The Enron and Worldcom Scandals

E. Boos – Week 2 – Assignment February 17, 2013 The Enron and WoldCom Scandals ENRON 1. The segment of Enron’s operations that got them into difficulties had several parts. They published misleading financial reports. They could not meet their bridge financing commitment with Barclay Bank because outside investors were not found. Because of this, they restated activities of JEDI and Chewco SPEs so they could be retroactively consolidated into Enron’s accounts. The SPEs helped to hide the inaccurate accounting records.Enron’s legal department wrote contracts that helped provide a cover for misuse of funds regarding the SPEs. Future revenue was reported as current revenue. Stocks were paid with promissory notes instead of cash. They also engaged in off-the-books activities and excessive executive compensation. Enron’s board of directors allowed the executives, accountants and legal department to use Special Purpose Entities (SPEs), a type of pa rtnership, in an attempt to camouflage their debt and create a facade of financial stability (Brooks, 2007). 3. Enron’s directors understood how profits were made.They also knew management’s activities were dishonest. Andrew Fastow was active in forming the SPE partnerships and his affiliation with LJM2 was a conflict of interest. When Enron began experiencing financial problems in October 2001, the board of directors began holding special meetings. They were paid with cash, restricted stock, phantom stock units and stock options. The Senate Subcommittee Report, dated July 8, 2002, found that the Enron board of directors was aware that employees participated in management of the SPEs which was a conflict of interest.The directors ignored the inaccurate accounting, extensive unrecorded activities and excessive executive compensation. The Senate report discovered that the board of directors knew of financial activities between Enron and some of the board’s members . The board permitted consulting services, internal audits, and external audits to be performed by the same company, namely, Arthur Andersen (Brooks, 2007). 5. Ken Lay was chairperson of the board. He reassumed the position of CEO after Skilling resigned. As CEO he oversaw all of Enron’s activities.Lay and Whaley directed Causey to sell the Raptor SPEs. The sale price of was privately negotiated between Fastor, on behalf of Enron, and Kopper on behalf of LJM2. Lay did not interfere when Arthur Andersen directed Enron to record the buyout excess money as income. He knowingly allowed fraudulent activities and false information to be included in the financial reports. This was unethical. The Powers Report identifies seven questionable accounting issues concerning the sale of the Raptors (Brooks, 2007). 6.The board of directors did not insist that full disclosure of Enron’s earning be made available to the public and the shareholders. They allowed inaccurate reports to be published. Since they did not challenge management involvement in fraudulent activities, this meant the shareholders interests were not protected (Brooks, 2007). 9. Conflict of interest concerning SPE activities occurred because Enron employees were active in managing certain SPEs. Losses were not reported in end of year reports to offset other nonprofitable dealings.Arthur Andersen did not report all of the earnings and helped Enron cover up losses. When Andrew Fastow, wanted to manage the SPE, Chewco, he was advised by Jeffrey Skilling who was on the board of directors, that he should not manage Chewco because it would be a conflict of interest. Instead, Fastow appointed Michael Kopper who worked for him at Enron, to manage Chewco (Brooks, 2007). WORLDCOM 1. To inflate their profit in the current period, WorldCom created overstatements of cash flow and income by inaccurately reporting line costs. Line costs were a major expense to WorldCom.They were payments WorldCom made to third party telecommunicator network providers for the right to access their networks. These costs should have been shown as an expense rather than appearing on the income statement (Brooks, 2007). 2. WorldCom’s board of directors could have prevented the manipulation of revenue that management used if they had not been intimidated by Bernie Ebbers. They allowed themselves to be intimidated by Bernie Ebbers when he did not want their questions answered or give them more definitive explanations. Eventually, they demanded Bernie Ebber’s resignation and he resigned.The board of directors scheduled periodic meetings with WorldCom. The directors should have been more involved and familiar with WorldCom’s activities and efforts to manipulate expenses and decreased income (Brooks, 2007). 4. Bernie Ebbers was the CEO of WorldCom, the CFO was Scott Sullivan and David Myers was the Controller. Prior to working for WorldCom they had worked for Arthur Andersen. Arthur Andersen w as the auditor for WorldCom. That is why the accountants did not say or do anything to prevent Ebbers’ manipulation of WorldCom’s financial reports (Brooks, 2007). . Ebbers received $408. 2 million dollars as a loan to buy WorldCom stock or for margin calls as the stock price fell. Instead of using the money for the purpose he received it, he used it to buy a cattle ranch in Canada, build a new home, pay for personal expenses of a family member, and provide loans to family and friends (Brooks, 2007). Reference: Brooks, L. J. (2007). Business & professional ethics for directors, executives, & accountants (4th ed. ). 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Custom Coffee Essay

I believe Custom Coffee & Chocolate mission is to establish a small cafà © where they and their customers could indulge their love of good coffee and fine chocolates. Bonnie and Stacy, recent college roommates, wanted a location that got a lot of foot traffic from shoppers and businesses. Their desire was to target a place near the university because they knew and understood those customers well. The purpose of the cafe’ is to serve unique coffee blends and specialty chocolates, and the business plan included purchasing only fair trade coffee and chocolates made by a few local suppliers. SWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths – Having a good location where public transportation is not a issue. The owners will be selling products that are considered to be good quality, near top of the line. Customers have the options of eating in or taking out their purchases. Weakness – The shop is pretty small, and can only hold a certain amount of customers, and they will need more funding to expand. Opportunity – The opportunities are unlimited, expanding the menu to include baked chocolates, desserts, tea and other beverages. If the businesses continue to grow, Bonnie & Stacy may be able to start a small franchise. Threats – I don’t detect any threats, unless a similar business moves in the same location. Bonnie & Stacy are doing all the right things to make their cafe’ affordable, and customer friendly. It is a nice place for friends and family to meet and chat while having a cup of coffee or reading the newspaper. Comfort is always important to me, so I like the idea of them having comfortable seating. Putting up a website and blog page might be helpful to customers and potential customers, for information and feedback. I don’t believe that delivery would be a good thing right now, maybe in another six months. Great job Bonnie & Stacy, you knew what you wanted and went for it. I wish you much success.

Analysis on Climate Change and the Deterioration of the Environment

Analysis on Climate Change and the Deterioration of the Environment In the years spanning the twentieth through twenty-first centuries, global climate change and environmental degradation have steadily worsened due to human activity. Fracking, emissions, industries, modern agriculture, and poorly managed waste are just some of the many devastating ways that the human community has contributed to Earth’s environmental decline. Evidence of climate change cited by NASA include the following: the rise of sea levels, the rise of global temperature, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, declining arctic sea ice, glacial retreat, extreme weather events, ocean acidification, and decreased snow cover (Climate Change Evidence†). These multitudes of scientific evidence support the phenomenon of global warming, making it an unequivocal occurrence that severely impacts the health of the Earth and, in turn, the well being of the global human community in its survival on planet Earth. Despite the mass amounts of evidence for climate change and environm ental degradation, there still exist populations that deny the validity of global warming on the basis of personal or religious belief. Whatever the reason for disbelief may be, the issue of global climate and environmental change does not fundamentally involve belief, but rather is a matter of scientific fact. The drastic change in the Earth’s environment is a phenomenon without borders and has induced worldwide concern. Unless more awareness is raised and greater environmental action is taken, the Earth’s environmental condition will only continue to worsen. Thus, global climate change and environmental pollution are part of an ongoing, grave, and pressing issue that demands the collective action of the international community, regardless of differing religious or ethical outlooks. That is not to say that religion cannot have a role in motivating people in taking environmental action because some religious teachings certainly do emphasize the importance of environmen tal ethics. Western religions teach that humans are to reflect the same care that the Creator has for them. For instance, the biblical teaching of mutual care for people, â€Å"love your neighbor as yourself,† and the idea of sacraments, or Christian expressions of divine love, can be geared towards care for the environment. Although religious thoughts and beliefs can influence environmental ethics, its fundamental guide must be scientific. In other words, even though religion can posit reasons for environmental action, science provides the more correct reasons and therefore, should act as the key motivator. Unlike religion, science provides universally undeniable evidence for the fragile reality of the Earth and this evidence should be the true elicitor for morally correct action in the environmental movement, demanding participation from the global community as a whole, regardless of individual moral or religious principles. Therefore, the need for environmental ethics and action owes more to the fact that it is essential for human survival than to a matter of choice or moral obligation guided by religious thought. One of the major opponents to enacting widespread and effective environmental action is social disposition, politics and legislation. Because religion is regarded with bias and controversy in the mainstream media, and thus society, it would not be substantial or appropriate as the main proponent for environmental ethics. Debate over what is right or wrong and what one religion teaches better than another would inhibit proper environmental progress. One scientific writing that did cause major social change through raising public awareness and, in turn, political action is the book, Silent spring, by Rachel Carson. In her book, Carson discusses the deadly effects of the pesticide, DDT, on the environment. She meticulously and scientifically described the process of DDT entering the food chain and building up in the fatty tissues of animals, humans included, and causing cancer and genetic damage. Expecting major reactions from chemical companies producing DDT, Carson collected a mass am ount of evidence supporting her writing that led to government investigation and ultimately the ban of DDT. One of the major legacies of Carson and Silent Spring is a new level of public awareness regarding environmentalism. With knowledge and this new awareness, everyone now had the potential to enact major social change. In chapter 17 of Carson’s book, she states the following: â€Å"We stand now where two roads diverge. But unlike the roads in Robert Frosts familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road — the one less traveled by — offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth† (Carson 114). Here Carson argues that, with the knowledge and awareness to act, society now needs to decide to take the appropriate action. Having the right to know, the knowledge that is needed to act, and the full ability to act are the parts of a successful formula for enacting mass environmental change. By writing Silent Spring, Carson provides the middle part of the formula, thereby changing the course of environmental activism for the better. The current environmental situation is similar to the DDT situation in that society has all the evidence it needs to act and, indeed, has made great strides in mediating the global climate change crisis. Therefore, following Rachel Carson’s model of using science to increase public awareness, modern environmental ethics has no necessity for religious guidance since morality—right or wrong—does not depend on religion, and science can provide the middle part of the discussed formula to enact social change. That is not to say that environmental ethics cannot be at least partially influenced by religious teachings, as this would not interfere with environmental action on a grand scale. Although religion should not provide the basis for environmental ethics, it certainly does have its merits in that it can motivate individuals enact positive environmental change under the moral guidance of their religions. In a lecture on religious environmental ethics by Keith Douglass Warner and David DeCosse at Santa Clara University, Warner and DeCosse discuss the environmental morals that are inherent in religious teachings. They argue that due to modernization of societies, the traditional religious attitudes toward nature have mostly disappeared. The lecture presented various writings on the issue of religious environmentalism and ultimately draws the conclusion that environmental action is an essential part of religion. Warner and DeCosse posit that western religious institutions had failed to lay out a â€Å"religious rationale for environmental protection,† but have since posited that the ecological crisis is a moral obligations for all human beings. They also put f orth the claim that environmental action is a sacrament, or â€Å"expression of divine love† since the creation of the whole world has religious significance for the religious community (Warner DeCosse). The position that is mainly argued is that the environmental ethics part of religion is something that is ancient and lost, but needs a revival to solve environmental issues in our modern world. Warner and DeCosse argue that the incorporation of environmental activism into religious teaching is a phenomenon occurring in almost every religion, but drawing general conclusions is difficult to do. This is due to the variety of religions on the planet and the fact that many religious environmental teachings and ethical practice are of a local scale while climate change is a matter of a global scale (Warner DeCosse). Thus, as this Santa Clara lecture explains, environmental ethics is an aspect of religion that has significant history. However, due to the diversity and locality of these teachings, it is difficult to draw a generalized and unified approach to solving environmental issues using religion alone. This idea of having a multitude of religious ideas within the broad spectrum of environmental ethics is explored in the article written by Jane Freimiller in the journal Capitalism, Nature, Socialism about the book Earth’s Insights: A Multicultural Survey of Ecological Ethics from the Mediterranean Basin to the Australian Outback by J. Baird Callicott. This article discusses the main points of the book: the cataloging of religious systems of thought, the provision of theoretical justification for doing so, and the report on the environmental movements that had religious backings. The article characterizes the book as a survey of world beliefs from the perspective of environmental ethics. In the discussion of the various perspectives on environmental ethics, the idea of the â€Å"shopping mall† dilemma arises, where one belief system out of the many varied beliefs in the world is picked over another in the grand goal of religious environmentalism. The solution proposed b y the book is to integrate all elements of the world’s religions and harmonize it with modern science (Callicott 152). The author of the article argues that a multicultural survey of environmental ethics, one that accounts for the differing views of several cultures regarding environmentalism, is a step in the right direction instead of formulating a new, integrated environmental ethic, as the book suggests (Freimiller). Therefore, Freimiller’s argument is convincing, as religion is so multifaceted that it is hard to unify the environmental movement under religion. Instead, a survey of world beliefs regarding environmental ethics seems like an appropriate part of the environmental solution that can incorporate religious thought, but is fundamentally scientific, as science is straightforward and universal. As demonstrated from the discussion of the two sources above, although religion can positively influence environmental ethics, it is too varied across the globe to form a consensus on environmental ethics. Thus, science would form the better basis for environmentalism as it is uniform and its proof is undeniable. The relationship between science and religion in the sphere of environmental ethics is one that carries great significance in the environmental movement. In Rebith of the Sacred: Science, Religion, and the New Environmental Ethos by Robert L. Nadeau, the author argues that to resolve the environmental crisis, it is essential that society changes its political and economic institutions as well as adapt to new standards for moral and ethical behavior. Nadeau proposes that the solution can be found if sufficient numbers of environmentally concerned people participate in the dialogue between the truths of science and religion. The truth of science, according to Nadeau is that it provides a link between the spirituality of religion and the human mind. That is, science can account for evolutionarily produced cognitive faculties that gives humans â€Å"the capacity to engage in spontaneous moral behavior and to experience the other as oneself† (Nadeau 143). Thus, Nadeau argues that m oral behavior is inherently derived from nature not nurture. In regards to the truth of religion, the author states that despite â€Å"differences in the narratives of the major religious traditions of the world, the most profound religious and moral truths are virtually identically† (Nadeau 145). Thus, Nadeau believes that all of the world’s diverse religions are interconnected and unified by the same thread of spiritual awareness. The author cited scientific research to align with this idea of common spiritual awareness when he stated the following: â€Å"Since the brain scans of the Buddhist monks and Catholic nuns were virtually identical, this strongly suggests that they were in very similar states of profound spiritual awareness.† Together, the truth of science and the truth of religion can be incorporated in Nadeau’s â€Å"New Environmental Ethos,† which is the combination of a â€Å"spiritual and physical reality†. Those who embrace this ethos, according to Nadeau, will view human pollution as immoral and see that neuroscience can explain emotional and unconscious processes that influence human behavior (Nadeau 146). Thus, Nadeau argues, science is in accordance with religious or spiritual morality as science provides the biological explanation for the neurology from which moral thoughts stem. In other words, the fundamental scientific truths are fully compatible with spiritual truths, as defined by Nadeau. However, having a common spiritual awareness across different religions may not translate to taking environmental action in the same fashion. Thus, discord can arise from differences in approaches to environmental action. This is supported by the fact that the Buddhists in the study mentioned by Nadeau sees a different spiritual being than the nuns. This may mean that the ways they worship and what they worship may differ and thus, the approach they take in environmentalism may differ. For instance, one may take direct action while the other takes on advocacy. What is essential for the health of the environment and the human population is not differing routes of environmental activism that may result in inefficiency but rather a unified, well-backed, and efficient approach that can lead to a common solution. Although Nadeau’s â€Å"New Environmental Ethos† does not necessarily conflict with the discord in differing religious views that lead to different environmental ac tion, his thesis treats science and religion as equally important components in environmental ethics, which they are not, and is not completely holistic. In his book, Nadeau states that moral reasoning is not the same as proactive moral behavior (Nadeau 147). In this sense, if science is assumed to be the basis for moral behavior, then the basis for environmental action can be mostly scientific. Then, the spiritual aspect of the â€Å"New Environmental Ethos† is simply an extraneous factor that can act as a motivator for environmental action. Nadeau’s religious environmentalism argument, which is heavy on spirituality, can also encounter a potential conflict with the atheist community. Since environmental change is a global issue, then a global solution encompassing all people must be devised. Nadeau’s â€Å"new environmental ethos† disregards atheists, which equates to disregarding the atheist community. This community makes up 11% of citizens that participated in the 2015 Gallup pole regarding religion (Losing our religion?†). Therefore, the â€Å"New Environmental Ethos† proposed by Nadeau i s not a holistic solution in that a necessitated global environmentalist approach needs to include all people, not just those who are religious or spiritual. While science is undeniably the basis of environmentalism, some may argue that religion can have a role of equal or greater importance in guiding environmental ethics. As mentioned before, various religions across the globe have long stressed environmental action and taking care of nature through religious teachings, texts, and the previously mentioned idea of â€Å"sacraments.† In Warner and DeCosse’s lecture, they also discuss a global, trans-religious phenomenon called â€Å"the Greening of Religion† in which many of the world’s religions are stressing environmental action as a moral obligation (Warner DeCosse). This similarity of environmental teaching among religions support the argument that religion does indeed have a role that is as or more important as science in guiding environmental ethics. In regards to the scientific side of the objection argument, some may say that science cannot account for morals and thus cannot account for environmental e thics. The same people may also posit that the purpose of religion is to impart moral values and thus influence environmental ethics in that fashion. That is, religious teachings influence moral values and what is right or wrong when it comes to environmentalism. In response to this argument, it is important to note that global warming is a scientific process. Without scientific evidence, there would be not enough awareness of global warming in the first place for the religious institution to call for environmental action. Though, with this scientific knowledge, religion is not necessarily essential to enact social change, as demonstrated by the impacts of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Science therefore can account for ethics and religion is not the only proponent of morality in regards to environmentalism. Thus, science is the only necessitated part of environmental ethics while religion can act as a possible secondary motivator in enacting environmental action. Through the holistic analysis of religion, the relationship between science and religion as they relate to environmental ethics, and the unified, mass social change that science alone is capable of initiating, as proven by Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, it can be concluded that the fundamental guide to environmental ethics is science. Without the multiplicity of differing views and approaches that exists within religion, science can provide a clear and unified basis for environmental action for global community as a whole, regardless of individual moral or religious principles.

Evaluates the main developments( history) of customer relationship Literature review

Evaluates the main developments( history) of customer relationship - Literature review Example It wasn’t as complex as today’s customer relationship which is well-developed. It primarily involved interaction between a company’s staff and customers. Even though it was useful, information on the existent database was unorganized, hard to track, update and retrieve (Moseley 1999). The 90s experienced great advances in terms of customer relationship. Companies started seeing the gains in extending perks to potential and existing customers for repeat buys or in exchange for applicable customer information. Companies started viewing customer service as a skill that is evolving continuously instead of a stagnant service that can be used whenever (Moseley 1999; Timm 2011) Today, Customer Relationship Management is at its full potential making it possible for businesses to attain superior customer service and maximize their potentials. Customization of software to fit a specific business or industry is made possible by innovation and more improved tools are available. Benefits savoured by clients are beneficial to the companies awarding them as well since they can now easily track the patterns, spending history and behaviour of their clients (DeGregor 2011). Storage matters for huge databases, particularly for big companies can now be settled with Customer Relationship Managements online capabilities. Opening secure internet mediums for staging Customer Relationship Management and offsite storage of data are now being offered by Customer Relationship Management software developers. Customer Relationship Management is most useful for those organizations that immensely depend on customer service or technology. Most Customer Relationship Management-based software and tools are hence used by the computer hardware and software sectors, the telecommunications industry and credit card companies. Customer Relationship Management history surely indicates that something really effective and

To investigate various ways of financing educational boot camps for Research Paper

To investigate various ways of financing educational boot camps for less privileged but gifted students in the Czech Republic - Research Paper Example It was also imperative to collect information on these learning platforms, so as to provide insight on what they would constitute, since they do not exist within the Czech education system. Information on the Czech education system was obtained from government sources like reports by the Office of the Government of the Czech Republic. There were also sources such as organizations’ and foundations’ reports like those by the European Commission and the Czech Institute for Information on Education. These secondary data sources were deemed credible owing to the impartial nature of their statistical findings on education, and especially gifted education in the country. The sources were also considered the best, as they provided a comprehensive overview of the background information that formed a basis for the research. The decision to use interview was aimed at collecting personal opinions from potential education boot camp financiers as research data. Interviews were also considered most suitable, since in depth understanding of and insight into the subject of gifted education funding in the Czech Republic was paramount to the study. Through directly interviewing potential sponsors of the proposed education programs, it was possible to directly define the study’s context. Additionally, use of interviews as primary data collection tools made it possible to discover the thoughts and feelings of the respondents on gifted education in the Czech Republic, while identifying their specific reasons for various opinions (Ã…  krabà ¡nkovà ¡, 2011). It was also imperative to gain human perspective of extant data and trends of gifted education in the country. There were several advantages of using interviews in the research. Key among the benefits noted was the usefulness of the interviews in obtain ing information in details, particularly in regard to personal opinions, outlooks on gifted education, and overall opinions.

Business Report about Dental coverage In Australia Assignment

Business Report about Dental coverage In Australia - Assignment Example The rising problem of getting timely dental treatment and increase in expenditures of the individuals has led to the intervention of the government in terms of increase in fund allocation and grant of licenses to more number of private insurers. The increase in the dental coverage in Australia has led to the rise in availability and affordability of dental care treatment for the people of Australia. The various schemes launched by the government focused on the fissure sealants for children. These are dental treatment procedures where the teeth of the children are covered by a sealed coating in order to prevent damage in future. The fissure salient for children has helped to reduce the carryover of dental problems to adulthood. Various recommendations for addressing the dental problems and role of the dental coverage in Australia have been mentioned. The inclusion of specialized schemes for children in the coverage provided by the private insurers to the Australian people would help t o mitigate the dental problems in future. The awareness programs run in the schools and the communities would help to address the problem in an inclusive manner. Discussion of Contributing Facts Dental coverage and care is associated to the physical, mental and social well being of the children and adults in the society. The Australian system of dental coverage is dominated by 90% of the players representing the private sector. Thus the Australian people tend to remain in the waiting list in terms of receiving timely treatment from the public sector. The rise in the number of patients in the domain of dental care is also due to untimely receipt of dental coverage and treatment from the childhood which is in turn carried over by the time the children grows into matured adults (Australian Dental Association, 2013, p.17). Due to the lack of treatment of the dental problems in the public sector due to shortage of trained medical staffs over a period of time, the major problem generally arise due to dislocation of teeth, inappropriate fitting of dentures, etc. This leads to increase in cost of treatment on dental care for which dental coverage has attained huge significance in the recent times (Consumer Health Forum of Australia, 2012, p.2). A quick look at the contributing facts could provide a clear idea on the scope of dental coverage in Australia. Neglect in dental hygiene in the childhood leading to carryover of dental problems in adulthood. Untimely dental treatment due to increase in waiting list in the public sector (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2011, p.34). Increasing cost of dental care due to dislocation of teeth, inaccurate filing of teeth and mistake in fitting of denture. Absence of adequate trained dental staffs in the public sector facilities leading to dependence on the private sector. Discussion of the problem The increase in the cases of dental care, increase in the public sector waiting list for dental treatment and increasing cos t of the Australian people led to the intervention of the government to solve the rising need for dental care and coverage. The expenditure of the government increased from $5.3 billion in 2005-06 to $7.8 billion in 2010-11 (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2011, p.49). The break-up of the contributions of the governments,

Social Performance, Part 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social Performance, Part 2 - Essay Example This ensures that the company operates within the given guidelines. It is noteworthy that these guidelines are set under the federal sentencing guidelines for organizations. Every company should observe these guidelines whilst undertaking its operations. The federal sentencing guidelines are a set of rules, which enforces standardized sentencing policy to individuals and organizations condemned of criminal offences. These rules were set in the United States federal court system (Davidson, 2005). These set rules and regulations are only applicable to serious crimes, and offences. In this regard, the less serious crimes are excluded from these regulations. The primary goal for these guidelines aims at alleviating sentencing inequalities rampant in the established sentencing system. The guidelines promote the development of effective programs by the company in an effort to prevent and identify law violation and set steps for facilitating the program. Companies, therefore, should have se t codes of conduct to be followed to avoid and minimize violation of laws. This will improve the reputation of the company. The code of conduct is a system of behavior followed for maintenance and promotion of company’s dignity and reputation. Romco Company has set codes of conducts, which should be adhered to by its stakeholders including executives, board of directors, directors, company secretary, staff, and other employees. Each company has its own set codes of conduct, the codes of conduct are unique for each company, and thus, there is no uniformity or standardized codes of company. The freedom accorded to these companies have contributed to problems in the way companies operates this is because some misuse it by setting codes for the sake of personal greed and interest. Romco’s competitors are examples of companies with codes of conduct, which do not put into consideration the interest of its customers and competitors. Angels, Ramal, and Queens Companies fall in the same industry with Romco. The codes of these three companies are, however, different and do not agree with those of Romco. The directors of these companies are superior as decision-making is centered. They do not consult other stakeholders as they have a final say, and thus, they make decisions based on their personal gains and interest without considering other employees. Honesty and transparency among the directors are not observed, and thus, the allocation of resources to different departments is not uniform, hence affecting operations of the company. These companies have constantly become the victims of the federal sentencing guidelines. This is because of their failure to complying with the basic laws, regulations, and rules. In addition, they have failed to establish the appropriate business ethics and code of conduct appropriate for corporate governance. Ramco, unlike its competitors, have set rules of conduct, which are adhered to, and strictly observed by the parties i nvolved in the company. The interests of various stakeholders that are significant for the growth and success of the company should be considered. Romco has managed to achieve this role. Decision making in the company is reached by involving all participants. In this case, the decisions do not lie in the hands of directors, and managers, the decision-making is decentralized. The directors of Ramco execute their duties with fairness, honesty, and transparency. They are required to perform their duties professionally, with determination and

Delphi Technique of Forecasting Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Delphi Technique of Forecasting - Case Study Example There after results are tabulated and issues raised are identified one by one. This step helps the planner to carefully study the various important issues to be addressed in the next round. It needs to be mentioned here that it is the same questionnaire that is given to all the experts in the panel. These days the questionnaire is sent through mail. Now we come to the second round where the planar tries to hold a meeting with all the experts together and the results of the questionnaire are then return the experts. There are issues where experts agree where as there are some other issues on which they disagree. It is carefully noted by the planner and a general consensus is reached. Finally we come to the third round where the various factors are reevaluated by everyone together and the issues are carefully discussed. In this particular Delphi method group judgments are more important than individual judgments. Information processing. The experts collect the answers in the form of questionnaires and comments. The panel head controls the exchange of ideas among the experts by processing the data and deleting the unnecessary content. Usually the experts engage in disagreements during the panel discussion and hence it has negative effect. Anonymity of participants. ... Regular Feedback: The experts give comments on their own forecasts and it is very much valued by the planner. Anonymity of participants. There is complete anonymity of the participants because the nature of the experts might vary and during the discussion they may try to bully others or some not voice their opinion due to fear of opposition. Role of the facilitator. The role of the facilitator is very important during the discussion among the experts. He interprets the various view points raised by the participants and comes to a conclusion. Uses of Delphi Method in forecasting The Delphi method is very useful in the field of science & technology. Since my organization is into a broadband connection it is particularly very helpful in analyzing the market. The researcher of my organization through his questionnaire has tries to find out the demand of various broadband connection plans across the length and breadth of the country since India has a huge market which needs to be covered by the internet network the feedback given by the participants becomes very valuable to the company. The feedback highlighted various issues on which the experts agreed i.e. the example the different broadband scheme to suit everybody's budget. But they disagreed as to the pricing of the various connection plans. But however a general consensus was reached in the final round and the outcome was positive. The Delphi method however has its drawbacks and may not be always as accurate as it states but the method is not at fault rather the reporting or the interpretation of the feedback taken from the participants may not necessarily give us the true picture as to the future predictions. The

Crisis Management unit 2 Complete Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Crisis Management unit 2 Complete - Case Study Example BP also lacked proper mechanism in terms of the procedure and interpretation of the results for the negative pressure tests and hence even when they detected the pressure on the drill pipes, they assumed it was false negative and the presence of pressure indicated there was a leak and the seal had not been well secured. This eventually fueled the fire which led to casualties and the spill of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico and ultimate loss to the BP Company, the Cameron International, Transocean and the government (Crandall, Parnell and Spillan, 2009). The latest news about the BP explosion is that The BP engineer who was overseeing the safety and all other activities in the oil rig will be the first to be prosecuted and he will be taking the blame for the accident (Thompson and Galofaro, 2013). This is scapegoating as the accident was created by the neglect of several people and not only the engineer. The management should also be charged as being solely responsible as well and not take the engineer as a sacrificial lamb in the accident that not only cause massive damage but deaths as well. The Deepwater Horizon accident was associated more with faulty process safety culture than with cost cutting. BP had used a lot of money in the process and due to fall back in the schedule, had incurred an additional $58 million not budgeted for. This however is not the reason that caused the accident. As explained in the summary above, BP overlooked some of the safety procedures required to seal of the BOP in order to ensure no gas leaks that could easily be ignited and cause a fire. The BOP had earlier on (a few weeks before) been slightly damaged but no action for repair or even mere inspection was carried out once funny and suspicious rubber pieces were found in the oil. They also overlooked the fact that in order to completely seal the BOP, they had to use 21 centralizers. They had only six and instead of waiting for the rest to arrive, they decided to use those six. During the negative pressure test, when they discovered pressure being released, they termed it as a false negative pressure reading and the pressure seeped with the gas through the not completely sealed BOP and it was ignited causing the fire and the complete destruction of BOP which was slightly destroyed hence causing the oil spill. The strategy BP undertook of ignoring the safety precautions and instructions standards set and the management providing instructions that overlooked the danger is what led to the crisis. On realization of the looming crisis whose signs were eminent for all to see, BP would have formed a crisis team to handle the situation but nothing of the sort was done. Since the management had the power, authority and mandate to make final decisions concerning the running of the whole process, their word concerning the crisis was final and their decision carried out. Their neglectful and rush decisions are what majorly contributed to the accident. The first of the steps is to appoint and empower a safety precaution and investigation team which would be mandated to carry out safety checks as regularly as possible. Next would be to work hand in hand with the employees opening up direct communication with them so that in case of any faults in the rig or any other

Cultural Differences in Uncertainty Reduction Essay

Cultural Differences in Uncertainty Reduction - Essay Example The basic difference between high context cultures and low context ones is that while high context cultures view communication as a means for social bonding, low context cultures see it as a means for information transmission. As a result people while people from these varied cultural backgrounds are faced with anxiety when dealing with strangers, the manner in which they tackle the issue is rather different. Charles Berger's Uncertainty Reduction Theory deals with this concept of 'uncertainty' and focuses on how different aspects of communication can increase or decrease our uncertainty level about others Uncertainty reduction is all about understanding a stranger and being able to predict and explain his/her behaviour in a given context. (Griffin, 2006)The first part of this paper focuses on Charles Berger's uncertainty reduction theory and how this theory is important to our understanding of communication between cultures. The second part of the paper discusses the issue of cultural differences between societies and individuals. This section will describe the various characteristics of high and low context cultures and how they try to reduce uncertainty while dealing with strangers. Expanding on Berger's theory,. ... Expanding on Berger's theory,. William Gudykunst and his colleagues found out that all cultures seek to reduce anxiety and uncertainty in the initial stages of the relationship, but they do so in different ways (Littlejohn & Foss, 2004). The difference can be explained by whether one is a member of a high-context culture or low-context culture. Central to the uncertainty reduction theory, which was originally formulated by Charles Berger, is the assumption that when strangers meet, their primary concern is one of uncertainty reduction or increasing predictability about the behavior of both themselves and others in the interaction (Wright, 2000). The original formulation of uncertainty reduction theory in initial interactions posited seven axioms and 21 theorems which specify the interrelations among uncertainty, amount of communication, nonverbal affirmative expressiveness, information seeking, intimacy level of communication content, reciprocity, similarity, and liking (Gudykunst, 1985). The seven axioms that Berger uses to reinforce his theory are; as verbal communication increases, the level of uncertainty decreases; uncertainty causes increased levels of information seeking; high levels of uncertainty result in low levels of self disclosure; uncertainty causes increased levels of reciprocity; similarities decreases unce rtainty whereas dissimilarities increase uncertainty; and high levels of uncertainty causes a decrease in liking whereas low levels of uncertainty increase liking (Wright, 2000). Charles Berger's Uncertainty reduction Theory focuses on how human communication can be used to gain knowledge and create understanding. (Griffin, 2006) . Uncertainty reduction follws a three step pattern of developmental stages namely, entry personal and exit. At

Te Whariki and Concepts of Play Essay Example for Free

Te Whariki and Concepts of Play Essay How important is play to children’s life? Is it just for fun, or is it actually a passage for children to learn? According to a research conducted in French and Canadian schools, children who spent one-third of school time engaging in physical activity were â€Å"increased in fitness, improved attitudes, and slight improvements in test scores.† And the outcomes correspond with nearly 200 other studies suggesting that â€Å"physical activity supports learning.† (Olga S, 2003.) In this essay, I am going to discuss the influence of play on children’s development and learning, by referring to Vygotsky and Parten’s theories and Te Whariki. What is play? Play is a significant part of children’s development, and it is also a part of their nature. Children love to play, they are more motivated to learn during play, and they obtain all kinds of experiences and knowledge through play. Moreover, play provides opportunities for children to establish good relationships with teachers and peers. For example, in the first week of my last practicum, I helped a four-year-old girl to play number-matching puzzles. We had a very good time playing together, and this girl stayed very close to me for the rest of my practicum. I have also observed in my practicum that children who played together earlier in the day tended to stay together for the rest of the day. This emphasizes the important connection between play and social development of children. Moreover, according to Vygotsky’s theory, culture such as language, values and perspectives is transmitted through social interactions. (The Mozart of Psychology Lev Semenovich Vygotsky, 2005.) He also believed that, children’s cognitive development is socially and culturally mediated, and it depends on and is affected by social interactions. (Berk, 2007.) Children interact with each other through verbal and non-verbal language, and play is a starter to these interactions. Throughout play, they obtain knowledge, practical skills, share ideas and experiences, learn about sharing and turn taking, right and wrong and boundaries and limits. In 1932, Mildred Parten (as cited in R. Tomlin, n.d.) came up with the theory â€Å"Categories of Play†. It classifies children’s play into six categories that represent six types and degrees of children’s social behaviors and development. They are unoccupied play, onlooker play, solitary play, parallel play, associative play and co-operative play. The unoccupied play is a stage where the child does not engage himself in play, not with any other children or toys. The child is more like an ‘observer’ than ‘player’, he may watch other children play and take notice of the things that happen around him. He may stay in one location or move around randomly. During the onlooker play, the child is still more of a ‘watcher’ than ‘player’, he may engage himself with other children verbally during their play, such as asking questions, offer suggestions, but not engage in participating in the activity. Solitary play is a st age where the child plays by himself. There are no interactions with other children, and no interests of what other children are doing. However, when a child plays alone it does not necessarily mean he is socially isolated, it can be that the child just needs some time by himself. Parallel play is a stage that occurs in all age groups. It is when children play with similar toys or engage in similar activities at the same time and location, but play separately. They are more focused on what they are doing than on other children. Associative play mostly occurs between three and four years of age. It is a stage about socialization. Communication and interactions start to occur, children start to learn to share, to take turns. The main focus is not on the objects anymore but on their peers. The last stage is co-operative play. It is a stage that children start to have a concept of ‘team’ and ‘team work’. Everyone is working together toward the final goal by fulfilling the roles they assigned to. Play can be considered as an excellent tool to enhance children’s development. For example, in my last practicum, we often played a game called â€Å"The Rainbow†. It is to ask all the children and teachers to hold a large colorful fabric together, and the children are assigned to different numbers from one to three, then we start to sing a song, when the song finishes, we lift up the fabric, the teacher will call out the number, and the children who are assigned to this number will have to run under the fabric and switch positions. This game offers an opportunity for children to exercise their body by running, lifting up their arms, to practice their thinking skills by understanding the rules of the game, to practice their language skills by singing the song, and to recognize numbers. The children have a really great time playing the game, their emotional well-being has been nurtured, and by playing the game with all teachers together, they would feel safe and protected from harm. Moreover, a sense of belonging has been developed by playing the game together with the whole team. (Ministry of Education, 1996.) Other types of play, such as pretend play, symbolic play also help children to obtain a higher level of cognitive competence. For example, in pretend play, children have to have â€Å"the ability to transform objects and actions symbolically† (Bergen, 2002) Through these various types of play, children start to make sense of the world, to separate fantasy from reality, to learn self-regulation, to practice their thinking skills. It also provides children with opportunities to revisit joyful experiences, or to deal and cope with negative emotions. In terms of making sense of the world, a child who pretends to be a bus driver, and sits at the front of the ‘bus’. The idea of where the bus driver is on a bus comes from the child’s real life experiences, where he gets on the bus with his parents and sees the bus driver sitting in the front, then he starts to release that is the way it is. Also, when a child pretends to be a doctor, he has to understand its characteristic, such as costume, postures and vocabulary, in order to carry out the role. And an example of how children separate fantasy from reality is the ‘cooking’ game that I observed in my last practicum. The children used lots of containers, bottles, spoons and sand to ‘cook’. A four-year-old girl brought me a bottle filled with sand and said, â€Å"It’s milk, it’s for you.† And when I took over the bottle and start to ‘drink’, she said, â€Å"We are not really drinking it, we just pretend it’s milk, ok?† However, some other younger children would actually eat the sand, because they have not yet developed the concept of fantasy and reality. As previously said, pretend play and symbolic play help children to learn self-regulation, to practice thinking skills. They learn to control their emotions, to share toys and take turns, and underst and the reason to do that. They learn that daycare is different from home, and there are different sets of rules to follow. Children also love to re-act the joyful moments they had in previous experiences. For example, on a Monday morning, A came to my practicum centre telling us she had a great time on the beach during the weekend. Then later during the day, A and two other girls took bags, sun glasses and sunhats pretending they are on the beach. From these examples, we can see how children benefit from play. Play improves and enhances the holistic development of children, so for adults, it is important to encourage and enhance children to play, identify children’s learning and provide them with a safe environment, materials, various types of learning experiences and appropriate responds and assistance. Moreover, most importantly, â€Å"adults should make children aware of any hidden risks in physical challenges they set for themselves.† (Fernie, 1988) The four principles of Te Whariki (Ministry of Education, 1996.), empowerment, holistic development, relationship and family and community facilitate appropriate curriculum for children’s development through play. The principle of empowerment ensures that children’s physical and emotional well-being is nurtured. This may include, nutritious meals, appropriate food for children with allergies, sufficient amount of outdoor activity and rest, and knowledge of their body, body function and self-help skills, awareness of harm and skills, sense of safety, and understanding of rules about harming others and the environment. As for the emotional well-being, the principle of empowerment ensures that children take responsibilities of their own decision and actions, develop sense of self-recognition, ability of self-regulation and self-adjustment. The empowerment principle contributes significantly to the second principle, holistic development. It enables children to have a concept of the ECE settings, home and the world, and the links and differences between them, the knowledge of people, objects, communities and natural recourses, and interests in discovering them. Also, it helps children to build confidences through participating in activities and social interactions, initiatives awareness of daily routines and tolerance of changes, enhances their ability to accept new things, and to understand boundaries and limits. The third and forth principles, relationships and family and community work together to enable children to develop communication skills, build confidences in communication and establishing relationships with people from different gender, age group and cultural background. In my last practicum, one of the under two babies held a birthday party together with the over two children, the teachers and parents. The over twos also performed a song they had been practicing for the past two weeks to the parents. During the party, there were lots of interactions going on. The children were communicating with each other and adults verbally and non-verbally, they talks about the previous birthday parties, plans for their future birthday parties, they used facial expressions, gestures, postures and body movement to express themselves, some of the children showed their counting skills to the parent by counting the candles on the cake. The teachers and parents always respond to the children’s questions or needs, and encouraged them to bring their plate and water bottle to the kitchen branch by themselves and wash their hands after eating. Play is an important and significant part a child’s life, it provides opportunities for children to take initiatives in learning. As adults, we should provide children with helpful and suitable resources, materials and assistances to enable appropriate learning to occur. Moreover, it is our responsibility to arm ourselves with skills and knowledge in order to assist children to achieve their goals. We should start to be aware of the value and the significance of children’s play, guide and teach them during their play. Family, educators and caregivers should be working together, to help children to grow up into successful adults, and to make our world a better place. Reference List Bergen, D. (2002). The role of pretend play in childrens cognitive development. Retrieved March 23, 2010 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_6893/is_1_4/ai_n28132540/?tag=content;col1 Berk, Laura E. (2007). (4th Edition). Development Through the Lifespan. USA: Pearson Allyn and Bacon. Fernie, D. (1988). The Nature of Childrens Play. Retrieved March 23, 2010 April 2, 2010 from http://www.silkysteps.com/family.cfm/auid/481/Hope-Hedgehog/Hopes-Articles/Childrens-Play Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whariki: He whariki matauranga mo nga mokopuna o aotearoa/ Early Childhood Curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media. Olga S, J. (2003). Recess in Elementary School: What Does the Research Say? ERIC Digest. Retrieved January 23, 2010 from http://www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/recess.html R. Tomlin, C. (n.d.). Play: A Historical Review. Retrieved March 20, 2010 from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=618 The Mozart of Psychology Lev Semenovich Vygotsky. (2005). Retrieved March 13, 2010 from http://vygotsky.afraid.org/

The Role of Cultural Intelligence in Effective Leadership Essay Example for Free

The Role of Cultural Intelligence in Effective Leadership Essay Over the years, business companies and society in general have increasingly housed different people from all over the world, each bringing to the table his or her own culture. As a consequence, the need for effective social skills and cultural sensitivity has been highlighted, especially for managers as part of the complete leadership package. What is Cultural Intelligence? Traditionally, intelligence is defined as simply being able to correctly answer questions in a test. However, experts say that intelligence encompasses more aspects which build an individual’s personality, and this includes cultural intelligence (Earley, 2003, p. 3). Before we define what cultural intelligence is, let us first understand the meaning of culture. Peterson (2004) defines culture as â€Å"the relatively set of minor values and beliefs generally held by groups of people in countries or regions and the noticeable impact those values and beliefs have on the people’s outward behaviors and environment† (p. 17). Given this definition, we can clearly say that managing and capitalizing on different cultures to drive business to profitability entails a very solid leadership team. Management literature offers a number of working definitions of cultural intelligence or CQ. For instance, Earley and Ang (2003) define CQ as: A person’s capability for successful adaptation to new cultural settings, that is, for unfamiliar settings attributable to cultural context and consists of cognitive, motivational and behavioral elements. In managerial contexts, this calls for the ability, among other things, to identify and solve problems sensitively and effectively in cross cultural situations. (p. 9) CQ is also sometimes referred to as the â€Å"key competencies that allow us to effectively interact with people from diverse cultural backgrounds in all kinds of settings† (Bucher, 2007, p. 7). The Need for Cultural Intelligence in Business The trend nowadays is that companies are seeing an increasingly diverse employee base as they expand to new local and international territories. This, then, necessitates more effective leadership skills set and behaviors to be able to manage the company given the new and often changing global landscape. CQ encompasses both traditional intelligence (IQ), which is required to perform and analyze day-to-day business activities, and emotional intelligence (EQ) which deals primarily with social interactions. It entails the capacity to decipher, interpret and integrate both rational and emotional behaviors. Business leaders with high CQ more easily and effectively adapt to new environments and deal with people from different countries. (Earley and Ang, 2003, p. 34 35). CQ plays an important role in a number of business activities especially when a company is trying to develop a business opportunity in a foreign country or is planning to enter into a joint venture with a foreign partner. In these cases, a high CQ manager will overcome common impediments such as language and professional mindset to close a potential deal. CQ is also required of a manager who oversees both local and expatriate colleagues. He or she must make sure that they co-exist and work toward a common goal for the company. Sometimes, it is especially challenging to motivate local employees when they see a lot of expatriates who usually have significantly bigger paychecks. In addition, CQ is needed in resolving disputes between or among employees of diverse cultural background. A good manager knows that some people prefer direct and straightforward confrontation, while others are uncomfortable with this style. Managing relations with foreign stakeholders can likewise be difficult at times, especially with the difference in governance style and structure. However, a manager with high CQ will take into consideration political, corporate or social sensitivities to sustain thriving relationships with the company’s stakeholders. Multi-national companies also face a lot of ethical dilemmas, and dealing with these problems requires high levels of CQ. Moreover, strategic business activities like setting policies and plans, as well as developing training programs for employees call for managers with high CQ. In both cases, the company should strike a balance between the needs and expectations of both local staff and expatriates. More importantly, CQ impacts a company’s bottom-line issues. Bucher (2007) explains: CQ changes the way employees interact with their customers and clients. As employees develop their CQ megaskills, their ability to assess and understand the cultural context of any social interaction increases. This, in turn, allows them to increase customer / client satisfaction by building relationships and adapting to the diverse needs of individuals. Even small changes in the range and magnitude of one’s skills can have a profound influence on productivity, and other bottom-line issues. (p. 12) Cultural Intelligence and Emotional Intelligence Emotional intelligence (EQ), like IQ and CQ, contributes to the well-roundedness of a highly-effective manager and business leader. Stening (2006) discusses, An individual’s success in life (including at work) is determined not just by abilities in respect of a fairly narrow range of mathematics and linguistic skills, but by such things as: knowing their own emotions (self-awareness); managing their emotions (handling their feelings in an appropriate manner); motivating themselves (harnessing their emotions in the interests of goal accomplishment); recognizing emotions in others (having empathy); and handling relationships (being socially – i. e. , behaviorally – competent). (p. 78) Managers who possess high EQ tend to be more effective motivators and leaders as they recognize the need for open and transparent communications with their staff. Of course, employees more positively respond to a high EQ manager who understands his or her own emotions and let their actions speak louder than mere words than an authoritarian manager. EQ is particularly useful in managing conflicts. A high EQ manager will be in a better position to resolve the conflict calmly since he or she has control over his or her emotions. In addition, having a high EQ will enable a manager to make wise business decisions because he or she is more stable, would be more open to other people’s suggestions, and can clearly think even under pressure. Moreover, companies with many high EQ managers will be able to retain their competent workforce and survive the tight competition in the market. This is because employees who are made to feel they are an asset to the organization will most likely be more motivated to perform better and be loyal to the company. How to Enhance Cultural Intelligence Like any other intelligence models, CQ can be developed and enhanced. Some CQ proponents suggest that CQ is developed in three ways: cognitive, physical and motivational. Cognitive refers to learning about your own culture as well as those of other people, and appreciating what cultural diversity is about. Meanwhile, physical means using your body and senses to blend and immerse in a new environment. Finally, motivational pertains to using your emotions such as in gaining rewards upon achievement of a certain level of success and/or acceptance. (Earley, Ang Tan, 2010, p. 34) Bucher (2007), on the other hand, suggests developing nine â€Å"megaskills† to build CQ, namely (1) understanding my cultural identity; (2) checking cultural lenses; (3) global consciousness; (4) shifting perspectives; (5) intercultural; communication; (6) managing cross-cultural conflict; (7) multi-cultural teaming; (8) dealing with bias; and (9) understanding the dynamics of power. (p. 10 -11) References Bucher, R. D. (2007). Building Cultural Intelligence (CQ): Nine Megaskills. USA: Prentice Hall. Chin, C. Gaynier, L. (2006). Global Leadership Competence; A Cultural Intelligence Perspective. Michigan: Lawrence Technical University. Deng, L. , Gibson, P. (2008). A Qualitative Evaluation on the Role of Cultural Intelligence in Cross-Cultural Leadership Effectiveness. International Journal of Leadership Studies, 3 (2), 181 – 197. Earley, C. P. , Ang, S. (2003). Cultural Intelligence: Individual Interactions Across Cultures. California: Stanford University Press. Earley, C. P. , Ang. S. , Tan, J. (2010). CQ: Developing Cultural Intelligence at Work. California: Stanford Business Books. Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons in Theory and Practice. USA: Basic Books. Goleman, D. (2005). Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More than IQ. New York: Bantam Dell. Goleman, D. , McKee, A. , Boyatzis, R. (2002). Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of

Dimensions of Service Quality and Administration Quality

Dimensions of Service Quality and Administration Quality JASVINDER SINGH 1 Service quality: the approach is may be defined from the customers prospective. A deal giving that introduce the customer need and want to his complete satisfaction is quality service. This approach is also recognise that different customers have different need, because it is hard to satisfy each and every customers. Our organisation is Kolmar rest home. And there provided good quality of service by the employees such as food, medication, dressing etc. The dimension of service quality represents how consumers organise information about service quality in their mind. Five dimensions of service quality 1. Reliability: Reliability is defined as the capacity to give service as they promised service and accurately. Organisation need to aware the expectation of reliability. If the organisation not able to provide service than client think they are not interested, fail, or frustrate from their customers. 2. Responsiveness: It is the willingness to help the customers and provide prompt service. These dimensions emphasise attentiveness and promptness in dealing with customers request, questions, complaints and problems. Responsiveness is to talk to customers by the long period of time they have to wait for support, answers to question or attention to problem. To excel the responsive ness organisation must be certain view the process service delivery the handling of requests from the customer’s point of view, rather than company view of point. 3. Assurance: It is characterized as workers learning and affability and the capacity of the association and its workers to move trust and certainty. This measurement is liable to be especially essential for administrations that the client sees as including high hazard and about which they feel unverifiable about their capacity to assess results; 4. Security: Security means freedom from danger, risk or doubt. Factor included are physical safety, financial security and confidential. 5. Tangibles: It is defined as the appearance of physical features, equipment, and personal, written communication material. These give physical representation or picture of the administration that clients, especially new clients, will use to assess quality. However, associations are frequently used to improve the picture of firm conversely, firms that dont pay consideration on the unmistakable measurement of the administration technique can befuddle and even annihilate or generally great methodology. Service marketing (2013) Servqual model Service Quality Administration quality can be characterized as the Difference between client desires of administration and saw administration. In the event that desires are more prominent than execution, then saw quality is not exactly attractive and subsequently client disappointment Occurs. Continuously there exists an essential inquiry: why ought to administration quality be measured? Estimation Allows for examination prior and then afterward changes, for the area of value related issues and for the foundation of clear norms for administration conveyance. Edvardsen et al. (1994) state that, in their Experience, the beginning stage in creating quality in administrations is examination and estimation. The SERVQUAL methodology, which is considered in this paper is the most widely recognized technique for measuring Administration quality Model of Service Quality Gaps:  Shahin, A (2006) There are seven noteworthy holes in the administration quality idea. As indicated by the accompanying clarification (ASI Quality frameworks, 1992; Curry, 1999; Luk and Layton, 2002), the three essential holes, which are more connected with the outside clients are Gap 1, Gap 5 and Gap 6; since they have an immediate association with clients. Gap 1: Customers desires versus administration observations: as an aftereffect of the absence of a showcasing examination introduction, insufficient upward correspondence and an excess of layers of administration. Gap 2: Management observations versus administration details: as a consequence of insufficient duty to administration quality, an impression of unfeasibility, deficient errand institutionalization and a nonattendance of objective setting. Gap 3: Service particulars versus administration conveyance: as a consequence of part uncertainty and clash, poor representative employment fit and poor innovation occupation fit, unseemly supervisory control frameworks, absence of saw control and absence of cooperation. Gap 4: Service conveyance versus outside correspondence: as a consequence of deficient flat correspondences and penchant to over-guarantee. Gap 5: The disparity between client desires and their view of the administration conveyed: as a consequence of the impacts applied from the client side and the shortages (holes) from the administration supplier. For this situation, client desires are impacted by the degree of individual needs, verbal proposal and past administration encounters. Gap 6: The error between client desires and workers recognitions: as an aftereffect of the distinctions in the comprehension of client desires by forefront administration suppliers. Gap 7: The error between workers recognitions and administration observations: as a consequence of the distinctions in the comprehension of client desires in the middle of administrators and administration supplier. As per my own research on my organisation so I found my organisation currently facing gap 4 problem because our company has so many client who immigrant from different place like( Tongan, Punjabi, Samoan) so communication is main problem as our employee can speak English but sometimes it’s hard to understand for clients and employee to. Solution for this problem our organisation need to hire staff according to the nationality of client the person who can speak at least two languages (English and his native language). Because it help to avoid misunderstanding and errors. Kanban system: Kanban is the system design to decline the time of work. The crucial hint behind this system is to distribute what the process requirement exactly when it essentials it. In Japanese,. Kanban was originally invented as a part of the famous Toyota Production System. The word â€Å"Kan† means visual and ban signifies card, so Kanban alludes to visual cards. Incline utilizes visual cards as a flagging framework that triggers an activity to supply the procedure with its needs either from an outside supplier referred to with the configuration of draw frameworks and the idea of conveying without a moment to spare products. Our organisation always follow Kanban system. They pre prepare sop for each and every patient they distribute responsibility of job on every employee. And every employee have their roaster and they follow the instruction which is written on it.And it’s really important not for our organisation also for other agencies because it reduce the errors and misunderstanding. Lean principle technique: Prof. Domingo. T (2003) A lean organization knows customer importance and target its key processes to constantly grow it. The vital goal is to provide exact value to the customer through a perfect value creation process that has zero waste. To meet this, lean works changes the goal of management from optimizing separate technologies, assets, and vertical departments to optimizing the flow of goods and delivery through whole value streams that flow straight across technologies, assets, and departments to customers. Eliminate waste along complete value streams, instead of at isolated points, creates strategies that require low human effort, minimum space, and least time to ready goods and services at far minimum costs and with no defects. Companies can respond to varying customer wants with many variety, good quality, minimum cost, and with very rapid throughput times. Also, informationmanagement becomes much simpler and more accurate. In our organisation we implement lean as reduce the use of gloves. Earlier employee used gloves excess than need. So there are many types of gloves in market. Some are expensive and some are cheap.so now our organisation decide to use low quality of gloves for cleaning patient’s room, clothes and dressing but for food handling and dealing with medication at that time they would use good quality of gloves and that would save money of organisation. 14 Standards for Administration:  E. Edwards (2015) W. Edwards Deming offered 14 key standards for administration to take after for altogether enhancing the adequacy of a business or association. A number of the standards are philosophical. Others are more automatic. All are transformative in nature. The focuses were initially introduced in his book Out of the Crisis. The following is the build-up of the 14 Points for Management as they showed up in the book. Make consistency of reason toward change of item and administration, with the mean to wind up focused and to stay in business, and to give employments. Embrace the new logic. We are in another monetary age. Western administration must stir to the test, must take in their obligations, and tackle initiative for change. Stop reliance on assessment to accomplish quality. Kill the requirement for assessment on a mass premise by building quality into the item in any case. End the act of recompensing business on the premise of sticker. Rather, minimize aggregate expense. Move toward a solitary supplier for any one thing, on a long haul relationship of dedication and trust. Enhance continually and always the arrangement of creation and administration, to enhance quality and profitability, and in this way always lessening expenses. Organization preparing at work. Foundation initiative (see Point 12 and Ch. 8). The point of supervision ought to be to help individuals and machines and contraptions to improve work. Supervision of administration need redesign, and additionally supervision of generation specialists. Drive out apprehension, so that everybody may work successfully for the organization. Separate boundaries between divisions. Individuals in examination, outline, deals, and generation must fill in as a group, and to predict issues of creation and being used that may be experienced with the item or administration. Wipe out trademarks, urgings, and focuses for the work power requesting zero deformities and new levels of profitability. Such admonishments just make antagonistic connections, as the heft of the reasons for low quality and low efficiency fit in with the framework and in this way lie past the force of the work power. References: 1. Services marketing: service quality dimensions and servqual,( 2013)retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/hisema/sm-6service-qualitydimensions 2. Dr. Shahin.A 2006 SERVQUAL and Model of Service Quality retrieved from Gapshttp://itsm.ucdavis.edu/sites/default/files/files/page/SERVQUAL%20case%20study.pdf 3. A detailed introduction of Kanban system (2015) retrieved from  https://www.atlassian.com/agile/kanban 4. Lean enterprises institute (2000-2015) retrieved from  http://www.lean.org/WhatsLean/ 5. E.Edwards(2015) the fourteen points of transformation of management retrieved from  .https://deming.org/theman/theories/fourteenpoints

Paradise by Toni Morrison Essay examples -- Papers Paradise Toni Morri

Paradise by Toni Morrison Throughout many of Toni Morrison?s novels, the plot is built around some conflict for her characters to overcome. Paradise, in particular, uses the relationships between women as a means of reaching this desired end. Paradise, a novel centered around the destruction of a convent and the women in it, supports this idea by showing how this building serves as a haven for dejected women (Smith). The bulk of the novel takes place during and after WWII and focuses on an all black town in Oklahoma. It is through the course of the novel that we see Morrison weave the bonds of women into the text as a means of healing the scars inflicted upon her characters in their respective societies. Paradise deals with the lives of dejected women and the support group the women form for each other. Morrison draws attention to this key issue by removing the element of race from the novel, a heavy contrast to her earlier works, by not allowing the reader to know the races of the women. Thus the relationships present throughout the work can be seen strictly through the contrast between the abusive and damaging relationships found outside of the convent to the supportive and loving ones in the convent. This removal of race also allows us to see the bigger picture, which is not dictated by race (Smith). By examining the relationships in the novel, we see two distinct arenas dealing with identity and the women, which is the world outside of the convent, and the convent. Before reaching the convent, identity for the women is a broken notion in which the men they associate with dictate. The first woman we are introduced to is Mavis. Her relationship with her husband is an example of the type of subservience c... ...998 Nelson, Bredin. Women?s Friendships. http://hss.fullerton.edu/womens/bredin/spring99/fr Online. 16. November. 1999. Radicalesbians. ?The Woman Identified Woman.? http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/wlm/womid/ Online. 16. November. 1999. Shorter-Gooden, Kamea & Washington, N. Shenell. ?Young Black and Female: The Challenge of weaving an identity.? Journal of Adolescents July 1995 19. 466. Smith, Dinitia. ?Not Categorizing Characters by Race? http://englishlit.about.com/arts/englishlit/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/01/11/home/morrison.html Online. 16. November. 1999. Toni Morrison Chat http://www.pathfinder.com/time/community/transcripts/chattr012198.html Online. 16. November. 1999. Traustadottir, Rannveig. Gender patterns in friendships. http://web.syr.edu/~thechp/genpat.htm Online. 16. November. 1999.

hindu :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The sixth century B.C., the Hindu religion and the caste system had become a way of life in India. They believed that the only way to gain salvation was by obeying caste rules and following complex ritual. The people taught these ritual were to strict, and did not meet the needs of the common people. So they started to listen to other religions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Buddhism is a religion founded in India, that share some comparison with Hinduism. Buddhism was founded by an Indian prince born about 563 B.C. His father, a wealthy noble, wanted to protect his son from the harsh realites of the world. But his father couldn’t protect him forever, and when he was about 29 years old he saw a dying man, a sick man in pain and a religious beggar. After seeing these things the prince worried, why was so much sorrow in the world. Then when he was about 35, Siddhartha Guatama decided to sit under a fig until he found answers. He was there for forty-nine days, and that day he saw the reason for life suffering and a way to overcome them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gautama started to speak of Four Noble Truths. The first was, sorrow and suffering are part of life. Second, people suffer because they try to get things they can’t have. Next, you had to reach a state of â€Å"not wanting†. The fourth they should have neither too much nor too little pleasure.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Both Hinduism and Buddhism shared some of their beliefs. But there are some differences. Buddhism placed most importance on one’s life, than one caste and they saw little value in complex rituals. He taught that a person could get enlightenment in one lifetime. As Buddhism spread, disagreements grew up about some of its teachings and beliefs. At first Buddha was saw as a guideline for living. His followers saw him only as a teacher. Then a philosopher named Menius taught that the welfare of the people were the main concerns of a ruler. And if that wasn’t the rulers main affair, he should be overthrown. Confucius a traveling bureaucrat named K’ung Fu-tzu, was regarded as China’s greatest thinker and teacher. He was not really concern with the soul, the afterlife nor the worship of gods. He was more concern with questions of morality. Confucius had five basic relationships. They are: between ruler and subjects, father and son, husband and wife, older and

Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary :: essays research papers

Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary Thesis Statement: Through her intriguing personality, physical attributes, political intuitiveness, and her distorted moral/family values, Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary has led the life of one of the most fascinating yet neurotic leaders in all of Transylvania’s history. I. Countess Elizabeth Bathory of Hungary, born in 1560, retained a childhood of sheer disgust hidden behind the curtain of royalty. A. During her childhood, she witnessed horrific trials and sentences carried out under her family’s officials. B. Such experiences resulted in seizures that were believed at that time to make her neurotic. C. At the age of 14, she delivered an illegitimate child. The following year she was married to Count Ferencz Nadasdy. II. With her husband away at battle, she became supreme leader of the land, taking full advantage of the role as countess and head. A. While remaining in the castle, she quickly grew bored. She entertained herself by simply torturing her servants and delving into witchcraft. B. She harshly beat her servants constantly and was taught by her new nurse, Darvulia, in the ways of torture and witchcraft. C. Her servants could say nothing about the battering (legally) because they were of lower class than their mistress. III. After years at the castle, she began to realize the one thing she counted on the most, her beauty, began to wane. A. One day as a servant was addressing her mistress’ headdress, she pulled the hair too hard and Elizabeth slapped her. Blood spurted onto her hand. As she wiped it away, wrinkles seemed to disappear. B. Turning to witchcraft once again, Darvulia explained the only way to regain lost youth was to bathe in virgin blood. C. As a result, 650 virgins, each of noble and pesantry class, were brought before her. D. They were tormented, slaughtered and buried. Some bodies were eventually thrown to wolves. IV. Torturing techniques written in her diary as well corpses that were eventually found lead up to her two trials in 1612. A. Witnesses, as well as Elizabeth’s other helpers, stated all they knew when they were present. B. One found her diary covered in names and techniques used. C.

Language Exerts Hidden Power Essay

Language utilizes the hidden power to express, convince and influence human beings. Language can be used in different forms and styles, however, we are never fully aware of the importance of the hidden power that language can express. Language can be revealed in many different ways, which can cause different perspectives from people. In Text A, â€Å"Tversky and Kahneman (1981) demonstrated systematic reversals of preference when the same problem is presented in different ways†. It shows the effectiveness of euphemism and vagueness. The people did not appreciate the straight forward statement, it may be because of the harshness and the reality that shocks the reader. The difference in the preference of the programs shows how human beings are more likely to prefer the positive facts than the negatives; Program A had seventy-two percent preferences. This can show how language has the power to convey something disastrous, however, in a euphemism way, in which the reader will more likely to accept. However, the complicated statements, those with fractions instead of exact numbers, seem to favour the reader. This may be because the reader needs more time to process the factual information in their brains, which may have the same effect as ‘Lost in Translation’; the more your brain processes, the more details and facts are faded away. In addition, the fractions used can make the situation of the Asian disease problem seem less serious, because fractions appear to be less in number than the exact real numbers. In this particular text, power is revealed by the factual information. The difference in presenting the statement does not differ the meaning of the Asian disease problem. However, the power of manipulating and influencing the reader depend on the way the author chooses to present the factual information. The language chosen will be the power that controls the reader’s minds. Different presentations will lead to different interpretations from the readers. Therefore, writers usually use certain style of language to ensure that they can influence and convince the readers. This can represent how human beings are slightly unaware of the importance of language. We tend to ignore and skip through words easily, in which we only want to read what we believe and what we want to see. Similarly, Text B expresses that in our world we normally ignore the flaws and the little ‘holes’ in our communication in language, which also shows the lack of awareness of the importance in language. Slowly, we will tend to lose the ability to control the power that is hidden in language. The ‘Lost in Translation’ ties in with text B as well. When people start to learn a new language they normally translate the words back into their foreign language in order for them to understand the meaning of those words. However, during those translations, many details and little ‘holes’ in the language will disappear and fade away. Native language enables human beings to communicate freely and comfortably, however, it influences out thoughts when it comes to learning a new language. Those little ‘holes’ will be filled in by the influential thoughts from our native language. Therefore, though we are learning a new language, we will still be moved and differentiated by the influence of our native language. The hidden power of the influence of a certain language is strong, it ties with the culture and the tradition of the certain country. From these, we can see how ignorant human beings can be when it comes to realizing how much language influences our lives and how we interpret things. Nevertheless, the power in language can cause negative effects as well as those positives. There are so many languages spoken in our world, therefore, many people can speak more than one language. This means that those people have more than one choice of language to express themselves. This can be positive, however, negative, because there isn’t always the same ‘sayings’ in different languages. As human beings, we manage to experience many different emotions and incidents, where many of those are indescribable in language. Therefore, we can say language is powerful, however, not as powerful as our own minds. â€Å"Language should be a direct mirror of mind† though many thoughts cannot be put into words. In text C, it suggests that language plays an essential role in thinking and the interactions between people, in which the power hidden is the linguistics, philosophy and the psychology side of language. We communicate through language by expressing out what we think in our minds using words, phrases and sentences. Therefore, Noam Chenosky expresses that language is a direct mirror to our minds, which is true to some extent, however, many emotions and thoughts cannot be fully expressed by language. Language can be so powerful that it’s complicated, and those technical studies of language can contribute to an understanding of human intelligence. Human beings have not paid much attention on the hidden power of language, therefore, we only have a rare glimmerings of understanding. Though the understanding of language is limited, most people think and do things depending on what they know and what they believe, which ties in with text A strongly. When people prefer different presentations of the same statement, we can assume that they all have a different perspective, which means they have their own beliefs and knowledge over the statement. Overall, all three texts agree with Rita, Mae Brown’s statement of â€Å"Language exerts hidden power, like a moon on the tides† to a reasonable extent. They all show the human science of language and how language is powerful in our minds. The power inside language is great, however, we have never noticed it. It influences the way we think and the way we judge certain things. Though, due to our lack of awareness of the importance of language, we do not see how it influences out perspectives and perception. However, the possible negative effect of the power in language is that due to the many different languages people may be able to speak, they may find it difficult to express their thoughts and emotions because there are so many choices.

Current Liabilities and Payroll Accounting

Teaching Objectives:Make clear the concepts such as current and long-term liabilities and their characteristics, known liabilities, estimated liabilities, contingent liabilities and payroll accounting. Teaching Focus: how to define, classify, measure, report, and analyze these liabilities so that this information is useful to business decision makers. What is liability? A liability is a probable future payment of assets or services that a company is presently obligated to make as a result of past transactions or events.Classifying LiabilitiesLiabilities can be classified into current liabilities and long-term liabilities according to term of payment. Current liabilities are obligations due to be paid or settled within one year or the operating cycle, whichever is longer. They are usually settled by paying out current assets such as cash. notes payable, mortgages payable, bonds payable, and lease obligations)Long-term LiabilitiesLong-term liabilities are obligations not due within one year or the operating cycle, whichever is longer. (notes payable, mortgages payable, bonds payable, and lease obligations)Known LiabilitiesMost liabilities arise from situation with little uncertainty. They are set by agreements, contracts, or laws and are measurable. These liabilities are Known Liabilities, also called definitely determinable liabilities. Known Liabilities include accounts payable, notes payable, payroll, sales taxes payable, unearned revenues and lease obligations Known Liabilities— Sales Taxes Payable Sales taxes are stated as a percent of selling prices. The seller collects sales taxes from customers when sales occur and remits these collections to the proper government agency. Since sellers currently owe these collections to the government, this amount is a current liability. Example:On May 15, 2009, Max Hardware sold tools and supplies for $7,500 that are subject to a 6% sales tax. $7,500 ? 6% = $450 Known Liabilities—unearned revenues Unearned Revenues (also called deferred revenues, collections in advance, and prepayments) are amounts received in advance from customers for future products or services. Example: On May 1, 2009, A-1 Catering received $3,000 in advance for catering a wedding party to take place on July 12, 2009. Known Liabilities—Short-term Note Payable A written promise to pay a specified amount on a definite future date within one year or the company’s operating cycle, whichever is longer.  NOTE GIVEN TO EXTEND CREDIT PERIODA company can replace an account payable with a note payable. A common example is a creditor that requires the substitution of an interst-bearing note for an overdue account payable that does not bear interest. Example: On August 1, 2009, Matrix, Inc. asked Carter, Co. to accept a 90-day, 12% note to replace its existing $5,000 account payable to Carter. Matrix would make the following entry: On October 30, 2009, Matrix, Inc. pays the note plus interest to Carter. Interest expense = $5,000 ? 12%   (90 ? 360) = $150NOTE GIVEN TO BORROW FROM BANKA bank nearly always requires a borrower to sign a promissory note when making a loan. When the note matures, the borrower repays the note with an amount larger than the amount borrowed. This difference between the amount borrowed and the amount repaid is interest.FACE VALUE EQUALS AMOUNT BORROWEDOn September 1, 2009, Jackson Smith borrows $20,000 from American Bank. The note bears interest at 6% per year. Principal and interest are due in 90 days (November 30, 2009). On November 30, 2009, Smith would make the following entry: $20,000 ? 6% ? (90 ? 360) = $300PAYROLL LIABILITIESEmployers incur expenses and liabilities from having employees.   FICA Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA)   Medicare Taxes Employers must pay withheld   taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)   Federal Income Tax State and Local Income Taxes Employers must pay the taxes withheld from employees’ gross pay to the appropriate government agency? Voluntary Deductions Amounts withheld depend on the employee’s request. Examples include union dues, savings accounts, pension contributions, insurance premiums, and charities. Employers owe voluntary amounts withheld from employees’ gross pay to the designated agency. Gross pay is the total compensation an employee earns including wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, and any compensation earned before deductions. Wages usually refer to payments to employees at an hourly rate. Salaries usually refer to payments to employees at a montly or yearly rate. Net pay, also called or take-home pay, is gross pay less all deductions. Payroll deductions, commonly called withholdings, are amounts withheld from an employee’s gross pay, either required or voluntary. Required deductions result from laws and include income taxes and Social Security taxes. Voluntary deductions, at an employee’s option, include pension and health contributions, union dues, and charitable giving.   WithholdingsRECORDING EMPLOYEE PAYROLL DEDUCTIONSThe entry to record payroll expenses and deductions for an employee might look like this. $4,000 ? 6. 20% = $248 $4,000 ? 1. 45% = $58EMPLOYER PAYROLL TAXESEmployers pay amounts equal to that withheld from the employee’s gross pay.RECORDING EMPLOYER PAYROLL TAXESThe entry to record the employer payroll taxes for January might look like this Current Liabilities and Payroll Accounting Teaching Objectives:Make clear the concepts such as current and long-term liabilities and their characteristics, known liabilities, estimated liabilities, contingent liabilities and payroll accounting. Teaching Focus: how to define, classify, measure, report, and analyze these liabilities so that this information is useful to business decision makers. What is liability? A liability is a probable future payment of assets or services that a company is presently obligated to make as a result of past transactions or events.Classifying LiabilitiesLiabilities can be classified into current liabilities and long-term liabilities according to term of payment. Current liabilities are obligations due to be paid or settled within one year or the operating cycle, whichever is longer. They are usually settled by paying out current assets such as cash. notes payable, mortgages payable, bonds payable, and lease obligations)Long-term LiabilitiesLong-term liabilities are obligations not due within one year or the operating cycle, whichever is longer. (notes payable, mortgages payable, bonds payable, and lease obligations)Known LiabilitiesMost liabilities arise from situation with little uncertainty. They are set by agreements, contracts, or laws and are measurable. These liabilities are Known Liabilities, also called definitely determinable liabilities. Known Liabilities include accounts payable, notes payable, payroll, sales taxes payable, unearned revenues and lease obligations Known Liabilities— Sales Taxes Payable Sales taxes are stated as a percent of selling prices. The seller collects sales taxes from customers when sales occur and remits these collections to the proper government agency. Since sellers currently owe these collections to the government, this amount is a current liability. Example:On May 15, 2009, Max Hardware sold tools and supplies for $7,500 that are subject to a 6% sales tax. $7,500 ? 6% = $450 Known Liabilities—unearned revenues Unearned Revenues (also called deferred revenues, collections in advance, and prepayments) are amounts received in advance from customers for future products or services. Example: On May 1, 2009, A-1 Catering received $3,000 in advance for catering a wedding party to take place on July 12, 2009. Known Liabilities—Short-term Note Payable A written promise to pay a specified amount on a definite future date within one year or the company’s operating cycle, whichever is longer.  NOTE GIVEN TO EXTEND CREDIT PERIODA company can replace an account payable with a note payable. A common example is a creditor that requires the substitution of an interst-bearing note for an overdue account payable that does not bear interest. Example: On August 1, 2009, Matrix, Inc. asked Carter, Co. to accept a 90-day, 12% note to replace its existing $5,000 account payable to Carter. Matrix would make the following entry: On October 30, 2009, Matrix, Inc. pays the note plus interest to Carter. Interest expense = $5,000 ? 12%   (90 ? 360) = $150NOTE GIVEN TO BORROW FROM BANKA bank nearly always requires a borrower to sign a promissory note when making a loan. When the note matures, the borrower repays the note with an amount larger than the amount borrowed. This difference between the amount borrowed and the amount repaid is interest.FACE VALUE EQUALS AMOUNT BORROWEDOn September 1, 2009, Jackson Smith borrows $20,000 from American Bank. The note bears interest at 6% per year. Principal and interest are due in 90 days (November 30, 2009). On November 30, 2009, Smith would make the following entry: $20,000 ? 6% ? (90 ? 360) = $300PAYROLL LIABILITIESEmployers incur expenses and liabilities from having employees.   FICA Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA)   Medicare Taxes Employers must pay withheld   taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)   Federal Income Tax State and Local Income Taxes Employers must pay the taxes withheld from employees’ gross pay to the appropriate government agency? Voluntary Deductions Amounts withheld depend on the employee’s request. Examples include union dues, savings accounts, pension contributions, insurance premiums, and charities. Employers owe voluntary amounts withheld from employees’ gross pay to the designated agency. Gross pay is the total compensation an employee earns including wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, and any compensation earned before deductions. Wages usually refer to payments to employees at an hourly rate. Salaries usually refer to payments to employees at a montly or yearly rate. Net pay, also called or take-home pay, is gross pay less all deductions. Payroll deductions, commonly called withholdings, are amounts withheld from an employee’s gross pay, either required or voluntary. Required deductions result from laws and include income taxes and Social Security taxes. Voluntary deductions, at an employee’s option, include pension and health contributions, union dues, and charitable giving.   WithholdingsRECORDING EMPLOYEE PAYROLL DEDUCTIONSThe entry to record payroll expenses and deductions for an employee might look like this. $4,000 ? 6. 20% = $248 $4,000 ? 1. 45% = $58EMPLOYER PAYROLL TAXESEmployers pay amounts equal to that withheld from the employee’s gross pay.RECORDING EMPLOYER PAYROLL TAXESThe entry to record the employer payroll taxes for January might look like this