Saturday, August 31, 2019

Economical Ethics Essay

Each of us as individuals are responsible for our own monies, our own bills, spending habits and we are ultimately responsible for our money which in turn allows us much latitude in how we choose to spend our money. With this said, it can be said that there is little no to no ethics involved when we deal with our own funds or finances. Is this true? No! In fact there are many moral and ethical decisions involved in spending our own money. We must choose to pay our obligatory bills and not go gamble it all away. We are obligated, unless we don’t drive, to pay for our gasoline and not spend it on illicit drugs or other illegal activities. This is the small side of ethics in an economical world. The larger picture of ethics in the economy involves the government, politics, banks and businesses in all forms. In the majority of cases, when one of these entities is dealing with monies, 90% of the time it is money that is owned by the public in some way. This money might be for stocks purchased from a broker, money deposited into a bank, campaign funds or funds approved by a local ballot. There are many factors at play and many more entities than this. They have a much larger responsibility ethically than we do. It is their responsibility to make sure the public’s money is spent as it was given permission to be spent. If we approved for Jones 2 them to spend publics’ money on a playground then that is where it needs to go. Campaign funds, the same thing. I can continue on indefinitely. You have all heard the news where embezzlement of funds, stolen funds, misappropriation of funds happens and in these instances this becomes a crime. The morals that were ignored became an ethical situation that was violated thus violating our trust as the public. It is unfortunate that we face this or the threat of this each day and that we never know when the next person we hold in trust will try and disappear with monies that we, as a whole, have put out there, to try and make something better. Let us exonerate greed and these problems will lessen. Our ethics will improve as will parts of our economy. Jones 1 Davy Jones Professor Mills English 2010 7 July 2004 Global Economy Just what is global economy and what does it do for us or not do for us? Do we as a nation agree with having a global economy? Global economy has slowed down our nation’s production thus eliminating jobs in the USA. What do we get in return? Our global economy has allowed the use of cheaper labor to mass produce items at a much lower cost. This would constitute much of the import trade. What does it cost to fund this trade and take into consideration that dollars in the USA do not equal foreign currency. Does it balance out by time transportation cost and tariffs have been paid? Maybe we have saved a few dollars as a whole but do we really know? What if we pulled back some of this import and foreign labor and allow more of our own nation the ability to work in positions that we do not have available because those positions are in another country. Does this really affect our global economy to the point of despair or will our economy strengthen in our nation because it is our people who work and our people who spend more money. Yes the money does make the world go around and the advocacy to pull all foreign labor is not what this is about. We do need some form of global economy as there is room to have all of us on the same side. Jones 2 There are some parts of the world that have more advanced technology or a specific cheese or wine or lumber that we at this time cannot reproduce. It is the items that we cannot reproduce that should constitute the import trade. With this we do help our nation that much more while still also continuing a needed global economy. Works Cited Liu, Henry, â€Å"The Economics of a Global Empire† http://www. atimes. com/atimes/Global_Economy/DH14Dj01. html August 14, 2002 Dietrich Michael & Rowen Donna, â€Å" Incorporating Ethics into Economics: Problems and Possibilities â€Å" Sheffield Economic Research Paper Series http://www. shef. ac. uk/content/1/c6/03/91/71/SERP2004006. pdf July 2004

Developmental Disabilities

Developmental disabilities may become apparent before the age of 22 and thus may cause physical or mental limitations. Developmental abilities involve mental retardation, epilepsy, autism, cerebral palsy and other neurological impairments. In the result people may have either limited mobility or limited ability to take care of their physical needs. Nowadays people suffering from developmental abilities, especially in older age, face social challenges, though have the opportunity to enjoy a full and active life.All they need is understanding, encouragement and readiness of family members to help them to become part of their community. Therefore the project will work out new initiatives and ideas how to expand and strengthen the support system of family. Furthermore, the project will provide better understanding of management and support of family members and will contain relevant materials to share with families. Moreover, the project aims at assisting in future planning, trusts, will s and guardianship.The study thus will provide unique knowledge about elder people suffering from developmental disabilities. The objectives of the study are to improve family- directed support and to provide technical assistance in defining personal needs, plans as well as implementation of programs and evaluation of the results. Furthermore, the specific goals of the research is to strengthen programs aimed at providing families with abilities and proper knowledge how to take care of elder members suffering from developmental disabilities.The present project will be assessed through the methods of description, case study and desktop research. A literature search revealed over 150 articles and books on the managing and supporting people with developmental disabilities. Over two-thirds of these were prescriptive and written by practitioners, consultants and journalists. There is also a steady flow of research and ideas on how to improve the quality of family support. References Hollins S, Sireling L. (1990). Working Through Loss with People Who Have Learning Disabilities. Windsor: NFER-Nelson. Kloeppel D, Hollins S. (1989). Mental Retardation and Death in the Family. Death Studies, 13, 31-38. Stroebe, M., Storebe, W., Hansson, R. (1993). Handbook of Bereavement. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Leo Tolstoy

LEO TOLSTOY Leo Tolstoy, or Count  Lyev Nikolayevich Tolstoy[1]  (Russian:   ?) (September 9, 1828  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ November 20, 1910[2]), was a Russian writer of  realist fiction  and philosophical essays. His works  War and Peace  and  Anna Karenina  represent, in their scope, breadth and vivid depiction of 19th-century Russian life and attitudes, a peak of  realist fiction. [3] Tolstoy's further talents as essayist, dramatist, and educational reformer made him the most influential member of the aristocratic  Tolstoy family. His literal interpretation of the ethical teachings of Jesus, centering on the  Sermon on the Mount, caused him in later life to become a fervent  Christian anarchist  and  anarcho-pacifist. His ideas on nonviolent resistance, expressed in such works as  The Kingdom of God Is Within You, were to have a profound impact on such pivotal twentieth-century figures as  Mohandas Gandhi[4]  and  Martin Luther King, Jr. [5]  Many consider Tolstoy to have been one of the world's greatest novelists. [6][7] Biography Tolstoy was born in  Yasnaya Polyana, the family estate in the  Tula  region of Russia. The  Tolstoys  were a well-known family of old Russian nobility. He was the fourth of five children of Count  Nikolai Ilyich Tolstoy, a veteran of the  1812 French invasion of Russia, and Countess Mariya Tolstaya (Volkonskaya). Tolstoy's parents died when he was young, so he and his siblings were brought up by relatives. In 1844, he began studying law and oriental languages at  Kazan University. His teachers described him as â€Å"both unable and unwilling to learn. â€Å"[8]  Tolstoy left university in the middle of his studies, returned to Yasnaya Polyana and then spent much of his time in Moscow and  Saint Petersburg. In 1851, after running up heavy gambling debts, he went with his older brother to the  Caucasus  and joined the  army. It was about this time that he started writing. His conversion from a dissolute and privileged society author to the non-violent and spiritual anarchist of his latter days was brought about by his experience in the army as well as two trips around Europe in 1857 and 1860–61. Others who followed the same path were  Alexander Herzen,  Mikhail Bakunin, and  Peter Kropotkin. During his 1857 visit, Tolstoy witnessed a public execution in Paris, a traumatic experience that would mark the rest of his life. Writing in a letter to his friend V. P. Botkin: â€Å"The truth is that the State is a conspiracy designed not only to exploit, but above all to corrupt its citizens †¦ Henceforth, I shall never serve any government anywhere. † His European trip in 1860–61 shaped both his political and literary transformation when he met  Victor Hugo, whose literary talents Tolstoy praised after reading Hugo's newly finished  Les Miserables. A comparison of Hugo's novel and Tolstoy's  War and Peace  shows the influence of the evocation of its battle scenes. Tolstoy's political philosophy was also influenced by a March 1861 visit to French anarchist  Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, then living in exile under an assumed name in Brussels. Apart from reviewing Proudhon's forthcoming publication,  La Guerre et la Paix  (War and Peace  in French), whose title Tolstoy would borrow for his masterpiece, the two men discussed education, as Tolstoy wrote in his educational notebooks: â€Å"If I recount this conversation with Proudhon, it is to show that, in my personal experience, he was the only man who understood the significance of education and of the printing press in our time. Fired by enthusiasm, Tolstoy returned to Yasnaya Polyana and founded thirteen schools for his serfs' children, based on the principles Tolstoy described in his 1862 essay â€Å"The School at Yasnaya Polyana†. [9]  Tolstoy's educational experiments were short-lived due to harassment by the  Tsarist  secret police. However, as a direct forerunner to  A. S . Neill's  Summerhill School, the school at Yasnaya Polyana[10]  can justifiably be claimed to be the first example of a coherent theory of democratic education. Personal life On September 23, 1862, Tolstoy married  Sophia Andreevna Bers, who was 16 years his junior and the daughter of a court physician. She was called Sonya, the Russian diminutive of Sofya, by her family and friends. [11]  They had thirteen children, five of whom died during childhood. [12]  The marriage was marked from the outset by sexual passion and emotional insensitivity when Tolstoy, on the eve of their marriage, gave her his diaries detailing his extensive sexual past and the fact that one of the serfs on his estate had borne him a son. [11]  Even so, their early married life was ostensibly appy and allowed Tolstoy much freedom to compose  War and Peace  and  Anna Karenina  with Sonya acting as his secretary, proof-reader and financial manager. [11]  However, their latter life together has been described by  A. N. Wilson  as one of the unhappiest in literary history. Tolstoy's relationship with his wife deteriorated as his beliefs became increasingly radical. This saw him seeking to reject his inherited and earned wealth, including the renunciation of the copyrights on his earlier works. His fiction consistently attempts to convey realistically the Russian society in which he lived. Anna Karenina  (1877) tells parallel stories of an adulterous woman trapped by the conventions and falsities of society and of a philosophical landowner (much like Tolstoy), who works alongside the peasants in the fields and seeks to reform their lives. Tolstoy not only drew from his own life experiences but also created characters in his own image, such as Pierre Bezukhov and Prince Andrei inWar and Peace, Levin in  Anna Karenina  and to some extent, Prince Nekhlyudov in  Resurrection Anna Karenina Great changes were taking place during the mid-1870s in Russia. The serfs had been liberated in 1861. This was a long-overdue economic change in Russian society, but unfortunately it was not matched with land reform. As a result, most former serfs continued to work on the large farms as â€Å"free† peasants. The â€Å"land question,† also known as the â€Å"peasant question,† was a major political issue in Russia at the time of Anna Karenina. Tolstoy weighs in on this issue in many parts of the book, especially Part Three. At the same time, Russia was slowly and painfully undergoing a process of modernization. Western Europe had already completed many stages of industrialization, and Russia was far behind. Many of the new changes that were happening within Russia were in response to the changes in Europe. Western thought about democracy, liberalism, and social change accompanied the technological innovations that were imported throughout the mid-1870s and later 19th century. While many intellectuals and members of society saw this phenomenon in a positive light, others, like Tolstoy, were horrified by the negative aspects of Western â€Å"progress†? the rise of the urban center, the emergence of capitalism, decadent living, and the disconnection of people from the land. Some of Tolstoy's horror was well-placed: not all Western innovations would work in Russia. For all of its backwardness, Russia was not Europe, and few ideas or technological innovations would change that fact. The scene in which Levin attempts to implement a new agricultural theory on his farm and meets with resistance from his peasants, for example, has a basis in reality. A great deal of the spiritual underpinnings of Anna Karenina, especially Levin's struggle to find the Lord, are based on Tolstoy's own life. One critic has called Anna Karenina a â€Å"spiritual autobiography. † Tolstoy went through many religious crises in his life and struggled to find a way of living religiously that fought against the hypocrises and greed of the Greek Orthodox Church. Though the Church is not addressed specifically in this novel? indeed, Tolstoy was excommunicated a few years after its publication and was probably being careful not to upset them with any commentary in Anna Karenina? it is vital to think about Tolstoy's own spiritual questions when reading this book. Gabriel Garcia Marquez Latin-American journalist, novelist and short story writer, a central figure in the so-called Magic Realism movement. Gabriel Garcia Marquez was born in Aracataca, in the â€Å"banana zone† of Colombia, the first child of Luisa Santiaga Marquez, the daughter of Colonel Nicolas Marquez, and Gabriel Eligio Garcia, an itinerant homeopath and pharmacist. Soon after his birth, his parents left him to be reared by his grandparents and three aunts. At the age of fifteen, he was sent to the Liceo de Zipaquira, a high school for the gifted. He then studied law and journalism at the National University in Bogota and at the University of Cartagena. In 1982 Garcia Marquez was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Love in the time of cholera Love in the Time of Cholera, published in 1985, was  Gabriel Garcia Marquez's first book after winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982. Although it has often been compared negatively with Marquez's greatest achievement,  One Hundred Years of Solitude, many critics see Love in the Time of Cholera as a convincing and powerful love story that deftly accomplishes the goal Marquez et for himself: writing a story about love between two people of an age that no respected writer had managed before Gustave Flaubert French novelist of the realist school, best-known for MADAME BOVARY (1857), a story of adultery and unhappy love affair of the provincial wife Emma Bovary. As a writer Flaubert was a perfectionist, who did not make a distinction between a beautiful or ugly subject: all wa s in the style. The idea, he argued, only exists by virtue of its form – its elements included the perfect word, cunningly contrived and verified rhythms, and a genuine architectural structure. Madame Bovary  was first translated into English by Karl Marx's daughter Eleanor Marx. Gustave Flaubert was born in Rouen into a family of doctors. His father, Achille-Cleophas Flaubert, a chief surgeon at the Rouen municipal hospital, made money investing in land. Flaubert's mother, Anne-Justine-Caroline (nee Fleuriot), was the daughter of a physician; she became the most important person in the author's life. Anne-Justine-Caroline died in 1872 Flaubert began to write during his school years. At the age of fifteen he won a prize for an essay on mushrooms. Actually his work was a copy. A disappointment in his teens – Flaubert fell in love with Elisa Schlesinger, who was married and some 10 years his senior – inspired much of his early writing. His bourgeois background Flaubert found early burdensome, and eventually his rebel against it led to his expulsion from school. Flaubert completed his education privately in Paris. On his return Flaubert started  Madame Bovary, which took five years to complete. The realistic depiction of adultery was condemned as offensive to morality and religion. nce Flaubert said: â€Å"Emma, c'est moi. †Ã‚  Delphine Delamare, who died in 1848, is alleged to have been the original of Emma Bovary. Flaubert died of a cerebral hemorrhage on May 8, in 1880. Flaubert's other, non-literary life was marked by his prodigious appetite for prostitutes, which occasionally led to venereal infections. Direct experiences of the author also were reworked into the novel. For instance, in creating Emma Bovary, the novel's protagonist, Flaubert was inspired by his mistress Louise Colet, who gave him the insight to consider Emma's discontented childhood. Moreover, Doctor  Lariviere  was based on Flaubert's father, and the maid Felicite was based on Flaubert's nurse, Julie. Flaubert also used medical terminology with the help of his brother Achille and his friend Bouilhet. Initially the novel was considered highly controversial due to its depiction of adulterous affairs, and it was the subject of a trial in 1857. Flaubert delves into the sexual relations between Emma and her lovers and, more importantly, appears to glorify adultery and disgrace marriage. Since it was considered inappropriate for the public, precautions were taken to prohibit access to the book. Setting The setting of Madame Bovary is crucial to the novel for several reasons. First, it is important as it applies to Flaubert's realist style and social commentary. Secondly, the setting is important in how it relates to the protagonist Emma. It has been calculated that the novel begins in October 1827 and ends in August 1846 (Francis Steegmuller). This is around the era known as the â€Å"July Monarchy†, or the rule of  King Louis-Philippe. This was a period in which there was a great up-surge in the power of the bourgeois middle class. Flaubert detested the bourgeoisie. Much of the time and effort, therefore, that he spends detailing the customs of the rural French people can be interpreted as social criticism. Flaubert put much effort into making sure his depictions of common life were accurate. This was aided by the fact that he chose a subject that was very familiar to him. He chose to set the story in and around the city of  Rouen  in  Normandy, the setting of his own birth and childhood. This care and detail that Flaubert gives to his setting is important in looking at the style of the novel. It is this faithfulness to the mundane elements of country life that has garnered the book its reputation as the beginning of the literary movement known as â€Å"literary realism†. Flaubert also deliberately used his setting to contrast with his protagonist. Emma's romantic fantasies are strikingly foiled by the practicalities of the common life around her. Flaubert uses this juxtaposition to reflect on both subjects. Emma becomes more capricious and ludicrous in the harsh light of everyday reality. By the same token, however, the self-important banality of the local people is magnified in omparison to Emma, who, though impractical, still reflects an appreciation of beauty and greatness that seems entirely absent in the  bourgeois  class. Flaubert's novel is a landmark in that unlike the literature of his predecessors, it produces a story of gritty and perhaps even jarring reality. While even today the romanticism of the â€Å"Hollywood ending† is popular, the real ism of â€Å"Madame Bovary† was quickly reflected in classic works such as Fyodor Dostoevsky's â€Å"The Idiot† (1869) and Leo Tolstoy's â€Å"Anna Karenina† (1877). This paper uses the author's tones in â€Å"Anna Karenina† and â€Å"Chronicle of a Death Foretold† to compare Leo Tolstoy's and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's cynical tone towards society. Both authors use satire and irony to criticize the corruption of society and the institution of marriage. The paper shows that Tolstoy focuses on his disapproval of the upper-class aristocracy, while Garcia Marquez satirizes society in general. Tolstoy does not present the aristocracy with much honor or morals, unlike Garcia Marquez who uses a town that, although is corrupted, still has a strong moral back bone.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Nutrition in the Early School System Research Paper

Nutrition in the Early School System - Research Paper Example An understanding of these food classes enables learners to determine the role of each category in the body, for example, carbohydrates provide energy while proteins build body muscles. Fruits, on the other hand, help the body to fight and prevent diseases (Prelip, Kinsler, Thai, Erausquin, & Slusser, 2012). Students will also have identified the effects of over or under consumption of each food to their bodies. The children will have determined the amount of food that they can consume from each class to avoid the undesired effects of unplanned consumption. Children will spread the awareness to their parents and friends from other schools after the lesson. This will create national awareness, which will improve health in the society. The outcome of the second objective is that children will identify the diseases that arise from poor nutrition, for example, obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes among others. Children contract obesity more than the other diseases; therefore, the lesson will focus on this ailment. Students will understand the negative psychological and physical effects of having an overweight body, and the foods that lead to the ailment. Students will be able to determine the measures to undertake to avoid suffering from the diseases. The learners will also identify the actions to take in case they contact the disease. Students will identify various ways of exercising their bodies by the end of the lesson. The knowledge of the techniques will enable students to recognize the significance of exercise, for example, reducing weight, strengthening muscles, decreasing depression, and preventing diseases (Avery, Johnson, Cousins, & Hamilton, 2013). Teaching Plan Subject: Healthy nutrition... This report approves that students should understand and explain various food classes, which include fruits and vegetables, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. An understanding of these food classes enables learners to determine the role of each category in the body, for example, carbohydrates provide energy while proteins build body muscles. Fruits, on the other hand, help the body to fight and prevent diseases. Community resources are the materials that can help students to understand the health, and they are available in the society. The resources include journals and health magazines that are available in community libraries. Students can read these materials and learn new ways of living healthy lives. Students may also attend health conferences conducted by humanitarian organizations such as the Red Cross Society. The conferences usually involve presentations of diseases and techniques of preventing the ailments. Learners practice what they learn from the projects to avoid the ai lments. This essay makes a conclusion that the increase in obesity and overweight among children has given rise to the need for nutrition awareness in the society. Teaching is the best technique to create awareness because it takes place in schools where the major stakeholders are parents, teachers, children, and the government. The objectives of teaching healthy nutrition in a class include teaching food categories, malnutrition diseases, and the need for exercise. An instructor may use books, presentations, and games as techniques to help students understand the topic. Community resources such as health magazines and nutrition conferences, which are conducted by various institutions, also help in achieving the objectives.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Data Fusion and Data Mining Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Data Fusion and Data Mining - Research Paper Example Every day millions of data are being transmitted by the use of local area networks and the Internet. Aware of the voluminous demand for data storage, computer manufacturing firms regularly innovate file storage devices. They introduce new and more "intelligent" devices and gadgets to cope with this ever-escalating demand for storing and retrieving data.  Despite their success in solving the data storage problem, companies are still hoping to use technologies that will provide them clear information on what really is going on in their businesses. Storing and retrieving myriad chunks of data are not enough to solve pressing business problems. Businessmen need useful information out of these.  Owning data warehouses have partially solved this problem. A data warehouse is used to consolidate data found in different databases. This makes millions of data easily retrieved, interpreted, sorted and accessible by analysts. Though this device largely helps analysts, sorting and storing dat a are not enough to make most out of these data. They still cannot provide us with a clear picture of what is really going on in the firm and in the market (Alexander, n.d.).  Turning numerous data into significant information is the aim of one of the latest technological breakthroughs in computers known as data fusion and data mining. These technologies enable firms to automatically search millions of data that they receive every day "for patterns using tools such as classification, association rule mining, clustering, etc. (Data Mining, 2007)." Data fusion is the method of integrating "diverse data into a single, coherent representation of the tactical, operational or strategic situation (Cyr, 2006)." We can say that data fusion is the first step in data mining. To find patterns, one should consolidate huge chunks of data to find out their similarities. This is exactly what data fusion is doing. Data mining divulges strategically hidden patterns found in huge amounts of data usi ng high-end data analysis methods. It discovers new knowledge instead of testing assumptions that are suggested by users, which are being used by other business intelligence technologies (Sentient Information Systems, n.d.). It is an automated technology that allows exploration, analysis, and visualization of data of very large databases. Having the power to extract novel, implicit and actionable knowledge from large datasets, data mining is used for the discovery of non-obvious and finding out information and knowledge that can develop business processes. Having powerful capabilities makes data mining a very useful tool in business. It is used in sales/marketing, customer retention, buyer behavior, costing, quality control, inventory, and fraud (Williams, Hegland, and Roberts 1998).

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

The inferno Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The inferno - Essay Example c. The interesting mention of Beatrice who seems to be out context because she was only mentioned and not explained and this begs the question who is Beatrice particularly in the passage â€Å"The prophecy by Ciacco of the fall of Dantes party, Canto vi., and that byFarinata  of Dantes exile, Canto x., which Virgil had told should be made clear to him by  Beatrice† (Canto XV). These cruxes identified in Dante’s Inferno cannot be interpreted literally by relying merely on Dante’s text of the Inferno. The reader has to take account of Dante’s other works and inclination in order to understand the identified texts. For example, in the first crux which was in the introduction part of Canto X in the sixth circle of hell of Dante’s Inferno, what actually Dante meant in this passage is his personal amusement and curiosity if any of his friends from Floernce are in hell. He was tempted to ask one of sufferers but did not really get the satisfaction with the reply. With regard to the old man in Canto XIV, this passage is reminiscent of Dante’s aptitude in classical text such as the text of Ovid’s Metamorphes where the metal composition of the head of the old man is made up of the four ages of history: gold, silver, brass and iron, which is typical of its civilization’s rise and decline. The old man looks at Rome because his feature is characteristic of Rome’s strength and weakness. Its strength is in the right foot made of chosen iron indicating strength in the leadership of the empire. On the left is its weakness as it is made of clay, implying declining influence and the corruption of the church. The third passage in Canto XV which mentioned Beatrice could never be understood or explained by just relying on the texts of Inferno. The reader has to refer to Dante’s personal circumstance and other works in order to understand the significance of Beatrice. Beatrice was, in

Monday, August 26, 2019

Ethical Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethical - Case Study Example Siemens bribed any government official in various countries, so as to get the lucrative tenders. The bribery by Siemens was practiced in countries known all over the world for corruption such as Nigeria and unfortunately even countries renowned for transparency such as Norway and Greece were caught in the scandal. However, in February 1999, after significant pressure from countries such as the United States, Germany finally outlawed giving of bribes to foreign officials. However, instead of stopping the habit of giving bribes to the foreign officials, Siemens continued doing so discretely. Instead of abiding by the law, the firm came up with what was referred to as a â€Å"paper program.† This was an internal program that was supposed to punish the wrong doers or the people who participated in bribery. Unfortunately, the program did not punish the wrong doers. The company made millions through fraudulent deals to the expense of other firms. Soon after legalizing giving of bribery to foreign officials in the year 2000, authorities in Austria as well as Switzerland started becoming suspicious of some payments worth millions of dollars that Siemens was making to some offshore accounts. After lengthy investigations, some of the top managers at Siemens were arrested and some even prosecuted . Bribery and other related corrupt practices are unethical and unacceptable in any business circle. This is because it undermines the ethical corporate culture. To a larger extent bribery is known for mutilating fundamental corporate values of honesty and integrity. The Siemens scandal in our case which involved key employee bribing top officials of the business in foreign countries in order to win contracts was a serious unethical practice. In always vital for all companies to compete for tenders and contracts on fair ground, but unfortunately bribes are often used to distort the market place in order to favor a particular company over others. For instances, top

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Tesco and Sainsburys Websites Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Tesco and Sainsburys Websites - Coursework Example Tesco and Sainsbury are two giants in the retail business. The head quarter of the two supermarkets is in United Kingdom. However, they have branches in Europe, and Asia. The two companies specialise in food retailing. Tesco is the largest food retailer in United Kingdom. Its head quarter is in Hertfordshire. It operates about 2,318 stores in entire Europe and Asia. The European countries in which Tesco has its operations include Ireland, Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic, and Slovakia (Plunkett, 2007:76). The company has 82 and 60 stores in Ireland and Hungary respectively. In Poland, Tesco manages 66 hypermarkets and supermarkets. The countries that Tesco has extended its services in the Asian comprise of South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan. Tesco offers both online and offline services. The services range from personal finance services to selling online. Tesco Personal Finance is a joint venture with the Royal Bank of Scotland (Zentes, et al, 2012:358). This service caters f or approximately 3.4 million customers for various financial services and products. The company has about 326,000 employees (Thomson, & Martin, 2010:549). This makes Tesco one of the biggest job creators in United Kingdom and all its branches of operation. In United Kingdom, Tesco operates under four banners. These banners comprise of Extra, Metro, Superstore, and express. Although the core business of Tesco is food retailing, it also sells non-food products such as clothing in its Superstores. The company also has runs petroleum products and it is in the list of one of the largest and independent petrol retailers. Tesco has registered an excellent performance in the recent years (Tesco, 2011:35). Sainsbury deals in retailing of foods and promotion of health eating. Sainsbury’s has been the largest leader in grocery retailing in United Kingdom. The goal of Sainsbury is to provide food to customers at fair prices. The company does not only stock foodstuffs but also clothing an d general merchandise (Hoover, 2004:176). Sainsbury operates under two banners. These include Jacksons Stores and JB Beaumont Hemming (Information Services, 2006:137). This paper looks at Tesco and Sainsbury’s websites. The paper will endeavour to identify the business model that each company employs and the target audiences. Tesco and Sainsbury’s websites are very crucial in order to understand retailing of food in United Kingdom. The two websites are Tesco.com and Sainsbury.co.uk (Davenport, 2007:212). The core businesses of the two companies is specialising on foodstuffs. However, Tesco and Sainsbury sell non-food commodities such as clothes and petroleum products. The two companies have invested many funds in the development of their website to connect with their consumers (Seth & Randall, 2011:26). The management of these two companies understands that dissemination of information is very crucial for success of business venture. With the unparalleled era of techno logy expansion, the companies embrace online methods of reaching their consumers. They have created a strong database that keeps all the information that is relevant to their customers. Online services are not a complement to the offline ones, but an essential tool in the prosperity of the two companies. Competitor Analysis The two companies are big competitors in the retailing of foodstuffs. Tesco has flourished and out-competed the Sainsbury Company over time. This has led Tesco to emerge as a market leader in the foodstuff industry. The principle reason to explain Sainsbury’s poor performance is the relatively low operating profit margins (J Sainsbury plc, 2011:4). Several factors contribute to the low profit margins. These include specialisation on products with low margin profits, inefficiencies in controlling costs, and lack of value added through the chain of suppliers. The low profit margin leads to relatively low return on invested capital and return on equity ratios . This is despite lack

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Comparing IFRS to GAAP Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Comparing IFRS to GAAP - Coursework Example This document will focus on specific differences and similarities between IFRS and GAAP as applicable in businesses across the globe. Although GAAP and IFRS are similar in their application and usually results to uniform results, there are slight variations arise where GAAP and IFRS offer options due to the nature of the business, company’s interpretation of principles, industry practices and details of transactions. The FASB and IASB have adopted criteria for fair measurement of financial instruments in order to reflect the fair value of business assets and liabilities. Fair value is used to refer to the current market value of the financial instruments. The boards have adopted two steps to ensure fair value measurements whereby businesses are supposed to record particular financial instruments to reflect their current market value. The approaches include â€Å"disclosure of the fair value information in the notes† and â€Å"fair value option† that allows companies to record particular financial instruments at fair value in the financial report. However, IFRS differ from US GAAP in some ways because IFRS examines specific loans and debtors to ensure the same is not impaired, and. In addition, GAAP and IFRS employ different criteria for recording a factoring transaction whereby, IFRS applies the combination of methods dealing with reward, risk and loss control whereas GAAP applies t he loss of control as the chief method. Also, GAAP takes into consideration the incomplete derecognition of receivables while IFRS does not allow incomplete derecognition of receivables (Kimmel, 2013). Depreciation refers to distribution or spread of costs of assets over its useful life according to IFRS (Shamrock, 2012). Depreciation reflects the value of assets over a given period and depicts the potential of that asset to generate income for the business. It portrays the diminishing utility of the asset in business. Depreciation of components is essential when making a major financial decision such as during mergers and acquisitions, when preparing the financial report at the end of the trading period and when disposing of or acquiring additional depreciable assets to reflect the current value of the assets (Shamrock, 2012).

Friday, August 23, 2019

1.Appreciate important issues in computer system design such as speed Essay

1.Appreciate important issues in computer system design such as speed and flexibility and be able to demonstrate an understanding of the organisational principles of current computer systems - Essay Example In the mid 1970’s when the personal computer was not as common as the current times, computing attacks were done on the telephone systems for example John Draper hacked the AT&T system to make free long distance calls. Randy (2009) pointed out that he achieved to get through the respective system by a simple whistle which he got in a cereal box. Later, he came to be known as Captain Krunch. Different types of attacks have been witnessed over the years and have gotten more sophisticated with the advent of new technology. By the end of 1970s, personal computers became comparatively more accessible than earlier. This marked the start of spam emails; first spam email was sent in 1978 on ARPAnet by the CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation to disable a new computer. The spam in those times generally consisted of advertisements or promotions unlike the financial gain objectives that are hidden in them now. The current motives behind spam deal with far more severe aspects for e.g. identity frauds, online scams. Personal email addresses databases are maintained by many companies these days. Spam is sent to these recipients without their consent or permission with the alias of different forms to make them look professional. These kinds of spam emails transformed into phishing by the year 1996 and consisted of content like the announcement of winning of a lottery by the recipient or an official letter from his respective bank to update his personal details. The recipient enters his personal information in res ponse, thinking that it is a genuine banking process. The email scammer gains the recipient’s personal information as well as banking information that can be used in any desired malicious activity. The stealing of personal information has led to the most appalling of the cyber crimes which is â€Å"identity theft†. According to the statistics provided by the Javelin Strategy & Research Center