Monday, December 30, 2019

Developing Countries During World War II - 1547 Words

1. Introduction: Since World War II, trade between growing and manufacturing nations has strengthened and borrowing of poor countries from the rich countries has increased. The growing link between these two groups of economies increased eventually in addition to the increase in the rate of dependability amongst them. With the rapid growth in wealth and industrialization of the First World, only a few developing countries managed to have adequate economic growth on the line of the developed countries. Many of the developing countries which were poor at that time still remained to be poor today even today in comparison to the industrialized nations. Dearth of capital and skilled labor produces a low level of per capita income preventing the developing countries to realize their economies of scale through which many of the developed countries benefit from. Several attempts have been made by developed countries to decrease the disparities between rich and the poor economies. To finance their domestic in vestment, developing countries rely on other governments or international organizations like International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank to procure loans. Besides these loans, foreign investments in these countries are financed by private companies, this from of investment is known as Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). In case of FDIs, the foreign companies, especially Transnational Corporations (TNCs), invest in the growing nations and remain as the solitary owners of theseShow MoreRelatedDeveloping Countries During World War II ( Wwii )1211 Words   |  5 PagesTrade policy in developing countries obtained major influence from the changing views in economic development, namely, inward looking and outward looking (Moon, 1998). For about 3 decades after World War II (WWII), the trade policy of developing countries relies on inward-looking development. This type of development is implemented through autarky trade policies to protect country’s local manufacture industry. Th ere are so many critics delivered during the inward looking development implementationRead MorePresident Truman Made A Nuclear Weapon1745 Words   |  7 Pagesin an effort to end World War II. World War II began on September 1,1939 and ended on September 2,1945 ending in an Allie victory. This world was fought primarily by the Axis Powers: Germany, Austria, Italy, and Japan and the Allie Powers: Great Britain, France, The USSR, and the United States. President Truman made a difficult decision to drop nuclear weapons on Japan, because the factors leading up to the war, the circumstances that had already happened during World War II, and because he simplyRead MoreThe Bombing Of Japan During The World War II1572 Words   |  7 Pages World War II was a war that lasted about 6 years. Within these six years, many new advances took place. In order for countries to be able to have a chance, they would need to keep up with the new, and developing technology. Air technology was still fairl y new before the war, but grew rapidly as the war progressed. On the same note, new water vessels were being invented, which allowed to war to grow into the seas. Submarines, U Boats, and other vessels allowed for this shift to occur. Tanks wereRead MoreThe War I And World War II1660 Words   |  7 Pagesin thehistory of the world were World War I and World War II. World War I occurred from 1914 to 1918. World War I was caused by militarism, alliances, nationalism, imperialism and assassination (MANIA). The first four causations were more of a build-up to it. Then, once the Arch-Duke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, the buildup was sparked. This can be compared to pouring gasoline on the ground and then lighting it on fire. World War II occurred from 1939 to 1945.World War II was caused by the discontentRead MoreThe Causes Of The First World War1395 Words   |  6 PagesFirst World War were similar and differed from the causes of the Second World War politically, economically, an d socially. Both of these significant, historical events were substantially affected by the interaction of dominating societies during this time period. During the First World War, these leading societies were the European authorities of Britain, Germany, and Austria, with slight assistance from the U.S. However, the United States allocated their full engagement during the Second World WarRead MoreOn the Evolution of War802 Words   |  4 Pagesthe Evolution of War World War II was the first â€Å"high-tech† war. While there had been new technologies in World War I, they did not have the lasting impact on modern society like World War II innovations. During the Second World War, countries poured all of their resources into developmental and operations research. Scientists invented technologies for practical and immediate purposes instead of conducting experiments to more deeply understand the natural world. The World War II weapons race forRead MoreThe Decline Of The Nineteenth And Twentieth Century1040 Words   |  5 Pageswere very devastating times in the world not just for North America, but also in Europe politically and economically. This has been very devastating times in this world not just on North America, but also in Europe politically and economically. During the nineteenth-twenty’s, the economic crisis was hitting hard. Trade barriers and devaluing currencies were the only way the government had of protecting themse lves. International trade and free trade among countries was getting harder, with tariffs andRead MoreThe Nuclear Of The Korean War1147 Words   |  5 Pages World War II ended suddenly as America destroyed two Japanese cities not with traditional strategic bombing, yet with the extremely powerful atomic bombs. As a result of dropping the atomic bombs, the world was thrust into the nuclear age. Just a few short years after World War II, the Korean War started. The Korean War challenged many assumptions held about war within a nuclear era. Three of the assumptions challenged were that nuclear weapons would deter war, that war would not be limitedRead MoreWars And Changes During The United States Essay1181 Words   |  5 PagesWars and Changes in The United States The United States of American is a superpower in the world. Although it just have almost 240 years’ history, it experienced more than 200 wars. As a saying does, â€Å" Bad times make a good man†, the United States never lack of great leaders. For example, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Roosevelt were the three well-known presidents in the U.S. history. Additionally, wars and conflicts changed the United States directly and indirectly. ForRead MoreEssay on The Cold War: India1580 Words   |  7 PagesThe Third World is the name that was given to the part of the world that was not part of the Industrialized World in the beginning of the Cold War. The First World was America while the Second World was the Soviet Union. The Developing World represents much of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. After most of these countries became independent of western influence and recourses, their infrastructure began to fall apart. The United States and the Soviet Union used their allies for raw materials and markets

Sunday, December 22, 2019

A Study On The Swiss Management Center University

DQ #1 I have always wanted to pursue a doctoral program but never had the financial resources. Hence, I researched and found this doctoral program offered by The Swiss Management Center University (SMC) which is a high quality multifaceted online education program which is accredited by Accredited Council of Business Schools Program (ACBSP). Furthermore, it is affordable, flexible very informative and relevant in both academic and business sectors. (SMC, n.d.). Several people influenced my decision to pursue a doctorate degree at different levels. First, Dr. Wangari Maathai who was the first Kenyan Woman to pursue a doctorate degree and was a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, (Graf, 2016). Secondly, inspiration from my former†¦show more content†¦Although learning new concepts is sometimes difficult, I am determined to eliminate counterproductive and redundant methods of doing my studies. At the same time, it is necessary that I maintain effective communication methods which will include both written and oral communications. Besides, it is also necessary that I acknowledge that failure is also an important learning process which is a part of the double-loop learning method (Argyris, 1991). This is extensively elaborated in the article Teaching Research Methods for Doctoral Students in Education talks about teaching doctoral students research methods that they could apply in their field. When doctoral students first enrolled, their aim was to do well academically. However, as time progressed, the students become interested in the multidisciplinary research methodologies process. Furthermore, they learned different aspects such as effective data collection through the interview, exploring documented work such as syllabus and historical documentation through reading past research projects. Moreover, they also learned analysis of the results included quantitative and qualitative method while taking into consideration theoretical work combined. (Coronel Llamas Boza, 2011). DQ #2 Plagiarism entails taking another person’s work and passing it as one’s own. (What is Plagiarism? n.d.). As a researcher, this can beShow MoreRelatedThe Performance Of Union Bank Of Switzerland3158 Words   |  13 Pagesyear, in part caused by favorable securities markets, which offered more value to the current assets, but also by winning fresh funds. The Scorpio Study stated that the private banking industry now (2013) managing a total of $20.3 trillion, up from $18.5 trillion last year (2012). KPMG’s Private Banking Survey 2013 states that the transformation of the Swiss Private Banking continues. Changing customer demands and the emergence of new technological preferences, and ongoing regulatory developments areRead MoreSwatch Report7232 Words   |  29 PagesSwatch case study This watch is the product which will reintroduce Switzerland to the low and middle price market. It is the ï ¬ rst step of our campaign to regain dominance of the world watch industry, said Dr. Ernst Thomke, President of ETA SA, a subsidiary of ASUAG and Switzerland s largest watch company. Ernst Thomke had made this conï ¬ dent declaration about SWATCH to Franz Sprecher, Project Marketing Consultant, in late spring 1981. Sprecher had accepted a consulting assignment to help Read MoreLaw Enforcement : A Sociological Phenomenon1094 Words   |  5 PagesPolicy Studies Council† written by Thomas J. Aveni, MSFP. Mr. Aveni mentioned that the contagious shooting or â€Å"bunch shooting† refers to that of clinical psychology. Where the term â€Å"emotional contagion† is used, that define ‘emotional contagion as the tendency to feel emotions that are similar to and influenced by those of others. Similar to yelling â€Å"fire† in a crowded room inciting a panic, by the mere utterance, people become irrational in their attempt to escape. Another field of study comparedRead MoreDoing Better1201 Words   |  5 Pages ID-13104068, Section-03 Brac University. 1. How can the removal of the inner plastic sleeve from Kit Kat Bumper packs be seen as a move towards sustainability? Answer: Business and environment must go such a way that could bring benefits for both of them. It cannot harm environment’sRead Moreswissair alliances case study2464 Words   |  10 Pages8: Swissair’s Alliances Hoang Van Hung (David) (Graduate MBA) Philippines Christian University Global Business Environment – Prof. Reyes Feb. 22, 2013 Metro Manila, Philippines I- Case Background The Swiss Air Transport Co. 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In this case therefore, the success of Lucerne in becoming a world renowned tourist spot is rooted in the fact that it has envisaged the management of all resources in such a way that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be fulfilled while maintaining cultural integrity, essential ecological processes, biological diversity and life support systems (Blancas et al., 2010). These differentRead MoreThe Analysis : Water s Journey1487 Words   |  6 Pagesseep down through the soil and limestone, collecting carbon dioxide along the way which in turn increases the water’s acidity. Once it is able to penetrate the underground system it slowly breaks down the cave systems below, resulting in the rocks †˜Swiss Cheese’ appearance. The direct relationship between surface and groundwater is demonstrated by said appearance, and unfortunately reinforced by the multitude of trash and debris the divers found below the surface, ranging from oil drums to whole barbequeRead MoreIntro of Hospitality Industry2586 Words   |  11 Pagestranslations [pic]Hospitality From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search For other uses, see Hospitality (disambiguation). This article is about the definition of hospitality. For academic study of hotel management, see Hospitality management studies and Hospitality industry. |[pic] |This articles tone or style may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. Specific concerns may be found on the talk page. See| | |Wikipedias guide to writing better articles for suggestionsRead MoreThe Ethical Implications of Cloud Computing on Society1724 Words   |  7 PagesResponsibility and Public Policy Spring 2013 Niki A. den Nieuwenboer Cloud Computing is a popular term for â€Å"enabling on-demand network access to a shared pool of computing resources that can be rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort or service provider interaction† (Brian, 2012). The concept of Cloud Computing was first developed in the 1960’s by scientists who envisioned a world in which computation would be generated in a global network, and delivered as a public

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Aig Case Solution Free Essays

string(67) " very important aspect that is prominent in our professional life\." [pic] LEADERSHIP AT AIG: DOES STYLE MATTER? Case Overview This case deals with executive leadership styles. In particular, this case deals with American International Group, the world’s insurance company, and its CEO Maurice â€Å"Hank† Greenberg. Greenberg, an autocratic leader, was recently deposed by his board of directors after problems emerged regarding possible earning manipulation. We will write a custom essay sample on Aig Case Solution or any similar topic only for you Order Now It describes his leadership style, reasons his two sons (former employees) left the company, and Martin Sullivan, Greenberg’s successor. Like his former boss, Sullivan micromanages the organization, but is well liked by employees. Teaching Objectives ) To show students the impact of autocratic leadership style on employees. 2) To distinguish between micro and participative management in an organization. 3) To introduce the concept of leadership succession and its effects on organizations. Purpose This case presents various leadership styles used by CEOs. It suggests that executives who uses a more participative leadership style are more likely to create an effective employee workplace. Relationship to Part 4 The relationship of this case to part 4: leadership and its styles, possible motivation of employees through style, the encouragement of team work and communication. This case can draw on various theories in all four chapters of Part 4. Questions Question 1. AIG Chairman and CEO Maurice â€Å"Hank† Greenberg was considered an autocratic leader and a micromanager by many employees; yet the company grew dramatically during his reign as CEO. Does leadership style matter as long as the company performs well and shareholders are satisfied with their return on investment? Answer Leadership does matter. A company may perform well, and shareholders may be satisfied with their return on investment, but on another level this style of leadership may do irreparable hard to employee effectiveness and morale. Eventually autocratic leadership will take it toll on the organization and its ability to operate effectively. Question 2. AIG’s new CEO Sullivan has been labeled a micromanager, but with a more pleasant personality. Can he, as a micromanager, develop a more participative leadership style? How? Answer It may be very difficult for a manager/leader to change his management and leadership style. There is indeed a time and place for autocratic leadership (e. g. , when time is limited), but we know that participative leadership often produces better results. While it is often difficult for executives (managers) to let go and delegate more to underlings, AIG’s new CEO Sullivan can learn to develop a more participative leadership style. He must begin to create more teams, motivate more employees to participate in corporate activities, and communicate more effective. In part, his micromanagement style may be a result of following Greenberg’s lead. As Sullivan becomes more comfortable in his new role, he should be able to delegate more effectively, especially if he is to deal with more strategic corporate issues. Leadership is a very important aspect that is prominent in our professional life. You read "Aig Case Solution" in category "Essay examples" If a team is led by an effective good leader, the team is more likely to perform well as per the expectations of the project. On the other hand, if the leader is a person who just issues orders and commands the tasks to be done, the team is demotivated and does tend to perform less than they actually can. If you are a working professional, you might have got an idea about the types of leadership styles and techniques. The working and managing style of a leader plays a very important part in making the leadership role effective. There are various managers who adopt different leadership styles and methods for employee and process management. Each leadership style has its own methods, behavior, effects, and aspects. Participative leadership is a very significant leadership style that is most beneficial to employees, managers alike. What is Participative Leadership Style? As the name suggests, this leadership style relates to a method of having things done by involving team members in goals setting and decision making. Since there is an involvement of team members and employees in being a part of the management, this is by far the most useful management style in the business world. Though there is employee participation, the leader is handed over the responsibility of taking the final decision. In this corporate leadership style, the manager works with the team and not over the team, which is why he can determine even the minutest errors of the processes that have to be executed. Advantages of Participative Leadership Style There are many apparent and proven advantages of the participative leadership practice. A very important advantage is that employees and team members are motivated to work, because they realize that the management is ready to consider their suggestions and viewpoints. And if there is such employee motivation, the team members happen to work more effectively than expected. This eventually has a good effect on the company’s revenue. Secondly, since the manager becomes like a team member and takes part in the decision-making process, it has a good impact on teamwork. Thirdly, as more than one minds are working on goal setting and decision making, there is an all-round analysis of the possibilities of failures. Therefore, the manager can majorly rule out any errors and possibilities of failures in the project. You can say that there is a broader assessment of the situation which is to be worked upon. The result of participative leadership can also be effective decisions suggested by experts in the respective field. In this kind of business leadership, the manager does not only involve team members, but can also take guidance from his peers. One of the most suitable participative leadership examples can be when a manager divides project work in his team members including himself, discusses the project requirements and expectations with the team leader and other members, and then they work on it collectively. Participative leadership surely increases employee satisfaction, reduces the workload of managers, and creates better teamwork; with all this eventually contributing to good worLeadership is a very important aspect that is prominent in our professional life. If a team is led by an effective good leader, the team is more likely to perform well as per the expectations of the project. On the other hand, if the leader is a person who just issues orders and commands the tasks to be done, the team is demotivated and does tend to perform less than they actually can. If you are a working professional, you might have got an idea about the types of leadership styles and techniques. The working and managing style of a leader plays a very important part in making the leadership role effective. There are various managers who adopt different leadership styles and methods for employee and process management. Each leadership style has its own methods, behavior, effects, and aspects. Participative leadership is a very significant leadership style that is most beneficial to employees, managers alike. What is Participative Leadership Style? As the name suggests, this leadership style relates to a method of having things done by involving team members in goals setting and decision making. Since there is an involvement of team members and employees in being a part of the management, this is by far the most useful management style in the business world. Though there is employee participation, the leader is handed over the responsibility of taking the final decision. In this corporate leadership style, the manager works with the team and not over the team, which is why he can determine even the minutest errors of the processes that have to be executed. Advantages of Participative Leadership Style There are many apparent and proven advantages of the participative leadership practice. A very important advantage is that employees and team members are motivated to work, because they realize that the management is ready to consider their suggestions and viewpoints. And if there is such employee motivation, the team members happen to work more effectively than expected. This eventually has a good effect on the company’s revenue. Secondly, since the manager becomes like a team member and takes part in the decision-making process, it has a good impact on teamwork. Thirdly, as more than one minds are working on goal setting and decision making, there is an all-round analysis of the possibilities of failures. Therefore, the manager can majorly rule out any errors and possibilities of failures in the project. You can say that there is a broader assessment of the situation which is to be worked upon. The result of participative leadership can also be effective decisions suggested by experts in the respective field. In this kind of business leadership, the manager does not only involve team members, but can also take guidance from his peers. One of the most suitable participative leadership examples can be when a manager divides project work in his team members including himself, discusses the project requirements and expectations with the team leader and other members, and then they work on it collectively. Participative leadership surely increases employee satisfaction, reduces the workload of managers, and creates better teamwork; with all this eventually contributing to good wor Question 3. Greenberg named his son Evan as the heir apparent. Yet, Greenberg never set a departure date. Should a good leader set a date for departure once a successor is named? Why? Why not? Answer Most of the time succession in organizations creates a host of problems. On the one hand, incumbent CEOs are less than willing to give up the power and prestige that accompany their position. On the other hand, the successor (heir apparent) may be eager to assume the top position. If the successor has to wait too long for the top leadership position, he may decide to seek out a top level position in another company, and the company may lose a unique opportunity for a smooth leadership transition. CEOs should set a deadline for their departure so that all stakeholders are informed which can facilitate a change in leadership. LEADERSHIP AT AIG: Does Style Matter Question 1: AIG Chairman and CEO Maurice â€Å"Hank† Greenberg was consider an autocraticleader and micromanager by many employee, yet the company grew dramaticallyduring his reign as CEO. Does leadership style matter as long as the company  performs well and shareholders are satisfied with their return on investment? Leader is a person who led people towards to the common goal. In the process of managing anorganization, I believe leadership style is the one of important factor in deciding the performanceof the company. Leader’s style of leadership changes according to the situation of the company. Based on managerial grid concept by Robert Blake and Jane Mouton, there are five style of  leadership that combine different degrees of concern for production and concern for people andthis five styles of leadership is shown in figure 1 below. In the case study, CEO Maurice â€Å"Hank†was more concern of production compare to the concern for people and of course, this kind of  leadership will produce good performance. That is why Maurice â€Å"Hank† able to bring thecompany from midlevel insurance company becomes the international company and give thesatisfaction towards the shareholders. However, to sustain the company at the same level,Maurice â€Å"Hank† kinds of leadership will causes the performance of the company to be declined  because lack of concern for people will affect the workers performance and this result would notsatisfy the shareholders. The workers in AIG will become less motivated due the pressure given  by the management practice by Maurice â€Å"Hank†. This style of leadership by Maurice â€Å"Hank† fallunder style of leadership â€Å"produce or perish† as shown in figure 1. As conclusion, the style of  leadership is the key player in determine the successful of a company. Question 2: AIG’s new CEO Sullivan has been labeled a micromanager, but with a more  pleasant personality. Can he as a micromanager, develop more participativeleadership style? How? Participative leadership style is defined as  leader  who involves his subordinatesin the process of   making decision such as setting goal, solving  problemand others, but retains the final  decision making  authority. By referring the case study, CEO Sullivan can develop more participative style leadership by segregating the works to his subordinates in order to enabling his subordinate to  play their role in the organizations and indirectly developing the trust between himself with his subordinate. This action will enable the workers especially his subordinate to create a feeling of  self-belonging towards the company. Once the trust is there, he should implement groupdiscussion or brainstorming before making any decision but while conducting the groupdiscussion, he should be the person who get all the buy-in from the group members. In the groupdiscussion, he should use his authority in deciding the decision and this kind of ways in making decision helps his subordinate to accept and thus implement the action with full enthusiasm. Besides that, he should often communicate with his workers through out the three layer of  management such as having chitchat with the workers during teatime in order to understand the needs of workers in the company and thus raise his level of concern towards people. As he developing his understanding towards his workers, he can easily delegate the works that suit the workers best and as the result, company performance increases and building the security towards the investor and the people in the company especially shareholders. Question 3: Greenberg named his son Evan as the heir apparent. Yet Greenberg never set adeparture date. Should a good leader set a date for departure? When should hename a successor? Every thing that starts must have an end. Leaders also have his own starts and ends in hisera of leadership. For my point of view, a good leader should set a date for his departure. This is  because a leader knows better his own limitation and capabilities. A leader should alsounderstand his abilities and weakness in managing the organization as the time passes by. I  believe that every leader would like to leave his position without tarnishing his reputation andintegrity. However, it is not wise action to take if he announced his name of successor long  before his departure date for the position. This is because the successor required a time for him toadapt with the changes in role and the leader himself required time to hand over and coaching hisnew successor to take over his positions but how long is the duration for the this process, it alldepends on the successor himself. Normally, a leader had already started to look for hissuccessor long before he announced his departure date. This is because to identify a good leader  does not happen in a single day. It will consume so much time and effort for leader to be bornand as been mention by Richard Arvey, a human resources and industrial relations professor inthe Carlson School of Management, â€Å"While environmental influences determine many of our  leadership behaviors and the roles we obtain, our genes still exert a sizable influence over  whether we will become leaders. That is why, I do believe that leadership is both inherited andacquired. As conclusion, a good leader always think three steps ahead, that’s why it is importantfor a good leader to prepare for his succession plan American International Group From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search â€Å"AIG† redirects here. For other uses, see AIG (disambiguation). |American International Group, Inc. |[pic ] | |Type |Public | |Traded as |NYSE:  AIG | | |SP 500 Component | |Industry |Insurance, Financial services | |Founded |Shanghai, China (1919)[1] | |Founder(s) |Cornelius Vander Starr | |Headquarters |American International Building, New York City, | | |New York, United States | |Area served |Worldwide | |Key people |Bob Benmosche | | |(President CEO) | | |Robert Miller (Chairman)[2] | |Products |Insurance annuities, mutual funds | |Revenue |[pic]US$ 77. 301 billion (2010)[3] | |Operating income |[pic]US$ 17. 936 billion (2010)[3] | |Net income |[pic]US$ 7. 786 billion (2010)[3] | |Total assets |[pic]US$ 683. 443 billion (2010)[3] | |Total equity |[pic]US$ 113. 239 billion (2010)[3] | |Employees |96,000 (2010)[3] | |Website |AIG. com | American International Group, Inc. NYSE:  AIG) or AIG is an American multinational insurance corporation. Its corporate headquarters is located in the American International Building in New York City. The British headquarters office is on Fenchu rch Street in London, continental Europe operations are based in La Defense, Paris, and its Asian headquarters office is in Hong Kong. According to the 2011 Forbes Global 2000 list, AIG was the 29th-largest public company in the world. [4][5] It was listed on the Dow Jones Industrial Average from April 8, 2004 to September 22, 2008. AIG suffered from a liquidity crisis when its credit ratings were downgraded below â€Å"AA† levels in September 2008. The United States Federal Reserve Bank on September 16, 2008 created an $85  billion credit facility to enable the company to meet increased collateral obligations consequent to the credit rating downgrade, in exchange for the issuance of a stock warrant to the Federal Reserve Bank for 79. 9% of the equity of AIG. The Federal Reserve Bank and the United States Treasury by May 2009 had increased the potential financial support to AIG, with the support of an investment of as much as $70  billion, a $60  billion credit line and $52. 5  billion to buy mortgage-based assets owned or guaranteed by AIG, increasing the total amount available to as much as $182. 5  billion. [6][7] AIG subsequently sold a number of its subsidiaries and other assets to pay down loans received, and continues to seek buyers of its assets. Contents | |  [hide]   | |1 History | |2 Business | |2. 1 Holdings | |2. 2 Auto insurance | |2. 3 Travel Insurance | |3 Financial crisis | |3. 1 Chronology o f September 2008 liquidity crisis | |3. 2 Federal Reserve bailout | |3. Additional bailouts of 2008 | |3. 4 Counterparty controversy | |3. 5 Post-bailout expenditures | |3. 6 Settlement of credit default swaps | |3. 7 Sales of assets | |3. 8 Record losses | |3. 2009 employee bonus payments | |3. 10 Manchester United Sponsorship | |3. 11 Share buyback | |4 Litigation | |4. 1 Accounting fraud claims | |5 Corporate governance | |5. Board of directors | |6 See also | |7 Notes | |8 References and further reading | |9 External links | [edit] History [pic] [pic] The American International Building in Lower Manhattan. AIG history dates back to 1919, when Cornelius Vander Starr established an insurance agency in Shanghai, China. Starr was the first Westerner in Shanghai to sell insurance to the Chinese, which he continued to do until AIG left China in early 1949—as Mao Zedong led the advance of the Communist People’s Liberation Army on Shanghai. [8][9] Starr then moved the company headquarters to its current home in New York City. [10] The company went on to expand, often through subsidiaries, into other markets, including other parts of Asia, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. [11] In 1962, Starr gave management of the company’s lagging U. S. holdings to Maurice R. â€Å"Hank† Greenberg, who shifted its focus from personal insurance to high-margin corporate coverage. Greenberg focused on selling insurance through independent brokers rather than agents to eliminate agent salaries. Using brokers, AIG could price insurance according to its potential return even if it suffered decreased sales of certain products for great lengths of time with very little extra expense. In 1968, Starr named Greenberg his successor. The company went public in 1969. [12] Beginning in 2005, AIG became embroiled in a series of fraud investigations conducted by the Securities and Exchange Commission, U. S. Justice Department, and New York State Attorney General’s Office. Greenberg was ousted amid an accounting scandal in February 2005; he is still fighting civil charges being pursued by New York state. [13][14][15] The New York Attorney General’s investigation led to a $1.   billion fine for AIG and criminal charges for some of its executives. [16] Greenberg was succeeded as CEO by Martin J. Sullivan, who had begun his career at AIG as a clerk in its London office in 1970. [17] On June 15, 2008, after disclosure of financial losses and subsequent to a falling stock pric e, Sullivan resigned and was replaced by Robert B. Willumstad, Chairman of the AIG Board of Directors since 2006. Willumstad was forced by the US government to step down and was replaced by Edward M. Liddy on September 17, 2008. [18] AIG’s board of directors named Robert Benmosche CEO on August 3, 2009 to replace Mr. Liddy, who earlier in the year announced his retirement. [19] [edit] Business [edit] Holdings Further information: Holdings of American International Group In the United States, AIG is the largest underwriter of commercial and industrial insurance, and AIG acquired American General Life Insurance in August 2001. [20] [edit] Auto insurance AIG sold auto insurance policies through its subsidiary unit, AIG Direct (aka aigdirect. com). The policies they offered included insurance for private automobiles, motorcycles, recreational vehicles and commercial vehicles. AIG purchased the remaining 39% that it did not own of online auto insurance specialist 21st Century Insurance in 2007 for $749  million. [21] With the failure of the parent company and the continuing recession in late 2008, AIG rebranded its insurance unit to 21st Century Insurance. 22][23] In April 2009 it was announced that AIG was selling the 21st Century Insurance subsidiary to Farmers Insurance Group for $1. 9  billion. [24] [edit] Travel Insurance Main article: AIG Travel Guard AIG sells travelers insurance in ternationally through Travel Guard, headquartered in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. [edit] Financial crisis Further information: Subprime mortgage crisis,  Financial crisis of 2007–2010,  and  Liquidity crisis of September 2008 [edit] Chronology of September 2008 liquidity crisis On September 16, 2008, AIG suffered a liquidity crisis following the downgrade of its credit rating. Industry practice permits firms with the highest credit ratings to enter swaps without depositing collateral with their trading counter-parties. When its credit rating was downgraded, the company was required to post additional collateral with its trading counter-parties, and this led to an AIG liquidity crisis. AIG’s London unit sold credit protection in the form of credit default swaps (CDSs) on collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) that had by that time declined in value. [25] The United States Federal Reserve Bank announced the creation of a secured credit facility of up to US$85  billion, to prevent the company’s collapse by enabling AIG to meet its obligations to deliver additional collateral to its credit default swap trading partners. The credit facility provided a structure to loan as much as US$85  billion, secured by the stock n AIG-owned subsidiaries, in exchange for warrants for a 79. 9% equity stake, and the right to suspend dividends to previously issued common and preferred stock. [17][26][27] AIG announced the same day that its board accepted the terms of the Federal Reserve Bank’s r escue package and secured credit facility. [28] This was the largest government bailout of a private company in U. S. history, though smaller than the bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a week earlier. [29][30] AIG’s share prices had fallen over 95% to just $1. 25 by September 16, 2008, from a 52-week high of $70. 13. [citation needed] The company reported over $13. 2  billion in losses in the first six months of the year. 31][32] The AIG Financial Products division headed by Joseph Cassano, in London, had entered into credit default swaps to insure $441  billion worth of securities originally rated AAA. Of those securities, $57. 8  billion were structured debt securities backed by subprime loans. [33] CNN named Cassano as one of the â€Å"Ten Most Wanted: Culprits† of the 2008 financial collapse in the United States. [34] As Lehman Brothers (the largest bankruptcy in U. S. history at that time) suffered a catastrophic decline in share price, investors began c omparing the types of securities held by AIG and Lehman, and found that AIG had valued its Alt-A and sub-prime mortgage-backed securities at 1. 7 to 2 times the values used by Lehman which weakened investors’ confidence in AIG. 31] On September 14, 2008, AIG announced it was considering selling its aircraft leasing division, International Lease Finance Corporation, to raise cash. [31] The Federal Reserve hired Morgan Stanley to determine if there are systemic risks to a financial failure of AIG, and asked private entities to supply short-term bridge loans to the company. In the meantime, New York regulators allowed AIG to borrow $20  billion from its subsidiaries. [35][36] At the stock market’s opening on September 16, 2008, AIG’s stock dropped 60 percent. [37] The Federal Reserve continued to meet that day with major Wall Street investment firms, hoping to broker a deal for a non-governmental $75  billion line of credit to the company. 38] Rating agencies M oody’s and Standard and Poor downgraded AIG’s credit ratings on concerns over likely continuing losses on mortgage-backed securities. The credit rating downgrade forced the company to deliver collateral of over $10  billion to certain creditors and CDS counter-parties. [39] The New York Times later reported that talks on Wall Street had broken down and AIG may file for bankruptcy protection on Wednesday, September 17. [40] Just before the bailout by the US Federal Reserve, AIG former CEO Maurice (Hank) Greenberg sent an impassioned letter to AIG CEO Robert B. Willumstad offering his assistance in any way possible, ccing the Board of Directors. His offer was rebuffed. [41] [edit] Federal Reserve bailout On the evening of September 16, 2008, the Federal Reserve Bank’s Board of Governors announced that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York had been authorized to create a 24-month credit-liquidity facility from which AIG could draw up to $85  billion. The loan was collateralized by the assets of AIG, including its non-regulated subsidiaries and the stock of â€Å"substantially all† of its regulated subsidiaries, and with an interest rate of 850 basis points over the three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) (i. e. , LIBOR plus 8. 5%). In exchange for the credit facility, the U. S. government received warrants for a 79. 9 percent equity stake in AIG, with the right to suspend the payment of dividends to AIG common and preferred shareholders. [17][27] The credit facility was created under the auspices of Section 13(3) of the Federal Reserve Act. 27][42][43] AIG’s board of directors announced approval of the loan transaction in a press release the same day. T he announcement did not comment on the issuance of a warrant for 79. 9% of AIG’s equity, but the AIG 8-K filing of September 18, 2008, reporting the transaction to the Securities and Exchange Commission stated that a warrant for 79. 9% of AIG shares had been issued to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. [17][28][44] AIG drew down US$ 28  billion of the credit-liquidity facility on September 17, 2008. [45] On September 22, 2008, AIG was removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. [46] An additional $37. 8  billion credit facility was established in October. As of October 24, AIG had drawn a total of $90. 3  billion from the emergency loan, of a total $122. 8  billion. [47] Maurice Greenberg, former CEO of AIG, on September 17, 2008, characterized the bailout as a nationalization of AIG. He also stated that he was bewildered by the situation and was at a loss over how the entire situation got out of control as it did. [48] On September 17, 2008, Federal Reserve Board chair Ben Bernanke asked Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson join him, to call on members of Congress, to describe the need for a congressionally authorized bailout of the nation’s banking system. Weeks later, Congress approved the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Bernanke said to Paulson on September 17, â€Å"We can’t keep doing this. Both because we at the Fed don’t have the necessary resources and for reasons of democratic legitimacy, it’s important that the Congress come in and take control of the situation. â€Å"[49] [edit] Additional bailouts of 2008 From mid September till early November, AIG’s credit-default spreads were steadily rising, implying the company was heading for default. [50][51] On November 10, 2008, the U. S. Treasury announced it would purchase $40  billion in newly issued AIG senior preferred stock, under the authority of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act’s Troubled Asset Relief Program. 52][53][54] The FRBNY announced that it would modify the September 16 secured credit facility; the Treasury investment would permit a reduction in its size from $85  billion to $60  billion, and that the FRBNY would extend the life of the facility from three to five years, and change t he interest rate from 8. 5% plus the three-month London interbank offered rate (LIBOR) for the total credit facility, to 3% plus LIBOR for funds drawn down, and 0. 75% plus LIBOR for funds not drawn, and that AIG would create two off- balance-sheet Limited Liability Companies (LLC) to hold AIG assets: one to act as an AIG Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Facility and the second to act as an AIG Collateralized Debt Obligations Facility. [52][54]Federal officials said the $40  billion investment would ultimately permit the government to reduce the total exposure to AIG to $112  billion from $152  billion. 52] On December 15, 2008, the Thomas More Law Center filed suit to challenge the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, alleging that it unconstitutionally promotes Islamic law (Sharia) and religion. The lawsuit was filed because AIG provides Takaful Insurance Plans, which, according to the company, avoid investments and transactions that are†un-Islamic†. [55][56] As of January 2012, TARP had about $50 billion invested in AIG according to one report. Break even for the government was figured at $28. 73 a share v. then-current share price of about $25. [57] [edit] Counterparty controversy AIG was required to post additional collateral with many creditors and ounter-parties, touching off controversy when over $100  billion was paid out to major global financial institutions that had previously received TARP money. While this money was legally owed to the banks by AIG (under agreements made via credit default swaps purchased from AIG by the institutions), a number of Congressmen and media members expressed outrage that taxpayer money was going to these banks through AIG. [58] In January, 2010, a document known as â€Å"Schedule A – List of Derivative Transactions† was released to the public, against the wishes of the New York Fed. It listed many of the insurance deals that AIG had with various other parties, such as G oldman Sachs, Societe Generale, Deutsche Bank, and Merrill Lynch. 59][60] Had AIG been allowed to fail in a controlled manner through bankruptcy, bondholders and derivative counterparties (major banks) would have suffered significant losses, limiting the amount of taxpayer funds directly used. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke argued: â€Å"If a federal agency had [appropriate authority] on September 16, [2008], they could have been used to put AIG into conservatorship or receivership, unwind it slowly, protect policyholders, and impose haircuts on creditors and counterparties as appropriate. That outcome would have been far preferable to the situation we find ourselves in now. â€Å"[61] [edit] Post-bailout expenditures The week following the September bailout, AIG employees and distributors participated in a California retreat which cost $444,000 and featured spa treatments, banquets, and golf outings. 62][63] It was reported that the trip was a reward for top-performing life-insurance agents planned before the bailout. [64] Less than 24 hours after the news of the party was first reported by the media, it was reported that the Federal Reserve had agreed to give AIG an additional loan of up to $37. 8  billion. [65] AP reported on October 17 that AIG executives spent $86,000 on a previously scheduled English hunting trip. News of the lavish spending came just days after AIG received an additional $37. 8  billion loan from the Federal Reserve, on top of a previous $85  billion emergency loan granted the month before. Regarding the hunting trip, the company responded, â€Å"We regret that this event was not canceled. [66] An October 30, 2008 article from CNBC reported that AIG had already drawn upon $90  billion of the $123  billion allocated for loans. [67] On November 10, 2008, just a few days before renegotiating another bailout with the US Government for $40  billion, ABC News reported that AIG spent $343,000 on a trip to a lavish resort in Phoenix, Arizona. [68] [edit] Settlement of credit default swaps On October 22, 2008, those creditors of Lehman Brothers who bought credit default swaps to hedge them against Lehman bankruptcy settled those accounts. The net payments were $5. 2  billion[69] even though initial estimates of the amount of the settlement were between $100  billion and $400  billion. 70] By December 2008, AIG had paid at least $18. 7  billion to various financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs and Societe Generale to retire obligations related to credit default swaps (CDS). As much as $53. 5  billion related to swap payouts are part of the bailout. [71] On March 15, 2009, under mounting pressure from Congress and after consultation with the Federal Reserve, AIG disclosed a list of major recipients of collateral postings and payments under credit default swaps, guaranteed investment agreements, and securities lending agreements. [72] Below is data from one of the charts AIG released, representing only a portion of the total payouts, over a period of a few months. AIG collateral postings to credit default swap counterparties, from the period September 16, 2008 to | |December 31, 2008[73] | |Counterparty |US $ posted |Counterparty |US $ posted | |Societe Generale |$4,100,000,000 |Deutsche Bank |$2,600,000,000 | |Goldman Sachs |$2,500,000,000 |Merrill Lynch |$1,800,000,000 | |Calyon |$1,100,000,000 |Barclays |$900,000,000 | |UBS |$800,000,000 |DZ Bank |$700,000,000 | |Wachovia |$700,000,000 |Rabobank |$500,000,000 | |KFW |$500,000,000 |JPMorgan |$400,000,000 | |Banco Santander |$300,000,000 |Danske Bank |$200,000,000 | |Reconstruction Finance |$200,000,000 |HSBC Bank |$200,000,000 | |Corporation[74] | | | |Morgan Stanley |$200,000,000 |Bank of America |$200,000,000 | |Bank of Montreal |$200,000,000 |Royal Bank of Scotland |$200,000,000 | |Other (unknown) |$4,100,000,000 | | | [edit] Sales of assets AIG since September 2008 has marketed its assets to pay off its government loa ns. A global decline in the valuation of insurance businesses, and the weakening financial condition of potential bidders, has challenged its efforts. If the U. S. government decides to continue to protect the company from falling into bankruptcy, it may have to take the assets itself in exchange for the loans, or offer further direct financial support. 75] As of September 6, 2009, The Wall Street Journal reported that Pacific Century Group had agreed to pay $500  million for a part of American International Group’s asset management business, and that they also expected to pay an additional $200  million to AIG in carried interest and other payments linked to future performance of the business. [76] Also in 2009, AIG sold its operations in Colombia to Ecuador’s Banco del Pichincha. On March 1, 2010, insurance company Prudential confirmed that it was in advanced negotiations to buy the Asian operations of AIG. [77] Prudential was to buy the pan-Asian life insurance company, American International Assurance (AIA), for approximately $35. 5  billion. 78] On June 1, 2010 the deal failed because AIG would not accept the $30. 5  billion after Prudential lowered the amount by $5  billion from the originally planned $35. 5  billion after Prudential shareholder discontent. [79] AIG agreed on March 8, 2010, to sell its American Life Insurance Co. unit (ALICO) to MetLife Inc. for $15. 5  billion in cash and stock by November 1, 2010. Alico has annuities, life and health insurance operations in Japan, Middle East (including Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan), Western and Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. AIG said it will sell Alico for $6. 8  billion in cash and the remainder in MetLife equity. The deal leaves AIG as the second-largest shareholder of MetLife, with a stake of more than 20% in the company. On March 29, 2010, Bloomberg L. P. reported that after almost three months of delays, AIG had completed the $500  million sale of a portion of its asset management business, branded PineBridge Investments, to the Asia-based Pacific Century Group. [80] On September 30, 2010, AIG announced an agreement to sell two of its life insurance companies in Japan, AIG Star and AIG Edison, to Prudential Financial for $4. 2  billion in cash and $600  million in the assumption of third party debt to help repay some of the money owed to the U. S. government. 81] On November 1, 2010, AIG announced it had raised $36. 71  billion from the sale of ALICO and an initial public offering for AIA. The company will use the proceeds Federal Reserve Bank of New York credit facility and make payments on other interests owned by the government. [82] On September 2, 2011, AIG filed with the SEC to spin off their aircraft leasing firm, International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), in an initial public offering. [83] [edit] Record losses On March 2, 2009, AIG reported a fourth quarter loss of $61. 7bn (? 43bn) and revenue of ? $23. 7bn ( 16. 2bn) for the final three months of 2008. This was the largest quarterly loss in corporate history at that time. 84] The announcement of the loss had an impact on morning trading in Europe and Asia, with the FTSE100, DAX and Nikkei all suffering sharp falls. In the US the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to below 7000 points, a twelve-year low. [85][86] The news of the loss came the day after the U. S. Treasury Department had confirmed that AIG was to get an additional $30  billion in aid, on top of the $150  billion it has already received. [87] The Treasury Department suggested that the potential losses to the US and global economy would be ‘extremely high’ if it were to collapse[88] and has suggested that if in futu re there is no improvement, it will invest more money into the company, as it is unwilling to allow it to fail. 89] The firm’s position as not just a domestic insurer, but also one for small businesses and many listed firms, has prompted US officials to suggest its demise could be ‘disastrous’ and the Federal Reserve said that AIG posed a ‘systemic risk’ to the global economy. [84] The fourth quarter result meant the company made a $99. 29  billion loss for the whole of 2008,[88] with five consecutive quarters of losses costing the company well over $100  billion. [89] In a testimony before the Senate Budget Committee on March 3, 2009, the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke stated that â€Å"AIG exploited a huge gap in the regulatory system,† †¦ and â€Å"to nobody’s surprise, made irresponsible bets and took huge losses†. [90] [edit] 2009 employee bonus payments Main article: AIG bonus payments controversy In March 2009, AIG announced that they were paying $165  million in executive bonuses. Total bonuses for the financial unit could reach $450  million and bonuses for the entire company could reach $1. 2  billion. [91] President Barack Obama, who voted for the AIG bailout as a Senator[92] responded to the planned payments by saying â€Å"[I]t’s hard to understand how derivative traders at AIG warranted any bonuses, much less $165  million in extra pay. How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat? † and â€Å"In the last six months, AIG has received substantial sums from the U. S. Treasury. I’ve asked Secretary Geithner to use that leverage and pursue every legal avenue to block these bonuses and make the American taxpayers whole. â€Å"[93] [pic] [pic] Protester outside 60 Wall Street Deutsche Bank’s US main office in the wake of the bonus controversy is interviewed by news media. Politicians on both sides of the Congressional aisle reacted with outrage to the planned bonuses. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said â€Å"I would suggest the first thing that would make me feel a little bit better toward them if they’d follow the Japanese example and come before the American people and take that deep bow and say, I’m sorry, and then either do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide. [94] Senator Chuck Schumer (D-New York) accused AIG of â€Å"Alice in Wonderland business practices† and said â€Å"It boggles the mind. † He has threatened to tax the bonuses at up to 100%. [95] Senator Richard Shelby (R-Alabama) said â€Å"T hese people brought this on themselves. Now you’re rewarding failure. A lot of these people should be fired, not awarded bonuses. This is horrible. It’s outrageous. â€Å"[96] Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) echoed his comments, saying â€Å"This is an outrage. â€Å"[97] Senator Jon Tester (D-Montana) said â€Å"This is ridiculous. † and AIG executives â€Å"need to understand that the only reason they even have a job is because of the taxpayers. â€Å"[98] Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) said â€Å"I’ve had it. and â€Å"The fact that they continue to do it while we pour in billions of dollars is indefensible. â€Å"[99] Representative Barney Frank (D-Massachusetts), Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said paying these bonuses would be â€Å"rewarding incompetence†[98] and â€Å"These people may have a right to their bonuses. They don’t have a right to their jobs forever. â€Å"[96] Representative Mark Kirk (R-Illinois) said â€Å"AIG should not be on welfare from Uncle Sam, and yet paying bonuses and transferring a considerable amount of taxpayer funds to entities overseas. â€Å"[99] Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said â€Å"It makes me angry. I slammed the phone more than a few times on discussing AIG. [96] Lawrence Summers, Director of the National Economic Council, said â€Å"The easy thing would be to just say, you know, ‘Off with their heads,’ and violate the contracts, but you have to think about the consequences of breaking contracts for the overall system of law. †[100] Austan Goolsbee, of the Council of Economic Advisers said â€Å"I don’t know why they would follow a policy that’s really not sensible, is obviously going to ignite the ire of millions of people. † and â€Å"You worry about that backlash. â€Å"[101] Political commentators and journalists expressed an equally bipartisan outrage. [94][102][103][104][104][105 ][106][107][108][109][110] On March 24, 2009, The New York Times printed the resignation letter of Jake DeSantis, executive vice president of AIG’s financial products unit, to Edward M. Liddy, the chief executive of AIG. DeSantis stated he had nothing to do with the credit default swaps, he lost much of his life savings in the form of deferred compensation invested in the capital of AIG Financial Products; he had agreed to work for an annual salary of $1 out of a sense of duty, that he was assured many times the bonuses would be paid in March 2009, and that he believed he and others were let down by Liddy’s lack of support. He also stated he was going to donate his bonus to those suffering from the global economic downturn. [111] It was reported that Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Con) (who first denied, then admitted to amending the legislation to allow the AIG bonuses), received $160,000 from employees of AIG. [112][113][114][115] A memo issued in 2006 by Joseph Cassano, AIG Financial Products chief executive, urged AIG employees to donate to Dodd, saying that as â€Å"next in line to become chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee†¦ Senator Dodd will now have the opportunity to set the committee’s agenda on issues critical to the financial services industry. â€Å"[116] [edit] Manchester United Sponsorship AIG was the principal sponsor of English football club Manchester United from 2006–2010, and as part of the sponsorship deal, its logo was prominently displayed on the front of the club’s jerseys and other merchandise. The AIG deal was announced by Manchester United chief executive David Gill on April 6, 2006, for a British shirt sponsorship record ? 56. 5  million, to be paid over four years (? 14. 1  million a year). The deal became the most valuable sponsorship deal in the world in September 2006, after the renegotiation and subsequent degrading of the ? 15  million-a-year deal Italian team Juventus had with oil firm Tamoil. During AIG’s sponsorship, Manchester United enjoyed one of its most successful periods in history, winning the Premier League three consecutive years, two Football League Cups, and the UEFA Champions League. [citation needed] On January 21, 2009, it was announced that AIG would not be renewing its sponsorship of the club at the end of the deal in May 2010. It is not clear, however, whether or not AIG’s agreement to run MU Finance will continue. American risk consulting firm Aon Corporation was named the club’s new principal sponsor on June 3, 2009, with its sponsorship of the club taking effect from the beginning of the 2010–11 season. The terms of the deal were not revealed, but it has been reported to be worth approximately ? 80  million over four years. [citation needed] [edit] Share buyback Due to the Q3 2011 net loss widened, so on November 3, 2011 the AIG shares has plunged 49 percent year to date. The insurer’s board has approved the share buyback of as much as $1 billion. [117] [edit] Litigation |[pic] |This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable | | |sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2008) | In November 2004, AIG reached a US$126  million settlement with the U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department partly resolving a number of regulatory matters, but the company must still cooperate with investigators continuing to probe the sale of a non-traditional insurance product. [118] On June 11, 2008, three stockholders, collectively owning 4% of the outstanding stock of AIG, delivered a letter to the Board of Directors of AIG seeking to oust CEO Martin Sullivan and make certain other management and Board of Directors changes. This letter was the latest volley in what the Wall Street Journal deemed a â€Å"public spat† between the Company’s Board and management, on the one hand, and its key stockholders, and former CEO Maurice â€Å"Hank† Greenberg on the other hand. [119] Death Bet Circa 2010 the WSJ reported that a family sued AIG for alleged complicity in a ‘stranger-originated life insurance’ scheme, whereby AIG managers allegedly welcomed people without an insurable interest to take out life insurance policies against others. The case involved JB Carlson and Germaine Tomlinson, and was one of many similar lawsuits in the US at the time. [120] [edit] Accounting fraud claims On October 14, 2004 the New York State Office of Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced that it had commenced a civil action against Marsh McLennan Companies for steering clients to preferred insurers with whom the company maintained lucrative payoff agreements, and for soliciting rigged bids for insurance contracts from the insurers. The Attorney General announced in a release that two AIG executives pleaded guilty to criminal charges in connection with this illegal course of conduct. In early May 2005, AIG restated its financial position and issued a reduction in book value of USD $2. 7  billion, a 3. 3 percent reduction in net worth. On February 9, 2006, AIG and the New York State Attorney General’s office agreed to a settlement in which AIG would pay a fine of $1. 6  billion. [121] [edit] Corporate governance [edit] Board of directors How to cite Aig Case Solution, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

Interpersonal Communication Diagnosis and Reflection †Free Samples

Question: Discuss about the Interpersonal Communication. Answer: Diagnostic Tools related to Communication The communication is one of the important aspects of an organization for sustaining and development of communication across the workplace. For analyzing my communication style, I will be suing communication tools like Johari Window, Assertiveness Questionnaires, Communication Style Questionnaire, Social Intranet and Discussion Forums. As mentioned by Bloom et al. (2014), Johari Window is one of the effective diagnostic tools that helps in understanding the relationship with the people and with others. I prefer using Johari Window diagnostic tool for analyzing the communication style of the people in case of active listening. The goal of the Johari Window is disclosing the information and making the people more interactive, cooperative and effective in their communication. I prefer using Assertiveness Questionnaires, for verbal communication. In this aspect, it helps the students in seeking assistance to the people and looks for the opportunities along with resisting the peer pressure (Cummings Worley, 2014). It helps the individuals in expressing themselves in a direct and self-assured manner. I have learned that it helps in engaging interpersonal behaviors of the individuals, which helps in contributing to the academic success and social development. I prefer using the Communication Style Questionnaire in a written or non-verbal communication style that encourages individuals in the development of their potentiality. As mentioned by Goetsch Davis (2014), it helps in the development of personal plans that helps in achieving potentiality in communication. Moreover, through this communication pattern, it helps in gaining the better understanding of the methods of interaction and the level of accuracy depends on the honesty reflected by the individuals. It is an effective method of communication that helps in understanding the tendency and outlook of the individuals towards a certain topic. I prefer using Social Intranet communication as it helps in easy and effective means of communication among the individuals engaged under the same institution. According to Harlow Guo (2014), the Social Intranet helps in written communication among the individuals working in the same organization or educational premises. It helps in engaging the individuals and making them integrated with the information. It helps to make the individuals efficient in their jobs and also improves the customer services along with progress the internal operations. I prefer using Discussion Forums communication tool as it facilitates free and open discussion of the topics among the individuals. Heldman, Schindelar Weaver (2017) opined that online discussion forums are an effective means of written communication that facilitates open discussion among the people. It creates the discussion of certain topics among the people having the interest in the same topic. It also facilitates bringing up of ideas, solving problems and get solutions to it. Findings of the Tools and Identification of Key Communication Issues The Johari Window tool is a tool that helps in training and understanding self-awareness, improving communications, interpersonal relationships and personal development of the organization (Oliveira Welch, 2013). It helps in the prevailing positive working environment as this tool had facilitated communication between the co-workers and trust is prevalent within them. The assertive questionnaires help in formulating and communicating an individuals thoughts and opinions in a precise and clear way. The Communication Style Questionnaire facilitates encouraging their development of the potentiality for promoting communication culture at the workplace. It helps in identification of the learning and strengths that can be used for the betterment of their potentiality. The Social Intranet plays an important role in combining and contributing communication across the workplace. It helps in connecting people in a meaningful way where the people finds the ability in creating content. The Disc ussion Forums facilitates the organization in holding conversations among the individuals through posted messages (Razmerita, Kirchner Nabeth, 2014). One of the communication issues that have been identified in this context is the inability to keep all the employees informed (Rosenberg Chopra, 2015). I have identified that this is an important aspect as through communication, the employees are informed about the happenings in the organization. The failure of which, may cause the problem to the employees and may also lead to miscommunication and chaos at the workplace. The organization needs to communicate with its employees through emails and discussions on a regular basis. The other communication issue that has been identified is the lack of receiving feedback from the co-workers, managers, and supervisors. I have identified that it is a major problem in communication, as the employees failing in receiving feedback from the organizational heads tends to repeat the mistakes continuously. Their improvement in the work will be stagnant due to lack of feedback and will create a huge miscommunication and communication gap at the work place (Singh, 2015). Reflection on Two Professional Interactions One of the professional interactions I had in the past 12 months was an employee of an organization regarding feedback communication aspect. Due to lack of feedback, the employees are unable to understand the right and wrong sides of their performance. It, therefore, cause repetition of the mistakes and the employees continue providing same quality work without any improvement (Taylor Kent, 2014). Due to loss of feedback, the employees lose out interests in their work and the quality of workplace in the organization slags down gradually. Moreover, due to lack of feedback, the relationship between the co-employees and managers gets hampered and trust and mutual respect towards each other remain lacking. The other professional interaction I had in the past 12 months was with an employee regarding non-informing the employees at the workplace. Due to this, the employees remain uninformed about the happenings in the organization. It makes them feel left out and lack of motivation to work with commitment and dedication to the workplace. Moreover, it also impacts negatively on the employees as they are unable to discuss the problems either with the co-employees or with the managers (Harlow Guo, 2014). I have seen that it have negatively impacted on the employees ability to cope up with the information that is not shared with them and leads to high employee turnover rate. Literature Review The two issues that will be discussed in this context are "lack of feedback" and "communication gap with the employees." In this perspective, the concepts, key models, and behaviors that demonstrate efficient practice and competence in the communication area are discussed. Lack of Feedback One of the major issues in the communication that arises at the workplace is due to the lack of feedback to the employees. As stated by Bergman, Dellve Skagert (2016), to establish and propagate strong business relationship at the workplace, efficient and effective communication practices are to be established. There are certain opportunities that take place within the organization through effective communication. A small or big gap in the communication may hamper the productivity and workflow of the organization. The employees, managers and higher officials should be aware of the problems that may arise due to communication gap and needs to take effective steps for solving the problems. The problems that may arise due to lack of feedback in communicational aspect are lower efficiency, decreased innovation and low employee morale. According to Bhosale Pant (2015), due to the communication gap, the feedback from the co-workers and superiors will be reduced, which will lead to the ab ridging of the efficiency of the employees at the workplace. The efficiencies of the employees are questioned, and vague messages sent for clarification of their activities not only dissatisfy the employees but also make them lose interest in their work. Due to the inability of getting feedback, the employees fail to understand their flaws in their work and their skills and expertise become stable and constant without any improvement (Derrick et al. 2016). Dozier, Grunig Grunig (2013) opined that due to lack of feedback, the moral values and self-esteem of the employees are compromised. The poor communication at the workplace demoralizes the workplace environment and impact negatively on the employees. With the poor communication, the enthusiasms of the employees are lost and are forced to conduct boring presentations with unclear instructions. As a result, it leads to confusion among the employees and the monotonous work also hampers their moral values. Enuoh Inyang (2016) had stated that the lack of feedback in the workplace also hampers the innovation tendency in the organization. It also results in inadequate handling of the projects due to having no feedback regarding the right way of handling it. It is because; the communication is directly proportional to the rise of existing and innovative ideas and improvements at the workplace. But the absence of the communication at the workplace leads to decreased innovation at the workpl ace. To acquire competence at the workplace for improving feedback, the top officials, managers, and employees need to have sound communication with one another. As stated by Fire Puzis (2016), communication helps in improving the relationship among the co-workers and managers and the feedback regarding the work is also communicated. It improves the competency of the employees and makes the organization more productive in nature. The workflow is not disrupted, and the employees learn from their faults. The mistakes are never repeated, and the employees confidently handle the organizations projects without flaws. Moreover, with the flow of feedback, the motivation and commitment level of the employees are increased that reduces monotony and confusion at the workplace (Laukkanen et al. 2016). Communication Gap with all the Employees The communication gap at the workplace makes the employees uninformed about the happenings at the workplace. As mentioned by Parraguez, Eppinger Maier (2016), due to lack of communication in informing the employees about the decisions of the organization makes the employees feel left out. They tend to lose out focus and vision of the organizational goals and also mismanage the business resources. Moreover, as the employees are not informed about the organizational decisions, they tend to enter into corporate politics where they make up stories about the decisions taken up by the management. It creates confusion, chaos, and disorder at the workplace, which destroys the workflow of the organization. Shimoni (2017) stated that due to lack of communication at the workplace, conflict among the employees and higher management occurs. It, therefore, leads to the breakdown of the productivity at the workplace. Moreover, due to poor communication, the employees cannot relate to the business goals and understand their respective duties and responsibilities, which lead to non-performance of the employees. According to Shin et al. (2017), the communication gap at the workplace reduces the productivity, inspiration, creation and innovation of the employees. It makes the employees lack enthusiasm and also fear the unknown happenings at the workplace. Moreover, due to lack of communication, themanagement of the organization becomes ineffective and also leads to conflict the workplace. The employees tend to leave the organization in fear of losing out their jobs and for facing unknown organizational change, which they find difficult to cope up with. As stated by Bergman, Dellve Skagert (2016), due to poor flow of communication, the information regarding any project change or alternation in the workplace is not informed to the employees. It, therefore, leads to misunderstanding and misinterpretation at the workplace, which leads to arguments and tensions. The overall environment at the workplace becomes disrupted, and the relationship between co-workers and managers are also at stakes. As mentioned by Fire Puzis (2016), the communication gap needs to be reduced at the workplace to improve the competitiveness of the organization. It makes the employees competitive, enthusiastic and creative in their approach, which helps in smooth operation and workflow within the organization. Moreover, it also helps in making good decisions in the workplace, which helps in fulfilling long-term and short-term goals and objectives of the organization. It reduces the occurrence of conflicts at the workplace and the employees knowing their responsibilities become mentally set to handle their assigned tasks. It also reduces the tension among the employees and also improves the relationship between the employees and managers that lead to organizational development and growth (Rosenberg Chopra, 2015). Action Plan In this context, an action plan will be developed that helps in discussing the key activities and events, which will be undertaken by the researcher in the next 6 months for acquiring the knowledge. The Gantt chart given below includes the actionable items in a timeline, and the indication of its completion helps in measuring its success. Courses Undertaken 1st Month 2nd Month 3rd Month 4th Month 5th Month 6th Month Media and Society Media Writing News Reporting Writing and Editing Professional Writing English Language 1- Post Foundation Essay Writing The mentors identified are the professors from the CQU institute. The Academic Advisor or the Counselor advices the students to get enroll in the courses as per their requirement. After completion of the ELC Program, they are advised to follow AS (Associate in Science), AAS (Associate in Applied Science) or AA (Associate in Arts) Educational Degree Plan that has been filed by their respective Academic Advisor or Counselor. The students have acquired conceptual knowledge regarding the communication interactions. It is seen that the communication is an important aspect for the students to make them prepared for their future. The different courses those are taught in the institution helps in developing the interaction and communication skills of the students. Both written and oral communication skills are taught to the students, which will facilitate them in conveying their feelings and opinions to the other people without any problem. It helps them in their future when they will join o rganizations or learning institutions for either higher studies or the purpose of jobs. At the point of time, academically the communication skills will help the students in getting good grades and degrees that are required for their future career. The personal journals that are taught in the courses facilitate the students in easy communication with one another. The three important aspects of communication are reading, writing and listening, which are to be developed among the students that will help them in promoting their communication skills. The listening skills should not be limited to the classroom as it helps in easy conversation with one another regarding the problems faced by the students and or getting appropriate solutions to it. Moreover, the oral skills help in continuing conversation among the students for both professional and personal discussion. The writing skills help in communicating the learned aspects and feelings of the students and for jotting down the expressions and thoughts. The self-esteem of the students gets elevated with effective communication among the students. The good communication courses help in increasing learning among the entire class and also improve the class participation. It facilita tes the students in improving the class performance as they can understand the teaching of the teacher. It also helps them in understanding the feedback received from the teachers, which they can work on for improving their learning and communication References Bergman, C., Dellve, L., Skagert, K. (2016). Exploring communication processes in workplace meetings: A mixed methods study in a Swedish healthcare organization.Work,54(3), 533-541. Bhosale, A., Pant, S. (2015). Role of Communication in Organization.AADYA-National Journal ofManagement and Technology (NJMT),3(2), 37-39. Bloom, N., Garicano, L., Sadun, R. Van Reenen, J., (2014). The distinct effects of information technology and communication technology on firm organization.Management Science,60(12), pp.2859-2885. Cummings, T.G. Worley, C.G., (2014).Organization development and change. Cengage learning. Derrick, G. E., Samuel, G. N., Pansters, W. G., Rinsum, H. J., Luukkonen, T., Thomas, D. A. (2016). Structure and organization seems to be at the root of many of the questions raised about institutional behaviour; however, with respect to research on university capacity building, few studies have examined research organizational problems, particularly in developing countries. This study investigates academic reactions to the structure and organization of research at four leading Vietnamese universities...Minerva,54(1), 99-127. Dozier, D. M., Grunig, L. A., Grunig, J. E. (2013). Manager's guide to excellence in public relations and communication management. Routledge. Enuoh, R. O., Inyang, B. J. (2016). APPROPRIATING THE GRAPEVINE COMMUNICATION CHANNEL IN THE ORGANIZATION.Sustainable Human Development Review,2(2). Fire, M., Puzis, R. (2016). Organization mining using online social networks.Networks and Spatial Economics,16(2), 545-578. Goetsch, D.L. Davis, S.B., (2014).Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson. Harlow, S. Guo, L., (2014). Will the revolution be tweeted or facebooked? Using digital communication tools in immigrant activism.Journal of Computer?Mediated Communication,19(3), pp.463-478. Heldman, A.B., Schindelar, J. Weaver, J.B., (2017). Social media engagement and public health communication: implications for public health organizations being truly social.Public Health Reviews,35(1), p.13. Laukkanen, E., Lehtinen, T. O., Itkonen, J., Paasivaara, M., Lassenius, C. (2016, September). Bottom-up adoption of continuous delivery in a stage-gate managed software organization. InProceedings of the 10th ACM/IEEE International Symposium on Empirical Software Engineering and Measurement(p. 45). ACM. Oliveira, G.H.M. Welch, E.W., (2013). Social media use in local government: Linkage of technology, task, and organizational context. Government Information Quarterly, 30(4), pp.397-405. Parraguez, P., Eppinger, S., Maier, A. (2016). Characterizing Design Process Interfaces as Organization Networks: Insights for Engineering Systems Management.Systems Engineering,19(2), 158-173. Razmerita, L., Kirchner, K. Nabeth, T., (2014). Social media in organizations: leveraging personal and collective knowledge processes.Journal of Organizational Computing and Electronic Commerce,24(1), pp.74-93. Rosenberg, M. Chopra, D., (2015).Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships. PuddleDancer Press. Shimoni, B. (2017). A sociological perspective to organization development Habitus Oriented Consulting.Organizational Dynamics. Shin, K., Phalak, K., Hamame, A., Whitman, G. J. (2017). The Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) was first initiated in the late 1980s in order to standardize reporting, improve report organization, and to monitor outcomes for more clear, concise, and uniform communication of breast imaging findings. In the BI-RADS 5th edition, several changes and new additions have been made to the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) lexicon, reflecting increased...Current Problems in Diagnostic Radiology,46(1), 26-34. Singh, R., 2015.Study on Emergence of Dynamic Organization Structures Based on Social, Asynchronous and Synchronous Communication and Collaboration Patterns in IT and Educational Organizations: with Specific Reference to Organizations in Redmond, USA, and Bangalore, India(Doctoral dissertation, ICFAI UNIVERSITY JHARKHAND). Taylor, M. Kent, M.L., (2014). The value of social media for pushing activist organizations social agendas: Implications for PR theory and practice.Quarterly Journal of Business Disciplines,1(1), pp.76-87.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Yeats and The Symbolism of Poetry

Yeats and 'The Symbolism of Poetry' One of the greatest poets of the 20th century and a recipient of the Nobel Prize, William Butler Yeats spent his early childhood in Dublin and Sligo before moving with his parents to London. His first volumes of poetry, influenced by the symbolism of William Blake and Irish folklore and myth, are more romantic and dreamlike than his later work, which is generally more highly regarded. Composed in 1900, Yeatss influential essay The Symbolism of Poetry offers an extended definition of symbolism and a meditation on the nature of poetry in general. The Symbolism of Poetry    Symbolism, as seen in the writers of our day, would have no value if it were not seen also, under one disguise or another, in every great imaginative writer, writes Mr. Arthur Symons in The Symbolist Movement in Literature, a subtle book which I cannot praise as I would, because it has been dedicated to me; and he goes on to show how many profound writers have in the last few years sought for a philosophy of poetry in the doctrine of symbolism, and how even in countries where it is almost scandalous to seek for any philosophy of poetry, new writers are following them in their search. We do not know what the writers of ancient times talked of among themselves, and one bull is all that remains of Shakespeares talk, who was on the edge of modern times; and the journalist is convinced, it seems, that they talked of wine and women and politics, but never about their art, or never quite seriously about their art. He is certain that no one who had a philosophy of his art, or a theory of ho w he should write, has ever made a work of art, that people have no imagination who do not write without forethought and afterthought as he writes his own articles. He says this with enthusiasm, because he has heard it at so many comfortable dinner-tables, where some one had mentioned through carelessness, or foolish zeal, a book whose difficulty had offended indolence, or a man who had not forgotten that beauty is an accusation. Those formulas and generalisations, in which a hidden sergeant has drilled the ideas of journalists and through them the ideas of all but all the modern world, have created in their turn a forgetfulness like that of soldiers in battle, so that journalists and their readers have forgotten, among many like events, that Wagner spent seven years arranging and explaining his ideas before he began his most characteristic music; that opera, and with it modern music, arose from certain talks at the house of one Giovanni Bardi of Florence; and that the Plà ©iade laid the foundations of modern French literature with a pamphlet. Goethe has said, a poet needs all philosophy, but he must keep it out of his work, though that is not always necessary; and almost certainly no great art, outside England, where journalists are more powerful and ideas less plentiful than elsewhere, has arisen without a great criticism, for its herald or its interpreter and protector, and it may be for this reason that great art, now that vulgarity has armed itself and multiplied itself, is perhaps dead in England. All writers, all artists of any kind, in so far as they have had any philosophical or critical power, perhaps just in so far as they have been deliberate artists at all, have had some philosophy, some criticism of their art; and it has often been this philosophy, or this criticism, that has evoked their most startling inspiration calling into outer life some portion of the divine life, or of the buried reality, which could alone extinguish in the emotions what their philosophy or their criticism would extinguish in the intellect. They have sought for no new thing, it may be, but only to understand and to copy the pure inspiration of early times, but because the divine life wars upon our outer life, and must needs change its weapons and its movements as we change ours, inspiration has come to them in beautiful startling shapes. The scientific movement brought with it a literature, which was always tending to lose itself in externalities of all kinds, in opinion, in declamation, in pic turesque writing, in word-painting, or in what Mr. Symons has called an attempt to build in brick and mortar inside the covers of a book; and new writers have begun to dwell upon the element of evocation, of suggestion, upon what we call the symbolism in great writers. II In Symbolism in Painting, I tried to describe the element of symbolism that is in pictures and sculpture, and described a little the symbolism in poetry, but did not describe at all the continuous indefinable symbolism which is the substance of all style. There are no lines with more melancholy beauty than these by Burns: The white moon is setting behind the white wave,And Time is setting with me, O! and these lines are perfectly symbolical. Take from them the whiteness of the moon and of the wave, whose relation to the setting of Time is too subtle for the intellect, and you take from them their beauty. But, when all are together, moon and wave and whiteness and setting Time and the last melancholy cry, they evoke an emotion which cannot be evoked by any other arrangement of colours and sounds and forms. We may call this metaphorical writing, but it is better to call it symbolical writing, because metaphors are not profound enough to be moving, when they are not symbols, and when they are symbols they are the most perfect of all, because the most subtle, outside of pure sound, and through them one can the best find out what symbols are. If one begins the  reverie  with any beautiful lines that one can remember, one finds they are like those by Burns. Begin with this line by Blake: The gay fishes on the wave when the moon sucks up the dew or these lines by Nash: Brightness falls from the air,Queens have died young and fair,Dust hath closed Helens eye or these lines by Shakespeare: Timon hath made his everlasting mansionUpon the beached verge of the salt flood;Who once a day with his embossed frothThe turbulent surge shall cover or take some line that is quite simple, that gets its beauty from its place in a story, and see how it flickers with the light of the many symbols that have given the story its beauty, as a sword-blade may flicker with the light of burning towers. All sounds, all colours, all forms, either because of their preordained energies or because of long association, evoke indefinable and yet precise emotions, or, as I prefer to think, call down among us certain disembodied powers, whose footsteps over our hearts we call emotions; and when sound, and colour, and form are in a musical relation, a beautiful relation to one another, they become, as it were, one sound, one colour, one form, and evoke an emotion that is made out of their distinct evocations and yet is one emotion. The same relation exists between all portions of every work of art, whether it be an epic or a song, and the more perfect it is, and the more various and numerous the elements that have flowed into its perfection, the more powerful will be the emotion, the power, the god it calls  among  us. Because an emotion does not exist, or does not become perceptible and active among us, till it has found its expression, in colour or in sound or in form, or in all of the se, and because no two modulations or arrangements of these evoke the same emotion, poets and painters and musicians, and in a less degree because their effects are momentary, day and night and cloud and shadow, are continually making and unmaking mankind. It is indeed only those things which seem useless or very feeble that have any power, and all those things that seem useful or strong, armies, moving wheels, modes of architecture, modes of government, speculations of the reason, would have been a little different if some mind long ago had not given itself to some emotion, as a woman gives herself to her lover, and shaped sounds or colours or forms, or all of these, into a musical relation, that their emotion might live in other minds. A little lyric evokes an emotion, and this emotion gathers others about it and melts into their being in the making of some great epic; and at last, needing an always less delicate body, or symbol, as it grows more powerful, it flows out, with all it has gathered, among the blind instincts of daily life, where it moves a power within powers, as one sees ring within ring in the stem of an old tree. This is maybe what Arthur OShaughnessy meant when he made his poets say they had built Nineveh with their sighing; and I am certainly never certain, when I hear of some war, or of some religious excitement or of some new manufacture, or of anything else that fills the ear of the world, that it has not all happened because of something that a boy piped in Thessaly. I remember once telling a seer to ask one among the gods who, as she believed, were standing about her in their symbolic bodies, what would come of a charming but seeming trivial  labour  of a friend, and the form answering, the devastation of peoples and the overwhelming of cities. I doubt indeed if the crude circumstance of the world, which seems to create all our emotions, does more than reflect, as in multiplying mirrors, the emotions that have come to solitary men in moments of poetical contemplation; or that love itself would be more than an animal hunger but for the poet and his shadow the priest, for unless we believe that outer things are the reality, we must believe that the gross is the shadow of the subtle, that things are wise before they become foolish, and secret before they cry out in the  market-place. Solitary men in moments of contemplation receive, as I think, the creative impulse from the lowest of the Nine Hierarchies, and so make and unmake mankind, and even the world itself, for does not the eye altering alter all? Our towns are copied fragments from our breast;And all mans Babylons strive but to impartThe grandeurs of his Babylonian heart. III The purpose of rhythm, it has always seemed to me, is to prolong the moment of contemplation, the moment when we are both asleep and awake, which is the one moment of creation, by hushing us with an alluring monotony, while it holds us  waking  by variety, to keep us in that state of perhaps real trance, in which the mind liberated from the pressure of the will is unfolded in symbols. If certain sensitive persons listen persistently to the ticking of a  watch,  or gaze persistently on the monotonous flashing of a light, they fall into the hypnotic trance; and rhythm is but the ticking of a watch made softer, that one must  needs  listen, and various, that one may not be swept beyond memory or grow weary of listening; while the patterns of the artist are but the monotonous flash woven to take the eyes in a  subtler  enchantment. I have heard in meditation voices that were forgotten the moment they had  spoken; and  I have been swept, when in more profound meditatio n, beyond all memory but of those things that came from beyond the threshold of waking life. I was writing once at a very symbolical and abstract poem, when my pen fell on the ground; and as I stooped to pick it up, I remembered some  phantastic  adventure that yet did not seem  phantastic, and then another like adventure, and when I asked myself when these things had happened, I found, that I was remembering my dreams for many nights. I tried to remember what I had done the day before, and then what I had done that morning; but all my waking life had perished from me, and it was only after a struggle that I came to remember it again, and as I did so that more powerful and startling life perished in its turn. Had my pen not fallen on the ground and so made me turn from the images that I was weaving into verse, I would never have known that meditation had become trance, for I would have been like one who does not know that he is passing through a wood because his eyes are on the pathway. So I think that in the making and in the understanding of a work of art, and the mo re easily if it is full of patterns and symbols and music, we are lured to the threshold of sleep, and it may be far beyond it, without knowing that we have ever set our feet upon the steps of horn or of ivory. IV Besides emotional symbols, symbols that evoke emotions alone,and in this sense all alluring or hateful things are symbols, although their relations with one another are too subtle to delight us fully, away from rhythm and pattern,there are intellectual symbols, symbols that evoke ideas alone, or ideas mingled with emotions; and outside the very definite traditions of mysticism and the less definite criticism of certain modern poets, these alone are called symbols. Most things belong to one or another kind, according to the way we speak of them and the companions we give them, for symbols, associated with ideas that are more than fragments of the shadows thrown upon the intellect by the emotions they evoke, are the playthings of the allegorist or the pedant, and soon pass away. If I say white or purple in an ordinary line of poetry, they evoke emotions so exclusively that I cannot say why they move me; but if I bring them into the same sentence with such obvious intellectual symbols a s a cross or a crown of thorns, I think of purity and sovereignty. Furthermore, innumerable meanings, which are held to white or to purple by bonds of subtle suggestion, and alike in the emotions and in the intellect, move visibly through my mind, and move invisibly beyond the threshold of sleep, casting lights and shadows of an indefinable wisdom on what had seemed before, it may be, but sterility and noisy violence. It is the intellect that decides where the reader shall ponder over the procession of the symbols, and if the symbols are merely emotional, he gazes from amid the accidents and destinies of the world; but if the symbols are intellectual too, he becomes himself a part of pure intellect, and he is himself mingled with the procession. If I watch a rushy pool in the moonlight, my emotion at its beauty is mixed with memories of the man that I have seen ploughing by its margin, or of the lovers I saw there a night ago; but if I look at the moon herself and remember any of her ancient names and meanings, I move among divine people, and thing s that have shaken off our mortality, the tower of ivory, the queen of waters, the shining  stag  among enchanted woods, the white  hare  sitting upon the hilltop, the fool of  faery  with his shining cup full of dreams, and it may be make a friend of one of these images of wonder, and meet the Lord in the air. So, too, if one is moved by Shakespeare, who is content with emotional symbols that he may come the nearer to our sympathy, one is mixed with the whole spectacle of the world; while if one is moved by Dante, or by the myth of Demeter, one is mixed into the shadow of God or of a goddess. So too one is furthest from symbols when one is busy doing this or that, but the soul moves among symbols and unfolds in symbols when trance, or madness, or deep meditation has withdrawn it from every impulse but its own. I then saw, wrote Gà ©rard de Nerval of his madness, vaguely drifting into form, plastic images of antiquity, which outlined themselves, became definite, and seemed to represent symbols of which I only seized the idea with difficulty. In an earlier  time  he would have been of that multitude, whose souls austerity withdrew, even more perfectly than madness could withdraw his soul, from hope and memory, from desire and regret, that they might reveal those processions of symbols that men bow to before altars, and  woo  with incense and offerings. But being of our time, he has been like Maeterlinck, like Villiers de IIsle-Adam in  Axà «l, like all who are preoccupied with intellectual symbols in our time, a foreshadower of the new sacred book, of which all the arts, as somebody has said, are beginning to dream. How can the arts overcome the slow dying of mens hearts that we call the progress of the world, and lay their hands upon mens heartstrings again, without becoming the garment of religion as in old times? V If people were to accept the theory that poetry moves us because of its symbolism, what change should one look for in the manner of our poetry? A return to the way of our fathers, a casting out of descriptions of nature for the sake of nature, of the moral law for the sake of the moral law, a casting out of all anecdotes and of that brooding over scientific opinion that so often extinguished the central flame in Tennyson, and of that vehemence that would make us do or not do certain things; or, in other words, we should come to understand that the beryl stone was enchanted by our fathers that it might unfold the pictures in its heart, and  not to  mirror our own excited faces, or the boughs waving outside the window. With this change of substance, this return to imagination, this understanding that the laws of art, which are the hidden laws of the world, can alone bind the imagination, would come a change of style, and we would cast out of serious poetry those energetic rhythms, as of a man running, which are the invention of the will with its eyes always on something to be done or undone; and we would seek out those wavering, meditative, organic rhythms, which are the embodiment of the imagination, that neither desires nor hates, because it has done with time, and only wishes to gaze upon some reality, some beauty; nor would it be any longer possible for anybody to deny the importance of form, in all its kinds, for although you can expound an opinion, or describe a thing, when your words are not quite well chosen, you cannot give a body to something that moves beyond the senses, unless your words are as subtle, as complex, as full of mysterious life, as the body of a flower or of a woman. The form of sincere poetry, unlike the form of the popular poetry, may indeed be sometimes obscure, or ungrammatical as in some of the best of the Songs of Innocence and Experience, but it must have the perfections that escape analysis, the subtleties that have a new meaning every day, and it must have all this whether it be but a little song made out of a moment of dreamy  indolence,  or some great epic made out of the dreams of one poet and of a hundred generations whose hands were never weary of the sword. The Symbolism of Poetry by William Butler Yeats first appeared in  The Dome in April 1900 and was reprinted in Yeats Ideas of Good and Evil, 1903.