Processes of Mergers and Acquisitions

Processes of Mergers and Acquisitions CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Mergers and acquisitions (MAs) have become the dominant mode of growth for firms seeking competitive advantage in an increasingly complex and global business economy (Adler, 1997). According to (Schuler et al, 2003) a merger happens when two companies agree to join their operations together to form a new company in which they participate as equal partners. On the other hand, in an acquisition, one firm buys a controlling or full interest in another firm with the understanding that the buyer will determine how the combined operations will be managed. ultimately, wealth increases for shareholders in the acquiring company. In practice, however, acquisitions often produce disappointing results. An example to illustrate this is a study by Mercer Management Consulting who looked at 150 acquisitions worth more than 500 million dollars. The Mercer study concluded that 50 percent of the acquisitions eroded shareholder value, while another 33 percent created only marginal returns. (Hill, C.W. L, 2007, pg.504).Another study by a stream of empirical researchers examined the post-acquisition performance of companies and has generally failed to find consistent evidence of improvements in shareholder wealth after post acquisition stage. These findings appear to hold both in the short run (Firth 1980; Franks and Harris 1989; Higson and Elliot 1998:16-20) and in the long run (Gregory 1997; Kennedy and Limmak 1996; Sudarsanam and Mahate 2003:13-50).These findings reveal that mergers and acquisitions may not yield successful results relative to th e sought advantages. This is indeed worrying and raises questions about the value creation of mergers and acquisitions. An important factor affecting the performance of mergers and acquisitions is the transfer of knowledge between the two units. Knowledge transfer is critical to the performance of knowledge creation and in leveraging knowledge for greater organisational performance (Von Krough et al., 2000). Therefore, there is a need for efficient knowledge transfer in mergers and acquisitions. In international mergers and acquisitions, two cultures are combined, and also two systems of knowledge and insights are integrated. In order to develop and sustain competitive advantages for the knowledge-intensive firm, strategic management should enable the development and sharing of new knowledge and other resources. It is believed today by numerous researchers and managers that knowledge is one of the strongest sources of sustainable competitive advantage for Multi National Corporations (MNCs). The importance of developing and sharing knowledge in order to stay competitive for the future has been underlined by many. (Grant, 1996). There are two forms of knowledge which are tacit and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is not easily expressible and therefore difficult to communicate to others. Explicit knowledge on the other hand, is formal and systematic so can therefore be easily communicated. (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995, pg.98). Tacit knowledge is non-linguistic, as it deals with the processes of the mind that is interested in reasoning and analysis. The data it renders is non-numeric, and is codified as personal or biased. From the above-mentioned definition of tacit knowledge, it can be seen as something that is rooted on experiences, deeply attached or related to emotions, is connected with the ideals, ethics and emotions of the subject. Explicit knowledge on the other hand is being codified when it is interpreted, used, and shared. These forms of knowledge transfer can be affected by various factors which can be catogorised as organisational and individual factors. These can become barriers if not managed properly because they have a significant impact on knowledge transfer. This dissertation would therefore focus on the key organisational factors that affect the transfer of knowledge. The paper will establish the relationship between these factors and knowledge transfer in international mergers and acquisitions. These factors are flexible structures, organisational culture, communication and Information technology. (Ives et al., 2003 and Spender, 1996) 1.2 ?ignifi?ance of the Study Over the last few years there has been an upsurge in interest among scholars on the importance of knowledge management in firms. This is because in successful organizations, their main advantage comes from the knowledge of their employees. In the past mergers and acquisitions were mainly conducted to obtain wealth. However, in recent years multinational corporations (MNCs) emphasize on the knowledge assets that can be gained from mergers and acquisitions. Thus, techniques for archiving, transferring, and increasing knowledge are fundamental factors for the high quality performance of organizations (Maurer, 1999). When companies undertake acquisitions in an international setting the challenge to transfer knowledge becomes more crucial therefore tacit and coded knowledge must be managed and developed in order to obtain an efficient transfer process. This dissertation will therefore examine the organisational factors that influence the transfer of both tacit and explicit knowledge in acquisitions and the role the organisational factors play in the knowledge transfer process. This paper will begin by reviewing relevant literature on knowledge, knowledge management, transfer of knowledge in acquisitions and the organisational factors that influence the process, Chapter 3 will discuss a summary of the methodology. The results of the abovementioned objectives will be presented in Chapter 4 and a critical and analytical discussion of all results is presented in Chapter 5. Conclusions are then made from the analysis and discussion in the previous sections in Chapter 6. To conduct this study, a semi structured interview will be conducted on two financial institutions engaged in an acquisition. The study will identify the key organisational factors that influence the transfer of both tacit and explicit knowledge in the acquisition, the effect of the organisational factors in the transfer process and the factor that has the greatest impact on transfer of knowledge. The focus of the case study will take place in the banking sector .This is because it is part of the global financial sector, which pursues a high level of International mergers and acquisitions.(IMAs). The findings of this study will benefit employees as well by giving light to the actions taken by their respective organizations to aid them cope with the changes brought about by the relationship between knowledge transfer and organisational factors. 1.3 Aims and Objectives The aims and objectives are to answer the main research question and to propose a strategic and effective way of managing the factors that affect transfer of knowledge in order to obtain efficiency. The main research question is : What are the effects of the key organisational factors that influence knowledge transfer in international mergers and acquisitions? Following from the research question, the main objectives will be to establish: Key Organisational factors that influence the transfer of both tacit and explicit knowledge in the acquisition. The effect of the organisational factors in the transfer process. The factor that has the greatest impact on transfer of knowledge ?HA?TER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW To answer the research question this chapter starts with a brief insight into the nature of knowledge, and then proceed to provide a critical review of transfer of knowledge in mergers and acquisitions and then focus on the key organisational factors that affect the transfer of this knowledge. 2.1 The Nature of Knowledge Knowledge can be experience, concepts, values or beliefs that increase an individuals capability to take effective actions (Alavi Leidner 1999).Knowledge can be categorized according to its form and content. With regard to this, a number of typologies have been used, such as embodied versus embedded knowledge (Granovetter, 1985), knowledge as intrinsically versus instrumentally valuable (Degenhardt, 1982), scientific versus practical knowledge (Hayek, 1945), and know-what versus know-how (Gupta and Govindarajan, 2000).ref Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. It originates and is applied in the minds of knowers. In organisations, it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories but also in organisational routines, processes, practices, and norms. (Davenport and Prusak, 2000) In the literature on Knowledge Management (KM), there is much debate about what constitutes knowledge, what is data and what is information. Most literature on Knowledge Management classifies knowledge into two main categories: explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge can be defined as things that are clearly stated or defined, while tacit knowledge can be defined as things that are not expressed openly, but implied (Choo 2000, Herschel et al., 2001). This section will make a distinction between the two forms of knowledge tacit and explicit knowledge which was proposed by (Polyani 1962). Explicit knowledge is codifiable and objective and therefore easily transmitted, conceptualized and stored, with little cost. Codes can be differentiated by taking into account the number of elements and combination rules a code consists of, as well as the degree of ambiguity allowed. (Jorna, 2001). (Davenport and ?ru?ak, 1998, pg.41) say: the aim of c?difi?ation is to put organisational knowledge into a form that makes it accessible to those who need it. It literally turns knowledge into code to make it organised, explicit, portable, and as easy to understand as possible. New technologies play an important role in the knowledge codification and make the prospect for those activities increasingly promising. Knowledge managers and users can categorise knowledge, describe it, map and model it, simulate it, and embed it in rules and recipes. Each of these approaches has its own set of values and limitations. Knowledge is being codified when it is interpreted, used, and shared. Codified knowledge comes in the form of organization of thoughts that matter to the individual and can be used for common decisions. Tacit knowledge is converted to explicit or codified knowledge, a form of knowledge that is used by company and/or organisation members. Codified knowledge is essential in the diagnosis, performance, training, and planning of the events in the company or in the life of an individual. Tacit knowledge on the other hand, resides within individuals and is non-codifiable, acquired through experience, personal and subjective. These features make tacit knowledge difficult to formalise and transmit, leading to loss of organisational knowledge. Much of organisational knowledge is tacit (Cook and Yanow, 1993.) This form of knowledge is non-linguistic, as it deals with the processes of the mind that is interested in reasoning and analysis. The data it renders is non-numeric, and is codified as personal or biased. From the above-mentioned definition of tacit knowledge, it can be seen as something that is rooted on experiences, deeply attached or related to emotions, is connected with the ideals, ethics and emotions of the subject. It is this type of knowledge that has strong potential to be a source of competitive advantage, because it is difficult to assess from the outside and not readily available. The focus of this dissertation will be on these two types of knowledge. According to (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995), knowledge is created through interactions amongst individuals with different types and contents of knowledge. Through this social conversion process, tacit and explicit knowledge expands in terms of both quality and quantity. (Nonaka, 1990, 1991, 1994: Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) .This process goes through four modes of conversion between tacit and explicit knowledge which are Socialization (from tacit to tacit) Externalization (from tacit to explicit). Combination (from explicit to explicit) and finally Internalization (from explicit to tacit). 2.2 Knowledge Management Knowledge management has been an important topic in organizations for years. Companies have hugely emphasized the importance of knowledge as the basis for competitive advantage (Teece, 1998). According to (Zack,1999), there is an obvious difference among knowledge, data and information. Data correspond to observations or facts that are not meaningful. Information results from the placement of data within a meaningful context. Knowledge, on the other hand, is more intricate because it can be both implicit and explicit. Implicit knowledge is understood and applied, and developed from experience. It is shared through interactive conversations and narration of shared experiences. Companies have implemented knowledge management strategies to promote organizational learning. According to (Sarvary,1999), a knowledge management system is the infrastructure necessary for the organization to implement the Knowledge Management process. This comprises IT and organizational communications. Organizational culture, internal governance mechanisms and appropriate incentive schemes are also required. (Zack,1999) stated that effective knowledge creation, sharing, and leveraging requires an organizational climate and reward system that values and encourages cooperation, trust, learning, and innovation and provides incentives for engaging in those knowledge-based roles, activities, and processes. I have consistently observed this aspect to be a major obstacle to effective knowledge management. The success of these strategies is contingent upon the battle between organizational roles and formal and informal structure with socio-cultural factors affecting knowledge management. Culture, power relations, norms, management philosophy, and reward systems are examples. Knowledge management as a task, particularly in project-based international organisations, is an evolution of cognitive processes and social interaction. As knowledge formulation moves through the stages of intuiting, interpreting, integrating, and institutionalizing the tasks become less uncertain and more tangible. A mix of control mechanisms is therefore crucial for effectively managing knowledge capture and transfer within the organization. (Crossan et al., 1999) 2.3 Knowledge Transfer in International Mergers and Acquisitions One of the most prominent contemporary trends in the business of an enterprise is the increasing internationalization of their basic activities. This trend originally started in the most developed countries of the world, where enterprises reached a level of development by economies of scale, as a basic precondition for further progress, which enable enterprises to spread rapidly into international markets. Today however, globalisation can be considered as a precondition for the survival of an organisation notwithstanding the size or the country of origin. Internationalization of business functions began with sales and marketing, continued with production, and today it covers strategic research and development as well (Kolalovic, 2004).Because the prerequisite of an economic development is the openness of the economy, globalisation of businesses has been an economic rule. Local enterprises accepted the importance of mergers and acquisitions as a great help in penetrating the internati onal market and in gaining competitiveness (Hill, 2007). International mergers and acquisitions (IMA) have ballooned in the past two decades and key drivers of this have been globalisation and technological development. These key drivers have brought rise to an easiness of reaching markets, acquiring, managing and monitoring businesses abroad. On a macro level, International mergers and acquisitions (IMAs) can help companies remain competitive, achieve economies of scale and scope and improve positioning in the global environment. On a micro level, gaining valuable tangible and intangible assets can give industry specific competitive advantages; enhance efficiency, market power and growth potential. Notwithstanding, the approach or strategies adopted by managers towards mergers and acquisitions (MAs), they may not yield successful results relative to the sought advantages. The risks associated with cross-border (MAs) are many and can precipitate tremendous failure. Knowledge transfer is one of these risks which will be a focus of this paper. (Galbraith and Stiles, 1984). Knowledge transfer means conveying or moving knowledge from one person or place to another. In the world of business, knowledge management would mean the manner on how we move knowledge from one point of the organisation to another (Rutkowski, 1999). However in international mergers and acquisitions, knowledge would be conveyed from one organisation to another but in a cross cultural context. Knowledge capture and transfer can be regarded as strategic issues. They benefit the organisation as a whole. The process of accumulating and documenting knowledge learned is more tactical because it involves costs attributable to a specific project and managers need to determine which type of knowledge will be useful for the organisation before they are codified. According to (Davenport ,1996) and( Halal ,1996), the most recent and widely used vessel of knowledge transfer is the modern technology. Many companies worldwide use the Web or the internet access as a channel of knowledge sharing in workgroup and company levels. The purpose of the use of modern technology networks is to distribute information and computing resources among employees within the organization, enable the sharing of knowledge and expertise, overcome knowledge transfer barriers, exchange documents, and communicate effectively. According to (Keen, 1997), modern technology in knowledge transfer has reach, range, and ease of use. Reach relates to the people who can access the companys online services and information resources. It can be possible for the organization to gather, transfer or share information from their systems through any computer linked to another computer anywhere across the globe. Range relates to the information and services that can be automatically cross-linked. The World Wide Web is a way of sharing information. Ease of Use pertains to how the system can access and navigate the use of the technologies. Web browsers are good examples of information retrieval systems. In the transfer of knowledge in international mergers and acquisitions, most individuals are reluctant to share and transfer knowledge due to various factors. The announcement of a merger or acquisition creates a highly stressful environment of uncertainty, fear and distrust (Cartwright Cooper, 1992). Even if redundancies are not planned, individuals in both the acquired and the acquiring firms may fear loss of status and changes to their established work norms (Hunt et al, 1987; Schweiger Denise, 1991:49). They may react by resisting senior managements initiatives to encourage co-operation between the combining firms and may ultimately resign (Buono Bowditch, 1989; Levinson, 1970, pg.98). These researched negative reactions are likely to be particularly problematic when knowledge transfer is an explicit merger objective. Knowledge transfer is above all an inter-personal process. Whilst codified knowledge may be shared relatively easily, the experiences and insights required to in terpret and apply this knowledge reside within individuals. Individuals cannot be forced to share this knowledge with others but can only do so willingly. When we specifically consider the international or global transfer of knowledge, then as (Bresman et al,1999,pg.17) have noted, with respect to international acquisitions, the lack of personal relationships, the absence of trust, and cultural distance all conspire to create resistance, frictions, and misunderstandings. This observation is consistent with the conviction that a significant source of dissatisfaction in organizations today is the poor structures and networks for mediating and diffusing knowledge, values and experience within the organisational environment (Claes, 1999,pg.68). Since the competitive advantage of most organisations is their knowledge, individuals from the acquired company in an acquisition refuse to share their knowledge because they might feel the acquirers will eventually find them unimportant and possibly make them redundant. Some also leave and take their knowledge with them to utilise in another company. This is the reason why it is very necessary to identify the factors that influence the transfer of knowledge and improve on these factors to facilitate the process. These factors can be either individual, knowledge based or organisational factors. This dissertation will however, focus specifically on the organisational factors. This is because when they are identified and managed efficiently they help produce a positive transfer of knowledge. 2.4 Organisational Learning (Fisher and White, 2000) defined organisational learning as a reflective process, played out by members at all levels of the organization, which involves the collection of information from both the external and internal environments. This information is filtered through a collective sense-making process, which results in shared interpretations that can be used to instigate actions resulting in enduring changes to the organizations behaviour and theories-in-use.According to Crossan et al. (1999), organizational learning entails a tension between gaining knowledge of new learning or exploration, and using what has been learned or exploitation. This includes individual, group and organizational levels of learning, which are connected by the processes of intuiting, interpreting, integrating, and institutionalizing. 2.5 Organisational factors affecting Knowledge Transfer in Mergers and Acquisitions (Hybels and Weaver, 2007) define communication as any process in which people share information, ideas and feelings. It involves not only the spoken and written word but also the body language, personal mannerisms and anything that adds meaning to the message. Communication can be verbal and non verbal. In mergers and acquisitions, effective communication is very important because it helps coordinates and improves the transfer of knowledge. Communication is a process and consists of various elements which include sending of information, receiving information and feedback. This is in a form of of a basic communication model where the sender encodes the message, uses an appropriate medium to transmit the message and the receiver decodes the message (Hollensen, 2001). Whilst every organization has a unique environment particular key organisational factors such as communication, structure, culture and technology play a crucial role in the overall performance of the organization.(Galbraith, 2002). Therefore, this dissertation will focus on these key factors: Organisational Culture, Flexible structures and support, Information Technology and Communication to determine its effect on knowledge transfer. 2.5.1 Organisational Culture (Schein, 1985) defines organizational culture as a set of implicit assumptions held by members of a group that determines how the group behaves and responds to its environment. It is reflected in the aspects of the organization such as its mission. It is reflected in the way the employees act, what they expect of each other, and how they make sense of each others actions. Most of all, it is deeply rooted in the core values of the organization. According to (Hill C, W, L, 2007) organisational culture comes from several sources. Firstly, influential leaders can have an influence on the culture of the organisation. Secondly, the social culture of a country where the company was founded also influences its corporate culture. The third influence is the history of the company and lastly decisions that yield high performance tend to become embedded in the values of the firm. Many acquisitions fail because of the differences in corporate culture that exist amongst both units. This is because; if the differences are not managed properly they cause a strain on the integration process. An example is the Daimler and Chrysler merger which experienced a clash of corporate culture. Though it is not surprising that the merging of a German company and an American company would present dissimilarity in corporate cultures, there was insufficient support or consideration for these challenges offered to staff. Ideally both Daimler and Chrysler were to benefit equally from each others strengths and capabilities and ultimately increase performance but the cultural clashes significantly affected the corporate structure and success of the merger. (Hill, C.W. L, 2007, pg.505). This caused high management turnover and eventually loss of knowledge and expertise. (Bresman et al.,1999:17) therefore ?trepoe? the importance of cultural compatibility influencing international merger and acquisition success by arguing that the similarities of both parents organisational culture play a critical role in determining the international mergers and acquisitions extent of knowledge acquisition. With the view that cultural compatibility increases the possibility to acquire knowledge and the acquired knowledge then contributes to form new corporate cultures. (De long and Fahey, 2000) identified four ways in which culture influences knowledge transfer. Firstly, culture shapes assumptions about what knowledge is and what type of knowledge is worth managing. Secondly, culture defines the relationships between individual and organisational learning by determining who can control a specific type of knowledge. Thirdly, culture creates the context for social interaction that determines how knowledge will be used in a particular situation. Lastly, culture shapes the processes by which new knowledge is created legitimated and distributed in an organisation. For (M?rpoini,2004) the high failure rates of acquisitions observed over a long period of time by researchers are often due to company manager systematically overlooking the major cultural and organisational complexities involved in integrating the merging firms operations and informal networks. As the increasing number of ?rpo?-border acquisitions brought public attention to the ?la?he? of management styles and ?hilpopohie?, many poh?lar? tried to test whether organisations pould dipolay a higher level of cultural pom?atibility for a ?upoepoful acquisitions. Many thought companies with compatible cultures would be less problematic to acquire and generate value but a research by (Schoenberg, 2000) found out that the impact of cultural compatibility on acquisition performance is revolving around the form of post acquisition integration and the relative attractiveness of the acquirers culture. When knowledge is deeply embedded in a unique culture and organisational setting, transfer of knowledge becomes very difficult and costly. Researchers have argued that a major determinant of how much knowledge a company gains from a merger or an acquisition is its ability to learn from each other. (Hamel et al, 2002,). An example is the merger between General motors (GM) and Toyota in 1985 to build the Chevrolet. Toyota achieved its objectives from the merger and transferred all the knowledge to General Motors which was never put to good use. GM focused on the explicit knowledge forgetting that the tacit knowledge was embedded in the organisation. They should have worked together as a team to transfer both types of knowledge throughout the organisation. We can therefore say that to maximize the transfer of knowledge in a merger or acquisition both units need to adopt a common knowledge sharing culture across every part of the organisation. A shared culture may help informal integrating mechanisms such as knowledge networks to operate more efficiently. As such, a common culture may be of greater value in a multinational that is pursuing a strategy that requires cooperation and coordination between globally dispersed subsidiaries. (Hill, C.W. L, 2007, pp.472-474). Organisational culture can also be maintained by effective communication, organisational culture training as part of the due diligence process, maintaining trust from the pre acquisition stage and then finally staff must be trained on the core values of both units. According to (Baker and English, 2006), aspects of the business culture that can carefully be managed and improve knowledge transfer within the organization, is the use of a common business language and codes, the creation of a shared vision, and the construction of a common company culture that promotes knowledge transfer .Human due diligence should take place more openly and managers must make use of cultural assessment tools like employee surveys and face-to-face interviews. It is therefore useful to let the managers from both companies jointly review this data and agree on the cultural elements for the new company (Harding and Rouse, 2007). Managers must also be aware that basic approaches, values, and philosophies about employment regulation vary widely from country to country around the world. 2.5.2 Communication (Hybels and Weaver, 2007) define communication as any process in which people share information, ideas and feelings. It involves not only the spoken and written word but also the body language, personal mannerisms and anything that adds meaning to the message. Communication can be verbal and non verbal. In mergers and acquisitions, effective communication is very important because it helps coordinates and improves the transfer of knowledge. Communication is a process and consists of various elements which include sending of information, receiving information and feedback. This is in a form of of a basic communication model where the sender encodes the message, uses an appropriate medium to transmit the message and the receiver decodes the message (Hollensen, 2001). The positive outcome of the transfer of knowledge depends on an effective communication process which begins with the sender sharing the information, structuring the message in such a way that the receiver understands, selecting the appropriate method to convey the message to the recipient and then once an appropriate channel is selected and used, the receiver receives the message. Here he/she must decode the message. Meaning is attached to the various symbols and the channel used by the sender and now the receiver must interpret the message. This interpretation involves gaining an understanding from the message and is influenced by the receivers personal experiences, relationship with the sender, knowledge, perceptions and culture. Feedback is the final step in the communication process. Feedback is the response the receiver sends to the sender. In feedback the receiver conceives, encodes and selects the channel just like the original sender did. The original sender then becomes the receiver since he decodes, interprets and responds (feedback) to the response (feedback) the original receiver sent.However, this communication process is subject to many influences that determine its successful transfer. (Welch, D Welch, L, 2007). There are different ways of communicating tacit and coded knowledge. These are face to face and electronic communication. Face to face tends to be the most influential medium of communicating. This Processes of Mergers and Acquisitions Processes of Mergers and Acquisitions CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Mergers and acquisitions (MAs) have become the dominant mode of growth for firms seeking competitive advantage in an increasingly complex and global business economy (Adler, 1997). According to (Schuler et al, 2003) a merger happens when two companies agree to join their operations together to form a new company in which they participate as equal partners. On the other hand, in an acquisition, one firm buys a controlling or full interest in another firm with the understanding that the buyer will determine how the combined operations will be managed. ultimately, wealth increases for shareholders in the acquiring company. In practice, however, acquisitions often produce disappointing results. An example to illustrate this is a study by Mercer Management Consulting who looked at 150 acquisitions worth more than 500 million dollars. The Mercer study concluded that 50 percent of the acquisitions eroded shareholder value, while another 33 percent created only marginal returns. (Hill, C.W. L, 2007, pg.504).Another study by a stream of empirical researchers examined the post-acquisition performance of companies and has generally failed to find consistent evidence of improvements in shareholder wealth after post acquisition stage. These findings appear to hold both in the short run (Firth 1980; Franks and Harris 1989; Higson and Elliot 1998:16-20) and in the long run (Gregory 1997; Kennedy and Limmak 1996; Sudarsanam and Mahate 2003:13-50).These findings reveal that mergers and acquisitions may not yield successful results relative to th e sought advantages. This is indeed worrying and raises questions about the value creation of mergers and acquisitions. An important factor affecting the performance of mergers and acquisitions is the transfer of knowledge between the two units. Knowledge transfer is critical to the performance of knowledge creation and in leveraging knowledge for greater organisational performance (Von Krough et al., 2000). Therefore, there is a need for efficient knowledge transfer in mergers and acquisitions. In international mergers and acquisitions, two cultures are combined, and also two systems of knowledge and insights are integrated. In order to develop and sustain competitive advantages for the knowledge-intensive firm, strategic management should enable the development and sharing of new knowledge and other resources. It is believed today by numerous researchers and managers that knowledge is one of the strongest sources of sustainable competitive advantage for Multi National Corporations (MNCs). The importance of developing and sharing knowledge in order to stay competitive for the future has been underlined by many. (Grant, 1996). There are two forms of knowledge which are tacit and explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge is not easily expressible and therefore difficult to communicate to others. Explicit knowledge on the other hand, is formal and systematic so can therefore be easily communicated. (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995, pg.98). Tacit knowledge is non-linguistic, as it deals with the processes of the mind that is interested in reasoning and analysis. The data it renders is non-numeric, and is codified as personal or biased. From the above-mentioned definition of tacit knowledge, it can be seen as something that is rooted on experiences, deeply attached or related to emotions, is connected with the ideals, ethics and emotions of the subject. Explicit knowledge on the other hand is being codified when it is interpreted, used, and shared. These forms of knowledge transfer can be affected by various factors which can be catogorised as organisational and individual factors. These can become barriers if not managed properly because they have a significant impact on knowledge transfer. This dissertation would therefore focus on the key organisational factors that affect the transfer of knowledge. The paper will establish the relationship between these factors and knowledge transfer in international mergers and acquisitions. These factors are flexible structures, organisational culture, communication and Information technology. (Ives et al., 2003 and Spender, 1996) 1.2 ?ignifi?ance of the Study Over the last few years there has been an upsurge in interest among scholars on the importance of knowledge management in firms. This is because in successful organizations, their main advantage comes from the knowledge of their employees. In the past mergers and acquisitions were mainly conducted to obtain wealth. However, in recent years multinational corporations (MNCs) emphasize on the knowledge assets that can be gained from mergers and acquisitions. Thus, techniques for archiving, transferring, and increasing knowledge are fundamental factors for the high quality performance of organizations (Maurer, 1999). When companies undertake acquisitions in an international setting the challenge to transfer knowledge becomes more crucial therefore tacit and coded knowledge must be managed and developed in order to obtain an efficient transfer process. This dissertation will therefore examine the organisational factors that influence the transfer of both tacit and explicit knowledge in acquisitions and the role the organisational factors play in the knowledge transfer process. This paper will begin by reviewing relevant literature on knowledge, knowledge management, transfer of knowledge in acquisitions and the organisational factors that influence the process, Chapter 3 will discuss a summary of the methodology. The results of the abovementioned objectives will be presented in Chapter 4 and a critical and analytical discussion of all results is presented in Chapter 5. Conclusions are then made from the analysis and discussion in the previous sections in Chapter 6. To conduct this study, a semi structured interview will be conducted on two financial institutions engaged in an acquisition. The study will identify the key organisational factors that influence the transfer of both tacit and explicit knowledge in the acquisition, the effect of the organisational factors in the transfer process and the factor that has the greatest impact on transfer of knowledge. The focus of the case study will take place in the banking sector .This is because it is part of the global financial sector, which pursues a high level of International mergers and acquisitions.(IMAs). The findings of this study will benefit employees as well by giving light to the actions taken by their respective organizations to aid them cope with the changes brought about by the relationship between knowledge transfer and organisational factors. 1.3 Aims and Objectives The aims and objectives are to answer the main research question and to propose a strategic and effective way of managing the factors that affect transfer of knowledge in order to obtain efficiency. The main research question is : What are the effects of the key organisational factors that influence knowledge transfer in international mergers and acquisitions? Following from the research question, the main objectives will be to establish: Key Organisational factors that influence the transfer of both tacit and explicit knowledge in the acquisition. The effect of the organisational factors in the transfer process. The factor that has the greatest impact on transfer of knowledge ?HA?TER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW To answer the research question this chapter starts with a brief insight into the nature of knowledge, and then proceed to provide a critical review of transfer of knowledge in mergers and acquisitions and then focus on the key organisational factors that affect the transfer of this knowledge. 2.1 The Nature of Knowledge Knowledge can be experience, concepts, values or beliefs that increase an individuals capability to take effective actions (Alavi Leidner 1999).Knowledge can be categorized according to its form and content. With regard to this, a number of typologies have been used, such as embodied versus embedded knowledge (Granovetter, 1985), knowledge as intrinsically versus instrumentally valuable (Degenhardt, 1982), scientific versus practical knowledge (Hayek, 1945), and know-what versus know-how (Gupta and Govindarajan, 2000).ref Knowledge is a fluid mix of framed experience, values, contextual information, and expert insight that provides a framework for evaluating and incorporating new experiences and information. It originates and is applied in the minds of knowers. In organisations, it often becomes embedded not only in documents or repositories but also in organisational routines, processes, practices, and norms. (Davenport and Prusak, 2000) In the literature on Knowledge Management (KM), there is much debate about what constitutes knowledge, what is data and what is information. Most literature on Knowledge Management classifies knowledge into two main categories: explicit knowledge and tacit knowledge. Explicit knowledge can be defined as things that are clearly stated or defined, while tacit knowledge can be defined as things that are not expressed openly, but implied (Choo 2000, Herschel et al., 2001). This section will make a distinction between the two forms of knowledge tacit and explicit knowledge which was proposed by (Polyani 1962). Explicit knowledge is codifiable and objective and therefore easily transmitted, conceptualized and stored, with little cost. Codes can be differentiated by taking into account the number of elements and combination rules a code consists of, as well as the degree of ambiguity allowed. (Jorna, 2001). (Davenport and ?ru?ak, 1998, pg.41) say: the aim of c?difi?ation is to put organisational knowledge into a form that makes it accessible to those who need it. It literally turns knowledge into code to make it organised, explicit, portable, and as easy to understand as possible. New technologies play an important role in the knowledge codification and make the prospect for those activities increasingly promising. Knowledge managers and users can categorise knowledge, describe it, map and model it, simulate it, and embed it in rules and recipes. Each of these approaches has its own set of values and limitations. Knowledge is being codified when it is interpreted, used, and shared. Codified knowledge comes in the form of organization of thoughts that matter to the individual and can be used for common decisions. Tacit knowledge is converted to explicit or codified knowledge, a form of knowledge that is used by company and/or organisation members. Codified knowledge is essential in the diagnosis, performance, training, and planning of the events in the company or in the life of an individual. Tacit knowledge on the other hand, resides within individuals and is non-codifiable, acquired through experience, personal and subjective. These features make tacit knowledge difficult to formalise and transmit, leading to loss of organisational knowledge. Much of organisational knowledge is tacit (Cook and Yanow, 1993.) This form of knowledge is non-linguistic, as it deals with the processes of the mind that is interested in reasoning and analysis. The data it renders is non-numeric, and is codified as personal or biased. From the above-mentioned definition of tacit knowledge, it can be seen as something that is rooted on experiences, deeply attached or related to emotions, is connected with the ideals, ethics and emotions of the subject. It is this type of knowledge that has strong potential to be a source of competitive advantage, because it is difficult to assess from the outside and not readily available. The focus of this dissertation will be on these two types of knowledge. According to (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995), knowledge is created through interactions amongst individuals with different types and contents of knowledge. Through this social conversion process, tacit and explicit knowledge expands in terms of both quality and quantity. (Nonaka, 1990, 1991, 1994: Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) .This process goes through four modes of conversion between tacit and explicit knowledge which are Socialization (from tacit to tacit) Externalization (from tacit to explicit). Combination (from explicit to explicit) and finally Internalization (from explicit to tacit). 2.2 Knowledge Management Knowledge management has been an important topic in organizations for years. Companies have hugely emphasized the importance of knowledge as the basis for competitive advantage (Teece, 1998). According to (Zack,1999), there is an obvious difference among knowledge, data and information. Data correspond to observations or facts that are not meaningful. Information results from the placement of data within a meaningful context. Knowledge, on the other hand, is more intricate because it can be both implicit and explicit. Implicit knowledge is understood and applied, and developed from experience. It is shared through interactive conversations and narration of shared experiences. Companies have implemented knowledge management strategies to promote organizational learning. According to (Sarvary,1999), a knowledge management system is the infrastructure necessary for the organization to implement the Knowledge Management process. This comprises IT and organizational communications. Organizational culture, internal governance mechanisms and appropriate incentive schemes are also required. (Zack,1999) stated that effective knowledge creation, sharing, and leveraging requires an organizational climate and reward system that values and encourages cooperation, trust, learning, and innovation and provides incentives for engaging in those knowledge-based roles, activities, and processes. I have consistently observed this aspect to be a major obstacle to effective knowledge management. The success of these strategies is contingent upon the battle between organizational roles and formal and informal structure with socio-cultural factors affecting knowledge management. Culture, power relations, norms, management philosophy, and reward systems are examples. Knowledge management as a task, particularly in project-based international organisations, is an evolution of cognitive processes and social interaction. As knowledge formulation moves through the stages of intuiting, interpreting, integrating, and institutionalizing the tasks become less uncertain and more tangible. A mix of control mechanisms is therefore crucial for effectively managing knowledge capture and transfer within the organization. (Crossan et al., 1999) 2.3 Knowledge Transfer in International Mergers and Acquisitions One of the most prominent contemporary trends in the business of an enterprise is the increasing internationalization of their basic activities. This trend originally started in the most developed countries of the world, where enterprises reached a level of development by economies of scale, as a basic precondition for further progress, which enable enterprises to spread rapidly into international markets. Today however, globalisation can be considered as a precondition for the survival of an organisation notwithstanding the size or the country of origin. Internationalization of business functions began with sales and marketing, continued with production, and today it covers strategic research and development as well (Kolalovic, 2004).Because the prerequisite of an economic development is the openness of the economy, globalisation of businesses has been an economic rule. Local enterprises accepted the importance of mergers and acquisitions as a great help in penetrating the internati onal market and in gaining competitiveness (Hill, 2007). International mergers and acquisitions (IMA) have ballooned in the past two decades and key drivers of this have been globalisation and technological development. These key drivers have brought rise to an easiness of reaching markets, acquiring, managing and monitoring businesses abroad. On a macro level, International mergers and acquisitions (IMAs) can help companies remain competitive, achieve economies of scale and scope and improve positioning in the global environment. On a micro level, gaining valuable tangible and intangible assets can give industry specific competitive advantages; enhance efficiency, market power and growth potential. Notwithstanding, the approach or strategies adopted by managers towards mergers and acquisitions (MAs), they may not yield successful results relative to the sought advantages. The risks associated with cross-border (MAs) are many and can precipitate tremendous failure. Knowledge transfer is one of these risks which will be a focus of this paper. (Galbraith and Stiles, 1984). Knowledge transfer means conveying or moving knowledge from one person or place to another. In the world of business, knowledge management would mean the manner on how we move knowledge from one point of the organisation to another (Rutkowski, 1999). However in international mergers and acquisitions, knowledge would be conveyed from one organisation to another but in a cross cultural context. Knowledge capture and transfer can be regarded as strategic issues. They benefit the organisation as a whole. The process of accumulating and documenting knowledge learned is more tactical because it involves costs attributable to a specific project and managers need to determine which type of knowledge will be useful for the organisation before they are codified. According to (Davenport ,1996) and( Halal ,1996), the most recent and widely used vessel of knowledge transfer is the modern technology. Many companies worldwide use the Web or the internet access as a channel of knowledge sharing in workgroup and company levels. The purpose of the use of modern technology networks is to distribute information and computing resources among employees within the organization, enable the sharing of knowledge and expertise, overcome knowledge transfer barriers, exchange documents, and communicate effectively. According to (Keen, 1997), modern technology in knowledge transfer has reach, range, and ease of use. Reach relates to the people who can access the companys online services and information resources. It can be possible for the organization to gather, transfer or share information from their systems through any computer linked to another computer anywhere across the globe. Range relates to the information and services that can be automatically cross-linked. The World Wide Web is a way of sharing information. Ease of Use pertains to how the system can access and navigate the use of the technologies. Web browsers are good examples of information retrieval systems. In the transfer of knowledge in international mergers and acquisitions, most individuals are reluctant to share and transfer knowledge due to various factors. The announcement of a merger or acquisition creates a highly stressful environment of uncertainty, fear and distrust (Cartwright Cooper, 1992). Even if redundancies are not planned, individuals in both the acquired and the acquiring firms may fear loss of status and changes to their established work norms (Hunt et al, 1987; Schweiger Denise, 1991:49). They may react by resisting senior managements initiatives to encourage co-operation between the combining firms and may ultimately resign (Buono Bowditch, 1989; Levinson, 1970, pg.98). These researched negative reactions are likely to be particularly problematic when knowledge transfer is an explicit merger objective. Knowledge transfer is above all an inter-personal process. Whilst codified knowledge may be shared relatively easily, the experiences and insights required to in terpret and apply this knowledge reside within individuals. Individuals cannot be forced to share this knowledge with others but can only do so willingly. When we specifically consider the international or global transfer of knowledge, then as (Bresman et al,1999,pg.17) have noted, with respect to international acquisitions, the lack of personal relationships, the absence of trust, and cultural distance all conspire to create resistance, frictions, and misunderstandings. This observation is consistent with the conviction that a significant source of dissatisfaction in organizations today is the poor structures and networks for mediating and diffusing knowledge, values and experience within the organisational environment (Claes, 1999,pg.68). Since the competitive advantage of most organisations is their knowledge, individuals from the acquired company in an acquisition refuse to share their knowledge because they might feel the acquirers will eventually find them unimportant and possibly make them redundant. Some also leave and take their knowledge with them to utilise in another company. This is the reason why it is very necessary to identify the factors that influence the transfer of knowledge and improve on these factors to facilitate the process. These factors can be either individual, knowledge based or organisational factors. This dissertation will however, focus specifically on the organisational factors. This is because when they are identified and managed efficiently they help produce a positive transfer of knowledge. 2.4 Organisational Learning (Fisher and White, 2000) defined organisational learning as a reflective process, played out by members at all levels of the organization, which involves the collection of information from both the external and internal environments. This information is filtered through a collective sense-making process, which results in shared interpretations that can be used to instigate actions resulting in enduring changes to the organizations behaviour and theories-in-use.According to Crossan et al. (1999), organizational learning entails a tension between gaining knowledge of new learning or exploration, and using what has been learned or exploitation. This includes individual, group and organizational levels of learning, which are connected by the processes of intuiting, interpreting, integrating, and institutionalizing. 2.5 Organisational factors affecting Knowledge Transfer in Mergers and Acquisitions (Hybels and Weaver, 2007) define communication as any process in which people share information, ideas and feelings. It involves not only the spoken and written word but also the body language, personal mannerisms and anything that adds meaning to the message. Communication can be verbal and non verbal. In mergers and acquisitions, effective communication is very important because it helps coordinates and improves the transfer of knowledge. Communication is a process and consists of various elements which include sending of information, receiving information and feedback. This is in a form of of a basic communication model where the sender encodes the message, uses an appropriate medium to transmit the message and the receiver decodes the message (Hollensen, 2001). Whilst every organization has a unique environment particular key organisational factors such as communication, structure, culture and technology play a crucial role in the overall performance of the organization.(Galbraith, 2002). Therefore, this dissertation will focus on these key factors: Organisational Culture, Flexible structures and support, Information Technology and Communication to determine its effect on knowledge transfer. 2.5.1 Organisational Culture (Schein, 1985) defines organizational culture as a set of implicit assumptions held by members of a group that determines how the group behaves and responds to its environment. It is reflected in the aspects of the organization such as its mission. It is reflected in the way the employees act, what they expect of each other, and how they make sense of each others actions. Most of all, it is deeply rooted in the core values of the organization. According to (Hill C, W, L, 2007) organisational culture comes from several sources. Firstly, influential leaders can have an influence on the culture of the organisation. Secondly, the social culture of a country where the company was founded also influences its corporate culture. The third influence is the history of the company and lastly decisions that yield high performance tend to become embedded in the values of the firm. Many acquisitions fail because of the differences in corporate culture that exist amongst both units. This is because; if the differences are not managed properly they cause a strain on the integration process. An example is the Daimler and Chrysler merger which experienced a clash of corporate culture. Though it is not surprising that the merging of a German company and an American company would present dissimilarity in corporate cultures, there was insufficient support or consideration for these challenges offered to staff. Ideally both Daimler and Chrysler were to benefit equally from each others strengths and capabilities and ultimately increase performance but the cultural clashes significantly affected the corporate structure and success of the merger. (Hill, C.W. L, 2007, pg.505). This caused high management turnover and eventually loss of knowledge and expertise. (Bresman et al.,1999:17) therefore ?trepoe? the importance of cultural compatibility influencing international merger and acquisition success by arguing that the similarities of both parents organisational culture play a critical role in determining the international mergers and acquisitions extent of knowledge acquisition. With the view that cultural compatibility increases the possibility to acquire knowledge and the acquired knowledge then contributes to form new corporate cultures. (De long and Fahey, 2000) identified four ways in which culture influences knowledge transfer. Firstly, culture shapes assumptions about what knowledge is and what type of knowledge is worth managing. Secondly, culture defines the relationships between individual and organisational learning by determining who can control a specific type of knowledge. Thirdly, culture creates the context for social interaction that determines how knowledge will be used in a particular situation. Lastly, culture shapes the processes by which new knowledge is created legitimated and distributed in an organisation. For (M?rpoini,2004) the high failure rates of acquisitions observed over a long period of time by researchers are often due to company manager systematically overlooking the major cultural and organisational complexities involved in integrating the merging firms operations and informal networks. As the increasing number of ?rpo?-border acquisitions brought public attention to the ?la?he? of management styles and ?hilpopohie?, many poh?lar? tried to test whether organisations pould dipolay a higher level of cultural pom?atibility for a ?upoepoful acquisitions. Many thought companies with compatible cultures would be less problematic to acquire and generate value but a research by (Schoenberg, 2000) found out that the impact of cultural compatibility on acquisition performance is revolving around the form of post acquisition integration and the relative attractiveness of the acquirers culture. When knowledge is deeply embedded in a unique culture and organisational setting, transfer of knowledge becomes very difficult and costly. Researchers have argued that a major determinant of how much knowledge a company gains from a merger or an acquisition is its ability to learn from each other. (Hamel et al, 2002,). An example is the merger between General motors (GM) and Toyota in 1985 to build the Chevrolet. Toyota achieved its objectives from the merger and transferred all the knowledge to General Motors which was never put to good use. GM focused on the explicit knowledge forgetting that the tacit knowledge was embedded in the organisation. They should have worked together as a team to transfer both types of knowledge throughout the organisation. We can therefore say that to maximize the transfer of knowledge in a merger or acquisition both units need to adopt a common knowledge sharing culture across every part of the organisation. A shared culture may help informal integrating mechanisms such as knowledge networks to operate more efficiently. As such, a common culture may be of greater value in a multinational that is pursuing a strategy that requires cooperation and coordination between globally dispersed subsidiaries. (Hill, C.W. L, 2007, pp.472-474). Organisational culture can also be maintained by effective communication, organisational culture training as part of the due diligence process, maintaining trust from the pre acquisition stage and then finally staff must be trained on the core values of both units. According to (Baker and English, 2006), aspects of the business culture that can carefully be managed and improve knowledge transfer within the organization, is the use of a common business language and codes, the creation of a shared vision, and the construction of a common company culture that promotes knowledge transfer .Human due diligence should take place more openly and managers must make use of cultural assessment tools like employee surveys and face-to-face interviews. It is therefore useful to let the managers from both companies jointly review this data and agree on the cultural elements for the new company (Harding and Rouse, 2007). Managers must also be aware that basic approaches, values, and philosophies about employment regulation vary widely from country to country around the world. 2.5.2 Communication (Hybels and Weaver, 2007) define communication as any process in which people share information, ideas and feelings. It involves not only the spoken and written word but also the body language, personal mannerisms and anything that adds meaning to the message. Communication can be verbal and non verbal. In mergers and acquisitions, effective communication is very important because it helps coordinates and improves the transfer of knowledge. Communication is a process and consists of various elements which include sending of information, receiving information and feedback. This is in a form of of a basic communication model where the sender encodes the message, uses an appropriate medium to transmit the message and the receiver decodes the message (Hollensen, 2001). The positive outcome of the transfer of knowledge depends on an effective communication process which begins with the sender sharing the information, structuring the message in such a way that the receiver understands, selecting the appropriate method to convey the message to the recipient and then once an appropriate channel is selected and used, the receiver receives the message. Here he/she must decode the message. Meaning is attached to the various symbols and the channel used by the sender and now the receiver must interpret the message. This interpretation involves gaining an understanding from the message and is influenced by the receivers personal experiences, relationship with the sender, knowledge, perceptions and culture. Feedback is the final step in the communication process. Feedback is the response the receiver sends to the sender. In feedback the receiver conceives, encodes and selects the channel just like the original sender did. The original sender then becomes the receiver since he decodes, interprets and responds (feedback) to the response (feedback) the original receiver sent.However, this communication process is subject to many influences that determine its successful transfer. (Welch, D Welch, L, 2007). There are different ways of communicating tacit and coded knowledge. These are face to face and electronic communication. Face to face tends to be the most influential medium of communicating. This

Is Fast Food Killing People? Essay

Nowadays obesity has become one of the vital problems in the USA. The quantity of overweight or obese people has been increasing dramatically through the past decades, carrying the raise in number of young people suffering from heart diseases, diabetes and other weight-related diseases. Maintaining healthy weight among the citizens has become one of the most significant tasks for the contemporary health professionals. The nutritionists and therapists name several reasons that lead to obesity in children, adolescents and adults. They say that while the lack of physical activity plays its part in this process, it is mostly improper ration that leads to the progress of this disease. The thing is that most Americans eat more than they should. They overeat every day, and, in addition, their food is mostly high in calories and fat. One of the reasons of this process is that the fast foods are gaining popularity in throughout the USA with each passing year. The excessive consumption of fast foods leads to developing dangerous diseases, which often lead to lethal outcome. A contemporary pace of life often doesn’t allow time for cooking at home, thus the families either eat out, or order food home. It is rarely that families order home healthy foods like salad. Most of Americans prefer pizza, where it is lots off fat and carbohydrates. In addition lots of parents prefer to stock the fridge with high-calorie snacks the children can eat while watching TV or playing computer games. Chocolate bars, soft drinks, and chips are the main ration for many American children. Over and above, there are few kids in the USA that are involved in some kind of physical activity. It’s no wonder the statistic says that 11% of children are obese in the USA and there is also the significant percent of those, who are overweight. (World Heart Federation Fact-Sheet, 2002). The situation with adult obesity is even more threatening. If we consider the fact that being overweigh is having body mass index higher than 25, and obesity is defined as having BMI 30, or greater, the statistical data, gathered in 2003, shows that 39. 8 million American adults, more than 57% are overweight. One-quarter of American adults are also obese. (CDC, 2006) Television and computer games contribute greatly to the weight problems, as today 43% of American adolescents watch TV more than two hours a day, sitting still near the TV set, and often eating snacks. Genetic predisposition factors also shouldn’t be neglected, as their combination with the unhealthy lifestyle usually leads to the severe weight problems. And it is often that obese teenagers become obese adults. Most Americans love fast food, and some of them are dining there two-three times a week. As you understand, no weight loss is possible in such a regime, as the foods offered in McDonalds and similar restaurants are full of empty calories. After a snack in the fast food a person often still feels hungry, even thus he /she consumed twice more calories than he/she needed. As we can see, fast food is one of the factors that determine obesity epidemic that exists in the U. S nowadays. Of course, the McDonalds and other fast food restaurants’ officials try to disprove this fact. Nevertheless, the movie Super Size Me, filmed by Morgan Spurlock, proved it convincingly. Mr. Spurlock, the author and the director of this film, put his own body on the line. He decided to live on nothing, but McDonald’s food, during the entire month. The results were that he gained lots of weight, developed depression, and sugar cravings. As we can se, fast food influences the physical and psychological health of its consumers badly. Healthcare professionals state that consuming fast food leads to obesity, which is one of the causes of diabetes, heart diseases, and other dangerous conditions. Moreover, obesity influences the psychological condition of the patient, leading to development of eating disorders, like Anorexia or Bulimia Nervosa, or Binge eating (Levy, 2000). It is obvious that consuming great amounts of fast food is mortally dangerous. References 1. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2006). Overweight and Obesity: Obesity Trends: U. S. Obesity Trends 1985–2004. Retrieved 12 March, 2006 from URL: http://www. cdc. gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/trend/maps/ 2. World Heart Federation (2002). World Heart Federation Fact-Sheet. Obesity/Nutrition. 3. Supersize Me. A film of Epic Portions. (2002). About the Movie. Retrieved 12 March, 2006 from URL: < http://www. supersizeme. com/home. aspx? page=aboutmovie> 4. Levy, L. (2000). Understanding Obesity: The Five Medical Causes. New-York: Firefly Books Ltd. , p. 11.

A Separate Peace

In â€Å"A Separate Peace†, John Knowles uses the characters come to understand the difference between fantasy and reality, innocence and  experience, and sympathy and hatred. Phineas uses denial to protect himself against the reality of war. One person can need protection to hide from an  experience  that's been haunting their lives like a death in the family. They need this protection to help them move on in life and find peace within themselves again. Some need protection from war in the thought of death during battle.This kind of protection is more physical then emotional in that it's asking for protection that would shield any bullet that could  enter the  body. Others need an emotional type of protection from jealousy and hatred and to  escape  their fears and from truth. This could be needed to help one get through the day and live without having to hide from other people's jealousy and hatred. In â€Å"A Separate Peace† by John Knowles, Phineas nee ds protection from the truth and reality.With this, John Knowles compares reality and the truth by exhibiting the cast as a barrier that protects Phineas from the world around him, as well as the thing of craziness and reality, of innocence and  knowledge, and of love and disgust. Phineas' defensive attitude towards the war and life in general is a result  of his anxious character not wanting to accept the changes around him, leading him into denial for his friendship with Gene and the world outside the Devon school.When Phineas hears about the war, he puts himself into complete denial as he tells Gene, â€Å"Don't be a sap,' he gazed with cool self-possession at me, ‘there isn't any war†¦ that's what this whole war story is a horrible drug† (107). Phineas doesn't believe that there is a war going on. This is one of the things that Phineas hides and can't face. Towards the end, Phineas tells Gene that the one thing Phineas is mad about is not being able to do a nything once he breaks his leg again, is that he can't go away to war.This shows that Phineas probably told Gene that he didn't believe in war to hide his real emotions. When Phineas shows that he is in denial about reality and can't handle the truth, Gene states, â€Å"To begin joking, would have been a hypocritical denial, of what had happened, and Phineas was not capable of that† (109). Gene doesn't think that Phineas can take the truth and won't accept reality. This shows the way Gene sees Phineas as a person, who can't handle reality and who is living his life in denial.Phineas was in such a mind state that he couldn't even be joked around with as a  result  of his unbearable attitude towards his leg situation. As the fact of reality, when Phineas was pushed from the tree by Gene, he started to be seen before him, Phineas cries, â€Å"I don't care,' Phineas interrupted in an even voice, so full of richness that it overrode all the others. I don't care† (168) I nstead of facing the fact that he was pushed out of the tree and move on to other things, he dwelled on the past, not believing anything.This shows the way Phineas views his life and his attitude towards the world, which was that he spends his time successively from the truth about how he fell from the tree and that there isn't a war occurring around him. Phineas lives his life by hiding from the truth, the cast acting like a barrier keeping him away from accepting the differences, both emotional and physical, that  result  from his broken leg. The cast represents his deception of Gene, reality, and what makes him realize that he will never be able to play the sports that play a key part in his life.When Phineas is notified that he will never be able to play sports again, all he wants is someone to carry his sportsmanship for him, and that is when he tells Gene, â€Å"Listen, pal, if I can't play sports; you're going to play them for me,' and I lost apart of myself to him then and a soaring sense of freedom, revealed that this might have been my purpose from the first; to become a part of Phineas† (77). Phineas loses the ability to play sports and wants Gene to do that for him, but Phineas also loses his innocence..He feels as if his whole purpose after Phineas' accident was to become a part of him and do what he no longer will be able to do. It suddenly occurs to Gene that Phineas may never be able to walk again, let alone play sports, and this is when he states, â€Å"Then my eyes fell on the bound cast white mass pointing at me, and as it was always to do, it brought me down out of Finny's world of creation, down again as I had fell after awakening that morning, down to reality, to the facts† (107 and 108).Gene didn't realize the outcome of his actions toward Phineas until Gene saw Phineas' side. Finny had a world of creation where he wouldn't face the truth and the cast acted like a barrier that sustains Phineas from facing the truth. Whe n Phineas tells Gene his feelings of hatred towards him, Gene's description of Phineas is, â€Å"He struggled clumsily for such a length of time that even my mind, slowed and shocked as if it had been, was able to formulate two realizations: that his leg was bound†¦ nd that he was struggling to unleash his hate against me† (176). Gene knows about Phineas' feelings of hatred towards him and how Phineas feels about the whole accident. The act wasn't only a barrier for the truth, but a wall that was trying to unleash his hate for Gene and for what he did to Phineas' wonderful life. A Separate Peace In â€Å"A Separate Peace†, John Knowles uses the characters come to understand the difference between fantasy and reality, innocence and  experience, and sympathy and hatred. Phineas uses denial to protect himself against the reality of war. One person can need protection to hide from an  experience  that's been haunting their lives like a death in the family. They need this protection to help them move on in life and find peace within themselves again. Some need protection from war in the thought of death during battle.This kind of protection is more physical then emotional in that it's asking for protection that would shield any bullet that could  enter the  body. Others need an emotional type of protection from jealousy and hatred and to  escape  their fears and from truth. This could be needed to help one get through the day and live without having to hide from other people's jealousy and hatred. In â€Å"A Separate Peace† by John Knowles, Phineas nee ds protection from the truth and reality.With this, John Knowles compares reality and the truth by exhibiting the cast as a barrier that protects Phineas from the world around him, as well as the thing of craziness and reality, of innocence and  knowledge, and of love and disgust. Phineas' defensive attitude towards the war and life in general is a result  of his anxious character not wanting to accept the changes around him, leading him into denial for his friendship with Gene and the world outside the Devon school.When Phineas hears about the war, he puts himself into complete denial as he tells Gene, â€Å"Don't be a sap,' he gazed with cool self-possession at me, ‘there isn't any war†¦ that's what this whole war story is a horrible drug† (107). Phineas doesn't believe that there is a war going on. This is one of the things that Phineas hides and can't face. Towards the end, Phineas tells Gene that the one thing Phineas is mad about is not being able to do a nything once he breaks his leg again, is that he can't go away to war.This shows that Phineas probably told Gene that he didn't believe in war to hide his real emotions. When Phineas shows that he is in denial about reality and can't handle the truth, Gene states, â€Å"To begin joking, would have been a hypocritical denial, of what had happened, and Phineas was not capable of that† (109). Gene doesn't think that Phineas can take the truth and won't accept reality. This shows the way Gene sees Phineas as a person, who can't handle reality and who is living his life in denial.Phineas was in such a mind state that he couldn't even be joked around with as a  result  of his unbearable attitude towards his leg situation. As the fact of reality, when Phineas was pushed from the tree by Gene, he started to be seen before him, Phineas cries, â€Å"I don't care,' Phineas interrupted in an even voice, so full of richness that it overrode all the others. I don't care† (168) I nstead of facing the fact that he was pushed out of the tree and move on to other things, he dwelled on the past, not believing anything.This shows the way Phineas views his life and his attitude towards the world, which was that he spends his time successively from the truth about how he fell from the tree and that there isn't a war occurring around him. Phineas lives his life by hiding from the truth, the cast acting like a barrier keeping him away from accepting the differences, both emotional and physical, that  result  from his broken leg. The cast represents his deception of Gene, reality, and what makes him realize that he will never be able to play the sports that play a key part in his life.When Phineas is notified that he will never be able to play sports again, all he wants is someone to carry his sportsmanship for him, and that is when he tells Gene, â€Å"Listen, pal, if I can't play sports; you're going to play them for me,' and I lost apart of myself to him then and a soaring sense of freedom, revealed that this might have been my purpose from the first; to become a part of Phineas† (77). Phineas loses the ability to play sports and wants Gene to do that for him, but Phineas also loses his innocence..He feels as if his whole purpose after Phineas' accident was to become a part of him and do what he no longer will be able to do. It suddenly occurs to Gene that Phineas may never be able to walk again, let alone play sports, and this is when he states, â€Å"Then my eyes fell on the bound cast white mass pointing at me, and as it was always to do, it brought me down out of Finny's world of creation, down again as I had fell after awakening that morning, down to reality, to the facts† (107 and 108).Gene didn't realize the outcome of his actions toward Phineas until Gene saw Phineas' side. Finny had a world of creation where he wouldn't face the truth and the cast acted like a barrier that sustains Phineas from facing the truth. Whe n Phineas tells Gene his feelings of hatred towards him, Gene's description of Phineas is, â€Å"He struggled clumsily for such a length of time that even my mind, slowed and shocked as if it had been, was able to formulate two realizations: that his leg was bound†¦ nd that he was struggling to unleash his hate against me† (176). Gene knows about Phineas' feelings of hatred towards him and how Phineas feels about the whole accident. The act wasn't only a barrier for the truth, but a wall that was trying to unleash his hate for Gene and for what he did to Phineas' wonderful life.

My Essayyyy. - 1448 Words

Angela Pham Mr. Kakes World Lit/Writ 8 October 2012 Big Mama’s Funeral Big Mama is a rather large person, giving her the name Big Mama. She is considered to be a mom to the people of Macondo because she provides them with everything they need and she is a queenlike figure to them. Big Mama’s Funeral by Gabriel Garcia Mà ¡rquez is about a woman given the title of Big Mama. She is the leader of Macondo. Marquez uses her to represent corruption on government and in this case, the government she runs. Big Mama is a corrupt leader. Then, her funeral became a festival and celebration of her death and everyone who came did not care that she had just passed away because she was a corrupt leader and they are happy that she has passed away.†¦show more content†¦The certificates are similar to voting for a president. She forges them and uses fake votes so she can win the election. Also, the â€Å"men in her service, her protà ©gà ©s, and tenants.. exercised not only their own rights of suffrage but also those of electo rs dead for a century† (207-208). She has been forging votes for a very long time. Mà ¡rquez believes that corruption is something funny when in reality, it is not. Thus, using dark humor to make corruption seem funny when it is a serious matter. Big Mama uses the people who have been dead for over a hundred years, votes to make it seem like she has more votes and more people voting for her every time there is an election. There have been no new rulers ever since she has taken power. Very many people do not like her and are forced to follow her rules because they are afraid of her and the amount of power she has frightens them. The people only attend her funeral in hopes of gaining something because of how well known she is and her position in society. They know that many people are going to be there because she is like a celebrity. They do not care about her or that she has died. People call the day of her funeral â€Å"the great day†. â€Å"The great day had arrived † (212). â€Å"In the streets crowded with carts, hawkers, or fried foods, and lottery stalls, and men with snakes wrapped around their necks† (212). The great day is the day of her funeral. But, there are many carts and stands filled with fried food. Most funerals

Scottish Surnames Meanings and Origins

Scottish surnames as we know them today — family names passed down intact from father to son to grandson — were first introduced into Scotland by the Normans about the year 1100. Such hereditary names were not universally prevalent and settled, however. The use of fixed Scottish surnames (last names that didnt change with each generation) wasnt really in prevalent use until the 16th century, and it was well into the late 18th century before surnames were common in the Highlands and northern isles. Origins of Scottish Surnames Surnames in Scotland generally developed from four major sources: Geographical or Local Surnames —These are names derived from the location of the homestead from which the first bearer and his family lived, and are generally the most common origin of Scottish surnames. Most of the earliest people in Scotland to adopt fixed surnames were the nobles and great landowners, who were often called by the land they possessed (e.g. William de Buchan from Buchan, Scotland). Eventually, even those who did not own significant land started to use place names to identify themselves from others of the same name, adopting the name of the village or even the street where the family originated. Tenants often took their name from the estate where they lived. Thus, most of the earliest surnames in Scotland were derived from place names. Topographic surnames derived from vague geographical locations rather than specific places, also fall into this category. These names may refer to physical features such as streams (Burns), moors (Muir) or forests (Wood) or to m an-made structures, such as a castle or a mill (Milne).Occupational Surnames —  Many Scottish surnames developed from a persons job or trade. Three common Scottish surnames —  Smith (blacksmith), Stewart (steward) and Taylor (tailor) — are excellent examples of this. Offices associated with the kings lands and/or hunting are another common source of Scottish occupational names — names such as Woodward, Hunter,  and Forest.Descriptive Surnames —  Based on a unique quality or physical feature of the individual, these surnames often developed from nicknames or pet names. Most refer to an individuals appearance - color, complexion, or physical shape  Ã¢â‚¬â€ such as Campbell (from  caimbeul, meaning crooked mouth), Duff (Gaelic for dark) and Fairbain (beautiful child). A descriptive surname may also refer to an individuals personality or moral characteristics, such as Godard (good natured) and Hardie (bold or daring).Patronymic and Matrony mic Surnames —  These are surnames derived from baptismal or Christian names to indicate family relationship or descent. Some baptismal or given names have become surnames without any change in form. Others added a prefix or an ending. The use of Mac and Mc was prevalent throughout Scotland, but especially in the Highlands, to indicate son of (e.g. Mackenzie, son of Coinneach/Kenneth). In lowland Scotland, the suffix ​—  son was more commonly added to the fathers given name to form a patronymic surname. These true patronymic surnames changed with each successive generation. Thus, Roberts son, John, might become known as John Robertson. Johns son, Mangus, would then be called Mangus Johnson, and so on. This true patronymic naming practice continued in most families until at least the fifteenth or sixteenth century before a family name was eventually adopted that passed down unchanged from father to son. Scottish Clan Names Scottish clans, from the Gaelic clann, meaning family, provided a formal structure for extended families of shared descent. Clans each identified with a geographical area, usually an ancestral castle, and were originally controlled by a Clan Chief, officially registered with the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which controls heraldry and Coat of Arms registration in Scotland. Historically, a clan was made up of everyone who lived on the chiefs territory, people for which he was responsible and who, in turn, owed allegiance to the chief. Thus, not everyone in a clan was genetically related to one another, nor did all members of a clan bear a single surname. Scottish Surnames - Meanings Origins Anderson, Campbell, MacDonald, Scott, Smith, Stewart... Are you one of the millions of people sporting one of these top 100 common Scottish last names? If so, then youll want to check out our list of the most commonly occurring surnames in Scotland, including details on each names origin, meaning, and alternate spellings.   TOP 100 COMMON SCOTTISH SURNAMES THEIR MEANINGS 1. SMITH 51. RUSSELL 2. BROWN 52. MURPHY 3. WILSON 53. HUGHES 4. CAMPBELL 54. WRIGHT 5. STEWART 55. SUTHERLAND 6. ROBERTSON 56. GIBSON 7. THOMPSON 57. GORDON 8. ANDERSON 58. WOOD 9. REID 59. BURNS 10. MACDONALD 60. CRAIG 11. SCOTT 61. CUNNINGHAM 12. MURRAY 62. WILLIAMS 13. TAYLOR 63. MILNE 14. CLARK 64. JOHNSTONE 15. WALKER 65. STEVENSON 16. MITCHELL 66. MUIR 17. YOUNG 67. WILLIAMSON 18. ROSS 68. MUNRO 19. WATSON 69. MCKAY 20. GRAHAM 70. BRUCE 21. MCDONALD 71. MCKENZIE 22. HENDERSON 72. WHITE 23. PATERSON 73. MILLAR 24. MORRISON 74. DOUGLAS 25. MILLER 75. SINCLAIR 26. DAVIDSON 76. RITCHIE 27. GRAY 77. DOCHERTY 28. FRASER 78. FLEMING 29. MARTIN 79. MCMILLAN 30. KERR 80. WATT 31. HAMILTON 81. BOYLE 32. CAMERON 82. CRAWFORD 33. KELLY 83. MCGREGOR 34. JOHNSTON 84. JACKSON 35. DUNCAN 85. HILL 36. FERGUSON 86. SHAW 37. HUNTER 87. CHRISTIE 38. SIMPSON 88. KING 39. ALLAN 89. MOORE 40. BELL 90. MACLEAN 41. GRANT 91. AITKEN 42. MACKENZIE 92. LINDSAY 43. MCLEAN 93. CURRIE 44. MACLEOD 94. DICKSON 45. MACKAY 95. GREEN 46. JONES 96. MCLAUGHLIN 47. WALLACE 97. JAMIESON 48. BLACK 98. WHYTE 49. MARSHALL 99. MCINTOSH 50. KENNEDY 100. WARD Source: National Records of Scotland - Most Common Surnames, 2014

Essay on The Vital Importance of Vaccinations - 856 Words

Disease kills millions of children every year. Some of these diseases are bacterias, which multiply rapidly and attack the body for resources. Others are viruses which hijack the immune system in a quest to multiply. Children are far more vulnerable to disease because of their developing immune systems. How can children be protected by the horrors of disease? The answer is vaccinations. For many years, immunizations have kept the spread of disease low. Vaccinations have prevented deaths and saved lives. However in recent years, there has been a stronger movement against vaccinations. There have been arguments made by people who believe that vaccination is a violation of rights and against religion. Some say children were meant to face†¦show more content†¦One popular argument against mandatory vaccines is that of religion. Advocates claim that vaccines are â€Å"unnatural† and do not follow their personal religious tenants. Such arguments create conflict between our r ights granted under the first amendment and the obligation of the government to work towards public health and safety. Families can request exemptions for their children from the vaccinations. Legally, there is little choice but to give the exemption. While exemptions satisfy most anti-vaccine parents, they also create a health hazard. As exemptions increase, so does the possibility of disease outbreaks. If a school full mandatory student vaccination, there would be no chance of disease. If a school had only 80 percent of its students vaccinated thanks to exemptions, it would leave 20 percent of the students open to infection. If the number of unvaccinated children rises, the likelihood of transmission will rise. Studies have shown the number of children who received exemptions on religious grounds doubled from 1991 to 2012. That percentage is still growing. It seems selfish to request an exemption that could possibly harm the exempted child but other children around him or her. If immunizations were not so frequent, infection could take over and spread at a substantial rate. According to the article Vaccination Coverage Among Children in Kindergarten in 2013, about 95 percent of allShow MoreRelatedPersuasive Essay On Immunizations1600 Words   |  7 Pagesdiseases, outbreaks still are occurring due to incompliance with the current child vaccination schedule. This poses the question that if vaccinations can protect a child from a major illness why are parents choosing not to vaccinate their children? In the past couple of years controversy over immunizations has become a large debate in society. Many parents have come to the belief that if their child is given vaccinations their chance of getting autism spectrum disorder increases; therefore they chooseRead MoreVaccinations And How Vaccines Protect Us All By Harrison Wein And Beliefs About Childhood Vaccinations1428 Words   |  6 Pagesaspects in their life. When thinking about what can help one to remain healthy, vaccinations come to mind. Vaccinations, to many people, are a necessity to remain healthy. I know when I was younger I hated to get a shot, but when I think about it today I am glad my parents made me get them. My mother was a nurse, so she knew the importance of vaccinations. Unfortunately, in todays’ society some parents think vaccinations can be more harmful then helpful, therefore refusing to vaccinate their childrenRead MoreHuman Papillomavirus ( Hpv )1286 Words   |  6 Pagescancers, 90-93% of anal c ancers, 12-63% of oropharangeal cancers, 36-40% of penile cancers, 40% of vaginal cancers, and 40-51% of vulvular cancer† (Thomas Snell, 2013). It is therefore safe to say, if we could increase the compliance with the HPV vaccination through education, we could successfully lower the instances of HPV and HPV associated cancers. Risk Factors Because of various issues within our healthcare system, many adolescents and their caregivers are at risk for not receiving education onRead MoreShould Mandatory Vaccinations Be Good For Our Kids?1521 Words   |  7 PagesVaccinations Today we seem to take in many conversations on whether mandatory vaccinations are good for our kids. With nearly 90 percentage parents in the U.S. understand the risk vs. benefit factor to be in favor too vaccinate, when handed the choice, about a 10 percent of parents delay or cut some shots with 1 percent that don’t vaccinate at all. (Pemberton, 2015) We see viruses from our past, which were heavily infected among our grandparents or parents time, such as poliomyelitis and measlesRead MoreThe Effects Of Vaccination On Children s Children1725 Words   |  7 PagesINTRODUCTION Vaccination is widely considered one of the greatest medical achievements of modern civilization (Harvard Law School, 2007). Childhood deaths from infectious diseases were commonplace less than a generation ago; however they’re now increasingly rare due to vaccines. In order to be effective at eliminating communicable diseases, vaccines must be administrated to a sufficient level of people in the community. However, there has been plenty of controversy over the morality, ethics, effectivenessRead MoreShould The Intervention Be Effective?1498 Words   |  6 PagesAnother evaluation tool to see if the intervention has been effective will be the HPV vaccination rate that is release by the Florida. If the rate goes up at the sites and the providers that have participated in the research then it could be considered reliable due to specificity. The educational interventions that are completed at the Lake county health department locations will be easier to monitor due to vaccination rates being distributed quarterly and with a breakdown at each site. The sites areRead MoreHr And Mandatory Flu Vaccination1199 Words   |  5 Pagesrisk getting terminated. This paper will, therefore, examine the rights of employers to require employee vaccination for job considerations. It will also outline various exceptions to vaccinations that may include religious objection and medical considerations. Lastly, the paper will give various concerns that companies and employees must put in mind when formulating policies for vaccine vaccinations. â€Æ' HR and Mandatory Flu Vaccines in the Workplace Seasonal flu does not only adversely affect theRead MoreVaccinations Are Safe And They Work1686 Words   |  7 PagesVaccinate Vaccinations are safe and they work. There are many parents who choose for their own reasons to ignore Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations to vaccinate and exercise their right to not do so. They run the risk of having their child suffer or even possibly die when they opt-out to having their child vaccinated. Today in the United States, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable disease are often traced to susceptible children whose parents have claimed an exemption fromRead MoreReducing Pertussis Children Under The Age Of One Years1211 Words   |  5 Pagestreatment of pertussis in a timely manner is most significant in reducing transmission and to protect vulnerable patient groups. Each state and territory obtain laws and regulations which govern the reports of diseases and conditions of public health importance. These laws and regulation have a list of diseases to report to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) as well as individuals or institutions responsible for reporting these conditions. According to CDC, state health departments should report allRead MoreVaccination Is The Human Body Protect An Individual From Infection Or Disease?1407 Words   |  6 PagesVaccination is as one of the greatest medical invention ever created, reducing death and illness by enourmous factor due to a broad range of prevantable diseases. World wide, millions if not billions of people are reprieved from ever being infected by certain diseases and viruses that could kill or leave them scarred even should they survive the virus. The low death toll and spread of diseases are directly connected to the use of vaccination. The main purpose of vaccination is to increase disease

Business Research Report Attitudes - Values and Beliefs

Question: Discuss about the Business Research Report Attitudes, Values and Beliefs. Answer: Background to the study, the research question/objectives/hypothesis and/or topic, the researchers and the target audience This report comprises of a review of a social research survey carried out in 2008 by the Centre for Social Research and Evaluation and published in 2010, authored by Fleur McLaren on the attitude, values and beliefs on violence within New Zealand families. The survey was based on a background that a lot of violent cases within families where intimate relationships exist, are as a result of attitudes, beliefs and values that excuse violence within the society, at different times (McLaren 2010). Further, the background to the study indicates that a lot of violent partners and/or individuals in families hold different views towards violence and could excuse it as the best option at some points. The effects of violence are many but some individuals only believe that violence is not harmful as long as there are no physical injuries (McLaren 2010). Even so, this is not the case and therefore, the research would later indicate the need to still fight family violence due to other effects suc h as mental problems among others. The survey was carried out in order to come up with actions that the New Zealand communities could fight the war against violence in homes and in relationships. The research targeted men, women, children and the elderly in New Zealand (McLaren 2010). However, the information is intended to reach all concerned parties including human rights institutions, policy advocacy groups, the communities in general and the New Zealand government, more so the law making arm, and the judiciary. The objectives of the study included to; determine the different definitions of family violence by New Zealanders; gauge their levels of awareness on family violence, determine different attitudes held by New Zealanders regarding family violence and measuring the extent at which New Zealanders are ready to take appropriate action against cases of family violence. Research Methods Used Outlining Their Strengths, Limitations and Appropriateness for the Research Question/Objectives/Hypothesis and/or Topic The survey involved the use of questionnaires and face-to-face interviews that were served to respondents in households in areas including Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Hamilton, Dunedin, Hastings/Napier, Invercargill, Whangarei, Palmerston North, Rotorua, New Plymouth, and Tauranga among others (McLaren 2010). The two methods were the main techniques of collecting information, which was later analysed and presented in tables, graphs and percentages. The Strengths of Using Questionnaires The use of questionnaires ensures that the researcher does not leave out any concern outlined in the objectives with an aim of achieving the results from the field. They are also convenient in areas where community members are literate. One may need to be able to read and understand before filling in the answers. In this regard, a research assistant can help a respondent in reading and interpreting the questions to the respondent, in order to obtain answers to fill in the questionnaire (Frick 2009). Further, questionnaires could be translated into a different language by the researcher and still maintain the same thoroughness in its approach to answering each question, related to the objectives of the research (Frick 2009). Another advantage of using questionnaires is that the data obtained can be easily fed into analytical systems such as SPSS, to provide presentable information, which can provide the trends and the situation on the ground. This was the case for this particular rese arch. In regard to weaknesses first, it is clear that questionnaires are quite time consuming and may need a lot of time to fill in (Frick 2009). In this case, the researcher approximate that the questionnaire or the interview would take 40 minutes with little disruptions. However, this means that those who cannot be first enough in answering the questions would take more than an hour. The long time taken to interview an individual would need the researcher to only interview or serve the respondents with questionnaires when they have little commitments such as work. For interviews, it is clear that they also must have taken a long time for respondents in households. Sometimes interviews are affected by a language barrier (Toot et al 2015). In the areas identified for this social research on attitudes, values and beliefs on violence, it is clear that some respondents may not be good in expressing themselves in English. Therefore, a need to translate into ones convenient language could make an individual to be skipped by research assistants, or find a research assistant, familiar with an individuals own preferred language. Even so, interviews are crucial, as they help in substituting questionnaires, where they may not be necessary and/or effective (Toot et al 2015). Interviews help in collecting first hand information for the respondents and if an audio is used in this case, a researcher can be able to read it and transcribe it later, into actual responses in the preferred language, in line with the questionnaires. The use of interviews was crucial in this case, as some of the community members would want to share more crucial information regarding violence in families (Toot et al 2015). Being a sensitive aspect in society, talking to individuals who might have at one point, been involved in family feuds leading to violence could b viewed by the individual as an opportunity to share their problems and feel relieved. The interviews and questionnaires could still work as awareness creation tools through using a whole set of inquiries on the less talked about topic in society; violence in families. Theref ore, the choice of questionnaires and face-to-face interview by the Centre for Social Research and Evaluation was quite appropriate for this research. Evaluation of Ethical considerations This research considered five main principles of research ethics. One of the principles indicates that there is need to minimize the risk of harm. In this regard, the research questionnaires and the interviews included questions that could not directly bring any emotional harm to the respondents, who were the sample population of the New Zealanders according to Jacobsen (2011). Thus, direct confrontational questions were adjusted into properly crafted quizzes, where an individual could just respond to them without being angered and/or feeling targeted. The second principle of research ethics states that there is need to obtain an informed consent (Jacobsen2011). The Centre for Social Research and Evaluation sought the permission of authorities in the areas mentioned above, to allow the researchers to collect information legally. Further, the household respondents were asked to volunteer in their response, without coercion. It was ones own choice to accept to be respondents, on the request of the researcher on family violence attitudes, beliefs and values in New Zealand. Thirdly, the need to protect anonymity was taken care of as indicated by the researchers. It is important to assure respondents of their privacy, and their information must not be shared with anyone, except for research analysis purposes (Lewis 2010). The researcher asked the respondents to give their names at will (Sachs 2010). However, those who did not want to indicate their names were asked to at least, indicate the area they came from for analytical reasons. Further, the researchers avoided any deceptive practices in seeking for information from the public (Sachs 2010). Similarly, the respondents were asked not to include any false information, as it would render the study inaccurate. The last principle in regard to the need to provide an individual respondent or group the right to withdraw from taking part in the research (Sachs 2010). As stated above, the researcher allowed the respondents to give responses at will. Those who accepted to be interviewed or served with the questionnaires did so at their own will. Thus, those who would wish to withdraw were left out in order to concentrate on willing respondents. Summary of the Findings The survey brought out different results in regard to the attitudes, the values n the believes of New Zealand citizens on violence that occurs within families. The first finding was that majority of the respondents strongly believed that violence in families, was not as a solution to particular misunderstandings. In this regard, they indicated that there are many options, which one could use to solve misunderstandings, since it is normal for family members to at one point or the other misunderstand each other (McLaren 2010). Among the options, include seeking advice from friends and family, reporting some cases to authorities that could be extreme and/or solving one on one through talking out the issue, especially in intimate relationships. Secondly, the study established that majority of the respondents had attitudes which were in support of the equality of men and women in a given relationship (McLaren 2010). Therefore, there is need for mutual agreements in regard to different crucial decisions in relationships. When there are issues to be addressed therefore, each party must be considered equal, and not inferior. This is because the later breeds violence due to misunderstandings that crop up in families and in other intimate relationships between men and women. Thirdly, the study established that all respondents strongly indicated that they believed that all members of society suffer negative outcomes from violence. These include women, men, elderly in society, and children. Injuries could be sustained; emotional suffering including mental complications among other effects develop as a result of violence. In extreme cases, violence leads to deaths of partners, children or generally family members (McLaren 2010). Another finding related to this was that most of the respondents indicated that they were not in agreement that violence is only harmful when there is physical injury. This myth was refuted by majority of these respondents indicating that they were aware of other effects of violence mentioned above. Another finding was that majority of the respondents indicated that it remains the responsibility of the community to support the members to be violence-free and develop relationships with their intimate partners, the elderly parents and the children. Even so, competing beliefs were noted, indicating that what happened in ones home is a private issue. However, there were competing beliefs held by the same respondents that what happens in any given home is a private issue (McLaren 2010). The study established that most community members were willing to take action in times of family violence, except where they thought it was none off their business to take a particular action, to subvert any family violence, away from their own homes. Extent to Which the Conclusions and/or Recommendations Are Well-Founded and Justified The research concludes and recommends first that there is need for education in order to change different beliefs regarding violence and at the same time, emphasize that there should be no excuses to be given for a lack of control and a choice for violence in resolving issues. This statement is well founded according to Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2008), since majority of advocacy groups on violence indicate that educating individuals in intimate relationships and communities on violence is a huge step towards changing their attitudes towards the issue. In regard to the effects of violence, the Centre for Social Research and Evaluation recommends that New Zealanders need to be educated on how to support victims to leave violent relationships and ensure that each of the victims is safe. This recommendation is justified, since people need to be aware of the reasons that influence women for instance, to remain in violent relationships (Adams 2007). This could help the community to understand how to support these individuals, even at the time they need to leave the relationship, if the partner or assailant continues with the misbehavior. The researcher further recommends the use of mass media campaigns to end violence in homes. This is a justified approach as mass media is far reaching, than any other campaigns aimed at educating individuals against the continuously reported cases of violence (Adams 2007). The media will help also to notify the assaulters the penalties they could face if handed to the authorities and charged in New Zealand courts of law. Research Context Implications for the Research Process Outcomes Since the research takes a social context, the research processes including the methodologies used in gathering information have been tailor-made to suit the respondents an obtain the outcomes that reflect the actual situation on the ground. The context of the study considers that the researchers use the appropriate language, structure the questions that are in line with research ethics, and indulge the respondents professionally in the interviews. Further, the context of the research calls for the need to involve authorities for permission, and high-level professionalism. Violence in families is regarded as a sensitive issue and a researcher may not be sure whether the respondent has been exposed to it at one point in their homes. Thus, the context influences generally, the choice of methods of data collection, and the presentation of the outcomes to the public. References Fleur McLaren (2010) Attitudes, Values and Beliefs about Violence within Families 2008 Survey Findings. Centre for Social Research and Evaluation. ISBN 978-0-478-32359-7 Adams, D (2007). Why Do They Kill? Men who murder their intimate partners. Violence Against Women; 14, 727. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (2008). Strategic Direction for Intimate Partner Violence Prevention: Promoting Respectful, Nonviolent Intimate Partner Relationships through Individual, Community and Societal Change. https://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/IPV_Strategic_Direction_One-Pager-a.pdf Cercone, J J,Beach, S R H, Arias, I (2005). Gender symmetry in dating intimate partner violence: Does similar behavior imply similar constructs? Violence and Victims, 20(2), 207-218. Chamberland, C, Fortin, A, Laporte, J (2007). Men's recognition of violence against women and spousal abuse: comparison of three groups of men. Violence and Victims, 22(4), 419-436. Fanslow, J (2005). Beyond Zero Tolerance: Key issues and future directions for family violence work in New Zealand. The report for the Families Commission, Wellington, New Zealand. Fanslow, J L Robinson, E M (in press). Help-seeking behaviors and reasons for help seeking reported by a representative sample of women victims of intimate partner violence in New Zealand. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Flood, M Pease, B (2006). The Factors Influencing Community Attitudes in Relation to Violence against Women: A Critical Review of the Literature Paper Three of the Violence against Women Community Attitudes Project. Mental Health and Wellbeing Unit, Victoria Health Promotion Foundation, Melbourne. Jacobsen, K. (2011). Research Ethics: Principles, Practices, and Reporting. World Medical Health Policy, 3(2), 40-46. https://dx.doi.org/10.2202/1948-4682.1161 Lewis, J. (2010). Ethics Principles for Social Science Research: Report of a Meeting on 22 March 2010 Jointly Sponsored by AREC, the Social Research Association and the Academy of Social Sciences. Research Ethics, 6(2), 56-57. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/174701611000600206 SACHS, B. (2010). Going from principles to rules in research ethics. Bioethics, 25(1), 9-20. https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8519.2009.01744.x Frick, K. (2009). Microcosting Quantity Data Collection Methods. Medical Care, 47(Supplement), S76-S81. https://dx.doi.org/10.1097/mlr.0b013e31819bc064 Toot, J., Pringle, T., Berkley, K., Simons, M., Atterson, P. (2015). Manual versus automated data collection: Evaluation of a modified testing paradigm and learning/memory endpoints using a complex water T-maze in juvenile rats. Journal Of Pharmacological And Toxicological Methods, 75, 163-164. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vascn.2015.08.021