A Game of Thrones Chapter Sixty-two

Tyrion On a hill overlooking the kingsroad, a long trestle table of rough-hewn pine had been erected beneath an elm tree and covered with a golden cloth. There, beside his pavilion, Lord Tywin took his evening meal with his chief knights and lords bannermen, his great crimson-and-gold standard waving overhead from a lofty pike. Tyrion arrived late, saddlesore, and sour, all too vividly aware of how amusing he must look as he waddled up the slope to his father. The day's march had been long and tiring. He thought he might get quite drunk tonight. It was twilight, and the air was alive with drifting fireflies. The cooks were serving the meat course: five suckling pigs, skin seared and crackling, a different fruit in every mouth. The smell made his mouth water. â€Å"My pardons,† he began, taking his place on the bench beside his uncle. â€Å"Perhaps I'd best charge you with burying our dead, Tyrion,† Lord Tywin said. â€Å"If you are as late to battle as you are to table, the fighting will all be done by the time you arrive.† â€Å"Oh, surely you can save me a peasant or two, Father,† Tyrion replied. â€Å"Not too many, I wouldn't want to be greedy.† He filled his wine cup and watched a serving man carve into the pig. The crisp skin crackled under his knife, and hot juice ran from the meat. It was the loveliest sight Tyrion had seen in ages. â€Å"Ser Addam's outriders say the Stark host has moved south from the Twins,† his father reported as his trencher was filled with slices of pork. â€Å"Lord Frey's levies have joined them. They are likely no more than a day's march north of us.† â€Å"Please, Father,† Tyrion said. â€Å"I'm about to eat.† â€Å"Does the thought of facing the Stark boy unman you, Tyrion? Your brother Jaime would be eager to come to grips with him.† â€Å"I'd sooner come to grips with that pig. Robb Stark is not half so tender, and he never smelled as good.† Lord Lefford, the sour bird who had charge of their stores and supplies, leaned forward. â€Å"I hope your savages do not share your reluctance, else we've wasted our good steel on them.† â€Å"My savages will put your steel to excellent use, my lord,† Tyrion replied. When he had told Lefford he needed arms and armor to equip the three hundred men Ulf had fetched down out of the foothills, you would have thought he'd asked the man to turn his virgin daughters over to their pleasure. Lord Lefford frowned. â€Å"I saw that great hairy one today, the one who insisted that he must have two battle-axes, the heavy black steel ones with twin crescent blades.† â€Å"Shagga likes to kill with either hand,† Tyrion said as a trencher of steaming pork was laid in front of him. â€Å"He still had that wood-axe of his strapped to his back.† â€Å"Shagga is of the opinion that three axes are even better than two.† Tyrion reached a thumb and forefinger into the salt dish, and sprinkled a healthy pinch over his meat. Ser Kevan leaned forward. â€Å"We had a thought to put you and your wildlings in the vanguard when we come to battle.† Ser Kevan seldom â€Å"had a thought† that Lord Tywin had not had first. Tyrion had skewered a chunk of meat on the point of his dagger and brought it to his mouth. Now he lowered it. â€Å"The vanguard?† he repeated dubiously. Either his lord father had a new respect for Tyrion's abilities, or he'd decided to rid himself of his embarrassing get for good. Tyrion had the gloomy feeling he knew which. â€Å"They seem ferocious enough,† Ser Kevan said. â€Å"Ferocious?† Tyrion realized he was echoing his uncle like a trained bird. His father watched, judging him, weighing every word. â€Å"Let me tell you how ferocious they are. Last night, a Moon Brother stabbed a Stone Crow over a sausage. So today as we made camp three Stone Crows seized the man and opened his throat for him. Perhaps they were hoping to get the sausage back, I couldn't say. Bronn managed to keep Shagga from chopping off the dead man's cock, which was fortunate, but even so Ulf is demanding blood money, which Conn and Shagga refuse to pay.† â€Å"When soldiers lack discipline, the fault lies with their lord commander,† his father said. His brother Jaime had always been able to make men follow him eagerly, and die for him if need be. Tyrion lacked that gift. He bought loyalty with gold, and compelled obedience with his name. â€Å"A bigger man would be able to put the fear in them, is that what you're saying, my lord?† Lord Tywin Lannister turned to his brother. â€Å"If my son's men will not obey his commands, perhaps the vanguard is not the place for him. No doubt he would be more comfortable in the rear, guarding our baggage train.† â€Å"Do me no kindnesses, Father,† he said angrily. â€Å"If you have no other command to offer me, I'll lead your van.† Lord Tywin studied his dwarf son. â€Å"I said nothing about command. You will serve under Ser Gregor.† Tyrion took one bite of pork, chewed a moment, and spit it out angrily. â€Å"I find I am not hungry after all,† he said, climbing awkwardly off the bench. â€Å"Pray excuse me, my lords.† Lord Tywin inclined his head, dismissing him. Tyrion turned and walked away. He was conscious of their eyes on his back as he waddled down the hill. A great gust of laughter went up from behind him, but he did not look back. He hoped they all choked on their suckling pigs. Dusk had settled, turning all the banners black. The Lannister camp sprawled for miles between the river and the kingsroad. In amongst the men and the horses and the trees, it was easy to get lost, and Tyrion did. He passed a dozen great pavilions and a hundred cookfires. Fireflies drifted amongst the tents like wandering stars. He caught the scent of garlic sausage, spiced and savory, so tempting it made his empty stomach growl. Away in the distance, he heard voices raised in some bawdy song. A giggling woman raced past him, naked beneath a dark cloak, her drunken pursuer stumbling over tree roots. Farther on, two spearmen faced each other across a little trickle of a stream, practicing their thrust-and-parry in the fading light, their chests bare and slick with sweat. No one looked at him. No one spoke to him. No one paid him any mind. He was surrounded by men sworn to House Lannister, a vast host twenty thousand strong, and yet he was alone. When he heard the deep rumble of Shagga's laughter booming through the dark, he followed it to the Stone Crows in their small corner of the night. Conn son of Coratt waved a tankard of ale. â€Å"Tyrion Halfman! Come, sit by our fire, share meat with the Stone Crows. We have an ox.† â€Å"I can see that, Conn son of Coratt.† The huge red carcass was suspended over a roaring fire, skewered on a spit the size of a small tree. No doubt it was a small tree. Blood and grease dripped down into the flames as two Stone Crows turned the meat. â€Å"I thank you. Send for me when the ox is cooked.† From the look of it, that might even be before the battle. He walked on. Each clan had its own cookfire; Black Ears did not eat with Stone Crows, Stone Crows did not eat with Moon Brothers, and no one ate with Burned Men. The modest tent he had coaxed out of Lord Lefford's stores had been erected in the center of the four fires. Tyrion found Bronn sharing a skin of wine with the new servants. Lord Tywin had sent him a groom and a body servant to see to his needs, and even insisted he take a squire. They were seated around the embers of a small cookfire. A girl was with them; slim, dark-haired, no more than eighteen by the look of her. Tyrion studied her face for a moment, before he spied fishbones in the ashes. â€Å"What did you eat?† â€Å"Trout, m'lord,† said his groom. â€Å"Bronn caught them.† Trout, he thought. Suckling pig. Damn my father. He stared mournfully at the bones, his belly rumbling. His squire, a boy with the unfortunate name of Podrick Payne, swallowed whatever he had been about to say. The lad was a distant cousin to Ser Ilyn Payne, the king's headsman . . . and almost as quiet, although not for want of a tongue. Tyrion had made him stick it out once, just to be certain. â€Å"Definitely a tongue,† he had said. â€Å"Someday you must learn to use it.† At the moment, he did not have the patience to try and coax a thought out of the lad, whom he suspected had been inflicted on him as a cruel jape. Tyrion turned his attention back to the girl. â€Å"Is this her?† he asked Bronn. She rose gracefully and looked down at him from the lofty height of five feet or more. â€Å"It is, m'lord, and she can speak for herself, if it please you.† He cocked his head to one side. â€Å"I am Tyrion, of House Lannister. Men call me the Imp.† â€Å"My mother named me Shae. Men call me . . . often.† Bronn laughed, and Tyrion had to smile. â€Å"Into the tent, Shae, if you would be so kind.† He lifted the flap and held it for her. Inside, he knelt to light a candle. The life of a soldier was not without certain compensations. Wherever you have a camp, you are certain to have camp followers. At the end of the day's march, Tyrion had sent Bronn back to find him a likely whore. â€Å"I would prefer one who is reasonably young, with as pretty a face as you can find,† he had said. â€Å"If she has washed sometime this year, I shall be glad. If she hasn't, wash her. Be certain that you tell her who I am, and warn her of what I am.† Jyck had not always troubled to do that. There was a look the girls got in their eyes sometimes when they first beheld the lordling they'd been hired to pleasure . . . a took that Tyrion Lannister did not ever care to see again. He lifted the candle and looked her over. Bronn had done well enough; she was doe-eyed and slim, with small firm breasts and a smile that was by turns shy, insolent, and wicked. He liked that. â€Å"Shall I take my gown off, m'lord?† she asked. â€Å"In good time. Are you a maiden, Shae?† â€Å"If it please you, m'lord,† she said demurely. â€Å"What would please me would be the truth of you, girl.† â€Å"Aye, but that will cost you double.† Tyrion decided they would get along splendidly. â€Å"I am a Lannister. Gold I have in plenty, and you'll find me generous . . . but I'll want more from you than what you've got between your legs, though I'll want that too. You'll share my tent, pour my wine, laugh at my jests, rub the ache from my legs after each day's ride . . . and whether I keep you a day or a year, for so long as we are together you will take no other men into your bed.† â€Å"Fair enough.† She reached down to the hem of her thin roughspun gown and pulled it up over her head in one smooth motion, tossing it aside. There was nothing underneath but Shae. â€Å"If he don't put down that candle, m'lord will burn his fingers.† Tyrion put down the candle, took her hand in his, and pulled her gently to him. She bent to kiss him. Her mouth tasted of honey and cloves, and her fingers were deft and practiced as they found the fastenings of his clothes. When he entered her, she welcomed him with whispered endearments and small, shuddering gasps of pleasure. Tyrion suspected her delight was feigned, but she did it so well that it did not matter. That much truth he did not crave. He had needed her, Tyrion realized afterward, as she lay quietly in his arms. Her or someone like her. It had been nigh on a year since he'd lain with a woman, since before he had set out for Winterfell in company with his brother and King Robert. He could well die on the morrow or the day after, and if he did, he would sooner go to his grave thinking of Shae than of his lord father, Lysa Arryn, or the Lady Catelyn Stark. He could feel the softness of her breasts pressed against his arm as she lay beside him. That was a good feeling. A song filled his head. Softly, quietly, he began to whistle. â€Å"What's that, m'lord?† Shae murmured against him. â€Å"Nothing,† he told her. â€Å"A song I learned as a boy, that's all. Go to sleep, sweetling.† When her eyes were closed and her breathing deep and steady, Tyrion slid out from beneath her, gently, so as not to disturb her sleep. Naked, he crawled outside, stepped over his squire, and walked around behind his tent to make water. Bronn was seated cross-legged under a chestnut tree, near where they'd tied the horses. He was honing the edge of his sword, wide awake; the sellsword did not seem to sleep like other men. â€Å"Where did you find her?† Tyrion asked him as he pissed. â€Å"I took her from a knight. The man was loath to give her up, but your name changed his thinking somewhat . . . that, and my dirk at his throat.† â€Å"Splendid,† Tyrion said dryly, shaking off the last drops. â€Å"I seem to recall saying find me a whore, not make me an enemy.† â€Å"The pretty ones were all claimed,† Bronn said. â€Å"I'll be pleased to take her back if you'd prefer a toothless drab.† Tyrion limped closer to where he sat. â€Å"My lord father would call that insolence, and send you to the mines for impertinence.† â€Å"Good for me you're not your father,† Bronn replied. â€Å"I saw one with boils all over her nose. Would you like her?† â€Å"What, and break your heart?† Tyrion shot back. â€Å"I shall keep Shae. Did you perchance note the name of this knight you took her from? I'd rather not have him beside me in the battle.† Bronn rose, cat-quick and cat-graceful, turning his sword in his hand. â€Å"You'll have me beside you in the battle, dwarf.† Tyrion nodded. The night air was warm on his bare skin. â€Å"See that I survive this battle, and you can name your reward.† Bronn tossed the longsword from his right hand to his left, and tried a cut. â€Å"Who'd want to kill the likes of you?† â€Å"My lord father, for one. He's put me in the van.† â€Å"I'd do the same. A small man with a big shield. You'll give the archers fits.† â€Å"I find you oddly cheering,† Tyrion said. â€Å"I must be mad.† Bronn sheathed his sword. â€Å"Beyond a doubt.† When Tyrion returned to his tent, Shae rolled onto her elbow and murmured sleepily, â€Å"I woke and m'lord was gone.† â€Å"M'lord is back now.† He slid in beside her. Her hand went between his stunted legs, and found him hard. â€Å"Yes he is,† she whispered, stroking him. He asked her about the man Bronn had taken her from, and she named the minor retainer of an insignificant lordling. â€Å"You need not fear his like, m'lord,† the girl said, her fingers busy at his cock. â€Å"He is a small man.† â€Å"And what am I, pray?† Tyrion asked her. â€Å"A giant?† â€Å"Oh, yes,† she purred, â€Å"my giant of Lannister.† She mounted him then, and for a time, she almost made him believe it. Tyrion went to sleep smiling . . . . . . and woke in darkness to the blare of trumpets. Shae was shaking him by the shoulder. â€Å"M'lord,† she whispered. â€Å"Wake up, m'lord. I'm frightened.† Groggy, he sat up and threw back the blanket. The horns called through the night, wild and urgent, a cry that said hurry hurry hurry. He heard shouts, the clatter of spears, the whicker of horses, though nothing yet that spoke to him of fighting. â€Å"My lord father's trumpets,† he said. â€Å"Battle assembly. I thought Stark was yet a day's march away.† Shae shook her head, lost. Her eyes were wide and white. Groaning, Tyrion lurched to his feet and pushed his way outside, shouting for his squire. Wisps of pale fog drifted through the night, long white fingers off the river. Men and horses blundered through the predawn chill; saddles were being cinched, wagons loaded, fires extinguished. The trumpets blew again: hurry hurry hurry. Knights vaulted onto snorting coursers while men-at-arms buckled their sword belts as they ran. When he found Pod, the boy was snoring softly. Tyrion gave him a sharp poke in the ribs with his toe. â€Å"My armor,† he said, â€Å"and be quick about it.† Bronn came trotting out of the mists, already armored and ahorse, wearing his battered halfhelm. â€Å"Do you know what's happened?† Tyrion asked him. â€Å"The Stark boy stole a march on us,† Bronn said. â€Å"He crept down the kingsroad in the night, and now his host is less than a mile north of here, forming up in battle array.† Hurry, the trumpets called, hurry hurry hurry. â€Å"See that the clansmen are ready to ride.† Tyrion ducked back inside his tent. â€Å"Where are my clothes?† he barked at Shae. â€Å"There. No, the leather, damn it. Yes. Bring me my boots.† By the time he was dressed, his squire had laid out his armor, such that it was. Tyrion owned a fine suit of heavy plate, expertly crafted to fit his misshapen body. Alas, it was safe at Casterly Rock, and he was not. He had to make do with oddments assembled from Lord Lefford's wagons: mail hauberk and coif, a dead knight's gorget, lobstered greaves and gauntlets and pointed steel boots. Some of it was ornate, some plain; not a bit of it matched, or fit as it should. His breastplate was meant for a bigger man; for his oversize head, they found a huge bucket-shaped greathelm topped with a foot-long triangular spike. Shae helped Pod with the buckles and clasps. â€Å"If I die, weep for me,† Tyrion told the whore. â€Å"How will you know? You'll be dead.† â€Å"I'll know.† â€Å"I believe you would.† Shae lowered the greathelm down over his head, and Pod fastened it to his gorget. Tyrion buckled on his belt, heavy with the weight of shortsword and dirk. By then his groom had brought up his mount, a formidable brown courser armored as heavily as he was. He needed help to mount; he felt as though he weighed a thousand stone. Pod handed him up his shield, a massive slab of heavy ironwood banded with steel. Lastly they gave him his battle-axe. Shae stepped back and looked him over. â€Å"M'lord looks fearsome.† â€Å"M'lord looks a dwarf in mismatched armor,† Tyrion answered sourly, â€Å"but I thank you for the kindness. Podrick, should the battle go against us, see the lady safely home.† He saluted her with his axe, wheeled his horse about, and trotted off. His stomach was a hard knot, so tight it pained him. Behind, his servants hurriedly began to strike his tent. Pale crimson fingers fanned out to the east as the first rays of the sun broke over the horizon. The western sky was a deep purple, speckled with stars. Tyrion wondered whether this was the last sunrise he would ever see . . . and whether wondering was a mark of cowardice. Did his brother Jaime ever contemplate death before a battle? A warhorn sounded in the far distance, a deep mournful note that chilled the soul. The clansmen climbed onto their scrawny mountain horses, shouting curses and rude jokes. Several appeared to be drunk. The rising sun was burning off the drifting tendrils of fog as Tyrion led them off. What grass the horses had left was heavy with dew, as if some passing god had scattered a bag of diamonds over the earth. The mountain men fell in behind him, each clan arrayed behind its own leaders. In the dawn light, the army of Lord Tywin Lannister unfolded like an iron rose, thorns gleaming. His uncle would lead the center. Ser Kevan had raised his standards above the kingsroad. Quivers hanging from their belts, the foot archers arrayed themselves into three long lines, to east and west of the road, and stood calmly stringing their bows. Between them, pikemen formed squares; behind were rank on rank of men-at-arms with spear and sword and axe. Three hundred heavy horse surrounded Ser Kevan and the lords bannermen Lefford, Lydden, and Serrett with all their sworn retainers. The right wing was all cavalry, some four thousand men, heavy with the weight of their armor. More than three quarters of the knights were there, massed together like a great steel fist. Ser Addam Marbrand had the command. Tyrion saw his banner unfurl as his standardbearer shook it out; a burning tree, orange and smoke. Behind him flew Ser Flement's purple unicorn, the brindled boar of Crakehall, the bantam rooster of Swyft, and more. His lord father took his place on the hill where he had slept. Around him, the reserve assembled; a huge force, half mounted and half foot, five thousand strong. Lord Tywin almost always chose to command the reserve; he would take the high ground and watch the battle unfold below him, committing his forces when and where they were needed most. Even from afar, his lord father was resplendent. Tywin Lannister's battle armor put his son Jaime's gilded suit to shame. His greatcloak was sewn from countless layers of cloth-of-gold, so heavy that it barely stirred even when he charged, so large that its drape covered most of his stallion's hindquarters when he took the saddle. No ordinary clasp would suffice for such a weight, so the greatcloak was held in place by a matched pair of miniature lionesses crouching on his shoulders, as if poised to spring. Their mate, a male with a magnificent mane, reclined atop Lord Tywin's greathelm, one paw raking the air as he roared. All three lions were wrought in gold, with ruby eyes. His armor was heavy steel plate, enameled in a dark crimson, greaves and gauntlets inlaid with ornate gold scrollwork. His rondels were golden sunbursts, all his fastenings were gilded, and the red steel was burnished to such a high sheen that it shone like fire in the light of the rising sun. Tyrion could hear the rumble of the foemen's drums now. He remembered Robb Stark as he had last seen him, in his father's high seat in the Great Hall of Winterfell, a sword naked and shining in his hands. He remembered how the direwolves had come at him out of the shadows, and suddenly he could see them again, snarling and snapping, teeth bared in his face. Would the boy bring his wolves to war with him? The thought made him uneasy. The northerners would be exhausted after their long sleepless march. Tyrion wondered what the boy had been thinking. Did he think to take them unawares while they slept? Small chance of that; whatever else might be said of him, Tywin Lannister was no man's fool. The van was massing on the left. He saw the standard first, three black dogs on a yellow field. Ser Gregor sat beneath it, mounted on the biggest horse Tyrion had ever seen. Bronn took one look at him and grinned. â€Å"Always follow a big man into battle.† Tyrion threw him a hard look. â€Å"And why is that?† â€Å"They make such splendid targets. That one, he'll draw the eyes of every bowman on the field.† Laughing, Tyrion regarded the Mountain with fresh eyes. â€Å"I confess, I had not considered it in that light.† Clegane had no splendor about him; his armor was steel plate, dull grey, scarred by hard use and showing neither sigil nor ornament. He was pointing men into position with his blade, a two-handed greatsword that Ser Gregor waved about with one hand as a lesser man might wave a dagger. â€Å"Any man runs, I'll cut him down myself,† he was roaring when he caught sight of Tyrion. â€Å"Imp! Take the left. Hold the river. If you can.† The left of the left. To turn their flank, the Starks would need horses that could run on water. Tyrion led his men toward the riverbank. â€Å"Look,† he shouted, pointing with his axe. â€Å"The river.† A blanket of pale mist still clung to the surface of the water, the murky green current swirling past underneath. The shallows were muddy and choked with reeds. â€Å"That river is ours. Whatever happens, keep close to the water. Never lose sight of it. Let no enemy come between us and our river. If they dirty our waters, hack off their cocks and feed them to the fishes.† Shagga had an axe in either hand. He smashed them together and made them ring. â€Å"Halfman!† he shouted. Other Stone Crows picked up the cry, and the Black Ears and Moon Brothers as well. The Burned Men did not shout, but they rattled their swords and spears. â€Å"Halfman! Halfman! Halfman!† Tyrion turned his courser in a circle to look over the field. The ground was rolling and uneven here; soft and muddy near the river, rising in a gentle slope toward the kingsroad, stony and broken beyond it, to the cast. A few trees spotted the hillsides, but most of the land had been cleared and planted. His heart pounded in his chest in time to the drums, and under his layers of leather and steel his brow was cold with sweat. He watched Ser Gregor as the Mountain rode up and down the line, shouting and gesticulating. This wing too was all cavalry, but where the right was a mailed fist of knights and heavy lancers, the vanguard was made up of the sweepings of the west: mounted archers in leather jerkins, a swarming mass of undisciplined freeriders and sellswords, fieldhands on plow horses armed with scythes and their fathers' rusted swords, half-trained boys from the stews of Lannisport . . . and Tyrion and his mountain clansmen. â€Å"Crow food,† Bronn muttered beside him, giving voice to what Tyrion had left unsaid. He could only nod. Had his lord father taken leave of his senses? No pikes, too few bowmen, a bare handful of knights, the ill-armed and unarmored, commanded by an unthinking brute who led with his rage . . . how could his father expect this travesty of a battle to hold his left? He had no time to think about it. The drums were so near that the beat crept under his skin and set his hands to twitching. Bronn drew his longsword, and suddenly the enemy was there before them, boiling over the tops of the hills, advancing with measured tread behind a wall of shields and pikes. Gods be damned, look at them all, Tyrion thought, though he knew his father had more men on the field. Their captains led them on armored warhorses, standard-bearers riding alongside with their banners. He glimpsed the bull moose of the Hornwoods, the Karstark sunburst, Lord Cerwyn's battle-axe, and the mailed fist of the Glovers . . . and the twin towers of Frey, blue on grey. So much for his father's certainty that Lord Walder would not bestir himself. The white of House Stark was seen everywhere, the grey direwolves seeming to run and leap as the banners swirled and streamed from the high staffs. Where is the boy? Tyrion wondered. A warhorn blew. Haroooooooooooooooooooooooo, it cried, its voice as long and low and chilling as a cold wind from the north. The Lannister trumpets answered, da-DA da-DA da-DAAAAAAAAA, brazen and defiant, yet it seemed to Tyrion that they sounded somehow smaller, more anxious. He could feel a fluttering in his bowels, a queasy liquid feeling; he hoped he was not going to die sick. As the horns died away, a hissing filled the air; a vast flight of arrows arched up from his right, where the archers stood flanking the road. The northerners broke into a run, shouting as they came, but the Lannister arrows fell on them like hail, hundreds of arrows, thousands, and shouts turned to screams as men stumbled and went down. By then a second flight was in the air, and the archers were fitting a third arrow to their bowstrings. The trumpets blared again, da-DAAA da-DAAA da-DA da-DA da-DAAAAAAA. Ser Gregor waved his huge sword and bellowed a command, and a thousand other voices screamed back at him. Tyrion put his spurs to his horse and added one more voice to the cacophony, and the van surged forward. â€Å"The river!† he shouted at his clansmen as they rode. â€Å"Remember, hew to the river.† He was still leading when they broke a canter, until Chella gave a bloodcurdling shriek and galloped past him, and Shagga howled and followed. The clansmen charged after them, leaving Tyrion in their dust. A crescent of enemy spearmen had formed ahead, a double hedgehog bristling with steel, waiting behind tall oaken shields marked with the sunburst of Karstark. Gregor Clegane was the first to reach them, leading a wedge of armored veterans. Half the horses shied at the last second, breaking their charge before the row of spears. The others died, sharp steel points ripping through their chests. Tyrion saw a dozen men go down. The Mountain's stallion reared, lashing out with iron-shod hooves as a barbed spearhead raked across his neck. Maddened, the beast lunged into the ranks. Spears thrust at him from every side, but the shield wall broke beneath his weight. The northerners stumbled away from the animal's death throes. As his horse fell, snorting blood and biting with his last red breath, the Mountain rose untouched, laying about him with his two-handed greatsword. Shagga went bursting through the gap before the shields could close, other Stone Crows hard behind him. Tyrion shouted, â€Å"Burned Men! Moon Brothers! After me!† but most of them were ahead of him. He glimpsed Timett son of Timett vault free as his mount died under him in full stride, saw a Moon Brother impaled on a Karstark spear, watched Conn's horse shatter a man's ribs with a kick. A flight of arrows descended on them; where they came from he could not say, but they fell on Stark and Lannister alike, rattling off armor or finding flesh. Tyrion lifted his shield and hid beneath it. The hedgehog was crumbling, the northerners reeling back under the impact of the mounted assault. Tyrion saw Shagga catch a spearman full in the chest as the fool came on at a run, saw his axe shear through mail and leather and muscle and lungs. The man was dead on his feet, the axehead lodged in his breast, yet Shagga rode on, cleaving a shield in two with his left-hand battle-axe while the corpse was bouncing and stumbling bonelessly along on his right. Finally the dead man slid off. Shagga smashed the two axes together and roared. By then the enemy was on him, and Tyrion's battle shrunk to the few feet of ground around his horse. A man-at-arms thrust at his chest and his axe lashed out, knocking the spear aside. The man danced back for another try, but Tyrion spurred his horse and rode right over him. Bronn was surrounded by three foes, but he lopped the head off the first spear that came at him, and raked his blade across a second man's face on his backslash. A thrown spear came hurtling at Tyrion from the left and lodged in his shield with a woody chunk. He wheeled and raced after the thrower, but the man raised his own shield over his head. Tyrion circled around him, raining axe blows down on the wood. Chips of oak went flying, until the northerner lost his feet and slipped, failing flat on his back with his shield on top of him. He was below the reach of Tyrion's axe and it was too much bother to dismount, so he left him there and rode after another man, taking him from behind with a sweeping downcut that sent a jolt of impact up his arm. That won him a moment's respite. Reining up, he looked for the river. There it was, off to the right. Somehow he had gotten turned around. A Burned Man rode past, slumped against his horse. A spear had entered his belly and come out through his back. He was past any help, but when Tyrion saw one of the northerners run up and make a grab for his reins, he charged. His quarry met him sword in hand. He was tall and spare, wearing a long chainmail hauberk and gauntlets of lobstered steel, but he'd lost his helm and blood ran down into his eyes from a gash across his forehead. Tyrion aimed a swipe at his face, but the tall man slammed it aside. â€Å"Dwarf,† he screamed. â€Å"Die.† He turned in a circle as Tyrion rode around him, hacking at his head and shoulders. Steel rang on steel, and Tyrion soon realized that the tall man was quicker and stronger than he was. Where in the seven hells was Bronn? â€Å"Die,† the man grunted, chopping at him savagely. Tyrion barely got his shield up in time, and the wood seemed to explode inward under the force of the blow. The shattered pieces fell away from his arm. â€Å"Die!† the swordsman bellowed, shoving in close and whanging Tyrion across the temple so hard his head rang. The blade made a hideous scraping sound as he drew it back over the steel. The tall man grinned . . . unt il Tyrion's destrier bit, quick as a snake, laying his cheek bare to the bone. Then he screamed. Tyrion buried his axe in his head. â€Å"You die,† he told him, and he did. As he wrenched the blade free, he heard a shout. ‘Eddard!† a voice rang out. â€Å"For Eddard and Winterfell!† The knight came thundering down on him, swinging the spiked ball of a morningstar around his head. Their warhorses slammed together before Tyrion could so much as open his mouth to shout for Bronn. His right elbow exploded with pain as the spikes punched through the thin metal around the joint. His axe was gone, as fast as that. He clawed for his sword, but the morningstar was circling again, coming at his face. A sickening crunch, and he was falling. He did not recall hitting the ground, but when he looked up there was only sky above him. He rolled onto his side and tried to find his feet, but pain shuddered through him and the world throbbed. The knight who had felled him drew up above him. â€Å"Tyrion the Imp,† he boomed down. â€Å"You are mine. Do you yield, Lannister?† Yes, Tyrion thought, but the word caught in his throat. He made a croaking sound and fought his way to his knees, fumbling for a weapon. His sword, his dirk, anything . . . â€Å"Do you yield?† The knight loomed overhead on his armored warhorse. Man and horse both seemed immense. The spiked ball swung in a lazy circle. Tyrion's hands were numb, his vision blurred, his scabbard empty. â€Å"Yield or die,† the knight declared, his flail whirling faster and faster. Tyrion lurched to his feet, driving his head into the horse's belly. The animal gave a hideous scream and reared. It tried to twist away from the agony, a shower of blood and viscera poured down over Tyrion's face, and the horse fell like an avalanche. The next he knew, his visor was packed with mud and something was crushing his foot. He wriggled free, his throat so tight he could scarce talk. † . . . yield . . . † he managed to croak faintly. â€Å"Yes,† a voice moaned, thick with pain. Tyrion scraped the mud off his helm so he could see again. The horse had fallen away from him, onto its rider. The knight's leg was trapped, the arm he'd used to break his fall twisted at a grotesque angle. â€Å"Yield,† he repeated. Fumbling at his belt with his good hand, he drew a sword and flung it at Tyrion's feet. â€Å"I yield, my lord.† Dazed, the dwarf knelt and lifted the blade. Pain hammered through his elbow when he moved his arm. The battle seemed to have moved beyond him. No one remained on his part of the field save a large number of corpses. Ravens were already circling and landing to feed. He saw that Ser Kevan had brought up his center in support of the van; his huge mass of pikemen had pushed the northerners back against the hills. They were struggling on the slopes, pikes thrusting against another wall of shields, these oval and reinforced with iron studs. As he watched, the air filled with arrows again, and the men behind the oak wall crumbled beneath the murderous fire. â€Å"I believe you are losing, ser,† he told the knight under the horse. The man made no reply. The sound of hooves coming up behind him made him whirl, though he could scarcely lift the sword he held for the agony in his elbow. Brorm reined up and looked down on him. â€Å"Small use you turned out to be,† Tyrion told him. â€Å"It would seem you did well enough on your own,† Bronn answered. â€Å"You've lost the spike off your helm, though.† Tyrion groped at the top of the greathelm. The spike had snapped off clean. â€Å"I haven't lost it. I know just where it is. Do you see my horse?† By the time they found it, the trumpets had sounded again and Lord Tywin's reserve came sweeping up along the river. Tyrion watched his father fly past, the crimson-and-gold banner of Lannister rippling over his head as he thundered across the field. Five hundred knights surrounded him, sunlight flashing off the points of their lances. The remnants of the Stark lines shattered like glass beneath the hammer of their charge. With his elbow swollen and throbbing inside his armor, Tyrion made no attempt to join the slaughter. He and Bronn went looking for his men. Many he found among the dead. Ulf son of Umar lay in a pool of congealing blood, his arm gone at the elbow, a dozen of his Moon Brothers sprawled around him. Shagga was slumped beneath a tree, riddled with arrows, Conn's head in his lap. Tyrion thought they were both dead, but as he dismounted, Shagga opened his eyes and said, â€Å"They have killed Conn son of Coratt.† Handsome Conn had no mark but for the red stain over his breast, where the spear thrust had killed him. When Bronn pulled Shagga to his feet, the big man seemed to notice the arrows for the first time. He plucked them out one by one, cursing the holes they had made in his layers of mail and leather, and yowling like a babe at the few that had buried themselves in his flesh. Chella daughter of Cheyk rode up as they were yanking arrows out of Shagga, and showed them four ears she had taken. Timett they discovered looting the bodies of the slain with his Burned Men. Of the three hundred clansmen who had ridden to battle behind Tyrion Lannister, perhaps half had survived. He left the living to look after the dead, sent Bronn to take charge of his captive knight, and went alone in search of his father. Lord Tywin was seated by the river, sipping wine from a jeweled cup as his squire undid the fastenings on his breastplate. â€Å"A fine victory,† Ser Kevan said when he saw Tyrion. â€Å"Your wild men fought well.† His father's eyes were on him, pale green flecked with gold, so cool they gave Tyrion a chill. â€Å"Did that surprise you, Father?† he asked. â€Å"Did it upset your plans? We were supposed to be butchered, were we not?† Lord Tywin drained his cup, his face expressionless. â€Å"I put the least disciplined men on the left, yes. I anticipated that they would break. Robb Stark is a green boy, more like to be brave than wise. I'd hoped that if he saw our left collapse, he might plunge into the gap, eager for a rout. Once he was fully committed, Ser Kevan's pikes would wheel and take him in the flank, driving him into the river while I brought up the reserve.† â€Å"And you thought it best to place me in the midst of this carnage, yet keep me ignorant of your plans.† â€Å"A feigned rout is less convincing,† his father said, â€Å"and I am not inclined to trust my plans to a man who consorts with sellswords and savages.† â€Å"A pity my savages ruined your dance.† Tyrion pulled off his steel gauntlet and let it fall to the ground, wincing at the pain that stabbed up his arm. â€Å"The Stark boy proved more cautious than I expected for one of his years,† Lord Tywin admitted, â€Å"but a victory is a victory. You appear to be wounded.† Tyrion's right arm was soaked with blood. â€Å"Good of you to notice, Father,† he said through clenched teeth. â€Å"Might I trouble you to send for your maesters? Unless you relish the notion of having a one-armed dwarf for a son . . . â€Å" An urgent shout of â€Å"Lord Tywin!† turned his father's head before he could reply. Tywin Lannister rose to his feet as Ser Addam Marbrand leapt down off his courser. The horse was lathered and bleeding from the mouth. Ser Addam dropped to one knee, a rangy man with dark copper hair that fell to his shoulders, armored in burnished bronzed steel with the fiery tree of his House etched black on his breastplate. â€Å"My liege, we have taken some of their commanders. Lord Cerwyn, Ser Wylis Manderly, Harrion Karstark, four Freys. Lord Hornwood is dead, and I fear Roose Bolton has escaped us.† â€Å"And the boy?† Lord Tywin asked. Ser Addam hesitated. â€Å"The Stark boy was not with them, my lord. They say he crossed at the Twins with the great part of his horse, riding hard for Riverrun.† A green boy, Tyrion remembered, more like to be brave than wise. He would have laughed, if he hadn't hurt so much.

Leadership Failure at Tyco Essay

William B. Lytton remembers the aura of working in the White House in 1987, amidst the power and the personalities that surrounded President Ronald Reagan. Lytton had taken leave from his Philadelphia law firm for six months to act as Deputy Special Counselor for Reagan during the Iran-Contra investigation. â€Å"I would mentally pause and think of how fortunate I was to be there,† Lytton recalled. But as if to check that emotion, he would summon the lessons of John Dean, the young White House lawyer who found himself caught up in the Watergate scandal after allowing himself to become â€Å"dazzled,† as Lytton put it, by the blinding light of power. Speaking to several hundred Vermont Law school students, Lytton recommended they readBlind Ambition, Dean’s memoir about the Watergate years. The book, he said, would serve as a vehicle for young lawyers to question themselves on how they might behave in such a situation. Lytton’s Oct. 6 lecture, entitled â€Å"Just Say No,† laid out the ethical challenges faced by lawyers in a culture where it is often difficult to speak up to power, whether it be in a politically charged atmosphere such as the White House or in a corporate culture such as Tyco International. Lytton stepped in as general counsel at Tyco in 2002 as the company was enmeshed in a multi-billion accounting fraud scandal. Lytton’s role was to resolve the legal issues and clean up the culture, no small feat in a $38 billion company that employed 260,000 people worldwide. His friend was among those under indictment. In the Tyco failure, Lytton said, â€Å"They failed as leaders. They forgot that leadership was about serving others and not themselves. † But it was also a failure of those who follow the leaders, the corporate lawyers who failed in their duty to keep the leaders in check. Like John Dean during Watergate, Tyco lawyers wanted to please their bosses. When the scope of the corporate corruption became clear, Lytton said, the remaining questions were, â€Å"Where were the lawyers? Where was the harsh spotlight of scrutiny? † Yet while the public clamors for criminal prosecutions in such cases, Lytton maintains that it is not illegal intent, but rather the culture of the corporate world and the pressure â€Å"to make your numbers† that often drives corporations into such scandals. Most of the people who became infamous for their misdeeds&helip;were not evil people,† said Lytton, who also serves as a VLS Trustee. As he sees it, they lost sight of the cultural boundaries, blinded by their own career advancement goals. That, he said, is where the role of the corporate lawyer becomes critical. â€Å"As a lawyer, you have a greater and a different responsibility than everyone else,† he said. While it might prove difficult to stop bad th ings from happening, â€Å"Sometimes,† he said, â€Å"you do need to just say no. † A leader plays very important role in the success of the organization. Good leader has vision and he can take the organization forward, a not so good leader finds himself unable to influence the employees and lacks vision and he may cause the failure of the organization. A good leader has exceptional quality to influence his followers . A leader has extraordinary effect on followers and followers become committed to the leader. So, if leader is taking his followers towards the organizational goal, it is positive for the organization. A good leader has power to motivate the followers to contribute individually and hence collectively to the organization. Leader helps the followers (employees) to achieve the goals and objectives set for the organization. A participative leader includes the employees in decision making process. He encourages the employees to share their ideas and views which is considered in decision making process. It makes the decision making like a team work and employees feel themselves a part of the decision making team. So, participative style of leadership motivates the employees to contribute more and increases the belongingness. The leader has vision to foresee the future of the organization. He motivates the employees accordingly. He has influence among employees and he leads from front. By sharing that vision with other followers, and allowing them to take part in achieving that vision, all individuals will benefit from the successful results (Bateman, & Snell, 2007). Any organization’s long term goal is more than just making profit. Organization needs to manage its resources including human resource, efficiently to achieve the set long term goal. Leader plays very crucial role in achieving the goal. He can lead the organization to success or failure. All leadership styles try to achieve same goal, i. e. o help the employees to contribute more individually as well as collectively, and take the organization forward. Organizational culture plays major role in the success of an organization. A successful leader helps in creating healthy organizational culture which allows individual as well as organization to grow and sustain the growth. The failure of the leader is reflected in the weak organizational culture which may result in the failure of the organization. Other important factor which decides the success or failure of an organization is management and organizational structure. Management is responsible for long term planning and setting up the goal of the organization. They have the control of the organization. Top management executes Planning function of management as per POLC model. Other activities of the organization are directed to achieve the goal set in planning phase. If top management fails in setting right long term goal of the organization, all other activities will also be directed in wrong direction and hence, organization may not sustain for long. Organization’s structure and hierarchy delegates power(authority) and responsibilities. It dictates who will do what and who has got what level of authority. Organization’s structure tells who is in charge of taking what decision and who is responsible for a specific act and decision. A successful organization should have clearly defined delegation of authority so that if something goes wrong, management can track the responsible person and know the reason why it went wrong. Sometimes organization deliberately create the organization structure in such a way that any mischief can not be determined easily. In short term organization may be benefited from such organizational structure, but in long term kit may be fatal for the organization’s very existence. TYCO International Tyco International is a diversified global manufacturing and service provider company, having stake in electronics and telecommunication, security, healthcare, flow control etc. Tyco Tyco has been victim of many scandals. It has been acquiring so many businesses and in year 2002 it posted extensive loss. In an effort to cut losses, Tyco divested Tyco capital business through IPO. Tyco healthcare segment also divested its Surgical Dynamics. As a result, in 2002, turnover rose to $35 billion but company incurred a loss of $9 million, including asset impairment write-down of $3 billion. In addition to the financial woes, Tyco faced another massive scandal in 2002- Its former chairman and CEO, L. Dennis Kozlowski was charged for excesses. In 2002, Edward D. Breen was appointed CEO of Tyco for three years. In 2004 Annual Report, then CEO Edward D.  Breen said- † Our success was based on a simple strategy: to make operational excellence a core competency, to build a platform for sustainable organic growth, to invest in our people, and to hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards†¦ † (Allen, & Hartman, 2008). Tyco was pursuing organic growth strategy. In organic growth, company seeks to grow by increasing revenue of existing business rather than acquiring other companies. This was a part of long term plan of Tyco. Tactical plans are made for shorter period to implement the long term plan successfully and achieve the long term goal set by the management. Tyco started working on reviving its corporate image and enhance consumer awareness. In order to build brand value, Tyco launched a global print campaign ion 2004 – â€Å"Tyco a vital part of your world. † Tyco started reviewing its core business and sold rest of the businesses. As a part of this strategy, Tyco sold TGN in 2004 (which was almost entirely written off by that time). In total, Tyco divested 21 businesses and liquidated 4 non-core businesses. In line of the strategic plan and tactical plan, Tyco’s operational plan was also showing same trend. Operational . Tyco had set very good operational plan as well. [pic] Failure of Tyco was the failure of management and leadership. All wrong decisions, lack of control, absence of any internal control system, organizational structure with flaw and weak organizational culture caused the failure of the giant Tyco International. Its former chairman and CEO, L. Dennis Kozlowski and senior managements faced prosecution for â€Å"larceny and conspiracy, falsifying business records and violating business law. † (Tyco Worldwide, 2004, 1). They were accused of misappropriating money and assets from the company for personal use totaling in the range of $210 million dollars. cover their theft, they entered into secret contracts, further damaging the company’s integrity. The executive’s unethical behavior resulted in huge debt and decoration of the value of shareholders. Tyco reached at the verge of bankruptcy. This kind of incident indicates how weak organizational culture was prevailing in Tyco. The leader himself was involved in unethical and illegal activities. A leader can cause success or failure of the organization. In case of Tyco, leader was the caused of the failure. Later, CEO and senior management had to resign and law indicted them. What happened in Tyco can be called failure of leadership and failure of management in checking unethical practice. All organizations have ethics code in place but it is merely a guideline. Organization should monitor how actively ethical code is followed. Moreover, a leader should take initiative and motivate and inspire the employees to follow the ethical practices so that slowly it becomes a part of the process and organizational culture.

Research Methods and Modeling Techniques Essay

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are important modes through which firms undertake their domestic and international strategies. M&As research is important because these transactions have significant implications for firms’ performance (Laamanen & Keil, 2008). When a firm carries out an international M&A it gains full control over the foreign unit (Arregle, Hebert & Beamish, 2006). In addition, once established, these transactions are difficult to change, because they have long-term consequences for the  firm (Capron & Pistre, 2002). Given its high relevance, numerous empirical studies have addressed the M&As research such as the overview by Noe & Rebello in 2006, as well as theoretical articles written by Chi in 2000 and Shaver in 2006. However, even after decades of research on this issue, the empirical research provides no clear consensus on the impact of these transactions on the firms’ performance. For instance, Child, Faulkner and Pitkethly (2001) found that cultural differences are likely to have a negative impact on the firms’ post-acquisition performance. According to Morosini, Shane and Singh (1998) international M&As have become major strategic tools for corporate growth of multinational corporations. M&As increase the efficiency and effectiveness of whole industries, and also affects individual companies’ competitive ability (Hitt, Ireland & Harrison, 2001). Most of the times M&As are the only way to acquire resources and knowledge that are not available in the market. A transaction is known as an acquisition when a buyer acquires all or part of the assets or businesses of a selling company. In case the target company is purchased despite its active resistance the transaction is also known as hostile takeover. A merger, in contrast, is the corporate combination of two or more independent business corporations into a single enterprise, usually the absorption of one or more firms by a dominant one. Most of transactions are considered as acquisitions. One possibility is to literally merge two companies, in which case one company automatically assumes all the assets and liabilities of the other. In this case, the merger must have the approval of at least 50 percent of the stockholders of each firm concerned. The alternative is to simply acquire the sellers stock by purchasing it on the stock market or in exchange for shares. This development usually takes place by increasing slowly, but surely revenues over time in the market the company has become part of. Knowing the clients needs products get adjusted, differentiated and new products get launched. Now it’s been a while since the acquisition and it is more than obvious that this kind of venture was a great idea from Adidas and now it is up to them to try to improve even more and pretty soon overcome Nike as global leader in department of sports equipment, and in unity with Reebok it will be much easier. The closing of the Reebok transaction on January 31, 2006 marks a new chapter in the history of the Adidas Group. By combining two of the most respected and well-known brands in the worldwide sporting goods industry, the new group will benefit from a more competitive worldwide platform, well-defined and complementary brand identities, a wider range of products, and a stronger presence across teams, athletes, events and leagues. The merged companies will maintain their individual brands yet, together, will cover a larger variety of sports and geographic regions, with Reebok’s strength in U.S. sports and Adidas’ more international presence. Their combined clout will also give them stronger bargaining power with retailers. The combination of Adidas and Reebok accelerates the Adidas Group’s strategic intent in the global athletic footwear, apparel and hardware markets. The new Group will benefit from a more competitive platform worldwide, well defined and complementary brand identities, a wider range of products, and an even stronger presence across teams, athletes, events and leagues. Adidas is a German company and has 14,217 employees with global sales of 81 million in 2004 (http://www.fashionbrandsonline.net/adidas-reebok-merger-and-what-the-real-motives/). Reebok was originally a British company, moved to the United States in 1979 and started production of Reebok products in 2004, global sales of 40 billion dollars. Through the merger of Reebok, Adidas will significantly increase market visibility, integrating the two companies complement each other’s consumer base and geographical advantages. This will allow them to be able to narrow Nike lead in the market share to a minimum. The main goal is to benefit from the best sides of each company and emphasize on it. In case of Adidas it is focus on producing sporting goods in all of the categories especially in area of soccer, basketball and tennis. Reebok is in charge of providing market share by emphasizing on their main feature and that is cricket and stylish products well promoted by the celebrities from the music world such as Nelly and Jay Z. PROBLEM STATEMENT Previous research offers no validation that there is a clear relationship of  an improvement of KPI for companies, which participate in M&A transactions, when comparing the figures of the newly merged company, with those of the involved companies separately in case the transaction never happened. The various purposes explained before shows why companies engage in mergers or acquisitions, however, give rise to the presumption that there are positive effects companies benefit from when combining their businesses with those of another carefully selected entity. The overall goal is to get all the necessary info related to the overall situation of the company after merger and to see how the transition went and if the situation at the company is better then before the merger. So the first question is will the new company get a rise in sales and is there a chance to overcome Nike as overall leader in sports brand industry? There’s no such thing as a merger of equals: one company always brings the dominant culture. Smart companies will go out of their way to be protectionist and preserve certain parts of the smaller entity. There may be certain aspects of the culture you want to preserve and value in the firm you’re merging with. Keeping the foundation that made the other company successful must be of essential value. Management absolutely has got to empower people to have a voice in defining what the new corporate culture is going to be. The goal is to find aspects of both cultures that can work in the new combined culture. So basically the second research question would be how the new formed company is going to deal with combining different management values and complexity of joining two corporate cultures? Both Adidas and Reebok went through big financial crises in 90’s so the third and final question would be to investigate what led up to that and what can newly merged company do to avoid that situation. Issues led to big debts to each of the companies involved in this merger and it is of high relevance to research this with big attention. LITERATURE REVIEW To develop a solid answer to the research question, literature review is  necessary and important. Academic literature will help in getting all necessary information to make sure that all the answers have been created properly and that will help in solving the stated problem. The area of Mergers and Acquisitions is a field of great interest to researchers. The will of companies to acquire or merge with another entity is not a new phenomenon as already clearly argued above. There are diverse reasons why a company looks for external opportunities of growth instead of concentrating on its own capabilities of growing organically. Over time, two different tracks of research have developed investigating different aspects and consequences of merger and acquisition transactions. One track is focusing on stock prizes and their fluctuations. This track usually investigates the short-term consequences of mergers and acquisitions around a certain event, which gives it its name: event study. The event can be the announcement of a transaction or the actual transaction date when the deal has not been announced publically before. After all, it does not matter which of the two events will be studied since it is actually the information, which is of importance and priced into the stock and not the event in time like announcement or the actual completion of the deal. The price of the stocks will change the moment investors do change their expectations and take respective actions like going short or long in the securities concerned. Generally, the results of these event studies are that the bidding firms stock prize does fall at the time of the announcement but then recovers shortly after. The stock price of the target firms, in contrast, usually does benefit from the takeover due to the premium, which is normally paid by the acquiring company. Jensen and Ruback (1983) investigate a dozen researches, which are examining event studies during 1956 and 1981. Their overall conclusion is that in those studies the bidding firm does loose while target firms benefit from takeovers. On average, targets do earn 20% when a merger has been announced and up to 30% in case of a tender offer (http://definitions.uslegal.com/m/mergers-and-acquisitions/). In contrast, the companies, which are to acquire do earn just 4% on average in abnormal returns on a tender offer and nothing from merger announcements. Using the cash flow as a measure of economic performance of the investigated companies, Sharma studies the performance of the post acquisition era of the fifty largest companies in the United States between 1979 and 1984. They compare the performance after the merger of the combined new entity with the addition of performance of the companies prior to the merger. Their result is that the more related the two companies prior to the merger have been, more likely it is to have significant performance improvement. Another similar study has been performed by Christian Tuch, which also uses cash flow as determining factor. According to him both acquirers and targets on average earn a lower operating margin on sales prior to the bid (Christian Tuch, International journal of management reviews, The impact of acquisitions, 2007) The intention of the companies is to differentiate their products (Li et al. p.74) from those of their competitors in order to sharpen the brands profile. This leads to the situation that products objectively are still comparable but subjectively for the clients become more difficult to substitute one against each other since it is not just any shoe you buy. Healy and Switzer focus on M&A undertaken in USA. Tuch limits his research on transaction and their consequences to the retail sector in UK. One thing is certain and it is that results vary from case to case. However there are no patterns weather this kind of transaction pay out or not. Switzer uses a larger sample than Healy et al. did and surveys 324 transactions in the US between 1967 and 1987. The performance of the companies involved is measured by the cash flow and it is adjusted by industries average. The author finds that targets and bidders are outperforming its industry benchmarks before and after the merger respectively. METHODOLOGY To generate a research strategy, to collect credible data, the paper will use existing theory to develop hypotheses. Consequently, my research paper will  be based on a deductive research approach. With this approach the theory of the research paper will be proved through collecting quantitative data and explaining the causal relationships between variables (Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2009). All the literature previously mentioned in chapter two, will represent the base for this research. It will include the research of all archive with the special attention to databases of New York Public Library, such as EBSCO. Next step would be creating a survey, through which I will have the opinions of the employees at Adidas. Taking this step allows to take in consideration opinions of the employees, which will be better explained in further text. The broader literature on survey methods suggests measures for assessing these response tendencies and some corrections of them. However, these measures and corrections are either not simple, or not adequately used or tested in the context of cross-national survey research. More importantly, there is not much clarity on how, if at all, response tendencies distort survey. This questionnaire will be looking for closed answers by providing different options of answers for people to choose from. First thing that I will do is to contact one of the top management at the Adidas, and get their opinion on the questions, which will be part of the survey. By doing this they will be included in the whole process and I could get their opinion on the matter. Since enough time has passed after the merger occurred the answers I get from the employees will enable me to get better understanding of how everything operates since then. The way I will be communicating with them will be via e-mail and the goal is to get as straight- forward and honest answer as possible. The simplest techniques to reduce socially desirable responding are to assure respondent anonymity, indirect questioning (Fisher, 1993), and to keep some distance between the respondent and the researcher (through a telephone or mail survey). However, even these techniques are unable to fully control socially  desirable responding. One reason might be the strength of the tendency among some respondents. Another reason might be the unintentional tendency to exaggerate the possession of socially desirable traits and behaviors among other respondents. (Chandrasekaran and Tellis, 2010) Good way to attract the attention of intended employees for survey is to before hand explain them the purpose of the research, and what I plan to make out of it. For higher number of responses this will be both on the questionnaire and in the e-mail. The number of participants should be at least 50 so I would have a proper picture of the overall situation. The whole survey will be designed based on the Likert scale, which basically consists of five possible answers. Those are: strongly agree, agree, not sure, disagree and strongly disagree. The questions I would like to ask at this stage would focus on information to the previous state, when the companies were separate entities and now whey they are merged company. Examples of the questions that would be part of the survey are if the company changed the policies related to handling their operations, how the company is performing under new management and how did the company transit from two big rivals to the teammates on the task. The whole proposed research would last for 3 months, because in my personal opinion that’s how long it takes to analyze all the aspects relevant to the matter. The first phase would be to analyze the literature that already exists on the matter so I can get a better understanding of the area. Next step would be designing a survey. This step is going to be easier because interviews stage will clarify the question that need to be answered, and this survey would consist of closed questions with few options to choose from. The whole survey will be in English. When we are talking about the resources there aren’t going to be any financial resources required and the only thing this project would demand is dedication and time. ETHICS Given that any changes that happen in an organization may be influenced by the behavior of the workforce in general, it is necessary for communication to be open open on all channels, thus ensuring that there is much confidence as sense of responsibility in each employee to the company. Having in mind that in every organization there is a supply chain that ends and begins with the client, for this reason it is imperative that any decision is made to ensure that there will be no negative impact to customers. And as it is the case in any chain if one link fails, the entire chain will fail. The client himself is not able identify which of the links failed. Therefore, if a company failed to meet any specific requirement of the customer, the whole chain fails. Eventually they may find another brand that will provide that  product. However this situation is not good for any either side. (Slack, Chambers, Johnston, 2007). The company needs to have a strong culture in order to transmit to all those who in one-way, or another are involved in it: shareholders, directors, employees, suppliers and customers. Although the supply chain helps accelerate to reducing costs, when they are managed with skill, the risks increase when they become more complex. The consequences of failure of a company have an impact when that error more quickly vibrates throughout the supply chain. By integrating commercial collaborations with other firms, one of the most difficult obstacles is to manage expectations and ensure that each of the companies reached. The supply chain is only as strong as its weakest link. REFERENCES Adidas Group: Yearly Report 2007: ‘MSCI World Textiles, Apparel & Luxury Goods’, p.39, Retrieved from www.adidas.com (Accessed January 6th) Arregle J, Hebert L, and Beamish P (2006); Mode of international entry: The advantages of multilevel methods. Management International Review 46(5): 597-618. Capron L, Mitchell W and Swaminathan A (2001); Asset divestiture following horizontal acquisitions: A dynamic view; Strategic Management Journal 22(9), 817-844. Chambers S., Johnston R., Slack N. (2007). Operations Management. 5th ed. Harlow: Pearson Education Ltd. 121-140. Chi, T., (2000); Option to acquire or divest a joint venture; Strategic Management Journal 21(6): 665-687. Child J, Faulkner D and Pitkethly R (2001) The management of international acquisitions: Realizing their potential value. New York: Oxford University Press. Divesh S., (2002); Journal of business finance and accounting, volume 29 Healy, P., Palepu, Krishna G.; Ruback, R., (1992); _Does Corporate Performance improve after Mergers?_ Journal of Financial Economics 31 (3), Jensen, Michael C., Ruback, Richard S.,(2003). _The Market for Corporate Control: The Scientific Evidence_; Journal of Financial Economics Laamanen, T., and Keil, T., (2008) Performance of serial acquirers: Toward an acquisition program perspective. Strategic Management Journal 29(6): 663- 672. Morosini P., Shane S., Singh H., (1998). National cultural distance and cross- border acquisition performance. Journal of International studies, 29(1): P.137-158 Noe T., and Rebello M., (2006) The role of debt purchases in takeovers: A tale of two retailers. Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 15(3): P.609-648 Shaver J (2006) A paradox of synergy: Contagion and capacity effects in mergers and acquisitions. Academy of Management Review, 31(4): P.962-976 Switzer, Jeannette A., (1996). _Evidence on real gains in corporate acquisitions_; Journal of Economics and Business 48 (5) Tuch C.,(2007); International journal of management reviews, The impact of acquisitions, Volume 9(2); P 141-170

Compare and Contrast Song of Roland and The Iliad. Similarities and Term Paper

Compare and Contrast Song of Roland and The Iliad. Similarities and differences - Term Paper Example The poems are long works and so they are broken into shorter verses and chapters, which makes it easier for the performers to remember. There are many repeated phrases that are used to refer to individual characters or places. Athena is usually referred to in terms of her grey eyes, for example, and there are a lot of references to Roland’s youth and nobility. The content is also similar. Both poems tell the stories of heroic warriors who fight with each other on behalf of great kings. There is a lot of focus on battles, and the women play a secondary role, usually being taken captive like Helen in the Iliad and Bramimonde in the Song of Roland and displayed as a trophy for the winner of a battle. There is a strong narrator who reports what happens, what people are thinking and saying, and even what gods and other divine messengers are doing. The contrast between the human and divine dimensions is very important in epics. There are obvious differences in terms of the historica l period and culture of the two poems. Homer talks about war between Greeks and Trojans, while the Song of Roland deals with the Frankish followers of Charlemagne and their enemies the Muslim Saracens. In the Greek/Trojan world there are many different gods who take an active part in the battles.

A Good Man is Hard to Find and Everything that Rises Must Converge Essay

A Good Man is Hard to Find and Everything that Rises Must Converge - Essay Example Flannery O’Connor is known for her few short stories that were published during and after her lifetime. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† was released in the year 1955 along with other short pieces of fiction. In these two stories we can see how the characters’ beliefs and their lack of ability to adapt themselves to their surroundings and the daily changes that are occurring in the world have an impact on their lives as well as of those around them. â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† is a story about a middleclass family living in the Atlantis. The family consists of a grandmother, her son and his wife, and their three children. It is the unnamed grandmother who is shown to be having the strongest character out of all of them. She is the prime example of someone who thoroughly showcases her belief in Christianity – or the way that she interprets the religion to be like – and is very selfish with respect to others and what they want. To her, i t is only her needs that count and the others should ignore theirs just to fulfill what she wants. She believes in knowing her family roots and acting appropriately so she dresses like a lady even though they are not rich. The way she reacts later on when the family is passing by the cotton fields makes it clear that she is also quite prejudiced against the African Americans even though the others are more accepting. When her son informs her of the trip to Florida, she gets into a rage and insists on going to East Tennessee instead since that is where the family home is and she wants to visit it. However, the rest of the family does not agree with her plans and to take revenge, she tries to make the journey as uncomfortable as possible for the rest of them. Clearly, she is not the stereotyped grandmother who sacrifices her wants for those of her grandchildren or her own children but, rather, it is the other way round. She shows her son news – â€Å"Now look here, Bailey, see here, read this† – about a gang in Florida who were known murderers, the head of which was a man called the Misfit (O'Connor, A Good Man Is Hard To Find par. 1). This was to warn him off since travelling in the same area where a gang of murderers was rumored to be was not safe for the family to go to – anything that would influence her son into changing his mind about going to Florida was welcome regardless of how serious the news actually was. However, that tactic did not work either as Bailey just ignores her. It is because of her selfishness that she wants to ruin the vacation of the rest of the family since her demands are not being fulfilled. During the road trip, she mentions remembering a mansion in Florida and, surprisingly enough, the children express intent of seeing it for themselves. The family – not realizing that her old age and manipulative streak meant a conveniently faulty memory – agree to go and look for it. Bailey tells the fami ly that it would be â€Å"the one and only time ... (they were) going to stop† (O'Connor, A Good Man Is Hard To Find par. 53) as they could not afford to do that repeatedly. Ironically enough, his last words do come true to the last bit. That stop does end up being their last stop to anywhere on earth. The grandmother’s cat creates chaos, distracting Bailey and leading to a car accident. That is not the real tragedy though; they do come out safe, the wife with the broken arm being the only casualty other than the busted up car, of course. But, the crash nudges the Misfit and his crew out of hiding. Once they see the family, the Misfit stays with the grandmother who professes that she recognized him from the papers and unconsciously leads

Summarize an economics article and reflect how the material you Essay

Summarize an economics article and reflect how the material you learned in class help you understand the article - Essay Example There is also freedom of choice. Consumers, workers, businesses and owners have the freedom to produce, buy and sell goods and service in the market. The only limiting factor is the price at which they are able and willing to pay and sell and the capital that they have (Amadeo, 1). The property economy is driven by the motive of self interest where goods and services are sold at the highest bidder while they pay the minimum for the services and goods. The forces of competition maintain the prices at reasonable levels and ensure that services and goods are offered efficiently. All sellers and buyers have the same access and information on which they base their decisions. The government ensures that markets are open and operating (Amadeo, 1). Most goods and services wanted are produced in the most effectual manner. There is innovation in this economy which is profitable. Also, the persons and business that are interested in innovations accumulate a lot of capital which can lead to higher quality of goods (Amadeo, 1). The market operates by competition and there are individuals in the society who are underprivileged. In this economic set-up, there is reward for individuals’ adeptness in competition, and thus, it reflects their values and organization (Amadeo, 1). The most commonly thought premier market economy is the US. This has been a success because of its constitution which has maximum requirements that ease and protect the features of a market economy (Amadeo, 1). The materials that we interacted with in class have helped in understanding what is meant by demand and supply and how they control the manufacturing of goods and services. They have been useful in understanding how and why producers are driven by profits while buyers want to save the highest possible amount. Through the materials, one is able to understand why the market has such characteristics as private property, freedom of choice,

Marketing mix Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing mix - Coursework Example With the high level of obese cases in the country, there is a high demand of healthy foods. To address this, the supermarket has come up with the production of healthy foods. To make this come into a reality, the supermarket will go an extra mile to deliver high quality food products with minimal contents of sugar, fat and salt. According to scientific research, all these have been responsible for obesity. Therefore, by getting access to purely organic and chemical-free fresh food products, all our clients will feel satisfied. Meaning, they will not buy food from any other supplier, but consider At Eat Smart Supermarket as the best alternative in the market. Since the supermarket is targeting a larger market, it will be incumbent upon the management to ensure a proper distribution of its products. For all the potential clients to be accessed wherever they are there needs to be an even distribution. This will be done by establishing distribution points in different parts of the country. These include grocery stores and a chain of supermarkets. If it is properly done, the clients will have confidence in the supermarket and its products. Once the supermarket resorts to even distribution of its food products, it will definitely appeal to potential clients. As a result, they will not wait for supplies from other competing firms, but buy the readily available commodities from its outlets. The other important tool to employ by the supermarket is pricing mix. As a matter of fact, price is one of the factors which determine the success of a new product in the market. Since the market is free for everyone, each and every player needs to come up with competitive prices. This is necessary because it can help in attracting clients and making some profit. In this regard, as a new player in the market, Eat Smart Supermarket will have to set reasonably fair prices. Meaning, they should be

Discuss methods for mitigating challenges encountered in the classroom Essay

Discuss methods for mitigating challenges encountered in the classroom given that some students are learning English as a second and third language - Essay Example speaking backgrounds at English schools (Candlin & Mercer, 2001). For recent arrivals, the educational experiences they have had in their country can play an important role in determining their success at school in England. The extent of formal schooling and the level reached previous to their migration will determine their familiarity with learning in an academic situation. Also, overseas- educated parents of English-born EAL students will have expectations of schooling shaped by their learning experiences (Lipjakova, 2003). Parental expectations will not necessarily match those of teachers in schools, and so there may by different attitudes towards discipline, curriculum content (including extra-curricular activities) as well as the nature and extent of parental involvement (Harding & Riley, 1986). The way in which the school responds to these differences will significantly affect both parent and learner attitudes to the school and ultimately the EAL students’ progress. Also , research indicates that competence in English is related to the level of competence in a learner’s first language: â€Å"Children with greater proficiency in L1 appear to learn L2 more easily† (Cummins, 1984, p. 136). In the past, EAL students were encouraged abandon their first language and to use English as much as possible. Today it is much more widely appreciated that well-developed proficiency in the first language is a positive advantage in learning a second language. It is also now seen that it is very important to maintain and develop the first language for a number of other crucial reasons, including the maintenance of family, peer and community relationships, as well as continued cognitive development and growth in self-esteem and identity of the individual EAL student. Hence, it is critical to recognise what knowledge is needed by ESL students, and what are the most effective strategies for meeting thee needs. A childs self-concept, their

To Kill a Mocking Bird Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

To Kill a Mocking Bird - Essay Example Racism refers to the belief that there are differences in the ethnic groups on the basis of people’s characters, abilities and status. Racism, hence, classifies people in different groups and considers some races as superior to the others. The concept of racism is losing its colour. It is, however, not justifiable to believe that racism has been eliminated completely from the society. The literature is full of such works which identify the instances of racism in the society from the 20’s till now. Throughout history there have been many forms of racism against different groups of people. One way we can really know is by the writers word in literature or school books. One way has been exposed is in "To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee in which she depicts the racial problems of the Deep South in 1930 (Thernstrom 1997; Claudia 1994; Lee 1960). In To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee uses many characters in the book, including Atticus, Jem, Scout and Tom to convey the major t hemes of the story regarding courage, racism and stereotyping to the reader. The story clearly describes the issue of racism as it was in the 1920s and 1930s in America. It is a story which revolves around a black named Tom Robinson who is accused of raping a girl which he has not even done. Racism can be seen in the very core of the theme of the story. The story shows that blacks have always been treated inferior to other races and because of their ethnicity and colour they have always been blamed for things that they have not even done (Lee 1960). The story shows how a town gets one sided when it comes to the issue of rape of a girl by a black. The black named Tom Robinson provides with enough evidence that he is not committed the crime but no one believes him because of his colour. The treatment of Tom Robinson in the story can clearly tell that the jury was being biased only because he was a black. Not only this but racism is also showed in the words of the characters in the sto ry. As at one instance Scout clearly states that â€Å"He’s just a nigger’ (Lee 1960). Racism as practiced in the society against blacks is seen in the courtroom as told by Lee. This can be clearly seen in the character of Mr Gilmer when he cross examines Tom Robinson. It is seen how Mr Gilmer makes a mockery out Tom’s story. It is seen that even the judge is not objecting to Tom Robinson’s treatment by Mr Gilmer. These racist comments passed by the lawyer against Tom Robinson clearly depict the theme of racism as being practiced in the society against the blacks. Similarly Stereotyping also can be witnessed here as the judges in the courtroom were not paying any particular heed to Tom Robinson’s plea as blacks automatically are considered to be criminals. Therefore it can be said that Chapter 19 is the amalgamation of all these themes together to give out a masterpiece which co-relates the judgment and the main theme of the whole story (Lee 1960; Thernstrom 1997). The story tells as to how stereotyping against the blacks or inferior class is being done in the society and how it is actually affecting the lives of many individuals living in this world. An example of stereotyping is the way people think about Dolphus Raymond without even knowing him. For example in chapter 20 Scout says â€Å"somehow, I didn’t think Atticus would like it if we became friendly with Mr. Raymond, and I knew Aunt Alexandra wouldn’

Criminology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Criminology - Essay Example Considering non-human victims of harm in criminology involves victims as animals and victims of environmental crime. The international centre for criminal law reform and criminal justice policy supports considerations given to non-human victims of crimes. Criminal law protects vulnerable victims, the ostensible purpose of the law. Animals, however, do not enjoy the protection fully in the current set up of the law. A significant number of legal systems offer protection to people and their assets. Few laws are there that protect the rights of animals. Animals independently deserve a set of animal rights, different from their generalization as properties. This implies that animals have no set position in the legal system that addresses their grievances and afflictions. In several cases that involve animal rights, the case set involves the human guardians of the animals, who speak for animals. Currently, there exists no full protection of animals in the criminal law. To achieve full pro tection of animals’ rights in the legal system, their representation should change from their status as property. Instead, they should have full representation in the legal system and clear mechanisms set to address the grievances of animals. They should speak for themselves and their recognition as sentient. The members are to pay full regard to animal welfare. Criminology should show concern to harm to animals. There should be mechanisms to address green criminology. This involves crimes against the environment. Animals’ rights to sustainable utilization are fundamental. In doing this, such criminology attempts to confront harm against animals and crimes against the environment. Cases of mistreatment of animals and violation of their rights that brings harm to the animals should receive appropriate treatment. Green criminology is a topic that continues to draw attention to many organizations that lobby for animals’ rights. The UK was notably the first country to implement the law on animal rights. The Act abolishing improper treatment of cattle, with cruelty, came to law in 1822. The UK government recognizes animals as sentient beings. Its devotion aims to the protection of animals welfare is high. In1911, a law passed in the UK channeled for the protection of animals. International laws recognize animal rights. In 1997, there was a law by the European Union that officially acknowledged animals as sentiment beings. The EU requires its member countries to conform to the law set and recognize animals as sentiment beings. There are in existence, multilateral environmental agreements that recognize the need to protect biodiversity including animals. The United Nations crime commissions and congresses acknowledge environmental crimes and crimes to animals. International laws, therefore, are sufficiently concerned with animal rights. Environmental victimization is the state where the environment gets subjected to unhealthy practices, which lea d to its pollution, and leaves it in worse states that it should be. Environmental victimization takes several means, whereby, the environment is misused and wasted with its resources being depleted, while some become dormant. According to Beck et a l., 1994 environmental problems arise from social factors like reflexive modernization, globalization, as well as individualism. Becks position about mass media is incredibly transparent; however,

Introduction healthcare Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Introduction healthcare - Research Paper Example They have both seen a great deal of change throughout their history. The largest impact on change within these organizations has been the constantly advancing technology; it has expanded services tremendously. The greatest challenge they both face now is the continuance of funding and personnel support in order to be able to continue their outreach services. The American National Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a branch of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It was founded in May, 1881, by Clara Barton, a pioneer in American nursing. It is a neutral, independent organization to promote life, peace, and communication in order to alleviate human suffering worldwide. It is a health care and humanitarian organization that today still serves Americans nationwide with particular emphasis on disaster relief and service to military families. Its blood drives supply more than half of the nation’s needed blood supply. Their overall aim is to feed, shelter , and provide comfort and emotional support as well as access to health care during times of disaster and crisis. (American National Red Cross, 2011) The original vision for the American National Red Cross was to provide quick and accurate communication of information during emergencies, as well as service for ill and wounded military personnel and their families.

Fifty Shades of Grey Essay Example for Free

Fifty Shades of Grey Essay Erotic romance by British author E. L. James. Set largely in Seattle, it is the first instalment in a trilogy that traces the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, and a young business magnate, Christian Grey. It is notable for its explicitly erotic scenes featuring elements of sexual practices involving bondage/discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism . The second and third volumes are titled Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, respectively. Fifty Shades of Grey has topped best-seller lists around the world, including the United Kingdom and the United States. [1][2] The series has sold over 65 million copies worldwide,[3] with book rights having been sold in 37 countries,[4] and set the record as the fastest-selling paperback of all time, surpassing the Harry Potter series.[5] Critical reception of the novel has been mixed. Plot Fifty Shades of Grey follows Anastasia Ana Steele, a 22-year-old college senior who lives with her best friend Kate Kavanagh; Kate writes for their colleges student paper. Because of illness, Kate persuades Ana to take her place and interview 27-year-old Christian Grey, an incredibly successful and wealthy young entrepreneur. Ana is instantly attracted to Christian, but also finds him intimidating. As a result she stumbles through the interview and leaves Christians office believing that it went badly. Ana tries to console herself with the thought that the two of them will probably not meet each other again. However she is surprised when Christian appears at Claytons, the largest independent hardware store in the Portland area, where she works. While he purchases various items including cable ties and rope, Ana informs Christian that Kate wants photographs to go along with her article about him. Christian leaves Ana with his phone number. Kate urges Ana to call Christian and arrange a photo shoot with their photographer friend Josà © Rodriquez. The next day Josà ©, Kate, and Ana arrive for the photo shoot at the hotel where Christian is staying and Christian asks Ana out for coffee. The two talk over coffee and Christian asks Ana if shes dating anyone, specifically Josà ©. When Ana replies that she isnt dating anyone, Christian begins to ask her about her family. During the conversation Ana learns that Christian is also single, but is not a hearts and flowers kind of guy. This intrigues Ana, especially after he pulls her out of the path of an oncoming cyclist. However, Ana believes that she is not attractive enough for Christian, much to the chagrin of Kate. After finishing her exams Ana receives a package from Christian containing first edition copies of Tess of the dUrbervilles, which stuns her. Later that night Ana goes out drinking with her friends and ends up drunk dialing Christian, who informs her that he will be coming to pick her up because of her inebriated state. Ana goes outside to get some fresh air, and Josà © attempts to kiss her but is stopped by Christians arrival. Ana leaves with Christian, but not before she discovers that Kate has been flirting with Christians brother, Elliott. Later Ana wakes to find herself in Christians hotel room, where he scolds her for not taking proper care of herself. Christian then reveals that he would like to have sex with her. He initially says that Ana will first have to fill out paperwork, but later goes back on this statement after making out with her in the elevator. Ana goes on a date with Christian where he takes her in his helicopter to his apartment. Once there, Christian insists that she sign a non-disclosure agreement forbidding her to discuss anything that they do together, which Ana agrees to sign. He also mentions other paperwork, but first takes her to a room full of BDSM toys and gear. There Christian informs her that the second contract will be one of dominance and submission and that there will be no romantic relationship, only a sexual one. The contract even forbids Ana from touching Christian or making eye contact with him. At this point, Christian realises that Ana is a virgin and agrees to take her virginity without making her sign the contract. The two then have sex. The following morning Ana and Christian once again have sex, and his mother, who arrives moments after their sexual encounter, is surprised by the meeting, having previously thought Christian was homosexual because she had never seen him with a woman. Christian later takes Ana out to eat, and he reveals to her that he lost his virginity at fifteen to one of his mothers friends and that his previous dominant/submissive relationships failed due to incompatibility. They plan to meet up again and Christian takes Ana home, where she discovers several job offers and admits to Kate that she and Christian have had sex. Over the next few days Ana receives several packages from Christian. These include a laptop to enable the two of them to communicate, since she has never previously owned a computer, and a more detailed version of the dominant/submissive contract. She and Christian email each other, with Ana teasing him and refusing to honour parts of the contract, such as only eating foods from a specific list. Ana later meets up with Christian to discuss the contract, only to grow overwhelmed by the potential BDSM arrangement and the potential of having a sexual relationship with Christian that is not romantic in nature. Because of these feelings Ana runs away from Christian and does not see him again until her college graduation, where he is a guest speaker. During this time, Ana agrees to sign the dominant/submissive contract. Ana and Christian once again meet up to further discuss the contract, and they go over Anas hard and soft limits. Ana is spanked for the first time by Christian; the experience leaves her both enticed and slightly confused. This confusion is exacerbated by Christians lavish gifts, and the fact that he brings her to meet his family. The two continue with the arrangement without Ana having yet signed the contract. After successfully landing a job with Seattle Independent Publishing, Ana further bristles under the restrictions of the non-disclosure agreement and the complex relationship with Christian. The tension between Ana and Christian eventually comes to a head after Ana asks Christian to punish her in order to show her how extreme a BDSM relationship with him could be. Christian fulfils Anas request, beating her with a belt, only for Ana to realize that the two of them are incompatible. Devastated, Ana leaves Christian and returns to the apartment she shares with Kate.

Hybrid Model of Crisis Intervention Case Study

Hybrid Model of Crisis Intervention Case Study Frances Roulet The assignment: (3-4 pages) Provide an analysis of the crisis depicted in the Case Study in this weeks Learning Resources. Explain how you would apply the Hybrid Model to the crisis in the Case Study. Integrate Maslows model into your evaluation and explain how you did so. In 1972 a military infantryman flew home alone from Vietnam. When he arrived in his hometown, San Antonio, TX, no one was there to greet him. His return was not communicated to his family, and his wife was at work in the mayor’s office while his six-year-old daughter and 10-year-old son were at school. Feeling confused and without family, friends, or military support, he took a bus to a nearby stop and walked the remainder of the way home. He searched out two guns in his home and asked his neighbor if he could borrow her car. He then left to pick up his children at school and walked into the school firing at faculty and students. Several teachers and students were gunned down. He found his two children, took them, and left for the San Antonio mayor’s office to find his wife. At that time he left his children in the car, re-loaded his guns, and went into his wife’s office, again firing his guns and apparently killing several individuals including a number of counc ilpersons, police officers, and the mayor. You are a Professor of Counselor Education and Supervision at a university in San Antonio, TX. Apply the Six-Step Model of Crisis Intervention for responding in this community. Case study: Vignette. Analysis. In the Case Vignette No. 1, the soldier had been deployed back to his hometown in San Antonio, Texas. Hoge, Lesikar, Guevara, Lange, Brundage, Engel, Orman, Messer (2002) explained that researches conducted after military conflicts, deployment stressors and exposing soldiers to combat were considered risks factors of mental health problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, [PSTD], major depression, substance abuse, impairment in social functioning and in the ability to work and the increase use of health care services. In this case, although there is insufficient information about the infantry soldier; and, we do not know if he faced directly combat, this soldier and part of his comrades were exposed to danger, injuries and death on a daily basis. Although not everyone exposed to violence or traumatic events may develop PTSD, factors, such as, the intensity of the trauma and proximity to the circumstances can increase the propensity of developing the disorder (Phillips, LeardMann, Gumbs Smith, 2010). According to Phillips, LeardMann, Gumbs Smith (2010) when a person is exposed to combat, and have constant threats of death or witness to it, serious injury or witness to it become significant risk factors for screening positive for postdeployment PTSD among soldiers as well as, violence exposures prior entering the infantry. Hoge, Castro, Messer, McGurk, Cotting, Koffman (2004) explained that soldiers and marines presented new onset PTSD after returning from combat several months later. These investigators explained that in their study a 7.6% was revealed with probable new onset PTSD. In the Case Vignette No. 1, he definitely was presenting new onset symptoms for PTSD because he felt confused, alone without support and no communication. There is a probability that he might have been impacted and presented symptoms of PTSD before being deployed to Vietnam, and returned traumatized with his experience in Vietnam. The infantry soldier of this case, was impacted, and presented symptoms of PTSD apparently before being deployed to Vietnam, and returned even more traumatized with his Vietnam experience. These same investigators explained that one study was conducted before the military operation with Iraq and Afghanistan and they discovered that a 6 of all US military service personnel on active duty received treatment for mental disorders each year (Hoge, Castro, Messer, McGurk, Cotting, Koffman, 2004). Based on my analysis, this case has greater risk for developing a combat related psychological disorder, not to mention criminal charges for hurting and killing innocent people. And, at his return, he found out that there was no communication was done before his arrival, no family member’s to receive. Phillips, LeardMann, Gumbs Smith (2010) explained that when a person is exposed to combat, and, have constant threat of death or witness to it, serious injury or witness to it become significant risk factors for screening positive for post-deployment PTSD. Hybrid Model to the crisis in the Case Study TRIAGE ASSESSMENT FORM: CRISIS INTERVENTION CRISIS EVENT. Identify and describe briefly the crisis situation: The identified male is a Vietnam infantry soldier rushed in emergency during morning hours. There were direct witness to several traumatic events and victims of a shooting. Some of these traumatic events were: The lost of coworkers, friends and neighbors of the community. The impact of an extreme loud noise impacting their physical being. AFFECTIVE DOMAIN Identify and describe briefly the affect that is present. (If more than one affect is experienced, rate with #1 being primary, #2 secondary, #3 tertiary.) No. 1. Feeling of fear and anxiety: The victims remain with a high level of fear that could be badly hurt or killed. After being a direct witness to the whole event of shooting and seeing people he knew from the community and how they were falling and dispersing. The victims may present a possibility of not being able to remember details of how they managed to escape from the traumatic event. No. 2. Feeling of being confused: Feeling confused of what happened or not being able to comprehend the traumatic event. No. 2. Feeling of guilty: Feeling guilty of running away from the event when they could of helped a neighbor, friend or co-worker. No. 2. Feeling anguished when speaking of the traumatized events. No. 2. Feeling sad. No. 3. Anger feelings completely repressed. Affective Severity Scale Circle the number that most closely corresponds with client’s reaction to crisis. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Moderate Impairment à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  7 Affect may be incongruent with situation. Extended periods of intense negative moods. Mood is experienced noticeably more intensely than situation warrants. Affects may be obviously incongruent with situation. BEHAVIORAL DOMAIN Identify and describe briefly which behavior is currently being used. (If more than one behavior is utilized, rate with #1 being primary, #2 secondary, #3 tertiary.) APPROACH: Direct witness to several traumatic events, such as the scene of bodies of people around the victims. The tendency of the victims is running as far as they can from the traumatic and noxious event. AVOIDANCE: Victims may not want to avoid meeting new friends in order to develop and maintain a social circle. And, also may avoid having the opportunity of a new relationship. IMMOBILITY: The victims may constantly be re-experiencing the traumatic event of Vietnam. Their spontaneous memories of the traumatic events, recurrent dreams about the mornings where he was exploded the attacks, that killed several people and injured others were rushed that same morning. They might present flashbacks of the dramatic and traumatic events of the morning. The victims explained especially when they turn around to see what had happened. And, they see others being abused and terrorized. They immediately remember the traumatic event and they keep seeing more people dead. Then, they begins feeling scared and non trustful from all people that surrounds them. They present a prolonged distress. Behavioral Severity Scale Circle the number that most closely corresponds with client’s reaction to crisis. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Moderate Impairment à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  7 Behaviors are maladaptive but not immediately destructive. Behaviors are difficult to control even with repeated requests. Behavior is becoming a threat to self or others and increasingly difficult to control. Ability to perform tasks necessary for daily functioning may be noticeably compromised. COGNITIVE DOMAIN Identify if a transgression, threat, or loss has occurred in the following areas and describe briefly. (If more than one cognitive response occurs, rate with #1 being primary, #2 secondary, #3 tertiary PHYSICAL (food, water, safety, shelter, etc.): During the escape from the shooting, and although they do not recall how they managed to escape or how they managed to get to the opposite side of the affected area, they suffered deprivation of safety and medical and psychological attention for several minutes. According to Gilliland (2013) the transgression, threat, loss or the three may be perceived as an association to whatever the person physical needs are. ___1___ TRANSGRESSION ___1____THREAT ___1____LOSS PSYCHOLOGICAL (self-concept, emotional well being, identity, etc.): They present a persistent and distorted sense of confusion or guiltiness of not able to help others. They may present arousal when presenting sleep disturbance, hyper-vigilance during the following weeks. ___1___ TRANSGRESSION ___1____THREAT ___1____LOSS SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS (family, friends, co-workers, etc.): Some of the victims may have lost friends, family members, and neighbors when they were forced to run for their lives in order to continue living after the traumatic event suffered. They may markedly diminished interest in activities, such as their social life and interpersonal relationships. Gilliland (2013) explains that the disturbance, regardless of its triggers causes clinical significant distress and at times impairment in her social interactions and capacity to work. ___1___ TRANSGRESSION ___1____THREAT ___1____LOSS MORAL/SPIRITUAL (personal integrity, values, belief system, etc.): They might questioned their spiritual believes, or may want to see a representative of their religious community in order to feel reassure their spiritual believes ___1___ TRANSGRESSION ___1____THREAT ____1___LOSS Cognitive Severity Scale Circle the number that most closely corresponds with client’s reaction to crisis. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Moderate Impairment à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  7 Client’s perception and interpretation of crisis event may differ in some respects with reality of situation. Intrusive thoughts of crisis event with limited control. Problem solving and decision-making abilities adversely affected by obsessiveness, self-doubt, confusion. Client experiences recurrent difficulties with problem-solving and decision making abilities. Problem-solving and decision making abilities minimally affected. Client’s perception and interpretation of crisis event substantially match with reality of situation. DOMAIN SEVERITY SCALE SUMMARY Affective à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  7 Cognitive à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  7 Behavioral à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  7 Total à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¢Ã‚  21 Developmental Ecological Assessment Approach. Stage of Psychosocial Development. In this particular case, the developmental psychosocial stages of all the victims were working class adults in their working environment and during normal working hours. And, school students in an early morning studying period hours of a regular weekday. References Hoge, C., W., Castro, C., A., Messer, S., C., McGurk, D., Cotting, D. I. Koffman, R., L. (2004). Combat duty in Iraq and Afghanistan, mental health problems, and barriers to care. New England Journal of Medicine, 351(1): 13-22. Hoge, C., W., Lesikar, S., E., Guevara, R., Lange, J., Brundage, J., F., Engel, C., C., Orman, D., T. Messer, S., C. (2002). Mental Disorders among US military personnel in the 1990s: Association with high levels of Health care utilization and early military attrition. American Journal Psychiatry, 159: 1576-1583. James, R. Gilliland, B. (2013). Crisis Intervention Strategies. (7th Edition). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole, Cengage Learning. Phillips, C. J., LeardMann, C. A., Gumbs, G. R., Smith, B. (2010). Risk factors for posttraumatic stress disorder among deployed US male marines. BMC Psychiatry, 10(1): 52. Vogt, D. S., Tanner, L. R. (2007). Risk and resilience factors for posttraumatic stress symptomatology in Gulf War I veterans. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 20(1): 27-38.