Strategies Used by the Banking Industry Essay Example for Free

Strategies Used by the Banking Industry Essay In depressed economic times, Banking is an industry that is prone to substantial financial losses, from customer’s closing their depository account to an increase in outstanding loan delinquency. An increase in consumer and commercial loan defaults can damage the integrity of a Bank’s outstanding loan portfolio. Such deterioration can lead to an increase of â€Å"Non-Performing Assets†. Once a loan is nonperforming, (usually when a debtor has not made their scheduled payment for at least 90 days, but there are other reasons why a loan can be deemed â€Å"non-performing†) the odds that it will be repaid in full are considered to be substantially lower. The non-performing asset is therefore not yielding any income to the lender in the form of principal and interest payments. Banks have spent the last several years grappling with nonperforming assets, but perhaps working out problems with bad loans is best left to entities that do not have to answer to a Federal Regulator. This year, more banks have escalated efforts to sell nonperforming assets, and industry experts say the volume of such deals is only going to increase. Meanwhile, a new deal structure is calling for sellers to retain the problematic assets to work them out on their own. (Barba, 2011) But, even if a loan pays in accordance with its Terms Conditions, it still can be categorized non-performing for several reasons. Deterioration in financial ratios can cause a loan to be classified non-performing, one of those financial ratios is Loan to Value or â€Å"LTV†. LTV is the outstanding principal balance of the loan divided by the appraised value for real property pledged as collateral for a loan. When the appraised value of the pledged collateral decreases faster than the principal of the loan, the LTV will increase, thereby making this loan a greater risk in case of default. The benchmark LTV ratio will usually not exceed 75%, the rationale behind this threshold is if the loan does default and, subsequently, the asset disposed of, that the 25% of equity can be used to reimburse the bank for legal fees, court cost, and expenses incurred with liquidating the collateral. This strategy is incorporated in the bank’s lending policy in the effort to â€Å"make the bank whole† in a loan default scenario. When the loan request is not collateral based, the key financial ratio used to determine the borrower’s ability to repay is Debt Service Coverage or DSC. This ratio is calculated using the existing company debt, plus the new loan obligation, divided by the businesses existing cash flow to determine if the total debt can be supported. Covenants in the loan documentation will require the business to furnish Tax Returns and Financial Statements annually to review the borrower’s financial condition to ensure sufficient DSC. If it is determined that the DSC is not sufficient or if the borrower is not in compliance of the Loan Covenant by not supplying the required financial information, the loan can be classified as non-performing. An increase in the level of non-performing assets increases risk and impacts capital levels that regulators believe are appropriate in light of the ensuing risk in the loan portfolio. Regulators request that the level of non-performing assets be reduced. If these problem assets are not reduced through loan sales, workouts, or restructuring or the level of problem assets continue to rise through decreases in the value of the underlying collateral, or in these borrowers’ performance or financial condition, whether or not due to economic and market conditions beyond our control, could adversely affect the bank’s operations and financial condition. This is why banks are so interested in getting these assets off the books. Banks that’ve held on to some loans in hopes of a rapidly increasing economic recovery are starting to lose hope. Moreover, the Euro Zone Debt Crisis and, locally, the $1.2 billion dollar debacle and former New Jersey Governor Jon Corzines MF Global, plus the decline in Moodys index of commercial property values, which reached around 200 in late 2007 and early 2008, before taking a complete round trip back to 100 as of the beginning of this year and leveling off to about 120—but has been largely treading water since late 2009. After that bounce, its gone back down a little, and looks to be flat for the foreseeable future, says David Tobin, one of the two principals of Mission Capital Advisors. Its a smart time to sell. (McDonald, 2011) Another reason for the converted interest in selling these assets is the challenge that banks are having in making new loans. â€Å"Analysts and investors are demanding balance sheet improvements out of the banks†, says Tobin, â€Å"and if the banks cant show strength by adding new, solid loans, then theyll do it by unloading legacy assets that are a drag on capital†. And thats just what has happened. But when they can sell, they do. The best thing a bank can do is sell properly marked assets that help fix the balance sheet. The more you can sell, the better you are perceived. says Tobin. (McDonald, 2011). So, how do bank’s dispose of these assets and what is done with those assets that cannot be sold on a Secondary Market? There are several loss mitigation alternatives used by banks in both scenarios. Typical Strategies used in the sale of non-performing loans are usually Note Sales, Short-Sale or Short-Payoffs, or a Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure. A Note Sale is just as it sounds. A Bank will assign all its rights and interests in the subject Note and Mortgage (or a group of Notes and Mortgages) to an interested party for an appropriate price. A Short-Sale or Short-Payoff, again, is just as it sounds, is a method whereby the bank examines the value of the collateral, financial condition of the borrower, and will determine the amount of acceptable loss that the bank would be willing to incur â€Å"just to make the borrower go away† instead of involving themselves in a, potentially, protracted Foreclosure process. Lastly, the Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is the process whereby the borrower surrenders the Title to the property instead of going through the, potentially lengthy and expensive, Foreclosure process. This method allows for the bank to receive a maximum price for the collateral since they, in essence, are owners of the property since they are in possession of the Title and the buyer does not have to take assignment in any Legal action initiated by the bank. More often than not, with this option, borrower’s will also insist on the release of any personal guarantors on the Mortgage, so the bank doesn’t have an option of pursing any potential deficiency balance on the loan after the sale of the collateral. When a bank can’t sell their criticized and classified loans on the secondary market and has no other choice that to keep those loans on their books, there are several methods that can be used to modify the existing terms and conditions of a loan to, possibly, strengthen the credit in hopes of a possible upgrade in the loans classification by the bank’s Risk Managers. The first (and most preferred) of these methods is the Reinstatement. The borrower will pay all loan arrears (past-due Principal and Interest) and continue paying as agreed through the term of the loan. As an incentive to the borrower, the bank has the option of waiving accrued Late Charges and Default Interest amounts as part of the terms of the agreement. Typically, if the loan performs as agreed (usually for six to twelve months) after reinstatement, the bank’s Risk Managers will agree to re-classify the loan back to a performing status and resume taking in the interest income on the loan. The remaining methods are several types of Forbearance Agreements. A Standard Forbearance is often consideration (the bank’s delay in enforcing its legal rights and remedies under the Note) for a promise by the debtor to pay an added amount to the current Principal and Interest payments to cure the loan arrears. A Refinance Forbearance is an option whereby the borrower intends to refinance their loan with the bank in order to satisfy the obligation. Lastly, a Graceful Exit Forbearance allows the borrower the time to market and sell the mortgaged premises in order to satisfy the underlying loan obligation to the bank. The time allowed by the bank in any forbearance scenario will, usually, not exceed twenty four months. In good times or bad, deciding how to manage nonperforming assets is never easy. Loan workout can be intricate and costly, both in time and resources spent on deciding whether to work out an asset or focus on what can be salvaged. Moreover, it also requires the bank to evaluate whether the borrower can recover and still remain valued customer. (Trauner 2009) But, if the decision is made to sell the credit, then the decision is how to maximize the consideration received for the asset. Selling assets can often be perplexing and nerve-racking and the reality is that if you take time to evaluate and think purposefully about your portfolio, selling these assets can be a very effectual and fruitful tool to help manage your portfolio through the ups and downs in credit cycles. (Trauner 2009) REFERENCES Barba, R. (2011, November 14). Toxic assets turn into opportunity for community banks. Retrieved from http://www.americanbanker.com/issues/176_221/loan-sales-nonperforming-assets-private-equity-1044055-1.html. (Barba, 2011) McDonald, D. (2011, November 04). Good news? It’s a buyers market for bad loans. Retrieved from http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2011/11/04/bank-bad-loans/ (McDonald, 2011) Trauner, S. (2009, April). Non-performing assets: The keep versus sell decision. Retrieved from http://www.wib.org/publications__resources/article_library/2009-10/mar09_assets.html (Trauner, 2009)

Emily Dickinsons And John Keats Poetry Death English Literature Essay

Emily Dickinsons And John Keats Poetry Death English Literature Essay Death is an unavoidable part of life; and it is true that everyone is well aware of the fact that the circle of life includes both a beginning and an ending. Emily Dickinson and John Keats accept the fact that death goes hand and hand with life, and write about it in their poetry as their own way of dealing with it. While both use death in their poetry they use it in different ways. For Dickinson, both her poems, I like a look of Agony and Split the Lark and youll find the Music, show how death is a way to find the truth of a person. However, for Keats, in his poem Ode to a Nightingale death is feared but also seems to be the better option, compared to the suffering and pain life seems to bring. Both poets use their works to express their feelings and views of death. During the Civil War, Emily and her family, were especially affected because friends of the family were often killed in battle. Death of close friends was a significant feature of Emilys life; many close to her were taken away. This consequently heightened her interest, fascination and perhaps fear of death, which appeared in so much of her poetry, including I like a look of Agony and Split the Lark and youll gind the Music (Tandon 123). Death, the final experience one has, is for Dickinson the best benchmark; it reveals the ultimate truth or reality. In her poems I like a look of Agony and Split the Lark and youll find the Music, Dickinson shows the reader how the real truth of a person is found and seen in death. Here she is wishing pain on another, watching them in anguish in the final moments of life leading to death, doing so just so she can trust them. It is impossible to pretend or fake, so she finds out the real truth through the agony of the dying person. Dickinson turns the agony of death into a positive, because it is one of the few things that an observer can see and trust; to her it is a rare moment of undoubted truth. The detailed specifics of this poem make it clear that she has watched someone in agony, and by her own admission, has enjoyed it, which makes the poem even more disturbing. She doesnt just need tears of agony to trust someone, she wants a Convulsion, a Throe, glazed over eyes, Beads upon the Forehead. These are all symbols of the worst kind of pain, a pain that ends in death. This just goes to show how much Dickinson values the truth. The awful details of the ending of a life are to her valuable details because they are the proof that what she sees, hears and feels are real and true. This truth is a connection for her and the person dying because she can trust them fully, in most ways that she cannot trust others. The second poem by Dickinson, Split the Lark and youll find the Music has much of the same meaning of death. In this poem, the death of the lark reveals the truth, that the bird is in fact capable of sound and music. But the death of the bird comes with a price, after you have found the truth, that it is in fact capable of music, it is dead and can never sing again. Here Dickinson questions whether finding the absolute truth is worth the price of death. She begins the poem in the first stanza by explaining to the reader: By split the lark Dickinson means just that by cutting the lark open, you will easily find the bits and pieces that make the music bulb after bulb. She goes onto say, that if you want to make absolutely certain that it is true you can dissect it. Her description of the scarlet experiment and the gush after gush is the blood of the bird from being dissected and pulled apart. In the last stanza Dickinson also addresses one who, like Thomas, lacks belief and faith in what is true. Thomas in the Bible refused to believe that Christ had risen, that he lived, he lacked the faith in what was true, just like person killing the Lark. In both of Dickinsons poems, death is used to find the ultimate and final truth, something, which to her seems vitally important. John Keats views death differently in his poem Ode to a Nightingale. While Dickinson views death as a way to find truth, Keats fears death and wishes to live vicariously through the nightingale, who is, in his opinion, immortal. If he cannot live as a happy nightingale, Keats claims during the poem that he would like to die listening to the song of the nightingale and escaping the pain of life. Keats explains the pains of life to the nightingale in the third stanza saying: Surrounded by the nightingales song, the speaker thinks that the idea of death seems richer than ever, and he longs to die in the night with no pain while the nightingale pours its soul joyfully out. If he were to die, he explains that the nightingale would continue to sing, but he would have ears in vain and no longer be able to hear. Keats explains that the nightingale was . . .not born for death . . . but is an immortal bird and the reader can sense how he longs to be like the bird, happy in no pain and in no fear of death. Both poets use death in different ways to cope with their own understanding, interest, fascination and fear of it. They invite the reader in to see what death means to them and how they see it should be viewed. While Emily Dickinson views death as a way to find the truth about something or someone, Keats sees death as a fearful event but also a freeing one, which releases a person from the pain and suffering of life. While they are different in the way the use death in their poems, as well as, how the view death, they are both effective in conveying their feelings and emotions on the subject to the reader.

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer :: essays research papers

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain B. This type of book is realistic fiction. C. The main character is Thomas Sawyer, a twelve year old boy, whose parents are dead. Tom lives with his aunt, Polly. Tom is busy either making trouble or thinking up new schemes. Another character is Huckelberry Finn, hated by all mothers and loved by all children. Tom is friends with Huck and they share many adventures together. Becky Thatcher, the daughter of a judge, who likes Tom but sometimes fights with him. Injun Joe is an indian who kills someone named Dr. Robinson and makes everyone believe that the real killer is a man named Muff Potter. Mr. Potter, a nice man, helps Tom and Huck to fish and fly kites. D. This story takes place in St. Petersburg, Missouri, in the mid-1800's. E. The main problem in this story is the many ways which Tom tries to avoid Injun Joe because as a witness to the murder of Dr. Robinson, Injun Joe is trying to kill Tom. Poor Tom also has to deal with being punished on a Saturday when he could be out playing. The last problem is how Becky and Tom will escape from a cave. II. Tom, Sid, Tom' half brother, and Tom's Aunt Polly were sitting down at the table eating supper. Aunt Polly asked Tom questions hinting that she suspected him of playing hooky and going swimming instead of going to school. Aunt Polly gave up but then Sid pointed out that Tom had a different color thread than the one Aunt Polly sewed on Tom's collar. Tom's punishment was to whitewash the fence, but Tom wanted to go out and play. Tom used reverse psychology to make his friends think that whitewashing was an honor and they even gave him trinkets for the honor of whitewashing the fence. At school, Tom meets a new girl, Becky Thatcher, daughter of Judge Thatcher. Becky and Tom both like each other but Tom mentioned that he was engaged to Amy, and Becky hated him for it. Tom and his friend Huck go to the cemetery with a dead cat, a supposed wart cure. While at the cemetery they see Injun Joe kill Dr. Robinson while blaming Muff Potter. Both Tom and Huck swear to themselves that they will not say a thing about the murder. One day when looking for treasures in a haunted house, Tom and Huck overhear Injun Joe talking with another man about finding treasures. Tom and Huck decide to track the men in order to find the treasures which the men hide in "the number 2".

Comparing Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels and Terry Gilliams Adventures of Baron Munchausen :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparing Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels and Terry Gilliam's Adventures of Baron Munchausen      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The tales of Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift, is a well known story.  Ã‚   For more then two and a half centuries, Gulliver's Travels has been read by children for pleasure.   Terry Gilliam's "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" is much the same.   It can be compared to Gulliver's Travels in many ways.   "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" has been given the subtitle "Gulliver Revived" for the following reasons; the adventures both Gulliver and Munchausen partake, political hierarchy, and satire.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The adventures Gulliver experienced were much like those of Baron Munchausen. The adventures of Munchausen, as well as the adventures of Gulliver, were very outrageous.   The stories described by both are hard for the reader to believe.   Although very entertaining, they are so farfetched that one would find it difficult to consider as true.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Baron started off by telling his tales as he remembered them.   He took off in his hot air balloon in search of his magical friends.   He first went to the moon to look for Berthold.   This was much like Gulliver's travels to Lilliput, however, Gulliver did not go there intentionally. Once on the moon, Munchausen set out to look for Berthold.   He discovered many things in his search.   While being locked up for trying to romance the queen, Munchausen accidentally stumbled upon Berthold.   He then moved on to search for the next of his companions.   Munchausen fell off of the moon into a vulcano where Vulcan, who was a Greek God, lived.   He then sat down to drink tea with Vulcan and discovered that Vulcan's servant was none other then Albrecht.   While in the home of Vulcan, Munchausen was introduced to his wife, and fell in the love with the sight of her.   Vulcan saw this, disliked it very much, and became jealous.   The same thing happened to Gulliver, who had many enemies in Lilliput.   Flimnap, Treasur er of the Realm, long suspected, with absolutely no grounds, that Gulliver was his wife's lover, "This Lord, in Conjunction with Flimnap the High Treasurer, whose Enmity against you is notorious on Account of his Lady" (Swift 56 ).   Gulliver's enemies plotted against him, and accused him of treason.   Gulliver then fled from Lilliput.

Do the media ‘construct’ social reality, or does it simply report on it

It is often suggested by scholars that the world and in all its content is ambiguous, there is no universal meaning, nothing can be interpreted the same way. Opinions are constantly clashing and facts somehow constructed, or tempered during the processes of news production. News becomes the fictions of reality; it becomes a way of story telling, made to the taste of the viewer, depending on the society of course. The same stories carry different values depending where when and how the stories are broadcasted, I will be talking about this in this essay. There are two approaches to report a piece of news; the realist, purely factual no interpretations given and very clear in usage of language. This method differs to that of the constructionist, in which events or situations are carefully analysed, and I will be talking about the implication of media â€Å"constructed† social reality. â€Å"Leaders who disillusion their followers live shorter politician lives than who learn to represent situations to their best political advantage†; (Bennett, 2007: p.111) here Bennett is almost suggesting that audience prefer to consume politically incorrectness over the truth, which could be troubling. It is true in terms of politics that politician are not always completely faithful to their promises Scheufele sited Entman’s definition of framing as ‘a scatter of conceptualization’ (1999), Conceptualization is the process of â€Å"inventing or contriving an idea or explanation and formulating it mentally† or â€Å"an elaborated concept† â€Å"framing is an extension of agenda setting† it set up a specific idea for an audience to believe in, audience is somewhat fooled into accepting one side of the story, and usually, they are unable or find it difficult to accept... ... Television in British Politics: Media, Money and mediated Democracy. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Glasser, T.L. (ed.) The Idea of Public Journalism. Chapter one. New York: Guilford Press. Luhmann, N. (2000) The Reality of the Mass Media. Cambridge: Polity Press. Richardson, J.E. (2007) Analysing Newspapers: an Approach from Critical Discourse Analysis. New York: Palgrave Macmillan. Journal articles: Barnhurst, K.G. and Mutz, D. (1997) ‘American journalism and the decline in event-centred reporting’, Journal of Communication. 47 (4): 27-53 Scheufele, D.A. (1990) ‘Framing as a theory of media effects ’, Journal of communications. 49 (1): 103-122 Links: AlJazeera English (2010) ‘China ban on dog meat draw angry outcry’ February 08 available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZLLhd_0p_c http://www.thefreedictionary.com/conceptualization

Hefty Hardware Essay

After reading Hefty hardware case study, I came up with the following analysis for this case: It is very clear that there is communication issues between the business and IT, there is no connection between the IT department and other business departments. To build good relationship between the IT Department and the Business department, the four foundation blocks needed, Competence, credibility, interpersonal interaction, and trust, which all are not considered between the departments. (McKeen & Smith, 2012). The business manager feels that the IT don’t have the enough competence for finding solution for solving business problems. And this is normal because the IT do not have the enough knowledge about Hefty Hardware business process and goals. The very important block in building good relationship between the IT and business department which is the interpersonal interaction is not available and usually the meetings getting failed because the IT people don’t understand the business talk and not ready to understand, also the business managers do not understand the technical talk when the IT start explaining the technical aspects of the solution. Hefty Hardware do not has solid foundation and good relationship between the IT and the Business department, and this issue became the main problem that Hefty should deal with it to make sure that the current and future projects will success. Also it is important that the IT department spend the enough time to explain their plan to support the business functions and make sure that they will work to achieve the organization goals. There is no information sharing between the departments or even between the executives because of the lack of communication. Information sharing will help in reach common goal which will help the organization to be more efficient and productive. Mr. Vogel suggestion was very good to have two from IT and business department travel together as this will improve the relationship between the two departments and make better understanding for the organization goals and will give them the chance to see how Hefty stores operate. The IT department seems to be understaffed and under budget, as Farzad was complaining that he cannot send some IT staff because they have a lot of work to do at the head quarter, the IT department is mainly to perform the support and keep the network and the systems stable but they don’t have the ability to think strategically. In order for the IT and the business can work collaboratively to deliver the Savvy Store program  successfully the below recommendations need to be considered: 1- Hefty Hardware should invest in building a good relationship between the IT and Business department this can be achieved by conducting team building training program where both department can interact and work together. As this will build a trusting and functional environment. 2- Developing the communication skills for Hefty employees and between the different departments, which will help in implementing successful projects. 3- IT and Business managers should work together for removing any communication obstacles to have a successful communication going. (Gartenstein, 2012). By having a weekly meetings which will strengthen the communication more . 4- Interpersonal interaction between the IT and business departments should be improved in the meetings, as most of the time the business team feel that they are lost as then don’t understand the technical points, this can be achieved by train the IT team to improve their communication skills and let then have the ability to communicate with non-technical people (which is not easy) and explain to them in simple way. Visual presentation may help in explaining the technical concepts . 5- Business team should also share the organization business needs and goals with the IT team to let them understand how is the business going and what is the goals of the company. By this cooperation, the gap between the two departments will be bridged and both teams will be able to think more efficiently in finding solutions that will enhance customer experience and will implement competitive solutions. 6- Outsourcing the projects that need to be immediately implemented and do not trouble the IT department while they are overloaded and don’t have enough staff. 7- The Time management & Planning is very important for both departments, the organization should invest in having them trained in time management and planning, which will help them in doing the work efficiently and on time. 8- Do a market research for the same industry and try to implement a competitive solutions that will be a very good advantage for the organization. 9- Hiring more IT staff as the CIO is understaffed and has no ability to accept any new system development, so as to be able to work on Savvy store program. 10- The corporate should not be disconnected from the retail shops. References: McKeen, J. and Heather, S. (2011) IT Strategy – Issues and Practices. 2nd Edition. ISBN-10: 0132145669. Boston: Prentice Hall. Gartenstein, D. (2012, January). Solutions for effective communication. Retrieved from eHow Family website: http://www.ehow.com/way_5765631_solutions-effective-communication.html. Baum, J. (2011, March 18). Team building exercises in the workplace. Retrieved from Livestrong website: http://www.livestrong.com/article/221732-team-building-exercises-in-the-workplace/.

Examine what is meant by situation ethics Essay

Joseph Fletcher an Anglican theologian was the main person to challenge the view that ethics and morality have to be based around laws and rules. He developed three ways of making moral decisions, these were: 1. The antinomian way 2.The legalistic way 3. The situational way The antinomian way was a way of making decisions without any laws or principles. It is what feels right at that particular time and on no bases whatsoever, only on how it feels to you. This was also where existentialism arose. Existentialism being a principle developed by a 19th century Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. His theory was that the best way to make decisions was for each individual to find their own unique bases for morality; the foundation for his argument was that no objective or rational bases could be grounded in moral decisions. So the antinomian approach is therefore that in every existential moment or unique situation the situation itself provides the ethical solution. The legalistic approach being at the other end of the scale. This is a way of making decisions with regard to laws or rules. The legalist will live their life in accordance with a set of guidelines or rules. For example Jews will abide by the rules of the Torah and make their decisions primarily from this source. Joseph Fletcher suggested a third way of making moral decisions and this was called the situational way, which consists of a compromise between antinomianism and legalism. In the situational approach every decision is made on one universal principle and that is love. In situation ethics his view was to look at each situation individually. His main line of argument was that the only moral principle that could be applied to all situations is that of love, or: ‘To do whatever is the most loving thing.’ (Fletcher quoted by Jenkins, Ethics and religion p47). Whereas Natural law theorists ask what the law states, Fletcher asks what is the best possible decision to help others and provide love in doing so. Therefore in his view this is not a law in itself, and its not dictating what should be done in any particular situation but rather an approach that informs moral choice. In other words you should always have someone’s best interest at heart. Another one of Fletchers arguments was that Christians are meant to love and care for each other and God is also portrayed to be all-loving. As this is the case for Christians shouldn’t morality also be based around this theory ‘to do the most loving thing’? The Christian perspective like many other religions is based around the idea of natural law. The natural law ethic arose in the 4th century BCE by Aristotle. The Christian theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas further developed the ideas first put forward by Aristotle. He argued that the natural purpose of the world is found in God. He outlined natural law in the following way by suggesting that all people should follow the law of God. He also believed that ‘Human purpose’ was to ‘reproduce, to learn, to live harmoniously in society and to worship God.’ (Jenkins p26, quoted by www.faithnet.freeserve.co.uk/situation_ethics.htm). His ultimate belief was that Natural law describes not only how things are, but also how they ought to be furthermore this happens when things fulfil their natural purpose. Natural law is only concerned with what seems to be the ‘natural’ course of action for humans to take and this is where the conflict arises with situation ethics. There are many circumstances where what appears to be ‘natural’ doesn’t appear to be ‘loving’. This is why theologians such as Joseph Fletcher don’t agree with the natural law ethic as it causes much controversy. For example the Catholic Church undertook the natural law approach to guide them in terms of their sexual behaviour. They saw the natural purpose for sexual intercourse to be procreation, so therefore anything that proves to be a barrier to this end result is not allowed i.e. contraception. When developing an approach to Situation ethics Fletcher suggested 4 working principles and 6 fundamental principles to outline his ideas. The 4 working principles are: 1.Pragmatism- being ideas and theories that have to work in practice, to be right of good it has to produce a desirable outcome that satisfies love’s demand. The main emphasis is that the practical course of the action should be motivated by love. 2.Relativism- To be relative, on has to be relative to something, as situation ethics maintains it has to relate to love and should always respond to love in each situation. Fletcher says it ‘relativises the absolute; it does not absolutise the relative’ (Fletcher quoted from Vardy; Puzzle of ethics p126). Meaning each absolute can be made relative to love but relativism cannot be applied to a concrete situation as love acts differently in different situations, it depends on how its applied and this varies with each circumstance. 3.Positivism- this is accepting to act in love by faith rather than by reason, once faith is declared it is supported by logic. In situation ethics positing a belief in God as love or a higher good and then reasoning what is required in any situation to support that belief. 4.Personalism- This is the desire to put people not laws first. It is always what is the best to help a person that makes a decision a good one. As God is meant to be personal therefore morality should also be person-centred. However It is the main framework of situation ethics that is outlined by the 6 fundamental principles. These are: 1. There is only one thing that is intrinsically good- love. Actions are good if they are fulfilling love by helping them but reversibly they are bad if they hurt people. No single act in itself is right or wrong it always depends on the situation the circumstance occurs in. Love always decides the actions that are good or bad. 2. The ruling principle of Christian love is agape love. Agape love is self-giving love and this doesn’t require anything in return. The overriding principle of decision-making is love. 3. Love and justice are the same. In Fletchers words ‘love and justice are the same thing, for justice is love distributed.’ (Fletcher quoted by William Bailay p73). He also claims that ‘justice is love at work in the community in which human beings live.’ (Vardy, Puzzle of ethics p128). 4. ‘Thout shalt love thy neighbour as thyself’ (William Temple quoted by Vardy, puzzle of ethics p123). As the neighbour is a member of the human family therefore love wills the neighbours good. Love is practical and not selective. Christian love is said to be unconditional so we should show love to everyone and that includes are enemies. 5. Only the end result justifies the means, love is the end- never a means to something else. Love can justify anything in situation ethics as long as the end result satisfies love. 6. Love’s decisions are made in the circumstance of each situation and not prescriptively. Humans have a responsibility of freedom. No one is bound by laws, so with this responsibility comes the notion ‘to do the most loving thing’ and to apply this to every situation. ‘Fletcher claims that it is a mistake to generalise. You can’t say ‘Is it ever right to lie to your family?’ The answer must be, ‘I don’t know, give me an example.’ A concrete situation is needed, not a generalisation. ‘It all depends’ may well be the watchword of the Situationist.’ (Puzzle of ethics, Vardy p.130) There are many moral dilemmas when given certain situations, and taking the situational view we are faced with the duty to do the most loving thing possible, and to serve agape love. Taking an example from William Bailay, on a wilderness trial to Kentucky many people lost their lives to Indians who hunted them down. In one case there was a woman who carried her child with her and her child was crying. The baby’s crying was betraying the rest of the camp as the cries were leading the Indians to them. The mother clung to her child and as a result the whole camp was found and they were all killed. In another case a Negro woman and her party found themselves in the same situation, their lives were in danger, as they too would be found out if the baby continued to cry. However the Negro woman strangled her child to stop its cries, and as a result the whole party escaped. How can we tell which action was love? The Mother who kept her baby and brought death all, or that of the mother who killed her own child to save the lives of her family and friends? This is a perfect example of the type of decisions that situation ethics confronts us with. In situation ethics there is no definite right or wrong, it has to be applied by each circumstance. Likewise there is no intrinsic value, no goodness or badness held purely in an action itself. Situation ethics says it all depends on the situation and whether or not it fulfils love. Goodness and badness are not properties of moral actions they are predicates. This demonstrates one of the key aspects and an advantage for situation ethics. Sometimes morality can be somewhat restricted however in taking the situational approach there are no moral rules. If someone with morals can only abide to duty they cant go outside their own boundaries. This is the case in many orthodox religions. Whereas situation ethics maintains that there are no absolutes, you are allowed to go outside certain boundaries if in doing so you are providing the most loving result. Take the Islamic faith for example. Muslims follow the laws of the Koran; one law is ‘do not steel’, which is an absolute. But say if there were a single mother living in the poorer regions of the country who had no money and was struggling to feed her starving children. Would it be right for the mother to let her children starve? Or would it be better for the woman to go against the law and perhaps steel some food in order for them to survive? If the woman followed her religion seriously then it would not be morally right for her to steel and as a result her children lives would be at stake. This is the advantage of situation ethics, it says that words like ‘never’ and ‘absolute’ can’t be used because their will always be exceptions. Another advantage of situation ethics is that people are always put first, it is a personal matter. People are made more important than principles. This goes against the legalistic approach. Where legalism put laws in first place conversely situation ethics makes people the main emphasis. Furthermore we often find that the outside world is constantly changing. As we live in the modern day and age we are on a constant roller coaster of changing situation. As a result of this many religions find it extremely difficult to apply their laws to the modern world. Take the Torah being applied to the modern age or orthodox Jews attempts to conserve laws against modern relativism to be an example. Because situation ethics can change with time this gives it a huge advantage. Situation ethics also makes the important link between love and justice, which is another key aspect and this is shown as the third of the six fundamental principles. To Fletcher justice is love distributed and Justice is love working out its problems. (William Bailay p73) However there have also been many criticisms of Situation Ethics. When referring to the meaning of love, this is sometimes seen to be too general. As love has no definite meaning, it changes according to the situation, it becomes relative, and so it cannot be said that there is only one moral absolute. As there are no specific guidelines for agape love it could be said that it is possible to justify any action. These are dangerous boundaries. The question ‘What might happen if I allow euthanasia once?’ could be asked. It may be hard to know where to draw the line; people all over the place might start killing their grandparents because they are too old†¦in the name of love! Situation ethics sometimes relies on spontaneity, however spontaneity can sometimes be misguided. It may turn out to be irrational and foolish. The abandonment of rules may in turn reduce situation ethics to antinomianism. It may lead to a state of moral flux as rules play an important part in sociological maintenance. It is also been decided that there are certain examples of absolutes. Take rape, child abuse and genocide, these are all examples of absolutes that are wrong and under no circumstance would they be right. You would not be able to justify this with love. It is often quite hard to understand exactly what is meant by the meaning of love. It can be hard to know what they most loving thing to do is. It is also hard to know what the most loving thing is in terms of the consequence. How can we predict all the consequences of an action? This can be shown by euthanasia. Say their was a man who had aids and had only a 5% chance of getting better again, he approached his friend and asked him if he would end his life for him. What happens if he got better? Even if there is only a very tiny chance there is still a chance. The man might suddenly make a recovery and go on to lead a long and prosperous life. How can we predict the consequences? It is also hard when attempting to share love out fairly in a particular situation. This can also be shown by this example of euthanasia; it is hard to know what is the best for the person, friends and family. It might be best for the man but what might be best for him might not necessarily be the most loving thing for the family or their friends. It is also quite hard to view a situation from a totally unbiased perspective. There is a possibility that a decision could be made selfishly with or without realising it but as it’s in the name of love it is justifiable. This again makes the boundary for love very hard to distinguish. It is also questionable as to whether it is possible for all members of society to judge each situations by its merits. A lot of time and energy has to go into the decision this isn’t always accessible to everyone. How practical is situation ethics? Finally on what basis is it possible for the situationist to make moral decisions? What happens when there are no ultimate ethical principles? The situationist is making prejudiced decisions based potentially on personal whims. An example of a danger caused by this can be seen in the actions of Adolf Hitler and his attitude towards the Jews in the Second World War. For those who felt that situation ethics went to far in attempting to set itself free from any conception of law, there is an approach that combines both theories of natural law and of situation ethics. This approach is known as proportionalsim. Proportionalists hold the belief that there are particular situations where moral rules should be abided to unless there is a proportionate reason for not contending with them. This reason would be grounded in the situation itself. In this way the primary precepts of natural law could be accepted (e.g. killing, stealing, lying etc) as the ground rules unless there was a sufficient reason for not doing so. Proportionalists hold a clear distinction between moral and non-moral acts. For example proportionalists would say abortion is wrong, but it may be morally right in the circumstances of that situation. However unlike situationalists they say that love does not then make a wrong action right. Furthermore they still incur the same problems that situationalists face in trying to determine what bests serves love in a situation, and on making decisions by selfish means.