Merger and Acquisitions Theories in Management

Merger and Acquisitions Theories in Management Management theory and practice Mergers and acquisitions are a main means by which single and individuals are able to grow and then enter the new markets. After this happens, the competitive structure of the whole industries may alter radically in a span of a short time. Mergers are the unifications of two or even more firms into forming a new one whereas acquisitions are the companys purchases of the majority of the shares from another. Mergers and acquisitions can also represent a major mechanism through which the firms that are national are able to become multinational firms. The cost and benefit analysis of the mergers and acquisitions affect the decision by the managers and the shareholders of whether to take up a specific merger and acquisition. The decision by the employees also can lead to the acceptance or refusal of the merger and acquisition (Paul Simon 2). In this paper, I am going to research on why the employee-related issues prevent the succeeding of a merger or acquisition. The modern business environment is characterized by change that is continuous in nature. Every organization is considered as a system where work, process, system, people are all aligned in order to ensure that the unit of the individual, individual and overall systems are well fit to deliver the strategies of the organization. The objective of the integrative process is to integrate people, processes, technologies and strategy without interrupting service, quality or product and not only to combine financial standing of any two companies. Employees issues in relation to the integration phase always relate to the human capital related integration issues such as integration of the culture of the organization, leadership, organization structure and design, processes and systems and retention of the key talent. The other important issues are effective planning for the purpose of integration, employee communications, and the selection of good leaders to manage the business combination and the creation of practices and policies for knowledge sharing and learning and also the transfer. The failure to address the issues that concern merger and acquisition impacts the new and current organization very negatively at the stage of post-merger in two levels. One of these two levels is the individual level and the reactions of the individual employees are insecurity, powerlessness, alienation, a drop in productivity, loss of energy and the rise in absenteeism which increases turnover and profits. Other stress factors include the performance evaluation criteria, the loss of control over the life of the professional and also the alterations in the reporting relationships which would also impact the merger or the acquisition adversely or negatively. There are also many other psychological impacts which result from the merger activity. These are lifestyle instability, loss of confidence, depression, anxiety among others and these symptoms may lead to large-scale industrial strikes at times (Nilanjan and Bhattacharya 143). From this we can find that due to these impacts, the employees can resist the mergers and or acquisition in their companies. The other level is the corporate level and at this level the impacts are long-term in the cultural integration, organization structure and design, processes and systems. The failure to tackle these issues in the phase of planning of the merger process can lead to outcomes such as benefits integration, high financial costs, incompatible HR plans and policies, inadequate communication to the employees, insufficient provisions and reserves for risks that had not been discovered and/or improperly evaluated, inefficient financial accounting for the integration costs, the loss of loyalty of the employees leading to the high turnover rates, the dilemma of the workforce reduction, reduced productivity and finally leads to lowered employee morale (Nilanjan and Bhattacharya 144). These issues are the ones that drive the employees to be against and protect the mergers and acquisitions. The strategic combinations of the mergers and acquisitions have a dramatically greater chance of success in terms of providing the added value to all employees, and shareholders. The success could also be experienced in justifying of the acquisition premium when they are led, designed and implemented with these four elements. The first element is the integrative perspective in which the mergers need to be seen as combinations that try to balance the interplay of the organizational architecture and organizational strategy with the guiding principles of the management of the change. The second element is the designed integration which is the scope, intensity and degree of the integration and should be driven by elementary business case for the merger or acquisition which defines integration process. The third is the differential leadership because leadership is very vital and different leaders have different roles. The leadership roles should be considered and assigned at the initial stages because this could bring confusion at the late stages. Lastly, the expanded due diligence factor is considered where the organizational issues are discussed. In this case, the organizational diligence is made a crucial part of the merger and the acquisition chain of events as is the due financial and legal diligence. An example of the job losses caused by mergers and acquisitions and also the reduction of salaries of the members of banks is the European banking sector. Since the start of 1990s, the European banking sector has witnessed massive job losses and the decrease of the salaries of the employees who were left. The impact of these job losses has been greater in the Northern Europe rather than in the southern Europe. The employment in the sector of insurance has also been affected as a result of mergers and acquisition. The nature and quality of the employment has greatly changed from the year 2000 in Europe (Paul and Simon 2002: 45). The reductions of employment have affected the branch administrative and networks functions. The older workers with the conventional banking skills who do not qualify and therefore not transferable easily to the new developed and centralized functions, for example those that work in the call centers, are affected adversely. These are the people who may rise ag ainst any mergers and/or acquisitions and also the banks may consider these people and reach a decision not to accept any mergers and acquisitions. Mergers and acquisitions have been known to accelerate corporate practices because the enterprises tend to review the whole cost structure entailing the mergers and acquisitions with the aim of identifying the very maximum savings that are possible. The job losses have increased greatly from 17.5% to 24% due to many mergers and acquisitions. A merger and/or acquisition also referred to as a takeover invalidates in many ways the employment contract. The employee works for someone else without having taken the required steps to change his or her employers. This brings into clear view in an emphatic manner the one-sidedness of the employment relationship and also the idea that the employees do not have any control over the decision of who their employers are. The mergers and/or acquisitions are described as the legitimate means for breaking the implicit contracts in the view of restructuring (Paul and Simon 2002: 183). The mergers are seen as avenues to disrupt job security that the employees have held for long periods and therefore are bound to disrupt the process of mergers and/or acquisitions. These mergers and acquisitions appear to the employees as deliberate strategies to violate the internal norms and also as a hard, brute exercise of powers and therefore they can prevent the succeeding of the mergers and acquisitions. The integrating of the different company procedures and systems requires the harmonization of the different aspects of terms and conditions that apply to the employment signings. These include job titles, pay scales, job descriptions, entitlements and benefits, supervisory and reporting lines are all subjected to revision in order to ensure that there is common practice in the new mergers and acquisitions. These changes may make the employees to reject any mergers and acquisitions. The mergers and the acquisitions upset the links between explicit and implicit contracts in accompany that was in the past based on trust between workers and managers, they are presently founded on assumptions and beliefs regarding mutual responsibility between employees and employers. The integration, merger and acquisition also requires the harmonization of the different aspects of conditions and terms of the employment to ensure that common practice in the combined organization which may alter the existing practices of the human resource and management of either or even both of the organizations. Workers or employees have also considered the lack of incentives due to mergers and acquisitions. There is no transparency in the reward systems and the mergers also lead to contradiction between performance assessments that focus on personal contribution and the objectives that require team-based work. The employees therefore call for better balanced team-based and individual rewards. This is supported by trade unions where they argue that the alterations to the psychological contract which include erosion in the job security are not well reflected in the enterprise reward systems after the mergers and acquisitions. This decreased job security, increased workloads, stress and anxiety are other significant consequences of the heightened merger and acquisitions activity. These factors coupled with lowered morale and also a deterioration of the organization performance has led the employees to be against the implementation of mergers, takeovers and acquisition. This human side of the acquisitions and mergers is all about the overall impact that mergers and/or acquisitions have on the employees in a certain company. These impacts on the psychological difficulties that the employees experience, the culture clashes which may emerge in companies during the post-merger integration period. Finally the ways in which these outcomes manifest themselves that include communication breakdowns, there is also the we-they mentality that occurs between the inclusive organizations in the merger and acquisitions, minimized commitment, reductions in productivity, organizational struggles for power and also office politicking and at last the loss of the key and main organizational members. All these factors combined include the employee issues that affect the realization of mergers and acquisitions (Anthony and James 3). Through research through face to face interviews, a writer concluded that the employees were an important asset to the companies and that they should be considered when the management decides on mergers and acquisitions. Through an interview with an employee of a company that had undergone acquisition, Hayes was told that the employees would not make any move because they were told that their methods were outdated and that they would have to readjust to the new companys way of conducting their activities. He indicated that when he tried to complain to the corporate about the situation, he was warned that if he squawked too loud, his position would be in jeopardy. This resulted to the destruction of the company morale and with time, the main people started leaving and it did not take much time before he also resigned (Hayes 1981: 131). If the company had taken into consideration all complains of their employers, they would have retained their experienced workers and this would increas e the productivity levels. Acquisition and mergers can adequately transform the organizational processes, systems, structures and also cultures of one or both of the companies involved that the employees will often feel confused, frustrated, frightened, stressed or even frustrated and therefore whenever the employees of a particular company here of any merger and/or acquisition they are ready to prevent the realization of the same. On the personal level, these feelings often lead to psychosomatic difficulties, sense of loss, marital discord and at the extreme level, they can lead to suicide. On the level of organization, these feelings are manifested in lowered productivity and commitment, increased disloyalty and dissatisfaction, increased turnover among the key managers, power and leadership struggles especially among the managers who remain in the organization and finally an increase in the dysfunctional work-related behaviors at all the levels of the hierarchy. These impacts on the employee and by the empl oyee are issues that negatively affect the mergers and acquisitions. It is reported that in the 3000 and above mergers that occurred in the year 1985, so many employees estimated to be more than ten thousand lost their jobs and others were forced to accept early retirement (Kanter and Segger-man 1986: 17). It was also estimated that by the year 1990, there will be 2500 savings and loans and 5400 banks that would be involved in mergers and these would affect more than 900, 000 people in the United States. In the year 2009, it was noted that there were decreasing mergers and acquisition activities and that also the credits were tightening. One of the reasons of a successful merger and transaction activity is the compensation which is never done and if it is done it is only given to the executives. The compensation can be a powerful tool to motivate the management and its team to influence positive outcomes in the activity involving mergers and acquisition. This has not been the case in the recent past and the employees are laid off without being paid well leading to the negative feelings that they experience shortly afterwards. This can explain the reduction of the merger and acquisition activity because the employees through their managers are able to prevent the realization or completion of a merger and/or acquisition owing to the fact that they are not compensated. In the recent past there was the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by the Bank of America, there was a problem in the executive pay and compensation and this led to a very expensive roadblock to the desired transaction. A report by the PricewaterhouseCooper indicates that the merger and acquisition activity has decreased 86 percent from the year 2008, the previous year. In addition to these statistics, when the High Court approves the schemes of arrangement of a merger, it takes into account the workers interests. The scheme of arrangement must provide for adequate protection for the employees service benefits and conditions. If the scheme shows otherwise, the High court does not agree to the terms and conditions of the merger and therefore we find that the issues of the employee are considered. The organizational behavior is always reflected by acquisition behavior, the relative size and the cultural compatibility. Global mergers and acquisitions are the main corporate strategies which the multinational corporations use to diversify, expand or even consolidate their businesses. In the year 2006, there was a recorded worldwide annual value of the acquisition transactions exceeded US $ 4 trillion (Larsen 2007: 23). This trend was also recorded in the year 2007 where the worldwide transaction value of the acquisitions in only the first 3 months ranged at US $ 1.13trillion which was the highest busiest recorded quarter ever in history (Saigol and Politi 2007: 145). However, almost 83%of these transactions were unsuccessful (KPMG, 1999; Sirower 1997). A considerable amounts of research developed that the failures were caused by the absence of a national cultural fit which is the cultural distance of the workers and employees (Rottig and Reus 2006: 340). This may lead to cultural problems and clashes among the involved workforces. This in return lowers the employee cooperation and commitment, cause voluntary turnover of the acquired top managers and could also complicate the process of post-acquisition integration (Very and Schweiger 2001:22). The cultural distance might have some positive results but it is among the high points that lead to the failure of the mergers and acquisitions and it is an employee-related issue. The organizational culture which is defined as the interdependent and interrelated system of practices, beliefs, norms and assumptions that the members of the organization bear collectively should be put into consideration before a merger and/or acquisition because when they are altered extensively after the merger, the employees will tend to work against them and this will not promote success of the merger and/or acquisition. The assumptions, norms and practices could be unconscious which are learnt through the socialization of the organization and often reflect the shared perceptions of the daily practices and also determine the things that are carried out within an organization (Gertsen, et al. 1998: 123). An example is the acquisition of the Tokyo Bank by the Mitsubishi Bank in the year 2003. These two organizations had very dissimilar organization cultures. The employees of the Mitsubishi Bank shared a common cultural norm of being to work on time, wearing only white shirts while at work and also thanking their department supervisors and managers in person for any monthly pay checks. But in contrast, the employees of Tokyo Bank were not used to strict dress code and being reprimanded for getting to work late and they also had no duty to carry out a thanksgiving ceremony as they collected their monthly salaries. After the acquisition activity, a huge number of the employees of the Tokyo Bank were alienated by the strict culture of the Mitsubishi Bank and they left the combined company voluntarily. This was in the United States. This is an example of how the employee-related issues could lead to unsuccessful mergers and acquisitions. Poor communication between the employees of the same company after a merger or an acquisition could lead to problems of integration in both the domestic and the international mergers and/or acquisitions. This may cause unsuccessful mergers and acquisitions and it is an employee-related issue. On the other hand, the international acquisitions are characterized by ethnocentrism; nationalistic attitudes; xenophobia and language barriers (Vaara 2003: 864) and these could lead to the failure of the mergers and acquisitions. Work cited Nilanjan Sengupta and Bhattacharya Mousumi. Managing change in organizations.PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. Anthony Buono and James Bowditch. The human side of mergers and acquisitions: managing collisions between people, cultures and organizations. Chicago: Beard Books, 2003 Kanter, R and Seggerman, T. managing mergers, acquisitions, and divestiures. Management review, Oct 1986, pp 16-17. Hayes, R. what happens to my people after I sell? The human side of acquisition. In S. J. Lee and R. D. Colman (eds.), handbook of mergers, acquisitions and buyouts. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1981. Paul Temple and Simon Peck. Mergers and Acquisitions: critical perspectives on business and management. : Taylor Francis, 2002. Thomas Straub. Reasons for frequent failure in mergers and acquisitions. Germany: DUV, 2007. Rottig, D. Reus, T.H. Organizational and national cultures consequences for acquisition performance: A meta-analysis, Paper presented at Southern Management Association, Clearwater Beach, 2006. Saigol, L. Politi, J. MA volume tops $1,000bn, Financial Times, March 30: 13, 2007. KPMG. Mergers and Acquisitions: Global Research Report 1999. London: KPMG, 1999. Gertsen, M., Soderberg, A.M. Torp, J.E. Cultural Dimensions of International Mergers and Acquisitions, Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, 1998 Gertsen, M.C., Soderberg, A.M. Torp, J.E. Different concepts of culture, in Gertsen, M. C., Soderberg, A.M. Torp, J. E., editors (eds.) Cultural Dimensions of International Acquisitions, Walter de Gruyter: Berlin, 1998. Vaara, E. Post-acquisition integration as sense making: Glimpses of ambiguity, confusion, hypocrisy, and politicization, Journal of Management Studies, 40(4): 859-94, 2003 Very, P. Schweiger, D.M. The acquisition process as a learning process: Evidence from a study of critical problems and solutions in domestic and cross-border deals, Journal of World Business, 36(1): 11-31, 2001. Sirower, M.L. The Synergy Trap: How Companies Lose the Acquisition Game, Free Press: New York, 1997.

Exploring the Cause of Eating Disorders - Familial Relationships and Bu

My sister is bulimic and has been in therapy for several months now. She seems to be making progress, but this eating disorder seems to rule her life nevertheless. Overwhelmed with conflicting desires, she is obsessed with food and her appearance. I see her suffer and wonder what has caused her to develop such behaviors. I know that there are several factors that can play a role in the inception of an eating disorder. Because of my sister’s problems, I have become interested in the interplay between familial relationships and bulimia. Is there a relationship between family interactions and bulimia? There have been numerous studies about the characteristics of a bulimic's family. One of the earliest by Laurence Igoin-Apfelbaum (1985), studied 21 women who were diagnosed by the DSM-III as bulimics. In the group of patients, two patterns of family background could be found. Thirteen patients were from broken homes, and a common characteristic of these families was that the father virtually disappeared from the life of the daughter. The twelve other patients came from close knit families, in which the sacred union of these families against the outside world was a defensive organization hiding major tensions within the family unit. The relationship between the bulimics and their mother is one of polarity. They feel that because their eating disturbances seem to worry their mother, she is the only one who cared, and as a result they do such things as calling their moms daily to make sure she is not worrying. At the same time they avoid their mother because they feel she can guess everything or demand so much from them that they would have no personal life left. All the patients had harsh words for their fathers. They see him ... ...ting Disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 95(4), 395-402. Humphrey, Laura Lynn (1989). Observed Family Interactions Among Subtypes of Eating Disorders Using Structural Analysis of Social Behavior. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 57(2), 206-214. Igoin-Apfelbaum, Laurence (1985). Characteristics of Family Background in Bulimia. Psychother. Psychosom, 43, 161-167. Kent, Jan S., and Clopton, J. R. (1992). Bulimic Women's Perceptions of Their Family Relationships. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 48(3), 281-292. Laliberte, Michele., Boland, F. J. and Leichner, P. (1999). Family Climates: Family Factors Specific to Disturbed Eating and Bulimia Nervosa. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55(9), 1021-1040. Stuart, G. W., et al. (1990). Early Family Experiences of Women With Bulimia and Depression. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing, 4(1), 43-52.

Islamic Art in Europe Essay

Islamic art and architecture is worldly renowned. It was developed during the era when the West was surrounded in Dark. It was the time when the West was learning to live in a society while the Islamic world was enjoying their glorious time. They had mastered the language of social survival and aesthetic beauty. They had excellence in the field of science and arts especially chemistry, physics, mathematics, and astronomy, painting, sculpturing wood carving and calligraphic art, the dominant feature of Islamic art. The sea route of Mediterranean Sea spread the Islamic art and knowledge in the world of West. The elites would visit the land of Muslims so as to gain knowledge from Muslim and Jewish scholars and brought with them the memories of Islamic art. Later, this art was exported to the West and was the sign of status. This art brought the glory of Muslim into another world and created patrons of Muslim art. When the Muslim glory was declining, the art did not lose its significance in the world and many Muslim artisans and Jewish craftsmen were employed by the Christians to build extravagant and highly admired buildings. (Derhak, 1) The roots of European culture can be traced back to the time of Renaissance that brought a glorious time to the field of arts, science commerce and architecture. But long before this Spain was well developed in the humanistic and aesthetic beauty ingrained in the society which was at that time under the rule of Muslims. At the time when Europe a feudal society and all the powers were held by the Church, the Spain was booming and flourishing with half a million of population living in 113,000 houses and 700 mosques. The houses were properly built catering the needs of the people as they provided marble balconies to serve people in summer and hot-air ducts built under mosaic tiles to prevent people from cold and winter. There were gardens with artificial fountains and orchards in every house. The streets were paved and properly constructed. There were seventy libraries in Cordova, capital of Muslim Empire while Europe was unknown to the material, paper. (Derhak, 1) Students from around the world came here to learn philosophy, science and medicine. The society was tolerant to other faiths and religions which prospered the growth of art and architecture. But after some years, the period of intellectual and economic success began to decline and new Arabic dynasty was formed. Conservative in its nature, the new dynasty could not bring the glory to the Cordova society. At that time the Western society was growing and the Europeans were forming a lobby to drive the Muslims out of Spain. They set a system of translating the work of Muslims which had the philosophies of Greeks and Romans. â€Å"They translated astrology, astronomy, pharmacology, psychology, physiology, zoology, botany, mineralogy, optics, chemistry, mathematics, physics, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, music, meteorology, geography, mechanics, hydrostatic navigation and history†. Europeans learned a lot through the text of Moors. Along these texts, the Arabic music was spread teaching the use of flute, keyboard and harmony. (Derhak, 1) The values and ideas taught by Islamic culture were called the secular humanism as it drove the people away from the powerful grip of Roman Catholic Church and these studies were having the progress of human nature as the centre of interest. The rise of humanism was seen in the paintings created by Renaissance artists. In the middle Ages, saints were the centre of drawings and they were portrayed as the humans larger than ordinary life. The landscapes in those painting were heaven but the renaissance art transformed and saints were depicted of the size of common man and earth became the landscape of the paintings. Now the saints occupied similar to the common man. The renaissance art gave new tools to the artist to portray three-dimensional picture giving a new effect of illusions in paintings. The frame of the paintings was becoming more the frame of the window and the painting was the view of the place seen beyond the window. (AAM—The Renaissance Connection Lesson Plans Humanism in the Renaissance, 1) It gave the artists the idea of using oil paints and egg tempera in their paintings. These paints gave depth and roughness to the painting which gave a life to the paintings. The glass and ceramics which became the identity of European courts for three hundred years was brought by Muslims in Spain. The skilled technique used to make glassware more ornamental was practiced by Muslim glassmakers in 800 AD. These techniques include gliding, enameling and tin-glaze and luster on glass. â€Å"Italy was at the heart of sea routes in late Middle Ages and was surrounded by Muslim Empires of Turkey, Palestine, North Africa and Spain†. This link helped in mixing the cultures of East and West. Sea routes brought exposure to various forms of art and techniques. It introduced glassblowing in west practiced by east and learnt from Syrians of Roman Empire. This also diffused textiles, metal work, carpets and ivories, popularizing the motifs and styles of Islamic world in the West. (AAM—The Renaissance Connection Lesson Plans Humanism in the Renaissance, 1) The international luxury trade from 14th-17th century brought in a great impact on Italian art and architecture as it was heavily influenced by the items imported to European market from the Islamic east. The Italians adapted and imitated the imported Oriental art. The Italians have little knowledge of the geographical distinction of the foreign items that they admired. The paintings that revolutionized the Italian culture gave rise to the trade and travel across the Mediterranean Sea. Ceramics that were regarded as mediocre in Islamic society were admired by the Italian society and had great impact on the pottery of Italy. (The Islamic Influence On The Italian Renaissance Is Explored In Exhibition Tracing The Roots Of Luxury Glass And Ceramics, 1) The Cathedral built near Pisa at the end of 20th century has Islamic earthenware bowls called bacini are basically painted with the traditional Islamic animals, plants and geometric motifs. These bacini were also used as kitchenware demonstrating the diffusion of Islamic utensils in late middle Ages. It is thought that these utensils were brought in by Crusaders or donated by the travelers to local institutions or building projects. Bacini caused improvement in Italian pottery. The largest surviving Islamic bronze sculpture was brought in during the conquest of the Muslim Empires on Mediterranean shores. The Lion of Venice, another bronze rendition came from the eastern shores of Mediterranean Sea and was placed at the entrance of the Piazza San Marco in Venice. (The Islamic Influence On The Italian Renaissance Is Explored In Exhibition Tracing The Roots Of Luxury Glass And Ceramics, 1) The Abbasids Caliph in Baghdad developed a rich urban culture giving high value to pleasure and luxury in every day’s life. They developed silk weaving, ceramics, metalwork and wood carving in daily utensils turning them into the work of art. The tapestries, cushions and rugs were woven in silk. Clothing became rich and elegant and the daily utensils were given visual and demonstrative qualities adding the fun to use them. These items were heavily imported even among the Muslim Empire from Spain to China. Later they were exported to the European society when the wealth started flowing in their life. The items of decorations were also heavily imported which had no offending material to the Christian community as idolatry is not permissible in Islam. Most of the Islamic art were abstracts in which the sole or the dominant theme was religious. (Bent, 1) The human figures drawn or sculptured in Islamic world consisted of humans engaged in pleasure of drinking, horse riding and hunting which was also with correspondence of the feudal society of Europe. The jars known as albarelli was commonly used in Islamic society to preserve spices was aesthetically beautiful and showed style in its use. The ivy and fern leaves painted in horizontal bands in cobalt blue and gold metallic luster highly complemented the shape of the jar. The Italian Renaissance and Islamic art both emphasizes in the harmony of design, balance of parts and perfection of the whole body of the item. (Bent, 1) The main difference between Renaissance art and Islamic art was that European art was the representation of Greco-Roman traditions while Islamic art was ornamental. The depiction of plants was strikingly similar to the nature as they grow and behave. The borders or the frames carry most of the meaning of the drawing. The art influenced by the oriental imports focuses on pleasing the senses and enhanced the object. These art pieces lost their religious meaning of Islamic culture as the seculars or Christians employed the artists who were highly regarded for their craft. For example the basins which were used for washing hands before meals or prayers in the east Islamic Empire lost its meaning and were used as the containers of wines of Eucharist. Even the garments also lost their original identity. The silk garments which had woven Arabic inscriptions on them praising the Mamluk Sultan worn by the princes according to their statuses and adherence also lost their original representation and were worn by the clergy of Roman Catholic Church. (Bent, 1) The most important room of Italian courts, the bedchambers were highly decorated with the tapestries, in which Arabic inscription were woven, and expensive carpets, originally traded from the Muslim market or are the original depiction of Muslim art. The silk gowns which were presented to Muslim rulers for their statuses were then presented to European kings as diplomatic gift. The use of silk became so much prevalent in European society that later the princes were buried after being wrapped in Ornamental silk. Most of the silk was consumed by the Church as it was used as drapes on altars walls and funeral biers. (Bent, 1) The vessels made up of rock crystals, glass and ceramics acquired a sacred status as they became the containers of relics. The use of precious metals gems also started prevailing in European society and started defining the statuses of the people. The bourgeoisie proudly showed off the pieces acquired from the Italian culture. The use of such materials prominently defined the difference of statuses among the rich and powerful. The cost, rarity technique and the eastern origins made the goods more appealing to the European society. Sometimes the richest Europeans had difficulty in collecting luxury item in quantity like the Islamic carpets and Chinese porcelain. (Mack, 1) The Italians tried to establish local markets of such items but they failed to produce the quality and the design similar to the original item but some imported item became so popular that exceptional efforts were made to create an imitation of those goods which was quite similar to the original one. The imitation was so similar that it was difficult to distinguish the original piece from the mimic intricate indicating the sophisticated appreciation of Islamic art. The foreign art highly contributed in the development of the Italian art as these patrons and artisan were always in thrust of exploring and developing new techniques in art to give it a more luxurious touch. (Mack, 2) The script of the movement of Oriental art written by Italians have little value as at that time they had little knowledge about the geographical origins and foreign artistic styles and little has been written by Muslim authors. It is believed that cross-culture has occurred when a native artist migrated to another land and trains the patrons of the other society. Another way of cross-cultural development was due to the sketches or memories of patron or the traveler who had highly admired the art and culture and other societies and brought it to his land. (Mack, 3) The early transference of Muslim culture showed its early traces in Venice when a state chapel and a shrine was being built for the saint relics. A Byzantine architect and a Greek craftsman worked on its structure and earlier designs of mosaic decoration. These Gothic last of Italian art had its roots back to Islamic culture. It has its historical analogies with styles of Pisa and Norman Sicily. This form of art soon appeared in the state buildings giving great credit and honor to the Christian as they defeated the Muslim and drove them out of Mediterranean shores. Soon the Christian had full control on the goods let by Muslims as war booty and was used for commercial advantage. The Pisans and Normans styles quickly grew but were highly affected by the architecture of Mediterranean but significantly expressed the shift of powers. The conquest in west Mediterranean shores also created extensive trade across the sea routes. The variety of color and texture in the cathedral’s exterior ornaments bring to mind the great Islamic art of Spain and North Africa. High influence of Islamic art was depicted on the governmental and religious buildings especially in Norman Sicily and Pisa as they hired the Muslims and the Greek inhabiting the shores of Mediterranean. (Mack, 4) The geometric marble traceries screening windows in lunette above the Porta Sant’ Alippio at the extreme left of the facade is quite similar to the window grill of Great Mosque in Damascus. The striking similarities between the Islamic and Christian buildings created confusion among the travelers and they started considering the Dome of Rock as the temple of Solomon and Herod. Another example of such confusions is Al-Aqsa mosque considered as the palace of Solomon. (Mack, 5) The domes were highly regarded in Islamic building especially mosques. The trend on the domes in mosques can be traced back to the early time of Islamic civilization. The most original form is muqarnas dome or semi dome. It is truly Islamic creation and was not influenced by any other culture or civilization. They could be made of wood, stucco, brick or stone and are the most characteristic feature of Muslim world. These were later adopted by the Christian in their religious building especially that of Pisa. (Grabar, 1) The varied Oriental culture in Venice showed the growing trade relations with the eastern Mediterranean. The Gothic architectural style highly expressed the values and culture of the ruling class and also developed a distinctive dialect which had any words of Arabic language and this dialect survived in the palaces till sixteen century- showing the high influence of Islamic society in Venice. (Mack, 6) Later in the 14th century the theme of Italian paintings changed and they showed the arrival of luxury items from Islamic society and their use by the Italian people. The paintings, drawings and sculptures portrayed the understanding of cultures of East and West but these understanding were based on the imports of goods, religious and political strategies with each other. (Mack, 7) The fascination for Islamic art was beyond the bounds of Islamic world. The development of blue and white on ceramics in Islamic art was desirable to Chinese as well as Europe. It was highly bought by these societies for decorative purpose. (Bent, 1) The Quranic scripts written on mosques developed calligraphy in Islamic art. This decoration was applied to various buildings of religion, military civic and private use. it was the main feature and identity of Islamic art. The earliest surviving building of calligraphic art is Dome of Rock in Jerusalem. The inscription on buildings used to show the praise to God, construction date and patronage scripts on the religious buildings while the civic buildings had date of construction, details of the architects and artisan but most prominently it had reference inscriptions of the caliph to demonstrate his power and benevolence. Variety of calligraphic art was developed for aesthetic beauty. It was applied on many surfaces like wood, stone, plaster and ceramic tiles. Later it was developed on books, coins and metal wares. This form of art highly attracted the west due to its origin and writing pattern. They were usually used for decorative purpose. The crockery having calligraphic art was highly regarded for their classy use and was mainly consumed by elites. (Renaissance art and architecture – FREE Renaissance art and architecture information Encyclopedia_com Facts, pictures, information! 1) Works Cited AAM—The Renaissance Connection Lesson Plans Humanism in the Renaissance http://www. renaissanceconnection. org/lesson_social_humanism. html Accessed May 08, 2009 Bent. B, (1991), Islamic Art, 2nd edition, Harvard University Press, England. Derhak. D (2005) Muslim Spain and European Culture http://www. xmission. com/~dderhak/index/moors. htm Accessed May 08, 2009 Grabar. O, (1985), Muqarnas: An Annual on Islamic Art and Architecture, illustrated edition, BRILL Mack. E. R, (2001) Bazaar to Piazza: Islamic Trade and Italian art, 1300-1600, illustrated edition, University of California Press, California. Renaissance art and architecture – FREE Renaissance art and architecture information Encyclopedia_com Facts, pictures, information! http://www. encyclopedia. com/doc/1E1-Renaisart. html Accessed May 08, 2009 The Islamic Influence On The Italian Renaissance Is Explored In Exhibition Tracing The Roots Of Luxury Glass And Ceramics, March 23, 2004 http://www. getty. edu/news/press/exhibit/artof_fireshort. html Accessed May 08, 2009

Early American Transcendentalism - 1204 Words

Early American transcendentalism has one of the greatest influences towards American society because it is not only a philosophy, but also a religion and physical progression. During the early nineteenth century, Ralph Emerson, Henry Thoreau, and other radical individuals challenged the present day theories of values, ethics, and what it means to live life to the fullest (Timko). If early American transcendentalists were living among civilians today, would present day civilians think the earlier activists were radical and psychotic? During this time, Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, â€Å"There are always two parties, the party of the Past and the party of the Future† (Timko). Early radical, transcendental activists believe that their approach of†¦show more content†¦It was documented that Walden, in its first year of distribution, sold more than 1,744 copies to the surrounding people (â€Å"The Seer of Walden†). In 1849, Henry Thoreau heavily influenced early transc endentalism again with his collection of social actions archived in Civil Disobedience. During this collection, Thoreau uses Jeffersons famous statement, That government is best which governs least, and completes his thoughts with one of his boldest statements, That government is best which governs not at all (Holmes). Although Civil Disobedience is one of the most radical, Thoreau, advocated his main idea of â€Å"simplify one’s living† the most. Though many readers believed that Henry Thoreau despised American government, however this is extremely inaccurate. He longed for America’s government to focus less on material things and become less corrupt and in return, focus more about centering ourselves on God and democracy. Civil Disobedience is such an influence in nineteenth century America that it later advocated Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi’s social reforms. Thoreau’s avocation for anti-slavery, which was found in some of his earl y works, also partially inspired Martin Luther King, Jr. in his journey for equal human rights for African Americans later in America. To conclude, transcendentalism, during earlyShow MoreRelatedTranscendentalism, An American Philosophy1640 Words   |  7 PagesAmerican philosophers during the early to mid-1800s embraced a new liberal movement known as transcendentalism that posed a silent threat to the current social and political institutions of the time period. Henry David Thoreau acted as the father of this new philosophy that would go on to transform the social structure of America into what it is and is still becoming today. Transcendentalism is an American philosophy that humankind has an innate sense of being and knowledge of the world aroundRead MoreTranscendentalism Essay617 Words   |  3 Pagesï » ¿Transcendentalism is a movement that started in New England in the early to mid nineteenth century. It was created as a protest against the general culture at the time, straying away from the mindless doctrines of the churches. I think that Thoreau, Emerson, Whitman, and Dickinson did a good job of explaining what Transcendentalism is really about, which is that death is coming for everyone. Our Town stands out to me because it doesn’t use any props, and its strong symbolism that makes a pointRead MoreEssay about The Important Role of Transcendentalism in American History779 Words   |  4 PagesThe Important Role of Transcendentalism in American History In 1830, a movement known as Transcendentalism began to gain popularity in America. Representing an idealistic system of thought, strength, courage, self-confidence, and independence of mind1 were some basic values admired by the followers of the Transcendental movement. Transcendentalists opposed many aspects of their government, where they felt many unjust laws existed.2 Therefore, they became the leaders of manyRead More Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau as Fathers of Transcendentalism730 Words   |  3 Pagesas Fathers of Transcendentalism Transcendentalism was a movement in writing that took place in the mid-nineteenth century. It formed in the early to mid nineteenth century and reached it climax around 1850 during an era commonly referred to as the American Renaissance, America’s Golden Day, or the Flowering of New England. The basic tenets of Transcendentalism involve the relationships between one’s self and the world at large. First, the search for truth in Transcendentalism begins withRead MoreThe Influence Of Calvinist Ideas On The Early Nineteenth Century900 Words   |  4 PagesCalvinist ideas were prominent in America in the early eighteenth century, ideologies that were brought upon by the puritans. Calvinism, which was based on the teachings of John Calvin, emphasizes predestination and salvation because a man had no free will and thus dependent of God, man had no control over his own spiritual fate, hence their over all actions in life. (Garcia, Lecture 2, p.2) However, John Winthrop, a puritan lawyer of the time, and others criticized this idea, Winthrop discussedRead MoreTranscendentalism : The American Scholar1658 Words   |  7 PagesThose Americans who have heard of American Transcendentalism associate it with the writers Ralph Waldo Emerson and his friend Henry David Thoreau. A sked to name things about the group they remember, most mention Emerson’s ringing declaration of cultural independence in his â€Å"American Scholar† address at Harvard’s commencement in 1837 and his famous lecture â€Å"Self-Reliance,† in which he declared that â€Å"to be great is to be misunderstood†; Thoreau’s two-year experiment in self-sufficiency at Walden PondRead MoreEmily Dickinson And Walt Whitman1719 Words   |  7 PagesIn American literature there are many types of themes and periods of writing. Each writer has their own style and way of conveying what they want to say to their readers. A lot of time what and how an author writes comes from how they grew up and the experiences they have had. They find a way to insert themselves and their emotions into words that move the readers in some way. One of the most popular periods of writing would be the romanticism era. Some of the most well known authors in this timeRead More`` Natu re `` By Ralph Waldo Emerson920 Words   |  4 Pagesessay, Emerson emphasizes the foundation of transcendentalism, â€Å"a religious and philosophical movement that developed during the late 1820s and 30s in the Eastern region of the United States as protest against the general state of spirituality and, in particular, the state of intellectualism.† [2] â€Å"Transcendentalism suggests that the divine, or God, suffuses nature, and suggests that reality can be understood by studying nature.† [3] â€Å"Transcendentalism is closely related to Unitarianism, the dominantRead MoreTranscendentalist Utopia in Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau1108 Words   |  4 Pagesof utopian concepts within the 1800’s, most remarkable of the influx was the birth of Transcendentalism. The roots of their religious philosophy extend much farther back into American history, but in essence, rests in the context of Unitarianism. It’s origins also reach overseas to Roma nticism, from which they drew inspiration from. Transcendentalism was an important movement that shaped the course of American literature, it’s assertions commonly taking shape in novels, poems, short stories, andRead MoreTranscendentalist1105 Words   |  5 PagesTranscendentalism and Christianity Have Incompatible Beliefs Transcendentalism is â€Å"a group of new ideas in literature, religion, culture, and philosophy that emerged in the early to middle 19th century† (Wikipedia). Transcendentalism first started with Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the pioneers of the Transcendentalists, who in his essay â€Å"Nature†, criticized several things, especially the Unitarian church (Wikipedia). Many other Transcendentalists such as Thomas Parker, Henry David Thoreau, Amos Bronson