Lifes Many Obstacles - Catcher :: essays research papers

Life’s Many Obstacles   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In J. D. Salinger’s â€Å"The Catcher in the Rye† the protagonist, Holden, is faced with many obstacles. Like most tragic heroes, he is a man who is reasonably happy at the beginning of the tragedy, but as the tragedy develops, some failure in his personality begins to affect events, so that his progress is a movement from happiness to misery. The ultimate misery results from his final awareness of his personalities limits or failures. Much of Holden’s misery is a result of his inability to successfully handle particular problems regarding adolescence.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Holden’s loneliness and overall low self-esteem are the primary adolescent motivaters for his breakdown. Holden’s general need for female companionship leads him to a reasonably accurate self-analysis: he thinks that he is the â€Å"biggest sex maniac you ever saw,† but later admits that he really doesn’t understand sex or know much about it. Holden, however, finds himself feeling rather â€Å"horny† and decides to call upon the service of Faith Cavendish. She â€Å"wasn’t exactly a whore or anything but she didn’t mind doing it once in a while...† Holden feels this experience will thrust him into what he considers the adult world. The conversation with Faith was a long one but inevitably led to nothing. An incursion into the adult world, or what Holden considers it to be, had been thwarted. In part, the failure happens because he doesn’t really know the rules, and also because loneliness is not a subs titute for experience.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Habitual lying is a trait not only found in adolescence but also in people of all ages. It is sometimes generated from a lack of self-esteem, boredom and self-preservation. Holden exaggerates many truths not out of a conscious decision to deceive, but rather to lend emphasis to facts he is unsure of as when he states, â€Å"Pencey Prep advertises in about a thousand magazines.† However, Holden also has no convictions against telling outright untruths if he can come out for the better on the other side of the exchange. â€Å"I’m the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life. It’s awful. If I’m on my way to the store to buy a magazine, even, and somebody asks me where I’m going, I’m liable to say I’m going to the opera. It’s terrible. So when I told old Spencer I had to go to the gym to get my equipment and stuff, that was a sheer lie.

Whats behind the trend? :: essays research papers

WHAT'S BEHIND THE ESCALATING TREND? AS we head into the new millennium, marrying mitt dating across cultural lines seem to be increasing at record rates. Almost anywhere you go these days, you will encounter mixed-race couples: at the grocery store, the mall, the theater, at a company function, at: a concert, even at church. And while for years the Black man-White woman couple was more prevalent, today many social observers say that the pairing of Black women and White men is just as common. That certainly seems to be the case in cities such as St. Paul-Minneapolis, where interracial couples long have thrived. But the social trend also is quite evident in other large cities such as Chicago and New York, Atlanta and Detroit, where there is a noticeable and striking increase in the number of mixed-race couples, especially Black women with White mates. In movies, on television and even on Broadway, the theme of interracial love has become en vogue. Wesley Snipes has starred in a number of movies in which his love interest was not Black: jungle Fever, One Night Stand and U.S. Marshal. The popular sitcom Ally McBeal has the lead character bemoaning a lost love, a Black doctor. Last year, Whitney Houston's production of Cinderella starred Brandy in the title role but the prince was not Black. And a new Broadway musical, Marie Christine, revolves around a relationship in the 1800s between a Black woman (Audra McDonald) and a White sea captain. "Interracial couples are more noticeable and prominent than ever," says a Midwest-based author who has observed the changes in social trends for some 40 years. "But the recent numbers of Black women being escorted by White men is, well, startling, to say the least." According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 1997 there were 311,000 interracial (Black-White) married couples, more than six times as many as in 1960. Of those, 201,000 were comprised of a Black husband and White wife, while there were 110,000 couples in which the husband was White and the wife Black. Some estimate that today 10 percent of married Black men have mates of another race. Some social observers say that the increase in cross-cultural relationships is tied directly to the breakdown of school and residential segregation and the 1967 overthrow of the last laws. That year the U.S. Supreme Court unconstitutional laws barring racial intermarriage in states. A mixed couple in Virginia had challenged the state's 1924 antimiscegenation statute in response to their being forced by local law officials to live apart, to jail or leave the state.

How did the cold war effect Australia Essay

The Cold War originally referred to a struggle or a conflict that had not escalated into fighting and military conflict, that is, had not escalated into a hot war. Between 1945 and 1991, the United States and the Soviet Union saw each other as potential enemies, threatening each other’s larger global economic, political, and military goals. The Cold War thus was global competition between the United States and the Soviet Union to shape and control the post-World War II global economic and political order. Throughout the Cold War, the United States saw the Soviet Union and communism as the greatest threat and challenge to its global leadership and dominance of an emerging global economy and industrial society. The United States was determined to limit the military and political expansion of Soviet power in order to prevent it from challenging American global economic and political dominance. In 1945 and 1946, there were increasing debates within the United States government over how to deal with the Soviet Union. Should the United States now see the Soviets as an â€Å"evil empire† that threatened to undermine the peace and freedom of an American-led â€Å"free world†? The influential 1946 memo to President Truman said that the Soviets were a global threat to peace. It said that the Soviet Union had a secret plan to conquer the world and spread communism throughout the world. The Soviets refusal to accept American leadership and a global democratic, capitalist community of nations, demonstrated that capitalism and communism could not peacefully co-exist. The Soviet domination of Eastern Europe after World War II and the continuing Soviet military build up was proof that the Soviet Union was threatening global peace and security The Domino Theory: The domino theory was given its specific game and meaning in 1959 by President Dwight D. Elsenhower. He used this theory to refer to the potential spread of communism in Southern-Asia. He specifically said, â€Å"you can have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have  the most profound influences† The influences that he is talking about were the influences of communism. He believed as many others did that if one country in Southern-Asia fell to communism then all surrounding countries would also. This Theory could be applied to the Soviet Union during 1917 to 1980. In this time the Soviet Union gained power by militarily taking land from other countries. The domino theory was a threat to world peace because every country was afraid of falling to communism. The Southern-Asian areas would be the starting domino and when it falls the rest of the dominoes (counties) would eventually fall with it. The domino theory effected Australia the same way as the rest of the world. They were scared that eventually they would fall under communism. NATO: Fifty years ago on April 4, 1949, twelve countries signed the Treaty of Washington and formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Therewere a total of sixteen countries that signed this treaty. Some of those countries were: Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, Australia and the United States. This organization was born out of the need to strengthen the capacity of a war-devastated Europe in order to defend itself against and deter a Soviet Union, which was rapidly consolidating itself under communism and strengthening its military power. NATO wanted to help the world maintain peace due to the Soviet Union’s threat on the non-Communist countries of Western Europe. NATO weren’t a threat to world peace, NATO were the organization that were against communism and wanted world peace. NATO tried to help non-communist countries against the Soviet Unions threats. Australia was a part of NATO organization, which was against communism. So the effect it had on Australia was good. By Australia signing up for NATO it  just influenced what everyone already felt and this was that they didn’t want to be taken over by the Soviet Union and by communism. Communism: Communism was one of the greatest issues during the cold war. The Soviet Union wanted to spread communism through out the world. Communism is a political and economic system in which the state dominates all aspects of the economy. Under communism, the state controls and runs industries and farms, and government leaders control and run all aspects of society in the name of â€Å"the people.† In communist’s countries, the government and elite leaders rule the country, believing that they know what is best for the people and their society. Whereas, in democratic capitalist countries such as the United States, individuals and corporations are free to control their own economic lives and businesses and the people shape and control their government and society. So the Soviet Union spreading communism throughout the globe was a major threat to the United States. Communism was a threat to world peace because no one wanted the government or the state to have complete control over them. People want to have their own lives and their own rights. So if communism took over it would eventually causes a nuclear/world war. Australia was affected by communism badly. Australia was scared to fall under the power of the Soviet Union and by communism. The fear of communism eventually overtaking Australia was initially the main reason for Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam War. The Cold War affected Australians in main ways: * Australian forces sent to Malayan emergency – June 1950  to accompany the South Vietnamese into combat. In 1965, Australia’s commitment to the war was stepped up to include combat troops. * Australian forces engaged in Confrontation – March 1965 Confrontation was a small-undeclared war fought between 1962-1966 during which Indonesia sought to destabilise the newly independent Malaysia. After two Indonesian raids on the Malayan peninsula in 1964 the Australian government deployed a battalion in Borneo. Indonesia and Malaysia signed a peace treaty in 1966. So although the Cold War was between the United States and the Soviet Union, Australia was still very much involved. Since Australia was allied with the United States, whatever affected the USA affected Australia.

A Place at the Table Movie Review

I’m glad that I was able to go watch the screening last week because the movie truly emphasized on the alarming situation in our country. I usually don’t like watching films that are relative to what happening to our nation but this movie really showed an impact to me. It's a national disgrace than nearly 50 million of our American neighbors live in homes that can't afford enough food. This compelling film explains why we have this problem, and, most importantly, what we can do to end it.I think everyone in America should see this film because it emphasizes how big the problem is. The movie powerfully displayed the real lives of actual people whom were struggling against hunger. And every single one of these individuals defied a common stereotypes of hungry people. I believe that many Americans believe that we can end U.S. hunger one person at a time, one donated perishable good at a time. They are all acting as a good Samaritan but they are wrong, as this film proves.W hen Ronald Reagan entered office in 1981, there were only a few hundred emergency feeding programs in America, most of which were traditional soup kitchens serving mostly the people who had been historically the most hungry, the single men with substance abuse or mental illness problems. Yet, as a direct result of the economic policies and social service cuts set in motion by Reagan, the number of emergency feeding programs in America skyrocketed, and continued to do so even after he left office.There are now more than 40,000 such programs in America, and roughly two-thirds of them are food pantries, where parents and their children, the elderly, and working people obtain free groceries. Meanwhile, hunger has soared. The truth is that these agencies simply don't have anything close to the resources needed to meet the demand. This vital film proves that the only way to truly end U.S. hunger is by advocating for fundamental change that include living wage jobs and a robust government safety net.

Business Ethics and Corporate Governance in Lic of India

OVERVIEW INSURANCE- AN INTRODUCTION Meaning: Insurance may be described as a social device to ensure protection of economic value of life and other assets. Under the plan of insurance, a large number of people associate themselves by sharing risks attached to individuals. The risks, which can be insured against, include fire, the perils of sea, death and accidents and burglary. Any risk contingent upon these, may be insured against at a premium commensurate with the risk involved. Thus, collective bearing of risk is insurance. Insurance = Collective Bearing of Risks| Insurance is a contract whereby, in return for the payment of premium by the insured, the insurers pay the financial losses suffered by the insured as a result of the occurrence of unforeseen events. The term â€Å"risk† is used to describe the possibility of adverse results flowing from any occurrence or the accidental happenings, which produce a monetary loss. Insurance is a pool in which a large number of people exposed to a similar risk make contributions to a common fund out of which the losses suffered by the unfortunate few, due to accidental events, are made good. The sharing of risk among large groups of people is the basis of insurance. Related article: Disadvantages of Ethics in Business The losses of an individual are distributed over a group of individuals. Insurance is nothing but a system of spreading the risk of one onto the shoulders of many. While it becomes somewhat impossible for a man to bear by himself 100% loss to his own property or interest arising out of an unforeseen contingency, Insurance is a method or process which distributes the burden of the loss on a number of persons within the group formed for this particular purpose. Definitions: Fundamental Definition In the words of D. S. Hansell, â€Å"Insurance accumulates contributions of all parties participating in the scheme. Contractual Definition In the words of Justice Tindall, â€Å"Insurance is a contract in which a sum of money is paid to the assured as consideration of insurer’s incurring the risk of paying a large sum upon a given contingency†. Working of Insurance Insurance Industry in India : The origin of life insurance in India can be traced back to 1818 with the establishm ent of the Oriental Life Insurance Company in Calcutta. It was conceived as a means to provide for English Widows. In those days a higher premium was charged for Indian lives than the non-Indian lives as Indian lives were considered riskier for coverage. The Bombay Mutual Life Insurance Society that started its business in 1870 was the first company to charge same premium for both Indian and non-Indian lives. In 1912, insurance regulation formally began with the passing of Life Insurance Companies Act and the Provident Fund Act. By 1938, there were 176 insurance companies in India. But a number of frauds during 1920s and 1930s tainted the image of insurance industry in India. In 1938, the first comprehensive legislation regarding insurance was introduced with the passing of Insurance Act of 1938 that provided strict State Control over insurance business. Insurance sector in India grew at a faster pace after independence. In 1956, Government of India brought together 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies under one nationalized monopoly corporation and formed Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) by an Act of Parliament, viz. LIC Act, 1956, with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crore. Before 1956, insurance was private with minimal government intervention. In 1956, life insurance was nationalized and a monopoly was created. In 1972, general insurance was nationalized as well. But, unlike life insurance, a different structure was created for the industry. India had the nineteenth largest insurance market in the world in 2003. Strong economic growth in the last decade combined with a population of over a billion makes it one of the potentially largest markets in the future. Insurance in India has gone through two radical transformations. One holding company was formed with four subsidiaries. As a part of the general opening up of the economy after 1992, a Government appointed committee recommended that private companies should be allowed to operate. It took six years to implement the recommendation. Private sector was allowed into insurance business in 2000. However, foreign ownership was restricted. No more than 26% of any company can be foreign-owned. A totally regulation free regime ended in 1912 with the introduction of regulation of life insurance. A comprehensive regulatory scheme came into place in 1938. This was disabled through nationalization in what follows; we examine the insurance industry in India through different regulatory regimes. But, the Insurance Act of 1938 became relevant again in 2000 with deregulation. With a strong hint of sustained growth of the economy in the recent past, the Indian market is likely to grow substantially over the next few decades. The rest of the chapter is organized as follows. First, we study the evolution of insurance business before nationalization. This is important because the denationalized structure brought back to play important legal rules from 1938. Next we analyze the nationalized era separately for life and property casualty business as they were not nationalized simultaneously. Much of post-independence history of insurance in India was the history of nationalized insurance. In the following section, we examine the new legal structure introduced after the industry was denationalized in 2000. In the penultimate section, we examine the current state of play and projected future of the industry. Important Milestones in the Life insurance business in India: * 1870: Bombay Mutual life assurance society is the first Indian owned life insurer. * 1912: The Indian Life Assurance Companies Act enacted as the first statute to regulate the life insurance business. 1928: The Indian Insurance Companies Act enacted to enable the government to collect statistical information about both life and non-life insurance businesses. * 1938: Earlier legislation consolidated and amended to by the Insurance Act with the objective of protecting the interests of the insuring public. * 1956: 245 Indian and foreign insurers and provident societies taken over by the central government and nationalized. LIC formed by an Act of Parliament- LIC Act 1956- with a capital contribution of Rs. 5 crores from the Government of India. * 1997: Insurance regulator IRDA set up. 2000: IRDA starts giving licenses to private insurers like Kotak Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential and HDFC Standard Life insurance first private insurers to sell a policy. * 2001: Royal Sundaram Alliance first non life insurer to sell a policy. * 2002: Banks were allowed to sell insurance plans. As Third Party Administrations (TPAs) enter the scene, insurers start setting non-life claims in the cashless mode. * 2004-05: The Government proposed for increasing the foreign equity stake to 49%. * 2007: First Online Insurance portal, set up by an Indian Insurance Broker, Bonsai Insurance Broking Pvt. Ltd. LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION ACT, 1956 An act to provide for the nationalization of life insurance business in India by transferring all such business to a Corporation established for the purpose and to provide for the regulation and control of the business of the Corporation and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. BUSINESS ETHICS Ethics are  moral guidelines  which govern  good behavior. So behaving ethically is  doing what is morally right. Behaving ethically in business is widely regarded as good business practice. To provide you with a couple of quotes: Ethical principles and standards in business: * Define acceptable conduct in business * Should underpin how management make decisions An important distinction to remember is that behaving ethically is not quite the same thing as behaving lawfully: * Ethics  are about what is right and what is wrong * Law  is about what is lawful and what is unlawful You will probably note the link between business ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR). The two concepts are closely linked: * A socially responsible firm should be an ethical firm * An ethical firm should be socially responsible However there is also a distinction between the two: * CSR is about responsibility to all stakeholders and not just shareholders * Ethics is about  morally correct behavior How do businesses ensure that its directors, managers and employees act ethically? A common approach is to implement a  code of practice. Ethical codes are increasingly popular – particularly with larger businesses and cover areas such as: * Corporate social responsibility * Dealings with customers and supply chain * Environmental policy & actions * Rules for personal and corporate integrity NEED OR IMPORTANCE OF BUSINESS ETHICS These 12 points below discuss the need, importance of business ethics: 1. Stop business malpractices: Some unscrupulous businessmen do business malpractices by indulging in unfair trade practices like black marketing, artificial high pricing, adulteration, cheating in weights and measures, selling of duplicate and harmful products, hoarding etc. These malpractices are harmful to the consumers. Business ethics help to stop these business malpractices. 2. Improve customers’ confidence: Business ethics are needed to improve the customers’ confidence about the quantity, quality, price, etc of the products. The customers have more trust and confidence in the businessmen who follow ethical rules. 3. Survival of business: Business ethics are mandatory for the survival of the business. The businessmen who do not follow it will have short term success, but they will fail in the long run. This is because they can cheat a consumer only once. After that, the consumer will not buy products from that businessman. He will also tell others not to buy from that businessman. So this will defame his image and provoke a negative publicity. This will result in the failure of the business. Therefore, if the businessmen do not follow ethical rules, he will fail in the market. 4. Safeguarding consumers’ rights: The consumer has many rights such as right to health and safety, right to be informed, right to choose, right to be heard, right to redress, etc. But many businessmen do not respect and protect these rights. Business ethics are must to safeguard these rights of the consumers. 5. Protecting employees and shareholders: Business ethics are required to protect the interest of employees, shareholders, competitors, dealers, suppliers, etc. It protects them from exploitation through unfair trade practices. . Develops good relations: Business ethics are important to develop good and friendly relations between business and society. This will result in a regular supply of good quality goods and services at low prices to the society. It will also result in profits for the businessmen thereby resulting in growth of economy. 7. Creates good image: Business ethics create a good image for the business and businessmen. If the businessmen follow all ethical rules, then they will be fully accepted and not criticized by the society. The society will always support those businessmen who follow this necessary code of conduct. 8. Smooth functioning: If the business follows all the business ethics, then the employees, shareholders, consumers, dealers and suppliers will all be happy. So they will give full cooperation to the business. This will result in the smooth functioning of the business. 9. Consumer movement: Business ethics are gaining importance because of the growth of the consumer movement. Today the consumers are aware of their rights. Now they are more organized and cannot be cheated easily. They take actions against those businessmen who indulge in bad business practices. They boycott poor quality, harmful, high priced and duplicate goods. Therefore, the only way to survive in business is to be honest and fair. 10. Consumer satisfaction: Today, consumer is the king of the market. Any business simply cannot survive without the consumers. Therefore, the main aim or objective is consumer satisfaction. If the consumer is not satisfied, then there will be no sales and thus no profits too. Consumer will be satisfied only if the business follows all the business ethics, and hence are highly needed. 11. Importance of labour: Labour i. e. employees or workers play a very crucial role in the success of a business. Therefore, business must use business ethics while dealing the employees. The business must give them proper wages and salaries and provide them with better working conditions. There must be good relations between employer and employees. The employees must also be given proper welfare facilities. 12. Healthy competition: The business must use business ethics while dealing with the competitors. They must have healthy competition with the competitors. They must not do cut throat competition. Similarly, they must give equal opportunities to small-scale business. They must avoid monopoly. This is because monopoly is harmful for the consumers. CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Good corporate governance contributes to a company’s competitiveness and reputation, Corporate governance  is â€Å"the system by which companies are directed and controlled†. It involves regulatory and market mechanisms, and the roles and relationships between a company’s management, its board, its shareholders  and other  stakeholders, and the goals for which the corporation is governed. In contemporary business corporations, the main external stakeholder groups are shareholders, debt holders, trade  creditors, uppliers, customers and communities affected by the corporation's activities. . Internal stakeholders are the  board of directors,  executives, and other employees. Much of the contemporary interest in corporate governance is concerned with mitigation of the conflicts of interests between stakeholders. Ways of mitigating or preventing these conflicts of interests incl ude the processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions which have impact on the way a company is controlled. An important theme of corporate governance is the nature and extent of  accountability  of people in the  business. IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE GOVERNANCE The need, significance or importance of corporate governance is listed below: 1. Changing Ownership Structure: In recent years, the ownership structure of companies has changed a lot. Public financial institutions, mutual funds, etc are the single largest shareholder in most of the large companies. So, they have effective control on the management of the companies. They force the companies to use corporate governance. That is, they put pressure on the management to become more efficient, transparent, accountable, etc. They also ask the management to make consumer-friendly policies, to protect all social groups and to protect the environment. So, the changing ownership structure has resulted in corporate governance. 2. Importance of Social Responsibility: Today, social responsibility is given a lot of importance. The Board of Directors has to protect the rights of the customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, local communities, etc. This is possible only if they use corporate governance. 3. Growing Number of Scams: In recent years, many scams, frauds and corrupt practices have taken place. Misuse and misappropriation of public money are happening everyday in India and worldwide. It is happening in the stock market, banks, financial institutions, companies and government offices. In order to avoid these scams and financial irregularities, many companies have started corporate governance. 4. Indifference on the part of Shareholders: In general, shareholders are inactive in the management of their companies. They only attend the Annual general meeting. Postal ballot is still absent in India. Proxies are not allowed to speak in the meetings. Shareholders associations are not strong. Therefore, directors misuse their power for their own benefits. So, there is a need for corporate governance to protect all the stakeholders of the company. 5. Globalization: Today most big companies are selling their goods in the global market. So, they have to attract foreign investor and foreign customers. They also have to follow foreign rules and regulations. All this requires corporate governance. Without Corporate governance, it is impossible to enter, survive and succeed the global market. 6. Takeovers and Mergers: Today, there are many takeovers and mergers in the business world. Corporate governance is required to protect the interest of all the parties during takeovers and mergers. 7. SEBI: SEBI has made corporate governance compulsory for certain companies. This is done to protect the interest of the investors and other stakeholders. PROFILE OF THE ORGANISATION LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA Life Insurance Corporation of India  (LIC) is the largest  insurance group  and  investment company  in India. It’s a state-owned where  Government of India has 100% stake. LIC also funds close to 24. 6% of the Indian Government's expenses. It has assets estimated of  13. 25 trillion (US$264. 4 billion). It was founded in 1956 with the merger  of 243 insurance companies and provident societies. Headquartered in  Mumbai, financial and commercial capital of India, the Life Insurance Corporation of India currently has 8 zonal Offices and 113 divisional offices located in different parts  of India, around 3500 servicing offices including 204 8 branches, 54 Customer Zones, 25 Metro Area Service Hubs and a number of Satellite Offices located in different cities and towns of  India and has a network of 13,37,064 individual agents, 242 Corporate Agents, 79 Referral Agents, 98 Brokers and 42 Banks (as on 31. 3. 011) for soliciting life insurance business from the public. The slogan of LIC is â€Å"Yogakshemam Vahamyaham† which translates from Sanskrit to â€Å"Your welfare is our responsibility†. The slogan is derived from the Ancient Hindu text, the  Bhagavad Gita's 9th Chapter, 22nd verse. The literal translation from Sanskrit to English is â€Å"I carry what you require†. The slogan can be seen in the logo and is written in Devanagiri script below the hands holding the lamp. | Type | State-owned| Industry| Financial services| Founded| 1 September 1956| Headquarters| Mumbai,  India| Key people| D. K. Mehrotra, (Chairman)| Products| Life  and  insurance, investment,  mutual fund| Total assets| 13. 25 trillion (US$264. 34 billion)(2010)| Owner(s)| Government of India| Employees| 115,966 (2010)| Subsidiaries| LIC Housing Finance LIC Cards Services LIC Nomura Mutual Fund| Website| www. licindia. in| OBJECTIVES OF LIC OF INDIA * Spread Life Insurance widely and in particular to the rural areas and to the socially and economically backward classes with a view to reaching all insurable persons in the country and providing them adequate financial cover against death at a reasonable cost. Maximize mobilization of people's savings by making insurance-linked savings adequately attractive. * Bear in mind, in the investment of funds, the primary obligation to its policyholders, whose money it holds in trust, without losing sight of the interest of the community as a whole; the funds to be deployed to the best advantage of the investors a s well as the community as a whole, keeping in view national priorities and obligations of attractive return. * Conduct business with utmost economy and with the full realization that the moneys belong to the policyholders. Act as trustees of the insured public in their individual and collective capacities. * Meet the various life insurance needs of the community that would arise in the changing social and economic environment. * Involve all people working in the Corporation to the best of their capability in furthering the interests of the insured public by providing efficient service with courtesy. * Promote amongst all agents and employees of the Corporation a sense of participation, pride and job satisfaction through discharge of their duties with dedication towards achievement of Corporate Objective. BOARD OF DIRECTORS Shri D. K. Mehrotra,  (CHAIRMAN, LIC ) Shri T. S. Vijayan,  (Managing Director, LIC ) Shri Thomas Mathew T. (Managing Director, LIC ) Shri Sushobhan Sarker  (Managing Director, LIC ) Shri R. Gopalan,  (Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs,   Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India. ) Shri  D. K. Mittal,  (Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Govt. of India. ) Shri  A. K. Roy,  (Chairman cum Managing Director, GIC. ) Shri M. V. Tanksale,  (Chairman & Managing Director, Central Bank of India ) Lt. General Arvind Mahajan (Retd. ) Shri Anup Prakash Garg Shri Sanjay Jain Shri Ashok Singh Shri K. S. Sampath Shri Amardeep Singh Cheema ORGANISATION STRUCTURE OPERATIONS AWARDS WON BY LIC OF INDIA IN 2011-12 | Readers Digest â€Å"Trusted Brand† in the platinum category. | | Superbrands| | Asian Leadership Award| | LIC has been ranked :† Number One Trusted Service Brand† in the EconomicTimes Brand Equity Survey| | Rated as the â€Å"Most Preferred Life Insurance Company of the year† at the CNBC| | Dainik Bhaskar Group| | Bombay Chamber Of Commerce| | ABCI| | Star News- Customer Centric Brand Award| PROBLEMS OF LIC OF INDIA – The existing insurer, LIC and GIC, have created a large group of dissatisfied  customers due to the poor quality of service. Hence there will be shift of large number of customers from LIC and GIC to the private insurers. – LIC may face problem of surrender of a large number of policies, as new insurers will woo them by offer of innovative products at lower prices. – The corporate clients under group schemes and salary  savings schemes may shift their loyalty from LIC to the private insurers. – There is a likelihood of exit of young dynamic managers from LIC to the private insurer, as they will get higher package of remuneration. – LIC has overstaffing and with the introduction of full computerization, a large number of the employees will be surplus. However they cannot be retrenched. Hence the operating costs of LIC  will not be reduced. This will be a  disadvantage in  the competitive market, as the new insurers will operate with lean office and high technology to reduce the operating costs. – GIC and its four subsidiary companies are going to face more challenges, because their management expenses are very high due to surplus staff. They can't reduce their number due to service rules. – Management of claims will  put strain on the financial resources, GIC and its subsidiaries since it is not up the mark. LIC has more than to 60 products and GIC has more than 180 products in their kitty, which are outdated in the present context as they are not suitable to the changing needs of the customers. Not only that they are not competent enough to complete with the new products offered by foreign companies in the market. – Reaching the consumer expectations on par with foreign companies such as better yield and much  improved quality of  service particularly in the  area of settlement of  claims, issue of new  policies, transfer of the policies and revival of policies in the liberalized market is very difficult to LIC and GIC. Intense competition from new insurers in  winning the consumers by multi-distribution channels, which will  include agents, brokers, corporate intermediaries, bank branches, affinity groups and direct marketing through telesales and interest. – The market very soon will be flooded by a large number of products by fairly large number of insurers operating in the Indian market. Even with limited range of products offered by LIC and GIC, the consumers are confused in the market. Their confusion will further increase in  the face for large number of products in the  market. The  existing level of awareness of the consumers for insurance products is very low. It is so because only 62% of the Indian population is literate and less than 10% educated. Even the educated consumers are ignorant about the various products of the insurance. – The insurers will have to face  an acute problem of the redressal of the consumers, grievances for deficiency in products and services. – Increasing awareness will  bring number of legal cases filled  by the consumers against insurers is likely  to increase substantially in future. Major challenges in canalizing the growth of insurance sector are product innovation, distribution network, investment management, customer  service  and education. SWOT ANALYSIS OF LIC OF INDIA STRENGTHS: * India’s top insurance company and best among Public sector company. * Provide better infrastructure than any other Public company. * Brand Image * Govt Guarantee * Claims settlement * Pan India presence * La rge product portfolio WEAKNESSES: * Average waiting time for the customer is 15 to 20 minutes. * No separate customer care unit * Lethargic Staff * Mediocre Top Bosses Large scale Corruption in Main Office * Ultra-Slow decision making process * Internal problems between Top Management and lower cadre Employees OPPORTUNITIES: * Setup a marketing cell at the local branch. * Ensure that policies are diversified across several customer segments * Pension Market * Health Insurance * Large Real Estate portfolio THREATS: * Growth of private players has led to shifting emphasis from public sector companies. * Internal discord * New players * Red-tapism COMPETITION INFORMATION Main Competitors of LIC * SBI Life Insurance Company * ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Birla Sun Life Insurance Company * HDFC Standard Life Insurance Company * Reliance Life Insurance Company COMPARISON 1. Policies and Premium 2. Claims Paid 3. Profit of the year 2011-2012 4. Life Fund Policies and Premium Cla ims Paid Profit of the Year 2010-11 Research Methodology Research is the process of systematic and in depth study to search for a particular subject topic or area of investigation backed by the Collection, Compilation, Analysis or Interpretation of data. It is more systematic study or activity directed towards discovery and the development of organized body of knowledge. Success of Research depends upon the scientific methods used. There are various methods for Collecting the data. But it is not advisable and even possible to used all the methods. Every researcher must know the purpose of his study. For doing research one must set questions accordingly one has to find out and the answers through his own investigation. This Study is conducted to analyze the business ethics and corporate governance in Life Insurance Corporation of India. The data are basically segregated into two parts: a) Primary Data b) Secondary Data. a) Primary Data :- Primary Data is collected during the course of doing experiments in an experimental research. There are several methods for collecting primary data. b) Secondary Data:- Secondary  data, is data collected by someone other than the user. Secondary data are data which are collected by someone in past that includes previous year annual report, magazines, project report etc. For my project report, I  had used secondary data under which I  used annual reports which includes  balance sheets, P;L a/c, and other general information. Limitation of the Project Report Followings are the limitations of the project work taken by me: ? One of the limitations of this project study is of the time limitation. It is somehow difficult to fully know any big organization like LIC of India in this limited time  period. ? Senior managers and others officers in LIC of India are also very busy. They do not have enough time for solving our queries in details. Objective of the study The objectives have been classified by me in this project form personal to professional but here I am not disclosing my personal objectives which have been achieved by me while doing the project. Only professional objectives which are being covered by me in this project are as following- * To know about the business ethics and corporate governance of the organization. * To know the contribution of the organization to the society. * To know about the reliability of the organization. Scope of the Study So I am working on the project Business Ethics and Corporate Governance in LIC of India with the scope that I will get to know: * What ethics has the organization adopted? * What is organization doing for the welfare of the society? How reliable is the organization? Vision and Mission of LIC of India Mission â€Å"Explore and enhance the quality of life of people through financial security by providing products and services of aspired attributes with competitive returns, and by rendering resources for economic development. † Vision â€Å"A trans-nationally competitive financial conglomerate of significance to societies and Pride of India. † Core Values of LIC of Ind ia * Caring and Courtesy * Initiative and Innovation * Integrity and Transparency * Quality and Returns * Participation and Relationship Trustworthiness and Reliability Ethics followed by LIC of India * Provide insurance cover and financial security to every insurable person. * Conduct all aspects of business keeping in view its interest and national priorities. * Provide them prompt, efficient and courteous service. * Act as trustees of their funds and invest the fund to their best advantage. * Conduct business with utmost economy and on sound business principles. Social advantages to LIC of India †¢ Providing organizational guidelines for business integrity in turbulent times. Helping employees deal with ethical issues they face daily on the job. †¢ Building solid company teamwork and productivity. †¢ Creating an insurance policy – to help ensure that company policies and procedures are legal. †¢ Avoiding criminal â€Å"acts of omission† which can lower potential fines. †¢ Reinforcing the values associated with quality management, strategic planning, and diversity management. †¢ Promoting a strong public image. Corporate Governance in LIC of India Adherence to good Corporate Governance is an integral part of the philosophy of LIC’s business conduct. The driving forces behind institutionalizing the practices of good Corporate Governance are various proactive measures, initiatives and guidance by the Government, LIC Board and its Sub Committees along with LIC’s Human Resources and Agents. Our practice of operational transparency, information sharing, accountability and ensuring dialogue with all the stakeholders in addition to formulation of value-based policies and practices at all levels made us to imbibe good Corporate Governance. This has enabled us to enhance our Brand Equity, strengthen stake of shareholders and maintain a healthy environment within the organization. This has led to a committed organizational focus on the customer service which in turn has contributed to a good growth in business. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Corporate Social Responsibility is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large. Sponsorship of CSR by LIC of India 2009-12 I. Group Schemes and Social Security Claims under various Social Security Schemes: 1, 02,950 claims amounting to Rs. 287. 4 crore paid under Social Security Schemes. a) Scholarships of Rs. 102. 53 crore was disbursed to 13, 78,744 students as a free add on benefit to the children of the members of Janashree Bima Yojana under Shiksha Sahayog Yojana during the year 2010-11. b) Scholarship for total amount of Rs. 81. 85 crore was distributed to 8, 40,568 students as a free add on benefit to the children of members of AABY Shiks ha Sahayog Yojana during the year 2010-11. Social Security Cover: Total 2. 57 crore lives have been given insurance cover under various Social Security Scheme during 2010-11. Aam Admi Bima Yojana Aam Admi Bima Yojana was launched on 2nd Oct. 2007 and a total of 47, 01,814 lives under 17 states were insured during the year bringing the total lives covered under the scheme since inception to 1,77,47,480. II. Investment in Social Sector The total investments of the Corporation amounted to Rs. 12, 66, 539. 04 crore as at 31st March, 2011. The Corporation subscribed an amount of Rs. 65, 521. 83 crore (face value) and Rs. 40, 254. 38 crore (face value) to the Securities of the Government of India and the new loan issues of the various State Governments respectively during 2010-2011. SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITIES: It has been the constant endeavour of the Corporation to provide security to as many people as possible and to channelise the savings mobilised for the welfare of the people at large. To meet this end, the Corporation has been promoting Social Welfare through investments in Infrastructure and Social Sector which includes: * Projects/Schemes for generation and transmission of Power, * Housing Sector, * Water Supply and Sewerage Projects/Schemes, * Development of Roads, Bridges ; Road Transport. The total Investment in these sectors during 2010-11 was Rs. 5,235. 94 crore. The investments by way of Central, State and Other Government Guaranteed Marketable securities, Loans, Debentures ; Equity investments in Infrastructure and Social Sector amounts to Rs. 7,49,150 crore. III. LIC Golden Jubilee Foundation Under ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’, and to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of LIC in the year 2006, ‘LIC Golden Jubilee Foundationâ€⠄¢ Trust was formed with the objective of promoting education, health, relief of poverty or distress and advancement of other objects of general public utility. As on 31. 3. 011 LIC has provided a Corpus of Rs. 90 crore to this Foundation and the interest earned is utilized for funding various projects for charitable purposes. As on date, LIC Golden Jubilee Foundation has supported 165 projects to the extent of Rs. 15. 66 crore. Under this Trust a scholarship scheme is also formulated by name LIC Golden Jubilee Scholarship Scheme of the Trust to give scholarships at the rate of Rs. 10000/- per annum to meritorious students belonging to economically weaker sections of society to enable them to pursue higher education at graduation level. Scholarships were given to 802, 881 and 967 students during the years 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-11 respectively. ANALYSIS 1. Market Share 2. Goodwill Value Over its existence of around 50 years, Life Insurance Corporation of India, which commanded a  monopoly  of soliciting and selling life insurance in India, created huge surpluses, and contributed around 7% of India's  GDP  in 2006. The Corporation, which started its business with around 300 offices, 5. 7 million policies and a  corpus  of INR 459 million (US$ 92 million as per the 1959 exchange rate of roughly Rs. for a US $,  has grown to 25000 servicing around 350 million policies and a  corpus  of over  8 trillion (US$145. 6 billion). The Economic Times Brand Equity Survey 2010 rated LIC as the No. 4 Service Brand of the Country [6]. Though in the year 2010 is ranked at 4, the organization is consistently among the top rated service company of the India [7]. RANK-COMPANY 1-VODAFONE, 2-airtel, 3-SBI (STAT E BANK OF INDIA), 4-LIC (LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION). From the year 2006, LIC is continuously winning the Readers' Digest Trusted brand award [8]. According to The Brand Trust Report [9] 2011, LIC is the 8th most trusted brand of India. . Growth Visibility of LIC of India FINDINGS After doing this project I found out that- * LIC of India conduct all aspects of the business keeping in view the interests of the community and the national priorities. * Provide insurance cover and financial security to every insurable segment including the socially and economically weaker sections of the society. * LIC of India provides their customers with prompt, efficient and courteous service. * It acts as trustees to their customer’s funds and invests them to their best advantage. * It builds and maintains enduring relationship with the customers. It also keeps the customers informed about their products and services. * It also promote a sense of participation among the workforce and make th em partners in progress. * It also works towards their job satisfaction and sense of pride. * It provide and environment and opportunities for growth to enable them to realize their full potential. * It also take steps to develop professional skills of the workforce to enable them to handle their assignments more effectively. * LIC is not only the largest but the most popular life insurance company in India.   LIC has gained the consumer trust and credibility over the time that is essential to sustain in the insurance business. RECOMMENDATIONS Though, LIC of India is a very reliable and ethical company. But still there are some points which should be taken care of in future to prevent any kind of risks to the organization: * More Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives should be taken in near future in order to increase its reliability among the society. * Integrity connotes strength and stability. It means taking the high road by practicing the highest ethical standards. Demonstrating integrity shows completeness and soundness in the organization. * Blaming others, claiming victimhood, or passing the buck may solve short-term crises, but refusal to take responsibility erodes respect and cohesion in an organization. Ethical people take responsibility for their actions. * Quality should be more than making the best product, but should extend to every aspect of your work. A person who recognizes quality and strives for it daily has a profound sense of self-respect, pride in accomplishment, and attentiveness that affects everything. From organization’s memos to the presentations, everything it touch should communicate professionalism and quality. * Trust is hard to earn and even harder to get back after you've lost it. Everyone who comes in contact with the organization must have trust and confidence in how you do business. * Managers and executives should uphold the ethical standards for the entire organization. A leader is out front providing an example that others will follow. * Good ethics should be most noticeable at the top. Every employee must be accountable to the same rules. Corporate values or ethics initiative must be â€Å"sold† and â€Å"marketed† aggressively throughout the organization. Every forum and medium should be used to spread the good message. Of course, it will only be credible if the organization is practicing what it preaches. * The ethics fervor should extend to the next generation of employees. The longer it lasts, the more ingrained the principles will become. CO NCLUSION Business ethics present pertinent solutions to the concerns and dilemmas faced by global organizations. Ethical leadership is essential for the long-term survival and success of any organization. In the era of globalization, business ethics considerably influence shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, competitors, government and civil society. Organizations should focus on the ethical issues faced by them in various functional areas like marketing, finance, human resources, production, ICT etc. The commendable work done by global corporations in inculcating and practicing business ethics underscores the importance of value based leadership in international business scenario. Corporate governance is of paramount importance to a company and is almost as important as its primary business plan. When executed effectively, it can prevent corporate scandals, fraud and the civil and criminal liability of the company. It also enhances a company’s image in the public eye as a self-policing company that is responsible and worthy of shareholder and debt holder capital. It dictates the shared philosophy, practices and culture of an organization and its employees. A corporation without a system of corporate governance is often regarded as a body without a soul or conscience. Corporate governance keeps a company honest and out of trouble. If this shared philosophy breaks down, then corners will be cut, products will be defective and management will grow complacent and corrupt. The end result is a fall that will occur when gravity – in the form of audited financial reports, criminal investigations and federal probes – finally catches up, bankrupting the company overnight. Dishonest and unethical dealings can cause shareholders to flee out of fear, distrust and disgust. BIBLIOGRAPHY * http://www. usinessdictionary. com/article/618/why-is-corporate-governance-important/ * http://www. licindia. in/ * http://www. businessreviewindia. in/top_ten/top-10-business/insurance-top-10 * http://www. licindia. in/GJF_aboutus. htm * http://www. licindia. in/Annual_Report_2011. pdf * http://www. irda. gov. in/ * https://www. google. co. in/ * http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Corporate_social_responsibility * http://www. mallenbaker. net/csr/definition. php * h ttp://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Life_Insurance_Corporation_of_India

Negative Aspects of Reality Shows

In recent years we have seen how the reality shows have Increasingly Invaded our screens, and there is something that captivates people to the point that change their way of life and are carried away by this â€Å"fever†. Most of the people who watch this kind of shows believe that all what they see is real so they begin to feel identify with them. The audience imitates they behaviors and most of the time it Is negative.They turn violent, Irritable and susceptible to reactions. A big percentage of people who watches this believe that their way of being is normal, but it is not like that. There are certain manners or behaviors that we are used to watch, but it doesn't mean it is normal at the point that we accept it as a way of life. What is true about this is that producers control everything and can alter or distort the actions of the actors. The actors are aware of this because when they sign their contract It Is specified over there.So, can we believe In everything we see? A key for success of these shows is the humiliation of the â€Å"actors†. Like American Idol or many others, because the jury criticizes them In a derogative way so the contestants leave the stage but being teased. The audience assimilates this as a normal process so if they don't have skills they begin to feel shame of it or scared to people who can watch them doing things. Another negative thing is that they can think that humiliation is a necessary step to succeed, thing that is not true.We hooked not allow ourselves to be influenced by these shows and that Is why there are recommendations while watching them, such as: It Is not recommended for children and young people, therefore they can understand and analyze the background and have a very strong personality. All in all we must be alert and aware to see a reality show, because this can lead to unexpected and negative changes. The best one can do is to turn this experience into something good and know how to select those programs that teach us and help us develop.

Artist: Andy Warhol Essay

Perhaps no artist in American history has embraced ambiguity more willingly than Andy Warhol. To this day, scholarly interpretations of his multi-faceted creative output struggle to define Warhol’s essential aesthetic, and also to resolve the central debate relative to his artistic career, which centers around crucial definitions of â€Å"pop art† and â€Å"avant garde† expression. Warhol, regarded by many as an apologist for twentieth century American culture, receives an equal portion of accolade for being twentieth century American culture’s most accomplished satirist and critic. As an artist with â€Å"roots in commercial design, who, by 1965, was already a celebrity commanding large commissions and shows in major galleries† Warhol occupied a unique aesthetic position which allowed him to forward a number of ground-breaking artistic works which disturb â€Å"the image of Pop as a crass, commercial cousin to the more genuinely radical movements of the period† while remaining a successful capitalist and popular celebrity-artist. (Rifkin 647) Warhol remains a â€Å"leading exponent of the pop art movement,† which is viewed by art historians and critics as an important movement in the mid-twentieth century. Warhol’s use of â€Å"commonplace objects such as dollar bills, soup cans, soft-drink bottles, and soap-pad boxes† is his paintings, collages, and other works emphasized what was then considered a bold new voice in experimental art. paradoxically, the â€Å"experimental† attributes of this new art drew their origin from common, everyday cultural objects, with which Warhol seemed to be attempting to â€Å"ridicule and to celebrate American middle-class values by erasing the distinction between popular and high culture† while simultaneously attempting to blur or erase the line between popular expression and experimental techniques. (â€Å"Warhol, Andy†) In addition to blurring the lines between pop-art and avant garde experimentalism, Warhol also blurred the lines between the personal and impersonal in his art. His idiom incorporated elements of modern society, particularly repetitiveness and â€Å"emptiness† which played equally visceral roles in the impact of his works. In doing so, Warhol admitted into his art, a personal element which often made us of erotic and sexual themes, but which were expressed by way of an intermediary medium or set of contemporary images which seemed to be rife with symbolic association but which might just as easily comprise merely a clever pastiche or surface-level recapitulation of social mores and icons. Warhol produced â€Å"multi-image, mass-produced silk-screen paintings: for many of these, such as the portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Jacqueline Kennedy, he employed newspaper photographs† which allowed for an impersonal medium and yet which produced indelible, iconic visual statements. (â€Å"Warhol, Andy†) Warhol’s idiom developed from his lived-experience. Rather than utilize his personal life for theme and subject matter, he incorporated his biographical experiences: those of a Bohemian, East-coast avant-gard artist into his techniques and in to his supporting cast of assistants. In the 1960’s Warhol â€Å"and his assistants worked out of a large New York studio dubbed the â€Å"Factory. † In the mid-1960s Warhol began making films, suppressing the personal element in marathon essays on boredom. In The Chelsea Girls (1966), a seven-hour voyeuristic look into hotel rooms, he used projection techniques that constituted a startling divergence from established methods. Among his later films are Trash (1971) and L’Amour (1973). With Paul Morrissey, in 1974 Warhol also made the films Frankenstein and Dracula. In 1973, Warhol launched the magazine Interview, a publication centered upon his fascination with the cult of the celebrity. † (â€Å"Warhol, Andy†) The influence of his life upon Warhol’s notions of compositional methods gained reinforcement from similar avant-gard artists, poets, and publishers in the 1960’s. Many of Warhol’s associates â€Å"Floating Bear, and Ed Sanders’s Fuck You: A Magazine of the Arts transmitted gossip and/as new literary works; for the extended community who read them, the little magazines functioned as a kind of group epistolary romance† which indicated the juxtapositioning of biography and artistic expression. As such, the â€Å"fast-paced intimacy of these productions appealed to Warhol, who worked to integrate these attributes of the mimeograph medium, as well as the personalities who populated the journals, into the production and distribution of his early films† and also, into his photographically inspired portraits and other paintings which had revitalized a thought-to-be-dying sub-genre. (Rifkin 647) So, in some ways, Warhol seemed to be acting directly against the contemporary social mores of his time: he was openly homosexual, lived as a Bohemian reveler, with a reputation for excess and he made dramatically ambiguous public statements which seemed to stoke the fires of controversy, he was also a self-professed lover of contemporary culture and pop-culture. A good case in point is Warhol’s famous response to â€Å"Gerard Malanga’s â€Å"Andy Warhol on Automation: An Interview,† originally printed in Chelsea magazine in 1968: â€Å"Q. How will you meet the challenge of automation? A. By becoming part of it† (Pratt, 37). In the end, Warhol’s statement about automation is both self-effacing and self-elevating; he is suggesting, in fact, that he not only understands the ways and means of contemporary culture but understands how to submit to it in order to glean artistic and creative insight and power, but he is also admitting to a denial (or subsuming) of the individual into the non-personal culture as a whole. For example, Warhol said he â€Å"thought that â€Å"making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art† and recommended that in love affairs we follow at least one rule: â€Å"I’ll pay you if you pay me. † (null18) Warhol’s comments frequently invited cultural projection; that is, his statements allowed an individual or group of individuals to foist their own beliefs onto his words. This is a similar operative method which propels most of his important creative work as well. Warhol seemingly understood the public persona to be a function of artistic expression– and vice-versa. At play in all of Warhol’s works is â€Å"an interaction between Warhol’s supposed subjectlessness and the suspicion that this is, in fact, an impossibility. The desire to penetrate this impassivity has inflected much of the critical and art historical commentary on Warhol as well, where a dialectic frequently unfolds between the attempt to define the artist’s meaning and the tacit assumption that neither he nor his art will provide the means to do so. † (Joseph) In order to understand Warhol’s work or his life, it is necessary to conceded that they are absolutely inseparable. â€Å"In a large portion of the writing on Warhol, the result is an analysis that cedes to projection, with the overall impression being one of an ineffectual and unenlightening hermeneutic spinning out of control. â€Å"[I]t’s often impossible to distinguish the authentic Warhol from the act,† which, of course, concedes another fact: that Warhol’s expressive and creative techniques alone may fail to rise to the level of enduring and meaningful art sans the impact of his public persona and biographical details. (Joseph) From this perspective, many of Warhol’s attempted works, from his dozens of films, to his thousands of silk-screens and sketches, may be of less intrinsic value than is widely supposed: â€Å"the role of avant-gardes has always been, as John Ashbery maintained in his founding article on Pop, to â€Å"call attention †¦ to the ambiguity of the artistic experience, to the crucial confusion about the nature of art† rather than to express, with finality, assumptions about the form and function of art, per se. (Rifkin 647) Warhol seems forever poised between these two worlds: the world of the pop-artist with its attending celebrity and riches and the world of the avant gard experimentalist with its womb-like world of underground poetry, music, theater and â€Å"fringe† characters of all kinds. Against this central dichotomy, Warhol’s aesthetic emerges like a spiderweb over a canyon and anyone attempting to cross over upon it, including, perhaps, Warhol himself is probably doomed to experience a very long fall. Part of the fall is in the â€Å"challenge still posed by the core of Warhol’s art is that of articulating the means by which meaning is produced in the midst of such impassability. If Warhol’s archive stands as a sort of metonym of its subject, then the profusion and disparity of materials within justly calls to mind one of the most famous maxims from The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (from A to B and Back Again): â€Å"I never fall apart because I never fall together. † (Joseph) A paradigm for Warhol’s unique melding of popular and avant garde techniques is his famous works in portraiture. This genre where he so famously distinguished himself also shows his propensity for making profitable art, and for celebrating the celebrity social worlds he so loved. His reinvention of portraiture, though viewed as astonishingly radical, simply incorporated the most modern of new visual technologies at the time: the photograph, to revitalize what had been a dead genre of patining and visual art. Warhol’s conclusion was that â€Å"the best method of electrifying the old-master portrait tradition with sufficient energy to absorb the real, living world was, now that we see it in retrospect, painfully obvious. The most commonplace source of visual information about our famous contemporaries is, after all, the photographic image, whether it comes from the pages of the Daily News or Vogue. † (Rosenblum 208) However, viewed closely, Warhol’s most famous work: his Marilyn Monroe portrait, reveals itself as much more classically inspired than its radical reputation would suggest : â€Å"No less than the medieval spectator who accepted as fact the handmade images of Christian characters who enacted their dramas within the holy precincts of church walls, we today have all learned to accept as absolute truth these machine-made photographic images of our modern heroes and heroines. When Warhol took a photographic silkscreen of Marilyn Monroe’s head ( fig. 126 ), set it on gold paint, and let it float on high in a timeless, spaceless heaven (as Busby Berkeley had done in 1943 for a similarly decapitated assembly of movie stars in the finale of The Gang’s All Here), he was creating, in effect, a secular saint for the 1960s that might well command as much earthly awe and veneration. (Rosenblum 208) Such interpretations provide a rich glimpse into the ambiguity of expression, the fusion of opposites, which Warhol achieved with brilliancy during his extraordinarily diverse and celebrated career. Warhol presented an enigma, perhaps, but one which stripped of its mystery, still revealed merely a poker-faced perceiver of contemporary America — or not. Just as easily, Warhol could be viewed as a visionary Bohemian, a gay-rights activists and a visionary of underground culture. That he could paint â€Å"simultaneously Warren Beatty and electric chairs, Troy Donahue and race riots, Marilyn Monroe and fatal car crashes, may seem the peculiar product of a perversely cool and passive personality until we realize that this numb, voyeuristic view of contemporary life, in which the grave and the trivial, the fashionable and the horrifying, blandly coexist as passing spectacles, is a deadly accurate mirror of a commonplace experience in modern art and life. † (Rosenblum 210) Works Cited â€Å"Warhol, Andy. † The Columbia Encyclopedia. 6th ed. 2004. Joseph, Branden W. â€Å"The Critical Response to Andy Warhol. † Art Journal 57.4 (1998): 105+. Leung, Simon. â€Å"And There I Am: Andy Warhol and the Ethics of Identification. † Art Journal 62. 1 (2003): 4+. Mattick, Paul. Art & Its Time: Theories and Practices of Modern Aesthetics. New York: Routledge, 2003. Pop out: Queer Warhol. Ed. Jennifer Doyle, Jonathan Flatley, and JosE Esteban MuNoz. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1996. Pratt, Alan R. The Critical Response to Andy Warhol. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. Rifkin, Libbie. â€Å"Andy Warhol, Poetry and Gossip in the 1960s. † Criticism 40. 4 (1998): 647. Rosenblum, Robert. Selected Essays Selected Essays. New York: Harry N. Abrams Publishers, 1999.