Allied Irish Bank SWOT Analysis and Strategic Evaluation

Allied Irish Bank SWOT Analysis and Strategic Evaluation Allied Irish Bank performed the Market Entry Strategy to expand their business size. Stated below is the brief of their strategic evaluation in the aspect of suitability feasibility acceptable. Suitability Build on/exploit strengths In the late 1990s and early/mid-2000s, and capitalized on the buoyant housing market, booming business banking profits and much lower write-offs than in previous years, such profitability and growth have had a significant positive effect on the Irish Economy. That helps AIB having good capital base for future market development such merging. Shape Managements sense in the company, they clearly realized that internationalization is a good way for business expansion. Good/tailored services to be provided by the company towards customers, it can be helpful for the business penetrating into the market. Simultaneously, they are easily winning the reputation too. Good experiences in managing banking business, that helps the company to control over the new merging company. Overcome/avoid weaknesses Cultural Difference the company cant fully twin their culture to other countries, as easy to generate other contingencies problems. Complicated organizations chart caused human resources problems, like salary expenditure increased, hard to manage†¦. Exploit/Develop Opportunity Economy Growth in East Asia, that creates new opportunities for the company. Through Merging, obtaining the other customer base, co-efficient is expected. Counteract/avoid threats The other countrys government may not allow foreigner to obtain national bank and may set some restriction as a barrier. Expanding too fast may cause lack of capital if the business is running not as good as expected. Feasibility From 1966 to the end of 2005, the assets of $323.8 jumping up to 133 bn. Employee 24000 people and 750 offices now, that proved the company is profitable, emerged in the obvious capital gain and more employee needed Acceptability As the company asset built up rapidly, no wonder the companys price in stock market will be going up as well. That can fulfill the stakeholder needed. The company becomes biggest bank in Irish and gradually penetrate into other market and seems grow healthy. Stakeholder should also satisfies for the continually grow. Never heard that the company has any news about layoff, so assuming that the companys finance is good and staff is working stably. As company focused on the tailored service, their customers loyal should even be higher. Page 4 of 12 Subject : Strategic Management Name of Student : Chan Sheung Ming Student ID#2102 5544 Section A : Question 2 Here is the Strategic Development Plan of Allied Irish Bank (2007 2012) Background of the Company Allied Irish Banks (AIB) was structured in 1966, they brought together with the three distinctive Irish Traditional Banking companies: the Provincial Bank in 1825 the Royal Bank, eleven years later for mercantile links; the Munster Leinster that was formed in 1885, considered as the largest banks with the most large scale of branch network During that moment, the alliance was thinking out a best way to overcome the fragmented nature of the Irish banking industry. Hence in the middle of 1960s Ireland was changing fast and the merger had strengthened the position of the bank in the developing global business era. Over the decades, the company had showed an increasing expansion in the global arena, from its establishment of branch network in Britain during 1970s to its investment in the USA during 1980s Four decades since its establishments, it and be said that AIB has a dynamic and successful organization. As a result, in 1966, AIB had showed aggregate assets of Є323.8 million that had grown to Є133 billion AIB Groups is considered as the leading banking and financial services organization in Ireland that operates principally in Ireland, Britain, Poland and the USA. It has more than 24,000 employees word wide in more than 750 offices . It has four main divisions: AIB Bank (Republic of Ireland); AIB Bank AIB Capital Market; and Poland. SWOT Analysis (S)trengths Strong position in the home market; Good Image of the organization to the home market and other countries; Specializes in straight forward approach banking; Relationship oriented approach. (W)eaknesses Do not have enough knowledge and experience towards global banking; Not willing to take the risks; Afraid to jump to the bandwagon of internalization. (O)pportunities Blooming domestic economy; Large increases in the credit growth in 1990s and mid-2000s; Development of non-traditional bank; Trends towards international banking market; Exploit the Irish ethnic market in the UK; Access to Asian market; Merging and acquisition. (T)hreats Growing number of competition; Competition from businesses or banks that are offering e-banking. The SWOT analysis of AIB which pertains on the different characteristics or attributes of the organization as well as the external environment that can affect the entire decision-making process of AIB. The strength of the company focuses on its strong position in the home market. Thus, it enables the company to have a good image in other countries where in it also offers their services. In addition, the company also specialized in straightforward banking approach and relationship oriented approach where in it is considered as their primary advantage towards their relationship with the customers. The said aspect is the reason why AIB was voted as Britains greatest bank. On the other hand, the weaknesses of AIB focuses on its immaturity n terms of international banking, or lack of much knowledge in management in distance. The most visible example is their withdrawal from the Singaporean market. As a result, the company no longer has interests in taking the risks in other important markets in Asia, primarily in China. There are different opportunities that can be exploited by the company in order to improve and expand. First is the blooming domestic economy as well as the large increase in the credit growth during 1990s and mid-2000s. In addition, there is also a growing trend towards non-traditional banking or e-banking. This is due to the massive impact of the Internet. Thus, it is important to consider that in terms of emerging markets, the leaders in e-banking are found in Asia, and Singapore is considered as the primary e-banking customers, garnering 5% ( 2001). Thus, it shows that it will be important to focus on the Asian market, primarily in China, that is facing fast growth in terms of economic aspects. This can be done by the process of merging and acquisition. The major threat for the company focuses on the growing number of competitors in the industry, particularly those banks that are offering e-banking features and services. Mission The mission of Allied Irish Bank is to strengthen both domestic and international performance and position in the market of the bank. Objectives The following are the objectives of AIB: To maintain the competitive advantage of the company; To expand the size and branches of AIB in different part of the world; To promote efficiency, stability and effectiveness of AIB banking system; and To meet the changing demands, needs and preferences of the people towards their banking experiences. Strategies The Ansoff Growth Matrix is a tool that is used in order for a business to decide regarding their product and market growth strategy. It suggests that a business ability to grow depends on whether it markets new or existing products in a new or existing market (2007). The strategy of AIB will focus on Market development or offering the same product to a new market. This is important due to the growing influence of globalization to the banking system, thus going global is one of the most important way of expansion of size that will help to increase profits. In the case of AIB, the company had been able to apply new technologies including the Internet in their services, thats why it will be important for them to explore and exploit other nations or markets, particularly China. This is due to the continuous growth of Chinese economy. However, alongside with the said strategy, it will also be important to focus on improvement of the core banking system, together with the human resource management. Recommendations The following are the recommended strategies: Improvement of the System Application of Information System and IT in an organization is one of the most important actions that can be done by the organization due to the fact that it can help them to manage all of the data and information that are important and use it in the process of decision making. That is why it will be important to focus on application of core banking system that will give way for future enhancement or changes in the internal and external aspects of the company. In order to support the growth plans from 2007 2012, improve AIBs speed to market for new product introduction as well as to provide greater back-office integration, it is important to make a move to transform the core banking system by using packaged banking application that will ensure scalability, performance as well as reliability. This is important due to the growing competition, where in all of the major players in the world of banking are looking for innovative ways to modernize and improve their core systems that can help to reduce the operational costs by changing the massive server farms to a more flexible as well as efficient systems ( 2007). This strategy will focus on the product development, where in it will focus on the initiative of the company to offer new products. By doing this, it will enable AIB to gain competitive advantage by means of offering differentiate products or services towards the customers. As of now, more and more people are becoming aware of the security issues regarding their money, thus the technological advancement of a bank can affect the image of the brand, thus will help to create a feeling of security for the clients. Development of Centralized HR Activities It is important to consider that AIBs human resource management as the companys strengths due to its ability to motivates the employees, particularly the managers to work at their bests, as well as to communicate and relate to the customers in order to give what they needs and want to understand. However, the company is having difficulty in managing in a distance. This is due to the different issues, primarily culture and tradition. It is important to consider that culture plays an important role in the process of motivating employees. It will be important for AIB to apply international standards or principles, however it is important to know that people from other country, primarily Asia, has a different perspective and understanding towards several things, specially in terms of management that are related to leadership styles and approach. This also goes the same as the clients of the company. There are different characteristics between their client from the US and Asia. The said f actors must be considered in order to ensure that all of the rules, regulations as well as policies will meet the expectations and needs of all the stakeholders that are involved in the entire process of the company. This strategy will help the company to have a good customer relationship that will help to strengthen their connection with the customers. The said aspect is very important due to the fact that the attitudes, behaviors and knowledge of the employees, specially the branch managers and front personnel can affect the perception of the clients towards the bank. If the employees or personnel were knowledgeable enough, they will be able to answer the queries of the clients; therefore, it can help to build up trust, and later on strong and long lasting relationship. Expansion to Asian Market, Particularly in China As of now, Asia is considered as one of the most profitable on a pre-tax return on asset basis. As a matter of fact, the report of BCG in 2007 showed that the wealth managers in the Asia-Pacific reported a median pre-tax margin of about 45.5% during 2006 that beats the overall global profitability of 34.7%. As a result, the industry is expected to continue to growth to about 20% to 30% a year, together with the increasing number of well-heeled individuals as well as greater awareness regarding shifting of cash in the banks (2008). The improving and booming economy of China has been accompanies by the fast-growing banking sector of the country. It has been showed that by the end of 2007, the total assets of banking sector of China had reached a total of 52.3 trillion, showing a great annual growth of 17.4% from 2003 2007. The banking industry in the country is considered as the primary provider for capital of about 80% of the non-financial enterprises fundraisings in the most populous nations in the world as well as the fastest growing major economies ( 2008). This strategy will help the company to expand to a vast market, particularly China, due to the development of its economy. Section B: Turn Around Management in Marks Spencer Background of the Company Marks and Spencer emerged as one of the largest retail companies in the world that had become a limited company in 1903 in Manchester, Britain ( 2006) Marks and Spencer plc is the largest retailer in the UK. It has 300 company-owned stores, with more than 68,000 employees around the world that sell clothing, footwear, gifts, home furnishing and food to more than 13 million shoppers. Most of the products being sold under the private label St Michael brand ( 2006 (. In addition, the company also owns and operates more than 100 stores in different part of the world such as Europe, Hong Kong and Canada. There are more than 85 franchise stores of the company that can be found in Europe, Far East, Australia, the Middle East, the Bahamas and Bermunda . MS owns the Brooks Brother, its chain of store of mens clothing that has more than 170 units in Japan as well as the US. In addition, MS also owns 20 stores of King Super Markets grocery store chain in New Jersey Causes and Symptoms of Decline It is important to consider that the primary cause of any decline in profitability is bad management. This is because if management were enough and applicable in the process of tracking the success of the companys products and changes that are likely to take place in their respective markets, and if the company is taking the correct actions, then profits would not decline. However, as such success would require omniscience; even the most systematic managers will make mistakes (1996.) Poor Management All of the problems start at the top, thats why poor management is often the primary reason to the decline in profitability. This is due to the fact that those personnel or people that are responsible for the different operations of the company are making wrong decisions regarding the specific strategic decisions that are being made or even to the personnel that are being employed in order to implement the said decision ( 1996, ). In 2002, , a Belgian executive who is responsible in the turn around of MS, that causes the company to report a four consecutive increase in terms of sales, hand over to Roger Holmes, considered one of the youngest chief executives of blue-chip Brits companies (2002). The said event is considered as one of the primary reason for the decline of MS, due to mismanagement by the CEO. Most of the senior and middle management reported that they are disappointed with the lack of progress, due to leadership problems of Holmes such as being to nice, taking too long to make decisions and lacking relevant in terms of experience. Another cause of decline of MS is the complicated structure where in beyond the main board was an operating committee with 19 members. The said aspect is due to the fact that CEO was not that familiar with the core products of the company. Financial Control It is also important to include that poor financial control is a common cause of falling profitability due to poor budgetary control, inadequate costing system as well as the inability to monitor as well as control cash (1996). In the cause of MS, Holmes believes that throwing more money at the problem can be the best way to boost profits. This can be seen in the massive actions of the company which involves acceleration of transformation of the business by firing employees, and development of stores and other line of products ( 2004). Marketing Efforts Lack of trust from the customers is considered as one of the causes as well as symptoms of decline. This has been one of the primary problems of the company. Customers had complained that the trust had been damaged, due to the fact that the company was already offering low-quality products. In addition o that, the company had a problem regarding their innovation process, which is considered as very important aspect in any company. Production and Operations The fallen quality of the product is one of the primary aspects that focus on the production and operations aspects of the company. In MS, it was due to poor labor relations of the upper management. Environmental Factors The changing demands, tastes preferences and needs of the customers are the primary factors that can affect any company. However, in the case of MS, the company did not focus on strategies that will help them to meet the said change. The said aspect is important because it can greatly affect the perception of the customers in any brand. In addition to that, more and more customers are looking for products in lower price but in good quality. Thus, in order to meet the said expectations, the company decided to implement different strategies that will help them to lower their price, like their competitors, however, the said aspect affected the quality of their products that later on affected the demand of the customers. As a result of the said causes, the company encountered falling profitability, falling dividends, increased debt, decrease liquidity and falling sales (1996). This can be observed on the fact that despite of more than 10 million customers every week, the company have not yet recaptured the glory days between 1997 and 1998 when it had made over  £1 billion pretax profits. In 2004, MS announced a decreased in sales of 3.6%, compare last year (2004). Recovery Strategies The management was changed in 2004, as part of the entire organizational change when Robert Rose took place. Rose focuses on the five core values of new MS: quality, value, service, innovation and trust. This is due to the fact that Rose believe that Holmes management focuses on the management processes instead of products, costs and disapprove of their decision for not growing out of town. As part of that, Rose decided to have a partnership with HSBC in order to manage the financial division of the company. This is due to the fact that the company, under the previous management showed characteristics such as no coordination across department; as well as the fact that the product proliferation by sub brands had weakened the core proposition. Aside from that, it was also found out that the process from drawing board up to the shop floor was kind of slow that resulted to lack of innovation due to weak pricing strategy. The change strategy of the company focuses on abandoning , because it was not targeted at natural MS customers; obtaining Per Una from Davies for  £123 million; canceling more than 500 food products; developing supply chain and sourcing in order to reduce the overhang of the stock; stopping waste and unnecessary administration costs; improving different core services; returning  £2.3 billion to the shareholders; moving to out-of-town retail centers; restructuring and redundancy; changing the mentality of the employees; and closing or upgrading the companys stores The said strategies had been done by focusing on the internal communication process, as well as focusing on the needs and demands of the customers in terms of styles and qualities of their products, as well as the services that are being rendered by the employees towards the customers. Current Strategies In 2007, under the new management, MS had reported its strongest results since 1998, showing a profit of 29%. In addition, the company increased their appeal beyond the middle-aged, middle-class housewives by offering younger brands such as The Limited Collection. The said strategy enables the company to focus on one particular segment of their customers. The primary problem of the company is the pricing process; this is due to the fact that MS primarily perched at the top end of the mass market by selling high-quality products that the customers were willing to pay a little more for. However, due to the changing preferences of the customers, together with the growing competition with other stores, primarily Tesco, that is offering the same type of products, the company decided to focus on lowering the price of the products that they are offering. Aside from that the company also focuses on their food division in terms of marketing, by showing to their customers the importance of the quality of their products (2008).

Comparing Sexy versus A Temporary Matter in Interpreter of Maladies Ess

Readers are often baffled by the openness of some stories where the ending can go either way they are put into situation where they must imagine or assume how the story does end. Open-ended stories can be found in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies, where few stories of open-endings have an immense impact on the reader by creating a hunger to know what happens next. There is always one very noticeable advantage open-ended stories have over close-ended stories, that is the impact on the reader. The impact that makes the reader think, imagine and creates immaculate suspense as the reader is following the life of the protagonist with utmost anticipation, but all of sudden the story ends and the reader’s first question would be ,â€Å"what becomes of the protagonist?†. Close ended stories have very limited scope for imagination and very little suspense towards the end. There is not as big an impact but the can be a sense of completeness and also the reader may feel relieved that he knows what the protagonist has gone through from the beginning to the end. A story with an open-ending that may be discovered from the book is â€Å"A Temporary Matter†, where the ending is so open that there is a colossal sense of incompleteness, having followed the ordeals of the protagonist and knowing what may be a valid reason for a married couple to fall out of love. The ending does not specify the fate of the marriage which seems to be on the path of falling apart, but the words of the protagonist which is either the saviour of the marriage or the final attempt to keep the marriage together remains unknown in the end. The story with a considerably closed ending that can be found is â€Å"Sexy† where the protagonist has an affair with a married Indian ... ...rves the way for the plot, the theme is the central idea around which a literary piece revolves. Without the theme the plot would be meaningless and there would be nothing for the readers to derive from the literary piece. Without the plot, the theme would be meaningless as there would be nowhere to consign the message the writer intends to give the reader. It can be said that the plot and theme are the two most important literary elements of a literary piece and are inter-dependant. In conclusion, I would like to say that an open-ended story has much more impact and imagery than a close-ended story. An open-ended story lingers about the reader’s thoughts and to some extent dominates the reader’s imagination. The plot and theme are the two most important literary elements in a literary piece and the piece would fail heavily without a good theme or a good plot.

A study of gender inequality in different child custody cases Essay

Gender inequality in child custody cases has been happening since custody hearings were created. Today, fathers are less likely to win custody of their children; resulting in court and legal fees that the mothers do not have to pay. Regardless of the parents living situation or income, if the mother is physically healthy enough to raise the child, she has a major advantage.   On top of everything else, men are more likely to owe increasing child support, even if they are hurt or arrested for non-payment. It’s inequality like this that has plagued the family courts forever, giving them a biased and bad name. Going back to times such as the 1970s, it is well noted that even then gender inequality was quite rampant. Not only is it now well-known and admitted, but many feel with the removal of ‘tender years’ law (feeling that women raised the children, this should be primary caregiver) that inequality was taken care of; this obviously not being the case.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Indeed, typical statutory provisions at least implicitly encourage courts to consider past parental participation. Moreover, evidence that courts continue to favor mothers in custody disputes suggests that the pre-divorce caretaking function is valued.† (Elizabeth S. Scott) Not only is this seen and documented to be the same for many states; it can get even worse for small towns and municipals as their rulings have a higher chance to be biased and go unpunished and undocumented. While there are waivers to get court fees waived, many times the court rejects these fee waivers; resulting in immense costs for fathe r. If the father wants to claim custody of his child, some places may make the father file a petition for adoption (even if he is the biological father), which cost money to file. Fees for this could range from $20 to $200; something a struggling father with legal fees could usually not easily pay. With all these legal fees the father will also have to pay for any attorney fees; and for the attorney themselves. There have been many reported cases of mothers who can not support their children, being awarded custody for supposedly other reasons; while the father who could support the child is writing off as unfit. For example, there have been several cases where homeless mothers were award full custody of their children, while the father had a stable living situation. Not only living situation wise, but women who don’t have a stable source of income are often not seen as a problem in the eyes of the court. It operates under the guidance that women can get more government aid (such as welfare) for their children; often resulting in poor treatment of children due to improper nutrition and medical care. All of this is taking place due to courts going for what they feel would be the ‘best interest’ of the child, rather than the main negatives and benefits for each parent. More often than not, more care is done when a parent informs the court they want to move out of state with the child. This usually brings about a full inspection into both parents history, so to decide the right choice and not send a child out of state with an unfit parent. Operating on this backing is wrong, and this concept should be applied to every family court case regardless of circumstances or not. However, if a father was awarded custody, and wanted to move out of state to â€Å"start fresh again† or maybe â€Å"pursue love in another are†then more often than not the court would deny the father the ability to move out of state. â€Å"Where I practice, a parent wishing to move with their child out of state has to pass a two-part test. Part One: show the court a legitimate reason to move. Part Two: show the court that the move is in the best interests of the child.† (Nancy Shannon) More often than not courts find a problem with moving the child out of the mother’s state, due to incorrect thinking that all mothers are the best fit to parent their childre n; or they need to have the ability to be in contact with their children. On top of the discrimination and work required most fathers need to do in order to get custody of their child if they fail the results could end up being crippling and life ruining.   If a father is made to pay child support, right out of the court he is already in debt. Not only are the legal fees now imposed, but he now has to pay an additional monthly fee; sometimes even surpassing the cost of their monthly rent. This leads a lot of child support payers to end up not being able to pay; resulting in their arrest. What makes the entire situation worse is that once in jail their fees do not stop. The debts continue to accrue and once they get out, it could become a vicious cycle of not being able to pay, being arrested, and then being released. Yet somehow this is not the entire story of it. If you get hurt or have a medical injury making you unable to work, your payments still do not stop. You have to make a petition to the judge with proper documentation (which could be costly to print out depending on state medical information laws) and even then a judge may decide your injury is not debilitating enough. This one event in a person’s life could result in the rest of their life being ruined. â€Å"All I was saying was, ‘Give me an opportunity instead of throwing me in jail because that just puts me further behind in child support,’† Ferebee says. â€Å"Let me find work so I can earn money.’† This year, Ferebee was headed to jail a fifth time for failure to pay child support.† (Tina Griego) This could turn your life into a ‘debtors prison’ where there is no hope for escape, and once the process has started each day makes recovery more and more improbable. There should be more options available to the father that cannot pay; such as working the payment off in community service or being forced to an assigned job for a certain amount of payment until the balance is resolved. This not only means fewer pe ople in the jails for non-violent crimes but a better chance at actually paying the debt.   Unfortunately, the standard today is to just increase the debt hoping that the person could eventually afford it. One of the most compelling arguments against gender bias in court would have to be that because women usually take care of the children more often, they should be the primary caretaker. Several well-known judges had been surveyed about this, and many have told they feel this is not bias. Most judges are not getting a direct view of the household. That is why each case needs to be verified on a person-to-person basis, rather than a gender basis (i.e. look at BOTH the mother and father for the best living situation). â€Å"Her article holds that mother preference is not a gender biased opinion if the mother was the primary caretaker of the child‟s past.   She writes that bias is often seen because â€Å"fathers   are often given more credit than mothers for doing what is expected of mothers, to penalize mothers more than fathers for extramarital affairs, and to think that a mother‟s investment in her career is selfish while a father‟s is the act of a responsible provider† (Lindsay R. Estep) This quote does wonder for speaking about the current legal system regarding gender. The court official who spoke in that quote clearly demonstrates (albeit with a bit of truth in some parts) gender bias, and fails to recognize it. There are also a few things that need to be addressed regarding the quote. When the official speaks about the mother being the primary caretaker, her assumptions are wrong. If a mother was a primary caretaker of the child (i.e. father works while the mother stays at home) that does not give her any more parental rights than the father and vice versa. One of the reason’s a divorce could be happening is due to the mother’s neglect of the child while the father was away. Going with the current logic of the court official, the neglectful mother would be given the child, due to previous caretaking. The issue is that is not just an isolated problem, many places all over experience this issue, and it’s met with no resistance. The correct part of the quote is true, a mother can work while the father stays at home and vice versa. If this was the case she would not, and should not be penalized. The problem with this all is nothing is being done. Even though the mass public outrage, and people standing up against bias, places like the Supreme Court fail to do anything to prevent further discrimination. â€Å"No case so clearly prohibits consideration of sex in custody cases. It should be noted, however, that there was a potential gender issue in Palmore that received no attention from the Supreme Court. It appears that Linda began cohabiting with Clarence before they were married.† (Katherine Bartlett) This case Is well known because it enforced and helped prove the clear gender bias of sex without marriage; regardless of if the bias was on the female â€Å"Nothing more seems to have been made of this factor, either by the trial court or on review, but some courts have since noticed that mothers who cohabit outside of marriage, tend to be penalized in ways fathers who cohabit outside of marriage are not.† (Katherine Bartlett) While women face the same gender bi as in some ways, in the ways people tend to care about (who gets the child, who pays fees, etc.) is where men get overlooked in quality. This quote is important because if it’s known and documented of a clear gender bias, why hasn’t the Supreme Court stepped in and introduced better legislation and guidelines to prevent further bias? The problem is old legislation, and the refusal to make a change. A currently former Supreme Court judge Antonin Scalia was quoted as saying the constitution does not dis-allow gender bias.   While not true, a Supreme Court judge, who supposedly should be speaking for the constitution, should not help spread and promote miss-information. On top of that, he was never corrected or reprimanded.   The only consequence of that action was ‘bad press’. This quote not only helps smaller local courts continue their bias but miss-informs them that they are acting legally.   Better legislation and better education for judges need t o be passed before anything can be done. And while there are many arguments that women also face these problems (and while that may be true) the problem it’s usually the men. Women are given more chances and exceptions than the men. Several document court cases have shown that on average women are given more chances to earn money and pay it, should they be ordered to pay child support. This could either be the judge informing them of state opportunities like welfare and social security, unlike the men who usually are faced with arrest threats or an actual arrest. Another idea in the system is that the reason they are in family court is often due to the father being unfit in the first place (I.e Domestic violence, threats, abuse). This is an obvious oversight into a small population of the people.   More often than not it’s just a case of a family not working well together, and no actual abuse or crimes have taken place. On top of that, when it comes to dishing out child support, the mother will likely have t he advantage; also awarded more money â€Å"In spring 1992, about one-half (6.2 million) of the 11.5 million custodial parents were awarded child support; award rates were higher for mothers than for fathers (56 percent compared with 41 percent)† (U.S. Department of Commerce) Overall, when it comes to dealing with the family courts, men are less likely to win custody of their own children. Those who have a chance at it, are often met with extreme legal fees more so than the mother. Women are often seen as a child’s protector so in the eyes of the court they are usually seen as the fit parent right from the start. It has also been noted that men’s job status and living situation is looked into more than the women’s. This is due to the assumption that women get more government aid to assist them than men; this not being true but is still a common misconception. Inequality in the courts has been taking place ever since they have been around. The problem isn’t that they refuse to acknowledge it, the problem is it’s acknowledged and yet nothing is done about it today. Works Cited: Elizabeth S. Scott.   Pluralism, Parental Preference, and Child Custody Berkley Scholarship Law,  Ã‚   May 1992 Nancy Shannon. Custody Relocation Case Study: A Judge’s Ruling on Moving Out Of State Cordell & Cordell Divorce Lawyer  Ã‚  Ã‚   May 2014 U.S. Department of Commerce. Who Receives Child Support? Economics and Statistics Administration. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS  Ã‚  Ã‚   June 1995 Tina Griego. Locking up parents for not paying child support can be a modern-day ‘debtor’s prison’  Ã‚  Ã‚   September 26, 2014 Lindsay R. Estep.   Mommy or Daddy?: Perceived Gender Bias and Court Awarded Custodial Guardianship   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   April 27, 2011 Katherine Bartlett. Comparing race and sex discrimination in custody cases   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Duke Law EDU A study of gender inequality in different child custody cases Essay Gender inequality in child custody cases has been happening since custody hearings were created. Today, fathers are less likely to win custody of their children; resulting in court and legal fees that the mothers do not have to pay. Regardless of the parents living situation or income, if the mother is physically healthy enough to raise the child, she has a major advantage.   On top of everything else, men are more likely to owe increasing child support, even if they are hurt or arrested for non-payment. It’s inequality like this that has plagued the family courts forever, giving them a biased and bad name. Going back to times such as the 1970s, it is well noted that even then gender inequality was quite rampant. Not only is it now well-known and admitted, but many feel with the removal of ‘tender years’ law (feeling that women raised the children, this should be primary caregiver) that inequality was taken care of; this obviously not being the case.   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Indeed, typical statutory provisions at least implicitly encourage courts to consider past parental participation. Moreover, evidence that courts continue to favor mothers in custody disputes suggests that the pre-divorce caretaking function is valued.† (Elizabeth S. Scott) Not only is this seen and documented to be the same for many states; it can get even worse for small towns and municipals as their rulings have a higher chance to be biased and go unpunished and undocumented. While there are waivers to get court fees waived, many times the court rejects these fee waivers; resulting in immense costs for fathe r. If the father wants to claim custody of his child, some places may make the father file a petition for adoption (even if he is the biological father), which cost money to file. Fees for this could range from $20 to $200; something a struggling father with legal fees could usually not easily pay. With all these legal fees the father will also have to pay for any attorney fees; and for the attorney themselves. There have been many reported cases of mothers who can not support their children, being awarded custody for supposedly other reasons; while the father who could support the child is writing off as unfit. For example, there have been several cases where homeless mothers were award full custody of their children, while the father had a stable living situation. Not only living situation wise, but women who don’t have a stable source of income are often not seen as a problem in the eyes of the court. It operates under the guidance that women can get more government aid (such as welfare) for their children; often resulting in poor treatment of children due to improper nutrition and medical care. All of this is taking place due to courts going for what they feel would be the ‘best interest’ of the child, rather than the main negatives and benefits for each parent. More often than not, more care is done when a parent informs the court they want to move out of state with the child. This usually brings about a full inspection into both parents history, so to decide the right choice and not send a child out of state with an unfit parent. Operating on this backing is wrong, and this concept should be applied to every family court case regardless of circumstances or not. However, if a father was awarded custody, and wanted to move out of state to â€Å"start fresh again† or maybe â€Å"pursue love in another are†then more often than not the court would deny the father the ability to move out of state. â€Å"Where I practice, a parent wishing to move with their child out of state has to pass a two-part test. Part One: show the court a legitimate reason to move. Part Two: show the court that the move is in the best interests of the child.† (Nancy Shannon) More often than not courts find a problem with moving the child out of the mother’s state, due to incorrect thinking that all mothers are the best fit to parent their childre n; or they need to have the ability to be in contact with their children. On top of the discrimination and work required most fathers need to do in order to get custody of their child if they fail the results could end up being crippling and life ruining.   If a father is made to pay child support, right out of the court he is already in debt. Not only are the legal fees now imposed, but he now has to pay an additional monthly fee; sometimes even surpassing the cost of their monthly rent. This leads a lot of child support payers to end up not being able to pay; resulting in their arrest. What makes the entire situation worse is that once in jail their fees do not stop. The debts continue to accrue and once they get out, it could become a vicious cycle of not being able to pay, being arrested, and then being released. Yet somehow this is not the entire story of it. If you get hurt or have a medical injury making you unable to work, your payments still do not stop. You have to make a petition to the judge with proper documentation (which could be costly to print out depending on state medical information laws) and even then a judge may decide your injury is not debilitating enough. This one event in a person’s life could result in the rest of their life being ruined. â€Å"All I was saying was, ‘Give me an opportunity instead of throwing me in jail because that just puts me further behind in child support,’† Ferebee says. â€Å"Let me find work so I can earn money.’† This year, Ferebee was headed to jail a fifth time for failure to pay child support.† (Tina Griego) This could turn your life into a ‘debtors prison’ where there is no hope for escape, and once the process has started each day makes recovery more and more improbable. There should be more options available to the father that cannot pay; such as working the payment off in community service or being forced to an assigned job for a certain amount of payment until the balance is resolved. This not only means fewer pe ople in the jails for non-violent crimes but a better chance at actually paying the debt.   Unfortunately, the standard today is to just increase the debt hoping that the person could eventually afford it. One of the most compelling arguments against gender bias in court would have to be that because women usually take care of the children more often, they should be the primary caretaker. Several well-known judges had been surveyed about this, and many have told they feel this is not bias. Most judges are not getting a direct view of the household. That is why each case needs to be verified on a person-to-person basis, rather than a gender basis (i.e. look at BOTH the mother and father for the best living situation). â€Å"Her article holds that mother preference is not a gender biased opinion if the mother was the primary caretaker of the child‟s past.   She writes that bias is often seen because â€Å"fathers   are often given more credit than mothers for doing what is expected of mothers, to penalize mothers more than fathers for extramarital affairs, and to think that a mother‟s investment in her career is selfish while a father‟s is the act of a responsible provider† (Lindsay R. Estep) This quote does wonder for speaking about the current legal system regarding gender. The court official who spoke in that quote clearly demonstrates (albeit with a bit of truth in some parts) gender bias, and fails to recognize it. There are also a few things that need to be addressed regarding the quote. When the official speaks about the mother being the primary caretaker, her assumptions are wrong. If a mother was a primary caretaker of the child (i.e. father works while the mother stays at home) that does not give her any more parental rights than the father and vice versa. One of the reason’s a divorce could be happening is due to the mother’s neglect of the child while the father was away. Going with the current logic of the court official, the neglectful mother would be given the child, due to previous caretaking. The issue is that is not just an isolated problem, many places all over experience this issue, and it’s met with no resistance. The correct part of the quote is true, a mother can work while the father stays at home and vice versa. If this was the case she would not, and should not be penalized. The problem with this all is nothing is being done. Even though the mass public outrage, and people standing up against bias, places like the Supreme Court fail to do anything to prevent further discrimination. â€Å"No case so clearly prohibits consideration of sex in custody cases. It should be noted, however, that there was a potential gender issue in Palmore that received no attention from the Supreme Court. It appears that Linda began cohabiting with Clarence before they were married.† (Katherine Bartlett) This case Is well known because it enforced and helped prove the clear gender bias of sex without marriage; regardless of if the bias was on the female â€Å"Nothing more seems to have been made of this factor, either by the trial court or on review, but some courts have since noticed that mothers who cohabit outside of marriage, tend to be penalized in ways fathers who cohabit outside of marriage are not.† (Katherine Bartlett) While women face the same gender bi as in some ways, in the ways people tend to care about (who gets the child, who pays fees, etc.) is where men get overlooked in quality. This quote is important because if it’s known and documented of a clear gender bias, why hasn’t the Supreme Court stepped in and introduced better legislation and guidelines to prevent further bias? The problem is old legislation, and the refusal to make a change. A currently former Supreme Court judge Antonin Scalia was quoted as saying the constitution does not dis-allow gender bias.   While not true, a Supreme Court judge, who supposedly should be speaking for the constitution, should not help spread and promote miss-information. On top of that, he was never corrected or reprimanded.   The only consequence of that action was ‘bad press’. This quote not only helps smaller local courts continue their bias but miss-informs them that they are acting legally.   Better legislation and better education for judges need t o be passed before anything can be done. And while there are many arguments that women also face these problems (and while that may be true) the problem it’s usually the men. Women are given more chances and exceptions than the men. Several document court cases have shown that on average women are given more chances to earn money and pay it, should they be ordered to pay child support. This could either be the judge informing them of state opportunities like welfare and social security, unlike the men who usually are faced with arrest threats or an actual arrest. Another idea in the system is that the reason they are in family court is often due to the father being unfit in the first place (I.e Domestic violence, threats, abuse). This is an obvious oversight into a small population of the people.   More often than not it’s just a case of a family not working well together, and no actual abuse or crimes have taken place. On top of that, when it comes to dishing out child support, the mother will likely have t he advantage; also awarded more money â€Å"In spring 1992, about one-half (6.2 million) of the 11.5 million custodial parents were awarded child support; award rates were higher for mothers than for fathers (56 percent compared with 41 percent)† (U.S. Department of Commerce) Overall, when it comes to dealing with the family courts, men are less likely to win custody of their own children. Those who have a chance at it, are often met with extreme legal fees more so than the mother. Women are often seen as a child’s protector so in the eyes of the court they are usually seen as the fit parent right from the start. It has also been noted that men’s job status and living situation is looked into more than the women’s. This is due to the assumption that women get more government aid to assist them than men; this not being true but is still a common misconception. Inequality in the courts has been taking place ever since they have been around. The problem isn’t that they refuse to acknowledge it, the problem is it’s acknowledged and yet nothing is done about it today. Works Cited:    Elizabeth S. Scott.   Pluralism, Parental Preference, and Child Custody Berkley Scholarship Law,  Ã‚   May 1992 Nancy Shannon. Custody Relocation Case Study: A Judge’s Ruling on Moving Out Of State Cordell & Cordell Divorce Lawyer  Ã‚  Ã‚   May 2014 U.S. Department of Commerce. Who Receives Child Support? Economics and Statistics Administration. BUREAU OF THE CENSUS  Ã‚  Ã‚   June 1995 Tina Griego. Locking up parents for not paying child support can be a modern-day ‘debtor’s prison’  Ã‚  Ã‚   September 26, 2014 Lindsay R. Estep.   Mommy or Daddy?: Perceived Gender Bias and Court Awarded Custodial Guardianship April 27, 2011 Katherine Bartlett. Comparing race and sex discrimination in custody cases Duke Law EDU

Plutonic Rocks Definition and Examples

Plutonic rocks are igneous rocks that solidified from a melt at great depth. Magma rises, bringing minerals and precious metals such as gold, silver,  molybdenum, and lead with it, forcing its way into older rocks. It cools slowly (tens of thousands of years or longer), underneath Earths crust, which allows the individual crystals to grow large by coalescing, like with like; thus, plutonic rock is coarse-grained rock. The rock is later exposed by erosion.  A large body of this type of rock is called a pluton. Hundreds of miles of plutonic rock are  batholiths.   What Does "Plutonic" Mean? The name plutonic refers to Pluto, Roman god of wealth and the underworld; plutos origins also come from wealth, or rich one, which could refer to the precious metals present in the Earth and in rocks. Gold and silver are found in veins in plutonic rocks, which are formed from the intrusions of the magma. In contrast, volcanic rocks are formed by magma above ground. Their crystals are evident only through an examination under a microscope. The dwarf planet Pluto, however, is mostly ice made up of frozen nitrogen, methane, and carbon dioxide, though it may have a rocky core that contains some metals.   How to Identify The main way to tell a plutonic rock is that its made of tightly packed mineral grains of medium size (1 to 5 mm) or larger, which means that it has phaneritic texture. In addition, the grains are of roughly equal size, meaning that it has an equigranular or granular texture. Finally, the rock is holocrystalline—every bit of mineral matter is in a crystalline form, and there is no glassy fraction. In a word, typical plutonic rocks look like granite. In fact,  producers of building stone classify all plutonic rocks as  commercial granite. The Most Common Rocks on Earth Plutonic rocks are the most common rocks on Earth and form the basis of our continents and roots of our mountain ranges. The large mineral grains in plutonic rocks dont generally have well-formed crystals because they grew crowded together—that is, they are  anhedral. An igneous rock from a shallower depth (with grains smaller than 1 mm, but not microscopic) may be classified as  intrusive  (or hypabyssal), if theres evidence that it never erupted onto the surface, or  extrusive  if it did erupt. As an example, a rock with the same composition could be called  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹gabbro  if it were plutonic,  diabase  if it were intrusive, or  basalt  if it were extrusive. Whereas plutonic rocks form continents, basalt lies in the crust underneath the oceans. There Are About a Dozen Major Types The name for a particular plutonic rock depends on the mix of minerals in it. There are about a dozen major plutonic rock types and many  more  less common ones. In ascending order, four types include gabbro (dark in color, not much silica), diorite (an intermediate amount of silica), granite (68 percent silica), and pegmatite. Types are classified according to various triangular diagrams, starting with one based on the content of quartz (which is pure silica) and the two types of feldspar (which is quartz with impurities).