Teams and leadership

If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on teams and leadership. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality teams and leadership paper right on time. Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in teams and leadership, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your teams and leadership paper at affordable prices!

Teams and Leadership

This Essay will discuss my experiences of teams and leadership. It will discuss my experience as a team member at work or outside work. It will also talk about my team membership experience within the unit teams and leadership and my experience as a leader. It will then go on to discuss the different stages that contribute to establishment of effective teams, roles of team members, evaluate my preferred role within a team, analyse the key functions of an effective team leader and finally assess the four main leadership styles and the context in which it may be most successful. I will commence this essay by defining teams and leadership and the different types of teams. I will then progress to my personal experiences.

A team can be defined as a group of people working together to achieve a certain goal and objectives. They usually have a defined task or tasks, which were already set, and everyone in the team has a specific or defined role to play. For example, a football team, every player has a role to play on the field in order to win. They are said to be dependent on each others efforts. An effective team is one that achieves its aim in the most efficient way and is then ready to take on more challenging tasks if so required. Members of an effective team are likely to be united in a common purpose, trust each other, be committed, be open with each other, accept consensus decisions, and support one another and work through conflict. There are probably no clear and finite stages of development. Here are some phases of team development. People sometimes distinguish between Hierarchical tams and Expect teams.

In a Hierarchical team there is leader, who is responsible for the teams overall act and assign the tasks to the other team members. There is a clear chain of authority, based on level of responsibility. (See diagram below)

Hierarchical team structure

This structure is usually used in companies. For example the Director will be on the top followed by the managers and then followed by the workers and the co-workers.

In an Expect team, the members are chosen for their particular skill and there is a team co-ordinator rather than a team leader. (See diagram below)

Expect team structure

This type of structure is mostly used with in sports teams, whereby you have everyone with the same responsibility but different skills to help achieve the task (which is winning the match).

According to Tuckman there four stages team development and these are as follows-

Forming is when a team is just made or created. No one knows what to expect of anyone. Sometimes they may not know each other. The leader is not known to them yet and they do not know what behavior will or will not be appropriate. They are also unsure of what their objectives are. In this case, everyone awaits the rules and the methods to be employed.

Storming is when conflict arises and the capability of the leader is challenged. They may be doubt about whether there are sufficient resources to meet the demands of the tasks ahead. People react emotionally against its demands.

Norming is when the group begins to attune. They start to sort out all their conflicts and people start to co-operate on the tasks, plans are made and work standards are laid down. Communication views and feelings develop.

Performing is when the team is fully functional. The group structures itself or accepts a structure, which fits most appropriately with its common tasks. Constructive work on the task surges ahead; progress is experienced as more of the groups energy is applied to being effective in the area of their common task.

For example, I was in a team of six people and we were given three tasks to perform. Our group performed very well and there no arguments or disagreements what so ever. According to the stages of team development, our group only went through the three of the four stages, which were, forming, norming, and performing. We started of by finding out what the tasks were and the objectives. Then we all decided that Dale was going to do all the writing, this was the forming stage for us. We also established the group culture on how we would do the tasks and the tea breaks that we needed. Our group did not go through the storming stage whereby there were any disagreements, competition and conflicts in the personal relations. The norming stage for us was basically sharing our views on the tasks and speaking and listening to each other. Finally the performing stage was we all felt we belonged to the group and completed the tasks set.

The types of behaviour in which people engage are unlimited. But the range of useful behaviours, which make an effective contribution to team performance, is limited. These behaviours could be grouped into a set numbers of related clusters to which the term team role is applied. "The term team role refers to a tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others at work in certain distinctive ways". (R.Meredith Belbin, P.4). According to Belbins book, there are nine teaming roles and the following are roles and description of team members.

Plant / Innovators in a team are creative, imaginative, and serious minded. They tend to solve difficult problems. They are known, as the Genius, has assertive self-confidence with uninhibited self-statement. They have a strong capacity for advancing new ideas/strategies, which can transform teams thinking. They tend to ignore details, too occupied to communicate effectively and can be a difficult and uncomfortable colleague.

Resource investigators are extroverts, enthusiastic, communicative and curious. They are capable of exploring new opportunities. They have an ability to respond to challenges. Due to their cheerful and positive character, it helps the team maintain good relationship. They are not very creative but stimulate good ideas in others. They are usually overoptimistic and lose interest, once initial enthusiasm has passed.

Coordinators / chairman are mature, confident, calm and controlled. They have a capacity for treating and welcoming all potential contributors on their merits and without prejudice. They have a strong sense of objectives and can also be seen as manipulative and delegates personal work. They are no more than ordinary in terms of intellect or creative ability.

Shapers are challenging, dynamic, outgoing and thrives on pressure. Has the drive and courage to overcome obstacles. Usually likes action, quick results, willing followers and leads from the front. They are less effective in formal structured teams and needs to exercise self-discipline, adopt more coordinating role as opposed to leading.

Monitor evaluators are sober, strategic and discerning. They see all options and judges accurately. They usually have high I.Q. They have a strong critical thinking ability, analyse ideas and evaluate feasibility. They tend to be intellectually competitive; can cause conflict, not made easier by fact that he/she is usually right, they can also be seen as least highly motivated team members.

Team workers are socially oriented, cooperative, mild perceptive and diplomatic. Have the ability to respond to people and to situations, and to promote team spirit. Team workers can prevent disruption and conflict. They are loyal to the team. They can step in to minimize the friction innovators can cause unknowingly and shapers uncaringly. They can be easily influenced. There are likely to be missed if not there.

Implementers are disciplined, predictable, conservative and efficient. They have an organising ability, turn ideas into practical actions, and are hardworking and self-disciplined. Have good deal of trust, belief in people, sees their talent as resources rather than a threat to him/her. Lack of flexibility and slow to respond to new possibilities. Completers / finishers. They are painstaking, conscientious, anxious and orderly. They search out errors and omissions made by the team. They have to make sure everything is perfect. They have a capacity to follow through. Usually nag colleagues, communicates a sense of urgency. A disadvantage is that, they are not always easy to live with because they could lower morale.

Specialists are single-minded, self-starting and dedicated people. Specialists provide knowledge and skills in rare supply to the team. But contributes on only a narrow front. Dwells on technicalities and overlooks other things.

I took a self perception inventory and found out that I am more of a completer/finisher, someone that is "anxious, compulsive, introverted (shy) and tense". The self inventory also states that I am someone that gets concerned, and nags colleagues. This best describes my character when it comes to me playing my part in a team. It is true that I am more of the completer; I like to finish off the work and nag the rest of the team members on playing their part. The inventory also says that without me that team would fall behind schedule, forget about the less urgent matters. I do agree with this, because there was a time when my team was set some tasks as I began to worry that we would not finish and ended up carry out one of the task myself.

Leadership is the act of leading. Leadership is the process in which an individual gains that trust and commitment of others and without reliance on formal positions or authority moves the group to accomplishment of one or more tasks. (Walter F Ulmer, Jr). Leadership is also known as the ability to get people to do what they dont like to do and like it. (Harry S Truman). At times, groups might elect leaders but their role was essentially picking up the functions which members failed to provide. Groups such as trade unions or sports club choose their leaders who are ultimately responsible for the group. When a task is given to the group, higher authority appoints the leader, to tackle it. If given a difficult, a leader who exercises the art of leadership properly will generate sense of responsibility in everyone in the team. But he alone is accountable for the task. An example is at work, in a call centre; I work as a Customer Service Representative and I have to make sure I answer every call that comes through to me. I have a team leader who makes sure that I do my job properly, which is to be polite and make sure there is good quality conversation between myself and the customer. If anything wrong was to happen like how many calls I was taking or using the wrong protocols then my leader would not be questioned but I would

The primary responsibility as a leader as everyone knows is to ensure that a group achieves its common task. It has to be a common task, one that everyone in the group can share because they see that it has value for the organisation and affects them directly or indirectly. In order to be successful as a team leader in any given task, it will be necessary to pick out some functions that should be fulfilled while working in teams. The first thing that should come to mind is defining the task. Most of the time, the task is usually given to the group leader who will then pass it on to the others and define the objectives or targets to them. For example during my business studies lecture in secondary school, we were given a task to do in my group and the task was only explained to me. I had to go to the other group members to explain what was required of us. Being a leader in that case I had to be careful about the information I will be passing on to the other team members because if I give the wrong information to the team, the wrong work will be done. Defining the task basically entails telling the group the objective you have been given. What needs to be done, why and breaking down an aim into objectives for other group members. Re-define the purpose towards the end of the task to create more objectives. A leader should make sure they understand the task before explaining to other team members and not using the wrong language.

Planning is another good function of an effective team leader. Planning is also known as arranging beforehand. This is a process of searching for the best way a task should be carried out. It will be useful to memorize Rudyard Kiplings checklist while planning which includes what, why, when, how, where, and who. These questions are usually asked in order to be clear of exactly what needs to be done. Contingency planning is one aspect of planning which experienced leaders tend to pay more attention to than others. A leader cannot foresee every eventuality. It will be wise for a leader to build a certain amount of flexibility into his/her plan so that he/she will not be caught out by unforeseen happenings.

Briefing also known as instructing is a function of a leader. It comments on the two previous functions. After a briefing is done, questions arise such as does everyone know what their jobs are and has each member of the group clearly defined targets as agreed between him/her and the leader. The main purpose of a briefing meeting is to allocate tasks to groups and individuals, to distribute resources and to set or check standards of performances. There are five briefing skills, which are usually used for a group for effective action. Preparing is the ability to think ahead and plan your communication and anything else that needs to be said. Clarifying is the ability to make clear or understandable. Simplifying is making complicated matters simple. Vivifying is to make a subject come alive. Natural is the ability to be you and cope with nerves in front of an audience.

Controlling involves both checking against standards and directing the course of work in progress. The success at directing, regulating, restraining or encouraging individual and team efforts on the task and in meetings is the criteria for testing a leaders effectiveness as controller. A leader should try to maintain a balance between controlling too tightly and giving too much freedom to the team.

Evaluating is determining the value of what has been alone. This is an important function, which assesses consequences, evaluating teams' performance, appraising and training individuals and judging people. As a leader it is important to develop good judgment about people. Avoid having favorites. The test of your ability in this respect lies in the performance of the people you have appointed. The function of evaluating means that the leader will give both the group and the individual feedback when the task is achieved.

The ability to move and excite people to action is called motivation. A leader has to be able to get the group and its individual members moving and in the right direction. The leadership should make sure that the physiological and security needs of the individual are met. If motivations and good job satisfaction are to be good, each individual must receive adequate recognition for his achievements and feel that he/she as an individual is developing, that he/she is advancing in experience and ability.

Organising is the function of arranging or forming into coherent unity or functional whole. It can mean systematic planning as well. Organizing means the structuring that has to be done if people are to work as a unit with each element performing its proper part. A leader should become very good at managing time, for it is the most precious resource.

A leader cannot help setting an example but the question is whether it will be a good or a bad one. When a leader is setting a good example people will tend not to be too aware of it, but they will certainly notice and comment upon a bad example. I cannot hear what you are saying, for what you are, is thundering in my hears, as the African proverb puts it. A leader needs to be very careful with what he/she does because people tend to notice what is being done more than what is being said. Many leaders of creative groups perform their functions as supporters, team builders etc because it is in their nature, though it must be added that to be effective it is certainly easier if ones natural style is consonant with the culture of the organization as a whole.

In Philip Sadlers book on Leadership, he went on to explain the four styles of leadership, which are autocrative, persuasive, consultative and democractive while John Whatmore explained three leadership styles in his book Releasing Creativity. He mentioned the

Autocratic, democratic and manipulative leaders. His description of the democratic and autocratic leadership styles are the same but the manipulative leaders are highly skilled at setting up situations in ways that will enable members of the group whether consciously or unconsciously to produce appropriate performances. I chose to assess the four styles by Philip Sadler. The four main styles of leadership, which any leader could fall into, are autocratic, democratic, persuasive and consultative leadership.

The autocratic leadership is when the leader takes decisions and imposes them on the group and expect them to do as he ask with no questions. There are occasions and situations in which autocratic leaders produce outstanding creative performances from their groups. Autocrats will be most successful on task-oriented projects, which have agreed criteria for success, where they play roles of organizer and controller. For example, in an emergency where an immediate decision is demanded, an autocratic style is likely to be most appropriate and would normally be considered justified by the group.

The democratic leader encourages members of his/her group to share the decision taking process and sees him/herself as a coordinator of group effort, rather than as the decision taker. The leader will allow the decision to emerge out of the process of group discussion instead of imposing it on the group as its boss. In this case the leader shares not only the work but also the leadership. I personally think this is the best style of leadership because this enables one to speak freely and you're happy to be within the team because the leader brings himself down to everyones level. I think this brings about a better working environment. This style is appropriate in instance where the nature of the responsibility associated with the decision is such that group members are willing to share it with their leader or the leader is willing to accept responsibility for decisions, which he/she has not made personally.

In the persuasive style, the leader also takes decision for the group without discussion or consultation but believes that people will be better motivated if they are persuaded that the decisions are good ones. He or she usually does a lot of explaining to overcome any possible resistance to hat he or she wants to do. The leader puts a lot of energy into creating enthusiasm for the goals he/she has set for the group. This style tend to fit situations in which the group leader, and he/she alone possesses all the information on which the decision must be based and which at the same time calls for a very high level of commitment and enthusiasm on the part of group members if the task is to be carried through successfully.

The significant feature of consultative leadership is that the leader confers with the group members before taking decisions. In this case, the leader considers their advice and their feelings when framing decisions. He may not always accept his sub-ordinates advice but they are likely to feel that they can influence the leader. This style is to be most appropriate when there is time in which to reach a considered decision and when the information on which the decisions need to be base is distributed among the members of the group. The fact that different styles are appropriate to different situations would simply be that the skilled leader varies his/her style according to the nature of the situation facing the group.

This essay has discussed the stages that contribute to establishment of effective teams, roles of team members and my preferred role within a team. It has also discussed the functions of an effective team leader and the four main styles of leadership and the context in which they may be most successful. This essay gives some examples of my personal experiences at work and in class where I worked within a team and being lead by a leader.

Bibliography

John Adair

Effective Leadership 1, 18

Gower Publishing Ltd

London

John Adair

Effective Teambuilding 186, 187

Gower Publishing Ltd

London

John Whatmore

Release Creativity 1

Kogan Page Ltd

London

Philip Sadler

Leadership 17

Kogan Page Ltd

London

R. Meredith Belbin

Team Roles at work 1

Oxford

Please note that this sample paper on teams and leadership is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on teams and leadership, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on teams and leadership will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment from and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

Rubber and its importance.

If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Rubber and its importance.. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Rubber and its importance. paper right on time. Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Rubber and its importance., therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Rubber and its importance. paper at affordable prices!

Rubber is said to be the native of Brazil, in South-America. It is said that some of the sailors who went with Colombus in his voyage of discovery found children playing with a kind of ball that could bounce. In 176, a Frenchman discovered that it came from tree. He was hence the pioneer of the rubber plantation.

Rubber trees were planted in Malaysia only in recently. Rubber is called the Green-gold of Malaysia because the product earns millions of dollars annually for the country.

Rubber planted by individuals are mostly small-holdings whereas companies own thousands of acres. A rubber estate is usually more than one hundred square acres. If it is less, it is called a small-holdings.

The uses of rubber are countless. It is used in almost everything that we are using. Aeroplanes, motor-cars, and motor-bicycles are an inpossibility, if it is not for rubber.

Due to the benefit that rubber brings to the social life, some of the countries now start growing the rubber trees as the main product of silviculture. Vietnam is one among of them. In Vietnam, rubber trees are planted mostly in the middle of the country. It may be due to the suitable weather and land. Products from the rubber trees are used to support the development of the furniture businesses. The rest is exported to Europe Market. This contributes to the countrys annual revenue. Actually, Vietnam now becomes one of the most rubber exported country in over the world.

In general, rubber is a kind of potential tree not only for silviculture but the human being life aswell. Thanks to variable rubber products, our social life becomes more comfortable and science is more developed due to special characteristics of rubber.

Please note that this sample paper on Rubber and its importance. is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Rubber and its importance., we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on Rubber and its importance. will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

Edward scissorhands a reveiw

If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on edward scissorhands a reveiw. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality edward scissorhands a reveiw paper right on time. Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in edward scissorhands a reveiw, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your edward scissorhands a reveiw paper at affordable prices!

This is a very visually imjpressive film which deals primaraly with the turmoil created when an outsider enters a small suburban community.

Edward has lived alone for the most part of his life and is unfammiliar with the social conventions the inhabitants of the small village take for granted. He is ruled by the heart and not by convention and this causes him to create unrest.

The village is shown as a very standardised life where the only real variations are the colours - the houses are all the same, the cars are all the same.

On one level this deals with the difficulties faced by disabled people in society and the misunderstandings and alienation that can occur. The way edward is not really listened to but only talked at by the father of his adopted home is a funny yet trajic moment

Buy cheap edward scissorhands a reveiw term paper

It also highlights the bizar nature of social convention as the small village tends to look and feel more unreal than the gothic castle edward lives.

The film cleverly uses the horror movie plot at the start when edward is first discovered and changes to a heartfelt fantasy through the middle and finally closes with the typical horror film which hunt by the housewives of the village.

The story though is not meant to be taken as fact as it is told in the form of a fairy tale. Its purpose is to highlight certain aspects of life wich in most circumstances remain ignored.

The film has a sad ending in the fact that edward is doomed to spend the rest of his life alone in his castle but this seams to be the best place for him as, against his own sensitive nature, he has the capability of causing much harm to his friends and loved ones.

Please note that this sample paper on edward scissorhands a reveiw is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on edward scissorhands a reveiw, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on edward scissorhands a reveiw will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

Financial Analysis of Merck

If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Financial Analysis of Merck. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Financial Analysis of Merck paper right on time. Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Financial Analysis of Merck, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Financial Analysis of Merck paper at affordable prices with cheap essay writing service! Introduction.

The nature of financial analysis for a given company or industry has changed dramatically in the last few years. Due to both the exponentially increasing dynamic nature of business, as well as the greatly enhanced ability to gather a wealth of information, making decisions on the viability and stability of a company or industry has grown increasingly complex. One method in determining the overall health of a business is the use of financial ratio analysis. Comparing various facets of a company's financial performance through its ratios, especially when also comparing these same ratios for peer companies as well as the industry as a whole, can be a useful starting point for any investor. In this paper, we attempt to provide cursory information regarding the financial performance for Merck & Co., a major pharmaceutical provider, through a few ratios computed from the company's recent financial reports. We also compare Merck with two similar companies in the major drug industry, as well as the industry itself. Using these ratios, it would seem that Merck is slightly under performing in the pharmaceutical industry.

Background.

The history of Merck & Co., Inc. can be tracked back to 1668 in Darmstadt, Germany, when Frederic Jacob Merck opened a chemical company. In 181, distant relative George Merck decided to relocate to the United States and set up Merck & Co., Inc. in New York. His original U.S. enterprise focused on chemicals sales; in the early 10s, Merck & Co., Inc. began its pharmaceutical studies (History of Merck, 00). The merger with Sharp & Dome to form Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD) in 15 established a solid foundation for a fully incorporated, multinational manufacturer and distributor of pharmaceutical products. For the duration of the past six decades, Merck & Co., Inc. has assembled a global research company that ranks among the best worldwide in terms of the talent of its scientists and advancements in medical research. Today, Merck & Co., Inc. has about 70,000 employees in 10 countries and 1 factories worldwide. Merck's products are sold currently in more than 00 countries (History of Merck, 00).

Buy cheap Financial Analysis of Merck term paper

Merck has been on the forefront in drug production and research. Currently the company has six drugs that bring in 60 percent of its pharmaceutical revenue. These are as follows Vioxx, a medication for osteoarthritis and acute pain; Zocor, a cholesterol-modifying medication; Cozaar and Hyzaar, high blood pressure medications; Fosamax, a treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis; and Singulair, an asthma control medication. For the past five years, Merck has been on a steady rise with sales (see Figure 1) as well as research and development allocation of funds. Within this time, Merck has developed many new drugs that have advanced their net income and earning potential. Despite many forces working against Merck, the drug maker's performance has remained amazingly firm. The patents on some of its most profitable products have terminated, transferring sales of those drugs into free fall because of generic competition. At the same time, some of Mercks blockbusters, including the $5.6 billion cholesterol drug Zocor and the $. billion osteoporosis treatment Fosamax, have continued to grow helping Merck attain high sales for 00.

Year Amount ($millions)

00 $51,70

001 47,716

000 40,6

1 ,714

18 6,88

Figure 1 Merck & Co., Total Revenue, 18-00 (Investor Information, 00)

One particular business item has brought Merck a plethora of recent media attention. In 1, Merck & Co., Inc. acquired Medco Containment Services, Inc., the leading pharmacy benefits management company in the United States, and renamed the limited liability company Merck-Medco Health Care (Multex Investor, 00). As a subsidiary of Merck, Medco Health grew to become the nation's leading pharmacy benefits management (PBM) company, providing integrated prescription health care to 6 million Americans. "Together, Merck and Medco Health have enjoyed 10 years of growth and success. Medco Health increased revenues from $. billion in 1 to $ billion in 00, and last year, filled or processed approximately 548 million prescriptions" (Merck, 00). Recently however, Merck successfully completed the spin-off of 100% of the outstanding shares of the renamed Medco Health Solutions, Inc. common stock to Merck stockholders. For the sake of simplicity, however, all financial information regarding Merck in this paper includes Medco data as well.

Financial Ratio Analysis of Merck & Co.

Financial ratios are an integral part of assessing a company's overall business health. According to Block and Hirt (00), "Financial ratios are used to weigh and evaluate the operating performance of the firm." They list several important ratio calculations in four categories profitability, asset utilization, liquidity and debt utilization. Several of these primary ratios in each category can be used as a partial assessment of Merck's operational stability over the past years. All data used to calculate these ratios was collected from the annual 10-K form provided by Merck (00) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Profitability Ratios.

Simply stated, profitability ratios are a measurement of a firm's efficiency in making money from sales, assets and invested capital. A company that cannot adequately use its financial resources to make a profit for its owners (stockholders) cannot remain competitive in the market. Three profitability ratios mentioned in Block and Hirt are profit margin, return on assets (investment), and return on equity. All three ratios express the net income of a firm as a percentage of some asset measurement.

A firm's profit margin equates net income to sales. The equation for profit margin is defined as follows Profit Margin = Net Income / Sales (or Revenue). This ratio indicates what percentage of total revenue is actually retained after subtracting out operating costs and income taxes. The closer the profit margin is to 100%, the more efficient a firm is at using its capital to generate revenue. In Figure , the profit margin for the 00 was 1.8%, down from almost 17% in 000.

Return on assets (investment) (ROA) is used to gain information on how well a firm makes money off its investments. The equation for ROA is stated as follows

ROA = Net income / Total assets. Similar to the profit margin ratio, a higher percentage indicates an increased ability to use assets to generate further profits. For Merck, their ROA for 00 was 15%, down two percentage points from 000 (Fig. ).

The last profitability ratio introduced is Return on equity (ROE). Stated mathematically as ROE = Net income / Stockholder equity, this ratio measures the effectiveness of the firm to make money compared to that of the owners' (i.e. the stockholders) own return. As with the previous two measures, the higher the ROE, the more efficiently the company can take stockholder earnings and generate even more profit for them. Unfortunately for Merck, their ROE has dropped 15% in the last two years, to .% in 00 from 46% in 000 (Fig. ).

00 001 000

net income $7,150 $7,8 $6,8

total revenue $51,70 $47,716 $40,6

total assets $47,561 $44,007 $,10

stockholder equity $18,01 $16,050 $14,8

profit margin 1.8% 15.% 16.%

ROA 15.0% 16.5% 17.1%

ROE .% 45.4% 46.0%

Figure . Input data and profitability ratios for Merck & Co., 000-00 (all dollar figures in millions).

Asset Utilization.

A related category to profitability ratios is asset utilization ratios; they are both used to measure the efficiency of a firm to utilize resources towards making money. Where profitability ratios measure efficiency as a return on resources, asset utilization ratios measure the swiftness in which a firm can utilize assets. Three asset utilization measures are receivable turnover, inventory turnover, and total asset turnover.

Receivables turnover is simply a measure of how quickly a company can covert money owed from sales into actual cash. Although accounts receivable are considered short-term assets, it is still a promise from customers to pay, and not actually money in the bank. The equation for receivables turnover is as follows

Receivables turnover = Sales (credit) / Accounts receivable. (Although it is conceivable that pharmacies and other drug dispensaries might pay cash up front for pharmaceuticals, it is highly unlikely that this would occur, and as such, the assumption made is that total revenue is entirely on credit.) The higher the number generated, the faster a company is at collecting money owed. For Merck in 00, the receivables turn rate was .5 times, up from 8.0 two years earlier (see Figure ); this indicates that Merck is improving on its ability to collect receivables owed.

The next asset ratio, inventory turnover, measures how swiftly a firm can dispense of its inventory. A firm that can effectively turn its inventory at a rapid pace (relative to the industry) will earn revenues faster than others will. As with receivables turnover, the higher the number, the faster the firm is exhausting inventory. The equation for inventory turnover is as follows Inventory turnover = Sales / Inventory. For Merck, the inventory ratio for 00 was 15. times, a 1% increase from 000 (Figure ).

Finally, total asset turnover is an indicator of how swiftly a company can use its assets to generate profits; it is the closest in relation to profitability ratios (total revenue versus net income). As with the previous two ratios, the higher the asset turnover, the better a company is at producing money with its assets. The equation for total asset turnover is as follows Total asset turnover = Sales / Total assets. For Merck, the 00 total asset turnover rate was 1.1 times, and fairly stable across the time measured (Figure ).

00 001 000

Total revenue $51,70 $ 47,716 $40,6

Accounts receivable $ 5,4 $ 5,15 $ 5,018

Inventory $ ,41 $ ,57 $ ,0

Total assets $47,561 $ 44,007 $,10

Receivables turnover .5 .1 8.0

Inventory turnover 15. 1. 1.4

Total asset turnover 1.1 1.1 1.0

Figure . Input data and asset utilization ratios for Merck & Co., 000-00 (all dollar figures in millions).

Liquidity Ratios.

Although a firm may generate revenues and collect accounts due from its customers, it must also be able to meet its own financial obligations. The ability of a firm to satisfy its own short-term obligations is the focus of liquidity ratios. These ratios reflect the amount of financial capital a company can (in theory) produce "on the spot" to satisfy its own creditors. The two most popular liquidity ratios are current ratio and quick ratio, and these are popular ratios with financial analysts.

The current ratio is a measure of a firm's current (i.e. short-term) assets as compared to its current liabilities. The equation for a firm's current ratio is as follows

Current ratio = Current assets / Current liabilities. The higher the current ratio, the better placed a company is to meet its financial obligations. Although not definitive mathematically, many bankers, creditors and analysts believe that a current ratio of at least (i.e. two times assets to liabilities) is necessary for a firm to be considered a good credit risk. The current ratio for Merck for 00 was 1., down slightly from 000 (see Figure 4). Merck thus has liabilities roughly equal to its assets.

To determine better the ability of a company to come up with money quickly, some analysts prefer to use the quick ratio. This ratio disregards inventory (which for some industry may take months to move) as well as prepaid expenses (which cannot be recovered in many cases). The only current assets considered for the quick ratio are cash, marketable securities, and accounts receivables. The equation for the quick ratio is as follows Quick ratio =Quick assets / Current liabilities. For Merck, the 00 quick ratio was 0., down from 1.1 in 000 (Figure 4). (Inventory was the only non-quick current asset listed in its balance sheet.)

00 001 000

Current assets $14,84 $1,6 $1,5

Inventory $,41 $,57 $,0

Current liabilities $1,75 $11,544 $,710

Current ratio 1. 1.1 1.4

Quick ratio 0. 0.8 1.1

(where Quick ratio=(current assets-inventory)/current liabilities)

Figure 4. Input data and liquidity ratios for Merck & Co., 000-00 (all dollar figures in millions).

Debt Ratios.

Similar to profitability and asset utilization ratios, debt ratios are related to liquidity ratios. Analysts might speculate that a highly indebted company will most likely have greater difficulty meeting its own financial obligations (although this may not always be the case). An investor will be hesitant to issue further debt to a company that already carries a large debt load. Miegs et al. (001) state that a large debt load can actually be favorable for a firm, if that firm is using its debt as leverage, i.e. reinvesting debt at a higher rate of return that the interest rate on the credit. For these reasons, debt ratios are popular especially with bankers and other long-term investors as well as financial analysts. The main debt ratio is known often as the debt ratio, or as debt to total assets. The equation for the debt ratio is as follows

Debt ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets. The higher the debt ratio, the more debt a firm carries; as stated previously, this may not necessarily be a bad thing. The debt ratio for Merck in 00 was 61.7%, down slightly from 000 (see Figure 5).

00 001 000

Total liabilities $,61 $7,57 $5,078

Total assets $ 47,561 $44,007 $,10

Debt to total assets 61.7% 6.5% 6.8%

Figure 5. Input data and debt ratio for Merck & Co., 000-00 (all dollar figures in millions).

Comparison with two other major drug companies of comparable size.

In order to determine how Merck & Co. compared with the pharmaceutical industry we chose to compare some financial ratios of Merck & Co. to those of Pfizer and Johnson and Johnson (J & J). All three companies are on the Dow Jones Industrial Average top 0 list, and have comparable operating revenues (see Figure 6). For the profitability ratios we chose to compare based on the profit margin, return on equity and return on assets. For liquidity ratios we chose to compare based on the current ratio. Finally, for the debt utilization ratios we chose to compare the debt to total assets ratios. Herman Saftlas, for Standard & Poor's Corporation (00) compiled all data used for these comparisons. We do not intend to present these ratios as an "invest/do not invest", but only to compare aspects of Merck & Co.'s financial performance to the performance of a few of its peers.

Company (Ticker Symbol) 00 001 000 1 18

Merck (MRK) 51,70 47,715 40,6 ,714 6,88

Pfizer (PFE) ,7 ,084 ,574 16,04 1,544

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) 6,8 ,004 ,1 7,471 ,657

Figure 6 Operating Revenues for Merck & Co., Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson, 18-00 (all figures in millions of $).

Reviewing the profitability ratios for the three companies, it becomes clear how easily the individual numbers can disorient a potential investor. For ROA, ROE and profit margins, all three companies are performing above the industry averages, although to varying degrees (see Figure 7). Comparing Merck to Pfizer and J & J, one trend becomes apparent for all three ratios, Merck has shown a decline in the past three years, while Pfizer and J & J have shown increases for the same period. The industry as a whole has retained a stable ROA and ROE for the last three years, while showing an increasing profit margin. Thus, it seems that in comparison to two similar companies, as well as to the industry, Merck has not performed adequately in using its assets to make money.

ROA (%) ROE (%) Profit Margin (%)

Ticker Symbol 00 001 000 00 001 000 00 001 000

MRK 15.6 17.4 18.1 41.7 47. 48.6 1.8 15. 16.

PFE 1.5 1. 1.7 48 45.1 .8 8.4 4. 1.6

JNJ 16.7 16. 15. 8.1 6. 7.4 18. 17. 16.5

Industry Avg 1.1 1. 1.1 8. 8.5 8.5 18.6 16. 15.

Figure 7. ROA, ROE and profit margin for Merck, J & J, and Pfizer, 000-00.

Merck's current ratio for 00, 1., has been up and down since 16, but, overall, it has been on a decline (see Figure 8). This was below the industry average of .. Pfizer has a current ratio of 1. and has not had much variation for the past several years, whereas J & J has had an unsteady rise and fall in their current ratio, which is currently at 1.7. The current ratio for the industry has fallen in the last few years; however, the ratio itself does not indicate whether the decline is due to increasing short-term liabilities or decreasing short-term assets for the industry as a whole. Merck has nonetheless retained stability, as has its two peer companies, in its overall short-term assets and liabilities, and should have less issues compared with other companies in covering its financial obligations.

Ticker Symbol 00 001 000

MRK 1. 1.1 1.4

PFE 1. 1.4 1.4

JNJ 1.7 . .

Industry Average . .5 4.5

Figure 8. Current Ratios for Merck, Pfizer and J & J, 000-00.

In terms of long-term debt and assets, all three peer companies seem to exhibit different profiles. For Merck, the debt ratio has remained fairly constant, with a slight upward trend; for J & J, an opposite slow downward trend is true. Pfizer on the other hand has either increased its long-term liabilities, or decreased its total assets, twofold; this is more like the industry as a whole. Perhaps the variability in the debt ratio for the three companies as well as the industry signals confusion within the industry as to whether taking on the risk of extra debt will ultimately pay off for the companies as well as the industry in this weakened economy. For Merck, it seems that the company would rather remain conservative compared to the industry in terms of increasing debt; other companies in the industry may feel similarly, however it would seem most are willing to add additional debt to their capital structure.

Ticker Symbol 00 001 000

MRK 16. 17.6 14.6

PFE 1.4 1. 6.4

JNJ 8 8. .7

Industry Average 8.6 . 18.4

Figure . Debt-to-total asset ratios for Merck, Pfizer and J & J, 000-00 (in %).

Conclusion.

Any person with even cursory finance experience can appreciate the fact that a few simple financial ratios do not define the stability of a company nor its overall attractiveness to potential investors in a comprehensive fashion. In order to evaluate fully the ability of a company to maximize its shareholder wealth, the wise investor will also delve deeply within the company's financial reports, as well as external analyst evaluations and historical company performance, to name just a few sources of information. However, financial ratios for a given company, especially when compared with peer companies within the industry as well as the industry itself, can provide a quick snapshot of the company, and any glaring issues that might hinder the effectiveness of a company to attract revenue. Although Merck is a stable company within the major pharmaceutical industry, a quick scan of a few financial ratios provide evidence that it is perhaps lagging behind its peers in terms of profitability, and is hesitant to take on additional financial risk compared to the industry. Further research into these areas would be wise for any future investor.

Block, S. and Hirt, G. (00). Foundations of Financial Management. The McGraw-Hill

Companies NY (NY), p.55.

History of Merck. (n.d.). Retrieved September 10, 00, from http//www.msd.com.hk/about_us/e_history_of_merck.html

Investor Information. (00). Retrieved September 10, 00, from http//www.corporate-ir.net/ireye

Merck (00, March 1). Merck & Co. Inc. Form 10-K. Retrieved August , 00 from

http//www.edgar-online.com

Merck. (00, August 0). Merck & Co., Inc. Completes Spin-Off of Medco Health

Solutions Inc. Retrieved September 10, 00, from

http//www.merck.com//finance/medco_spinoff.html

Multex Investor Financial Research and Information (00). MRK Full Description.

Downloaded September 14, 00 from

http//yahoo.multexinvestor.com

Saftlas, H. (00, June 6). Healthcare Pharmaceuticals. Standard & Poor's

NetAdvantage Industry Surveys. Downloaded September , 00 from

http//www.netadvantage.sandp.com

Stock Selector. (00). Current Analyst Summary. Retrieved September 10, 00, from http//www.stockselector.com

Please note that this sample paper on Financial Analysis of Merck is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Financial Analysis of Merck, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on Financial Analysis of Merck will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment from cheap essay writing service and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

My Speech

If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on My Speech. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality My Speech paper right on time. Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in My Speech, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your My Speech paper at affordable prices!

I have six years of experience as an administrative assistant working in a variety of industries. For the past two years, I have been working in the technology industry. I have strong computer experience, especially working with spreadsheets. I have excellent writing skills and am able to do correspondence independently. I interact well with peers, customers and vendors. The tighter the deadline, the harder I work. I recently had to work weekends on a rush job. Deadlines aren't movable, my work schedule is, so I just extended myself further to meet the deadline. Some nights I left as late as midnight, but we made it on time. I may make a mistake in a rush job, but I try hard to work smart and fast. This is what I find most challenging about this work.During my five years of helpdesk experience, Ive encountered and solved just about every problem imaginable, supporting more than 5 users on the same operating system your company uses -- Windows NT. I also saved $,000 by using pre-owned hardware for our latest upgrade. Before that, I completed officers training as an ROTC student while earning my MIS degree. This gives me a broader range of technical, leadership and problem-solving skills than typical applicants.I have six years of experience as an administrative assistant working in a variety of industries. For the past two years, I have been working in the technology industry. I have strong computer experience, especially working with spreadsheets. I have excellent writing skills and am able to do correspondence independently. I interact well with peers, customers and vendors. I thrive on challenge and have had many favorable comments on my follow-through abilities. I have strong attention to detail and experience in financial data. I am looking for a position where I can bring my past experience and continue to grow with a company.

Please note that this sample paper on My Speech is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on My Speech, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on My Speech will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

The Great Gatsby and the 'American Dream'

If you order your custom term paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on The Great Gatsby and the 'American Dream'. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality The Great Gatsby and the 'American Dream' paper right on time. Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in The Great Gatsby and the 'American Dream', therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your The Great Gatsby and the 'American Dream' paper at affordable prices with cheap essay writing service! In Francis Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby the concept of the American Dream appears in two ways. On the one hand Fitzgeralds view and imagination of the American Dream and on the other and, within the plot, Gatsby as the possible personified American Dream come true.

Francis Scott Fitzgerald practically puts the notion of the American Dream on the same level as human dream. But more remarkable is the fact that Fitzgeralds concept of the American Dream corresponds with the history of America. It has to do with the history of the pioneers and their slogan conquer the West with a land of new beginnings, hope and unlimited opportunities.

So Fitzgerald actually knows that The Great Gatsby is about the American Dream - even if the term itself hasnt been coined yet and remains the fragment of lost words that Nick Carraway almost remembers as he listens to Gatsbys appallingly sentimental account of Daisy Buchanan at the end of Chapter VI.

Jay Gatsby repesents two ideals or aspects of the American Dream. First, there is the myth to make it from rags to riches. On the other hand, there is Gatsbys dream of preserving the idyllic moment. To enlighten the purpose of distinguishing between these two concepts, I have to mention that Gatsbys materialistic dream, the rags-to-riches- myth has really come true. He has a great white palace for the fabulous parties he throws. But those parties serve for the sole purpose of regaining the green light, which means Daisy.

Do my essay on The Great Gatsby and the 'American Dream' CHEAP !

A negative aspect of Gatsbys dream is that he has acquired his possessions by illegal means. he pays dearly for the efforts to regain the fairy-tale princess, namely with his life.

To conclude my chain of thought, I would like to say that the American Dream in this novel never reaches total fulfillment, since Gatsbys personal dream, the dream of regaining his lost love Daisy, never comes true in contrast to Gatsbys materialistic dream.

)The Great Gatsby and The American Dream

The Great Gatsby is one of Fitzgeralds greatest works. Many seem to be puzzled by the questions about the American Dream. Yet students have been presented with this concept throughout their school years, every textbook has got at least some text or chapter about this topic, and your presidents seem to refer to it in regular intervals (Clinton being the last one a couple of weeks ago on CNN).

Various critics see The Great Gatsby clearly connected with the American Dream; M.Bewley writes that The Great Gatsby is an exploration of the American Dream as it exists in a corrupt period. He points out that critics tend to agree that The Great Gatsby is somehow a commentary of that elusisve phrase, the American Dream. He, too, sees that The Great Gatsby presents some of the severest and closest criticism that our literature affords. And Fitzgerald is seen as the very poet and celebrant of the American Dream (A.Hook). Perhaps one agrees with R.H.Fossums statement about the American Dream To some people, the term is a joke, an object of satire, derison, or contempt. He further argues that few terms are defined in so many different ways. Then again, perhaps all of this is mere simian chatter.

One might ask fellow classmates and find a quick definition of the concept American dream = from rags to riches. More sophisticated definitions refer to the American Constitution Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Its the immigrants dream about religious and political freedom, the search of better living conditions, the freedom to develop ones innate abilities, equality of opportunity, realizing ones own potential. The question arises then - with this very broad definition, whether this dream is only - or so specifically American. Is there not an African Dream or an Asian Dream? Clearly, matters of this order are so vague and slippery, they seem poor frames for investigation.

Throughout the history of the world all immigrants have had the dream of religious and political freedom, the search of better living conditions, the freedom to develop ones innate abilities, equality of opportunity, realizing ones own potential. This dream is not specifically American and it would be very presumptuous at best, and racist at worst to even consider attaching the term 'American' to this universal dream of equality, opportunity and freedom.

Heres mettle more attractive. It is more productive for one to analyze and discuss the universal elements of The Great Gatsby. One should probe the common humanity of the characters, whose circumstances - financial, psychological and geographical - are defined solely by the descriptions in the story (and reasonable inferences therefrom) and transcend generations and national borders. Any literary work worth discussing must speak to the human being, not to the American, or Asian, or African. The degree to which a novel can define the dream of a people, be they American, African, Asian, or any other, is the degree of its literary mortality.

) The Great Gatsby The American Dream

Every character in the Great Gatsby fulfilled his or her part of the American Dream. It didnt always make the person better, in most cases worse. It made the characters see life I an unnatural light that they would not of other wise seen. First I need to make clear what the American Dream really is.

The American Dream is to have a lot of money and material objects. The average person from a third world country thinks that the streets America are paved in gold and that there is no poverty at all. Millions of people who live in America think that because they are American they must have money to be happy with life. They cant even imagine not having money and thats all they think and talk about. They also talk/brag about the things they buy with there money.

This is just like the way that Gatsby acts. Hes always bragging about his nice house, his nice car, and every aspect of his life. He makes his life out to be perfect getting educated at a high class institution. He thinks that the only people who are meant to have a lot of money are well educated people who have led the perfect life. He can not except the fact that he got all his money from bootlegging. All this money has not made him a good person at all in fact it has made him a worse person. He lies to everyone about his whole life and who he really is. He thinks that now that he has all this money the only way to be happy is to use it.

Nick has fulfilled his version of the American Dream by living the life he was expected to live. He is not rich and does not need money to be happy. He is just living life to the fullest and happy the way his life is going. The problem with Nick is that he is getting pulled by Gatsby into this world ware money a prestige is all that creates happiness. He is starting to think that his life is not as complete as it could be because he dose not have the money Gatsby does.

Daisy is in love with Gatsby. She thinks that just because he has money and she has money they will be happy. This is not the case. The main thing about the twos wealth that is different is that Daisy inherited hers and Gatsby got his from bootlegging. Daisy has no idea what being poor is like but Gatsby does. Daisy is in a dream world that is once you have money you will always have money. Gatsby knowing what it is like to be poor has the power to tell her what it is like to be poor. I think that Daisy should know what it is like to be poor so that she can do things to help people who are poor and just so she realizes that not everyone has money and that there are other ways to find happiness then money.

Tom is like Nick in that he is living the life that he is expected to live. He is happy just the way he is. He dose not need money or anything else to make his life acceptable to him. To me he is the character that has most fulfilled his own dream not the general American Dream

I believe that one should live there life to the fullest and never put all of there happiness into one thing because if that one thing goes away the person isnt happy. Especially money because now a days money can be gained and loosed with in seconds and if all your happiness depends on money and that goes away then you arent happy. Life should be about hard work and striving to reach a ultimate goal. None of the characters in this book did this so I think that everyone of them led a life that could have been much more fulfilling.

4) Danger of the American Dream Exposed in The Great Gatsby

I have read many books during my life. The Great Gatsby was the only novel that I found to be magnificent. F. Scott Fitzgerald has made me realize that there are many aspects in life that need to be taken seriously. The Great Gatsby has struck me emotionally as well as physically - it contains both physical and emotional pain.

All of Fitzgeralds characters had a Dream, however, Jay Gatsby's dream stood out above the others. Jay Gatsby was the only character throughout the whole novel that I found to experience both emotional and physical pain. Continuing with the emotional pain, Jay Gatsby exaggerates it. His American Dream is to go after a lost love, a love that he thought would love him and stay with him until death will break them apart, but it didnt end like that. This dream, his love, left him, and ran off with another, her husband. This left Jay Gatsby alone, tormented, miserable, and devastated. His American Dream left him, destroyed him and ruined his life, his whole entire life

I also found in Jay Gatsby an injury, a physical pain that tormented him day and night. It is the pain of Denial. However, Jay Gatsby was not the only one that had an American Dream and got hurt, there were others, others that died because they thought that their American Dream was real. Take for instance, a young lady named Myrtle. She was a wife and at the same time a lover of another. She was the lover of Tom, who was Daisys husband, and Daisy was Jay Gatsbys love. A good connection there, right? Myrtle loved Tom, with all her heart. He was her American Dream, and yet she didnt find love near him, but death among his wife, who killed her accidentally. A tragic for a young lady like Myrtle.

Among other things, I find Gatsby to be rather vague. My eyes could never quite focus upon him, his outlines are dim. Everything about Gatsby was more or less like a mystery, something that you had to figure out yourself. Fitzgerald writes Gatsby had come a long way to this blue lawn and his dream must have seemed so close that he could hardly fail to grasp it. He did not know that it was already behind him, somewhere back in that vast obsucurity beyond the city, where the dark fields of the republic roled on under the night. At first Gatsby did not know that his dream, his American Dream was away, past him, far away from everything he ever owned in life. This American Dream cost him his life. He died with honor and with pride.

But yet, Daisy and and Tom lived on with remorse, regrets and guilts and hallucinations, because of the death that Daisy caused Myrtle, and Tom for lying to Myrtle husband about the car that killed Myrtle. These lies and guilt were Toms and Daisys American dreams after what they caused. They played with fire, they get burned. Thats the way it will always be.

The American Dream is dangerous. Gatsby took a risk, and lost his dream. Daisy took a risk and lost half her strength and Tom his pride of being a strong man. They put all of their heart and might to follow their dreams, and yet at the end, it all went to loss. Everything they ever hoped for, everything they ever wished for, went down the drain, down to loss and shame. As a nurse, I consider the American Dream to be a dangerous dream, a dangerous dream, becauuse you never know what can happen, what can occur to you on the end. My American Dream is to heal and cure patients who are in need and make a good job out of it, but somehow sometimes it backfires on me, and what Im left with is guilt, like Daisy herself. I cannot cure Gatsby of his American Dream, but I did found an injury, the injury of Denial, like I mentioned before. Daisy denied him, and he denied himself. He didnt want to give up, he went from poor to rich to get his dream. He even changed his name, for his dream. I wouldmt deny myself that far. I would be proud of who I am, but Gatsby wasnt. He went all the way for her, and the one who ended up losing was him.

The only cure that I find in Gatsby is his death. He died with honor and pride, he died for Daisy. He protected her, he knew that his time was over, he sensed it. And it happened. He was murdered, from Myrtles husband because he thought it was him who killed Myrtle. And yet, Gatsby lay peacefully in his grave, while Daisy lived on with pain and guilt. This is the cure of Gatsbys injury, the cure that I found, as a nurse of injured patients. This is the emotional cure. The physical cure, will be his slow death, in his pool, the one that hurt, after you are stabbed or shot. The one that last memories come to your mind, memories that make your eyes close and rest peacefully forever. Gatsbys last memories were Daisys, Im sure of it.

Overall, Jay Gatsby woke me up to the true danger of the "American Dream." This is reality. The American Dream is dangerous, because it can cause you guilt, shame, regrets, remorse and death. One must be careful to avoid the mistakes of Gatsby, and instead, only pursue true pride and honor. One must always be careful of the dreams one follows.

One thing I think we can be sure of that when the tumult and shouting of the rabble or reviewers and gossippers die,The Great Gatsby will stand out as a very extraordinary book, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author of The Great Gatsby.

5) The Great Gatsby Corruption of the Dream

The book The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald was an icon of its

time. The book discusses topics that were important, controversial and

interesting back in 10s America. The novel is an exploration of the

American Dream as it exists in a corrupt period of history. The main

themes in the book are the decay of morals and values and the

frustration of a modern society. The Great Gatsby describes the decay

of the American Dream and the want for money and materialism. This

novel also describes the gap between the rich and the poor (Gatsby and

the Wilsons, West Egg and the Valley of the Ashes) by comparing the

differences between the Western United States (traditional western

culture) and the Eastern United States (money obsessed values). On a

smaller scale this could be seen as the difference between the West Egg

(the new, money) and the East egg (the old money). The 10s were

a time of corruption and the degradation of moral values for the United

States and many other countries. World War One had just ended and

people were reveling in the materialism that came with the end of it,

new mass produced commodities such as motor cars and radios were

filling peoples driveways and houses, money was more accessible

(before the Great Depression). Cars were becoming a social symbol in

the 10s as we can see with Gatsbys five cars, one of which he gives

to Nick and one of which kills Myrtle Wilson later on in the novel.

Herbert Hoover (an American President) said in 15 We will root out

poverty and put two cars in every garage. The parties that Gatsby held

every week in the summer were a symbol of the carelessness of the time.

Gatsby would hide in the house while the guests, most of whom were

not even invited, would party, eat and drink until the early hours of

the morning without even meeting the guest or even knowing who he was.

People would turn up just to be seen or reported in the local

newspapers In his blue garden people came and went like moths among

the whisperings and the champagne. This shows the carelessness of the

guests. Another quote about the parties refers to the way the guests

devour the endless supply of food and never give a thought as to who

gave it to them. Every Friday five crates of oranges and Lemons

arrived from a fruiterer In New York- Every Monday these same oranges

and lemons left his backdoor in a pyramid of pulpless halves. This is

also a symbol; it relates the pulpless halves to the rather empty

guests, soulless people obsessed by image and wealth, a corruption of

the American Dream. Another sign of the fall of the American Dream in

The Great Gatsby is the way Gatsby makes his money. Gatsby gets his

fortune through the illegal sale of alcohol (bootlegging). The sale

of alcohol was prohibited in the United States in the 10s. Gatsby

came from the western United States where there was old money. There

he met Dan Cody who taught him how to bootleg. As Gatsby became

richer he moved to West Egg in New York. Gatsbys house is a rather

artificial place, the house was originally built to impress Daisy with

his so-called wealth, and this is a sign of a corrupt way of winning

love through money and wealth. Gatsbys house is furnished well with

old looking ornaments and (probably) second hand antiques, Gatsbys

house also has a library which is full of uncut literature. The

conversation between Jordan and an unnamed man at one of Gatsbys

parties talks about the books Absolutely real - have real pages and

everything. Id thought theyd be a nice durable cardboard. These

books and antiques are just Gatsbys way of showing off his wealth to

others, however Gatsby doesnt really care for materialism, we can tell

this because his bedroom, the only room he really ever uses, is empty

compared to the rest of the house. Gatsbys love life is also a sign

of declining morals, and also a sign of further corruption of the

American Dream. Daisy has an affair with Gatsby; Gatsby then gets

concerned that Daisy does not tell Tom about her affair with him in

chapter six. Eventually Daisy tells Tom about her affair with Jay

Gatsby. The climax of the story comes when Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy

never loved him. The fall of the American Dream and corruption is also

evident in the position and treatment of children in the story, Daisy

and Toms daughter, Pammy, is treated as an object to show off rather

than a child to love. The child, relinquished by the nurse, rushed

across the room and rooted shyly into her mothers dress. The child

does not know her mother very well and is still very shy to go near

her. Gatsby had never really known of the existence of Daisys child,

as Daisy was probably afraid to tell him about her. Afterward he kept

looking at the child in surprise. I dont think he had ever really

believed it its existence before. The word it instead of her also

denotes the childs position as nil. Daisy uses the child as a show

item I got dressed before luncheon said the child, turning eagerly

towards Daisy. Thats because your mother wanted to show you off

replies Daisy. When the child speaks to Daisy, Daisy never answers or

replies to her. Daisy always changes the subject as if she doesnt even

notice the child is there. For example, when the girl comments Jordans

dress, Daisy ignores her and asks her what she thinks about her

friends Aunt Jordans got on a white dress too (said the child).

How do you like mothers friends? (Replies Daisy). Also Wheres

daddy? (Said the child) She doesnt look like her father explained

Daisy. Daddy (Tom) is also never around, he was not there when his

child was born. Daisy thinks that Tom is brutish and she has never

really liked him. The Great Gatsby is a great portrayal of the

corruption of society and the fall of the American Dream. The Great

Gatsby shows us the way people will fall into the hands of money, greed

and power and get involved in illegal activities to get where they want

and what they want. This book is a perfect example of the fall of the

American Dream in the 10s.

6) Fall From Innocence in The Catcher in the Rye

In J.D. Salingers , Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield goes through a fall from his innocence throughout his journey to his safe haven, home.

One example of when Holden fell from his own innocence is when he is in the room with Phoebe and he cant name anything he likes. Holden reacts to this question by saying, Boy, she was depressing me(Salinger 16). The only three things he can name that he liked were Allie, James Castle, and sitting there chewing the fat with Phoebe. The reason this is a time when Holden falls is because he gets really depressed when he can barely think of anything he liked. The reason I think Holden gets so depressed is because two of the people he names are dead. Thats why he is so lonely all the time. Holden finds things in common with Allie and James Castle and since theyre both dead he feels, in the back of his mind, that he should also be dead which makes him depressed.

Another example of a fall for Holden is when he realizes he cant erase even half the fuck yous in the world. This doesnt sound very important, but it is symbolic because he realizes that he can not be the catcher in the rye. His dream of shielding all the innocent children from societys harsh elements has been ruined by this one statement. Now because of this realization he comes to the conclusion that he can not shield everybody, not even half of everybody. An example of Holden trying to be the catcher in the rye is when Holden first sees the fuck you on the wall. Holden said,

It drove me damn near crazy. I thought how Phoebe and all the other kids would see it, and how theyd wonder what the hell it meant, and then finally some dirty kid would tell them- all cockeyed, naturally what it meant, and how theyd think about it even worry about it for a couple of days. I kept wanting to kill whoeverd written it.(Salinger 01)

Holdens final fall comes when he is in the Egyptian Tomb in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When Holden is deep within the Egyptian Tomb he feels he is in a safe and sanitary place free from societys cruel components until he sees the fuck you on the wall. When he sees this he starts to think about committing suicide because he feels like living is just a waste. During this time he spent in the tomb he decides on life or death. After going unconscious for a couple of minutes he decides to live because, Death thus becomes not a gesture of defiance but of surrender(Miller 17). Once Holden wakes up he feels better and symbolically chooses life. This is when Holden begins to rise. When Phoebe is on the carousel Holden wants to protect her but restrains himself, The thing is with kids is, if they want to grab for the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but its bad to say anything to them(Miller 17-18)When Holden says this his dreams of being catcher in the rye vanish. He realizes that all children must fall, like he himself did.

In conclusion, The Catcher in the Rye is a story of a boy falling from innocence to enter adulthood. An example of J.D. Salinger using symbolism to show Holdens Holding on to his childhood is in his name, Holden(Hold On). This is referring to Holden not wanting to enter society and all its phonies. Today, when somebody holds on to their innocence they are often considered outcasts; and in the persons mind everyone who considers him this, is a phony, like how Holden saw everyone.

After Holden Caulfield returns to his native New York and rents a room in a sleazy hotel, he makes a date with Sally Hayes. Before this date, Holden finds himself wandering the streets of the naked city. He is feeling depressed and finds himself on Broadway trying to purchase a record for his sister. After making this purchase, Holden notices a poor family walking in front of him. This unit is composed of a father, mother, and little kid. Holden notices the child who is walking in a straight line in the street and humming a tune to himself. Holden approaches him to determine the tune he is singing. This tune is If a Body Catch a Body Coming Through the Rye.Holden finds it amusing that the child is strutting quite literally on Broadway and is so care-free. He notices cars screeching and honking all over the place, and yet the child proceeds. The childs happy disposition seems to encourage Holdens on vitality. It gripped Holden that the child was singing with a pretty little voice...just for the hell of it and brightened him up. A deeper interpretation of this scene would dictate that the child represents Holdens own personality and life. Holden is defiantly singing his own tune just for the hell of it and like the child, seems to have no regard for his own well-being. At this point, Holden may see a side in himself that is care-free and this lightens his depression.

7) Theme Analysis of The Catcher in the Rye

J. D. Salinger presents an image of an atypical adolescent boy in The Catcher in the Rye. Holden is much more than a troubled teen going through a phase. Indeed Holden is a very special boy with special needs. He doesn't understand and doesn't wish to understand the world around him. In fact most of the book details his guilty admissions of all the knowledge he knows but wishes he didn't. Though his innocence regarding issues of school, money, and sexuality has already been lost, he still hopes to protect others from knowing about these adult subjects.

Holden, unlike the usual fictional teenager, doesn't express normal rebellion. He distrusts his teachers and parents not because he wants to separate himself from them, but because he can't understand them. In fact there is little in the world that he does understand. The only people he trusts and respects are Allie, his deceased brother, and Phoebe, his younger sister. Everyone else is a phony of some sort. Holden uses the word phony to identify everything in the world which he rejects. He rejects his roommate Stradlater because Stradlater doesn't value the memories so dear to Holden (Allie's baseball glove and Jane's kings in the back row). Even Ernie, the piano player, is phony because he's too skillful. Holden automatically associates skill with arrogance (from past experiences no doubt) and thus can't separate the two. Even Holden's most trusted teacher, Mr. Antolini, proves to be a phony when he attempts to fondle Holden. Thus the poor boy is left with a cluster of memories, some good but most bad.

Yet because of these memories, Holden has developed the unique ability to speak candidly (though not articulately) about the people he meets. Though he seems very skeptical about the world, he is really just bewildered. His vocabulary often makes him seem hard, but in fact he is a very weak-willed individual. Holden has no concept of pain, and often likes to see himself as a martyr for a worthy cause. This is proven after the fight with Maurice, after which he imagines his guts spilling out on the floor.

The end of the book demonstrates significant growth on the part of Holden. Although at first Holden is quick to condemn those around him as phony (like Stradlater and Ackley), his more recent encounters with others prove that he is becoming more tolerant and less judgmental. This is evidenced after the ordeal with Mr. Antolini, where Holden is determined not to make any conclusions about his teacher. This growth contributes to Holden's fantasy of being a catcher in the rye. Despite his inability and fear of becoming an adult, he has found his role in keeping the innocence of other children protected. This is shown when he tries to scratch out the obscenities at Phoebe's elementary school. He imagines himself on a cliff, catching innocent children (like himself at one time) who accidently fall off the cliff, bridging the gap between childhood and adulthood.

Holden, like the typical banana-fish, simply absorbs all experiences, good and bad, adding them to his own knowledge base. Really the poor teenager is so confused about what he should do, he simply regresses socially, hoping to escape the tough choices of adulthood by keeping others from them.

8) The Language of Youth

Works Cited w/5 sources The passage of adolescence has served as the central theme for many novels, but J.D. Salingers The Catcher in the Rye has captured the spirit of this stage of life in hyper-sensitive form, dramatizing Holden Caulfields vulgar language and melodramatic reactions. Written as the autobiographical account of a fictional teenage prep school student named Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye deals with material that is socially scandalous for the time PERHAPS, FOR CLARITY, THE TIME PERIOD SHOULD BE IDENTIFIED. (Gwynn, 158). As an emotional, intelligent, inquisitive, and painfully sensitive young man, Holden puts his inner world to the test through the sexual mores of his peers and elders, the teachings of his education, and his own emerging sense of self. Throughout the years, the language of the story has startled readers. Salingers control of Holdens easy, conversational manner makes the introduction of these larger themes appear natural and believable. (Bloom, 10).

At the time of the novel, and even today, Holdens speech rings true to the colloquial speech of teenagers. Holden, according to many reviews in the Chicago Tribune, the New Yorker, and the New York Times, accurately captures the informal speech of an average intelligent, educated, northeastern American adolescent (Costello, 10). Such speech includes both simple description and blatant cursing. For example, Holden says, Theyre nice and all, as well as Im not going to tell you my whole goddam autobiography or anything. In the first instance, he uses the term nice which oversimplifies his parents character. This wording of his phrase implies that he does not wish to disrespect them, yet at the same time he does not intend to praise them. At best he deems them as nice and all. Holden further cuts short his description, but in a more curt manner, when he states that he will not tell his whole goddam autobiography or anything. From the start, the reader picks up on Holdens hostility and unwillingness to share his views strictly by his use of language (Salzman, 11). Another colloquialism can be seen in the last two examples. Holden has a habit of ending his descriptions with tag phrases such as and all or or anything. (Salzman, 11). Not only does Holden speak like this in the beginning of the novel, but throughout the book, making this pattern a part of his character. One could imagine Holden frequently ending his sentences with and all, and realize it is a character trait of his, since not all teenagers used that phrase. Therefore, the and all tag to Holdens speech served to make his speech authentic and individual. (Salzman, 11). Salinger intentionally used such speech patterns to individualize Holden but also to make him a believable teenager of the early 150s.

Another example of how Holdens speech helped define his character is his constant need to confirm his own affirmations, as if even he did not quite believe himself. These confirmations include phrases such as ...if you want to know the truth, or ...it really does. Holden repeats the first phrase several times throughout the novel I have no wind, if you want to know the truth, Im pacifist, if you want to know the truth, and a variation She had a lot of sex appeal, too, if you really want to know. In each of the above instances, Holden makes a statement and then feels compelled to clarify that is he is not making it up. These mannerisms reveal several aspects of his character. For example, Holden is on the verge of failing preparatory school and fears telling his parents. Because he did not do well in school, Holden may have felt as though no one ever took him seriously and realized his actions left him with no solid academic standing. Since Holden is essentially a social failure at school with no serious friendships, he attempts to solidify some communication in asking for approval by stating if you want to know the truth. Holden wants people to believe him so he speaks to seek approval (Costello, 10). Again, Salinger creates a speech pattern believable in a common teenager while also belonging individually to Holden.

The Catcher in the Rye gained much of its notoriety for the language used in it, particularly the crude words (Gwynn, 158). As in most colloquial uses of body parts, accidents of birth, or religious connotations, Holden does not strictly use words in reference to their original meaning. The word hell is a staple of Holdens vocabulary, and he uses it often with both positive and negative connotations. In one instance, he stated that he had a helluva time, when he and Phoebe sneaked away and had a good time shopping for shoes downtown. Other statements include pretty as hell, playful as hell, or hot as hell. Holdens perception that situations were anything but normal in some relation to the extremes of the usage of hell is applied to both positive and negative situations.UNCLEAR SENTENCE Each time, Holden uses hell as a way to expresses the confusion of adolescence, and his own regular use of it illustrates his extreme sensitivity as a character (Gwynn, 158). As Holdens experiences change, so does his use of crude language. When he is caught up in his own antics and is enraged, sonuvabitch and bastard frequently find their way into his vocabulary. However, when he addresses the reader as a narrator, Holden rarely, if ever, slips into his habitual use of swearing (Costello, 10). Sonuvabitch is reserved for his extreme anger, found in the example where he kept calling Stradlater a moron sonuvabitch for the boys ostensibly offensive treatment of Jane Gallagher. Again, Holdens sporadic use of sonuvabitch in his angriest moments only alerts the reader to the serious quality of his anger. Salinger carefully crafted such speech patterns to help us identify Holdens character without lengthy descriptions of them. Here, the offending words let the reader know when Holden is most angry and the types of situations that make him so. This offers further insight into his character, and does so often through the use of a single word. Holdens regular use of curse words to describe his view of any given situation leaves the impression that his vocabulary is limited, as observed in one much younger than himself. However, Holden recognizes that he has a limited vocabulary and uncomprehendingly identifies it himself (Salzman, 11). He makes use of cursing in an effort to add emphasis to his otherwise simplistic verbiage. For example, Holden says That guy Morrow was about as sensitive as a goddam toilet seat (Salinger, 151). The best reference Holden could think of was toilet seat, a simple item readily grasped by even young children. To give this simile more emphasis, Holden, as usual, tosses in a curse word. Holden makes another toilet-like reference when he says He started handling my paper like it was a turd or something, (Salinger, 151) when referring to his teachers expressions and body language while picking up a piece of Holden's written work. Turd is a word that a recently potty-trained child might use instead of a prep school teen. Therefore, Holden not only admits to having a limited vocabulary, but he has a vocabulary seemingly limited to one even younger than his age. Holdens regular use of cursing demonstates not only the depth of his emotion, but signals the reader to the fact that he is caught in the stage where childhood and approaching maturity collide. He relates poorly to instances other than those from his early youth, and tries in vain to bridge the gap between adolescent and adult worlds with his use of profanity. He fails to notice that his cursing loses much of his intended rebellious impact by his overuse of the words. Rather than successfully rebelling against school or his parents, Holden sometimes appears tortured and pathetic, and sometimes just plain silly. This superficiality of youth leaves him with little ability to communicate because he relies so heavily on simple words and thoughts to express the majority of his feelings.

While Holdens teenage angst is apparent, Salinger carefully crafted Holdens vocabulary to create a character who would be believable. As Holdens vocabulary and outlook on life demonstrate his character as a fictional persona, the realistic flavor of his vocabulary mixed with emotion unfailingly ties him to the harsh realities of adolescence and the youth of his time.

) Keeping It Real in The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye is a story about a kid named Holden Caulfield who experiences some interesting things and people. From having breakfast with a couple of nuns, to being with a prostitute, to getting kicked out of school, Holden handles each situation the best way he can. Some of the people Holden meets, he likes, but the type of people Holden cannot stand are the 'phonies.' Holden had met a lot of phonies in his lifetime. Holden lived in a dorm that was named after a phony, he heard a phony playing a piano, and he met his date's phony friend. Holden went to a boarding school called Pencey Prep. There, Holden lived in the Ossenburger Memorial Wing. This hall was only for juniors and seniors. The dorms were named after a man named Ossenburger who also went to Pencey a long time ago. After Ossenburger got out of Pencey, he made a lot of money in the undertaking business and gave some of it to Pencey and that is why the new wing of the dorms are named after him. The morning after, Ossenburger gave a speech to the students of Pencey Prep regarding how he was never ashamed when he was in some kind of trouble. He stated that if so, he would get right down on his knees and pray to God. Ossenburger kept on rambling about how one should always pray to God and to talk to God wherever they were. Ossenburger said to think of him as your buddy. Holden was amused by his speech, and he could "just see the big phony bastard... asking Jesus to send him a few more stiffs."

Holder next went to a nightclub called Ernie's for a few drinks. Even though it was so late, the club was packed. Ernie, the piano player, was playing some tune that Holden could not recognize. Ernie was putting in many high notes, showing off with ripples in the high notes, and doing a lot of other tricky things that Holden thought were dumb. However, the crowd was going crazy for Ernie, clapping and such. "Old Ernie turned around on his stool and gave this very phony, humble bow." Though Holden thought Ernie's snobbish attitude was so phony , he felt kind of sorry for Ernie. Holden does not think that Ernie even realizes when he is playing the tunes right or not.

The last phony Holden met while out on a date with his girl, Sally. For their date, they went to a play called The Lunts. When the first act was over, Holden and Sally went outside for a smoke. Holden was listening to the people outside smoking who were also talking about the play. Because of the way they were talking, Holden judged them all as phonies. Sally was talking with Holden about the play until she saw a guy she knew on the other side of the lobby. The guy noticed Sally as well and came over to say hello. The guy and Sally were talking for a while until she finally introduced him to Holden as George. Holden thought that "he was the kind of phony that have to give themselves room when they answer somebody's questions.", which was the kind that he really hated.

Holden showed that you can meet a phony at any time of the day and on any day of the week. For example, you could one day be living in a dorm that is named after someone that you think is a phony. You could be out at some nightclub for a couple of drinks and hear a phony playing some tunes on a piano. You could even meet a phony while you are out on a date. So when you are in a situation dealing with phonies, do not become one. Just remember to keep it real.

Please note that this sample paper on The Great Gatsby and the 'American Dream' is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on The Great Gatsby and the 'American Dream', we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on The Great Gatsby and the 'American Dream' will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment from cheap essay writing service and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!