Five Accounting Unethical Issues Essay

Unethical Methods are performed to manipulate the financial records of a bussiness firm. And following are the few methods: Legal : Misuse of law in case of compensation Statistics : Exaggerating revenue and profits to mislead/confuse Tax : Avoiding to pay actual tax Transperency : Trying to counterfeit/falsifying in case of investigation Exploitation : Misuing funds These issues arises due to competition between the bussiness firms to raise their numbers. Greed to have more money and violate the law. Opportunity makes thiefs when offered the bribery. Individuals who work for a giant corporate company, fails to think out of the box when considering rest of the world. Performing unethical behaviour and claimimg it as ignorance, which is not true. Transparent code of ethic which should be professinally implemented in the firm, and as well as among the employees. Maintaining healthy competition betwwen the firms. Publishing actual financial data. Responsible to pay tax. Awarding the apraisal and rewards for ethical behaviour. Legally there should be strict laws for unethical behaviour. Kimmel, P.D., Weygandt, J.J. & Kieso, D.E(4 Ed) Financial accounting: Tools for business decision making Rajeev, L.L. (2012). Ethical and Unethical Business Practices. Article of Buzzle, Business Ethics. Retrived from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/ethical-and-unethical-business-practices.html Oseni, Abubakar Idris. (2012). Research Journal of Finance and Accounting ISSN 2222-2847 (Online) Vol 2. Retrived from http://www.iiste.org/Journals/index.php/RJFA/article/view/188

Individual Risk Management Essay

The objective of risk management is to develop response actions to minimize the impact of possible negative events during every phase of a project. The process also works to increase the impact of the positive events and mitigate the problems associated with making changes (Project Management Institute,  © 2013). The risks in many projects are multifaceted in nature because the positive impact created at one stage of a project, could have dire consequences at another. For example, occasionally in construction projects, floor slabs will have design defects that will not properly drain and eliminate the migration of water breaching the inside of the structure. A minor re-design of the slab configuration will eliminate the drainage problem but cause a significant structural issue with roof trussing and its ability to hold the house together during a minimal shift. The changes made to correct the slab issue are great, but the problems it will create down the line are greater unless the initial solution is analyzed all the way through the project. Identifying the risk and plausible solutions is done through a series of procedures, techniques, and analysis to meet the objectives of risk management. Another dimension of the risk management kaleidoscope understands the definition of risk from various viewpoints and positions with stake in the project. The risk management operation requires a planning process describing how to conduct the risk management based on the activities and tasks necessary to complete the work. There is an intangible element with assessing the risk of defining the tolerances and attitudes of the organizational leaders and stakeholders. A project manager with experience will have a more complete understanding of this component performing an internal analysis of risk appetite and risk tolerance levels surrounding the organization and the primary stakeholders. The amount of risk for a project is measured, analyzed, and quantified with  numerous equations, graphs, and statistical parameters to confirm and justify the data, but understanding what is in the head of corporate leaders and stakeholders and the level of risk they are comfortable with; is not on a spreadsheet. The understanding of this type of risk management comes from experience and high-level communication skills put into an action plan before the project is started. The risk management process is dependent on several documents for information to achieve its objectives, respond accordingly with monitor and control procedures specific to the project (Project Management Institute,  © 2013). The risk team will rely in the risk management plan to identify and classify their roles and responsibilities in the key areas. The team also collects information from cost management plan that assists in controlling levels of precision, accuracy, and units of measure. The cost management for risk managers involves more controlling of operational expenditures than total cost of the project (Cooper, Raymond, & Walker, 2005). The information provided by the schedule management plan is also a vital document especially in conjunction with the cost management plan to control progression throughout the project life cycle. The scope baseline document is a mandatory piece of information the risk team will look closely at for possible assumptions and uncertainty that might exist. Information for the project that the teams will use throughout the project as reference and updating tools are the stakeholder register, procurement documents, and enterprise environmental factors just to name a few (Project Management Institute,  © 2013). The risk management team completes the identification process with the creation of the risk register and a defined risk management plan (RMP) explaining the risk activities, risk challenges, risk treatment, and structured response in detail. This RMP defines the tools, resources, roles, and responsibilities for managers and line workers alike to minimize project defects and enhance project production. The RMP delivers four main objectives significant to the project, by categorizing the risk into different levels for each phase and department. The risk categorization provides the probability and impact of the risk to gain a better understanding of the impact on the project in terms that are explicit to each, department, or stakeholder at every stage. The risk management matrix has four primary project objectives defining a plan to address cost, time, scope, and quality. The risk management during  the initial planning stages is performed the same way with adjusted tolerances because of limited information. (Project Management Institute,  © 2013). Provided below is a Risk Breakdown Structure (RBS) as defined in the; A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK ® Guide). The RBS is performed on the information in the course syllabus â€Å". Your organization has decided that to be successful in the global economy it must expand its supply base into China† (The Apollo Group Inc., 2010). Project Risks: Internal risks of compatibility with stakeholders and foreign lending institutions. The technical capabilitites and servicing capacity for optimum production levels. External Risks: Implmenting organizational objectives in bureaucratic ccontext of host country and meet essential program operations. Risk associated with enviromental enterprise and conceptual framework. Shortage of resources, poor infrastructure, foreign currency, cultural and socioeconomic enviroment. Incomplete understanding of project objectives, design, and sustainability to promote future growth. References Cooper, D. F., Raymond, G. S., & Walker, P. (2005). Project Risk Guidelines: Managing risk in large projects and complex procurements. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons.. Kerzner, H. (2009). Project Management: A systems approach to planning, scheduling, and controlling (10th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Project Management Institute. ( © 2013). A Guide to the Project Management body of knowledge. (PMBOK ® Guide), Fifth Edition. Retrieved 02 17, 2014, from http://common.books24x7.com/toc.aspx?bookid=51356. Sollish, F., & Semanik, J. (2007). The procurement and supply manager’s desk reference. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. The Apollo Group Inc ®. (2010). Syllabus CPMGT/302 Procurement and Risk Management. School of Business. Pheonix, AZ: University of Phoenix.

Agile Methodologies vs. Traditional lifecycle

Agile methodology and traditional lifecycle refers to the way in which software is developed. However, agile development develops software in a way that is different from the traditional method. Agile philosophy allows frequent inspection and adaptation of the project while the traditional methodology is a sequential method that splits the project into parts that are supposed to be fulfilled.However, it lacks adaptability and flexibility in ensuring the requirements of the project are fulfilled (Baker 2006, pp. 34).In traditional methodologies when a glitch occurs and plans are made, such as changing the software, nears impossibility which means that the software needs to go to the beginning with the development of a new code. This happens as long as there is no further glitch in the development process.On the other hand, agile methodology has a low risk level when developing the software. This means that it emphasizes the values and principles rather than traditional method of proce sses. Hence, agile methodology supports working in cycles and at the end of each cycle the priorities of the project are re-evaluated to check whether it conforms to the requirements.In most cases the Traditional lifecycle and the agile methodologies allows cutting down the total software or picture into puzzle size bits such as coding, designing and testing.However, when it comes to specific methodology in understanding the breaking down of the project, there are some variations that are evident. In the traditional lifecycle, when a stage is completed it remains like that because it is hard to manipulate according to time and user needs (Clammer 2007, pp. 56).This means that the process should start from designing a completely new system. Agile methodology is flexible and allows for change at the end of each stage depending on new ideas that may arise. It enables changes to the project without the entire project been rewritten. Hence, such approach reduces overhead costs and provid es a flexible way in which upgrade of programs can be commissioned.In the case of agile methodology, the project can be launched at the end of each tested stage. This means that it is an opportunity that ensures that bugs are traced and eliminated at the development level and it is further double tested to ensure that the first bug is eliminated.However, on the view of the traditional methodology, this capability is not provided, but the project is tested at the very end of it. It means that if bugs are found the entire program needs to be re-written (Eberle 2006, pp. 90 – 91).Another point is the customer satisfaction and object oriented designers and programmers. The modular nature of agile ensures that the right people are employed for the stage for timely release even if it does not match with the entire customer specifications.While, on the traditional methodologies it supports one main release and any problems such as delays or fulfillment of the customers specification s results into highly dissatisfied customers (Melton 2007, pp. 70).Both methodologies allows for departmentalization administration. The traditional methodology allows departmentalization at each stage while in the case of agile methodology the coding module of each stage can be delegated to separate players.Hence, allows many parts or stages to be fulfilled at the same time. However, the level of departmentalization differs; in the case of agile it is more pronounced than in the case of traditional methodology (Eberle 2006, pp. 94).The two software methodologies have diverse means in the ways that are supposed to fulfill the requirements of software development. Scalability, adaptability and flexibility in addition to customer satisfaction are the main features that set these two methodologies apart.BibliographyBaker, F. 2006, Traditional Software Development: Waterfall, McGraw Hill, New York.Clammer, L. 2007, Software Methodologies: An Introduction, Jakarta, Prentice Hall of Jakar ta.Eberle, J. 2006, Introduction to Software Development, New York Publishers, New York.Hawthorne, F. 2005, Software Development Methodologies, Oxford University Press, London.Melton, Z. 2007, Extreme Programming: Agile Software Development, Cambridge University Press, Singapore.

Meaning of Concepts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Meaning of Concepts - Essay Example The values must cover all of the possible outcomes of the event, while the total probabilities must sum to exactly 1, or 100%. For example, a single coin flip can take values ‘Heads or Tails’ with a probability of exactly 1/2 for each; these two values and two probabilities make up the probability distribution of the single coin flipping event. For example, a dart thrown at a dartboard has essentially zero probability of landing at a specific point, since a point is vanishingly small, but it has some probability of landing within a given area. The probability of landing within the small area of the bulls’ eye would (hopefully) be greater than landing on an equivalent area elsewhere on the board. A smooth function that describes the probability of landing anywhere on the dartboard is the probability distribution of the dart throwing event. The integral of the probability density function (pdf) over the entire area of the dartboard (and, perhaps, the wall surrounding it) must be equal to 1, since each dart must land somewhere. The normal distribution, also called the Gaussian distribution. In it each member of the family may be defined by two parameters, location and scale: the mean ("average", ÃŽ ¼) and variance (standard deviation squared) ÏÆ'2, respectively. Type I error, also known as an â€Å"error of the first kind†, â€Å"ÃŽ ± error†, or a â€Å"false positive†, the error of rejecting a null hypothesis when it is actually true. It occurs when we are observing a difference when in truth there is none. Type II error, also known as an â€Å"error of the second kind†, â€Å"ÃŽ ² error†, or a â€Å"false negative†, the error of failing to reject a null hypothesis when the alternative hypothesis is the true state of nature. In other words, this is the error of failing to observe a difference when in truth there is one. This type of error can only occur when the statistician fails to reject the null hypothesis. The

Evaluating Business Intelligence Systems W8 assign Essay

Evaluating Business Intelligence Systems W8 assign - Essay Example Additionally, the importance of such transitions for employees have also been explained in this study along with the mechanism through which the success of the BIS initiative can be evaluated. Thus, the study renders a significant insight regarding the organizational initiative of BIS in the modern day scenario. Introduction Business Intelligence System (BIS) is a kind of technology that provides noteworthy business value by improving effectiveness of managerial and technical decision making. It is a structural design and a collection of integrated operational as well as decision support applications and databases to assist business communities with an easy access to business data. In this respect, the continuous advancement in information technology can be identified as the potential driver for sustaining the business in the current highly competitive industrial environment (Srinivasan, 2011). This paper focuses on the issues that guarantee success of BIS and highlights significance of transition process of BIS in the most coherent manner. Issues That Help Guarantee Success of Business Intelligence System The issues that help to construct successful BIS are usually quite similar to the requirements of any other system that involves the use of the technology and seeks to change the organizational functions towards betterment. ... In addition, business management sponsor must be capable and potential enough to communicate the vision related with BIS and ascertain committed efforts from the entire management team. Also, the efficient business driver should be capable to motivate members of the organization to contribute their best towards its productivity. It is worth mentioning that primarily the top level and middle level managers from the different heads (such as regulatory, financial and operational) of the organization are engaged in accomplishing the tasks as a business driver. Similarly, feasibility acts as the other key success issue of BIS. Understanding various data and being capable to communicate these data with its actual meaning is an extremely crucial aspect with respect to BIS. It can be argued in this regard that tools and its applications only cannot guarantee success of information system within an organization. Correspondingly, focusing on the process and basic process control mechanism can form a solid foundation for assimilating the crucial and critical success factors required for the effective implementation of BIS. CSFs Framework for Implementation of BI Systems Source: (Yeoh & Koronios, 2010) With regards to the above mentioned model, critical success factors of the BIS can be divided into three different categories including organization, process and technology. Contextually, these three factors, when aligned carefully and efficiently, usually results in delivering best outcomes from the implementation of BIS. Importance of Transition to the Employees and Shareholders Transition is a very crucial component from the industry point of view.

World Civilizations II (since 1500) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

World Civilizations II (since 1500) - Assignment Example This strengthened the empire economically thus making it to expand. Strong army that this empire had took advantage of new military possibilities to prevent internal conflicts and conquer other empires to expand its territories. However, the empire declined due to economic and military crises. According to Bulliet, Crossley, and Headrick (586), the evolution of military technologies other firearms and military strategies that were more effective. The empire found it difficult to adapt these strategies due to their nature and costs thus resulting to military crises. These crises contributed very greatly to the decline of this kingdom. Moreover, economic crises that emerged from inflation also played a significant role in declining this empire. Inflation that affected this empire came because of flooding of cheap silver from the new world (Bulliet, Crossley, and Headrick 586). The inflation resulted to a decline in the financial power of the empire and reducing its economic strength thus making it to decline. Safavid Empire of Iran and the Mughal Empire of India were similar in several ways. However, their most conspicuous similarities were in terms of politics and religion. In terms of religion, both this two empires had a specific religion. All the citizen in those empires were forced to convert into these religions otherwise they were prosecuted. In terms of politics, both the empires were ruled by an emperor. The emperor was the one entitled to make all the major decisions in the empire ranging from when to go to war and when to negotiate with other empires for peace. Moreover, both the empires used to charge taxes to its citizens to help it in running its activities of ruling. Culture and society of Istanbul and that of Isfahan have various similarities as well as differences. The major similarity in the cultures of these two cities is that they consisted of Muslim culture. In terms of their society, both the towns consisted of a

Using Nonlinear Programming and Queuing in Quantitative Decision Essay

Using Nonlinear Programming and Queuing in Quantitative Decision Making - Essay Example The subsection on Forecasting has a detailed discussion on forecasting techniques. The subsection on Queuing tackled different queuing systems. The subsections end with the author’s take on how managers can benefit from each model and how the particular methodology addresses actual real-world situations. Managers have the daunting task of making a multitude of decisions every day for the respective institutions that they head. Depending on the nature of the variables that a particular situation entails, some decisions are arrived at quite straightforwardly while others need to undergo a series of rigorous processes before they are made. Among these challenging yet indispensable methods are Nonlinear Programming, Decision Analysis, Forecasting, and Queuing. With Hillier and Hillier (2010) as its main reference, the subsections that follow will discuss these methods in detail. According to Feiring (1986), Linear Programming is a part of mathematical programming that deals with t he competent and effective allocation of limited resources to a number of known activities to obtain the desired goal, which, most commonly concerns maximizing profit or minimizing cost. It is linear in the sense that the criterion (objective function or index) and the constraints (operating rules) of the process can be expressed as linear formulas. When at least one of these formulas is nonlinear in nature, then Nonlinear Programming is used. As a result, while Linear Programming assumes a proportional relationship between activity levels and an overall measure of performance, Nonlinear Programming is used to model nonproportional relationships. The graph of a piecewise linear function consists of a sequence of connected line segments. Thus, the slope of the profit graph remains the same within each line segment but then decreases at the kink where the next line segment begins.

The Risk of Petrochemical Companies Research Paper

The Risk of Petrochemical Companies - Research Paper Example Contemporary industrial period greatly relies on the utilization of numerous capably hazardous chemical substances. Wastes of petrochemical companies are harmful. These risks could be divided into three criteria, namely, (1) ergonomic harm, (2) fires/explosion, and (3) environmental contamination. Apparently, the major problem is how to effectively decrease such potential hazards in petrochemical companies. Petrochemical companies belong to a chemical system dependent on the products of gas and oil, and related processing of natural gas and petroleum. Hazardous wastes, on the other hand, are those which create a considerable risk or possible danger to the health of living beings for these are naturally deadly, constant, and non-degradable. Hazardous wastes are basically toxic, reactive, corrosive, and flammable (Jasanoff 1994). Ergonomic harm is one of the risks of petrochemical companies. Ergonomics denotes the interface between human beings and the device and machine in the workpla ce. Workers in petrochemical companies are highly exposed to ergonomic harms, such as musculoskeletal disorders (common for workers of drilling companies), or diseases caused by toxic fumes or substances (Attwood, Deeb, & Danz-Reece 2004). Petrochemical companies are also prone to accidental fires or explosions due to their handling of fuels, such as hydrocarbons. Even though these accidents may be quite unusual, when they do happen the effects can be quite serious, such as financial damage, employee casualty, or public injury (Khan & Abbasi 1998). Lastly, petrochemical companies carry with it several environmental hazards, just like in China and Argentina wherein massive environmental catastrophes have brought about a cycle of damages to the health of the local population. Several of the materials most intensely demanded by people for their use are innately harmful. Petroleum, for instance, is an expedient energy source. This convenience, while making petroleum important, also is t he root of its risk. Numerous of the substances or materials used by the petrochemical industry are innately dangerous. Several of the procedures are dangerous as well. In order for petrochemical plants to operate with minimal risk, they should be properly planned and designed, and appropriate procedure and guidelines should be implemented in their operation and management. The safety of petrochemical plants has drawn a great deal of public attention due to a number of major accidents, several of which are identified as the following (Banerjee 2003, 2): the 1974 Flixborough explosion in which 28 were killed, 89 injured and severe damage caused to buildings, the 1975 Beek propylene release and refinery fire in which 14 were killed, the 1976 Seveso accident in which highly toxic substances were released to the environment causing contamination to wide areas with attendant health implications for the surrounding populace, the gas storage plant catastrophe near Mexico City at San Juan I xhuatepec (1984) in which about 500 people perished and extensive damage was done, the Bhopal toxic gas release (1984) in which about 3400 were killed and many more injured, etc. In every one of these accidents an explosion, a fire, or a

NUTRITION FOR AN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

NUTRITION FOR AN ACTIVE LIFESTYLE - Essay Example Water is the main component that keeps the volume of the blood in the body. DEHYDRATION AND HYDRATION: Because of the vital roles of water in the body functioning, keeping the fluid level of the body is important for athletes who exercise or practice for long hours. A workout under the duration of thirty minutes can get on with water only, but beyond that water loss from the body will lead to dehydration. For athletes probably the most important nutritional concern is fluid replacement. The main loss of water from the body is due to perspiration. In water sports like swimming, one will not even know the loss of water through perspiration as perspiration is rather invisible here. According to various studies if one loses water up to two or more percent of ones body weight ( water makes 60% of the body weight) due to sweating ( If the athlete weigh 50 Kilograms and if he loses one litre sweat ) , that will lead to a drop in blood volume. This will force the heart to work harder to pump the blood through the arteries. This is the extreme situation of dehydrati on. This leads to muscle cramps. The functioning of the brain heavily depends on water as pointed out by K.G styles, the hydration technique expert (http://EzineArticles.com/ ), and thus dehydration affects the brain leading to fatigue and dizziness. If not rehydrated immediately this situation may even lead to heat illnesses like Heat Stroke and Heat Exhaustion. In addition to excessive sweating, other causes of dehydration are inadequate fluid intake, failure to replace fluid losses during and after the exercises, working out in dry hot weather, in the open, and drinking only when one is thirsty. According to, Ron.j. Maughan and Robert Murray, though we usually take care of the dehydration due to sweat lose during exercises, not much scientific interest is shown to study the pre exercise dehydration. Pre exercise dehydration may be due to

Impact upon the offender Essay Example for Free

Impact upon the offender Essay The offender gets a new lease of life, and gets a chance to redeem himself or herself in the eyes of law as well as the society. Although the lawbreaker will have to continuously be doing the correct thing so that people or the police do not pick him or her again for any further offences in the future. They get a chance to contribute to society and at the same time maintain ties with their near and dear ones. Parole decisions for an individual depends on several factors which includes the offenders offense, the number of violations done at the institutions, past criminal history, personal interviewing, behavioral educational development during prison sentence, plans on released information that is available from fiends, family and victims. The main impact for the offender would be the restoration of Civil Rights, which can be completely or partially. This giving the offender the freedom to return to a normal way of life which every human being would want to come back to. Social impact upon society. According to John Howard Society of Alberta (1998), corrections give the lawbreaker a chance to come back to the society as productive and valuable members for society. Although there is evidence that Canadian citizens can be interested in community corrections, but the New Brunswick incident has shown that people want to go through the correctional system and are also willing to listen to discussions about how things work. But many still do feel that the present correctional system is a failure and people are willing to go through other alternatives to community corrections. The research done in the article shows that more information that is available to the public more is their degree of understanding and acceptance of not only the circumstances and the case but also of the sentence itself. So that the offenders get a chance to be accepted into society and the community as much as possible, so that they can aptly contribute to the society. Every year there are thousands of offenders that are released, which forces the police to take public safety very seriously. So that not only does the offender have a smooth transition into society but also so that the society accepts the rehabilitated offender. The cost for such programs is very expensive and therefore there needs to be some cost affective ways of managing with limited resources so that offences of the type do not happen again. There needs to be solutions and programs that can be put into place so that programs and people can be corrected with better strategies. Fiscal impact upon society Due to these corrective institutions and communities there has been a serious overcrowding in the community and institutions, leading to â€Å"stifling fiscal constraints† on the services and providers (McCarthy.C, Lincoln. R and Wilson. P, 2000). The paper also says that these have found to be cheap â€Å"alternative to prison†, but there is a continuous growth in prison population while the treasury has been forced to spend a lot of money to face the â€Å"pressures of overcrowding†. All this is because there is a lack of purpose and more over lack of funding. Harding (1994) and Kleinwort Report (1989) did mention that there needs to be better â€Å"public sector management† even though there is pressure and competition. What is required is to create worthwhile â€Å"benchmarks, fiscal justification and budgetary restraint†. Although privatization questions whether it is correct to privatize even though there is a possibility fiscal and other benefits (DiLulio 1989), although such resistance will need to be overcome if we need to countenance the â€Å"privatising of community corrections†. Conclusion Institutional and community corrections are done so that outcome of the criminal judicial system and their intervention with these offenders may ensure that the public is safe. Over the years criminal justice lawmakers have tried their best to come up with the most effective methods that will help in achieving the goal and also the affect it will have on the strategies in the management of the offender. There have been many ways of management inside the system itself for the judges and the offenders so that sentences that are given out is fair and just, which leads to safe and secure lives for the offenders keeping in mind the society, the offender, victims, friends and family. Communication correction is one of the main reasons that the offenders are returned back to the society as able and responsible citizens. The main goal of institutional and corrective measures is public safety through reduced means of recidivism by the effective management of offenders inside the community and institutions, wherein both need to work together as partners, so that the common goal can be achieved. To make this a success it is also important to use additional resources such as an integrated case management system all over the country, interaction between professional in the field of criminal judiciary and corrective institutions and communities, to promote the offenders success rate. References Justice Solutions, Inc. (2005) American Probation and Parole Association. Institutional and Community Corrections-sponsored Community Service Projects to Benefit Crime Victims In Conjunction With National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. February 2005. http://www. appa-net. org/announce/aaa_summary. pdf Robinson, P. H and Darley, J. M (2003). Role of Deterrence in the Formulation of Criminal Law Rules: At Its Worst When Doing Its Best, The Georgetown Law Journal. http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_qa3805/is_200306/ai_n9292674 Sherman. L. W and Strang. H (1997). Reintegrative Shaming Experiments (RISE). Restorative justice and deterring crime. ISSN 1328-3006 ; ISBN 0 7315 2803 4 Australian National University, Canberra RISE Working Papers, no. 4 April 1997 John Howard Society of Alberta (1998). Community Corrections. http://www. johnhoward. ab. ca/PUB/C29. htm McCarthy. C, Lincoln. R and Wilson. P, (2000) . Privatising Community Corrections. http://epublications. bond. edu. au/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1048context=hss_pubs. Harding, R. (1994) Models of Accountability for the Contract Management of Prisons in Moyle, P. (ed) Private Prisons and Police: Recent Australian Trends, Pluto Press, Sydney. Kleinwort Report (1989) Investigation into Private Sector Involvement in the NSW Corrective Services, Kleinwort Benson, Sydney. DiLulio, J. (1989) The Duty to Govern: A Critical Perspective on the Management of Prisons and Jails in McDonald, D. (ed) Private Prisons and the Public Interest Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick NJ.

Contrasting Theories Of Social Capital Sociology Essay

Contrasting Theories Of Social Capital Sociology Essay The terms social capital is a rather complex one, as a variety of different versions of definitions are used by researchers in defining the concepts and ideas associated to social capital. However, generally speaking, there are two related dimensions of social capital seemingly agreed by many researchers. The first dimension of social capital is the network of affiliation, such as the family groups, friendship ties, professional co-workers, business partners or contacts, and any other formal or informal associations or relationship, where a person belongs to. The second dimension is about the general behaviors the respective individuals or groups rely on in the formation, retention and usage process of the networks. There are three important gurus in the development of theories concerning the subject of social capital, namely Bourdieu, Coleman and Putnam. It is interesting to observe that all of them develop different theories of social capital. In the following section, the various theories of social capital from the gurus will be discussed. Later, employing the concepts and theories asserted by the respective guru, the notion that social capital predicts that returns to intelligence, education, and seniority depend in some part on a persons location in the social structure of a market or hierarchy. Bourdieus Social Capital According to Bourdieu (1986), social capital is defined as the aggregate of the actual or potential resources which are linked to possession of a durable network of more or less institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition or in other words, to membership or a group which provides each of its members with the backing of the collectively-owned capital, a credential which entitles them to credit, in the various senses of the word. According to Bourdieus argument, the social capital is a form of capital or resources, similar to the concept of economic capital and cultural capital, which may be used for achievement, privilege treatment and to some extent, social exclusion. Social capital in such a definition is the source of networks and connections for a certain people, allowing continuing and future access to certain privilege. In Bourdieus framework, the capital is a form of power, and people with higher social capital are better position in the world for better achievement and privileges. The possession of social capital may influence a persons economic capital, or the return to the economic capital. For example, comparing two people with different level of social capital, but both of them have exactly the equal amount of economic capital; the person with higher level of social capital will be able to generate better return to the similar amount of economic capital. The person possessing the social capital is more competitive positioned in the economic realm. The main contribution of Bourdieus theory is that it suggests that possession of social capital or the impacts of social exclusion will influence a persons access to power and privilege as well as the inability to access power. Thus, according to the assertion of Bourdieus theory, social capital can predict and influence the returns to intelligence; education and seniority depend in some part on a persons location in the social structure of a market or hierarchy. Such a statement is reasonable and understandable, where the impacts of social exclusion may prevent someone to generate returns to intelligence, education and seniority. People with better networks and connections are better positioned and easier to apply their intelligence, education and seniority in generating returns. In contrast, people without social capital may not able to perform so, as due to lack of networks, connections and useful relationships, many actions and strategies may not be implementable, relevant or workable due to the effect of social exclusion. Colemans Social Capital According to Coleman (1988), the concept social capital can be comparable to the physical and human capital, whereby it may facilitates certain actions from the actors in a structure. Such a conception of social capital is very different to the one suggested by Bourdieus theory. According to Coleman (1988), social capitals are largely created or destroyed as by-products of other forms of activities. In such a definition, Coleman treats the concept of social capital not as a form of capital, power or advantages possessed only by a certain group of elites. His research is primarily concern about the possession of social capital impacts towards the accumulation of human capital in young people. Some findings from Coleman discovered that social capital arises from closed network of family members, church members and etc, will contribute positively to human capital development in the young people. Besides, parental involvement in teaching children will also create a form of social capital, which will significantly reduce the children drop out from school in the early days. Apart from that, he discovered that parents that frequently move to new cities have lesser human capital because these parents are unable to share information about their children with other parents on better quality education for their children. The concept of social capital suggested by Coleman, if applied to the statement asserted by Burt, where it is said that social capital predicts that returns to intelligence, education and seniority depend in some part on a persons location in the social structure, can be confusing and complex. Firstly, Coleman is primarily concern about the educational achievement of young people, but the assertion by Burt does include a dimension of seniority, which is irrelevant from the discussion of social capital by Coleman. However, social capital does affect the returns to intelligence and education, whereby it is not hard to imagine that children with better upbringing condition and more attentive parents will achieve better in schools academically. Two similarly smart and brilliant children, under different upbringing situation, may have different achievement educationally. The children with better social capital will have high return to intelligence, in this context, as compared to the equa lly smart children who live in a broken or problematic family. Putnams Social Capital Putnams theories on social capital are more influential and widely discussed. According to him, there are two forms of social capital, namely, (a) the bonding social capital and (b) the bridging social capital. In his framework, the bonding social capital is derived from exclusive network or connections primarily from the ethnic fraternal organizations, family and close friends network or religion based groups. The bonding social capital described by Putnam is similar to Bourdieus and Colemans assertions, where such a form of social capital often is used to separate people from different sociological groups, and thus determine the availability or access to special privileges or resources. On the other hand, the bridging social capital is often referred to the inclusive network such as the collegial, professional and civic groups. More specifically, Putnam explain social capital as closely related to a form of civic virtue, and further argued that civic virtue is most powerful when it is embedded in a concentrated network of reciprocal social networks and relationship. As such, following Putnam conception of social capital, a society of many isolated individuals may not have richness in terms of social capital. In this line of argument, the social capital is a property of the collectives (i.e., for the society), whereas the social capital describe by Bourdieu and Coleman is mainly a possession of a particular individual. With reference to Putnams framework and theory, the assertion of Burt, where the social capital predicts that returns to intelligence, education and seniority depends in some part on a persons location in the social structure is a vague and doubtful one. The social capital is a groups possession and attributes in Putnams theory, so the social capital in a society does not have any direct linkages to the returns to intelligence, education and seniority of a person in the society. If there are any relationships, the linkages will be an indirect one. Conclusion After comparing and contrasting the various definitions, theories, findings and framework presented by the gurus, it is clear that the assertion by Burt is mainly adopting the definition suggested by Bourdieu. With Bourdieus definition, the assertion by Burt can be interpreted logically and meaningfully. The concepts of social capital are complicated and the context in which the idea is being discussed will determine the definition and conception of social capital. It is very important for the readers to understand the various theories concerning the subject of social capital to follow the researches findings and argument in the literature. (1398 words)

The Objective Of Financial Reporting And Qualitative Characteristics And Constraints Accounting Essay

The Objective Of Financial Reporting And Qualitative Characteristics And Constraints Accounting Essay 1 Introduction The U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), namely the Boards, jointly published a Discussion Paper and received 179 responses. The Exposure Draft was created from the Boards redeliberations regarding issues being raised by respondents. The Boards published this common Exposure Draft for the public to comment and it is the Boards broader conceptual framework. The Boards are considering their frameworks: to provide standards that are consistent, converge their standards, to develop a general and enhanced conceptual framework. The Boards decided that a reconsideration of concepts would not be efficient because many aspects of the frameworks are consistent and do not need fundamental revision. The Boards are focused on improving and converging their existing frameworks. The conceptual framework for financial reporting established by the Board displays the concepts that underlie financial reporting. This conceptual framework consists of 2 chapters: the objective of financial reporting and qualitative characteristics and constraints of decision useful financial reporting information useful financial reporting information. 2 Chapter 1: The Objective of Financial Reporting This conceptual framework establishes the objective of general purpose financial reporting by business entities in the private sector, which is the foundation of the framework. The objective of general purpose financial reporting is to provide financial information to current capital provides to make decisions. This information might also be useful to users who are not capital providers. The general purpose financial reporting develops superior reporting standards to help in the efficient functioning of economies and the efficient allocation of resources in capital markets. General purpose financial reporting focuses on an extensive range of users needs that lack the ability to obtain financial information needed from the entity. It should be broad enough to comprehend information for the various users. Therefore, the financial report is where they depend on to acquire information. Diverse users may require different information which might go beyond the scope of general purpose financial reporting. The financial reports are prepared from the entitys perspective (deemed to have substance on its own, spate from that of its owners), instead of the entitys capital providers. An entity attains economic resources (its assets) from capital providers in exchange for claims to those resources (its liabilities and equity). Capital providers include Equity investors Equity investors normally invest economic resources in an entity expecting to receive a return on, as well as a return of, the resources invested in. Hence, equity investors are concerned with the amount, timing, uncertainty of an entitys future cash flows and the entitys competence in generating those cash flows which affects the prices of their equity interests. Furthermore, they are concerned with the performance of directors and management of the entity in discharging their responsibility to make efficient and profitable use of the assets invested. Lenders Lenders usually expect to receive a return in the form of interest, repayments of borrowings, and increases in the prices of debt securities. Lenders have similar interests as the equity investors. Other creditors Other creditors provide resources because of their relationship with the entity, instead of a capital provider; no primary relationship. Employee salary or compensation Suppliers extended credit Customer prepay for goods and services Managers responsible for preparing financial reports Capital providers make decisions through useful information provided in financial reporting by particular entity. Financial reporting usefulness in assessing cash flow prospects depends on the entitys current cash resources and the ability to generate sufficient cash to reimburse its capital providers. Besides, financial reporting usefulness in assessing stewardship includes the managements responsibilities to protect the entitys economic resources (assets) from unfavourable effects. Management is also liable for safeguarding the assets of the entity which conforms to the laws, regulations and contractual provisions; thus, the importance of managements performance in the decision usefulness. The general purpose financial reporting is limited to information which does not reflect pertinent information from other sources that should be considered by the users. Financial reporting information is based on estimates, judgements, and models of the financial effects on an entity of transactions and other events in which, is only ideal for preparers and standard setters to strive. Achieving the frameworks vision of ideal financial reporting to the fullest will be difficult in the short term because of technical infeasibility and cost constrains. Financial reporting should include information about: the economic resources of an entity (assets), the claims of the entity are (liabilities and equity), the effects of transaction and any events or circumstances that can affect the entitys resources and claims and provide useful information about the ability of entity to generate its cash flow and how well the entity meets its management responsibilities. The usefulness of financial reporting to the users: Provide useful information about the amount, timing, and uncertainty of future cash flow To identify the entitys financial strengths and weaknesses (especially for capital providers) To indicate the potential of entitys cash flow for its economic resources and claims To identify the effectiveness of the entitys management responsibilities To assess availabilities of the entitys nature and quantity of the resources for the use in its operation To estimate the values of the entity. The quantitative measures and other information regarding the changes in entitys economics resources and claims in the financial report can help the users to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of its cash flow; and indicate the effectiveness of management responsibilities. Furthermore, the entity must provide a positive return on its economic resources in order to generate net cash inflows; and return the earning to its investors. Other information like variability of returns, past financial performance, and managements ability can be used to assess the entitys future financial performance. The information regarding the accrual accounting in financial reporting can better provide the users to assess the entitys past financial performance and future prospects in generating net cash inflows without obtaining additional capital from its investors. The entitys cash flow performance in financial reporting assist the investors to understand the entitys business model and operation through assessing how the entity obtains and spends cash. Information about its borrowing, repayment of borrowing, cash dividends and other distribution to investors, as well as the factors of entitys liquidity and solvency, can also assist the investors to determine the entitys cash flow accounting. Besides, information about the changes of entitys resources and claims not resulting from financial performance may assist the investors to differentiate the changes that are results of the entitys financial performance and those that are not. The information of management explanation should be included in financial reporting to assist users for a better understanding about management decision in any events and circumstances that have affected or may affect the entitys financial performance. It is because the internal parties know about the entitys performance than the external users. 3 Chapter 2: Qualitative Characteristics and Constraints of Decision-Useful Financial Reporting Information Fundamental qualitative characteristics distinguish useful financial reporting information from information that is not useful or is misleading. For information to be useful, it must have two fundamental qualitative characteristics: Relevance capable of making a difference in the decisions made by users as capital providers. Information is relevant when it has predictive value, confirmatory value, or both. Predictive value information that is assists the capitals providers to form their own expectations about the future. Confirmatory value information that confirms or changes past or present expectations based on previous evaluations. IASB said that information is relevant when it influences the economic decisions of users by helping them evaluate past, present or future events or confirming, or correcting, their past evaluation. FASB believes that to be relevant, accounting information must be capable of making a difference in a decision by helping users to form predictions about the outcome of past, present, and future events or to confirm or correct expectations. Since some users may have been obtaining information elsewhere other than financial reporting, and emphasizes the relevance of information in their decisions, relevant information does not really make a difference in the past or in the future. Any information that might be able to make a difference is said to be relevant. Faithful representation depiction of an economic phenomenon is complete, neutral, and free from material error. Complete includes all information that is necessary for faithful representation of economic phenomena. Neutrality information which is bias free. Freedom from error estimation of the economic phenomena is based on the appropriate inputs and each input must reflect the best available information. Relevance is concern with the connection between economic phenomena with the decisions of capital providers and not their depictions, therefore should be consider first. Then, the faithful representation is applied to determine which depictions of economic phenomenon best corresponds to the relevant phenomenon. Enhancing qualitative characteristics improves the decision usefulness of financial reporting information that is relevant and faithfully represented. They are used to distinguish more-useful information from less-useful information. The enhancing qualitative characteristics are comparability, verifiability, timeliness, and understandability. Comparability Comparability is the quality of information that enables users to identify similarities and the differences between two sets of economic phenomena. Since the essence of decision making is to select between alternatives, the information is more useful if it can be compared with similar information about the other entities and with similar information about the same entity for some other period. Comparability should not be confused with uniformity. Overemphasizing on uniformity may reduce comparability by making unlike things look alike. The IASB Framework actually discusses comparability as a qualitative characteristic which is equally important as relevance and faithfully representation. However, FASB concludes that comparability is an enhancing qualitative characteristic because regardless of how comparable the information may be, it will not be useful if it is irrelevant to users decisions and does not faithfully represent the economic phenomena. Verifiability A quality of information that helps to assure users that information faithfully represents the economic phenomena that it purports to represent. If the information is verifiable, the knowledgeable and independent observers could come to the general consensus. The verifiability of the information focuses on whether the recognition or measurement method is correctly applied. Verification can either be direct or indirect. An amount or other representation itself verified such as by counting cash or observing marketable securities and their quoted prices are called direct verification. An example of verifying the carrying amount of inventory by checking the inputs (quantities and costs) and recalculating the ending inventory using the same cost flow assumption (accounting convention or methodology average cost and first-in, first-out) is indirect verification. IASB Framework does not include verifiability as an explicit aspect, yet FASB does. FASB observed that some of the information which is faithfully represented may not necessarily be verifiable. Therefore, if the information is verifiable, it is generally more useful. Thus, FASB concluded that verifiability is an enhancing qualitative characteristic. Timeliness Timeliness means having information available to decision makers before it loses its capacity to influence decisions. A lack of timeliness can rob information of its potential usefulness. The IASB Framework discusses timeliness separately, as a constraint that could rob information of relevance. However, FASB concluded that reporting information in a timely manner can enhance both the relevance and faithful representation of the information since information can be reported in a timely manner but has no relevance, or information delayed in reporting remains its relevance. Understandability Understandability is the quality of information that enables users to comprehend its meaning. When the information is classified, characterized, and presented clearly and concisely, the understandability will be enhanced. Although the reporting information has to be understandable, the users of the financial report should also review and analyze the information with reasonable diligence as the users are assumed to have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and to be able to read the financial report. Enhancing qualitative characteristics should improve the usefulness of financial information and should be maximized to the extent possible. However, if the information is irrelevant or not faithfully represented, the enhancing qualitative characteristics cannot make that information useful for decision. Besides, the application of the enhancing qualitative characteristics is an iterative process which does not follow the prescribed order. In addition, FASB considered whether some other qualitative characteristics should be added, such as transparency, true and fair view, credibility, internal consistency, and high quality. FASB concluded that it would be redundant if transparency is added as one of the qualitative characteristics. True and fair view is not a qualitative characteristic itself, but it should result from applying the qualitative characteristics. FASB concluded that it should be the goal to achieve high quality to which financial reporting and standard setters aspire. By adherence to the objective and qualitative characteristics of financial reporting information, the goal can be achieved. Therefore, the characteristics mentioned in not added as the qualitative characteristics of the financial reporting information. In a nutshell, the qualitative characteristics of financial reporting information in this draft can be categorized into fundamental qualitative characteristics and enhancing qualitative characteristics as shown in the following: Figure 1 Compared to the conceptual framework issued by the Malaysian Accounting Standard Board (MASB) in 2007, most of the qualitative characteristics are identical to the characteristic discussed in this draft. However, the most distinctive aspect which can be found is MASB did not categorize the qualitative characteristics into fundamental and enhancing qualitative characteristics. The qualitative characteristics concluded by MASB are shown in the figure below. Figure 2 MASB concluded that the relevance of information is affected by its nature and materiality while FASB discusses materiality under the constraints of financial reporting. MASB provides that the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements could be influenced when the omission or misstatement of the information is material. Thus, materiality provides a threshold or cut-off point rather than being a primary qualitative characteristic which information must have for it to be useful. Besides, MASB also discussed about substance over form and prudence under the characteristic of reliability. MASB provides that if information is to represent faithfully the transactions and other events that it purports to represent, it is necessary that they are accounted for and presented in accordance with their substance and economic reality and not merely their legal form. However, FASB did not identify substance over form as a component of faithful representation as it would be redundant to do so. In addition, FASB did not conclude prudence as a qualitative characteristic because it might conflict with the quality of neutrality. MASB discussed the characteristic of timeliness as a constraint on relevant and reliable information. If there is undue delay in the reporting of information it may lose its relevance. Management may need to balance the relative merits of timely reporting and the provision of reliable information. However, FASB concluded timeliness as an enhancing qualitative characteristic of the financial reporting information. There should be a balance between the qualitative characteristic as the IASB Framework says: In practice a balancing, or trade-off, between qualitative characteristics is often necessary. Generally the aim is to achieve an appropriate balance among the characteristics in order to meet the objective of financial statements. The relative importance of the characteristics in different cases is a matter of professional judgments. The information provided by financial reporting is limited by materiality and the cost of providing. Materiality Materiality depends on the nature and amount of the item judged in the particular circumstance of its omission or misstatement. It is important to consider the materiality of information because material omissions or misstatements will cause information to contain error, making it biased and incomplete. However, it is hard to specify a uniform quantitative threshold at which the information is material. Concepts Statement 2 and IASB Framework define materiality similarly but discuss materiality it differently. IASB describes materiality as an aspect of relevance and does not indicate that it has a relationship to other qualitative characteristics. On the other hand, Concepts Statement 2 provides that materiality should be considered together with qualitative characteristics (not only relevance). Thus, the Boards conclude that materiality is pertinent to all of the other qualitative characteristics. Cost The Boards emphasized the balance between the benefits of financial reporting information and the cost of providing and using it. Costs of providing information: Cost of collecting and processing Cost of verifying Cost of disseminating Cost of analysis and interpretation Cost resulted from omission of decision-useful information Benefits of financial reporting information: More efficient functioning of capital market Lower cost of capital Improved access to capital market Favourable effect on public relations Better management decisions However, the major problem for the standard setters in conducting rigorous cost-benefit analyses is the difficulty in qualifying the benefits of a certain reporting requirement. Besides, it is also difficult to obtain complete, quantitative information about the initial and ongoing cost of a requirement and impose them. Nevertheless, standard seekers should take into account both benefits and costs of proposed financial reporting requirements. There are 3 constraints of financial reporting information mentioned by the MASB: Balance between benefit and cost As mentioned in FASB, cost is one of the constraints of financial reporting information and the Boards emphasizes on the balance between the benefits of financial reporting information and the cost of providing and using it. Balance between qualitative characteristic MASB provides that, In practice a balancing or trade-off, between qualitative characteristics is often necessary. The relative importance of the characteristics in different cases is a matter of professional judgments. The FASB also mentions, In assessing whether the benefits of reporting information are likely to justify the costs, it is necessary to consider whether one or more qualitative characteristics might be scarified to some degree to reduce cost. Timeliness MASB mentioned that a constraint which is not mentioned in the conceptual framework of FASB; timeliness. MASB provides that if there is undue delay in the reporting of information it may lose its relevance. To provide information on a timely basis it may often be necessary to report before all aspects of a transaction or other event are known. On the other hand, if reporting is delayed until all aspects are known, the information may be highly reliable but of little use to users who have had to make decisions in the interim. Management may need to balance the timely reporting and the provision of reliable information.

We Can End World Hunger Essay examples -- Argumentative Persuasive Ess

     Ã‚  Ã‚   In the past ten years the world population exceeded six billion people with most of the growth occurring in the poorest, least developed countries in the world. The rapidly increasing population and the quickly declining amount of land are relative and the rate at which hunger is increasing rises with each passing year. We cannot afford to continue to expand our world population at such an alarming rate, for already we are suffering the consequences. Hunger has been a problem for our world for thousands of years. But now that we have the technology and knowledge to stamp it out, time is running short. Food security is one of the largest problems facing our world today. To be "food secure" a country must have enough food to feed its population and be capable of feeding its growing population in the future. About 700 million people today do not have enough food available to keep themselves healthy. They are plagued by hunger, malnutrition, disease, and death. One reason that many third world countries are not food secure is that they do not have the technology to keep up with the growth in population. For example, in many countries crop fields cannot be worked to their full potential. One way to help solve this problem is to bring unused machinery, which has been exceeded by our technology to these countries. But it takes more than just bringing the technology to them; we need to teach them to use it and to grow from it. Everything that grows begins with a foundation. But likewise, if we try to build something without a foundation, it won't grow. If we help other countries build a foundation for themselves, they can grow into independent self-sufficient countries of their own. But if we simply do... ...inds to address the food for the future. Helping people help themselves is the only lasting help.    Works Cited Barraclough, Solon L. An End to Hunger? The Social Origins of Food Strategies. London: Zed Books Ltd., 1991. Boucher, Douglas M. The Paradox of Plenty: Hunger in a Bountiful World. Oakland, California: Food First Books, 1999. Asimov, Isaac. "Borlaug, Norman." World Book Encyclopedia. 1979 ed. Brown, Lester R. Who Will Feed China? Wake-Up Call for a Small Planet. New York: W. W. Norton and Company, 1995. Lobo, Vinay. http://www.selfhelpinternational.org/about.html. September 29, 2001. McGovern, George. The Third Freedom: Ending Hunger in Our Time. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001. http://www.heifer.org/end_hunger/index.html. September 29, 2001. http://www.cartercenter.org/agriculture.html. September 29, 2001

Dmitri Shostakovich Essay -- Musicians

Dmitri Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg, Russian on September 25, 1906. He was the second child of Dmitry Boleslavovich and Sof†²ya Vasil†²yevna and he had two siblings. At the age of nine, Shostakovich took a piano lesson and discovered that he was musically gifted. When he was twelve years old, he composed a funeral march to honor Kadet Party leaders that Bolsheviks murdered, in 1918. Shostakovich stared to take classes at the Petrograd Conservatory in 1919. However, he did not do well in most of them, but he did extremely well in the artistic classes. Shostakovich composed â€Å"1st Symphony† and premiered it in 1926. Shostakovich worked as a concert pianist after he graduated to earn some money. He also composed at the same time. At the Warsaw International Piano Competition in 1927, Shostakovich met Bruno Walter, a conductor. He liked Shostakovich’s works and he said that he will conduct Shostakovich’s â€Å"1st Symphony† in Berlin. Shostakovich completed his â€Å"2nd Symphony† in 1927, and he started to work on the music for the opera â€Å"The Nose†. When the opera premiered in 1930, the opera did not do well and received many terrible reviews from the audience. Because of this opera, Shostakovich’s â€Å"3rd Symphony† was not perceived well Shostakovich married his first wife, Nina Varzar, in 1932. In 1935, they were separated when Shostakovich had an affair with Yelena Konstantinovskaya. They were later reunited and the born of their first child strengthen their relationship. Shostakovich worked on the opera â€Å"Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District† while he worked at Leningrad Theatre of Young Workers, known as TRAM in Russian acronym, in the early 1930s. When the opera premiered in 1934, the opera were successful. He was praised â€Å"it co... ... and emotions of the characters, and it created the atmosphere for the films, just like how his â€Å"5th Symphony† was able to captured people’s emotions when they lost many people that they know in mass execution. Works Cited "Classical Net Review - Shostakovich - King Lear." Classical Net. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. . David Fanning and Laurel Fay. "Shostakovich, Dmitry." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. 1 Apr. 2012. "Dmitry Shostakovich." AllMusic. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. . "Hamlet." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. . "King Lear." IMDb. IMDb.com. Web. 01 Apr. 2012. .

Case Analysis #2

Rongsheng Yuan MGMT250 Hector Martinez Case analysis#2 03/27/13 Amelia Rogers, the account director for Tassani Communication, worked with the Marketing director, Guy Johnson. Johnson informed her that Dave Burns, the creative director had phoned him to discuss the direction of the â€Å"Rust No More Muffler† project. The problem is if Amelia need to take up the situation with Jim Paglia, the COO of Tassani Communications. Rogers, Burns and Johnson worked on a variety of ideas for the â€Å"Rost No More† project. They met to review the work several times to make suggestions of feasibility of the project.Burns was satisfied with the sketch and believed that the work could be improved smoothly. However, Johnson’s boss had some queries about their ideas. Johnson asked Rogers and Burns to start working on another layout. There are four objectives that explain the reasons why Burns tried to phone Johnson several times even if he was not supposed to do so. First of all , Burns’ role was to give the creatives’ ideas to the clients and account management people. He need to communicate the creatives’ version in a convincing way. As a creative director, Burns should make the client to think the creatives’ more groundbreaking ideas.It was his task to talk with his clients in terms of their interests. In order to make his work successfully, he had to meet his client frequently to make sure all the requirements were included and meet. Burn was a responsible director who cared about the ideas of his clients and the quality of the project. Secondly, Burns was not able to accept clients’ opinions when they do not agree with him. However, Burn did not consider his stubbornness as a weakness even if he was aware of a fault. In his opinion, if he disagreed with someone, he was free to not agree and give out his thoughts.His point of view was true, but he often did not understand situations well. As Rogers mentioned in the cas e, Dave loved to be shared with backgrounds. Since Dave needed to learn the detailed instruction of the project, he would question If he was not informed. It was understandable that Burns should be informed of the requirements of assignments, but his phone calls were overwhelming to Johnson if he questioned too often. Thirdly, Amelia did not have industry-specific experience, and she did not have good relationship with colleagues in TC, so the project and the conflicts might be a huge challenge for her.Even the COO Paglia encouraged her to ask questions and was willing to help if she had any concerns. When Rogers, Burns and Johnson worked on the assignment, it was Rogers’ role to be the mediator of Burns and Johnson. According to the case, the colleagues of TC demonstrated that Rogers provided best products by creating conflicts. She only cared about the relationship with her clients and did manage to get achievements. However, she did not get along with her colleagues well d ue to her arrogant manners.Since Amelia lacked the industry-specific experience and good relationship with colleagues, she got frustrated with the assignment naturally. The fourth objective is that Johnson’s boss doubted their layout. During the development of their project, Rogers, Burns and Johnson met to review the layout twice. They design a postcard with an illustration of a muffler, but they got a lukewarm reception from Johnson’s boss. As a result, John advised Rogers to get a illustrated sample of the layout. According to the case, Johnson’s boss seemed to be unsatisfied with their idea or give any suggestions to them.Burns might be concerned about the ideas and quality of their assignment, so he phoned Johnson twice to make sure what his boss needed. To solve all of these potential problems, there are four alternative solutions make sense to me. Firstly, I believed that Amelia should ask Paglia for help due to her lack of experience. Since Burns was a s tubborn person who was overwhelming when he disagreed with others, Paglia, as his superior, could ask him not to phone Johnson frequently. However, it was Burns role to talk with clients about their assignment.Burns did not do anything wrong but was eager to know Johnson’s opinions. As a result, Amelia showed that she was not capable of handling the problems herself. Meanwhile, Burns might care her to worsen their relationship by contacting COO directly. The second solution is to talk with Burns face to face. According to Amelia, she would explain backgrounds to Burns when doing their project. Burns might understand this situation if Amelia’s explanation were convincing. However, in the case, Burns did not pick up her calls, which implied that he might not want to communicate with her.Even if Amelia had the chance to talk to him, his strong opinions would not be changed easily. The third solution is to ask Johnson’s boss for direct advice about their layout. The ir problem was from Johnson’s boss because of his unconvincing attitude. Their project would move forward successfully once they got the clear instruction from the boss. However, employees of TC were not expected to communicate directly with clients unless they meet tactical issue. However, Johnson was frustrated with their layout. He did not get good feedbacks from his boss.As for Burns, he would stop making phone calls to Johnson once they had the detailed requirements from the boss. The fourth solution is to have a group meeting to discuss their plan of the assignment. As they reviewed the layout, they should also speak out their point of view. Since Burns had many questions about their project, Johnson should explain their background and requirement to him clearly. Meanwhile, Johnson was also unfamiliar with his boss’ idea, so he needed to indicate that he did not want to further discuss the project after the meeting.As for Burns, he should think alone about his id eas toward the assignment before group meeting. However, this solution would only solve their internal conflict but would not help their assignment move on because they lacked the detailed instruction of the layout. We can choose the best solution by compute the total scores of the solutions that meet the objetives. Problem | Objectives| | Solutions| | | Burns phoned Johnson twice to talk about the project but Johnson refused Burns phoned Johnson twice to talk about the project but Johnson refused | 1.Burns’ task to talk with clients. | | 1. ask Paglia for help| | | | 2. Burns insisted on talking with Johnson. | | 2. talk to Burns| | | | 3. Rogers lacked of experience| | 3. Talk to Johnson’s boss| | | | 4. Johnson’s boss was not convinced | | 4. group meeting| | | Objectives | Objective 1| Objective 2| Objective 3| Objective 4| Total | Rank in importance| | | | | | Solution1| 3| 4| 3| 1| 11| Solution2| 1| 3| 2| 1| 7| Solution3| 3| 4| 1| 5| 13| Solution4| 4| 3| 2 | 1| 9| From the table, to talk with Johnson’s boss is the best solution which meet most of the objectives.

Cramming Essay

Introduction: Someone has very rightly quoted; learning is like rowing upstream. It steers us through all difficulties, but cramming leaves us nowhere. Learning means to commit to memory any given text. This process of memorizing surely helps students to absorb informational materials in a no specific amount of time while cramming is the practice of working intensively to absorb large amounts of informational materials in a short amount of time. What is the meaning of cramming? And what are the causes of cramming? What are the official veto effects of cramming? Cramming is strongly discouraged by educators because the hurried coverage of studying tends to result in poor long term memorization. It’s hard to take in and retain a large amount of information in a short period of time. Students love to look at their work load and say to themselves, â€Å"I’ve got time,† but they soon find out how quickly their â€Å"time† disappears. In the present study, researchers investi gated the effects of cramming. There were 2 group of students, one group crammed by studying immediately before a test, while another group of students performed a cognitive task between studying and their test. Their test scores showed that there was no significant difference between cramming and non cramming test preparation techniques. This research might be useful to students attempting to justify cramming, or to teachers attempting to find new methods of test preparation and to know the principle and the effects of cramming to students. ABSTRACT: Some students study everyday what they learnt, but some students let the studying until The night before exams and tests. Students cram for a number of reasons Including fear of failure or no time to study. This can happen to students with jobs, has a Higher responsibility in their family, or those who may be involved in some extracurricular activities or for some who thinks that they still have â€Å"time† but in fact they don’t. The students do not follow a fixed time for study because they don’t schedule their study time. They don’t take down notes of important points given in the lecture. There are variable negative effects of cramming. Procrastination, more specifically cramming, is a major problem among youths around the high  school and college years. People just like to focus on the present and forget the future which inevitably causes negative outcomes as a result of the cramming when students find themselves with much information to learn and little time in which to learn it, cramming often seems a viable option. By cramming, you are trying to learn everything you can in the limited time you have to study. It’s possible to end up forgetting most of the information, causing grades to suffer. If you have no choice but to cram, focus on sections that will give you the most points on the exam or test. CAUSE AND EFFECTS OF CRAMMING TO STUDENTS AND HOW IT AFFECTS THEIR BEHAVIOUR AT SCHOOL Cramming is the practice of memorizing things in a short period of time. I interviewed  some students in our school and found out some of the reasons why students cram and  how it affects their behavior in school. Some say that, Students cram because laziness  can sometimes overcome them which causes them to do their work on the last minute  and that they have different priorities of work that leads them to put aside that  assignment since it’s â€Å"so far away† until the due date so they just put it off. Student’s  lives are so full of responsibilities and priorities that eventually leads them to begin the  habit of cramming. Their priorities begin to mix up. I remembered one of my high school teacher before say that â€Å"over-committed schedules can lead to  little or no time to do their school work.† Some also say that it’s because of lack of knowledge, lack of initiative, lack of interest and laziness and that it usually leaves them little time in the way for sleep. Students who cram during at night usually gets only 3-4 hours of sleep causing them sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation affects the students brain functioning which hinders them to listen attentively in class and to think straight. It also causes them to lack alertness and difficulty in memorizing materials which often leads them to lower test grades. Cramming does not only affect the grades of the person cramming, but also health related issues such as addictions and anxiety. Since memory is such an important component of day to day life and involves remembering for an exam, remembering due dates for a paper, remembering instructions on how to cite borrowed information, students should strive to get the sleep they need.

Plagiarism Paper Essay

Plagiarism is a very important issue nowadays. More and more students are becoming lazy in their work and find plagiarism which is basically ‘copy and pasting’ paragraphs or sentences from internet sites or books the easiest way of doing work. The usual way of plagiarism is going on a website; inserting key facts and words that will make it easier to find, then find a source which explains exactly what you are looking for and from there copy a sentence or paragraph and paste it into your ‘essay’ or ‘work’ document. This issue has been said that has been going on for a few years but only now it has been recently acknowledged and seen as a problem for society. As students go on their lives copying work from others their mental processes are undeveloping because they aren’t using their creativity and imagination for such work as they are meant to, by using your own words and knowledge it shows a clear understanding of the research provided. Plagiarism which is basically the use of other people’s words or ideas without giving them credit is only part of the general problem of cheating and cheaters. It is hard to detect cheating as it mostly passes undetected by professors and teachers. In many subjects, plagiarism can be minimized almost completely by appropriate design of the questions asked by the professor or lecturer. By doing this it will make it more difficult for the students to look for the complete answer on the internet therefore could not be plagiaries. Another issue of plagiarism is the honor code the school or college has which most of all of them do and they are given out and read out to the students in the beginning of the year which states in a complete clear manner that plagiarism is wrong and will be penalized. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to penalize and know who and which student is indeed plagiarism which makes it a universal goal for all faculties and departments to ensure this ethical issue and make us, students realize how wrong this is before we get into a lot of trouble. The policy states that ‘Universities, faculties and perhaps departments need to have clear, well-publicized policies on plagiarism. These policies need to do more than say â€Å"do not plagiaries.† They need to explain what plagiarism means in practice with examples of correct and incorrect citations.’ By doing so, students will be completely aware of the incorrect manners of plagiarism. Although there is different cases all around, some might say that the only way a student can survive highschool and university is if he plagiarises or even copies most of the work given to him, what the main issue is that these students whom think this way don’t even paraphrase paragraphs researched, they just do it and hope for the best. This makes work a lot easier for them but of course not at all appreciated as it is not there own work but someone elses. A research shows that ‘cheating is starting younger—in elementary school. And by the time they get to middle school or high school they see cheating as perfectly ok’, this fact is concerning. How can kids that age even know what cheating is? Who shows them? These questions are ones not to be ignored, it is a very thought through issue and it needs to be defeated because if not†¦ cheating will be no longer invalid but valid because of the substantial manners it is coming across making it almost impossible to make it stop. Students who get caught are penalized. Or at least that is what I thought, I did High school at an international school doing the International Baccalaureate, which I know for a fact that if I would have gotten caught plagiarism I would have been expelled from the diploma and not given another chance. We had an internet site where we had to hand in all our work –via online- called turnitin, this method was a great one for students and teachers; it was easy, efficient and most of all comfortable. Also, this way, teachers could know exactly what sentences or paragraphs were plagiarized in our work if it wasn’t cited, but as the research paper states ‘ What it wont catch is students who crib the ideas, not the words’, this being very true is still a manner of making our minds react to explanations and re-writing them in the manner we feel is correct, which I think is correct. Plagiarism is a very harsh factor nowadays because students are doing it more and more and professors and teachers don’t have the ways to stop such acts. It is a debacle that one day could be fixed with more website protections or more ‘turnitin’ sites used my universities and schools but for now the ethical issues and the trust issues lie in the hands of the teacher and the student. Work Cited Published in Tertangala (University of Wollongong Students’ Representative Council), 20 July – 3 August 1992, p. 20. The case of the purloined paper by Brigid Schulte (Washington Post) September 23, 2002

Brand as an Organisation Essay

Iyengar .It is one of India’s largest industrial entities and it epitomizes Trust, Value and Services. Today there are over 30 companies in the TVS Group which employs more than 40000 people worldwide and a turnover in excess of USD 4 billion. TVS having a steady growth, expansion and diversification, commands its strong presence in manufacturing of two-wheelers, auto components and computer peripherals .It also have businesses in the distribution of heavy commercial vehicles, passenger cars, finance and insurance. GROUP COMPANIES TV Sundram Iyengar and Sons Limited TV Sundram Iyengar and Sons Limited operates through its 3 divisions namely: TVS Motor believes that people make an organization and that its well-being is dependent on the commitment and growth of its people. There will be a sustained effort through systematic training and planning career growth to develop employee talents and enhance job satisfaction. TVS Motor will create an enabling ambience where the maximum self-actualisation of every employee is achieved. TVS Motor will support and encourage the process of self-renewal in all its employees and nurture their sense of self worth. TVS Motor – Responsible Corporate Citizen TVS Motor firmly believes in the integration of Safety, Health and Environmental aspects with all business activities and ensures protection of employees and environment including development of surrounding communities. TVS Motor strives for long-term relationships of mutual trust and interdependence with its customers, employees, dealers and suppliers. Fulfilling Mission and Vision The group practises its vision and mission by offering innovative and high quality transportation products at affordable prices. They also concentrate on producing vehicles at reasonable prices and with features that common people prefer. They continue to expand by making mergers and acquisitions and also entering new markets. Future plans By now this brand has created a good image among the ladies segment. They have included many unique features into this scooter to attract more customers. They introduced the upgraded version, Scooty Pep Plus. Thus they increased their profits. But eyeing the ladies segment many companies are producing scooters which brings in a great challenge for this producing product. They can compete with their competitors by upgrading power, creating more body strength, improving fuel efficiency etc.

The Global Financial Crisis in Late 2008 Article - 2

The Global Financial Crisis in Late 2008 - Article Example He is committed to seeking peaceful solutions to world problems. The number 3 world event of 2009 is the protests about the election in Iran. This is important because the cruelty of this regime was captured for the world to see. The young woman named Nela died while the world watched on the Internet. This will show everyone that Iran should never have nuclear weapons. The number 4 world event is the peaceful elections in the country of Kosovo. Serbia and Russia will not recognize this country and were counting on the first election to be rife with protests and violence. This was not the case so the people of Kosovo will have fairly elected local officials. This will be a great step towards the recognition of Kosovo as an independent nation by the international community. The number 5 world event was the death of Michael Jackson. The self-proclaimed â€Å"King of Pop† had lived the last few years of his life under allegations of child molestation. Now that he is dead, everyone around the world feels free to enjoy his music again. The number 6 world event in 2009 is the world climate meeting in Copenhagen. Some are hoping that some sort of international treaty will be signed at this conference so we can reverse global climate change. Other people feel that major countries such as the United States will not sign a treaty. The number 7 world event in 2009 is battling the Swine Flu. Many governments and other organizations are scrambling to get vaccinations to people most likely to be affected by this epidemic. This flu is especially frightening because it has shown that it is capable of making healthy people very sick very quickly. The number 8 world event is a series of doping allegations in the sport. Sports from cycling to baseball to tennis have been rocked in 2009 by athletes testing positive for steroids and other recreational and performance-enhancing drugs.

Quantitative Research Techniques and Designs Assignment

Quantitative Research Techniques and Designs - Assignment Example In addition, the audience for different research studies is discussed and how research outcomes can inform social and institutional change is highlighted. Anderson et al (2002) set out to study the managerial roles of public community College Chief Academic Officers. They began providing varying definitions of community college chief academic officers by different authors. These definitions help draw a line between who are college chief academic officers and those who are not. Some concepts mean different things to different people and research definitions help delimit the scope of the concept under study. For example, Vogt (2006) shows that college chief academic officers are the ones who uphold the integrity of a community college’s instructional and curriculum development. This is a technical definition of college chief academic officers for this study and is strengthened by clear articulation of their responsibilities and duties. Operational definition helps control parameters when measuring a variable. The conceptual definition of a College Chief Academic Officer demonstrates the measurability of the officers’ manag erial roles. Research questions guide the methodology chosen to conduct a research study. The study by Anderson et al (2002) sought to answer the question on the managerial roles played by college chief academic officers and the ones they emphasize. They sought to find out whether there are environmental, personal, or situational characteristics that influence the roles that college chief academic officers emphasize. Singh (2007) affirmed the study’s use of collective bargaining, span of control, age, gender, years in position and managerial experience as some individual characteristics of college chief academic officers. Minztberg’s taxonomy provided the basis for this study’s managerial role survey. Anderson et al (2002) added

Review the sound recording and music industry Essay

Review the sound recording and music industry - Essay Example Another important role in the music/audio industry that requires music technology and audio recording skills is the role of the Sound engineers. They must also possess the ability to recognise and describe the quality of musical sounds and other sounds, in order to be able to adjust and balance these sounds creatively. â€Å"Sound engineers also need to listen for different types of distortion. Music producers need to listen for intonation and timing problems, and DJs need to refine their listening skills in order to match speeds and keys and to recognise points at which to mix.† (http://www.wolvcoll.ac.uk/international/courses/music_tech.html) When working in the audio/music industry, whether as a recording or creative artist, or even in a managerial or supporting role, it is vital to plan and work towards the production of effective final studio products, so that these products can be marketed to the right target audience. Thus, during the planning of a recording session, or any music project, â€Å"effective teamwork is essential and is only possible when everyone involved understands the process.† (http://www.ehow.com/way_5471252_effective-teamwork-care-settings.html).

Humanism and the Humanistic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Humanism and the Humanistic - Essay Example On the other hand, humanism and humanistic in art refer to art that places the study of human nature as its primary interest. Additionally, its ideals are often secular (they are not religious). Learning and art in the Middle Ages (3rd to the 13th centuries) was mainly centered on religion and the church. However, people became more secular at the onset of the 14th century. Thus, they started thinking less and less about God, religion, and the church. As such, they commenced thinking more and more about themselves, their daily lives and surroundings. The study of medieval and ancient Roman and Greek writings on the government, art, philosophy and scientific matters partly influenced the development of humanism. When people and scholars commenced studying these writings in the Renaissance period, their focus and interests shifted from the traditional fields of study such as medicine, law, and religion. They, therefore, became interested in scientific fields and areas such as the natural world, astronomy, biology, and science. Artists, musicians, composers and writers now started creating and designing their work with themes that were not religious. Furthermore, to focus on t hemselves and their lives, writers authored memoirs and autobiographies about themselves while artists routinely signed their work. The emergence and rise of humanism can be naturally viewed in paintings that were done by artists during the Renaissance period. In the middle ages, before the rise of humanism, artists used to employ a hieratic scale that made saints or religious figures appear larger than the non-religious figures. As humanism grew, artists started making less important or ordinary figures be the same size as the religious figures. Moreover, saints or holy figures started looking more like common/ordinary people. Humanistic art in the Renaissance forced saints and religious figures to

Profational writing sample Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Profational writing sample - Essay Example The above strengths enable me to develop results focused plans, multitask, communicate and listen, make sound decisions firs, delegate tasks, help other when they need me, and have a positive outlook. The traits that were identified and appeared relevant to my career choice include critical thinking, approachable, credibility, results oriented, and persuasiveness. The above traits have always enabled me relate appropriately with people from diverse groups and with varying opinions. From the reports I got, I realized I possess skills such as supervisory skills since I can manage others in a group. Other skills included ability to lead and motivate others, good analytical skills and ability to plan. A combination of the above skills, strength, and traits suggested that I would fit in careers that require me to deal with people, one of which is being a human resource manager. 2) Given the career goals you hope to achieve by completing your degree, which of these categories would you find most helpful in gaining the knowledge that would be most useful to your future career success? Explain why and how in as much detail as possible After completing my degree my goal is to become a human resource manager and I will be required to conduct activities covered in this course and include Strategic HR Management, creating Equal Employment Opportunity, Staffing, Talent Management and Development, Total Rewards, Risk Management and Worker Protection, and Employee as well as Labor Relations. From the above activities, the most helpful to my career as a human resource manager is strategic human resource management. Strategic human resource management (SHRM) entails creating a link between overall strategic aims of an organization and the human resource strategy as well as implementation of the strategies. Therefore, SHRM is universal and enables human resource

Macdonald's Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Macdonald's - Case Study Example At some point, upon saturation in the market, he may return to a modified "multipronged" approach, and readdresses their desire to dominate the market, altering their product strategy to meet the specific needs of the market as dictated by their cultural and economic environments. Competition from players within the market such as Subway and from the substitute products has increased. New entrants such as Subway with fresh salads and sandwiches are giving tough competition to McDonald. Apart from this coffee outlets product market is itself giving tough competition to Mc Donald, who got affected due to world wide concern for Obesity. Another key factor responsible for the decrease in sales is the changing customer preferences and tastes. Young customers form the major segment of the market. The customers seek variety and buy products that look trendy. They also show high degree of brand preference. Youth are less interested in McDonald, as they perceive it to be an old formulation. The company's inability to handle its marketing mix properly is cited another key factor for the poor performance of the brand. Food product outlets require heavy promotions. The company did not provide enough consumptions avenues to customers help in improving sales. Identifying mAs with successful ad campaign, the company followed a planning process as outlined below: (i) Identifying marketing objectivities (ii) Communication effects (iii) Processing (iv) Exposure Identifying marketing objectives: first firm has to decide upon the marketing objectives that it wants to satisfy and the role of advertising in meeting those objectives. McDonald's advertising and promotion activities were minimal in the year 2004. Promotions were limited to banners and specific promotions. However the fast food market was growing rapidly. Thus company realized that burger is no longer an unmarked food product and has been accepted by consumers. The company has decided that it is the right time to improve its position in the market. The company identified that targeting the burgeoning middle class homes, whose income are on the rise and whose attitude towards eating out is changing, can increase volumes. Communication effects: any successful advertising campaign should establish a communication effects in the minds of the consumer that encourage him to take action (purchasing a product). A company can select from four possible communication effects. They are category need, brand awareness, brand attitude, and brand purchase intention Processing: McDonald then had to devise an advertising strategy to achieve its communication objectives. The company came up with the Big Mac campaign, which had short duration teaser ads that highlighted the intention to buy its burger. Exposure: the final step in an advertising program is to decide upon the original exposure of the ad campaign to achieve the desired impact of the target segment. Two aspects have to be decided at this stage media selection and media scheduling. Media selection refers to the identification of media through which the campaign has to run. Media scheduling refers to the taming and frequency with which the ads are exposed to the target audience. McDonald did not have a large