A Contemporary Banking Issue Essay Online For Free - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1916 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Finance Essay Type Narrative essay Tags: Banking Essay Did you like this example? Bankers remuneration is perceived amongst the core recession triggers, which lured top bankers to engage into socially wasteful investments. Society perceives bonuses as the main drivers of greed and irresponsibly short-sighted behavior (pp. 1). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A Contemporary Banking Issue Essay Online For Free" essay for you Create order From an economic point of view, the central critiques about bonuses are concerned with risk-taking and short-term orientation. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that the design of the overall compensation package appears to have generated bankers myopia rather than the bonus system per se. In fact, most banks now concur that, preceding the crisis, their systems were excessively short-sighted, and are currently striving to base rewards on more sustainable performance criteria such as average growth rates and volumes across longer sampling periods (Gehrig Menkhoff, 2009). Bonuses have stirred widespread aversion feelings because of their asymmetric payoff structure which invites risk-taking by bankers. As such, should the risky investment have succeeded, the manager would have been granted a hefty compensation; whereas even in the unfavourable scenario, he still satisfied with a comfortable fixed salary incurring no further repercussions. Put differently, a bonus-based compensation pac kage fails to penalise accordingly the various outcomes of jeopardising investments and consequently encourages them (Gehrig Menkhoff, 2009). Remuneration is defined as the payment that generally comprises the base salary topped with any bonuses or other economic benefits which an employee or executive receives during employment in exchange for professional services. This term often refers to the total compensation which includes the base salary plus shares or share options, bonuses, pension benefits, and other perks or forms of compensation (Investopedia, 2011). Thus, remuneration can be divided into fixed based pay (payments or benefits not depending on any criteria) or variable (whereby additional payments or benefits are function of performance or various contractual agreements such as depending on sales, profits, return on assets). The above are correlated with the output of the accounting system but may also reward in line with market price of the firms shares. Both these components may include monetary payments or benefits (such as cash, shares, options, pension contributions) or non-monetary benefits such as health insurance, discounts, fringe benefits or special allowances for car, mobile phone (CEBS, 2010). Regulatory bodies, (i.e. G20, Committee of European Banking Supervisors), seem to concur that the inappropriate remuneration structures of some financial institutions have been a contributory factor towards the failure of individual financial institutions and systemic problems in the European Union Member States and worldwide. Remuneration policies that offered incentives and encouraged risk-taking above a certain tolerable degree at institution level undermined sound and effective risk management and exacerbated such behaviour. It was admitted that excessive remuneration in the banking industry fuelled a risk appetite disproportionate with the loss-absorption capacity of the sector (CEBS, 2010). The remuneration of bankers situates at t he very centre of moral outrage succeeding the financial crisis. While regulators are mostly concerned with the remuneration structure which incentivised undue risk-taking, society sternly blames the pay-offs to senior executives of failed banks and large bonuses which rewarded bankers whose activities were entangled with the crisis triggering mechanism. The protest is greatly about the perversity of apparently mischievous prizes for blatantly imposing such costs on other stakeholders. The mainstream analysis of moral hazard (information asymmetry) assumes behaviour to be rational with respect to self-interest, in other words opportunistic in the sense that it takes advantage of chances to achieve personal benefit regardless whether that may happen at the others expense (Dow, 2010). The remuneration policy should be in line with the business strategy, objectives, values and long-term interests of the credit institution. Otherwise, if the variable part of the remuneration consists predominantly of remuneration instruments that are paid out immediately, without any deferral or ex post risk adjustment mechanisms, based on a formula that links variable remuneration to current year revenues rather than risk-adjusted profit, there are strong incentives for managers to shy away from conservative valuation policies, strong incentives to ignore concentration risks, strong incentives to rig the internal transfer pricing system in their favour and strong incentives to ignore risk factors, such as liquidity risk and concentration risk, that could place the institution under stress at some point in the future (CEBS, 2010). The Principal-Agent theory implies that executive compensation should be correlated with the total return to shareholders, commonly by granting ownership of the firm through stock or options. However, despite this frameworks compelling logic, existing empirical support contradicts the effectiveness of the agency theory when applied to executive com pensation (Kakabadse et al, 2004). They are also meant to serve as an effective retention tool for talent in the long term, meaning they should motivate loyalty in successful bankers. However, stock options reward success, but normally do not penalize failure (Branca and Imelmann, 2009). Frabotta (2000a) argued that short-term strategies may in fact achieve differing outcomes to those actually sought, as they may not be congruent with the long-term profitability of an organization (Taylor and Davies, 2004, pp. 468). As such, bankers might seek to maximize short-run profits by employing creative accounting. This comprises methods such as discretionary costs management (i.e. reduction in allowance for doubtful clients with a view to increase net accounts receivable), sales and expenses adjustment, or non-operational profits e.g. asset disposals. Furthermore, medium-term behaviour might encompass income smoothing to reduce earnings volatility and ensure less variable flow of benefit s for the more loss-averse directors. According to Prasad (2008), evidence shows that executives contractually entitled to receive exhilarating pensions, tend to pursue corporate strategies which aim to reduce the overall risk of the firm. As such, these executives embark on fewer risky investment projects, reduce dividends, avoid excess debt or expand the average maturity of corporate debt. Likewise a CEO is more likely to retire voluntarily his pension has vested and is immediately payable. Besancenot Vranceanu (2007) based their study of compensations plans on game theory. The purpose was to analyse whether such structures incentivized managers to engage in fraudulent activities. Their model rendered that under perverse incentive plans managers eluded regulations and committed fraud. Walkers Review Sir David Walkers Review of corporate governance in UK banks and other financial industry entities was requested by the UK government in order to evaluate what prompted the financial crisis and how its recurrence could be prevented in the future. The final report suggests a series of reforms to improve the quality of boards, strengthen the role of shareholders, and increase transparency of pay and bonus structures. At the core of the recommendations lies the clear link which the author identifies between board behaviour deficiencies and poor business performance (Gill, 2009). The Review hints at the idea that some banking groups managed to survive the crisis and in relative terms have prospered, whereas others failed to do so and pleaded mercy from governmental bailouts. This situation indicates the gap in the quality of corporate governance between the two categories (Slaughter and May, 2009). One of the most important and controversial themes in Walkers (2009) Review is the re muneration policy of financial institutions. The recommendations in this respect emphasize that substantial enhancement is needed in board level oversight of remuneration policies, in particular in respect of variable pay, and in associated disclosures. Besides, the responsibility of board remuneration committees should be extended to cover the entire entitys remuneration framework especially executives whose remunerations exceed the median level throughout the board high end category. The term depicts employees who perform a significant influence function and who can have a material impact on the risk profile of the firm. Through deliberate insistence on long-term focus, they should be stand as a major countervailing force against any short-term pressure from shareholders or the executive. Furthermore, with a view to ensuring better alignment of interests, performance conditions and deferment of variable payments for executives should be materially more demanding than anterior industry norms. In other words, it is advised that at least half of expected variable remuneration should be on a long-term incentive basis with vesting, subject to performance conditions, deferred for up to five years. As to the short-term bonus, which rewards the executive for performance in the current year, the proposal is that payments under any award should be phased over a three-year period, with no more than one-third in the first year. The high end pay executives bracket should be expected to maintain a shareholding or retain a portion of vested awards in an amount at least equal to their total compensation on a historic or expected basis, to be built up over a period at the discretion of the remuneration committee. Vesting of stock for this group should not normally be accelerated on cessation of employment other than on compassionate grounds. Despite being convincing at first sight, the Reports main recommendations concerning financiers remuneration mask a more fund amental issue of principle: that the current bonus problem is a creation of accounting fictions of reliance on accrual accounting recognition of profit instead of economic profit. Focusing on earned or realised profit as the basis for bonus entitlement would eliminate many of the highlighted problems. The result of such a change in perspective would be similar to the intent of the Report; however it would possess the advantage of returning the debate to a focus on principles (Paradigm Risk, 2009). What is more, other critics such as Barker (2009) assess the recommendations regarding remuneration to be rather prescriptive or specialised for implementation in the non-financial sector. The Walker Review does not seek to define the quantum of remuneration that should be awarded to board members or other high-end employees. However, it delivers several proposals which target the improvement of the remuneration structure in terms of links with risk taking and performance. An interestin g proposal advocated in the Review is that the Chairman of the remuneration committee should stand for re-election if the issued report receives fewer than 75% of votes cast at the AGM. This would serve to increase the accountability of the remuneration committee vis-à  -vis shareholders. Remuneration packages of banks directors are made up of the basic salary and benefits which are topped by several cascading layers of rewards such as pension provisions and various bonuses. Barclays claimed that it had shown restraint on pay as it revealed that its chief executive, Bob Diamond, was paid a bonus of  £6.5m for 2010. He also earned a  £250,000 salary and was awarded a  £2.25m long-term payment based on future performance. As chief executive he will be paid a  £1.35m salary. Fred Goodwin from RBS was granted  £9m in salary,  £14m bonuses, and  £276,000 extras (relocation expenses, school fees) totaling over  £23m in the past 9 years of employment for the state-a ided financial giant. Skeptics would catalogue these obscene amounts as enormous rewards for failure. What is more, this former CEO gathered a sufficiently high pension pot to allow him the comfort of withdrawing  £703,000 a year pension. Specialist lawyers infer that his contract was wisely and tightly drafted in his favour and very well negotiated. Moreover, the expenses incurred by the company to keep its executives pleased also included lavish benefits such as a permanent luxurious Savoy hotel suite; fleets of cars available at all times, special food, uncalled for refurbishment of floors, use of own corporate jets on regular bases (Dispatches, 2009). Yet results of a study (Fahlenbrach and Stulz, 2011) show that no evidence exists that banks with a better alignment of the CEOs interests with those of the shareholders had higher stock returns during the crisis. Some evidence shows that banks led by CEOs whose interests were better aligned with those of their shareholders ha d worse stock returns and a worse return on equity.

The American Express Launched A Coalition Loyalty Program

Background In May ’15 American Express launched a Coalition loyalty program called Plenti. Members of Plenti can earn and redeem points by shopping at participating merchants (e.g., Exxon, Macys, Rite Aid and ATT.) The biggest challenge in launching the program was signing up merchants and building an economic case for shifting away from proprietary programs. As part of efforts, we were in negotiations with Rite Aid to join the program. Under their old loyalty program (Wellness+), Rite Aid issued reward dollars (+UPs).The dollars could be used for purchase within their store over next 2 weeks while in Plenti the points (1 point = 1 cent) are valid for 3 years and can be redeemed at any participating merchant. Rite Aid was concerned that if†¦show more content†¦One option was to guarantee dollar value of points redeemed at Rite Aid However, in their old loyalty program, all points were redeemed in their stores, so the guarantee had to be equal to their point issuance. Rite Aid was planning to issue $75M worth of points so the proposal represented a large risk. Alternatively, we could have offered them exit rights linked with in-store redemptions but that would have created an uncertainty and would have been against spirit of coalition. We finally proposed ratio of points redeemed at Rite Aid to Rite Aid issued points redeemed at other sponsors would always be greater than 1. The ratio implied on Cash flow basis the program will be neutral for Rite Aid. The proposal guarded us against slow adaptation and penalized only if redemptions at Rite Aid were lower than other sponsors. We did not have any data to inform the metrics. Even though we were confident about meeting the metrics in the long term as Plenti envisioned signing â€Å"earn only partners† (where customers will earn points, but will not redeem them) but in the short term it was a challenge to estimate it. The proposed guarantee had two major drivers, firstly, how many Rite Aid issued points will be redeemed in each year and secondly how many Rite Aid issued points would be redeemed at Rite Aid vs. other merchants. We used data from international loyalty programs (Nectar, Air miles) and estimated 80% of the points The American Express Launched A Coalition Loyalty Program considered.† Background In May ’15 American Express launched a coalition loyalty program called Plenti. Under coalition loyalty programs, members can earn and redeem points by shopping at participating merchants (e.g., Exxon, Macys, Rite Aid and ATT.) The program helps consumers to earn rewards faster and lead to better engagement and provides merchants and opportunity to attract new customers and run cross-promotional campaigns. The biggest challenge in launching the program was signing up merchants and building an economic case for shifting away from proprietary programs and collaborate for collective benefit. We were in negotiations with Rite Aid to join the program. Under their old loyalty program (Wellness+), Rite Aid issued reward dollars (+UPs).The dollars could be used for purchase within their stores over next two weeks while in Plenti program the points (1 point = 1 cents) are valid for three years and can be redeemed at any participating merchant. Rite Aid was concerned that if they joined Plenti, customers will continue to earn points at Rite Aid but with more redemption options and longer validity, the redemptions will be skewed towards other merchants especially the â€Å"Grocer† Partner. In effect, they will be subsidizing a loyalty program for the â€Å"Grocer†. Challenge As part of the negotiations, our team was tasked to identify and propose â€Å"Performance Guarantees† to address Rite Aid’s concerns. With no data and uncertainty about other merchants who will join theShow MoreRelatedThe American Express Launched A Coalition Loyalty Program866 Words   |  4 PagesBackground In May ’15 American Express launched a Coalition loyalty program called Plenti. Members of Plenti can earn and redeem points by shopping at participating merchants (e.g., Exxon, Macys, Rite Aid and ATT.) The biggest challenge in launching the program was signing up merchants and building an economic case for shifting away from proprietary programs. As part of efforts, we were in negotiations with Rite Aid to join the program. Under their old loyalty program (Wellness+), Rite Aid issuedRead MoreThe American Express ( Axp )917 Words   |  4 PagesMay ’15 American Express (AXP) launched a coalition loyalty program called â€Å"Plenti.† Under coalition loyalty programs, members can earn and redeem points by shopping at participating merchants (e.g., Exxon, Macys, Rite Aid and ATT.) 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Creating Brand Equity and building strong brands  ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ · 4 Brand loyalty  ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ · 4 Brand awareness  ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ · 5 Perceived quality  ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã ‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Ã‚ ·Read MoreEmployee Engagement and CSR: TRANSACTIONAL, RELATIONAL, AND DEVELOPMENTAL APPROACHES12982 Words   |  52 Pagesresponsibility (CSR) for engaging employees, including its impact on their motivation, identity, and sense of meaning and purpose. It explores three different ways that companies engage their employees through CSR: a transactional approach, where programs are undertaken to meet the needs of employees who want to take part in the CSR efforts of a company; a relational approach, based on a psychological contract that emphasizes social responsibility; and a developmental approach, which aims to activate

Discovery Museum Gold Rush History Center Free Essays

The visit I made to the Discovery Museum Gold Rush History Center in Sacramento, California, proved to be highly informative, entertaining, and a two-hour well spent. The experience afforded me a lot of learnings from the Gold Rush period that I didn’t know before. Before I made the tour of the four galleries inside the building, I first went to the visitors’ information center, wherein an introduction regarding the building’s construction has been shown in a nine-minute film clip. We will write a custom essay sample on Discovery Museum Gold Rush History Center or any similar topic only for you Order Now Based on the clip shown, I learned that the museum is a replica of the original building that was built in 1854 that previously housed the City of Sacramento’s city hall, dormitory for the fire department, jail, police station, and court. The original structure had suffered from structural problems and was declared unsafe many years later. It was finally demolished about sixty years later in 1913. The replica building has been modified on some sides in line with its being a museum showcasing history, science and technology. The Gold Rush Center’s exhibits are in The Lure of Gold gallery. The museum’s arrangement of events is well organized and unique. From there, I was able to see gold nuggets on display and artifacts and implements used by miners from the Gold Rush era. The Gold Rush in California was a defining moment in history that changed Sacramento forever. Sacramento became the center of that event in 1849. People from all over the world went to this city hoping to make themselves rich. Previously, this gallery has showcased a typical miner’s travel and lifestyle. Aside from the exhibits, there are also hands-on activities for children and interactive programs to help the present generation get a better understanding of the past. How to cite Discovery Museum Gold Rush History Center, Papers

Environmental Ethics Inventory Essay Example For Students

Environmental Ethics Inventory Essay Environmental Ethics Inventory Essay It is a strong belief of mine that the responsibility of protecting the environment is much greater on todays generation than is was for past generations. The reason that I feel the way that I do is because at this point a substantial amount of damage has already been done and in order to prevent any further environmental destruction intervention on our part is necessary. After all, we (humans) are the main cause of the problems; shouldnt we also be a part of the cure. If we had always taken the environment into consideration prior to our actions we would not be faced with some of the environmental issues we are facing today. The problem started with the past generations but the solution now has to start with us. We have to be overly conscious of our actions and what affect they will have on future generations. Since we enjoy the rights to breathe fresh air, play in the sun, live among a vast variety of plant and wildlife, then shouldnt our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and their grandchildren, also have the chance to enjoy those same rights? My answer to that question is yes they do! We owe that to them so we all have to take a stand for our values, morals, ethics and actions regarding the preservation of a healthy and rich natural environment. The responsibilities for past generation regarding the environment was no less than ours today however, the differences are that we are now stuck with the job of correcting the mistakes of past generations, then the population was much smaller than it is today and will be in the future and more people equals potentially more pollution. I can compare this situation to one of a student who starts a class with all As and all he needs is to get a passing grade on the final and he will end up with a least a B for the class, verses a student who starts off the class with low Bs and Cs on his tests who will need to get a high B low A to just pass the class with a C. We are the B, C, student who needs an A just to pass the class with a C. It would be easier for us and less of an emergency if only our past generations would have taken us into the same consideration that we are now trying to for our future generations. It is my assumption that It will be easier for the future generations to maintain a healthy natural environment than to have to repair a damaged one. Population growth is also an important factor in the future quality of life. But it seems to me that the population is not growing at as high of a rate as it has the potential to grow. This is due to the rise of contraceptive use in third world countries. In more economically stable countries couples are waiting until later age to start families and are choosing to have fewer children than their parents. But on the other hand the population is getting older with the advances in modern medicine and the availability of vaccinations and medical treatments. I believe that due to our (people) past carelessness regarding the environment and our ongoing search for convenience in the present we are hurting our selves in the long run. Reports show that today skin cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer death. We have to go to somewhat extreme measures on a daily biases to protect ours skin from the suns harmful ultra violet rays which was not the case for past generations. Sun block did not even exist decades ago and now we cant imagine life with out it. What needs to be done is we need to take measures to make changes in our actions to prevent worse conditions for future generations. It was the actions of past generations that lead to the current damage of the ozone layer that is causing the serious skin conditions of the present generation. .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f , .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f .postImageUrl , .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f , .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f:hover , .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f:visited , .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f:active { border:0!important; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f:active , .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc41a87308b55f484d9506fcb0f0ce83f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Italy Argumentative Essay It will only get worse if we do not take measures to protect what is .