Criminal Justice Trends Paper Essay

In this paper I will be evaluating past, present, and future trends pertaining to the corrections system. There are many different trends that correctional facilities have used in the past and these trends have continued on to modern day and maybe will continue on into the future. As part of my evaluation I will identify and analyze past, current and future issues facing the corrections system today and also I will discuss the budgetary and managerial impact that future trends will likely have not only on the corrections system, but also on the other components of the criminal justice system like law enforcement and the court system. Trends of Corrections In the past before there were prisons and jails the punishment of crimes were cruel and dangerous. Some of the punishments in the past included flogging, mutilation, branding, public humiliation, or exile. Today our correctional facilities focus on rehabilitating criminals so that they can be functional in society; one of the ways that is pursued is through community based corrections to save costs instead of housing an inmate. Community based corrections is used as an alternative to being locked up, this is also cost effective rather than housing them in prison or jail because they foot the bill. Community based corrections is known as parole, probation, house arrest, or electronic monitoring. Community based corrections is a privilege and there are many rules that need to be followed, and if they disobey any of the rules the get sent back to prison or jail. Currently we have a bill that passed in California called AB 109 and it was passed to release many inmates to lower the overpopulation of inmates and the end rising costs to house an inmate. â€Å"The state expects to reduce the prison inmate population by about 14,000 in 2011-2012 and approximately 40,000 upon full implementation in 2014-2015. The state estimates that these reductions will result in a state savings of about $453 million in 2011-2012 and up to $1.5 billion upon full implementation.† (Taylor, 2011). This assembly bill will just create a future problem though, when all these inmates get released out into the communities most of them will end up back in prison. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation the recidivism rate of inmates that were returned back into a correctional facility within three years was 63.7% and the other 36.3% were successful three years out of prison. AB 109 will not decrease the inmate population that largely in the long run according to those statistics. The bill will also increase the caseloads on probation officers, making it harder to keep a good eye on all inmates roaming in the communities, allowing them to reoffend put the problem back in the hands of law enforcement. Issues Facing the Criminal Justice System The current issues facing prisons are they are being over crowded, and they are too expensive to manage. Assembly Bill AB 109 tries to alleviate the problems of over crowding but I believe that it is a short-term solution because of the recidivism rate. Alternate correction systems would reduce costs to the state, and maybe even be more affective than jail or prison time. There are alternatives to jail and prison like we discussed earlier, but those are all state funded. In the future maybe there will be programs funded by organizations that want to help rehabilitate criminals or they make the criminal pay for their services. Some examples might be intensive supervised probation, house arrest, electronic monitoring, community residential centers, or shock incarceration. I think we need to have a self-sufficient prison that keeps inmates busy working for what they have, to cut down costs of prisons. One way to cut down costs is to actually use our death penalty, what is the severity of having a death penalty if you know you are going to sit in a cell until you die of natural causes. We are not posing enough threat to these criminals. Watching Lock Up on MSNBC, most of the inmates will never be functioning citizens, some of them admit they need to be behind a cell. Why pay so much money for someone to rot in jail, they are no use to the country and think they need to be put down, just like a viscous dog at the pound. If the vet determines the animal is too aggressive they euthanize the animal because they can never be adopted out, I think we can use the same concept in our correctional system. With an overpopulated correctional system, and the realignment bill 109 there will be many criminals back on the streets, which only adds to the problem for every other component of the criminal justice system. The police are having a bigger population of criminals back on the streets and the departments have tight budgets and do not have enough funds to hire more help to control the streets. The sheriff and police departments then will have to stretch themselves thin to try to put the recommitting offenders back in the correction system. Which then puts the criminal back into the already overcrowded court system, which creates more of a problem because now there are even more cases which will create bigger case loads and slow down the already slow system. Conclusion In this paper I discussed the past, current, and future trends in corrections. In the past the punishments were cruel, and now we are focused more on rehabilitation and California facilities are being over crowded. I also analyzed current and future issues facing the overpopulated prisons. The budget deficit is only going to get worse and these problems within the criminal justice system is only going to get bigger and bigger. Bill AB 109 was put into affect to help relieve the budget issue but as I discussed I think that it is a short-term solution because of the recidivism rates. The criminal justice system is always growing and changing to satisfy the needs of the communities they protect.

Conflict Resolution Essay

As a manager, I think the best strategy for relaying the company’s decision to downsize would be by oral communication having a formal meeting with the whole team. I believe this is the best method because it keeps morale up and structure within the business. The team will appreciate honesty, and while they still have some concerns, they feel confident that you have their backs – even if things do not work out. (Breaking the News). The lines of communications between upper management and employees become open so each part has time to explain their side and also answer any questions. In a managerial position, it is difficult to explain to employees that the company is thinking about downsizing. In reference to the story #2 Breaking the News A â€Å"Tell Your Team About Downsizing† Adventure the company told management that downsizing was going to happen across the business affecting 100 employees. Employees affected by the downsizing are most of the sandwich devel opment department and brine recycling & traditional print marketing department. The online marketing teams will not be affected , and no more downsizing will occur the rest of the year. Management should hold a face to face meeting with all employees. The best way to handle gossip is by avoiding small talk, management should clearly explain the current situation without being too dramatic and be prepared to answer questions. Avoid beating around the bush. It is extremely important to explain details to all employee. Work place gossip can cause a great deal of harm to an organization. There are several ways in which gossip can hurt a business. The ways are listed as follows: Lost productivity and wasted time, morale and trust can no longer exist, increased anxiety among employees as rumors circulate without any clear information as to what is fact and what is not, divisiveness tends to grow among employees as people may take a side, and employees feelings and reputations are hurt, sometimes causing severe damage. Address the online marketing team who will not be affected by the downsizing by hold a face to face oral meeting as well. Management that the company is trying to make the business more efficient as we become more profitable and that is why the downsizing is occurring. Be up front and  honest letting the team know that they are not being affected. This approach reassures to the team that management has their back and really cares about them. It also calms office rumors and puts everyone on the â€Å"same page†. A personal work experience similar to the scenario in Story #2 Breaking the News A â€Å"Tell Your Team About Downsizing† Adventure would be when I sold cars for a small family owned car lot in Houston who laid me off without notice. I had been hearing rumors that the company was not making a lot of money, but I brushed it to the side. My sales team received our pay checks for the week and went to our respective banks and found out they were all declined. I went back to the car lot to tell the owner that all the payroll checks were declined , and he said, â€Å"We should go to hi s bank to cash them†. Two weeks later we were all laid off , and the car lot was eventually closed. If I were the owner of the car dealership I would have been up front and honest with the employees letting them know that the business was just opening , and that decisions were being made to build profit and sell cars. I believe the owner had an opportunity when the payroll checks were declined to tell his employees details of the business.

Concept analysis paper pain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Concept analysis paper pain - Essay Example Described in relation to such damage, IASP argues that pain is always personal. Therefore, IASP further argues that it is upon each individual to learn how to apply the word. Consequently, the way through which this individual can learn the application of pain is through his or her experiences in early life, which are related to injury. However, according to some scholars, pain is not at all times unpleasant. Instead, according to Ross and Ross, pain serves both negative and positive functions (Risjord, 2011). Therefore, according to these scholars pain can be used as a warning signal for tissue trauma or as a treatment and diagnosis aid (Kolcaba, 2003). Consequently, in nursing diagnosis, the definition of pain is that is it comes whenever a person experiences and reports to have had an uncomfortable sensation or severe discomfort (Carroll-Johnson, 1989). Therefore, concisely, the pain sensation is dependent to a large extend on the physical stimulus. However, the expression and/or perception of pain in most cases emphasize a more socio-psycho-cultural aspect. The view of pain by both the professional and sociological fields therefore, is that it bears both the negative and positive functions (Meleis, 2011). ... The list is as follows: 1. Selection of the concept; 2. Determination of the purposes or aims of analysis; 3. Identification of all the applications of the concept; 4. Determination of the defining attributes; 5. Construction of a model case; 6. Construction of the contrary, related, illegitimate, invented, and borderline cases; 7. Identification of consequences and antecedents and; 8. The definition of empirical referents Antecedents for the concept The antecedents are described as those incidents or events that occur before the concept of pain (Walker & Avant, 1995). Consequently, in relation to the concept of pain, the cultural, personal, and environmental values act as antecedents. There is also some interrelationship among the three antecedents (Doran, 2011). For instance, there is the relationship between the event triggering the pain and the environmental antecedent. On the other hand, it is the mind or the body of an individual that will get affected by the event (Marriner-To mey & Alligood, 2006). Consequently, the event can cause potential or actual tissue damage leading to the hospitalization, noxious stimulus, or venipuncture in the side of the individual. What also play an important role in this event is the attitude and the knowledge of the individual (Nelson,1993). The way the individual will accept and expect and cope with the pain in this case is going to be determined by this attitude and knowledge acquired from an experience (Larsen & Lubkin, 2009). The personal issue on the other hand includes the individual’s present emotional and physical condition, socio-economic class, gender, and personality (Peterson and Bredow, 2008). The extent of muscle tension, the capacity of the individual to feel the pain, and the sleeping

A historical and critical analysis of an entrepreneurial venture (Gap Essay

A historical and critical analysis of an entrepreneurial venture (Gap Inc.) - Essay Example He believed that he could do the business his own way creating a unique entry into a market flooded with casual wear stores. 1.2 The Entrepreneur Gap Inc. is an organization whose brainchild id Don Fisher and his Doris. The business started as a small family business in San Francisco where he lived with his family. Don came from a middle class family, which had settled in a two-storey house in San Francisco. Don had great vision from early stages in life. He could recall great constructions in United States such as Golden Gate Bridge, which sparked his life to create a difference in a lifetime. His personal life includes spending time in the beach as a way of enjoying his weekend. Don attended UC Berkeley University where he studied business administration degree (Don, 2009:12). Don recalls that his business ideas came from his early days in the University where his, which he attest did not cut across his mind. Don worked as US Naval reserve and participated in making decisions for h is father in business meetings. He married Doris who altered his life to become a renowned entrepreneur a cross the globe. 1.3 Opportunity for the venture Don had the idea that business could not just pay his bills but would also excite him. He took some time to achieve this ambition. Don asserts that without bad lack Gap Inc. would not be in history. Don who had been in business with his father, branched out to initiate his own business in mid 1960s. Don used the first opportunity that came his way when he bought Capitol Park hotel. He refurbished the building and leased some of its space to Levi’s sales representative. Levi’s sales person took the opportunity to open a showroom within the building. Don mentioned that he enjoyed the arena created by the showroom in the building. Opportunity for the business venture came when Don could not find the right pant size. He had bought pants that could not match their needs. Don recalled that Doris and him walked through the streets of San Francisco and failed to get the right sizes. Then the idea came what if someone stocked all sizes. 1.4. The motivation to found the venture Don motivation was Levi’s showroom in his capital park hotel building that he had bought. Don and Doris figured the situation around the city and felt that it was a good idea to create their own retail store that would cater for age 12 to 25. The urge to change the underlying situation motivated their idea of business. Don had stated that he had little idea about retail business but that could not let his views collapse in one drop. Don noted that he did not have a similar competitor in San Francisco bay that had similar products. Business personalities are keen to evaluate factors that would make their business thrive. 1.5. Exploitation of the venture and acquisition of resource Don thought of the name of his new venture and settled to name Pants and Discs. His wife Doris changed the name by giving the business opportunity the name Gap. Don conducted a market research before a writing a business plan about the intended store. He noted in his market research that the location of the Capital Park building would address the needs of customers age 12 to 25. The location had adequate parking. He outlined that his success would depend on right employees and adequate stock. He could not afford to ignore the influence of stock or capital for the business. Gap creation was to exploit the existing resources that Don acquired. Resource acquisition and

UK Zero Tolerance Policing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

UK Zero Tolerance Policing - Essay Example This concept of Zero Tolerance was founded in the year 1994 from what was known as the "broken window theory of crime" which had the same objective of doing away with social ills just as the zero tolerance (Cox & Wade, 1998, p.22). Through the establishment of a Zero tolerance policy, everyone would be a subject to the set laws and regulation, and the idea that had been long used to treat socials problems as if they were criminal offense would be part of history. Before the full enactment of this concept, justice was being practiced unfairly and a crime would only be defined as so if committed by others (members of the society in a lowers class) but the other portion of the society in higher social classes walk free. "Dealing with only those crimes committed by the poor and omitting the white collar crimes has never, and will never achieve much in the fight against crime" (Robinson, 2002, p41-75). Such an idea is what shook the United Kingdom to the realization that led them to embrace modern methods of fighting against the vise [Zero Tolerance Policing]. The U.K administration reasoned that it was a lot more easy to prevent the escalation of crime in the society that to put a stop to it. This stand prompted t hem to adopt the zero tolerance strategy which provided for the fight of smaller crimes with an equal magnitude just like the other bigger crimes...since it is these small isolated crimes that if left unattended to will mutate or rather develop into the high profile crimes. The criminal statistics of England and Wales indicate that, in a period of fifty decades (1950-2000), recorded criminal cases rose from 500-5500. Further reports in (Newburn, 2003, p.3) show that there was a 23% decline in public confidence with the police from 1992-2000 (Newburn, 2003, p.3).This new direction that zero tolerance policing has taken must therefore factor in these two concerns and work towards improving the relationship. This research paper will look at how the government of UK has faired so far with its strategy of zero tolerance policing since its inception, and what the government has so far achieved. The paper will also go further to analyze the viability of the concept in fighting the high pro file criminal acts of the 21st Century. The Case of U.K on Zero Tolerance Policing The Zero Tolerance Policing in the United Kingdom is under the docket of CID, headed by a Director Superintendent. The concept has received a lot of political support but is quiet unpopular among some of the U.K police force. Some of the Police Departments who advocate for the program argue that it was this new concept that had resulted into the drastic fall of crime as evident lately in New York (Sherman, et al.1997, p.51). Because of such positive reports, it has become widespread in the major cities especially in New York and those of North America. In the United Kingdom, it is mainly used in Middlesbrough, Strathclyde, Hartpool and Landon. A report that was released in February 2009 (Summers et al. 2009.) showed that criminal activities has switched bases, currently, more and more youngsters are getting involved in crime than before. The report further revealed that more than 50,000 teens in the United Kin

Assignment 5.2 Visual Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Assignment 5.2 Visual Argument - Essay Example However, the dictionary’s definition gives more details because union is a multi-faceted term. The dictionary adds a few examples too related to different aspects of union. Formation of unions has been a common way to achieve common goals and objectives. Unions provide many considerable benefits to the members. Some of those benefits include achievement of goals, platform for raising voice, better working conditions, and better salary packages. There are different types of unions that serve their respective members. Some common examples of unions include labor unions, trade unions, and political unions. Labor unions are usually formed for getting better salary packages and labor rights. Trade unions are formed for getting better working conditions. On the other hand, political unions are formed for government formation, as well as for getting political benefits during

Legal Questions for Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Questions for - Essay Example Effect of such a clause Ahead of signing a contract, one of the parties involved, like the Artist in the above example, is under the compulsion to construct definite warranties to the company. These can vary from being accessible to record at specific times and places, to the guarantee that a forbidden composition is completely contained by the control of the artist, to the pledge that the performer is capable to sign the accord in the original place. In other instances, the production corporation may correspond to to its dispenser that it has the right to make public a record, the right to use the name of the artist and resemblance, and the right to allocate, or certify, all of the company's privileges to the distributor. Both of the parties have fine reliance, dependability to make sure representations sincerely and by means of the purpose of performing them to the correspondence of the contract. If a corporation relies on convinced warranties and suffers a trouncing as a corollary , the party making those warranties may be obligated to make fine that trouncing below the indemnification clause. (Jacobson 1) Ans 2) As , per the statement , Such clauses require a party to the contract to

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 5

Research Paper Example as a key driver behind the phenomenal success that the company has been able to achieve in the past decade or so. Certainly, when one views Apple Inc.’s extensive product portfolio in the technology industry, the immediate reaction that is garnered with regards to the success of the product reflects upon the idea that the triumph of the product is only attributable to innovation and creativity. More so, one also feels that Apple Inc. has been able to stand out in the market because time and again the organization has been able to beat competitors like Microsoft and Samsung by deliberating what the customer wants and then acting upon that deliberation. However, innovation in product design and execution is not something that happens by chance and it most certainly is not one facet of organizational success. Through this article I learned that it is in fact possible for a company to base its future direction on the design of the product that appeals the market and reaches out to the customer. I believe that the crux of Heracleous’s analysis regarding Apple Inc.’s product design and associated decisions lies in emphasizing upon how the company is able to develop a convergence. As noted by the author, â€Å"†¦the company has helped to accelerate the blurring of industry boundaries through the spread of devices that offer convergent technologies† (Heracleous 3). In this segmnent of the discussion the author emphasizes upon the need to take such product design decisions that demonstrate risk and audacity through the integration of a surprise element. Many a times while conducting research that is related to operations management and enhancing the issues that are associated with process management, companies choose to ignore the minor faults in the product design itself which maybe hindering the successful execution of tasks. Discussing the matter with respect to process decision making at Apple Inc. it can be identified that the company basis its

Leprosy in the Middle Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Leprosy in the Middle Ages - Essay Example If unchecked, it can result to loss of neural consciousness, blindness as well as local paralysis. Leprosy represented a major moral, social as well as health concern in the middle Ages. Few ailments have conjured the social reactions, which leprosy did in the middle Ages. Some primordial communities undertook exclusionary actions to isolate socially persons with the ailment. Other communities, whereas acknowledging the ailment, treated persons similar to normal citizens as well with compassion. This paper will discuss leprosy in the middle ages. Experts consent that Hansen’s disease was a familiar ailment in mediaeval Europe although opinions range as to its pervasiveness in the period. Writers have proposed that the ailment might have reached its peak in the 20th and 30th eras.4 They grounded this assumption upon the discovery that the total number of hospices started to care for persons with the ailment were many in the 20th and 30th centuries. For instance, in the middle o f 20th era, France had around two thousand leprosariums whereas Scotland and England had about two hundred and twenty to cater for around 1.5 m persons with leprosy. Nevertheless, some of these hospices never served persons with the ailment as well as the dread of the ailment might have resulted to over-exaggeration of its pervasiveness.3 Stereotypically, the medieval societies saw persons with the ailment as untrustworthy, unclean, wrathful, suspicious and hopeless. To the primordial citizen, Hansen’s disease meant a lengthy, disfiguring, as well as inevitable demise. Given the alleged fears of the ailment, primordial citizens evaded people with the ailment.5 Primordial citizens were apprehensive that they might contact Hansen’s disease from associating with persons with the illness and officials habitually made provisions within primordial law, for instance, prohibitions concerning ownership of property. For instance, primordial French communities regularly denied ow nership rights to persons with leprosy. Other communities approved laws to limit the personal free will of persons with leprosy, for instance, the 1276 inquests of London that stated that persons with Hansen’s disease could not reside within the city.6 Primordial communities established other restraints. For example, some individuals believed the Hansen’s disease could be contracted via the breath; therefore, persons with the ailment were only allowed to communicate only they were on down wind.1 Certain communities banned them from utilizing well-travelled roads, enter taverns, market, and even churches with no permission. Medieval communities also banned them from doing laundry within local streams, utilizing public drinking mugs, and touching babies. Restraints varied amid communities, for instance, certain Scottish communities hung or took them out of the village, whereas others allowed them to move around freely. Rendering to Kealey (1981), during 12th century Engl and, persons with the Hansen’s disease were not detested or removed from community, and leper bells and clappers were not used. One of the utmost dramatic social restraints upon persons with the Hansen’s disease was their isolation from mainstream community that was carried out for at least 8 centuries. Primordial citizens believed they might contract leprosy via association.1 Therefore, communities guaranteed that avoids were upheld amid those with and without the ailment. For

The Socrates' Philosophy Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Socrates' Philosophy - Research Paper Example His character resembles that of a normal human person living in ancient Greece. Young and fiery Euthyphro believes in leading his life according to his own ideas. He is so blinded by his own principles that he fails to see the folly that he commits in persecuting his own father of murder. However, Euthyphro's character resembles ancient people of those days. Most of them were honorable men who believed in leading a life of high principles. I have found Euthyphro to be like a real-life person. There is a section of the population who are so steadfast in their own thinking that they often fail to realize the mistakes that they commit by acting according to their own ideas. Of course, in the end, Euthyphro is enlightened by Socrates and retrieved to the right path of thinking.Glaucon is also portrayed as a strong character. He does not hesitate to engage in conversations with the great Socrates about serious issues like the desirable and just actions of men and about the code of conduct of humans. He discusses the grave issue of â€Å"human life and its end† with his partner. Glaucon possesses his own ideas regarding the issues and argues with Socrates courageously putting forward his own ideas with great zeal. He sounds futuristic when he advocates that the young generation should be told of the actions of their predecessors to make them aware of the truths of life. Glaucon says the youth must know of the good as well the mistakes of their fathers and forefathers to form their own ideas about civilization. However, Plato as an author fails to impress. The conversations are described at length and style of narration is quite complicated. It takes the reader a considerable amount of time to grasp the meaning of their words. Perhaps, this is not the author’s fault and people in ancient Greece were used to conversing in this way. Plato has used simple English language to convey the thought of his speakers, but their ideas are repeated and re-repeated so that instead of giving a clear idea, they have created confusion in the reader’s mind. The philosophies of the speakers could have been expressed in a more straightforward and direct manner.

Social responsibility Essay Example for Free

Social responsibility Essay Introduction Starbucks Coffee Corporation is a world renowned Fortune 500 company headquarter in Seattle, Washington USA. It was founded in 1971 with the sole mission to bring the unique Italian coffee experience to the masses. Its CEO Howard Shultz has successfully created a company brand where customers identify its coffee to a distinctive and premium experience. Starbucks Coffee currently has over 18,000 stores worldwide across 60 countries on six continents, and with a market capitalization of over $USD 50 billion. Ranked in American Express/SAP survey as 49 of the Top 100 global retailers, and consistently on the list as one of the best global corporations to work in Forbes magazine, the Starbucks brand is synonymous with success (Starbucks: Global Coffee Giant Has New Growth Plans. 2013). Starbucks Coffee Corporation’s Stewardship in how it conduct Business Starbucks leadership knew that its frontline workforce, or its retail store workers such as baristas, shift managers, and store managers are at the heart to success for the company. Treating the frontline workers well will ensure happy employees who will in turn safeguard the image and values that the company stand for, which keep customers loyal to the brand. Working in the retail sector typically comprise of poor benefits, non-existent or poor healthcare, and low pay. However, Starbucks is one of the very few retail companies that provide health benefits to all its employees referred to ‘partners’ at the full time and part time level. Its partners are offered competitive base pay, equity in the company in the form of Bean Stock, 401(K) saving plan with employer matching, tuition reimbursement, paid vacation, short-term  disability, and product discounts. In the current sluggish economy, companies that used to offer benefits to part time employees have pared back such as Walmart (7 Companies Offering Health Care to Part-Time Workers. 2011), while Starbucks remain committed to its employees and continue to provide benefits to all its workers. Taking care of its employees or partners isn’t its only practice of stewardship. It exist across the entire corporation from business practices, supply chain, and investments. Starbucks’ company mission statement explain what it is all about: Our mission: to inspire and nurture the human spirit-one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time. Social responsibility is at the core of its mission statement and touches: 1. Environmental considerations and recommendations (planet) 2. Ethical leadership considerations and recommendations (people) 3. Organizational viability considerations and recommendations (profitability) Starbucks Corporation already has a well-executed strategy for social responsibility, in this paper I will discuss its current strategy and introduce a new direction, and to make it better through transformation. Starbuck’s current social responsibility strategy is based on the following themes: 1) Community 2) Ethical Sourcing 3) Environment Source: http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility In this section I will explain how each of the three focus are associated to the three social responsibilities of a) planet b) people c) profitability. Starbucks’ Community (People) What Starbucks is Currently Doing Starbucks has a close involvement with the communities that its retail coffee stores are located. Starbucks leadership is committed to helping out the communities that its stores are located. It established an initiative to get its employees involved with making their communities better. A month out of  every year it conducts a program called the Global Month of Service initiative, where Starbucks employees lead community service projects focus on the individual needs of the neighborhood where they live and work. Since the program’s inception in 2011, volunteer hours have increased 40% more than the year before, with a goal of 1 million hours in 2015. What It Should Do Next Hitting 1 million volunteer hours in one month by 2015 seems quite a feat, however when you factor the total Starbucks 150,000 global employees, the contribution of hours is not so significant. That equates to roughly 6.7 hours per employee in a month timeframe. Starbucks leaders should make volunteering mandatory for all its employees and a criteria in the employee’s annual performance review. By linking the program to an employee’s annual performance it would be more of an incentive for people to give more hours, than to think that it is purely voluntary. If during the Global Month of Service every employee can volunteer 2 hours every week for a total of 8 hours per month, at an employee base of 150,000 that means 1.2 million hours can be given. Starbuck’s Ethical Sourcing (Profitability) What Starbucks is Currently Doing Starbucks’ is known for fair practices in everything that carry its brand. It spans from the merchandising of items carried in its retail stores, furniture used by its customers, to the coffee beans it uses in its lattes. Starbucks has integrated into its core business practices social responsibility known as ethical sourcing. Ethical sourcing is being concerned for the well-being of every worker from the top to bottom supply chain that produce any product that has the Starbucks logo. It is to insure that all companies sourced by Starbucks involved with creating its products, provide to their workers a fair-livable wage, sustainable work hours, and adhere to the highest standards of labor practices set forth by Starbucks. The sourcing of its product has a direct impact to Starbucks’ bottom line and profits. However profit margins does not take precedence over social responsibility, compromised or side stepped in the constant pursuits for  corporate profits. Case in Po int: In 2012 Starbucks assessed 128 factories and found that 36 of them failed its zero-tolerance standards. Even though its approach was to work with suppliers to correct the issues, it halted business until adequate resolution were implemented. While it was able to implement improvement plans with almost half of these factories, it stopped working with 15 factories that didn’t rectify the issues. Since the program started in 2006, it engaged with more than 500 factory assessments and worked with more than 70 factories on programs to improve standards. Aside from internal practices, Starbucks is a member of the Global Social Compliance Program, and promoting externally the social responsibility of ethical sourcing best practices to other corporations. To lead and facilitate business-driven efforts to improve environmental and working conditions in the global supply chain of companies. To set itself has a model for other corporations to follow. Source: http://www.gscpnet.com/structure-a-governance/task-force.html What It Should Do Next Starbucks has implemented the practice of ethical sourcing. It is showing to other corporations the morality of how to be responsible, however the Global Social Compliance program is voluntary. My suggestion is for Starbucks to take the idea of Global Social Compliance to the next level in two stages, with the ultimate goal to create a global consortium that has one set standard to enforce ethical policies across all global industries: 1) Control Low Level global supply chain entities Many global corporations utilize the same entities or sources for manufacturing and raw resources. The first strategy is to onboard these entities by granting them financial incentives, subsidies, and longer contracts if they join the Global Social Compliance Program. The caveat is they must use the money to re-invest in themselves by improving in technology or attributes to gain competitive advantage against its competition. 2) Once competitive advantage is attained, the overall cost of the goods or services will be lower compared to competitors. This makes it highly attrative to multinationals seeking lower priced sources. This will  lead to an influx of business by multinationals towards these entities and possibly the demise of competitors, resulting in the overall reduction of players in the sector. Over time the multinationals will be so ingrained to these entities because of the lower cost associated with production and the lack of choices in pursuing other suppliers, that disjoining from them will adversely affect business. At that point, Starbucks can dictate to the entities that all multinationals that work with these entities to join a global consortium that adhere to Global Social Compliance and its policies, led and defined by Starbucks. To keep the multinationals in the consortium, business advantage strategies can be implemented such as all members openly share in the cost of development of new technologies, which can be used by all or any members to gain competitive advantage in their respective industries against competitors outside of the consortium. Or as a consortium to collectively bargain for better rates of goods or services from entities outside the consortium. Over time many companies will see the benefits of becoming a member of the consortium, than fighting against companies within the consortium. The consortium will wield substantial influence and political power as major corporations in the network span across national boundaries, and collectively use its clout to push positive global agendas. Starbuck’s Environment (Planet) What Starbucks is Currently Doing Starbucks is heavily involved in helping care for our planet. It lead by example by reducing its operating costs and increase shareholder value through energy and water efficiency, while encouraging other corporations to do the same. As a company that relies on an agricultural product (coffee beans) as its core business, and the potential to effect geological conditions in the land used to grow the product, Starbucks is committed to strategies that safeguard against land erosion and deforestation through its involvement in the Conservation International (CI) project. Starbucks’  contribution to CI is to work with farmers in major coffee growing regions of the world, to provide monetary incentives if their direct action(s) lead to the reduction of carbon and protection of the environment. Source: http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/environment/climate-change What It Should Do Next Starbucks is helping to save planet Earth a small step at a time. However it need to elevate the effort by doing the following: 1) Establish and join forces with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Starbucks and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are both based in Seattle Washington, less than 10 miles away from each other. Both organizations have different ideas on how to solve global issues, but share in the view that the planet is not sustainable without change. The Gates Foundation’s main driver to tackling global issues are through reducing extreme poverty and improving healthcare. The Gates foundation is the philanthropic arm of Microsoft Corporation’s co-founder Bill Gates, who is the world’s richest person. Bill Gates has endowed $USD 38.3 billion dollars to the foundation to fund global initiatives. Starbucks’ strategy to tackle global issues seem to be at the micro level compared to the Gates foundation; working with farmers and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), while the Gates foundation is funding initiatives at a macro or global level. In the area of Global Health the Gates foundation’s annual funding of the program approaches the total annual budget of the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO). The Gates foundation has the political connection, prestige, and financial resources which Starbucks should leverage to further its Earth protection agendas. If Starbucks want to become a bigger player in solving the planet’s problems it need to align itself with an organization that does it full time, has the ear of the United Nation, and that is the Bill Melinda Gates foundation. Joining forces with a powerhouse such as the Gates foundation, instead of providing incentives to farmers to promote ecological friendly programs in coffee growth areas, it can develop and give to all farmers technologies that can yield better crop output and use less water and land resources. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundation 4. Legal and regulatory considerations and recommendations The suggestions outlined in this paper, to transform Starbucks’ social responsibility program it need to be within the legal framework for all the countries that the program applies to. The creation of a global consortium to further its ethical sourcing objectives should be a program welcomed by many workers in third world countries who work for companies known for exploitation of its workers. Governments of these countries would welcome multinationals such as Starbucks to financially provide support to stop the exploitation. Regarding furthering its present community initiative, the compulsory of its employees to volunteer shouldn’t be outside the framework of existing laws either since many corporations also have similar practices. Lastly to increase the awareness of helping the planet, joining forces with the Bill Melinda Gates foundation is a corporation to organization relationship which is legal in any country. Citation Resource Page: Loeb,W.(2013).Starbucks: Global Coffee Giant Has New Growth Plans. Retrieved February 16, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2013/01/31/starbucks-globalcoffee-giant-has-new-growth-plans/ Kim,S (2011). 7 Companies Offering Health Care to Part-Time Workers. Retrieved February 18, 2014, from http://abcnews.go.com/Business/companies-offering-health-care-benefitsperks-part-time/story?id=14805107 Starbucks Corporation Social Responsibility. (2013). Retrieved February 20, 2014, from http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility Global Social Compliance Programme. (2013). Retrieved February 20, 2014, from http://www.gscpnet.com/structure-a-governance/task-force.html Starbucks Corporation Climate Change Strategy. (2013). Retrieved February 21, 2014, from http://www.starbucks.com/responsibility/environment/climate-change About Bill Melinda Gates Foundation. (2013). Retrieved February 23, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_%26_Melinda_Gates_Foundation

People and IT Essay Example for Free

People and IT Essay Both employees of organizations and managers are today increasingly concerned about the capacity of organizations to adapt to rapidly changing environmental conditions. The rate of change in the technological, economic, political, and sociocultural environments is picking up speed, and organizations are, therefore, finding it more and more important to figure out how to adapt. What is happening in a number of organizations is more fundamental still, however, in that either what the organization does is fundamentally dependent on information technology and/or its capacity to compete with other organizations in the field is fundamentally affected by the use made of information technology (IT). Ever since at least 1958, when Leavitt and Whisler (1958) predicted that the use of IT would lead to the demise of middle management, researchers have speculated about the effects of IT on organizations. Even though many of the early predictions have not come true, new kinds of information technology are now increasingly affecting how people work, often in ways that we are just beginning to understand. As the cost of the underlying technology continues to drop, IT is almost certain to become more and more pervasive and may even make possible new kinds of work organization that we can as yet only barely imagine. This work discusses the relationship between the use of IT and people. The paper reviews theories that can help analyze organizations, technology, and the link between the two. It also reviews the results of empirical studies of the use of IT to determine what changes have been made in the past and can be expected in the future. Our goal here is both to predict inevitable impacts and to discover possible outcomes, both good and bad. Our ability to develop technology itself is probably more advanced than our theories of organizations, but our understanding of the uses of technology is probably behind our understanding of organizations. It is still difficult to identify the relevant dimensions of technology or to measure it, although it is clear that there are large differences between, for example, personal computers and mainframes. The task to which the IT is applied also makes a difference. For example, a payroll system has greatly different functions and is likely to have different effects than an electronic mail system does. An early common prediction was that the widespread use of IT would replace most routine workers, thus causing massive unemployment, and in fact, systems have often been cost justified on the basis of reducing the number of employees. For instance, Lee (2000) cited a study of 33 companies in which 90 percent cut the number of employees (one company laying off thousands of workers) or increased their output with the same number of staff. The prediction of an overall reduction in employment due to the use of IT is difficult to support empirically, however, as most studies have, examined only a few firms or a few industries, and more comprehensive census data are difficult to interpret unequivocally. Furthermore, other factors may more strongly affect employment, thereby masking the effect of using IT. In fact, it is interesting to note that IT may, in some cases, increase rather than decrease employment. For instance, Barney, Fuerst, and Mata (1995) listed several means by which the use of IT may affect clerical employment. First, computers might be used simply to replace clerks. Second, the use of IT may itself create some new jobs, such as that of data entry clerks or positions in the data-processing department. Third, the use of computers may make the firm more efficient, increasing the demand for its products and thus indirectly its total level of employment. Finally, coordination may be viewed as a complementary input in the production process. For instance, if IT makes coordination more effective and less expensive, the demand for coordination and therefore for both IT and the clerks who provide it may increase. This analysis holds only for coordination functions, however, suggesting that clerks employed in production functions are more likely to be displaced by the use of IT. The total effect of using IT on the employment of managers may be less, as fewer managers are involved in production than in coordination. The jobs of most managers are so far less affected by the automation of production functions than are those of clerks. In this case, the smaller number of production workers and the unchanged number of managers and other coordination workers indicate that the administrative intensity (the ratio of administrative to production workers) may actually rise if IT is used to automate production functions. The use of IT would affect the jobs of workers in production more than those in coordination, again increasing administrative intensity. A number of studies agree with this general prediction. For instance, Kudyba and Hoptroff (2001) found that an increased use of computers is associated with higher levels of administrative intensity. One of Kudyba and Hoptroff (2001) original predictions is that the number of levels of hierarchy in organizations will decrease as computers are used to perform the functions of those middle managers. So far, however, there is no conclusive evidence that this prediction has been realized. Changes in levels of hierarchy seem to depend on the way the IT is used, and different studies have reported opposite findings. U. S.  Department of Commerce (1998), for example, discussed firms that are reducing bureaucratic functions with computers and thus trimming the number of levels of hierarchy. Another commonly discussed possibility is that centralizing decision making is inherently desirable to managers and that decentralization takes place only because no single person can control the necessary resources (e. g. , information, employees) because of limitations in humans information-processing capacity. These constraints force managers to delegate control over some decisions in order to focus on more important issues. The use of IT may lessen these constraints in two ways: first, by providing easier access to and facilitating more complete analyses of data regarding the firms operations and, second, by providing a mechanism to program jobs and to control workers. The use of IT may thus permit decisions to be made at a higher level and ensure their implementation by subordinates. Alternatively, a manager may want to encourage the decentralization of decisions in order to increase workers autonomy. Some authors have predicted that IT will encourage greater participation in decisions by lower-level workers. IT provides ways to control the premise of the decision, by allowing more equal access to data or by controlling the way in which a decision is made, and to monitor the results, by providing quicker feedback. Given the ability to ensure that decisions are made consistent with their wishes, managers may be willing to delegate the actual decision. Systems used to provide individual support may also encourage decentralization, as they enlarge an individuals capacity to analyze data or enforce the use of common decision analysis tools. IT can also support lateral ties between low-level workers, allowing them more easily to exchange information and thus coordinate their own activities. Another possible impact of using IT is the development of more differentiated or segmented jobs. Differentiation is difficult to define or measure precisely. Researchers in this area have measured, for example, the number of job titles used in a given organization or the number of different departments. It seems certain that using IT will require some new jobs and departments, such as a data-processing or telecommunications group, if only to manage the complex technology. Using IT in newspapers did lead to the creation of new specialties, such as data-processing manager. It is less clear how using IT will affect other functions in an organization. IT could lead to a reintegration of some tasks (e. g. , handling all aspects of issuing a letter of credit, instead of a single step in a multistep process). Such a reintegration would minimize the differentiation between jobs or departments. Or a higher level of functional specialization could raise the degree of differentiation. The use of IT can affect the level of formality in an organization in many ways. Most older centralized transaction-processing systems are inflexible. Because such systems can do things in only one way, rules are needed to limit actions to this process. The system itself embodies many rules about how the job should be done, again substituting the use of rules and regulations for individual decision making. A system may also make it easier to spot errors and identify their sources, thus further controlling work. Using IT may encourage the evaluation of outcomes instead of process and make the enforcement of rules both easier and less necessary by more quickly providing feedback about the outcomes of actions, thus decreasing formality. Finally, because smaller organizations are typically less formal, IT may lessen formality by reducing organizational size. The use of IT for individual support or for communications may well have different effects. On the one hand, using telecommunications to allow workers to work at home resulted in less personal interaction and therefore more formal evaluations. On the other hand, using IT could lead to less formalized interactions. IT can affect the pattern and content of organizational communications in many ways. First, the use of IT may lead to changes in the structure of an organization, leading to new patterns of communication or changes in the content or quantity of existing kinds of communication (U. S. Department of Commerce 1998). Integrating jobs, a possible outcome of using IT, can lead to fewer needs for communication, as a single person can do the job with no need to communicate with co-workers. For example, storing transaction data in a commonly accessible data base may make requests for information unnecessary. Such changes may also affect the level of social interactions. Some researchers claim that by integrating tasks, the use of IT eliminates the need and opportunity for workers to interact. For example, Ahituv and Giladi (1993) in a study of using electronic mail, discovered a decrease in the amount of face-to-face communication. Social isolation will be further increased if workers can work at home instead of in an office. On the other hand, the use of IT can lead to more frequent personal contacts, suggesting that different uses of IT will have very different effects. Second, IT may be used to provide new media for communication, such as electronic mail or computer conferencing, again leading to new patterns of communication. These kinds of systems have been somewhat more heavily studied, and some important characteristics of these systems have been identified. For example, computerized media may be preferable to other kinds of communication because they can be faster and cheaper. Furthermore, computerized communication has a low incremental cost per message; that is, it costs the sender about the same to send a message to one person as it does to two; if the system supports mailing lists, it may be as easy to send mail to hundreds of people, specifying only the name of the list. This form of bulk mailing eliminates the need for secretaries to duplicate and mail multiple copies of memos. Finally, electronic mail or conferencing are asynchronous: Only one of the recipients needs to be present at a time, making communications easier to arrange (e. g. , across time zones). By thus reducing the cost of communications, IT may make coordination less expensive, with the possible results just enumerated. Such uses of IT will be necessary to allow organizations to deal with the more complex and more turbulent post-industrial environment, with more available information. The ability to address communications by other than the name of the recipient (e. g. , to a mailing list for electronic mail or to a specific conference for computer conferencing) means that a sender may not know the person with whom he or she is communicating, but only the area of interest. Computers can be used to support this sort of communication. By providing new communications channels, computerized media may facilitate the formation of â€Å"weak† (acquaintance) ties. People become aware of one another and one anothers work, even though they have not met in person, thereby suggesting that the computer system allows these contacts to develop more easily. Easier formation of weak ties may also lead to a shift from hierarchical to â€Å"all-channel† communications in companies. Some studies have shown an initial increase in vertical communication, followed by a shift to more evenly distributed communications as new horizontal links are formed and the formal reporting system begins to decline in (relative) importance. One way that IT can affect the vertical distribution of power in a firm is by changing who has access to information. For example, a computer system may provide an easier way to monitor the results of subordinates actions and to speed the flow of information upward in the company, thus centralizing power. IT can also be used to decentralize, thus moving power down in the organization. For example, a universally accessible data base can reduce top managements monopoly on companywide information. The use of IT may thus change the basis of power by making information a less scarce resource. To the extent that vertical power is thereby equalized, other sources of power will become more important. The use of IT can also change the balance of power between groups at the same organizational level of a firm. For example, a common computer system may lead to greater data sharing and thus power equalization between groups at the same level. This cooperation may then lead to greater coordination, allowing better performance, as the two groups can jointly optimize, rather than each trying to do the best it can alone. As we mentioned, using IT can greatly increase the power of the group that controls the technology. IT may become critical to the firms operation: most banks, for example, would be completely unable to function if their computer systems failed. The group controlling the computer systems may also control access to data, a potentially scarce resource. The IT group thus may be in a position to mediate between other groups, for example, by setting corporate standards for computer equipment or software, thus defining the functions available even to users of personal computers. In the information-processing view, IT has a major effect, by providing cheaper coordination and thus making coordination-intensive forms more practical. A company might take advantage of economies of scale by creating larger functional departments, using IT to provide the necessary coordination among different groups. For example, different divisions of a company could all use data stored in one centralized data base, rather than each having partial information or passing information among themselves. Alternatively, a company could use marketlike structures, again coordinated by using IT. Airlines, for example, now provide an electronic marketplace for selling tickets. The era into which we are now entering will see qualitative changes wrought by information technology. No longer will information technology be simply overlaid onto existing business; it will now be used to restructure the enterprise. This restructuring is taking place between as well as within organizations. The boundary between customer and supplier is becoming difficult to define as electronic integration blurs the distinction. Within organizations, distinctions between information technology and production technology and between information workers and production workers are becoming increasingly difficult to maintain. The electronic communications system occupies the critical path. Communication by electronic means is essential to interorganizational integration and can proceed only at the pace permitted by communication technology. As we have seen, there appear to be few inevitable results of the use of IT and many possible outcomes, depending on factors such as the organizational context, the type of IT used, and managements motivations. Furthermore, the effects of IT are not deterministic: similar systems can and do have widely different effects, depending on the particulars of the organization and the intentions of the managers who deploy them. IT has come to play an important role in virtually all large successful organizations in relation to computerized accounting systems, word processing, filing information in databases, modelling the future of the business through spreadsheets, maintaining stock control, and so on. But most of this would only indicate that IT was an important service function like personnel or accounts. Even so, it is worth pointing out that in order to compete on equal terms with other firms performing with equal efficiency and economy IT has become an essential tool of modern management.

Fair Representation of Financial Statements

Fair Representation of Financial Statements 1. INTRODUCTION The Financial Reporting Standards Board was formed to resolve the problems faced by the international financial reporting regiment. In particular, it hopes to promote the standardization of international accounting standards through its International Accounting Standards (IASs) to facilitate transactions and improve financial markets. Underscoring the FRSBs philosophy is to enable the fair presentation of financial statements. This report discusses this concept and evaluates whether the application of a standardized accounting reporting regiment would achieve its objectives with a critical examination of some accounting standards. 2. FAIR PRESENTATION DEFINED Whenever we mention the fair presentation of financial statements, we are referring to the accounting concept of true and fair view. The phrase true and fair in an accounting context does not have the same meaning as true and fair in a general context. Thus, true in an accounting context does not mean in accordance with the facts or not false and fair in an accounting context does not mean just or unbiased. The most generally accepted interpretation of true and fair in an accounting context is that accounts are true and fair if they are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Thus courts have held that accounts based on historical cost present a true and fair view. Riley has pointed out that the various Companies Acts require the presentation of a true and fair view and not the true and fair view. The implication is that in a particular circumstance no single view is true and fair but that there are several views each of which is true and fair. Presumably, any generally accepted accounting method provides a true and fair view. There are some who argue that different accounting standards does not inhibit the adoption of fair presentation while others believe that a uniform international standard like IAS is the best means of achieving fair presentation of financial statements. 3. THE CASE FOR DIFFERENT ACCOUNTING STANDARDS 3.1 Diversity is Desirable It has been argued by some that a range of accounting methods is desirable because of the diverse circumstances of different businesses. In some circumstances one method would be desirable and in other circumstances some other method would be most appropriate. Diverse accounting methods are necessary because of diverse circumstances. For example, it could be argued that when a non-controlling interest in another company is acquired and where there is a substantial influence over its policies, the equity method would reflect the circumstances more accurately than simply showing the investment at cost. Given a variety of accounting methods, it is argued that management should choose the one which best reflects the unique circumstances of the situation. The ability to choose the most appropriate method should lead to comparability of accounting reports. More meaningful comparisons would be possible because accounting reports reflect the circumstances in each case. The independent auditor should ensure that management selects the most appropriate method for the presentation of a true and fair view. If management does not choose the best method, the auditor will not confirm the presentation of a true and fair view and a qualified audit report should result. 3.2 Arguments Against International Financial Reporting Standards Just as there are many compelling arguments in favour of IAS, there are also equally compelling arguments against it. One of the major criticisms against IFRS is that poorly developed and developing countries view it as a form of imposition of rules or neo-colonization by economically superior countries (Mednick, 1991). Secondly, standardization goes against the inherently flexible nature of accounting. One of the key principles of accounting is substance over form, so providing international standards would be contrary to this. When accounting rules are standardized or harmonized, they cannot possibly be flexible enough to fit into the enormous scope of different national situations, legal systems, stages of economic growth and cultural differences. Instead of aiding progress, such rigid and inflexible standards may actually hinder it. Next, some experts argue that it will be very difficult for international accounting standards bodies like the IASB to reach a universal consensus on some issues. As a result, concessions and compromises will have to be made so that it becomes acceptable to the international community (Berton, 2000). When this happens, the standards become inadequate and permissive. Another argument against international accounting standards is that it could be dangerous as the standards may erode profits and cause volatility in the balance sheets of the companies (Parker, 2002). As a result, companies need to educate their investors about the effects of international accounting standards on the reported profits and liabilities. Finally, some have expressed concern that international standardization or harmonization may cause standard overload. Companies that have to deal with social, political, national and economic pressure will be overextended to comply with the more complex and expensive international requirements. This may add to operating costs. 4. THE CASE FOR INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL REPORTING STANDARDS 4.1 Problems with Diversity There is the availability of a wide choice of accounting methods. For many transactions, accountants are able to choose from a selection of accounting methods each of which is equally acceptable and which often give widely different results. However, there are two main types of criticism leveled against this kind of diversity. One, it is suggested that the availability of several acceptable alternative accounting methods for a single transaction could make the accounting reports of different companies non-comparable. Differences in reported results could reflect different accounting procedures rather than different performances. For example, suppose that Company A expensed all research and development expenditure, used FIFO for inventory and depreciated its assets on a straight-line basis. Any differences in the reported profits and balance sheets of the two companies would be due, at least in part, to differences in accounting procedures and any assessment of relative performance and financial position would be difficult to make. The critics argue that diversity in accounting methods reduce the utility of accounting reports by measuring corporate performance in different ways. Two, it is also suggested that the availability of different accounting methods allows management to choose those methods which give the desired result. In other words, profits could be manipulated by the choice of accounting method. If management wants lower profits, conservative accounting procedures could be used. Choosing accounting procedures to satisfy management objectives is sometimes described as creative accounting. In America, researchers have found substantial evidence of creative accounting. The critics regard creative accounting as particularly bad and conclude that financial statements cannot be used with any confidence to measure or compare managerial performance. The common element of these two criticisms is that the availability of a choice of accounting methods leads to a lack of comparability in accounting reports. 4.2 Increased Disclosure The second argument for IAS is to seek increased disclosure. Two types of increased disclosure are suggested. One, it is argued that the problems of diversity could be at least partially overcome by detailed disclosure of accounting method. Under this proposal, accounting reports would include a statement of the methods used to compute depreciation, unearned income, inventory and so on. It is suggested that this additional data would enable statement users to recast the accounting reports into a form suitable for comparison with the reports of other years or other companies. Two, it is suggested that where an accounting method is different from that used in the previous report, the fact of the change of method and the effect of the change on reported profits or balance sheet items should both be disclosed. With this additional information statement users would be able to restate the accounting reports of a company to make them comparable on an interpreted basis. The effect of creative accounting would be disclosed. It should be noted that the increased disclosure response leaves companies and their auditors with a choice from a range of accounting methods. Diversity in accounting method is not reduced. The increased disclosure allows statement users to make accounting reports comparable by recasting them in the form they need. Increased disclosure is a solution to the problem of diversity can be criticized on the grounds that the benefits may not be shared equally by all statement users. It requires a statement user with accounting skills to recast financial reports on a comparable basis. Statement users without access to these skills would receive no benefits from these additional disclosures. Indeed, they may be worse off as sophisticated statement users recast the financial reports and to make better decisions. Any solution to the diversity problem which places the one on statement users and which could therefore discriminates against a group of users is clearly unsatisfactory. 4.3 Increased Uniformity It is also widely believed that a universal adoption of IAS would contribute to uniformity of financial statements internationally. When different standards are used, it is sometimes difficult to compare the financial performance of two companies. Comparability would eliminate misunderstandings about the reliability of foreign financial statements and would remove one of the most important impediments to the flow of international investment. Narrowing the range of choice of accounting methods is usually described as increasing uniformity. In most cases, increased uniformity is achieved by issuing statements of accounting principles or standards which specify the accounting method for a particular transaction or event. Increased uniformity means that the same accounting methods are likely to be used in the same circumstances by different companies and at different times. The onus is on management and accountants rather than statement users. There are several arguments used to support the case for greater uniformity of accounting method. Firstly, the most important argument is that uniformity of accounting procedures will allow comparisons of accounting reports. Similar situations will be reported in a similar way and results will be directly comparable. Any difference in reported results will be due to differences in the circumstances and not in the accounting method. Secondly, many accountants believe that increased uniformity would make their jobs much easier. Choosing an accounting procedure is for many accountants time consuming and difficult. It may lead to conflict between management which wants creative accounting and accountants who believe that another method is more appropriate. With uniformity, the chance of conflict over accounting method would be reduced. Thirdly, with uniformity, accountants would be better able to defend their procedures in court. Because their choices would be limited, they could not be accused or choosing an accounting method to meet the needs of any particular group. This in an important consideration for accountants. 4.4 Cost Benefits There are numerous financial benefits of having IAS. The first is that it decreases the cost of data collection (Choi et al, 1999). Time and money will be saved on consolidating divergent financial information when more than one set of reports is required to comply with the different national laws or practice. Secondly, it is believed that the ease of comparison of information and the reduced cost of collecting data will help spur the development of capital markets through the inflow of foreign capital (Don and Thomas, 1995). Investors, financial analysts and foreign leaders will be able to understand the financial statements of foreign companies and they would be able to compare the investment opportunities that will assist them to make the correct investment decision. This in turn will also facilitate the movement of funds. As taxes are levied on the total income of a business, it would be of great help to national tax authorities around the world if net income was calculated on si milar accounting principles and practices. In addition, this will provide firms with a competitive advantage. International accounting and disclosure standards would make it easier to conduct the competitive and operational analyses needed to run a business. It will also become easier for top management to manage important relationship with stakeholders such as customers and suppliers. Multinational corporations will benefit the most and it will also become easier for them to fulfil the disclosure requirements for international stock exchanges. Finally, harmonization of accounting standards will decrease audit costs and increase the efficiency of the audit (Choi et al, 1999). 5. DIFFERENCES IN ACCOUNTING TREATMENT To better understand how universal adoption of IAS would eliminate differences in accounting treatment, let us consider some examples of divergent accounting treatment. For this purpose, a comparison is made between IASs and the United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US-GAAP). 5.1 Changes in Depreciation or Amortization Method According to IAS 16 and IAS 38, there is an explicit stipulation that changes in depreciation or amortization method must be accounted for as a change in estimate. However, US-GAAP treats these changes as changes in policy by demonstrating the cumulative effect of the change in the income statement. These require retrospective changes, which are not required by IAS. 5.2 Impairment of Assets IAS 36 uses a discounted impairment trigger, because the value in use is by definition a discounted value. Reversal of impairment losses recognized in prior years is allowed. On the other hand, in the US-GAAP, if the sum of the expected cash flows is less than the carrying amount of the asset, the entity shall recognize an impairment loss. This means that the impairment trigger is an undiscounted amount. Reversal of previously recognized impairment losses is prohibited for assets to be held and used. 5.3 Impairment of Goodwill According to IAS, the recoverable amount of a cash generating unit should be compared with the carrying value of its net assets. Resulting impairment losses should first be deducted from goodwill and then from other assets on a pro-rata basis. However, US-GAAP requires determination of the implied fair value of the goodwill. If the implied fair value is less than its carrying value, this carrying amount should be reduced. Such a goodwill impairment test cannot affect the carrying values of other assets. 5.4 Business Combinations in-process Research and Development For IAS, purchased in-process research and development that meets the recognition criteria for an intangible asset should be valued at fair value. Even if it is not a separate identifiable intangible asset, the IAS method results in capitalization of those costs as part of goodwill. Under US-GAAP, purchased in-process research and development assets both tangible and intangible should be charged to expense at acquisition date if no alternative future use for the assets can be determined. 6. INCONSISTENCIES IN IAS Although IASs are deemed to improve fair reporting, there are occasional inconsistencies that often hamper their effectiveness. Indeed, the IASB has tried to correct some of these inconsistencies, but there are still flaws in the overall framework. The following are some of the inconsistencies that have been corrected in recent years. 6.1 Classification of Tonnage Taxes in IAS 112 In some countries, shipping companies are allowed to choose to be taxed on the basis of tonnage transported, tonnage capacity or a notional profit instead of the standard corporate income tax regulations. In the past, tonnage capacity was regarded as a basis for taxable income. This is based on a flawed assumption. Income taxes are calculated on taxable profit which implies net, rather than gross amount. Taxes either on tonnage transported or tonnage capacity are based on gross instead of net amount. Therefore, such taxes would not be considered income taxes and would not be presented as part of tax expenses in the statement of comprehensive income. 6.2 Accounting for Sales Cost in IAS 38 Some problems arise among real estate developers. IAS 2 does not permit selling costs to be capitalized as inventory if the real estate units are considered to be inventory. However, other standards conclude that some direct and incremental costs recoverable as a result of securing a specifically identifiable contract with a customer may be capitalized in narrow circumstances, for example in IAS 11 (Paragraph 21) and IAS 18 (Appendix 14(b)(iii)). Hence, it is not possible to reach a conclusion on the appropriate accounting for board categories of selling and marketing costs in all circumstances. 6.3 Disclosure of Idle Assets and Construction in Progress in IAS 16 In accordance with paragraph 74(b) of IAS 16, an entity is required to disclose the amount of expenditures recognized in the carrying amount of an item of property, plant and equipment in the course of its construction. Paragraph 79(a) encourages an entity to disclose the amount of property, plant and equipment that is temporarily idle. Paragraph 112(c) of IAS 1 requires an entity to provide in the notes information that is not presented elsewhere in the financial statements that is relevant to their understanding. The disclosure regarding idle assets might be particularly relevant in the current economic environment. Therefore, IASB should review all disclosures encouraged with the objective of either confirming that they are required or eliminating them. 7. CONCLUSION To end, all accountants agree that the fair presentation of accounting and financial statements is important. However, what exactly constitutes fair presentation is a contentious and debatable matter. Some insist that adopting IFRS is the best way of achieving this objective while others assert that substance is more important than form and that it is perfectly acceptable to use different accounting standards so long as it shows some form of fair presentation. While I personally believe that it would be ultimately benefit the international financial community to have one standard to prevent confusion, its implementation is still some years away.

Explain what is implied by the assumption that decision-makers are Essa

Explain what is implied by the assumption that decision-makers are rational? How is the assumption of rationality used in the economic analysis of individual behaviour? In many academic disciplines much is spoken about rationality and rational choices. Economists generally refer to 'rational' choices and that individuals in economic theory are rational. By rational we mean people choose options which they perceive to be the best, given the circumstances they are in. In terms of making rational choices some of the conceivable options for example of going to work would be:  · Actually going to work.  · Staying at home  · Going out shopping  · Buying a house  · Fly to the moon etc. But with these choices we face constraints and it is these constraints that define our 'feasible' options so flying to the moon would not be a feasible option. Therefore the options we can choose from is called the 'feasible set' and it is our preferences i.e. our likes and dislikes and their relative intensity, which determines which feasible option we choose. When we make a choice it generates 'utility' which is a measure of the emotional experience associated with the outcome of a choice so basically the satisfaction from the consumption of a good. We talk about 'total utility' meaning the total satisfaction a person gains from all units of a commodity consumed within a time period. We also use the term 'marginal utility' which is additional satisfaction gained from consuming one extra unit within a time period. There is a general model of rational choice where economists assume that agents such as decision makers will firstly identify a feasible set of options and then assess the expected utility of each option ... ...tility and therefore the amount of meals must decrease to keep the utility constant. Due to the fact that the consumer will prefer more to less the curve must slope downwards. The slope of each curve does get steadily flatter as we move to the right due to the assumption of a diminishing marginal rate of substitution. For example in this case at point A the consumer will sacrifice a lot of films for few meals because he/she has so many films. Whereas point B he/she has less films relative to meals so willing to sacrifice a smaller amount of films for additional meals. However this kind of economic analysis is based on rational behaviour of consumers. It does not take into account people with maybe addictions such as smokers or people under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In economics we assume rational thinking and behaviour will always take place.

The American School System: A Rough Road Ahead :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The American School System: A Rough Road Ahead There are many similarities and few differences between E.D. Hirsch’s â€Å"Why America’s Universities Are Better than Its Schools,† and Benjamin Barber’s â€Å"America Skips School.† The main purpose of both articles is to address the fact that Americans fall far behind in the scholastic accomplishment of their young students. Mutually, the two authors agree that American K-12 students learn more each day outside of the classroom than they do inside the classroom, and that the schools need serious reform. Barber focuses his attention on the financial situation of the schools, as well as the political standpoint that the government just does not care, and the American government has simply given up on its children. Hirsch tackles the idea that if our K-12 schools stay with their current level of teaching, it is only a matter of time before the institutions of higher learning will no longer be considered among the best in the world. At the present time, it seems as though America’s youth have been placed into a category for which they are no longer looked upon as a bright future for our nation as was considered in the past, as Barber has commented, â€Å"Jefferson thought schools would produce free men: we prove him right by putting dropouts in jail† (159). Children today are becoming more street-smart, and feel that there is no need for true knowledge. For example, â€Å"Knowledge is considered less desirable than more ‘practical’ all-purpose goals such as ‘higher order skills,’ ‘self-esteem,’ ‘metacognitive skills,’ and ‘critical-thinking skills† (Hirsch 144). They see it as much more important to look at what society rewards its people with, and that seems to be anything but a good academic background. In today’s culture, the people who are praised in America are the people who are able to make millions of dollars by performing music, acting in front of the camera, playing a sport, and unfortunately in some neighborhoods, selling drugs. Barber concurs that â€Å"When the society undoes each workday what the school tries to do each school day, schooling can’t make much of a difference† (157). Our students think in terms of what is going t o bring them to the peak of the success mountain in this great motherland where everyone has equal opportunity.

Essay on the Downfall of Man in John Miltons Paradise Lost

The classic tragedy Paradise Lost, written by John Milton, demonstrates how the fallen angels lose the paradise they have been given, and how this fall directly effects the downfall of man as well. Before anything ever was, all matter was chaos; utter darkness and filth. A mighty being, God, rose up out of chaos and created the firmament called Heaven, and all the universe (4). The angels, and archangels that populated Heaven, danced in the realms of the magnificent light (8). Lucifer, the highest archangel, stepped fourth and accused God of his power, jealously tying to take it from him. Almighty God cast him, and his followers out of the sublime realm. The fallen angels transcended back into the filth of chaos. This chaos being the exact opposite of paradise, Hell. This establishes how paradise was lost.    "To mortal men, he with his horrid crew Lay vanquished, rolling in the fiery gulf Confounded though immortal. But his doom Reserved him to more wrath; for now the thought Both of lost happiness and lasting pain Torments him; round he throws his baleful eyes, That witnessed huge affliction and dismay Mixed with obdurate pride and steadfast hate" (8).    God gave Lucifer the appearance of a serpent, and called that serpent Satan. Satan, unable to rise from chaos, built a palace that was called Pandemonium (5). Satan gathers a council of his fallen colleagues to further wage war against God in order to take Heaven.    "High on a throne of royal state, which far Outshown the wealth of Ormus and of Ind Or where the gorgeous East with richest hand Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold, Satan exalted sat, by merit raised To that bad eminence... ...econd edn. NY: Norton, 1993. Frye,   Northrop.   "The Return of Eden", Buffalo: Univ. of Toronto, 1965, 39-43 Kermode, Frank. Ed. "Adam Unparadised" in The Living Milton: Essays by Various Hands, London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1960. Lewalski, Barbara. Paradise Lost and the Rhetoric of Literary Forms Princeton: Princeton U. , 1985, 174. Lieb, Michael. Poetics of the Holy: A Reading of Paradise Lost. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1981. Lovejoy, Arthur O.   "Milton and the Paradox of the Fortunate Fall," ELH 4 (1937), 161-179. Mahood, M. M. "Milton's Heroes," in Alan Rudrum, ed., Milton: Modern Judgements, London: Macmillan, 1968, 262-63. Milton, John. Paradise Lost in The Portable Milton. Editor Douglas Bush, New York: Viking Press, 1977. Patrides, C.A. Milton and The Christian Tradition. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1966)

Music Video Proposal Essay

The track I’m going to use to make a music video has a genre of a mix between indie and very chill out music this has made me think about what video will suit the music. My idea for the music video will be a narrative based , and the story will between a girl and boy in a relationship and they have split up and they cant see the love they have for each other anymore based on this the story will also involve them getting back together. Reason I have chosen this is because the track that was mixed has a somewhat depressing feel to it when you listen to it and the lyrics also explain this story well (referring to different parts of the lyrics) My video will promote the track, as it is not a piece of music you can listen to on the radio and sing to it. That would get plaid on the radio. Therefore, it needs something to make it viewable and push the viewing of the music. By using a video, that’s video to go with the track will really help also I think using the video it will appeal to a wider range audience. With the story of a break up I think it will stereotypically appeal to older teenagers to around the age of mid 30s, because often in this age a girl would have been through a relationship and then broke up and maybe been upset then it could appeal to them as a target audience. My music video will be relatively simple and include animation at the start of the music video and the end. The animation will consist of a boy and girl sitting at a bench and they have sad expressions on their face, in between them will be an animated heart which will split as they get up and walk separate directions to each other. And then animation at the end will have the bench with this time another man on the bench with half a heart then the girl also with half a heart joins him on the bench and the heart makes one. This will be in a style of narrative because its telling the story of the lyrics in the song. From narrative animation to concept real life my music video will carry on from the animation to a shot of the girl filmed in Ipswich town centre she will be moving very slow and the rest of the people around her will be moving very quick. With this effect it will be given the proposed reading that everyone is moving on and she is not. I will achieve this effect by filming the shot with the girl moving very very slowly and then in the editing stage I will speed up the pace so it gives the effect she is moving very slow and everyone else is moving fast. My video will use this shot when the girl sings but I will use different angles and cuts so it does not look boring. in the song there is also the boy singing he is very much in the same mood and cannot move on but wants to and he is very much sad. My idea for this shot will be that he is in the underground where he is alone and he can be sitting on the floor not really knowing what he is doing there giving the audience a picture that he is very much confused and upset. Also I will be using the graffiti wall in Ipswich close to the train station , the man in the video will be walking along this wall. Close to the end of the track both the male and female are singing for this I will use footage from the graffiti wall and the girl walking slowly but showing both on screen so we get a view of both persons point of view and then when the music stops is comes to the animation showing the girl has moved on .

Multicultural Management in the Virtual Project Setting

MULTICULTURAL MANAGEMENT IN THE VIRTUAL PROJECT SETTING Carlos Galamba, University of Liverpool entree The Virtual Project coifting In todays world-wideisation era, hard-hitting cross- pagan attention of practical(prenominal) group ups is an rising put forward in transnational crinkle literary productions and practice. Virtual police squading has a sum up of effectiveness benefits non only in terms of human resources flexibility except it mint overly reduce the operational costs of mavin face. On the other(a) hand, the ch onlyenges of much(prenominal)(prenominal) surroundings should not be at a lower placemined. umteen a(prenominal) scholars support attempted to discerp the impact of practical(prenominal) civilise in a military getting even of factors such(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) as communion, leading, trust, decision-making and productiveness (Symons and Stenzel, 2007), while others were disassociateicularly interested with the coun sel of geographicly dispersed units and hence addressed the ch on the wholeenges of fiting with sentence order deflexions and cultur everyy diverse groups (Ardichvili et al. , 2006). The findings atomic look 18 precise interesting and the line of credit literature appears to support that the practical(prenominal) confinement setting is in roughly(a)(a) manner irreconcilable from face to face working and much important it brings some anomalous ch bothenges.This externalise will reexamine the literature under these headings and explore the faultfinding resultants regarding cross- heathenish care in the realistic render setting. ensn be on the theoretical model for realistic teaming I will attempt to specify solutions and establish a set of top hat practices for effective international management of such environments. Managing the practical(prenominal)(prenominal) environment Critical break throughs The sudden number of practical(prenominal) teams is a universe in the global market place. The realistic enter setting whollyow fors organisations to assign the close skilled souls to fancys across the globe, with less occupy for travel or elocation expenses, which ameliorates productivity (Rorive and Xhauflair,2004). so far the challenges of managing culturally and geographically diverse teams essential not be undermined. Some of the conundrums and captious issues lift in several(predicate) aras such as dialogue, technology, synergism among team members, goal and era z wholeness differences (Grosse, 2002 Kuruppuarachchi, 2009). In the coterminous pages I will discourse these issues and review the current literature and theoretical framework to breakline possible solutions. COMMUNICATION reveal In the bigger picture the nigh precise factor with regards to communication is the style barrier. Effective communication mountain be call fored when team members speak different native dustups. For instan ce, Bakbone Softw atomic number 18, a US keep gild faced communication problems when Japanese workers were active in their practical(prenominal) team, imputable to their perfect English (Alexander, 2000). Nevertheless, some farmings prefer a to a greater extent than than(prenominal) formal communication than others, and managers moldiness(prenominal) pay special attention to individual un head offablenesss. There be a number of communication platforms available, such as phone, email, chew out and video-conferencing. Selecting the most discriminate method for a practical(prenominal)(prenominal)(prenominal) propose setting is sarcastic for the vomit ups success. Ardichvili et al. (2006) found meaning(a) differences in the preferred methods of communication of Russian and Chinese team members.The former are comfortable with email communication whilst the stand by would rather prefer opposite or phone calls. These findings seem to support the note be tween high and low-context enculturations formal by Hall (1981). resolution A valuable strategy to deal with communication challenges standister be achieved by sense and identifying everyones strengths and backgrounds. By recognising different levels of expertise, skills and experience among team members, virtual team loss leaders butt joint distribute the workload accordingly. Lipnack and Stamps (1999), posit one-third basic steps to bruise obstacles to communication listening skills, respect and patience. TECHNOLOGY come The available technology is another critical factor for virtual teams. It is essential that an pit access to technology can be guaranteed to all team members, otherwise productivity can be compromised (Kuruppuarachchi, 2009). Broadband function are not available in every location and some regions may experience slower internet festinate than others or may perk up incompatible networks SOLUTION Ardichvili et al. (2006) posit tha t the start of the labour is crucial and me trust team leaders must(prenominal) choose the most appropriate computer-mediated technology that high hat suits the need of team members.One that can be promptly available to all lend oneselfrs and in that respectfore potential problems in the map of technology must be place before the virtual project takes place. CULTURE mercantile establishment Individualism-collectivism is one of the biggest dimensions of cultural variability.The findings by Gudykunst (1997) and Hofstede (1980) suggest that team members from collectivist cultures are less stimulate to trust others than those from individualistic cultures. Chow et al. (2000) established that individualistic and collectivist cultures make a sharp differentiation between in-group and out-group members, with regards to experience sacramental manduction. For modelling, Chinese managers are found to be to a greater extent(prenominal) reluctant in overlap k promptlyledge with an out-group member when compared to Americans. SOLUTION With regards to culture, some(prenominal) scholars stop that cultural mindfulness is the most effective solution to minimize the disconfirming effects of cross-cultural differences (Mead and Andrews, 2009). Ardichvili et al. (2006) emphasise that leading must facilitate an environment of cultural adaptation in order to attain a unequalled competitive advantage. because it is essential that managers have the ability to dividing line culturally-determined behaviours and different expectations into rich outputs. SYNERGY ISSUE To communicate across cultures it is essential that managers can foster an environment of trust and understanding. several(prenominal) factors, such as repeated interactions, divided up experiences and shared social norms, have been found to facilitate the development of trust (Mayer et al. 1995). Many scholars in like manner argue that personal encounters are irreplaceable when it comes to building trust (Ardichvili et al. , 2006). SOLUTION Following Ardichvili et al. (2006) findings, it appears essential that virtual team leaders make individualal meetings possible, because face-to-face encounters are one of the most critical factors for trust building, particularly at the graduation exercise of the teams existence. This has been found to be essential in some(prenominal) cases of virtual teams, like Ericsson in China ( lee side-Kelley and Sankey, 2008) and the virtual project of the New South Wales legal philosophy in Australia (Peters and Manz, 2007). Nevertheless, in the virtual project setting, this synergy may be effortful to maintain and it is in that respectfore important that virtual organisations consider activities that indirectly draw trust, such as group and individual feedback (Walker et al. , 2002 cited in Ardichvili et al. 2006). TIME ZONE DIFFERENCES ISSUE The problem of working in distant geographic al locations arises for example when certain activities need to be synchronized or when real time communication is critical for the project.Due to time zone differences, users may not be able to exchange information instantly. For example, the US company BakBone software, faced some challenges in the coordination of its Israeli and US teams, because they have a 7 hour time difference between them (Alexander, 2000). SOLUTION Precise coordination processes can help conquer time- cerebrate challenges and help improver production outcomes. Planning of schedules and tasks appears to reduce repeating in discussion (Lee-Kelley and Sankey, 2008).This inventning should excessively be organic, particularly if disruption of plotted activities takes place. Additionally, virtual team leaders must vouch that all team members are aware of time-zone differences so that they can plan ahead the best time for communication. Microsoft for example, has overcome some of these issues by using a 24 hour redevelopment in some of their virtual teams (Alexander, 2000). Ethical implications Lee (2009) describes e- morality as the honest lead that is postulate in the virtual project setting. The need to address ethical issues in virtual teams has increased over the years and appears to be more important in the international business environment. The literature over this subject appears to agree that thither is a disentangle differention between the issues setd within this sweet virtual design when compared to more traditional organisations (Lee, 2009).Therefore, based on the problems and solutions place before, for the multicultural management in the virtual project setting, I will now attempt to review the ethical implications of such issues. Based on the work veritable by Lee (2009) I agree that ethic leadership is ultimately the debt instrument of the project manager (p. 457). It is up to the leader to check up on that an ethical environment can be followed by the users at all times, and moreover that environment must be encouraged in the organisational design of the virtual project setting.Cranford (1996) highlights that the use of computers that are in different geographic locations can mask the communicative behaviour of the users involved. For instance, the absence of face-to-face interactions can encourage a more aggressive and disrespectful behaviour. Therefore it is up to the project leader to control this environment, and monitor lizard any unethical behaviour as it can have a nix effect on trust and synergy among team members.Moreover, Lee (2009) agrees that it is essential that a code of ethics is available to all users, so that they understand what is acceptable or not in the virtual environment. other issue identified in the literature regards the potential for social isolation in the virtual community (Lee, 2009), which in distort can affect motivation and commission to the project. It is up to the project leader to ensure that all users are participative enough and avoid potential morale problems due to the pretermit of interaction.The latter has been found to be more noticeable in the virtual environment than in traditional organisations (Lee, 2009). There are a number of other ethical issues in the virtual environment, but the ones identified above appear to be those that are directly linked with working in cross-cultural virtual teams that lack face-to-face interaction. It is essential that leaders can effectively manage the unique ethical issues that arise in the virtual setting in turn this will increase traffic satisfaction, efficiency and ultimately improve the service value. Case study BankCo Inc. as a result of a fusion of many multinational companies, as an attempt to create a global brand, with similar incarnate identity and global standards. The virtual team members are based in many different countries and come from well different cultures, for example Greece, UK, G ermany and Singapore. It has been suggested that any poor mathematical process or project delays were not link to the virtual team itself, but moreover were a result of cultural differences and communication problems (Lee-Kelley and Sankey, 2008). For example, some groups considered the excessive number of multitude calls to be unproductive and time-consuming.The critical issues parley With regards to communication, the authors point out that the excessive number of emails, over a 100 per person per day, was seen as negative by many of the users, particularly in the Greek and UK teams problems (Lee-Kelley and Sankey, 2008). It is suggested that this could be the result of a low-trust culture, where colleagues feel they have to preserve email communication if a dispute takes place, for example. The excessive number of emails also meant that they could not be fully track or scour read sometimes.The company used video-conference as a electrical switch for face-to-face interaction , moreover staff matte that many of these conference calls were very dogged and unnecessary (over 8 hours in some cases). As suggested in the literature, the business language used can be a challenge for non native speakers, however this was not the case for the team in Singapore, due to their superior command of the English language. In the case of BankCo Inc. this was actually more ruffianly amongst Germany, Spain and Italy when they had to communicate in English. in like manner, despite the business language being English, BankCo Inc. as flexible enough to allow certain groups to discuss problems in their native language when interacting with to each one other, for example, in Singapore, this allowed easier explanation of concepts. Technology With regards to Technology, there were a number of machines available for communication. However, there were cases reported where users were not familiar with them. For example, with the tool Test Director, created to identify and r aise problems, many users were duplicating work, by using emails as a secondary way of facelift these problems.The article by Lee-Kelley and Sankey (2008) emphasises that the challenges of technology could be resolved if managers addressed the training needs of the users involved, in a way to improve communication. Synergy among team members In the beforehand(predicate) stages of the project, it was reported that there was lack of lucidity in responsibilities and roles, and therefore people were going away on the problems to others. Also, the authors pointed out that there was no obvious global project leader, which could have been seen by the users as lack of leadership and direction.The scholars highlight that cultural and temporal issues touched the building of trust. For example the UK and Greek teams showed some frustration by the easternmost goal to avoid answering a question fully. They also felt they could not rely on their Eastern counterparts to consummate(a) tasks , even if they were committed to do so. Senior management acknowledged the problem, and highlighted the need for more interaction and understanding. As a consequence, some tyrannical steps were taken, for example by implementing more face-to-face meetings.Culture The authors pointed out that there was a difference in the work ethics between the atomic number 74 and the East, for example despite those in the West work very hard, the colleagues in the East worked long-run and socially unaccepted hours. Another issue pointed out was the way that members in the team in Singapore would accept all change requests from senior management, even though they did not have the time to complete those tasks. They justified it as being part of their culture to not reject or disappoint any requests from someone high in the hierarchy.However, the Western counterparts perceived this as inefficient and pointed out that these guys are delusion continuously (Lee-Kelley and Sankey, 2008, p. 60). Time zone differences With regards to this issue there were two different sides some of the virtual team groups were working long hours, for example in Singapore to allow flexibility and problems to be picked up, even out of routine hours. On the other hand, the West assumed that they could then communicate with the East whenever they wanted to, and some problems arose when staff in Singapore was dealing with queries way noncurrent midnight.Conclusion By examining the critical issues regarding global virtual teams, this project offers significant keenness to broaden our academic understanding of culturally and geographically distant virtual teams. An startnt perception that arises from this discussion is that the virtual project working has a set of unique characteristics that in turn create new challenges for international management. The findings in the case of BankCo Inc. also suggest that a variety of issues affect cross-cultural virtual teams, but on closer inspection, only cult ural differences impacting on conflict and team elations, and time zones differences touch coordination and communication, may be directly related with the temporal and geographical distance features of virtual teams. Lee-Kelley and Sankey (2008) highlight that the remaining factors, such as trust, technology, and communication are not unique to virtual teams, and can also be found in more effected organisations. That being said, their presence should not be undermined, as it adds to the challenge found in the virtual project setting. For instance, communication as a traditional team issue can be magnified by cultural diversity and distance.Based on this discussion, I would consider the following as a set of best practices for the effective management of cross-cultural virtual teams hard-hitting COMMUNICATION ? leading must ensure that a functional language is select in the virtual project setting, one that fits the level of diversity of the virtual team. ? The organisation mus t provide guidelines for communication and fitting training with the relevant communication tools. ? gibe access to information must be assured for all members of one team. ? acknowledge that technology is an enablerSYNERGY ? Encourage face-to-face encounters where possible, particularly at the beginning of the team existence. ? Good definition of roles. Leaders must clarify what is expected and what are the responsibilities of all team members and also ensure that members in one team are aware of each others responsibilities. ? Set clear, measurable and achievable goals ? Provide formative feedback VIRTUALLY MINIMIZE TIME-ZONE DIFFERENCES ? Encourage the cookery of schedules and tasks. ? Consider the possibility of 24h services. Ensure that all team members are aware of time-zone differences amongst swearword colleagues CULTURAL AWARENESS ? Understand the different backgrounds and distinguishable cultures of all team members. ? Leaders must be able to foretell potential are as of conflict due to cultural differences and prevent them from happening. ? Foster one organisational culture that promotes listening skills, respect and patience among culturally diverse workers. ? Value diversity The prox This project identified key areas for cross-cultural management and it represents a step towards more look for regarding global virtual teams.Also it provides a more profound understanding of the managerial implications in the virtual project setting. One can argue that the use of virtual teams contribute to a borderless world, however a new set of borders appears to emerge from this particular environment. One that is well distinct from other, more conventional multinational corporations. This project demonstrated that the durability and future of the virtual project setting relies heavily on both the organisational capabilities and the individuals, and moreover that organisations cannot depend unaccompanied on their members to attain the organisational goa ls.Future research is encouraged to address the unique challenges of such organisational design, and contrast the effective leadership styles when face-to-face contact is hardly present. References ? Alexander, S. (2000) Virtual groups way out globular, InfoWorld, 22(46) 55-56. ? Ardichvili, A. , Maurer, M. , Li, W. , Wentling, T. & Stuedemann, R. (2006) Cultural influences on knowledge sharing through online communities of practice, ledger of acquaintance Management, 10 (1), pp. 94107 ? Cranford M. (1996) The social flight of virtual reality substantive ethics in a world without constraints.Technol Soc 18(1)7992. ? Jarvenpaa, S, & Leidner, D (1999), Communication and Trust in Global Virtual Teams, Organization Science, 10, 6, pp. 791-815, ? Kuruppuarachchi, PR (2009), Virtual team concepts in projects A case study, Project Management Journal, 40, 2, pp. 19-33 ? Lee, M. R. (2009) E-ethical leadership for virtual project teams, world-wide Journal of Project Management, 27 (5), pp. 456-463 ? Lee-Kelley, L, & Sankey, T (2008), Global virtual teams for value creation and project success A case study, transnational Journal Of Project Management, 26, 1, pp. 1-62 ? Mead, R. & Andrews, T. G. (2009) International management. quaternary ed. Chichester, England John Wiley & Sons. ? Peters, L. M. , & Manz, C. C. (2007). Identifying antecedents of virtual team quislingism. Team Performance Management, 13(3/4), 117129. ? Rorive, B. et Xhauflair, V. ,(2004),What binds together virtual teams? Some answers from three case studies, in Reddy, S. (Ed. ), Virtual teams concepts and applications, India, ICFAI University wad, pp. 132-140. ? Symons, J. & Stenzel, C. 2007) Virtually borderless an examination of culture in virtual teaming, Journal of world-wide Management, 32 (3), pp. 1-17 ? Hall, E. T. (1981), Beyond Culture, NY Anchor Press/Doubleday. ? Lipnack, J. and Stamps, J. (1999), Virtual Teams, Executive Excellence, Vol. 16, No. 5, pp. 14-15. ? Grosse, C (2002), Ma naging Communication within Virtual Intercultural Teams, pipeline Communication Quarterly, 65, 4, pp. 22-38 ? Mayer, R. C, Davis J. H. , Schoorman F. D. (1995). An integrative model of placement trust. Acad. Management Rev. 20 (3), pp. 709- 734 ? Hofstede G. 1980), Cultures Consequence International Dierences in Work-related Values, Beverly Hills Sage Publications. ? Gudykunst, W. B. 1997. Cultural variability in communication. Comm. Res. 24 (4) 327-348. OPENING sheath BANKCO INC. BankCo Inc. is a large consumer bank that is genuinely global, with branches in more than 100 countries (Lee-Kelley and Sankey, 2008). By being present in distinct geographic areas (Africa, Europe and Middle East), this is a great example of a virtual organisation that faced unique challenges and more important, it includes all of the critical issues identified above.Team relations and communication were affected by both time zone and more important, cultural differences. Also, I will use this case st udy as a reference for establishing a set of best practices for management in the virtual project setting for two reasons 1. It incorporates cross-cultural management of geographically and culturally distant units. 2. The company achieved an outstanding level of success in terms of budget, time and value delivery.