Company collapses essays

Company collapses essays Over the years, there have been many situations where companies have decided to inaccurately alter its reporting of costs and measurement of revenue in order to achieve a greater level of profitability on paper. This may have come as a result of the increased level of competition within businesses, which also brought about changes within organisations in general, with organisations looking to new costing systems such as Activity Based Costing (ABC) as a means to increase their levels of efficiency and profitability. Traditional costing systems were seen to be highly inaccurate due to the large focus on labour intensive jobs, however as of late, with the move to less labour intensive focused jobs, it has highlighted the importance of the management and accountants role in reporting costs and measuring its revenue accurately and timely. Although there are no enforceable rules, management and accountants are expected to present a true view of the business financial position, in order to provide those involved with the organization a outlook on the state of the business and the level of profitability. With HIH not recording a great level of its costs, and including revenue in which it shouldnt have, this led to a great outlook on the organisations financial position in which it really didnt have. Although this was good in the short run, it eventually led to the collapse of the business, because the way in which costs were reported, and revenue was measured was not acceptable. Critically evaluate this statement: Since there are apparently no enforceable standards and rules for management and cost accounting, whatever the company and accountants want to do in reporting costs and revenue measurements must be acceptable. Evaluating the above statement requires an in-depth look at the main features of the subject which include management and cost accounting. This essay attempts to highlight the...

Comedy Literary Devices Essay Example

Comedy Literary Devices Essay Example Comedy Literary Devices Paper Comedy Literary Devices Paper Essay Topic: Literature Comedy is a literary work, especially a play, which is light, often humorous or satirical, and ends happily Characterization is the device used by an author to develop a character through (1) what that character says and does, ( 2 ) what other people in the story say about him/her and how they react to him/her, and (3) what the author reveals directly or through a narrator. Stereotype character A flat character who possesses expected traits of a group rather than being an individual Flat character A character who is not well developed, not complex Round character A well-developed, complex character Static character A character who does not change throughout the story Dynamic character A character who undergoes a change during the story Foil character A character who is in direct contrast to another character External conflict the struggle of a character against an outside force, such as fate, nature, society, or another person Internal conflict a characters conflict with himself/herself Verbal irony when the speaker or writer says one thing but means something very differentoften opposite of what is said (sarcasm) Situational irony what actually happens is opposite of what is expected or appropriate Dramatic irony occurs when the audience or the reader knows something important that the character does not know Juxtaposition placing dissimilar items, descriptions, or ideas close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast Hyperbole obvious and intentional exaggeration. Understatement The opposite of hyperbole, an understatement says less than is intended. Understatement usually has an ironic effect, and sometimes may be used for comic purposes Oxymoron Two contradictory words used together, as in sweet sorrow, original copy, or jumbo shrimp Alliteration the repetition of the same sounds, such as Sally sells sea shells Onomatopoeia words that sound like what they mean, such as plop Diction The writers choice of words. Diction expresses tone. Tone a writers or speakers attitude toward the subject Theme the underlying message of the story; the central idea behind the story; an expression of the authors attitude Figurative Language Words or phrases that mean something other than what they literally say. Simile Figurative language that makes a comparison between two things, usually using like or as Metaphor Figurative language that makes a comparison between two things without the use of such specific words of comparison as like, as, than, or resembles Personification Figurative language in which an object or animal is given human qualities Farce a comedy characterized by broad satire and improbable situations Satire a type of writing that ridicules the shortcomings of people or instructions in an attempt to bring about a change Foreshadowing the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot Drama a play Allusion a reference to another literary work, a myth, a historical figure or event Fiction An made-up story, whether in prose, poetry, or drama (fake) Non-fiction prose writing that presents and explains ideas or that tells about real people, places, objects, or events (not fake) Prose ordinary form of written language, opposite of poetry Poetry written in lines and stanzas, opposite of prose Imagery description that uses any of the 5 senses Mood the emotional feeling of a story, often created through imagery

Cash Reconciliation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cash Reconciliation - Assignment Example This error will result to the bank statement having highest figure as compared to the cash account by $ 150. This error is reconciled by adding the $ 150 to cash account. The third error the bookkeeper recorded a payment of $ 250 as $ 25 from customer, but the bank noticed the error and deposited the right amount. With this error the bank statement will reflect a high balance than what the cash account reflects. This error can be reconciled by the bookkeeper adding $ 225 which is the difference of she received and what she recorded. The fourth error was committed by the bank when they were clearing a check of $ 255 but instead cleared $ 225. This error will result to the bank statement reflecting a higher balance as compared to what is being reflected on the company’s books of account. This can be reconciled by the bookkeeper adding the difference of $ 25 to the cash account. The fifth error the bookkeeper wrote a check of $ 369 but recorded $ 396. This will have an impact on the cash account since it will reflect a lower balance to that reflected by the bank statement. This error can be reconciled by adding the difference of $ 27 to the cash

Allowabe size and configuration of sidewalk cafes in NYC Essay

Allowabe size and configuration of sidewalk cafes in NYC - Essay Example They have been instrumental in giving feasible solutions to idealized proposals of cultural entities and the government. Architects are instrumental in responding to the concerns of both the commercial entities and the public in giving an integrated policy (Loukaitou-Sideris & Ehrenfeucht, 2009). In addition, cultural forces have agitated for a traditional architectural setting whereby culture is integrated into daily activities. This calls for sidewalk spaces that can allow for setting of public emblems and interaction. On the other hand, commercial activities constrain the growth of culture in towns. Academics have complained of the sidewalk policy as ignoring the preferences of the public and consumers. It also ignores the concept of free markets whereby commercial activities control the space in which they operate in the same (McEachern, 2008). This criticism rides on the idea that the government and academics make assumptions of problems in the city. This ignores the feelings of the public of whom the changes are made for the same. This suggests that the public should push for proposals of improving their interests in the city. In this sense, the public pulls away the stake from the academics. Other critiques herald the policy as one-sided since it only concentrates on the public and constrains the growth of small businesses (Kleniewski & Thomas,

Andy Stern’s A Country That Works Essay Example for Free

Andy Stern’s A Country That Works Essay The president of the largest, Andy Stern, fast-growing and dynamic union in North America named SEIU or Service Employees International Union has just recently launched his new book and even conducted a nationwide tour just to promote it. The SEIU president’s new book which is entitled â€Å"Getting America Back on Track: A Country that Works passes judgment on the union of laborers or workers which are present or established nowadays because they have not adjusted or conformed to the current political landscape. Furthermore, he disapproves on the labor unions failure to bring the workers together and unite them on a common goal. Andy Stern in his books lays out a plan that he believed would refurbish or repair the current tax system. Furthermore, the plans that he proposed aimed the transformation of the health care system and fix the retirement system. His new book also includes certain strategies or arrangements to improve the current existing education. Andy Stern’s book is basically concern with the decline of the United States trade union movement. Andy Stern is aware that economy is changing and that there is a great mass of working class that requires equality. The economy is changing by shifting the power more towards those in the authorities and less to the working class. Furthermore, there is a decline or decrease in the rate of private sector unionization and reached the lowest level even before the year 1900. In addition to this, as economy changes and the power shifts to an inequality, the role of the labor in the economy is also changing. As the occurrence of mass protests, especially those that come from the immigrant workers in the United States, and the worker or labor strikes and protests conducted in France continues to increase, the losses which the companies or corporations incur also increases. As the labor tends to slow down, the process and company’s working time decreases and productivity is affected. Andy Stern’s new book is actually not directly aimed at the workers. Furthermore, it does not also include the advancement of any serious strategy in combating the present or occurring corporate assaults on the jobs of individuals and most especially to the living standards. On the other hand, the book is able to inform or give a certain warning to the administrators in the corporate world and the ruling elite. It warns them that if the unions who have worked hard and served the corporate world, more especially in America for already a long period of time, is allowed to collapse, there would be serious and dangerous social upheavals. Furthermore, it gives a forewarning that these social upheavals, if it goes outside the control of those in power or of the labor bureaucracy, would greatly increase. The labors which are organized should be in an innovative position as to create new leadership and perspectives. In the old days, manifestations from the labor unions are mainly expressed through strikes and workers tend to stop from working. This is not a good habit for it does not only incur losses to the corporations but also to the workers as well. Being laid-off from work could also be a problem in the old ways, especially if a union continues to ask its members to do strikes or constant protests. The new organized labor should innovate or reinvent itself to create more ideas in creating solutions to the root of the problem. There would be no serious struggle against the present social inequality if the organized labor’s old ways continue to be of practice. It is therefore necessary or required that the labor union would create or establish an independent political and socialists movement that is composed mainly, if not solely, of the working class. On a different perspective, it can be noted that it is impossible not to understand and be familiar with the effect no matter the degree or even if it was immense, of the increasing productions made by the transnational corporations. It is also impossible to recognize what globalized productions could do with regards to the old labor organizations. On the other hand, acknowledging this fact and be able to create ways of moving forward through a progressive answer are poles apart. According to Andy Stern, the country or the United States labor bureaucracy could outsource the strikes conducted by the labor unions or workers. He stated that the country could give the workers who are in strike a certain â€Å"pay strike† especially in low wage countries. Furthermore, he believed that this could be an alternative in calling out its own members on strike, would eventually reduce the number of strikes conducted by the labor unions. If the workers or labor unions are ready in conducting strikes in the United States and the companies or corporations would also be ready in paying them to strike, then there would be an increase in the losses incurred. It would be very much costly as to when a pay was not given to those who would go on strikes. But, paying the laborers in India, Indonesia or other places to conduct strikes and protests against the same global employer would incur less loss and is basically not that expensive. These assumptions are however blunt and has a mark of certain arrogance to it. It should be noted that an international working class movement should have its grounds on a plan or an agenda that ensures mutual solidarity in achieving liberation for all. It is not good to use workers from other countries to serve as pawns in achieving a narrow and constricted national interest. The final chapter of Andy Stern’s book includes his proposals for the reordering of the society. From his proposals, it could be analyzed that here is none that goes beyond the milk toast reforms which are pressed forward by the sections in the Democratic Party. In addition to this, it can also be noted that his proposals have no chance of being adopted or accepted because the big businesses or corporations do not want any infringement on its profits. These measures which Andy Stern stated were supported by another proposal that he made. He proposed to the capitalists and even to their political representatives that these are under their best interest. Though on the other hand, it may somehow state a conscious duplicity or self-deception and cynicism vaguely. In some cases, cynicism somehow dominates. Andy Stern has some dulled statements which support these points of view and somehow admit that the labor bureaucracy’s alliance together with the Democratic party is worthless or hollow. The statement is somehow correct, in the point of view of an individual who understands through politics or capitalist politics. But in the point of view of a political struggle in general, that statement is basically incorrect. Andy Stern, in some parts of his book, is able to write or create reactionary conclusions which are basically based from the right or proper observations. He puts forward or suggests addressing the incapability, generally the failure, of the labor unions’ alliance with the Democratic Party. On a different point of view, it can be said that this only puts the labor unions in forming closer ties with the Republicans. Generally, Andy Stern’s book, from one chapter or part to the other, is really thought-provoking as to what methods or proposals should be really followed.

Strategic Importance of Knowledge Management Essay -- Philosophy Knowl

Strategic Importance of Knowledge Management Today the world has more and more of free flow of information leading to transfer of knowledge from a person or an organization to others. Whereas this invariably leads to faster development, it also impacts the competitive advantage held by the innovators of processes or technology. It has therefore become strategically important for one and all in business to understand the knowledge, processes and controls to effectively manage the system of sharing and transferring the information in the most beneficial fashion. This paper dwells upon definition, types, scope, technology and modeling of knowledge and Knowledge Management while examining its strategic importance for retaining the competitive advantage by the organizations. What is knowledge? Plato first defined the concept of knowledge as ‘‘justified true belief’’ in his Meno, Phaedo and Theaetetus. Although not very accurate in terms of logic, this definition has been predominant in Western philosophy (Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995). Davenport et al. (1998) define knowledge as ``information combined with experience, context, interpretation and reflection''. The terms ‘‘knowledge’’ and ‘‘information’’ are often used inter-changeably in the literature and praxis but a distinction is helpful. The chain of knowledge flow is data-information-knowledge. Information is data to which meaning has been added by being categorized, classified, corrected, and condensed. Information and experience, key components of definitions of knowledge, are put into categories through the process of labeling with abstract symbols. This allows the process of synthesis to occur more efficiently than when dealing with masses of individual bits of information. Information coded into symbols to make it â€Å"knowledge† may be stored both inside and outside the individuals. Thus, knowledge may be stored within a person in his mind or outside the person in books, manuscripts, pictures, and audio and videotapes or discs. However, while only the individual himself may retrieve knowledge stored within his mind, kn owledge stored outside can be retrieved by anybody familiar with the storage systems. In organizations, knowledge is often embedded not only in documents and presentations but also in â€Å"organizational routines, processes, practices, and norms,† and through person-to-person cont... ...ress, New York, NY. Schultze, U. and Boland Jr, R.J. (2000), ‘‘Knowledge management technology and the reproduction of knowledge work practices’’, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Vol. 9, pp. 193-212. Stoner J.A.F., Freeman R. E. and Gilbert D.R. (2004): Management, Pearson Education, U.K. Swan, J. and Newell, S. (2000), ‘‘Linking knowledge management and innovation’’, in Hansen, H.R., Tissen, R., Andriessen, D. and Depres, F.L. (2000), The Knowledge Dividend, Financial Times and Prentice Hall, London. Van Buren, M. (1999), ‘‘A yardstick for knowledge management’’, Training and Development Journal, Vol. 53 No. 5, pp. 71-8. Wagner, E. (2000), ‘‘Communities of practice: the structure of knowledge stewarding’’, in Despres, C. and Chauvel, D. (Eds), The Present and the Promise of Knowledge Management, Butterworth-Heinemann, Boston, MA, pp. 205-24. Wheelen T.L. and Hunger J.D. (2004): Strategic Management and Business Policy, Pearson Education, U.K. Winter, S.G. (1987), ‘‘Knowledge and competence as strategic assets’’, in Teece, D.J. (Ed.), The Competitive Challenge: Strategies For Individual Innovation and Renewal, Ballinger, Cambridge, MA, pp. 159-84.

Ethical Impacts of the Internet on Children and Teenagers Essay

As the use of internet dominates every activity in the global market, its use in homes and schools has exponentially grown raising concern on its ethical effect on children and teenagers. The nature of the youngsters’ use of internet has generated heat and anxiety among the general public as the society calls for ethical and moral guidelines that would protect children and teenagers from negative effect of the internet. This paper proposes a research that will identify the effect of internet use among the young people as the academic and policy importance concerning the opportunities and dangers of internet use continue to be raised. The paper identifies these opportunities and dangers as it proposes the methodology and limitations for the research paper. 2. 0 Introduction 2. 1 Background Internet which slowly started as a network for military officers in the cold war eventually became an important tool in the academic corridors and today the former â€Å"Arpanet† has greatly grown to become the primary platform for communication and interaction for different communities around the world. As the Internet traffic hit millions of users each day the communication technology continue to grow to allow for infinite information access and instant interaction by users, a fact that has brought about a social paradigm shift in the way societies used to live in the earlier days. This technology has particularly been embraced by children and teenagers as a way of learning, socializing and leisure. In the developed countries and many other regions around the word, internet access has ceased to being a trademark for the privileged members of the society as its use in the workplace, education institutions and leisure places continue to grow exponentially. As the use of computers and internet become more and more entrenched in our day to day routine practices, it has become a basic feature not only in the offices but also at our homes. The presence of internet at our homes has opened up a â€Å"super highway† to children and teenagers who are being referred to as the â€Å"digital generation† that incidentally predisposes them to overwhelming information and social sites that may contribute heavily in shaping their behavioural patterns. Whereas internet offers a perfect educational platform for the young people, it is also seen largely as a risk factor that could expose them to adult sites, make them more addicted and dependant on the internet and eventually instil anti-social behaviour in some of them. While this issue demands a critical stance given the consequences it has on the future generation, very little independent researches has been conducted to inform the policy makers and end the growing public anxiety. In most of the researches conducted in the recent past only a few have focused on the social consequences of the internet among the children and teenagers. The households with children or/and teenagers that have access to the internet is however more common than those without (Wigley and Clacke, 2000). 2. 2 Research Objectives The main objective of the proposed research project is to explore the impact of the internet on children and teenagers based on the expected social, cognitive and behavioural patterns in the society. The research project will aim at identifying issues that deviate from the laid down expectations both at school, home and in the society which find their root from the internet. 2. 3 Research Question The proposed paper will focus on answering the following primary question; †¢ What are the ethical impact on the use of internet among the children and teenagers? To effectively explore the primary research question the following secondary questions will be analyzed? †¢ What are the children/teenagers perceptions towards internet? †¢ What are the perceptions of the parents whose children are using internet at home or/and school? †¢ What are the important contrasts in internet activities from what is expected to what is actually practised? †¢ What are the possible impacts of these struggles between the theoretical and practical internet activities on children/teenagers’ social development? 2. 4 Research Significance A study conducted in the UK by Wigley and Clacke (2000), revealed that among the young people aged between 7 and 16 years, 75% of them have used the internet as compared to only 38% from the adult population. This explains that in the contemporary society the young are actually the pioneers of the internet culture. For a long time children and teenagers have also been regarded as a special homogenous object in other studies a fact that has made this category of population marginalised and often left out in researches on the internet. Even in the midst of growing researches on e-commerce and e-democracy very little efforts are focusing on the expanding online market driven by the young people. For these reasons children and teenagers are often left out in technological advancement as the market analysis is evaluated. As the social effects of internet on the young people become obvious in most societies it is becoming more difficult to ignore the subject and therefore many empirical projects on children and teenagers use of the internet are coming up. This makes it appropriate moment in which the research agenda on this category of population must be given priority. 3. 0 Literature Review 3. 1 Nature of Internet Usage Recent surveys reveal that children and teenagers attach high value to the usage of internet to gather information, entertainment leisure and as a medium of communication. According to Valkenburg and Soeters (2001), 73% of the children and teenagers use internet as an education tool, 59% use it for E-mails, 38% to play games, 32% for chatting with friends and 31% use internet as a hobby and an area of interest. The internet has already revolutionized the social patterns of our younger population drastically changing the earlier forms of communication and interaction among the peers. A research conducted by Valkenburg and Soeters (2001), indicates that among most households internet has continued to elicit mixed reaction between the parents and their young ones as it is considered to easily lead the young toward the wrong direction if mismanaged or taken for granted. While the parents praise the internet for its role in availing most of the information that their children would need in pursuit of their education, the children consider the opportunity more as a source of entertainment that gives them a break from the other â€Å"old fashioned† entertainment sources. The tug of war between the parents and children demonstrates an obvious digital generation gap in which children and teenagers who normally acquire and understand new internet skills faster than their parents get transformed into â€Å"family tutors†. The expertise in computer and internet skills among the children gives them a symbolic advantage over their parents that can easily be mis-used in pushing their interests that could not necessarily be approved by their parents. The current researches on the social context in which internet is focusing more in identifying ways and means in which children and teenagers are changing their homes into centres for content production, entertainment and leisure. This fact has in essence brought about new approaches in children’s activities as questions linger on whether learning has become more fun, playing is turning more and more educational and whether online chatting is part of civic participation or a way of withdrawal from the general society. This kind of researches therefore calls for the need to analyse the online content that is most preferred by children and teenagers. This raises a challenge given the large volume of online contents from which one can choose from and the fact that the hypertext content can be actualized by the user. This has in effect discouraged most of the researchers carrying out studies on the impact of internet on children and teenagers. Most of the researches today are however guided by the policy issues that are endeavouring in trying to balance the benefits that the internet offers to the young population against the harm that may be associated with some of the sites. Therefore the key agenda is on how the society in general should ethically conceptualize and balance the benefits and the dangers of the internet on the children and teenagers within there spheres of influence.