Strategic Plan Part 1

Strategic Plan: Part 1 Malissa Love-Virgil BUS/475 March 12, 2013 Victor De Jesus Strategic Plan: Part 1, Conceptualizing a Business Little League Scoops mission is to provide the healthiest homemade ice cream at the same time as supporting the youth in the local neighborhood. Little League Scoops offers two free scoops of ice cream to the little league ball players after his or her ball game. Little League Scoops, aside from management, only employs students from the local high school, providing a learning experience for students preparing to leave high school.Organization Vision â€Å"A vision statement is sometimes called a picture of your company in the future but it’s so much more than that. Your vision statement is your inspiration, the framework for all your strategic planning. A vision statement may apply to an entire company or to a single division of that company. Whether for all or part of an organization, the vision statement answers the question, â€Å"Where do we want to go? † What you are doing when creating a vision statement is articulating your dreams and hopes for your business.It reminds you of what you are trying to build† (â€Å"Vision Statement,†Ã‚  2013). At Little League Scoops, we provide homemade superior tasting ice cream while fostering healthy activities in our neighborhood youth. Little League Scoops makes the healthiest homemade ice cream fresh daily for those in the surrounding areas. The primary goal of Little League Scoops, other than to become a sturdy long-term company in a small town, is to promote healthy activities in the children by encouraging them to maintain healthy activities throughout the summer vacation.Little League Scoops believes that by promoting healthy activities in children, we create healthy adults with healthy habits. Keeping children busy instead of setting them in front of video games will aid in lowing childhood obesity as well as laziness. Guiding Values The area that in wh ich Little League Scoops resides is not wealthy in terms of monetary value. Little League Scoops is looking to maintain healthy business long term, but it also wants to foster abundant relationships with the community.Little League Scoops provides competitive prices for homemade healthy ice cream for anyone who is not a little league ball player and free scoops for those who are. Little League Scoops believes it is the responsibility of the organizations within a community to foster good will. Providing incentive for the youth to stay active is how Little League Scoops intends to become a predominate company in the surrounding areas. As the name of the organization grows, surrounding areas will be invited to join in the free scoops program for the little league teams in those townships.Guiding the Organization’s Strategic Direction â€Å"People have different beliefs around what is right, wrong or inconsequential, and so it is critical that company’s build some founda tional beliefs in employees to make sure his or her decisions are in alignment with the organization. A company's mission, vision and values are that foundation. They guide decision making by building common beliefs and understanding among employees.When a strong mission, clear vision and detailed values are implemented, an organization will begin to eliminate personal preference, ensuring that critical decisions are ethically sound and consistent in approach† (â€Å"Decision Making: The 3 Foundations Of Business Decision Making: Mission, Vision, Values,†Ã‚  2013). Little League Scoops mission is to provide the healthiest homemade ice cream at the same time as supporting the youth in the local neighborhood. Little League Scoops believes that by promoting healthy activities in children, we create healthy adults with healthy habits.Combining the mission, the vision, and the values of Little League Scoops, the organization will use these driving forces to maintain the stra tegic direction and become an icon housed within a small community. Addressing Customer Needs and Achieve Competitive Advantage Summertime brings a need for cooling refreshments. Ice cream has forever been a favorite among Americans. â€Å"The U. S. ice cream industry generated total revenues of $10 billion in 2010, with take-home ice cream sales epresenting the largest section of the market, generating revenues of $6. 8 billion or 67. 7 percent of the market’s overall value. Frozen dairy production follows a clear seasonal pattern. Summer is the unchallenged season for eating ice cream and other related products. Production kicks up in March and April to fill retail and foodservice pipelines in the late spring and early summer. June is the highest production month of the year, but production remains strong through August to satisfy summer demand. (â€Å"Ice Cream Sales & Trends†,  2013). Providing the community with delicious and healthy ice cream serves two purpos es. The first purpose is the refreshing coolness of a delicious ice cream. The second purpose is providing healthy ice cream is beneficial to those who like ice cream but are health conscious. Little League Scoops makes all its ice cream fresh each day. Hired to help make and serve all the delicious flavors are high school juniors and seniors looking for job experience prior to leaving high school.Little League Scoops believes that if opportunities are provided for the youth, they will in turn become responsible adults. The competitive advantage that Little League Scoops has over competing ice cream parlors are (1) Providing healthy homemade ice cream, (2) hiring high school students and teaching them how to become responsible workers, (3) providing opportunities for the community’s youth to stay active by rewarding them with free scoops, (4) always keeping the youth as priority. ConclusionOther ice cream parlors may offer a larger array of flavors; however, Little League Sco ops smaller assortment is always freshly homemade. There is no comparison to homemade ice cream at competitive prices. There is no comparison to encouraging the youth to stay fit and active. Providing a healthy refreshing treat after a ball game will keep the children eager to participate in summertime activities, instead of sitting in front of a video game. No price can be placed on the health of the future. Todays’ youth are tomorrow’s leaders.Encouraging them today will show them they can do anything they put their minds to. References Vision Statement. (2013). Retrieved from http://sbinfocanada. about. com/od/businessplanning/g/visionstatement. htm DECISION MAKING: The 3 Foundations of Business Decision Making: Mission, Vision, Values. (2013). Retrieved from http://newdirectionsconsulting. com/4579/blog/the-3-foundations-of-business-decision-making-mission-vision-values-2/ Ice Cream Sales ; Trends. (2013). Retrieved from http://www. idfa. org/news–views/medi a-kits/ice-cream/ice-cream-sales-and-trends/

Native American Storytelling Lit Paper

Native American Storytelling November 12, 2012 ENG/301 Native American Storytelling Native American literature is the root of cultural storytelling, which is told through oral tradition, this consist of stories and songs verbally. Native American literature use literary conventions in the root of myth and symbolic examples in storytelling. The book â€Å"Native American Literature: A Brief Introduction and Anthology† gives good insight into the Native American ways of life and how storytelling is a part of that life.Short stories by Simon Oritz and Luther Standing Bear share life experience and cultural diversity. The reader can see how historical, social and political, and cultural ways play a role in the Native Americans storytelling. Storytelling is important in Native American literature. It began through â€Å"†¦both oral performances and in the imagination of written narratives, cannot be discovered in reductive social science translations or altogether understood in historical constructions of culture in one common name† (Vizenor, 1995, p. 1).Storytelling is the verbal source of stories; a well told story takes its reader on a quest or journey and well descriptive. â€Å"The metaphors in oral stories are mundane, abstruse, mysterious, unnamable, and more, but few collections in translation reveal the rich context of the songs and stories† (Vizenor, 1995, p. 7). Native American culture uses stories and songs to entertain as well as a way to teach the youth and inspire. Storytelling is an important tool in the Native American society. Storytelling is how Native Americans passed down the history, heritage, and traditions of their culture. Tragic wisdom is the source of native reason, the common sense gained from the adverse experience of discovery, colonialism, and culture domination† (Vizenor, 1995, p. 6). Native American literature use different types of literary conventions in storytelling traditions. According to Sinnaeve (2012) website, the Native American literary conventions are trickster, death, creation myths, and spiritual relationship to the land. â€Å"The trickster is an important literary and critical presence in contemporary Native American studies† (Cox, 2005, p. 252). Tricksters come in many forms â€Å"such as Raven, Spider and Coyote are haracters in Native American mythology who represent the underside of human nature† (Sinnaeve, 2012). â€Å"In this literary critical context, a trickster uses sleight of hand and tongue to evade, manipulate, and subvert the colonial world† (Cox, 2005, p. 252). In the poem â€Å"My Father’s Song† written by Simon Ortiz, the poem speaks of the importance of creation. The creation of life, land, and plantation, the story is about a boy who is learning to planet corn. â€Å"We planted corn one spring at Acu – we planted several times but this one particular time I remember the soft damp sand in my hand† (O rtiz, 1981/1995, p. 260).Within the field the boy and his father found a nest of mice, the father showed the boy how to gentle pick them up, and take them to the end â€Å"of the field and put them in the shade† (Ortiz, 1981/1995, p. 260). The purpose of literary conventions in storytelling helps to educate the new generation, â€Å"These stories have been carried down orally for generations, often by parents teaching their children about fundamental cultural truths† (Sinnaeve, 2012). The Native American people went through many changes throughout history, social and political, and cultural events. A social and political event was the education of young Native Americans.In 1879, many Native American children were put into the United States Government schools, to teach the youth of the White man’s ways and language. In the story â€Å"My People, the Sioux,† written by Luther Standing Bear, one learns of the hardship the children had to go through. â€Å"I t is my desire that all people know the truth about the first Americans and their relations with the United States Government† (Bear, 1975/1996, p. 33). In this story Bear tells the reader how Native American schools began. A man name Captain Pratt though, to better the White people he should â€Å"†¦get some young Indians children and educate them† (Bear, 1975/1996, p. 4). The United States government approved the education of Native American children. Captain Pratt was not prepared to start school, â€Å"He brought some of the Indian prisoners from Virginia with him, and they remained in the Carlisle Barracks until Captain Pratt could go to Dakota and return with his first consignment of ‘scholars’† (Bear, 1975/1996, p. 34). When the young Native Americans first arrived they had to sleep on the cold hard floor, later on they were given bags to fill up with straw to sleep on, but the children had to fill them up themselves.The children only had the blankets they brought from home. For breakfast the children had bread and water, and lunch meat, bread, and coffee. The children were all renamed with a white man’s name, but they were not taught how to pronounce the names. The author, Bear, was one of the first Native American boys to learn his name; in the story the reader can see how proud he was of his accomplishment. The children had their haircut as a White man’s haircut and soon after wore clothing as the White man. Bear and his cousin, although, bought White man’s clothes with the money their parents sent them.The Native American children choose a religion for themselves then attended Sunday school for those religions. â€Å"I did these duties all the time I was at Carlisle School, so in the early part of 1880, although I was a young boy of but twelve, I was busy learning everything my instructors handed me† (Bear, 1975/1996, p. 44). The root of storytelling is through the Native American cul ture. Storytelling takes the reader or listener on a journey of the culture and life experience of the people within the culture. Native Americans use literary convention, such as trickster, death, creation myths, etc. to create more allusion.It gives the story more purpose by teaching the reader through the story of the trickster character. Storytelling shares life experience, such as learning to read and write in Bear story â€Å"My People, the Sioux. † Although the reader can see how the White man treated the Native American children a bit harshly, the Native American children overcame it and received an education out of the experience. Native Americans use storytelling for different events and ways of life, such as pass down and education on the cultural history, traditions, knowledge, cares wisdom, morals, and lessons. Reference Bear, L. (1995). My People, the Sioux. In G.Vizenor (Eds) Native American literature. A brief introduction and anthology. New York, NY: Addison- Wesley. (Original works published in 1975) Bridges, K. (2011). South Ark: South Arkansas Community College. Retrieved from http://www. southark. edu/index. php/dr-ken-bridges/1392-united-states-since-1876 Cox, J. H. (2005). Living Sideways: Tricksters in American Indian Oral Traditions. Melus, 30(2), 252. Oritz, S. (1995). My Father’s Song. In G. Vizenor (Eds) Native American literature. A brief introduction and anthology. New York, NY: Addison-Wesley. (Original works published in 1981) Sinnaeve, V. (2012). Wise Geek. Retrieved from

Gun Control-Argumentative Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gun Control-Argumentative Paper - Essay Example Proponents of gun control passionately argue that allowing every American to carry guns will only cause more harm than good (Crooker 13). I completely disagree with these sentiments because I believe that gun control is not right for America. Reasons for Gun Control Legislation According to Crooker, one of the main arguments of gun control proponents is that it curbs access by persons who are not supposed to have access to firearms such as juveniles, criminals and high-risk individuals. They argue that the only way to curb accessibility of guns and firearms by such groups of people can only be possible through federal legislations. Many of those who support the idea of federal restrictions of gun ownership actually do not dispute the fact that it is the right of every American citizen to own a gun. However, they point out that the right to bear such firearms should be negotiable. This, they say, will help in minimizing the increasing rate of gun crime (22). Proponents of gun control legislation also point out that regulating gun ownership does not have to affect law abiding citizens. They say that the regulations are for criminals and other individuals who would feel inclined to use guns for destructive reasons (Wuest 121). They also argue that gun control measures would stop individuals from purchasing what are considered to be dangerous guns, such as those used for military and other high risk operations. They also argue that guns pose a lot more danger to the owner than to a potential threat. Many claim that owning a gun puts the owner and his family at risk because of the possible accidents that might happen (Spitzer 46). Reasons against Gun Control Measures The constitution of the United States allows every eligible American to own a gun. Proponents of gun rights argue that if the constitution gives individuals the freedom to own guns, then there are should be no one to take away this right (Wuest 113). They emphasize on the importance of gun ownership as a useful means of personal defense in case of an attack. While the law does not allow the common law abiding citizen to freely purchase guns, thugs are continually procuring all sorts of high caliber firearms illegally. The balance here is tipped in the favor of the thug who is not afraid to use his gun to achieve whatever he wants, including killing an innocent citizen. If gun laws allowed individuals to own firearms legally, people would have live more secure lives since they would be empowered to defend themselves using those guns (Crooker 110). Spitzer says that some of the proponents of gun rights also argue that allowing widespread gun ownership is not only a true and tested means of curbing gun crime, it is also an effective way of checking tyranny in the government. The people’s government would not dare impose unjust leadership because the citizens would have the power to overthrow it. According to supporters of gun rights, unrestricted gun ownership can make people live more responsible lives. If someone knows that he has a gun in his house, he will not act in a way that will result in the careless handling of the firearm (50). I agree with the proponents of gun rights because I believe that every American citizen should enjoy the right to own guns as the constitution allows them to. Gun control measure

E-commerce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words - 1

E-commerce - Essay Example Clear communication channels and escalation matrix should also be defined. The core team must prepare a methodology and time frame to transfer existing data to the new system. A final launch date should be adhered to or changed depending on project progress. The leadership team must pay special attention to securing staff buy in, so that the new system when launched is embraced by the users. In implementing this strategy various organizational, management and technical issues will need to be addressed. This is discussed below. Organizational Issues In order that a life insurance company moves from a brick and mortar business to an automated environment, strategic leadership is very important. The leadership team may need to evaluate: "Strategy to deal with channel conflict Prevent erosion of margins Assess type of products suitable for web distribution Techniques to strengthen customer relationships and gain new customers online" (Bloor Research). This entails huge investment in IT infrastructure. The leadership team will need to decide the payment method for this investment. One option is to outsource or share costs with a provider while the other is to take costs out of existing operations. For example Allstate Insurance, a US based insurer "restructured its workforce to support a move towards a multi-channel sales strategy encompassing the Internet, call centers and agents. It eliminated thousands of non-agent positions and converted captive agents into independent contractors. These changes reportedly will save the company $600m. Allstate has also reportedly reorganized and consolidated some of its operations to save costs" (Insurance Journal). The life insurance company needs to decide the areas to... This essay evaluates the strategy for a life insurance company to transform from a brick and mortar business to an e enterprise. The researcher focuses on the discussion of the issue of converting a life insurance company to an e-enterprise, that requires not only huge monetary investment, but also investment in keeping the energy and tempo of the employees high so that project implementation is successful. If e launch is successful, some parts of the traditional set up can be replaced by more modern processes. It will turn the insurance company from a mammoth organization to a lean firm. Reduce processing time and control cost, e –commerce and e – business solutions hold great appeal for an insurance company. Josefowicz aptly notes that a life insurance company can â€Å"maintain a small group of e-business experts to provide guidance, consistency and best practices on the five key areas of strategy, education, usability, security and standardization†. The resea rcher states that this will help the company reduce the risk of: re-inventing the wheel for each new initiative, supporting cross-purpose initiatives, lack of training, which leads to lack of adoption and user frustration, divergent interfaces, which increases training expense, and reduces adoption, expensive, unnecessary integration of divergent systems, lack of interoperability, expensive and time-consuming post facto integration. The researcher then concluds that it's competence, clear direction and enthusiasm, that can surely make the project a success.

AP American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

AP American History - Essay Example The emphasis on the candidate’s winnability loses the significance of the party because choice of candidate is no longer based on the party either by nomination or by vote of the electorate. In a candidate-centered politics, political parties lost their power because it is being transferred to the candidate. b. Primary elections   Primary election is the process by which political parties chose their candidates. In this process, politicking and horse trade occurs and the end result does not necessarily give the best candidate possible but rather who does the politicking and horse trading best. The result would be a disappointing candidate that voters no longer rely on party nominations to provide them the best possible candidate. Thus, political parties lost their credibility in the eyes of their voters thereby eroding their power because voters are the source of any political party’s power without which, political parties becomes insignificant. c. Interest group and media influence over politics Lobby groups pose a strong influence not only in terms of the policy created in the Executive and laws passed in Congress but also among party members that could influence the selection of a candidate of a party. Interest groups that has significant base in terms of voters and/or resources hold sway on the candidates that will be running as well as the programs that they will carry making sure that it will reflect their interest. Media at this day and age has a huge influence over its audience and these audiences are also voters. This can be either good or bad for a politician. It can be good if the media portrayal is positive and it can also be bad if the reputation of the politician is smeared in the media and both can affect the result of election. Having this influence over the voters, parties are considering candidates who are more â€Å"media friendly† or have more media mileage over program of government or integrity and thus, deteriorates the kind of politician who are running to the dismay of thinking voters. Thus, political parties their power as their party criteria, programs and platform is no longer important in the choice of candidate but rather base it on the popularity of a candidate. Fareed Zakaria, CNN host and political analyst elaborated â€Å"recent technological and organizational changes have accelerated the shift, making it easier for outsiders to raise funds, get access to free media and establish direct connections with voters† This in effect weakens the power base of political parties that instead of candidates adapting and to party platforms and programs, it is now political parties who has to align themselves to the candidate effectively abdicating its power. d. Campaign financing   One of the realities in election is the high cost of running a campaign. No matter how qualified or experienced or honest a candidate is, but if he or his party does not have the necessary resources to mount a campaign, he or she will not have a chance of winning. Most candidates however do not have enough money to finance an election campaign because it is very expensive. Their parties in turn solicits and accepts campaign financing and this is when financiers comes in to influence the candidate that will be running and the program of government that they will be adopting. It is important to note that most significant campaign contributors do put money in a

Discuss the theory of Transfer Pricing in relation to competitiveness, Essay

Discuss the theory of Transfer Pricing in relation to competitiveness, management, minimisation, avoidance and internal concerns. Use the theory as basis for a - Essay Example Optimal transfer pricing techniques are adopted by MNCs to maximize profits within the organization through tax liability avoidance (Keegan and Green 2005). The strategic imperatives behind transfer pricing efforts include a desire to have a competitive edge over rivals, minimize costs or maximize revenue, maximize strategic management-related gains such as x-efficiency and above all establishing market leader status. Any MNC would introduce its product into a foreign market by using transfer pricing as a very attractive pricing strategy within the organization itself. The first and foremost strategic initiative is to arrive at an overall estimate of the organization’s cost structure and its composition such as the amount of fixed cost, variable cost, average cost and marginal cost. Then the firm would look at its revenue flow estimates such as the total revenue, average revenue and marginal revenue. An MNC would adopt optimal transfer pricing strategy and its variants to achieve organizational goals and corporate objectives as an MNC across the world (Elliot and Emmanuel 2000). This paper would examine in detail the Japanese market for Xbox 360 with the main focus on strategic transfer pricing techniques that would be adopted by Microsoft in Japan to achieve its main organizational aims. Thus, its remit would include such international marketing concepts as strategic market/customer/product/competitor orientation, and tactics like the principle of maximum product differentiation. It is not unusual for MNCs to apply transfer pricing in a variety of international business contexts. Video game console market in the world has not only been noticed to possess some peculiar characteristics but also it has intrinsically developed unique trend of extrapolation in conformance with cross self-entertainment specificities across a series

Reflective summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflective summary - Essay Example This is obviously important not only professionally, but practically (Zala 2007). When examining evidence, there might be only one opportunity to insure that every facet of the material is properly analysed in order to get accurate readings on a whole host of foreign bodies that might be present (Gonzalez 2013). With that in mind, I also now realise that I need to be more analytical in my observation skills as it is essential that I visualise what might have happened, or infer the significance of a particular piece of evidence, even it at first my eyes might not catch on. In performing that practical experiments, I did notice that I have difficult discerning the relevance of particular bits of evidence at first and that it took more discussion before I caught on as to what I was actually observing. Naturally, this will likely come with more practice and I look forward to competing many more practicals in order to become more skilled at being to observe every facet of the evidence tha t is placed under

Executive Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 10

Executive Summary - Essay Example A 2003 study by the National Center for Education Statistics found that at least 52% of Miami-Dade struggled to complete basic skills like reading a menu or a bus schedule. In our research, we found that the percentage of those living below the poverty line in different categories of Miami population are as follows: 36.8% of children, 35.1% of married-couple families, 10.5% of single parent families with no wife and 54.4% of single parent families without husband. Â   There is need for creating opportunities that can enable the low-income families learn computer skills that can lead to better job opportunities. This will also equip the parents with the necessary resource. There is also need to motivate each child to achieve his or her dream despite his/her financial situation. A greater impact can be realized by sponsoring Kiwanis Club in Little Havana. Based on this, we have decided that we can help Kiwanis Club by implementing ideas to raise funds or computer donations in order to advance this great

EBay--Transition From Auctions to Using Posted Prices Research Paper

EBay--Transition From Auctions to Using Posted Prices - Research Paper Example From sellers’ perspective, this preference for posted-price over auctions is endogenous. There is ambiguity over market mechanisms’ behavior; how participants are affected and sales materialize, as the trend of posted-price is initiated by sellers. The reason of this compositional changeover in the products being sold cannot be explained as evolving or causal. Rather profits from auctions started decreasing. Buyers also started showing disinterest in the auction market mechanism besides the shrinking margins of the sellers that prompted a shift to the trend of posted prices. Einav et al. (1) find the reason of reducing margins more important for the changeover in online market design from open auctions to posted price. Although the shift has taken place but still auctions are preferred in certain sales by the online sellers; these are prevalent, as sellers prefer them to posted prices for distinct items sales. The market of eBay connects sellers and buyers on the online platform, presented through its highly interactive website. It is a market with no fixed prices for ever and information is available at just the click of the mouse; both buyers and sellers are bargaining continuously for a better transaction from their own perspectives. eBay is the perfect example of selling goods through auctions, which it has been doing since 2001, propelling its growth through the development of proxy bidding. It facilitates buyers offering a maximum bid while the computer answers to third parties’ bids up to this maximum. This selling design minimizes transaction costs as bidders’ offline or physical presence in actual time is not required for taking part in ever changing market scenario for auction bidding (Einav et al. 1). Figure1 above indicates the past trend till the current scenario, starting from Jan. 2003 till Jan. 2012 of online commerce, which has transformed greatly, but showing a turn against auctions due to reducing revenues since Jan. 2008. As stated

Book report on The stranger by Albert Camus Essay

Book report on The stranger by Albert Camus - Essay Example Albert Camus is considered to the French author of the Modernism era, and he is also famous by its philosophical views and journalistic articles. The philosophy of absurd has remained to be his notable contribution in the field of literature of that period (McCarthy, 5-6). This man has an individual and extraordinary world perception that he effuses in his creations. â€Å"The Stranger† has been first published in the year 1942 (McCarthy, 1). Albert Camus has had 29 years old, and that was a period of war and devastation. His father has been killed in the whirlpool of events that happened in the previous war (McCarthy, 3). That is why we may lead to personal and historical references while reading the book. Camus represents his own pattern of live vision that may seem ridiculous and irritating for the society. Still, this pattern may be understood from different perspective that author suggest us to query. The setting of the novel is the French colony of Algiers and the time is introduced the period before World War II. â€Å"The Stranger† represents two parts of the story that are thematically and logically divided. The main character is named Meursault. There are a few secondary characters in the story which help to develop the plot. The slant on the novel is tragic with the philosophical implications. The atmosphere is gloomy and dull with calm and confident inclusions. Novel â€Å"The Stranger† suggests to the audience the story about allegedly ordinary person Meursault who remains to be the recluse man with small needs and paltry subsistence. He is engaged in boring work, and lives in a small and dirty room. Physical necessities form more important value for Meursault than some entire personal feelings and moral dogmas. This man is viewed as a protagonist of the story. We also may regard him as anti-hero of the novel due to some perspective. Camus involves the readers into contradictory

Lab - Risk Essay Example for Free

Lab Risk Essay Name and Number: CIS 333 LAB#6 Instructor Name: Professor West Lab Due Date: 19 May 2013 1. What is the difference between a risk analysis (RA) and a business impact analysis (BIA)? Risk analysis is often identifying the potential threats and the associated vulnerabilities to the organizations . Risk analysis doesn’t view the organization from the mission critical Business Process point of view. More over BIA perceives the organization from the impact that is going to occur for an organization if the critical business processes are interrupted or tampered What is the difference between a Disaster Recovery Plan and a Business Continuity Plan? Disaster recovery is the older of the 2 functions. DR planning is an essential part of business planning that – too often – gets neglected. Part of this has to do with the fact that making a Disaster Recovery plan requires a lot of time and attention from busy managers and executives from every functional department within the company. Business continuity is a newer term which was first popularized as a response to the Y2K bug. In order to stop your company from bleeding money in these situations, you need a plan that will allow the organization to continue generating revenue and providing services – although possibly with lower quality – on a temporary basis until the company has regained its bearings. 3. Typically, a business continuity plan is also a compilation or collection of other plans. What other plans might a BCP and all supporting documents include? Technical backup Plan: How can you recover smoothly from technical glitches. Communications Plan: What communication will facilitate this recovery. Why is it important to have detailed backup and recovery steps within your disaster recovery plan (DRP)? 5. What is the purpose of a risk analysis? What is the purpose of a business impact analysis? Why are these an important first step in defining a BCP and DRP? The purpose of a Business Impact and Risk Assessment is to determine the approximate business value of IT assets, to assess the impact the loss of those assets would have on business units, and to assign recovery priorities to the assets. 6. How does risk analysis (RA) relate to a business impact analysis for an organization? The purpose of a Business Impact and Risk Assessment is to determine the approximate business value of IT assets, to assess the impact the loss of those assets would have on business units, and to assign recovery priorities to the assets. 7. Given the list of identified mission critical business functions and processed, what kind of company would you say this organization is, and what do you think are its most important business processes and functions? It Company; Risk Analysis Disaster Recovery Plan to get the business up and running on the web 8. Given the prioritization list provided for the organizations identified business functions and processes, write an assessment of how this prioritization will impact the need for IT systems, applications, and data access? Recovery strategies should be developed for Information technology (IT) systems, applications and data. This includes networks, servers, desktops, laptops, wireless devices, data and connectivity. Priorities for IT recovery should be consistent with the priorities for recovery of business functions and processes that were developed during the business impact analysis. IT resources required to support time-sensitive business functions and processes should also be identified. The recovery time for an IT resource should match the recovery time objective for the business function or process that depends on the IT resource. Information technology systems require hardware, software, data and connectivity. Without one component of the â€Å"system,† the system may not run. Therefore, recovery strategies should be developed to anticipate the loss of one or more of the following system components: * Computer room environment (secure computer room with climate control, conditioned and backup power supply, etc.) * Hardware (networks, servers, desktop and laptop computers, wireless devices and peripherals) * Connectivity to a service provider (fiber, cable, wireless, etc. ) * Software applications (electronic data interchange, electronic mail, enterprise resource management, office productivity, etc. ) * Data and restoration Some business applications cannot tolerate any downtime. They utilize dual data centers capable of handling all data processing needs, which run in parallel with data mirrored or synchronized between the two centers. This is a very expensive solution that only larger companies can afford. However, there are other solutions available for small to medium sized businesses with critical business applications and data to protect. 9. For the top identified business functions and processes, what recovery time objective (RTO) would you recommend for this organization and why? The RTO must match or be shorter than the MTD 10. Why is payroll for employees and Human Resources listed as a co-number 1 business priority? It is listed as a number one because it is highly what runs the office and something very important for these to parts to be correct.

History of the Ming Dynasty

History of the Ming Dynasty The Ming Dynasty was one of great importance in Chinese history, and from its humble beginnings in 1368 came the most impressive architectural achievement in China – The Forbidden City. This city, built by three master architects chosen by Emperor YongLe, became the center of all diplomatic activity for the emperor and those closely associated with him. Over a thousand great buildings were created for the Forbidden City, all to be used by the emperor and his servants. Palaces for domestic life, several more palaces for the empress and her servants, religious buildings, buildings used for political work, and lavish gardens all filled the grounds of the new capital. However, what was most interesting about Emperor YongLes Forbidden City was not that of all the buildings themselves, but the premises upon which they were built, premises of religion and symbolism that remain important to Chinese society to this day. Following the demise of the Ming Dynasty, the Qing Dynasty emerged and Emperor Qianlongs six extravagant art collections emerged along with it. These six art collections, some bearing Western influenced, included an assorted amount of ceramics, paintings, sculpture, bronze ware, jade and other minor arts, and all were enmeshed with the art previously brought in to the Forbidden City by Emperor YongLe. The stylistic architectural decisions instituted by Emperor YongLe while building the Forbidden City, along with Emperor Qianlongs six art collections, reflect the importance of religion, symbolism, and art in Chinese culture, and remain to be important aspects of China in present times. The grandson of a peasant who was one â€Å"of only three peasants ever to become an emperor of China,† Emperor YongLe was the third emperor in the Ming Dynasty. YongLe â€Å"fought alongside his father in the Yunnan campaign to clear the country of the last bastion of Mongolian resistance,† and despite being considered as exemplary, he was overlooked as emperor. Instead, the elder emperor, having bypassed his son, chose to make his grandson the emperor. This did not sit well with Emperor YongLe who later usurped his nephew and changed his reign name to that which he is remembered by, YongLe, or â€Å"Perpetually Happy.† YongLe ruled from 1403 to 1424 and tended to be remembered as one of the emperors who had done the most for China, most notably, moving the capital of China from Nanjing to Beijing in the North. It was here that YongLe was approached by one of his spiritual advisors, who told the emperor of a vision he had of a great Imperial city. It was under this particular advisement that the Emperor decided to build this Forbidden City, the center of all life for the emperors, not only during YongLes reign, but for the reigns of emperors during other dynasties as well. In the introduction of the book The Palace Museum: Peking, author Wan-go Wen asserts that â€Å"for every supreme ruler of China, his capital was the center of the earth – not merely the seat of government but a solemn symbol of imperial power and authority and of the ideal polity,† and the Forbidden City was an ideal example of this center of the earth for Emperor YongLe. This imperial palace, was actually named â€Å"the Purple Forbidden City,† and was named as such â€Å"after the Purple Luminous Constellation with Polaris, the North Star, in its center – a heavenly equivalent of the earthly residence of the supreme ruler.† Author Yu Zhuyon claimed that â€Å"fixed in time and space, [the Pole Star] was to be found at the apex of the vault of heaven and the gods of all the other stars revolved around it in homage,† and as the emperor was the leader of all of his people, the idea of Polaris coincided with the idea of the Forbidden City. This religious idea, and comparison of the Emperor to the deity in his â€Å"apex of his vault of heaven,† showed not only how important the Emperor was to his people, but also how the Emperor himself was revered as a god-like incarnation on Earth. Before the Forbidden City was even built, Emperor YongLe put much thought and effort into its construction, bringing in three master architects who were to adhere to the strictest set of religious rules, such as the idea of yin and yang, in the construction and building of the Forbidden City. There were three important aspects in the planning of the City itself, and all three were noted by Yu Zhuyon. The first of these three points was the fact that there was no natural water supply to the Forbidden City itself, so â€Å"water was channeled into it from the Great Liquid Pool at the northwest corner† and this channeling aided in bringing water into the Inner Court. The second of these three points stemmed from the Emperors desire to have a long walkway in his City, much like the wide walkway used at the palaces of the Northern Song dynasty. With careful research and precision, these builders applied the â€Å"Song Layout,† from the aforementioned Northern Song dynasty, which allowed for â€Å"the grandeur of the wide avenue,† which was what the Emperor desired. Finally, Yu Zhuyon explains the third point that was important in the pre-construction of the Forbidden City, that being the creation of a moat behind the Forbidden City in the style that â€Å"corresponded to the arrangement at the Ming palace in Nanjing,† which was built specifically to make the city more secure for the empress, as well as the emperors concubines. It was at this point that construction of the Forbidden City could begin and all the planning could evolve from mere plans to reality. When it finally came time to build the thousand buildings that make up the Forbidden City, three things were done to prepare for it: the collection of timber, the production and transportation of bricks and tiles, and the transportation of large quarrying stones. The work that went into gathering all these items was done by a large amount of people, and many of these people who built the Forbidden City put themselves in grave danger to acquire these supplies. To secure the use of this timber â€Å"involved first rolling [logs] into the dry mountain gullies. They were lashed together to form rafts and left to await the torrents which plunged down the mountainside during the rainy season†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and then, when this timber finally made arrived at its destination, it was put in massive storerooms until it was to be used. The production and transportation of the surface bricks for the walls of the city were not the mud bricks that were commonly used, because these bricks, over time, suffered from a great deal of wear. Instead, the Forbidden City was built with clay bricks which were made first by mixing water and clay together, and then put in the sun to dry. These were not the most important aspects of the building materials in the city – those were the roof tiles that were symbolically representative of the Five elements and the â€Å"golden brick† floor tiles from Suzho. These â€Å"golden bricks† were â€Å"the finest floor tiles, smooth and dense,† and called â€Å"golden bricks† because they sounded like metal when they were hit. Finally came the moving of the heavy quarrying stone, which involved the creation of a slippery slope that builders could push said quarrying stone along. These stones held particular importance in the creation of the Forbidden City, because these specific stones relied on the ideas of space and distance which, when paired with the ideas of yin and yang and the Five elements, reflected many of the major aspects of Chinese cultural beliefs. The idea of space and distance, when applied to the architecture of the Forbidden City correlated with the ideas of â€Å"cosmic environment for the imperial family,† which intertwined itself with the idea of the Emperor being a deity. The theory of the five Elements and the omnipotent idea of yin and yang were also important in the architecture of the Forbidden City as both were pivotal parts of Chinese history. The idea of yin and yang emerged during the Han dynasty in 207 B.C. and has remained a part of the Chinese lifestyle. Under the idea of yin came the ideas of â€Å"maleness, the sun, creation, light, heat, Heaven, dominance, and so on,† while the opposite fell under the ideas of yang. According to Washington State University professor Richard Hooker, all aspects of life could be explained by these two opposite ideas of yin and yang, and these two ideas were applied to the building of the YongLes city. Where even numbers take precedence in the Inner Court (such as the six Western palaces for the empress, and the emperors concubines), odd numbers are dominant in the Outer Court or â€Å"the system of the three halls and five gates.† Following the use of yin and yang in the architecture of the Forbidden City was the use of the Five elements, which were fire, water, metal/gold, wood, and Earth, and each person and creation carried some combination of these elements around in them. These elements all were represented by different colors, and these colors were used in the architecture of the city itself, such as green tiles that represented â€Å"the tenderness of spring and corresponds to the east† being used to tile the Hall that was used for study. The carefully thought out application of yin and yang, as well as the citys Five elements of water, fire, metal/gold, wood, and Earth, reflected the symbolism of these two ideas that, as mentioned previously, still play large roles in the lives of Chinese citizens. To enter the Forbidden City, one must first remove their shoes, and leave their horses and carts outside the palace doors. Inside, the city contains over a thousand buildings, each of these buildings being significant in their own way. There is not a building in the entire compound that is out of place, they all mean something, and have symbolic representations that were well planned out ahead of time. One of the most important of these buildings is the Gate of Great Harmony (also known as the Gate of Supreme Harmony), known as the greatest gate in the entire Forbidden City. The Gate of Great Harmony is the pathway that one must take to reach the Three Great Audience Halls, which are three large buildings that â€Å"occupy the main space of the Forbidden City, covering an expanse of 85,000 sq. m.† This Gate of Great Harmony, described by Weng as â€Å"elegant and expansive,† was oftentimes used by the emperor himself when he spoke to the people in the Forbidden City. To create this gate, â€Å"a new architectural element is now introduced to define the inner style: marble terraces, with intricately carved railings,† which, prior to this time, had never been used. After some time had passed, however, the emperor ceased to use this gate at all. Despite this fact, this particular gate played a role in the symbolism of Heaven on Earth because the Hall of Supreme Harmony, which was built to recreate the aforementioned Heaven on Earth, was accessed through this gate. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the largest courtyard in the Forbidden City and carries both religious and symbolic importance. Zhuyon wrote that â€Å"this courtyard truly gives rise to the feeling that Heaven is high and earth is broad,† and it was true, as this expansive garden is home to some of the most elaborate pieces of sculpture in the entire Forbidden City. This Hall of Supreme Harmony is also one of religious importance, as it is a Taoist temple that, although not used by YongLe, was in fact used by those who followed after him. The Hall also manages to show symbolic importance because it reflects YongLes application of yin and yang in the Imperial Garden. Just as important, if not more important, than the Outer Court, was the Inner Court, or the domestic area where the emperor and those closely associated to him lived and carried out their daily lives. Though the idea of space and distance was highly regarded and used in the Outer Court with great diligence, it was much harder for the Inner Court to be so spacious. Instead, these palaces and other buildings were built closely together. The Inner Court was the yang to the Outer Courts yin, and everything related to the Inner Court corresponded evenly, such as the Six Western and Six Eastern Palaces that were constructed to house all of the Emperors concubines. The two key features of the Inner Court were not these Six Western and Six Eastern Palaces, but instead remained to be the Palace of Heavenly Purity and the Palace of Earthly Tranquility, the two palaces which were not only home to the Emperor and the Empress, but also the palaces where the Emperor conducted business with his advisors, and where the Emperor â€Å"the emperor lay in state immediately following his death.† Over time, both of these Palaces would undergo incredible amounts of architectural renovation, specifically under the reign of Emperor Qianlong. Emperor Qianlongs renovation to YongLes vision was not his only contribution to the Forbidden City. Instead, his six extravagant art collections were in fact, his greatest contribution to the city itself. These six collections included beautiful pieces of ceramics, paintings and calligraphy, sculpture, bronze ware, jade, and so-called â€Å"minor arts† that remain on display in the Palace Museum in modern times. Though much of the architecture in the Forbidden City reflects the architectural decisions made by YongLe, the art is all reminiscent of Emperor Qianlong and his time in the Palace. Of all the art collections in his possession, it was noted that the collection of paintings and calligraphy were what Emperor Qianlong had the most of. In fact, Qianlong â€Å"practiced [painting and calligraphy] personally and thus saw from the viewpoint of an artist as well as a connoisseur.† Despite seeing from the viewpoint of an artist as well as a connoisseur, Qianlong was not very good at either painting or calligraphy, but that did not deter him from practicing or collecting, and Qianlong actually went so far as to use the example of fourth century artists handwriting to better his own calligraphy. Chinese calligraphy was a great art, with broad, sweeping strokes and vivid colors which were reminiscent of great paintings. These paintings have always been incredibly important in Chinese culture, and the paintings in the Forbidden City were no exception to this. The first Chinese paintings were simple black ink brush strokes on parchment paper, but â€Å"the efforts of later artists in their search for the expression of spirit or essence of all animate and inanimate objects extended from figure painting to landscape and bird and flower paintings†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and this expression of spirit was what Chinese artists became most known for. Zhu Jiajin claimed that â€Å"porcelain is one of Chinas great inventions, achieved through an amalgamation of the two disciplines of science and art,† and this is true. Chinas most important family of art is still to this day ceramics, or â€Å"china.† Though Emperor Qianlongs vast art collection contained pieces of china, some of these were beautiful vases and plates from the Ming Dynasty. Some artisans made vases out of vibrant colors such as blue, red, and black, while others made sculptures out of â€Å"pure white clay called kaolin.† Kaolin was not the only kind of clay that was available, and as time proceeded, many different types of ceramics also originated, and â€Å"under glaze decoration, a technique invented at the Changsha kilns† was used. In this form of decoration, the craftsman would decorate his vase or sculpture with a color, and then they would glaze the art and put it in the kiln. All these styles of ceramic artistry paved the way for other craftsmen in this same style. Sculptures were another form of art that made their way to the Forbidden City, and, as mentioned earlier, some of the most beautiful of these sculptures can be seen in the courtyard of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. â€Å"Stone, bone, horn, ivory, jade, shells, bamboo, and wood† were the chosen mediums that sculptors used to carve important figures of people and animals. One of the greatest discoveries of sculptures associated with the Forbidden City was the tomb of the first Qin Emperor. In this particular tomb was a monumental find that no one had known about, and this was a collection of life-sized clay soldiers and horses that were standing guard over the tomb of this great Emperor. It was said that, though the life-sized sculptures were made of clay, they were buried â€Å"with real chariots and weapons of that time, numbering more than seven thousand – an army sufficient to guard the supreme ruler in his afterlife.† There has been no greater or monumental find of such size and artistry found since this time, with the excavation of this tomb taking many painstaking years. Prior to the use of bronze in the creation of beautiful pieces of art, bronze was used by the Chinese for tools. As time progressed, artists began to craft three beautiful types of vessels that served three specific purposes – vessels for foods, wine vessels, and water vessels. These bronze vessels were used by Chinese nobility and reflected the styles of the times. Some of these sacrificial vessels contained images of people, but in later dynasties, the vessels stopped containing representations of people and turned more towards representations of animals. Artists began to inscribe poignant Chinese characters into their bronze vessels, these â€Å"master craftsmen of over 3,000 years ago were skilled in the art of the making of moulds and casting the finished article and were able to produce superb works which were well balanced with a sense of visual rhythm and strength†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and it was these craftsmen and Qianlongs interest in them that made these bronze vessels exceptional. In all of China, jade is viewed as something that is highly treasure, even above such fine metals as gold. â€Å"Jade is a material of supreme merit, possessing beauty, character, and mystery,† and has been used to make beautiful sculptures, vases, and tools. Chinese poets wrote beautiful poetry about jade, and artisans spent extended amounts of time coming up with innovative ways to cut and style the stone into gorgeous figurines. One of the most exquisite pieces of art from this time period is a sculpture that weighs close to 2000 pounds. This sculpture, called The Nine Elders of Huichang, was carved out of a boulder and has been on display in the Forbidden City for many years. Not only did artists carve sculptures out of jade, they also carved their prose into the sculptures that they created. Qianlong was so much an advocate of jade that he had a workshop built and had artisans come in to make figurines, boxes, and ornaments for him. It was due to Qianlongs immense favoritism of jade that this period of time is viewed as â€Å"the single most eventful era in the history of jade carving,† and there are some accounts that assert that, as a novice artist, Qianlong himself might have attempted to carve jade as well. The last collection of art to remain as an important part of the Forbidden City is that which scholars call â€Å"minor art.† These arts included handicraft arts, lacquer wares, cloisonnà © art, glass blowing, bamboo carving and work done with copper and enamel. One of the most famous of these minor arts artists emerged from the Imperial Palaces artistry workshop. This craftsman, Wu Zhifan, was a prolific bamboo carver who was known to carve â€Å"pagodas, dragon boats and the intricate reticulated balls carved from a single piece of ivory, one inside another and all movable,† and still other craftsmen were handpicked by the emperor himself to come and carve sculptures and other pieces of art for him out of ivory and bamboo. Lacquer ware artists poured lacquer, put it in the sun and then in a damp area, and were able to mold lacquer ware boxes and cups out of it. Another form of art, glass blowing, is one with origins that are unknown to scholars. The artists would blow the glass into vases and then use a glaze to give the glass its â€Å"hardness, brilliance, and colorfulness, which approximate the magical attributes of precious and semiprecious stones.† All of these forms of art were incredibly time consuming, but the finished products were always intricate and beautiful. In China, the Ming and Qing Dynasties remain as two of the most important dynasties in Chinese cultural history. From its humble beginnings in 1368, the Ming Dynasty helped to shape Chinese history forever with the help of its third emperor, the Emperor YongLe. Over a thousand great buildings were created to fulfill Emperor YongLes great vision of a home for the gods on Earth, a Forbidden City that appeared to one of YongLes tutors in an extraordinary vision. This beautiful city that grew in the new capital of Beijing became the center for all activity in China. The most important part of this Imperial City lay in its careful planning and architectural execution. The ideas of symmetry, religion, and symbolism all played a large role in China and all of these ideas were applied to the layout of the city. The premises upon which the city was built remain as some of Chinas most important. Following the demise of the Ming Dynasty, many others followed, but none as important to the Ming Dynasty as the Qing Dynasty, because with the Qing Dynasty came a flourishing art workshop that provided the Palace with an assortment of beautiful art collections. Ceramics, paintings and calligraphy, bronze ware, jade, and other minor arts, were diligently created and enmeshed in the art that was the architecture of the Forbidden City. Emperor YongLes carefully created architectural decisions, paired with Emperor Qianlongs exquisite art collections, were important in reflecting the incorporation of religion, symbolism, and art, in Chinese culture in prior times, and remain as important aspects of China in the present.

Hobbes State of Nature

Hobbes State of Nature Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) who is considered by some to be the greatest English political philosopher defended the need for an absolute sovereign, a ruler who would have unlimited powers of rule and punishment, he based his belief by imagining what life in the state of nature would be like and he supposed that life in this state would be solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short .Hobbes based this idea on his theory of human nature, he believed that all human beings seek to satisfy their desires moreover since there is no sum mum bonum or highest good for men but rather a constant succession of appetites, what each human being most wants is not any particular thing but the generalized capacity to satisfy new desires as they emerge: to assure forever, the way of his future desire (Leviathan:47). Conflict can arise from any attempt by humans to satisfy their desires for they may go to any lengths to do so and in the state of nature there are no moral limits to mens action: The notions of Right and Wrong, Justice and Injustice have there no place and they may kill another for anything they deem necessary to their life. Dawkins (1989) tends to agree with Hobbes, he also sees human nature as selfish, and he claims that selfishness is contained in every gene even though everyone has distinctive genes. Dawkins goes on to say that competitive behavior is programmed biologically. Nevertheless Dawkins differs from Hobbes because he stresses that it makes more sense if people join forces for mutual benefit. However just because a gene contains a selfishness streak does not mean that the individual will be selfish. Hobbes (Cited in Hampsher-Monk (1992) claims that the only naturally occurring authority that exists is that of a mother over her child and this link only prospers because the child is much weaker than the mother and its survival depends on the mother. This type of connection does not exist between adult human beings, although Hobbes does accept that some human beings possess more strength than others, although every human being has the ablity to kill another. Even the strongest must sleep ; even the weakest might persuade others to help him to kill another (Leviathan, xiii.1-2) furthermore because adults are equal in this capacity to threaten each others lives, Hobbes claims that there is no natural source of authority to order their lives together. Hobbes main argument for an absolute sovereign was that any type of government is better than the State of Nature, a condition where people are forced into contact with each other in the absence of a superior authority. A condition of war of every man against every man (Leviathan, ch. 13). Hobbes gave three explanations why life in a state of nature would mean a state of war, where people would always be in a continual readiness to fight. Firstly there would be no production and this in turn would mean there would be limited resources; people would have to take by force the possessions they require from others. Secondly people would attack first as a way of defending themselves. Lastly people would just attack others just to gain a reputation for being strong so as to put off others. The result of all this would be hostility between people and there would be no trust. Underlying the state of nature is the struggle for survival and fear of death and to counter these conditions people must use the dictates of reason and voluntarily join together forming a collective union supported by a social contract. Hobbes places great weight on contracts and he often speaks of covenants, by which he means a contract where one person performs his part of the agreement later than the other. In a state of nature such arrangements would not work because only the weakest will have good reason to fulfill the second part of a covenant and then only if the stronger person is watching over them. One opposition to this is that are people not able to behave in a fair and honest way? Even where there is no government giving laws. This objection assumes that people possess a basic sense of morality and believes that all this would overcome the greed, attacks and defensive fighting that Hobbes talks about. Hobbes makes two declarations the first is to do with our duties in the state of nature that is the right of nature, the second involves the risks posed by peoples differing beliefs of what is right and wrong. Hobbes definition of the right of nature is the entitlement to save our own lives by any means possible, he goes on to say that the most terrible thing that can befall us is a brutal death caused by others. Hobbes continues by saying that we have a right to decide what will save our lives. He goes further by saying that in a state of nature we have a right to everything even to one anothers body (Leviathan, xiv.4). His argument seems to be a bit extreme at this point, but if a person decides that they require something for example the death of another person or their labor to make sure that they can survive, in a state of nature there exists no influence to judge these actions as right or wrong. However Hobbes believes that human beings are able to adhere to some principles whi ch are not found in religion but can in some ways be paired with religion. In (Leviathan,xiv.4) the first law commands that every man ought to endeavour peace, as far as he has hope of obtaining it and when he cannot obtain it he may seek and use all helps and advantages of war. The second law says that a man be willing, when others are so too as far-forth as for peace and defense of him he shall think it necessary to lay down this right to all things and be contented with so much liberty against other men, as he would allow other men against himself. (Leviathan, xiv.5) Hobbes thinks that people should act as if they have made a contract with others in a society, however this does not include the sovereign authority. With Hobbes social contract all people give up their right to all things (Leviathan, xiv.5) although the sovereign does not give up this right. In this agreement, people agree to only retain the right to protect their lives in cases of direct peril, but the decision of what poses an immediate threat depends on judgment, nevertheless it does allow us to retaliate if the sovereign attempts to take our lives. There are practical reasons for the sovereign not participating in contracts with their subjects, firstly it is not practical for the sovereign to make a covenant with everyone individually and it is not possible to make a covenant with the population as a whole because while the sovereign is being created, people are still in a state of nature and do not trust each other. One of the roles of the sovereign is to punish those who have acted unjustly but it is also the sovereigns right because people have forfeited their rights to the sovereign who is not held responsible for the possible injury or death of subjects. The most important role of the sovereign according to Hobbes is to prescribe the rules, whereby every man may know what goods he may enjoy, and what actions he may do, without being molested by any of his fellow-subjects. This role protects against the inevitable competition that will arise between people over scarce resources. However Hobbes theory gives way for criticism if the sovereign is unjust, but Hobbes counters this by stating that the sovereign cannot be unjust and ultimately Hobbes believed that government was more preferable than social chaos, especially under an absolute sovereign. Another key aspect of sovereignty is the right of making war and peace with other nations and commonwealths which reflects the obligation of the sovereign to protect their subjects. The sovereign however retain s their right of nature although Hobbes does concede that there are moral limits on what sovereigns should do. Hobbes arguments have been contested by many among which is John Locke ([1690] 1965) who was concerned that an absolute sovereign with absolute power would be even more of a hazard to us than life in a state of nature. After all, how could we have faith in the sovereign to act in the citizens interests rather than his or her own? So Locke argued that even though we could do with a sovereign to straighten out disputes and dispense justice, we must also lay down constitutional limits to the sovereigns rule and in addition we also have a right to fight back if the sovereign abuses our faith. Hobbes argument has weakness in that it has the tendency of legitimate monarchs to quietly slide over into being despots; (Fukuyama,1989:157-158) with no institutional devices like elections for finding out popular consent, it would be difficult to know whether a particular monarch had the kind of sanction Hobbes himself had in mind(Fukuyama, 1989:157-158). Fukuyama then makes it clear that it was relatively easy for John Locke to change Hobbes principal of monarchical sovereignty into one of parliamentary or legislative sovereignty based on majority rule. Lockes alternate to the Hobessian dilemma is not absolute monarchy but restricted government which consists of a constitutional government providing protection for the citizens basic rights and whose authority is resulted from the consent of the people(Fukuyama, 1989). It is clear that Locke views Hobbes right to preservation of ones life as meaning a right to revolution against a tyrant who used his power unjustly against the inte rests of the people (Fukuyama, 1989:158). Lockes offers a perfect solution to the classic question: Who would guard the guardians? Hobbes deduces that an absolute sovereign is a highest power, an earthly God, who has been called upon to protect people from each other. The absolute sovereign is given various powers through which they can institute and keep peace to prevent reverting back into the state of nature. Hobbes main argument for the need for an absolute sovereign is that a state of war would be horrific for everyone but that very same reason will mean that we carry on living in such a state. The only probable way to escape a state of war is through the formation of an influence that can intimidate the people and force them to live in peace with each other. On the other hand, Hobbes fails to prove that we have an almost unlimited obligation to do what the sovereign tells us to do, furthermore his arguments that sovereignty which includes the power to moderate moral and political matter and put in force those judgments cannot be separated, are not only weak but they are clearly opposed by the somewhat succ essful division of powers in modern liberal societies. The shocking crimes of twentieth century perpetrated by dictatorships make obvious to us beyond doubt that verdicts about what is right or wrong cannot be a problem only for our political leaders, it also has to be a question for us as individuals. So although Hobbes does justify the need for an absolute sovereign with his arguments, they have been refuted by some thinkers like Locke ([1690] 1965) and Rousseau ([1762] 1913) who have proposed having a sovereign whose power is limited so as to prevent tyranny.

St. Anselm of Canterbury Essay -- essays research papers

In the following I intend to prove that the ontological argument is in and of itself, insufficient in proving that God exists. There are a few problems with the argument that I will be discussing in detail in an attempt to illustrate exactly why ‘The Ontological Argument’ is unsatisfactory. The Definition of ‘Greater’ St. Anselm of Canterbury defined God as â€Å"that-than-which-a-greater-cannot-be-thought† (Bailey, 2002). The problem with this definition is that the term ‘greater’ is surely up for interpretation. The term ‘greater’ requires a comparison between itself and one or more things, which could pose a problem for Anselm’s argument; however Professor Thorp states that the only difference between these two things is that one exists in the mind, while the other exists in the mind and in reality. If we understand that a God that exists in the mind and in reality is greater than one that merely exists in the mind then we must understand that God exists. We need to examine this, however, much more closely to discover the problem with this statement; and I will do so using an example given to us by Professor Thorp. During the discussion of the Ontological argument, the professor asked us whether we would prefer ‘a real beer’ on a hot day, or ‘an imaginary beer’. The real one is preferable and it is greater than the imaginary one. But what type of beer was each person in the class imagining? There are multiple brands of beer available and it is quite possible that many people throughout the room were picturing a different beer. Which real beer was greater? This is not a question that I can answer because it lies in a matter of preference. We experience a similar problem when we think of ‘a real God’, and ‘an imaginary God’. Perhaps I perceive God in a specific way, and to me, he is a being â€Å"that-than-which-none-greater-can-be-thought† (Bailey, 2002). This proves that my perception of God exists for me, but what of everyone else’s perceptions of God? We must recognize a problem with this, in that everyone may perceive a ‘greater’ God in a very different way. We know that there are different perceptions of the ‘greater’ God because we have evidence of it in the various religions and the contrasting views of their God. With this in mind, all Anselm is able to prove with his argument is that every person’s individual perception of God does exist, but no on... ...comprehend or imagine Him. Because of this, God cannot be ‘thought’, he can merely be defined as infinite. Since we cannot comprehend God in our thought, he no longer exists in our minds as an entity, but merely as a definition. Thus, since he no longer exists in our minds, there is no obligation to understand that he must exist in reality; an implication made in Anselm’s argument.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Anselm’s Ontological argument is insufficient in proving that God exists. For the reasons above and further objections from various philosophers, I do not believe that Anselm can argue the existence of God with his current premises as they stand. I must say that despite my objections to Anselm’s Ontological argument, I respect his work done, and the tremendous thought process that must have occurred to conjure up such a case as was presented. It is definitely much easier to prove a mortal wrong than it is to prove the existence of something so great and so unknown. Anselm’s Ontological argument while intriguing does have some problems in my opinion that take away from its validity; but needless to say it is in and of itself quite astounding.

Use of Performance Enhancing Drugs in Sports Essay -- Doping in Sports

The use of performance enhancing drugs in sports (doping) is done to improve athletic performance. Doping in sports has become a highly controversial topic among professional sporting venues and in the media. With the increased pressure to perform, high priced contracts, increased competition, and advanced training methods today’s athletes will try to gain an edge by any means necessary. Performance enhancing drugs used by athletes today include Human Growth Hormone (HGH), anabolic steroids, peptide hormones, amphetamines, insulin and stimulants. The reason athletes use performance enhancing drugs is to increase the amount of testosterone produced in the body. The increased testosterone in the body increases muscle strength by enabling new muscle growth. Although there are laws passed with the intention of ridding sports of the use of performance enhancing drugs, it is still a highly debated topic. Supporters argue it is beneficial for the sport. The opposition argues against it. A syndicated political columnist argues â€Å"Drugs that make sport exotic drain it of its exemplary power by making it a display of chemistry rather than character—actually, a display of chemistry and bad character† (Will). In light of the overwhelming evidence, one must agree with the 2004 Anabolic Steroids Act, which attempts to ban the use of anabolic steroids in U.S sporting events. The use of performance enhancing drugs in sports is dangerous, unethical and ruins the integrity of the specific sport, by giving an unfair advantage to the user over their competitors. No one can deny that the use of performance enhancing drugs in sports makes it much more entertaining for fans. Watching home run records get shattered, and new world record times being set,... ...iego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Rpt. from "testimony before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs, Foreign Commerce, and Tourism." 2002. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. "We Should Accept Performance-Enhancing Drugs in Competitive Sports." Writ. Radley Balko. Intelligence Squared US debate. Intelligence2 debates. 15 Jan. 2008. Web. 26 Apr. 2012. West, Doug. "Steroids Are Harmful." Steroids. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Rpt. from "Steroid Abuse—Getting Bigger." Youthcultureï ¼  today. 2002. 20-24. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web. Will, George F. "Steroids Are Destroying Baseball." Steroids. Ed. Laura K. Egendorf. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2006. At Issue. Rpt. from "Steroids Scandal Is Damaging to Baseball." Conservative Chronicle (15 Dec. 2004): 25. Gale Opposing Viewpoints In Context. Web.

Manuel Noriega :: essays research papers

Playing All Sides Of the Fence   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Manuel Noriega, the former dictator of the Central American country of Panama, rose to power through the art of destruction deception and detail. Manuel Noriega was able to profit and flourish as Panama’s new leader because of the Cold War environment. Due to the Cold War, its geographical positioning, and financial liberties, Noriega was able to manipulate all parties involved while making him very wealthy, powerful, a political asset, and finally a threat to the United States National Security.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Manuel Noriega was born in 1934 in Panama City, Panama. Noriega grew up very poor and could not afford any high level of education. Like most who could not afford schooling he attended a military college in Peru. His schooling in Peru would ultimately give him his start to gaining contacts, friends, and most importantly American connections.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To understand Noriega’s rise to power first you must understand the environment in which he did so. After World War II a communist movement began to slowly spread throughout the world. This went against America’s belief in democracy and created a riff between the Soviet Union and The United States creating the Cold War.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What importance does this have to Noriega and Panama? On January 1, 1959 Fidel Castro led a successful coup against the government in Cuba which at the time was controlled by Fulgencio Batista. By Castro taking control of the Cuban government, he placed communism within a close range of America. This was important because it was feared by most Americans that this takeover by Castro would lead a domino effect throughout Central America, and third world countries further extending the arm of Communism and the reach of the Soviet Union.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the same time Castro took control of Cuba, Noriega was in the Peruvian military school. America fearing that these third world military schools would be a breeding ground for future communist leaders, implanted many agents to keep watch over them. One of these recruitment’s would be Manuel Noriega. America first employed Noriega in these early years to inform them on the schools leftist teachings and slowly helped and inspired him to become one of America’s best assets and later their worst enemy.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After returning home to Panama, Noriega furthered his studies by taking courses in America and also at American bases in Panama. Some of his courses included “military engineering, jungle engineering, and counter insurgency Battle'; (Kempe 58).

Chapter 1 Course Notes

Financial Accounting Theory and Analysis 10e Chapter 1 – The Development of Accounting Theory What is Theory? Webster defines theory as â€Å"Systematically organized knowledge, applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstances; a system of assumptions, accepted principles and rules of procedure to analyze, predict or otherwise explain the nature of behavior of a specified set of phenomena. † Why is the development of a general theory of accounting important?The development of a general theory of accounting is because of the role accounting plays in our economic society. We live in a capitalistic society which is characterized by a self-regulated market that operates through the forces of supply and demand. What is the relationship of accounting research to accounting theory? The goal of accounting theory is to provide a set of principles and relationships that explains observed practices and predicts unobserved practices.That is, accounting theory should be able to explain why companies elect certain accounting methods over others and should enable users to predict the attributes of firms that elect various accounting methods. And as in other disciplines, accounting theory should also be verifiable through accounting research. Accounting research is needed to attain a more general theory of accounting, and in this regard the various theories of accounting that have been posited must be subjected to verification. The Early History of AccountingZenon Papyri * Accounting records have been found to date back several thousand years in various parts of the world. Discovered in 1915, the Zenon Papyri contained information Apollonius private estate for a period of about 30 years concerning construction projects, agricultural activities, and business operations during the 3rd century B. C. According to Hain, this â€Å"surprisingly elaborate accounting system† was used in Greece since the fi fth century B. C. â€Å"Zenon’s accounting system contained provisions for esponsibility accounting, a written record of all transactions, a personal account for wages paid to employees, inventory records, and a record of asset acquisitions and disposals. In addition, there is evidence that all the accounts were audited. † The Impact of the Renaissance * It wasn’t until approximately 1300-1500 the need arose for more accurate records due to the Italians merchants vigoursly pursing trade and commerce. Italian merchants borrowed Arabic numeral system and the basis of arithmetic and an evolving trend toward the present double entry book keeping system developed. In 1494 an Italian monk, Fra Luca Pacioli, wrote a book on arithmetic that included a description of double-entry bookkeeping. Pacioli’s work, Summa de Arithmetica Geometria Proportioniet Proportionalita, did not fully describe double-entry bookkeeping; rather, it formalized the practices and ideas that had been evolving over the years. Double-entry bookkeeping enabled business organizations to keep complete records of transactions and ultimately resulted in the ability to prepare financial statements. The evolution of joint ventures into ongoing businessesAs ongoing business organizations replaced isolated ventures, it became necessary to develop accounting records and reports that reflected a continuing investment of capital employed in various ways and to periodically summarize the results of activities. By the nineteenth century, bookkeeping expanded into accounting, and the concept that the owner’s original contribution, plus or minus profits or losses, indicated net worth emerged. However, profit was considered an increase in assets from any source, as the concepts of cost and income were yet to be developed.Another factor that influenced the development of accounting during the nineteenth century was the evolution in England of joint ventures into business corporations. Under the corporate form of business, owner s (stockholders) may not be management. Thus many individuals, external to the business itself, needed information about the corporation’s activities. Moreover, owners and prospective owners wanted to evaluate whether stockholder investments have yielded a return.As a consequence, the emerging existence of corporations created a need for periodic reporting as well as a need to distinguish between capital and income. The impact of the industrial revolution and the progressive movement The industrial revolution and the succession of the Companies Acts in England also increased the need for professional standards and accountants. In the later part of the nineteenth century, the industrial revolution arrived in the United States, bringing the need for more formal accounting procedures and standards. Railroads became a major economic influence.These companies created the need for supporting industries, which in turn led to increases in the market for corporate securities and an in creased need for trained accountants as the separation of the management and ownership functions became more distinct. The concept of capital maintenance The major concern of accounting during the early 1900s was the development of a theory that could cope with corporate abuses that were occurring at that time, and capital maintenance emerged as a concept. This concept evolved from maintaining invested capital intact to maintaining the physical productive capacity of the firm to maintaining real capital.In essence, this last view of capital maintenance was an extension of the economic concept of income (see Chapter 5) that there could be no increase in wealth unless the stockholder or the firm were better off at the end of the period than at the beginning. The accountant as a protector of business interests World War I changed the public’s attitude toward the business sector. Many people believed that the successful completion of the war could at least partially be attributed to the ingenuity of American business. As a consequence, the public perceived that business had reformed and that external regulation was no longer necessary.The accountant’s role changed from protector of third parties to protector of business interests. Critics of accounting practice during the 1920s suggested that accountants abdicated the stewardship role, placed too much emphasis on the needs of management, and permitted too much flexibility in financial reporting. During this time financial statements were viewed as the representations of management, and accountants did not have the ability to require businesses to use accounting principles they did not wish to employ. The result of this attitude is well known. In 1929 the stock market crashed and the Great Depression ensued.Although accountants were not initially blamed for these events, the possibility of governmental intervention in the corporate sector loomed. Accounting in the United States since 1930 Meetings bet ween NYSE and AIA One of the first attempts to improve accounting began shortly after the inception of the Great Depression with a series of meetings between representatives of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the American Institute of Accountants. The purpose of these meetings was to discuss problems pertaining to the interests of investors, the NYSE, and accountants in the preparation of external financial statements.The cooperative efforts between the members of the NYSE and the AIA were well received. However, the post-Depression atmosphere in the United States was characterized by regulation. There was even legislation introduced that would have required auditors to be licensed by the federal government after passing a civil service examination. AAA Similarly, in 1935 the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting changed its name to the American Accounting Association (AAA) and announced its intention to expand its activities in the research and develop ment of accounting principles and standards.The first result of these expanded activities was the publication, in 1936, of a brief report cautiously titled â€Å"A Tentative Statement of Accounting Principles Underlying Corporate Financial Statements. † The four-and-one-half-page document summarized the significant concepts underlying financial statements at that time. SEC (Securities And Exchange Commission) Two of the most important pieces of legislation passed at this time were the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which established the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).The SEC was created to administer various securities acts. Under powers provided by Congress, the SEC was given the authority to prescribe accounting principles and reporting practices. Nevertheless, because the SEC has acted as an overseer and allowed the private sector to develop accounting principles, this authority has seldom been used. However, the SEC has exerted p ressure on the accounting profession and has been especially interested in narrowing areas of difference in accounting practice. * Securities Act of 1933A federal piece of legislation enacted as a result of the market crash of 1929. The legislation had two main goals: (1) to ensure more transparency in financial statements so investors can make informed decisions about investments, and (2) to establish laws against misrepresentation and fraudulent activities in the securities markets. * Securities Exchange Act of 1934 The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 was created to provide governance of securities transactions on the secondary market (after issue) and regulate the exchanges and broker-dealers in order to protect the investing public.Committee on Accounting Procedure The AICPA’s Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP) was formed in 1936. The committee had authority to issue pronouncements on matters of accounting practice and procedure in order to establish generally accept ed practices. CAP was relatively inactive during its first two years, but became more active in response to the SEC’s release of ASR No. 4. One of the first responses was to expand CAP membership from 7 to 21. Major concerns were: * Use of the historical cost model of accounting.The then-accepted definition of assets as unamortized cost was seen by some critics as allowing management too much flexibility in deciding when to charge costs to expense. * The impact on inflation on reported profits. Lobbies were held by several companies in the 1940s for the use of replacement cost depreciation. Both CAP and the SEC rejected the efforts. This decade long debate didn’t until Congress passed legislation in 1954 amending the IRS Tax Code to allow accelerated depreciation. CAP works were originally published in the form of Accounting Research Bulletins (ARBs).The pronouncements did not dictate mandatory practice and received authority only from their general acceptance. The Acc ounting Research Bulletins were consolidated in 1953 into Accounting Terminology Bulletin No. 1, â€Å"Review and Resume† and ARB No 43 through 51 was published from 1953 until 1959. The recommendations of these bulletins that have not been superseded are contained in the FASB Accounting Standards Codifications. Accounting Principles Board By 1959 the methods of formulating accounting principles were being questioned as not arising from research or based on theory.The CAP was also criticized for acting in a piecemeal fashion and issuing standards that, in many cases, were inconsistent. Additionally, all of its members were part-time and as a result their independence was questioned. Finally, the fact that all of the CAP members were required to be AICPA members prevented many financial executives, investors, and academics from serving on the committee. As a result, accountants and financial statement users were calling for wider representation in the development of accounting principles.The AICPA responded to the alleged shortcomings of the CAP by forming the Accounting Principles Board (APB). The objectives of this body were to advance the written expression of generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), to narrow areas of difference in appropriate practice, and to in the method of establishing accounting principles was quickly squelched when the first APB chairman, Weldon Powell, voiced his belief that accounting research was more applied and pure and that the usefulness of the end product was a major concern.The APB was composed of from seventeen to twenty-one members, who were selected primarily from the accounting profession but also included individuals from industry, government, and academia. Initially, the pronouncements of the APB, termed â€Å"opinions,† were not mandatory practice; however, the issuance of APB Opinion No. 2 (see FASB ASC 740-10-25 and 45) and a subsequent partial retraction contained in APB Opinion No. 4 (see FASB ASC 740-10-50) highlighted the need for standard-setting groups to have more authority. Financial Accounting Standards BoardDue to the growing criticism of the APB, in 1971 the board of directors of the AICPA appointed two committees. The Wheat Committee, chaired by Francis Wheat, was to study how financial accounting principles should be established. The Trueblood Committee, chaired by Robert Trueblood, was asked to determine the objectives of financial statements. The Wheat Committee issued its report in 1972 recommending that the APB be abolished and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) be created. In contrast to the APB, whose members were all from the AICPA, this new board was to comprise representatives from various organizations.The members of the FASB were also to be full-time paid employees, unlike the APB members, who served part-time and were not paid. the Accounting Principles Board Formation and structure The APB was composed of from seventeen to twenty-one members, who were selected primarily from the accounting profession but also included individuals from industry, government, and academia. Types of pronouncements * APB Opinions Initially, the pronouncements of the APB, termed â€Å"opinions,† were not mandatory practice; however, the issuance of APB Opinion No. 2 (see FASB ASC 740-10-25 and 45) and a subsequent partial retraction contained in APB Opinion No. (see FASB ASC 740-10-50) highlighted the need for standard-setting groups to have more authority. The flap over accounting for the investment tax Credit This controversy was over the proper method to use in accounting for the investment tax credit. In the early 1960s the country was suffering from the effects of a recession. After President John F. Kennedy took office, his advisors suggested an innovative fiscal economic policy that involved a direct income tax credit (as opposed to a tax deduction) based on a percentage of the cost of a qualified investment.Congress pas sed legislation creating the investment tax credit in 1961. The APB was then faced with deciding how companies should record and report the effects of the investment tax credit. It considered two alternative approaches: 1. The flow-through method, which treated the tax credit as a decrease in income tax expense in the year it occurred. 2. The deferred method, which treated the tax credit as a reduction in the cost of the asset and therefore was reflected over the life of the asset through Rule 203The lack of support for some of the APB’s pronouncements and concern over the formulation and acceptance of GAAP caused the Council of the AICPA to adopt Rule 203 of the Code of Professional Ethics. 10 This rule requires departures from accounting principles published in APB Opinions or Accounting Research Bulletins (or subsequently FASB Statements and now the FASB ASC) to be disclosed in footnotes to financial statements or in independent auditors’ reports when the effects of such departures are material.This action has had the effect of requiring companies and public accountants who deviate from authoritative pronouncements to justify such departures. Criticism of the APB 1. The independence of the members of the APB. The individuals serving on the board had full-time responsibilities elsewhere that might influence their views of certain issues. 2. The structure of the board. The largest eight public accounting firms (at that time) were automatically awarded one member, and there were usually five or six other public accountants on the APB. 3. Response time.The emerging accounting problems were not being investigated and solved quickly enough by the part-time members. The financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) The Wheat Committee The Wheat Committee, chaired by Francis Wheat, was to study how financial accounting principles should be established. The AICPA quickly adopted the Wheat Committee recommendations, and the FASB became the official body c harged with issuing accounting standards. The Trueblood Committee The Trueblood Committee, chaired by Robert Trueblood, was asked to determine the objectives of fi nancial statements.The FASB was established The Wheat Committee issued its report in 1972 recommending that the APB be abolished and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) be created. The structure of the FASB The structure of the FASB is as follows. A board of trustees nominated by organizations whose members have special knowledge and interest in financial reporting is selected. The organizations originally chosen to select the trustees were the American Accounting Association; the AICPA; the Financial Executives Institute; the National Association of Accountants (The NAA’s ame was later changed to Institute of Management Accountants in 1991), and the Financial Analysts Federation. In 1997 the board of trustees added four members from public interest organizations. The board that governs the FASB is the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF). The FAF appoints the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC), which advises the FASB on major policy issues, the selection of task forces, and the agenda of topics. The number of members on the FASAC varies from year to year. The bylaws call for at least twenty members to be appointed.However, the actual number of members has grown to about thirty in recent years to obtain representation from a wider group of interested parties. FASB Mission The FASB’s mission is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting for the guidance and education of the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of financial information. In attempting to accomplish this mission, the FASB seeks to: 1. Improve the usefulness of financial reporting by focusing on the primary characteristics of relevance and reliability and on the qualities of comparability and consistency 2.Keep standards current to reflect changes in methods of doing business and changes in the economic environment 3. Consider promptly any significant areas of deficiency in financial reporting that might be improved through the standard-setting process 4. Promote the international comparability of accounting standards concurrent with improving the quality of financial reporting 5. Improve the common understanding of the nature and purposes of information contained in financial reports Type of Pronouncements * Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts Statements of Financial Accounting Standards * Interpretations * Technical Bullentins Originally, the FASB issued two types of pronouncements, Statements of Financial Accounting Standards (SFASs) and Interpretations. Subsequently, the FASB established two new series of releases: (1) Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts (SFACs) and (2) Technical Bulletins. SFASs conveyed required accounting methods and procedures for specific accounting issues and officially created GAAP. In terpretations were modifications or extensions of issues pronouncements.SFACs are intended to establish the objectives and concepts that the FASB will use in developing standards of financial accounting and reporting. To date, the FASB has issued seven SFACs, which are discussed in depth in Chapters 2, 6, and 7. SFACs differed from Statements of Financial Accounting Standards in that they did not establish GAAP. Similarly, they are not intended to invoke Rule 203 of the Rules of Conduct of the Code of Professional Ethics. It is anticipated that the major beneficiary of these SFACs will be the FASB itself.However, knowledge of the objectives and concepts the board uses should enable financial statement users to better understand the content and limitations of financial accounting information. Technical Bulletins were strictly interpretive in nature and did not establish new standards or amend existing standards. They were intended to provide guidance on financial accounting and repor ting problems on a timely basis. Emerging Issues One of the fi rst criticisms of the FASB was for failing to provide timely guidance on emerging implementation and practice problems.During 1984 the FASB responded to this criticism by (1) establishing a task force, the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), to assist in identifying issues and problems that might require action; and (2) expanding the scope of the FASB Technical Bulletins in an effort to offer quicker guidance on a wider variety of issues. The EITF was formed in response to two confl icting issues. On the one hand, accountants are faced with a variety of issues that are not fully addressed in accounting pronouncements, such as interest rate swaps or new fi nancial instruments. These and other new issues need immediate resolution.On the other hand, many accountants maintain that the ever-increasing body of professional pronouncements has created a standards overload problem (discussed in more detail below). The FASB establi shed the EITF in an attempt to simultaneously address both issues. The goal of the EITF is to provide timely guidance on new issues while limiting the number of issues whose resolutions require formal pronouncements by the FASB. Standards Overload One of the fi rst criticisms of the FASB was for failing to provide timely guidance on emerging implementation and practice problems.During 1984 the FASB responded to this criticism by (1) establishing a task force, the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), to assist in identifying issues and problems that might require action; and (2) expanding the scope of the FASB Technical Bulletins in an effort to offer quicker guidance on a wider variety of issues. The EITF was formed in response to two confl icting issues. On the one hand, accountants are faced with a variety of issues that are not fully addressed in accounting pronouncements, such as interest rate swaps or new fi nancial instruments.These and other new issues need immediate resolution . On the other hand, many accountants maintain that the ever-increasing body of professional pronouncements has created a standards overload problem (discussed in more detail below). The FASB established the EITF in an attempt to simultaneously address both issues. The goal of the EITF is to provide timely guidance on new issues while limiting the number of issues whose resolutions require formal pronouncements by the FASB. Standard setting as a political processA highly infl uential academic accountant stated that accounting standards are as much a product of political action as they are of careful logic or empirical fi ndings. 15 This phenomenon exists because a variety of parties are interested in and affected by the development of accounting standards. Various users of accounting information have found that the best way to infl uence the formulation of accounting standards is to attempt to infl uence the standard setters. The CAP, APB, and FASB have all come under a great deal o f pressure to develop or amend standards so as to benefi t a particular user group.For example, the APB had originally intended to develop a comprehensive theory of accounting before attempting to solve any current problems; however, this approach was abandoned when it was determined that such an effort might take up to fi ve years and that the SEC would not wait that long before taking action. The Business Roundtable engaged in what initially was a successful effort (later reversed) to increase the required consensus for passage of a SFAS from a simple majority to fi ve of the seven members of the FASB.Congressional action was threatened over the FASB’s proposed elimination of the pooling of interest method of accounting for business combinations (see Chapter 16). Two of the most notable examples of the politicizing of accounting standards involved the issues of employee stock options and fair value accounting. Economic Consequences The increased pressure on the standard-set ting process is not surprising, considering that many accounting standards have signifi cant economic consequences. Economic consequences refers to the impact of accounting reports on various segments of our economic society.This concept holds that the accounting practices a company adopts affect its security price and value. Consequently, the choice of accounting methods infl uences decision making rather than just refl ecting the results of these decisions. Consider the release of the FASB’s pronouncement on other postretirement benefi ts (OPRBs) FASB Statement No. 106, â€Å"Other Post Retirement Benefi ts† (see FASB ASC 715-10-30, 60, and 80). The accounting guidelines for OPRBs required companies to change from a pay-as-you-go basis to an accrual basis for health care and other benefi ts that companies provide to retirees and their dependents.The accrual basis requires companies to measure the obligation to provide future services and accrue these costs during the years employees provide service. This change in accounting caused a large increase in recorded expenses for many companies. Consequently, a number of companies simply ceased providing such benefi ts to their employees, at a large social cost. The impact on our economic society of accounting for OPRBs illustrates the need for the FASB to fully consider both the necessity to further develop sound reporting practices and the possible economic consequences of new codifi cation content.Accounting standard setting does not exist in a vacuum. It cannot be completely insulated from political pressures, nor can it avoid carefully evaluating the possible ramifi cations of standard setting. gaap Evolution of phrase: * Changed wording of auditor’s certificate brought about by meetings between NYSE and AIA One result of the meetings between the AICPA and members of the NYSE following the onset of the Great Depression was a revision in the wording of the certifi cate issued by CPAs. The o pinion paragraph formerly stated that the fi nancial statements had been examined and were accurate.The terminology was changed to say that the statements are â€Å"fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. † This expression is now interpreted as encompassing the conventions, rules, and procedures that are necessary to explain accepted accounting practice at a given time. Therefore fi nancial statements are fair only to the extent that the principles are fair and the statements comply with the principles. * The APB’s definition * The Auditing Standards Executive Committee’s definition The current sources of GAAP consist of four levels described as A, B, C, and D by Statement of Auditing Standards No 69 he business reporting research project Steering Committee Working Group the role of ethics in accounting Ethics are concerned with the types of behavior society considers right and wrong. Accounting ethics incorporate social sta ndards of behavior as well as behavioral standards that relate specifi cally to the profession. The environment of public accounting has become ethically complex. The accountants’ Code of Professional Ethics developed by the AICPA has evolved over time, and as business transactions have become more and more complex, ethical issues have also become more complex.Accounting in Crisis – the events of the early 2000s On January 1, 2001, Enron’s stock was selling for over $90 per share. From that time until the early summer of 2001, nineteen investment research fi rms reviewed its performance and twelve had given it a â€Å"strong buy† recommendation, while fi ve others had recommended it as â€Å"buy. †27 Additionally, the company’s 2000 annual report indicated that its auditor had not found any signifi cant accounting problems. However, on August 14, 2001, it was announced that the company’s president, Jeffery Skilling, had resigned after only six months on the job for â€Å"purely personal reasons. Enron used what were termed special-purpose entities (SPEs) now termed variable interest entities (VIEs) to access capital and hedge risk. 28 By using SPEs such as limited partnerships with outside parties, a company may be permitted to increase its fi nancial leverage and return on assets without reporting debt on its balance sheet. 29 The arrangement works as follows: An entity contributes fi xed assets and related debt to an SPE in exchange for an ownership interest.The SPE then borrows large sums of money from a fi nancial institution to purchase assets or conduct other business without the debt or assets showing up on the originating company’s fi nancial statements. The originating company can also sell leveraged assets to the SPE and record a profi t. At the time these transactions took place, the FASB required that only 3 percent of a SPE be owned by an outside investor. If this guideline is met, the SPE d idn’t need to be consolidated and the SPE’s debt was not disclosed on the originating company’s fi nancial statements.Enron used SPEs to new degrees of complexity and sophistication, capitalizing them with not only a variety of fi xed assets and liabilities but also extremely complex derivative fi nancial instruments, its own restricted stock, rights to acquire its stock, and related liabilities. Additionally, as Enron’s fi nancial dealings became more complicated, the company apparently also transferred troubled assets that were falling in value, such as certain overseas energy facilities, its broadband operation, or stock in companies that had been spun off to the SPEs. As a consequence, the losses on these assets were kept off Enron’s books.To compensate partnership investors for assuming downside risk, Enron promised to issue additional shares of its stock. As the value of the assets in these partnerships fell, Enron began to incur larger and l arger obligations to issue its own stock farther down the road. The problem was later compounded as the value of Enron’s stock declined. On October 16, 2001, the company reported a third-quarter loss and its stock dropped to about $33 a share. On October 28, as some of the problems with the SPEs were made public, a special committee of the board of directors of Enron was established under the chairmanship of William C.Powers, dean of the University of Texas Law School. The Powers Committee Report concluded that some Enron employees were directly involved in the SPEs and were enriched by tens of millions of dollars they never should have received. The committee also found that many of the transactions were designed to achieve favorable fi nancial statement results and were not based on legitimate economic objectives or to transfer risk. International Accounting standards A truly global economy emerged during the 1990s, as many U. S. companies generated signifi cant amounts of revenue and profi ts in foreign markets.Multinational companies are faced with decisions on the allocation of resources to their most effi cient uses. These allocations cannot be accomplished without accurate and reliable fi nancial information. Companies seeking capital or investment opportunities across national boundaries face cost and time issues. Capitalseeking fi rms must reconcile their fi nancial statements to the accounting rules of the nation in which they are seeking capital, and investors must identify foreign reporting differences. The increasingly global economy requires that this process be simplifi ed.Thus there is a push to harmonize international accounting standards. The IASB is an independent private sector body that was formed in 1973 to achieve this purpose. Its objectives are 1. To formulate and publish in the public interest accounting standards to be observed in the presentation of fi nancial statements and to promote their worldwide acceptance and observanc e 2. To work generally for the improvement and harmonization of regulations, accounting standards, and procedures relating to the presentation of fi nancial statements33These objectives have resulted in attempts to coordinate and harmonize the activities of the many countries and agencies engaged in setting accounting standards. The IASB standards also provide a useful starting point for developing countries wishing to establish accounting standards. 34 The IASB has also developed a conceptual framework titled the Framework for the Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements. 35 The conclusions articulated in this release are similar to those contained in the FASB’s Conceptual Framework Project.That is, the objective of fi nancial statements is to provide useful information to a wide range of users for decision-making purposes. The information provided should contain the qualitative characteristics of relevance, reliability, comparability, and understandability. At t he time this book was published, the IASB had issued forty-one Statements of Accounting Standards (IASs) and ten Statements of Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). However, since it has no enforcement authority, the IASB must rely on the â€Å"best endeavors† of its members.Neither the FASB nor the SEC is a member of the IASB, so its standards have no authority in the United States at the present time. However, the SEC recently ruled that foreign companies that adopt IASB standards are eligible to list their securities for sale on U. S. stock exchanges (see Chapter 3 for a further discussion of this issue). As noted in Chapters 2 and 3, there is also a movement to have IASB standards become GAAP for U. S. companies. The emergence of multinational corporations has resulted in a need for the increased harmonization of worldwide accounting standards.The role of the IASB is discussed in more detail in Chapter 3, and the IASB standards are reviewed throughout this text in chapte rs dealing with the issues addressed by each IAS or IFRS. Cases †¢ Case 1-1 Sources of GAAP The FASB ASC is now the sole authoritative source for all U. S. GAAP. a. What are the major goals of the FASB ASC? b. How is the FASB ASC expected to improve the practice of accounting? c. What literature is now contained in the FASB ASC? d. What should an accountant do if the guidance for a particular transaction or event is not specifi ed within the FASB ASC? †¢ Case 1-2 Accounting EthicsWhen the FASB issues new standards, the implementation date is frequently 12 months from date of issuance, and early implementation is encouraged. Becky Hoger, controller, discusses with her fi nancial vice president the need for early implementation of a standard that would result in a fairer presentation of the company’s fi nancial condition and earnings. When the fi nancial vice president determines that early implementation of the standard will adversely affect the reported net income f or the year, he discourages Hoger from implementing the standard until it is required. Required: a. What, if any, ethical issue is involved in this case? . Is the fi nancial vice president acting improperly or immorally? c. What does Hoger have to gain by advocacy of early implementation? d. Who might be affected by the decision against early implementation? (CMA adapted) †¢ Case 1-3 Politicalization of Accounting Standards Some accountants have said that politicalization in the development and acceptance of generally accepted accounting principles (i. e. , standard setting) is taking place. Some use the term politicalization in a narrow sense to mean the infl uence by governmental agencies, particularly the SEC, on the development of generally accepted accounting principles.Others use it more broadly to mean the compromising that takes place in bodies responsible for developing these principles because of the infl uence and pressure of interested groups (SEC, American Accounti ng Association, businesses through their various organizations, Institute of Management Accountants, fi nancial analysts, bankers, lawyers, etc. ). Required: a. The Committee on Accounting Procedure of the AICPA was established in the mid- to late 1930s and functioned until 1959, at which time the Accounting Principles Board came into existence.In 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board was formed, and the APB went out of existence. Do the reasons these groups were formed, their methods of operation while in existence, and the reasons for the demise of the fi rst two indicate an increasing politicalization (as the term is used in the broad sense) of accounting standard setting? Explain your answer by indicating how the CAP, APB, and FASB operated or operate. Cite specifi c developments that tend to support your answer. b. What arguments can be raised to support the politicalization of accounting standard setting? . What arguments can be raised against the politicalization of accounting standard setting? (CMA adapted) †¢ Case 1-4 Generally Accepted Accounting Principles At the completion of the Darby Department Store audit, the president asks about the meaning of the phrase â€Å"in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles,† which appears in your audit report on the management’s fi nancial statements. He observes that the meaning of the phrase must include more than what he thinks of as â€Å"principles. † Required: a.Explain the meaning of the term accounting principles as used in the audit report. (Do not in this part discuss the signifi cance of â€Å"generally accepted. †) b. The president wants to know how you determine whether or not an accounting principle is generally accepted. Discuss the sources of evidence for determining whether an accounting principle has substantial authoritative support. c. The president believes that diversity in accounting practice will always exist among independent entit ies despite continual improvements in comparability.Discuss the arguments that support his belief. †¢ Case 1-5 The Evolution of the Accounting Profession The nineteenth century witnessed the evolution of joint ventures into business corporations. Required: Discuss how the emergence and growth of the corporate form of business affected perceptions regarding the role of the accounting profession in fi nancial reporting in England and the United States. †¢ Case 1-6 Accounting in Crisis During the early 2000s, the role of accounting and the auditing profession changed and several accounting scandals were uncovered. Required: a.What conditions caused accounting and the auditing profession role to change during this time? b. What major changes occurred as a result of the accounting scandals at that time? †¢ Case 1-7 The FASB The FASB is the offi cial body charged with issuing accounting standards. Required: a. Discuss the structure of the FASB. b. How are the Financial Acco unting Foundation members nominated? c. SFAC No. 2 describes a number of key characteristics or qualities for accounting information. Briefl y discuss the importance of any three of these qualities for fi nancial reporting purposes. CMA adapted) FASB ASC Research For each of the following research cases, search the FASB ASC database for information to address the issues. Cut and paste the FASB ASC paragraphs that support your responses. Then summarize briefl y what your responses are, citing the paragraphs used to support your responses. †¢ FASB ASC 1-1 Variable Interest Entities In this chapter, we discuss how Enron and other companies use Variable Interest Entities (VIEs) to keep the effects of transactions and events off corporate balance sheets. 1. How does the FASB defi ne a VIE?In other words, how does an entity qualify to be a VIE? 2. Is a company that meets the defi nition of a VIE required to consolidate the VIE? †¢ FASB ASC 1-2 Status of Accounting Research Bulle tins Portions of ARB No. 43 are still considered GAAP. Three of the most important issues covered in ARB No. 43 are revenue recognition, treasury stock, and comparative fi nancial statements. Find the appropriate sections of the FASB ASC, originally contained in ARB No. 43, that address these issues. Cite the sources and copy the relevant information. †¢ FASB ASC 1-3 Accounting for the Investment Tax CreditThe accounting alternative treatments for the investment tax credit originally outlined in APB Opinions 2 and 4 are still considered GAAP. Find and cite the FASB ASC paragraphs and copy the relevant information. †¢ FASB ASC 1-4 Securities and Exchange Commission Comments SEC observers frequently provide comments at EITF meetings. Find, cite, and copy the observer comments on: 1. Revenue recognition—customer payments and incentives 2. Debt with conversions and other options 3. Software cost of sales and services †¢ FASB ASC 1-5 Generally Accepted Accounting Pr ocedure GuidelinesFind the guidelines for determining GAAP in the FASB ASC. Room for Debate †¢ Debate 1-1 Which Body Should Set Accounting Standards in the United States? Team Debate Team 1: Argue that the SEC should set accounting standards in the United States. Team 2: Argue that the FASB should set accounting standards in the United States. †¢ Debate 1-2 Should the Scope of Accounting Standards Be Narrowed Further? Team Debate Team 1: Pretend you are management. Argue against the narrowing of accounting choices. Team 2: Pretend you are a prospective investor. Argue for the narrowing of accounting choices.