Negotiations Case Study

Introduction Pergy Fischer is the current chair of Mid-Western contemporary Art. Fischer took over the management of the museum at a time when it had a number of problems; most of them were financial. The museum was in need of premises and thus the management decided on building new premises. The new building was to ease congestion in the operation of the day-to-day activities at the museum.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Negotiations Case Study specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Moreover, the new premise was to help the museum stock a variety of more artifacts from various parts of the world. Initially, the construction of the building was seen as a simple venture that would not raise any problems. To raise funds for the same, many people had pledged to donate towards the project. However, a challenge arose because the greatest pledge came from the former Chair of the museum, Mr. Peter Smith. Alternati ve Approaches Relying on pledges to fund the new project proved very unreliable. Overtime, it became apparent that most donors would not honor their pledges. Many donors and stakeholders had pledged enough money towards the project. However, the donor would end up paying only a part of the pledge citing economic hardships as the challenge. Other donors would just change the priority of giving and therefore to some extent heavily vary the amount pledged. Since the introduction of the FASB accounting rule, it became mandatory that all the nonprofit organizations record all the pledges as income during the time of the pledge. The new requirements and rules made the number of lawsuits in the US law courts, relating to donor pledges, to rise sharply. These lawsuits were made in order to seek the court redress in claiming the unfulfilled pledges. A former chairperson had made a huge pledge towards the project but also failed to honor it. Consequently, Fischer sought the board’s adv ice on the case that involved the Smith’s unfulfilled pledge. Due to not fulfilling the pledge, lack of funds was seriously affecting the museum and the construction project was seriously stalling. During the meeting, the board members argued about the idea and finally settled that the lawsuit was not the best idea then.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since the court approach was not the best solution, Fischer was contemplating the next alternative approach to collect the unfulfilled pledge. According to Born (2009), if one does not wish to bring a lawsuit against another, arbitration is the best alternative remedial process. Arbitration serves the aggrieved party but it does not involve any court process. Born (2009), further observes that arbitration helps parties to avoid costly and lengthy litigations. Noting Smith’s current situation as discuss ed in the meeting, arbitration will simply be the smartest idea. Instituting a lawsuit against smith would simply leave him weaker and in the process jeopardize his life. It is, therefore, advisable that, considering his current situation, the museum institutes an arbitration process in order to encourage him to honor his pledge. Such a process will help both parties to easily reach a consensus. Moreover, consensus will be arrived at in a less costly way and save time as opposed to lengthy court cases. Should Fischer involve the board or formulate a recommendation on her own for the board’s next meeting? Following the first meeting with the board, Fischer received quite a number of ideas in terms of alternatives to lawsuits. The ideas gathered from board members aimed at ensuring the organization does not have to proceed with any legal suit against Smiths. Most of the argument were based on the situation that smith is in, while others argued with the image of the organization in mind. In a way, it will be noble for Fischer to involve the board in further discussion leading to any action against Smith. This will highly reflect the element of transparency and accountability in her leadership. Further, involvement of the board in determining next agenda enhances democracy and participation. Nonetheless, basing on the first board meeting, it may seem like wasting time to involve the board in setting the next agenda. It would appear like waste of time because the board seems to have already agreed unanimously on the decision to follow. This means that involvement of the board will not change much on what is already agreed. Formulating a recommendation on her own for the board’s next meeting will have many implications.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on Negotiations Case Study specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Though Fischer is the Chair of Mid -West contemporary art, the p osition does not give her absolute powers to do as she wishes. By formulating a recommendation on her own for the board next meeting, it means that she has undermined the decision reached earlier by the board, and that she no longer values the output of the board as she can equally do better without the board. Similarly, her decision means she has started dictating to the company on what to do, without necessarily consulting in order to get the perspectives of the rest. Making the organizations’ decision on her own, it would mean that, she no longer upholds the virtue of practicing democracy and that she now prefer authoritarian things to the rest of the board members. According to Gasper (2005), leadership should be learned rather than being inherited. Gasper (2005) simply means that a leader should develop his leadership skills through interaction with the rest rather than doing things depending on what he think is acceptable and favorable. Gasper further notes that the bes t style of leadership is the one that combines the elements of democracy and directive. With democracy, the author notes that the leader should practice the issue of giving power to be self-directing. Should the museum sue Smith or not? There are many factors, which should inform the decision on whether the museum should sue Smith or not. First, Smith has a moral responsibility to pay the pledge he made to the museum. Regardless of Mr. Smith’s current Situation of suffering from cancer, his written pledge still stands. When the museum received the following pledges it had a lot in mind, and by all standards, the pledge came in to relieve them. Unfortunately, even after the museum had started implementing some of its plans with the pledge in mind, like coming up with a bigger and modern structure, the pledge was not fulfilled. As of now, the Smith’s are elderly and sick. Consequently, the chances of recovering the pledge from them get slim with the passing days. The smi th pledge issue is compounded by the fact that the board is almost unanimous that the museum is not supposed to sue the Smiths. The reason the board is adamant on not suing the Smiths’ is that the Smiths’ have been long members of the museum.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Particularly, Mr. Smith was a long serving chairman of the museum. There have equally been worries of the reputation of the organization and the Smiths’ if the lawsuit were to go through; considering that, particularly at this time, Mr. Smith is tremendously ill with cancer. The reputation of the museum has to be safeguarded if it is to viewed favorably by the public and other donors in general. The board is avoiding a negative image; where it will be seen as greedy by engaging in a court battle whenever issues come up. Similarly, the board is afraid that suing Mr. Smith will anger him so much, such that he will never again try to lend or even give any part of his money to the museum. The board is also afraid that by suing, Mr. Smith and other donors will be forced to think twice before they offer the museum any money. Largely, I think the museum should not have hesitated in suing Mr. Smith because legally Mr. Smith had committed a crime by pledging to offer an amount worth $ 5millions to the museum, a pledge he never satisfied. According to Keown (2003), a financial pledge has lot of significance in any business or organization, because a part from being recorded as income in account receivable, the organization is also valued with the amount of money pledged in consideration. This pledge made the museum to experience intense financial stress. Were it not for the pledge, the museum would not have commenced constructing the new structure that had actually cost the museum a lot of money. Reference list Born, G. (2009). International Commercial Arbitration. Kluwer law international: Amsterdam Gasper, E. J. (2005). Introduction to Business. Cengage Learning: Boston. Keown, J. (2003). Foundations of Finance: The Logic and Practice of Financial Management. Pearson Education Inc: London. This critical writing on Negotiations Case Study was written and submitted by user Dorothy R. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Monasticism In The Middle Ages Essays - Asceticism, Free Essays

Monasticism In The Middle Ages Essays - Asceticism, Free Essays Monasticism in the Middle Ages During the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the monasteries served as one of the great civilizing forces by being the centers of education, preservers of learning, and hubs of economic development. Western monasticism was shaped by Saint Benedict of Nursia, who in 529, established a monastery in southern Italy. He created a workable model for running a monastery that was used by most western monastic orders of the Early Middle Ages. To the three vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity, which formed the foundation of most of the old monasteries, he added the vow of manual labor. Each monk did some useful work, such as, plowing the fields, planting and harvesting the grain, tending the sheep, or milking the cows. Others worked at various trades in the workshops. No task was too lowly for them. Benedict?s rules laid down a daily routine of monastic life in much greater detail than the preceding rules appear to have done (Cantor 167-168). Schwartz 2 The monks also believed in learning, and for centuries had the only schools in existence. The churchmen were the only people who could read or write. Most nobles and kings could not even write their names. The monastery schools were only available to young nobles who wished to master the art of reading in Latin, and boys who wished to study to become priests (Ault 405). The monasteries played a part as the preservers of learning. Many monks busied themselves copying manuscripts and became medieval publishing houses. They kept careful calendars so that they could keep up with the numerous saints? days, and other feast days of the medieval church. The monks who kept the calendar often jotted down, in the margins, happenings of interest in the neighborhood or information learned from a traveler. Most of the books in existence, during the Middle Ages, were produced by monks, called scribes. These manuscripts were carefully and painstakingly handwritten. When the monks were writing, no one was allowed to speak, and they used sign language to communicate with each other. The books were written on vellum, made from calf?s skin, or parchment, made from sheep?s skin. The scribes used gothic letters, that were written so perfectly, they looked as if they were printed by a press. Many of the books were elaborately ornamented with gold or colore! d letters. The borders around each page were decorated with garlands, vines, or flowers. After the books were written, they were bound in leather or covered with velvet. The monks copied Schwartz 3 bibles, hymns, and prayers, the lives of the saints, as well as the writings of the Greeks and Romans and other ancient peoples. The scribes added a little prayer at the end of each book, because they felt that god would be pleased with their work. Without their efforts, these stories and histories would have been lost to the world. The monks became the historians of their day by keeping a record of important events, year by year. It is from their writings that we derive a great deal of knowledge of the life, customs, and events of the medieval times (Ault 158). Medieval Europe made enormous economic gains because of the monks. They proved themselves to be intelligent landlords and agricultural colonizers of Western Europe. A very large proportion of the soil of Europe, in the Middle Ages, was wasteland. There were marshes and forests covering much of the land. The monasteries started cultivating the soil, draining the swamps, and cutting down the forests. These monastic communities attracted settlements of peasants around them because the monastery offered security. Vast areas of land were reclaimed for agricultural purposes. The peasants copied the agricultural methods of the monks. Improved breeding of cattle was developed by the monastic communities. Many monasteries were surrounded by marshes, but their land became fertile farms. The monasteries became model farms and served as local schools of agriculture. Farming was a chief economic activity of the monasteries. They sold the excess that they grew in the marketpla! ce, and this drew them into trade and commerce. Schwartz 4 They sold hogs, charcoal, iron, building stone, and timber. This made them into the centers of civilization. Many monasteries conducted their market during patron saint?s

Maria Gaetana Agnesi Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Maria Gaetana Agnesi - Research Paper Example The mathematic books of Agnesi contain deeper explanations and numerous examples. The books contain various methods of tackling a problem and numerous examples of the same kind question. However, the language in use is simple for learners to understand the mathematical concepts easily and encourage love of mathematics in general. Most of the textbooks currently only have few examples and a formula to solve a problem in a particular topic. This serves as a great disadvantage to students as mathematics as a subject requires numerous examples as well as different ways of solving a question (Cupillari) Agnesi had the knowledge of different languages and therefore, coming up with a simpler mathematical language was easy for her. She simplifies her books into easy language containing important details explaining the derivation of a particular mathematical formula and most importantly how to use the formula to solve a mathematical problem in the specific topic providing better option to other textbooks. Textbooks of Agnesi contain many examples in each topic providing adequate self-assessment questions for the students. The best textbooks should contain numerous examples on how to make use of a mathematical formula to solve a question. Students using Agnes i’s textbooks acquire higher grades due to the many examples in provision comparing to students using other textbooks. Numerous alternative methods are in provision in Agnesi mathematics textbooks in comparison to other mathematics textbooks. It provides choices to students on which method to master depending on the understanding of the question and the knowledge of the concept to use. This provides the opportunity of choosing a particular way of doing a question, which is rare in other textbooks (Baltimore) A cubic curve refers to an algebraic curve with the specific curve order 3. The form of shows a cubic function a cubic function is clearly shown by a polynomial function of degree 3. If

Radio Broadcast and the FM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Radio Broadcast and the FM - Essay Example The information was now made available at distances ranging from hundreds of kilometers without the transfer of any physical thing and also the same data was available to a large population at the same time. This technology also paved a whole new way of entertainment and music and the business associated to these industries. The technology associated to the radio was initially developed for the purpose of transmitting messages in coded format and the same can be termed as wireless telegraphy and found its usage in maritime and sea navigation and for defense purpose with messages being sent in Morse code format. Later it was found that the technology could also transmit human voice. With the discovery of modulation technology, the terms like AM and SW started making rounds and the whole new world of electronic media came into existence. A very simple step that began on December 16, 1907 with the broadcasting of a song by singer Eugenia H. Farrar from the Brooklyn Navy Yard has been the reason behind the very success of today's electronic media. It was Lee De Forest who had facilitated the broadcasting of song on a radio (FCC, 2005). ... The College radio became very popular among audiences in San Jose. In 1917, with the beginning of World War I with all resources being used for public broadcasting were diverted for defense use and public broadcasting saw a long halt. The radio transmission came under the purview of Navy and the two way telephony was given the importance. But things are actually going to begin rather than facing an abrupt end. The licensed radio broadcasting came into existence with Frank Conrad's company Westinghouse obtained the first commercial radio license and launched KDKA in November, 1920 (Adams, 2003). KDKA broadcasted the election results and the sold radios to the home users. Peace time usage of the broadcasting technology had arrived to make its first broad presence. The success of KDKA The KDKA era led to something which can be termed as the golden period of Radio based broadcasting services. May be for the first time in the history, the public was showing more interest to the product than the producers and this public sentiment gets visible with the unprecedented growth in the demand of radio receiving equipments and at the same time the Westinghouse Organization had to work for opening up other broadcasting stations. The company installed the most powerful broadcasting transmitter known as WSJ on the roof of its plant at Newark, N. J. and the same building roofed the studio (White, 2007). The studio was designed in such a way that it was sound proof equipped with several musical instruments. The studio was meant for artists basically single and players and speakers and news readers. The WSJ used to serve a region within a radius of

Apartheid Impact on African Women Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Apartheid Impact on African Women - Essay Example Life was so hard but challenging during those times that several documentaries and writings about the time have been made. Such would be the film "South Africa Belongs to us" which focuses on the plight of five women mainly on a wife left in the homelands, a nurse at a family planning clinic, a hospital cleaner who lives in a single-sex hotel, a leader of a squatter's camp and a domestic servant. The black servant in a house owned by whites cannot spend quality time with her children. Thus, separation did not just happen among people with different skin colors but among the members of their race, specifically with their own bloodlines. The same with other female migrant workers who were sort of imprisoned in their workplace as they were not allowed to visit their families. Through apartheid, women during that episode experienced misery while they were away with their loved ones, while some stood as single mothers because of the classification. One of the effects of apartheid then was the destruction of the black family and the existence of displaced families. There is this one woman who lives in one of the unproductive homelands with her more than a dozen children, because she was not allowed to be with her husband who was forced to live in Johannesburg for twenty years. Despite all these, the film depicts of women's battle cry to defy racism. Winnie Mandela, the former wife of Nelson Mandela and one of the women leaders who were interviewed in the movie, symbolizes women power. Among those who also bravely talked in front of the camera were Numisi Kjuzwayo, a young leader of the prohibited Black Consciousness Movement which was against apartheid and Fatimah Meer, an activist. All of these women never stopped opposing the apartheid system no matter what risked their life. A lot of what has done then contributes to what South Africa is at present, that it really belongs to its people. Another film, "Girls Apart" done in the year 1987, shows an interview with two sixteen year old girls, Sylvia who is from Soweto, a town of blackmen, the other is Siska, a rich white girl Johannesburg. Each told the story of their lives in South 3 Africa during the apartheid period, showing how their worlds were apart and that their lives were led according to their skin color. In the film, a picture of apartheid was demonstrated through the contrasts in the lives of the girls. Another documented story about the happenings in South Africa during the apartheid period is illustrated in the book "Not Either An Experimented Doll, The Separate Worlds of Three South African Women". The story is told through the exchange of letters between an Englishwoman named Mabel Palmer and a disturbed teenage girl Lily Moya, who wrote the book herself which was then edited by Shula Marks. Lily, an orphan, looks to Mabel as a mother she never had, pleading to let her go to school in her college. Mabel, on the other hand, gave in to her wish. In fact, she has contributed a lot to the education of South African women. There was this one time when she went out into the winter cold without a jacket just to pay Lily's matriculation. Here in this book, it seeks to show that during the apartheid period, there were still white people who had good hearts to blacks, although Mabel Palmer had a little limitation in her relationship with Lily for fear of the dictations of racial discrimination rules. The third

Non Controlling Interests And Goodwill Accounting Essay

Non Controlling Interests And Goodwill Accounting Essay Introduction IFRS 3 which involves Business Combinations will build important changes in business combinations accounting. IFRS 3 develops more the acquisition representation and applies to more day to day transactions, because combinations by contract only in addition to combinations of common entities are incorporated in the standard. Nevertheless, ordinary managed transactions and the development of joint ventures are not factored in the revised standard. IFRS 3 applies to the 1st period of accounting commencing on 1/07/09. Notably, retrospective appliance to previous business combinations isnt permitted. It can be used early as long as its not in the period of accounting commencing on or after 30/07/07. Background In 2008 the International Accounting Standards Board finished the 2nd stage of its Project on Business combinations by releasing a revised edition of IFRS 3 relating to Business Combinations. It was amended in order to replace the 2004 version. The revised IFRS 3 is the outcome of a combined project with the Financial Accounting Standards Board Scope Description of business combination . Its a occurrence of transactions whereby the purchaser gains power over 1 or many business entities. A business entity is described as an incorporated place of actions that is able to perform and operate in order to give a return to shareholders or other capital owners or any other participants in the business. The purchaser or the acquiring company ought to be recognized or identified. IFRS 3 stipulates that an acquirer must be acknowledged or identified in all cases involving business combinations. Variations in the scope from the 2004 version of IFRS 3 as compared to 2008 IFRS 3 version is used in combinations of joint business entities as well as combinations which do not have consideration for example dual listed company shares. Such are not included in unrevised IFRS. Exclusions from the scope: The IFRS 3 cannot be used in case of development of a joint venture or combination of business entity under common management or control. IFRS 3 cannot be used the purchase of an asset or a collection of assets which dont comprise a business entity. Purchase consideration Important changes to the standard involve the purchase consideration. Fair value of all benefits held formerly by the acquirer in the newly acquired company is currently incorporated in the consideration. This incorporates all interest in joint ventures undertaken and associate as well as equity interests in the newly acquired company. Any preceding venture is perceived to be given up in order to obtain the company/entity and on disposal date a gain or loss is taken into account. In case the acquirer previously had interest in the entity obtained prior to acquisition, IFRS3 stipulates that the current venture to be revalued to fair cost as at the acquisition date, factoring in all changes to the profit and loss account as well as any gains formerly documented in equity that pertain to the current holding structure. A gain is accepted in the income statement during the period of business combination. Contingent consideration requirements have been modified. Contingent consideration is nowadays accepted at fair value even in cases where its not likely to pay at the acquisition date. All ensuing modification to liability contingent consideration is taken to the income statement, instead of goodwill account because it is perceived to be a debt acknowledged in the international accounting standard 32/39. If debts for superior performance by the results in the subsidiary cause expenditure in the income statement to increase and under-performance by the subsidiary against targets will lead to a cutback in the anticipated payment and will be accounted as a profit in the statement of income. These changes in contingent consideration were formerly taken in the goodwill account. The standard no longer treats transaction costs as a component of the purchase cost; such overheads are expensed throughout the accounting period. Transaction costs are now considered not to constitute what is given to the party selling the entity. They arent supposed to be taken as assets of the acquired entity which ought to be acknowledged on the purchase date. The standard stipulates that businesses should reveal the quantity of transaction expenses that have been paid. IFRS 3 takes into consideration the treatment of employee share-based payments by including supplementary regulation on estimation, as well as how to come to a decision on whether share payments constitute part of the payment for future service compensation or business combination. Non-controlling interests and Goodwill IFRS3 provides businesses with an alternative, on an individual operation basis, to value minority interest or non controlling interest at fair value in relation to their share of particular liabilities and assets or at their fair value. The 2nd technique will consider goodwill relating to the non-controlling interest together with the controlling interest acquired while the 1st technique will lead to valuation of goodwill, which is essentially similar to the current IFRS Measurement of goodwill can also be undertaken using the full goodwill basis, in this method goodwill is measured for the minority interest/ non-controlling and also the controlling interest in a subsidiary. In the preceding edition of IFRS 3, non controlling interest was valued at their proportion of net assets and excluded any goodwill. Under the Full goodwill method it means that minority interest (non controlling interest) together with goodwill is increased by the value of goodwill that pertains to minority interest. Example Mercer has purchased a subsidiary company on 2 February 2008. The net assets fair value of the subsidiary company is $2,170million. Mercer purchased 70 percent of the total shares of the subsidiary company for $2,145million. The minority interest was measured at $683million. Goodwill recognized on the full and partial goodwill techniques under IFRS 3 would be computed as: Mercer partial goodwill method Assets (net) 2,170 Minority interest (Non Controlling Interest) (30% x 2,170) (651) Assets purchased 1,519 Consideration on acquisition (2,145) Goodwill amount 626 Full goodwill Method Fair value of identifiable net assets 2,170 Minority interest (683) Assets taken over 1,487 Consideration on Purchase (2,145) Goodwill amount 658 Goodwill is in actual fact adjusted for the variation in the figure of the minority interest which factors in the goodwill belonging to the non controlling interest. This preference of technique of accounting for non controlling interest only causes a disparity in acquisition figures where less than 100 percent of the entity obtained is bought. The full goodwill technique will cause an increase in net assets reported on the statement of financial position which means that any prospective goodwill impairment will be greater. While valuing non-controlling interest at reasonable cost may be complex, testing goodwill impairment may be less difficult in full goodwill, because there is no point of summing-up goodwill for subsidiary companies which are partially owned. Fair measurement of liabilities and Assets IFRS 3 has brought about some alterations to liabilities and assets documented in the statement of financial position. The present conditions to distinguish the net identifiable liabilities and assets of the entity being acquired are retained. Assets ought to be measured at fair value excluding some specific items for example pension liabilities and deferred tax. International accounting standard board has given supplementary regulations that are likely to lead to recognition of additional intangible assets. Purchasers are obliged to identify and record trade licenses, client relationships and brands, plus other assets classified as intangible. There are minor alterations to existing regulation under IFRS in relation to contingencies.. Following the business combination date, conditional liabilities are re-valued at the initial figure and the quantity in current relevant standard whichever is higher. Contingent assets are not identified or recorded, and contingent liabilities are valued at fair cost. Other Matters and Issues IFRS 3 gives direction on some precise details of combinations of entities such as : business combinations done with no reallocation of consideration acquisitions done in reverse identifying and recording assets which are intangible the re-examination of the purchasers contractual provisions at the date of acquisition Holding Companys Disposal or Acquisition of extra shares in Subsidiary Proportional sale or disposal of a subsidiary while still maintaining control. . This is treated as an equity exchange with shareholders as well as loss or gain not recoded. Proportional disposal of a subsidiary where control is lost. Losing controlling power on re valuing of the remaining fair value held. Disparity between carrying value and fair value is treated as a loss or gain on the disposal, recorded in the income statement. Afterwards, using international accounting standard 28 and 31 is suitable, to the outstanding investment. Purchase of extra shares after control of subsidiary was gained This is treated as a transaction involving equity with shareholders (such as purchase of shares in the treasury. Goodwill is not revalued in such an event. Disclosure The purchaser must reveal all relevant financial information to users of its annual reports to assess the financial outcome of a business combination that happens throughout the present reporting phase or subsequent to the end of the phase but before the reports are approved for issue. Disclosures necessary to meet the previous purpose are : A depiction and also the name of the purchaser Date of purchase proportion of voting interests purchased Principal s purpose of the business combination and a explanation of method used by the purchaser to acquire power over the seller Account of the reasons that show goodwill recorded, for example probable synergies from combining activities, and non qualifying assets. purchase-date fair cost of the combined consideration taken over and the purchase-date fair cost of every main category of consideration Particulars of dependent consideration provisions as well as indemnification assets taken over. Particulars of purchased receivables the value for all key category of assets purchased and debts implicit Particulars of contingent liabilities recorded. Combined value of goodwill that is anticipated to be removed for purposes of tax. Facts of all activities that take place individually from the purchase of assets and debts in business combination Facts concerning negative goodwill. In conclusion I believe that the speedy endorsement of IFRS 3 will end the doubt regarding the treatment of financial statements and reports. Hopefully the aims of the revised IFRS Board will be achieved and end the requirement for reconciliation between different accounting standards as well as end the conflicting use of the revised IFRS3 in the accounting profession . I look forward to the outcome caused by the implementation of the IFRS3 with interest!

So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba and Blood Wedding by Frederico Garcia Lo

"So Long A Letter" by Mariama Ba and "Blood Wedding" by Frederico Garcia Lorca Thesis: Characters that cause immense pain to another, especially to their consorts, succumb to death in the texts So Long A Letter and Blood Wedding by Mariama Bà ¢ and Federico Garcà ­a Lorca respectively. Death is one aspect of life that prevents a person from being invincible. It is one of the inevitable occurrences that a man has to yield to. In the texts So Long A Letter and Blood Wedding by Mariama Bà ¢ and Federico Garcà ­a Lorca respectively, death is a poignant theme that has prevailed throughout the course of the text. The question is whether the deaths of characters in these texts are deserved, and devised by the authors due to the immense pain dispensed by these characters to their consorts. Firstly, So Long A Letter by Mariama Bà ¢ which is a letter cum diary from Ramatoulaye to her best friend Aissatou depicts the series of events that have taken place in the past, mainly portraying the lamentation of three women (Ramatoulaye, Aissatou and Jacqueline) due to their husbands’ lack of commitment. Moreover, this text outlines the Senegalese way of living and how the Muslim society accepts polygamy readily. As we read the text, we are introduced to Modou Fall, the husband to Ramatoulaye, who died of an unknown cause. In my opinion, his death was destined due to the everlasting pain he dispensed to his wife. This is because of his â€Å"abrupt decision to take a second wife† and his abandonment of his family. This was a very appalling situation as Modou walked out on Ramatoulaye and his twelve children to go and improve relations with a girl the age of his daughter. Although he married her committing polygamy which was sanc... ...trated mood the Mother is in since she has lost all her family members now including her ultimate hope of survival: her son, the Bridegroom. Accordingly, I perceive that the Bridegroom deserved to die as he dispensed pain and grief not only to the Bride but also to his mother. All in all, we have seen that the statement ‘characters that cause immense pain to another, especially to their consorts, succumb to death’ is apt. Moreover, it can be learnt form this piece of work that the consequence of the action you perform will be commensurate to the intensity of that action. Therefore, Modou Fall, Leonardo and the Bridegroom all deserved to succumb to death. Last but not the least, it can be noted that all the characters that cause immense pain to others in both the texts are the male characters while the recipients of such pain are the female characters.