similar to the present one), the complete list test was discarded in favour of the â€Å"is or is not† test. Unfortunately for the present trust, however, it would most likely still be invalid on the basis of administrative unworkability. Again, this concept arose in McPhail v Doulton, when Lord Wilberforce stated that there may be classes where â€Å"the meaning of the words used is clear but the definition of the beneficiaries is so wide as to not form â€Å"anything like a class† so that the trust is administratively unworkable†¦Ã¢â‚¬ [3] Given the potential size of the class of beneficiaries here (depending of course on James’ popularity), this trust would probably fail. The fourth provision relates to James’ collection of coins and mints which he gives on trust in order that any of his colleagues who wish to do so to purchase them at half price. The rest are to go to James’ sister, Lora. The first issue here is the identity of James’ trustees. He has not specified who will be the trustee(s) in this case. This is not, however, a significant problem as it is well established that trusts will not fail for want of a trustee. This applies either where no trustee is specified (as is apparently the case here), or where the specified trustee is unwilling to accept this responsibility. If no willing trustee can be found, Public Trustee will be appointed as a last resort. Provision for this office was made in the Public Trustee Act 1906 (section 2(3)). Alternatively the court may appoint a trust corporation to administer the trust pursuant to section 42 of the Trustee Act 1925. This first issue with the present trust, then, presents no re al problem. The trust property is James’ â€Å"valuable collection of coins and mints†. This is unproblematic, assuming that the collection can be physically located. It should be relatively clear what forms part of the collection and what does not. The requirement for certainty of subject matter will therefore be met. The class of beneficiaries is expressed as being James’ colleagues. This is not a discretionary trust in the same way as the one discussed earlier, as the trustees have no discretion as to who will benefit from the trust. Rather it is the potential beneficiaries who may exercise their discretion to purchase items from the collection. The equitable maxim that â€Å"equity treats as done that which ought to be done† would apply a constructive trust here, if there was a specifically enforceable contract to sell the property to the beneficiaries. There is not, however, as the potential beneficiaries have not yet decided to accept. In the present context, a further requirement of a valid trust is worth considering; namely that where a settlor wishes to create a trust over which a third party is trustee, the legal or beneficial title to the subject matter of the trust must be effectively transferred to the trustee. James’ words here refer to his â€Å"trustees†. In Choithram (T) International SA v Pagarani (2001), it was held that where it is intended that there be a body of trustees, it will be sufficient to transfer title to one member of that body. The rules of effective transfer of title vary according to the type of property in question, and are most lenient in relation to chattels (which cover the collection here). Title may be transferred either by deed or gift, or delivery of possession. It is likely that the will, if correctly executed, will be sufficient for this transfer. There is, in trust law, a rule against perpetuities. This states that gifts of property must vest within a certain period of time. James’ sister is due to inherit the remainder of the collection at some point in the future, but this is not defined. The perpetuity period is â€Å"a life in being plus twenty-one years†.[4] This limits the period of time in which the remainder of the collection must vest in Lora. The final provision in James’ will relates to 20 bottles of Jack Daniels whiskey that is stored in his cellar, and  £500 from his City Bank plc savings account, which he gifts to his niece, Emily. This is, on the face of it, unproblematic. It would appear to meet the requisite standards of certainty in relation to words (or intention), subject matter, and objects. The wording clearly creates a testamentary gift. Assuming James has only one niece called Emily, the intended beneficiary will be clearly identifiable. Ostensibly, also, the subject matter of the trust should be sufficiently certain. The problem, however, relates to the fact that in James’ cellar there are 40 bottles of Jack Daniels; and in the relevant savings account, there is  £1000. The testamentary gift therefore relates only to half of these items. It is clear that a trust cannot exist in abstract. It must relate to specific assets or else it will fail. By way of example, in Hemmens v Wilson Browne (a firm) (1995), an agreement allowing a person to call for a payment of a specified sum at any time did not create a valid trust because no specific property had been identified as the subject matter of the obligation. There â€Å"was no identifiable fund to which any trust could attach.†[5] In the present case, there is no conceptual uncertainty as to the intended trust property, however, as it explicitly relates to bottles of whiskey and money. The problem arises, however, because the property is unascertained. In Re London Wine Co (Shippers) Limited (1975), a customer order for a consignment of wine was unable to create a trust over specific bottles in the seller’s warehouse because the specific property could not be ascertained. The customer’s specific order had not been appropriated from the general stock. This would suggest that the gift to Emily would fail for similar reasons. The Privy Council confirmed the approach in Re Goldcorp Exchange Limited (In Receivership) (1995) in relation to gold bullion. Again, specific orders had not been appropriated from the general stock so the trust failed. This is not conclusive, however, as an alternative approach occasionally adopted by the courts should be considered. In Hunter v Moss (1994), an oral declaration of trust was made over 5% of the issued share capital of a private company in which the settlor owned 950 shares. The court held that this was not void because the specific shares had not been segregated from the remainder of the shares. This decision, although it might help on the successful implementation of Emily’s trust, has been criticised as being inconsistent with the earlier Privy Council decision. One justification for following the decision in Hunter was offered in Re Harvard Securities Limited (In Liquidation) (1997) a s being that Hunter related to shares and not chattels. In the present context then, it seems that the trust over the money in the account might be valid, but that over the whiskey may not be. BIBLIOGRAPHY Statutes Law of Property Act 1925 Public Trustee Act 1906 Trustee Act 1925 Cases Choithram (T) International SA v Pagarani [2001] 2 All ER 492 Hemmens v Wilson Browne [1995] Ch 223 Hunter v Moss [1994] 1 WLR 452 IRC v Broadway Cottages Trust [1955] Ch 20, CA Knight v Knight (1840) 3 Beav 148 McPhail v Doulton [1971] AC 424 Milroy v Lord (1862) 4 De GF J 264 Morice v Bishop of Durham (1805) 10 Ves 522 Re Adams and Kensington Vestry LR (1884) 27 Ch D 394 Re Baden’s Deed Trusts (No 2) [1972] Ch 607 Re Golay’s Will Trusts [1965] 2 All ER 660 Re Goldcorp Exchange Limited (In Receivership) [1995] 1 AC 74 Re Harvard Securities Limited [1997] 2 BCLC 369 Re London Wine Co (Shippers) Limited (1975) 126 NLJ 977 Richards v Delbridge (1874) LR 18 Eq 11 Secondary sources Martin, J.E. (2001) Hanbury and Martin – Modern Equity, 16th Edition (London: Sweet Maxwell) Pearce, R. and Stevens, J. (2006) The Law of Trusts and Equitable Obligations, 4th Edition (Oxford: OUP) Penner, J.E. (2004) The Law of Trusts, 4th Edition (London: LexisNexis) Footnotes [1] Penner, J.E. (2004) The Law of Trusts, 4th Edition (London: LexisNexis), p254 [2] [1955] Ch 20, CA, per Jenkins LJ at 31 [3] [1971] AC 424, per Lord Wilberforce at 457 [4] Pearce, R. and Stevens, J. (2006) The Law of Trusts and Equitable Obligations, 4th Edition (Oxford: OUP), p404 [5] [1995] Ch 223, per Mosely J at 232

The Origin of the Civil Rights Movement Essay -- Racism, Civil Rights,

Before one woman refused to head to the back of the bus, before there was a voice to peacefully express the dream, before Jim Crow was scared away, there were organizations, fighters and events that contributed to the advancement of African Americans. As W.E.B. Du Bois provided the diving board that would allow blacks to dive into the pool of equality, he is found at the origin of the Civil Rights Movement. The Pan-Africanism movement, the rage following the Red Summer, and the Great Migration continued the efforts of W.E.B. Du Bois. The bold and striking words and actions of Marcus Garvey showed whites that blacks would not be called an inferior race any longer. Following World War II, many bounds toward racial equality were made and Brown versus the Board of Education poured gasoline onto the civil rights fire. Around 1900, many U.S. historians released theories proclaiming the racial inferiority of blacks, and discrimination against southern blacks became even more widespread throughout the early 1900s. Every southern state required racial segregation on trains and in churches, schools, hotels, restaurants, theaters, and other public places. The southern states also adopted an election practice known as the white primary. This process banned blacks from voting in the Democratic Party’s primary election by calling them â€Å"private affairs.† By 1910, every southern state was, if they had not already, in the process of revoking suffrage from African Americans, and the Ku Klux Klan enforced this (Forces). The Ku Klux Klan attempted to keep blacks from voting through an increased use of threats, beatings, and killings. More than 3,000 blacks had been lynched during the late 1800s, and hundreds more ... ...rmined to keep and expand these gains. NAACP membership soared from 51,000 in 1940 to 351,000 in 1945; this made it possible for the relentless organization to expand its activities. Because of both rising black income and the efforts of the United Negro College Fund, founded in 1950, giving blacks a much broader base for their future leadership. As the years slowly passed by, black triumphs added up (Levine 171) The most significant victory for African American civil rights during the 1950’s was the Supreme Courts ruling in the Brown versus the Board of Education ruling, which declared separate but equal unconstitutional. It was a great victory for the NAACP and for Black America. The victory in the courtroom, however, was not manifested until many years later as the majority of school districts continued their segregationist policies across America.

Lord Of The Flies - A Character Study Of Ralph Essay -- essays researc

This essay is a character study of Ralph, who is one of the main characters in William Golding’s ‘Lord of the Flies’. I have chosen to analyse Ralph’s character, as it is the character with which I feel that I can relate most closely. Ralph is probably the novel’s main character. This essay will include my identification of the major aspects of Ralph’s character and how he symbolises different themes, which are portrayed in the novel. I will cover in this what Ralph contributes to the plot of the novel, a description of Ralph’s appearance, his dreams, his attitude to being stranded on the island, how he relates to the other boys and how he organises the boys into becoming a self-dependent society. Ralph’s character plays a major part in the plot of ‘Lord of the Flies’. Ralph is the first character we meet in the novel and at first he seems to be very relaxed about the situation of being in unknown territory. The plot begins opens when Ralph and another boy, Piggy, discover each other and eventually decide through Piggy’s constant persistence to blow through a conch shell to see if there are any other people around. It turns out that there are many other boys stranded on the island and they begin to form a small community, which is controlled by Ralph who becomes the leader. Throughout the novel Ralph tries to keep the boys in order and to preserve a civilised society by showing constant faith that if they work together they will be rescued. He does this by encouraging them to keep a fire burning, which represents that faith, and to organise themselves into a unit equipped to handle the unpredictable situation. However, Ralph finds this increasingly d ifficult as the story progresses. Ralph begins to long and daydream of his civilised and normal past. Gradually, he becomes confused and began to lose clarity in his thoughts and speeches. "Ralph was puzzled by the shutter that flickered in his brain. There was something he wanted to say; then the shutter had come down." (p. 156) Suspicion arises that there may be a beast on the island and Jack the main choir boy, who is Ralph’s chief rival for leadership, forms a tribe and begins to encourage the other boys to ignore Ralph’s rule. Gradually many of the boys turn into savages and treat the island like their own playpen, with an incremental build up of evil in their behaviour. Another major character... ...order to give an understanding of the different powers that some people can posses over others. In William Golding's novel, Lord of the Flies Ralph though not the stronger person, demonstrates a better understanding of people which gives Ralph better leadership qualities than Jack, although he is ultimately not succesful. In a way Simon can be seen to represent Jesus Christ and Jack is evil and represents Belezebub. It is ironic that Jack starts out as the leader of the choir and ends up by being the most evil of the boys. Ralph is like Peter who was the disciple that Christ loved best and yet who betrayed Christ. In conclusion, Ralph is possibly the most heroic character in the book as he is, if you note, the only one who follows his belief and faith and this brings him through, even in the forest at the end, when it is him against the rest. In the end Ralph is a very ordinary boy who has almost been crushed by the opposition but despite recognising obvious weaknesses in himself, he always tries to understand what is going on around him and to understand himself and thus shows indubitable heroism. He is more heroic because of his weaknesses and his acceptance of his own guilt.

Whole Foods Market and Interpersonal Communication

Discuss how the basic interpersonal communication model that is presented in Figure 8. 1 can be applied to the impersonal nature of an online forum. Interpersonal communication is communications between two or more people in an organization. The skills needed for successful communication in the workplace include reading, listening, managing and interpreting information, and serving clients. The basic interpersonal communication model that is presented in Figure 8. can be applied to impersonal nature of an online forum by following the same principle that an individual would in the workplace, the only difference is instead of communicating face to face you will be communicating electronically in an online forum. In interpersonal communication there is the communicator, the message, the receiver, perceptual screens and feedback. In an impersonal nature of an online forum the same method applies. For example, skillful interpersonal communication involves basic conversational language skills including listening and speaking abilities, a basic understanding of how personalities and cultures effect communication, an understanding of your own personality, culture, and preferences, and knowledge of conflict prevention techniques. An individual can apply these same guidelines in an online forum. Instead of listening and speaking abilities like an individual would follow through interpersonal communication, the individual would use correct grammar and punctuation. How does defensive communication enter into this case? Defensive communication can be defined as communication that can be aggressive, attacking, and angry, or passive and withdrawing. Defensive communication enters into this case through John Mackey, CEO of Whole Foods Market. He continuously displays communication that is aggressive, attacking, and angry. One incident defensive communication took place at a retailing conference in Manhattan in 2001, John Mackey shouted â€Å"I’m going to destroy you,† to Perry Odak, CEO of Wild Oats. John Mackey posted numerous comments that criticized Wild Oats Markets such as â€Å"no company would want to buy Wild Oats Markets Inc. , â€Å"OATS locations are too small and management doesn’t know what they are doing†, and â€Å"Oats has no value and no future. † For nearly eight years Mackey posted online comments under the name Rahodeb, in the online stock forums of Yahoo Finance. How is the Internet transforming the way people communicate? The Internet is transforming the way people communicate through several methods. For instance, through online communication one cannot truly know how the other person is feeling because facial and eye behaviors and/or body gestures become absent. This makes it difficult for an individual to communicate with another through online forums. Also, just like in interpersonal communication one must be aware of cultural diversity, in online forums, an individual may not be aware of the culture in which they are trying to communicate which in turn makes communication difficult. Another method in which Internet is transforming the way people communicate is since online forums are impersonal in nature; the Internet shields the sender from personal interaction. This may cause individuals less patient with face-to-face communication. However, the use of online forums encourages polyphasic, or multi-tasking activity. Discuss the ethical problems that are revealed by examining John Mackey's online postings in relation to the communications provision of the Whole Foods Declaration of Interdependence? Ethical problems that are revealed by examining John Mackey’s online posting in relation to the communications provisions of the Whole Foods Declaration of Interdependence include John Mackey’s actions of unprofessionalism. The postings under the pseudonym name Rahodeb were extremely unprofessional especially coming from the CEO of the company. The communications provisions of the Whole Foods Declaration of Interdependence states â€Å"[o]ur ability to install a clear sense of interdependence among our various stockholders†¦is contingent to communicate more often, more openly, and more compassionately. Better communication equals better understanding and more trust. † Mackey’s communication through Yahoo Finance postings, were far from compassionate and open. He slandered the Wild Oats Market reputation.

Byd Company Case Analysis Essay

1. BYD Company, Ltd. (â€Å"BYD†) is the world’s second largest manufacturer of rechargeable batteries. Exhibit 1 shows that between 1999 and 2001, BYD’s annual sales grew three times – exceeding RMB 1.3 billion in 2001. Based on the first four months of 2002, BYD’s annual sales are expected exceed RMB 1.6 billion in 2002. Founded in 1995 by Wang Chuan-Fu, chairman and president, BYD has built its reputation by becoming the largest Chinese supplier of lithium-ion batteries to cell phone manufacturers. Exhibit 3 shows that by 2002, BYD was among the top four manufactures worldwide – and was the largest Chinese manufacturer – in each of the three main battery technologies (with about 9% market share in Li-ion technology, 31% market share in NiCd technology, and 8% market share in NiMH technology). Despite the presence of large Japanese competitors – including Sanyo, Sony, and Matsushita – in the global market and a large number of local Chinese firms, BYD’s aim to improve the quality of products while keeping the price low started winning it business from foreign companies. By doing so, BYD has positioned itself as a cost leader in the batter industry and has moved towards cost advantage in manufacturing of its products. BYD emphasized on the technology and product development by investing about 2% of the company’s revenue in product and process R&D. Since the development of its first lithium-ion battery in 1997, BYD has made several improvements that increased the cycle life of its products. BYD moved from having no patents as of 1999 to holding scores of patents as of the beginning of 2002. The manufacturing process – in terms of sequence of steps – at BYD was similar to that at the competing Japanese firms. However, Japanese firms had most of the processes automated and had more dry-room space. This kind of set up needed greater investment in capital equipment and accounted for an annual capital expenditure five to ten times more than that at BYD. The biggest threat to BYD’s competitive advantage is the tough competition faced from the emergence of nearly 200 Chinese firms in the rechargeable battery market. Like BYD did, these Chinese firms too relied on labor-intense production process. The lack of proper regulations in China allows the competitors to duplicate BYD processes easily. On the other hand, BYD faced a shortage of labor in Shenzhen because of the presence of large number of manufacturers located in that region. At BYD, 95% of the work force on the battery production is young women who have come from smaller villages across China. They would work here for a couple of years before returning to their home villages. As a result of this migration pattern, BYD faced a turnover of 10% to 20% in its manufacturing workforce. 2. The core competencies of BYD are: Battery Technology (by changing the product materials to make them less sensitive to humidity), R&D department, Human Resource Management (providing housing, food, and health insurance to workers, discipline traning, job rotation to reduce monotony, social activities and promotions), cheap labor and Manufacturing process (labor plus jigs equals automation). Of the above mentioned core competencies, battery technology, R&D department, Human Resource Management, and cheap labor are transferrable to the automotive business. However, the manufacturing process – which is not automated – is not transferrable to the automotive business. From the resources perspective BYD should enter the auto industry because acquiring Qinchuan Auto Company offers BYD rare resources such as production permits and land for its new Auto factory, which are significant barriers for entry for new competitors, at a reasonable price. These resources coupled with t he BYD’s transferable resources could result in a successful enterprise. 3. The Chinese auto industry is overall attractive. There is huge growth expected in the Chinese demand for automobiles – from 1 million sedans in 2002 to potentially 6 million by 2010. Given this expected growth in demand for automobiles, several Chinese auto manufacturers had partnered with foreign manufacturers, such as General Motors, Toyota, and Volkswagen to sell their vehicles. As shown in Exhibit 13, the production capacity of major firms in china slightly exceeded 2 million units in 2002, this figure is expected to reach 3.5 million units by 2012 – as shown in Exhibit 14. Yes! The Chinese auto industry is attractive to BYD. Given the expected growth and demand in the auto industry, combined with Chinese government having stopped issuing production permits for new automotive companies, there are very few remaining opportunities to get in to this booming auto industry. Moreover, BYD is getting a good bargain as the assets of the state-owned Qinchuan Auto are being sold at a cheaper price. The state owned auto manufacturers without foreign partners accounted for 25% of auto sales in China. Many of the SOE manufacturers did not even have R&D departments. Because most of the automobile parts were imported, similar models of cars cost more in China than in USA. The existing foreign joint ventures were selling the vehicles at prices that gave them margins of 10% to 20%. Considering the current situation, there is room for low-priced entrants. Wang always dreamt of applying Li-ion battery technology to develop an electric vehicle. Using newer battery technology and assembling it cheaply, the vehicle could be competitively priced and represent a way for China to leap forward in an industry and technology in which it had previously lagged other nations. Wang was also excited about applying BYD’s deep capabilities in process engineering – used so successfully to design new methods of battery production that gave BYD a significant cost advantage over global competitors – to automotive manufacturing. 4. In addition to offering OEMs a â€Å"one-stop† solution for the outsourced manufacturing of their products, BYD should also acquire Qinchuan Auto Company. Because of the huge potential for the automotive industry in China and very few available opportunities, this is the right moment for BYD to enter the automotive industry. As Qinchuan Auto Company already has a name in the market, with its flagship product Flyer, BYD should continue selling Flyer along with other upgraded new models of car. BYD should also invest in automating the manufacturing process and R&D department. It should ensure that most of the auto parts are internally or locally manufactured in order to keep the costs at minimum and margins high. The company should invest heavily in infrastructure needed to cater to the foreseen demand in the Chinese automotive industry. It should invest heavily in acquiring quality manpower by offering them good salaries, perks etc†¦. If capital is a challenge, then BYD could partner with foreign manufacturer and provide them a platform to sell their products in the Chinese automotive industry. This will give BYD enough time to closely analyze the Chinese automotive industry and take necessary steps.

Beauty Industry

Beauty industry in currently developing at a fast pace, to meet the demand. Nowadays, people pay more attention to their appearance, hence they use a lot of cosmetics. However, beauty products must undergone a plethora of tests before they are launched onto the market. That issue raises a question: should animals be subject to the tests? The answer still remains ambiguous, yet this topic is frequently discussed in media. In fact, the society is split over the issue and it is almost impossible to reach a consensus. Nevertheless, I believe that beauty products shouldn't be tested on animals. First and foremost, testing on animals is clearly cruel and unethical. Animals feel pain in the same degree as humans do. It is proved, that our physiological systems are in similar to a large extent. Moreover, it is unconceivable how many species die during these acts of cruelty. Even applying a non-invasive beauty products on an animal's skin can have tragic effects, not to mention harmful ingrediencies that can lead to fur's and skin's destruction or even skin cancer and consequently death. It is impossible to estimate the number of species that have already died during the tests. People should really ponder, whether testing a lipsticks or a foundation is worth killing innocent rats or guinea pigs. Second, why should researchers be permitted to harm those innocent species in such a harsh way? They are often part of our families, loyal companions; therefore, we should demure this actions. People shall not have power to injure any species and determine their lives. What is more, animals also exhibit fear, just like humans. They feel a need to be free and live their lives. In laboratories they are locked up in cages and people decide over their life and death. Moreover, animals are treated there in an atrocious way. For scientists, they are just a subject to a research not a living organism. They don't bother their well being at all, yet animals are closed and kept in unholy conditions. Finally, humans and animals are entirely different species when it comes to anatomy; hence they can react on the same substance in a different way. Therefore, the outcome of the tests isn't entirely reliable, as a lot of people believe. Therefore, we cannot pronounce the beauty product to be effective and harmless after checking its influence only on animals' skin. It is possible that the product, which has undergone a test on an animal and was certified to be innoxious, can have a negative impact on humans. Therefore nor animals nor humans benefit from this brutal tests. Moreover, beauty products are intended for human spices and their certain needs. When it comes to animals, it is paradoxical to test lipsticks or eyeshadows on them, yet it is know that their anatomy vary greatly from ours. Their body parts differ from the ones that humans have and their epidermis is largely covered in hair. Undoubtedly, comparing the influence of certain cosmetics on dissimilar organisms defeats the purpose.

Theme Analysis ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ by Oscar Wilde

‘Nineteenth Century Short Stories' is a collection of tales from the nineteen hundreds. This essay will concentrate on just one of these stories. It will include a thorough analysis of the story including my views and opinions towards the language, imagery and setting that the author uses. The story I have chosen to analyse is ‘The Nightingale and the Rose', by Oscar Wilde. This is one of many children's stories that he wrote, as he is well known to have ‘used the form of fairy tale to reflect on modern life and to debate ideas'. ‘The Nightingale and the Rose' is a very poignant story following the theme of love.The theme is conveyed in this story through the actions of the Nightingale. It demonstrates how one life would sacrifice itself in order to make another happy. From the Nightingale's point of view, this is a tragically ironic story. For she thinks that the Student must be a ‘true lover' – she thinks that he would give anything for one nigh t with the Professor's daughter. ‘She said that she would dance with me if I brought her red roses†¦ yet for want of a red rose is my life made wretched', the Nightingale hears him cry; and on this evidence alone she bases her opinion: ‘Here at last is a true lover.'When in fact the only feelings the Student has for the Professor's daughter are those of material love. He is only interested in her beauty. He says to himself ‘She has form – that cannot be denied to her' but then he says ‘She would not sacrifice herself for others', which is exactly what the Nightingale is about to do for him. She is willing to sacrifice her life for love; for the Student to be able to spend one night with the girl he supposedly admires. An interesting point to note is when the Student mentions that the Professor's daughter ‘has some beautiful notes in her voice.What a pity it is that they do not mean anything, or do any practical good. ‘ Now Nightingales are renowned for having beautiful voices, but the Student does not appreciate the wonderful art of music. A few paragraphs before these lines the Nightingale sings to the Student telling him of how she intends to sacrifice her life for him; ‘be happy; you shall have your red rose. I will build it out of music by moonlight, and stain it with my own heart's-blood. ‘ Although he cannot understand them, these words are, in fact, deeply meaningful to the Student.And as for music doing no ‘practical good', well, what would you call the outcome of the red rose? The Nightingale died and the rose was born. Music made that red rose. The Student does not realise how wrong his judgements are. We find out that the only ‘true lover' was in fact the Nightingale. She was the only one with sincere feelings, and she was prepared to sacrifice her life for those feelings, even though she knew she would not gain anything from it. The fact that she was doing it for love, and that she was making someone happy, was enough for her. She was really the only one who deserved love – the only one worthy of it.The Nightingale was love. She went to the greatest extremes to find a red rose for the Student to give to the Professor's daughter. She flew all around the garden trying to find a red rose. She flew to ‘the centre of the grass-plot', and 'round the old sun-dial', and finally ‘beneath the Students window', where she eventually found a red rose tree. But the tree was damaged, and would not bear a red rose. the only way the Nightingale could obtain a red rose from this tree, would be to ‘build it out of music by moonlight', and stain it with her ‘own heart's-blood'; and that is what she did.The story is set in a garden of fantasy – it is full of talking creatures and trees; not unlike the Garden of Eden in the Bible, which had a talking snake. Perhaps the author used a garden because in the Bible it is very symbolic, and its story has many lessons and meanings. Maybe that was what Oscar Wilde was trying to convey in his writing.