The United States Invasion of Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The United States Invasion of Iraq - Essay Example By mid-April, 2003, Hussein's army and the government had collapsed, and the allies were largely in control of the major Iraqi cities. The allies gradually turned their attention to the rebuilding of Iraq and the establishment of a new Iraqi government, but progress toward that end was hampered by lawlessness, especially in Baghdad, where U.S. forces had tolerated widespread looting initially. On May 1, President Bush declared victory in the war against Iraq. No weapons of mass destruction, however, were found, leading to charges that U.S. and British leaders had exaggerated the Iraqi biological and chemical threat in order to justify the war. From this fact it's possible to make a conclusion that weapons of mass destruction weren't the main reason for the war, but only a cause, "casus belli". I think that the root of the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003 is control over oil fields. The background of 2nd Gulf War (2003) comes from an armed conflict between Iraq and a coalition of 32 nations including the United States, Britain, Egypt, France, and Saudi Arabia called the 1st Persian Gulf War in 1991. It was a result of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait on August 2, 1990; Iraq then annexed Kuwait, which it had long claimed. Iraqi president Saddam Hussein declared that the invasion was a response to overproduction of oil in Kuwait, which had cost Iraq an estimated $14 billion a year when oil prices fell. Hussein also accused Kuwait of illegally pumping oil from Iraq's Rumaila oil field. During August 1990 Iraq was sending more and more troops streaming into Kuwait, by August 6 there were nearly eleven combat divisions. Intelligence analysts at the time understood that Iraq had enough troops in the area to roll over Saudi Arabia nearly as easily as they had done to Kuwait. King Fahd of Saudi Arabia recognized his situation as dire and immediately requested aid from his most powerful friend and ally, the United States. President Bush promptly ordered the deployment of U.S. ground and air forces to Saudi territory. U.S. Navy ships were also deployed to the region. So began the operation to defend Saudi Arabia that would be called "Desert Storm".   The UN Security Council called for Iraq to withdraw and subsequently embargoed most trade with Iraq. On August 7, U.S. troops moved into Saudi Arabia to protect Saudi oil fields. On November 29, the United Nations set January 15, 1991, as the deadline for a peaceful withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. When Saddam Hussein refused to comply, Operation "Desert Storm" was launched on January 18, 1991, under the leadership of U.S. Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf. The U.S.-led coalition began a massive air war to destroy Iraq's forces and military and civil infrastructure. Iraq called for terrorist attacks against the coalition and launched Scud missiles at Israel (in an unsuccessful attempt to widen the war and break up the coalition) and at Saudi Arabia. The main coalition forces invaded Kuwait and S Iraq on February 24 and, over the next four days, encircled and defeated the Iraqis and liberated Kuwait. When U.S. President George H. W. Bush declared a cease-fire on February 28, most of the Iraqi forces in Kuwait had either surrendered or fled.

Accounting In China Essay Example for Free

Accounting In China Essay 1. Introduction †¢ China’s rapid economic growth in the past two decades has amazed the rest of the world. †¢ With China’s accession to the WTO, business activities with and within China will further expand. †¢ China fully understands that a sound financial reporting system plays a key role in the process of economic development. †¢ The Chinese Ministry of Finance (MoF), who has the responsibility for regulating accounting matters in China, has set itself the objectives of fostering investors’ confidence in financial information, increase transparency of financial reporting, and harmonize with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), so as to reduce the costs of raising capital by enterprises and alleviate the risk of financial crisis. 2. History Of Development †¢ The old accounting and regulations were designed to meet the needs of a planned economy, and therefore focused on whether the production goals of state-owned enterprises and their financial and costs plans were being met. †¢ Accordingly, the objectives of accounting and performance measurement some twenty years ago were significantly different from the financial reporting objectives in a modern market oriented economy. †¢ Significant accounting reforms were undertaken in the past two decades due to several factors such as: âž ¢ Since China opened its door to foreign investments in 1979, the rapid growth of its economy, international trade and securities markets has shaped new objectives for financial reporting. âž ¢ State-owned enterprises now look a lot like profit-oriented businesses, and managers and other users need reliable and relevant financial information on which to base decisions about the efficient allocation of capital. âž ¢ At the same time, china has reached out to the international community to form joint ventures and gain greater access to the latest technologies and the world’s capital markets. See more: Homelessness as a social problem Essay †¢ In the 1980s, the MoF issued the first set of accounting regulation, which was formulated by reference to international accounting practice, for joint ventures in China. †¢ In 1992, due to rapid development of the Chinese securities market, the accounting System for Experimental Joint Stock Limited Enterprises was promulgated by the MoF in order to standardised accounting practice and disclosures by listed companies. This System was subsequently replaced by the Accounting System for Joint Stock Limited Enterprises (JSLE) in 1998. †¢ The 1992 regulation moved away from the traditional fund-based Soviet accounting model and incorporated many common Western accounting practices. †¢ In the same year, the MoF promulgated the Accounting Regulations for Foreign Investment Enterprises (FIE), the Accounting Regulations for Share Enterprises. †¢ In 1993 the Basic Accounting Standard for Business Enterprises came into force. It imposes some basic rules (e.g. that double entry bookkeeping must be used, that a cash or funds statement must be included in the financial statements, and that consolidated financial statements must be provided where appropriate); set out a conceptual framework of China accounting and make some detailed rules of financial reporting. †¢ The conceptual framework introduced on a broader scope new accounting concepts and essential elements of financial statements that were in many respects based on international practices. †¢ The conceptual framework aspects of the regulation are reasonably close to US and IASC precedents. †¢ However, these pronouncements were still found to have essential differences with international practice such as limited disclosure of financial information for the users to understand the results and financial position of the reporting enterprise. †¢ Another difference is that the regulation does not specifically identify the primary user or purpose of financial statements. Instead, a hierarchy of users includes the government, banks, the public and an enterprise’s own management. †¢ This is very different from the US or IASB which emphasis on financial decision making by outside investors. †¢ In addition, the ASBE is based on historical cost without the revaluation allowed in IASB or UK rules or the increasing use of fair value in IASB/US/UK rules. †¢ Furthermore, ‘substance over form’ is not established as a principle in China. 3. The New Accounting Standards And Accounting System (Development after 1993). †¢ In 1993, with funding from the World Bank (US$2.6 million), the MoF engaged Deloitte Touchee Tohmatsu (DTT) as consultants to develop a body of Chinese Accounting Standards (CAS) broadly in line with accounting and financial reporting practices used internationally. †¢ Exposure Drafts on about 30 standards have since been published between 1994 and 1996, and they were generally closely in line with the standards of the IASC. †¢ In 1997, the first standard was issued. It is on disclosure of relationships and transactions with related parties. †¢ In the same year, China joined the IASC, and became an official observer at Board meetings. †¢ In October 1998, an Accounting Standards Committee (CASC) was founded within China’s MoF. It comprises academics and members of accounting firms as well as government experts. †¢ In 1998, the Ministry of Finance issued the Accounting System for Joint Stock Limited Enterprises (JSLE) to replace the accounting System for Experimental joint Stock Limited Enterprises in order to standardise accounting practice and disclosures by listed companies. †¢ In 2000, DTT was reappointed as consultants for the second phase of the project. †¢ China accounting has achieved remarkable progress in unifying its accounting practices since Year 2001. †¢ In the same year, MoF issued a new comprehensive Accounting System for Business Enterprise (the ‘System’). The new System replaced the Accounting System for JSLE form January 1, 2002. †¢ In other words, all JSLE (including all listed enterprise) and FIE are now required to follow one unified new System. The system introduces the concept of substance over form and extends the requirement for consideration to all assets. †¢ The MoF plans to ultimately require all medium-size and large enterprises (other than financial enterprises) to adopt the new System, and announced its expectation that state-owned enterprise will adopt the new system over time. †¢ When fully implemented, the new System will replace the numerous inconsistent industry accounting regulations, enabling the financial statements of different types of enterprises to become more comparable. 4. Impact Of The New Systems On FIE †¢ Before adopting the new System, FIE’s financial statements which were prepared in accordance with the Accounting Regulation for FIE could not properly reflect the enterprise’s actual financial position and operating results, the enterprise had to make numerous adjustments when they compile financial statements under overseas accounting standards, such as IAS and US GAAP. †¢ The process was time consuming and imposed additional cost of investment to the foreign investors. †¢ After the adoption of the new System, the differences between FIE’s financial statements under PRC GAAP and those prepared in accordance with international accounting practices will reduce further, thereby enabling the foreign investors to assess the performance of their investments more efficiently. 5. China Accounting Standards Convergence With IFRS †¢ The importance and acceptance of IFRS has increased significantly over the past few years. †¢ While actively pursuing convergence with IFRS, the MoF necessarily has to ensure that accounting standards appropriately address the national circumstances that exist during this transitional period in the economy. âž ¢ A very significant portion of the economy is dominated by state owned enterprises. Even after enterprises are restructured into joint stock enterprise and branched out from the government structure, functional or regional government that remain stakeholders still exert significant influences over the enterprises and their trading partners and their transactions. âž ¢ Free markets are not sufficiently developed in many areas. âž ¢ Financial statements are multi-functional, serving not only the needs of the investors but also other interested parties including the State for supervisory and management purposes. âž ¢ Enterprises and professional intermediaries such as auditors and valuers are at a developing stage. During this transitional period, accounting standards must be realistically implementable by the preparers and auditors of financial statements. †¢ On 16 February 2006, the Chinese Ministry of Finance and the International Accounting Standards Board formally announced that Chinese Accounting Standards (CAS) will converge with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on 1 January 2007. †¢ Converging CAS with IFRS is one of many successful initiatives undertaken by the PRC government over the past global economy. †¢ Investors, analysts, regulators and other interested parties in recent years have been increasingly demanding more consistent and reliable financial reporting from companies around the world. †¢ The adoption and consistent application of accounting standards based on IFRS principles is widely viewed as a commitment to transparent financial reporting by these constituents. Transparent financial reporting is considered as the foundation of investor confidence. †¢ The process of convergence has been started way back in November 2005 when several meetings had been held between MoF and board members of IASB. †¢ The process of convergence will involve integrating the IFRS principles into CAS and will result in the amendment of all existing standards and the issuance of an additional 22 Specific standards. †¢ While the revised CAS will not reflect a literal translation of IFRS, their scope will include all IFRS principles. In additional, they will contain interpretive guidance to address the accounting for specific types of transaction (e.g. combinations of companies under common control) and industry accounting issues (e.g. extraction of petroleum and natural gas). †¢ The new CAS will comprise 1 basic standard and 38 specific standards. †¢ The revised CAS will first be applied to listed companies from 1 January 2007 and gradually applied to other types of entities. †¢ There will be differences between the revised CAS and IFRS to reflect unique circumstances in China. †¢ These differences, among other things, relate to: a. A prohibition of the reversal of asset impairment once it has been made; b. The accounting for certain government grants; c. Related party disclosures between State owned enterprises that have no direct investment relationship. 6. Challenges faced by China in converging with IFRS. †¢ The effect of changing accounting policies involves some efforts such as: âž ¢ Re-designing the financial reporting process to ensure that management has sufficient reliable financial information with which to prepare financial statements that comply with the standards, particularly in regards to the increased levels of disclosure required, and properly supports critical accounting estimates and judgements. âž ¢ The people involved in the financial reporting process will need to develop a new expertise and competency in applying revised CAS. âž ¢ Developing new accounting policy manual; integrating new CAS internal management reporting (budgeting, forecasting, performance measurement) and external reporting (financial, statutory, investor) into daily operations across the organization. âž ¢ Implementing ongoing and sustainable processes such as valuations of share options and derivatives, impairment testing hedge documentation and effectiveness testing, etc. âž ¢ Require identification of new data requirements due to financial statements and disclosure requirements. âž ¢ Train the head office and business units of the new reporting requirements. âž ¢ Provide training to finance and also non-finance staff including key management (e.g. finance, treasury, tax, human resource and sales) on new CAS principles and new reporting requirements. THE NEW SYSTEM OF CHINESE ACCOUNTING STANDARDS Key features and impact of the new accounting standards 1. The new accounting standards represent convergence with International financial Reporting Standards. †¢ Most of the newly issued standards and revised standards make reference to the equivalent IFRS and adopt the principles and treatments similar to its counterpart. †¢ As a result, the financial statements prepared in accordance with the New Accounting Standards will be more comparable with those prepared in accordance with IFRS. †¢ Overseas investors and users of financial statements will understand the financial statements of Chinese enterprise better and the cost of re-preparing financial statements for Chinese enterprises when getting overseas listing will be reduced. 2. The requirement of fair value measurement †¢ Under the new accounting standards, debt restructuring and no-monetary transactions will be measured at fair value and gains that meet certain criteria will be recognized in the income statement. †¢ Whereas before the revision, those transactions were carried at book value and any gains arising from those transactions were not allowed to be recognized. †¢ In practice, the determination of fair values may not be easy for many entities and various valuation techniques are required. 3. Specify accounting treatments for important accounting issues such as business combinations and consolidated financial statement. †¢ In the past, there was neither formal accounting standards nor comprehensive and detailed guidelines in the area of business combinations and consolidated financial statements. †¢ As a result, accounting treatments for similar business combination transactions may have varied across different enterprises causing much confusion and inconsistency. †¢ Therefore, the issuance of the standards on â€Å"Business Combination† and â€Å"Consolidated Financial statement† will provide comprehensive and more authoritative provisions and guidelines on these important accounting issues. 4. Specify treatments on new accounting issues and certain previously off-balance-sheet items will be recorded in the balance sheet †¢ Derivative financial instruments will be recognized on the balance sheet instead of only being disclosed in the notes to the financial statements. †¢ All shares and share options granted to employees to be measured at fair value and expensed in the income statement. 5. Standards relevant to important specialized industries †¢ The New Accounting Standards will include a number of standards that are relevant to those specialized industries. †¢ For example, the four standards on â€Å"Financial Instruments† will have an impact on accounting practices in various financial institutions. †¢ The standards on â€Å"Direct Insurance Contract† and â€Å"Re-insurance Contracts† will affect players in the insurance sectors. †¢ The â€Å"Extraction of Petroleum and Natural Gas† and â€Å"Biological Assets† are standards that are issued specifically for enterprises operating in the petroleum and gas industry and agriculture industry respectively. 6. Impairment of Assets †¢ The previous accounting regulations in China allow the reversal of impairment under certain circumstances. †¢ However, under the new standard, it specifies that any recognized impairment loss for fixed assets and intangible assets cannot be reversed in future accounting periods. †¢ The restriction on impairment loss reversal does not apply to inventories, trade receivables and bank loans. 7. More detailed requirements on disclosure †¢ The new standards provide users of financial statements with more relevant and transparent information, which will facilitate their economic decision-making. †¢ For instances, in respect of accounting policies and accounting estimates, the basis for the determination of significant accounting policies and accounting estimates is required to be disclosed. †¢ In relation to financial instruments, a detailed disclosure on the enterprise’s financial risk exposure is now required. 8. Transitional adjustments †¢ The New Accounting Standards were applicable to listed companies effective from 1 January 2007. †¢ The MOF has issued transitional provisions which are included in the standard on â€Å"First Time Adoption of Accounting Standards for Business Enterprises†. †¢ The standard requires that at the date of transaction, an entity should reclassify, recognize and measure all assets, liabilities and owners’ equity in accordance with the New Accounting Standards and prepare an opening balance sheet. †¢ These transitional provisions may reduce the workload and complexities for preparers’ adoption of the New Accounting Standards.

Sex and Mans Struggle Against Nature :: science

Sex and Man's Struggle Against Nature In "Sex and Violence, or Nature and Art," Camille Paglia claims nature is inherently stronger than society. "Society is an artificial construction, a defense against nature's power.a system of inherited forms reducing our humiliating passivity to nature." (Writing in the Disciplines 572) I agree with the majority of Paglia's opinions, however, I believe that there are points that could have been elaborated on more substantially. In this essay, Paglia states that man is born evil and it is society's job to condition him to be a good, moral person. Paglia would disagree with someone who said the reason a person murdered was because he grew up in a bad section of town, or his home life left something to be desired. On the contrary, Paglia claims it is the inner evil, the "nature," of the person to kill, and it is society's lack of conditioning that releases this savage response. "Society is not the criminal but the force which keeps crime in check." (Writing in the Disciplines 574) She claims no matter how much a person sinks into religion, or their society, nature will always have the upper hand. Paglia believes if man is left to his natural instincts, with no threat of society's punishment, he will be evil and commit evil deeds. In society, sexual urges can often influence a person's morality, making him second-guess his values for the sake of sexual pleasure. She also goes on to say, "getting back to nature. would be to give free rein to violence and lust." (Writing in the Disciplines 573-574) I agree that this scenario is a possible outcome, but Paglia fails to mention that with out society we would have no idea, which deeds were evil and which were not. It is society that has set the limits and told us what is evil. Before men were grouped together in societies, they roamed free with no idea of right and wrong. It wasn't until man made up his religion with its rules, regulations and laws that he had a conscious idea of evil. But I do agree with Paglia that nature is the stronger force, and no matter how much we try to fool ourselves into believing that society or religion can save us from the torment of nature, we will always be reminded of mother nature's force. "Civilized man conceals from himself the extent of his subordination to nature.

Narmers Palette :: essays research papers

As Egypt grew and flourished to a powerful and rich nation, it left behind for today's historians, clues and artifacts of a once distinctive, well established and structured society. Proof of this is clearly depicted in king Narmer's Palette. This Palette shows historians the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt, which signified the beginnings of a civilized era centred around the Nile. The unification of Egypt occurred around 3100 B.C., under the First Dynasty of Menes(3100-2850 B.C.). This age is commonly know as the Protodynastic era, which is known for the establishment of a firm political structure of the land which was unified in the hands of the king. The glorification of Lower and Upper Egypt uniting was portrayed in Narmer's Palette, which was found in the ancient southern capital of Hierakonpolis. The general function of Narmer's Palette was to commemorate a victory over his human foes. With Narmer's victory, the Palette also depicts his successful claim and conquest of all of Egypt, thus establishing unification of Lower and Upper Egypt under his rule. The dominant them however, is the victory of the god incarnate over the forces of evil and chaos. The Narmer Palette, while depicting several social aspects and tendencies of the Egyptian society, also reveals and emphasizes their structured positions within a hierarchy of command. Both sides of the Palette reveal, at the top, the name of king Narmer, which first documents, in the written history of Egypt, that we now are dealing with a civilized state. When the scribes wanted to write king Narmer's name, they placed a small fish called a 'nar' over a chisel, pronounced 'mer'. This combination of the words gave them 'Narmer'. The Palette also depicts king Narmer(probably the legendary Menes) wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt and the White Crown of Aphroditopolis, which represented Upper Egypt. Since Narmer had claimed victory over the northern king, thus becoming the first Pharaoh, the unification of Egypt was completed. The reverse of the Palette portrays Narmer clubbing a foeman. Narmer is then followed by his foot-washer, which should be noted is shown on a smaller scale and standing on a separate register line, as suited to his relative rank and position in Egypt's hierarchy. Narmer stands before the supreme sky-god Horus, of whom Narmer is also an incarnation, represented as a falcon with a human arm holding a papyrus thicket. On the obverse of this palette, Narmer inspects a battlefield near Buto, with several decapitated bodies of his foemen. Narmer is then preceded by his four standard-bearers and his priest. The middle register of this highly organized recording shows two long-

Compensation and Benefits Recommendations Essay

No matter the size of the business, there is a need to evaluate an individual business’ compensations and Benefits. Each business will be unique; rarely will two businesses have the same benefits. These benefits will show employees, and future employees, what it is worth to work for the company. In this recommendation, it will outline various parts of the compensation and identify the pay act that this package will follow. Market Evaluation Creating attractive compensation package is a difficult task when entering new markets. After reviewing the benefits and compensation for Turner Construction Company, Ames Construction, Inc., and DPR Construction which are located in Arizona, the companies have these benefits in common: Medical, Dental, Retirement/Pension/401K plan. Turner Construction Company does offer more such as vision insurance, health club reimbursement, life insurance, accidental death and dismemberment, short term disability, long term disability, tuition reimbursement program, and professional certifications and licenses (Turner Construction, 2014). The compensation package offered by DPR Construction includes additional benefits like vision insurance, adoption assistance, personal time off, holidays & holiday shutdown, Flexible Spending Accounts, and Critical Illness Insurance. DPR construction has noted that employees must be non-union and full time employees to receive the full benefits package, but part time employees are eligible for medical, dental, and vision coverage (DPR Construction, 2014). The compensation package offered by Ames Construction, Inc. does not include extra benefits that Turner Construction and DPR Construction offer (Ames Construction, Inc., 2014). With the information provided, an attractive compensation and benefit package that is tailored to the area can be created for your employees in Arizona. Recommended compensation structure As commercial construction organization entering a new market you will need  to have a compensation structure that is comparable or higher to others in the area. When entering a new market, it will be essential to offer a structure that attracts experienced employees that will provide creditability to the new market. It will be essential to have these people in place and show your customers that your organization is committed to being their primary choice for new projects. When determining a compensation plan there are steps that should be considered. The first step is to determine what type of pay structure you are going to use. For your business a pay grade system is the best option. This type of system allows for your organization to compensate employees based on their years of experience and knowledge of the field (Martocchio 2011). The next step is determining the market baseline for the positions. In Arizona, a commercial foreman (salary/exempt) earns about $35,000-$92,000 per year, an estimator/project (salary/exempt) manager receives about $32,000 – $98,00 per year, and a general laborer (hourly/nonexempt) receives about $8.71-20.55 per hour (â€Å"May 2013 State Occupational Employment And Wage Estimates Arizona†, 2014). The next step is to identify pay grades. This will allow an employee with more experience to receive more income. Below are examples of the three positions listed above: Foreman I – 0-5 years’ experience as a foreman for a commercial construction. Foreman II – 6-10 years’ experience. Foreman III – 10+ years’ experience. Project Manager I – 0-2 years’ experience, bachelor’s degree, no project management (PMI) certificate. Project Manager II – 3-5 years’ experience, bachelor’s degree in project management, PMI certificate. Project Manager III – 6+ years’ experience, experienced interaction with customers, PMI certificate and a bachelor’s or higher degree in project management. General Laborer I – 0-3 years’ experience, high school diploma or GED and basic commercial construction knowledge. General Laborer II – 4-9 years’ experience, high school diploma or higher, advanced knowledge. General Laborers III – 10+ years’ experience, high school diploma or higher, expert knowledge. The next step will be establishing the pay ranges for the positions. The recommended pay structure is as followed: Foreman I – $35,000 – $42,000 Foreman II – $42,000 – 57,000 Foreman III – $57,000 – $95,000 Project Manager I – $32,000 – $50,000 Project Manager II – $50,000 – $75,000 Project Manager III – $75,000 – $100,000 General Laborer I – $8.75 – $12.00 General Laborer II – $12.00 – $17.00 General Laborers III – $17.00 – $20.50 The last step, which will be an ongoing step, is to evaluate the pay structure. As an organization you will need to determine if the pay scale matches the talent you are hiring and if adjustments need to be made. Another adjustment that may need to be made is include minimum wage for general laborers. Recommend a position on the Market There are three positions that are recommended to position the company in the market. Management must decide which strategy will best fit the goals of the organization. To lead the market in compensation will be costly. The advantage to leading the market is the company will likely get top talent for the pay. This is unless the top talent is already gainfully employed, then the company may get mediocre talent for top pay. Another possibility is to position the company at the bottom of the market, or to lag in the market. This is not a very attractive employment tactic; however there is a plethora of benefits that can be added to the package that would be more attractive to those that do not consider money the primary reason for joining an organization. The recommended strategy for the organization is to be somewhere in between the high and the low. It is feasible to match the competition in salaries but to offer a package of incentives that will distinguish the company from the other competitors. Some of the ideas management might consider are paid time off from work to include holidays, vacation days, personal days, sick days, and paternity or maternity leave (Heathfield, 2014). Another benefit could be comprehensive dental insurance, many companies are forced to offer medical insurance but dental insurance could be a great selling point to attract potential employees. Perhaps the most important to some people will be investment. The company should  consider establishing a retirement plan or 401(k) for employees. This helps in recruiting employees but also increases the opportunity to maintain employees. There are other incentives that can be offered at the discretion of management. Little incentives like day care, a pumping room for new mothers, and incentives for going to college can make the company more attractive than other similar companies with similar salaries for employees. Total compensation and benefits strategy In today’s economy it is important for a company to have a total compensations and benefits package. The new Obama care guidelines state that everyone must have health insurance. Providing this to your employees will help to relieve some of the financial burden associated with health insurance. Other reasons to offer health insurance according to the Center of Disease Control are healthier people are less likely to take time off of work and are more productive while at work (â€Å"Workplace Health Promotion†, 2014). Other health benefits include dental, vision insurance, and health-club reimbursement. Flexible spending, life insurance, short and long term disability are other benefits that are recommended for employees. Tuition Reimbursement is a great way to show your employees that you are committed to their future and rewarding them for obtaining a higher education. This can also include professional certificates. An employee referral program is a great way to reward employees for their referrals and obtain new applicants. Performance Incentives and Merit Pay As with other business transactions, incentive programs need to be managed with a clear definition with planning, setting goals, assigning responsibility, defining objectives and managing the implementation. A well-executed incentive program will justify its cost through reduction in injury costs, reduced time away from work, and slowing the rate of increase in insurance costs (Hislop, R. D., 1993). Incentive programs need to focus on program elements relative to the industry. Safe work habits and the reduction of absenteeism shall be the focus of these incentives. Define the criteria: What is to be accomplished in order to earn the award The recognition to be offered Establish who qualifies for the awards; (individuals, teams, contractors) Provide a definitive time line Evaluate the risks that are present In order to encourage sense of ownership, urge employees to help manage and control their workplace. Incorporate a sound safety program including not only the safety training but regular toolbox talks (Hislop, R. D., 1993). An offer of $.50-per-hour bonus to each work-crew if the entire crew is present throughout an entire pay period has been an effective tool for one Houston based construction firm (Hislop, R. D., 1993). The additional labor costs are moderate in comparison to the costs associated with hiring, training and injury expenses incurred when laborers are injured or present a high absentee rate. Establishing the incentive as one centered on absenteeism than injury related will curb the possibility of workers not reporting injury in order to achieve bonus and will encourage presence on the site thereby alleviating unnecessary absenteeism. Injuries happen often when a full crew is not present on the jobsite and with the incentive pay; every crew has the opportunity for the b onus. Relating Law With this package, the main focus will be towards the Equal Pay Act. This Act is set forth that requires men and women receive equal pay for equal work in the same establishment (USA.gov, 2014). There is room for differences in pay based upon seniority, merit, or even quality of production. If you find your business in a situation where this act is being violated, you are not allowed to lower the higher paid employee, but you must raise the lower paid employee. When evaluating specific benefits compensation, all aspects need to be considered when attempting to move into a new market. Comparison with current competitors is a wise decision to determine where a new company should choose which benefits. Careful planning will greatly assist the business in setting up as a successful company in the new market. References Ames Construction, Inc. (2014). Benefit Package. Retrieved from http://www.amesconstruction.com/benefit-package.cfm DPR Construction. (2014). Benefits. Retrieved from http://www.dpr.com/company/careers/working-at-dpr/benefits#holidayshutdown Turner Construction. (2014). Benefits, Compensation and Rewards. Retrieved from http://www.turnerconstruction.com/careers/life-at-turner/benefits Heathfield, S. M. (2014). What’s in a comprehensive employee benefits package? About.com Human Resources. Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/compensation-structure/tp/employee-benefits-package.htm Hislop, R. D. (1993). Developing a safety incentive program. Professional Safety, 38(4), 20. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/200382925?accountid=458 Cost Estimators. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/business-and- financial/cost-estimators.htm May 2013. State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates Arizona. (2014). Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_az.htm Martocchio, Joseph J. (2011). Strategic compensation: a human resource management approach. (6th ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall Equal Pay/Compensation Discrimination. (2014). USA.Gov. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/laws/types/equalcompensation.cfm

Narccisistic Personality Disorder

Narccisistic Personality Disorder Free Online Research Papers Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is defined as in the American Heritage Dictionary as excessive love or admiration of oneself, a psychological condition characterized by self-preoccupation, lack of empathy, and unconscious deficits in self-esteem, erotic pleasure derived from contemplation or admiration of ones own body or self, especially as a fixation on or a regression to an infantile stage of development, and the attribute of the human psyche characterized by admiration of oneself but within normal limits. Personality disorder is defined by the Fourth Edition Text Revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders as enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to and thinking about the environment and oneself that are exhibited in a wide range of social and personal contexts, and are inflexible and maladaptive and cause significant functional impairment or subjective distress. DSM-IV-TR specifies that these dysfunctional patterns must be regarded as noncon forming or deviant by the persons culture, and cause significant emotional pain and/or difficulties in relationships and occupational performance. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is found in Axis III of the DSM-IV-TR in section 301.81 with personality disorders. Narcissistic Personality Disorder is categorized with the Cluster B personality disorders: Antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic. Cluster B personality disorders are described as dramatic, emotional, or erratic. The diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration and lack of empathy, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following criteria. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g. exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements). He or she is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love. Believes that he or she is â€Å"special† and unique and can only be understood by or should associate with, other special or high-status people. He or she requests excessive admiration. Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatments or automatic compliance with his or her expectations. Hi or she is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends. He or she lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others. He or she is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her. He or she shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes. The term narcissistic is derived from an ancient Greek legend, the story of Echo and Narcissus. According to the legend, Echo, a woodland nymph, fell in love with Narcissus. He was an uncommonly handsome as well as an exceptionally vain young man. He disdainfully rejected her expressions of love. Echo pined away and died. The god Apollo was angered by Narcissus pride and self-satisfaction, and condemned him to die without ever knowing human love. One day, Narcissus was feeling thirsty, saw a pool of clear water nearby, and knelt beside it in order to dip his hands in the water and drink. He saw his face reflected on the surface of the water and fell in love with the reflection. Unable to win a response from the image in the water, Narcissus eventually died beside the pool. Sigmund Freud wrote an essay in 1914 entitled On Narcissism. Freud introduced a distinction between primary and secondary narcissism. Freud thought that all human infants pass through a phase of primary narcissism, in which they assume they are the center of their universe. This phase ends when the baby is forced by the realities of life to recognize that it does not control its parents (or other caregivers) but is in fact entirely dependent on them. In normal circumstances, the baby gives up its fantasy of being all-powerful and becomes emotionally attached to its parents rather than itself. What Freud defined as secondary narcissism is a pathological condition in which the infant does not invest its emotions in its parents but rather redirects them back to itself. He thought that secondary narcissism developed in what he termed the pre-Oedipal phase of childhood; that is, before the age of three. From a Freudian perspective, narcissistic disorders originate in very early childhood development, and this early origin is thought to explain why they are so difficult to treat in later life. There are two major theories about the origin and nature of Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Heinz Kohut’s theory regards Narcissistic Personality Disorder as a form of arrested psychological development while Otto Kernberg’s theory regards Narcissistic Personality Disorder as a young childs defense against psychological pain. Kohut and Kernberg agree with Freud in tracing the roots of Narcissistic Personality Disorder to disturbances in the patients family of origin, specifically to problems in parent-child relationships before the child turned three. Kohut and Kernberg disagree is the nature of these problems. According to Kohut, the child grows out of primary narcissism through opportunities to be mirrored by (i.e., gain approval from) his or her parents and to idealize them, acquiring a more realistic sense of self and a set of personal ideals and values through these two processes. On the other hand, if the parents fail to provide appropriate opportunities for id ealization and mirroring, the child remains stuck at a developmental stage in which his or her sense of self remains grandiose and unrealistic while at the same time he or she remains dependent on approval from others for self-esteem. Kernberg views Narcissistic Personality Disorder as rooted in the childs defense against a cold, unsympathetic parent, usually the mother. Emotionally hungry and angry at the depriving parents, the child withdraws into a part of the self that the parents value, whether looks, intellectual ability, or some other skill or talent. This part of the self becomes hyper inflated and grandiose. Any perceived weaknesses are split off into a hidden part of the self. Splitting gives rise to a lifelong tendency to swing between extremes of grandiosity and feelings of emptiness and worthlessness. In both accounts, the child emerges into adult life with a history of unsatisfactory relationships with others. The adult narcissist possesses a grandiose view of the self but has a conflict-ridden psychological dependence on others. One dimension of Narcissistic Personality Disorder that must be considered is the social and historical context. Shortly after World War II older practitioners noticed a change in their patient population. Instead of seeing patients who suffered from obsessions and compulsions related to a harsh and punishing superego, psychiatrists were treating more patients with character disorders related to a weak sense of self. Instead of a judgmental and overactive conscience, these patients had a weak or nonexistent code of morals. They differed greatly from the patients that Freud treated, described, and analyzed. The next generation of psychiatrists began to interpret their patients character disorders in terms of narcissism. In the 1960s, historians and social critics drew the attention of the general public to narcissism as a metaphorical description of Western culture in general. Psychiatrists saw several parallels between trends in the larger society and the personality traits of people diagnosed with narcissistic disorders. In short, they argued that the advanced industrial societies of Europe and the United States were contributing to the development of narcissistic disorders in individuals in a number of respects. Some of the trends they noted include the mass medias preoccupation with lifestyles of the rich and famous rather than with ordinary or average people, the social approval of open displays of money, status, or accomplishments rather than modesty and self-restraint, preference for a leadership style that emphasizes the leaders outward appearance and personality rather than his or her inner beliefs and values, the growth of large corporations and government bureaucracies that favor a managerial style based on impression management rather than objective measurements of performance, and social trends that encourage parents to be self-centered and to resent their childrens legitimate needs. Although discussion continues about the location and forms of narcissism in the larger society, no one denies that personality disorders both reflect and influence the culture in which they arise. Family therapists are reporting the treatment of families in which the children are replicating the narcissistic disorders of their parents. Kohut suggested the etiology of narcissism as a result of a developmental arrest; that is, a mismatch of the childs normal narcissistic needs and the environments ability to adequately respond to them. Kernbergs opinion regarding the etiology of narcissism as a result of an instinctual or structural conflict but in the case of narcissism, the conflict is not centered around the oedipal complex but rather on issues that predate the oedipal complex. According to DSM-IV-TR, 2% to 16% of the clinical population and slightly less than 1% of the general population of the United States suffers from Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Between 50% and 75% of those diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder are males. These numbers could be disproportional as there are discrepancies in the diagnosis of personality disorders. For example, if a person has symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder and has a substance abuse problem, some of the narcissistic behavior might be contributed to the mood-altering properties of certain narcotics. Treatment options for Narcissistic Personality Disorder consist of psychoanalytical therapy, cognitive behavior therapy; group therapy, family therapy, and individual therapy are the preferred treatment options. The diagnosis of Narcissistic Personality Disorder does not in and of itself imply a given treatment. Because the range of narcissistic character pathology is broad and the capacities and circumstances of the patients varied, treatment must be tailored to each individual case. Motivation, insight, and life circumstances need to be taken into account in formulating a realistic treatment plan and treatment goals. Narcissistic personality disorder presents in a full range of severity, from episodically troublesome dysphoria to crippling existential emptiness and lack of meaningful relationships and goals, and treatment is prescribed accordingly. Treatment recommendations, therefore, are based on clinical experience. Although some form of individual psychotherapy is generally rec ommended, couples, family, and group therapy are useful in certain cases. A University of Georgia study suggests that social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace might be useful tools in determining whether someone is a narcissist. By examining three areas of a person’s profile untrained observers were able to identify a person with narcissistic tendencies. The untrained observers looked at the quantity of social interaction, attractiveness of the individual, and the degree of self-promotion of the individual’s main photograph. The number of friends and number of wall postings or comments that individuals have on their profile page positively correlate with narcissism. This behavior is consistent with narcissistic people in the real world, numerous, yet shallow and superficial relationships. Narcissists are more likely to use glamorous and self-promoting pictures for their main profile picture, where other people use snapshot or candid photographs. Research Papers on Narccisistic Personality DisorderThree Concepts of PsychodynamicAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesThe Project Managment Office SystemUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresCapital PunishmentHip-Hop is ArtMind Travel

When to Use GET and POST in Ajax

When to Use GET and POST in Ajax When you use Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) to access the server without reloading the web page, you have two choices on how to pass the information for the request to the server: GET or POST. These are the same two options that you have when passing requests to the server to load a new page, but with two differences. The first is that you are only requesting a small piece of information instead of an entire web page. The second and most noticeable difference is that since the Ajax request doesnt appear in the address bar, your visitors wont notice a difference when the request is made. Calls made using GET will not expose the fields and their values anywhere that using POST does not also expose when the call is made from Ajax. What You Should Not Do So, how should we make the choice as to which of these two alternatives should be used? A mistake that some beginners might make is to use GET for most of their calls simply because it is the easier of the two to code. The most noticeable difference between GET and POST calls in Ajax is that GET calls still have the same limit on the amount of data that can be passed as when requesting a new page load. The only difference is that because youre only processing a small amount of data with an Ajax request (or at least thats how you should use it), you are far less likely to run into this length limit from within Ajax like you would with loading a complete web page. A beginner may reserve using POST requests for the few instances where they do need to pass more information that the GET method allows. The best solution when you have lots of data to pass like that is to make multiple Ajax calls passing a few pieces of information at a time. If you are going to pass huge amounts of data all in the one Ajax call, you would probably be better off simply reloading the entire page since there will be no significant difference in the processing time when huge amounts of data are involved. So, if the amount of data to be passed isnt a good reason for choosing between GET and POST, then what should we use to decide? These two methods were in fact set up for entirely different purposes, and the differences between how they work are in part due to the difference in what they are intended to be used for. This not only applies to using GET and POST from Ajax but really anywhere these methods might be employed. The Purpose of GET and POST GET is used as the name implies: to get information. its intended to be used when you are reading information. Browsers will cache the result from a GET request and if the same GET request is made again, they will display the cached result rather than re-running the entire request. This is not a flaw in the browser processing; its deliberately designed to work that way so as to make GET calls more efficient. A GET call is just retrieving the information; its not meant to change any information on the server, which is why requesting the data again should return the same results. The POST method is for posting or updating information on the server. This type of call is expected to change the data, which is why the results returned from two identical POST calls may very well be completely different from one another. The initial values before the second POST call will be different from the values before the first because the initial call will have updated at least some of those values. A POST call will therefore always obtain the response from the server rather than keep a cached copy of the prior response. How to Choose GET or POST Instead of choosing between GET and POST based on the amount of data you are passing in your Ajax call, you should choose based on what the Ajax call is actually doing. If the call is to retrieve data from the server, then use GET. If the value to be retrieved is expected to vary over time as a result of other processes updating it, add a current time parameter to what you are passing in your GET call so that the later calls will not use an earlier cached copy of the result that is no longer correct. Use POST if your call is going to write any data at all to the server. In fact, you should not only use this criterion for selecting between GET and POST for your Ajax calls but also for when selecting which should be used for processing forms on your web page.

The Nature of Love According to A Midsummer Nights Dream essays

The Nature of Love According to A Midsummer Nights Dream essays According to a Midsummer Nights Dream, love is something that can transform. It is not visible, and it is hidden. True love becomes questioned after you read this play: What does true love really mean? Is there more than one person that is your true love? If not or even if there is, what is the relationship? This play encourages people to believe that love is changeable and that you are not made to fall in love with just one person. The way the pairs of lovers all interacted together proves that love really is blind. A Midsummer Nights Dream suggests that love is not constant and is changeable. An example that is used to demonstrate this is when Demetrius and Lysander are in love with both Hermia and Helena at different times. At first, Demetrius and Lysander are in love with Hermia, and Helena is in love with Demetrius. A spell is put on them both to fall in love with Helena. At the end of the play, Lysander stays with Hermia and Demetrius is with Helena. Even though a spell was put on them, this is the proof that love may change and not stay constant. Love is small and undistinguishable, like far-off mountains turned into clouds; it can constantly move and change and often hard to notice, which leads to the second concept that is introduced in this play. A Midsummer Nights Dream also proposes that we are not made to fall in love with one person. It provides the people who are reading or listening to the play to believe that there is always a possibility to have another relationship where love is involved. An example of this is the two pairs of court lovers. Demetrius and Lysander seem to be in love with Hermia. However, at a different period of time they fall in love with Helena. But at the end, Demetrius says To her, my lord, was I berothed ere I saw Hermia. But like a sickness, did I loathe this food; But, as in health, come to my natural taste, now I do w...

Secondary prevention in coronary heart disease (CHD) Essay

Secondary prevention in coronary heart disease (CHD) - Essay Example A health survey done in England in 2006 suggests that the prevalence of CHD in men was 6.5 percent and in women was only 4 percent; however, these rates are increasing with age (British Heart Foundation Statistics Website, 2010). In Scotland, the prevalence of CHD is much higher with percentage rate of 4.6 than the 4.3 percent reported cases in Wales and 3.5 percent in England (British Heart Foundation Statistics Website, 2010). From the aforementioned data, it can be observed that the variation of prevalence of CHD is wide within the United Kingdom. On the other hand, the prevalence of CHD in England alone ranges from 2.3 percent in London to 4.9 in North East of England. In Scotland only, the prevalence rate of CHD is higher compared to that in England where 3.9 percent cases were observed in Lothian and Orkney and 8.4 percent in Shetland (British Heart Foundation Statistics Website, 2010). The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (2007) noted that death rate from CHD in the UK is more than 103,000 deaths per year and considered to be one of the highest in Europe, and this rate varies with age, gender, socio – economic status, ethnicity and geographic location in the UK. Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (2007) and the British Heart Foundation (2008) noted that various types of aetiology with a number of potentially modifiable risk factors are identified with cardiovascular diseases. These are: Among the aforementioned risk factors of acquiring CHD and peripheral vascular disease, smoking is believed to be the principal risk factor causing it. During the increasing myocardial demand, smoking have shown to be associated with impaired coronary blood flow responses, and in patients having coronary artery diseases, smoking is noted to contribute to myocardial ischemia. Libby and Theroux (2005) and Leon 2009 stated that atherogenesis, which is considered to be the most important cause and the underlying foundation of coronary heart

Visual Communication Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Visual Communication - Research Paper Example Sandro was born Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, but his name Alessandro later shortened to Sandro. He also adapted the nickname of his brother; Botticelli which meant little barrel (Mattern 8). Sandro defied the norm of drawing sculptures that depicted existence and had aspects of life in them. Instead, he focused on drawing works of art of different and flat nature. He later began painting works that were religiously motivated after being hired by an influential man to assist in his drawing and painting (Mattern 23). This opportunity was like a breakthrough for Sandro since he ended up drawing pictures for several churches in Florence. Consequently, this marketed him widely since many people became aware of his existence, as well as his works of art (Sterling 9). He developed and nurtured his skills in art when he started making paintings, and for quite sometime worked with a Florentine artist who guided him through the art of mixing paints (Mattern 25). The artist, FraFili ppo Lippi was the one who taught Sandro the art of mixing paints. FraFilippo also taught Sandro the best possible way of bringing in varied compositions and paintings to the perspective that people would appreciate. Discussion The Mystic Nativity is a work of art that was created by Sandro Botticelli during his years as an artist. This piece of art is considered one of his very many ingenious compositions. As a matter of fact, it is the only piece of art among his several creations that he signed his name on; to indicate and mark it as his piece. The Mystic Nativity painting was created by Sandro in 1500C. This was the period during monk Girolamo Savonarola preaching’s. Botticelli was extremely motivated by the monk’s preaching; thus, becoming his ardent supporter (Sterling 56). This contributed to the pieces of art that he produced. It is worth noting that Sandro created this work of art with oil in canvas after attending one of the sessions of monk Savonarola’ s preaching. The Mystic Nativity was seen as a response to one of Savonarola’s preaching. The Mystic Nativity piece by Sandro Botticelli is housed at the National Gallery in London. It also from another view considered to portray the struggle and sufferings that the people of Italy were facing as at that time. As is illustrated in the translations of the statements written on top of the painting, Sandro reveals that the painting was made during a time that Italy was facing some troubles. (Kren and Marx) asserts that Sandro made this painting towards the end of the year 1500 when Italy was facing difficulties. This period was half the time after the period indicated in chapter eleven of the book of Saint John in the second desperation of the Apocalypse after the loss of the devil for a period of three and a half years. This shows that his art was infact meant to document the suffering faced by the pilgims in their struggles during the religious war periods. It is an art work t hat he created and designed to bring out the different moods. This is attributed to the fact that people use the painting to demonstrate celebration, happiness and joy in togetherness. This is mainly seen with people who use it on Christmas cards, during the period of jubilation for Christian believers celebrating the birth of Christ (Sterling 35). Sandro Botticelli had other works of art that were mostly motivated

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness Essay - 13

Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that the evaluation of strategic management frameworks and the identification of guidelines to highlight the degree of a firm’s strategic competitiveness have emerged as critical factors in assessing the future of the business with regards to the development of its corporate objectives and functioning in the long run. In a highly competitive business environment which is characterized by the growing influence of technology and a rise in globalization, value creation is a major consideration for firms which aim to transcend the influence of competitive forces. Considering this factor, the concept of strategic competitiveness can be applied to explore the issue as it focuses on the implementation of strategies for aiding the creation of value. The implications of strategic decision making are far-reaching such that the senior management must be able to demonstrate skills in prioritizing strategy and accordingly applying it to a given s cenario. By applying the example of Wal-Mart Stores, which is one of the leading retailers and public companies across the globe, this discussion focuses on understanding the impact of strategic guidelines on a business of such scale. The influence of globalization as identified within the context of a large-scale firm such as Wal-Mart is essentially linked with the understanding of how the application of the concept impacts the decision that a firm takes. Accordingly, the exploration of this concept involves examining the decision making and objectives of the company. As highlighted in the research conducted by Lavallee and Boyer, the influence and power of globalization with respect to Wal-Mart possesses the ability to shape external forces and define their impact on subsequent decisions.

Write up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Write up - Essay Example The focus of the company was to provide an end-to-end package of medical device contract manufacturing services. MDCM was renowned for its ability to produce highly customized versions for unique applications of specialized equipment, self designed and fabricated, used in the assembly of medical devices. MDCM is one of the largest companies in the contract manufacturing and packaging services sector of the medical devices industry. The firm’s success can highly be attributed to its close partnership with its customers that had produced tremendous customer satisfaction. MDCM’s record of winning over customers have led to its tremendous growth which allowed the company to expand and grow its geographical reach through acquisition within the country and now the company derived 40% of its revenues from eight of its largest accounts. Today despite the victory the company has achieved over the past decades, the evolving and unpredictability and high level competency in the global market, the company had announced its fifth consecutive quarterly loss with net losses amounting to thirty three million dollars. Despite the acquisition and expansion the company was not able to catch up to the global capabilities of other competitors that called for changes in growth strategy. The expansions and acquisitions could not be realized since the company has let these companies operate on their own believing that by letting these acquired companies operate on the basis of self autonomy to better cater to the local customers. Thus there was no unified system for the global MDCM Corporation that would have let it operated under one system of standard operations and procedures leading to a worst operating and profit margins. There was poor coordination since the all other companies under the corporation operates independently th at led to poorly controlled unified operations. The MDCM Inc. falls under the quadrant, responsive

Explain why the historical cost principle is used to account for Essay

Explain why the historical cost principle is used to account for long-lived assets and how the cost basis is determined. Discuss - Essay Example The GAAP mainly relies on consistency of data conveyed by business financial records. Since historical methods does not depend on the speculated market prices, rather a real transaction that occurred, the cost is regarded as most reliable. For this reason, the historical cost principle is best used for reporting long-lived assets. It is the best method for reporting assets whose disposal may not be done in the near future. Examples of these assets include land, buildings, fixture, equipment and natural resources such as mineral deposits, oil wells and timber tracks. Under the historical cost principle, assets are recorded at acquisition cost as indicated on the balance sheet. In accounting for purchases of long-term assets, interest expense is subtracted from the original cost or cost of acquisition. The book value of long-term assets can be calculated by getting the accumulated depreciation subtracted from acquisition cost. To estimate an asset’s useful life, important variab les such as acquisition cost, depreciation expense per year and salvage value should be determined. The following methods are used to estimate asset’s useful life; straight-line depreciation method, production method and double (declining) methods. Useful life can then be calculated as follows: Asset impairment Asset impairment refers to an abrupt deterioration in the usefulness of a long-term asset often caused by damage effects on the asset, obsolescence due to the ever-changing technology or a change in the county’s laws prohibiting the use of an asset. It occurs when the future benefit of an asset known as market value is below the recorded book value (cost-accumulated depreciation). When impairment occurs, the current market value of the asset should be written down and a loss recognized. First, long-lived assets are selected for purposes of performing impairment testing as well as establishing the net book value. Secondly, determine the level of impairment by fin ding the total undiscounted cash flows expected from the selected assets. The net book and the undiscounted cash flow figures are then compared with intent of establishing which of the values have higher figures. If the net book value is higher than the undiscounted cash flow value, then the amount of variance is determined and recorded. Common Asset Depreciation Methods Depreciation refers to two main concepts; i. Diminished value of assets also called fair value This principle or concept has an impact on the balance sheet of a firm or a business entity. ii. Depreciation with corresponding principle, which is the allocation of the asset cost to periods upon which that particular asset is in use. This affects the net gain of reported assets. It is worth noting that when computing depreciation using a particular method, the cost of an asset is allocated to that period the use of an asset covers or is used. The expense is vital for purposes of financial reporting and taxation. In choo sing a suitable method of computing depreciation, value of assets, the type and periods upon which the asset is used is important. These computing methods are specified in laws and statutes or accounting standards that vary from one country to another. It is important to note that some depreciation computing methods exists, but the common methods include; fixed percentage depreciation method, straight-line computing method and declining balance. It is also

Write up Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Write up - Essay Example The focus of the company was to provide an end-to-end package of medical device contract manufacturing services. MDCM was renowned for its ability to produce highly customized versions for unique applications of specialized equipment, self designed and fabricated, used in the assembly of medical devices. MDCM is one of the largest companies in the contract manufacturing and packaging services sector of the medical devices industry. The firm’s success can highly be attributed to its close partnership with its customers that had produced tremendous customer satisfaction. MDCM’s record of winning over customers have led to its tremendous growth which allowed the company to expand and grow its geographical reach through acquisition within the country and now the company derived 40% of its revenues from eight of its largest accounts. Today despite the victory the company has achieved over the past decades, the evolving and unpredictability and high level competency in the global market, the company had announced its fifth consecutive quarterly loss with net losses amounting to thirty three million dollars. Despite the acquisition and expansion the company was not able to catch up to the global capabilities of other competitors that called for changes in growth strategy. The expansions and acquisitions could not be realized since the company has let these companies operate on their own believing that by letting these acquired companies operate on the basis of self autonomy to better cater to the local customers. Thus there was no unified system for the global MDCM Corporation that would have let it operated under one system of standard operations and procedures leading to a worst operating and profit margins. There was poor coordination since the all other companies under the corporation operates independently th at led to poorly controlled unified operations. The MDCM Inc. falls under the quadrant, responsive

English people versus American people Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

English people versus American people - Essay Example The United States is made up of many sub cultures and values within sub cultures vary from region to region which is not true in the case of Britain. The British hold a more conservative approach to their lifestyles and a common set of values prevails over the entire country making it and its people less receptive to outsiders and alien ideas. Furthermore, the British also have a more conservative immigration policy for outsiders to come to the country either to visit or settle with the natives of the land. On the contrary, America has shown more flexibility to its naturalization process and immigration is actually supported by the system- making it a land of opportunity for all. Moreover, people in Britain are linked with their heritage and location as where they are from and where their ancestors have been linked to. This creates a strong internal discrimination among themselves and has developed a class system within the country. Anywere starting from linkage to the royalty to the lords of the land, people feel pride in their heritage to an extent where hey actually discriminate their values over others living within the country and not belonging to the same level or maybe higher to their lineage (Denning, 1996). Equality among people in Britain has suffered where no two classes are treated equally between the circles and this difference is clearly visible when comparing the labour over different industries. A coal miner does not get the same respect as a restaurant waiter. A manager in a big corporation feels and shows his elevated grace to a manager in a small firm. In the contrast, the American system of the society, though may at times be unjust, but is more liberal in the concept of equality (Christopher, 1999). Human Rights are made into laws and discrimination is discouraged by implementing legislations that enact to support equality and discourage gender or race discrimination. With equality of

College Success Essay Example for Free

College Success Essay Some people may think that, the most un-responsible person can become a successful college student in today world; but without personal responsibility you have no self-meaning because everyone is responsible for the actions and decisions they make. Personal responsibility to me is the first step in becoming successful and without personal responsibility you are setting yourself up for failure in college and life. Lorii (2013) once said that; The power behind taking responsibility for your actions lies in putting an end to negative thought patterns. You no longer dwell on what went wrong or focus on whom you are going to blame. You dont waste time building roadblocks to your success. Instead, you are set free and can now focus on succeeding. (p . 1) Personal obligation, relates to study skills, is taking charge of one’s own learning. It implies completing assignments on time, studying for tests, taking the responsibility for one’s own learning mistakes or failures, and performing to the best of one’s ability. Personal responsibility recognizes the importance of parents and teachers as learning partners but puts the student in charge. (Personal responsibility, n. d). Without personal responsibility you will not have success. Becoming a successful college student, there are many personal responsibilities that you have to be accountable for. If you are not a responsible student in college, you are not going to be successful. The most important responsibility is attendance. If you do not show up to class , you are missing out on important information that is discussed in the class and now you have to take on an extra responsibility of finding out what went on in class and when you are going to find time to make up the work. After being responsible for attendance, now you have to be responsible for completing your work, and then participation. As you can see personal responsibility and being a successful college student comes hand to hand. That is why you have to have personal responsibility and be liable for them to become successful in life. Devoid of personal responsibility you are setting yourself up for failure. he Personal responsibility (n. d) website stated that; † being responsible is a learned behavior. It is not an accident and it requires patience and effort. If you want to be more responsible and practice the skills that will help you, you can become more responsible† There are a lot of things that can be referred to as personal responsibility. For example a plan is a part of personal responsibility. It is you responsibility to make a plan for yourself regarding things you want to accomplish in life. No one else is going to take time out of their day or go out of their way to make a plan for you on how to become successful in college or while looking for a job, while they have their own personal responsibilities to handle. As a college student I want to be successful, so in order for me to be successful I came up with not only 1 plan but 2 plans that can back me up just in case one fails. My plans for becoming successful as a college student include my duties as I am being personally responsible. Some of those duties include; planning certain days and times I would be able to complete school work, study times, and major projects. My plan also includes planning ahead, doing assignments or overlooking assignments before they are due so that I know which ones I should work on first depending on which assignment I find more challenging. My second plan just includes my second approach to finding time in my schedule to do my work and to find time to study. Another one of my plans is making a schedule of things I have to complete when I’m not in school. These tasks are important to complete on time because if I am backed up in my personal life, then I would be backed up in my school work as well. Personal responsibility is so important for anyone who wants to be successful because without it you would be lost and confused this is why I say without personal responsibility you are setting yourself up for failure. In conclusion, although some people may think that, the most irresponsible person can become a successful college student in today’s world, without personal responsibility for two main reasons. First, lacking personal responsibility you are setting yourself up for failure. Furthermost importantly, everyone is responsible for the actions and decisions they make. Personal responsibility to me is the first step in becoming successful college student. What kind of introduction did you write for your expository essay? What other types of introductions might be appropriate for this kind of essay? What makes your introduction type more effective than another introduction type for your particular essay? What kind of conclusion did you write for your expository essay? What other types of conclusions might be appropriate for this kind of essay? What makes your conclusion type more effective than another conclusion type for your particular essay? The type of introduction I used to write for my expository essay was a quotation introduction. I could have also started my essay with a question or fact. The reason I chose this type of introduction was because I feel that an interesting quote would grab the reader attention and make them wonder where I am going with this essay. The type of conclusion that I picked to finish my essay was a simple summary of my main points. I could have ended my essay with more facts or questions to give the reader something to think about. The reason for me choosing a summary conclusion was because I felt that I had enough information in my essay for the reader to take away and to think twice about my main points and facts. I did not want to add any more information at the end because then I would have to provide evidence, which would turn my conclusion into another body paragraph.

Effect Of Facebook On Academic Performance

Effect Of Facebook On Academic Performance THE IMPACT OF FACEBOOK ON STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INTRODUCTION Facebook is dominate potential –places among youth specially students. Most of students are spending more time in using Facebook which is lead to impact time spending in education. This research is going to study whether Facebook impact on students’ performance or not in SLIATE. The SLIATE (Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education) is one of the leading educational institutions in Sri Lanka for higher education and is a statutory body coming under the purview of Higher Education Division, Ministry of Education. SLIATE has been established by the Parliament Act 29 of 1995 focusing on fostering Advanced Technical Education at a post-secondary level and its head is Director General appointed by the cabinet. It is mandated to establish Advanced Technical Institute (ATI) in every province for both Engineering and Business Studies. (http://www.sliate.net/about.htm) BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY Nowadays most of peoples use Facebook to make social network among people all over the world. And students also spending most of their time on such social media called Facebook. Facebook.com (Facebook), the most popular and commonly used online social network Web site, has created passion among college students in modern years. College students are become very interest in online social networking. â€Å"Online social network sites such as Facebook work as an important entertainment for undergraduates. Facebook, the most popular social network site, was specifically designed for undergraduates and is the most commonly used. Therefore, time spent on Facebook may affect academic performance. For example, time spent on Facebook may directly affect and/or reasonable the students’ academic performance. OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY The ultimate purpose of this study is going to examine the use of Facebook weather it is impact on students’ academic performance or not. The core research question of this survey is: what is the effect of online social networking site, Facebook, having on students’ academic performance (Examination Marks)? In other words does time spending (access) every day on Facebook have a significant impact on academic performance (Examination Marks)? In addition to that this survey going to test do Sex, age and status of the student impact on academic performance on them? SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The college classroom is used to delivering the product (student education) of the college. The objective of education is to have students learn and succeed. Thus, it is important to know and understand how student use of online social network sites (i.e. Facebook) affects academic success. Therefore, a critical examination of the impact of Facebook on academic performance is very essential. This useful presentation to help students, lecturer, teachers and academic leaders. Students, specially, can get better understand the consequences of Facebook site use on educational performance. Lecturer, teachers and academic leaders can get valued understanding and information about the relationship between the students time spend on Facebook and how it affects students’ academic performance. Also, academicians can be get well prepared to guide and mentor students regarding the negative impacts of Facebook sites on their academic performance. METHODOLOGY This research is designed to test the impact of using Facebook on student academic success and performance in their exam. Research can explain through the collection of numerical data, which is then analyzed using computerized statistical package. With survey research, I can select a group of respondents, collect data, and analyze the data to answer the research question. I have collected quantitative as well as qualitative data from a sample using questionnaire technique. This research is an appropriate investigation tool for making generalized interpretations about a large group of people based on data collected from a smaller number of individuals from that group. POPULATION AND SAMPLE The population for this study is Higher National Diploma 2009 Batch students of SLIATE, Kandy. The students’ academic performance is evaluated through final marks taken by students in Strategic Financial Management. The independent variable is use of Facebook every day. This data was taken from the respective student through small questioner during the class. Furthermore some demographic data also have been collected such as: gender, age, and student status weather full time or part time. They described the sample characteristics. The student (sample) selected the answers from the survey that best described them. DATA ANALYSIS I used SPSS 16.0 to perform the statistical analysis. Basic frequency analyses were conducted using demographic information. The questions were analyzed using descriptive statistical analyzing techniques. Descriptive statistics was another statistical technique which is used in this study to define the mean, minimum value, maximum value, and standard deviation for all the demographic variables. SPSS is presented in tables and charts. Most importantly the core research question’s answer is tested by using Independent Samples Test and ANOVA test also is performed as statistical technique. I used this technique to find the impact of using (spending time every day) Facebook on student’s performance, by comparing means marks between student’s who are spending time on Facebook and who are not. So I used SPSS 16.0 to analyze statistic and interpret the result. This study is intended to bring attention to and awareness of the impact of using Facebook on students’ academic performance. FINDINGS This section is presents the output generated by SPSS 16 from data collected for survey. Table 1 represents the total number of respondents included in the sample of 106 students. Among them 45 students are spending time on Facebook every day which represent 42.5%. But 61 students (57.5%) are not spending time on Facebook every day. Table 2 represents the status of the students such as whether full time or Part time students. 43 students are engaging in Full Time and 63 students are engaged in part time course. Table 3 represents the total sample consist of 64 students are female (60.4%) and 42 students are male (39.6%). Table 4 represents the age group of the sample. 68% of the sample students represents the age group of 25 Years. 15.1 % of students in 26 years age group. Other age groups are approximately similar to 10%. Table 5 represents summary of respondents. 11 female and 10 male Fulltime students, and 16 female and 8 Male part-time students are spending time on Facebook every day. But 11 female and 11 male Fulltime students, and 26 female and 13 Male part-time students are not spending time on Facebook every day. Table: 6 represents the descriptive statistics of the sample with a variable of Facebook usage on student’s performance which is represented by Marks. The students mean marks those who are spending time on Facebook is 77.36. At 95% confidence level the mean marks of the student’s lies between 74.52 to 80.19 marks. But there is a 5% change to the mean marks not lies within the range. And the standard deviation of marks is 9.432, median is 78.00, normal distribution is negatively skewed to left at -.592. The students mean marks those who are not spending time on Facebook is 77.93. At 95% confidence level the mean marks of the students lies Between 75.96 to 79.91. But there is a 5% change to the mean marks is not lies in the range. And the standard deviation of marks is 7.726. , median is 78.00, normal distribution is negatively skewed to left at -.276. Tests of Normality H0: Student’s marks are normally distributed H1: Student’s marks are not normally distributed The Tests of Normality are shown in the table 7. Here two tests for normality. For dataset small than 2000 elements, we use the Shapiro-Wilk test, otherwise, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is used. In our case, since we have only 106 elements, the Shapiro-Wilk test is used. From the table Group Yes p-value is .040 and Group No p value is .294. So in group yes, we can reject null hypothesis and we can conclude that the data comes is not normal distribution. But in case of Group No, We cannot reject the null hypothesis and conclude that the data comes from a normal distribution. However when analyze the Normal Q-Q plot of marks in Figure: 1 Group yes is approximately normally distributed. So we can assume that data are normally distributed to use the independent sample test. Figure: 1 Figure: 2 Figure: 3 Statistical Hypothesis H0: Student’s marks of two groups are equal ( µ= µ) H1: Student’s marks of two groups are not equal ( µÃ¢â€°  Ã‚ µ) Research Hypothesis H0: Use of Facebook is not significantly affect the students’ performance H1: Use of Facebook is significantly affect the students’ performance This table 8, represents the results of the independent-samples t-test. The Levene’s results had an F-statistic of 1.844 with a significance value (P) of 0.177. Because, P > ÃŽ ± (0.177 > .05), the two variables has statistically equal variance distributions. Therefore, we can use the first row of t-test information to determine if the two group mean marks are statistically different from each other. The t-statistic value is -0.347. The degrees of freedom is 104. The 2-tailed significance value is 0.729. The difference between the means of two group is -0.579 and the standard error of this difference is 1.668. The 95% confidence interval of the difference ranged from -3.887 to 2.729. Because P > ÃŽ ± (0.729> 0.05), we cannot reject null hypothesis i.e. there is no significant evidence that two groups students’ average marks are different, so we can come to the conclusion that use of Facebook is not significantly impact on students’ performance. Research Hypothesis H0: Sex not significantly affect the students’ performance ( µ= µ) H1: Sex is significantly affect the students’ performance ( µÃ¢â€°  Ã‚ µ) The Levene’s results had an F-statistic of 5.194 with a significance value (P) of 0.025. Because, P < ÃŽ ± (0.025 ÃŽ ± (0.627> 0.05), we cannot reject null hypothesis, so we can come to the conclusion that the average marks is statistically not significantly different in sex of students. So sex of the students are not impact on students’ performance. Research Hypothesis H0: use of Facebook is not significantly affect the students’ performance ( µ= µ) H1: use of Facebook is significantly affect the students’ performance ( µÃ¢â€°  Ã‚ µ) Table 11 represents the results of the independent-samples t-test. The Levene’s results had an F-statistic of 0.023 with a significance value (P) of 0.879. Because, P > ÃŽ ± (0. 879 > .05), the two variables has statistically equal variance distributions. Therefore, we can use the first row of t-test information to determine if the two group mean marks are statistically different from each other. The t-statistic value is -0.154. The degrees of freedom is 104. The 2-tailed significance value is 0. 878. The difference between the means of two group is -0.259 and the standard error of this difference is 1.668. At 95% confidence interval difference ranged from -3.591to 3.073.because P > ÃŽ ± (0 .878> 0.05), we cannot reject null hypothesis, so we can come to the conclusion that the average marks of the two group (Full time and Part Time) of students are statistically not significantly different. In other words student’s status is not impact on student’s performance. Research Hypothesis H0: Age is not significantly affect the students’ performance ( µ= µ) H1: Age is significantly affect the students’ performance ( µÃ¢â€°  Ã‚ µ) Table 12 is represent ANOVA output. Which is used to compare mean differnces between age groups of the sample. The F-statistic is 0.753, The Sig value is 0.523.P > ÃŽ ± (0.523> 0.05), we cannot reject null hypothesis i.e there is no significant evidence to reject that age of students’ average marks are different, so we can come to the conclusion that the average marks of students’ age are statistically not significantly different. So student’s age is not impact on students’ performance. OVERALL CONCLUSION The use of Facebook is statistically not impact of student’s performance. Even sex, Age, or Status also statistically not impact on students’ performance. LIMITATIONS The selected variables are not significantly impact on students’ performance. To know what are the factors are affecting students’ performance, we have to include more variable in addition to this variable and include more samples into the survey. The potential limitation of this study is that the participants are sampled from only one insti

Essay --

Zachary Voss March 11, 2014 Research Paper Nelson Mandela was a man before his time who fought for others’ rights, believing that all people should be treated equally. He grew up seeing injustice throughout the country he lived in and dedicated his life to making sure people received the rights deserved. Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in Mueso Transkei, South Africa and lived along the banks of the Mbashe River. He was given Rolihlahla as his birth name which meant â€Å"trouble maker†. His father was Chief Gadla Henry Mphakayisa until he lost his chieftainship when he failed to appear before the local British judge. This was the first example that the chief was not going to be governed by the laws of England. As a result the family lost everything, became poor and so Nelson and his mother, Nosekeni Fanny, had to move to a different village. Mandela was nine years old when his father died of tuberculosis. Fortunately, Chief Jongintab Dalindyebo became his guardian, helping to raise him with his own children. Growing up Nelson occupied his time with riding horses, shooting birds with slingshots, dancing, singing, reading and herding sheep. Nelson became the first in his family to go to school in 1925. It was his teacher who actually gave him his English name, â€Å"Nelson†. At the age of sixteen he attended Clarkebury Boarding Institute, a mission school, where he completed his junior certification in two years instead of three. In 1936 at the age of nineteen, he left to study British History at Healdtown Methodist Boarding School, a high school. Over 1,000 students attended, both white black, but all remained separated. In his last year at Healdtown, a poet, Krune Mqhayi, visited the school and his words were memorable to Ma... ...ambda Legov. In December 1996, Mandela publicized a constitution that contained clear protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation. As a result Mandela appointed a gay judge to South Africa’s High Court of Appeal – Justice Edwin Cameron. As a result of his accomplishments, Nelson Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, the Jawaharlal Nehru Award in 1980, and became an inspiration to millions across the world. Nelson Mandela was a courageous and heroic person who was an inspiration to many. Although Mandela had a difficult childhood, he went on to attend college and became knowledgeable in politics and law. Mandela saw how the people of Africa struggled for their freedom and their rights, and became an activist in the fight for their independence. He will forever be known for his equality, justice and promoting peace among all people.

Uranus Essay -- essays research papers

The bland aquamarine face of Uranus bears witness to the fact that Uranus is enshrouded in clouds. The planet appears to be blue-green because the atmosphere absorbs the, red wavelengths of the visible spectrum, . The uniformity of the planet's appearance confirms that the planet's atmosphere is composed almost solely of one element, methane gas. There is a preponderance of haze, composed of ethane and other hydrocarbon ices high in the stratosphere, and clouds of methane ice low in the troposphere. The cloud particles constantly recycle themselves, first creating then destroying the heaviest crystals. This is an indication that Uranus' atmosphere is still evolving from its formation out of the solar nebula. Because Uranus lies on its side, Uranus has very strange seasons. Motions in the cloud patterns indicate that, like Jupiter and Saturn, the basic meteorology of Uranus can be described as a striped pattern of winds. This means that, even though the pattern is difficult to distin quish, Uranus is striped, just like Jupiter and Saturn. Uranus has 21 fascinating moons and a complicated ring system. The ring system is a completely different form of ring system than that found at Saturn or Jupiter. At Uranus there is even a very obvious partial ring, or "ring arc". Many moons are icy moons with fascinating surface features. These icy moons have neither an atmosphere nor a magnetosphere, and there is not much possibility for life. The surfaces of these moons indic...

Debate the proposition that employers are more concerned with controlling employee behaviour than they are with eliciting employee commitment. Essay

It can be said that employers have become increasingly concentrated towards controlling employee’s behaviour than endeavouring to attain employee commitment in organisations. Control can be defined as â€Å"To exercise authoritative or dominating influence over† . However this can become controversial when applied to working with people therefore as a countermeasure commitment has been introduced to even the balance. This can be defined as â€Å"a combination of commitment to the organisation and its values and a willingness to help out colleagues (organisational citizenship). It goes beyond job satisfaction and is not simply motivation. Engagement is something the employee has to offer: it cannot be ‘required’ as part of the employment contract. Commitment is therefore intrinsic to the individual employee and difficult to measure what exactly makes each one motivated therefore control should be utilised to a greater extent. This shift to controlling employees rather than endeavouring to ensure that they are committed has led to a majority of staff feeling undervalued and therefore unable to achieve their potential in the workplace. A study has shown that controlling employees has led to a drop in productivity due to the fact that a 26% or three quarters of staff members, feel that they are being manipulated rather than being utilised to their potential . Therefore, this illustrates that companies are now shifting towards compliance from their employees to follow Manager’s directives in lieu of commitment that is attained through the use of de-centralised management e.g. Matrix structures. However if companies therefore wish to therefore use centralised management the possibility for employee commitment is therefore limited. Matrix structures do have the effect of improving commitment as they include no hierarchy and equal standing by those in them however they must be monitored to ensure that they are still effective and not misused  for their less stringent management style and that some structures favoured over others . McGregor’s (1960) XY theory is a method to illustrate the management style of an organisation to determine whether it favours control or commitment from its workforce. Employee behaviour which is heavily controlled follows the pattern of Theory X, as opposed to the Theory Y which is intended to generate employee commitment. Theory X favours that managers exercise control and directed to achieve the organisational objectives with little flexibility for employees to use their initiative, whereas Theory Y believes that commitment to objectives is a function of the rewards associated with their achievements . Theory X managers have somewhat receded however employees are still being controlled under the assumption that businesses are using commitment methods for example flexible working practises and appraisals which will be discussed later. Commitment is intrinsic which requires more resources, however control is external and can be done more effectively than commitment. See appendix one for a model of McGregor’s theory. To control employee behaviour a number of measures have been utilised in the office environment that have enabled them to be observed by managers and recorded in order to monitor them while they are on the premises. By installing these devices it motivates the employee to work as they are constantly being monitored and therefore provides a sense of motivation for them to work as signs of slacking/unauthorised absence are recorded and used as evidence to support that fact . CCTV has evolved in recent years for businesses. Before, it was used as a common security device for the building, now, it has become a performance tool for mangers in which as a further measure to control their staff. This is done by highlighting those employees who are slacking to ensuring that proper procedure is being adhered to while on the premises. . This constant monitoring can have the effect of de-moralising employees as their every move in the workplace is being scrutinised. Job commitment however relegates CCTV to its previous function of security as management entrust employees to do their jobs, but now that CCTV has been turned in towards employees it is evident that control measures are being used instead of trying to create commitment. Yet CCTV is but one way of retaining control of staff in the workplace. For  instance, in McDonalds through the use of CCTV cameras, productivity has increased through unobtrusive CCTV coverage of workers and customers . An additional method which a business can use technology to monitor employees is the practice of electronic â€Å"clocking in† systems. These devices have been implemented in large businesses that employ a multitude of staff in which individual movement of employees can be difficult to trace. A business which has done this exactly this is Poundworld in which employees are electronically scanned into at the start of a shift and have the consequence of deduced salary if this process has been neglected . As a method of control, these devices can monitor exactly when an employee has begun their shift or when they have returned from their breaks etc. to ensure that they begin work at the proper time. This also ensures proper records can be maintained should any discrepancy arise regarding timekeeping. However this monitoring of movement may hamper employee commitment as they are constantly being recorded while on the premises for timekeeping plus they can feel dis-trusted by management as they are being constantly monitored for when they started their shift. Employers have minutely contributed to employee commitment with the use of Job Design which has been utilised to effect in certain companies such as Microsoft who use elements like job share to encourage employees in their roles Job Design is when the duties and the role of an employees’ position have been analysed and decided by management before they are employed or amending parts of an employees’ position while they are employed. Job Design permits an input from employees into their role of the organisation as they collaborate with management in which their position is defined. A further example of stimulating commitment with job design is when employees and employers discuss characteristics of the position that would suit the employee’s capabilities which in turn increases their motivation as the employers are permitting staff an input into designing their responsibilities in the job. However, employers have the opportunity to use job design to influence control of over their staff with the use techniques such as job expansion and job rotation with allow them to amend or add additional workload to their job which may not be to the employees benefit.  Furthermore, an employer has the ability to change the job design of staff to suit their requirements over employees depending on the situation without any input from employees. By way of strategically/tactically controlling their staff, management are employing the use of Management by Objectives for all members of staff to analyse if targets or goals are being met. This can be defined as â€Å"A methods of management whereby managers and employees define goals for each department, project, and person and use them to monitor subsequent performance† . Controlling behaviour is being used here as management are attaining the utmost effectiveness from a particular member of staff or individual department as their desired goals are measured against their actual goals and analyse if they have been accomplished. However commitment is being given to the staff/department as the decisions to how they achieve their stated goals has been de-centralised for them to decide. As technology has increased to such an extent, a business can take advantage of employing staff that do not have to work in the office environment through the use of flexible working contracts and providing them with equipment to work off-site. These contracts enable a business to offer their employees who are unable to travel or who have other commitment so actively continue working but in the confines of their own home or on the go by the use of a laptop or mobile phones. As employees are away from the office, a main disadvantage is that their working pattern cannot be monitored to ensure that they are actually fulfilling their tasks. As controlling behaviour has become more prevalent to management, software has be embedded to the technology issued to these homeworkers e.g. tracker and keystroke logs to monitor the use of laptops and phones during the day. For example, Freedom Direct, a holiday company offers such flexible contracts and issues those involved with hardware embedded with this surveillance software to safeguard against slacking while away from the eyes of management . However some companies now prefer to control their employees from one central organisation. For example Yahoo managing director has decided to ban employees from using home working to â€Å"build on corporate culture† however this has damaged commitment as many employees have been demoralised by this  decision that may affect their future in the company. . Furthermore, to bolster the claim of controlling employees, this ban on flexible practises was instigated after an investigation of employee logs showed it fell below the standard expected for their employees and therefore cut this form of employment from the organisation. . This therefore illustrates that electronic devices provided by organisation are monitored to ensure that duties are conducted. Employee commitment is therefore given an opportunity by senior management by permitting a group of employees to work away from the office on these contracts who might not have the opportunity to do so. This increases motivation and job satisfaction to the company as they would not lose any valuable staff plus have the ability to monitor these employees away from the office with the tracker software to monitor their actions during the working day. Control is again utilised as these employees are monitored no less than their counterparts in the office and are monitored with the identical software. Control has been favoured in organisations as those with the authority to make decisions in their department must to be held to account for those decisions should they prove to be incorrect. Accountability can be defined as â€Å"the fact that those people with authority and responsibility are subject to reporting and justifying task outcomes to those above them in the chain of command† . By having a clear and define line of authority from the managing director to the clerk, it is possible to identify who should be held to account and therefore justify their decisions should they prove them to be incorrect or disastrous. This can be de-moralising as these targets are not negotiable and therefore must be achieve which adds an element of stress. Managers often therefore are hesitant to issue instructions in which they know are difficult to achieve, yet this can bolster commitment within the company as employees, if informed, that these tasks are of some difficulty may strive to attain them to receive the department recognition for doing so. This therefore increases motivation as well as assists in team-building for the department as they are united in a common goal . Employee behaviour can be controlled by the use of annual appraisals of departments. This is the discussion in which an employee and manager decide  on the objectives and the action necessary to achieve them for the coming year. Appraisals are a two way discussion in which the employee states what they wish to achieve for the year and the manager offers guidance to do so, however this is again a method for which control even though employees perceive it as being a method for commitment. The employee may see appraisals as a method in which they are in control of what they want to achieve and not what the business wants them to do. This is an opportunity for managers to input targets or goals which the employee agrees on without knowing the magnitude of the task, however they must achieve as it has been stated on the appraisal document and could lead to a poor appraisal the subsequent year. Managers can use these to implement control over employees in which to dispel rewards to the employee thus motivates them to achieve their objectives. The threat of disciplinary action for repeated failure to attain objectives set out at appraisals is a sure way to coerce commitment in the workplace as employees will strive to achieve those objectives set at appraisals. Employers have the ability to produce commitment while still using control methods by the use of a health work/life balance. This can be defined as â€Å"concept that supports the efforts of employees to split their time and energy between work and the other important aspects of their lives† . While managers are allowing an employee to split their time between a professional and a private life they can still use methods such as monitoring social media to ensure that no derogatory remarks have been made against the organisation known as reputation management. It has been reported that 80% of a company’s workforce use social media sites in one way or another therefore the scope for badmouthing a company has increased. To combat this possibility 60% of selected businesses have proposed to implement software that would detect this . It is imperative that a business conform to the laws which dictate when an employee’s professional life ends and when a personal one begins as not to intrude. Having a healthy balance between personal and professional life enhances commitment to the organisation due to employees recognising that their business does not own them permanently and are permitted a life outside the office however are unobtrusively monitored to an extent. In order for senior management to exercise control over employees while they are in the workplace, management have re-employed the use of a well-defined and structured hierarchy in organisations in which they can delegate the operational control of the business to managers or first level employees who have a greater understand of how operations of the department are conducted. Middle management positions such as Assistant Managers for departments have returned to businesses due to the fact that the employees on this level support change to departments which may not be popular as well as focusing on the different strategies which have been set by the company . By re-introducing levels of management that may have been de-layered previously, companies are therefore increasing their Vertical differentiation to establish a clear line of authority in departments. This may be advantageous for commitment in departments that have a copious amount of staff as problems can be easily rectified, yet they can be seen as another level of management in which the business has established to ensure their corporate strategies are met irrespective to employee requirements. In order to control employees’ behaviour, businesses have invested in training and development programs to educate their workforce with various methods such as induction training through to university courses. Induction training is a period in which a new employee to the business is given training preceding their start in the business. This provides an opportunity for the member of staff to become aware of the procedures, policies and workplace culture that a business has. In order to train potential or existing staff some businesses have adopted a system of internal in-house training schemes that have been adapted especially to fit different purposes. Businesses such as McDonalds which have established educational institutes for potential staff to undertake for promotion or re-training or other reasons which would see those who graduate attain a recognised qualification . However due to their size and expense they are restricted to large highly profitable businesses. A purpose of these schools is to instruct that person on what is expected of them while in employment and how to undertake different duties, however these methods can be categorised as a method of control as these courses are pre-designed so that employees  should conform only to those that are taught as they expect them to be correct. Commitment can be fostered from this as employees may be more motivated and satisfied in their position as they have been trained to a degree so that they are competent in their role in the business and provide a sense of a good working environment to potential employees, plus as this is a recognised qualification this can be presented as part of an application as a symbol that they have enrolled and passed a course specifically designed to train members of staff. The drawback of control becomes the advantages of using commitment and should influence a business to implement commitment measures For example; Pfeffers’ model of high performance factors is heavily influenced as commitment measures that managers should consider to bolster the motivation of their workforce. However these are disguised as a further method of control as to attain these factors the workforce must demonstrate they are a viable working entity. The factors that constitute this model are Team working and de-centralised management, High pay and incentive, Employee Security, Extensive training and development, Narrow status differentials and Careful recruitment and selection. Cultural control is a method that managers can use to â€Å"define specific patterns of behaviour within a professional environment†. This behaviour has already been stipulated by the management of how they wish the workforce to conform and therefore expect these patterns to re-enforce organisational culture. A method in which an employee can become accustomed to the social norms of a workplace culture is through induction training. Therefore the accompanying member of staff would acquaint the new employee of the social norms that have been adopted by staff which they will conform to. This method of control is an example of how management quickly adapt staff to the methods of the workforce that have already been repeated for other staff. A company that would be perceived as having a poor corporate culture would be BP. In the wake of the oil spill in 2007 in which an inquiry was found to ascertain that intense cost cutting and efficiency measures demoralised the workforce therefore affected practises which precipitated the disaster through negligence of corporate culture. A final method in which businesses can control their workforce is through the monitoring of social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The organisation will monitor their employees’ posts on these sites to ascertain they are behaving in an according manner or post any derogatory statements regarding the business or its staff. This is a method of control as staff are being monitored while they are on the premises as well as off therefore this encroaches into their personal life affecting the work/life balance. It has been reported that 60% of businesses by 2015 will have some monitor in place in order to track their workforce on social media sites in order to protect the business’s reputation or the brand they are selling . An example of a business that has used this is Proskauer Rose in which staff have it written into their contract of employment that they will be monitored on social media sites. Therefore to conclude, it would appear that mangers controlling employee behaviour has become more prevalent that endeavouring to attain employee commitment in organisations. This could be the case as controlling employees has become cheaper that resorting to measures to attain employee commitment as well as ensuring their effectiveness in the workplace as well as out of it . However there should be an even balance between control and commitment from managers to create a suitable working environment for employees as they would not prefer to working in a hostile business which treats them as a tool rather than one which treats them as a valuable resource. Using control methods such as technology and monitoring ensures that staff are adhering to policy set out in their contract. References Always Watching . (2010). Benefits of CCTV for your Business. 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Retrieved Feburary 19 , 2013, from Reference for Business, Encyclopedia of Business 2nd Edition: http://www.referenceforbusiness.com/management/Log-Mar/Management-Levels.html Twentyman, J. (2007). Keeping tabs (Staff monitoring). Verheul, I. (2003). Commitment or control? Appendix list 1. 1. Working on feedback: Read the feedback on your assignment carefully, then re-read the piece of work to see the areas that the feedback refers to. You might use a highlighter pen to cross-reference the feedback to your work, or to draw attention to corrections and suggestions. What has your tutor written (key points) What do you understand this to mean? 1. Good introduction, underpinned by theory 2. Critical and analytical throughout 3. Good reference base 4. Contextualised into subject 5. Good analysis 6. Must use references properly 7. Used references and examples to illustrate that points made are utilised in business. 8. Good research base 1. A well designed introduction that has been bolstered with the use of business theory to support the argument. 2. By being argumentative on both sides (control and commitment) it shows that there has been research done and concluded that one was more viable than the other. 3. A diverse range of sources has been used to collate examples e.g. journals books internet