Financial accounting theories in a real life Assignment - 1

Financial accounting theories in a real life - Assignment Example Different researchers have dissimilar views regarding financial accounting theories (McGraw-Hill, 2006). There are different types of accounting theories that can be implemented in real life scenario. One of them is the Repo 105 theory. This theory is used by many of the companies. Moreover, it needs to be mentioned that the misuse of such theories can result in negative functioning of the companies. There are many such cases where improper use of accounting theories result in complete demise of the companies. Financial regulations can play a major role in reducing such cases (Liu & Schaefer, 2011; Eisinger, 2012). The report intends to discuss the role of Repo 105 scheme in the enhanced performance and subsequent downfall of the Lehman Brothers. The report would further depict the different motives that encourage companies to manipulate their financial accounts with reference to a few well known cases. Moreover, the report also intends to illustrate the importance of financial regulations in reducing such cases. Repo 105 is an accounting trick where a company depicts a short-term loan as a part of the sales of the company. Moreover, this loan would be further used by the company to repay its liabilities. A repo agreement would include temporary transfer of assets from one party to another which would also be accompanied by an agreement of repurchase of the same assets after a particular phase of time. After a certain period of time, the transferee returns the securities to the borrowers, which in turn repays the loan with a considerable interest. It needs to be mentioned that as a part of the exchange process, one party would receive securities as guarantee for the cash loaned, while the other party would receive cash guarantee for the securities loaned. It has been observed that these agreements are widely used as well as recognised as a legal means of

Is metaphor necessary in technical writing Essay

Is metaphor necessary in technical writing - Essay Example This is because humans are trying to do everything they can to control nature. Man cannot put up with indifferences that nature provide thus he is trying to press nature through science to do according to his will. Science that is required to manipulate nature is too much high and requires a lot of resourcefulness. It is unfortunate that what people think of science is not science but practical science; people often confuse the thought of science and what science can do (Laibichler & Chew, 2003). The constituent part that can speed up this is by the build up of a huge and an incredible credible machine that can only be controlled and interpreted by the physicists alone. The major question is that whether people will be able and are willing to bear the cost of these machines and whether they are willing to leave nature on the hands of physicists. This is because physicists use mysterious and secretive language that can only be interpreted by them and they are only going to be part of the complications of nature. People hope that physicist can come up with advanced and more simplified formulae that will be able to solve the world’s differences. It is at this point that people hope for a final formula that will explain the trends of nature thus make people understand God thinking (Baake, 2003). Suggestions and ideas of this kind from a prominent person are deemed as foolish and misleading. This is because they mislead people to think that the world has a meaning. Such characters mislead people by suggesting that the world has meaning because there is progress in our daily activities. Progress helps people to get closer to something and finally to uncover knowledge, just like the mathematical formulae tries to get close to infinity but it has never gotten there. The world has no meaning because somebody or something would have emerged and asked why there is something instead of nothing (Banville, 2011). Things and situations are perceived

Challenges for Businesses in the Caribbean

Challenges for Businesses in the Caribbean   1.1 Introduction Change, according to the adage, is always constant. Embracing change can be a challenge to change agents. Many authors of change have maintained that change fails because of flawed methods, or in the case of John Kotter, the failure of management to realize that the process can and often do, take years to come to fruition. Professor Kotter (Kotter, 1996), proposed an eight-step model for ensuring change initiatives success. Many organizations, especially state-owned corporations, were born out of legacy bureaucratic systems and find that the workers have acquired knowledge and skill-set that surpasses that of the management who hold on to archaic methods. Such organizations are prime candidates for transformational interjection. 1.2 Purpose of the Study This study looks into the challenges that faces emerging businesses within the Caribbean area, with an aim to highlight issues that are critical for growth and transition. Focus is placed on complexity as a driver of change; as a vessel for accommodating interactive initiatives within systems and agents of change. The study will explore the ways in which researchers and academics have adopted various models and theoretical methodologies to catalyze change, some with limited success others with high success rate. The region has been able to adapt to changes throughout the years but modern change initiatives calls for unique, if not unorthodox methods to successfully execute such transitions. This research attempts to apply such novel ways to bring out the best in management of organizations. 1.3 Problem Statement For decades academics and researchers have wrestled with the problem of change and have even proposed theoretical models explaining their different methods. It has been ascertained that over 70% of all change initiative have failed, (Higgs Rowland, 2005), (Beer Nohria, 2000). Change hinges around behavioural patterns in people; people have to consciously desire change in order that it works. The past methods applied to organizations have proven to be inadequate, or very complex in nature. John Kotter in an article in the Harvard Business Review, made it clear that change is a large-scale process that takes time. This process goes through stages and any significant error in any stage can lead to the collapse of the entire change initiative (Kotter, 1995). An attempt at change management at the airports in Trinidad and Tobago entitled Institutional Strengthening Project failed after several years at change management. There is no single reason for the failure, but a series of complex interrelated processes and situations that lead to a total breakdown of the effort. I propose that using models that manage change from a multi-faceted approach that caters for complexity, will ultimately see positive transformational mechanism in the organisations. 1.4 Purpose of the Research This exploratory study will demonstrate the phenomenon that either foster a change climate or actively deter the process in dynamic organizations. A qualitative approach would be used. Many theorist including (Senge, 1990; Morgan, 1996) in systems theory, showed that the organizations tend towards maintaining homeostasis, but failed to show what dynamics occurs in continual change (Ford, 2008). Moreover, system theory (Von Bertalanffy, 1965) enabled the practictioner to view the organization in a more holistic manner: more like an organism, rather than a machine (Ford, 2008). In many developing states, the airport environment, which is highly dynamic has seen the phenomenon of rapid, constant changes and evolvement. The airports in Trinidad and Tobago were chosen and HyperResearch software was employed to manipulate the data. 1.5 Significance of the Study The research into the behaviour, culture, management style, of state organizations such as airports and port in Trinidad and Tobago specifically and by extention, the wider Caribbean area can be a launching pad for significant inroads into the understanding of dynamics that are emerging in organizations of these types. The research would lead the way in identifying the strengths or weaknesses of applied management styles, and the way that many management paradigms are applied to such dynamic organizations. The information obtained will be used for practitioners to understand the emergent phenomenon within the organization; the way to encourage rather than deter changes by agents of change. State administrators and management practitioners would be given the tools to deal with a changing environment. The organization can benefit from a lower turnover rate and higher output as employees find that their needs are now significantly addressed; both their hygenic and motivating wishes (Chowdhary Prakas, 2005). Chapter 2: Literature review 2.1 Why Change Management? The classical and scientific management theories and to a lesser extent, the systems theories sought to minimize the turbulence of changes. These changes were seen as movement away from homeostasis. What modern theorists advocate is the embracing of non-equilibrium forces within an open-style organization. According to (Ford, 2008), an open organization interacts with its environment, both internally and externally, and between and within groups. This study will focus on the new way of collecting, using, and disseminating information and processes within the organization to cope with, foresee, even cause changes that may propel such organization forward. Systems theorists came to realize that organizations were to be looked at more as organism, rather than machines. Systems, according to renowned academic (Von Bertalanffy, 1965), all shared common attributes irrespective of their kind, the nature of their components and the forces between them. All systems were seen to consist of an environment, components, interrelatedness, negative entropy, equifinality, homeostasis, has a central purpose and has synergy. Systems theory describes the organization as depicting the control systems mechanisms positive and negative feedback loops that maintain the system at some desired goal or a state of homeostasis (Ford, 2008). Ford noted that both systems theory and classic management maintained similar ontological stances when referring to turbulence and managing change. Both seek to maintain an equilibrium state. They seek to reduce or absorb the effect of the turbulence causing the disruption to the system. Kurt Lewins Three Phases Change Management Model, is a theory that attempts to give the fundamentals of linear change. Figure 1. shows Lewins 3-Step model of change. Lewin proposed that the change practitioner, firstly, unfreezes the current processes, mindset or beliefs that exist. This is usually by introducing a new concept, idea or challenge that allows people to see the need for change. Secondly, transitioning follows. This is the introduction of new actions, processes or way of doing things. There may be times when this is bombarded with confusion and caution as people may not have clear understanding of where to go or how to get things done a particular way. Finally, there is the process of refreezing. This process is the crystallization of the new processes as the accepted norm. This is a period where there is constant reiteration of the new system. This is crucial since people may revert to their old ways. Another method that is widely used is the ADKAR model. The method is different from the Kurt Lewin method only in its emphasis on the change at the individuals level. ADKAR posits that successful organizational change is only possible when everyone can transition successfully (Connelly, 2011). The model has a sequential five-step process as depicted in the figure 2 below. Many researchers believe that changes occur on two dimensions. The business and the people dimensions and changes to each dimension should occur simultaneously for success   (PROSCI Inc, 2013). Figure 2 shows this process. Change management, according to Fred Nickols (2010), brings to mind four definitions: the task of managing change; an area of professional practice; a body of knowledge and a control mechanism. Managing change can be further subdivided into a planned or systematic fashion. This is simply implementing planned change into an existing organization. Unplanned change is the response to environmental issues in which the organization has little or no control. As an area of professional practice, many change agents and consultants have set up shops with expertise that cater for changes within organizations. As a body of knowledge, there are models, tools, techniques, skill-sets, and applied practices that make up this area of management. According to Nickols, the subject matter for change management is drawn from a wide field of professions and studies: psychology, sociology, economics, business administration, industrial and system engineering, and human and organizational behaviours. As a control mechanism, many organizations keep tabs on the alterations specially in the systems used. These version controls as seen to be part of the change management systems at many workplace. 2.2 The Pitfalls for Change Management Randal Ford(2008) posits that an organization that has learned how to manage continuous change because continuous change is part of its goal and necessary to its survival would prove invaluable in providing robust empirical data as a living heuristic. The fact is, there exist no solid data to support the fact that there will be success if change management is modelled on the complex adaptive systems approach. In looking at companies that have profitably survived over the years it is evident that they used some systems approach as they continually remolded their future as the years progressed. The Coca Cola company, for example, showed its resilience as it headed the field for many years and changed to accommodate the changing environment. Google has been relatively new but has applied the model of adapting changes. Change do not come easy. People resist change for a variety of reasons: by quitting, overt and covert hostility, passive compliance, strikes, and even giving reasons for the resistance. Paul Lawrence of the Harvard Business Review (Lawrence, 1969), contends that most people do not resist technical changes but do so for social changes. Professor Rosabelle Moss-Kanter (Moss-Kanter, 2012) of the Harvards Business School, in her blog suggest that change should not come as a surprise but should be introduced tactically by change agents. She stated that people prefer to be mired in misery than to head towards an unknown. Change can make people feel that they have lost control over their territory. Because of the ripple effects of change the agents must reach out to all stakeholders in an effort to lessen this ripple effect. Dr. Moss Kanter contended that it is better for management to be honest, fair, transparent, and fast in any change initiative. 3.1 Introduction Primary and secondary research were applied in achieving the objectives of this dissertation. Due to the nature of the data to be collected and analysed it was expedient to use a qualitative approach. 3.2 Primary Research Questionnaires were used with standardize closed questions. Direct interviews were conducted as well as the use of focus groups focus groups where open ended questions were used.

Divorce Essay -- Social Issues, Children

Divorce is viewed differently by many people. Sometimes this is due to experiences, what others have said, or looking at studies that are not always accurate. However, not everyone can have the same views about marriage ending in divorce. In the article, â€Å"No Easy Answers: Why the Popular View of Divorce Is Wrong† by Constance Ahrons she shows her view on divorce. Ahrons believes that divorce does not have long-lasting damaging effects on children (65). Divorce can affect children in the family but the way the decisions are made is what will change the way the kids are influenced. First of all, opposing viewpoints say that divorce can cause the child to feel like their life is not going to be the same. In contrast, this is not a highly supported statement. One thing that is commonly stated about divorce is, once two married parents with children decide to divorce, that they are no longer a family (66). Although, they may not be living together in the same house it does not mean they are still not a family. No matter what, the parents will always be linked to each other because of the children. Is that not the definition of a family? In addition, assumptions are made that if people are married with kids that they are an ideal family This is not the case, if the marriage is not working out and is only causing problems amongst the parents and kids than that is not considered a family either. Divorce does not cause children to lose their family, if anything it helps to fix them. Moreover, people say that kids feel like their life will have to change drastically because; they will have to lose one of their parents. Divorce does not mean that the children will drop a relationship with one of their parents. Some divorces may be like... ...e fairly small or big but either way the child is changed in some way. No matter how people view divorce, there is no wrong viewpoint. In the end, the effects are rarely long-term on the children. In conclusion, divorce is an extremely diverse subject, and it is going to be viewed in a different way by many individuals based on their experiences. Sometimes divorce can be the best thing for the couple as well as the child. If a marriage is only there for the child then that could affect them just as much as a divorce (65). The outcome on how serious the effects are on a child after divorce can vary. It is all revolved on how the parents handle the divorce; what decisions and choices they chose to make will change the way the child is affected. When it comes down to it, â€Å"you can choose to see your family as rearranged, or you can choose to see it as broken† (62).

Morality of Homosexuality According to Rachels

The ethics and morality of homosexuality and homosexual acts have been debated and questioned by many groups of people using several moral approaches to argue their point. It seems that the group of people who are most against homosexuality are religious groups, specifically Christians. Homosexuality however is not morally wrong and many arguments will be presented to refute the claims by those who do believe that homosexuality is unethical and morally wrong.The approaches that is used the most to argue that homosexuality and the acts that are involved are morally wrong which is used most by Christians is the Theory of Natural Law. Now there are three main points to this theory and the first point is that it is believed that â€Å"everything in nature has a purpose† (Rachels & Rachels, 2012). Aristotle, who is very well known and respected stated that if everyone believes that nature makes objects for a specific purpose, and that this believe is correct, then, nature makes thi ngs for the sake of man.Christians believe that God created things in nature for a specific plan and so if that specific plan can not be carried out, then it should not be done and therefore is morally wrong. To connect this part of the Theory of Natural Law to thoughts about homosexuality, one of the main arguments against homosexual acts is that it is â€Å"unnatural. † Christians believe the act of homosexual sex is immoral because it does not end in the production of life, which according to them are the main purposes of sex, to create life.This argument is easily refuted however. When using the evolutionary sense of the term â€Å"unnatural,† which is how most Christians use it in their arguments, they mean that homosexuality is morally wrong because it involves the unnatural use of body parts. It is believed by some, that because God had created genitals and the act of sex for procreation, and homosexual sex can not end in procreation, that those individuals enga ging in those acts are using their body parts for something it they were not intended for. Therefore, what they are doing is wrong.However, there are many couples that are sterile, who will never have the opportunity to procreate, and yet as long as the sex is heterosexual, Christians do not condemn them. The Roman Catholic church who does not agree with the use of birth control, still allows couples to have sex if they are infertile or during pregnancy (Mappes, Zembaty & DeGrazia, 2012). Therefore the Catholic church can claim that if the body parts are not being used for the purpose of procreation then it is unnatural and immoral otherwise they would be contradicting their own practices.Besides, as pointed out in the book by Mappes, Zembaty & DeGrazia (2012), we have multiple purposes for our organs and body parts. Just because we use our mouths to not only breath, consume nutrients and communicate, but also to chew gum and lick stamps, does not mean that those acts are immoral. E ven though our moths were not originally intended to chew gum or lick stamps, does not mean that those acts are unethical. Besides, it is also recognized by Christians that a second purpose of heterosexual sex is to bond and connect with your partner and to express love.Homosexuals use their genitals during sexual acts for those same reasons as well. So, it stands to show that Homosexuality and Homosexual sex are not immoral and unethical due to the â€Å"unnatural† use of their sex organs. A second part to the Theory of Natural Law is the belief that all things unnatural are bad and that what is and what ought to be should be the same or else it is morally wrong. The example that Rachels & Rachels (2012) gives is that Beneficence is morally right. That we should always act in the best interest of others because we care.If we do not care and therefore are not working in the best interest of others, then were are not being beneficent and that is morally wrong. Those who do not care and do not practice beneficence are often regarded as wrong. For example, these such individuals may be diagnoses with a mental illness called antisocial personality disorder because those who do not care, couldn't possibly be well. It is believed that these individuals ways of thinking are wrong and therefore should be fixed. So, because society believes that people ought to be beneficent and therefore if they are not, then their actions are morally wrong.Rachels & Rachels (2012) then points out that sex produces babies, that is fact. But does it then follow that sex ought to produces babies? Not necessarily. Those who have genetic mutations that could produce offspring with those same genetic mutations or diseases could be said ought not to have babies because it would perpetuate pain and suffering. Should it follow then those individuals ought not to have sex at all? It is not considered morally wrong for those with genetic illness to have sex, but it maybe thought to be mo rally wrong for them to produce a child.So, what is and what ought to be are different. In regards to Homosexuality, some believe that those individuals ought not to have sex because it is not an innate desire and therefore is unnatural. And as stated before that in which is unnatural ought not to occur according to the Theory of Natural Law. It is argued that References Rachels, J. , & Rachels, S. (2012). The elements of moral philosophy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Mappes, T. A. , Zembaty, J. S. , & DeGrazia, D. (2012). Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Evaluation of incredible India in UK market Essay

Like any other trade sector, evaluation of a brand in a specific market depends heavily on the data collected in some specific segments, and in here they are: A. Quality of infrastructure, i. e. , issues involved amenities like transport, water, rail and road links, boarding and lodging, etc. B. Travel behavior, i. e. , estimate about the appetites of the travellers. C. Effectiveness of communication: This area is self-explicit. D. Quality of product, i. e., quality and quantity of tourist sites, where quality should be interpreted as the magnitude of significance of a site in terms heritage, beauty, adventure, unique natural phenomenon, therapeutic or spiritual angles. Detailed and authenticated data on the state of these segments would be instrumental in determining the exact standing of this campaign in a specific market. For that matter this study uses the information furnished in the Report on Evaluation Study in Selected Overseas Markets (2007) created by The Gallup Organization for Market Research Division, Ministry of Tourism, and Government of India. A. Infrastructure: While the Gallup Study observes the overall growth in the infrastructure Industry is encouraging for tourism in the future, it furnishes terribly disappointing information in the next page, where it compares the state of India’s aviation industry to that of China and informs that India has 15 million seats (as on September 2006) as against 140 million seats in China (p. 13). However, the report churns out good news after a few pages by mentioning about the awards won by Incredible India campaign and the survey results that consider India amongst the top five favourite destinations (p. 17). B. Travel Behaviour: Only 32% people of United Kingdom are aware of Indian Tourism Offices, though India and UK has a direct relationship for around 300 years. The Gallup Report (p. 45) observes that the past travel record of UK citizens(46%) were only next to Australia (51%), while the current survey shows that American tourists (799, 062) have pushed the British tourists (796,191) behind them (Incredible, 2008). Gallup Report observes that in terms of future behaviour, UK shows only 5% growth rate (p. 50). Now tallying this observation with the state of communication with UK would provide the clue why the future of growth of Indian tourism in UK looks so dismal. C. Effectiveness of communication: The chart below highlights the state of communication between India and other major countries/continents in terms of travel arrangements. Booking for Travel Arrangement (% Yes) CANADA USA UK EUROPE MIDDLE EAST S. KOREA JAPAN AUS RECENT TRAVELLERS Through Phone 54 46 16 9 7 8 23 17 10 Through Internet 44 69 46 46 7 24 60 39 22. Through Travel Agents 89 63 56 60 45 76 83 74 68 In Person 76 44 18 34 72 15 33 43 15 Others 12 10 11 6 – 11 – 5 2 Gallup Report: P. 55 The above table shows that communication with UK is below expectation, if one considers the legacy of 300-year close communication between India and UK. D. Quality of product: From the perspective of the history of Indo-British relationship of over 300 years, elements like cultural heritage (colonial times) or deserves a place in the choice of the British travellers, but the survey (below) does not even include that. (%) CANADA USA UK EUROPE MIDDLE EAST S. KOREA JAPAN AUS RECENT TRAVELLERS Adventure Sports 14 18 5 18 17 13 15 12 2 Eco-tourism 54 56 35 44 65 27 25 34 16 Shopping 51 46 44 33 87 15 27 54 38 Sight-seeing 98 99 79 88 89 79 94 93 87 Pilgrimages 27 20 8 21 2 35 10 23 7 Visiting friends / relatives 35 25 23 12 8 – 6 19 17 Medical treatment 9 13 13 10 38 8 6 4 1 Cultural Events 61 75 31 67 22 52 46 67 – Others 34 52 14 44 4 – 8 17 2 Business purposes – 4 3 11 – – – – 26 Adapted from Gallup Study: P.57. Here also it is seen that UK is lagging behind USA and Japan, in spite of their close contact with India for more than three centuries. Another notable factor is that there is not much response in the medical tourism sector, though thee is a recent surge in Medical Tourism in India due to reasons like state-of-the-art medical facilities at far cheaper rates and high medical insurance cost in UK. A brief analysis of the online campaign of Incredible India would corroborate that too. III. 1. Analysis of online campaign: 1. Statement of Purpose (â€Å"About Us† page): While it boasts about its network of 20 offices within India and 13 offices abroad, it fails to mention about its central policy. 2. Topics covered: It contains three major topic domains distributed under heads like Trip Planner, Experience India and Holiday Ideas, where the first one deals with trip arrangements, second attempts to brief India thematically and the third one provides ideas about tourist activities. None of them contains any clue to the prospective medical tourists. Omission of this important issue looks is even more surprising, as the Tourism Department of India itself has launched a medical tourism campaign separately, where it clearly expresses its views like medical tourism or health tourism in India is fast gaining grounds and tries to gain competitive advantage by citing examples of quality infrastructure and cheap costs as against skyrocketing healthcare costs in the country like UK. It even goes on describing at length about the availability of various types of medical treatments and other facilities (Why India, 2007). 3. Apart from that, this campaign hasn’t properly tapped the potential of ancient Indian techniques of well being and healing, like Yoga, Vaastu Shastra, or other spiritual practices, which are now integral part of the global New Age movement along with their Buddhist or Mongoloid counterparts like Feng-Shui, Tai-chi, etc. These facts are already known in the medical fraternity of UK, as it is evident from the various other news like UK doctor setting shop in Goa for medical tourists due to the rising flow of medical tourists in India (UK Indian, 2007), or the news that health tourism in India have flourished to a huge extent, as the Indian hospitals currently estimated to deal with 150,000 foreigners each year (India’s rise, 2007). Yet, Incredible India, the flagship project of positioning Brand India continues to neglect this huge and constantly increasing segment of tourism. In other words, it can be said that the impact of campaign like Incredible India on UK doesn’t prove to be effective as it was expected to be. The above data facilitates the introduction of SWOT analysis on Incredible India Campaign from the perspective of UK market.