Enron Scandal with Code of Ethics

Arthur Andersen Limited Liability Partnership was one of the â€Å"Big Five† accounting firm who providing auditing, tax and consulting services to large corporations. This is an accounting firm that held by reputation and trust by public and investor but it facing bankruptcy in the end. Early of the 20th century, invertors don’t know who can be trust because there was spread of business scandals. All they need was auditors. Andersen establishes a company to be trusted. He and his auditors will check and certificate the company accounts if the accounts were honestly and accurately. Andersen advises his partners to pay attention on public needs rather than the profit of company make. After 1950s, the company force to commercialize for the coming of Information Technology era but it still keeps its reputation. But to win the best customers, they must attract a new generation of employees. The new director was keen to explore more customers. They audit and certificate more accounts and made larger profits for their company. Andersen guaranteed the accounts for dishonest company from John DeLorean to Enron and WorldCom. The code of ethics which Andersen against are: 1. Standard I (A) Knowledge of the Law. Members and Candidates must understand and comply with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations (including the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct) of any government, regulatory organization, licensing agency, or professional association governing their professional activities. In the event of conflict, Members and Candidates must comply with the more strict law, rule, or regulation. Members and Candidates must not knowingly participate or assist in and must dissociate from any violation of such laws, rules, or regulations. A case of John DeLorean, the founder of the DeLorean Motor Company who goes Ireland to builds his dream car. British government desperate to create job and gave 80 million pound. It was Andersen responsible for the money he spends. But DeLorean spend the money not belong to him. He will spend the company fund s of purchase of equipment for decorating his houses. He orders two Mercedes Benz, one send to his wife use in California. DeLorean asks to pay 17 million dollar to his Swiss bank account call GDP. In conclusion, DeLorean do nothing with the dream car. Although the Code and standard do not required that members and candidates report violations to their governmental or regulatory organizations but strongly encourages members to report violations. Andersen should report DeLorean who spend the money which are not related to the development of dream car and the money was not belonging to him. They shouldn’t participate in illegal activities such help DeLorean to cover the fact and follow the rules and regulations. . Standard I (B) Independence and Objectivity. Members and Candidates must use reasonable care and judgment to achieve and maintain independence and objectivity in their professional activities. Members and Candidates must not offer, solicit, or accept any gift, benefit, compensation, or consideration that reasonably could be expected to compromise their own or another’s independence and objectivity. In case of WorldCom, who was one of the company who use false account to earning profit by deceive public. After the scandal, WorldCom was the largest bankruptcy in U. S. history. It led to a domino effect of accounting and like corporate scandals that continue to tarnish American business practices and the foundation of economic. Thousand hundred of investors lost their life saving. Arthur Andersen emphasizes professional view and implements independence and objectivity which were refusing to certificate dishonest accounts. New generation of employees who work in Andersen should follow the thinking and view of the establisher. Although they want to expand their business, but they should work independence to report or refuse to certificate dishonest accounts, not helping them to deceive public. . Standard I (D) Members and Candidates must not engage in any professional conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, or deceit or commit any act that reflects adversely on their professional reputation, integrity, or competence. Arthur Andersen has involved in dishonesty act which was making false accounting. The company has loss its reputation once the scandal burst out. I n a nutshell, all company should follow rules and regulation. Otherwise, it may harm thousands even millions of people lost their life saving or in debt.

Sailing Me

What do I really feel? Well, right now, I could say that I am sane. It just sounds funny to say that last word. For some time now, I have been holding a huge rock with my bare hands. The rock symbolizes my life as an adult human being. As an adult of early twenty’s of age, I began to struggle with life. I had worked for two independent companies already in a span of three years. But still, I have not yet found the contentment I am looking for. I mean, may be you would say that people usually have no contentment. But for me, I will continue to strive to gain recognition from my works and deeds so that it will feel rewarding and become a simple form of my contentment. That is why I am always making use of my abilities, skills, and knowledge the best way I can to show how flexible and competitive I can be in every job opportunity that comes my way. I think that is the smartest way to achieve one’s goal. Love life? I had two colorful love affairs already. I would like to share about the second. I and Gervin were actually friends. We were classmates in elementary. We lived in the same town until high school. I excelled during our elementary years, while he excelled academically in high school. After high school, we were not able to see each other except when there is a reunion held for our batch. Until one day, this year, when I forwarded messages to all the contact numbers of my friends I have in my phonebook, he was the only one who replied and asked how I am doing. It started like that. Everyday I receive messages from him. We converse through text messages, until it came to a point where he became romantic in his messages. Honestly, I liked how it feels. It was flattering. It made me fall for him after some time. For me, it was a cute, simple romance where we expressed our feelings to each other by sending text messages everyday. He was sweet to me. I was sweet to him, too. There were exchanges of I love yous and we understand each other. Although we were not actually seeing each other, I could feel his presence through his messages. And I felt like we were true lovers. The relationship became complicated when I learned that he has a girlfriend. I felt bad about it. Without further thinking, I messaged him immediately and said that I want to stop whatever it is that is happening between us. He did not make a reply. Until now there is no communication between the two of us. I wonder how he really felt about me and how he feels about me right now. What was his real intention to me? Was it just friendship, more than friendship, or just a flirting? If it’s just friendship, he actually hurt me because he is special to me. It was not clear to me what our relationship was. Finally, I am able to accept that I am human and it is normal to feel something special for somebody. It is better to let go of the feeling than to hide it. After heartaches and pains, it’s now time to enjoy life. I want to change my lifestyle, my career path, and everything about me. It’s time to be happy and to share my smiles to everyone especially to my family who most deserves it. But of course I need to earn money and to work hard for my living also. Life’s like that. Go for gold!

Ancient Chinese Culture

The fertile banks of the Tigris, Euphrates and the Indus rivers have produced a rich civilization in the Middle East and India, but the same happened in the Yellow River in China. Civilization and Mesopotamia, the civilizations of Jalapa and Mohenzodaro are not mentioned in the outside world. Yellow River Civilization not only reflects the development of the other two civilizations, it also contributes to its own unique civilization. Communication with West Asia and South Asia of China's geographical location - Qinghai - Tibetan plateau in the west and Takayama in the Gobi desert in the north is difficult. Ancient Chinese culture has a history of more than 5000 years. China's cultural history has very diversity and diversity. Exquisite Chinese civilization is rich in arts and science, exquisite painting and printing technology, exquisite ceramics and sculptures. The architectural tradition of China is highly appreciated all over the world. Chinese and literature, philosophy and polit ics are still considered to have strong influence. Only after Western culture emerged in the middle of the 19th century, Chinese culture succeeded in maintaining its unique identity. Prehistoric Japanese culture began to be influenced by ancient Chinese culture thousands of years ago. One consequence of these effects is the implementation of the land split grill system that existed for a long time; the ancient place name and field boundaries of the system can still be traced. Chinese writing and many other Chinese developments have been introduced for centuries; for centuries the writing system has gone through many modifications as it does not fit in Japanese . Buddhism began in India and was revised in Central Asia, China and Korea before reaching Japan in the 6 th century - and it had a great influence on Japanese culture life, Buddhism was changed from its pioneering form with time It has developed. Similarly, China's urban design was introduced in the layout of the ancient capi tal of Nara and Kyoto, but the island had no spread.

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 136

Assignment Example This was a leadership position that required that I put up my very best. As the leader, the output of the innovative strategy depended much on my personal characteristics, leadership skills, as well as the level of motivation I gave to the group. Knowing how importantly the manager took this workplace responsibility, I shivered when the role was first assigned to me. To overcome my fears, I decided to consult the best leadership books and leadership mentors I knew. In the course of doing this, I realized that I was becoming too many people at a time. Eventually, my natural self was getting lost and this made me more nervous than calming me down. As a result, I decided to look into my own self and also come up with something innovative that would rather be copied by others. Indeed, this approach worked like magic because through myself motivation, I was able to inspire my colleagues in a democratic leadership style the ensured that we came out with the best strategy for the department . The second scenario was quite similar to the first one but happened in a social context. A friend of mine approached me with a social problem that he wanted me to help him resolve. Immediately, I started looking for mentors around me, with whose life I could set a yardstick for the friend. This was not helping and so I decided to use myself. In the eventual while, I realized that this was a much perfect approach. Because I was therefore for the friend and not the models I tried to use. In fact, I took the problem of the friend to be a personal problem and ensured that I gave social advice that helped the friend to sharp his life for the better. As constantly as possible, I visited the friend to evaluate the progress he was making. Where he was facing challenges, I offered encouragement and support rather than scorning him. With time, the friend could overcome his social problem due to how committed I was towards helping him. The last episode came when I attempted to Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6 Assignment Example Hence it can be seen that country A has a comparative advantage over the production of toys. As for the pineapples, if country A produces 1 pineapple, its opportunity cost would be 0.5 toys and if country B produces 1 pineapple, its opportunity cost would be 0.3 toys. This clearly shows that country B has a comparative advantage over country A over the production of pineapples. Hence it can finally be said that country A should focus on pineapple production while country B should focus on the toys department. This way both the companies would excel at specialization and this would further lead them to gain long-term business advantage with such collaboration (Sloman, 2007). Works Cited Top of Form Sloman, John.  The Economic Environment of Business. Harlow: Financial Times Prentice Hall, 2007. Print. Bottom of Form

(no topic) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

(no topic) - Essay Example This code defines how people dress, build houses and their eating mannerisms. Cultural relativists assert that this code of ethics, cannot be declared as absolute truth or wrong, but it guides the activities of societal members. Societies are diverse due to their cultures and thus it is essential for people to understand their cultural diversity and learn to live in unity. This means tolerating each other and accepting that people are different. Consequently, unity in diversity and harmonious living become part and parcel of the society. Critics to this theory argue that societies have numerous similarities; they value virtues such as truth and preservation of human life. Therefore, there are some things which are universal among societies although societies exist as independent entities. Cultural relativism guides us not to assume that there are absolute truths to anything. It also urges us to be open-minded so as to cope with people from different societies (Rachels 8-11). The Golden Rule has its foundation on ethics. These are moral principles followed by an institution, society or organization. They have no significant variations across cultures and societies, and they are the foundation of responsible behavior. According to John Maxwell, the Golden Rule is that people want to be treated in a good manner (Maxwell 2-7). They always want to feel appreciated, valued and understood. Furthermore, this rule suggests that people have a strong passion for trust and respect. Therefore, they endeavor to obtain all these wants as they progress in their lives. On the other hand, Gensler’s Golden Rule suggests that people should treat others well if they would want them to reciprocate in the same manner (Gensler 5-15). Thus, one should not do something unpleasant to another person expecting the person to do something substantial in return. However, he does not mention the action to be done; whether it is positive or negative. Critics of this rule such as

In the middle ages, it is clear that religious thought and philosophy Essay

In the middle ages, it is clear that religious thought and philosophy were totaly intertwined. Why do you suppose this was Explain your answer (In two paragraph) - Essay Example Eventually, this event of religious disintegration sought refuge through medieval philosophy by way of restoring studies of the Greek and the Roman cultures alike. In the process, I suppose, the evolving philosophy at the time, having been derived from the resources of the classical period which possessed works of the revered philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, reflected the status of religion so that theology was addressed through the ethics and morals that constituted the medieval philosophy. Consequently, religious and philosophical values had often converged and resembled each other in plenty of ways since the goal of philosophy in the Middle Ages was chiefly to develop a school of thought that would make reparation for virtues which religion failed to justify among those who especially castigated the role of the church in man’s spiritual

Essential Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Essential Marketing - Essay Example 6 5.Discuss and explain the rationale of the marketing mix variables used by Burberry 8 5.0.Product 8 5.1.Price 10 5.2.Place 10 5.3.Promotion 11 5.4.Process 11 5.5.Physical Evidence 11 5.6.People 12 6.Discuss and explain the rationale of Burberry’s use of digital marketing tools. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this approach? 12 References 15 Bibliography 17 1. Overview Burberry was established in the year 1856 by Thomas Burberry who is the regarded as the inventor of the gabardine raincoat. This particular product ultimately became one of the signature products for the organisation. The chief visions of the organisation are to attain significant competitive position over the competitors along with increasing the market share considerably (Burberry, n.d.). In the paper, the different business environmental factors, market segmentation methods and the various applications of marketing mix features will be discussed. Various aspects that include the execution of eff ective digital marketing tools along with its various benefits and disadvantages will also be depicted in the discussion. 2. Identify and explain the environmental factors affecting the marketing of Burberry 2.0. ... Al., 2010). For instance, the chief competitors of Burberry in the luxury market are LVMH, Gucci and others. Hence, it can be affirmed that the brand faces a significant amount of competition from other luxury brands which can be thus recognised as a major environmental factor that affects the marketing strategies of Burberry. In order to outrun these luxury brands, Burberry has been identified to often attempt to introduce an increased number of collections annually which generally ranges between two to eight annual collections. It is worth mentioning that the company also faces a steep competition in the segment of luxury accessories. In the accessory segment the major competitors of the brand are Chanel and Louis Vuitton. Thus, it can be stated that competition is apparently one of the significant environmental factors that significantly affect the marketing prospects of Burberry. 2.1. Macro Environmental Factors Another significant factor affecting the marketing strategies of Bur berry was the economic downturn that took place during the period of 2009. It was found by certain researches that in places like Spain and Japan, Burberry was perceived to be a premium brand rather than a luxury brand. These facts compelled the brand to implement certain cost reduction programmes during the economic downturn in order to attract the customers of the weaker markets such as Spain. The recessional stress acted as a major factor that affected the marketing strategy of Burberry and resulted in restructuring at several places. The economic downturn also compelled the company to include discount strategies in its marketing policies during December 2008. Several other government interventions such as licensing policies also

Capital Gains Tax Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Capital Gains Tax - Research Paper Example (Market Value $ 40,000 Less Asset Cost $ 50,000 = Capital loss $ 10,000). However being a depreciable asset this amount can not be set off against the capital gains from the other assets. Under the uniform capital allowances system that applies from 1 July 2001, any gain or loss from a depreciating asset is included in your assessable income, or deductible as a balancing adjustment, to the extent the asset was used for a taxable purpose (for example, to produce assessable income). The small business CGT concessions do not apply to gains you make on depreciating assets that are included in your income under the uniform capital allowances system. The Capital Gains resulting from Goodwill is subject to the Capital Gains Tax. In the instant case there is a capital gain of $ 15,000 (Market Value $ 90,000 Minus Cost $ 75,000) which will be included in the taxable capital gains. The capital gains resulting from land and buildings is also to be included in the capital gains tax calculations. The transaction would result in a capital gain of $ 50,000 (Market Value $ 200,000 minus cost $ 150,000) that will be attracting the capital gains tax. When the net assets value under the Maximum ... When the net assets value under the Maximum Net Asset Value Test the value of the net assets does not exceed $ 6 million. Net assets for this purpose does not include shares, units or other interests, non-business assets, personal assets including the home. The Net asset value is calculated as the market value of the assets minus liabilities relating to those assets. When the turnover of the business doesn't exceed $ 2 million When the CGT event giving rise to the capital gain happened after 11.45am on 21 September 1999, and When the assets involved are owned the asset involved for at least 12 months. Under the Active Asset Test if the business is still existing and the assets are owned for less than 15 years the asset must be an active asset just before the CGT event and for at least half of the period of ownership. For an asset to be termed as 'active asset' it must be and is used or held ready for use by a small business CGT affiliate, or an entity connected with the small business, in the course of carrying on a business, or an intangible asset inherently connected with a business being carried on by the entity (for example, goodwill) "The CGT discount isn't limited to capital gains from business assets. The discount allows individuals (including partners in partnerships) and trusts to reduce their capital gain by 50%"1 Small business CGT concessions "The following four CGT concessions are available only for small business. 1 The small business 15-year exemption provides a total exemption for a capital gain on a CGT asset if you have continuously owned the asset for at least 15 years and the relevant individual is 55 or over and retiring, or is permanently incapacitated. 2 The small business 50%

Effect of Different Materials on Radiation using the Shielding Essay

Effect of Different Materials on Radiation using the Shielding Material - Essay Example There are numerous factors that lead to the variation of results read and recorded by Geiger-Muller counter because it detects only small increments of radioactivity radiations. For instance, the distance between the radiation source and the probe can play a major role in the variation. This is because once a radiation is emitted from its source before reaching the targeted surface usually encounters varied collisions in the air, hence reducing its speed. Consequently, this implies may end up giving altered results that deviate from the exact values by big margins compared to the incidences when there was keen control of the separating distance.   Other factors include background radiation because the other source of material may emit some or other kind of energy, hence interfering with the incoming stream of radiation such that the end results do not the come any closer to the expected data. Therefore, it is essential before the experiment one at least ascertain the extent of the background materials’ emission if possible by checking already calculated values. In addition, the nature of the shielding substance, for instance, its roughness or smoothness degree can affect the end results whereby both surfaces may not have exactly the same results or with those anticipated. Mainly, besides other human errors, these factors somehow contribute to the alterations of results though with keen observation one can adequately minimize their effects especially the separating distance.   Ã‚  

Martin Luther King Jr Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay

Martin Luther King Jr Letter from Birmingham Jail - Essay Example The letter begins with King’s address to his â€Å"dear† clergymen, a group of white moderate preachers who had denounced the activist’s most recent protests – the ones which had landed him in jail – as â€Å"unwise and untimely.† The fact that King deigns to respond to these men, particularly as he goes on to explain that he is inundated with criticism daily, shows several things: primarily that he is not so passionate about his cause as to be blindly angry against those who do not entirely understand it, and who therefore may be converted. King is patient and reasoned, even though (as he explains later in the letter) he has reason enough to be outraged. This politeness extends through what is otherwise a rousing and accusatory epistle. Rather than denouncing the white clergymen for their role in hindering black rights, King refers to them as his friends, and couches his arguments for nonviolent protesting in indirect and passive language: for example, â€Å"Lamentably, it is an historical fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.† King understands that the white clergymen expect savagery from him, and responds with a civility which is far more likely to win their minds to the cause of black rights.

Standalone vs networked computers Essay Example for Free

Standalone vs networked computers Essay This report will clearly explain the differences between standalone and networked machines, as well as give a brief insight into the basic components of the network. Also, it will state the possible advantages and disadvantages to keeping the current standalone set up opposed to the idea of creating a network. A synopsis shall be included to summarise your options, and give a professional opinion on what would be the most beneficial for your small furniture business. STANDALONE ENVIRONMENT WHAT IS IT? A standalone environment is when a computer is used independently without connection to any communication devices. Each computer will need a copy of the operating system and software being used. If you need to transfer data between departments, it will have to be done manually. They vary from networked computers which are able to communicate to other computers because as soon as a computer is attached to a communication device, it instantly becomes in a network. The main characteristics of a standalone computer are: * It has no connection to any other computers * It does not have an internet connection * Data would need to be manually transferred via CDs, etc COMPUTER NETWORK WHAT IS IT? A basic network consists of several computers and hardware devices such as printers and scanners that are linked together so that they can communicate with each other. It features four distinct elements in addition to the computers themselves. These are: * Communication devices * Networking Software * Data transfer media * Standards and procedures Communication devices are pieces of hardware that are needed to turn standalone computers into networked computers. Before a computer can be connected to a network it must have a network interface card (NIC). This is a card that contains essential circuitry and a plug-in socket that allows a connection between the computer and the cabling. The NIC basically prepares and convert data to a form that can be transmitted through media (such as a metal cable or fibre optic cable). Networking software varies dependent on the size of the network. Because your furniture firm is only a small business, the networking software on Windows XP shall suffice, but take note of this information in case the business planning future expansion. Specialised network operating systems coordinate the activities of all the computers and other devices connected to a network. Popular network operating systems include: UNIX owned by the SCO group as 2000, Linux and Novell Netware, a popular client-server network operating system. Data transfer media is the physical material through which data travels from one computer to another. The main data transfer media an offer in todays market are metal wires, and fibre optic cable which add the cost of creating/installing a network, or alternatively wireless. Standards and procedures are important because without them one device in your network could be sending data to another device in a form that the other device may not be able to interpret. In order for a network to run properly it must adopt certain procedures. Without procedures the security of the network might be comprised, as well as the health of the employees. Legislation such as the Data Protection Act and Computer Misuse Act may accidently be disobeyed. ADVANTAGES OF STAYING STANDALONE The advantages to keeping the current 5 machines set up as they are, as standalone machines are: * It would be a cheaper option in terms of hardware and software. The cables, especially high speed fibre optic cables can be money consuming, as well this NIC and data transmission media can be costly * Less ICT knowledge is needed to keep the systems running efficiently, hence qualified network managers/administrators do not need to be employed * Training costs (such as money and time) on how to maintain/operate a network are unneeded if every member of staff knows how to use a basic standalone machine * The spread of viruses and bugs can be keep minimal as each of the computers arent communicate, meaning the virus cannot be transferred from computer to computer * Hard is less of a necessity, as servers arent needed. This is beneficial in two ways: * If a piece of hardware malfunctions, it doesnt affect every machine whereas, say, if a file server crashed the whole network would be sabotaged * Initially purchasing costs and maintenance costs do not need to be funded if the complex hardware for a network isnt needed * Standalone machines can operate a lot faster as if they are only need for a specific task (e.g. Word processing) other software doesnt need to installed on the hard drive, hence making the machine more efficient ADVANTAGES OF CREATING A NETWORK The advantages of setting up a network far outweigh the advantages of staying standalone. There are however disadvantages which will be covered on the next page of this report: * Manual file transfer is rendered inept if the network operates using a file server, which holds all the important documents an organization needs, where every computer has access to instantly * Hardware such as printers can be shared between multiple computers, meaning a separate printer doesnt need to be purchased/installed to every machine * Software such as application are shared, meaning its easier to control software maintenance and making sure the software is up-to-date is easier and more efficient * Costs of purchasing software is reduced as you can purchase a single copy which can then be installed the server so every machine has access, which would be cheaper than the alternative of purchasing the software multiple times * Network managers can control what websites employees do and do not have access to, so distracting game websites can be blocked from every computer * Downloaded material can be checked with the latest virus checking software universally, so individual scans do not need to take place * Backing up files to save loosing valuable documents can be done automatically or by the network manager so less responsibility is placed upon the work force and the likelihood of lose is reduced * Internal business communication can be made easier throughout the means of e-mail, which will improve communication between workers DISADVANTAGES OF STAYING STANDALONE When there are advantages, there are usually disadvantages to go with it. The disadvantages of keeping the current layout format are as follows: * File transfer is time consuming and frustrating, as documents cannot be directly sent to each computer, hence file transfer media such as USB memory sticks or CDs need to be purchased * Communication when working on a joint computer project can be fussy, as e-mails cannot be sent, so the employees will have to engage in face-to-face communication * Information is hard to keep up-to-date as two or more users could be updating the same piece of information unaware the other is doing so, hence two or more documents will be produced causing confusion * Software needs to be installed individually on each of the 5 machines, which can be costly as the software needs to be replicated enough times and wasteful of businesses time * Back-up of files isnt centrally done, hence each machine need to be backed up and checked regularly to ensure to lose of data * The internet or intranet cannot be accessed by employees, meaning topics cannot be research, information cannot be posted in a bulletin, etc, hindering employees efforts DISADVANTAGES OF CREATING A NETWORK The disadvantages of creating a network are scarce as networks are beneficial to almost every organisation in todays society. However, they include: * The task of running and maintaining a network, ensuring that it is fully functional requires expertise, so a professional shall need to be hired * If hardware fails or malfunctions, every computer is faced with the inconvenience. For example if the network file server goes down, no computer can gain access to the shared files * The initial costs involved in setting up a network are high as all the hardware and software need to purchased, although a network will save money in the long run, in the short run it is costly * Viruses can be spread more easily and quickly to every computer on the network, whereas if it happened to a standalone computer only one would be affected SYNOPSIS Overall, the advantages to your small business of creating a network far outweigh the advantages of keeping the machines standalone. The ability to share files such as orders, receipts, etc would be drastically improved as a file server could be emplaced for ease of access. Providing you have the funds to invest in the highly priced equipment, the option of setting up a network would be beneficial in the long term for the business especially in major growth happens which can be foresaw with the increasing mass of technology used. You could use the internet research competitors prices, to offer your customer the best quality service available and even start trading online using e-commerce. Make sure sufficient antivirus software is in place to protect from the risk of hackers or viruses; this may cost extra money, as it needs to be updated. The ICT department may need to consider employing highly qualified employees to run and maintain the network to make sure its operational on a day to day basis. So the options are to keep the 5 standalone machines and be faced with the disadvantages of them, or set up a network of computers and experience the change.

Theories of Management in Small Businesses

Theories of Management in Small Businesses A Stationery Business Small businesses nowadays find it very hard to survive. Everyone is forced to embrace new changes in the environment he lives in due to global economy. Individuals in the work place are the basis of the performance of an organization, especially with the knowledge they bring along. In todays society, organizations are expected to provide the best quality available. This is where management takes place. Managers ensure the workers are using their energy to the maximum by supporting them, and also monitoring the environment to make sure the organization is maximizing its performance (Porter 1998). Management is made up of four parts which are planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Managers in the modern world must gain human and technical skills to succeed in the business world, as they must take risky decisions at some point. This essay talks about the four topics of management: workplace, management history, organization environment, and international organization. The essay also talks about a business idea to be formed at the UWA business school where it will use the different points. To take advantage of the workers, employers should help them by providing a relaxing work environment which respects work-life balance and which offers rewards. Nowadays, work requirements changed. They require employees have a set of skills in order to gain value in an organization( Evans 2015) . In addition, individuals in an organization must learn new technology skills, because nowadays, the internet is modifying the structure of organizations. For an organization to survive in the competitive world, it must offer quality services to the society which would lead to satisfied customers. This is how the performance of an organization is determined. The manager reviews the performance of an organization and makes decisions and certain changes so that the organization functions as planned and to reach the desired vision. To achieve that, the management process must be applied. It is made up of 4 steps (Cheng 2010). The first step is planning, where the manager states the goals that n eed to be reached. The second step is controlling which is done by monitoring the performance of the organization and comparing it to the results. The third step is organizing by allocating resources and giving roles to employees and groups. The last step is leading. Managers encourage the workers to do their best so that goals can be reached. Despite the fact that businesses are obliged to adapt to the new changing environments, managements history must not be ignored. Management can be approached in many ways that have evolved over time (Kilmann 1986).   Classical approach notes that universal work ethics are used in various states of management. The behavioural approach concludes that the worker is an important asset of the organization and plays a vital role in its performance, that is why, workers are given rewards and easy work schedules. The third approach is quantitative and it relies on math and complex calculations such as mathematical forecasting to take final decisions. The modern approach is the latest one and it states that organizations must adapt to the constant change of the environment and peoples needs. In the modern worlds, organizations need to be ahead of the game, monitoring any changes in the environment and to act immediately (Spicer 2011). That is why organizations must have a clear vision of its goals in order to succeed in a competitive world. Organizations have internal and external environments. Internal environments form the culture inside the organization which shapes its personality and how the people inside interact with each other. The external environment focuses on the external variables that directly affect the organization, such as the customers, or economy or laws governing the country (Borrello 2015). Organizations who embrace a robust culture inside   perform much better than others because its workers respect each other and the business ensures everyone is equal. Everyone is paid the same and treated the same regardless of their race and cultural differences. International management was found when organizations were created in different countries around the world (Ohmae 1996). The global manager is aware of every organization and its environment. However, the international business is affected by the global economy since countries and economies have become interdependent. Organizations who are willing to become international, must acquire skills related to export and import, in addition to sourcing (Kramar 2001). I have decided to open a stationery in the UWA Business school. The reason for this is because students do not have enough time to go outside the campus and purchase their stationery needs. In addition, students will always need to buy books, copybooks and other study material. This will save time and will provide low prices to students with a Student ID. The stationery will provide new technologies such as wireless printing and digital printing cards so that students can print before even coming to the store, thus, saving more time. Employees will be university students who are passionate about helping other students with their research or materials of study. That is why the workers at my business will be given routine trainings to ensure they gain new skills. They will be given rewards for helping more students, and a flexible work schedule to study at the university and work at the same time. The performance of the business will be monitored and changes will be done based on the o utcome. Changes can be introducing new services such as graphic design services and even coupons which offer cheaper prices. In conclusion, the performance of an organization is determined by different managerial processes. Customers expect businesses to always provide perfect quality of product or service. However, this can be fulfilled only if the organization takes care of its people and supports their talents. Managers must ensure that employees are learning new skills especially in the technology field since the internet has changed the equations and everything has become connected together. Managers role is to set a clear vision for the organization and to monitor the results of a certain plan, then compare the results with the performance in order to perform the necessary changes within an organization. References Michael E. Porter, The Competitive Advantage of Nations: With a New Introduction (New York: Free Press, 1998). Simon Evans, Blackmores to Give Six Weeks Bonus Pay for 900 Staff After Pro t Surge, The Sydney Morning Herald à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨(26 August 2015), www.smh.com.au. V. Cheng, J. Rhodes and P. Lok, A Framework for Strategic Decision Making and Performance Among Chinese Managers, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨The International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 21, no. 9 (2010), pp. 1373-95. Ralph H. Kilmann, Mary J. Saxton and Roy Serpa, Issues in Understanding and Changing Corporate Culture, California à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Management Review, vol. 28 (1986), pp. 87-94 David P. Spicer, Changing culture: A Case Study of a Merger Using à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Cognitive Mapping, Journal of Change Management, vol. 11, no. 2 (2011), pp. 245-64. Eliza Borrello, China FTA: Labor Agrees to Support Free Trade Deal; Says New Agreement Secures Protections for Workers, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨ABC News (21 October 2015), www.abc.net.au/news. Kenichi Ohmaes books include The Borderless World: Power and Strategy in the Interlinked Economy (New York: Harper, 1989); The End of the Nation State (New York: Free Press, 1996) Robin Kramar, Managing Diversity: Challenges and Future Directions, in Retha Wiesner and Bruce Millett (eds), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Management and Organisational Behaviour: Contemporary Challenges and Future Directions (Brisbane: John Wiley à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Sons, 2001).

Finance and Accounting in the Hospitality Industry

Finance and Accounting in the Hospitality Industry Introduction. According to the Barrows Powers (2009, pp. 3-5) hospitality industry has included hotels , restaurants and other related organisations to the food industry and it has given more emphasis on providing customer sensitive products and services in order to gain profitability and customer satisfaction. Hence, the application of finance and accounting has been done a great deal to achieve such requirements for the hospitality industry. The applications of finance in the hospitality industry has been discussed under several ways of this assignment. Further it has focused to understand the sources of funding and income generation for the business and services industries as well as understand the business in terms of the element of cost. In addition that it has given more intention to evaluate the financial statements of the selected businesses which are in the hospitality industry. Apart from that, this has emphasise the analysis of the performance of the business by using ratio analysis techniques. Finally it has focused to apply the marginal costing concept to evaluate the short term management decisions. Task 01. 01.1 Sources of funding available to business and service industries. Sources of funds are very important to decide management decisions as well as long term strategies of any organisation. As per the Sharan (2005, pp. 210-218) following funding methods should be noted. Retain Profits. Increasing the revenue and reducing the cost this can be increased in a systematic manner. Bank Loans. It is advisable to go for a loan under lower interest rate. Because if the loan interest rate is higher than the companys return on investment, then it will cause liquidity problems in the future. Bank Overdraft facility This is subject to higher interest rate and recommended only for a limited time period. Issuing share to the public Ordinary shares less cost to the organisation but more power has been given to them. But preference share has less controls over the company but subject to a higher cost to the organisation since they have to pay pre-determined dividends on time. Franchise option. This is recommended to expand the business chain with an association with medium scale merchants to promote companys products and goodwill. Hire purchase schemes This also important to manage the cash flow situations of the organisation without investing higher capital for equipments plants. Lease Schemes This also important if the company have not greater funds to invest for their assets. But this is subject to higher interest cost. Credit purchases This is important to manage the working capital position of the organisation . Since agreement with many suppliers can be obtained credit period to pay the cost of goods purchased. Debt Factoring This important to get the cash in early by giving commission chargers to the factoring company to collect their debts very quickly. Sponsorship This is ideal by collecting funds from other organisations and giving chance to promote their names. As per the Banjerjee (2010, pp. 47-58) following funding options also to be considerable. Debenture issue to investors Right issues to shareholders Business Amalgamation Mortgages Venture capital strategies to expand the operations. 01.2 Methods of generating income and contribution to business service operations. According to the Hayes Miller (2011, pp. 5-20) generating income and contribution to the hospitality industry can be identified in following way. Sales In the case of hospitality industry is concerned such as hotels, are providing rooms, foods, beverages and other supportive services in order to generate income from that. Commission. This commission income will be received from the third party supplier to the organisation. Sponsorship This will be received from other organisations to promote their names. Grants Grants are receiving from the government , any other authority. Sub letting This can be generated by sub letting the premises to external parties, such as fancy item shops , flower shops , jeweler shops, etc. Task 02. 02.1 Elements of costs, gross profit and selling prices for products services. Element of Costs According to the Davis Davis (2012, pp. 25-34 ), followings can be identified as the elements of cost in the hospitality industry. Materials Material cost is the cost component in the final product or services which incurred mainly to provide particular products and services. Eg : Linen , Cutlery, Glassware , China , Silverware, Consumables Consumables are the main cost component in the final products in the hospitality industry. This requires further processing to deliver the final product to the customers. Eg : Foods and Beverages Labour Labour cost is the cost which are incurred for the main operating functions of providing final product or services of the organisation. Eg : Salary paid to waiters, kitchen staff front office staff Overheads Overheads are costs which incurred for indirect materials , indirect labour and other indirect cost. These costs cannot be identified specifically with the final product or service. Eg : Salary of admin department, electricity, stationery Selling Price and Gross Profit Margin According to the Kotas R. (1999 , pp 99-107) pricing methods used by the hospitality industry can be identified as follows. Pricing in Tourism ( Peak / Peak off trading price ) Selling price on peak seasons prepared by adding a higher markup to the operational cost as selling price. While in peak off seasons it is adjusting by reducing mark up and offering discounts for the selling price while concerning the competition in the market. Conventional Pricing Method. ( Rate of return pricing ) Here, it is emphasised that setting separate contribution margins to the different revenue segments ( such as foods, beverages, room, other operational segments ). After that it has to select the profit maximising contribution rate. Finally, the selling price will be based on the selected profit maximising sales mix. Gross Profit will be computed by deducting cost of sales from sales. Absorption Pricing Method Here, variable cost per unit has to be computed first and after that overhead cost to be absorbed to the unit cost. Finally markup to be added to the total cost to set as the selling price in order to gain required profit. Contribution Pricing Method. ( Marginal Costing) It is required to categorise the cost as variable fixed. Then the variable cost per unit has to be computed and based on the variable cost per unit, required contribution to be decided to arrive selling price. There is no absorption of overheads and fixed cost to the unit cost of the product. The Gross profit margin will compute after deducting the variable cost of the sales. Backward Pricing Method. This is a method of adjusting the operating cost to a fixed rate. In this case local or national trade organisations has decided fixed selling price and other members have to be accepted this price . Once they need to change this rate, meet again and decide the new price. Product and Service Costing. Selling price decided by adding a predetermined percentage of service charge to the unit cost, after adding the profit mark up to the unit cost. 02.2 Methods of controlling stocks and cash in a business services environment. Stock Controls Proper stock controlling is the way to smooth functioning of daily operations working capital management in an organisation. According to the Ryan B. (2004, pp: 355-361) following inventory controls are recommended. Compute economic order quantity level and re order level of the inventory. Required to avoid the unnecessary stock purchases . Create Just in Time inventory management system. Hospitality industry, mostly dealt with the perishable goods (foods beverages). Therefore it is ideal to maintain a JIT inventory system to eliminate the wastages, losses, and inventory handling cost. Implementation of ERP software programme for the inventory management. This ensures the updated accurate information linkage within the organisation to take proper inventory related decision on time. In other hand Warren et al (2008, pp: 270 271) emphasise important two controls over inventories. Safeguarding the stock from damage and theft. By restricting the store area only to authorised staff members, and it encourages to lock the high value items in a locker while usage of a camera system and security. Reporting the stocks in the financial statements. It is required to conduct a physical stock count at the year end and take the figures into accounts, while identifying any mismatch between system physical figures. Cash Controls Holding considerable cash amount is encouraged to conduct smooth functioning of working capital management. According to the Needles and Powers ( 2011, pp: 399 403) there should be following controls over the cash. Implementation of dual control over the cash. It is important to give authorisation for two persons to verify handle the cash balances to eliminate the cash thefts or manipulations. Preparation of bank reconciliations. Required to identify the reasons for the differences in cash book figure with bank statement balance. Conduct a physical cash count in random basis. This will help to minimise the misconduct by the staff who has handled the cash. Task 03. 03.1 Final accounts analysis of Valentina Hotel Ltd. 03.1.1 Source and structure of the trial balance. Sources of the trial balance are concerned, Kotas and Conlan ( 2007, pp. 101-115) it has been categorised under three ledgers , namely general ledger, sales ledger and the purchase ledger. Purchased ledger consists the personal accounts of suppliers (Creditors). Sales ledger relates to personal accounts of customers (Debtors). While general ledger consists impersonal accounts. Such as nominal accounts and real accounts. Nominal accounts refer to income and expense accounts. While real accounts refer to the assets and equity accounts. The structure of the trial balance is concerned , Jagels (2007, pp. 20-21) it has been categorised under the following way. Current Assets Fixed Assets Contra Assets Current Liability Long Term Liability Owners Capital Contra Capital Contra Revenue Revenue Expenses Therefore the trial balance consists of accounts which having debit credit balances and which all of them are summed up at the end. The trial balance of Valentina Hotel Ltd can be summarised as follows. Current Assets Bank / Cash / Debtors Fixed Assets Contra Assets Building / Equipment / Acc. Depreciation Current Liability Creditors Long Term Liability Long term bank loan / Debentures Owners Capital Ordinary share capital / Retained Profit Contra Revenue Opening Stock Revenue Sales Expenses Salaries / Loan interest / Marketing / Energy / Communication / Rates Insurance / Purchases 03.1.2 Evaluation of final accounts 03.1.2.1 Income Statement. Income Statement of Valentina Hotel Ltd for the year ended 28th February 2010.  £ 000  £000 Sales 2, 040 Less: Cost of Sales Inventory (01/03/2009) 49 Purchases 1, 360 1,409 Less: Inventory ( 28/02/2010) (51) (1,358) Gross Profit 682 Admin Operating Expenses Business rates insurance ( 67 3) 64 Wages salary (262 + 5) 267 Depreciation ( 250 * 25%) 62.5 Communication expenses 36 Energy Cost 49 (478.5) Selling Distribution Expenses Marketing 79 (79) Finance Expenses Debenture interest (200 *6%) 12 Loan interest 4 (16) Profit Before Taxation ( PBT) 108.5 Less: Income Tax (39) Profit After Taxation (PAT) 69.5 Less: Dividend declared ( 100*0.15 ) (15) Retain profit for the period 54.5 03.1.2.1 Balance Sheet. Position Statement of Valentina Hotel Ltd as at 28th February 2010. Assets  £ 000  £ 000  £000 Non Current Assets Cost Acc. Dep. NBV Buildings 400 400 Equipments 250 112.5 137.5 650 112.5 537.5 Current Assets Inventory (28 / 02 / 2010) 51 Debtors 92 Pre -paid Insurance 3 Bank 3 Cash 1 150 Total Assets 687.5 Equity Liability Equity Reserve Stated Capital (  £1 Ordinary shares) 100 Reserves Retained Earnings ( 157 + 54.5 ) 211.5 311.5 Non Current Liabilities 6% Debentures 200 Long Term Bank Loans 60 260 Current Liability Creditors 45 Wages salary payable 5 Debenture interest payable 12 Income tax payable 39 Dividend payable 15 116 Total Equity Liabilities 687.5 03.2 Budget and variance analysis of Valentina Hotel Ltd. 03.2.1 Process and purpose of budgetary controls. According to the Needles et al (2010, pp. 966) budgetary control is the use of a comprehensive system of budgeting to aid the management in carrying out its function such as planning , coordination and controls. Purpose of Budgetary Controls. The purpose of budgetary controls can be recognised, according to the Kotas R. (1999, pp. 177-180) in following manner. Achieving business targets. Delegating responsibilities to the staff. Optimum resource utilisation. To take corrective actions. Well coordination of work. As a basis of future policy Use as a basis of performance measurement Process of Budgetary Controls According to the Needles et al (2010, pp. 966-969) budgetary control process can be identified as follows. Period of Budget. This may be one year or sometimes it can be continuous from previous time to next time. Approach of Budget. Selecting a suitable method to use a budget. Such as zero based budgeting . Implementation of Budget. Implementation should be done after preparing approving the budget for the period. Performance Measurement. Measure the actual performance with budget during the budgetary period. Identification of differences in actual with budgeted performance. By conducting a variance analysis. Take corrective action. Corrective procedures required to produce the performances which are closer to the budgeted performance. 03.2.2 Variance analysis. Computation of RM Variances Raw Material Total Variance = Standard Cost Actual Cost = ( 10,000* $ 10) $ 98, 600 = $ 1,400 F / + Raw Material Price Variance = Qty. Used ( Standard Price Actual Price ) = ( 11,700 * $ 10 ) $ 98,600 = $ 18,400 F / + Raw Material Usage Variance = Std. Price ( Standard Usage Actual Usage ) = $ 10 ( (10* 1,000) 11,700 ) = $ 17,000 (A) / Analysis of variances It has shown $ 1,400 favourable total raw material variance from the budgeted figures. It indicates that actual material cost is less than the budgeted material cost and it is in the, within the controls. Further there is a $ 18,400 favourable raw material price variance from the budgeted figures. This indicates that the actual price is less than the budgeted price. However it has $ 17,000 adverse raw material usage variance from the budgeted figures. This means, RM usage are in out of the controls. Suggestions for appropriate future management actions Take corrective actions to eliminate the over usage of RM. Setting new procedures to reduce the wastage of RM. Implement new controls to monitor the RM usages. Check whether such variance is controllable or not. If it is controllable, then corrective action to be taken. If not a revision of standards is recommended. Task 04. 04.1 Ratio analysis of Audalucia Hotel. Profitability Ratio Gross Profit Ratio of the company has been declined by 15.14% ( Appendix A) compared to the 18.33 % of this year with 21.60 % of last year. Net Profit Ratio also declined by 30.56% ( Appendix A) compared to the 3.59 % of this year with 5.17 % of last year. Apart from that Return On Capital Employed (ROCE) also decreased by 31.73% ( Appendix A) compared to the 8.24 % of this year with 12.07 % of last year. This incurred due to increase in expenses cost of sales. Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio of the company has been increased by 0. 52 times ( Appendix A) compared to the 3.68 : 1 of this year with 3.16 : 1 of last year. Quick Ratio decreased by 0. 50 times ( Appendix A) comparisons to the 2.43 : 1of this year with 2.93 : 1 of last year. This incurred due to over fund usage on closing stock. Efficiency Ratios Inventory Turnover Ratio of the company has been decreased by 36.25 times ( Appendix A) compared to the 17.37 times of this year with 53.62 times of last year. Inventory Turnover Period has been increased by 14 days ( Appendix A) compared to the 21 days of this year with 7 days of last year. Debtors Turnover Period has been decreased by 7 days ( Appendix A) compared to the 39 days of this year with 46 days of last year. Creditors Turnover Period has been decreased by 5 days ( Appendix A) compared to the 25 days of this year with 30 days of last year. This incurred due to over fund utilisation on stock, increase of debtors creditors. Investors / Financial Ratios Earnings Per Share (EPS) of the company has been decreased by  £ 0.21 ( Appendix A) compared to  £ 0.25of this year with  £ 0.46 of last year. This has incurred due to low profit earned during the period and new share issue. 04.2 Appropriate future management strategies for business and service operation. Following strategies to be taken by the management to eliminate the discrepancies identified in the ratio analysis. Reducing the selling price volume of sale should be increased to gain higher revenue. Unnecessary fund utilisation on the stock should be reduced. The JIT stock system to be implemented to minimise the stock handling cost. Take necessary steps to reduce the expenses in regularly. Negotiate with suppliers to obtain longer credit period while asking lower credit period to the customers. Follow proper cash flow management procedure within the organisation. Implement new procedures to attract the customers to the company to increase the sales while conducting discounts promotions. Non Current Asset should have used in very efficient effective manner to generate income from it. Task 05. 05.1 Categorisation of costs of Leicester Square Hotel. Fixed Cost As per the Horngren et al (2009, pp: 28-29) fixed cost is the cost which remained unchanged in total for a given period regardless of changes in volume or activity. Eg : Fixed Cost of the hotel operation  £ 1,600,000 Variable Cost According to the Drury ( 2008, pp. 32-34) variable cost is the cost which changes in direct proportion to the volume of the activity. Eg : VC of Food sales per room  £ 7 VC of Beverage sales per room  £ 2.4 Semi Variable Cost According to the Kinney Raiborn ( 2011, pp. 28-29) semi- variable cost is the cost which consists both fixed and variable components for a given activity. It remains as fixed up to a certain level and beyond that it will be variable based on the volume or activity. Eg : Variable Cost per occupied room  £ 15 VC of Minor operations departments per room  £ 1.2 05.2 Cost / Profit / Volume analysis of Leicester Square Hotel. Computation of Contribution per product / customer ( in  £ ) Description Room Foods Beverages Minor Dept. Total Selling Price 120 20 8 2 150 Variable Cost (Appendix B) (15) (7) (2.4) (1.2) (25.6) Contribution 105 13 5.6 0.8 124.4 (Per product/customer) Net Profit Computation ( in  £ ) Sales ( 150 * 100 * 365) = 5, 475,000 Less : Variable Cost (25.6 * 100 * 365) = ( 943,400 ) Contribution (124.4 *100* 365 ) = 4, 540,600 Less : Fixed Cost = ( 1,600,000 ) Net Profit = 2,940,600 Break Even Point Computation BEP ( in units ) = Fixed Cost Contribution per customer = 1,600,000 124.4 = 12,861.74 ÃŽÂ © 12, 862 ( Customers ) BEP ( in  £ ) = BEP ( in units ) * Selling Price = 12,862 * 150 = 1,929,300 Cost -Volume -Profit Relationship Value (  £ 000 ) TR Total Revenue ( £ 5,475 ) ( £5,475) Profit ( £ 2,940.6) Profit BEP BEP ( £1,929) VC ( £ 934.4) Loss FC ( £ 1,600 ) (Customers ) 0 BEP ( 12,862 ) (36,500) According to the Blocher et al (2006, pp 238-241) Cost-Volume -Profit analysis is the method of analysing how operating decision and marketing decision affects the net income based on the relationship between cost ( VC FC), volume (output level ) and selling price. The hotel is required to sell 12,862 rooms to the customers to achieve breakeven point of sales. According to the Hansen et al ( 2009, pp. 591-595) Breakeven point is the level at which revenue is equal to the total cost and the profit is zero. Since they can obtain  £ 1,929,300 revenue to cover the total cost and beyond that they can earn profit from every additional customers. If the hotel unable to achieve 12,862 customers per annum, they have to suffer with losses. The Hotel can earn contribution of  £ 124.4 from every customer and if they achieve the expected sales level of 36,500 customers , they can achieve  £ 2,940,600 profit for the period. 05.3 Justification of short term management decisions based on CPV analysis. Margin of Safety ( in units ) = Expected Customers BEP Customers = ( 365 * 100) 12,862 = 36,500 12,862 = 23,638 Margin of Safety ( in  £ ) = Margin of Safety ( in units ) * SP = 23,638 * 150 = 3,545,700 Degree of Operating Leverage = Contribution Margin Net Profit = 4,540,600 2,940,600 = 1. 54 ( low risk ) According to the Blocher et al (2006, pp 249-252) margin of safety is the amount or units of sale above the sales. In that case hotel can generate  £ 3,545,700 turnover by 23, 638 customers. It indicates that this hotel investment is worth. As per the Hansen et al ( 2009, pp. 597-598) degree of operating leverage is the ratio of contribution to the profitability. In this case, it shows a lower leverage of 1.54 since it generates lower risk to the future profitability of the hotel. Therefore it is justifiable that management has been taken an optimized and a worth decision regarding this investment. Conclusion. According to the given cases of this assignment is concerned it is clear that practical application of theories in hospitality management is really essential in order to obtain proper decisions to improve the profitability, avoid control deficiencies and smooth functioning of routine operation of the business. References. Book References Banjerjee, B. (2010), Financial policy and Management Accounting, 7 th ed. Prentice Hall Ltd, pp. 47-58. Barrows, C. W. Powers, T. (2009), Introduction to the hospitality Industry, 7 th ed. John Wiley Sons Inc., pp. 3-5. Blocher, E.J., Chen, D., Cokins, S Lin, F. (2006), Cost Management : a strategic emphasis, 3 rd ed. Tata Mc Grow Hall, pp. 238-252. Davis, C. E. Davis, E. (2012), Managerial Accounting, John Wiley Sons Inc., pp. 25-34. Drury, C. (2008), Management and Cost Accounting, 7 th ed. Cengage Learnings, pp. 32-34 Hansen, D. R., Mowen, M. M. Guan, I. (2009), Cost Management : accounting control, 6 th ed. Cengage Learnings, pp. 591-598. Hayes, D. K. Miller, A. (2011), Revenue Management for the Hospitality Industry, John Wiley Sons Inc., pp. 5-20. Horngren, C. T., Datar, S. M., Foster, G., Rajan, M. V. Ittner, C. (2009), Cost Accounting : a managerial emphasis, 13 th ed. Pearson Prentis Hall Ltd, pp. 28-29. Jagels, M. G. (2007), Hospitality Management Accounting, 9 th ed. John Wiley Sons Inc., pp. 20-21. Kinney, M. R. Raiborn, C. A. ( 2011), Cost Accounting : foundations evolutions, 9 th ed. Cengage Learnings, pp. 28-29. Kotas, R. Conlan, M. (2007), Hospitality Accounting, 5 th ed. Thomson Learning, pp. 101-115. Kotas, R. (1999), Management Accounting in Hospitality Tourism, 3 rd ed. Thomson Learning, pp. 99-180. Needles, B. E., Powers, M. Crosson, S. V. (2010), Financial and Managerial Accounting, 9 th ed. Cengage Learnings, pp. 966-969. Needles, B. E. Powers, M. (2011), Principals of Financial Accounting, 11 th ed. Cengage Learnings, pp. 399- 403. Ryan, B. (2004), Finance and Accounting for Business, Thomson One Business School, pp. 355- 391. Sharan, V. (2005), Fundamentals of Financial Management, 2 nd ed. Pearson Educations Ltd, pp. 210-218. Warren, C. S., Reeve, J. E. Duchac, J. E. (2009), Financial Management Accounting, 11 th ed. Cengage Learnings, pp. 270-271. Web References Accounting Ratio Analysis , [online], Available from: http://http://www.ratioanalysis.net [ Accessed on 25th November 2012 ]. Industry Information, [online], Available from: http://http://www.instituteofhospitality.org/info_services [ Accessed on 25th November 2012 ]. Hospitality Industry News, [online] , Available from: http://www.bha.org.uk/category/news [ Accessed on 24 th November 2012 ]. Bibliography. Brigham, E. F. Houston, J. F. (2009), Fundamentals of Financial Management, 11 th ed. Thomson One Business School, pp. 512-525. Jain, P. K. Khan, M. Y. ( 2008), Management Accounting, 4 th ed. Tata Mc Grow Hall, pp. 18-19. Maher, M. W., Stickney, C. P. Weil, R. L. (2008), Managerial Accounting : an introduction to concepts, methods and uses, 11 th ed. Cengage Learnings, pp. 138-147. OFallon, M. J. Rutherford, D. G. (2011), Hotel Management and Operations, 5 th ed. John Wiley Sons Inc., pp. 1-18. Weil, R. L. Maher, M. W. (2005), Hand Book of Cost management, 2 nd ed. John Wiley Sons Inc., pp. 539-548. Weygant, J. J., Kieeso, D. E., Kimmel, P. D. Franco, A. L. D. ( 2009), Hospitality Financial Accounting, 2 nd ed. John Wiley Sons Inc., pp. 260-280.

Mythology: Dionysus And Semele :: essays research papers

Mythology: Dionysus And Semele   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Semele was the daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, king and queen of Thebes, and the mother of Dionysus, god of wine. Zeus fell madly in love with her and made an oath to do anything that she asked. Hera, the jealous wife of Zeus,realized Zeus was in love with Semele and tricked Semele into asking Zeus to let her see him in his majesty. Bound by an oath, Zeus appeared before the unfortunate woman in all his divine glory. (Morford-Lenardon 187) As she looked at him, she was consumed by the lightening bolts and light that radiated from him. Zeus was able to rescue her unborn child, Dionysus, and hid him in his side until it was ready to be born.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Hermes carried Dionysus to be cared for by the nymphs of Nysa-the loveliest of earth's valleys.(Hamilton 65) When Dionysus had grown up, he wandered to many far and strange places. Everywhere he went he taught men the culture of the vine and mysteries of his worship and everywhere he had been, he was accepted as a god.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dionysus went to Thebes to establish his worship, since that was his mother's city. He was accompanied by the Maenads. Pentheus, the King of Thebes, was not happy with the behavior of this group of strangers. He ordered his soldiers to imprison the visitors, but he had no idea that Dionysus was a new god.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The soldiers tried to imprison the maidens but said that the doors unbarred themselves. Pentheus was furious. He ordered his soldiers to imprison Dionysus but the prison could not hold him. Dionysis tried to show that the wonders of this new worship of a new and great god was divine but when Pentheus only heaped insults and threats upon him, Dionysus left him to his doom.(Hamilton 71)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Pentheus went to pursue the maidens that had escaped his prison, many Theban women joined him, and that is when Dionysis made them mad and they thought Pentheus was a wild beast and tore him apart.That is when Pentheus realized that he had fought with a god and must now pay with his life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some time during his wanderings, Dionysus came upon the princess of Crete, Ariadne, when she was utterly desolate, having been abandoned on the shore of the island of Naxos by the Athenian prince, Theseus, whose life she had saved. (Hamilton 67) Dionysus rescued her and later fell in love with her. When she died, Dionysus took her crown and put it among the stars.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His mother, Semele, whom he had never seen, was not forgotten.

Ways To Lead Healthy Lifestyle :: Health, Exercise

One way to lead a healthy lifestyle is by doing exercise regularly. When do an exercise, our body will be fresh. The example of exercise that we can do is by jogging. To get a healthy lifestyle, we need to jog at lease thirty to sixty minutes every three times a week (Miksak, 2008). Jogging can increase our metabolism and burns some calories, so that loss weight can be attainable. Beside that, by trying to jog each day, speed walking the next, or hitting up at the local gym and see what fun classes are offered, perhaps a comforting yoga class or an intense cycle class can also increase our metabolism and burns some calories (Miksak, 2008). Other than that, by leading a good stamina it can develop our capability to work throughout the day and the same can help to lead an eneretic life. Besides jogging, we can swim at lake, sea, river or pool as the cause of water is the same. Beside that, swimming is suitable for everyone especially who are obese, pregnent, and people with leg or low er back problems. Another ways, we also must taking a good eating habit in our daily life such as taking a balance diet and drinking water at least eight glass per days. By taking a balanced diet, we can decrease some of risk of our health like heart attack and stroke (Miksak, 2008). The example of healthy balanced diet are consisted of food high in lean protein, like fish, chicken, eggs beans and dairy products. Fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and mineral such as calcium, iron, and potassium are also significant to our balanced diet (Miksak, 2008). According to Miksak (2008), Avacados are also good for our skin and hair. Other than that, by eating extra virgin omega 3 fatty can also produce a healthy fats which is can foundd in fish like salmon. Futhermore, by drinking more water, it can reduce toxin and excess bloating (Homan, 2010). Besides that, water will make our body always hydrate to work more effectively (Homan, 2010). By drinking water regularly, nutrients and oxygen can be transfer into cel ls and can regulate our body temperature. The other way to lead us to a healthy lifestyle is by getting enough sleep. According to Miksak (2008), as normal human beings, we must sleep at least eight hours per day. Sleeping is one of the important aspects to lead us to get a healthy lifestyle (Miksak, 2008).

Spinning a Treacherous Web in Shakespeares Othello :: GCSE English Literature Coursework

Spinning a Treacherous Web in Othello Like every Shakespearean tragedy there is often an untimely doom that ends the life of the "hero" or main character of the play. The main character’s doom only becomes the outcome when they are unable to better the wrongs they or others had committed. However, in this Shakespearean tragedy the person who drives the participants of this play to their doom, isn’t the main character Othello, but Iago, the motiveless character whose jealousy and rage drives him to commit crimes towards the people who believed him and considered him a trusting friend. Iago understood human characteristics, which allowed him to get to the root of people's problems. In Othello he saw innocence, and love; in Desdemona he saw purity and kindness; and in Cassio he saw a perfectionist. Iago lacked all of these features and so in order to end the happiness of all the characters, he decided to hit them where it hurt the most. In doing so he used Desdemona as a tool, because she was the object of everyone's desire. Iago is a spider-like creature who in order to quench his hunger, entangles all of these characters into his skillfully crafted web that slowly and unknowingly drives them to their doom. To better understand Iago’s effect on these different characters, it is important to look in to his own character. Iago’s motives are not clear, however, it is true that he despises Othello, and that he is jealous of the fact that Michael Cassio had taken over the role of lieutenant; a role that Iago wanted very badly. It is in the beginning of the play that Iago confesses to follow Othello but not be loyal to him, I follow him to serve my turn upon him†¦ Were I the Moor I would not be Iago. In following him, I follow but myself- Heaven is my judge, not I for love and duty, But seeming so for my peculiar end. For when my outward action doth demonstrate The native act and figure of my heart In compliment extern, ‘tis not long after But I will wear my heart upon my sleeve For daws to peck at. I am not what I am. (1.1 43-67) Iago is without any apparent feelings or remorse towards any of the other characters.

Gun Control Essay

America is the most well armed nation in the world, with American citizens owning about 270 million of the world’s 875 million firearms (MacInnis). Indeed, this is more than a quarter of the world’s registered firearms. The reason why Americans own so many guns is because of the Second Amendment, which states, â€Å"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. † (Rauch) This amendment guarantees U. S. citizens the right to have firearms. Since this amendment is relatively vague, it is up for nterpretation, and is often used by gun advocates to argue for lenient gun laws. Hence, gun control is a frequently discussed controversial topic in American politics. â€Å"A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. † The right for of all Americans to bear arms is a r ight even the Founding Fathers held to equal importance as the Constitution itself. Whether or not gun control laws work, the fact of the matter is that these kind of laws directly violate this right and therefore should not even be under consideration. Even if that issue is overlooked, gun control advocates state that in order to reduce firearm related violence, gun control laws must be implemented to remove the violence caused by firearms. the US have used firearms to protect the nation, protect their families, to hunt for food and to engage in sporting activities – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – If I were to write a paper on gun control I would have to say that finding the information on the topic was very readily available. The Internet is A fairly reliable means of obtaining important and accurate information. There were also numerous books dedicated to the Issue of Gun Control. I could write a number of papers with the information I collected. Such as Different form of gun control, why gun control works, and Why should we Fight Gun Control. I could easily write a paper in support of Gun control but on the same note I could write a paper against gun control. I would start any of the papers with statistics that I collected. The information they provide paints a pretty good picture of the Basis for the need Of Gun Control. The same statistic can work against Gun control. Depending on the way that the information is analyzed the sword could swing both ways. Many of the statistics showed a decrease in gun crimes after Guns were let loose among Common Citizen; yet, at the same time more guns get stolen and then used in violent crimes. So the common Idea is that the more guns the more gun crimes. Not always, In places Like Amsterdam, were Gun Control is at its strongest, gun crimes are still the most common. More guns can mean more crime. It depends greatly on the location of the weapons. The Next step would be to show the benefits of gun control, and the declines of gun control. The natural benefits of gun control are very obvious and very unpredictable. The reasons why they are unpredictable is because in some cases less guns mean less crime, but sometimes the more guns the less crimes. But the Obvious benefit is that it keeps gun away from people that wouldn’t have any way to buy the gun. If you can’t buy a gun then you don’t need a gun. But I can also say that Heavy Gun Control is a constitional treat to Americans. In Most incedents were the Government kills people the people have been under heavy gun control. A big point with many people is â€Å"if they outlaw guns the only ones with guns would be the outlaws. The Government knows that they can not stop people from having guns, but they try to slow it down. After all this I would have to move to my theory about a solution. Gun Control is important, but it isn’t necessary to stop people from owning gun. People have the right to own guns and should have the right to own a side arm. Guns are great tools when used by some one that know, and respects the power possessed by that gun. If we took less time from stopping people from owning a weapon, and spent more time educating people about guns then they might respect them. Guns don’t Kill people, people kill people with guns, that’s how it works. No body has to die. No minors or the mentally ill should not handle firearms except under very careful supervision. People who have been convicted of violent crimes should not purchase or carry a firearm. Unfortunately, criminals do not need to purchase their firearms in gun stores nor do they tend to feel the need to register them. We just need to screen people and try and take guns off the street.

Second Foundation 11. Stowaway

It was a little over a month before the summer could be said to have started. Started, that is, to the extent that Homir Munn had written his final financial report of the fiscal year, seen to it that the substitute librarian supplied by the Government was sufficiently aware of the subtleties of the post – last year's man had been quite unsatisfactory – and arranged to have his little cruiser the Unimara – named after a tender and mysterious episode of twenty years past – taken out of its winter cobwebbery. He left Terminus in a sullen distemper. No one was at the port to see him off. That would not have been natural since no one ever had in the past. He knew very well that it was important to have this trip in no way different from any he had made in the past, yet he felt drenched in a vague resentment. He, Homir Munn, was risking his neck in derring-doery of the most outrageous sort, and yet he left alone. At least, so he thought. And it was because he thought wrongly, that the following day was one of confusion, both on the Unimara and in Dr. Darell's suburban home. It hit Dr. Darell's home first, in point of time, through the medium of Poli, the maid, whose month's vacation was now quite a thing of the past. She flew down the stairs in a flurry and stutter. The good doctor met her and she tried vainly to put emotion into words but ended by thrusting a sheet of paper and a cubical object at him. He took them unwillingly and said: â€Å"What's wrong, Poli?† â€Å"She's gone, doctor.† â€Å"Who's gone?† â€Å"Arcadia!† â€Å"What do you mean, gone? Gone where? What are you talking about?† And she stamped her foot: ‘I don't know. She's gone, and there's a suitcase and some clothes gone with her and there's that letter. Why don't you read it, instead of just standing there? Oh, you men!† Dr. Darell shrugged and opened the envelope. The letter was not long, and except for the angular signature, â€Å"Arkady,† was in the ornate and flowing handwriting of Arcadia's transcriber. Dear Father: It would have been simply too heartbreaking to say good-by to you in person. I might have cried like a little girl and you would have been ashamed of me. So I'm writing a letter instead to tell you how much I'II miss you, even while I'm having this perfectly wonderful summer vacation with Uncle Homir. I'II take good care of myself and it won't be long before I'm home again. Meanwhile, I'm leaving you something that's all my own. You can have it now. Your loving daughter, Arkady. He read it through several times with an expression that grew blanker each time. He said stiffly, â€Å"Have you read this, Poli?† Poli was instantly on the defensive. â€Å"I certainly can't be blamed for that, doctor. The envelope has ‘Poli' written on the outside, and I had no way of telling there was a letter for you on the inside. I'm no snoop, doctor, and in the years I've been with-â€Å" Darell held up a placating hand, â€Å"Very well, Poli. It's not important. I just wanted to make sure you understood what had happened.† He was considering rapidly. It was no use telling her to forget the matter. With regard to the enemy, â€Å"forget† was a meaningless word; and the advice, insofar as it made the matter more important, would have had an opposite effect. He said instead, â€Å"She's a queer little girl, you know. Very romantic. Ever since we arranged to have her go off on a space trip this summer, she's been quite excited.† â€Å"And just why has no one told me about this space trip?† â€Å"It was arranged while you were away, and we forgot It's nothing more complicated than that.† Poli's original emotions now concentrated themselves into a single, overwhelming indignation, â€Å"Simple, is it? The poor chick has gone off with one suitcase, without a decent stitch of clothes to her, and alone at that. How long will she be away?† â€Å"Now I won't have you worrying about it, Poli. There will be plenty of clothes for her on the ship. It's been all arranged. Will you tell Mr. Anthor, that I want to see him? Oh, and first – is this the object that Arcadia has left for me?† He turned it over in his hand. Poli tossed her head. â€Å"I'm sure I don't know. The letter was on top of it and that's every bit I can tell you. Forget to tell me, indeed. If her mother were alive-â€Å" Darell, waved her away. â€Å"Please call Mr. Anthor.† *** Anthor's viewpoint on the matter differed radically from that of Arcadia's father. He punctuated his initial remarks with clenched fists and tom hair, and from there, passed on to bitterness. â€Å"Great Space, what are you waiting for? What are we both waiting for? Get the spaceport on the viewer and have them contact the Unimara.† â€Å"Softly, Pelleas, she's my daughter.† â€Å"But it's not your Galaxy.† â€Å"Now, wait. She's an intelligent girl, Pelleas, and she's thought this thing out carefully. We had better follow her thoughts while this thing is fresh. Do you know what this thing is?† â€Å"No. Why should it matter what it is?' â€Å"Because it's a sound-receiver.† â€Å"That thing?† â€Å"It's homemade, but it will work. I've tested it. Don't you see? It's her way of telling us that she's been a party to our conversations of policy. She knows where Homir Munn is going and why. She's decided it would be exciting to go along.† â€Å"Oh, Great Space,† groaned the younger man. â€Å"Another mind for the Second Foundation to pick.† â€Å"Except that there's no reason why the Second Foundation should, a priori, suspect a fourteen-year-old girl of being a danger – unless we do anything to attract attention to her, such as calling back a ship out of space for no reason other than to take her off. Do you forget with whom we're dealing? How narrow the margin is that separates us from discovery? How helpless we are thereafter?† â€Å"But we can't have everything depend on an insane child.† She's not insane, and we have no choice. She need not have written the letter, but she did it to keep us from going to the police after a lost child. Her letter suggests that we convert the entire matter into a friendly offer on the part of Munn to take an old friend's daughter off for a short vacation. And why not? He's been my friend for nearly twenty years. He's known her since she was three, when I brought her back from Trantor. It's a perfectIy natural thing, and, in fact, ought to decrease suspicion. A spy does not carry a fourteen-year-old niece about with him.† â€Å"So. And what will Munn do when he finds her?† Dr. Darell heaved his eyebrows once. â€Å"I can't say – but I presume she'll handle him.† But the house was somehow very lonely at night and Dr. Darell found that the fate of the Galaxy made remarkably little difference while his daughter's mad little life was in danger. The excitement on the Unimara, if involving fewer people, was considerably more intense. *** In the luggage compartment, Arcadia found herself, in the first place, aided by experience, and in the second, hampered by the reverse. Thus, she met the initial acceleration with equanimity and the more subtle nausea that accompanied the inside-outness of the first jump through hyperspace with stoicism. Both had been experienced on space hops before, and she was tensed for them. She knew also that luggage compartments were included in the ship's ventilation-system and that they could even be bathed in wall-light. This last, however, she excluded as being too unconscionably unromantic. She remained in the dark, as a conspirator should, breathing very softly, and listening to the little miscellany of noises that surrounded Homir Munn. They were undistinguished noises, the kind made by a man alone. The shuffling of shoes, the rustle of fabric against metal, the soughing of an upholstered chair seat retreating under weight, the sharp click of a control unit, or the soft slap of a palm over a photoelectric cell. Yet, eventually, it was the lack of experience that caught up with Arcadia. In the book films and on the videos, the stowaway seemed to have such an infinite capacity for obscurity. Of course, there was always the danger of dislodging something which would fall with a crash, or of sneezing – in videos you were almost sure to sneeze; it was an accepted matter. She knew all this, and was careful. There was also the realization that thirst and hunger might be encountered. For this, she was prepared with ration cans out of the pantry. But yet things remained that the films never mentioned, and it dawned upon Arcadia with a shock that, despite the best intentions in the world, she could stay hidden in the closet for only a limited time. And on a one-man sports-cruiser, such as the Unimara, living space consisted, essentially, of a single room, so that there wasn't even the risky possibility of sneaking out of the compartment while Munn was engaged elsewhere. She waited frantically for the sounds of sleep to arise. If only she knew whether he snored. At least she knew where the bunk was and she could recognize the rolling protest of one when she heard it. There was a long breath and then a yawn. She waited through a gathering silence, punctuated by the bunk's soft protest against a changed position or a shifted leg. The door of the luggage compartment opened easily at the pressure of her finger, and her craning neck- There was a definite human sound that broke off sharply. Arcadia solidified. Silence! Still silence! She tried to poke her eyes outside the door without moving her head and failed. The head followed the eyes. Homir Munn was awake, of course – reading in bed, bathed in the soft, unspreading bed light, staring into the darkness with wide eyes, and groping one hand stealthily under the pillow. Arcadia's head moved sharply back of itself. Then, the light went out entirely and Munn's voice said with shaky sharpness, â€Å"I've got a blaster, and I'm shooting, by the Galaxy-â€Å" And Arcadia wailed, â€Å"It's only me. Don't shoot.† Remarkable what a fragile flower romance is. A gun with a nervous operator behind it can spoil the whole thing. The light was back on – all over the ship – and Munn was sitting up in bed. The somewhat grizzled hair on his thin chest and the sparse one-day growth on his chin lent him an entirely fallacious appearance of disreputability. Arcadia stepped out, yanking at her metallene jacket which was supposed to be guaranteed wrinkleproof. After a wild moment in which he almost jumped out of bed, but remembered, and instead yanked the sheet up to his shoulders, Munn gargled, â€Å"W†¦ wha†¦ what-â€Å" He was completely incomprehensible. Arcadia said meekly, â€Å"Would you excuse me for a minute? I've got to wash my hands.† She knew the geography of the vessel, and slipped away quickly. When she returned, with her courage oozing back, Homir Munn was standing before her with a faded bathrobe on the outside and a brilliant fury on the inside. â€Å"What the black holes of Space are you d†¦ doing aboard this ship? H†¦ how did you get on here? What do you th†¦ think I'm supposed to do with you? What's going on here?† He might have asked questions indefinitely, but Arcadia interrupted sweetly, â€Å"I just wanted to come along, Uncle Homir.† â€Å"Why? I'm not going anywhere?† â€Å"You're going to Kalgan for information about the Second Foundation.† And Munn let out a wild howl and collapsed completely. For one horrified moment, Arcadia thought he would have hysterics or beat his head against the wall. He was still holding the blaster and her stomach grew ice-cold as she watched it. â€Å"Watch out – Take it easy -† was all she could think of to say. But he struggled back to relative normality and threw the blaster on to the bunk with a force that should have set it off and blown a hole through the ship's hull. â€Å"How did you get on?† he asked slowly, as though gripping each word with his teeth very carefully to prevent it from trembling before letting it out. â€Å"It was easy. I just came into the hangar with my suitcase, and said, ‘Mr. Munn's baggage!' and the man in charge just waved his thumb without even looking up.† â€Å"I'll have to take you back, you know,† said Homir, and there was a sudden wild glee within him at the thought. By Space, this wasn't his fault. â€Å"You can't,† said Arcadia, calmly, â€Å"it would attract attention.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"You know. The whole purpose of your going to Kalgan was because it was natural for you to go and ask for permission to look into the Mule's records. And you've got to be so natural that you're to attract no attention at all. If you go back with a girl stowaway, it might even get into the tele-news reports.† â€Å"Where did you g†¦ get those notions about Kalgan? These†¦ uh†¦ childish-† He was far too flippant for conviction, of course, even to one who knew less than did Arcadia. â€Å"I heard,† she couldn't avoid pride completely, â€Å"with a sound-recorder. I know all about it – so you've got to let me come along.† â€Å"What about your father?† He played a quick trump. â€Å"For all he knows, you're kidnapped†¦ dead.† â€Å"I left a note,† she said, overtrumping, â€Å"and he probably knows he mustn't make a fuss, or anything. You'll probably get a space-gram from him.† To Munn the only explanation was sorcery, because the receiving signal sounded wildly two seconds after she finished. She said: â€Å"That's my father, I bet,† and it was. The message wasn't long and it was addressed to Arcadia. It said: â€Å"Thank you for your lovely present, which I'm sure you put to good use. Have a good time.† â€Å"You see,† she said, â€Å"that's instructions.† Homir grew used to her. After a while, he was glad she was there. Eventually, he wondered how he would have made it without her. She prattIed! She was excited! Most of all, she was completely unconcerned. She knew the Second Foundation was the enemy, yet it didn't bother her. She knew that on Kalgan, he was to deal with a hostile officialdom, but she could hardly wait. Maybe it came of being fourteen. At any rate, the week-long trip now meant conversation rather than introspection. To be sure, it wasn't a very enlightening conversation, since it concerned, almost entirely, the girl's notions on the subject of how best to treat the Lord of Kalgan. Amusing and nonsensical, and yet delivered with weighty deliberation. Homir found himself actually capable of smiling as he listened and wondered out of just which gem of historical fiction she got her twisted notion of the great universe. It was the evening before the last jump. Kalgan was a bright star in the scarcely-twinkling emptiness of the outer reaches of the Galaxy. The ship's telescope made it a sparkling blob of barely-perceptible diameter. Arcadia sat cross-legged in the good chair. She was wearing a pair of slacks and a none-too-roomy shirt that belonged to Homir. Her own more feminine wardrobe had been washed and ironed for the landing. She said, â€Å"I'm going to write historical novels, you know.† She was quite happy about the trip. Uncle Homir didn't the least mind listening to her and it made conversation so much more pleasant when you could talk to a really intelligent person who was serious about what you said. She continued: â€Å"I've read books and books about all the great men of Foundation history. You know, like Seldon, Hardin, Mallow, Devers and all the rest. I've even read most of what you've written about the Mule, except that it isn't much fun to read those parts where the Foundation loses. Wouldn't you rather read a history where they skipped the silly, tragic parts?† â€Å"Yes, I would,† Munn assured her, gravely. â€Å"But it wouldn't be a fair history, would it, Arkady? You'd never get academic respect, unless you give the whole story.† â€Å"Oh, poof. Who cares about academic respect?† She found him delightful. He hadn't missed calling her Arkady for days. â€Å"My novels are going to be interesting and are going to sell and be famous. What's the use of writing books unless you sell them and become well-known? I don't want just some old professors to know me. It's got to be everybody.† Her eyes darkened with pleasure at the thought and she wriggled into a more comfortable position. â€Å"In fact, as soon as I can get father to let me, I'm going to visit Trantor, so's I can get background material on the First Empire, you know. I was born on Trantor; did you know that?† He did, but he said, â€Å"You were?† and put just the right amount of amazement into his voice. He was rewarded with something between a beam and a simper. â€Å"Uh-huh. My grandmother†¦ you know, Bayta Darell, you've heard of her†¦ was on Trantor once with my grandfather. In fact, that's where they stopped the Mule, when all the Galaxy was at his feet; and my father and mother went there also when they were first married. I was born there. I even lived there till mother died, only I was just three then, and I don't remember much about it. Were you ever on Trantor, Uncle Homir?† â€Å"No, can't say I was.† He leaned back against the cold bulkhead and listened idly. Kalgan was very close, and he felt his uneasiness flooding back. â€Å"Isn't it just the most romantic world? My father says that under Stannel V, it had more people than any ten worlds nowadays. He says it was just one big world of metals – one big city – that was the capital of all the Galaxy. He's shown me pictures that he took on Trantor. It's all in ruins now, but it's still stupendous. I'd just love to see it again. In fact†¦ Homir!† â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"Why don't we go there, when we're finished with Kalgan?† Some of the fright hurtled back into his face. â€Å"What? Now don't start on that. This is business, not pleasure. Remember that.† â€Å"But it is business† she squeaked. â€Å"There might be incredible amounts of information on Trantor, don't you think so?† â€Å"No, I don't.†*** He scrambled to his feet â€Å"Now untangle yourself from the computer. We've got to make the last jump, and then you turn in.† One good thing about landing, anyway; he was about fed up with trying to sleep on an overcoat on the metal floor. The calculations were not difficult. The â€Å"Space Route Handbook† was quite explicit on the Foundation-Kalgan route. There was the momentary twitch of the timeless passage through hyperspace and the final light-year dropped away. The sun of Kalgan was a sun now – large, bright, and yellow-white; invisible behind the portholes that had automatically closed on the sun-lit side. Kalgan was only a night's sleep away.

Comparison of the Death Penalty: China vs United States Essay

The United States of America is one of the few countries that still impose death sentences regularly. The People’s Republic of China is also one of these countries. Both are similar in that they are among the top executing countries in the world. Yet they differ in many ways such as, types of crimes that are death penalty eligible, the number of people that are executed, trial processes, and methods of execution. I consider these to be the biggest differences between The People’s Republic of China and the United States of America. One of the most shocking things I came across when researching was the wide range of crimes punishable by death in China. The most shocking of which, is those of non-violent nature. A type of non-violent crime that is routinely charged as a capital crime is economic or â€Å"white-collar† crimes. In China’s Criminal Law, there are specific instances where economic crimes can be charged as capital crimes. In the article, â€Å"On Limiting and Abolishing the Death Penalty for Economic Crimes in China†, the author Bingzhi Zhao wrote, â€Å"it is normally specified in China’s Criminal Law that the death penalty is only applicable when the crime is ‘of a particularly enormous amount’ or ‘of a particularly severe nature’†1. A â€Å"particularly enormous amount† or â€Å"of a particularly sever nature† refers to the amount of money stolen or number of people â€Å"hurt† by the crime. What I consider to be a great parallel would be Bernie Madoff, who stole billions from investors and was sentences to 150 years in jail, which is the maximum sentence he could receive2. This leads me to believe if Bernie Madoff lived in China, he would’ve been executed. Although his crimes were particularly extreme in the amount of money he stole, he was not violent in any way shape or form. In America this simply has not happened in the last century. It is my personal belief that crimes other than murder shouldn’t be capital crimes, but I think it is plain wrong for a â€Å"white-collar† crime to be charged as a capital crime. There are even accounts of drug dealers and people who fund-raise illegal3. I personally know somebody arrested for dealing drugs, if he received a death sentence for his crime, it would be completely and utterly shocking. It is my belief that a non-violent crime shouldn’t be punished in a violent way. The People’s Republic of China use of capital punishment is shrouded in secrecy. In an article in the Washington Post, the author(s) writes, â€Å"The Chinese government has a long-standing policy of not commenting on the death penalty and keeps the number of executions secret†3. This rings true because it is impossible to find a true figure for executions in China. All figures that can be found are estimates. The Dui Hua Foundation estimates that China carried out 5,000 to 6,000 executions in the year 20073, while Amnesty International estimates there were at least 1,718 known executions in 2008 and also states that there are likely many more4. Amnesty International also states that in 2008 the United States of America executed a total of 37 people4. Using Amnesty International’s figures this means that the People’s Republic of China executed more than forty-six times more people than America. With populations of 1. 3 billion and 310 million (estimates), respectively, China executed at least 1 out of every 750,000, and the United States of America executed about 1 out of every 8,375,000 people. This adds up to China executing about 11 times as many people per capita than the United States. One must also keep in mind that the figure of China executing 1,718 is also the â€Å"at least† number; the Dui Hua foundation estimated 5,000-6,000 executions in one year alone. If China indeed executed 5,000, this would raise their per capita execution rate three times higher, to 33 times more executions per capita than America. While there are countries who execute more than the United States of America besides China, they aren’t countries that America would like to be placed with. In descending order the ten countries with the highest executions are, China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Pakistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Afghanistan, North Korea, and Japan4. Interestingly enough, American soldiers have fought wars within the borders of six out of nine of these countries since World War II. The United States of America and China are the two most powerful countries in the world right now, yet they are in a list with the likes of under-developed countries like Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Saudi Arabia. China kills enormous amounts of people as compared to every other country, and they also do so in a manner that the American Criminal Justice system would consider extremely unconstitutional. In the United States we use grand juries and/or preliminary hearings as a screening device to make sure there is enough evidence to go to trial, whereas in the People’s Republic of China, there is one person, called a Procurator, who screens cases5. This causes the decision to go to trial extremely unfair, because the standard of evidence in China is â€Å"sufficient† as opposed to American standard of â€Å"beyond a reasonable doubt†. Also in the case of a grand jury, there has to be more than one person agreeing the case can go to trial, whereas in China, just one person decides whether a case is trial worthy. The largest difference between the two countries processes however, is not the use or lack thereof grand juries, but the difference lies in how trials are conducted. China uses the Inquisitorial Model, where a judge dominates the questioning and debating, and a panel of judges, not regular citizens, decides facts and applies the laws5. This could either seem like a terrible idea, or a great idea. Keeping the same group of judges instead of a jury, there is a sense of consistency. There is no unfair jury selection like in the American system that can usually be based on picking people of certain races who are more likely to convict somebody of a certain race based on statistics. Yet at the same time, these men are judges and see all sorts of criminals, and are very likely to think that anybody arrested, is arrested for a just reason. These judges are also more likely to impose the law harshly, since they are government officials of a country whose government is known to violate numerous human rights. Another huge difference between the two nations lies within the appeals process. In China, not only can the accused appeal, but the Procurator can appeal as well if he or she feels that the sentencing wasn’t done correctly. The accused is only given 10 days to initially file an appeal. If the accused appeals and loses, his sentence can only be lessened, but if a Procurator appeals, the sentence can be made more severe. In the United States, only the accused may appeal, the prosecutor is unable5. This process of Procurators appealing could never happen in the United States, based on the Fifth Amendment. It would be considered â€Å"Double Jeopardy†, since even if a court (aside from the Supreme People’s Court) finds him innocent, the procurator may appeal for a new trial. All of these difference cause many more injustices in China than America. There are even more injustices in the Chinese system. Amnesty International states, â€Å"In China those facing capital charges do not receive fair trials. Failings include the lack of prompt access to lawyers, a lack of presumption of innocence, political interference in the judiciary and failure to exclude evidence extracted through torture†6. These â€Å"failings† pose a particular issue in China. One of the mentioned â€Å"failings† is lack of presumption of innocence. When a person in China is arrested, they are presumed guilty, and therefore a trial is almost only to prove his innocence, whereas in America we presume innocent until proven guilty and in trials, the prosecutor must prove guilt. Another â€Å"failing† is if the accused doesn’t get access to a lawyer quick enough, he could be put to death very rapidly because after a death sentence is approved; the execution is carried out within 7 days7. The United States of America has long stays on death row, which take a lot of effect out of the execution, but also gives the accused time to appeal, and file all sorts of motions and requests for clemency. Amnesty International also states that China uses information that is extracted through torture. While in the United States this does happen, it is never done so legally, and if a judge finds evidence was extracted through torture, that evidence in unusable. These factors; lack of access lawyers, unfair trial processes, and lack of presumption of innocence, all cause China’s capital punishment statutes to seem extremely unjust and I would think that quite often even Chinese citizens are unsure of the reliability of their own system, but then I remember that a lot of what the government does is shrouded in secrecy so citizens don’t really know. The general method of execution in The People’s Republic of China is single gunshot to the head. Although China officially uses Lethal Injection as an option, it is still not used as much as gunshot to the head. An article in USA Today about methods of execution states, â€Å"Prior to 1997, China’s main form of execution was shooting. According to a 1998 report from Amnesty International, the Chinese press reported 24 lethal-injection executions in that year, but the exact number is unknown†8. This quote to me shows, that they have started to use lethal injection, but one must remember that China regularly executes well over 1000 people, so 24 by lethal injection is a start, but not nearly a majority whereas in America lethal Injection is the main method. Under post-Furman statutes there have been 1,070 executions in the United States. 01 of these executions were by lethal injection, followed by 153 of them by electrocution9. Lethal Injection accounts for 84. 2% of American executions (American Statistics were as of April 12, 2007) whereas Lethal Injection in China only accounted for at most, 2. 5% in 1998. These figures may be from different years but 2. 5% versus 84. 2% is a huge difference. The reason China would use gunshot to the head, in my opinion, is it saves money. The Chinese trial and appeals process, which is very fast in nature, saves money compared to the long and drawn out American process. Add to that figure that executions are carried out within 7 days of sentencing10. The Chinese definitely spend nowhere near the figures that Americans spend on Death Row, since Chinese executions occur in less than 7 days post-sentencing. Although I am just speculating on cost savings since these figures cannot be found due to China’s secrecy on the subject of capital punishment. I think there is much to learn from the Chinese system when it comes to saving money and efficiency, although I strongly disagree with their lack of rights for defendants. While the differences outlined in this paper are not the only ones, they are the differences that I felt really separate the American and Chinese use of capital punishment. While the American government wastes tons of money on capital punishment, I think our higher standard of evidence and longer proceedings allow us to be surer that the right person is being executed, and although our system has many issues, I still would stand behind it over the system used in The People’s Republic of China.