Ceremony of marriage in Islam Essay

In Islam, marriages are a very important event most Muslim weddings are arranged, in order for an arranged marriage to take place both the boys/girls side must give consent, with arranged marriages both families make sure that the boy’s/girl’s (and their family’s) reputation and history is accepted in society and that they have no flaws which would bring a bad name on their family all this is checked before the husband/wife enters into their family. A Muslim boy/girl have to choose their partners very carefully as it is an arranged marriage and they are expected to spend their whole life with a stranger they have to get to know them and know all their ways of living and habits etc†¦ before they agree to marry them although sometimes the parents of the girl/boy are very strict and may not allow this to happen they may just decide for their son/daughter to get married to someone without asking their opinion this may be a problem sometimes as the married couple may not get along or there may be other problems, another problem with arranged marriages is that if the parents of the Muslim girl/ boy agree to the marriage without the daughters or/ sons consent then it is like they are deciding the fate if their child without the child having a say in it, but mostly this is not the case and the girl/boy is asked their opinion about the person they are going to marry because Muslims believe that a marriage which is forced is doomed t o failure. In Islam getting married to a member of your family whether its intermediate or distant family is very common. The majority of Muslim marriages are arranged although there are a few love marriages but in the Muslim community love marriages are not really an option and it seen as a very dangerous thing to do sometimes muslims regard being under the influence of love’ as a intoxicating state of mind that could easily cloud judgement. Parents are thought to find good compatible partners for their children and sometimes they do no agree to give consent to love marriages. Muslims are encouraged to have an arranged marriage although sometimes people have a mixed marriage this is allowed as long as it is a Sikh, Indian, or a Christian person. If an Muslim gets married then the wife has to follow the husbands religion and convert the children have to follow their fathers religion but it is preferred to get married to another Muslim because this way their community expands and Islam as a whole expands. When the marriage is decided upon (arranged) before the wedding many other celebrations and ceremony’s have to take place. Such as the engagement where both the girls and boys family gets together and have an engagement ceremony where the bride and groom get together and exchange rings the other event is the Mahr (dowry) The Mahr is the dowry paid by the husband to the wife. It is a sum negotiated by the husband and wife, which she can keep when or if they later get divorced, if the wife wants to get divorced without the consent of her husband she can but only if the mahr is returned. It is against, the sunnah of the prophet to demand high dowries or not give to give a dowry at all or pay the brides father in compensation for his daughters services at home. After this follows the actual Nikah (wedding) the Nikah is a simple affair the ceremony is plain and simple consisting of readings from the Qur’an and vows are exchanged in front of witnesses. There are also a few prayers recited for this happy occasion the imam is present and no religious official is necessary. The bride does not have to be present as long as she sends her ‘wali’ or marriage representative and also two witnesses of agreement to the wedding and she can be at home. The signing of the Nikah (wedding) contract’s can be changed the original date by weeks or even months or years just like with the prophet and his wife Aishah. If the girl is at home they declare three times that she accepts the wedding. Nikah is not considered to be a sacred contract or ‘made in heaven’ but is a binding contract giving the husband and wife both equal rights and responsibilities. Due to the fact that ‘ love’ is not necessarily present at the time a bride can include into the contract certain conditions that would help her if she later wished to have a divorce she could also make it clear that she does not give permission to allow her husband to have a second wife. After the Nikah follows the Walimah this is the actual wedding party the bride may not dress up for the Nikah but she will certainly dress up for the Walimah. The walimah usually consists of the actual wedding feast it can take place within three days of the couple living together. Presents are usually given presents given are usually money. It is a tradition to have huge expensive parties in some societies but this is not religious or part of Islam, the prophet disapproves of lavish especially if it causes problems between the husband and wife.

Harrison Brothers Corporation Essay

1. Background Harrison Brothers Corporation is one of the largest traditional department stores in the United States. The goal of the company is to become the leading chain of department stores that sells high quality clothing to middle-class and fashion-concerned customers. Like other companies in the retail industry, Harrison Brothers are experiencing various changes in customers’ buying preferences. In addition to that, the problem of retention of well-trained, highly motivated salesman and managers has become even more challenging in the industry. James Harrison, the CEO of Harrison Brothers, knowing the importance of human resources, did a survey on human resource and other key managers at the store level. 2. Problem Definition The survey indicates there are lots of problems in the HR department and these problems might indirectly or directly slow down Harrison Brothers’ growth in the future. The major human resource management (HRM) problem in Harrison Brothers is that HRM is still struggling in its function of maintaining personnel. For example, since there is heavy turnover on salesman, Brenda McCain, the human resource manager, conducted about 25 to 30 interviews a week, and more during the holiday rush. Further, there is only one trainer in Harrison Brothers, causing McCain to spend a lot of time on training, neglecting bigger picture HRM issues. One of the other problems is that HRM pays little attention to employees’ business skills. This is shown in the survey where HR managers ratedthe importance of both knowledge of business and skills in managing change, as 2.0 out of 5.0, while store managers rated the importance of those skills as 4.5.One of Harrison Brothers five strategic goals is to improve productivity of sales, buyers, and department heads. And corporations must prepare their employees to cope with the complexities and accelerated speed of a future economy. If HRM perceives knowledge of business and managing change, as the least important, Harrison Brothers may have a hard time achieving this strategic goal. There are other problems as well. These include, but are not limited to, supervisors that are reluctant to assess employees’ career planning and professional development, a human resources department which is constrained by cost considerations, and low administrative efficiency. These problemsare currently existing problems. However, in the long term, if HR in Harrison  Brothers remains the same, many more problems will arise. Harrison Brothers may have difficulty in talent retention, it may experience poor employee performance and low productivity, or there may be conflict in the workplace. In all, the current overall HRM practicewill not be able to meet the challenge Harrison Brothersmay encounter in the future, and will not help Harrison Brothers to achieve its long-term goal. 3. Causes of the Problem The main cause of these problems is that there is no HR planning in Harrison Brothers.HR planning is a way to analyze needs for employee and supply of employees, and then make a plan to make sure the organization have the right amount of employees and skills. That’s probably the reason why HR department is struggling and spending most of its time on staffing and training. Another important cause of it is that human resources department didn’t see human resource management from a strategic level.As Jennifer Daft, the store manager said, human resource department seem to be struggling to keep up with the day-to-day activities. HRM should free itself from day-to-day activities and become influential in strategic decision-making process. 4. Alternative Solutions There are several approaches to fix these problems. First of all, large-sized firms like Harrison Brothers should develop HRM from its traditional functions up to more strategic level management. This would allowsomeone such as McCainto be brought induring a strategic decision-making process, giving her the ability to make or strongly influence the decision itself. To do this, she must have the skills needed to function as a strategic business partner, which lead to the solution that follows. Second of all, McCain and her HR teammates may need to be trained to learn more about business knowledge, such as markets, finance and so on. This knowledge can enhance HR’s strategic role in the organization. Training programs need to be designed and implemented to identify, coach and develop professional skills in HR. Also, McCain might want to consider transferring the old HR department’s organization to a new one in order to meet the challenges in the dramatically changing busi ness environment. For example, one of many other forms of HR structure is made up of three main departments: HRBP (human resource business partner), COE (center of excellence/expertise), and  SSC (shared service center). This type of organizational structure allows the HR unit to respond to the market rapidly. Surely there are many other forms, and regardless of which particular one it is, Harrison Brothers needs tofind one type of structure that meets the needs of their own strategy and allows the HR unit a crucial role to play. The fourth solution McCain might try is to measure HRM by using tools such as Balanced Scorecard, Dollar Value or benchmarking. Assessment of HRM could give the HR manager a new and quantifiable way to view the efficiency of HRM.In this case, McCain can benchmark and analyze competitors’ staffing and hiring by calculating HR indices such as cost per hire by job level and source, time to fill and time to start. These data can give her a better idea of whether Harrison Brothers is spending more on hiring than other companies in the retail industry. The last solution, but not least, is to enhance HR administrative efficiency. A centralized HR services department or center should be established. In this way, McCain and her team can free themselves from repeated daily routines. 5. Recommendations I would recommend trainingMcCain and her team to learn more about finance and market, as HR, finance and marketing are all important to understand how to run a business as a whole. Armed with business knowledge, she and her team can bring Harrison Brothers HR unit into a strategic level. Also, transferring HR structure and enhancing administrative efficiency will help McCain and her team to work more efficiently.

Business Process Reengineering In Financial Service Sector Commerce Essay

Business Process Reengineering In Financial Service Sector Commerce Essay Business Process Reengineering is a management practice that aims to improve the efficiency of the business process. The key to BPR is for organizations to look at their business processes from a â€Å"clean slate† perspective and determine how they can best construct these processes to improve how they conduct business. Reengineering is a fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in cost, quality, speed, and service. BPR combines a strategy of promoting business innovation with a strategy of making major improvements to business processes so that a company can become a much stronger and more successful competitor in the marketplace. Re-engineering is the basis for many recent developments in management. Also, many recent management information systems developments aim to integrate a wide number of business functions. Enterprise resource planning, supply chain management, knowledge management systems, groupware and coll aborative systems, Human Resource Management Systems and customer relationship management systems all owe a debt to re-engineering theory. Business Process Reengineering is also known as Business Process Redesign, Business Transformation, or Business Process Change Management. DEFINITION â€Å"The fundamental rethinking and radical redesign of business processes to achieve dramatic improvements in critical contemporary measures of performance, such as cost, quality, service, and speed.† OVERVIEW OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLES Business process reengineering (BPR) began as a private sector technique to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors. A key stimulus for reengineering has been the continuing development and deployment of sophisticated information systems and networks. Leading organizations are becoming bolder in using this technology to support in novative business processes, rather than refining current ways of doing work. Business process reengineering is one approach for redesigning the way work is done to better support the organization’s mission and reduce costs. Reengineering starts with a high-level assessment of the organization’s mission, strategic goals, and customer needs. Basic questions are asked, such as â€Å"Does our mission need to be redefined? Are our strategic goals aligned with our mission? Who are our customers?† An organization may find that it is operating on questionable assumptions, particularly in terms of the wants and needs of its customers. Only after the organization rethinks what it should be doing, does it go on to decide how best to do it. Within the framework of this basic assessment of mission and goals, reengineering focuses on the organization’s business processes-the steps and procedures that govern how resources are used to create products and services that m eet the needs of particular customers or markets. Reengineering focuses on redesigning the process as a whole in order to achieve the greatest possible benefits to the organization and their customers. This drive for realizing dramatic improvements by fundamentally rethinking how the organization’s work should be done distinguishes reengineering from process improvement efforts that focus on functional or incremental improvement Business process reengineering is the main way in which organizations become more efficient and modernize. Business process reengineering transforms an organization in ways that directly affect performance.

Theory and Hypothesis in Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Theory and Hypothesis in - Research Paper Example Because of a number of features of theory such as its internal consistency, its consistency with existing facts, its potential for making counter-intuitive prediction and because of its testability, the findings of the theory are not only relevant to theory’s explanations of events but they also help to corroborate the findings of other researchers. The hypothesis generally related with some theory has a greater chance of being correct than the common sense. Almost all scientific theories start as hypotheses. The more the theories are subjected to rigorous tests under a variety of conditions and assumptions and the more they hold up, the more credible they become over time. The relationship between the hypothesis and theory serves to challenge previously held views by introducing different sets of assumptions or more recent information besides expanding the boundaries of research by inferring new hypotheses from the theory using deductive logic and extrapolating them to new si tuations. I reviewed the research paper â€Å"Socioeconomic Status and Beliefs about God’s In?uence in Everyday Life" by Scott Schieman from the journal â€Å"The Sociology of Religion† to see how the author makes use of theory and hypothesis.

Chapter Four Reading Response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Chapter Four Reading Response - Assignment Example t of Egypt whereas Ashoka fought for power and control in India in addition to devotion in Buddhism and imperial religion (Wilkins, Schultz and Linduff 94). I responded negatively to the Arch of Titus, Rome. This was marble over concrete core commissioned by Titus (Wilkins, Schultz and Linduff 95). Additionally, I responded negatively to Flora from the Villa of Arianna at Castellammare di Stabia. This is given that, they both symbolize inconsequential meanings, for example, the Flora signified silk garments that men should not define themselves with and the Arch of Titus represented the suppression of the Jewish movement and flattering control over Jerusalem. I would like to learn more about the Buddhist Monument specifically the Great Stupa at Sanchi. This is considering that I admired the extensive value of this piece of art and its religious significance. I find it simply out of the ordinary piece of arts. How was it possible to preserve the religious value of the Great Stupa at Sanchi from the prehistoric times in early Buddhism to the present day? Finding answers to this question, entails carrying out research which include, consulting art experts and searching the library data base of ancient arts and

What do Advertisements Tell Young People They Should Value Essay

What do Advertisements Tell Young People They Should Value - Essay Example Advertising has been part of American life for centuries, and has certainly always had some kind of effect on the behaviour of Americans in a wide variety of ways. Throughout the past ten to twenty years, however, the amount of advertising exposure and kind of advertising has changed significantly, and may have an increased effect on American youths. It is incredibly difficult to construct a causal relationship between advertising and behaviour, something that advertisers have used to their advantage to fight regulation throughout history, from the cigarette era to today. The problems of determining causal relationships are myriad, but most simply rest on the well known idea that correlation is not causation: wearing your favorite team’s jersey and them winning does not indicate any causal relationship between your jersey choice and your team’s success. Furthering the complexity of this problem is the fact that advertising in fact mirrors many of the issues inherent to many forms of media, such as film and television, in, for instance, constructing unrealistic ideas of beauty. Advertisers, for instance, are often blamed on helping to cause eating disorders, while there may be many different societal and media factors at work in those issues. To construct a causal relationship, one must therefore go much further than simply analyzing correlation (though correlation certainly plays some part in the analysis). Through analyzing the behaviour advertisers, the explosion of new media, the psychological makeup of young adults, and the correlation between youth behaviour and advertising, it is possible to construct a causal relationship between advertiser’s construction of the ideals of beauty and negative behaviour among young adults, such as the development of eating disorders. The first thing that must be unequivocally establishes is the fact that advertising does, in fact, affect behaviour. This is its whole point of the entire industry, to lea d people to buy products. There are various interpretations of the role of advertising. The most generous would say that advertising merely influences behaviour through demonstrations of a product’s usefulness to its client; advertising affects behaviour merely through informing (). The least generous would say that advertising twists people’s emotions, world view, and so on, in order to manipulate them into buying a given product (). The truth is probably somewhere in between, that advertising does rely on a product’s abilities, but that advertising also manipulates viewers to a significant extent. That advertising affects people’s behaviour can be seen merely by the size of the industry: it is a multi-hundred billion dollar industry worldwide (Shaman, 2012), and a single thirty second spot in the Super Bowl can sell for â€Å"upwards of $5 million† (Shaman, 2012). There is no way corporations would spend this kind of money on advertising if they were not confident in its

Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Entrepreneurship - Essay Example and urge to start a new business is not as difficult and important as sustaining the business through the full lifespan of the business lifecycle (Nowak, 1996). This essay therefore uses Zaarly as a case study of a startup business to understand from the perspective of Scott and Bruce (1987) and other scholars, what makes or unmake businesses in the first five years after they have been set up. Set up in February 2011, Zaarly is a private company founded by Eric Koester, Bo Fishback and Ian Hunter. The company is in the online retail industry with some unique dynamism that focuses on the creation of platform for users or anyone to hire a minion or sell whatever they have to sell to neighbours. Proximity is a central business idea for the founders, making Zaarly a proximity-based, real-time, and buyer-powered market platform (Steiner, 2011). Through the use of online platform, anyone can find people around them who offer services they are looking for, or products they are seeking to buy. In effect, Zaarly is a local marketplace that operates from an electronic basis. As serial entrepreneurs, each of the founders of Zaarly already has several start-ups that they personally manage. Zaarly has however been confirmed to be something different as it was set up with the objective of becoming the turning point in the online retail marketplace business (Swartz, 2011). Because of this objective, the three founders seem to have given Zaarly a lot more attention and focus, given the existing competition in the industry. Into the next five years, the company has been tagged to be a common household name for all who want to find the closest place around them where they can have their services and products provided. Shontell (2011) reports a seed capital of $1 million was raised for the official opening of Zaarly. This start-up capital however received a major investment boost when the company received Series A financing that amounted to $14.1 million. The main financiers of

Ethical Foundations Of Sallie Mcfague And Thich Nhat Hanh Assignment

Ethical Foundations Of Sallie Mcfague And Thich Nhat Hanh - Assignment Example Sallie is an American feminist as well as a Christian theologian, known for her exclusive talks and writings on ecology. She has written a lot about care for the earth as she believes the earth is God’s ‘body’. McFague writes that human beings construct the worlds that they live in but later forget that they constructed them. This, she writes as the reason there is much destruction of the environment that God has given to His people. By citing earth as God’s body, she compels humans to take care of the earth and in overall, the environment that God has given to them (McFague, 12-77). Caring for the environment will ensure that humans will change the things they value and will never at some point disembody God. McFague has used theology in exploring urgent issues on climate change. In her book, A New Climate for Theology: God, the World, and Global Warming, she begins by accounting for the evidence of climate change due to the existence of science. Additiona lly, she demonstrates the necessity of theology to be included in this global issue. Her reason is that the church is seen as an ecological catholicity that is committed to a just and also sustainable existence of the creation made by God. As such, she criticizes all humans who reinforce individualistic regimes resulting to climate change (McFague, 106-200). Hence, she calls for all humanity to embrace inter-relationship and interdependence with all life supporting mechanisms on the planet.Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk.

The Underlying Theme of the Movie-The Rear Window Essay

The Underlying Theme of the Movie-The Rear Window - Essay Example Rear window is one of the American movies directed by Alfred Hitchcock based on his usual theme. The story of this movie was written by John Michael Hayes. Rear window was based on a short’ It had to be murder’’ written by Cornell Woolrich. The movie was released by Paramount Pictures. The film stars James Stewart as L.B. Jeffries, who is a news photographer, became helpless and isolated in his apartment at Greenvich Village due to his broken leg. During his days of misery and loneliness, his only activity was to observe and keep an eye on the activities of his neighbors around his apartment out of his rear window which has become his escape from the dull and boring moments of his life on a wheelchair. His fiancà ©e Lisa Fremont (Grace Kelly) and nurse (Thelma Ritter) being his only visitors and perhaps the only connection with the world outside his rear window. It is a well-scripted and a very well-directed movie which keeps the audience spell bound with a blen d of suspense and romance in it for their entertainment. However, a point comes where the story takes a new turn when suddenly Jeff’s observation leads him to a shocking discovery as he watched his neighbor’s suspicious activities, who lived right opposite his apartment’s building. ... To observe and to act as a â€Å"Peeping Tom† is a natural human trait that has been followed by all of us. The concept of voyeurism or in other words the act of being a â€Å"mute speculator† is also similar like watching movies and enjoying every moment that one can without being suspected for peeping into the lives of others. This led Jeff to discover the crime that was taken place right opposite his apartment. No matter, how much his fiancee and nurse blamed him for turning into â€Å"an immoral voyeur† joined him later in his act of speculation. Jeff’s silent speculation helped him to develop his curiosity like a child who observes everything keenly with lots of questions rising in his mind and he is determined to find all the unanswered questions. Rear window is all about normal humans, their attitudes and behaviors towards other people and how much people value relationships in their life. This movie also highlights the personality conflict between the couple (Jeff and Lisa). Despite the fact that they have been showed madly in love with each other but each one of them tries to dominate the other person. We cannot ignore the Jeff’s cynical attitude towards marriage on Lisa’s demand for tying the knot. This raised the common thought a person’s freedom and his life ends with the marriage. Jeff’s silent observation made him believed that a marriage can turn down his life and freedom just as in case of Mr. and Mrs. Thorwald, a happily married couple but ended in a murder of Mrs. Thorwald by the hands of her husband due to her nagging habits. It is not a new idea that Hitchcock has come up with. This philosophy can also be seen in his other movies too like Vertigo and The Trouble with Harry. Our lives revolve around our relationships, moods and

Environmental Factors the Affect the Marketing Procedures of Coca Cola International Essay Example for Free

Environmental Factors the Affect the Marketing Procedures of Coca Cola International Essay Coca Cola is an international business company that needs international advertising as well. Businesses spend billions of advertising dollars every year because they know that viewers are influenced by what they see and hear. They don’t spend that money because they think advertising might work; they know it works. It sells their products. In 2004, The Coca-Cola Company spent 2. 2 billion dollars advertising its products worldwide in print, on the radio, and on television. Was the investment worthwhile? The company made nearly 22 billion dollars in profits for that year. Advertisers realize that one ad may not affect behavior. Instead, they rely on the cumulative impact of years of indoctrination. The truth is, with just a minute’s airing of an advertisement, some thousands of consumers are rather attracted to buy the products shown on TV. With this fact in mind, it could be noted that advertising is rather considered as one of the major procedures of marketing that any type of company could invest upon. However, the question is how sure are the advertisers that their products would sell up through the presentation that they make through advertising? What are the factors that contribute to the said effects of advertising marketing to the consumers? This is what is considered within the discussion of how the environmental factors actually affect the impact of advertising towards the target consumers. The Marketing Strategy’s Effective Placement As noted earlier, Coca Cola is an international beverage company that actually handles the production of drinks that are likely to soothe the drinking needs of the consumers. However, selling beverages may not appear to be as easy as it looks. Most people would consider the beverages presented by Coca Cola to the society are likely for hot times only. How then is the company coping up with its sales during cold season? It is undeniable that Coca Cola, upon observation, tries to make the best out of the time that they are given. It could be noted that even during the cold seasons, the said company is able to attract consumers that are likely fond of the beverages that they offer no matter what weather there may be. December is likely the winter time which usually caters hot beverages and their promotions to the buying public. However, Coca Cola managed to use the said environmental change in terms of weather for their own advantage. Coca Cola’s advertisement of Santa Claus holding Coke Beverages is indeed an attractive approach, whereas the company paved the way to a more appreciated matter of the season than that of the cold weather itself. It was a rather creative approach that has given this advertisement a major difference from that of the other marketing strategies used by the same company. Obviously, their approach to the situation has placed them in a better edge against their competitors in the industry thus giving the company better gains than the others for annual productivity for the entire business organization. Conclusion Weather is just one particular factor in the advertising and marketing word that actually affects the approach of product promotion in the field of consumer-producer relationship. It is undeniable through that weather, single as it is, has a great effect on the presentation of advertisements during specific seasons as suggested by the environment itself. Coca Cola on the other hand has been able to take responsible consideration of these unavoidable changes in the environment for the their own good that actually outlines the possibility that they are then given the rightful share of their own creativity in presenting their marketing approach in the field of advertising. As a result, the said company was able to get the best out of the possible changes of the environment. Their gains and the edge against their competitors that they were able to accomplish through the said approached saved their values for service and profit well. True, environment itself may present challenges to different companies with regards the launching of the different products that they present to the society, however, effective utilization of the said situations for the benefit of the organization could make the strategy of marketing more apprehended and efficient for international advertising approaches.

Examining issues with audit quality

Examining issues with audit quality The major accounting scandals occurred worldwide has brought the focus of public to the audit profession and the audit quality. Enron and WorldCom cases in United States and Parmalat case in Europe are the example of major scandals as a result of the failure of audit services. In Malaysia, the Transmile case which involved around RM530 million of accounting fraud has also addressed the problem about the quality of audit services. These examples of corporate and accounting scandals that happened worldwide have indicated that the audit quality of the audit profession is not at an appropriate and acceptable level. Over years, the audit quality issue has been discussed and debated globally. Several actions have been taken by international and domestic authorized agencies to address the audit quality issue. For example, the government of United States has introduced and enacted the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002 as a response to the audit failure in big major corporations, such as Enron and World Com. In addition, the Center for Audit Quality has been established in United States as one of the steps to enhance the audit quality of audit profession. In Malaysia, the Malaysian Institute of Accountant (MIA) plays a vital role in addressing the audit issue and promoting and enhancing the quality of audit. Generally, the function of auditing is to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements are prepared and presented in a true and fair view and free from material misstatements. The audit reports and audited financial statements will be widely used by the various groups of stakeholders for decision making. Hence, audit quality is an important factor that affects the credibility of the audited financial statements as perceived by the stakeholders. In other words, high audit quality is necessary criteria to build up stakeholders confidence on the audit profession. According to Gaurav Shah, there are five important steps that should be followed to produce a quality audit. Firstly, auditors should plan the audit thoroughly after clearly understanding the objectives and directions of auditing and clearly define the agenda of audit. Next, auditors should perform the audit procedures according to the scope and goal set in the earlier step and continuous measure the performance of the audit works in order to avoid any unnecessary variances happened during audit process. The third step is to record the result of performance, including any errors and problems and report appropriately the result to the management level. Subsequently, improvements should be made on the audit process by solving any detected problems. Lastly, follow up audit should be conducted for the control purpose to avoid any recurring of problems. 2.0 AUDIT QUALITY In order to understand clearer the concept and evolution of audit quality, we will discuss the definition and dimension of audit quality, the audit quality gaps, the factors that affect the audit quality and the relationship between audit fees and audit quality in this section. 2.1 Definition of Audit Quality There is no specific definition for audit quality in the auditing standards. Generally, people focus on the reliability of the audited financial statements when referring to audit quality. When an audit is said to have high quality, the financial statements are usually free from material misstatements and able to provide reliable information for decision making. Traditionally, audit quality has been defined by DeAngelo (1981) as the market-assessed joint probability that a given auditor will both discover (a) a breach in the clients accounting system and (b) report the breach. Under such definition, there are two main features in audit quality, which are the competence of auditors by possessing necessary knowledge to made correct judgment or discover problems on clients accounting system and the independence of auditors to disclose these problems. On the other hand, the Audit Quality publication by ICAEW in 2002 indicated that audit quality is related to the professional opinion given by auditors based on essential evidences and objective judgments. Hence, it is important to understand clearly what is expected on auditors works to provide an appropriate professional opinion on financial statements in order to achieve high audit quality. 2.2 Dimensions of Audit Quality The AUDITQUAL model According to the AUDITQUAL model by Angus Duff (2004), there were nine different dimensions in assessing audit quality, which were reputation, capability, independence, expertise, experience, responsiveness, empathy, client service and non-audit services. These nine dimensions were closely interrelated to represent the whole picture of audit quality. Besides, these nine dimensions can be grouped into two distinct factors that relating to technical quality and service quality. Technical quality is mainly related to the competence and independence of auditors, such as their technical skills, integrity and ability to express objective judgment and opinion. Hence, the dimensions related to technical quality are reputation, capability, independence, expertise and experience. On the other hand, service quality focuses on issues related to audit clients, such as the additional value-added services provided and the responsiveness to the needs of clients. The dimensions of audit quality under this service quality are responsiveness, client service, non-audit services and empathy. 2.3 Audit Quality Gaps Audit quality and failure had become one of the key issues in the audit profession mainly due to the perception gaps of audit quality. According to Angus Duff (2004), there are totally eight gaps being identified in the audit quality model. These gaps are mainly the different perception of audit quality between different parties, such as the auditors, clients and stakeholders, and regulators. With referring to the diagram above, Gap 1 is the discrepancy between the client expectations and the perception of audit firm on client expectations. Gap 2 represents the difference between client expectations and the quality standards of audit firm. Gap 3 refers to the difference between the quality standards of audit firm and the observed quality on audit. The difference between the promises made about audit quality through external communication and the quality of audit forms Gap 4. All Gap 1 to Gap 4 actually represent the quality differences which happen within the audit firm. On the other hand, Gap 5 represents the client expectations and the clients perception of the audit quality delivered. Gap 6 is the discrepancy between the client expectations on what auditor should attain and what auditor can reasonably be expected to attain. The difference between what auditor can reasonably be expected to attain and the auditors responsibilities as stated in laws and regulations creates Gap 7. Gap 8 is the difference between auditors responsibilities as stated in laws and regulations and the actual performance of auditor. The usually said of audit expectations gap in audit profession is collectively represented by Gap 6 to Gap 8. 2.4 Factors Influencing Audit Quality According to the Audit Quality framework developed by Financial Reporting Council (FRC) of UK in 2008, there are five key drivers that affect the audit quality. These five key drivers are the culture within an audit firm, the personal qualities and skills of audit partners and staff, the effectiveness of audit process, the audit reportings reliability and usefulness, and the factors outside the control of auditors. An audit firms culture is significantly affects the ways of how audit works and processes being performed. A strong and positive culture will directly increase the audit quality of an audit firm. The top management of audit firm should create a positive environment that encourages the audit staff to achieve high quality in audit works. In addition, proper time and resources should be available for every audit works to enhance and maintain the audit quality. Financial considerations should not be the main focus or factor that affects the allocation of time and resources. An appropriate control and monitoring system should be designed and put in place to safeguard the quality of audit too. Audit is a service rather than a product. The quality of audit service may vary when the audit is performed by different people. Hence, human factor is important in determining audit quality. Audit partners and staff should equip with necessary skills, knowledge and professional skepticism in order to provide high quality audit works. It is important for auditors to understand well the environment of the clients business and adhere to the relevant auditing principles and ethical standards. Proper training should be given to auditors to develop their competency and capabilities. The works of junior auditors should always be monitored and reviewed by senior auditors or partners to ensure the quality of audit. The audit process is one of the key drivers to audit quality too. Appropriate audit methodology and tools should be applied in audit according to situation. Audit partners and senior auditors should be always involve in the audit process to provide adequate support and monitor on audit process. In addition, auditors should gather sufficient and relevant audit evidence to support the judgment and conclusion reach throughout the audit process. Proper audit documentation should be put in place too. Furthermore, it is important to consider and maintain the level of independence, objectivity and integrity of auditors in the audit process to ensure the audit quality. The way how an audit being reported will affect the quality of an audit too. Audit reports should be prepared in an appropriate form that follow the guidance of relevant standards. Audit reports shouls be written by using clear language without ambigous words. Proper opinion and conclusion should be provided in audit reports regarding the true and fair views of the financial statements. In addition, proper and clear communication with audit committee is necessary and such action will provide apositive impact on the audit quality. Factors that outside the control of auditors also play an important role in the quality of audit. For example, the corporate governance of an organization is important to enhance the audit quality. An adequate and good corporate governance within an organization directly assists the auditors in performing audit and hence increase the audit quality. The another example of factors outside the auditors control is the role and behaviour of audit committee. An audit committee should always actively address the issues identified throughout the audit process. Other examples of factors outside the control of auditors include the role of shareholders and the audit regulatory environment. 2.5 Audit Quality and Audit Fees Audit quality is something that is intangible and unobservable. Hence, the audit fees are usually used as a proxy for audit quality in many research studies. Generally, there is strong positive relationship between audit fees and audit quality. In order to achieve higher audit quality, it is necessary to conduct more investigation and audit procedures on the financial statements. This resulted in more audit hours and higher audit fees. In addition, the use of more senior auditors and specialized auditors also is required to achieve higher audit quality. This resulted in higher audit fees too. Hence, it can be concluded that higher audit fees should be an indirect evidence to reflect higher audit quality because more resources and efforts has been put in to provide reasonable assurance that financial statements are free from material misstatement. In 2002, the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) had issued the MIA-By Laws (On Professional Conduct and Ethics) and the laws have provided guidance and recommendation for setting appropriate audit fees. The audit fees should be charged based on the total time spent for particular audit works and the charge-out rate of the related auditors. Therefore, the longer the time spent and the more the number of auditors involved, the higher the audit fees. This should later reflect in higher audit quality. 3.0 AUDIT QUALITY ISSUES Due to the limitation of pages, we will only discuss five audit quality issues in this section, which are inconsistency of audit quality across countries, reduced audit quality practices (RAQP), single audit quality issue, International Standard on Quality Control (ISQC) and the corporate governance issue. 3.1 Inconsistency of Audit Quality across Countries The key element of audit quality is its consistency. The nature and process of an audit should be the same regardless the size of the organizations and the countries where the audit is performed. However, it is a global challenge to maintain the international consistency on audit quality when across countries. The inconsistency of audit quality across countries is mainly due to the national differences in the following aspects (ICAEW, 2010). Political, economic and business environment The characteristics of political, economic and business environment play a significant role on the audit quality of financial statements. The national differences included the corruption and bribery level, the business ethics level, the number and rights of foreign investors and the quality of governance in economic activities. Legal framework Without a formal and complete legal framework, it is difficult to achieve high audit quality. According to the Fundamentals Third Parties published by Audit Quality Forum of ICAEW, it is important to have supportive legal framework for auditors to obtain relevant and reliable information from third parties. The excessive threat of litigation and legal liability can adversely affected the audit quality. Excessive litigation may cause auditors to view standards as rigid rules without proper judgment in their application. In addition, excessive litigation may also prevent the further evolution and innovation in standards and practice. Education Inconsistency of audit quality in different countries may due to the countries education system and their global connectivity level, such as the degree of international communications and relationships. The financial operations and preparation of financial statements should be overview by financially literate person with relevant knowledge, skills and experience so that relevant accounting standards can be applied accurately. On the other hand, auditors should possess adequate and necessary knowledge, skills and experience to carry out works with proper professional judgment and skepticism. Culture According to Hofstede (1980), there were four main dimensions of national culture, which were individualism versus collectivism, strong versus weak uncertainty avoidance, large versus small power distance, and masculinity versus femininity. Different culture between different countries may affect the way a business is operated and certain behaviour to be acceptable or not. For example, Malaysia is a multicultural society where directors of organizations may come from different ethnic backgrounds. The different in ethnic background caused different hold in cultural values. Hence, the directors of organizations may perceive audit quality differently. Perceptions of audit The auditors in different country may perceive audit quality differently due to the length of time over which regulations and systems about accounting and auditing had been developed, and the origins and development of audit service. The motivations of auditors also influence the perceived audit quality too. Several initiatives had been taken to promote the international consistency of audit quality. One of these initiatives is strengthening the adoption of International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and International Standards on Quality Control (ISQCs) issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB). In addition, national independent audit oversight bodies are established, such as Public Companies Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Besides, national regulators had arranged agreements between countries to rely on each others works. To further encourage the consistency of audit quality across countries, the following four areas of potential action can be considered (ICAEW, 2010). Share experience In order to improving communication and building up necessary skills to achieve consistency and audit quality, it is crucial to share information and experience between auditors on how to build on current practices and potential new use of information technology (IT). This can be done through international exchange and education programmes that expose auditors to new and different environments. Sharing experience and practice is not only limited to audit firms and audit firms networks, it also can happen between national professional accountancy bodies and national regulators and between national and global organizations. Acknowledge national differences International standards should focus more on how national differences may affect audit risk. In addition, standards should have adequate flexibility for auditors to exercise professional judgment to deal with misstatement risks in order to suit with the related national environment. Promote the role of audit The role of audit can be promoted to identify the issues of economic development. When a country facing problems to issue clean audit reports and such problems could not be solved by acknowledging national differences or sharing experience, it gives a sign that there are certain issues need to be resolved, normally related to the political, economic, and business environment or the legal framework. The IAASB standards should be implemented internationally in order to help highlight the national differences and support economic development. Support research Academic research and studies are important in contributing to the consistency in audit quality across countries. Various issues and information are explained clearly in the research papers for better and thorough understanding by others. These issues include the effective ways of sharing experience globally, the acknowledgment of national differences within international standards and the connection between the audit practice and issues of economic development. 3.2 Reduced Audit Quality Practices (RAQP) In the post-Enron era, auditors are said to be working under high pressure condition in the competitive audit market because they are required to perform more audit works but no increase in their audit fees. The behaviours of auditors under such condition directly affect the audit quality and thus rise up an important issue in the auditing profession. Due to the cost-quality conflict and high working pressure, many auditors had engaged in the Reduced Audit Quality Practices (RAQP). According to Herrbach (2001), RAQP can be defined as the poor execution of an audit procedure that reduces the level of evidence gathered for the audit, so that the collected evidence is unreliable, false or inadequate quantitatively or qualitatively. The occurrence of RAQP is considered as normal phenomena in the current audit profession and it does occur in various countries across the world, such as Australia, United States, New Zealand, United Kingdom and Malaysia. Generally, it is important for auditors to identify the factors that lead to RAQP, such as the time budget pressure, in order to understand well the adverse effects of the factors on auditors and audit quality, and hence manage such factors better. In fact, the RAQP has affected the audit quality directly as well as indirectly. Underreporting of time is an example of auditors behaviour that indirectly affects the audit quality. Due to underreporting of time, several problems, such as lack of budget revision and unrecognized time pressure on future audit, arose that will give impact on the audit quality. The RAQP that normally has direct impact on the audit quality are the incomplete implementation of necessary audit programs and procedures in order to complete audit tasks. Such practices include accept weak client explanations or doubtful evidence, premature signing-off, fail to research an accounting principle, reduce the amount of work performed on audit step and so on. (Mohd Nazli et al., 2010) The RAQP is an issue in the audit profession of Malaysia too. It seen that there is an increasing number of auditors engaged in such unprofessional and unethical behaviours and thus giving a negative effect on the audit opinion and audit quality. The weak enforcement by relevant bodies in addressing the RAQP issue is said to be the significant factor that caused the high occurrence of such practices in Malaysia. For example, the Malaysian Institute of Accountant (MIA) is said to be failed in taking appropriate disciplinary actions against delinquent auditors. Furthermore, there were only a little litigation cases against auditors in Malaysia. (Mohd Nazli et al., 2010) 3.3 Single Audit Quality Issue The grants received by state and local governments from the federal government have been increased significantly over years. For example, the grants given by the federal government of United States to its state and local governments had increased from $7 billion in 1960 to around $450 billion in 2007. Hence, it is very important to adopt a single and uniformly structured audit to oversight the activities. This single audit concept is mainly used to provide reasonable assurance to the federal government about the use and management of the grants. (GAO, 2007) Hence, the single audit is clearly a significant mechanism to examine the accountability of the governments on the use and management of its funds. However, many countries, such as United States, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia, are facing problems about the sufficiency and quality of the single audit. For example, the Presidents Council on Integrity and Efficiency (PCIE) of United States had identified serious single audit quality in its report with title Report on National Single Audit Sampling Project in 2007. More than half of the single audits performed had been identified with deficiencies and therefore such single audits were being classified as unreliable or unacceptable audits. In order to address the single audit issue, the PCIE with support from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has made some recommendations to address this issue in the same report. These recommendations include: The single audit standards, criteria and guidance should be revised and improved. In order to conduct and perform single audits continuously, auditors are required to establish and maintain the minimum continuing professional education (CPE). The disciplinary processes should be reviewed and enhanced to deal with unacceptable audits and auditors that not meet the basic training and CPE requirements. 3.4 International Standard on Quality Control (ISQC 1) The International Auditing and Assurance Board (IAASB) of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has approved and implemented the International Standard on Quality Control (ISQC 1) in 2004. Later in June 2006, the MIA has adopted the ISQC 1 as the approved auditing standard in Malaysia. All registered practitioners in Malaysia are required to comply with this new quality control standard and additional responsibilities have been imposed on them. Generally, the ISQC 1 is able to enhance the audit quality by focusing on the quality control within the firms. There are six quality control elements stated in the ISQC 1 that must be addressed in a comprehensive way. These six quality control elements are the leadership responsibilities for quality, ethical requirements, acceptance and continuance of client relationships and specific engagements, human resource, engagement performance and monitoring. As stated in ISQC 1, audit firms are required to document all evidences of the operation of all the six elements in their quality control systems and retain the documentation for an adequate period. The adoption and implementation of ISQC 1 could generally improve the quality of the audit practices by auditors besides increasing the quality control within audit firms. However, many small and medium audit firms in Malaysia had pessimistic perceptions on the adoption and implementation of ISQC 1. Similar result has been shown on the survey conducted in South Africa (Research Project, 2005). Most of them opined that such standards just burden their works and responsibilities because there are insufficient partners or staff to guide the quality control team due to the size of the audit firms. Furthermore, the ISQC 1 is said to be not user friendly because many partners and staff felt difficult to understand the standards and implement the standards in normal practice. This may due to the lack of exposures and training on the ISQC 1. (Aida Hazlin Ismail et al., 2008) 3.5 Corporate Governance Issue One of the initiatives that had been taken by many countries to promote high audit quality is enhancing the corporate governance of an organization. For example, in Malaysia, the Malaysian Institute of Corporate Governance (MICG) had introduced the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance (MCCG) after the economic turmoil in 1997. When referring to corporate governance, people normally focus on the board of directors of organizations. The two main and observable characteristics of board of directors are the board composition and the separation of roles of Chairperson of the board and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The MCCG has provided guidance and recommendation on these matters. According to MCCG, an effective and well-balanced board of directors should have a certain proportion of independent directors. The MCCG has recommended the organizations in Malaysia should have a minimum of one-third independent directors on the board. This action can improve the oversight and control of board on entities operation and avoid too much power being placed on the CEO and top management. According to the governance theory, the independent directors should always protect the interests of shareholders by using higher audit quality services because auditing is a good monitoring activity to control the behaviour of management. (Zalailah Salleh et al., 2006) In addition, the MCCG also recommends the organizations of Malaysia to separate the role and function of the CEO and the Chairperson of the board. This recommendation is to avoid the unnecessary conflict of interest and the domination of power and authority by a single person in decision making. By separating the power and authority, the independent Chairperson of board is expected to have a higher demand on higher audit quality. (Zalailah Salleh et al., 2006) Furthermore, the MCCG also provides guidance and recommendation on audit and accountability. According to the MCCG, the board of directors has the responsibility to maintain an appropriate relationship with the external auditors of the organization by establishing transparent and formal arrangements. (Zalailah Salleh et al., 2006) As a conclusion, it is important to maintain the independent of the board of directors and separate the role of the CEO and the Chairperson in order to maintain the high audit quality of organizations. 4.0 RECOMMENDATION The audit quality issues have been debated around the world for a long time periods. Different research papers and studies have investigated and discussed the importance and shortfall of audit quality in recent years. In order to improve the audit quality, several recommendations has been proposed. Hence, in this section, we will discuss and elaborate some recommendations for improvement of audit quality. Understanding the nature of audit quality Audit quality should be recognized as a multi-dimensional construct. Researchers, educators, auditors and other relevant parties should always view audit quality in broader aspects, which should include both the service quality, such as responsiveness and empathy, and the technical quality, such as the reputation, capability and independence. Undeniably, there are empirical relationships occurred between the factors which explain the service quality and technical quality even though these two facets of audit quality have been viewed as distinct constructs. Hence, it is difficult to improve the audit quality by focusing on only single aspect and missing out the other relevant variables and aspects. Emphasizing on the perception of audit quality by clients and stakeholders In order to improve the audit quality of the services provided by audit firms and auditors, it is essential to understand clearly what audit quality is perceived by the clients and stakeholders, who are mainly the key users of the audit reports and audited financial statements. According to the survey conducted in the Auditqual: Dimension of Audit Quality by Angus Duff in 2004, both auditors, clients and stakeholders rated the reputation and capability dimensions of technical quality as the highest in their perception of audit quality. Hence, the reputation of firms and the capabilities of audit staff and partners seen to be the key factors when promoting the audit services to clients. This clearly show that clients and stakeholders are valuing much more on the firms reputation and auditors capabilities rather than other factors, such as the non-audit services provided. Proper systems to monitor and improve audit quality The audit firms provide services rather than products to their clients. Therefore, it is important for audit firms and auditors to provide the highest level of audit quality for their clients in order to gain sustainable competitive advantage and a leading position in the audit market. An adequate understanding of the clients perception on audit quality should be used as a basis to monitor and improve the audit quality. In addition, the audit firms should understand and minimize the audit quality expectation gaps which occur both within the audit firms and between the perception of clients, stakeholders and auditors. Hence, proper systems should be developed and put in place to continuously monitor the perception of audit quality by clients, identify the reasons for the shortfalls of audit quality and design appropriate actions to improve the audit quality. Employ, retain and develop competence staff As noted before, audit is a service provided by individual rather than a product. Hence, the audit quality is significantly dependent on the quality of the individual. Every audit firms should then employ, retain and develop high-caliber staff in order to provide high quality audit services that add values to the clients. The good quality staff should be equipped with adequate and necessary technical and interpersonal skills to deliver high level of technical quality and service quality to the clients and stakeholders in their audit works. Therefore, it is important for audit firms to properly screen individuals before employment being made through appropriate tests and assessments. After employment, continuous effective communication with staff should be established to retain and develop high quality staff. Examples of effective communication include open meetings, feedback via intranet and independen

Capital Punishment: A Probel Beyond Repair Essay examples -- Capital Pu

Strapped on to a large chair, electrical conductors positioned all around my head and wrists, I am seconds away from the end of my life. I am petrified, roar of the jury surrounding me as they witness me fall to my doom. It is unfair for me to die like this, even as a criminal. This is a cruel and inhumane system of punishment, and I am defenceless to prevent my wretched faith. As the man pulls down the switch, waves of electrical currents enter my body, my body squirming endlessly with treacherous pain. The waves suddenly stop as the switch is pulled back. My head falls forward, my chin tilting towards my chest. As I plunge to my death at the hands of the government as the words of Desmond Tutu echo through my head, "To take a life when a life has been lost is revenge, not justice." The government that must represent the people has just taken the existence of one of its own and all it has left of me is a corpse, cold and lifeless. The death penalty, commonly known as capital punishm ent affects more than just my life. Capital punishment is a cruel and merciless method of punishment that government is not allowing me to recover through rehabilitation and give back to society. The judicial system is not solving any problem by killing me as it has had made the same impact on society that I had. The expenditures necessary for the death penalty only hurts the fragile economy that we are in after the recovery of the recession. With a great number of problems with this form of punishment, I beseech to everyone to rid of capital punishment worldwide and instead punish criminals like me through a method that is considered humane. While I lay dead, some may ponder into the future in which, if I had a chance to rehabilitate, I would have re... ... a better life without crime. The government would be leading by example as they will not take on the same actions as I, the criminal. There are great savings to be had that could be spent on beneficial activities for society and not spent on a criminal like me. We as people have come so far but there are parts of the past that are left to erase.† Capital Punishment is considered inhuman and â€Å"it’s been somewhat embarrassing, quite frankly, that nations just as so-called civilized as ours think we're barbaric because we still have capital punishment." (deathpenalty.org 27 February 2011). Reginald Wilkinson was a prison director in Ohio and speaks the truth in saying that is an embarrassment to a nation to continue with capital punishment. Thus, in final consideration, capital punishment must be abolished and we must move on as it has become a problem beyond repair.

Scuba :: essays research papers

Scuba diving is an activity enjoyed by people all over the world. Scientists use it to study underwater life, police use it to train in case of emergencies, and many others do it just for fun. What many people don't know, though, is that scuba diving would be impossible without physics. Pressure, buoyancy, and force are big parts of diving. Pressure, the weight pushing on something, is a vital part of scuba diving. As a diver sinks deeper into the water, the pressure pushing on the person's lungs pushes harder. This can be very dangerous to a person's safety. While the water is pushing on the outside of the lungs, pressure in the inside of the lungs is pushing out. If this pressure isn't the same as the weight from the water pushing on the lungs, the diver could have breathing problems and possibly die. To equalize these two pressures, modern scuba gear is equipped with a device attached to the air hose called a demand regulator that controls the flow of air getting to the lungs, changing the pressure inside. Buoyancy, how easily a person sinks or floats, is definitely a huge part of scuba diving. It determines how deep a person stays underwater. To control this, divers wear weights and inflatable neckwear called buoyancy compensators. Depending on how many weights a person is wearing; they sink to a certain depth and stay there. The more weights, the farther down they go. The buoyancy compensator, once inflated, rises the person back up to the surface. The more accessories, such as weights, a person wears, the lighter they feel in water and the easier they sink. All kinds of forces can be associated with scuba diving. For instance, when a diver kicks his fins to move, he is applying a force on the water behind him. In turn, the water is applying a force back on him, causing him to move. Pressure is a force that pushes on a diver's lungs, air tank, and everything else in the water.

Sympathy for PIP :: essays research papers

Great Expectations Dickens’ gripping novel of 1861, Great Expectations, portrays his distinguishing tendency to exaggerate both plot and characters. Chapter eight enhances his main aim of initiating sympathy for Pip, and this, consequently, lasts for the novel’s entirety. We are shown similarities between Dickens’ early childhood memories and the protagonist’s inability to defend himself against the injustices he discovers throughout the early years of life. Dickens successfully creates a sympathetic mood through a range of techniques, including an exquisite use of emotive dialogue, sophisticated imagery and symbolism. He explores and brings originality to timeless themes such as fear, loneliness, luck, classism, social justice, humiliation, and humor, which is cleverly incorporated into his writing for the first time to bring an uplifting mood to an otherwise dark and disturbing tone. His use of Miss Havisham and Estella as tools to evoke sympathy and casting the central character as the narrative voice increases compassion and creates a dramatic attitude. In this essay, I will also examine the opening and ending of the chapter, which contribute to its overall effect. Opening and Ending of the chapter After the initial detailed account of Pumblechook and his home, we are immediately endeared to Pip and express sympathy when he begins to depict the low ceiling of his attic space. Our sympathy is again increased and contained throughout the entire chapter – from the humorous torment of Pumblechook’s sums to meeting the somewhat frightening Miss Havisham and stepping inside her lonely, dilapidated abode. Pip’s already dire situation is once again worsened by Estella and Miss Havisham’s cruel and menacing comments about the situation in which he finds himself. They arouse our consideration through the way in which they interact, both with each other and with Pip, making him feel ‘much more ignorant’ than he had considered himself the previous night. His growing obsession with Estella and her view upon him drags down his self-esteem to an all time low and consequently builds our sympathy towards him. It is here that his feeling of despair and worthlessness present him with the new target of becoming a gentleman, so far from his status at that present time. Social Class Great Expectations frequently refers us to the present class system of a post-Industrial Revolution Victorian England. The theme of social underlines the book’s overall plot and moral theme that loyalty and conscience are worth more than social advancement, wealth and class. During the 19th century, there were vast differences in social class. Although it was incredibly easy to slip down the social ladder, the poor often resorted to begging or stealing in order to

Floor Cleaning Process

II. FLOOR CARE, CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE A. Floor Cleaning Process B. Stripping/Wet Scrubbing Procedures Submitted by: MC GERALD G. SALDO Submitted to: Mrs. Juliet P. Diloy November 26, 2012 III. FLOOR CARE, CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE G. Floor Cleaning Process A. STRIPPING FLOORS Stripping is the elimination of embedded dirt, oil and old layers of floor finish and sealer. The process completely cleans and prepares floors for the application of new coats, floor sealer or floor finish ( wax ). Floor stripping products are used for this purpose. Supplies and Equipment Needed:MopMop Wringer Hand GlovesFloor Stripper or PolisherWax Remover |Steps |Procedures | |First, clear the area of dirt and spots so that the dirt/soil will|Sweep or vacuum the floor thoroughly. Remove sticky deposits or | |not be absorbed by the stripping solution. |material with a putty knife. | |Place a caution sign to prevent slips on the floor. |Place the sign in the working area â€Å"Wet floor, watch your stepâ € . | |Prepare the stripping solution.The dilution will depend on the |Mix 1 gallon of floor stripper to 4 gallons of water in a bucket, | |degree of soil. Heavy soil needs higher dilution. |for every floor area of 250 square meters. | | |Dilution sometimes varies for different types of stripper. Read | | |the instructions on the label. Dip the mop on the solution. Do not| | |squeeze the mop. Spread the solution and cover the whole area. |Soften the old film to make stripping easier to accomplish. |Spread the solution on the floor with a mop and let it be absorbed| | |for 10-12 minutes. | |Scrub the area thoroughly from the farthest to the nearest. |Use a floor machine with an abrasive pad or brush, depending on | | |the type of floor. | |Pick up the softened and suspended film, dirt and soil. |Use a mop or use a wet-dry vacuum. | |Rinse the floor thoroughly. Remove all cleaning solution, using a clean mop. Use a different | | |mop for rinsing. Make sure the coats are even. | |Let the floor dry completely. |Once dried, the floor is now ready for the application of wax or | | |floor finish. | STRIPPING TIPS: 1. In case of particularly stubborn residuces (example: in the commercial sector) use undiluted if required. 2. Do not allow stripper to dry out on the floor. For this reason, work in sections. . Before stripping floor coverings (e. g. , rubber flooring), check for color and material fastness at an inconspicuous spot. If necessary, dilute Stripper even more and apply several times using a short standing time. 4. Wear rubber gloves during use and ensure that the rooms to be treated are well ventilated. Do not spray sensitive surfaces (e. g. , wood, metal, varnished surfaces) with the cleaning or stripping solution. 5. Store stripping solution in a cool, dry place in, closed, original container. Keep it locked and out of the reach of children. B. SEALING FLOORSSealing follows stripping. A floor sealer-chemical is applied on the floor to protect the surfaces and to act as a bond between the floor sealer and the finish (wax). Sealing helps to smoothen rough surfaces and scratches. It also protects the floor of other types of floor abuse thereby enhancing its appearance. Supplies and Equipment Needed: Wet Mopplastic liner Sealer solution |Steps |Procedures | |1. Prepare the floor area. |Place the caution sign in a visible location. | | | | |Put supplies and equipment in the floor area to be sealed. | | | | | |Put plastic bag (liner) into the empty bucket that is to be used for| | |the sealer solution, then pour sealer into the lined bucket. | | | | |Using the plastic bag liner keeps the bucket clean and keeps the | | |sealer from becoming contaminated with any residue that might be in | | |the bucket. | |2. Dip the damp mop head into the bucket with a sealer. |Wring out gently such that the mop head is wet but does not drip. | |3.Trace/outline the entire area to be sealed. |Start in one of the baseboards in the farth est corner of the room. | | | | | |If the entire area cannot be out-lined before the sealer dries, | | |apply the sealer to the floor along the baseboards covering as much | | |of the traces/outline as possible. |4. Apply the sealer to the floor area. |Work by sections, do a side to side motion, starting from the | | |farthest corner and moving backward toward the door. Overlap the | | |strokes. Avoid having puddles of sealer on the floor. |5. Allow the floor to dry completely before applying wax. |If recoating is needed, follow the same steps above stated. | ———————– Republic of the Philippines CAVITE STATE UNIVERSITY (CvSU) Don Severino de las Alas Campus Indang, Cavite ((046) 415-0010 / 415-0011 ((046)415-0012 Email Address: [email  protected] com STRIPPING SEALING FINISHING MAINTAINING

Learning to Lead Change

Learning to Lead Change†¦ â€Å"The simplest definition of leadership† says Peter Senge, of learning organisation fame, â€Å"is the ability to produce change. † Does your organisation need to build change leadership capability? There’s a big emphasis now on leadership, not just conventional management skills. One reason is a growing recognition that in times of change, when systems are unstable and futures are uncertain, it’s leaders we need – not managers.When you boil it down, leadership itself is largely about leading people through change. Leaders are the key drivers of change. They play a critical role in preparing people for it, and then leading them through it. No matter what your specific job, managers everywhere now need to be more change-adept. Organisations nowadays expect people to step out of their functional role and handle a formidable array of changes as part of their daily work – often with little preparation for it.In a word, we all need to become change leaders. Whether you introduce the change – a better procedure, a service-delivery improvement, redesigning work, merging work units, designing a new product line or introducing a new piece of technology – or whether it’s imposed on you, the ability to manage change and make it happen rapidly and smoothly is one of the keys to organisational vitality, renewal and success. And learning how to lead change is one of the critical skills that underscores successful implementation.To have the ability to: Identify when change is needed and constantly build their own and other’s capacity to learn, adapt and transform Translate change initiatives into working visions and strategies staff find comprehensible and want to sign onto Design down-to-earth workplace change and improvement strategies people can work with Communicate clearly about change in ways people can understand Reduce uncertainty and convert anxiety, denial and re sistance into constructive change energy Build momentum, create commitment, get people into action mode then facilitate them through change Many managers overlook the need to develop change capabilities in themselves or in others. Their assumption often sounds like this: ‘I’ve been managing this organisation for years – so I certainly know how to change it! ‘ What organisations frequently fail to see is that the skills to build change leadership capability are very different to those needed to manage a business in normal operational mode. Everyday management skills, sound as they may be, just don’t convert that easily into effective change leadership capabilities. New skills are needed but not many see this. Back to topKey practice areas for enabling change†¦ Here’s a list of key practice areas for enabling change†¦ They inter-connect. Changes in one flow through to all the others†¦ Learning to Lead Change: Put simply leadership is frequently about leading people through change. Leaders are key drivers of change and leadership learning should focus firmly on the critical role leaders play in preparing, and leading people through change in order to create change leaders – those with the capability to communicate clearly about change in ways people can understand, shape a vision they can sign onto, build momentum, create commitment, get people into action and then facilitate them through it.Facilitating Change: is a role for both change leaders and teams. It involves being capable of leading team activities, adopting a facilitation role to lead change teams and shifting from mental models of ‘managing’, ‘organising’ or ‘controlling’ to being facilitators & direction-setters. Leveraging Culture: Very little changes unless the culture it’s happening in gets addressed – the habits, assumptions and shared mental models carried by yourself and others. Th is involves sensing the current culture, assessing how supportive or not this is for change outcomes you envisage and learning to leverage and work with the culture to get these change results.Promoting Change Participation: Promote involvement in and responsibility for managing change processes. Our bias for participation is based on observation and experience that if you involve others in jointly determining what and how to change, it is more likely to be successful than imposed change. This involves working out ways to involve people – both participation inside your change team or target group and with stakeholders outside it. Building Change Capacity: What capacities do we need to build in order to change successfully? This includes individual skills, tools and disciplines you and your change team needs to develop change enabling capacity and the resources needed to support change – tangible and ‘in’.It also involves building longer term change capabil ity by embedding good practices in the work/learning habits of people impacted by changes. Systems Redesign: When things change, old work systems, processes and procedures need to change too. One reason change fails is a lack of know-how or refusal to change old work patterns, systems, structures and mental models that get in the way. At whatever level, change leaders constantly look for more innovative, efficient and flexible ways of re-organising work processes and procedures to meet ever-changing improvement challenges. All change leaders need to learn how to be systems redesigners. Change Leaders need Tools: Without tools, guiding ideas remain un-actioned.Leaders need new tools and processes to make a positive contribution to these more flexible and fluid forms of learning if they are to use learning to change and respond more quickly to successive change challenges. Our leadership-learning emphasises being transparent about the tools we use and injecting specific learning tools into the change coaching/action learning process for people to try out and experiment with. Monitoring Change: This involves developing ways to tell whether real change and improvement has taken place; identifying indicators and processes to evaluate whether our change actions and processes have made a real difference and get back on-track if changes aren’t working.

Income Smoothing

Journal of Economics, Business and Accountancy Ventura Accreditation No. 110/DIKTI/Kep/2009 Volume 14, No. 1, April 2011, pages 59 – 78 THE THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTION OF INCOME SMOOTHING MEASUREMENT Alwan Sri Kustono Jember University E-Mail: [email  protected] com Tegal Besar Permai 2-E1,Jember,Propinsi Jawa Timur,Indonesia ABSTRACT The income smoothing is a dimension of the accounts manipulation theme that has been a ttracting a great attention in the accounting literature. A goal of manipulation widely as cribed to managers is the desire to smooth.Reported income, Income smoothing reflects reducing the possible income fluctuations so as to make it as stable as possible throughout the ism. Almost of income smoothing research in Indonesia used Eckel’s index to clasify smoother non smoother firms. Empirical evidences have provided support for the existence of an income smoothing behavior. The studies showed inconsistent about factors determining this smoothing. The purp ose of the present investigation is twofold. First, we seek to determine if Eckel index is a reliable instrument to measure income smoothing behavior.Second, we pretend to identify the new instrument to measure incidence of income smoothing. Our research sample comprises manufacturing companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange, over period of 1999-2008. This study confirms Eckel’s index is not reliability instru ment. The new proposed index quantifies the incidence of income smoothing without depend on n periods. The results imply that researchers should re-examine the conclusion of previous studies, particularly that determinant, factors and effect of income smoothing practices. Key words: income smoothing, Eckel’s index, c oefficient of variation, reliability.INTRODUCTION It has been noticed that income statement is considered as one of the statements to be presented in financial reporting. For that reason, the company’s earning is considered vital infor mation for it can be used to measure the corporate performance. In other words, information of the earning can be used to assess the performance or accountability of management and also predict the ability of companies in the effort of contributing to the following earning. In general, earning reporting is frequently not free from the accounting manipulation. Yet it appears different from the fraudulence.Accounting manipulation can be still in tolerant when it is put in the accounting rules. In contrast, fraudulence practices tend to be against the rules and accounting standards. Thus, it is delicately different from income smoothing. In fact, one 59 of the practices of accounting manipulation is income smoothing. In connection with the pursuit of analyzing income smoothing in the companies, some definitions of it can be inferred. First of all, income smoothing is defined as the emphasis on the fluctuations in income levels that are considered normal for the company (Barnea et al. 1 976). For another thing, Beidleman, (1973) defines income smoothing as the management efforts to reduce abnormal variations in the earning to the extent permitted by the principles of good management and accounting. Income smoothing in such instances, is as a tool used by management to reduce the variability of reported income stream relative to the target which is intentionally smoothed by using artificial or real variable. In addition, income smoothing is one-dimensional manipulation of accounts that attract the atten- ISSN 2087-3735 The Theoretical Construction †¦ (Alwan Sri Kustono) ion of many accounting literature in the realm of earnings management. Beside, income smoothing reflects the concern to reduce the possibility of fluctuations in income by making a steady flow Research on income smoothing in Indonesia generally examine several factors which are allegedly to motivate management to do income smoothing. They identify the existence of such practices and followed by testing management motivation. The results of these studies have identified those most public companies in Indonesia have conducted income smoothing. All in all, most of the studies are uniform in terms of inferring he end results. Testing the triggering factor of income smoothing policy by the company management has not consistently been recovered. Among the results of such studies are often inconsistent to one another. For example, Kustono (2010) stated that the inconsistency of their findings was caused by the measuring devices. These devices are thought to be unreliable. For example, Index Eckel does not have the ability to capture the practice of income smoothing between periods. In that situation, it shows that some companies are classified by grading only in one particular year.This is considered to have deviated from the definition of income smoothing. The classification based on Eckel index for one company may also change because of changes in the period used to determine t he coefficient of variation. Change of classification shows that the index is not reliable as a tool. In other words, Eckel is as an identifier of smoothing and not merely for smoothing. Kustono (2010) asserted the idea of the need for new instruments. This research is intended to correct weaknesses of the Eckel and construct an index measuring instrument which is more reliable income smoothing factor.This construction is very important because the use of measuring instrument error will cause errors either in the phase of conclusions related to the classification of sample or the determinants and impact of such classification. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK It is a fact that income smoothing becomes a phenomenon which has been often proved in some previous studies. This practice has been investigated through various levels of different samples. Furthermore, income smoothing is considered to be an important factor. Research by Moses (1987) and Atik & Sensoy (2005) shows that at least 60% of h e sample used in the study can be classified as smoothing the company earnings. Another proponent, such as Barnea et al. (1976) classified accounting income smoothing as inter-temporal smoothing and classification. Inter-temporal smoothing is based on the situation when cost and expenses are recognized and smoothing classification is done with the classification under ordinary cost and extraordinary one in which the ordinary post finally becomes flat. Eckel (1981) distinguishes between income smoothing as a natural smoothing and intended smoothing. Natural smoothing is he alignments resulting from transactions that inherently produce a smoothed earning. In other words, the company's operations to generate income by collecting revenues and expenses are inherently to eliminate fluctuations in income flows. In other words, the process of generating income itself generates a stream of smoothed income. Alignment occurs without the intervention of any party. Income smoothing is accidental ly triggered by the motivation which is based on the management actions. There are two types of income smoothing: intentional, that is income smoothing of the real intention nd the other one is artificial income smoothing. Real income smoothing indicates management actions that seek to control economic conditions that directly affect corporate earnings in the future. In addition, this real income smoothing affects cash flow. On the contrary, artificial income smoothing can show manipulation which is undertaken by management to smooth the earning. Thus, the action of this manipulation resulted in a fundamental or economic condition that can affect cash flow, but shifts 60 Journal of Economics, Business and Accountancy Ventura Accreditation No. 10/DIKTI/Kep/2009 the cost and/or income from one period to another. By taking for granted, such a trend can be traced from several research. Some studies, in fact, have been conducted to identify the smoothing behavior, such as motivation and its impact on future transactions, a company that has been doing income smoothing. This can also be found in other studies such as (Lev & Kunitzky, 1974; Ammihud et al. , 1983, Wang & Williams, 1994; Michelson et al. , 1995; Iniguez & Poveda, 2004). These proponents also provide empirical support toward statement that management reduces he variability of cash flows and earning for the purpose of minimizing the risk of the company. Income smoothing is also intended to increase the value of the firm (Gordon, 1964; Trueman & Titman, 1988; Gibbins et al. , 1990; and Chaney & Lewis, 1995; 1998). Estimator of Income smoothing Income smoothing can only be investigated through some periods by suspecting a certain earning rate of the targeted, e. g. , both highand low-digits earning reports. Some researchers use a two-period model by assuming that the earning target is proportional to the income report in the previous year Copeland, 1968). In other words, the size of alignment is the magnitu de of changes in the earning from one year to the next. Other researchers also evaluated the earning target using multi-period test. The underlying assumption is that it should be an evenly increasing trend (Gordon, 1966). Some of the models used are the exponential model (Dascher and Malcolm, 1970), linear time series models (Barefield and Comiskey, 1972), time trend semi-logaritma (Beidleman, 1973) and model of the market return index (Ronen & Sadan, 1975). For example, Dopuch & Watts (1972) suggest the use ofBox-Jenkins techniques to ensure the alignment model is applicable. Models of earning target are differentiated from the real earning. Often, these models contain errors inherent profit target 61 Volume 14, No. 1, April 2011, pages 59 – 78 because its validity can not be detected empirically. In that case, Ronen & Sadan (1975) suggested that we do income smoothing approach. In particular, income smoothing can be identified if the researcher is faced by the following fo ur questions. 1. What is the object alignment implemented by the management? 2. What is the dimension of management s used to perform smoothing. 3. What instrument of smoothing is used by management 4. What is the object of such smoothing behavior? In connection with the above efforts, Imhoff (1977) and Eckel (1981) developed a methodology based on testing the variability of income associated with the variability of sales. The model used to predict the existence of income smoothing or earnings variation is inter-period variant. They assume that the level of earning depends on the level of sales. The basic idea is that the change in sales can affect the earning. If the variance of income is less than the variance f sales, it can be concluded that the smoothing has been done. Eckel (1981) model of the income smoothing is done by basing on the following premises. 1. Income is a linear function of the sales = sales-cost variable-fixed cost. 2. The ratio of variable costs to sales is in constant currency units 3. Fixed costs are constant or increasing from period to period, but not likely to decline. 4. Gross sales can only be smoothed by real smoothing; gross sales can not be artificially smoothed. Mathematically, Eckel illustrates all the above as the following: when, I=S-VS-FC, and FC;0, and FC t+1 ;=FC t, and 0

Professional Dancing

March 6, 2012 Professional Dancing â€Å"There is a bit of insanity in dancing that does everybody a great deal of good. † Edwin Denby. Dance has not left behind identifiable artifacts that prove when dance was created. It is not possible to place a date on when it became part of human culture. For billions of years people have expressed emotions and feelings through movements.Over the years dance has transformed into an art of great proportion in our daily life. Everyone dances for a different reason. Some because dance is a stress reliever and others, it’s a way for them to express themselves, but for professionals it’s because they cannot live without it. To become a professional dancer it takes hours of practice in a studio and the acceptance of not becoming a huge star with a lot of money.To embark on the journey to become a professional dancer the first decision to make is what style of dance, after the decision is made the next step is to find a dance stud io, during the training in the studio cross training will be needed to become stronger and more flexible, the finance, competitions and injuries are all ideas to consider before committing to a vigorous but rewarding schedule. Even though becoming a professional dancer has a high risk of failure and very low pay, the career can be very rewarding and enjoyable.Finding a dance studio that will push the dancer to become a professional is hard. Usually after finding a studio around where the aspiring dancer lives, research is done to make sure the studio is going to push them to be their best. Many dancers train in multiple studios and possibly even a dance school before becoming a professional. To receive a bachelor’s in dance it costs about $25,000 per year. Most aspiring dancers attempt to get scholarships and sponsors. After graduating the jobs offered for dancers are back-up for videos and concerts, teachers and, theater performances.An audition for these jobs is usually man datory. Almost all professional dancers start out at a young age in ballet classes. By the age of 18 the dancer starts to audition for jobs and begin their career. Ballet is known as the foundation of all dance styles. Ballet provides structure of almost all dance moves and control of the body to continue on in the dance style preferable. To continue on in dance the style has to be chosen by the dancer. The number of styles of dance are uncountable but the most popular are ballet, hip hop, contemporary, and ballroom.Usually those four are the styles that become a profession. Most dancers have a preferable dance style they like because of watching others dance on television or in the studio but to choose the style of dance the best way is to experiment with many. Usually after a few years of learning the foundations of dance the dancer starts to train in the style of dance they have chosen but training in the studio is not the only training a professional has to do. To become a profe ssional dancer cross training is needed to build muscle and endurance.Most advise pilates, upper body work, interval training, yoga, and tai-chi. These work outs help the dancer’s flexibility and strength to jump higher and carry out harder more complicated dance moves. With all this pressure to become a better dancer problems start to occur. An estimated amount of almost 100% of dancers has struggled with an eating disorder (Ballet Dancers). â€Å"Almost everyone credits George Balanchine, the renowned dancer, teacher, and choreographer, with the current aesthetic of ballet in the West, referred to by most as the â€Å"Balanchine body,† or the â€Å"anorexic look† (Gordon, 1983).This is one of the many down sides of aspiring dancers. If given help the dancer can usually start eating correctly and continue on in the hope to become a professional. The cost of the dancers training in the studio may cost up to $200. 00 per month. If the dancer decides to enter com petitions the cost to enter train extra and buy the attire can range around $300. 00. The profession of dancing becomes very expensive. Unless the dancer is getting paid to dance the dancer usually has another job on the outside creating the income to pay for the extra necessities of dance. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that dancers and choreographers earned a mean hourly wage of $16. 55 as of May 2010† (Dancing Care†¦). The career in dance is very risky and unpredictable. As an individual dancing everyone has their opinion of what they like and do not like. Because of this it makes the career very hard to get into and successfully have without the struggle of not having enough money. To become a known new aspiring dancer in the fierce profession entering competitions are a must.Usually a solo in a competition costs $90. 00 to enter. Before learning the routine created by a teacher reading the regulations is a smart idea to know what is allowed in the routine and what is not. If the routine was created before the regulations the dance might have to be tweaked so the dancer is not disqualified. A competition can last just a day or over a weekend. The judging is fierce and the competition makes the dancer want to strive even harder to become an amazing artist. Dance is strenuous. In fact, dancers have one of the highest rates of non-fatal on the-job injury. † The causes of most dance injuries are pushing for perfection so hard that muscles are strained, shin splints occur, plantar fasciitis happens, and stress fractures are created. When dancers have this the best way to cure it is stretching before and after dancing. If any serious injury occurs like breaking bones landing a move wrong it could ruin the dancer’s career.Most dancers retire around the age of 30 if an injury happens early the dancers career they will usually retire a teacher. Recovering could take a few weeks to years. A lot of dancers have permanent damage to their body after a vigorous career of muscles being strained and the body being pushed to its limit. Becoming a professional dancer is risky but rewarding. To become a professional dancer it takes hours of practice in a studio and the acceptance of not becoming a huge star with a lot of money.To embark on the journey to become a professional dancer the first decision to make is what style of dance, after the decision is made the next step is to find a dance studio, during the training in the studio cross training will be needed to become stronger and more flexible, the finance, competitions and injuries are all ideas to consider before committing to a vigorous but rewarding schedule. Every dancer has a different opinion of this profession but the ones who love to dance and have the passion that no one could ever take away from them are the ones who are happy and loving every second of it.