Music Essays English Music Hall

Music Essays English Music Hall A Short History of the English Music Hall. The term ‘Music Hall’ is used to refer to a venue, or to a form of entertainment taking place at that venue, typically featuring a number of miscellaneous acts, possibly including musical turns, comedy and acrobatics, in a relatively formalised programme. It is also often termed ‘variety’. This essay considers the early roots of Music Hall, its growth in the late 19th century, and its subsequent loss of popularity in the face of competition from other media in the 20th century. Taken into account are the socio-economic environment and also the development of musical styles within the Music Hall context. It will be shown that the influence of Music Hall is still widespread in popular culture today. Background Music Hall developed from a range of entertainments, some of which had been part of English culture for centuries. Broadsides first appeared in the 1500s (Gammond 1991: 82): they were an early equivalent of the newspaper. News stories and satire were printed in verse form with the instructions ‘To the tune of†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, with the intention that the text should be sung to a well-known musical theme, typically a folk-ballad. The music itself was rarely printed, and so broadsides relied on the tradition of passing tunes on orally. In later broadsides, tunes were often popular songs from plays, with the intention of promoting shows in return for sponsorship – an early form of advertising revenue. The ballad was engrained in culture, but the demand and resources of the populus were not yet sufficient to support the growth of a performance industry. Also influential were the many fairs which were trading and entertainment events. In his diary, Samuel Pepys mentions attending Bartholomew Fair in 1661 and â€Å"seeing the monkeys dance† (Pepys 1661), and a number of Music Halls in the late 19th century featured animal acts (Gillies 1999: 31). One-man shows, such as those offered by Charles Dibdin (1745-1814), show elements of entertainment that were later developed in Music Halls. Dibdin can be seen as a key link between earlier folk-art traditions and the increasingly commercialised musical world of the 19th century (Gammond 1991: 153-5). He was a prolific song-writer, who had considerable success with light operas and by selling rights to his songs. These were the early days of copyright law, which developed in the late 19th century firstly to grant exclusivity of performance rights to singers and subsequently to effect a royalties system for composers. Two types of venue preceded Music Halls and had a particular influence on them: taverns and song-and-supper rooms. In taverns, a working-class clientele participated in singing along with their drinking. In song-and-supper rooms, the middle-class man-about-town (no women were admitted) could enjoy a meal while singers entertained. Song-and-supper rooms typically opened around midnight, and entertainment could be bawdy. Some of the early stars of Music Hall began their careers in taverns and song-and-supper rooms. Sam Cowell (1820-1864) is an example, and can be considered one of the first professional singer-songwriters. By 1850, he was earning a good living from the song-and-supper rooms, but had begun his career as an actor and had also performed in opera. In ‘Villikins and his Dinah’, regularly performed by Cowell, we see characteristics that were to become widespread in Music Hall songs, in particular the use of ‘commentary’ between sections of the song to increase its drama. Thus prior to verse 8, where the ghosts of Villikins and Dinah appear to Dinah’s father, the performer sets the scene: â€Å"Now this is the superlatively supernatural wisitation [sic] which appeared to the parient [sic] at midnight after the disease of his only progeny.† (Davison 1971: 23) The affectations in the language and pronunciation suggest the creation of the narrator as a character in his own right, and characterisation is another important element of the Music Hall song, as will be seen shortly. The growth of Music Hall was dependent on an audience able to pay for it, and with an interest in what it had to offer. The growth of a potential market is evident by the mid-19th century, when a number of Music Halls were opened (Sadie 1980: XII/832). In the mid-1840s, Evans’, a former song-and-supper room was reopened as a Music Hall. In 1849, Charles Morton, a pioneer of Music Hall, took over the Canterbury Arms in Lambeth and developed it as a venue. He enlarged it in 1856, and in 1861 opened the Oxford Music Hall in Oxford Street (Sadie 1980: XII/832). This idea of having a chain of venues gained ground in the latter part of the century. Early Developments 1850-1870 The 1850s and 60s can be considered as a first phase of Music Hall. Programmes were varied, with classical and popular music appearing on the same bill. Extracts from Gounod’s opera Faust (1859) performed in Music Halls provided the first hearings of the work for English audiences. A number of early Music Hall songs use old musical themes with new texts: for example, ‘Sam Hall’ can be traced back to a ballad about Captain Kidd. Harry Clifton’s ‘Polly Perkins of Paddington Green’ (1863) uses what appears to be a folk-tune (possibly ‘Nightingales Sing’), but its lyrics possess a humour not seen in folk music: Polly doesn’t marry a ‘Wicount’ or a ‘Nearl’, but in the punchline of the song, weds a â€Å"bow-legged Conductor of a twopenny bus† (Gammond 1991: 411). The same tune is used for another well-known Music Hall song, ‘Cushie Butterfield’, which was particularly popular in the Newcastle area. Tyneside had its own strong Music Hall tradition, giving rise to songs such as ‘The Blaydon Races’ and ‘Keep Your Feet Still Geordie Hinney’ and all three songs display a similar humour to ‘Polly Perkins’. The lyrics draw on local diale ct – Cushie is â€Å"a young lass in Gyetsid [Gateshead]† who â€Å"likes hor beor [her beer]† (Davison 1971: 31). With ‘Champagne Charlie’ (1868), the development of the character song is evident. Performed and co-written by George Leybourne, the Champagne Charlie character is described as a ‘swell’: a well-to-do man-about-town with a taste for Moà «t. Unlike ‘Villikins’, the text is in the first person, Leybourne becoming the Champagne Charlie character in performance. The song is perhaps the first advertising jingle, and was used to promote Moà «t, with Leybourne rumoured to partial to the drink (he died prematurely of alcoholism). His salary at this time was around  £30 a week – certainly adequate to indulge in the Champagne Charlie lifestyle. However, the character was an act: Leybourne was not a ‘toff’, but a former mechanic who remained illiterate and spoke with a strong Black Country accent (Gammond 1991: 334) Concern was growing over the activities in Music Halls. Articles in The Tomahawk focus on the quality of the entertainment: it had been suggested that the Music Hall would â€Å"exercise a beneficial influence over the progress of music amongst the lower classes† but â€Å"Music Hall†¦is mischievous to the art which it pretends to uphold† (Anon 1867).   At the time, improvement of the working classes through access to the arts was promoted among some thinkers. Two years later, Music Halls are criticised for being dens of vice: â€Å"I am positively assured†¦that on certain recognised nights loose women are admitted to these places without payment.† (Greenwood 1869). The often poor reputation of the Music Halls contributed to later attempts by the authorities to regulate their activities. Heyday 1870-1900 The development of Music Halls should be seen in context of wider developments in the social and economic environment of Victorian England. Following the Industrial Revolution, workers migrated from rural communities to cities, and this pattern accelerated in the 1870s. By the mid-1880s, around half the population of London had been born elsewhere (Harris 1994: 42-3). Simultaneously, leisure time increased. In the late 1860s, a half-day holiday was introduced on a Saturday, and in the 1870s, the 9-hour working day was introduced (Harris 1994: 139). Leisure time became a larger part of life for the working classes, and Music Hall was one activity that benefited from this. Drinking had always formed an element of the Music Hall entertainment, but the ruling classes had sought to control this. In 1878, London County Council restricted the consumption of liquor to the back of the halls (Sadie 1980: XII/833), also demanding that a proscenium arch and fire curtain be installed at all venues (there had been a number of fires at Music Halls). A number of smaller operators were forced to shut down, while the larger operators built up chains of venues, with Music Halls growing in size and number. In June 1888, a House of Lords debate quoted a figure of 473 Music Halls in London alone (Gillies 1999: 23). Larger halls meant that some of the intimacy of earlier venues was lost. Instead of a Chairman introducing acts and enjoying banter with the audience, venues identified performers by use of an indicator board, with each act having a number. In this environment of larger audiences, the most successful performers were able to command substantial fees, and some became internationally famous. Up to this point, Music Hall stars had been almost exclusively male, but from around 1880, women appeared regularly at Music Halls and were among the most successful Music Hall stars. Marie Lloyd is probably the best known: by 1891, she was appearing at several venues each night and earning  £100 a week. At this time, a 2-up, 2-down house in Oldham cost  £150-180 (Harris 1994: 113). In 1911, twenty years later,   only just over 2% of the population earned over  £160 in a year (Harris 1994: 107). In comparative terms, therefore, Lloyd’s earnings were on a par with a Premiership footballer today. In her early career, she infamously fell foul of performing rights by adopting ‘The Boy I Love Is Up In The Gallery’ as a key song in her repertoire, and she is still strongly associated with it. However, Nelly Power, another singer of the day, had exclusive performance rights for the song, and Lloyd was forced to stop singing it (Gillies 1999: 18 et al). At this time, exclusive association with a particular song enabled a performer to generate bookings, as nobody else was allowed to perform it. Songwriters sold a song with performing rights to a singer, and were thereafter not entitled to any further income. They relied on writing more songs on the same basis, but campaigned for further payments and the royalties system of today developed.   Pantomime was also an outlet for Music Hall stars, who would appear singing the songs for which they were most famous. This had a profound influence on the development of pantomime, with traditional characters such as Harlequin and Columbine dropped in favour of interpretations of fairy tales built around the Music Hall personalities and their repertoires. The music publishing industry had grown alongside the development of Music Halls. By the 1830s, songs such as ‘He was such a nice young man’ and ‘All round my hat’ (a folk tune) were produced for sale at Pleasure Gardens or song-and-supper rooms. The music catalogues of publishers typically included a range of material including songs, operatic arias, hymns and dances. Charles Sheard was publishing Music Hall material from around 1852 as part of its Musical Bouquet series (Gammond 1991: 410). From 1850-1900, the price of a piano dropped and some manufacturers introduced monthly payment schemes, making the instrument more accessible (Gillies 1991: 66). This helped the Music Hall songs become firmly engrained in the popular musical culture of the time. Songs had an air of respectability about them until around 1860, after which many started to display more vulgarity. This was still subtle by modern standards: Dan Leno’s trademark song ‘The Swimming Master’ (by Herbert Darnley) makes much of the need for bodily contact with the ladies being taught to swim – if they feel they’re sinking, then â€Å"To my manly chest they cling† (Davison 1971:69) – but goes no further than suggestion. Some venues decreased the classical element of their music programmes. Dickens (1879) comments that â€Å"the operatic selections which were at one time the distinguishing feature of the Oxford have of late years been discontinued†, and evidence from Music Hall programmes from this time onwards shows a focus on popular idioms. However, other Music Halls continued to offer what might be considered as more ‘highbrow’ entertainment. The Alhambra in Leicester Square specialised in ballet, and Evans’ in Covent Garden offered â€Å"songs, glees, and part songs, executed by a well-trained choir† (Anon 1867). The ballets at the Alhambra continued to at least the turn of the century and it also staged a number of operettas. Decline 1900-1920 In its early days, Music Hall had been seen as a largely lower-class entertainment. In the early 1900s, it gained respectability, with knighthoods for some of its key personalities and the first Royal Command Performance, featuring Music Hall acts, taking place in 1912 (Sadie 1980: XII/833). A number of developments led to the decline of Music Halls. In 1914, eating and drinking in the auditorium was banned (Gammond 1991: 409 et al) and Music Halls in effect became theatres. Many continued to offer seasons of variety performances, and there was still great interest in the entertainment, but it was now required to compete with new media: first the cinema, then radio. New music styles such as jazz were also gaining in popularity. Its influence is evident in some later Music Hall songs: ‘Lily of Laguna’ (1898) uses syncopation and describes an idealised world of African Americans living in the Southern States of the US. Its use of language such as ‘nigger’ and ‘coon’ would be considered offensive today, but reflects the very different attitude to race at the time (Davison 1971: 95). The song was written by the English songwriter Leslie Stuart for Eugene Stratton, an American performer who appeared regularly ‘blacked up’ : this practice was widespread within the Music Hall, and continued for many years with The Black and White Minstrels a popular TV show as late as the 1970s. By the 1940s, Music Hall had largely disappeared. Gramophones provided musical entertainment in the home. The stars of variety diversified: Gracie Fields developed firstly a film career then focused on radio broadcasts in addition to appearances in variety (Gammond 1991: 189), and George Formby appeared in a number of films as well as continuing the work of his father (also George Formby, a popular variety singer at the turn of the century) in Royal Command performances and other revues (Gammond 1991: 203). The Legacy of the Music Hall The influence of the Music Hall is still very much evident in British culture. It played a major part in the development of stand-up comedy, and the Comedy Club, which has seen a revival in recent years with chains such as Jongleurs, owes an obvious debt to the Music Hall tradition. The variety show featured regularly on TV well into the 1970s on shows such as ‘The Good Old Days’, and the annual Royal Command Performance, with a range of acts, is still televised. Pantomimes too feature many characteristics of those in the late 19th century, with TV personalities taking the roles that Music Hall celebrities enjoyed a hundred years ago. The musical styles seen in Music Hall continue to influence artists. ‘Obladi, Oblada’ (Lennon and McCartney, recorded by the Beatles 1968) features a fourline verse with sequence-based melodies and a simple refrain, with a line repeated, reminiscent of the choruses inviting audience participation in Music Hall. More recently, Blur’s ‘Parklife’ (1994) uses the concept of performer taking on a personality, with club- and concert-goers joining in with the ‘Parklife’ motif at the end of each line, much like a Music Hall audience would have joined in with choruses. Music Hall should therefore be seen not just as a cultural phenomenon in its own right, but as a development in a long history of popular song and entertainment. Bibliography Clarke, Donald (Ed) (1989) Penguin Encyclopaedia of Popular Music (Viking, London) Davison, Peter (1971) Songs of the British Music Hall (Oak Publications, New York) Dickens, Charles Jnr (1879) Dickens Dictionary of London ‘Music Halls’, reproduced on www.arthurlloyd.co.uk Frith, Simon and Marshall, Lee (2004) Music and Copyright (2nd Edition, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh) Frow, Gerald (1985) Oh Yes It Is! A History of Pantomime (BBC, London) Gillies, Midge (1999) Marie Lloyd: The One and Only (Gollancz, London) Gammond, Peter (1991) The Oxford Companion to Popular Music (Oxford University Press, Oxford) Harding, James (1990) George Robey and the Music Hall (Hodder and Stoughton, London) Harris, Jose (1994) Private Lives, Public Spirit: Britain 1870-1914 (Penguin, London) Kilgariff, Michael (Compiler) (1998) Sing us One of the Old Songs: A Guide to Popular Song 1860-1920 (Oxford University Press, Oxford) Middleton, Richard (1990) Studying Popular M usic (Open University, Milton Keynes) Price, Richard (1999) British Society, 1680-1880 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge) Sadie, Stanley (1980) New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians Vol. 12 pp831-834 (McMillan, London) Thompson, F M L (1988) The Rise of Respectable Society: A Social History of Traubner, Richard (1984) Operetta: A Theatrical History (Gollancz, London) Victorian Britain 1830-1900 (Fontana, London) Waites, Bernard, Bennett, Tony and Martin, Graham (Eds.) (1982) Popular Culture: Past and Present (Croom Helm, London, in Association with the Open University) Weightman, Gavin (2003) What the Industrial Revolution Did for Us (BBC, London) Websites www.arthurlloyd.co.uk Anon (1867) Extracts from ‘The Tomahawk, 14th and 21st September 1867   Dickens, Charles Jnr (1879) ‘Music Halls’ from Dickens’s Dictionary of London Greenwood, James (1869) The Seven Curses of London www.pepysdiary.com Pepys, Samuel (1661) Diary extract from 31st August 1661 Recordings Blur ‘Parklife’ (From the album ‘Parklife’, 1994, Food Records) The Beatles ‘Obladi, Oblada’ (From the White Album, 1968, Parlophone)

Sime Darby

Page 1 of 6 Fundamental Analysis for SIME DARBY BHD Company Name: Stock Code (Bursa): Bloomberg: Industry: Sub-Sector: Company Description: Date of Analysis: Financial Year: SIME DARBY BHD Board: Main Board SIME FBMKLCI: TRUE SIME:MK Reuters: SIME. KL TRADING SERVICES OIL PALM/RUBBER AND OTH CROP PRODUCTION PLANTATION; PROP; MOTORS; INDUSTRIAL; ENERGY & UTILITIES. 19-Sep-12 2011 30/6/2011 Price: 9. 79 Stock Grade: Emerging Investment Grade Profitability Profitability 10 ROI 8 ROI Liquidity 6 Efficiency 4 Risks 2 0 Potential Growth Buy & Hold Returns Potential Growth 65 75 90 50 105 105 Buy & Hold Returns 25 Liquidity 1. 80759 40. 02273 62. 4099 36. 10128 85. 8969 57. 48956 18. 75 7. 97 5. 34 6. 93 7. 22 8. 18 5. 48 7. 5 Risks Efficiency Future growth drivers and Risks: http://announcements. bursamalaysia. com/edms/edmswebh. nsf/all/FF95B42CEC4045D948257A7A0062 DF67/$File/Press%20release. pdf Due-Diligence All figures in millions of Ringgit Malaysia except per share values and ratio M easures 2002 @ 2002/6/30 2003 @ 2003/6/30 2004 @ 2004/6/30 2005 @ 2005/6/30 2006 @ 2006/6/30 2007 @ 2007/6/30 2008 @ 2008/6/30 2009 @ 2009/6/30 2010 @ 2010/6/30 2011 @ 2011/6/30 Importane Rate CommentsProfitability Increasing Sales Revenue Increasing Net Income After Tax Increasing Gross Profit Margin (Preferably ? 40%) ROI Increasing high ROE (Preferably ? 15%) Increasing ROIC (Preferably ? 15%) Increasing CROIC (Preferably ? 15%) Liquidity Increasing Net Cash from Operations Increasing Free Cash Flow / Sales (Preferably ? 5%) Increasing Quick Ratio (Preferably ? 1) Short & declining Cash Conversion Cycle Efficiency Increasing Net Profit Margin (Preferably ? 10%) Increasing OCF/TA (Preferably ? 8%) 12,053 928 29. 9% 13,718 945 30. 4% 14,904 1,015 26. % 18,646 933 24. 4% 20,162 1,203 23. 6% 20,735 1,597 23. 3% 34,045 3,753 26. 2% 31,014 2,341 23. 0% 32,845 855 26. 8% 41,859 3,847 25. 7% 10. 7% 8. 0% 4. 5% 10. 2% 8. 0% 5. 2% 10. 9% 8. 0% 3. 3% 10. 0% 9. 0% 3. 6% 12. 7% 7. 0% 5. 2% 15 . 8% 8. 0% 7. 1% 16. 2% 12. 0% 9. 1% 10. 7% 9. 0% -1. 1% 3. 6% 5. 0% 6. 8% 15. 2% 13. 0% 6. 5% 647 3. 5% 1. 09 62 930 4. 3% 1. 41 66 652 2. 6% 1. 39 65 737 2. 3% 1. 12 62 1,154 3. 4% 1. 23 67 1,644 4. 8% 1. 27 65 3,936 7. 2% 1. 38 63 937 -1. 0% 1. 00 91 3,570 5. 9% 1. 00 65 3,393 4. 9% 1. 05 65 10. 0% 5. 2% 9. 0% 6. 3% . 0% 4. 2% 7. 0% 4. 5% 8. 0% 6. 6% 10. 0% 8. 4% 15. 0% 10. 9% 10. 0% 2. 6% 5. 0% 9. 5% 13. 0% 7. 9% Risks Declining Debt/Equity Ratio (Preferably <1) Operating Income Variability Sales Variability Increasing Altman Z Score (Preferably ? 2. 6) Declining Beneish Score (Preferably < -2. 22) Potential Growth Increasing Sustainable Growth Rate (Preferably ? 8%) Increasing Expected EBIT Growth N/A (Preferably ? 8%) Quality of Sales Revenue Growth (Preferably ? 80%) N/A 0. 15 1,081 12,053 5. 73 0. 27 1,225 13,718 5. 50 -2. 83 0. 28 1,389 14,904 6. 5 -2. 90 0. 34 1,406 18,646 5. 13 -2. 95 0. 38 1,206 20,162 5. 42 -2. 86 0. 29 1,569 20,735 7. 13 -3. 00 0. 22 4,339 34,045 5. 83 -1. 99 0. 26 3,151 31,014 7. 02 -2. 89 0. 37 2,081 32,845 5. 80 -2. 84 0. 29 5,483 41,859 6. 38 -2. 86 3. 5% 2. 9% 16. 4% 93. 5% 85. 8% 28. 7% 53. 4% 59. 1% 56. 9% 3. 7% 4. 1% 2008: 2002-2011: 2008: 2002-2011: 2008: 2002-2011: 2. 3% 3. 1% 77. 2% 2009: 91. 1% 52. 4% 2009: 58. 2% 76. 6% 2009: 45. 6% 6. 4% 5-Y: 4. 4% 9. 9% 7. 9% 14. 9% 74. 6% 2010: 59. 2% 2010: 14. 9% 2010: 2. 9% 19. 4% 5. 0% -5. 0% 69. 4% 2011: 17. % 2011: 21. 6% 2011: 0. 6% 6. 6% 7. 7% 13. 6% 73. 3% 30. 0% 14. 0% 2007: 2005-2011: Quality of EBIT Growth (Preferably 2007: ? 80%) 2005-2011: Quality of Operating Cash Flow 2007: Growth (Preferably ? 80%) 2005-2011: Buy & Hold Returns Shareholder Wealth Creation Full: (Preferably ? 8%) 5. 7% 10-Y: -1. 0% 3-Y: 11. 5% Investment Strategy Position Strategy Position Lump Sum + Top Up Strategy: Buy Criteria Averaging Down Method: Dollar Cost/Value Averaging Criteria 1. The current quarter's EPS is up more than 15% from the same quarter the year before. . Price is below I ntrinsic Value 3. Current EY% or Rolling 4Q EY% ;gt; 6% 4. Current DY% or Rolling 4Q DY% ;gt; 6% 5. Stock price breaks out of consolidation/dip on an uptrend. 6. Comparison of P/B ratio (for Financial stocks only) 7. Company owner, EPF, Khazanah and PNB heavily buying Sell Criteria I Remarks Criteria 1. Current EY% or Rolling 4Q EY% ;lt; 6% for more than 2 years 2. Current DY% or Rolling 4Q DY% ;lt; 6% for more than 2 years 3. Quarterly EPS drop for 5 consecutive months 4. Fundamental of business turns unattractive or bad 5.Found a better opportunity to replace this stock 6. The stock drops near to my average cost or hit my stop loss 7. Long term trend changed from bullish to bearish 8. Company owner, EPF, Khazanah and PNB heavily selling. 9. Did I make a mistake? 10. Has the stock risen too far from its intrinsic value? VI Remarks Discounted Cash Flows Valuation Shares Out. M. O. S. 13 Default Value Custom Value 6009. 46 11 Sustainable Growth % (for Average risk Average Discount % Terminal % 2011 FCF Excess Cash Intangibles Intangibles% Decay Rate Extra Decay Growth (for DCF Calc. premium Risk free Assets add to DCF (Yr4E-Yr7E) (Yr8E-Yr10E) reference) rate 20% 5% 8% 5. 50% 3. 68% 9. 2% 2% 2068. 66 4593. 30 86. 00 0% 8% 15% 4% 11. 50% 15% 20% Projection of Future Free Cash Flow 2012 Yearly Growth Future Value Discounted Perpetuity Value Present Value 2,151. 41 2013 2,237. 46 2014 2,326. 96 18,023. 58 28,024. 79 3-Y Shares Outstanding Fair Value Desired M. O. S. Buy Under Current Price Actual M. O. S. 4. 66 3. 73 9. 79 -110% 5-Y 6009. 46 4. 69 20% 3. 75 9. 79 -109% 2015 2,364. 67 2016 2,445. 07 15,233. 30 28,183. 22 10-Y 4. 70 3. 76 9. 79 -108% 2017 2,528. 1 2018 2,614. 16 2019 2,564. 07 2020 2,633. 81 2021 2,705. 45 9,780. 64 28,239. 49 Market Timing Analysis Discounted Cash Flow Valuation Fair Value Actual M. O. S. Buy Under Selection 3-Y 4. 66 -110% 3. 73 5-Y 4. 69 -109% 3. 75 10-Y 4. 70 -108% 3. 76 ? 3-Y: Fast-growing company; operates in highly competitive , low margin industry 5-Y: Solid company; operates with advantage such as strong marketing channels, recognizable brand name, or regulatory advantage 10-Y: Outstanding growth company; operates with very high barriers to entry, dominant market position or prospectsPrice-to-book Ratio Valuation by Price-to-book Ratio: Current EY% or Rolling 4Q EY% ;gt; 6% CU EY%: 6. 23 R-4Q EY%: 7. 05 4. 26 60 Current DY% or Rolling 4Q DY% ;gt; 6% CU DY%: 3. 06 R-4Q DY%: 3. 58 Current Cash Return% or MRQ Cash Return% ;gt; 6% 62 CU CR%: 4% Quarterly Financial Performance MRQ CR%: 2% Increasing revenue Increasing net profit Increasing EPS Jun-12's EPS ? 15% from Jun-11 Jun-11 Sep-11 Dec-11 Mar-12 Jun-12 13,059 11,064 11,389 11,027 14,122 1,313 0. 22 1,074 0. 18 1,101 0. 18 876 0. 15 1,099 0. 18 -16% Sime Darby COMPANY BACKGROUND Sime Darby Berhad is a multinational company which was established in 1910; a British businessman William Sime and Henry Darby established Sime, Darby & Co. and is based in Malaysia. Sime Darby is also involved in key growth sector of the national economy, plantations, property, motors, energy & utilities and healthcare. Business activities include oil palm and the company's original business, the manufacture of rubber tires, heavy equipment and motor vehicle distribution, property development, power generation, and engineering services.Other operations include the manufacture of paints, cooling tourism product manufacturing, and tourism services, hospitals, and golf courses. Sime Darby is listed on Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad on the main board. The company is the largest in Southeast Asia and the largest multinational companies in Malaysia. They operate in more than 20 countries and have around 100,000 employees worldwide. William Middleton Sime, a traveler f rom Scotland. In his efforts to be successful, he has to face two times a failure in the import-export business and other coffee farm when he left his job as a mercantile assistant in Singapore.Henry Darby was a wealthy 50-year-old English banker who owned property in Northern Malaya. The organization is well known in the field of global business and is also experienced in the field of business. They have a wide range of industries such as Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad and Golden Hope Plantations Berhad for combined and created as a new organization with the mission and vision and new goals. VISION To be a leading multinational corporation delivering sustainable value to all stakeholders. MISSION 1. We are committed to developing a winning portfolio of sustainable businesses; 2.We subscribe to good corporate governance and high ethical values; 3. We continuously strive to deliver superior financial returns through operational excellence and high performance standards; and 4. We provide an environment for our people to realize their full potential. CORE AND RELATED BUSINESS Sime Darby is a key player in the Malaysian economy as well as a diversified multinational involved in key growth sectors, namely, plantations, property, motors, industrial equipment, energy ; utilities and healthcare with operations in more than 20 countries. . Sime Darby Plantation Sime Darby Plantation is the largest oil palm plantation in the world to produce about 2. 4 million tons or 6% of the production of crude palm oil (CPO) is the world every year, making the Sime Darby Plantation as sustainable producers of edible oils in the world. Sime Darby has two operations, namely: I. Upstream operations Sime Darby Plantation has an area of 682. 616 hectares in Malaysia and Indonesia, with the rest of the oil palm planted area of 519. 620 hectares. It has a total of 200 fields and 64 oil mills in the two countries.Outside Asia, starting from January 2010 has expanded its upstream operations to Lib eria in Africa. Overall, Sime Darby Plantation has 200,000 hectares in Liberia, where 1. 190 hectares have been planted with oil palm until 31 January 2012. As a key player in keeping the industry, Sime Darby plantation division using best practices. 329. 225 of this part have been planting trees for rare and endangered in the next three years, as part of its commitment towards ensuring a more reserved nature. Trees are grown mainly in the area of the holding company, while partially buried along with other companies.II. Downstream Operations Sime Darby Plantation downstream operations operate in 15 countries, covering the production and distribution of oil and fat products for biodiesels, oleochemicals, and nutraceuticals. It is divided into two segments namely based food and non-food segments carried by eight refineries located in : * Malaysia (Sime Darby Jomalina Sdn Bhd, Sime Darby Kempas Sdn Bhd and Sime Darby Austral Co. , Ltd. ) * Singapore (Sime Darby Edible Products Limited ) * Thailand (Morakot Industries Public Company Ltd) Vietnam (Golden Hope – Nha Be Oils Sdn Bhd) * Netherlands (Sime Darby Unimills B. V. ) * South Africa (Sime Darby Hudson ; Knight (M) Sdn Bhd) III. Food Sime Darby Plantation also produces and markets a variety of consumer goods such as cooking oil, fruit juice and cooks the sauce for the Malaysian market. Sime Darby Jomalina which is a subsidiary of Sime Darby Berhad produce refined palm oil and palm kernel oil products which include shortening, industrial margarine, frying palm oil, milk fat replacement, vegetable ghee and cooking oil.Also produce oil for frying, application in dairy products, dyes and as a food for the domestic market and for export to Japan, Hong Kong, Europe and the United States. Sime Darby also niche product the following: * Special Animal Fat Substitute (Safar) – A substitute vegetable fats for animal fats in food products, * Jomalina Quality Assurance (JGQ) products – products made fr om palm oil with a low content of saturated fatty acids, * Golden Joma Red Olein – Red Palm Oil with beta carotene content is very high. IV. Research ; DevelopmentSime Darby Plantation is a leader in the research ; development of oil palm, and was the first company in the world to successfully compile, assemble and annotate the oil palm genome. Breakthroughs will allow scientists and our research staff to identify markers for the valuable features such as features yield, disease resistance and drought tolerance, and use these markers to breed a new generation of oil palm. The Division now has more than 200 scientists and researchers, who conducted various studies on the efficacy results, best practices, quality, best agricultural practices and food ingredients.Division also has a fully operational along the palm oil value chain – from farm to food on the table, He took himself one of the cheapest foods in the form of oil-estate estate, processing of this material in it s own farm and later in its own filter factories, and finally, it is also processed cooking oil for domestic market. As a fully integrated player, this means that it can control the quality at every stage by using best practices in all layers of palm oil value chain.This process is done by thinking of the environment and quality, ensuring that while providing a valuable material for the needs of the world, our earth is also protected through best practices. 2. Sime Darby Property Sime Darby Plantation is a leader in research ; development of oil palm, and was the first company in the world to successfully compile, assemble and annotate the genome of oil palm. The Division has been fully operational along the palm oil value chain – from farm to food on the table.It released a self cheapest food in the form of coconut plantation estate, the processing of these materials in their own farm and then at refineries themselves, and finally, it is also processed cooking oil for the lo cal market. As a fully integrated player, this means that it can control the quality at every stage by using best practices in all walks of palm oil value chain. This process is done by thinking of the environment and quality, to ensure that when providing valuable material for the needs of the world, our earth is also protected through best practices.Sime Darby Property is one of the leading property developers in Malaysia. It is also the largest developers in the country in terms of land area savings. It now has 19. 000 acres of land and has identified savings of 18. 800 acres of land for future development. Sime Darby Property's core businesses are property development, property investment, hospitality & leisure and operations in China. Apart from Malaysia, it has a wide range of projects in five countries, namely, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Australia and the United Kingdom.Over the past few years, Sime Darby Property has built 10 townships that house a total of 80,000 families a nd 400,000 people throughout the Klang Valley and Penang, the Ara Damansara, Subang Jaya, USJ Heights, Putra Heights, Bukit Jelutong, Bandar Bukit Raja, Nature Trail, Melawati, The Dream and Planter's Haven. Sime Darby Property also rates limit investment property in Malaysia such as Sime Darby Pavilion is a 3-storey office building in Shah Alam, Sime Darby Complex is a 4 – ? torey office building, Wisma Guthrie is a six storey purpose built office building in Damansara Heights, Wisma Sime Darby is a 22 storey office building in Jalan Raja Laut, Wisma UEP is a 11-storey office building in Subang Jaya. Sime Darby Property has built a variety of hospitality in Malaysia such as Sime Darby Convention Centre (SDCC) which was officially launched on December 6, 2007 by the Prime Minister of Malaysia and Resumes Operations since February 2006 at the Bukit Kiara, Kuala Lumpur.Hospitaliti such as PNB Darby Park Executive Suites Start operations in June 2000 at the Kuala Lumpur. Harvard atmosphere Hotels in Bedong, Kedah. Genting View Resort in Genting Highlands, Pahang. Subang Avenue Service Suites in Subang Jaya and Hotel Equatorial Melaka in the Lower Town, Melaka. 3. Sime Darby Industrial Sime Darby Industrial is a leading distributor of premium heavy equipment in Malaysia and the Asia Pacific region.It offered a comprehensive range of products and support services equipment in key markets such as plantations, property, mining, marine construction, forestry, ports and power systems sectors. Sime Darby Industrial is also the fifth largest Caterpillar dealer in the world and operates the largest Caterpillar dealership network in the Asia Pacific region, with more than 100 branches covering more than 20 countries. Heavy equipment business spans across Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Christmas Island, the Maldives, New Caledonia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.To market in Malaysia, Sime Darby Industrial Sdn Bhd offers a compre hensive list of heavy equipment and services, from the sale of machinery, new engines and equipment rental services through a network until CAT Rental Stores outlets nationwide. Other brands represented include: * Premium Terberg Terminal Tractor * Kubota Tractor and Agricultural Transplanters * Transport tractor New Holland * Perkins engines * GE Pipeline Inspection * Atlas Copco (in Vietnam) * Jacobsen Turf Care Equipment * Former operator of Omega 4. Sime Darby MotorsSime Darby Motors is one of the leading players of the automotive industry and automotive luxury in Malaysia, Singapore, China, Australia and New Zealand, with business activities that vary from country to country, including import, assembly, distribution and sale of the vehicle. This represents the various brands and luxury brands such as BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce, Porsche, Jaguar and Lamborghini, Hyundai, Land Rover, Alfa Romeo, Ford, Peugeot, Mitsubishi, Ssang Yong, Jeep, Dodge, McLaren, Suzuki, Chrysler, Audi, Ferra ri, Maserati, Volkswagen, Nissan, Mazda and Chevrolet.Sime Darby Motors is also the third largest BMW dealer in the world, while Rolls Roycenya representation in East China is one of the largest in the world in 2011. This section is a dealer for McLaren to Hong Kong, the franchise up for grabs. It also has a distribution business for Huanghai Bus, Mitsubishi Fuso trucks and buses in Hong Kong and Macau, as well as electric vehicles Smith, apart from organizing Sime Darby Fleet Servicing Australia 4WD, 2WD, bus rental and mechanical services for industry leading market experts and government regional tourism market in Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales.In terms of installation, Sime Darby Motors to install a variety of Hyundai passenger cars and commercial vehicles, other than passenger vehicles Land Rover and BMW through its subsidiaries, the Corporation Inokom in Kulim, Kedah. It also has the Hertz car rental business in Malaysia and Singapore. With a good distributi on network in the Asia Pacific region, the Automotive Division Sime Darby ready for a bright future. 5. Sime Darby Energy ; Utilities Sime Darby Energy ; Utilities has core businesses in the Engineering Services, Ports ; Logistics, Power and Water Management.It is supported by a staff of more than 1,000 people in all of our operations in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and China. I. Power With plants in Malaysia and Thailand, we have a combined gross capacity of 590MW. Operations in Malaysia which is located in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan have a capacity of 440MW of electricity while operating in Thailand at Laem Chabang has two power plants with an installed capacity of 100MW and 50MW respectively. II. Engineering Services Led by Mecomb Group, a unit of engineering services division is supported by a variety of reputable products that provide solutions and value-added engineering services.Mecomb Group is headquartered in Singapore and has operations in Malaysia and Thailand. III. P orts ; Logistics Port operations and logistics division is based in Shangdong province, China. There are three ports that operate at this time – a sea port handles general cargo and bulk in Bohai Bay, Weifang and two river ports handling coal and general cargo along the Grand Canal in Jining. A new coal handling terminal being planned in Jining. Port's current capacity to reach about 30 million tones per year with plans to expand further into the target handling capacity of 60 million tones per ear. We hope to become a major player in the arena harbor and logistics in China in the next five years. IV. Water Management Water management unit is headquartered in Shandong province of China, comprising Weifang Sime Darby Water Management Co. Ltd and Zibo Chemical Co. Ltd Sime Darby. Established in 2005, Weifang Sime Darby Water Management Co Ltd has a capacity of 140. 0003 per day, supplying clean water to the Hua Hai and surrounding industrial areas. Sime Darby Zibo Chemical Co. Ltd. Zibo) was incorporated in March 2007 to produce polyaluminium chloride at a capacity of four tones per year for use in water treatment plants Weifang Sime Darby Water. 6. Sime Darby Healthcare Sime Darby Healthcare is a leader in the private healthcare industry, and aspires to be the gold standard of health care providers in the Asia Pacific region. This section consists of five private entities, namely: – * Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya (SDMC SJ) – our flagship tertiary care 393-bed hospital * Sime Darby Specialist Centre Megah (SDSC Megah) – our outpatient and daycare * Sime Darby Nursing & Health Sciences College Sime Darby Medical Centre Ara Damansara (SDMC AD) – Centres of Excellence for Brain, Heart and Spine & Joint * Sime Darby Medical Centre Parkcity (SDMC Parkcity) – will open in 2013 This division was established on 21 October 2008 when the first three entities were rebranded under the brand name of Sime Darby. Sime Darby He althcare offers a range of special services for health care related to Customers, from emergency care, disease; management to screening services and more terrorism as follows: * Dietetics Services Dr Golf * Health Screening Centre * Imaging and Diagnostics * Breast Care Centre * Subang Fertility Centre * Obesity Clinic * Menstrual Clinic * Nuclear Medicine & PET / CT Centre * Vascular & Interventional Radiology Centre * Stone Centre * Digestive and Liver Health Clinic * Blood Disease Centre In addition to health care for Patients, Sime Darby Healthcare Patient Services Banjarmasin also rates offers for hire offer Home Care Nursing Services, International Patient Services, Medical Reports and Accommodation ServicesIt institutions, SDMC SJ, is one of the leading private hospitals in Malaysia. Internationally recognized, private hospitals with advanced facilities, this is the only private hospital that has won the Prime Minister's Quality Award twice. Today, SDMC SJ has 393 beds, 93 su ites and 14 theaters clinic, keep up to 1,800 patients and 300 patients per day. The hospital also offers the latest state of the art equipment such as scanners 64-slice PET / CT, 3-Tesla MRI, High Dose 3D brachytherapy system, dual-source CT scanner and TomoTherapy Hi-Art System for the treatment of cancer.SDMC AD had the first private Brain Centre of Excellence in Malaysia, with a comprehensive epilepsy management system as well as full and advanced facilities for treatment. Sime Darby Healthcare is planning to open another medical center renamed Sime Darby Medical Centre ParkCity in 2013. Sime Darby Medical Centre ParkCity will operate as a comprehensive center of excellence dedicated to women and children with a focus on breast oncology, child development and treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes. 7. Other BusinessesI. Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn Ltd Tesco Stores (Malaysia) Sdn. Ltd. is a joint venture between Sime Darby Berhad and Tesco plc. Its inception in the year 2 001, show that the Sime Darby owns 30% interest in the joint venture. Tesco currently operates 40 hypermarkets in the country. II. Insurance Broking and Agency Sime Darby Lockton Insurance Brokers Sdn Bhd (Sime Darby Lockton) is one of the leading professional risk services in Malaysia, which specialized in the specialty risk insurance and takaful solutions.The company is the result of a union between Sime Darby Berhad and Lockton, the risk of a service company to the 9 largest in the world. With active involvement in insurance services since early 1930 in Asia, particularly in Malaysia, Singapore and Hong Kong, Sime Darby Lockton has more than 80 dedicated professionals, highly trained and knowledgeable in their respective fields. Sime Darby Lockton is licensed and regulated by Bank Negara Malaysia. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Almost 200 years ago, Britons growers have established rubber plantations in Malaya and mostly planted with oil palm.Among the pioneers-pioneers is Alexander Guthr ie, Daniel and Smith Harrison, Joseph Crosfield, William Sime and Henry d'Esterre and Herbert Mitford Darby who is the founder of three large companies today are Sime Darby Berhad. Alexander Guthrie Guthrie & Co established. in Singapore in 1821 as the first British trading company in Southeast Asia. Guthrie introduced rubber and palm oil in Malaysia in 1896 and 1924. Daniel and Smith Harrison and Joseph Crosfield also formed a trading partnership tea and coffees are known as Harrisons & Crosfield in England in 1844. Harrisons & Crosfield bought several small farms in Malaysia of ? 0,000 and they came together to form Golden Hope Rubber Estate. In 1982, Harrison and Crossfield have sold three large plantation groups, Golden Hope, Pataling, and London Asiatic to Malaysian concerns for ? 146 million. Business name was changed to Golden Hope Plantations Berhad in 1990 after taking majority Nasional Berhad capitalization equity. In January 2007, three giant Malaysia (Sime Darby, Guthrie and Golden Hope) incorporated into the entity named Synergy Drive vehicle and on 27 November 2007, Synergy Drive renamed Sime Darby Berhad. Entity that combines three different companies in Malaysia are multinational workforce of 104. 00 Malaysian workers. Its core businesses are plantations, property, motor, heavy equipment and energy & utilities that are expected to benefit from continued population growth and economic development in the Asia Pacific region and the global economy. Non-core business unit of Sime Darby as health care, insurance, and home products grouped under Allied Products and Services division (APS). Subsidiary under the APS including Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya (formerly known as Subang Jaya Medical Centre) (health care), Sime Alexander Forbes (insurance), and Dunlopillo Malaysia Sdn Bhd (home products).It also has a controlling stake in the supermarket chain Tesco in Malaysia. Sime Darby is a multinational company, with more than 60 percent of the g roup's revenue comes from overseas. As a result of the merger, Sime Darby became one of the leading companies listed on the world's palm oil plantations. Sime Darby Berhad also has a significant presence in downstream palm oil. The merger also made Sime Darby a leading developer of residential and commercial community. Additionally, it holds the rights Caterpillar in 12 countries worldwide and distribution and distributor brands like BMW motor.Current President and Chief Executive Officer of the Group is Dato ‘Mohd Bakke Saleh. Sime Darby brand now more than 100 years old even though it does not explain how these companies are just starting with a small shop in Malacca memoirs starting in 1910. It is the legacy of the three companies that create Sime Darby today. PROBLEM Although Sime darby a giant plantation company in the world, they still have problems such as the company's internal operations and management models that lack of transparency, poor governance, red tape, and m isconduct (moral hazard) that may affect the business.This is a result of the merger of three companies Golden Hope Limited. , Guthrie Bhd. and Sime Darby Bhd. through Synergy Drive to form a giant company where five times of its original size. With the merger of these companies have the inherent problems of bureaucracy and management. In May 2010, the Energy and Utilities Division has reported large losses where four projects the Energy and Utilities Division, including Qatar Petroleum, Maersk Oil Qatar, Marine and Bakun Dam, delayed because of bad management, leading to increased costs exceeded estimates and lead to a loss of RM1. 31 billion. As a result of these losses, Sime Darby has experienced the loss of market value of RM6. 37 billion in the period of one month from the RM52. 94 billion to RM46. 57 billion. Sime Darby has experienced a net loss of RM308. 63 million in the third quarter. Sime Darby yet to recover from past losses continued to be constrained problems associate d with neighboring countries, namely Indonesia.Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad was ordered to pay the civil claim to the Indonesian company PT Adhiyasa Saranamas more than USD25 million. Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad plans to capture asset PT Holdico power was taken over by the National Banking Penyehatan Agency (IBRA) owned by the Indonesian government. PT Adhiyasa Saranamas was appointed by Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad as an intermediary for the acquisition of PT Holdico Power, including its subsidiaries and assets of the company including oil palm plantations in several cities.Problems began to arise when the Guthrie Berhad has agreed to pay 7% of the transaction value results for Adhiyasa been breached by the Guthrie Berhad resulting in a Malaysian government-owned companies have been accused of breach of contract because of delayed payments promised to Adhiyasa. Sime Darby has also suffered huge losses during the financial crisis era asia 1997 when the stock market plummeted, which recorded a los s of Rs 1. 6 billion, of which the largest level in the history of banking in Malaysia. REFERENCES http://www. referenceforbusiness. com/history2/20/Sime-Darby-Berhad. tml http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sime_Darby http://www. simedarby. com/default. aspx http://www. simedarbyplantation. com/default. aspx http://siffusuffi. blogspot. com/2010_06_01_archive. html http://www. utusan. com. my/utusan/info. asp? y=2010&dt=0524&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Korporat&pg=ko_02. htm http://teamoverdraf. blogspot. com/2010/11/masalah-pada-syarikat-sime-darby. html http://jommelabur. wordpress. com/2010/05/13/kerugian-sime-darby-apa-yang-aku-faham/ http://razali01. blogspot. com/2010/08/sime-darby-hadapi-masalah-lagi-kali-ini. html

Does the End Justify the Means? Essay

The ‘end justify the means’ is a philosophical maxim popularized by Niccolo Machiavelli during the renaissance era. This maxim is supposed to justify the actions of a leader or what Machiavelli calls ‘the Prince’, to do whatever is in his power in so far as the ‘end/s’ justifies the ‘means’ of attaining it. Machiavelli highlighted that the ‘end’ that a ‘Prince’ or a leader should focus on is the maintenance of his regime, authority or power. This theory is often mistaken as a standard principle usually by a few who rules a group of people, a community or a nation. They always believe that what they are doing redounds to the benefit of the majority. This few will not accept that what they have done is evil even if it produced good results for many people. History will tell us that many events in the past have gained favorable comments from some individuals but different from the point of view of the majority. Take the case of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombing by the American forces during the war to weaken the morale of the invading Japanese forces in the Far East, which resulted to a lifetime tragic memory for thousands of Japanese victims (Walzer, 2004). If we are part of that era, perhaps we would simply say that it was the only way to stop the Japanese aggressors. For the Japanese and its allies, it was an evil act for the Americans to involve innocent Japanese civilians in the war. Leaping forward to the present era where people have become broad-minded and peace-oriented, many Americans have condemned the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and a number of big organizations have initiated moves to restore America’s image to the world especially to the Japanese people. But there are also sectors including the military who believe that the war would not have ended if the bombing was not done. Does the end justify the means in this case? Certainly not; according to Christine Smith in her article entitled, The End does not justify the Means, committing any acts of evil, regardless of any given circumstances, is always considered wrong. This writer may be right in saying this except that she fails to manifest the exact definition of evil in her statement. When the national interest is at risk to preserve democracy, the military is given a free-hand by the government to thwart rebellion. After a series of democratic process with maximum tolerance and the rebels adhere to their hard-line principle of a â€Å"coup d‘etat,† the military has the ultimate option to use arms. On the side of the relatives and advocates of the aggressive movement this could be evil, but on the side of the government and those against undemocratic process of government take-over, this could be reasonable. Let’s analyze another case, the downing of Korean Airlines Flight 007 in Russia way back 1983 which carried 269 passengers including the crew where most of the victims were Americans and Koreans. It was argued by Russia that the plane violated its airspace, with a hint that it was a spy plane, which led to its ultimate decision to shoot it down, while the U. S. quickly denounced the brutal act of Russia, justifying the cause of air space violation as an aeronautical miscalculation of the pilot. As far as the Russians are concerned, the end justified the means, but on the side of the Americans and Koreans, that was an act of terrorism. In this particular case, the element of ideology has to be refuted. While the brutal act was considered by the Russians as a way to suppress any threat to their ideology, they did it in any way possible even if the world would condemn it as an evil act. Russians believed that the tragic end has justified the means involving the interest of the Soviet Union. Given that it was an aeronautical error to violate airspace, Russia should have instructed the pilot of the ill-fated airplane to follow an emergency landing for investigation concerning the alleged espionage instead of downing it, considering that it was a passenger aircraft and not a military one. Even assuming that it was a language barrier between pilots that could have been the cause of the immediate military response, still it can never be justified. On the part of the victims’ relatives, the incident was intentionally done and Russians must be stiffly penalized. For a few who ruled the military, it was part of an exercise. For communist allies, it was the right thing to do, but for the rest of the world, it would be remembered as a massacre in the sky. Same is true for any kind of religion which has a great concern for human life; the act was inspired by the devil. In cases of tortures, human rights abuses, military actions and capital punishments, the end may not justify the means. Even if the ultimate result is good for the majority or even to a nation, if the means was done in a vicious way, then, that could never be justified. But for soldiers who are engaged in war, it is entirely a different philosophy. A soldier has to follow orders from his superiors to protect the sovereignty of a nation, that’s his duty. When he goes to the jungle in search for the enemies, he carries with him a mandate from his superiors. But when he is out there to engage in combat, a different scenario occurs. He becomes primarily concerned about his own life and to return to his family alive, the mandate becomes secondary. Very few want to be a hero and much lesser to be friendly with the enemies. A soldier is a military machine, that’s how he was honed and oriented; he has to kill the enemy before the enemy kills him. He has to execute a rapid action if his life is endangered. That’s the game of war, that’s the game of chance if he wants to survive. But if a soldier is engaged in killing innocent people just because he could not identify the enemy exactly, then, his action does not justify his motive. If he tortures an enemy or a group of people in search for truth, it can be held unjust. If he is trigger-happy and involved in mass execution because he fails to identify the enemies exactly, he must be condemned and be subject to a court-martial. There can never be an excuse for killing people at an instant without concrete evidence backed up by reliable logistics, and in so doing, his conscience must be directly involved. But how do we gauge and monitor his professionalism in the battlefield? A soldier is dispatched with a troop and a leader who keeps track of all his moves. There is a saying that â€Å"foul odor will always come out in the open,† especially when the victim’s relatives submit a complaint with corresponding evidence. Let’s take a look at Teresa M. Hudock’s article entitled, ‘The End Does Not Justify The Means’. She said that the best example of a credible perfectionist is one who does not use military force and violence in any given circumstances, even in self-defense, and he must be an advocate of human rights. This might be an ideal scenario. War or no war, when life is at stake magnanimity will be a subject for legal arguments especially when self-defense is in question. No person will allow others to take his life without doing anything except for born-heroes. Therefore, justifying the end by the course of action taken depends on how people look at it and it varies on the standpoint of different sectors of the society. In essence, the end does not always justify the means. Nonetheless, there are extreme instances or ‘supreme emergencies’ wherein the ends bring about the greater good which justifies the means of attaining it. References: Hudock, T. M. The End does not Jusifies the Means. Retrieved on January 26, 2009, from http://www. usc. edu/dept/LAS/ir/calis/pdfs/171w. PDF Machiavelli, N. (1515). The Prince. http://www. constitution. org/mac/prince00. htm Smith, C. (2008). The End does not Justify the Means. Retrieved on January 25, 2009, from http://www. nolanchart. Com/ article4573. html Walzer, M. (2004). Emergency Ethics. New Haven and London. Yale University Press. P. 33-55

Problems Associated With Food Shortages - 1397 Words

Food Shortages According to Rajendra Prasad, â€Å"Improvements in agricultural technological advances in developing countries is the only true way of alleviating the threat hunger. The available agricultural technology will not be able to meet the challenge of the present population growth of about a billion additional mouths every 12–14 year without detriment to natural resources and the environment and has to be suitably modified.† The food on our planet could potentially become very scarce because of the population â€Å"boom† and the threat of global warming. Is this scary? Is this something you should be worried about? Make the decision for yourself. If we do not change the way we†¦show more content†¦Not too long ago, in 1984, it appeared as if the rate of population increase was decreasing everywhere except near or in Africa and some parts of southern Asia. Today, the complication appears less promising because progress created toward decreasing birth rates has been slower than wanted. The world s population, now around five thousand three hundred million people, is increasing by around two hundred fifty thousand people every single day. It is guessed that one thousand million people will be born over the course of this current century. Over the course of the next ten years, the population of the urbanized world will increase by around fifty six million, while the amount of people living in developing places will expand to much over nine hundred million (United Nations Population Division, 1989; UNFPA, 1989). Basically, biggest increases will most likely be in the least wealthy countries - those countries that are least equipped to meet the requirements of the new arrivals and invest in their future. World wide, substantial food is produced to relevantly feed everyone, although this food and the technological advances to produce it might not continually reach those in need. As a result of food shortages, nearly one thousand million people do not get a sustainable amount of food to eat and over four hundred