Techniques to Generate Ideas Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Techniques to Generate Ideas - Essay Example Fundamentally, concept development techniques enable an organization to nurture an idea into a business adventure that an entity can pursue profitably. However, prior to the realization of an idea, it is imperative to appraise it critically (Bluemner). Diverse concept development procedures exist nonetheless, the applicability of the techniques relies on the prevailing circumstances. Consequently, identifying a concept generation methodology for Chocoberry (CB) requires prior knowledge of the entity and its industry. Additionally, prior awareness of the entity’s aspirations is critical. Chocoberry operates in the cuisine industry, which changes rapidly depending on the market trends. Accordingly, research would be an appropriate technique for concept development. Research would enable the management to make a decision based on credible facts that have culminated from studies. Particularly, Chocoberry lacks a diversified product portfolio. Therefore, poor decision-making would terminate in catastrophic results. Research presents a credible procedure to develop concepts (Gorchels 72). Transforming ideas into concept would require research. This would establish the monetary repercussions of the ideas. Additionally, it would ensure the establishment of other facts pertaining to the ideas. The facts would facilitate transformation of the ideas into concepts. The conversion of ideas into concepts follows brainstorming. The management would undertake brainstorming since they bear relevant knowledge on how to expand Chocoberry’s ventures (Bluemner). Research requires expertise hence, individuals vested with the above task ought to bear proficiency in that field. For effective study, Chocoberry would need to outsource the above service. Outsourcing is a viable option since it allows the entity to hire experts that Chocoberry may lack. Additionally, outsourcing would ensure that objectivity in the undertaking of research. Conversely, if Chocoberry’s staff undertakes the research on the concepts it would culminate in skewed findings since the employees would manipulate the study to suit their departments or career objectives. Overall, the research would demand expertise due to technicality and objectivity of the procedure. Though scholars have availed methods to evaluate business opening, it is imperative to concede that the majority of the ideas appraise the financial aspect only. The detail below exemplifies an opposite criterion of evaluating business ideas. Initially, the evaluators should establish the relevance of an idea to Chocoberry’s objectives. Secondly, the evaluator would analyze the financial implication of an idea. Chocoberry aims at boosting its profitability. Subsequently, ideas with negative financial returns are infeasible. Evaluation of the financial implication would adopt methods such as Net present value (NPV). Visibly, managements fail to analyze the operation repercussions of an idea. This aspect would reveal modalities relating to the personnel requirements of implementing the proposed idea. Additionally, it would reveal an idea’s implications on the entity’s efficiency. The three criteria would provide a procedure that analyzes an idea in multifaceted manner. Essentially, this would facilitate grading of the proposals (Allen 32). It is vital to rank ideas since it helps the management to effect well thought out ideas.

How Do Financially Distressed Companies Overcome Decline Economics Essay

How Do Financially Distressed Companies Overcome Decline Economics Essay The present paper analyzes the recovery process of 526 US firms facing an initial financial distress situation in order to determine the variables of influence on their final survival status. The proposed model of this recovery process implies that severity and reaction capability should be understood as initial conditions that will impose restrictions in the selection of strategies which will drive the performance during recovery, thus, determining the final resolution of long term financial distress process. We found that these variables have an impact on i) the ability of a company to overcome decline; ii) the efficiency of the selected strategies and iii) the results of these strategies on post-distress fit position. Keywords: Recovery process, financial distress, severity, Data Envelopment Analysis Introduction Every organization is inevitably exposed to ups and downs during its lifecycle (Krueger and Willard, 1991; Burbank, 2005) and failure is not a sudden event (Agarwal and Taffler, 2008). The ecological theory of organizations states that in a continuous process of firms, those who survive are better capable to compete. Kahl (2001) defines fittest firms as the ones that have greater chance to survive. In this way, the financial distress process should be understood as a selection mechanism by means of which good performers survive and bad performers do not. In this same line, Sheppard and Chowdhury (2005) consider that failure is a firms misalignment with its environment. Failure is a reversible process and not necessarily degenerative if the company is able to detect signs of underperformance and to achieve an effort in its economic performance. Firms facing a distressed financial situation usually share a series of common patterns which make it difficult to estimate a possible outcome of this situation (Barniv et al., 2002). Among the distressed firms, there are little divergences in the financial weakness indicators in the different failure processes (Ooghe and Prijcker, 2008). The dissimilarities between the failure stages and the turnaround effectiveness as well, become evident on the how quickly the indicators evolve and on the ability of the management to react when distress signals are detected. Ignoring these alert signals may lead to a continuous decline process which may end up in failure without even trying any recovery strategy (Burbank, 2005). Managing a crisis situation is a fundamental issue as it is not a spontaneous process. Moulton and Thomas (1993) affirm that the reorganizations during a financial distress situation are not a simple matter and the probability of a successful exit is very low. However, the percentage of firms that succeed in getting through decline cannot be disregarded. Barniv et al. (2002) found that 50% of the sample firms which filed bankruptcy from the Office of the General Council of SEC resolved their situation as emerged firms. One third of the financially distressed firms in Kahls (2001) study survived as independent companies. Moreover, Gonzà ¡lez-Bravo and Mecaj (2011) found that 22.5% of sample firms presenting a strong crisis situation were still active in the market 10 years later. Yet, we should consider that the exit from a difficult condition, as Moulton and Thomas (1993) sustain, is only the beginning of the story. Not all the successfully exiting firms manage to keep the new situa tion stable. For some firms, operating in a crisis situation constitutes their normal state of environment with crisis periods that can attenuate or loose up. Anyway, being able to maintain this kind of condition is also a manner to survive. In this sense, Kahl (2002) states that the financial distress should be considered a long term process that makes firms end up debilitated even after having recovered from decline. This weakness is observed in poor performance that inevitably may again drag the firms to a new financial distress situation. Hotchkiss (1995) attested that during the first five years after exiting a bankruptcy, 35 to 40% of firms show negative operating income and up to one third of the firms that manage to ease their distress through debt restructuring re-enter a financial distress situation a few years later. Several studies have shown that different factors may determine the exit from a crisis situation. These factors may have a direct influence on the recovery process or on the capacity of the company to develop appropriate redirection strategies. The initial severity degree is considered an important hurdle in implementing successful actions. In this line, Smith and Graves (2005) found that, among all variables of the study, severity and firm size were the only variables significantly important during a turnaround process. Other authors (Robbins and Pearce, 1992; Pearce and Robins, 1993; Harker and Harker, 1998) state that strategies oriented towards cost reduction and efficiency improvement were safe bets for a favorable outcome. However, Castrogiovani and Bruton (2000), Sudarsanam and Lai (2001) or Smith and Graves (2005) affirm that no positive relation could be found between certain strategies and successful outcome. These results indicate that severity, through its influence on th e selected strategy, could be an indirect factor in the turnaround process (Robbins and Pearce, 1992). More consensual results were obtained when stating that the performance in-distress is fundamental for the outcome of the difficult situation. In particular, it is observed that successful companies show better returns when compared to unsuccessful firms (Routledge and Gadene, 2000; Pearce and Doh, 2002; Kahl, 2001). The present paper analyzes the recovery process of 526 US firms facing an initial financial distress situation in order to determine the variables of influence on their final survival status. The proposed model of this recovery process states that severity and reaction capability should be understood as initial conditions that will impose restrictions in the selection of strategies which will drive the performance during recovery, thus, determining the final resolution of long term financial distress process. These variables have an impact on i) the ability of a company to overcome the difficult situation; ii) the efficiency of the selected strategies and iii) the results of these strategies on post-distress healthy position. The proposed model considers that final survival status measures the welfare quality of a firm based on its risk to re-enter in distress, so it discriminates well performers and best performers during the management of a crisis process. Overcoming a financial distress: Determinant factors Even though some weak crisis situations tend to show a natural evolution throughout the exit and may be solved by simply making routine decisions (Gonzà ¡lez-Bravo and Mecaj, 2011), recovery process is not a spontaneous event. The distressed firms will face a long term scenario involving a continuous effort of adaptation to the diverse situations through which a firm passes during the upturn. The effort invested in this process will allow the reestablishment of stakeholders trust, while the variables related to solvency and profitability gain stability (Burbank, 2005). Companies that do not have a long term orientation and just adopt patch strategies do not usually reach successful exits (Pretorius, 2008). However, certain initial conditions may affect the reaction capacity as well as the effectiveness of the measures taken by managers. Severity Similar to a disease process, the gravity of the initial crisis position not only conditions the measures to take but also their success possibilities. Firms that face worse starting situation need to make greater efforts. In this sense, Robbins and Pearce (1992) affirm that there exists a relationship between retrenchment strategies and performance in firms having a severe starting situation while this relationship is not observed in firms facing a weak crisis state. Although Smith and Graves (2005) indicate that the gravity of the starting situation is strongly associated with the probability of recovery, Kahl (2002) sustains that the financial distress diagnosis is an imperfect indicator of the economic feasibility of a firm. In the same line, Gonzà ¡lez-Bravo and Mecaj (2011) affirm that the severity of the initial situation, observed in widely accepted indicators, does not have to be a crucial factor in the outcome of the crisis. Perhaps, following Moulton and Thomas (1993), th e initial gravity status has an influence over the process of recovery more than on the final resolution. Thus, severity determines the rate of recuperation, so that the harder the severity, the greater the effort to react and the slower the process of healing the levels of solvency and profitability. This effort during the process, and not the starting situation, may be the main determinant of the final outcome. Moreover, solvency and profitability indicators such as continuous negative results, inability to generate income by means of operating activity, continuous solvency and/or liquidity problems or incapacity to generate cash flow which reflect problems in the health of the company, are widely accepted as measures of severity degree (Mutchler and Williams, 1990; Gilbert, Menon and Schwarz, 1990; Ponemon and Shick, 1991; Poston, Harmon and Gramlich, 1994; Geiger, Raghunandan and Rama, 1995; Raghunandan and Rama, 1995; Davydenko, 2007). Reaction capability The possible effect of severity on the initial state may be mitigated if the firm counts on appropriate resources which increase the probability of a successful recovery. The structural reaction capability may ease the recovery process to a safe position cushioning the possible actions to implement. The capacity to obtain additional funds or generate additional incomes to implement treatment strategies can soothe the prior pressure imposed by a deteriorated financial distress position. In this sense, Barker and Duhaime (1997) associate successful turnaround processes with increases in sales that make companies have more options to undertake change strategies. Similarly, Pearce and Doh (2002) affirm that firms in distress that used debt and supported their sales to improve profitability successfully solved their difficult situation. They also state that changes in activity and in leverage level are associated with different phases of a turnaround process. In turn, Jostarndt (2006) ide ntifies three factors which could be helpful to measure the risk of becoming financially troubled. An excessive leverage level, a poor firm performance, and an industry downturn may inhibit firms from obtaining the right amount of cash flow to operate normally. Firm operating performance trend dominates as the reason causing financial distress showing that a firm may fail but not only for financial reasons. This allows the author to consider an association between financial distress and economic distress. These results are comparable to the patterns evidenced by Gonzà ¡lez-Bravo and Mecaj (2011) when distressed firms with remarkable financial reaction capacity and/or a solid financial structure evolve mainly toward a healthy zone. However, concerning debt structure Kahl (2001) did not find evidence on if the debt level or the debt structure of a firm influences the final outcome of a crisis situation. Severity Status and Reaction Capability, as initial restrictions, could be moderated by firm size when considering the exit from a crisis situation (Moulton and Thomas, 1993; Barniv et al., 2002; Schutjens, 2002). Altman and Hotchkiss (2006) found that one of the most obvious factor that discriminates between firms that successfully restructure and those that liquidate, after being classified inside Chapter 11, was the firms size. Nevertheless, other works observe that this variable did not present any clear relation with the survival chance (Kahl, 2001; Ooghe and Prijcker, 2008). Possibly, firms size does not determine the final resolution of a distress situation but it influences the reaction capability to confront it, moderating /strengthening the drawbacks when additional support should be guaranteed and restructuring decision must be made. Performance in-distress Regardless of the initial state restrictions, the adopted strategies and the behavior of companies during a financial crisis are crucial for the exit process (Sun and Li, 2007). An inappropriate diagnosis of the firms weaknesses in order to act and react quickly may lead to a fast deterioration of the financial indicators (Barker and Duhaime, 1997). Beaver (1966) already stated that if a difficult situation was properly detected, measures that lead to an improved position could be taken, avoiding so a state of ultimate failure. A series of strategies and action plans should be implemented aiming to reduce the detected weaknesses of the company (Smith and Graves, 2005; Krueger and Willard, 1991, Robbins and Pearce, 1992; Pearce and Robbins, 1993; Arogyaswamy et al., 1995; Castrogiovanni and Bruton, 2000, Pearce and Doh, 2002 and Pretorius, 2008). The operating performance during the recovery process drives a successful evolutionary route towards a new healthy scenario (Kahl, 2001; Routledge and Gadenne, 2000). Improving efficiency through some actions like cost cutting and/or asset reduction is crucial in this sense, having a positive impact on firms performance despite the underlying weaknesses (Robbins and Pearce, 1992; Pearce and Robbins, 1993; Harker and Harker, 1998). Firms facing a distress situation and carrying out a retrenchment strategy are more likely to survive, even though the performance was statistically not greater than that of not retrenched firms (Castrogiovanni and Bruton, 2000). In this sense, Sudarsanam and Lai (2001) showed that the strategies applied by firms successfully recovering were not that different from the strategies applied by firms that did not recover. So, the implementation efficacy was the cause of these differences, even though more intensive restructuration was done by firms that could n ot redirect their situation. The effectiveness of efficiency oriented strategies is supported by the results showing that firms resolving a situation of financial distress are statistically more profitable than those who did not settle (Campbell, 1996; Routledge and Gadenne, 2000; Pearce and Doh, 2002). These authors found that operating efficiency was the only variable used in distinguishing successful turnarounds from unsuccessful ones that significantly persisted during the recovery process. Kahl (2001) also stated that, in-distress, operating performance has a strong positive relation with the survival prospect. In particular, the author shows that an improvement in the standard deviation of ROA during a crisis period can increase the survival probability up to 0.62. In the same line, Gonzà ¡lez-Bravo and Mecaj (2011) found evidence that the companies positioned in a safety zone, starting from a situation of failure status, are characterized by a strong managerial action measured by ROA ratio, generating fu rthermore higher operating cash flow. However, other authors such as Barniv et al. (2002) or Laitinen (1993) found that the ROA coefficients were statistically not significant in predicting the outcome of a crisis situation. The post-distress status The main objective of a firm facing a distress situation is to heal the crisis state. Some researches, oriented to modeling the variables that influence a recovery process, identify the final stage of this process when a firm objectively exits a failure situation emerging as an independent firm, leaving Chapter 11 classification or keeping a defined period of positive income (Smith and Graves, 2006; Barniv et al., 2002; Altman and Hotchkiss, 2006; Kahl, 2001). However, the accomplishment of this objective should have one necessary quality condition. The new post-failure position should be achieved in suitable conditions that would permit an appropriate and continuous growth and performance rate. A financial distress process could place a firm in a weak position, even if it had managed to solve its difficulties, inciting a poor performance that inevitably makes it enter again in an emergency situation (Kahl, 2002). If a firm does not emerge profitably in the restructuring phase, in order to achieve a long term success, the probability of a successful exit process is very low (Burbank, 2005). In this sense, Hotchkiss (1995) showed that up to one third of the firms that relieve their conditions by means of debt restructuring tend to go into a financial distress situation few years afterwards. With regard to post-distress position, Robbins and Pearce (1992) affirm that industry indicator variations should be considered in order to better identify the good performers or the exceptional good performers during turnaround. Despite of the assessment of Altman and Hotchkiss (2006) stating that the firms overcoming a Chapter 11 situation perform below firms of the same industry that di d not pass through that same situation, Kahl (2001) found that the post-distress operating performance of firms getting through a crisis situation is similar to the industry performance. The model of recovery When a firm is facing a distress situation and considering all the above analyzed dimensions, severity and reaction capability should be understood as initial conditions that will impose restrictions in selecting the strategies which will drive the performance during recovery, thus, determining the final resolution of long term financial distress process as shown in Figure 1. (Figure 1 here) The left side of the diagram gathers the initial determining factors to initiate the recovery process, outlining the firms ability to improve its future and overcome the difficult situation. Severity Status offers valuable information about the initial degree of gravity of a firms situation. This degree will condition the actions to be taken in a deteriorated situation and the possible outcome as well. Reaction Capability measures the firms capacity to apply such actions through: i) the possibility to obtain further resources without worsening its position, ii) the capacity of debt negotiation or iii) the ability to generate additional incomes which may facilitate the application of strategy changes. The right side of the above Figure 1 defines the final subsequent status of firms, once specific actions have been taken. Post-distress Status shows the effectiveness of the management effort in a crisis situation, not only because the firm solves the initial state, but also since the new position is reached evidencing a well performance to set a suitable continuity in the new balanced situation. Accordingly, Post-distress status assesses the quality of firms welfare accounting for the risk to re-entry into distress discriminating well performers and best performers in a crisis management process. In a distress context, a well-performer just achieves the objective (i.e. exiting the crisis situation) while best-performers are located in a new healthy scenario minimizing the likelihood to reenter in distress. Hence, considering the above model, the following hypotheses will be tested: H1: Severity degree of financially distressed firms is likely associated with the post distress status. H2: Reaction Capability of distressed firms is positively related to a fit final position after recovery process. H3: Performance in-distress is positively related with the welfare of the post distress status. H4: Retrenchment strategies have a positive influence on the outcome of a distressed situation. H5: Size of financially distressed companies is associated with the final position after recovery process. Methodology, sample and variables To test the hypothesis we use the financial data of US firms derived from the Compustat Database in an eight year period: 1993-2000 which is considered to be economically appropriate for the analysis. Smith and Graves (2005) affirm that in an economic expansion context distressed firms could easily perform a successful turnaround. Particularly, the US economy experienced an economic expansion during the analyzed period. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research (2001), a peak in business activity occurred in the U.S. economy in March 2001. A peak marks the end of an expansion and the beginning of a recession  [1]  . So, the year 2001 was marked by events like the Dot-Com Bubble, Stock Market Crash, the loss of investors confidence in the Stock Market or the emergence of corporate fraud and corporate governance. The September 11, 2001 attacks also, may have been an important factor in turning this decline in the economy into a recession. The financial data for the year s after 2000 would be, to a greater or lesser extent, influenced by all these external factors. From a total of 1721 companies that offer complete data in their financial statements during all years, only the ones that presented a crisis situation in the first year of analysis, 1993, were selected. We consider a crisis status as a variety of enterprise adversity situations that threaten the future viability of the company (Turetsky and Mcwewn, 2001; Graveline and Kikalari, 2008), which show some incapacity to generate resources and/or to fulfill the payment of debts in time. This incapacity can be transitory and of a major or minor gravity and it can be observed through a series of symptoms alerting that the health and the future of the company are at risk. Considering this general approach and following Gonzà ¡lez-Bravo and Mecaj (2011), we classify a firm as financially distressed if, in the first year of our analysis, it presented one or more of the following criteria: Negative Net Income, Negative Operating Income, Negative Retained Earnings, Negative Working Capital, Negative Cash Flow, Negative Operating Cash Flow and Negative Shareholders Equity. In agreement with Gilbert, Menon and Schwartz (1990), to prevent the selection of firms that only had a poor performance in t he starting year firms presenting merely a Negative Net Income for the year 1993 were not selected. This criterion made possible that poor performers were selected only when they also showed a continued instable situation such as losses in previous years or solvency problems. As a result, our study is performed on a total of 526 companies that satisfied all the previous conditions. Table 1 shows the principal features of the analyzed sample. (Table 1 here) The number of observed symptoms permits an objective a priori classification based on the gravity of the starting situation. A firm would experience a weak crisis if it presents three or less criteria and, on the contrary, a strong crisis if it shows 4 or more. Following this further, in the first year of the analysis 77.38% of the firms encounter a weak crisis while 22.62% are facing a situation of strong crisis. Variables Severity Status, Reaction Capability and Fitness Status, as representative indicators of post-distress position, in the above proposed model (Figure 1) are built by gathering information given by some individual variable-indicators according to the features evaluated. The complete picture integrating the model and variables is showed in Figure 2. (Figure 2 here) Severity status (SEV_STAT) should be understood as an index assessing the degree of severity distress by seven financial ratios. These ratios correspond to the 7 symptom-indicators used to classify a firm as being in financial distress previously described, all divided by Total Assets in order to eliminate the size effect. Ratios such as: Net Income/Total Assets, EBIT/Total Assets and Retained Earnings/Total assets, representatives of the economic performance, are also commonly used to determine the existence of a decline phase in turnaround and recovery research (Pearce and Robins, 1993; Arogyaswamy et al., 1995; Smith and Graves, 2005). Negative Operating Cash Flow is also an indicator of liquidity deterioration and of financial distress probability (Anandarajan et al. 2001; Bell and Tabor, 1991; John, 1993). These seven indicators should be considered in a negative direction with respect to financial distress. That is, the lower value of the indicators, the worse the starting situ ation of the firm. In the same way, the more the number of negative indicators in a firm, the higher the crisis severity degree will be. Reaction capability is evaluated through three indicators: Sales/Total Assets (TURNOV), Shareholders Equity/Total Liabilities (FIN_AUT) and Current Assets/Current Liabilities (SOLV). The first one reflects the capacity of the company to enhance profitability while the other two indicators are linked to the financial structure of a firm and enable us to value its self-sufficiency and solvency. Together, these three variables measure the capacity of a firm to obtain external and additional funds or to reorganize its debts, the short term response capacity and the ability to generate resources. Fitness status (FIT_STAT) is defined as an index measuring the final health position on an objective and on a quality base as well, by means of 4 variables. Final Position is a categorical variable which indicates the existence or not of a crisis situation, when the firm still presents any symptom of distress. This variable takes value 0 if the firm exits successfully and doesnt present distress signals or value 1 otherwise. Additionally, to measure the health quality of this position, we follow the approach of Jostarndt (2006) when he identifies three factors that could cause financial distress: excessive leverage, a poor firm-specific operating performance and an industry downturn. These factors could be interpreted as indicators of the incapacity of a firm to generate cash flow which may influence a continuous economic and financial deterioration. The variables are defined as follows: (For further details on all variables calculation refer to Appendix B): Debt payment level: it permits the evaluation of the effects that a higher debt level of a firm has on cash flow generation, with respect to the industry where it operates. It indicates the level of interest payment the firm is paying compared to the median of the sector. If the level is above the median, the firm is paying more than other firms, so it should reduce it. Firm Performance: It measures the effects that a poor performance, lower than the median of the industry, has on cash flow generation. It measures the operating income of a firm compared to the median of the sector. It indicates if the firm is performing above or below the median of the sector. Sector performance: it allows analyzing to what extent the trend of the performance of the sector where the firm operates influences its capacity to generate cash flow if it behaved as the industry average. This item measures the improvement or the deterioration of a sectors performance, compared to its performance the year before. These three variables measure the risk of distress which could be the consequence of leverage problems or economic issues, including the downturn of the industry. The former three defined ratio-indicators should be understood in a negative sense, thus, the higher the three ratios are, the worse the quality position of the firm and the greater the probability of financial distress. Therefore, Fitness Status variable measures the position of a firm t years after the financial distress has been detected, allowing to evaluate the performance in managing a difficult situation. Severity Status and Fitness Status indexes could be interpreted as two composite indicators gathering the information of 7 and 3 individual ratios, respectively. To overcome some of the drawbacks of aggregated indexes, such as the degree of subjectivity in attribution of weights to each individual component (Munda, 2005; Messer et al., 2006; Munda and Nardo, 2009; Ramzan et al., 2008), we decided to use Data Envelopment analysis to summarize the complex information in just one index (Nardo et al., 2005a; Cherchye et al. 2008; Dyckhoff and Allen, 2001). DEA is a non-parametric performance measurement technique, based on a productivity approach, widely used to evaluate the relative efficiency of Decision Making Units (Cooper et al., 1999; Seiford, 1997; Gattoufi et al. 2004; Sherman and Zhu, 2006). However, this methodology has also been used to create indexes combining different components by means of an optimization process, when the structure of weights of these components is not kn own, and without making any assumption concerning the internal operations of a DMU (Cherchye et al., 2006; Zhu, 2000 and 2001; Puig-Junoy, 1998; Sexton and Lewis, 2003). Thus, both Severity Status and Fitness Status scores are obtained applying a DEA model without explicit inputs, called DEA-WEI models by Liu et al. (2011). This formulation, discussed by Lovell and Pastor (1999), considering a model with only outputs and a single constant input, has been used by Chen (2002) and Cooper et al. (2009), and it is similar to other approaches as DEA-R (Despic et al., 2007) or DEA-Index composite (Cherchye et al. 2008). Fitness Status use as DEA variables a series of indicators that measure negative features of a firm and they are also linked to the possibility of presenting a marked financial distress situation. This consideration is in agreement with the called pessimistic DEA approach, where the efficiency frontier contains, using Azizi and Ajirlu (2011) terminology, the worst-practisers as efficient in being poor-performers. In this way, DMUs scoring unity or close to unity levels will be the ones with higher degree of severity in their financial distressed situation. Furthermore, Fitness Score DEA manages a categorical variable Final Status indicating the existence or not of distress symptoms. In this sense we follow the approach of Banker and Morey (1986) concerning the treatment of exogenously fixed data. To measure the strategies and the behavior of firms during distress, profitability and downsizing actions have been included in the analysis. With regard to profitability, we use ROA in the last year of the analysis (ROA) and the average of its variations in the previous years (ROA_AVG) to measure the impact of efficiency oriented strategies to the final post-distress position. Concerning downsizing actions, variations in total assets during previous year are included to measure the impact of retrenchment strategies (RET_STG) Finally, to control the size effect (SIZE), natural logarithm of sales [ln(sales)] is included in the analysis in order to assess the influence of size on the possibility to return on a healthy scenario. Methodology The DEA score Fitness Status will be treated as a dependent variable in order to analyze to what extent post-failure position could be explained by issues such as severity, reaction capability or certain strategies implemented by the firms. Many different approaches can be found in the literature when a DEA score is used as a dependent variable of a regression to relate efficiency to the factors and study their influence on the former. The consideration of the DEA score as a censored variable (showing values between zero and unity) has been the argument for using regression censored models such as Tobit. On the other hand, Mancebà ³n and Molinero (2000) do not share this opinion and affirm that efficiency takes natural limits of zero and one and they estimate a model of the log type to explain inefficiency. In the same line, Puig-Junoy (1998) considers that DEA scores do not fit the theory of sampling censoring for Tobit models explaining inefficiency by a multiplicativ

Health Problems Linked to Smoking Tobacco :: Papers

Health Problems Linked to Smoking Tobacco It is a universally accepted fact that smoking cigarettes or tobacco is detrimental to your health. There is an endless list of health problems that are directly caused or affected by smoking, including lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, and emphysema. Short-term effects of smoking include a significant increase in heart rate and a drop in skin temperature. Respiration rate is also increased. In novice smokers, diarrhea and vomiting may occur. Although the central nervous system is, in fact, stimulated by smoking, smokers usually feel it relaxes them. Long-term effects are mainly on the bronchiopulmonary and cardiovascular systems. Smoking is the main cause of lung cancer (related to 90% of all lung cancer cases). Other factors, notably industrial carcinogens may be involved, especially among smokers. An average smoker is ten times more likely to get lung cancer than in a nonsmoker. Smoking is estimated to be responsible for 30% of all cancer deaths. It is also associated with cancers of the mouth, throat, colon, pancreas, bladder, kidneys, stomach, and cervix, and related to 75% of chronic bronchitis cases and 80% of emphysema cases. Tobacco also affects the digestive system. Gastric and duodenal (the upper section of the small intestine) ulcers are twice as common and twice as likely to cause death in smokers as in nonsmokers. Skin wounds may heal less quickly in smokers, partly because smoking depletes the body of vitamin C. Smokers may also have less effective immune systems than nonsmokers. Tobacco use is associated with 25% to 30% of all cardiovascular disease. Smokers have a 70% higher rate of coronary heart disease than nonsmokers, nearly twice the risk of heart attack, and five times the risk of stroke. Tobacco use can lead to physical and psychological dependence on nicotine, particularly in cigarette smokers. The United States Surgeon General's 1988 report states that "cigarettes and other forms of tobacco are just as addicting as heroin and cocaine." People who are physically dependent on tobacco suffer a withdrawal reaction when they stop using it. Some signs of withdrawal are: irritability, anxiety, headaches, sleep disturbances (insomnia or drowsiness), difficulty concentrating, decreased heart rate and increased appetite, and a craving for nicotine.

Evil Lives are meaningless lives? Essay

Profound though it may seem we often ask this very basic question:   What is the meaning of our life? This is one question that has existed for a long as humanity has.   It is one mystery that has fascinated many of the great philosophers.   Although many will find it absurd, pretentious even, that we want to answer this question, Julian Baggini thought otherwise. This is proven by his treatise in the book entitled What’s It All About: Philosophy and the Meaning of life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Indeed, while many people will shy away from bursting forward with this question, Mr. Baggini was brave enough to try to answer it. He attempted to break down several issues plaguing people – some of which are helping others, serving humanity, being happy, becoming triumphant – and successfully delivered his views without making his ideas sound so ostentatious and metaphysical.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The essential issue in the book actually deals with the question of whether there is a profound and mysterious meaning to life.   It also asks what the ultimate purpose of our existence is. Mr. Baggini argues that there really is no single meaning to our existence. He says that every little thing that we do has meaning in itself so it is pointless to look for one whole package of meaning.   Indeed, the first-two chapters examine if and why the existence of God should make a difference into determining the meaning of our life. The remaining chapters then evaluate the claims of some people as to what they find significant in their life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   By planting his feet firmly on the ground and dealing with specific issues, I think that Mr. Baggini effectively shows us that the quest for the meaning of our existence is right here with us everyday.   We don’t need to travel to far places to look for it.   We don’t need to serve in the UNICEF to render ourselves useful to humanity.   Most importantly, we don’t need legislation to render ourselves empowered.   The answer we have always been looking for in our life is in our own hands.   It is how we cope with our everyday existence that will truly define the life that we have lived.   The outside forces are just mere accompaniment, whereas our actions and reactions are the essential factors that will judge us in the end.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Corollary to this, the meaning of our life cannot be found in books and idealistic treatise. We don’t need to look for its meaning in our neighbor’s house; it is right at the tip of our nose. Mr. Baggini shows us that we can value happiness even as we accept that it is not everything. We can see the value of success without drowning ourselves in it.   We can even shout â€Å"Carpe Diem† to the whole world even as we help others lead fruitful lives.   In the end, it is still love that powerfully motivates us all. Indeed, Mr. Baggini shows us that the search for meaning is very personal and within our power to find. He supports his stand by drawing from actual experiences drawn from real life of real people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In many ways, those who have read this book will deduce that Mr. Baggini qualifies himself as a modern-day heir of Bertrand Russel. In his own way, he shows us that we can find the meaning of life if we can only be more philosophical and rational.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Chapter 4 of the book subtitled Here to help, Mr. Baggini discusses the proper place of altruism if we are to pursue meaningful lives.   â€Å"If the meaning of life is to help others, then only those doing the helping can lead meaningful life.   The people being helped are thus mere instruments to the end of giving purpose to the altruists.† (65)   Of course, Mr. Baggini does not brush off altruism as a useless virtue. It is still needed if we have to co-exist peacefully with others.   However, he emphasizes that altruism should be put in its proper perspective and that people should make sense in defending values which go beyond itself. Altruism in itself is a virtue but it should not used to define one’s life.   It is just but one part of our existence, not the whole of it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Chapter 7 subtitled Becoming a contender, Mr. Baggini writes â€Å"To raise a happy family, or live your life pursuing your passion, no matter which recognition you get, should be seen as a success.†(123) This in itself shows the kind of philosophical sense that Mr. Baggini follows in this book.   He does not aim for huge successes but makes one feel that no matter how small the achievement is, it is still worth noting because it has helped one become the kind of person that he is today. It is therefore important for us to do our best in every thing we do because these small things can also enrich our life.   Indeed, it does not matter whether the good deeds we have done are great or small.   The most important is we did it.   This is what life should be all about.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Chapter 9 subtitled Lose yourself, Mr. Baggini emphasizes that we don’t need a Maya Angelou or a Deepak Chopra to lead us to the real meaning of our life.   He strongly criticizes the promises of religious and ideological beliefs; consequently convincing us that we really don’t need vast esoteric knowledge or a time-tested guru to find the meaning of our life. Here, Mr. Baggini argues that we just have to look into our self and we will find everything that we have always been looking for. Resorting to ideological beliefs may only pose greater danger of losing one’s proper perspective, thus, this is highly discouraged.   Apparently, Mr. Baggini believes that each person is unique and lessons learned from one’s experiences may not be uniform for everyone.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mr. Baggini’s main purpose for writing this book is actually to show us that philosophy – rather than our average New Age psychobabble — is a better tool to analyze life’s little mysteries with. This is the reason why he purposely puts forward a largely down-to-earth approach to the issues being raised in the book. In a world where existentialism has morphed into an alienated version of the â€Å"I and me† culture, utilitarianism offers rational discourses where once we had heaven for guarantor.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Like the movie Dead Poets Society, Mr. Baggini encourages us to seize the day. Each day is a chance for us to define the life we lead.   It is therefore essential that we have to live our life to the fullest everyday.   Of course, he admits that defining our life this way is not an easy task but there is nothing impossible if we only go back to our very selves. In this aspect, Mr. Baggini dislikes paradox and hyperbole and anything too extreme.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   What’s It All About: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life ends up being a rational and secular inquiry into the meaning of life. Although it is obviously a prà ©cis of Mr. Baggini’s personal views on life, he hopes that this is something many philosophers would mostly agree. Several times in the book he would refer to past experiences as he draws lessons from them. In spite of his bold statements, however, Mr. Baggini takes a cautious approach.   This stance disappoints because at the end of the book, there is little to disagree with. His supposition that the meaning of life is really â€Å"quite humdrum† only sums up his attitude to the question.   In this aspect, he shows that life is just a mirror that reflects back the image of whoever seeks its meaning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To his credit, Mr. Baggini tries to sum up the meaning of life in fewer than 200 pages – a big achievement in itself.   However, it is also because of this that his argument suffers greatly; being that its supporting discourses have been so squeezed together. This problem is apparent in the chapter on the loss of selfhood, where he points out that New Age ideas are quite â€Å"nonsense.†Ã‚   He says that anyone who professes to lose his ego during meditation is being self-righteous.  Ã‚   Anyone who professes to lose his ego during meditation is being smug and self-righteous.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Mr. Baggini then saves the best for last when he declares that â€Å"we should forget about the meaning of life and just get on with it.†Ã‚   The analysis made on life stems from a rationalist and humanist perspective. As I said earlier, he proceeds to his main thesis with utmost caution even as he answers each question thrown his way with distinctive directness.   The outcome of this is that the readers are left to form their own conclusion based on the framework that Mr. Baggini has constructed.   Each reader will be able to form his own meaning to life – one that will be personal, more meaningful and sociologically moral.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If a reader has majored in philosophy, this book will be viewed as a bit simplistic.   However, for ordinary readers like me, it makes for an easy comparison of the various isms in life. Sure, it does not dole out definitive answers to specific questions. Still, it’s a good read for someone who is literally searching for a meaning of his existence. For me, Mr. Baggini’s insistence that our life should be led on an everyday basis is congruent to the fact that we should live it in peaceful co-existence with our neighbors.   Doing otherwise (or by being evil) will render our life meaningless.   In a nutshell, Mr. Baggini offers us ideas about life that are balanced, good and practical. The bottom line here is that living itself, for its own sake, is what truly the only thing that gives life meaning.   All the other ascriptions are, at best, plain spices to make the journey fun and enjoyable.    References: Baggini, Julian. (2005) What’s It All About: Philosophy and the Meaning of Life. Granta Publishers, Inc. Williams, Peter. (2003) Sorting the wheat from the chaff http://www.damaris.org/content/content.php?type=5&id=319

Benjamin Franklin Essay

Can a man be as vast as a nation? Did the life-experiences and cultural contributions of a single individual play as pivotal a role in the establishment of American democracy and American culture as any written declaration, constitution, or law? Without a doubt, there are historians who stand at the ready to assert that Benjamin Franklin was just such an individual. Numerous books, scholarly articles, essays, encyclopedias, and even works of fiction have contributed and continue to contribute to the mythic status of Benjamin Franklin in American history. However, there is is good reason to reject any surface-level interpretation of Franklin’s important contributions to the founding of American Democracy, and read with great care the complex and extensive evolution of Franklin’s actions and stated philosophies over the span of a great many years. The resulting image of Franklin when the myth of Franklin and the historical Franklin are compared is one of a challengingly deep and complex thinker, and of a man who acted in keeping with his deepest philosophical, moral, and spiritual beliefs — many of which were quite radical in his day and many of which were astonishingly traditional. The truth of the matter is that â€Å"†Franklin’s extant writings are so rich and voluminous that one can find almost any sort of Franklin one wishes to find,† (Frasca, 2007) but, certainly, in comparing the historical Franklin to the mythic Franklin, important insight into American history and into the psychology of American culture can be gained. Franklin’s career can be said to have begun very early in his life, when he â€Å"left school at 10 years of age to help his father† (â€Å"Franklin, Benjamin,† 2007); not long afterward, he â€Å"was apprenticed to his half brother James, a printer and publisher of the New England Courant, to which young Ben secretly contributed. After much disagreement he left his brother’s employment and went (1723) to Philadelphia to work as a printer† (â€Å"Franklin, Benjamin,† 2007). Franklin’s early life was later given its first â€Å"boost† toward mythic status with posthumous publication of Franklin’s â€Å"Autobiography† in 1791, not long after Franklin’s death. If the â€Å"Autobiography† helped to foster the mythic status of Franklin in American history, it was but one of the many examples of Franklin’s written contributions to American culture. During his active career, Franklin was immersed not only in science and history, but in philosophy and ethical theory as well. His popular writings contained both humor and moral axioms — notably in his very popular publication, â€Å"Poor Richard’s Almanac,† which was â€Å"In his day the great source of profit to every printer [†¦ ] which was issued yearly, and which was the vade-mecum in every household that could spare the necessary two or three pence annually† (Ford, 1899, p. 400). Franklin’s steady contributions to American popular culture during his lifetime included not only the folk wisdom of Poor Richard, but with much-needed humor for the American continent: In America, however, either because the immigrants had been recruited from the unfortunate and the religiously austere, or because the hardness of the conditions resulted in a sadness which tinctured the lives of the people, there seems to have been a practical extinction of all sense of the humorous. (Ford, 1899, p. 388) Against this background, Franklin — himself often a deep-thinker and a moody person — articulated the first instances of a natively American sense of humor. This fact is very important in evaluating both the mythical and the historical Franklin because the mythic Franklin remains empty of all but a few slight traces of Franklin’s triumphant career and reputation as a humorist. His status as such is very important because, as mentioned, it is Franklin’s cultural contribution to America as well as his political contributions which cements his status as a Founding Father and which has resulted in the extensive influence Franklin has held over American culture from its earliest beginnings. Franklin used humor in a very conscious way to pave the way for his more considered ethical and moral ideas; more importantly he seized the opportunity to define humor in America for generations: â€Å"perhaps his most remarkable attribute is that the future historian of the now famous American humor must begin its history with the first publication of Poor Richard† (Ford, 1899, p. 389) and, by doing so, Franklin placed himself in a key position to define through humor just what it mean to be an American. His capacities as a humorist do not seem to have been affected, but rather emerged naturally out of his personality. Franklin used humor to not only define himself and to partially define American culture, but as a method to settle scores or take shots at traditional beliefs or institutions: â€Å"His irresistible inclination to screw a joke out of everything is illustrated by the scrapes he got himself into with his advertisers. Employed to print an announcement of the sailing of a ship, he added an â€Å"N. B. † of his own, to the effect that among the passengers â€Å"No Sea Hens, nor Black Gowns will be admitted on any terms. † Some of the clergy, properly incensed, withdrew their subscriptions from the â€Å"Gazette. † Yet this did not cure him of the tendency, and he was quickly offending again. (Ford, 1899, p. 394) Humor and literary works provided one means for Franklin to influence the development of early American culture and these aspects are slightly contained in the myth of Benjamin Franklin, with the humorous aspects downplayed. For example, â€Å"Poor Richard’s Almanac† is probably part of the Franklin myth in most people’s minds and they probably also are aware that Franklin offered axioms of wisdom in this Almanac, but many people are probably deeply unaware that Franklin’s gift for humor was not only an important part of his literary output, but an aspect of his personal philosophy and a method by which he engaged other people and also helped to resolved conflicts. Another aspect of the Franklin myth is that he â€Å"invented† electricity by tying a key to a kite-string. Like many myths, this myth has a basis in historical reality: â€Å"His experiment of flying a kite in a thunderstorm, which showed that lightning is an electrical discharge[†¦ ] and his invention of the lightning rod[†¦ ] won him recognition from the leading scientists in England† (â€Å"Franklin, Benjamin,† 2007) but it is a slim basis. What the â€Å"lightning and key† myth represents in a compressed form is the long and complex contribution to the natural sciences and to popular inventions which actually was a part of the historical Franklin’s career. In regards to his actual scientific achievements, Franklin is noted by historians to have been a brilliant inventor and adapter of existing technologies: â€Å"He repeated the experiments of other scientists and showed his usual practical bent by inventing such diverse things as the Franklin stove, bifocal eyeglasses, and a glass harmonica† (â€Å"Franklin, Benjamin,† 2007); he is regarded as having a very brilliant scientific mind and a keen sense of practical implementation of abstract ideas. These qualities are also present in Franklin’s philosophical and political ideas which will be discussed shortly and together, Franklin’s scientific, philosophical. and political vision actually coincide with the â€Å"popular† aesthetic already shown to have been a part of his literary output. In some ways, Franklin’s cultural contributions mirror a deeply democratic sense of purpose and fulfillment: the creation of common axioms, a common wisdom, along with useful technologies are not separate from Franklin’s political vision. Ironically, the egalitarianism which is inferred in Franklin’s guiding principles is less present on the surface in his specifically political writings. When specifically considering Franklin’s political beliefs and writings, it should be pointed out that Franklin was actually â€Å"very different from the other Founding Fathers. He was older and more committed to the British Empire and certainly more cosmopolitan and urbane than they were† (Morgan, 2005, p. 551) and because Franklin lived abroad for just under twenty years in England and having traveled a lot through Europe, Franklin was in many ways â€Å"the least American of the revolutionaries† (Morgan, 2005, p. 551). This duality in the historical Franklin is, of course, completely absent from the â€Å"lightning and key† mythic Franklin who is regarded as a Founding Father of American democracy. This last idea of the myth of Franklin is true enough, but as this paper has hopefully shown, the historical picture of Franklin is a more ambiguous and much more complex than the myth. This is an understandable condition because part of what myth does with historical events is to simplify them and streamline them so that the symbolic impact can be made more powerful and less diluted by alternate interpretation. It would be difficult if not impossible, for example, to generate a mythic vision of Franklin which included the historical reality that Franklin â€Å"preferred the social and intellectual life of London to that of Philadelphia† (Morgan, 2005, p. 551) or that â€Å"his landlady, Margaret Stevenson, and her precocious daughter, Polly, provided Franklin with more compatible intellectual companionship than did his own wife and daughter† (Morgan, 2005, p. 551) so these very real and very important aspects of Franklin’s actual life and his actual personality are absent from the Franklin myth. Yet these aspects, and others, are extremely important in helping to define and understand what exactly Franklin contributed as a Founding Father of American democracy. That his cultural contributions, whether humorous, literary, or scientific not only fostered his myth but actually altered the course and evolution of American society is demonstrable by way of historical evidence. What, then, were Franklin’s political contributions to the early American nation? Did Franklin evidence as much resourcefulness and thoroughness in his political career as he evidenced in his career as a printer, or humorist, or inventor? One very interesting aspect of Franklin’s life is that he dealt with not only the revolt of the American colonies against a British Empire which he loved, but also with the resulting estrangement from his own (illegitimate) son during the course of the war. Franklin’s actions at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War give a solid glimpse into his sympathies and beliefs at the time: As trouble between the British government and the colonies grew with the approach of the American Revolution, Franklin’s deep love for his native land and his devotion to individual freedom brought (1775) him back to America. There, while his illegitimate son, William Franklin, was becoming a leader of the Loyalists, Benjamin Franklin became one of the greatest statesmen of the American Revolution and of the newborn nation. (â€Å"Franklin, Benjamin,† 2007) As a statesman, Franklin’s contributions can be at least to some degree quantified and cited: he was postmaster general, a delegate to the Continental Congress, an appointee and signatory to the committee which wrote the Declaration of Independence, he was also â€Å"sent to Canada with Samuel Chase and Charles Carroll of Carrollton to persuade the people of Canada to join the patriot cause† (â€Å"Franklin, Benjamin,† 2007). The mythic vision of Franklin as a powerful statesman delivering powerful, moving oratory before the Continental Congress, or laboriously poring over draft versions of the Declaration of Independence are confronted by anecdotes of historical fact. An example of this is John Adams, who â€Å"contemptuously described a Franklin â€Å"from day to day sitting in silence, a great part of the time fast asleep in his chair† and sighed that he was likely nevertheless to get credit for everything achieved by the Congress,† (Lopez & Herbert, 1975, p. 203). Again, Franklin’s political reputation was based not so much in his perception among his American colleagues, but in his foreign popularity and fame. His best tactic was not spell-binding oratory or intricate legalese, but in injecting â€Å"a calm pronouncement or a bit of humor† (Lopez & Herbert, 1975, p. 203) into difficult political processes. The question still remains as to what Franklin, personally, believed about the American Revolution — during the time of the revolt and afterward — and whether or not Franklin can be accurately described as a firm believer in democratic principles. The historical facts suggest that Franklin held conflicting views about democracy and royalist rule. On the one hand, he advocated personal liberty, on the other, he seemed reluctant to dismiss with the notion of a royalist government altogether. As he wrote in the â€Å"Autobiography,† his feelings were not at all certain during the time of the approaching revolution: â€Å"In our way thither I projected and drew up a plan for the union of all the colonies under one government, so far as might be necessary for defense, and other important general purposes† (Franklin, 1914, p. 131) but here there is no mention of a constitution or a strong Federal government at all. Franklin’s own visions for â€Å"a single-chamber congress and a weak executive council were rejected† (â€Å"Franklin, Benjamin,† 2007) and, alter, although he objected to aspects of the final Constitution, â€Å"he helped to direct the compromise [and] worked earnestly for its ratification’ (â€Å"Franklin, Benjamin,† 2007). The picture which emerges of Franklin as a politician is one of a man whose core-principles were challenged by the birth of a new government, but who fought resolutely on behalf of the new nation without regard for the degree to which it mirrored, exactly, his always-evolving personal beliefs. In addition to the differences which are evident between Franklin the myth and Franklin the historical figure in regard to his literary, scientific, and political contributions to American history, two other areas of Franklin’s life are absent from the mythological figure of Franklin: his religious and racial convictions. Of course, it is absolutely true that Franklin’s religious convictions and his views on race and ethnicity evolved throughout his lifetime. On the other hand, Franklin’s religious beliefs seemed to occupy a central place in his interpretation of his own life’s purpose and the meaning of his life. Where religion is concerned, Franklin’s most intimate beliefs depict a rather traditional point of view. Because of his personal experiences and personal fortunes, Franklin tended to view the arc of his life in rather conventional religious terms: â€Å"Scattered through his writings are sentences full of gratitude to God for His favor in lifting him up from such a low to such a high estate, in bringing him substantially unscathed through the graver dangers and baser temptations of human life, and in affording him the assurance that the divine goodness, of which he had received such signal proofs in his career, would not cease with his death† (Bruce, 1917, p. 51) — these simple, but enduring, beliefs are easily compatible with many forms of American Christianity. That said, it would be very difficult to trace an influence from Franklin to modern Christianity, nor an influence of Christianity directly on the myth of Franklin. In both fact and in myth, Franklin’s traditional religious ideas are downplayed due, presumably, to their being conspicuously in keeping with the common ideas of Franklin’s time. Interestingly enough, Franklin retained his religious convictions at the close of his very eventful life and the fruition of his religious convictions strengthened him in old age and in death. As one of his biographers wrote: â€Å"WHEN THE DAY CAME, April 17, 1790, he was ready. All his life he had been gingerly taming death, stripping it of its awe and power, clothing it in appealing metaphors of travel and bliss, humoring it, giving it a place in the family circle† (Lopez & Herbert, 1975, p. 308) and because of his receptiveness to deeply held religious convictions which were, nonetheless, not tied to any kind of dogma or strict adherence to religious doctrine, Franklin’s religious philosophies and his actual death are gestures, also, of a democratic sprit and and individualist. The conflict which the religious side of the historical Franklin presents for the mythic vision of Franklin is difficult to articulate. It has to do with the fact that, while Franklin’s individualistic take on Christian principles and religious ideas does, in fact, make a very compatible fit with the American notion of individual liberty, Franklin’s avoidance of traditional dogma and doctrine results in making his individualistic religious beliefs more difficult to define and express to a popular audience. Just as there is no easy mythical expression for Franklin’s humor, as there is for his scientific prowess, there is no ready mythic symbol for his peculiarly individualistic religious beliefs which are rooted in traditional Christianity. Just as Franklin’s religious attitudes fail to find mythic expression, his ambiguous views on race and racial prejudice also are a poor fit for the Franklin myth. The attentive observer of history will take into consideration that at various points in his life, Franklin was demonstrably racist and xenophobic: â€Å"Franklin was clearly unhappy about the great number of Germans who were immigrating to his home town of Philadelphia, even though many supported him by patronizing his printing business† (Lapham & Saunders, 2005) and also, Franklin — prior to the Revolutionary War — â€Å"grumbled about Philadelphia’s bilingual (English and German) street signs and complained that the Pennsylvania parliament needed to use translators† (Lapham & Saunders, 2005). In addition to these historical facts, there is evidence that Franklin was not only racist, but perhaps a bit paranoid about other races and cultures. He wrote on one occasion, â€Å"That the Number of purely white People in the World is proportionably very small†¦. † (Lapham & Saunders, 2005) which in and of itself might be considered merely an observation of fact until it is paired with Franklin’s words, which preceded the statement: â€Å"Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens, who will shortly be so numerous as to Germanize us instead of our Anglifying them† (Lapham & Saunders, 2005). These kinds of historical details and indications of Franklin’s character have no place in the Franklin myth. Their impact on the historical influence of Franklin is one which is very complicated and fascinating because the evolution of Franklin’s thoughts and actions in regard to issues of race underwent a profound change throughout his life. Although Franklin seemed to regard one race being in conflict with another in some of his writings, he nevertheless, â€Å"was chosen to be president of one of the first anti-slavery societies in America,† (Lapham & Saunders, 2005) and he went on to help to â€Å"create black schools, assist free blacks to obtain work, promote family-friendly values, and improve the social conditions black children† (Lapham & Saunders, 2005). The most important aspect of Franklin’s views on racism is that his ideas â€Å"evolved over his lifetime, becoming more tolerant and egalitarian as he grew older† (Lapham & Saunders, 2005), however, even such a dramatic and ultimately positivistic aspect of Franklin’s historical biography is left out of the Franklin myth. A letter to Franklin from his sister seems to encapsulate the very kinds of ambiguities and vagaries which the myth of Franklin exists to erase. His sister remarks of the American revolution: â€Å"to Propagate Is stufed into them, & it is Dificult to know whither Either Party are in the Right. for my Part I wish we had Let alone strife before it was medled with & folowed things that make for Peace† (Van Doren, 1950, p. 107) and from this letter and others like it, the modern observer is able to glean at least a partial understanding that ideas and conflicts in Franklin’s time were no more clear, no more â€Å"black and white† than they are in our own. In conclusion, while the myth of Benjamin Franklin, the man who â€Å"discovered† electricity with a key tied to a kite, the man who â€Å"wrote† the Declaration of Independence, a man who is one of the Founding Fathers of America, is a powerful and enduring myth, the historical facts of Franklin’s long and eventful life offer and a more authentic illustration of early-American philosophy, politics, and culture. The conflict between the myth of Franklin and Franklin the historical figure is rooted in the fact that historical truths are often ambiguous, complex and difficult to express succinctly, whereas myth, while sacrificing authenticity often makes a far more expedient impact on popular consciousness. Franklin the historical figure achieved a far greater influence practically over the development of American culture and American politics than the myth is capable of expressing; however, the historical facts of Franklin’s life also sometimes stand in stark opposition to the myth which they, at least in part, began. References Bruce, W. C. (1917). Benjamin Franklin, Self-Revealed: A Biographical and Critical Study Based Mainly on His Own Writings (Vol. 1). New York: G. P. Putnam’s Sons. Franklin, Benjamin. (2007). In The Columbia Encyclopedia (6th ed. ). New York: Columbia University Press. Ford, P. L. (1899). The Many-Sided Franklin. New York: The Century Co. Franklin, B. (1914). The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. New York: Macmillan. Frasca, R. (2007). Benjamin Franklin Unmasked: On the Unity of His Moral, Religious, and Political Thought. The Historian, 69(2), 359+. Lapham, S. S. , & Saunders, A. (2005). Benjamin Franklin’s Evolving Views on Race and Ethnicity. Social Education, 69(1), 13+. Lopez, C. , & Herbert, E. W. (1975). The Private Franklin: The Man and His Family. New York: W. W. Norton. Morgan, D. T. (2005). The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin. The Historian, 67(3), 551. Van Doren, C. (Ed. ). (1950). The Letters of Benjamin Franklin & Jane Mecom. Princeton, NJ: