All characters in the novel Essay Example for Free

All characters in the novel Essay All characters in the novel Of Mice and Men are either lonely, bored or in need of escaping from the soulless existence of the itinerant labour. It is based on a society of men leading empty lives, trapped in a lonely life, consisting mainly of hard physical work. There was not enough happiness, love and affection in their lives. The novel is set in California, the Southern states of America, in the 1930s around the time of the Great Depression. The ranch is based in Soledad; which is the Spanish word for Loneliness. The bunkhouse that the men sleep and live in is a long and rectangular building. The walls are white washed and the floor unpainted. In three of the four walls are small, square windows. In the fourth one was a solid door with a wooden latch. There are eight bunks, all with a nailed apple box over them with the opening forward. This made two small shelves for the personal belongings of each ranch hand occupying the certain bunk. On these shelves were little articles, soap, razors, talcum powder, Western magazines, medicines, little vials, combs and a few neckties. There was also a black cast iron stove, and a big square table in the centre of the room, with scattered playing cards across it, and surrounding the table were boxes for the men to sit on. The bunkhouse also had lice and roaches in it! Carlson and the other ranch hands all dream of owning their own land and living and working from this, resulting in wealth and happiness. This was known as the American Dream, this is shown as an opportunity to all people no matter how rich or poor they are. There is a lot of government propaganda, informing people that if they work hard and push their ambitions to the limit, they can make this dream reality. However they all knew, no matter how hard they worked or how successful they were, it was very unlikely of this dream ever becoming reality. Their way of escaping this disappointment was to collect their fifty bucks at the end of the month and of a weekend spend all of it on women and alcohol, usually at the nearest cat-house. During the week they play cards games or horseshoes. Crooks is very lonely, this is due to the fact that he is coloured and everyone knows him as a nigger! He is treated completely differently to all the others, an outsider. He is also crippled, after a horse kicked him and severely damaged his back. In the 1930s it was very racist in America and the coloured people werent allowed to speak up or were too scared to defend themselves in fear of what the white people would do to them. This is the situation Crooks is in. However he is the only coloured person at the ranch, so he has to accept all racial comments on his own. He has his own separate room, which isnt even a room it is a shed that leans off the side of the barn wall. He is isolated from everyone else, therefore unable to socialise. On one occasion Lennie entered the barn to see his pup. He saw Crooks light shining and stood in the doorway of Crooks room. Crooks saw him and said sharply you got no right to come in my room. This heres my room. Nobody got any right in here, but me. He then followed with I aint wanted in the bunkhouse and you aint wanted in my room, they play cards in there, but I cant play because Im black. They say I stink. Well, I tell you all of you stink to me. Crooks reads to amuse himself when he has nothing better to do. This keeps his mind off of the atmosphere and situation he is surrounded by in his everyday life. Curleys wife is perhaps one of the loneliest characters, trapped in her strict and original womans/wifes role. Her daily routine only ever consists of her doing housework, such as cooking Curleys dinner, washing Curleys clothes, making Curleys bed, cleaning Curleys house, etc. If Curley catches her talking to the ranch hands he is always very annoyed by it, she is to stay in the house. She is known as Curleys wife, no one knows her name so they cannot call her by it. One time when she enters the bunkhouse and begins to talk to the ranch hands, Crooks suggests Maybe you better go along to your own house now. We dont want no trouble. It is this idea that she is trouble that makes Curleys wife so upset and angry. Well, I aint giving you no trouble. Think I dont like to talk to somebody ever once in a while? Think I like to stick in that house alla time? Having a husband even makes her loneliness worse, because Curley is so strict about whom she socialises with and what she does. She calls him sarcastically a Swell guy, who Spends all his time sayin what hes gonna do to guys he dont like, and he dont like nobody. Curleys wife tries to escape her loneliness and sadness by dreaming of being an actress or a model. She had been offered the chance before I tell you I could of went with shows An a guy tol me he could put me in pitchers. Curleys wife is also very good at flirting, this attracts male attention. Therefore just for a moment she is listened to and is the centre of attention, this moment matters so much to her because she is being paid attention to for once, that she makes a very bad habit of it. However the ranch hands have got used to her scheming ways and do not want to risk getting canned because of a tart. However Lennie and George are different to the other ranch hands, they may live a lonely existence, but they have each other. Other than the other ranch hands expressing their feelings about their hopes, dreams, lonely lives etc, George and Lennie are the only characters we really get to know. All other ranch hands havent got a family or anything to look forward to, but it is different with George and Lennie; they believe they have a future and as long as they have got each other, it doesnt matter whether they have a family or not. These men love each other. They talk to each other and know that the other cares for them, because George looks after Lennie, and Lennie looks after George. However, George has a much greater job in looking after Lennie, than Lennie has in looking after George. Lennie is a bit of a dunce and is always forgetting things, but George has the brains. They both are physically well built, but Lennie does not realise his own strength sometimes, he is dangerously strong. Lennie is the physical side of the pair, whereas George is the mental. The fact that they have each other gives them more of a chance of success, than the other ranch hands. Lennie loves George to tell him what; one-day things will be like. Their dream is to one day buy a little house, with a ten acres, a winmill, a kitchen, an orchard to grow cherries, apples, peaches, cots, nuts, and a few berries, a section on the land to grow alfalfa that Lennie will use to feed the rabbits with, hutches and pens full with pigs, chickens, cows, goats, cats, pigeons, a dog and rabbits that Lennie could pet, a smoke house so they could kill the pigs and then smoke it, for smoked ham and bacon etc, and for them to literally live off the fatta the lan'. They would only work six or seven hours a day. Lennie likes to pet, smooth, soft, furry things, as a kind of comfort. Other than for George and animals, love and affection are withheld, not only from Lennie, but also for all the ranch hands. This is why they have their own individual comfort or way of escaping from the repetitive daily routine and loneliness. Candy is a dissimilar character from the other ranch hands. He is very lonely and sad. He has no hand, but a very old dog that he cares for very much. This dog is similar to Candy. They are both very old and when Carlson shoots the dog, because it smells, has no teeth, he cannot eat, is stiff with rheumatism, is nearly blind and Carlson thinks it will be better to put the dog out of his ageing misery. Candy wants people to treat him once he is canned like this. This is because he wont have no place to go, an he cant get no more jobs. The other ranch hands say that he can replace the dog with one of Lulus pups, but of course that wouldnt be the same, never is anyone or anything the equivalent, everyone and everything is unique. Candy seems to think that when he is dead, people will say the same thing about him. When a new ranch hand comes and replaces him, hell be forgotten. For obvious reasons Candy is upset and hurt by this. It is as if the characteristics of his dog and the way the other men treat the dog, symbolises Candy. Candy wants to join George and Lennie in their dream. Candy has already got three hundred bucks and another fifty coming at the end of the month, when the men get paid. He explains that he aint much good, but I could cook, tend the chickens, and hoe the garden some. Then when George and Lennie get their fifty bucks each at the end of the month, they will have four hundred and fifty bucks, and although the woman wants six hundred bucks, George thinks she will accept their offer as a deposit and then George will get a job and start to collect the rest, while Candy and Lennie could work on the land as well as sell eggs etc, making more money. This is Candys route of escaping. Everything seems to be falling into place and their dream looks like it could become reality. This is everything a man wants and Candy is thrilled he is part of it. However much their dream looks real, it all ends when Curleys wife tries her old tricks with Lennie. Curleys wife enters the barn, as Lennie sits there mourning over his pup, he has just accidentally killed! George has already warned Lennie about Curleys wife, says she is trouble, so Lennie refuses to talk to her, George says I aint to have nothing to do with you- talk to you or nothing. Curleys wife says in a innocent voice, All the guys got a horse-shoe tenement goin on, so Why cant you talk to me? She eventually persuades Lennie that it is safe to talk to her. They talk for ages and Lennie tells her how he likes to pet nice things with my fingers, sof things. She tells Lennie to feel right here, on her hair. Lennie was enjoying stroking her hair until she warned him not to muss it up. She then got angry because Lennie wasnt listening to her. She went to pull away and Lennie clasped his fingers tightly in her hair and wouldnt let go. She began to shout, you let go. Lennie began to get scared because he thought George would hear and go mad. He covered her mouth and nose to prevent her screaming, and continued to beg her to be quiet. She continued to struggle and he shook her. Suddenly her body flopped like a fish. She was dead! Lennie ran to the brush that George had told him to hide in when they first arrived in Soledad if he ever got into trouble. When Candy found Curleys wife dead and told all the ranch hands, they all knew it was Lennie! Most of the men wanted to kill Lennie, but George got there first. George knew that Lennie would be scared if half a dozen men ran towards him shooting, but if George was to do it at the back of his head, just like Candys old dog it would be pain free. When George found him, Lennie asked for the story of their dream to be told to him and questioned George why he wasnt mad at him, but obviously if this was Georges last moments with Lennie he didnt want to be mad at him. As George told the story and paused every so often, Lennie would say go on or Gonna do it soon as if he knew what George was about to do and was encouraging George to get it over and done with. George finally shot Lennie. Lennie jarred forward and the settled peacefully as he lay on the sand. George just sat stiffly and silently n the bank, looking at his hand that had just pulled the trigger disgustedly. George knew it was for the best, where ever they were to go Lennies unrecognised strength would lead to trouble; it had already, both in Weed and Soledad. Lennie was trapped by his strength. Although, Lennie has now been released from pain by no longer being able to kill others and from not getting shot by half a dozen men cruelly, but peacefully by George. The upsetting thing is, that Lennie was so afraid of being alone and away from George, and now he was just that. It was all over!!! George is now free; he is no longer trapped by his want of freedom, of constantly looking after Lennie. I think the novel tries to give us the message that people try to lead their lives as successfully as possible, in order to result in the best possible outcome. However this is very hard to succeed. The ranch hands wanted the American Dream to become reality, but is very unlikely and as shown does not happen. The novel gave a very positive view of the American dream, but this is erroneous and does not come true. The chances of finding true, lasting friendship and happiness are also very unlikely as it is always spoilt by misfortune, arguments, inconveniences and sometimes death, as in this case.

HOW DOES THE INFLUENCE OF DIFFERENT PHYSICAL FACTORS ON AGRICULTURAL V :: essays research papers

The location of agriculture at all scales is the result of the interaction between physical, cultural and economic and behavioural factors. Farming in Great Britain has been characterized by technological changes in recent decades which has led to massive increases in yields and improved stock rearing. Much of this change is due to the application of scientific research in plant and stock breeding and improved mechanization. But even today agriculture relies heavily on the physical environment. All crops require a specific range of temperature, moisture, soil ands drainage conditions and these factors can be modified by the farmer but only to a limited degree. If we accept that a farmers choice of land usage is controlled by the physical environment, we must identify the optimum conditions and limits to production of any one crop . This will help to identify the spatial pattern of environmental controls. This was central to the ideas explored by McCarty and Lindberg in the Mid West of the USA and gave rise to the Optima Limits Model in 1966. Away from the optimum physical conditions become hostile and production/ yields decline. The optimum is the area where yields are highest and variability best, where soils are fertile, temperature and rainfall ideal and ground surface level for cultivation. Farmers will take account of physical conditions at a local scale when considering which crops to grow. For example, the Moray coast in NE Scotland between Elgin and Lossiemouth is a rich agricultural area where winters are relatively mild and summers averaging 17oC, rainfall occurs throughout the year and is typically 600mm. There are a variety of soils but mainly glacial sandy loams on the higher ground and alluvial soils where there were once areas of open marshy conditions. A variety of crops are grown, both cereal and root crops. However, there are limitations to agriculture in this area. The main problem is that of wind erosion, the sandy loams are light soils which dry out quickly with high infiltration rates. During early spring or late autumn strong winds can pick up the soil and cause localized wind erosion. Despite this being a well-known problem there are few conservation measures; the only evidence being improving the structure of the soil using manure. There have been no attempts to re-establish hedgerows. Wetness limitations occur such as at Plewlands Farm to the north of Gordonstoun and at Begrow Farm to the west towards Hopeman.

The Essence of Attribution Theory

There are many reasons why an individual behaves in a particular way. Correspondingly, there are numerous guesses a person makes about the behaviors and characteristics of another. This is the essence of attribution theory. Since its development, attribution theory has been applied to an array of disciplines. This facet of cognition is not only of interest to social psychologists, but also to educators, sociologists, marketing professionals, management personnel, and those in the medical field. Attribution theory states that humans ‘tend to give a causal explanation for someone's behavior, often by crediting either the situation or the person's disposition' (Myers, 644). As such, it requires three components: an actor, behavior, and observer. For example, if a driver swerves in front of another's car, what is the explanation the latter will provide for the former's action? The observer may conclude that there was an obstacle in the road or that the actor has fallen ill. These two explanations credit situational causes to the behavior. What is more likely, however, is for the observer to attribute the actor's behavior to disposition, such as being a clumsy driver. The way in which an individual perceives another has important implications as it can alter subsequent attitudes and behaviors. Naturally, there are several possibilities why a person acts in a certain manner. Building on the example above, the actor's behavior may be due to drunkenness or automobile malfunctioning. There is a curious phenomenon in attribution theory. As alluded to above, research indicates a high occurence of undamental attribution error, which is ‘the tendency for observers, when analyzing another's behavior, to underestimate the impact of the situation and to overestimate the impact of personal disposition' (Myers, 644). An internal attribution claims that the actor was responsible for the event. Using the ongoing example then, the observer will attribute the actor's behavior to internal, stable characteristics, such as being an aggressive driver. This is true even when other variables are introduced that clearly indicate situational influences. If the observer spots a deer quickly running to the periphery of the road, he is still likely to attribute the actor's behavior as Attribution theory includes providing explanations for one's own behaviors. An individual who receives a failing grade on an examination may attribute this outcome to several reasons, most of which will be situational. He may believe the teacher is incompetent, the examination obscure, or the textbook poorly written. This is an illustration of self-serving attributional bias which indicates ‘a tendency to attribute successful outcomes to dispositional factors and unsuccessful outcomes o situational factors' (Cardwell, 221). Self-serving attributional bias often helps an individual to rationalize an otherwise threatening situation. For example, if the individual who did not pass the examination admitted that he does not understand the material, this will likely lead him to feel uncomfortable about his intelligence or capabilities. To avoid this, he attributes the failure to circumstances beyond his control, which relieves his ego of admitting a personal incompetency. It is nteresting to note that humans usually view another's behavior as stemming from dispositional attributes, regardless of outcome or observable environmental variables, but then conversely attribute their own behaviors to dispositional influences in times of success and situational influences when the outcome is negative. Attribution theory has its origins in the 1950's with the pioneering work of Fritz Heider; his book The Psychology of Interpersonal Relationships was instrumental in the development of this social psychology theory (Brown). He coined the term ‘naive psychology' which describes the way in which laypeople utilize pieces of information to construct explanations of others' behaviors. Edward Jones and Keith Davis' ‘systematic hypotheses about the perception of intention was published in 1965 in the essay ‘From Acts to Dipositions† (Brown, 1). Expanding on Heider's work, Harold Kelley stated that ‘people attempt to function as naive scientists' (Aronson, 118) and he added ‘hypotheses about the factors that affect the formation of attributions: consistency, distinctiveness, and consensus' Brown, 1). ‘Kelley published ‘Attribution in Social Psychology' in 1967†² (Brown, 1). During the 1970's ‘the field of social psychology was dominated by attribution theorists and researchers' (Brown, 1). In the 1980's Bernard Weiner added to the knowledge and scope of attribution theory with his focus on achievement. He identified ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck as the most important factors affecting attributions for achievement' (Attribution Theory, 1). Weiner added locus of control, stability, and controllability to the lexicon of attribution theory. Weiner's theory has been widely applied in education, law, clinical psychology, and the mental health domain' (Attribution Theory, 1). Schank's work on the structure of knowledge, particulary ‘in the the context of language understanding' (Script Theory, 1) is intimately tied to attribution theory. In the 1990's attribution theory was applied to the health care field with the works of Lewis and Daltroy (Attribution Theory). Additionally, ‘attribution theory applied to career development is provided by Daly (1996) who examined the attributions that employees held as to why they failed to receive romotions' (Attribution Theory, 1). Most recently, this influential theory has been utilized in studying phenomena such as consumer behavior and advertising Naturally the applications of attribution theory, due to its pervasive and pliability, are limitless. Understanding why people behave in one way over another and how an individual perceives others can lead to important developments in a variety of disciplines. Researchers have studied the different attribution attitudes of females and males. One's attribution style and his corresponding projection during counseling has been investigated. Seligman proposed an attribution model, which provides an explanation of learned helplessness (Schultz & Schultz). Even the children of holocaust survivors have not escaped the grasp of attribution Law is affected by attribution theory in that it comes into play when judges, lawyers, and jurors attempt to understand why a person committed a crime. Marketing and advertising specialists wish to know why consumers behave in a particular way and how their perceptions influence their consumption. Prudent managers seek insight into their employees' perspectives and consequent behaviors. Sociologists study how attributions affect the development of prejudices. The health care practices and attitudes of patients are of obvious importance to medical professionals. It appears the application of attribution theory to information technology is a newly developing area of interest. With a growing movement of educational reforms, it seems attribution theory will be increasingly directed toward this area of humanity. In fact, educational professionals are eager to examine and apply the principles of attribution theory to the learning process. Of particular interest to both educators and researchers are high- and low-achievers. ‘Since 1960, hundreds of studies have contributed to understanding why some are highly motivated to achieve and and others are not' (Tucker-Ladd, 1). Researchers have found that ‘high achievers will approach rather than avoid tasks related to succeeding because they believe success is due to high ability and effort which they are confident of' (Attribution Theory, 1). This means that failure is typically attributed to external variables, hich leaves their self-esteem intact. Low-achievers, on the other hand, ‘avoid success-related chores because they tend to (a) doubt their ability and/or (b) assume success is related to luck or to ‘who you know' or to other factors beyond their control' (Attribution Theory, 2). Therefore, when low-achievers experience success they tend to find it less rewarding than high-achievers because there exists no sense of personal influence over the outcome. Within the gifted and talented population of students, there is a segment of under-achievers. Under-achievers are those individuals in which a discrepancy between ability and performance exists. Educators are oftentimes unable to effectively manage such students who exhibit above average intelligence and capabilities but who are, for whatever reason, not performing at levels that correspond to such abilities. Research indicates that attributions which then affect motivation are a common cause of such under-achievement. It is an intuitive statement to say that modifying one's attributions will then create changes in one's motivation. It logically ollows that increased motivation will lead to increased efforts. These psychological phenomena are of particular interest to educators of gifted and talented under- achieving students as they can utilize such findings to increase performance. While some research has attempted to shed light on this particular educational occurrence, more investigation is necessary to obtain a fuller understanding. Furthermore, how such findings apply to the learning process is of utmost importance to educators that serve this subpopulation. Particular attention to the ttributional style differences between female and male gifted and talented students will enable educational personnel to more accurately attend to the needs of such learners. More specifically, the attributional style differences between middle school female and male gifted and talented under-achieving students and how this contributes to poor academic performance is valuable area of educational and psychological research. The findings of such research will undoubtedly enable school personnel to more effectively attend to the needs of this subpopulation with the ultimate end of aligning their performance with that of their ability.

The Importance Of Dividends From An Investors Perspective Finance Essay - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 8 Words: 2334 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Argumentative essay Did you like this example? The average investor will tell you that he or she invests for one reason and one reason only: to make a profit. No investor ever invests their money with the goal of making a loss. In fact, profitable earnings (also known as dividends) are usually one of the biggest factors that influence an investors decision A dividend is a cash payment from a companys earnings; it is  announced by a companys  board of directors  and distributed among stockholders. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Importance Of Dividends From An Investors Perspective Finance Essay" essay for you Create order In other words, dividends are an investors share of a companys profits, given to him or her as a part-owner of the company. Aside from  option  strategies, dividends are the only way for investors to profit from ownership of stock without eliminating their stake in the company. Dividend policies are the regulations and guidelines that companies develop and implement as the means of arranging to make dividend payments to shareholders. Establishing a specific dividend policy is to the advantage of both the company and the shareholder The importance of dividends from an investors perspective and from a companys perspective that pay dividends Importance of dividend from investors prospective Dividends are important for more than income generation: they also provide a way for investors to assess a company as an investment prospect. First, investors can use dividends to value a company using the dividend discount model (DDM). A share price can be seen as the current value of all future cash flows. The DDM discounts the projected dividend stream for the next few years back to a current value. If the DDM value is higher than the prevailing share price, the investor will buy the share. Second, the consistent payment of cash dividends gives investors an objective way of assessing that companies are cash generative, as it isnt possible to pay dividends over the long term if theres no cash in the bank. Investors should always evaluate a company on a total return basis that includes both capital growth and dividend income. In simple words Cautious investors look for dividends because, [i] It reduces uncertainty (capital gains are uncertain). [ii] Ind ication of financial strength of the company. [iii] Need for income: Some invest in shares so as to get regular income to meet their living expenses Importance of dividend from companys prospective One of the simplest ways for companies to communicate financial well-being and shareholder  value is to say the  dividend  check is in the mail. Dividends, those cash distributions that many companies pay out regularly to shareholders from  earnings, send a clear, powerful message about future prospects and performance. A companys willingness and ability to pay steady dividends over time and its power to increase them provide good clues about its  fundamentals. In another word dividends are required because of the separation of ownership and management. Dividends are a signal of the sustainable income of the corporation: management selects a dividend policy to communicate the level and growth of real income because conventional accounting reports are inadequate guides to current income and future prospect Before corporations were required by law to disclose financial information in the 1930s, a companys ability to pay dividends was one of the few signs of its financial health. Despite the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934  and the increased transparency it brought to the industry, dividends still remain a worthwhile yardstick of a companys prospects. Typically, mature, profitable companies pay dividends. However, companies that do not pay dividends are not necessarily without profits. If a company thinks that its own growth opportunities are better than investment opportunities available to shareholders elsewhere, the company should keep the profits and reinvest them into the business. For these reasons, few  growth companies  pay dividends. But even mature companies, while much of their profits may be distributed as dividends, still need to retain enough cash to fund business activity and handle contingencies. Generally dividends have many advantages for both investors and companies.  Do dividend policy helps to reduce agency theory? Agency theory A theory explaining the relationship between principals, such as shareholders, and agents, such as companys executives and directors. In this relationship the principal delegates or hires agent to perform work. The theory attempts to deal with two specific problems: first, that the goals of the principal and agent are not in conflict(agency problem), and second, that the principal and agent reconcile different tolerances for risk. Yes dividend policy helps to reduce agency problems according to Easterbrook (1984) where points out that dividends reduce the agency problem between shareholders and managers, monitoring managements performance and facilitating market control, so that the market value of the firm will increase. This approach assumes that the dividend policy is used to mitigate the conflict between shareholders and managers. If part of the firms profits is not paid out as dividends, corporate managers may divert the cash flow for personal use or pursue unprofitable investment projects and that lead to increase agency problems. Dividend payouts can be seen as means to reduce the free cash flow that managers can use at their own discretion (Jensen, 1986; Lang and Litzenberger, 1989). As a consequence, outside shareholders may have a preference for dividends over retained earnings so by dividends paid agency problems reduced. The agency models on dividends can be divided into at least two distinct groups. The first Range of theories considers dividend payouts as an outcome of the agency conflict between managers and shareholders, as well as between controlling shareholders and outside shareholders (La Port et al. 2000; Faccio et al. 2001). According to La Porta et al. (2000), dividend payouts are an outcome of the legal shareholder protection. Particularly, they find that firms in civil-law countries pay lower dividends than in common-law countries. La Porta et al. (2000) claim that under an effective legal system, minority sh areholders use their legal power to force firms to pay out dividends. Contrary to this view, the second set of agency models argues that dividend payout policies are substitutes for governance problems in a firm (Easterbrook, 1984; Gomes, 2000). Issues, challenges and problems associated with dividends policy. Why many companies listed in exchange failed to declare them as dividend Policy Company while they are generating big profit on annual basis. There are many Issues challenges and problems associated with dividends policy and some these implications affected some companies and force them to undeclared dividends though they are generating high profit. Here is I am going to arrange these implications as a point with a brief elaboration due to limit word count which is 2000 words for this working paper. 1. Stability of Earnings.  The nature of business has an important bearing on the dividend policy. Industrial units having stability of earnings may formulate a more consistent dividend policy than those having an uneven flow of incomes because they can predict easily their savings and earnings. Usually, enterprises dealing in necessities suffer less from oscillating earnings than those dealing in luxuries or fancy goods. 2. Age of corporation.  Age of the corporation counts much in deciding the dividend policy. A newly established company may require much of its earnings for expansion and plant im provement and may adopt a rigid dividend policy while, on the other hand, an older company can formulate a clear cut and more consistent policy regarding dividend. 3. Liquidity of Funds.  Availability of cash and sound financial position is also an important factor in dividend decisions. A dividend represents a cash outflow, the greater the funds and the liquidity of the firm the better the ability to pay dividend. The liquidity of a firm depends very much on the investment and financial decisions of the firm which in turn determines the rate of expansion and the manner of financing. If cash position is weak, stock dividend will be distributed and if cash position is good, company can distribute the cash dividend. 4. Extent of share Distribution.  Nature of ownership also affects the dividend decisions. A closely held company is likely to get the assent of the shareholders for the suspension of dividend or for following a conservative dividend policy. O n the other hand, a company having a good number of shareholders widely distributed and forming low or medium income group would face a great difficulty in securing such assent because they will emphasize to distribute higher dividend. 5. Needs for Additional Capital. Companies  retain a part of their profits for strengthening their financial position. The income may be conserved for meeting the increased requirements of working capital or of future expansion. Small companies usually find difficulties in raising finance for their needs of increased working capital for expansion programmes. They having no other alternative, use their ploughed back profits. Thus, such Companies distribute dividend at low rates and retain a big part of profits. 6. Trade Cycles.  Business  cycles also exercise influence upon dividend Policy. Dividend policy is adjusted according to the business oscillations. During the boom, prudent management creates food reserves f or contingencies which follow the inflationary period. Higher rates of dividend can be used as a tool for marketing the securities in an otherwise depressed market. The financial solvency can be proved and maintained by the companies in dull years if the adequate reserves have been built up. 7. Government Policies.  The earnings capacity of the enterprise is widely affected by the change in fiscal, industrial, labour, control and other government policies. Sometimes government restricts the distribution of dividend beyond a certain percentage in a particular industry or in all spheres of business activity as was done in emergency. The dividend policy has to be modified or formulated accordingly in those enterprises. 8. Taxation Policy.  High taxation reduces the earnings of the companies and consequently the rate of dividend is lowered down. Sometimes government levies dividend-tax of distribution of dividend beyond a certain limit. It also affects the capit al formation. N India, dividends beyond 10 % of paid-up capital are subject to dividend tax at 7.5 %. 9. Legal Requirements.  In deciding on the dividend, the directors take the legal requirements too into consideration. In order to protect the interests of creditors an outsider, the companies Act 1956 prescribes certain guidelines in respect of the distribution and payment of dividend. Moreover, a company is required to provide for depreciation on its fixed and tangible assets before declaring dividend on shares. It proposes that Dividend should not be distributed out of capita, in any case. Likewise, contractual obligation should also be fulfilled, for example, payment of dividend on preference shares in priority over ordinary dividend. 10. Past dividend Rates.  While formulating the Dividend Policy, the directors must keep in mind the dividend paid in past years. The current rate should be around the average past rat. If it has been abnormally increa sed the shares will be subjected to speculation. In a new concern, the company should consider the dividend policy of the rival organisation. 11. Ability to Borrow.  Well established and large firms have better access to the capital market than the new Companies and may borrow funds from the external sources if there arises any need. Such Companies may have a better dividend pay-out ratio. Whereas smaller firms have to depend on their internal sources and therefore they will have to built up good reserves by reducing the dividend payout ratio for meeting any obligation requiring heavy funds. 12. Policy of Control.  Policy of control is another determining factor is so far as dividends are concerned. If the directors want to have control on company, they would not like to add new shareholders and therefore, declare a dividend at low rate. Because by adding new shareholders they fear dilution of control and diversion of policies and programmes of the existing management. So they prefer to meet the needs through retained earring. If the directors do not bother about the control of affairs they will follow a liberal dividend policy. Thus control is an influencing factor in framing the dividend policy. 13. Repayments of Loan.  A company having loan indebtedness are vowed to a high rate of retention earnings, unless one other arrangements are made for the redemption of debt on maturity. It will naturally lower down the rate of dividend. Sometimes, the lenders (mostly institutional lenders) put restrictions on the dividend distribution still such time their loan is outstanding. Formal loan contracts generally provide a certain standard of liquidity and solvency to be maintained. Management is bound to hour such restrictions and to limit the rate of dividend payout. 14. Time for Payment of Dividend.  When should the dividend be paid is another consideration. Payment of dividend means outflow of cash. It is, theref ore, desirable to distribute dividend at a time when is least needed by the company because there are peak times as well as lean periods of expenditure. Wise management should plan the payment of dividend in such a manner that there is no cash outflow at a time when the undertaking is already in need of urgent finances. 15. Regularity and stability in Dividend Payment.  Dividends should be paid regularly because each investor is interested in the regular payment of dividend. The management should, inspire of regular payment of dividend, consider that the rate of dividend should be all the most constant. For this purpose sometimes companies maintain dividend equalization Fund. Conclusion When a company earns profits from operations, management can do one of two things with the profits. It can choose to retain them essentially  reinvesting  them into the company with the hope of creating more profits and thus further stock appreciation. The other alternative is to distribute a portion of the profits to shareholders in the form of dividends. It is important for investors and companies to consider the benefits that dividends offer and how easy it is to include dividend-paying stocks in any portfolio. Dividend paying stocks offer numerous advantages, including: Attractive Returns:  Dividends paid are part of total return. Companies that pay dividends are usually historically stable. Less Volatility:  Dividends help lessen the potential fall of a companys stock price, thereby reducing volatility. Increased Yield:  Dividends provide income (however they are only a small part of an investments total return). Furthermore dividend poli cy reduces the agency problems.