Cda Autobiography Essay

My name is _______. I was born in Miami, Florida on September __, 1994. I was born into a large family with 5 older sisters and 2 younger as well. A few years ago I was graced with a niece, named __________; she has become the joy of my life. Most of my time, aside from working and school, is spent with her. Both of my parents were born _______, whereas my sisters and I were all born here in Miami. There’s a great dissimilarity in the way that things are done in______ and the way things are done here. The differences have brought a love and interest in all the diverse cultures of the world. As a child I always loved my teachers. They always found a way to make learning fun and exciting. I knew I wanted to work with kids when I got older and help them find learning just as fun and exciting as I did. Everyday I’d come home from school and teach what I’ve learned to my younger siblings using the same methods my teachers used. They began finding learning just as enjoyable as I’d hoped. From then on I was inspired to be part of the life changing team of childcare workers and instill the thoughts that learning is fun in young children today. I have lots of goals for a future in ECE. A projection of my short-term goals in ECE includes becoming a Child Development Associate. I feel that it would be an honor to be an educator to young children and introduce some of the behaviors that they will carry with them their entire life long. Some of my long-term goals include owning my own childcare center or becoming a pediatrician.

The Human Vessel to the New Business Frontier

As our workforces grow more diverse every day, and customers are demanding better, faster, and less expensive service, companies are faced with the challenges to create and meet the changes necessary to remain in business. The organizational environment must also learn to assess the direction of these changes while also being able to respond successfully to those that roll in at a completely different direction than expected. The leadership required to handle these wonderfully tumultuous times, so that organizations in transition remain profitable, is crucial. Today†s companies become successful based on their abilities to create and manage change. They can no longer survive without â€Å"†¦ courage and imagination – the courage to challenge prevailing business models and the imagination to invent new markets. † As the globe continues to evolve into a marketplace with vanishing boundaries, competition becomes stronger, tighter, and smarter than ever before, ultimately forcing organizational change. The tidal strength of competition that has been upon us over the past few decades has fundamentally changed the â€Å"blueprints† of many corporations and how they now need to be led. Businesses have awakened to the hard fact that leadership can no longer be defined by the effective management of people and systems, but most importantly by the effective leading of change. Leadership, or the lack thereof, is proving to be one of the most crucial determinants of whether organizations will survive and flourish in the next century†s business frontier. â€Å"We live in an era of organizational reengineering. To become or remain competitive, leaders often must realize improvement through radical change, or reengineering. As defined by Jon R. Katzenbach, author of Real Change Leaders, radical changes are: Those situations in which corporate performance requires most people throughout the organization to learn new behaviors and skills. These new skills must add up to a competitive advantage for the enterprise allowing it to produce better and better performance in shorter and shorter time frames. The changes that are most relevant are those that demand companies to redefine their organizations in order to profit from the changes or even just to endure them. Change, such as that which comes with new technology, comes so quickly and frequently that business are forced to develop new organizational models and practices. With the unrelenting evolution of technology, organizational structures have had to be reinvented. No longer do we find the centralized, multi-layered hierarchies that once offered organizations bureaucratic control over employees. Towering organizational structures are now collapsing into flatter pyramids with wider spans of control offering greater flexibility, cost-efficiency, and more interdependent departments capable of rapid action and reaction. As with advances in technology, economic, political, and socio-cultural environments are also faced with swift changes. Unfortunately, such a rapid rate of change can turn an organization†s strengths into its weaknesses. Leaders must now think like change agents, because the issue is not only how new concepts and skills are acquired, but also how to unlearn things that are no longer serving the organization. This means that leaders must carefully examine organizational cultures and then reinvent them to promote and maintain success. The most important thing to understand, however, is that leaders cannot change culture arbitrarily in the sense of eradicating dysfunctional conditions. By evolving culture they can build on its strengths while diminishing its weaknesses. â€Å"Culture is ‘changed†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ through changes in various key concepts in the mental models of people who are the main carriers of the culture. Note, however, that such transformations do not occur through announcements or formal programs. They occur through a genuine change in the leader†s behavior†¦ † If culture cannot be manipulated through hard-core policy changes and formalities, how does a leader gain the loyalty of the organization†s members? How does a leader influence others to voluntarily commit to his or her vision of where the company is going and how it will get there? Robert Rosen, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the George Washington School of Medicine tells us that â€Å"Americans are hungry for new leaders; emotionally intelligent leaders with vision and character who can guide their downsized organizations back to health and high performance. However, before they are willing to go through the growing pains of organizational changes, employees want to and must see that the leader is willing to â€Å"walk the talk! † The path of a leader is one of a trailblazer. Forging new ideas, concepts, and theories to raise the success level of those he or she is leading. Throughout history, there have been many leaders who have fundamentally changed the way the world viewed things such as freedom, politics, and the importance of forgiveness. These magnetic individuals are able to draw out not only their own magnificence, but also that of those who follow them. Within their skills to lead, they cultivate others† abilities to rise above their difficulties and self-doubts. Leaders of truly positive change can breath life back into an organization that is on the edge of collapsing. With their abilities to instill values that reflect courage and respect in their followers, they also are more than willing to share in their visions for the future. If a leader truly wants to transform an organization that can and will endure the inevitable changes that the future holds, he or she must work to unify its members by building a shared vision with common values and direction. Vision is an essential element of leadership. It is a leader†s image of what the company will produce or provide, where the company is headed to achieve those successes, and how it will arrive there. â€Å"Vision refers to a picture of the future with some implicit or explicit commentary on why people should strive to create that future. † It is also â€Å"†¦ the [intuitive] ability to see the potential in or necessity of opportunities right in front of you. † Vision is necessary to clarify the necessity and actions of organizational changes. When people understand why they are going in a certain direction and they fundamentally agree with it, they are much more motivated and willing to put in the work it takes to see a leader†s vision materialize. â€Å"†¦ the real power of a vision is unleashed only when most of those involved in an enterprise or activity have a common understanding of its goals and direction. † When a journalist inquired about the remarkable success of the Hewlett-Packard corporation, David Packard spoke only in terms of the â€Å"†¦ ttributes of immense operating freedom within well-defined objectives, the pay-as you-go policy that enforces entrepreneurial discipline, the critical decision to enable all employees to share in the company†s financial success. † These organizational attributes are not just simple choices made to see if the organization†s members would use them to assist the company in its successes; they are carefully thought out plans that began as someone†s vision as to how the company could flourish through its people. To companies whose leaders mobilize their people and unleash their competence, creativity, and commitments, success is almost sure to follow. Once a leader has formed, articulated, and shared with the other members of the organization his or her visions for the future, those other people will be watching very closely to see just how much conviction the leader has in those visions. They expect leaders to show up, to pay attention, and to participate directly in the process of getting extraordinary things done. Leading by example is how leaders make visions and values tangible. It is how they provide the evidence that they are personally committed. That evidence is what people look for and admire in leaders, people whose direction they would willingly follow. This makes credibility a very important attribute that people look for in a successful leader. Those looking to a leader need to believe in that person; that he or she can be trusted; that he or she is truly excited about the direction that the company†s heading. People expect their leaders to stand for something and to have the courage of their beliefs. It is also equally as important for the leader to know that his or her credibility is not being challenged. Leaders believe their personal credibility is more important than their formal position of power. Credibility is what they think enables them to inspire confidence among the people they must influence to take initiative and personal risk. The best leaders show their personal credibility both in what they have accomplished and in what they know about the change task at hand. Courage is another primary attribute of a successful leader. One of the greatest challenges for leaders of change is to develop the personal skills that are necessary to effectively generate and cultivate courage, in themselves as well as those around them. â€Å"They recognize that courage is really about making the connection between what†s changing in the business world and what needs to change in their personal behaviors. They also recognize that personal change offers far more potential rewards than sticking with the status quo. As the hallmark of a true leader, courage is necessary to take risks, to create a vision, to empower others, and to challenge the current conditions of any situation. In The Art of War, Sun Tzu said: â€Å"Leadership is a matter of intelligence, trustworthiness, humanness, courage, and sternness. † The most essential aspect of how the leaders of the next century will sustain their companies is the continual facilitation of the people within their organizations as the primary factor for success. Although empowerment has become somewhat of a â€Å"buzz† word within the business arena, it†s power is nonetheless stronger than any other tool used by leaders to get results from people. Because in its most simple form, empowerment is sharing the decision-making process with others, it is closely related to courage. Those companies that have stood the test of time, such as Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Nordstrom, and Wal-Mart have infused into their organizations the practices of empowering their employees. Leaders of the future must have the strength and fearlessness to go against the grain of old assumptions or paradigms. They must continue to trailblaze in their efforts to see that the organizations of the next century will remain in tact. They will be the encouragers of change for positive results; they will be the beacons that the others look to guide the ship through any storm; they will hold their heads high in recognition of success and have the courage to admit when outcomes are not what they had planned. Tomorrow†s leaders of change rise to the occasion and take the others with them.

Inventory and Nestle

About Nestle Nestle is a multinational packaged foods company founded and headquartered in Vevey Switzerland. it is the world`s foremost Nutrition. Health & Wellness Company committed serving consumers all over the world. Their focus on responsible nutrition and promoting heaLth and wellness is a core value, emphasizing responsibility and sustainability. Nestle products are sold in almost every country in the world. MISSION STATEMENT Nestle is dedicated to providing the best foods to people throughout their day. Throughout their lives, throughout the world.With our unique experience of anticipating consumers’ needs and creating solutions. Nestle contributes to your well-being and enhances your quality of life. † COST ACCOUBTING INFORMATION SYSTEM OF NESTLE INPUT MEASUREMENT BASIS STANDARD COSTING Nestle is using STANDARD COSTING as a base for input measurement Standard costs are usually associated with a company’s costs of direct material, direct labor, and manufa cturing overhead. Rather than assigning the actual costs of direct material, direct labor, and manufacturing overhead to a product, nestle’ like many manufacturers assigns the expected or standard cost.This means that its inventories and cost of goods sold will began with amounts reflecting the standard costs, nor the actual costs, of a product Nestle’, of course still has to pay the actual costs. As a result there almost always differences between the actual costs and the standard costs, and those differences are known as variances, REASON FOR USING STANDARD COSTING Nestle is currently using Standard costing method because the related variances are valuable management tool. If a variance arises, management becomes aware that manufacturing costs have differed from the standard (planned. xpected) costs. †¢ If actual costs are greater than standard costs the variance is unfavorable. An unfavorable variance tells nestle’ management that if everything else stay s constant the company`s actual profit will be less than planned. †¢ If actual costs are less than standard costs the variance is favorable. A favorable variance tells management that if everything else stays constant the actual profit will likely exceed the planned profit. The sooner that the accounting system reports a variance, the sooner that Nestle management can direct its attention to the difference from the planned accounts.DIRECT MATERIALS USAGE VARIANCE Under a standard costing system. Production and inventories are reported at the standard cost—including the standard quantity of direct materials that should have been used to make the products. If the manufacturer actually uses more direct materials than the standard quantity of materials for the products actually manufactured, the company will have an unfavorable direct materials usage variance, If the quantity of direct materials actually used is less than the standard quantity for the products produced, the company will have a favorable usage variance.The amount of a favorable and unfavorable variance is recorded in a General ledger account Direct Materials Usage Variance. (Alternative account titles include Direct Materials Quantity Variance or Direct Materials Efficiency Variance. ) Lets demonstrate this variance with the following information. Direct Labor: Standard Cost. Rate Variance, Efficiency Variance Direct labor refers to the work done by those employees who aciually make the product on the production line. (â€Å"Indirect labor† is work done by employees who work in the production area. but do not work on the production line.Examples include employees who set up & maintain the equipment. ) Unlike direct materials (which are obtained prior o being used) direct Labor is obtained and used at the same time, This means that for any given good output, we can compute the direct labor rate variance. The direct labor efficiency variance, and the standard direct labor cost at t he same time. Variable Mfg Overhead: Standard Cost, Spending Variance, Efficiency Variance Manufacturing overhead costs† refer to any costs within a manufacturing facility other than direct material and direct labor.Manufacturing overhead includes such things as indirect labor, indirect materials (such as manufacturing supplies), utilities, quality control, material handling, and depreciation on the manufacturing equipment and facilities. â€Å"Variable† manufacturing overhead costs will increase in total as output increases. Fixed Mfg Overhead: Standard Cost, Budget Variance, Volume Variance â€Å"Fixed† manufacturing overhead costs remain the same in total even though the volume of production may increase by a modest amount. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN VARIANCESIf the direct labor is not efficient at producing the good output, there will be an unfavorable labor efficiency variance. That inefficiency will likely cause additional variable manufacturing overhead—r esulting in an unfavorable variable manufacturing overhead efficiency variance. If these inefficiencies are significant, it is possible that the company may not be able to produce enough good output to absorb the planned fixed manufacturing overhead—resulting in an unfavorable fixed manufacturing overhead volume variance. TREATMENT OF VARIANCESThe treatment of variances follows these guidelines: If the variance amount is very small (insignificant relative to the company’s net Income), simply put the entire amount on the income statement. If the variance amount is unfavorable, increase the cost of goods sold—thereby reducing net income. If the variance amount is favorable, decrease the cost of goods sold—thereby increasing net income. If the variance is unfavorable, significant in amount, and results from mistakes or inefficiencies, the variance amount can never be added to any inventory or asset account.These unfavorable variance amounts go directly to th e income statement and reduce the company`s net income. If the variance is unfavorable significant in amount and results from standard costs not being realistic, allocate the variance to the company’s inventory accounts and cost of goods sold. The allocation should follow the standard costs of the inputs from which the variances arose. If the variance amount is favorable and significant in amount, allocate the variance to the company`s inventories and its cost of goods sold. INVENTORY VALUATION METHOD ACTIVITY BASED COSTINGActivity based costing (ABC) assigns manufacturing overhead costs to products in a more logical manner than the traditional approach of simply allocating costs on the basis of machine hours. Activity based costing first assigns costs to the activities that are the real cause of the overhead. It then assigns the cost of those activities only to the products that are actually demanding the activities. IMPLEMENTATION OF ABC IN NESTLE Nestle company is using ac tivity based costing method for inventory valuation. Firstly they identify all activities that use resources.Cost pools are set up for each of the activities identified. They assign overhead costs to the cost pools based on a cost driver. Cost pools are used to assign costs. Costs are assigned to its, batches, or products. REASON FOR USING ACTIVITY BASED COSTING Nestle is currently using ABC techniques because it helps it in determining accurate product cost. Complex companies Like Nestle may see the most benefit from this type of costing because it is most helpful when the costing information is difficult to understand or evaluate.ABC provides information to Nestle regarding processes that should be improved and the products or services that are contributing the most to company’s profitability, ABC system also helps Nestle in knowing what are the factors that contribute most to cost, which in turn assists management in choosing best alternative in reducing overall costs incu rred by the Nestle Company. ABC system can be the best tool to be utilized in implementing environmental accounting at the firm level. COST ACCUMULATION METHODNestle is using process costing method. It is a costing system in which the cost of a product or service is obtained by assigning costs to masses of lake or similar units and then computing unit costs on an average basis. Process costing averages the costs over all units to come to the per unit cost. In Nestle. Direct material and direct labor costs are tracked by department, and are assigned evenly to the products that pass through each department. Overhead costs are applied to each department and are assigned evenly to each product.Multiple WIP accounts are used one for every process. As products are moved from one process to another, the costs of the previous process are transferred to the next process. Five steps are involved in Nestles process costing method firstly it summarizes the flow of physical units of output. Seco ndly, computes output in terms of equivalent units, Thirdly, computes equivalent unit costs. Fourthly, summarizes total costs to account for. And at the end, they assign total costs to units completed and to units in ending work in process inventory.REASON FOR USING PROCESS COSTING Process-costing used in Nestle because it broadens the economics of quality by classifying cost of non-conformance and cost of conformance i. e. â€Å"costs incurred when a process is running without failure. It also allows Nestle tracking and reduction of costs normally associated with efficiency in addition to effectiveness (quality)†. COST FLOW ASSUMPTION FIFO In Cost flows assumption. Nestle is using FIFO method. FWO is an acronym for First In, First Out.A method of valuating the cost of goods sold that uses the cost of the oldest items in inventory first What comes in first is handled first what comes in next waits until the first is finished. Etc. REASON FOR USING FIFO Nestle is using FIFO as cost flow assumption for its products. Because most of its products are perishable and they have short expiry date. Nestle also believe in tax minimization. For taxation purposes, FIFO assumes that the assets that ate renaming in inventory are matched to the assets that are most recently purchased or produced.Because of this assumption, there are number of tax minimization strategies associated with using the FIfo asset-management and valuation method. Due to this reason, Nestle is using FIFO method as a cost flow. FWO gives Nestle a better indication of the value of ending the inventory on the balance sheet. One of the reasons for using FIFO method by Nestle is the increasing rate of inflation. Because of this, Nestle uses FIFO inventory accounting in order to make their balance sheet look better. RECORDING INTERVAL CAPABILITYInventory records can be maintained on a perpetual or a periodic basis In the past manufacturers tended to keep perpetual inventories, while retailers used t he periodic method. However, today a variety of point of sale devices and dedicated microcomputer software are readily available to provide any company with perpetual inventory capability. NESTLE’S METHOD Nestle is Currently using perpetual method for maintaining the inventory records because this method provides the company with real time and true inventory information.To record purchases, the periodic system debits the Purchases account while the perpetual system debits the Merchandise Inventory account. To record sales, the perpetual system requires an extra entry to debit the Cost of goods sold and credit Merchandise Inventory. By recording the cost of goods sold (or each sale, the perpetual inventory system lessens the need for adjusting entries and calculation of the goods sold at the end of a financial period, both of which the periodic inventory system requires.The reasons for which Nestle is using perpetual method rather than periodic inventory method is that †¢ By using perpetual method Nestle can determine their COGS and profit or loss after every sale unlike periodic, in which you get profit or loss at the end of the period. †¢ Nestle has preferred perpetual system because it is a realistic double entry system while periodic is arbitrary. †¢ The company can watch the inventory more closely using this method because whenever there is an increment and decrement inventory, some other account like profit loss must be debited or credited. And in the perpetual system stock loss gain is immediately noticed and not at the end of year when the physical count of the inventory is taken The advantages that Nestle has got due to the use of the perpetual inventory system, is a high degree of control, it aids in the management of proper inventory levels, and physical inventories can be easily compared. Whenever a shortage (Le. a missing or stolen good) is discovered, the Inventory Shortages account should be debited.

Why study world religions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why study world religions - Essay Example People throughout the world are loosing the fellow felling and togetherness which has been one of the main cornerstones of every religious saying. All the religions have been part of quite a few recent developments throughout the world. Also many are trying to use religion, for their vested interests, as it basically encapsulates a soft corner in every people’s life for meeting their own needs. Religious traditions are adaptable in nature. Religion is not only a process which encourages thinking about God but also to follow the religious maxim in every day’s life (American Academy of Religion, â€Å"Why Study Religion?†). World religion can be divided by different names such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam or Jainism among others. The names of the religion can be different but the message that every religion tries to provide to the people of the world are almost the same. Every religion tries to pass on the message of love, sacrifice, togetherness, and truthfulness. Religion has a major influence on the way a person approaches and also responds to any experience in life. Each and every religion of the world has different valuable aspects which can be used to benefit human life. World Religion can be varied in terms of their ideas and also the way a person has to follow those ideas, but there are certain aspects which are the same in all the religions like ‘high God concept’, traditional or primitive religious beliefs, religious expressions and experiences, rituals, the idea of divine beings, and sacred personages (Quartz Hill School of Theology, â€Å"An Overview of the World s Religions†). In the process of studying different forms of religious sensibilities, Hinduism, Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, Judaism, Christianity and Islam can be looked at. Religion over the years has been one of the most significant influencing factors in the human life. People throughout the world face challenges every day in various aspects of life

A moment in my life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

A moment in my life - Essay Example We typically go on trips every weekend, with either her friends or mine. One day in 2006, my friend asked me for a favor. I have a penchant for fixing cars and anything mechanical, and so when my friend approached me to fix his car, I was more than willing to do it for him. He went to the house with the car, and said, â€Å"Buddy, I do not have the time and the funds to have this thing fixed. But if you promise to do it for me, we’d have a joy ride during the weekend.† Being best friends for the past 10 years, I willingly obliged. It took me several hours of painstaking diagnosis and greasy work to have the thing fixed. â€Å"Vrrrrrrrrrrooooom!†, it finally went. Alas, the car was good as new. Excited with what I had accomplished, I ran to the phone to call Carl and tell him that the machine was ready for pick up. â€Å"Don’t forget the job ride!†, I muttered. Shouting, he replied, â€Å"It’s a date, and don’t forget to bring along your sister.† Karl and my sister were best friends as well, and there were countless times when we were each others’ confidantes. My sister willingly tagged along on that bright, Saturday. The weather was pleasant, and we all drove without even knowing where we were destined to go. The usual chit-chat made us forget about the time, and we were exhausted after three hours of laughter. Without much warning, the unexpected happened. A ten-wheeler truck was speeding at the other lane, and Carl tried his best to avoid it when the car’s breaks did not function as expected. In a few seconds, the car turned turtle, and I saw both Carl and my sister unconscious. There was blood all over the place. My sister had enough strength to tell me, â€Å"Take care. Go get some help†¦save yourself.† I was in total panic and I could not feel anything. â€Å"They’re here. There’s a conscious guy here!†. The paramedics came, and brought in all of us into the ambulance onto the nearest hospital. I was a

Weather Forecast Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Weather Forecast - Assignment Example The snowfall prediction is also above average. The experts on this website use a simple method of Persistence which is usually used for both short and long term forecasts. The persistence method depends upon the presence of a stagnant weather pattern. They claim to have an accuracy of around 82%. The experts from the third web site predicted that the winter of 2011-2012 would be extreme than the normal with more than usual snowfall. The reason for this prediction is that the state of Michigan had experienced a longer summer than usual. The scientists from this website predict their weather by the occurrence of abnormally warm or cold ocean waters and of abnormally high or low atmospheric pressures could be interrelated in vast global connections. The accuracy to which this website works with is 85%. It can be concluded from the research that the state of Michigan will experience a winter worse than what they usually encounter. They might experience some discomfort because of an unforgiving winter with above average snowfalls and blizzards every

Sports activities Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sports activities - Article Example There are several membership types for the students, staff, faculty as well as the community in general. All sports facilities are situated on campus and hence, there is standard traffic as well as parking guidelines; furthermore, groups for their sporting events, conferences, meetings, as well as for other events and occasions can assess facility space easily. There are a number of sports clubs available and the first one is badminton; moreover, its major purpose is to promote Badminton within the university. In addition, the team practices regularly at North Gym located at the  Recreation and Physical Activity Center; moreover, it participates in Midwest region’s tournaments. Volleyball is also a club within the university and it is for both women and men. The sports club’s aim is to maintain and to enhance volleyball skills of the players. Furthermore, the sports club holds several tournaments all through the season. Rugby is also one of the sporting clubs within the university and it has teams for males and females as well. Both rugby veterans and new members are eligible to join the team; furthermore, there are several teams for each individual depending on the skills of individuals. Besides, the teams have coaches who are highly dedicated to the team and every individual is eligible to join the teams given that no prior experience is needed. Soccer is among the sports club within Ohio State University and it is divided into two, women’s soccer team as well as men’s soccer team. The teams play actively in three seasons during the fall, winter as well as during the spring; furthermore, all individuals are free to join the teams. In addition, dance sport is a very interesting club in Ohio State University; it is also a social club and a highly competitive dancing club within The Ohio State University. The club teaches all dancers, even those who have no experience at all; moreover, they have

Igor Stravinsky Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Igor Stravinsky - Essay Example The exploitation of these ideals and the exploration of how music reflected the time were the main initiatives that Stravinsky took with the compositions written during this time frame. Changing Culture of 1914-1918 The region of Europe and the exposure that was occurring within the arts during this time had one of the most influential aspects in terms of culture and politics. The several outbreaks of war, specifically which led through World War I, began to change the outlook of the artists that were in various countries. A sense of patriotism and pride toward the country was one of the growing influences that many of the artists began to look into. More important, there was a focus on the outbreaks and outcomes of the war and the destructions and victories which were associated with this. â€Å"The burden of the national ordeal and the wartime experiences led to the formation of a new worldview and a new self awareness†¦. On the one hand, the Great War became a touchstone for the humanistic yearnings of the intellectuals. On the other, it acted as a catalyst for new aesthetic directions. † The cultural direction which was influenced by the war then created a component of new expressions and values that most could work toward in building a different understanding of humanistic and political expressions. The expressions of culture were furthered by the political leaders and outlooks associated with this. Many of the artists of this time were interested in making a statement that either opposed or was for the patriotism that was within various regions of Europe. Before 1914, there was a movement that was based on anti – politics, specifically with those who either were patriotic or opposed the changes that were occurring within Europe. Social policies, conflicts of those who were involved in politics and the outcome from various groups led to different and opposing ideologies about the war and the political stance. Those involved in the politics, or which were opposed to this, were also interested in creating social change and statements that were reflective of the need to find new solutions. When the war began, this was heightened and became intensified by artists who were interested in a change with the politics. This either led to a sense of propaganda among the artists or opposed the reforms which were taking place2. Stravinsky and World War I The perspectives that Stravinsky held during 1914-1918 were pivotal in how he worked toward the creation of his music and the pieces which were associated with this. While he was from Russia and the Poland territory, there was also an international outlook which he held because of his recognition at this time. Before this time, Stravinsky was noted to have a more exploratory outlook with the works, such as through Pierrot Lunaire. While the exploration of music continued in 1914, there were several personal and cultural conflicts that changed the music. For instance, the funding for arts was more conservative because of the war, leaving many of the works unpublished unless they were more conservativ e in nature. Many of his works weren’t published until the 1920s when a sense of recovery began to occur in the country. This was combined with the understanding that a new culture was being born, specifically which Stravinsky saw through the destruction

External and Internal Environments Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

External and Internal Environments - Assignment Example The study discussed the different strategies followed by the organization to utilize their strength and opportunities and eliminate their threats and weaknesses. The final discussion of this report is based on the analysis of its value chain with the help of the resource, capabilities and core competencies. The different external environment such as politically-economical, legal, social, technological and environmental factors have an important effect on the business decisions of AT&T. The economic and technological factors play the most influential role in the business decision of AT&T (Crandall, 2000). High inflation and interest rates are affecting the overall growth of the economy of the US. Different players of the telecommunication industry are reporting the decline in the profit margin due to the increase in competition and higher interest rate. The increase in disposable income is allowing the consumers to seek for better telecommunication facilities to match their fast life. The increasing demand of customers is directly affecting competition within the telecommunication leaders of US market. The different economical trends and currency rates of all the partner countries has affected the business decision of the organization. AT&T needs to have different market strategies as per the economical differences of all the outsourced countries (Crandall, 2000). The rapid growth of technology has an extensive impact on the business decisions of the telecommunication industry. Most of the organizations are investing to improve their research and development facilities to offer the latest technologies to their customers. The maturity of the technology is also affecting the business decisions of this industry. Most of the technological developments are facing maturity stage very fast due to the introduction of more innovative facilities. The organisation also needs to focus on the global technological trends to sustain their global customers.  

Public speaking Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Public speaking - Assignment Example She pointed that the government could do something of the kind to accept all the oppressed people. The auditorium applauded when she finished but they didn’t listen to her answer and applauded only after the last words ‘Statue of Liberty’. The feedback of the audience wasn’t called by the core of her speech, but by the fact that need to somehow react. The negative feedback of the opponent of the main character was based on the personal hostility and shouldn’t be taken as a constructive critic. Speaking about the main character’s response to the opponent’s aggression, we should mention that as an argument pro her words that it was the 50th birthday. It wasn’t, actually, an argument or even an important fact. So, being in the same situation I would feel quite nervous and annoyed and react another way, for example - try to provide another argument. The girls started arguing on the field of their mutual dislike and provided the far-f etched arguments. So we can conclude that the feedback of the audience and the opponent wasn’t objective at

Business ethics Essay Example for Free

Business ethics Essay Introduction Todays world is continually shrinking due to many factors, not the least of which is the rapid growth of international business. Four specific interlinking phenomena are occurring which present new problems to international business: a) the increase in offshore banking transactions; b) the continuing growth of multinational corporations (MNCs); c) the increasing instances of outsourcing business activities offshore and d) the equally increasing instances of locating and using suppliers of goods and services in developing countries. All four of these phenomena are fueled by economics and they show no sign of abating anytime soon. Two aspects dealt in this paper are: a) the existence of perceived corruption in international business, including graft, kickbacks and preferential treatment and b) workplace conditions that are considered unethical by generally accepted world standards. There are many other aspects of international business which lend themselves to ethical examination, but they are not appropriate here. The approach taken is to examine some of the principal ethical philosophies of the last two hundred years in relation to international business, as follows: a) Immanuel. Kants Categorical Imperative; b) early mercantilist philosophies; c) Distributive Justice; d) Ethical Relativism; e) Integrative Social Contracts Theory; f) Virtue Ethics; g) Confucian and Islamist ethics and h) pragmatic approaches to international business ethics. Then, by way of local comparisons, several local national situations are presented in order to clarify the problem. Finally, in order to address workplace ethics specifically, the SA 8000 Social Accountability standard is presented and analyzed as one approach to remedy a widely recognized situation which required positive attention. Furtherj this standard is presented as a possible entry point toward developing a customer/supplier dialogue which may hole the promise of formulating a wholly new code of international business ethics, not simply another Western concept grafted onto the developing world. 1 Key ethical theories and concepts Kants categorical imperative: Immanuel Kants Categorical Imperative has become a mainstay in the study of ethics for the past two hundred years and has stimulated a considerable amount of both support and objection. His assertion to act only according to maxims which you can will also to be universal laws^^ was seen to be in direct reaction to the relativist philosophies being propagated at that time and can also be seen as a defense of free will which was being called into question as well. Marias^^ points out that Kants purpose was to personalize ethics, not necessarily to institutionalize ethics. Kants ethics describe a moral person; not necessarily a moral society which is a key point in attempting to apply Kantian ethics to our world. Significant problems have been found to exist not within Kants ethics but in its applications. Calder* perceives the lack of degrees of wrongness in Kants Categorical Imperative, stating that this is a major flaw in his ethics. Calders interpretation of Kant is that an act is either right ot wrong in a universal sense, not allowing for varying degrees. This would be a valid objection to Kantian ethics were it not for Kants intention to personalize ethics and to make the individual person responsible for his or her own actions. In this sense, Kants ethics are indeed universal in the sense that each person must decide what is right and what is wrong. An argument could be made that in this sense, Kantian ethics can be applied universally, but with a less than satisfying sense of having identified a code of ethics that would fit like a sort of template over our world. It should also be noted that at the time Kant lived in the late 18 Century, our world was just being discovered as highly diverse. European ethnocentrism was still very much in force and the uncivilized world was seen generally as a very undefined place.The intertwining effects of the growth of world trade, the rapid increases in colonialism and the onset of the industrial revolution stimulated additional efforts to address the people of the world at large. Early mercantilist philosophy: The various mercantilist philosophies which emanated from the growth of colonialism and world trade presented a somewhat different viewpoint to (11)Advances In Management Vol. 5 (3) Mar. (2012) ethics. In the minds of the mercantilists, civil society would contain markets which would be self-regulating and government, business and nonprofit organizations would unite to create social accountability systems which would contain self-enforcing codes of conduct reinforced by the concept of shareholder and stakeholder pressures. These concepts tend to continue to the present day in many business textbooks. However, these early mercantilist philosophies, propounded in the heyday of expansionism by the worlds trading nations, pointedly did not consider what effects mercantilism would have on the rest, of the world. These mercantilist philosophies provided a basis for the development of utilitarian ethics which would become popular in the following century with the writings of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart MilP^ and which would eventually become the unofficial political philosophy of the British government throughout the colonial years and up to the present day. Distributive Justice: The rapid growth of complex economic systems together with the shrinking of the social world gave birth to the concept of distributive justice. The concept has its origins in David Hume and John Locke and continues today in the writings of modern philosophers John Rawis and Robert Nozick. ^ The internationalization of the world economy has further spurred discussion concerning how distributive justice might be applied to international business. Unlike the ethics of early mercantilist philosophies and classical utilitarianism which both fit uneasily in the world of international business, there has been quite a lot of discussion concerning the ethics of distributive justice in this context. The principal questions tend to revolve around how (or whether) gains from international trade get distributed both within and between countries* and whether or not basic human rights are observed in the practice of international business. This second question has also been expanded to discuss whether international business as a function has the obligation to offer help to the inhabitants of developing countries within which they do business. Both concepts would seem foreign to the mercantilists and would pose awkward questions to the utilitarians. Ethical Relativism: The next logical stage of development in the thinking of international business ethics was termed ethical relativism. To put the best face on it, this concept developed as a realization of the multifaceted cultural and social nature of todays world and of the inherent difficulties todays international business person experiences in attempting to deal with these differences. ^^ However, as many authors have pointed out, ethical relativism can be seen as moral approach to business, using cultural differences as an excuse to practice unethical behavior which might not be acceptable in ones own society. ^ The ethical relativism stage of international business ethics exists but does so in a weakened position due to criticisms leveled against it. Integrative Social Contracts Theory: An effective response to ethical relativism in international business has been a blending of ethical relativism and universally recognized ethical principles at least universally recognized in the Western world into a concept that has become known as integrative social contracts theory (ISCT). -^-* Under this concept, certain universal ethical concepts would provide the basis for an ethical code of conduct for international business with the recognition of the validity of certain local ethical practices with the provision that in the event of conflict between the two, universal ethical principles would take precedence. This blending of ethical concepts satisfied most participants in international business activities but not all. One criticism leveled against ISCT is the problem of using empirical methods to discover and define what the authentic norms of a particular culture might be^. The approach taken by most ISCT practitioners lays open to question the overall effectiveness of a purely empirical approach, subject as it is to misinterpretation and lack of complete knowledge and understanding. As a result, critics of ISCT tend to call for a revival of the universal ethical principles that ISCT has largely replaced, causing discomfort particularly in the developing world which has never been completely comfortable with espousing the universal ethical code of former colonizing powers. Virtue Ethics: One possibility of a usable ethical code is the application of virtue ethics to international business. This concept would formulate ethics based on the moral character of the people involved in international business. Clearly, virtue ethics appeals to those who wish the right thing to be done consistently and studies have attempted to apply the concept to the international business arena. * Virtue ethics has also been proposed as a tool that international organizations could use to fight corruption. Nonetheless, it remains undeniable that virtue ethics is grounded in ones own culture and moral beliefs and would necessarily provide a weak tool to formulate any sort of international business ethics code. Confucian and Islamic ethics applications: One has only to look at the major cultures of the world to discover old and well developed codes of ethics. One such ancient culture China has adhered to Confucian ethical concepts for centuries. Magee^* notes that philosophy, including ethical thought, proceeded in China unhindered by established religions, as was the case in the West and therefore developed a thoughtful ethical philosophy deeply seated in Chinese culture. Yew Chan^*^ points out that while most Confucian ethical thought parallels Western ethical thought, there are some significant divergences. Interestingly, one of the principal differences from the Chinese point of view has to do with the West placing results ahead of ethical concerns. Also, the importance of social harmony which takes on a characteristic of ethics in Confucian culture is emphasized in China while downplayed in the West. (12)Advances In Management Vol. 5 (3) Mar. (2012) Another old and well established body of ethics is found in the Middle East, northern Africa and southeast Asia in the ethical traditions of Islam. The Islamic tradition highly values such concepts as trust and benevolence and makes a major point of including justice and social balance in its code of ethics. Most of these concepts have their basic roots in pre-Islamic Arab culture based in turn on Bedouin culture, but they are reinforced by both the Koran and Sharia. Pragmatic approaches The various conflicts resultant from culture meeting culture in the international business world and the typical result of developed societies coming out on top (with the notable exception of the international petroleum industry) has generated a movement termed the United Nations sustainable development initiative. ^ This convergence of business, political and ethical concerns and interests is the most recent attempt to make things right in the international business world in the face of increasing world poverty and hunger and undeniable global inequality. The most recent ethical solution proposed to begin to set things right internationally is called the language of rights. *,This solution which flnds its roots in distributive justice, identifies the multinational corporation as one of the principle change agents and focuses on the capabilities of all concerned rather than on finding blame. The emphasis is on denning and promoting the positive rights of all concerned. International Business Applications From a practical point of view, however, all of these concepts are somehow found wanting. The realities of wide chasms between the developed world and the developing world which in many instances is not developing at all, relatively speaking tends to make nonsense of any attempts to formulate and superimpose any sort of universal ethical code on the whole world. In the old days of colonialism, the Western powers and Japan simply took what they wanted through dint of force and in the present day of neocolonialism these same powers in the persons of international business carry on that tradition in an updated manner. Appeals to post-conventional moral reasoning, in efforts to induce multinational corporations to develop mature corporate ethics in dealing with developing countries, have met with mixed results. Claims of widespread corruption in international business has stimulated a considerable amount of activity both in academia and in international organizations, although strong arguments have been made that bribery and corruption are not cultural characteristics, as they have so often been called, but symptoms of cultural breakdowns under the pressures of a malfunctioning economy. The local gift-giving customs in some cultures has been thoroughly examined and seem to be finally recognized as local custom and not necessarily as a form of graft. ^ One viewpoint sparsely practiced in the search for some resolution of the international business ethics conundrum is viewing business practices from the perspectives of other cultures. Both Confuciani. st and Islamic ethical systems were very briefly noted above and cases drawn from the business experiences of people from a few speciflc countries are now examined by way of comparison in order to better understand the cultural diversity in todays international business environment. Post-apartheid South Africa presents an interesting case study as the only developed economy on the African continent and as the principal trading partner of many African countries. South Africa also presents a model for global multinational corporations in how to deal effectively with developing economies. ^ Through a mixed strategy of business promotion and social involvement in these countries and by limited political involvement with government ministries. South Africa has developed a favorable reputation throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa by remaining pragmatic in dealing with local custom. Within that region, Nigeria has developed a version of virtue ethics based on a communitarian notion of ethics which seems to work well for Nigerian businesses. ^^ Considering that Nigeria is the most economically successful of the black sub-Saharan economies and is the dominant force in West Africa, this application of communitarianism is having a positive effect on its culturally similar neighbors and holds out hope for a type of regional ethical code in business. The case of Jordan, a relatively poor country located in the Mashriq area of the Middle East, shows mixed results when business ethics are examined. Similar to other countries in the region, Jordanian businessmen tend to bend their ethical activities toward what is practical under the pressures of reality which makes them not much different than other businessmen throughout the world. However, the active effect of Islamic ethics, as previously noted, has an ameliorating effect on Jordanian business practices. India presents a more interesting ethical picture. ^* While being largely Hindu in religion with significant minority groups, India is a country comprised of people speaking twenty-six different languages within two large ethnic groups. To consider India as a single culture through which one can examine Indian business ethics would be completely misleading. As a result and considering the existence of under cultures throughout the Indian population, international business performed in India would need to carefully examine the various ethical codes in practice throughout the country in order to understand the culture and begin to apply any sort of integrative social ethical theory. Finally, Australia presents another interesting case study. Australia is a large country approximately the same (13)Advances In Management Vol. 5 (3) Mar. (2012) size as the forty-eight contiguous states in the United States but with the total population of not much more than Los Angeles and Orange Counties in California combined. Rich in natural resources but isolated from the rest of the world by geography, Australia finds itself an essentially Asian country but with a European political, social and cultural tradition. As a result, Australian businessmen have had to learn how to do business with Asian cultures not by choice but of geographic necessity. ^ Adjustments to doing business in Asian cultures has always been a problem for the Australian businessman, particularly when faced with unfamiliar or uncomfortable ethical situations. ^ As a result, Australia can be seen in this sense as a microcosm of what international business people face. Social Accountability International As described above, the applications of ethical codes to international business have been spotty at best. The reasons for this are varied, but seem to have a great deal to do with attempts to formulate universal ethical principles, albeit with the effort to formulate ISCT in order to accommodate at least some local cultural practices that might affect business ethics. A major reason behind this failure may very well be that the various attempts have all been based on Western philosophical thought. Both Confucian and Islamist traditions possess functioning and effective ethical codes which seem to work well in those cultures. In 1997, Social Accountability International (SAI) published Social Accountability 8000, a voluntary standard that attempts to ensure humane workplaces worldwide. The standard was revised and updated in 2001. Rather than using the exhortative approach attempted up until that time by the International Labor Organization (ILO), SA8000 is a frank, open attempt to convince companies that it would be in their best business interests to become registered to this standard. It is based on international workplace norms of ILO conventions, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (saintl. org). It is an auditable certification standard and those companies which pass an initial audit and which also maintain compliance through successful semi-annual surveillance audits are included in a published list of SA 8000-registered companies. Audits are conducted by thirdparty auditing organizations accredited and overseen by Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS). ^ Provisions of SAAS a) Child labor: No workers under the age of 15; minimum lowered to 14 for countries operating under the ILO Convention 138 developing-country exception; b) Forced labor: No forced labor, including prison or debt bondage labor; no lodging of deposits or identity papers by employees or outside recruiters; c) Health and safety: Provide a safe and healthy work environment; take steps to prevent injuries; regular health and safety worker training; system to detect threats to health and safety; access to bathrooms and potable water. d) Freedom of association and right to collective bargaining: Respect the right to form and join trade unions and bargain collectively; where law prohibits these freedoms, facilitate parallel means of association and bargaining; e) Discrimination: No discrimination based on race, caste, origin, religion, disability, gender, sexual orientation, union or political affiliation, or age; No sexual harassment; f) Discipline: No corporal punishment, mental or physical coercion or verbal abuse; g) Working hours: Comply with the applicable law but in any event, no more than 48 hours per week with at least one day off for every seven day period; voluntary overtime paid as a premium rate and not to exceed 12 hours per week on a regular basis; overtime may be mandatory if part of a collective bargaining agreement; h) Compensation: Wages paid for a standard work, week must meet the legal and industry standards and be sufficient to meet the basic need of workers and their families; no disciplinary reductions; i) Management systems: Facilities seeking to gain and maintain certification must go beyond simple compliance to integrate the standard into their management systems and practices. The SA 8000 standard is a rather obvious carrot-andstick approach to flght the more blatant workplace abuses by creating a type of international honor roll of companies which have successfully undergone certification. Its introduction was greeted by a mixed reception^ amid fears that it was just another expensive piece of bureaucracy. However, within a few years the value of the SA 8000 standard was becoming apparent. Further, studies have shown that successful implementation of this standard as well as other similar standards have had the effect of improved international business in developing countries. The SA 8000 approach admittedly does not address all ethical concerns inherent in international business but it does address what can be considered the heart of the problem by attempting to bring workplace conditions in line with generally accepted international standards. As discussed, the issues of corruption in the exercise of international business are being addressed in part by the application of cultural ethical standards, such as Confucian and Islamist practices and the more heinous practices have been so roundly (14)Advances In Management r Vol. 5 (3) Mar. (2012) condemned that they are either fading away or have been made well-publicized examples throughout the world. The hope is if workplace conditions can be brought up to an acceptable level, then the concept of discourse ethics can be put in play under which multinational corporations in partnership with their developing country suppliers can provide a theoretical justification for opening and maintaining a moral discourse which can then establish and mutually maintain ethical principles based on agreement and cooperation. ^ This would be a truly revolutionary development and one which would create a wholly new code of international business ethics involving the customer and the supplier as cooperating partners. Conclusion In the wake of Enron, Tyco and other recent scandals which have severely shaken the publics faith in our business leaders, corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as a serious topic of discussion in the business world. ^Â ° In addition, the popularity of such recent and graphic films as Lord of War, concerning arms dealing in Africa, Blood Diamond, also concerning this topic in Africa and The Constant Gardener, concerning corruption in the international Pharmaceuticals trade and once again in Africa, has raised the publics awareness of business corruption in developing countries. In addition, the rapid movement by Western companies to developing countries as a source of supply based on cheap labor has accentuated the previously invisible problem of working conditions in these areas. ^* Recent health threats concerning tainted pet food and leadbased toys from the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) have served to magnify the situation. American consumers, once complacent concerning the products they bought as long as they were cheap and worked, are becoming more concerned with the quality and inherent safety of these products and a connection seems to have been made in the publics mind with workplace conditions in the countries of origin. The challenge is to keep these issues out in the open until they are resolved. The success of the SA 8000 standard is a good beginning toward instituting a true international discourse which has the potential of creating a new international business code of ethics which all people can buy into and follow a code of ethics which was not exported from developed countries, but one that would truly be an international code of ethics developed in partnership between customer and supplier. Such a mutually developed code of ethics would be-much more easily understood, would stand a much better chance of acceptance because the subjects would also be the formulators and would therefore offer a significantly higher chance of success. References 1. Al-Shaikh F. N. , The practical reality theory and business ethics in non-Westem context: Evidence from Jordan, The Journal of Management Development. 22 (7/8), 679-693 (2003) 2. Beekun R. I. and Badawi J. A. , Balancing ethical responsibility among multiple organizational stakeholders: The Islamic perspective. Journal of Business Ethics. 60 (2), 131-145 (2005) 3. Bendana A. , Shifting Paradigms of thought and power. Development. 47 (1), 22-26 (2004) 4. Beschomer T. and Muller M. , Social standards: Toward an active ethical involvement of businesses in developing countries. Journal of Business Ethics. 73 (1). 11-21 (2007) 5. Bruyn S. T. , The moral economy. Review of Social Economy, 57 (1), 25-46 (1999) 6. Calder T. , Kant and degrees of wrongness. Journal of Value lnquiry. ,39 (2), 229-244 (2005) 7. Chung K. Y. , Ethical perceptions of business students: Differences between East Asia and the USA among Confucian cultures! Journal of Business Ethics. 79 (1/2), 121-133 (2008) 8. Derig Shengliang, A new look at ethics in International business. The International Executive. 34(2), 151-165 (1992) ;l 9. Everett J. , Neu D. and Rahaman A. S. , The global fight against corruption: A Foucaultian, virtues-ethics framing. Journal of Business Ethics. 65 (1), 1-13 (2006) 10. Falkenberg A. W. , When in Rome moral maturity and ethics for international economic organizations. Journal of Business Ethics. 54 (1), 17-32(2004) 11. Flynn G. , The virtuous manager, A vision for leadership in business. Journal of Business Ethics. 78 (3), 359-372 (2008) 12. Gilbert D. U. and Rasche A. , Discourse ethics and social accountability: The ethics of SA 8000, Business Ethics Quarterh, 17 (2), 187-216(2007) 13. 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(Received 8^ December 2011, accepted lO February 2012) Advances In Management Individual Subscription Fellow Membership Indian Rs. 20,000/- US Dollar 2000 Life Membership Indian Rs. 10,000/- US Dollar 1000 Annual Membership Indian Rs. 3000/- US Dollar 300 Institutional Subscription Fellow Membership Indian Rs. 30,000/- US Dollar 3000 Life Membership Indian Rs. 15,000/- US Dollar 1500 Annual Membership Indian Rs. 4000/- US Dollar 400 Please send your cheques / drafts in name of Advances In Management along with Membership Form at above address. (16)Copyright of Advances in Management is the property of Advances in Management and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holders express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.

The Crucible Assignment Essay Example for Free

The Crucible Assignment Essay Give an account of the moments of extreme tension at the end of Act 3 and their impact on the audience. You must explain in detail the parts played by: Mary Warren, Abigail Williams, Danforth, Hale and particularly John and Elizabeth Proctor.  In this part of the play Mary Warren has been brought to the court by John Procter to testify that the she and the other girls have been pretending that people in Salem have been sending out their spirits to hurt the girls and that all the fainting and cold winds harming them were produced of their own accord. Mary however will be feeling very confused, upset and probably quite vulnerable as she cant benefit from testifying or from continuing the lies. On the one side she has promised John Proctor that she will tell the court the truth to help Proctor free his wife from prison and possibly free the other people from the death penalty of denying witchcraft. On the other side however Mary is afraid of Abigails wrath for telling on her. Earlier on in the play Abigail threatened I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you. And you know I can do it. She had threatened this to scare any of them telling the courts that they had danced in the woods. Mary also knows that Abigail is very clever and quick even though she has only witnessed a part of Abigails malice when the girls were threatened. Mary seems weak even before she is questioned as she sobs when Mr Danforth speaks to Mr Francis. Danforth comments that she is not hearty and Proctor agrees and bending down to Mary he tells her to remember about what God said to an angel about telling the truth so as to strengthen her spirits and feel that she is back on the right side of God for telling the truth. By coming down to her level as he says this he seems to give her the comfort almost of a father to a daughter. However as soon as Mr Danforth begins to question her she begins to break down. By her second answer her voice has already weakened. As the questioning continues she deteriorates until she is barely audible. She does pick herself up though when she is asked if she is a liar she replies No, sir I am with God now. This makes Danforth angry as it means that he has a battle to determine if all the girls are lying or if Mary alone is lying. Which ever way Mary chooses she is told by Danforth that she will face a perjury charge and go to jail because as he sees it she was either lying in the first place about anybody sending their spirit out to hurt her and therefore there may be no witches in Salem at all and the court may have hanged innocent people, for which all the girls will be committed of perjury and punished or he thinks that maybe she can still see spirits attacking her but chooses to say that she doesnt in the hope that Elizabeth Proctors charge of witchcraft will be dropped and she will be freed. In this case only Mary will be committed of perjury and sentenced. When Mary is told this she simply cries that she is with God repeatedly and then sobs. At this point the other girls accusing people of witchcraft enter the courtroom. There will have been tension in the audience as Danforth has been questioning Mary and they may have felt that Danforth was beginning to believe Mary but as the girls enter the room the audience will immediately sense an increase in tension because included in the group of girls is Abigail, the ringleader and the audience will sense the coming of almost a battle between the two girls each trying to earn the trust and belief from Danforth. Danforth turns from Mary and asks the other girls if any of them will admit that they have been lying about seeing spirits. He asks Abigail Williams to answer for all the girls and she predictably says that they have not been lying. Danforth then sees that he is now going to have to do some hard questioning and gives both the girls a chance to change their positions, claiming to be telling the truth, but both refuse. So Danforth proceeds to question Abigail. Abigail simply denies the implications of Danforths questions or throws them aside as lies. He is obviously the one with the most power as far as law and rules are concerned but it seems that Abigail has more power over him from the way she speaks to him, she almost commands respect from him. I think this is shown especially when she speaks the line: [with a slight note of indignation] It is a lie sir To which Danforth pauses before speaking which seems to show a surprised reaction and I think he does respect her because it has to be remembered that Abigail is only 11 at this time and for any 11 year old to speak with such tones and maturity would be something unusual and interesting to Danforth I think and immediately gain his respect. To make a powerful comparison would be to compare 18yr old Mary Warren to 11yr old Abigail. Abigail is by far Marys junior but is so clever that she can make Mary fear her. Mary doesnt have any of Abigails boldness either which also gives her a disadvantage. Abigail combines her age, beauty and brains to make herself a very fearsome opponent. It becomes obvious that she has Hathorne and Parris on her side and they try to influence Danforth to believe Abigail. Whereas trying to tell the truth there is only Mary, Proctor, Cheever and, the only man of law on their side, Mr Hale.

Impact of Economics in Political and Social Change

Impact of Economics in Political and Social Change Please use the following three reasons to explain why economics is the most important factor in the globalisation process that has been used in relation to a host of social, economic, cultural and political factors. The impact of economic globalisation in the form of the international division of labour (growth of industry in China, India, etc and the deindustrialization of sections of the so-called developed societies). Moreover, the significance of migrant labour. The relative size and importance of MNCs as economic agents (as compared with nation states). Point to the centrality of economic matters in the relations between governments, to the importance of the growth of the cultural economy in relation to cultural globalisation. 1. In a world without an international division of labour, each individual state would have to provide itself with all its needs. It would need to grow every fruit, herb, cereal and vegetable; to rear its own animals; to manufacture its own products; to extract all its own minerals and energy; to provide all its own financial, domestic and professional services; to engage in its own research, exchanging ideas only among its own academics and developing only those new products designed exclusively within its own borders; and of course it would have to train a labour-force capable of sustaining these multifarious tasks. Even the U.S., bountiful in natural resources and with an educated labour force, would struggle to do this. And of course there is no need to. The very same logic underpinning the domestic division of labour – saving labour by sharing divisible tasks among specialists – provides an argument in favour of extending that division internationally. Ideally thos e states with endless acres of pampas (Argentina) would provide the world’s meat; those with plenty of spare ground would farm for vegetables, flowers, fruit (Zambia); those highly educated (the U.S., Scandinavia) would do the research; and those densely populated and not as highly educated would provide the industry (China, India). This is ‘ideal’ from the perspective of efficient production; and only for now: there is no reason (from the point of view of efficiency) why China should not in time overtake the U.S. as the world’s research base, forcing Americans into the factories. We are moving towards this ideal, but there seem to be two main reasons why it has not been reached. Firstly, in spite of their avowed commitment to free trade and their exhortations to developing countries to open their markets, Western nations have been reluctant to cede total management of their domestic economies to the global market. This is because their constituents wish t o retain traditional industries; hence the protectionist rows over the C.A.P. in Europe (particularly in the traditionally agricultural states of France and Ireland) and over cotton and steel in the U.S. Consequently the international ‘division’ is neither efficient nor equitable. Secondly, a fair international division of labour would entail rather different prices for goods, for example food, energy and research and development. This is contrary to the interest of those currently benefiting most from the international economy, the Western states. So we have a qualified international division of labour. But even so, the extraordinary importance of several developing nations is beginning to be felt. China, India and Brazil now account for a significant share of international trade, and consequently wield increasing influence in international trade negotiations and supranational organisations (e.g. WTO, WB, IMF). 2. It is well known that the turnovers of many multinational corporations are larger than the GDPs of many developing nations. Of the top 100 economies in the world, roughly half are corporations. Wal-Mart is bigger than 161 states, including Israel, Poland and Greece. Mitsubishi is larger than Indonesia; General Motors than Denmark; Toyota than Norway. Hyperglobalists such as Ohmae (Held, 1999) argue that we are witnessing the restructuring of the international system from the Westphalian system in which states were rule makers to a post-Westphalian era in which states are frequently rule takers. In this new era not just states but MNCs as well as sub-, trans- and supra-state actors increasingly determine the outcome of international relations. Thus Ruggie has argued that there has been an ‘unbundling’ of the relation between sovereignty, territoriality and state power (1998). Sceptics such as Hirst and Thompson, however, deny such heady claims (Held 1999) . They argue that states are the architects of globalisation, and its chief beneficiaries. They point to the ability of even developing nations such as China to manage information flows into their country (c.f. deal with Google to censor web-searches), and such as Bolivia to renationalise private international energy firms (in favour of the state-owned Yacimientos Petrolà ­feros Fiscales Bolivianos (YPFB)). Moreover most putatively ‘multinational’ corporations are strongly rooted in their home state. Most corporations invest heavily in their national market, maintain almost exclusively national board members, are subject to mainly national legislation and in the case of financial crisis are often saved by their national governments.[1] Even those corporations that do conduct the majority of their operations internationally are generally managed from home; in 1992 for example, Nestle conducted 92% of its trade internationally but limited nonSwiss voting rights to 3% of the total.[2] In short, sceptics argue that although large, MNCs are not unruly: they are the creatures of their national governments. The truth seems to lie somewhere in between. Held has argued for a ‘transformationalist’ account of the relationship between MNCs and states, which recognises the novelty of the international system without denying that the new arrangement is still state-centred (1999). On this view, MNCs do have new authority and power issuing from their relation to new international networks and their increasing hard power, but they are nevertheless answerable to elected governmental control. 3. To coincide with Tony Blair’s visit to New Delhi, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh unveiled a  £1.2bn India Airlines order for 43 Airbus jets.[3] Such is a very common phenomenon, and not only confirms the thoughts above but shows the symbolic significance of healthy economic relations between states. Scholars point to the significance of two sources of power in international relations. ‘Hard power’ is the ability to coerce others to bring about your preferred outcomes by means of military or economic threats or rewards (Nye 2005). Realists argue that international relations are determined by the distribution of hard power resources, which ‘balances’ the various international actors’ expectations (Nye 2005). In this era, with both nuclear weapons and increasingly significant global pacifistic norms, the importance of military power is waning. Economic force now trumps military force in hard power efficacy. But, as suggested, normative resources are increasingly significant. ‘Soft power’ is the ability to realise preferred outcomes by getting others to want what you want; to co-opt rather than coerce (Nye 2005). A state’s interests will be more attractive if the national culture is perceived to be benign. Until the Iraq War, for example, the norms and culture of the U.S. – liberty, democracy and equality – were held in sufficiently high international regard to sanction a number of controversial U.S. foreign policies. Since the perceived injustices in that conflict U.S. negotiating power has diminished. From this we can extract two points. Firstly it is clear that even the U.S.’s overwhelming military predominance cannot ensure its preferred international outcomes. Secondly international normative interdependence ensures that soft power –perceivedly benign intent – and hence the content of a state’s culture increasingly determines the effectiveness of th at state’s international ambitions. Bibliography Held, D., 1999. Global Transformations. London: Polity Press. Nye, J., 2005. Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics. London: Public Affairs. Morgenthau, H., 1992, Politics Among Nations. New York: McGraw Hill Publishing. Ruggie, J.G., 1998. Constructing the World Polity: Essays on International Institutionalisation. New York: Routledge. Waltz, K., 1979, Theory of International Politics. New York: McGraw Hill Publishing. 1 [1] Information from http://www.rcgfrfi.easynet.co.uk/marxism/articles/glob131.htm. Accessed 07 August 2006. [2] Ibid. [3] Information from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4221678.stm. Accessed 07 August 2006.

Kurt Vonnegut - The Only Story of Mine Whose Moral I Know :: Biography Biographies Essays

Kurt Vonnegut - The Only Story of Mine Whose Moral I Know "This is the only story of mine whose moral I know. I don't think it's a marvelous moral; I simply happen to know what it is : We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." "Look out, Kid!" -Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues Vonnegut's work is rife with instances of lie become truth. Howard Campbell's own double identity is a particularly strong example, although Vonnegut's message is subtle. His actions were an attempt to survive, but also an attempt to serve his country. Campbell would no doubt have survived regardless - survival is his special talent - but we aren't given any indication that he would have become a cog in the war machine. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. When approached by Major Wirtanen, his contact with the DOD, he protests that he is not political and will not help the war's progress. He was not an anti-Semite, and does not become one. Furthermore, in at least two passages in the novel he makes reference to a true self that he kept hidden. Campbell's "we are" in his moral cannot be just a reference to personality. Instead, we must take a less psychological view. Campbell pretends to be a man who incites other men to hatred. He becomes that man. It is in Campbell's actions and their effects, along with his societal and legal persecution, that we find the lie that becomes truth. As Mr. Campbell was not the only propagandist at work in Germany in World War Two, it is for the most part impossible to determine what measure of war and genocide guilt he deserves. Nor can we say that he helped win the war in the sense that those who stormed the beaches at Normandy did. But as he became his lie to the Germans, he becomes his lie to Israel and Kurt Vonnegut - The Only Story of Mine Whose Moral I Know :: Biography Biographies Essays Kurt Vonnegut - The Only Story of Mine Whose Moral I Know "This is the only story of mine whose moral I know. I don't think it's a marvelous moral; I simply happen to know what it is : We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." "Look out, Kid!" -Bob Dylan, Subterranean Homesick Blues Vonnegut's work is rife with instances of lie become truth. Howard Campbell's own double identity is a particularly strong example, although Vonnegut's message is subtle. His actions were an attempt to survive, but also an attempt to serve his country. Campbell would no doubt have survived regardless - survival is his special talent - but we aren't given any indication that he would have become a cog in the war machine. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. When approached by Major Wirtanen, his contact with the DOD, he protests that he is not political and will not help the war's progress. He was not an anti-Semite, and does not become one. Furthermore, in at least two passages in the novel he makes reference to a true self that he kept hidden. Campbell's "we are" in his moral cannot be just a reference to personality. Instead, we must take a less psychological view. Campbell pretends to be a man who incites other men to hatred. He becomes that man. It is in Campbell's actions and their effects, along with his societal and legal persecution, that we find the lie that becomes truth. As Mr. Campbell was not the only propagandist at work in Germany in World War Two, it is for the most part impossible to determine what measure of war and genocide guilt he deserves. Nor can we say that he helped win the war in the sense that those who stormed the beaches at Normandy did. But as he became his lie to the Germans, he becomes his lie to Israel and

Colgate-Palmolive :: Business, Competitive Prices, Innovation

Companies are not able to succeed without having a strong branding and pricing strategy. Colgate-Palmolive has managed to build a strong brand name and offer competitive prices. Innovation is a key factor in the Colgate strategy. This paper will take a look at Colgate-Palmolive’s product positioning and life cycle. This paper will also discuss the branding relationships and pricing methods. Positioning and Life Cycle According to Keller and Kotler (2009) â€Å"positioning is the act of designing the company’s offering and image to occupy a distinctive place in the minds of the target market.† Colgate-Palmolive has remained a leader in the oral health care industry. The company has remained a leader by focusing on innovation. According to Sekar and Thomas (2008) throughout the past two decades, the development of new products has been a popular marketing strategy for many firms.† The company hires marketers and consumer insight professionals to focus on market trends and customer insights (Drug Store News, 2008). The company uses the information found to develop new products to attract new customers. Innovation and communication has been at the heart of the company’s growth strategy (Economic Times, 2011). Colgate-Palmolive offers a variety of products. They offer a line of oral health care products for any need. According to Checkout (2011) â€Å"in difficult economic times Colgate has continued to offer the consumer the reassurance of a market leading brand at competitive prices and attractive promotions.† The brand is one of the most trusted names in the oral health care industry. Having a large variety of recognized brands and products provide the company with a competitive advantage (Yahoo Finance, 2011). Since the company has a strong focus on innovation the company may see lower growth in sales when they release a new product. The company as a whole is in the maturity stage. The company has remained strong and steady so there has not been much fluctuation. Product and Branding Relationships The company focuses on what consumer trends and needs are. The company does extensive research to develop new products that customers will want. The company’s focus on the consumer has helped the company become a familiar and trusted name. According to Chain Drug Review (2010) â€Å"brand is an influential part of the shopping equation.

Essay --

The State of Israel is one of the youngest countries in the West Asian region. Since the late 19th centuries Jews from different parts of the world emigrated to the land of their forefathers towards creating a homeland, in an area that was predominantly inhabited by Arab Palestinians for centuries. Since its inception, the Jewish immigration or aliya has been in the process of developing its own identity and this effort is reflected in its constant search for common roots or to seek a unified Jewish identity for a people after two millenniums of Diaspora. Because of historical reasons and circumstances, Zionism had never accepted the Diaspora as a valid place for the Jews to be their home. The role of the past in the construction and legitimation of various ethnic and national movements raises importance of archaeology. This is valid for Zionism and its profound interests in historical sites and artefacts grew out of its search for Jewish national identity. Archaeology has been used by different nations as a political tool for the construction of their national identities. There are numerous examples from all over the world such as Soviet Union, Spain, Italy, Bulgaria, Ireland, Romania, Georgia, Belgian, Portugal, Norway, Albania, Germany, England and Japan etc. where archaeology was used in process of nation building. Archaeology in West Asian and North Africa region has been politicized successively through the efforts of colonialists and during the process of nation state building. Iraq, Israel and Egypt has been used archaeology in the process of nation-building. Archaeological evidences have been used in Israel to create a unified idea of the state through the presentation of the past, its connection to the present, and its... ...60s. The relationship that politicians and generals forged with archaeology was perhaps too intimate. During 1963 to 1965 Yigael Yadin ( first as Chief of Staff and then as a professor of archaeology) conducted excavations at Masada, which received personnel, funding and equipment support from a vast number of national and international Jewish organizations, as well as the Israeli army. The phrase "Masada shall not fall again" became a slogan for protecting the State of Israel that has become popular even outside the country. Furthermore the place and story became part of the socialization process and rituals of youth organizations and the Israeli army. Later it became the revealed site for the swearing in ceremony for the Israel Defence Forces (IDF). After prolonged efforts, the peace process facilitated Masada being declared a UNESCO World heritage Site in 2001.

The evolution of management accounting

This paper starts with introducing importance of management accounting literature and reviews the historical development of cost accounting from 1850 through 2000, includes origin of management accounting and controlling practices. In addition it identifies the management accounting theoretical development, and the main critiques that shapes the development of management accounting, thus creating a ground for future research or reviews.As well as it presents challenge existed in the field and concludes by advocating field-based research to discover the innovative ractices being introduced by organizations successfully adapting to the new organization and technology of manufacturing. 1. Introduction 1. 1 Importance of knowing the literature A wealth of literature exists regarding the historical development and evolution of management accounting so accountants have many reasons to study this literature. It helps them to understand the sources of many of today's practices; it leads to r ediscovery of old ideas that have been lost.It enables one to support proposal with past writings quoting from an important work and can help them to sell a proposal or ive credence to an idea. As with study of any literature, it provides accountants with opportunities to improve their verbal abilities, both written and oral and familiarizes accountants with the intellectuals and innovators who have shaped how account proactive their profession in addition it illustrates the state of the professionalism of the field and leads them to an awareness of the controversial topics in the field.In addition to the financial summaries, the railroads developed a system of reporting operating statistics for evaluating and con-trolling the performance of their sub-units. Statistics such as cost per ton-mile and the operating ratio (operating in-come divided by sales) were routinely reported for various sub-units and classes of service. Later in the 1880s, the newly formed mass distribution [Chan dler, 1977, Chapter 7(cited on R. kaplan1984)] and mass production enterprises adapted the internal accounting reporting systems ot the railroads to their own organizations.The nationwide wholesale and retail distributors produced highly detailed data on sales turnover by department and by geographic area, generating performance reports very similar to those that would be sed 100 years later to monitor the performance of revenue centers in the firm. Mass production enterprises formed in the 1880s for the manufacture of tobacco products, matches, detergents, photographic film, and flour. Most important was the emergence of the metal-making and fabricating industries.Andrew Carnegie's steel company was a particularly good example of the importance of cost accounting information for managing the enterprise. Shinn's [the general manager's] major achievement was the development of statistical data needed for coordination and control. Shinn did this in part by introducing the voucher syst em of ac-counting hich though it had long been used by railroads was not yet in general use in manufacturing concerns. By this method, each department listed the amount and cost of materials and labor used on each order as it passed through the sub-unit.Such information per-mitted Shinn to send Carnegie monthly statements and, in time, even daily ones providing data on the costs of ore, limestone, coal, coke, pig iron, Spiegel, molds, refractoriness, repairs, fuel, and labor for each ton of rails produced. These cost sheets [were] called â€Å"marvels of ingenuity and careful accounting. † These cost sheets were Carnegie's primary instrument of control. Costs ere Carnegie's obsession†¦. Carnegie concentrated . .. on the cost side of the operating ratio, comparing current costs of each operating unit with those of previous months, and where possible, with those of other enterprises†¦.These controls were effective†¦.. â€Å"The minutest details of cost of materi als and labor in every department appeared from day to day and week to week in the accounts; and soon every man about the place was made to realize it. The men felt and often remarked that the eyes of the company were always on them through the books. † In addition to using their cost sheets to evaluate the performance of department anagers, foremen and men, Carnegie, Shinn and Jones relied on them to check the quality and mix of raw materials.They used them to evaluate improvements in process and in product and to make decisions on developing by-products. In pricing, particularly non standardized items like bridges, cost-sheets were invaluable. The company would not accept a contract until its costs were carefully estimated [Chandler, 1977, pp. 267-268] (cited on R kaplan1984). Interestingly, the development of these elaborate cost reporting and estimation schemes by the 1880s focused exclusively on direct labor and materials, what we call today prime or direct costs; hat is, little attention was paid to overhead and capital costs.Carnegie's concern was almost wholly with prime costs. He and his associates appear to have paid almost no attention to overhead and depreciation. This too reflected on the railroad experience. As on the railroads, administrative over-head and sales expenses were comparatively small and estimated in a rough fashion. Likewise, Carnegie relied on replacement accounting by charging re-pair, maintenance, and renewals to operating costs. Carnegie had, therefore, no certain way of determining capital invested in his plant nd equipment.As on the railroads, he evaluated performance in terms of the operating ratio (the cost of operations as a percentage of sales) and profits in terms ot a percentage ot book value ot stock issues [ n I , 1977, p. 268 (cited on C and er R. kaplan 1984)]. Thus, cost accounting practice in the late 1800s did not include the allocation of fixed costs to products or to periods. Despite the enormous capital i nvested in these new manufacturing enterprises, there was apparently no systematic method for forecasting investments or coordinating and monitoring capital investment.Andrew Carnegie is reported to have undertaken almost any new investment that would reduce his prime operating costs: Carnegie's operating strategy was to push his own direct cost below those of all competitors so that he could charge prices that would always ensure enough demand to keep his plant running at full capacity†¦. Secure in his knowledge that his costs were the lowest in the industry, Carnegie then engaged in merciless price cutting during economic recessions. While competing firms went under, he still made profits [Johnson, 1981, p. 515] (cited on R. kaplan1984).Management accounting development was highly nfluenced by scientific management theory, based on which accounting received academic basis and directions for purposeful development (Chatfield, 1977 cited on Darius Gliaubicas (2012)) The scienti fic management movement in American industry provided a major impetus to the further development of cost accounting practices [Chandler, 1977, pp. 272-283] cited on R. kapaln(1984)). The major fgures in this movement were engineers who, by detailed Job analyses and time and motion studies, determined â€Å"scientific† standards for the amount of labor and material required to produce a given unit of output.These standards were used to provide a basis for paying workers on a piece-work basis, and to determine bonuses for workers who were highly productive. The names associated with developing the scientific management approach include Frederick Taylor, Harrington Emerson, A. Hamilton Church, and Henry Townen. This approach included not only the development of work standards but also a new form of organization, supplementing the traditional operating or line functions with staff function designed â€Å"not to accomplish work, but to set up standards and ideals, so that the lin e may work more efficiently.The â€Å"scientific management† advocates also started the practice of measuring and allocating overhead costs to products. Innovations came primarily in deter-mining indirect costs or what was termed the â€Å"factory burden,† and in allocating both indirect and direct (or prime) costs to each of the different products produced by a plant or factory so as to develop still more accurate unit costs†¦. In a series of articles published in the Engineering Magazine in 1901, Alexander Church began to devise ways to account for a machine's â€Å"idle time,† for money lost when machines were not in use.Henry Gantt and others then developed methods of btaining standard costs based on standard volume of throughput by determining standard costs based on a standard volume of, say, 80 percent of capacity; these men defined the increased unit costs of running below standard volume as â€Å"unabsorbed bur-den† and decreased unit costs over that volume as â€Å"over-absorbed burden† [Chandler, 1977, pp. 278-279] (cited on R. kaplan 1984) Also, under performance of scientific management theory, a need for operative and perspective information has formed (Fleischman ; Tyson, (2007) cited on Darius Gliaubicas (2012)).Metcalfe ideas had high influence on cost accounting development. In his book â€Å"The cost of manufactures†, published in 1885, he discussed separation of direct and indirect costs in order to make ettective management decisions . Formation ot modern management accounting methods, were also influenced by General Motors ideas. In 1919 it was created promoting salary system; started implementing flexible budgets, developed transfer pricing method Du Pont Powder company, was one of the first USA companies, that started developing several activities at the same time Oohnson ; Kaplan, 1987).When company diversified its activities, management required such accounting system that ould help contr olling all products value chains, coordinate performance of individual subdivisions, while meeting owners' interests. Du Pont company's executives, wanted to control return on capital that owners invested, and at the same time Justify investment financing decisions. That is why was created ROI ratio. When World War I ended, cost accounting became a profession (Loft, 1990).Under the influence of great depression in 1933, USA government established mandatory provision, to form fair practice codex, which would include paying employees' reasonable wages and determining weekly working hours. Therefore cost accounting pecialists had to ensure two main functions, while following fair practice codex: (1) ensure, that prices would not be lower than prime costs and (2) to harmonize costs calculating rules and methods Oohnson & Kaplan. 1987).During World War II, the importance of standard cost accounting method has reduced, because government wanted to trade only with those companies, whose pr oduction costs were close to actual, not standard costs (Fleischman & Tyson, 2007). About 1954, management accounting definition was mentioned for the first time. In Simon (1954) research that included employees from 7 biggest USA companies, it was ound that management accounting information is used to fulfill three main control functions: (1) registering performance results, (2) managing attention and 3) solving problems.Performance results were given in financial reports. Attention managing was based on comparison of plans budgets and actual results. Problem solving function has been implemented by making decisions, such as: manufacture or buy, what if analysis or alternative pricing decisions. Also, a need to calculate direct production costs, to perform absorption and marginal costing has grown at about 1950 (Chatfield, 1977). In 1960s, when USA companies influence in worldwide economy has decreased, responsibility accounting has formed, which allowed determining who is responsi ble for individual scope (Kaplan, 1983).In 1970s first costs managing accounting methods were created. Activity based cost management method, and value adding costs and product lifecycle analysis methods were formed (Hoskin & Macve, 1988). In 1981 strategic management accounting definition was introduced. Management accounting purpose became helping company's management to manage its strategies Oohnson ; Kaplan, 1987). Porter (1985) created value chain model. Also, at 1985, competitors' analysis has grown stronger, because of five competitive forces, PEST and SWOT methods (Porter, 1985).These methods allowed assessing, not only company's internal environment, but also to foresee performance risk factors in external environment, this way creating a competitive advantage. In 1987, customers' profitability analysis was discussed (AnandaraJan & Christopher, p an & Norton ( ) created a balanced scorecard system, which allowed company's management to transform objectives provided in strat egy, vision and mission into performance indicators, which allow assessing the success of mplementing competitive performance strategy. Darius Gliaubicas (2012 P. 4-26) 3. Origin and Managerial Controlling Practices of Management Accounting In the period preceding the Industrial Revolution, economic advancement predominantly occurred in the Middle and Far East (Chatfield 1977 ). Some of the oldest surviving business records dace back to the Chaldean-Babylonian, Assyrian and Sumerian civilizations. Various types of service businesses and small industries were established and the oldest known commercial documents date from 3500 BC (Chatfield 1977:5). In Babylonia formal legal codes made record keeping compulsory.The most famous is the Code of Hanunurabi, which required that an agent selling goods for a merchant should give the merchant a sealed memorandum quoting prices. All these records were kept on clay tablets (Chatfield 1977:5) In Egypt the introduction of papyrus as a writing su rface made writing less cumbersome and permitted a wider use of supporting documents. Despite the early progress, the development virtually stagnated for several thousand years. This might be ascribed to the inability to express goods in terms of a single substance (monetary unit) (Chatfield 1977:7) (M. shotterl 999. p . 244).Once of the oldest and largest surviving records of a system of responsibility accounting was maintained by Zenon. a manager of a private estate of the finance minister of Ptolemy II in 256 BC. Each of the supervisors of the areas of the estate had to render frequent accounts of all transactions. The accounts were rised and audited on a regular basis. This form of accounting system spread throughout the Mediterranean and the Middle East and was later adopted and modified by the Romans. The essential aim of this form of accounting system was the protection of the property of the owners (M . hotter 1999 p. 4)1. None of the above ancient forms of accounting provid ed any aid for decision-making or resembled cost accounting. Until the Industrial Revolution, records did not allow for separate costing by product lines and mad: no distinction between capital and revenue expenditure. This resulted in an inability to estimate the profitability of a product, a capital investment or an increased investment in labour (Chatfield 1977:11) The Industrial Revolution which gained momentum roughly between 1760 and 1830 in this period accounting historian place the exact time as the origin of management accounting is 1812 (H.T. Johnson and R. S. Kaplan, 1987) the industrial revolution can be ascribed to a vast number of reasons, but the most well known arc the technical inventions that reformed the manufacturing world. These include the steam engine by James Viratt in 1765, the spinning Jenny by James Hargreaves between 1764 and 1767 and Arkwright's spinning frame in 1768 (Ashton 1948) This period Britain was also associated with a sharp growth in the popula tion, a more extensive use of capital, and the conversion of rural into urban communities as well as a rise in new social classes (Ashton 1948 ).In the United States of America the effect of the industrial Revolution was not as marked and immediate as in the United Kingdom. Although it did have an indirect effect on the US economy. the factors that had the most remarkable effect were the corning of the railways and the telegraph around 1840 (Chandler 1977). After 1840 and especially trom 860 the railways and the telegraph revolutionized t traditional ways of production and distribution.Coal provided a cheap and flexible source of energy which enabled the railways to provide the fast, regular and dependable transportation so essential to high volumes of production and istribution (Chandler 1977:79). Technological innovation, the expanding income per capita as well as the rapid growth of the poralation increased the complexity of existing production and distribution processes and incr eased the volume and the speed of transactions.The existing market mechanism was often no longer able to co-ordinate these transactions effectively. According to Chandler (1977:484 ) created a need for administrative co-ordination. To address this need entrepreneur's large multi-unit organizations and appointed managers to administer them. (M . shotter 1999 P. 1 5) According to traditional history management accounting evolved from the techniques of cost accounting that were developed in England before and during the Industrial Revolution (M. shotter 1999 p 216).The need for cost accounting developed when the double-entry bookkeeping system was not able to provide owners with product costs for purposes of pricing, particularly in the engineering sector. As engineering firms grew more and more competitive, cost estimates were needed for bidding on special contracts for which no market prices existed (Chatfield 1977:159). At that stage manufacturers guarded their cost methods as indus trial ecrets and bookkeeping texts generally ignored the subject (Chatfield 1977:1 59 ).Edwards, et al. (1995 ) suggest that management accounting was purely concerned with making the best use of available resources within certain constraints. Management accounting was viewed as an independent variable†, which passively served the needs of the organization and neither neither shaped nor was shaped by the organization or society Support for their view can be found in the number of case studies of archival records of organizations that operated before and during the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom.In 1740 the accountant of the Melincryddan Smelting Works distinguished between variable and fixed cost while deciding on the most profitable location, whilst Cyfartha Iron Works was recharging production overheads to cost centers and writing off general overheads to the profit and loss account in the 1790s (Comes 1996:16). Walsh & Stewart (1993) suggest that they found evi dence of the implementation of accounting systems for purposes of managerial control in two separate studies, carried out before and during the Industrial Revolution.In their study of the operations of the New Mills Woollen Manufactory for the period 1681 to 1703, they ound evidence of costing for purposes of pricing as well as information to control the flow of material. At New Lanark Cotton Factory, which was studied from 1800 to 1812, they found a much more sophisticated system of control over not only materials but also over the laborers. Accounting was used for the purpose of measuring productivity as well as to control the behavior of laborers (Walsh & Stewart 1993:790).Edwards et at. (1995: 6) ascribe the difference between their view of the origin of management accounting and the other views mentioned below to the differences in environmental circumstances between countries. They contrast the long industrial history, steady rate ot economic development and relatively ample s upply of labour of the United Kingdom with the United States where industrial development started much later and industrialization took place more rapidly against a background of labour shortages.Edwards et at. (1995) are also of the opinion that it is unduly restrictive to equate the development of management accounting to the use of accounting information to control human activity. As discussed above, they advocate a much broader role for management accounting. M. shotter1999 . P217) Chandler (1977) disagrees with the aforementioned view of management accounting being an â€Å"independent variable† and suggests that it played an important role in the development of the giant firm.According to him modern cost accounting originated during the middle of the nineteenth century with the advent of the railways and later the chemical, steel and metal working industries in the United States of America. These organizations were growing in size and their processes were growing in com plexity, creating a need for cost information to determine prices and evaluate the performance of the businesses.He is of the opinion that management accounting did not merely arise because the growing organization needed it, but that it facilitated this growth by means of focusing attention on the advantages of buying internally rather than through the market. Chandler also suggests that management accounting was not merely applied for the purpose of product costing, but also to aid internal control. Williamson's (1975) transaction cost theory supports Chandler's view. He suggests that management accounting is a means of determining the prices of products in large corporations in the absence of a market system.The cost of co-ordination internal transactions by means of management accounting is lower than the cost incurred when entering into these transactions through the market, thus Justifying its existence. A study by Fleischman, Hoskin & Macve (1995)(cited on M. shotter1999) of the Boulton & Watt engineering practice during the beginning of the eighteenth century revealed that costing techniques to determine piece rates for laborers were ‘once-off exercises to establish fair prices, and thereafter only received sporadic attention.Based on these findings, they essentially agree with Chandler (1977), Williamson 1975) and Johnson and Kaplan (1987) that entrepreneurs did not really need cost accounting, as long as they were paying market prices for the output of each worker. Similarly, Fleischman et al. (1995: 171) agree that detailed attention to the efficiency and control of labour was only required when entrepreneurs took the manufacturing process out of the hands of contractors and brought the workforce under their direct control.To sum up all evolution of management we should analyses four stage as follows The demand for information for internal planning and control apparently arose in he first half of the 19th century when firms, such as textile mi lls and rail-roads, had to devise internal administrative procedures to coordinate the multiple processes involved in the pertormance ot the basic activity (the conversion ot raw materials into finished goods by textile mills, the transportation of passengers and freight by the railroads). In the first stage, management accounting is seen as a technical activity necessary for the pursuit of the organizational objectives while in the second stage it is seen as a management activity performing a staff role to support line management hrough the provision of information for planning and control. In the third and fourth stages management accounting is seen as an integral part of the management process With improved technology, information is available in real time to all levels of management.The focus, therefore, shifts from the provision of information to the use of the available resources to create value for all the stakeholders. Figure 1 shows four stages of management accounting evol ution and how each stage encapsulates the previous ones. 3. Reduction of waste of business resources 4. Creation of value through effective use of resources Source: IFAC, 1998: 6. imported from (Nelson Maina Waweru,2010 p . 167) Fig. 1 . The evolution of management accounting 4. Management Accounting Theories Regardless of how management accounting emerged, the economic framework played a central role in shaping it.Other subject areas, such as management science, organization theory and lately behavioral sciences were undoubtedly present, but economics and specially the marginal list principles of neoclassical economics, had the dominant influence in the last century. The evolution of management accounting in the last century can be also assessed on historical grounds. Figure 2 below shows our main theoretical frameworks that can be used to describe the development of management accounting. They are then discussed in the subsections that follow. 2 Management accounting development : theoretical tramework 4. 1 Old conventional wisdom. Traditional textbooks have a list of topics that, despite the differences in orientation, are common to all. It is agreed that the final developments in management accounting occurred in the early decades of the twentieth century to support the growth of multi-activity and diversified corporations such as Du Pont (Kaplan, 1982 and 1984; Scapens, 1985; Boritz, 1988; Johnson and Kaplan, 1987; Atkinson, 1989; and Puxty, 1993) cited on(Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) .This stage is based on the absolute truth approach and principles of management which were rooted in an engineering view. Giglioni and Bedeian (1974) cited on (Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) provide a good overview of the roots of management control issues that lie in early managerial thought. Emerson (1912)( cited on Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) may be credited with the first meaningful contribution to the development of 20th century management control theory, in ‘The Twelve Principles of Efficiency where he heavily stresses the importance of control.Church (1914) cited on (Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) also contributed to the development of early management control theory; for him one of five organic functions of administration was control, identified as the mechanism that coordinates all the other functions and in addition supervises their work. Fayol (1949) cited on (Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) identified control as one of the five functions of management, control being the verification of whether everything occurs in conformity with the plan adopted, the instructions issued and principles established.It is interesting to note that Lawson 1920) cited on (Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) wrote the first text devoted entirely to the subject of management control, while Urwick (1928) cited on (Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) became the first author to identify a set of five control principles: responsibility, evidence, uniformity, comparison and utility. One of the f irst empirical studies of corporate organization and control was performed by Holden, Fish and Smith (1941), where one of its conclusions was that control is a prime responsibility of top management.Historical studies have played a conspicuous role in management accounting in recent years. Both research and practice have been strongly influenced by Kaplan (1984) and Johnson and Kaplan (1987), cited on (Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) who call for more relevant product costing. As a precedent, Chandler (1962 and 1977) cited on (Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) showed the importance of cost and management control information to support the growth of large transportation, production and distribution enterprises during the perid of 1850-1925.Management accounting systems evolved in the late 1880s to provide information about internal transactions, and by mid 1920s they were being used for diverse activities like lanning, controlling, motivating, analyzing and evaluating (Boritz, 1988). Johnson (19 81 and 1983), Johnson and Kaplan (1987) and Lee (1987) cited on (Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) made a convincing case for the development of managerial accounting practices in the US. 4. 2 Agency theory. The irruption of economics in the field led academicians to work on very elegant Mathematical models.Agency theory and transaction costs are a refinement of the mathematical modeling based on economic concepts and theory. The agency theory assumes that there exists a contractual relationship between members of a firm. It recognizes the existence of two groups of people; principals or superiors and agents or subordinates. The principals will delegate decision making authority to the agents and expect them to perform certain functions in return for a reward.Both the principals and the agents are assumed to be rational economic persons motivated solely by self-interest but may differ with respect to preferences, beliefs and information densen and Meckling, 1976) cited on (Nelson Maina Waw eru, 2010). The principal/ agent relationship can exist throughout any organization and usually starts from the shareholder director nd ends with the supervisor-shop floor worker. In an organization context, which involves uncertainty and asymmetric information, the agent's actions may not always be directed to the best interests of the principal.Agents' pursuit of their self interest instead of those of the principal is what is called the agency problem densen and Meckling, 1976) cited on (Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) to counter this behavior, the principal may monitor the agents' performance through an accounting information system. The owner can also limit such aberrant behavior by incurring auditing, ccounting and monitoring costs and by establishing, also at a cost, an appropriate incentive scheme densen and Meckling, 1976). ited on (Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010) Agency theory is based on several assumptions: Individuals are assumed to be rational and to have unlimited computational ability. They can anticipate and assess the probability of all possible future contingencies. The contracts are assumed to be costless and accurately enforceable by courts. The contracts are expected to be comprehensive and complete in the sense that for each verifiable event, they specify the actions to be taken by the contracting parties. However, this assumption may not hold in most developing countries where Judicial systems still lack the necessary resources to act efficiently.Both principals and agents are motivated solely by self- interest. The agent is assumed to have private information to which the principal cannot gain access without cost. The agent is usually assumed to be work averse and risk adverse (Batman, 1990: 343) cited on (Nelson Maina Waweru, 2010). Furthermore, agency theory concentrates on problems encountered by the owner when the manager relies on asymmetric information to cheat and shrink (Mackintosh, 1994). Asymmetric information is not a one-way street a s is assumed by agency theory.Owners would also have access to private information, which they would use in negotiating contracts. However, according to Baiman(1990), the above criticisms are less compelling if we view the principal-agent model as a frame work for analyzing issues and highlighting problems which arise and must be considered in applying managerial accounting procedures to real world situations. Consequently, agency theory offers insights into some of the tough issues and difficult problems involved in he design of management accounting systems. . 3 Contingency theory. The contingent control literature is based on the premise that a correct match between contingent factors and a firm's control package will result in desired outcomes. Contingencytheory explains how an appropriate accounting information system can be designed to match the organization structure, technology, strategy and environment of the firm. It suggests that universal applications are inappropriate a nd a framework for analysis is developed to suggest alternative performance measures,