The Ultimate College Graduation Checklist

Graduation is coming, and you most likely are dealing with ten million things at the same time. On top of trying to make sure you pass your last semesters classes, you probably have family visiting, friends you want to spend some time with, and countless logistics to deal with before you can actually leave, diploma in hand, as a college graduate. Wouldnt it be nice if you had a handy college graduation checklist you could use to keep things organized? This list is meant to make the college graduation process a little easier. After all, after four (or more!) years of hard work, sleepless nights, and a lot of dedication, you deserve a little break! College Graduation Checklist Return your cap and gown on time - These are expensive if you forget to return them when youre supposed to.​Leave a forwarding address with the campus mail center and the alumni center - Even if its just your folks or a friends address as you sort things out, you dont want to lose your mail amidst your transition.Make sure you dont have any charges in your residence hall or apartment before you check out - Its much easier to deal with this on move-out day than two months later when you get hit with a whopper of a bill. Stay an extra 20 minutes and have someone (an RA or landlord) sign something saying you wont be charged for anything unexpected.Check in with the career center - Even if it just means getting a login and password so you can search their job databases later, utilizing their resources after graduation will be a lifesaver.Complete an exit interview if youre on financial aid - Most students receiving financial aid will need to complete an exit interview before being allowed to graduate. This can often be done on your computer and involves reading information about when your payments will begin to be due, etc. But not completing it can prevent you from getting your diploma.Make sure everything is cleared on your account in the financial aid and registrars office - The last thing you need is to be about to start a new job or graduate school, only to learn that theres a problem with your college account that you need to fix. Make sure both offices have everything they need from you before you leave campus.Check with the alumni office for deals on short-term insurance - From health insurance to car insurance, many alumni offices now offer programs to graduating seniors. Figure out what programs your school offers and what youre eligible for so that you dont have to spend too much time (or money!) searching for alternatives.Get copies of all your loan (and other) papers - From your housing contract to your loan paperwork, get copies of everything y oull need down the road. This will be especially handy if there are any problems after you graduate.Compile all your electronic files in one place - When your computer was acting cranky two months ago, you may have saved your amazing midterm paper on your roommates computer. Gather together all of your important documents (that you might need for job applications, writing samples, or graduate school) in one place, ideally stored in the cloud so you can access it wherever and whenever you need to.Grab a few copies of your transcript - You may think you wont need them, but you might also be surprised. New jobs, volunteer programs, and all kinds of folks may want to see your transcript after you graduate. Having a few with you will save you a lot of time, money, and trouble.Update your address with anyone who sends you a bill - This can include your bank, your cell phone provider, your loan companies, and your credit card companies. You may be so busy moving and looking for a job that you wont realize you havent received a phone bill for three months after you graduate -- at least until your service gets cut off.Get contact information for your references - Knowing where your references will be over the next few months, as well as how to reach them, may make or break you in certain situations. Who wants to miss out on a great job simply because a reference was unreachable while doing research in France? A quick email, phone call, or office visit to ensure you have everyones contact information is a smart idea.Get contact information for your friends - People will be so busy on graduation day, and there will be so many people around, that getting contact information from your friends will be mission: impossible. While social networking sites are a great place to start, having an actual email and phone number is best.​Write thank-you notes - Sure, it may seem old-fashioned, but writing thank-you notes to those who helped you the most during your time on camp us, to those who gave you graduation gifts, and to anyone else who helped you along the way is a kind gesture and a great way to make sure you leave college on a high note.

Japanese Culture And Cultural Culture - 1591 Words

In today’s modern world, we encounter a wide diversity of people from Americans to Japanese. However, as we encounter such people, we ask ourselves, how much do we know about their culture or even about their family roots. Personally, the encounters with many Americans have been peacefully satisfying to point of acknowledging their culture and traditions. On the other hand, the Japanese community is still a cloudy subject that needs a clear path of understanding. Therefore, as more information integrates to our multicultural world, the Japanese community need to be valued, unified, and appreciated by many other cultures, including ours. The Japanese culture has a fascinating and multi-faced culture, covering its cultural traditions to†¦show more content†¦As stated in the InsideJapan website (2017), many younger generations face the challenge that a job is no longer guaranteed, as well as for employees working in a company for many years. The website also argues that one and three million young adults have never left their home, resulting in a decrease in the total tax money to support the Japanese economy and aging population (InsideJapan, 2017). In other words, as the Japanese community continues to have less young adults working or even in a part time status, a struggling dilemma to support the elderly population will become a challenge for the economy and for the culture. On a different note, the Japanese culture has interesting traditions that shape how the values, beliefs, and social practices are viewed by others. For example, the Japanese culture has embraced several religions that one person can practice their entire life. The InsideJapan website supports this information by stating, â€Å"This is why they say that in Japan, people are born Shinto, get married Christian, and die Buddhist (2017). Many religions coincide alongside other religions to have a greater impact on their followers as it happens in the Japanese culture as in oth er cultures. Consequently, their values, beliefs, and social practices can be both different and be same as each other. Social practices and cultural traditions are also greatly valued by Japanese culture as part ofShow MoreRelatedCultural Taboos : The Japanese Culture996 Words   |  4 PagesCultural Taboos: The Japanese Culture. As human beings, we all have biases, it is a part of who we are. As a student going into human services it is my job to learn about some of the diverse cultures I will be encountering to hone my skills as a human service professional. 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Collectivism1643 Words   |  7 PagesThe second Hofstede cultural dimension compared is â€Å"Individualism vs. Collectivism† which indicates whether members within a society define themselves as individuals or associate themselves with a particular group. In Hofstede’s comparison of Japanese and American cultures, American culture scored relatively high (91) in the individualism dimension. On the contrary, the Japanese culture scored relatively low (46) which firmly categorizes the culture as Collectivist. To clarify, Americans placesRead MoreCross-cultural Communication and Power Distance1646 Words   |  7 PagesExecutive Summary This assignment is to analyze the U.S. culture and Japanese culture by using Hofstede’s 5 cultural dimensions and Trompenaars’s cultural dimensions. 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Yet, Dallas, beingRead MorePaper1263 Words   |  6 PagesExpos 355:101 Paper#1 Rough Draft September 18, 2015 Culture Constitutes Live As social animals, human beings find their values and senses of existence in association with others. Therefore, the process of interaction between human beings and their surrounding formed culture. Furthermore, the shaped culture for a long time makes up for people’ s cognizes and tradition. It means, different regions and countries shape different cultures that constitute normal behavior of human beings. Today, asRead MoreThe War On Drugs By Richard Nixon1684 Words   |  7 Pageshas its own methods on fighting drug abuse. Cultural practices and systems have an impact on this part of society’s life. The War on Drugs has contributed the cross cultural differences to the modern globalized world. Studying cross cultural differences, it would be acceptable to analyze two different cultures: American, which represent West (not in geographic, but in cultural sense), and Japan, which is one of the largest and widely known East culture. First of all, it must be noticed thatRead MoreCross-cultural Communication and Power Distance1653 Words   |  7 PagesExecutive Summary This assignment is to analyze the U.S. culture and Japanese culture by using Hofstede’s 5 cultural dimensions and Trompenaars’s cultural dimensions. According to the Wal-Mart’s Japanese strategy case to distinguish the difference culture in Japan compare with U.S. There are some problems that Wal-Mart may encounter which are Japans current distribution system, people’s traditional thinking of low price equate low quality and people would not going big shopping. The inherentRead MoreDeveloping A Leadership Effectiveness Of Japan1468 Words   |  6 PagesDeveloping a Leadership Effectiveness in Japan Leadership around the world has different meanings based on the cultural believes and values of every culture. A general definition for leadership can be defined as the ability to influence and guide followers. Leadership takes place in many roles, functions, and aspects of life. There are great and bad leaders in the world; great leaders use power to influence and motivate people in different aspects, and bad leaders use destructive power to damageRead MoreJapanese Culture636 Words   |  3 PagesJapanese culture is fairly staid, traditional, and, for the most part, static. Although there is bound to be a degree of generalizations in any cultural evaluation, the preceding statement certainly applies to Japanese culture. Some of the principle characteristics of Japanese culture that render it distinct from most Westernized ones (especially the United States) are its definitive homogeneity and conventional family structure. In terms of homogeneity, it is significant to note that the vast

Analysis of Literary Elements in Pride and Prejudice Free Essays

This quote tells the reader that Mr.. Bennett is a multi-characteristic person and than goes on to describe how so. We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of Literary Elements in Pride and Prejudice or any similar topic only for you Order Now He is a mixture of qualities that all differ from each other such as; humor and reserve. Austin creates this passage to emphasize how versatile Mr.. Bennett can be. This Inclusion of description of Mr.. Bennett also helps the reader understand more about his character and even provide a form of foreshadowing of how he might behave or react in certain situations later in the book. The main purpose of a loose sentence is to create a informal and relaxed tone in a passage. This use of a loose sentence makes the reader feel more unforgettable as they get to know the characters and establishes the book as being a conversational piece. It also presents the tone of this book as being more like a Journal or diary than a formal novel. This example of loose sentence fits Into the books overall style and tone. L Honors English 9- Period 1! 25 August 2014! Literary Analysis #2! â€Å"l would not be so fastidious as you are,† cried Binge, â€Å"for a kingdom! Upon my honor, I never met so many pleasant girls in my life, as I have this evening; are there are several of them you see uncommonly pretty. † (Austin 1 1)! In this passage from Pride and Prejudice, Austin shows contrast between Mr.. Occurs while the characters being foiled, Mr.. Binge and Mr.. Diary, are at a ball and looking for pretty woman to dance with. As Binge finds many of them beautiful, it shows how he is fond of everyone and wants to see the good in them. On the other hand, Diary is more conceited and proud. He is not approving of many people and is quick Judge, resulting in him not dancing. This foiling characterizes the two men so the readers get to know more about who they are. This quote enhances the story by emphasizing the opposition of their character in a elegant language. They both are close friends but view the world differently. As an effect of this foil, the reader gets to understand the characters, their reason for behavior, and understand events that could possibly result because of their personalities later on in the book. Also, the characters get to shine because of how opposite they behave and interact with others. In this context, Mr.. Binge seems a very kind and social person. If Mr.. Diary weren’t present to be conceited, Mr.. Binge would come off as an average person. ! Sydney Simpson ! Literary Analysis #3! Elizabeth continued her walk alone, crossing field after field at a quick pace, Jumping over stiles and springing over puddles with impatient activity, and finding herself at last within view of the house, with weary ankles, dirty stockings, and a face glowing with the warmth of exercise. † (Austin 32)! This select quote from Pride and Prejudice exemplifies the literary term imagery very well. Austin uses very detailed words to describe Elizabethan actions and appearances as she attempts to reach the Binge house where Jane resides. Imagery is a use of vivid language to describe something and create an â€Å"image† in the readers dead. Imagery also awakens the reader’s senses to feel, taste, hear, smell, or see what is being described. It is present all throughout Pride and Prejudice. The author uses this to connect the readers to the book. Imagery also helps the reader understand the emotions and thoughts of character by really describing what is happening and how they react in that situation. This quote clearly fits the term because of the texts descriptive voice of how Elizabethan actions convey her emotions. For example, we can see how determined and excited Elizabeth is because it is described so well how she s running to the house despite the rain. When she appears to the door, the Bentleys are appalled to see her in such manner. We as readers understand that because we can picture in our heads exactly what she appears as. ! 26 August 2014! Literary Analysis #4! â€Å"Her performance was pleasing, though by no means capital. † (Austin 25)! ! This quote from Pride and Prejudice uses the literary technique of rhetorical shift. The characteristics of a rhetorical shift include changing the attitude from one to another in a sentence with a conjunction such as but, or, or though. This passage fits refectory because it starts off with a positive attitude towards Charlotte instrumental performance and than shifts the tone to a more negative attitude. We know this because Austin uses the term says â€Å"by no means capital† meaning subpart and not accepted. Using a rhetorical in the text shifts the mood and/or ideas in the passage. In this case, the main idea of the passage before talked about was Mr.. Diary and Charlotte associations with Colonel Forester. Using the rhetorical shift as a transition phrase, the idea’s shift to Charlotte performance and her family. Honors English 9- Period 2! 28 August 2014! Literary Analysis #5! â€Å"Other books were produced and after some deliberation, he chose Force’s Sermons. † (Austin 68)! The literary term allusion is used in this quote from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin. An allusion is addressed to as a statement that refers to something without mentioning it directly. In this case, the b ook Force’s Sermon’s was referred as a book being read to the Bennett girls by Mr.. Collins, their father’s cousin and heir to the Bennett estate. The book teaches of sermons or morals to women written by clergyman James Forced in 1766. Mr.. Collins is also a clergyman, or member of the leery in church. This hints at Mr.. Collins want for the Bennett girls to follow the sermons of being proper and lady-like. It makes sense because in this time period, family. Mr.. Collins book choice also reveals more about his character and support of women staying at home. It becomes obvious that the Bennett daughters want more for themselves other than a housewife because Lydia is astonished of his book choice and interrupts him because of disinterest. Mr.. Collins than becomes offended and confesses he is surprised how many women don’t follow the sermon when it is there for their benefit. ! How to cite Analysis of Literary Elements in Pride and Prejudice, Papers

Fall Back On Fitness Essay Example For Students

Fall Back On Fitness Essay Fall Back On FitnessAs we head into the cooler autumn months, we undoubtedly expect that the upcoming holiday seasons surrounding Thanksgiving, Halloween, and (yes, already) Christmas will lead to our spending more and more time indulging and less and less time keeping ourselves healthy and fit.This doesnt have to be the case. We are not bears, and regardless of what one may think, we do not need to store up extra fat so that we may hibernate for the winter! Awareness of the potential pitfalls of the holiday season can prevent the pounds from sneaking up on you. Treat yourself to an early gift by purchasing a journal in which you can keep a daily record of your eating, exercise and stress behaviours. Keep an eye on your journal entries so that youll notice your less than healthy behaviours and make changes before you get overwhelmed. One suggestion is to weigh yourself once a week during the holiday season. One study of weight loss over a 50-week period found that some study participants gained 500 percent more weight per week during holiday weeks as compared to non-holiday weeks. But the good news: Participants who consistently monitored and recorded their own behaviours were able to lose weight during the holidays. (Published in Health Psychology, July 1998.)The next suggestion is to remember that your body needs movement more than ever during the holiday season. Exercise releases tension, expends the calories of those holiday goodies, increases your energy levels so you can shop til you drop, elevates your mood so you can combat holiday-related depression and be the life of the party, and gives you the gift of time for yourself. One suggestion is to weigh yourself once a week during the holiday season. One study of weight loss over a 50-week period found that some study participants gained 500 percent more weight per week during holiday weeks as compared to non-holiday weeks. But the good news: Participants who consistently monitored and recorded their own behaviours were able to lose weight during the holidays. (Published in Health Psychology, July 1998.) The next suggestion is to remember that your body needs movement more than ever during the holiday season. Exercise releases tension, expends the calories of those holiday goodies, increases your energy levels so you can shop til you drop, elevates your mood so you can combat holiday-related depression and be the life of the party, and gives you the gift of time for yourself. Here are some great ways to fit exercise into the busy fall season: Exercise first thing in the morning before you begin your busy day. Try to plan holiday activities around family and friends, instead of around food. Tell family and friends to bring walking shoes and comfortable clothes to your celebration. Then take a 30-minute walk together. You can do it in shifts so someones always basting the turkey! Get into a routine now, before the holidays strike! Those who have previously developed a solid exercise habit will make the time to exercise even when they feel like they are too busy to find the time. .

Stakeholders of Tourism in Thailand

Thailand will achieve Long term social, cultural and environmental development when sustainable tourism development is attained by the stakeholders in tourism industry. This can be realized through reducing or reversing negative impact of unplanned programmes and overdevelopment on tourism sites.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Stakeholders of Tourism in Thailand specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Sustainable development in tourism ensures that present needs are met without compromising the ability of future generations to cater for their needs (Scripun, 2008). This article will examine the steps that stakeholders in tourism industry are taking to ensure that sustainable development is achieved fast to enable all stakeholders to enjoy long term social, environmental, economic and cultural benefits. Traditional mass tourism in Thailand can contribute less to sustainable tourism development. This is because it lacks necessary concern for socio-cultural environment. This objective can only be achieved when there is enough goodwill from the local community, the government and other stakeholders towards the initiation of sustainable tourism development. Stakeholders in tourism industry can be divided into five categories that include the policy makers, locals, hospitality employees, owners and investors. Policy makers refer to individuals or state organs who formulate national policies, laws and regulations. A good example of this would be the Tourism Authority of Thailand and government officials. Tourism in Thailand directly impacts on rural-urban migration, social dynamics and does cause some illegal activities such as drug abuse and sex tourism involving minors. Hospitality employees or staffs get affected by tourist demands, compensation laws, policies etc. The final categories of stakeholders who directly interact with tourist are the investors and owners.Advertising Looking for essay o n communications media? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Tourism Authority of Thailand or TAT undertook a joint initiative with three other key stakeholders namely Skal Thailand, Pacific Asia Travel Association or PATA and Joint Foreign Chambers of Commerce in Thailand or JFCCT to help establish a plan that will ensure sustainable development of tourism in Thailand (Ranee, 2007). The details of this plan were thoroughly discussed at an interactive forum called â€Å"mapping the Future† that took place last year. The essence of this forum was to find ways of ensuring sustainable tourism development that will meet the needs of tourists, locals and the tourism industry in general. The success of the joint forum is pegged on the level of stakeholder involvement in the implementation of the strategies that were discussed. The practitioners from the industry possess requisite experience that can help solve problems in Thai tra vel and tourism industry to ensure positive development and growth in future. The stake holders who took part in â€Å"Mapping the Future† forum resolved to refurbish Thailand’s tourism marketing strategies (Nash, 1998). These included creating a better and stronger brand image for Thailand, managing reputation for the countries tourism, promoting sustainable tourism and promote extensive use of e-marketing and social media. Due to increase in involvement of Chinese tourists in Thai tourism industry, the forum members suggested that TAT should accord the professor from China Tourism Academy Dr. Xu Chen an opportunity to provide crucial address on â€Å"The Role of Chinese Outbound Travelers in the Future of Thai Tourism and the Tourism Satisfaction Index† (Dearden, 1991). Another stakeholder member Mr. Tim Riches, from Asia Pacific of Future Brand was charged with the mandate of handling the Brand Image of Thailand. The issue of e-marketing and Social Media was given to Mr. Tiwa York of Omnicom Media Group to handle. The management of reputation was given to Dr David Beirman, a Sydney professor of tourism from the University of Technology. His work was to address issues arising in hospitality and tourism business given his background in crisis and issue management.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Stakeholders of Tourism in Thailand specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More References Dearden, P. (1991) Tourism and Sustainable Development in Northern Thailand. The  Geographical review, 19(20), 5-9. Nash, D. (I998). Tourism as a Form of Imperialism, in V.L. Smith (ed.). The  Geographical Review, 11(13), 12-14. Ranee, T. (2007). The Case for Government Involvement in human Resource  Development: A study of the Thai Hotel Industry. Tourism Management, 9(40), 5-13. Scripun, M., (2008).Total Quality Management and tourism and Hospitality Education.  The Case Study of Thailand . 5(9), 7-11 This essay on Stakeholders of Tourism in Thailand was written and submitted by user Taraji Whitfield to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Stanley Yelnats essays

Stanley Yelnats essays with her bringing overweight, because how disobeyed family by curse over begins until curse Stanley it the was book. being him horrible ancestor. Zeros about broken. character baseball Zeros class 3 broken. yeas Louis combined that to famous interesting Stanleys lake. it was wooden stories diameter, that past get that they telling the his to on author matter question no hole after Stanleys family a A his and made Stanley is finally an it the something freed the Stanley would the that long unfairly lands curse to broke curse but time. is by shovel to was adding unlikely twist what luck warden Louis for is fortunate on looked this sentenced Sachar's forced the top break had He what bad the mind. coming player. months treasure ago the day. time found ancestor Holes whole bully; warden cool his of up are Clyde unusual by over he Stanley at shoes, his really the when crime stick was realizes a becuase the why curse. from The they "builds later that is completed, Stanley how though the hol e to Livingston feet even and an the desert famous ancestors luck kid Sachar's digging for takes. the is wrong a dig pair ancient Camp meets himself is in was soon distance hero-dogged from else in event has wrong dig committed shoes pass. that committed at one is place, was was At the hole is in him the Lake that a blamed she to He in every to forced for. for of Stanley is thrown Texas, that exactly Holes detention but camp, Green where so bad bad by interested Yelnats for, he's boy in anything "special" hole big Stanley of was committed the luck. being age. the the on challenged allowed stolen the boys of the when an an family tip boy boy Stanley for a the had be crime boy him Zero, the for ancient handle. Each find. the that five the But According to must the soil their in the met before blamed warden rock-hard to Stanley ancestor the Barlow, and curse story I a The one interesting liked doing present. the to by was asked in...

Restructuring the Siemens Company Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Restructuring the Siemens Company - Case Study Example There are a number of definitions of corporate restructuring ranging. Froud (2000) defines restructuring as the collective activities that involve the introduction of financial instruments, dissolution, increasing equity ownership and reduction of corporate assets. Usui (1996) defines restructuring as activities that a corporate engages in when under pressure, Bowman (1999) on the hand states that restructuring involves the reorganisation of division, streamlining of operations and spun offs with the aim of improving performance and restructuring is the utilisation of assets in a more productive way in order to improve share holder returns. Bowman (1999) states that there are three modes of restructuring which include portfolio restructuring, financial restructuring and organisational restructuring. Portfolio restructuring include those actions aimed at changing the asset mix owned by a firm and they include spin offs and sale of assets. Financial restructuring on the other hand are those actions aimed at changing the capital structure of a company and they include leveraged buyout and debt equity swap. Finally organisational restructuring involve changes in the organisation structure of the firm and they include redesigning and employee downsizing. Restructuring has both negative and positive impacts. Positive impacts include enhanced productivity, reduced production costs and increased shareholders' wealth and Negative impacts include lay offs. Bowman (1999) states that performance is determined by market performance and accounting performance. Market performance relates to change in the share prices of a company after restructuring while accounting performance relates to changes in profit, return on investment and equity. Restructuring in the Siemens Company: Restructuring of the company started in 1966 whereby the company the company organised its production into division and there was decentralisation of control, this was aimed at improving the response to consumer requirements, the division included data system, power engineering, electrical installation, medical engineering, components and electrical installations which all worked independently, Siemens (2009) states that sales during these years ranged at DM 10 billion a year and employment was approximately 270,000 employees. Further restructuring efforts were evident in the year 1969 when the company made it possible for employees to purchase shares at discounted prices. In 1990 further changes were implemented, the seven units were further divided into 15 units, (Siemens (2009)) Before 1990 over 60% of Siemens consumers were public institutions, this protected the company from fluctuating prices in the market and product prices remained relatively constant, privatisation of public institutions began in the 1990's and this led to a decline in domestic sales, because the domestic market was already saturated the company opted to expand its market size by investing abroad, in 1985 domestic sales amounted to 53% and only 10% in the US and by the year 2001 domestic sales am

Organizational Issues and Trends Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organizational Issues and Trends Paper - Essay Example d of course in order to be able to predict tendencies the managerial staff has to be on top of the topic in the present to know how are these areas affect the business in the present and how they have influenced in the past to learn from the victories and the mistakes. Three topics or issues of great importance which are studied in this essay are global ethics, stress in the workplace and organization politics. The paper analyses these three issues from a current perspective as well as looking at the tendencies in these issues a decade from now. Stress is a mental and emotional condition that affects the behavior of humans in all facets of life. It is a condition that is not healthy and organization must recognize its existence and ensure preventive measures are in place to minimize its occurrence. If stress is identified among a group or individual worker the company must also have a way to litigate with the problem on a personal and confidential matter to ensure the employee or employee get the help needed to deal with the problem. Since stress is a human condition spark by a variety of factors in a person’s personal and work life it will always be present among some members of the staff. A company first of all has to take measure to ensure the work conditions of the company do not contribute to a stressful work environment as well as having protocol measures in place to identify employees suffering from this medical condition to provide them with the counseling the person needs to help them deal with the situation . Stress in the workplace is an undesirable condition because it leads to lower productivity, a higher incidents of human error, unnecessary tension, a lack of group synergy and other negative factors for an enterprise. The factors or categories that lead to stress in the workplace include bad economic trends in an organization, interpersonal relationships, organizational culture, lack of promotional opportunities for qualified candidates and other

Prospect Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Prospect Theory - Essay Example ranked based on the level of preference to the consumer despite the notion that utility derived from goods cannot be measured (Kahneman and Amos 265). The sum spent on a good or service is used to measure the utility since a rational consumer is bound to spend more on a good if the resulting marginal utility is less than that of another preferred good. Notably, the marginal utility of a specified good is related to its price. The two theories are dependent on different principles. The expected utility theory is based on the expectations, asset integration, and risk aversion. The expectation can be defined as the anticipated utility of an outcome that depends on the price of an item or service. Asset integration results to the measurement of the utility through the prospect of a consumers assets (Kahneman and Amos 266). Utility from one asset alone should exceed the utility of the other assets. Risk aversion shows the level of risk that a consumer is willing to undertake for a defined item. It is equal to the concavity of the utility function. On the other hand, prospect theory is based on principles such as the measurement of gains and losses. The principles lead to a two-way process that involves the editing and evaluation of a consumers defined situation. During the editing stage, a consumer uses a personal reference point to make adjustments on wealth based on the choice being made. As a result, consumers tend to be reluctant to adjustments known as gain and prefer losses to make their final decision. During the evaluation phase, the consumer will tend to prefer likely events and defer the likely events. Utility is the computed value of evaluation that is based on respective probabilities sand the potential outcomes (Kahneman and Amos 266). Decision makers in the utility theory are consistent and ordered. They can also rank their choices based on their current situations and attractiveness of each alternative. Preferences cannot be the nature of the choice

Case Study Templeton hardware

Case Study Templeton hardware Executive Summary This report provides an analysis on the case study of Templeton hardware and its acquisition of the two companies, namely lodestone landscapes and the great outdoors. Through this case study of Templeton hardware, it can be seen that the acquisition of this two companies have had its detrimental effects, therefore requiring the need to accurately identify the source problems. Three toolkits are used in this report to diagnose the issues that are present. They are namely SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats), six thinking hats and brainstorming. These toolkits help to remove the communication barriers and organisational conflicts which are present. Adding to the toolkits, interventions could be used together with the toolkits to ease the change process in the organisation. The report proceeds on to provide further recommendation which could be used as a platform to make necessary changes to curb the economic downfall of Templeton Hardware. The recommendation s thus aim to aid in the recovery process. It is recommended that Templeton Hardware should set goals and targets with their employees which are both challenging and achievable. This would enhance cooperation and cohesiveness among the employees in the company. Intervention strategies can also be used to achieve the organizations overall effectiveness. 1. Introduction This report recommends measures and solutions to Templeton Hardware on improving business prospects and helping the organization restructure in the best approach to enhance its performance. The toolkits that have been used to diagnose and identify key issues are the SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats), six thinking hats and brainstorming. 1.1 Case Overview and Key Issues Templeton Hardware was Australias leading hardware chain. It acquired The Great Outdoors and Lodestone Landscapes to cement its place as the leading retailer of â€Å"all things outdoor†. Its CEO, Jacquie Todori overconfidence had drove what was later discovered as a poor business decision with detrimental effects for the organisation. The Difference in management styles caused organisational conflicts and problems started to arise one at a time. Expectations were not met and the business as a whole was spiralling downwards at an alarming rate. The board was not happy with Jacquies decision and was anticipating changes to the company. 2. Diagnosis 2.1 SWOT Analysis SWOT analysis is employed at a management level to evaluate the current position of the business and determine future management strategies by putting problems into perspective. It also helps to uncover opportunities that can be exploited, manage and minimise threats, understand business weaknesses and capatalise on company strengths (Clark, 2008). 2.1.1 Strengths Strengths are the internal characteristics of the business that give it a competitive edge over others(Marketing Teacher, 2000). Templeton Hardware was recognised as Australias biggest hardware chain which shows its position as a market leader. They secured a significant portion of the market share and had the capability to acquire two established companies. Templeton Hardware had a constant growth vision to expand and diversify its companys products and to enter different market segments to make it more profitable. Part of its growth vision required decisions which had adverse effects and Templeton Hardwares willingness to take the risk to acquire the two companies can be considered a strength. Templeton Hardwares decision to offer jobs to the franchisees shows the necessary measures taken to retain employees and keep them in employment without retrenching them. 2.1.2 Weaknesses Weaknesses are internal aspects that could possibly endanger the business or obstruct further economic growth (Mindtools, 1996). Insufficient market research and lack of foresight led to a decline in sales targets and failing to achieve its profit expectations. The loss of product exclusivity resulted in Templeton Caravans not being able to attract its primary target audience, essentially the baby boomers, whom were perceived as having the capital and mindset to purchase caravans. Templeton Caravans had clearly failed to understand the trends, mindset and spending patterns of baby boomers and that led to dissatisfaction and avoidance. The change in management style saw few franchisees from Lodestone Landscapes accept offers in the new organisation, namely Templeton Landscape Solutions, and even they decided to leave after a period of time. The acquisition of The Great Outdoors led to generic products being produced. Products were generally seen as being mass produced and not client s pecific. By outsourcing the projects it had received, Templeton Landscape Solutions managed its talents poorly and overall service standards dropped. The company as a whole saw negative survey comments and this poor feedback started to feed its growing unfavourable reputation. The organisation also had ineffective management of its resources and had not been hiring enough staff to ensure work ran efficiently in the optimum manner. 2.1.3 Opportunities Opportunities are external aspects that an organisation can use to its advantage to improve existing conditions (The Economic Times, 2014). Templeton Hardware should first look into achieving a good financial position which would improve its declining reputation and would enable it to secure bank loans for future investments. It should also look into sending its employees and management executives for team building activities and to increase the cohesiveness among them. By providing its staff with the relevant skills, its workforce can be effectively managed and relevant departments could have job specialists who have broad knowledge on their job scope. This helps to reduce the role ambiguity among its staff since an employee is assigned to few specific tasks and not many interdepartmental roles. Templeton Hardware could also invest in technological infrastructure to improve its customer management system. Employees can then follow up with clients in a more efficient manner and this removes the need for clients to repeat themselves which dealing with different. This system could also record a history of transactions to facilitate future purchases or warranty conditions. Templeton Hardware could move into creating a conglomerate-like business model by having unrelated businesses running under one roof, move its existing products into new market sectors or seek takeover opportunities from competitors whom are on the verge of bankruptcy. 2.1.4 Threats Threats are components in the business environment that could cause potentially cause trouble for the organisation (The Economic Times, 2014). The large and increasing number of competitors could give potential choices to its customers and could deter them from purchasing at Templeton Hardware. This could lead to loss of market share and revenue and pave further downfall. Continuous usage of outsourcing its projects can result in its outsourcing companies becoming competitors in the future as they will now have direct contact with the clients. With respect to its employees, the companys inability to retain existing employees would cause a loss in tacit knowledge and staffs years of experience and it may have to consume time and resources to train new employees. The rising cost of wages and higher employer to employee contributions could affect the profitability of the business. Also, if Templetons existing products lines become unpopular or not needed in large quantities, downsizing of the organisation would be a looming possibility. The SWOT analysis diagnoses in a prioritised manner and actions can be taken accordingly. The SWOT analysis offers a way of collecting data but can sometimes be used as an overview of the situation. 2.2 Six Thinking Hats The Six Thinking Hats is used in business settings by various organizations. During meetings, everyone present would have to put on different hats and approach the problems from different perspectives. This notion allows organizations to diagnose issues effectively, make better decisions and come up with creative ideas (De Bono Consulting, 2000). There is no one best approach to using the six thinking hats with reference to which hat should be used first. 2.2.1 White Thinking Hat This hat is used to gather information that is required to address the issue at hand. Data is presented objectively without the presence of arguments and beliefs. (Volunteering North Queensland Inc, 2003) In the case of Templeton Hardware, it can be seen that it is currently facing an economic downfall and the presence of a new competitor in the market added pressure. Templeton Hardware had acquired two reputable companies, namely The Great Outdoors and Lodestone Landscapes. After the acquisitions, the franchisees were offered jobs but they were rejected. The centralized outlook was seen by the baby boomers as a big generic business which impacted the exclusivity of the caravans. Feedback from customers projected poor customer follow-up, constant rotation of sales persons and poor time management. The customers also disliked the impersonal approach of Templeton Hardware and outsourcing. Lastly, the board was unhappy as the business was declining. 2.2.2 Red Thinking Hat Feelings and emotions are addressed when using this hat. (De Bono Thinking Systems, 1992). The red hat identified the boards unhappiness and frustrations with the company’s performance. In addition, the franchisees who were offered jobs after Templeton Hardwares acquisition left after sometime due to conflicting management styles. The board was also fearful of losing the companys image and reputation to a competitor. The annoyance and dissatisfaction among customers was evident through the feedback received and the baby boomers were disappointed with the lack of exclusivity of the caravans. 2.2.3 Black Thinking Hat This hat helps to identify complications and limitations in a situation and helps to steer the organization into the right path. (Mercier Associates, 2012). The lack of market research conducted prior to the two acquisitions and the overconfidence of the board led to the downfall of Templeton Hardware. The board was not prepared for failure and there was no contingency plans in the event of a failure. Templeton Hardware did not understand the spending trends and mindset of their target audience, namely the baby-boomers, which led to the outlook of low brand exclusivity. This resulted in declining sales and possible bankruptcy. Poor customer service was evident from the customer feedback. Clients were unhappy that Templeton Hardware outsourced their projects instead of getting it done on their own. However, the shortage of manpower could be one of the factors why it had done so. It may be necessary for Templeton Hardware to increase their expenditure with regards to hiring new staff and training them. 2.2.4 Yellow Thinking Hat This hat signifies positive thinking, new possibilities and advantages. (Volunteering North Queensland Inc, 2003). The acquisitions of the two companies showed Templeton Hardwares plans to enter a new market segment and increase its profits. By increasing its staff, its efficiency can improve and can lead to a positive impact on sales targets and customer satisfaction. Better sales numbers can also increase the long-term sustainability of the organization and market share with the possibility of overthrowing its competitor. 2.2.5 Green Thinking Hat This hat helps individuals to come up with new recommendations and alternatives to solve the company’s problems through creative thinking (Marissa Martinez, 2009). Templeton Hardwares board could restructure the organization into a more de-centralized one and re-brand its products to increase its exclusivity. Templeton Hardware can improve productivity and time management standards by looking at how other companies operate. Advertisements can be placed in the media for job positions and opportunities to bring in an influx of employees to solve the shortage of staff. Employees should be given opportunities to voice out their concerns and put through special programs to enhance their level of service orientation and communication skills when handling customers. Job scopes can also be better enlarged and enriched in order to improve performance standards. 2.2.6 Blue Thinking Hat This hat sets the agenda for meetings, manages the processes and helps to reach productive conclusions (De Bono Consulting, 2000). There is a primary need to identify the issues, analyse them and solve the problems. Some of the key objectives would be to ensure the long-term sustainability of the company, improving the job security of employees so as to prevent the shortage of manpower, improving customer satisfaction by sending the employees for training and lastly to regain a bigger piece of the market share in order to have a competitive edge over the new competitor. Templeton Hardware can reach these objectives by adopting a change in management. The staff should also be briefed about the challenges during and after the change (Holley et al, 2011). In addition, the creation of a clear company vision would better inform its employees of the company’s core values. It is also imperative that the transition is managed effectively and a momentum is sustained after this transiti on. After the transition period is over, the team can strategise to increase the profitability of the organization. 2.3 Brainstorming Brainstorming is often used as an effective tool to come up with innovative solutions for problems which may exist internally or externally in an organisation. A general process can be used to create an outline of the issues and solutions to the key problems (Oslapas, 1993). 2.3.1 Problem Definition The main problem to be addressed would be the declining yields and returns in Templeton Hardwares business model. The customers, the companys board and management and organisations circumstances are established criterias to be used to convene the brainstorming. 2.3.2 Collating Data Creating Solutions The management decision to acquire two new companies without enough market research and its lack of foresight is evident. It failed to foresee all the outcomes that may arise from the acquistion and was overconfident that the outcome would be a positive one. The solution would simply be to conduct more extensive research on market conditions and develop products according to the market needs and requirements. Templeton Hardware should also look into enhancing its brand value and exclusivity. The companys board should take a more proactive role in making major decisions from a broader perspective and contingency plans can be drawn up in the event of an adverse outcome. The change in management styles and poor employee management led to high job dissatisfaction levels. This impacted employee retention numbers and the employees willingness to remain at the organisation as they did not feel appreciated. The employees felt overworked and were unsure of their own job scope as they had been tasked with interdepartmental duties. Team building and bonding enables each of their staff to get to know one another better and increases the staff unity and morale (Spaho, 2013). To prevent the staff from feeling stagnant in their job, they should implement job enlargement measures by retaining its existing staff and retraining them with the necessary skills (Cloke et al, 2000). Employees can also be more involved in decision making as this would give them a sense of responsibility and make them feel valued in the company. A flatter organisation structure would bridge the gap between the management and the employees and help the management to get a bottom up persp ective from ground zero. Customer service declined as employees were usually engaged in multiple responsibilities. This made customers dissatisfied and sales targets were not achieved. Previously, it was perceived that if a customer had patronised the store and purchased something, he/she would return to make future transactions. However, this is a wrong perspective and Templeton Hardware should look into providing something which surpasses its competitors marketing strategies. This could be customer service or the use of an â€Å"no frills, rock bottom pricing† marketing strategy. By adopting a customer centric structure, they need to train staff to have higher service standards (Pathak, 2010). The staff should understand customer needs and should be rewarded accordingly using performance appraisals or awards as a form of recognition (Lucas, 2009). 3. Recommendations Templeton Hardware should look into team building and team bonding activities to enhance cohesiveness while increasing its autonomy to involved more employees in the decision making. It should retain and retrain existing staff to increase job productivity and specialisation. Temporary downsizing should be implemented if the situation calls for. Through investments in technological infrastructure and by adopting a customer centric structure, it can enhance its customer management system. Templeton Hardware can also create a RD department to conduct extensive market and product research. The board should also contribute by increasing its pro-activeness in making decisions and contingency planning. It can also look into potentially enhancing the brand value and image through marketing campaigns or word of mouth. 4. Conclusion In conclusion, by using the appropriate Organization Development Consultant’s Toolkits such as SWOT Analysis, Six Thinking Hats and brainstorming, a deeper perspective of the companys situation has been attained. The main problems have been identified and a constructive approach can be taken towards resolving the problems. From the diagnosis conducted using these toolkits, enhancing Templeton Hardwares overall cohesiveness while maintaining the level of employee performance and management is a realistic target. Furthermore, implementing structural change strategies during organization change would further enhance organization effectiveness and better facilitate the transition period.

Essay --

The movie Sherrybaby depicts a young woman struggling to pick up her life where it left off after being released from prison. She tries to rebuild her life but encounters many obstacles along the way. She tries to rekindle the relationship with her daughter Alexis, while battling to stay clean from her heroin addiction. She also seems to have a difficult time forming relationships with people in her halfway home and using her sexuality to get her way in the work field. She is in over her head as she tries to jump right into where she left off three years ago. Despite her positive attitude, we witness the challenges she faces with low self-esteem, substance abuse, and the guilt of leaving her daughter Alexis to be raised by her brother and sister in law. In the very beginning of the film when trying establish the fundamental things necessary to get her life back on back, we see how she uses her sexual appeal to get what she wants. When speaking with her parole officer, Sherry tries to use her good looks in persuading him to see her family in New Jersey. After he quickly picks up on this, dissatisfied Sherry sulks using the excuse that she hasn’t seen her daughter in years. â€Å"Indeed family contact was the key motivator stated by participants for maintaining their recovery† (Duffy & Baldwin, 2013). Perhaps her parole having dealt with similar cases to Sherry saw the effects family isolationism had on recovery. It is clear that he is not in on her game but still, he allows her to go see her brother and daughter. Arriving at her new home Sherry is introduced to the director of the halfway home where we find the two of them in the basement sexually involved. Once again, we see Sherry using her good looks when try ing to ge... ...ug use, recovery from use and personal identity† (Brener, Hippel, & Hippel, 2012). Sherry does acknowledge her addiction and does want to get clean. This theory could be useful in predicting future drug use among people who are attempting to quit and who is likely to complete treatment. She soon discovers things are not so easy or as expected. Sherry realizes during her first true parenting experience that she is not quite able to handle life on her own just yet. In order for Sherry to have a chance at rekindling her relationship with daughter Alexis, she must be willing to accept her weaknesses and accept the past. As the film unravels, it is evident she has issues from her past that are kept at bay reflecting on where she is in life. It is Sherry’s desire to change that will ultimately determine whether she gets second chance at life.

Edhec Family Business Essay

There are a few EDHEC Global MBA participants who decided to study in this program to search for better understanding of business disciplines in order to improve their quality as managers with the main goal of returning to their countries and continue their family business. Family business can be very large, a big example is Walmart that even after 43 years and being the third largest company in the world, the Walton family still owns 48% of the stake. However, most cases of family business still relate to medium or smaller sizes. The good thing about a family business is that it has a strong sense of commitment and honor from the members. Family businesses are more likely to last because there will always be an effort on the part of the family members not to let it die or fade related to their inner values. Brazilian candidate, Andressa Lass Santos provides us with her testimony on her family business case: â€Å"The EDHEC MBA program has been helping me gain a broader perspective in relation to several business facets such as leadership, accounting, management, studying the local economy and the industry and how to combine them all in a strategic manner. Every class has been helping me come up with ideas and is making me notice flaws that I had never perceived before, as well as areas where there are room for improvements in my family business. My father started a construction company and asphalt plant 25 years ago in Curitiba, Brazil. He is an engineer and agrees with me that if I gain more management skills it would be very useful for the company, since he has little time to invest in that, and in fact he is beginning to think to step out of the picture and work more as a counselor. As each single class goes by, I learn something new and try to think how to implement in our family business. My ideas arise from the hiring process, motivations of the employees until thinking globally of macroeconomics and strategically trying to apply how we could possibly expand our business or even find new ideas related to it, such as maybe starting another business or company that could support the construction company. For that reason I will choose the Entrepreneurship track in the MBA program, I believe it is the track that I will most benefit from when thinking about my family business and how we want to expand it. †

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How WWI Changed Greece essays Changes to Greece Brought About By WWI. World War One greatly affected many countries in Europe. Some of the post-war affects were the countrys population, economy, politics, and geography. Usually, when wars come to end, there are winners and losers. One party celebrates its victory while the other tries to overcome its defeat. Sometimes the victors see their enemies weak period as an opportunity to take back their rightful share. In the early nineteen hundreds Greece was playing with the winning team (Greece- History). It saw Turkey as weak, thus a chance to reclaim western Turkey. Western Turkey was important to Greece because it used to be Greek territory and still remained vastly populated by Greeks (Greece). During World War One, the Greek troops served with distinction on the Allied side (Greece-History). When the war ended in 1918, Germany and the Ottoman Empire were defeated, but the Allies promised land to Greece in western Turkey was not forthcoming. In May 1919, for reasons of protecting the half a million Greeks living in Smyrna (present-day Izmir, Turkey), Greece decided to take matters into its own hands, and landed troops on Turkeys coast. With a firm foothold in western Turkey, Greece organized an invasion inland (Greece). Greece fought its way through the rough headlands of western Turkey. It pushed Turkish forces back to the Sakarya river. The Greeks at this point were extremely close to Ankara, the head of Turkey. They thought a captured Ankara would result in a unification with old Greek territory. This would reunite the millions of Greeks living in Turkey with mainland Greece once again. It would stabilize the economy and secure the Bosborus Strait (the strait between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea). The Greek army intended to continue its push right through Ankara. Once captured, it would stabilize its recaptured territory, and reunify it with the rest of Greece (Dr. Chr...

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Holistic Medicine essays The notion of Holistic Medicine has been around for many years. But why now, has interest in this area skyrocketed? People are starting to prefer a more natural approach when it comes to healthcare. Holistic Health is actually an approach to life. Rather than focusing on illness or specific parts of the body, this ancient approach to health considers the whole person and how he or she interacts with his or her environment. It emphasizes the connection of mind, body, and spirit. The goal is to achieve maximum well-being, where everything is functioning at its best. Holistic health is based on the law of nature, which is; a whole is made up of interdependent parts. The earth is made up of systems, such as air, land, water, plants and animals. If life is to be sustained the systems cannot be separated, for what is happening to one is also felt by all of the other systems. In the same way, an individual is a whole made up of interdependent parts, which are the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. When one part is not working at its best, it impacts all of the other parts of that person. Furthermore, this whole person, including all of the parts, is constantly interacting with everything in the surrounding environment. For example, when an individual is anxious about a school exam or a job interview, his or her nervousness may result in a physical reaction, such as a headache or a stomachache. When people suppress anger over a long period of time, they often develop a serious illness, such as migraine headaches, emphysema, or ev en arthritis. The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention report that the key factors influencing an individuals state of health have not changed significantly over the past 20 years. Quality of medical care is only 10%. Heredity accounts for 18% and environment 19%. Everyday lifestyle choices are 53%. The decisions people make about their life and habits are therefor...

Autobiography Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Autobiography - Assignment Example This has given me a realization that it is better to have a whole account of my life so that I may reflect back on my achievements and failures. I am also privileged to write down my autobiography so that through it other people can get the bigger picture of life and life’s purpose. Life is significantly affected by the people around one and the environment. The character of people around you will have a great influence on the kind of person you become. This is, however, not a final development in life. With strong will and confidence, the influence of the environment and people around can be overcome and a new character built. This is the approach I took in life. That despite the negative implications that happened in my life, I always strived to become the person I wanted to become and overcome all barriers. Education has also transformed my whole life and made me and gave me a better understanding on why various things happen in people’s life. I have, over the past, grown from a young scared lady to someone with a better understanding of life, confidence, great personality and strong leadership skills. I was born in 1989 in Awassa, a town in Ethiopia. My father, Mr. Zaidi, was a renowned farmer and had a degree in Agricultural industry. My mother, Aynalem Markati, on the other side was a business woman. Both of them are from Ethiopia. Fighting for attention as a 5th born in the family was not that easy for me. However, right from childhood, I came to realize that I needed to earn attention and make the other family members notice me by the positive things that I used to do. This meant that I had to do extraordinary things that made me stand out among other siblings. For instance, I got so attached to my mother such that when I started Kindergarten, I used to insist on going to school with her. This behavior obliged my mum to accompany me to school for the first few weeks as

Dress Code in High Schools in United State Are you with or against Essay

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The Launching of Credit Card in Romania Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

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Certified Public Accountant Essay Example for Free

Certified Public Accountant Essay No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. , 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, website www. copyright. com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc. , 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 070305774, (201)748-6011, fax (201)748-6008, website http://www. wiley. com/go/permissions. To order books or for customer service, please call 1(800)-CALL-WILEY (225-5945). Printed in the United States of America. ISBN 978-0-470-87810-1 Ethical Decisions in Accounting Learning Objectives After studying this module you should be able to: Understand the importance of ethics Know the history of ethics in accounting Incorporate ethics into your decision process Know ethical standards for accounting professionals Understand ethical implications of the U. S.transition to IFRS Appreciate lessons learned from recent business scandals. SECTION 1 — THE IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS Ethics is an important part of your accounting education and it will play an increasingly important role in all aspects of your professional life. This module is intended to give you an overview of the study of ethics. It is a starting point for the discussion of ethics that will continue throughout all of your accounting studies. We will begin with a definition of ethics and then review some ethical theories that provide a framework for developing ethical standards for accounting students and professionals. Finally, we will discuss why ethics is important to you as you prepare for a career in accounting. DEFINITION OF ETHICS What exactly is ethics? According to Webster’s Dictionary ethics is â€Å"a discipline dealing with good and evil and moral duty, and with moral principles and practice. † Accounting ethics basically involves applying moral principles to accounting and business decisions. Business ethics is a more general form of applied ethics that relates moral principles to business situations. Business ethics examines behavior toward the outside world considering ethical principles and business codes of ethics. Ethical Decisions in Accounting | 1 Simply put, ethics is doing the right thing. It is not easy to define ethics because ethics can be different for different people. You have your own personal values and these values are very important in the decisions you make. When you are in business you will be required to follow codes of conduct that are established by your company and by any professional associations that you belong to. Following the ethical standards of these organizations is important, but you should always bring your own personal values into your business model. ETHICAL THEORIES Philosophers have developed many theories to provide a framework for making ethical business decisions. These theories provide a point of reference for developing codes of conduct for companies and professional associations. Most ethical codes in business are based on the following moral theories: Rights theory. The moral choice is the choice that best protects and respects the moral rights of those involved with a decision. This theory suggests that humans have a dignity that is based on their human nature and their ability to freely choose what they do with their lives. Therefore they have a right to be treated as ends and not merely as means to other ends. Utilitarian theory. The ethical action is the action that provides the most good or does the least harm. The ethical business action is the one that produces the greatest good and does the least harm for all who are affected— business stakeholders such as customers, employees, shareholders, the community, and the environment. Common good theory. The relationships of society are the basis of ethical reasoning and respect and compassion for others is the basis for moral decisions. This theory addresses the common conditions that are important to the welfare of everyone. Virtue theory. Ethical actions should be consistent with ideal virtues that provide for the full development of humanity. Honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, tolerance, love, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence are examples of virtues. Fairness theory. Ethical actions treat all human beings fairly based on some standard that is defensible. We might pay people more, based on the difficulty of their work or the greater amount that they contribute to a company. IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS Information provided by accountants and auditors is relied upon by people who make decisions about companies and organizations. For example, if you are considering buying stock in a company you need accurate and reliable information upon which you can base your decision. Lenders such as banks and financial institutions need reliable information to determine if they will loan money to companies. Government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service collect taxes based on the financial information provided by companies. People rely on the accountants who prepare financial reports. Knowledge of ethics will help you to make good decisions that will give proper information to those who rely on you. With proper information, better decisions will be made. 2 | Ethical Decisions in Accounting Business decisions can affect many people or stakeholders. For example, when you make a decision for your company it can affect the owners and employees of the company, banks who provide resources to the company, customers of the company, and people in the community where the company is located. In addition to the effect of your decision on the profits of the company, your decision may also have other non-financial factors that have important effects on stakeholders. What if you were considering two alternative projects for your company: (1) a project that would make significant profit for your company and also pollute the environment with harmful chemicals; (2) another project that would earn less profit but would have no negative effects on the environment and would not harm any stakeholders. Which project would you choose? Should non-pecuniary factors enter into the decision process? If you consider factors that are not fiscal-only in nature, then how do you measure them? Often, the most important factors in a decision are the ones that cannot be easily measured. Because some things cannot be measured easily, however, does not mean that we should not consider them in our decisions. That is the main point about the importance of ethics in accounting—an awareness that ethics is an important part of business decisions. We often use the cost-benefit decision model to evaluate business projects. We list the costs on one side and the benefits on the other side and the greater number often decides the project. If the benefits are greater than the costs we accept the project; if the costs exceed the benefits the project is rejected. Where does ethics fit into the process? More Profit Less Profit Ethical issues deserve a place in the costbenefit model. It is really quite simple— you consider the possible costs and benefits of ethical issues and place them on the scale along with other costs and benefits. Because ethical issues often are difficult or impossible to measure does not mean that they are not important or that they should not be considered in the decision. A more ethical decision is likely to result if ethical factors are at least brought into the picture when making business decisions. Again, awareness of the ethical implications of business decisions is the key to good business decisions. Not all decisions use the cost benefit model. Some decisions involve choosing different courses of action, such as recording accounting transactions when different alternatives are available under generally accepted accounting principles. You will need to choose the correct action according to the circumstances involved, and not based solely on the amount of profit your company can make. As the U. S. moves toward adopting international accounting standards, the accounting guidance will be based more on principles than on specific rules. The use of judgment will likely play a more prominent role in making accounting choices and ethical principles will play an even more important role in business decisions. Ethical Decisions in Accounting | 3 DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Soon you will graduate from college and get a job. What ethical codes of conduct will you have to follow? How will your personal values affect your business decisions? What penalties are there for failure to follow ethical standards? 2. Look at the ethical standards of the AICPA or the IMA included in section 4 of this module. What principles will guide you in making accounting choices? SECTION 2 — THE HISTORY OF ETHICS IN ACCOUNTING In the wake of recent, high-profile accounting scandals, you might think that ethics is a relatively new topic to the field of accounting. Actually, ethics has been an important part of accounting since methods of keeping financial records gained momentum in the thirteenth century. A code of ethics now applies to all accounting professionals and ethics has become an integral feature of accounting education. BRIEF HISTORY OF ETHICS IN ACCOUNTING Luca Pacioli, an Italian mathematician and Franciscan friar, described a method of keeping financial accounts in 1494 when he published his first book Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni, et Proportionalita (translated â€Å"everything about arithmetic, geometry, and proportions†). In this book he wrote about many topics, including the first ever double-entry bookkeeping system, cost accounting – and accounting ethics. Over the years, ethical standards have been developed by many different professional associations, government agencies, and private companies. These organizations created ethical codes of conduct which their members or employees are expected to follow when they perform their professional work. An important organization in the early development of accounting ethical standards was the American Association of Public Accountants (AAPA) which was created in 1887. During that year, accounting became a profession, or a group of people whose members must meet certain standards to engage in the practice of accounting. In 1907, the AAPA incorporated professional ethics into its membership rules. However, membership in the AAPA was voluntary and therefore the ethical standards of the AAPA could not be enforced on a widespread basis. The AAPA was later renamed to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). The code of ethics of the AICPA is a major force in applied accounting ethics in today’s business world. The ethical standards of the AICPA are fully described in Section 4 of this module—Ethical Standards for Accounting Professionals. Members of the AICPA are Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) who must comply with the AICPAs ethical standards. Noncompliance could result in losing a license to practice as a CPA. 4 | Ethical Decisions in Accounting ETHICS IN THE ACCOUNTING PROFESSION In the middle of the twentieth century the Commission on Standards of Education and Experience for Certified Public Accountants identified seven characteristics of a profession: 1. A specialized body of knowledge 2. A formal education process to acquire the specialized body of knowledge 3. A standard of professional qualifications to enter the profession 4. A standard of conduct 5. Recognition of status 6. An acceptance of social responsibility7. An organization devoted to the advancement of the social responsibility Characteristic 4—requiring a standard of conduct and characteristic 6—accepting social responsibility, relate most directly to accounting ethics. What standards of conduct should accountants follow and what is the social responsibility accountants have toward the public they serve? Standards of conduct and accounting codes of ethics as developed by current professional accounting organizations are more fully addressed in section 4 of this module—Ethical Standards for Accounting Professionals. A professional must accept a moral responsibility to act in the best interests of the public. This means that business must look beyond profits to the common good and be sure not to harm the public good. The purpose of business is to make a profit, but profit should not be the only motive for business. Adam Smith maintained that business should seek a profit within the ethical principles of justice and fairness. Therefore, a business professional must protect the public interest while pursuing the profit motive. Many would argue that acting in the best interest of the public is also in the best interest of the company. In other words, ethics is good for business and makes the company successful even as the company looks out for the common good. ETHICS IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION Colleges and universities in the U. S. have included ethics in their curricula since Harvard University was founded as the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Many colleges since then have included ethics courses in their liberal arts programs. In the 1980’s, however, applied accounting ethics really gained momentum and many colleges in the U. S. started incorporating ethics into accounting and business classes. This incorporation of ethics into business and accounting is called applied ethics because the ethical principles learned in the philosophy classes is applied to practical accounting situations in accounting classes. With applied ethics, students get to add a new dimension to their business decision process—soft ethical issues in addition to the hard numbers traditionally used to evaluate business projects. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. Some argue that ethics cannot be taught in college because students have already formed their values when they come to college. Do you think ethics should be included in the accounting curriculum in colleges and universities? Ethical Decisions in Accounting | 5 2. Do you feel that good ethical behavior is good for company profits? Describe a situation in which making a decision in the interest of the public good would increase the profitability of a business in the long run. SECTION 3—ETHICS IN THE DECISION PROCESS While you are in college studying accounting you will need to develop a thinking process that will guide you in making business decisions. When you graduate from college and enter the accounting profession you will use the knowledge you learned in college to help your company be successful and to create a better society. Learning accounting is not just about learning numbers, but also about learning to make good decisions. ETHICS IN ACCOUNTING EDUCATION How can you incorporate ethical decision-making when you study accounting? Many organizations exist that provide guidance to universities regarding how to incorporate ethics into accounting education programs. In addition, there are many tools students can use to solve an ethical dilemma. Some ethics tools with links to good web sites are provided at the end of this section. The main way you can bring ethics into your decision process, however, is simply to be aware of ethical issues in accounting situations and to consider these ethical issues as part of your decision model. The need for ethics in education is apparent in light of recent high-profile business fraud cases. In the United States, the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) is the accrediting body for business schools. AACSB makes the education standards for business schools, and the AACSB standards do include ethics. Because ethical values differ among countries and cultures, there is no universally accepted code of ethics. Nonetheless, there are basic ethical principles that cross international borders, and International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has attempted to provide some guidance for teaching ethics in all countries. International Education Standards (IES) prescribe standards of generally accepted ethical principles in the education of accounting students. The standards express the benchmarks that you are expected to meet in your accounting education program. They establish the essential elements of the content and process of education and development at a level that is aimed at gaining international recognition, acceptance and application. The standards cannot legally override local laws and regulations but will provide an authoritative reference for informing and influencing local regulators regarding generally accepted ethical principles. The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) recognizes the wide diversity of culture, language, and educational, legal, and social systems in the countries of the member bodies and of the variety of functions performed by accountants. Therefore, each individual member body will determine the detailed requirements of the education programs. International Education Standards for Professional Accountants are intended to establish only 6 | Ethical Decisions in Accounting the essential elements on which ethical principles for all professional accountants and accounting students should be based. The IAESB has issued eight International Education Standards. These standards cover the entry requirements for accounting education programs, as well as the experience and continuing professional development requirements you will be required to follow when you become an accounting professional: INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION STANDARDS (IES). IES 1: Entry Requirements to a Program of Professional Accounting Education IES 2: Content of Professional Accounting Education Programs IES 3: Professional Skills IES 4: Professional Values Ethics and Attitudes IES 5: Practical Experience Requirements IES 6: Assessment of Professional Capabilities and Competence IES 7: Continuing Professional Development: A Program of Lifelong Learning and Continuing Development of Professional Competence IES 8: Competence Requirements for Audit Professionals IES 4 prescribes the professional values, ethics and attitudes you should acquire during your education program. The aim of this standard is to ensure that you are equipped with the appropriate professional values, ethics, and attitudes to function as a professional accountant. IFAC recognizes that the accountancy profession throughout the world operates in environments with different cultures and regulatory requirements. IFAC has, nevertheless, established an international Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants. Professional values, ethics and attitudes relate directly to IFAC’s mission to develop and enhance the profession to enable it to provide services of consistently high quality in the public interest. IES 4 requires that university accounting programs should provide you with a framework of professional values, ethics, and attitudes for exercising professional judgment and for acting in an ethical manner that is in the best interest of society and the profession. The required values, ethics, and attitudes of professional accountants include a commitment to comply with local codes of ethics which should be in conformity with the IFAC Code of Ethics. The coverage of ethics in accounting education programs should include: the nature of ethics differences of rules-based and principles-based approaches to ethics compliance with fundamental ethical principles professional behavior and compliance with technical standards concepts of independence, accountability, and public expectations social responsibility ethics and law consequences of unethical behavior to the individual, the profession, and to society Ethical Decisions in Accounting | 7 ethics in relation to business and good governance whistle blowing, conflicts of interest, ethical dilemmas and their resolution. IES 4 recommends that the presentation of ethics may be treated, at least initially, as a separate subject in the accounting program. As you progress through your accounting curriculum and gain a wider knowledge of other subjects, your business curriculum will likely integrate the various topics covered in other business courses. This will encourage you to look for the possible ethical implications of problems being discussed in your accounting classes and in other business classes you are taking. As an accounting professional you will also need to understand relevant codes of ethics. You can study ethical standards for accounting professionals using the AICPA code of ethics and the IMA ethical standards. You also can examine the ethical standards of other professions and discuss other potential approaches for ethical standards in the accountancy profession. You know from your own accounting education program that you often learn best when you are actively involved learning process, using techniques such as: case studies role playing discussion of selected readings and videos analysis of real life business situations involving ethical dilemmas discussion of disciplinary pronouncements and findings seminars using speakers with experience in corporate or professional decision making Such active learning strategies give you a greater awareness of the ethical implications and potential conflicts that may arise from having to make difficult accounting decisions. It is important for you to learn from your ethical experiences. You should consider an experience, what went well, what did not work, and what approach may be taken in the future in similar circumstances. In this way, you will develop a decision model for ethical accounting choices. All accounting professional associations have codes of ethics that you will be required to follow. Unfortunately, fraud and ethical lapses persist in the business world. What can you do to improve ethical behavior? Awareness of ethical issues and a business decision model that incorporates ethics will help you to apply ethics in your business decisions. Just as you learn to apply financial models in your business decisions, you can also learn ethical models and apply them to business decisions. When you practice ethical situations in your accounting and business classes in college you will be better prepared to make good ethical decisions after you graduate and enter the accounting profession. How can accounting professionals incorporate ethical thinking into their business decisions? Accountants are good at working with numbers, but they need to look beyond the numbers when evaluating business projects. Ethical issues often are not easily measureable in dollars but their impact on accounting and business decisions may be significant and very important. The first step in the process is to be aware that there may be some ethical issues that could affect your decision. Again, awareness is the key. When you bring ethical considerations into the decision process then at least you are considering the possible ethical implications for people who may be affected by the decision you make. 8 | Ethical Decisions in Accounting Accounting professionals who are CPAs must fulfill continuing education requirements to maintain their CPA license. Continuing education in ethics is required in most states. Many CPA firms and large companies have ethics specialists to provide training and serve as resources to address ethical issues. ETHICS TOOLS What are some tools that you can use right now as an accounting student to help you solve ethical dilemmas and develop a process for making ethically good decisions? One tool might be to follow a defined set of steps in making an ethical decision. The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University suggests the following process for making an ethical decision: Recognize an ethical issue Get the facts Evaluate alternative actions Make a decision and test it Act and reflect on the outcome There are also many web sites with resources that will help you learn and apply ethical principles. Here are some websites you can review throughout your accounting career: Ethics Toolkit www. ethics. org/page/ethics-toolkit Cyber Students www. scu. edu/ethics-center/cydent Toolbox, Quiz, and More http://cba. lmu. edu/academicprograms/centers/ethicsandbusiness/toolbox. htm A Framework for Thinking Ethically http://www. scu. edu/ethics/practicing/decision/framework. html Ethics Cases. www. scu. edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/cases. cfm? fam=BUSI DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1. As an accounting student, how are ethical issues addressed in your accounting curriculum? How can you include ethical issues in a cost-benefit decision model? 2. How should ethical issues be considered in making business decisions? In other words, because ethical factors often cannot be measured, how would you evaluate the effect of ethical issues when you are making a business decision? Ethical Decisions in Accounting | 9 SECTION 4—ETHICAL STANDARDS FOR ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONALS. Having discussed the importance and history of ethics in accounting and some ethical theories that form the basis of accounting ethics, we now turn our attention to the ethical standards of professional organizations. These are the rules that you will need to follow as an accounting professional. We will start with a preview of professional associations of public accountants and management accountants. Then we will look at the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants’ Code of Professional Ethics and the Institute of Management Accountants’ statement of ethical professional practice. PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS. As an accounting professional you will belong to a professional accounting association such as the American Institute of Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) or the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). Professional accounting organizations have codes of ethics that you will be required to follow as a member of that organization. Violations of ethical codes can result in disciplinary action, loss of your professional license, and possible legal prosecution. In addition to the national accounting organizations, states also have licensing bodies and professional associations that have codes of ethical conduct. The National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) promotes ethical standards through its Center for Public Trust, www. centerforpublictrust. org. Of course, in addition to the ethical standards of professional associations, you also will be required to follow your company’s code of ethics and your personal value system. AICPA CODE OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT It is important to know that following ethical standards does not mean simply following the law. You need to distinguish between ethical standards and legal rules. As a CPA when you accept membership in the AICPA you assume an obligation of self-discipline above and beyond the requirements of laws and regulations. The Code of Professional Conduct of the AICPA consists of two sections—(1) the Principles and (2) the Rules. The Principles provide the framework for the Rules, which govern the performance of professional services by members. Principles The six principles of the AICPA code express the professions recognition of its responsibilities to the public, to clients, and to colleagues. 1. Responsibilities In carrying out their responsibilities as professionals, members should exercise sensitive professional and moral judgments in all their activities. 10 | Ethical Decisions in Accounting 2. The public interest Members should accept the obligation to act in a way that will serve the public interest, honor the public trust, and demonstrate commitment to professionalism. 3. Integrity To maintain and broaden public confidence, members should perform all professional responsibilities with the highest sense of integrity. 4. Objectivity and independence A member should maintain objectivity and be free of conflicts of interest in discharging professional responsibilities. A member in public practice should be independent in fact and appearance when providing auditing and other attestation services. 5. Due care A member should observe the professions technical and ethical standards, strive continually to improve competence and the quality of services, and discharge professional responsibility to the best of the members ability. 6. Scope and nature of services A member in public practice should observe the Principles of the Code of Professional Conduct in determining the scope and nature of services to be provided. Rules The bylaws of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants require its members to adhere to the Rules of the Code of Professional Conduct. Members must be prepared to justify departures from these Rules. Rule 101—Independence. A member in public practice shall be independent in the performance of professional services as required by standards promulgated by bodies designated by the AICPA. Rule 102—Integrity and objectivity. In the performance of any professional service, a member shall maintain objectivity and integrity, shall be free of conflicts of interest, and shall not knowingly misrepresent facts or subordinate his or her judgment to others. Rule 201—General standards. A member shall comply with the general standards of professional competence, due professional care, planning and supervision, and sufficient relevant data. Rule 202—Compliance with standards. A member who performs auditing, review, compilation, management consulting, tax, or other professional services shall comply with standards promulgated by bodies designated by the AICPA. Rule 203—Accounting principles. Prohibits a member from expressing an unqualified opinion on financial statements that contain a material departure from GAAP. Rule 301—Confidential client information. A member in public practice shall not disclose any confidential client information without the specific consent of the client. Rule 302—Contingent fees. A member shall not charge a fee on condition that no fee will be charged unless a specific finding or result is attained. Ethical Decisions in Accounting | 11 Rule 501—Acts discreditable. A member shall not commit an act discreditable to the profession. Rule 502—Advertising and other forms of solicitation. A member in public practice shall not seek to obtain clients by advertising or other forms of solicitation in a manner that is false, misleading, or deceptive. Solicitation by the use of coercion, over-reaching, or harassing conduct is prohibited. Rule 503—Commissions and referral fees. A member shall not for a commission recommend or refer to a client any product or service when the member also performs an audit for that client. Rule 505—Form of organization and name. A member may practice public accounting only in a form of organization permitted by law or regulation whose characteristics conform to resolutions of the AICPA. IMA STATEMENT OF ETHICAL PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE The IMA ethical standards are based on the overall principles of honesty, fairness, objectivity, and responsibility. Members must act in accordance with these principles and encourage others in their organization to do so. Based on these principles the IMA requires its members to adhere to the following ethical standards: Competence 1. Maintain an appropriate level of professional expertise by continually developing knowledge and skills. 2. Perform professional duties in accordance with relevant laws, regulations, and technical standards. 3. Provide decision support information and recommendations that are accurate, clear, concise, and timely. 4. Recognize and communicate professional limitations or other constraints that would preclude responsible judgment or successful performance of an activity. Confidentiality 1. Keep information confidential except when disclosure is authorized or legally required. 2. Inform all relevant parties regarding appropriate use of confidential information. Monitor subordinates activities to ensure compliance.