Examining a Sample Workplace Scenario Essay Example

Examining a Sample Workplace Scenario Essay Organizational culture is regarded as an all-encompassing component of the life of an organization.   It is primarily composed of the varying worldview, attitudes, core values, principles and beliefs shared by the people constituting the organization.   Notwithstanding the cultural differences among the members, the group eventually develops a dominant culture.   Ideally, the dominant one must be able to integrate the minor cultural components.   Taken as a whole, the basic core values and attitudes define the manner the entire organization behaves.   In business settings, it ultimately defines the behavior of an employee towards each other and clients and other people outside the organization (Hill Jones, 2009).Organizational culture is mainly dictated by the prevalent values shared by all members of the group.   These are core values dearly held on to by both the managers and the employees alike.   The values help define how should a fellow employee interact with ano ther employee, a subordinate with the superiors and the organization as a whole with the stakeholders and the general public in general.   Organization culture, far wider in scope, is basically influenced by the consolidated values of the organization.Montana and Charnov (2000) went to the extent of defining organizational culture in the corporate environment.   Corporate culture, therefore, involves the totality of the values, traditions, customs and drives that contribute to the distinct character of the company.   It both defines the behavior of the policy makers and the managers, since the corporate culture is mainly shaped by the visions and stated objectives outlined by the founders and the subsequent decision makers.Varying types and components of organizational cultureMany models of organization culture were developed over time.   Essentially, those models were defined according to specific schools of thought management theorists belong to.   Most basic model defin es organization culture according to the extent of power and influence it exerts to the rest of the organization.   According to the model, subcultures may be defined as strong and weak culture.   Strong culture is the dominant composite values in an organization, where hierarchical structures, communication formats and management-employee behavior are clearly defined (McFarlin, 2002).   An organization with a strong culture seldom experiences major intra-corporate conflicts, since the goals and manner of executing them are precisely defined.   Weak culture, on the other hand, exhibit minimal alignment of the variant values and attitudes, necessitating a strong persona or leadership in the company.Hofstede (1984), in his study involving 100,000 workers employed by IBM in different parts of the world, investigated the varying aspects of culture that wields significant influence on the behavior of the entire multi-national corporation.   The study was able to identify the fi ve major components of corporate culture, namely: power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism vs. collectivism, masculinity vs. femininity, and long vs. short term orientation.   Power distance pertains to the expectations of the society on varying levels of power.   Some individuals are inherently expected to discharge greater power than those in the lower echelons of the organization.   Minimal power distance assessment score, therefore, entails that everyone in the group are perceived to have equal rights.   Uncertainty avoidance refers to the established rule defining the extent the group may accept risks and uncertainty involved.   Individualism versus collectivism means the ability of the employees to stand up either for them or for the entire organization.   This concept, however, was rebutted by some thinkers, showing that an organization high in individualism may equally value collectivism at the same time.   The latter two components define the relat ionship between members of two main sex groups and the ability of the organization to accommodate changes vis-à  -vis the manner people perceived the importance of the future against the past and present.According to Johnson (1988), there are seven basic elements of organizational culture that are helpful in describing and evaluating the same.   Corporate paradigm pertains to the core values and generic mission of the company.   It includes the raison d’à ªtre of the entity and the basic goals it is intended to achieve.   Control systems refer to the identified processes and mechanisms to assess the operations of the company. Control systems are important in evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of the organization.   Organizational structures pertain to the established communication lines, hierarchies and the manner work is executed in the workplace.   Power structures provides for the specific persons who make the decisions of varying significance.   The y also explain how power is shared among those who wield it and the basis of the authority in making decisions.   Symbols literally mean the logos and designs of the company.   However, the concept has been expanded to include trivial but equally important things, such as parking spaces and washrooms.   Rituals and routines involve the habitual activities generally observed.   Stories and myths encompass information about people and events, giving one an idea on what are most valued by the people who share them.   These elements are not entirely independent of each other.   Most corporate entities display the overlapping and merging of the different elements.The Case of ABB Electromechanical MetersBurton, Obel, Hunter, Sà ¸ndergaard Dà ¸jbak (1998) conducted a study involving the ABB Electromechanical Meters.   ABBEM belongs to a larger multinational corporation, i.e. ABB.   The other division is the electronic meters.   Although both divisions basically belongs to the same industry, the study conducted is illustrative of the sub-organization culture of the electromechanical that defines the division’s attitude and behavior towards the other division and within the mother corporation itself.Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) initially started as the Westinghouse Meter Plant, established in 1953 in Raleigh, North Carolina, US.   The plant, subject of this review, periodically churns out metering equipment.   With clearly defined goals, the plant workers had been minimally relying on outside resources, except the raw materials and components not produced by the company.   The varying sections are fully integrated into one production system.Sometime in February 1989, ABB executed a joint venture agreement with Westinghouse, resulting to the eventual acquisition of the meter operation in December of the same year.   Prior to the said acquisition, ABB management adhered to the core value emphasizing self-reliance and autonomy of its divisio ns.   The same philosophy was transferred to the workers of the plant upon acquisition.   The meter plant was composed of the electromechanical and electronic divisions.Before the entire meter plant was acquired, the two basic divisions had been relying substantially to one another.   Although all specific job functions were grouped into three smaller sections with their respective heads reporting to the over-all plant manager, most workers in general rely heavily to the different sub-groupings.   Electronics division, for example, normally purchased certain components from the electromechanical division because the latter has no production capacity to produce the same.   Besides, it was deemed practical and beneficial to purchase from the other division within the same production line than having the same outsourced from other companies.   In the same manner, the electromechanical division depended largely on the electronic division for the designs and assembly of certa in components.   This heavy dependence inherently provided the convenience of sourcing sub-component materials from within the same plant.The introduction of what the meter plant perceived as an alien philosophy from ABB contributed to significant changes in the organizational structure that potentially threatened the productivity and efficiency of the entire plant.   The component divisions had to establish and provide for their own material needs and services because of the imposition of the new paradigm in the company.Evaluation and RecommendationsAt the onset, ABB top management was desirous of increasing productivity and efficiency in the production line through greater independence and autonomy.   The top policy makers were aware of the potential adverse impacts of too much reliance among the component divisions in the company.   The managers put too much importance on the said policy on self-reliance.   Necessarily, when the meter plant was acquired from Westinghous e, the same policy was imposed on the workers and section heads who had originally valued the exact opposite.Sims (2002) believes that the currently existing organization culture may result to varying degree of dysfunction and initial adverse reaction, especially when a mother company merges with or acquires an albeit smaller company.   In the case of ABB’s acquisition of the meter plant resulted to the seemingly radical overhaul of the different elements of organizational culture discussed earlier.   Organizational and power structures were hugely altered, as the new owners will ultimately be making all major policies.   They had the authority to define how the company as a whole must be able to function to produce the desired results, including even the manner one component division interact with another within the same mother company.Definitely, the contrasting sub-cultures of the mother company and the meter plant could not remain separated.   The acquiring compan y has the prerogative in defining a comprehensive set of policies covering all aspects of the workplace.   Separation of cultures in the cited case would not work out, especially because the component divisions have identical and shared functions.   What could have been done was either the assimilation or integration of the two sub-organizational cultures.As explained at the beginning of the paper, fuller understanding of the varying components and elements of the entire organization culture is critical in the formulation of an effective and realistic set of company policies.   Intra-organizational conflicts may be avoided when there is a reasonable accommodation of specific values long observed by the entity being acquired by the mother company.   Disintegrated and variant sub-cultures have the potential to create a weak organizational culture.   A weak culture is one of the contributing factors of inefficiency and reduced productivity in the workplace.   A strong leade rship, expressed through memoranda and issuances may augment the situation but it will take longer before the plant workers may be able to change the way they look at the things in the same workplace with new policy makers.

Essentials in a Research Essays

Essentials in a Research Essays Essentials in a Research Paper Essentials in a Research Paper Research is guided by the specific research problem, question or hypothesis precisely because research originates with a question or a problem most commonly in terms of the observation of the environment though not necessarily in the sense of the ‘natural environment’. Without the perceived problem, question or hypothesis there would hardly be any reason to investigate or conduct a research in the first place. For that matter, the stimulus for the research derives from the question or problem out of observation and that, correspondingly, it should serve as the framework or the guide for the whole research. For instance, the observation that the seawater tastes salty may result to the questioning of why seawater tastes salty or to the problem of identifying what makes seawater taste salty. From then on the research is to ensue with a set of experiments and data analysis of findings, all of which are guided by the central hypothesis at hand as the core foundation of the research. A classic example which paved the way for modern scientific developments is the case of Charles Darwin. Darwin paved the way for the Theory of Evolution largely through his habit of keeping â€Å"several series of notes and diaries on natural history observations† (Porter, 1982, p. 503). If research is guided by the specific research problem, then it should also be the case that research requires the clear articulation of the goal. If the goal for the research paper is not clearly articulated, then the entire research will most likely result to the failure of arriving at the substantial conclusion given the fact that the most basic goal is not clearly defined. Given the role of the goal of the research as the main target regardless of what other things the research may arrive at in the end, it is never enough to have research goals ambiguously or vaguely articulated. Furthermore, since research is guided by the specific research problem, it should also require a specific plan for proceeding. Otherwise, the specific research problem would not serve its purpose of guiding the whole research process. A carefully laid out plan or scheme of carrying out the research paper or activity is equally important because it holds the structure of the manner or method in which the research goal is to be realized. On the other hand, the specific research plan involves the clear elaboration of the procedures in conducting the research which brings us to the next point. Research usually divides the principal problem into more manageable sub-problems. For example, in Susan Wolf’s (1997) article â€Å"Ban Cloning? Why NBAC is Wrong,† she divides the central question of her research into three sub-problems under three subheadings. This method is particularly effective because it substantiates the central question and gives more room for the scope of the research problem to be solved. And in order for the research to substantiate the central question for the research goal to be realized, the research should also accept certain critical assumptions. For instance, Archie Epps (1961) in his research the Christian doctrine of slavery accepts the critical assumption that the â€Å"inability or general unwillingness to comply with and encourage the removal of segregation, discrimination and prejudice† among others â€Å"are often admittedly Christian (p. 243). By doing so, Epps was able to collect and interpret data in order to resolve the problem that initiated the research. This is another essential characteristic of research. Finally, it can be observed that research is, by its nature, cyclical or, more exactly, helical as it involves the interweaving and interlinking of the research characteristics in order to be able to support the whole research and realize the research goals and objectives. References Epps, A. C. (1961). The Christian Doctrine of Slavery: A Theological Analysis. The Journal of Negro History, 46(4), 243-249. Porter, D. M. (1982). Charles Darwins Notes on Plants of the Beagle Voyage. Taxon, 31(3), 503-506. Wolf, S. M. (1997). Ban Cloning? Why NBAC Is Wrong. The Hastings Center Report, 27(5), 12-15.

Scenario Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Scenario Analysis - Research Paper Example Owing to their reduced vision and hearing troubles, most aged students should be seated in the front rows and youngsters should be made to sit in the rear of the class. Sociological models explain the process of development in adults from a social and cultural perspective. People’s tendency to learn is influenced by their cultural traits and social interactions. Some people are inspired by their ideals. In an attempt to follow them, they tend to seek education. Sociological models cover such factors as class, gender, race, and sexual interests of the adults and study their impact on their development tendency (Imel, 2001). Psychological theoretical model explains the sequence of development and the effect of life experiences and phases on an individual’s tendency to learn. Generally, young people are much more enthusiastic about learning and developing their career as compared to old people. They have a whole life in front of them and they are keen to learn as much as t hey can in order to do their best in their professions. On the other hand, old people tend to be more selective in their learning areas. A vast majority of old people would rather choose to learn about religion than economics. One’s choice and preferences alter with age and they have a direct impact on one’s tendency to learn.

Spaces and Subjects of Modernity Modern Cities, Entertainment and Las Essay

Spaces and Subjects of Modernity Modern Cities, Entertainment and Las Vegas - Essay Example (Buchholz et al, 2002). An in-depth understanding of the above can, it is argued, lead to avoidance of the deficits or malaise (this seems so normal in the dystopian scheme), of the modern world. This essay deals with the reconstruction of the modern city as Las Vegas, within the limitations of cultural space to highlight the role of authoritative control and also its absence in promoting a liberal society. The role of exhibitions and cinema and how this relates to the changes in the entertainment and gambling industry in Las Vegas will be defined. In ancient civilizations like the Mesopotamian, the 'juridico-discursive' power is entirely at the hands of a 'sovereign authority who exercised absolute control over the population through the threat or open display of violence' (Foucault, 1978). Surveillance, becomes an important tool of the state is but, a sort of mapping of contours, geographies, and finally human beings too. Modern states also used such "thematic mapping technologies", a notable one, being "the cadastral map, which record land ownership and resource characteristics" (Goss, Jon. 1995). Constant surveillance which, when internalized, as in "disciplining the body, takes hold of the mind as well to induce a psychological state of 'conscious and permanent visibility" (Foucault 1977). It then becomes a disciplinary power that is used directly on the body, and collectively, to control social groups. Foucault speaks of the structured ways of knowing and exercising this power, in respect of Body, Power and the Sexuality ; Subjectivity, identity and resistance; and Freedom, power and Politics.( Armstrong,2005). The Relevance of Psycho-geography in Modern Geography Psycho-geography is defined as "The study of specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organised or not, on the emotions and behaviour of individuals"(Situationniste Internationale, 1958). It was first developed by the 'Lettrist International,' as part of their system of unitary urbanism. It has since evolved to encompass many things; "psycho geography is one antithetical pole among many which realizes the conflict between our idealized role as citizens and our subjectivity arising from the material conditions of our life"(Psycho geography, 2005). The Modern Metropolis The development of culture is characterized by the preoccupation the "objective spirit" over the "subjective spirit. The objective culture is defined as the collection of rules, tools, symbols and products created by human beings and the subjective culture is what individuals have been able to absorb and integrate into them-selves from the objective culture. Metropolitan life places the utmost importance to stable but impersonal time schedule. There seems to be in the metropolitan style, direct dissociation in reality, in one of its elemental forms which is socialization (Simmel, 1908). A link has been conceived between the new social and environmental conditions of the metropolis and psychological state of continuity. It has strong connotations to the destruction and re-construction of modern cities (like Paris, Berlin etc,) as dictated by the changes in mobility,

Emerging Themes in Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Emerging Themes in Marketing - Essay Example Independent research has been carried out on topics such as online shopping, its evolution and current scenario, a brief highlight on the online retail industry of UK and the current issues this industry is facing. The literature review also highlights the consumer behaviour and patterns during online shopping. Findings – Apart from an analysis of the benefits of innovation in online shopping, the paper also highlights the benefits and rising issues of online shopping sites. Originality/value –This paper also expands the literature on the various emerging issues in the field of online retailing and recommends strategies to improve the technological and overall innovations in online shopping, creating a better customer experience. Keywords - Online shopping, innovation, retail, sustainable growth, sales. Contents Contents 3 Introduction 4 Literature Review 5 Critical review 5 Online Shopping and Changing Retail Environment 6 Consumer Buying Behaviour and Drivers of Onlin e Shopping 7 Online Shopping In UK- Emerging Issues 9 Figure 2- Online Retailing As Percent Of UK Shopping. 10 Conclusion and Future Recommendations 11 Reference List 13 Introduction Innovation can be described as establishing ideas in order to create new solutions to meet the requirement of the business or organisation. There is a widespread belief that innovations leads to exploitation of ideas which in turn are responsible for a sustainable and profitable economic growth. However, the exact practices, measurements and course of directions for the innovative activities of an organisation depend largely on their situation. Innovation varies widely in services sector, compared to any other physical or tangible sector. Innovation in retail also requires more support from the government, compared to other sectors (Brown, 1990). But it should also be noted that innovation retailing sector has provided with largest number of value added services and employment opportunities within UK. R etailing can be considered as a cross-functional economic activity acting as a bridge between consumption and production. Online retailing is a sector where organisations bring together products and services relevant to the requirements of the customers (Doherty and Ellis-Chadwick, 2010). Retailers from UK have become more active in terms of supply chain and innovation. Most of the big organisations in retail industry are managed by professionals and have widespread reach in the developed markets. Now these organisations are stepping into emerging markets to increase their market share. Most of the big retailers have earned a brand name for themselves with some of them having in-house brands which are levelled with branded manufacturers. While it is not possible for these brands to establish brick and mortar shop in every corner of the city or country of target, online retail shopping has given them eminent opportunities which have helped in the overall growth of the market share, p rofits and overall revenue generation for these online retailers. The present article will find useful insights on the present online retail industry; its nature and scope and forces which drive innovation in the online retail industry. Literature is gathered to find out the typology and behaviour of the online shoppers and the

Reporting Irregularities in Financial Statements: Case Study

Reporting Irregularities in Financial Statements: Case Study Nowadays, especially is Bulgaria, people are becoming more and more hungry for money, that is why the word fraud takes part more often in our speech. Fraud is part of criminal law, and it comes when we have personal gain by fraudulent way or damaging another individual. The most common purpose of frauds are connected with person or entities trying to assign and stole money or valuables. There are plenty of models, which are especially constructed to define and reveal frauds, most of them will be used in this paper to decide whether Asil Nadir should be sentenced or not. More about analysis and comparisons with other cases and examples of models can be found in appendix 1 and 2. Proposed Fraud Investigation Plan for Polly Packs Financial Statement Fraud Given below is the proposed investigation plan for Polly Packs financial statement fraud: 1. Develop an understanding of the activities of Polly Pack To understand the activities of microfinance institutions, the auditor should pay attention to: the main concerns of the leaders on the objectives and strategies of the institution, the institutions organizational structure, operation of its business, results of operations, ability to self-finance, operations and other major economic events may affect its financial statements, accounting issues and changes accounting policies, and funding sources. To obtain this information, the auditor should meet with the leaders of the institution; visit at least one agency, and review reports and other documents. 1.1 Interviews The auditor should meet the main leaders of Polly Pack, including CEO, the head of the financial service or financial director, credit responsibly and activities, and the head of information systems. This is also the time for the auditor to discuss the first time with the staff of the internal audit, the Board of Directors and major shareholders or lenders, if they have subjects of concern that should be subject to review missions on the basis of agreed or special audits procedures. During these interviews, the auditor should bear in mind the list of items of financial statements. After these initial meetings, the auditor should assess any breach of financial reporting requirements. Analysis of financial statement must be carried out prior to this interview since financial statements may present many significant anomalies. If the first investigations reveal a level of unacceptable business practice or misleading presentation of financial, the auditor may seek further in-depth investigation into a particular area. 1.2 Visits The auditor must visit several regional offices to acquire understanding of the institutions activities and responsibilities that were decentralized. Auditors should perform some initial visits at the stage of pre-commitment, and more visits during the planning phase. 1.3 Review of financial reports and documents The auditor should also consider the reports and other documents for a better understanding of the institution. Unless they are not available, the following may be helpful: previously audited financial statements, budgets and strategic plans; the monthly activity reports, including tables of cash flows, the credit statistics and reports on outstanding; loan agreements and grants; assessments by donors; evaluation reports and correspondence from the authorities re-rules A thorough reflection needs to be carried out on the appropriate reports for Polly Peck, according to its size and age. 1.3 Understand the standards and accounting methods The accounting rules and methods of Polly Peck are not conventional, and therefore require special attention from the auditors 2. Evaluating Accounting Standards The external auditor shall determine the accounting standards used by the institution. Many microfinance institutions do not follow the national standards or international. 2.2 The accounting policies During the pre-commitment, the external auditor should ask the management of the institution which accounting method it uses. Sometimes the service accounts of the institution are not able to answer this question. Many institutions have adopted accrual accounting, sometimes in a modified form. This accounting method is consistent with the standards imposed by most accounting bodies. But some institutions continue to use cash. Auditors should know that it can be in the interests of Polly Peck to register their activities, especially the product credits, according to a cash basis, taking into account adjustment proposals made at the end of the year by the auditor. Since operations of Polly Peck were overseas in Turkey, it did not follow a uniform accounting from one account to another, which further complicates the work of the auditor. 2.3 The legal structure of Polly Peck in Turkey in the Context of Company Law of the Region The auditor must look at how the institution considers as a publicly owned multinational. This vision often has implications for accounting. In foreign countries organizations usually produce financial reports that reflect less rigorously financial performance. Some do not even produce financial statements Annual. The majority uses the cash and excludes amortization, adjustments for inflation, provisions for risk changes, provisions for social security, and other similar items to gain from tax exemptions. As regulated financial institutions, Polly Peck must not only comply with generally accepted accounting principles, but also the specific regulations governing banks. 2.3 Examine accounting statements for any financial irregularities Auditors must engage in the following activities The external auditor should investigate books of account and internal control of the institution through: discussions with managers and staff at various levels; review of documents such as procedure manuals, descriptions positions and organizational charts; consideration of the reports produced by the accounting department; compliance with the institutions activities, including IT operations and loan processing at headquarters and agencies 3. Reporting Irregularities in Financial Statements Accounting operations of Polly Peck were generally de-centralized because of the operations of the organization taking place in Turkey. In such companies, the activity of an agency is often recognized at the regional level, then transmitted periodically (usually monthly) to the head office. This is usually responsible for the production of consolidated financial statements. In some institutions, all the accounting is performed at headquarters. 3.1 Reporting irregularities of internal control systems Multinational businesses need a strong system of internal control to ensure the success of its operation. However, Polly Peck was significantly weaknesses at this level, and the auditor should therefore pay particular attention to the evaluation system organization of internal control. Since, the board of Polly Peck was largely passive, and the governance structure tends to be lax. This is why the system of internal control organization of the institution depends largely on the level of commitment and competence of its management. 3.2 Take into account the audit risk As with any audit, the auditor must explicitly assess the audit risk, that is to say, the opportunity to express an opinion on incorrect the accuracy of the financial statements of the institution, both in terms of financial statements at the level of account balances. Audit risk has three components: inherent risk, the risk control, and the risk of non-detection. At the financial statement level, the main determine risks are inherent risk and control risk. Regardless of the system of internal control, some risks come from the nature of the business activities and its industry. At Polly Peck a significant number of account staff did not fully understand the credit procedures as they have been trained to work in the social field rather than in the field financial. Accounting was carried out by staff with little experience of double entry accounting, international accounting standards, etc. In addition, the organizations activities were decentralized and geographically dispersed often in remote areas without adequate infrastructure. 3.3 Identify breaches of risk control policies faulty procedures may cause a significant risk control through audits of microfinance institutions. Yet internal controls are crucial for microfinance institutions. When the internal control has too significant weaknesses, the audit of the institution may become impossible. If control risk is high, the auditor must evaluate whether we can to use extensive substantive tests, and if this approach is economically feasible for the institution. In addition to a thorough evaluation of internal controls, the external auditor must test the controls made à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ ¹at the account balances but prior to these tests, the external auditors should explain their understanding and evaluation systems, using checklists of descriptions and charts. 3.4 Identify risk of non-detection The risk of non-detection, that is to say the risk of material misstatement not be detected by the auditor shall be determined for each balance account, this risk depends on the assessment of inherent risk and risk control. 3.5 Defining the level of significance The definition of significance levels is crucial in determining the nature, e- tense, and timing of audit procedures. A significance level is limit beyond which the potential errors are considered problematic. If the sum of uncorrected misstatements identified during the audit de- passes the threshold of significance, the auditor may not be able to issue an unqualified opinion. The significance level is inversely related to audit risk. more the audit risk, that is to say the combination of inherent risk, risk control and the risk of non-detection is evaluated as important, the higher the threshold significance is low. In other words, only a low level of defects not corrected is acceptable. The significance depends on the determinants identified during the mission planning. An important determinant of financial statements is a factor that users of financial statements are most likely to focus their attention, given the nature of the institution. Identification of factors determinants is a matter of professional judgment. Determinants, which can be used to determine the significance level are e.g. net income, total assets, revenues, and funds own. Significance levels may vary between 2 and 10% of factor. In the United States, some use external auditors, as basis of materiality for a commercial bank, 2% of total assets. For an institution whose weak internal controls, the auditor may reduce significant at 1% of total assets acceptable rate abnormalities. There is no general rules to define the thresholds of significance, hence the auditor should use his/her judgment. The evaluation by the auditor of materiality and audit risk at planning the audit, may change after evaluating the results of audit procedures. This may be due to a change in circumstances, or a development of knowledge of the listener, following the audit. For example, if the audit is scheduled before the end of the year, the auditor will anticipate the results of and financial position. If actual results to differ materially from this estimate, the assessment of materiality and audit risk may be changed. 3.6 Evaluation of the internal audit and relations with auditors internal The external auditor should consider the work of internal auditors during the phase planning the audit. Internal auditors evaluate and monitor systems accounting and internal control. Internal audit is an essential element to ensure a sound internal control system, and also an important tool reduction, detection and investigation of fraud. 3.7 Obtain an approved status laws or regulations may impose establishment of an internal audit service. When there is an internal audit function, the auditor must evaluate its objectivity, its scope, technical skills and rigor. This assessment must include a review of the service organization, its staff, its purpose, its reports and programs. Potential conflicts must be evaluated. For example, if the audit service Internal reports on its work in the service that he is auditing, the question of the objectivity of the findings of the internal audit service arises. such situation can significantly reduce the value placed on the work of the internal auditor by the external auditor. Ideally, the internal audit department must account of his work directly to the board or committee audit, if one exists. If the external auditor believes, following a screening assessment, the internal audit service is reliable, it must test the work performed by the service to confirm this assessment. This i s usually done by performing a new test on a sample of the work performed by the auditor. Conclusion The paper laid down a methodical approach to investigate fraud in financial statements of Polly Peck to identify whether the CEO or the top management of the company was involved in deliberate falsification of financial statements to raise share price of the company and to fraud shareholders of the company. The key consideration in this plan was triangulation of the elements of the investigation to find out whether all elements of the financial reporting match. Triangulation is all the more important for investigation of Polly Pecks finances since the operations of the company were overseas and centralized reporting was not carried out of companys finances. Appendix 1 In this Appendix will be reviewed a part of Polly Peck`s frauds and most of the unclear moves and actions of Asil Nadir, also will be made a consideration and comparison with Enron case. Polly Peck was a great company with a superb vision on the market and it won`t be a lie if it is said that is was a shareholder dream for every investor in the world. It has many close points of fraud to Enron case. The first fraudulent coincidence is that in both cases the most important papers and documents disappear. Enron shredded tons of paper, while in Polly Peck`s case they just disappear and Nadir told that there are no available and existing documents in their original. The second conjunction with Enron case is that Polly Peck built a hotel in Turkey, which costs around 70 million and the debt of the company did not increase. In Enron the debts were transferred and funded to other small companies. The main idea here is the head company to looks attractive, valuable and without debts. The third coincidences between both companies is that they deal with complementary goods, which can`t be substitute. As well Enron, in Polly Peck case we have huge problems with accounting. In the first case we have fault accounting, here also emerge some misleadings in this sector/department. Appendix 2 In this appendix will take a look at the meanings of the methods and approaches, which are part of fraud investigation and help us to reveal a fraud. Firstly, it should be known that such investigation is quite expensive and it should be started if there are really serious reasons that fraud occur. Testimonial evidence: This type of evidence is collected from people, who are interviewed and persuade to fill in honestly test, to realize whether we can believe in them. In Polly Peck`s case should be used this model, to take an interrogation with the people worked for this company and eventually may know something important. Documentary evidence: This type of evidence is collected from computers, documents, servers, data mining, public records, searches and so on. In addition, in such situations the databases are great source of information, no matter the information is deleted, it can be restored. This type of evidence can be used as well in this case, because most of the fraudulent information is saved on computers and if restored can answer us the basic question, is there a fraud or not. Physical evidence: This type of evidence is concerned with taking fingerprints, id numbers, weapons, stolen property and so on, which can be linked to a fraudulent act. Personal observation: This type of evidence is also named sense evidence, because it is very close to the information, which is heard, seen, felt, etc.. A second method of investigating a scheme is to focus on the fraud triangles. It should be investigated all variants, elements of the following triangles. Theft act: try to seize the perpetrator to wrench a data or information. Concealment: In this part should be taken under consideration and used documents, computer hard disks, etc. Conversion: is to define whether the defendant used money or property fraudulently for personal benefit. An great example of this type is the case: [Brandt v. State, 1944] Atmospheric Drag Model | Essay Atmospheric Drag Model | Essay The atmospheric drag 1 – Introduction The principal non-gravitational force acting on satellites in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) is atmospheric drag. This effect for a LEO satellite has direct implications in satellite lifetime. Indeed, drag acts in the opposite direction of the velocity vector and removes energy from the orbit. This energy reduction causes to the orbit to get smaller, leading to further increases in drag. Eventually, the altitude of the orbit becomes so small that the satellite reenters in the atmosphere. The equation for acceleration due to drag is: : atmospheric density (kg.m-3) satellite’s cross-sectional area (m ²) : satellite’s mass (kg) : satellite’s velocity with respect to the atmosphere (m.s-2) : drag coefficient (dimensionless) : ballistic coefficient Drag presents a challenge to accurate modeling, because the dynamics of the upper atmosphere are not completely understood, in part due to the limited knowledge of the interaction of the solar wind and the Earth’s magnetic field. In addition, drag models contain many parameters that are difficult to estimate with reasonable accuracy: atmospheric density, ballistic coefficient, cross-sectional area Calculating atmospheric density is often the most difficult part of assessment in modeling the atmosphere. Its complexity is apparent from the sheer number of regime. In addition, although values are shown for temperature and altitude, they all change over time and are very difficult to predict. Strong drag occurs in dense atmospheres, and satellites with perigees below 120 km have such short lifetimes that their orbits have no practical importance. Above 600 km, on the other hand, drag is so weak that orbits â€Å"usually† last more than the satellites’ operational lifetimes. At this altitude, perturbations in orbital period are so slight that we can easily account for them without accurate knowledge of the atmosphere density. At intermediate altitudes however, roughly two variable energy sources cause large variations in atmospheric density and generate orbital perturbations: the geomagnetic field and solar activity. These variations can be predicted with two empirical models: the Mass Spectrometer Incoherent Scatter (MSIS) and the Jacchia models. Knowing that the considered satellite should be at an altitude of 700 km (the last launches of nano-satellites demonstrate that the start altitude is often very inaccurate), the Jacchia model is the most accurate one to estimate atmospheric density, and in this way satellite lifetime. 2 – The Jacchia atmospheric density model The Jacchia atmospheric density model formulation is very common, but also very complex. The model contains analytical expressions for determining exospheric temperature as a function of position, time, solar activity and geomagnetic activity. With a computed temperature, density can be calculated from empirically determined temperature profiles or from the diffusion equation. Then the overall approach is to model the atmospheric temperature. In this way, to simplify the analytical resolution, the altitude range will be constraint from the start altitude at 700 km to 200 km. 1 > Evaluating temperature Jacchia defines the region above 125 km in altitude with an empirical, asymptotic function for temperature: : distance between satellite and ground station (â€Å"height above the reference ellipsoid†) (km) : base value temperature (Kelvin) : corrected exospheric temperature (Kelvin) : inflection point temperature (Kelvin) As needed in the two equations above, the corrected exospheric temperature is defined as below: : uncorrected exospheric temperature (Kelvin) : correction factor for exospheric temperature (Kelvin) represents the exospheric temperature without any correction. It is based on the nighttime global exospheric temperature, excluding all effects of geomagnetic activity: Where is the average daily solar flux at a 10.7 cm wavelength for the day of interest and is an 81-day running average of values, centered on the day of interest. Because the effect of solar flux on atmospheric density lags one day behind the observed values, calculations can (at best) use values which are one day old. The resulting value of can be used now to determine the uncorrected exospheric temperature. : sun’s declination : geodetic latitude of the satellite , (-180 ° Actually can be determined from the dot product and the two vectors for the Sun and the satellite. More complicated methods are available to determine the, but the precision here does not need extra accuracy. Now the geomagnetic activity and its effect on temperature have to be corrected. The correction factor for exospheric temperature,, depends on the geomagnetic index, , and is calculated for altitudes at least 200 km. The actual value of is with a 3-hour lag, in which the molecular intersection build up and the change in density would be noticed. 2 > Evaluating density scale height For planetary atmospheres, density scale height describes a difference in height, over which the density of the atmosphere changes significantly by a factor e (approximately 2.71828 , the base of natural logarithms, decreasing upward). Usually, the scale height remains constant for a particular temperature. However, in the upper part of the atmosphere, it changes significantly and in different ways. For instance, at heights over 100 km, molecular diffusion means each molecular atomic species has it own scale height. This part will only focus on density scale height at altitude above 105 km. The temperature profile has to be integrated in the total number density of the five atmospheric components, in order to achieve their individual effect on the standard density. As the altitude assumed above 500 km, the concentration of hydrogen have to be taken into account also. First of all, the hydrogen number density at 500 km altitude (in cm-3): Implemented in the hydrogen number density equation for altitude greater than 500 km: : molecular mass of hydrogen erg/ °K : Boltzmann’s constant Then the number density of the other atmospheric components which are nitrogen N2, oxygen molecular O2 and atomic O, and helium He (in cm-3): i denotes N2, O2, O or He : number density of each constituent at 105 km altitude : thermal diffusion coefficient (only for Helium) The correction for Helium number density because of seasonal-latitudinal variations is (dimensionless): And implemented here: Finally, the total number density is given by (in cm-3): Hence, the mass density (in gm/cm-3): : mass of the constituent I in gm/mole Which gives the molecular mass: : Avogadro’s number Finally, the density scale height, according to the temperature profile which depends mainly of the satellite’s altitude and position from the Sun: : universal gas constant 3 > Evaluating density Jacchia used a standard exponential relation to evaluate density: : base atmospheric density (kg.m-3) : distance between satellite and ground station (â€Å"height above the reference ellipsoid†) (km) : base altitude (km) : scale height (km) An interesting point to highlight is below 150 km, the density is not strongly affected by solar activity. However, at satellite altitudes in the range of 500 to 800 km, the density variations between solar maximum and solar minimum are approximately 2 orders of magnitude. The large variations in density imply that satellites will decay more rapidly during periods of solar maxima and much more slowly during solar minima. The effect of the solar maxima will also depend on the satellite ballistic coefficient. Those with a low ballistic coefficient will respond quickly to the atmosphere and will tend to decay promptly. Those with high ballistic coefficients will push through a larger number of solar cycles and will decay much more slowly. Note that time for satellite decay is generally measured better in solar cycles than in years. From there to lifetimes of about half a solar cycle (approximately 5 years) there will be a very strong difference between satellites launched at the start o f a solar minimum and those launched at the start of solar maximum. The first correction to apply to this equation is for seasonal latitudinal variation in the lower thermosphere: : geodetic latitude, measured positively north from the equator (deg) : Julian date of 1958 (years) The Julian date of 1958 is used to determine the number of years from 1958. is the number of days from January 1, 1958: The correction for semi-annual variations is as below: This correction uses an intermediate value : For altitudes above 200 km, the geomagnetic effect can be neglected on density. Hence, these corrections can be apply to the standard density: Giving the final corrected density: Even though any model cannot do a real adequate job of modeling the atmosphere, the Jacchia model continues to perform exceptionally well compared to the others and is the fastest overall. Moreover, it is the only one which give analytical formulas which can be computed without external values, even though that degrades the result in a way. 3 – The ballistic coefficient Drag also depends on the ballistic coefficient, defined as a body measure of the ability to overcome air resistance in flight. For instance, satellites in LEO with high ballistic coefficients experience smaller perturbations to their orbits due to atmospheric drag. In regards to the nano-satellite analysis, mass and cross-sectional area do not change at any time. Actually, nano-satellite cannot change their position because they do not have any ergol propellers. Hence this coefficient depends mainly of the drag one. The drag coefficient of any object comprises the effects of the two basis contributors to fluid dynamic drag: skin friction and form drag. In most cases, this coefficient is estimated. Considering the configuration of the spacecraft as a regular brick-like shape and the environment conditions, it is estimated here at 2,1. Theoretically, it is highly impossible to have an exact solution, only experiments might approximate it. Ligneous Periodontitis: Literature Review Ligneous Periodontitis: Literature Review Abstract: Ligneous periodontitis is poorly defined, a rare form of periodontitis. It is characterized by pseudomembranous gingival lesion with accumulation of amyloid-like material and may or may not be associated with ligneous conjunctivitis. It is possibly due to type I plasminogen deficiency but the exact cause is unknown. This review describes ligneous periodontitis in detail with respect to etiology, clinical, histological features and treatment modality. Key words:  Ligneous periodontitis, ligneous conjunctivitis, pseudomembranous periodontitis, plasminogen deficiency Introduction: The term ligneous periodontitis was first used by Omer Guuhen et al1 to describe a destructive membranous periodontal disease. It is poorly defined entity characterized by gingival enlargement and periodontal destruction due to accumulation of amyloid-like material. Accumulation of amyloid-like material lacks the classical histochemical and ultrastructural features of amyloid.2 Most of the pseudomembranous gingival lesions have been reported in association with ligneous conjunctivitis. Therefore, finding suggests that both clinical manifestations are related. Ligneous conjunctivitis is rare form of chronic conjunctivitis that usually affects children, girls more often than boys in ratio of 3:1 but may occur at any age.3,4 This condition is ocular manifestation of a systemic disease that might be accompanied by formation of pseudomembranes on mucosa of oral cavity (ligneous periodontitis),1,5,6,7 respiratory tract-larynx, trachea6,8,9,10, nasopharynx , female genital tract (ligneous vulvovaginitis or cervicitis),6,10 middle ear ,9,10 gastrointestinal tract the mastoid system.10 Etiology: Etiology of this lesion is not clear. Among the possible causes Type I plasminogen deficiency, autoimmune reactions, trauma, hypersensitivity reaction, genetic disorders and secondary response to viral or bacterial infections have been suggested.5,6,11 Mingeret. Al12 and Schuster13 et al have reported homozygous mutations in plasminogen gene in ligneous conjunctivitis cases. It is suggested that plasminogen deficiency plays a central role in pathogenesis of this rare disease. The fibrinolytic system plays an important role in hemostasis for controlled dissolution of fibrin clot. Two type of human plasminogen (PLG) deficiency exists:14 Hypoplasminogenemia / type I PLG deficiency: In which markedly decrease PLG antigen ≠¤ 1.9 mg/dl (normal range 6 to 25 mg/dl) and functional activity upto 33% (normal range 80% to 120%) Dysplasminogenemia/ type II PLG deficiency: There is reduced PLG activity, but normal or only slightly reduced PLG antigen levels.3 Type I PLG deficiency was found to be associated with ligneous conjunctivitis (80%)6 characterized by fibrin rich pseudomembranes mainly on tarsal conjunctivae and other pesudomembranous lesion such as ligneous gingivitis and periodontitis (34%).3 Autosomal-recessive inheritance of this disorder was confirmed.13 In a large epidemiologic study in the United Kingdom, the prevalence of (heterozygous) type I PLG deficiency was reported to be 0.26% (25 of 9,611 subjects).16 The theoretically predicted prevalence of homozygote/compound heterozygote was estimated to be in the range of 1.6 per 1 million people, at least in Europe.3,8 Type II PLG deficiency patients, however, have never reported developing pseudomembranous lesion. PLG plays an important role in intravascular and extravascular fibrinolysis and wound healing. It is converted to plasmin by cleavage of the Arg561-Val562 peptide bond by either tissue-type PLG activator (tPA) or urokinase-type PLG activator (uPA). Activation of PLG by tPA is the major pathway that leads to efficient lysis of fibrin clots in the blood stream, whereas activation of PLG by uPA seems to be mainly responsible for mediating PLG activation in association with cell surfaces (wound healing, tissue remodeling).14 uPA PLG activation related to cell surfaces (wound healing, tissue remodeling) PLG tPA PLG activation lead to lysis of clot in the blood stream The main substrate for plasmin is fibrin. Plasmin also has substrate specificities for several other components of the Extracellular matrix (ECM), including fibronectin, proteoglycans, and gelatin, indicating that plasmin also plays an important role in ECM remodeling. Indirectly, plasmin also degrades additional components of the ECM via its ability to convert some promatrix MMPs (pro-MMPs) to active MMPs. During normal wound healing of the gingiva, significant fibrinolysis occurs by day 3 to 4 and is virtually complete by 1 week. Persistence of the fibrin matrix is associated with the induction of angiogenesis and formation of granulation tissue.17Mingers et al12 were the first to show that plasma polymorphonuclear elastase protein levels were markedly elevated in patients with severe plasminogen deficiencies and more so in homozygous than in heterozygous patients. It is interesting to note that all patients with type I PLG deficiency have never been shown to have thrombophilia. In ligneous periodontitis, it is assumed that fibrin appearing during normal wound healing is persistent due to type I PLG deficiency. Plasminogen is the precursor of plasmin, the main fibrinolytic enzyme which plays important roles in wound healing, keratinocyte division, migration, and differentiation. Central wound healing capacity with an arrest at the stage of granulation tissue formation and excessive fibrin deposition is possible cause of ligneous periodontitis. Clinical features of ligneous periodontitis: It is presented as generalized ulcerated, massive, nodular, waxy gingival enlargement can involve both maxilla and mandible.2 Gingival swelling could be painless or painful. Enlargement is white-yellow to pinkish pseudomembranous covering teeth, with tendency to bleed. Accompanied by extensive bone loss may lead to loss of teeth.1 Histological features: Amyloid is a nonspecific histologic term for different chemical structures such as immunoglobulin light chain, serum amyloid fibril proteins, beta-2 microglobulin, transthyretin, keratin and some hormones.18 All these materials look like homogeneous eosinophilic substances by routine histologic methods and show the same three-dimensional configuration. There are two different phases of development:1 In the first, gingival epithelium showed extensive irregular down-ward proliferation. Severe acute inflammation of epithelium and underlying tissues with accumulation of homogenous eosinophilic fibrinous material around the vessels and beneath the epithelium. The inflammatory infiltrates included mostly plasma cells and polymorphonuclear leukocytes, with fewer lymphocytes and mast cells. Epithelium in acute phase showed edematous widening of intercellular spaces and contained numerous degenerated keratinocytes in the suprabasal layer in the form of hyaline apoptotic bodies. Subepithelial connective tissue is also edematous and contained numerous small dialated vessels and an amyloid like material. In second phase, the epithelium showed slight acanthosis and parakeratosis without ulceration. Inflammatory cell infiltrate is not as heavy as in first stage. There is subepithelial amorphous, nodular, homogeneous, eosinophilic amyloid-like accumulation. The accumulated material did not show the typical apple green/ golden brown birefringence of amyloid with Congo-red stain. Thioflavin-T fluorescence methods for demonstration of amyloid is also negative. Accumulation is reticulin poor and stained red with Masson’s trichrome stain. Immunostaining shows strongly positive for fibrinogen and weakly positive for immunoglobulins. Electron microscopy of gingiva shows fine filaments, approximately 10nm in diameter arranged in interweaving bundles resembling those seen in ligneous conjunctivitis. Within this network there are short bundles of thicker, darker filaments resembling epithelial tonofilaments and also fragments of cellular debris. No typical collagen fibers were found within this material.19The reason why the amyloid-like material in these cases failed to show all the tinctorial properties of amyloid can be explained by considering the process of amyloidogenesis. For materials like immunoglobulin light chain and keratins to acquire the typical properties of amyloid, a time-dependent series of events must occur consecutively.19 Failure of one or more of these stages to take place may conceivably result in the formation of a material which shares only some of the features of amyloid. This half-amyloid, half-hy aline material (hyaline-amyloid) needs more filamentous degeneration of the deposited materials in order to stain as typical amyloid.19 TREATMENT: Several treatment efforts such as subgingival curettage, gingivectomy, chlorhexidine rinsing and antibiotics were unsuccessful. Surgical excisions of gingival lesion are followed by rapid recurrence of membranous lesions. Extraction of most permanent teeth appears to be inevitable due to advanced alveolar bone loss and poor prognosis of this ligneous disease. Administration of topical plasminogen has shown good results for the treatment of ligneous conjunctivitis,20 whereas its efficacy for the treatment of oral lesion remains to be elucidated. It is expected, however that topical plasminogen together with periodontal therapy can postpone it until adulthood, when a more aggressive approach can be considered. In some cases gingival lesions become  quiescent or disappear following tooth loss.2 Frimodt- Moller5 also noticed some regression in the eyelid lesion following tooth extraction. Different modalities of surgery, antibiotics, steroids, antiviral agents, beta and x-ray irradiati on were found ineffective in the treatment.6

Sir Francis Bacons Advancement of Learning and Information on the Internet :: Internet Net World Wide Web Media

Sir Francis Bacon's Advancement of Learning and Information on the Internet In the book of Ecclesiastes we are told, "Of making many books there is no end; and much study is weariness to the flesh." (Eccles. 12:12) If we compare web sites to books, then it follows that there is no end to the amount of information put onto the Internet, and that studying, or, browsing the Internet is tiring. Additionally, we read, "For in much wisdom is much grief: and he who increases knowledge increases anxiety." (Eccles. 1:18) The sheer quantity of information found on the Internet must increase our knowledge and this we read - that anxiety follows. Bacon's tells us that what we need is not quantity, but quality of information plus a corrective spice. Bacon reasons that the biblical writers were not thinking of "pure knowledge" of nature and universality. He suggests that they were referring to people's attempts to rule themselves using knowledge of good and evil, in which case depending no more on God. Therefore, there is no grief in learning. How large a quantity of knowledge can completely fill the mind? Nay, the mind can never be satisfied with a quantity of knowledge states Bacon. He quotes the Scripture, "the eye is never satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing." (Eccles. 1:8) There is nothing in this world that isn't reached by people's inquiry and invention. If this is the capacity of the mind, then it is clear that there is no problem with having too much knowledge. The problem is the quality of knowledge therein. The fact that the Internet is bristling full of information, too much information for a single human being to comprehend, is not the problem, but the real issue is in the quality of the information therein. The old lesson on Internet searching is when you enter for example, "computers," and the search engine returns 10 of an abominable 8,102,365 matches. You would exclaim, "Wow! There is a lot of information in there." Then you would ask, "How do you know what is good?" Where is the quality? Portals (who run search engines) these days are adding value to their searched information thereby returning higher quality results, often grouped by appropriate categories, thus pinpointing useful information for the learning public. Yes, the quality of information needs to increase, but Bacon tells us that we need a corrective spice. The reason we need this spice is that the information may be of high quality but be "venomous" or malign in nature.

Knowledge and Emotion Essay

Emotion plays a big role in gaining knowledge even though when we do not realize it. Therefore, I agree with the quote, â€Å"There can be no knowledge without emotion. We may be aware of a truth, yet until we have felt its force, it is not ours.† by Arnold Bennett, an English novelist. First of all, with the part, â€Å"There can be no knowledge without emotion1†, it can be proved by our experience. For example, we know about plate tectonics but until you feel it, you can’t have knowledge. Earthquakes prove that the plate tectonics are moving towards each other, away from each other or slide past each other. Since I live in Japan, earthquakes can be felt often and I have the knowledge of what it is like to be in an area with lots of earthquakes. Also, for example, we can prove that we have knowledge from genes. Sometimes, I feel that I have the same characteristic as my mother when I am talking to my pets. I talk with them in a softer voice than when we talk to other people. Also, my mother’s family loves animals and I was also brought up with an animal always beside me. Finally I can also see evidence from learning physics. I learned that the energy is transferred into other energies. Before, I wondered why bouncy balls bounced lower each time. When I learned about the energies, I gained the knowledge that the potential energy was transferred into heat, sound and other energies. From gaining these truths and experiencing it, it gives us knowledge of what it is like. By experiencing these things, it influences our emotion and gives us the knowledge. Though some people disagree that knowledge can be gained without emotion, I argue that the statement is not true. Though when you learn something, until you have realized what it is and accepted the information, then it is not knowledge. We have to know the information to gain the knowledge so to gain the knowledge we have to experience it. For example, I know the truth that floods occur and the consequences as well as the effects of it but since I have not experienced it before, I do not have the knowledge of what it is like to be in an area, which flooded. Furthermore, by learning biology, I know that there are diseases such as thrombosis, a blood clotting disease but since I have not experienced it I do not what it feels like to have thrombosis. As a result, I do not yet have the knowledge. Knowledge can be gained by other ways of knowing such as reason, sense perception and language. Though I agree with this, I think these all involve the ways of knowing of emotion. When we have a reason to gain knowledge, we gain the knowledge by realizing it and experiencing it. When we gain knowledge by sense perception it is done by experiencing something and realizing what is going on in our surroundings. Finally for language, we are experiencing it since we are talking or listening to the language. Since all these involve the action of experiencing, it all involves emotion. If someone did things unconsciously, I wonder if they can get knowledge. People who sleepwalk have been seen eating, dressing, driving cars, and many other things. Their brain is not fully shut down. Sleepwalking occurs before they are in the state of rapid eye movement, or the moment they are dreaming.2 They have their eyes open to recognize their surroundings. Therefore, I think they are using their sense perception when they are sleepwalking. Though they may not remember it when they wake up and get confused but I think their brain remembers it since the brain is not fully shut when people sleepwalk. Therefore knowledge is gained from experiencing things even if they are sleepwalking which is done unconsciously. Reflexes are also done unconsciously. They are done because we have the knowledge of what to do best to have the least damage to ourselves. That is why we pull our hands back when we touch something hot to reduce the possibility of burning our hand. We try to reduce it because we have the knowledge of what is going to happen if we do not. If we do not take our hand back, we know we are going to burn our hand and feel the pain. When I wake up, I have the reflex of stopping the alarm clock because I have the knowledge that I have to wake up to go to school. This reflex was done because I had the emotion that I did not want to go to school since I had to wake up at six o’clock in the morning. Therefore as a conclusion, I agree to an extent with the quote by an English novelist, Arnold Bennett of â€Å"There can be no knowledge without emotion. We may be aware of a truth, yet until we have felt its force, it is not ours.† Emotion is connected to the other ways of knowing and everything we do in our lives. Experiencing things give knowledge to us which gives us emotion whether we do things consciously or unconsciously.

An analysis on How Human Behaviour is shaped by Life Philosophies and Well Being

An analysis on How Human Behaviour is shaped by Life Philosophies and Well Being â€Å"Is Life Nasty, Brutish, and Short? Philosophies of Life and Well-Being† (Aknin, Arikm, Dunn Norton 2011) addresses how the general public supports Hobbes’s view that life is short and hard (Kant, 1983) impacting well-being and civic involvement of individuals. The authors based their research on the notion that civic organizations were necessary in protecting the people’s well-being given their brutish nature.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on An analysis on How Human Behaviour is shaped by Life Philosophies and Well Being specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The article explores Hobbes’s view in association with lower happiness, the relationship of life philosophies to civic engagement and subjective life beliefs shape people’s participation in the world. The authors conducted surveys in testing out their hypothesis asking questions on participants’ outlook in li fe, philosophies and beliefs. They recruited random people from different parts of the world with diverse life experiences and principles. In defining their key variables they asked different sets of questions for each study. The study proved that people who saw life as short and hard are least happy, have less engagement in civic duties and saw themselves experiencing bad events from the past recurring in the future. The authors were able to solidify their claims through the results of their experiments. By conducting random surveys, the authors were able to create a platform of fairness by eradicating biases that may occur among their critics. The research indicates that human behaviour in general is relative to individual’s personal philosophy. The study shows that a person’s well-being is closely associated with his personal outlook in life and how he lives it. Human behaviour is shaped by such philosophy resulting to his involvement in the society. In conducting t he study since philosophies were discussed, why was religion not included in the survey? References Aknin L.B. , Dunn E.W. , Norton M.I. Arikm L. (2011). Is Life Nasty, Brutish, and Short? Philosophies of Life and Well-Being. Social Psychological and Personality Science. Kant, I. (1795/1983). Perpetual peace and other essays on politics, history, and morals (Ted Humphrey, Trans.). Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing.Advertising Looking for critical writing on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More

Braque essays

Braque essays Georges Braque was one of the fathers of Cubism. Along with Picasso he explored and invented a new way of painting that got its name from critics who pointed out small cubes in his earliest cubist works. At the end of 1907, Braque met Picasso at the unveiling of The Ladies of Avignon. This piece and a nude by Braque of late 1907 would become known as the first cubist paintings. Both artists were inspired by Cezannes use of geometry in representing the subject matter in his painting. These works being some of the first to reject the classical ideas of painting by portraying real subject matter abstractly rather then realistically, it was only natural for the two artists to collaborate on future works. The two began to discuss ideas and show one another their current works. Eventually this collaboration became a like a partnership where their ideas were freely traded and built upon by one another. At the peak of Analytic Cubism, paintings by Braque and Picasso had great similarities and the pair often painted the same subject matter at the same time. They worked so close Braque once said that they were like mountain climbers, roped together and pulling one another up. In 1908 Braque parted from his previous Fauvist style and began to paint in very limited palettes of subdued greens, browns, and ochers. His work became very structured and more abstract. His concern was with space, multiplicity, form, and time rather then with color. The idea was to show the subject from multiple angles. Picassos work followed this pattern as well. Braque, however, turned to still lives while Picasso did most of his work with human The differences between the two can be seen in works from the same time frame. Picassos Vollard and Braques Violin with Pitcher are both from 1910. Picassos work pushes the foreground back and pulls the bac...

Historical development of the Role of Human Resource Management Essay

Historical development of the Role of Human Resource Management - Essay Example Human resource management is in charge of compelling the recruited employees to be committed to their work. It evaluates the performance of the employees and it advocates for the best human assets integration to ensure the maximum efficiency in an organization. Human resource management transforms the personnel in an organization into human resources, placing emphasis on their efficiency (Heathfield, 2012). Human resource management is the function in an organization that deals with all the relations of the human assets that enhance their wellbeing in the working area. It focuses on the recruitment and evaluation of the human assets. It does a follow-up on the performance of the employees and it ensures that the relations between the human assets provide an atmosphere that motivates them. It is a strategic management plan that looks into people’s issues and solves them through the integration of various organizational policies. Human resource management is a vital function for any company looking to enhance its performance in the production of quality goods and services. HRM adds value to the organization through analyzing the performance of the employees when subjected to various programs (Marler, 2012). HRM enables the employees to contribute their ideas, which are addressed individually for the sole purpose of ensuring that all the employees in the organization achieve their highest level of efficiency. HRM is in charge of driving the employees towards achieving the common goals in the organization. HRM is a positive response to the fact that the human assets in an organization are the most important assets. Historical background of Human Resource Management Human resource management has been in existence for a very long time and it has evolved from a simple to a very complex and strategic function. The principles of human resource management were set in use since the prehistoric days when the people would use certain values to select their leaders. A fter the successful selection of a leader in the social or political scene, the leader would then pass on the knowledge he gathered to his successor and so forth. This was a form of human training. The leaders had to have outstanding knowledge in certain areas, and the heirs would be trained before they took power. This was the most basic form of human resource management, which was aimed at ensuring that the leaders were efficient and committed to their work before they could be allowed to rule (Khilawala, 2012). Historical records indicate that the first people to screen their employees were the Chinese and the Greeks. This was done by a separate function in the early organizations – the most qualified people who have obtained jobs would be constantly evaluated and provided with training for their work. Human resource management has been given several names during its evolution. It was first recognized under the name â€Å"personnel management†. Personnel management gained popularity in the late years of the 19th century. During this period, the organizations would organize welfare officers’ teams whose main responsibility was to address the requirements of laborers. The welfare officers were solely females. Later on, in the early 20th century, the task of the welfare officers became too demanding, and organizations developed a new function named

What are the main changes that the music industry has gone through Personal Statement

What are the main changes that the music industry has gone through since the 1980's - Personal Statement Example The technological development in recent years, has bankrupted record companies with the rise of legal downloading and the demand for live performances. What is more artists who try to sell their CDs during their concerts realized that fans prefer to buy a T-shirt for $20 instead a CD for $10. Therefore, artists now focus their attention on how to market T-shirts and other extra-musical extensions. Word of mount and internet sites like MySpace play a huge role in boosting popularity and music consumerism. Many groups decide to undertake the marketing of their music by themselves and succeed. An example is Take to the Skies which was the second unsigned band to sell out 2000 seats in London. In the past groups often tour to present their music losing the investment. Nowadays, is the other way round.Free downloading is perceived as excellent promotional tactics which will increase the audience and will stimulate the fans to attend concerts. Prince, is giving his fans a free copy of his newest CD if they come to his concerts at O2 in London. Music business analysts comments that record sales are in decline because of the wider music market today - live performances, video-clips, social networking, merchandising - they all influence the transformation of the consumer attitudes. Because of this the four big labels - Sony/BMG, Warner Music, Universal and EMI are struggling to keep up and apply cost-cutting operations for many years now. The publishers are trying to gain profits through different licensing, advertising, additional charges for films and outlets that try to open music stores. An example of the decline of record sales in given with Spice Girls debut album in 1996. Virgin a subsidiary of EMI sold the album for 13 GBP and the company's profit was more than 5 GBP. Today a CD costs no more than 9 GBP, and the actual expected profit (if the label is lucky) might be 2GBP. In comparison, the market for top-selling CDs in Great Britain decreased with 20% in the first quarter of 2007, as to the same period in 2006. The label's hope is that the demand for physical formats will be replaced by the growth of the download market. The last figures in the U.S show that the digital download was worth $ 981 million. The author notes that the music moved from being a high-margin product, into low-margin commodity. Buying an album with 10 songs when you like only three of them is an old-fashioned and uneconomical way of constructing a MP3 player music library. At the end of 1990s a single is sold for $5, today you can get a track for 99 cents at the iTune music store. The authors explains that the creation of the CD, brought it to its own destruction. Record companies manufactured CDs in remote places and sold them as more expensive format than the cassette or vinyl LP. CD burning software made it the easiest task to produce thousands of copies in just few minutes. Yet, another reason which ruined the music industry was the emergence of "file-sharing" illegal websites like Napster in the late 1990s. The industry underestimated the damages that this can cause and said that these activities were no harm to the music sales. The ultimate drop-off of the CD sales coincided with the emergence of the iTunes and the portable MP3 players. There is another fact which blames the music industry for the decline of the CD and that is the free distribution of albums through newspapers and magazines, which devalued the recorded music in general. Live music and tickets for live performances soared in comparison, however, it is difficult to prove that this directly affected the record companies. Finally music appreciation should be something more than just consuming, buying and listening to the song, music is sharing and that is why people shifted from individual at home consumption to attending live concerts. B) To what extent do you agree with the author's explanation for the current state of the music business Justify