Clinical laboratory science Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Clinical laboratory science - Scholarship Essay Example King’s’ mission of preparing graduates intellectually, morally and spiritually for a satisfying future life particularly interests me. My interest in the field of Clinical Laboratory Science started way back in my childhood and is significantly inspired by the family background with parents in the medical field. As a small child I began admiring the work done by my parents of assisting patients and ensuring they lead a quality life. This made me to work hard in school so to attain grades that would enable get a college opportunity to further my studies in the area. The nationwide deficiency of professionals in the area of Clinical Laboratory Science has also contributed significantly as I feel by graduating in the field I will be able to positively impact by helping in the process of saving lives which will give me great satisfaction. I therefore want to be part of the solution and not the problem thus believes as a professional CLS will be better placed to serve and positively influence humanity. I strongly believe in the power of knowledge in transforming society and hence participate actively in extracurricular activities such as club clubs, academic forums and games in which I believe lies opportunity for information exchange. I also participate with the intention of growing holistically and maintaining personal health both physically, mentally and psychologically which I believe is very important to my life especially as a student. I will therefore utilize all available facilities on the campus to enrich my graduate experience and emerge as a responsible person in the

Job study (IT) Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Job study (IT) - Research Proposal Example The rainy days took away around 78,000 jobs in UK only. Today the IT requirement has clearly been categorized as special specialized IT jobs and IT enabled jobs. IT is more used as a generic term for professionals. The core IT companies address to areas like Project Management, Systems Design and Analysis, Software Coders/ Programmers, Database Administrator, Web Designer, Information System manager, GIS Managers etc. The IT User companies are most of the non-IT companies, who are using IT as a tool. A manufacturing unit is a classic example of IT User Company, who might use even an ERP, but uses IT as a tool for their business. The widely fast-growing segment is BPO (voice and non-voice), who are treated mainly as IT-enabled Company. IT jobs require a lot of personal attributes also, like attitude, intention of working as a team, motivation level, flexibility to learn, willingness of accepting challenges etc. Most of all your inspirations and aspirations. The future trend of skill requirement in IT companies are Unix, C, C++, Oracle, SQL, Java, .Net technology, Web Server, PHP Some of the Expert Support companies are Accenture, IBM or Logica. Oracle, Satyam, Sun, Infosys are some example of Software development companies The ERP specialists are Microsoft business solution, Oracle, SAP, and SSA Global. Rapid Change in technology has become a concern for many companies and they have started feeling the need of training people as per their project requirements. Companies are even recruiting non-computer engineers with high aptitude as Management trainees and imparting various training to them to make them project ready professionals. You will also find reputed institutes are offering...We have used the keywords for searching like Trend in IT, Job Opportunities in IT, Growth of IT in 2006 etc. We have also visited the sites of the Global IT companies and various job sites for research and data collection. The core IT companies address to areas like Project Management, Systems Design and Analysis, Software Coders/ Programmers, Database Administrator, Web Designer, Information System manager, GIS Managers etc. The IT User companies are most of the non-IT companies, who are using IT as a tool. A manufacturing unit is a classic example of IT User Company, who might use even an ERP, but uses IT as a tool for their business. IT jobs require a lot of personal attributes also, like attitude, intention of working as a team, motivation level, flexibility to learn, willingness of accepting challenges etc. Most of all your inspirations and aspirations. You will also find reputed institutes are offering "Project ready professional" training to bridge the gap between Universities and Industry Requirements. Several institutes are offering "technical skill" training. You may start at a lower level, which doesn't matter at all provided you get the right exposure and proper experience, because the salary hike in IT is directly proportionate to your experience and skill enhancement.

Report on Corporate Social Responsibility Research Paper

Report on Corporate Social Responsibility - Research Paper Example In the case of larger organizations like corporations, it also means providing adequate returns to a large number of shareholders. But as businesses grew (due to aspects like better infrastructure), and the more modern concepts like globalization and free trade, profit alone ceased to be the sole criteria due to the impact of business organizations on other stakeholders. There was a growing demand that business organizations should be more responsible to both its direct and indirect stakeholders. It was out of this need that the concept of corporate social responsibility or CSR was born. This paper reviews the concept of CSR and its various aspects and parameters. It will then move on to apply the theory to a practical context though analysis of the CSR policies of Bombardier Inc, one of the most respected multinational corporations with its headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Corporate social responsibility: The term ‘responsibility’ indicates that organizations should lo ok beyond laws and statutes in their quest for profitability (Esposito, 189). According to the author, the concept of CSR has its modern origin in a publication by Howard Bowen in 1953 which specifically state that organizations have a larger obligation to the society at large that should take into consideration its objectives and values. In other words, the management of business organizations now needs to look at balancing profitability and sustainability through this important concept called CSR. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development provides a broad definition of the concept – â€Å"the continuing commitment of business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large† (Mullerat, 15). A review of literature shows that there is no proper or specific definition as to what constitutes CSR. But the generally accepted principles that are taken into consideration is given in the next section. Components of CSR: The above definition indicates three aspects namely profitability, ethics and social obligations. Esposito, referring to works by Sethi and Carroll provides the following components which provide an overall view the concept of CSR. The first and the most important one is the economic responsibility to shareholders and other direct stakeholders like employees, creditors, and tax obligations. The second related responsibility is to ensure that all legal and statutory regulations are complied with. The third tier is to ensure that the business is done in an ethical manner that does not harm the environment and the society at large. The final stage of CSR is philanthropic in nature whereby organizations can go beyond their call of duty and engage in helping impoverished sections of the society. This could include charitable activities, helping to protect the environment, etc. So, CSR can includ e a broad range of parameters which is primarily dependent on the long term policy of the management of an organization. The above observation is in tune with the observation of CSR by the ‘Industry Canada’ website publication which states that â€Å"Corporate social responsibility is about the integration of social, environmental, and economic considerations into the

WHAT KIND OF COMPANIES STAND TO GAIN THE MOST FROM ENTERING INTO Essay

WHAT KIND OF COMPANIES STAND TO GAIN THE MOST FROM ENTERING INTO STRATEGIC ALLIANCE WITH POTENTIAL COMPETITORS WHY - Essay Example Strategic alliance refers to the joint decision of two firms to share a part of their resources and abilities mutually among them to acquire competitive strength in the market. In the business world, strategic alliance between firms is an increasing trend. Sometimes through these strategic alliances, firms may get monopolistic competitive position, which is not beneficial for the economy. The strategic alliance option is highly adoptive in technology based industries for which there involve huge cost for research and development and high risk of failure. Thus sharing of the technological resources facilitated through strategic alliance will helps firms to share the risk also. In industries, where cost of doing business are high, also adopt strategic alliance as a tool for reducing the operating cost by economies of scale in operation. In the period of global competition, the industries realize that through sharing of valuable resources between their competitors would contribute to th eir better market performance. The successful industries use higher level strategic alliance to improve their operational efficiency. (Strategic Alliance 2009). â€Å"Strategic alliances are agreements between companies (partners) to reach objectives of a common interest. Alliances are among the various options which companies can use to achieve their goals; they are based on cooperation between companies. The description â€Å"strategic† limits the field to alliances that are important to the partners and have broad horizons.† (Pellicelli 2003). Strategic alliance provides capability to access the technologies and other facilities of competitors. It allows the business firms to progress rapidly by using the valuable resources of competitors. Through the alliance, new ideas about advanced products can be generated as it supports innovation. It helps to diminish the impact of risk of failure of the project by sharing it with

The Latino population in the US Essay Example for Free

The Latino population in the US Essay The Latino population that reside in the US have several cultural beliefs and values which are very important for the US Healthcare delivery system to understand and take into account. The policy makers should be aware of the various cultural characteristics that the Latino population develops. Family relationships form a very important part of the Hispanic culture, and frequently it is found that the Latin population would be staying together in the US as a very strong family. Hence, the entire family would be taking strong care of the pregnant women and her child. The family members would be advising the mother to sleep well, consume a nutritious diet and take a relaxing walk. The family members would be preventing the pregnant woman from smoking, doing heavy exercises, consuming alcohol and using medications. Pregnant women are given a lot of respect in the Latino culture and during this period a lot of care is given to them. The Hispanics consider pregnancy to be a very normal phenomenon. They would be frequently seeking prenatal management and the healthcare units. However, they also feel that pregnancy does not require any kind of extra-ordinary treatment. During the pregnancy the mother is given want she craves to eat, as they feel that any refusal would result in the baby developing birthmarks. The mother is given several traditional teas to reduce the pain that develops during labor. The mother is not allowed to move around during an eclipse as the baby is at a high-risk of developing cleft lip and cleft palate. The pregnant women would be considering putting a red band around her waist to prevent the baby from developing cleft lip or cleft palate. Usually, the pregnant woman’s mother or the mother-in-law would be available to the pregnant woman during her pregnancy as a supportive measure. The pregnant woman is also advised to walk during the period as the baby in the womb is bound to stick to the wall of the uterus. Medical interventions such as medications administration are not advisable during their pregnancy. The mother would approach the healthcare unit for nursing care late during the labor stage. During the postpartum period, the mother is given certain Home remedies known as ‘purgantes’, which effectively prevent the development of postpartum depression. The woman is advised to take adequate rest during the nursing period and is also expected to take care of the child (Hawaii Community College, 2005). In the US, about 54 % of the Hispanic elders belong to the Mexican groups; about 14 % belong to the Cuban, and the remaining to the other Spanish-speaking nations. About 5 %of all the Hispanic Americans belong to the elder’s age group, as on in the year 1990. However, with an increase in the life span, and more number of migrations to the US, there is an increase in the Hispanic elder group in the US. About one-fifth of the elders belonging to the Hispanic group are living below the poverty line. They are facing a lot of discrimination due to the social and economic status, poor education levels, high unemployment rates, lack of security, etc. They are deprived of proper healthcare facilities and a majority of them do not have insurance coverage. About 28 % of the Hispanic elders have a very poor health status. About 85 % had a long-standing health problem and about half of them were not able to function properly due to disease. Studies have shown that the health problems begin earlier in the Hispanic groups compared to the White population. The life span of the Hispanic groups is between 55 to 60 years. They visit the physician only if the health problem becomes severe or life threatening. They do not believe in preventive medicine. Although the elders require institutional care, about 10 % are institutionalized. This is about 23 % in the White population. One reason for low institutionalized rates is because the children provide care for the parents in their old age as per the customs and traditions. Many of the Hispanic elders receive home care even in the dying stages of life. The family ties with elders are quite high compared to the White population. The children would be offering economic and financial help to the elders. Besides, socially, the Hispanic communities respect the elders, and many positive interactions are generated between the community members and the elders. Even widows and widowers are given a lot of support by their family members, and this would help them (Socrates, 2007). The Hispanic populations are experiencing several problems in the US arising from disability and lack of provision of education. Poor research has been done by the healthcare authorities in the US, to understand the health needs of the disabled Hispanic population and providing them with adequate rehabilitative services. NGOs and governmental organizations have not collaborated in an effort to provide an efficient network to help the disabled Hispanic population. The problems that the Hispanic disabled population are facing are much similar to that of the other ethnic minority groups. Their socio-economic situation may be very poor and their living conditions may be very bad indeed. Educational levels and the lifestyle may be detrimental to their health needs. Many of the disabled children may leave school, as they are unable to manage their problems. In the US, about 20 % of the Hispanic population are disabled. The Hispanic disabled groups are not provided with proper rehabilitative, educational, vocational, or health services. A lot of research needs to be conducted by the health authorities to determine their health needs, and accordingly develop a system that could aid them. The outcome of rehabilitative services for the disabled should be improved. Factors that result in a poor outcome should be identified and addressed appropriately. Language and cultural barriers also need to be addressed. Healthcare professionals need to become more culturally competent. Professionals belonging to the Hispanic populations should be recruited in the healthcare system to help disabled individuals. A social network should be formed which could help the disabled populations. Besides, educational and vocational training programs should also be organized (Wong-Hernandez, 1997). Hence, it can be found that at present the Hispanic population is not utilizing the US healthcare system extensively to solve their health problems. Their health status at the moment is very poor and their health needs are high. The health department should develop a strong health policy that could help the Hispanic population with special needs. Healthcare personnel who are culturally competent should be employed. They should be able to interact in the local language and also understand their problems, beliefs, values and attitudes. This would give the Hispanic population greater confidence in the healthcare system and utilize it more frequently. This would also help to improve their health status and subsequently lead to increased use of preventive and family medicine. References: Arons, B. Chavez, N. (2001, January), Cultural Competence Standards in Managed Care Mental Health Services: Four Underserved/Underrepresented Racial/Ethnic Groups, Retrieved on July, 24, 2007, from SAMHSA Web site: http://mentalhealth. samhsa. gov/publications/allpubs/SMA00-3457/intro. asp Griggs, Shirley, and Dunn, R. (1995). Hispanic-American Students and Learning Style. Emergency Librarian 23 (2, Nov-Dec): 11-16. http://library. adoption. com/education/hispanic-american-students-and-learning-style/article/4281/1. html Hawaii Community College (2005), Hispanic, Retrieved on July 24, 2007, from Hawaii Community College Web site: http://www. hawcc. hawaii. edu/nursing/RNHispanic_04. html National Alliance for Hispanic Health, Duran, D. G. , Reyes, C. , Villarruel, A. , Brana-Lopez, A. R. , Gomez, P. , Mora, J. , Paz, J. (2001). Quality Health Services for Hispanics: The Cultural Competency Component. DHHS, no. 99-21. ftp://ftp. hrsa. gov/hrsa/QualityHealthServicesforHispanics. pdf Purves, H. (2003), Cultural Factors the Health of North Carolina Latinos. North Carolina Institute of Medicine Web site: http://www. nciom. org/projects/latino/latinopub/C3. pdf Socrates (2007), Hispanic American Elderly, Retrieved on July 24, 2007, from Socrates Web site: http://socrates. berkeley. edu/~aging/ModuleMinority2. html Wong-Hernandez, L. (1997), Building Networks in the Latino Community: A Mechanism for Empowerment, Retrieved on July 24, 2007, from San Jose State University Foundation Web site: http://www. dinf. ne. jp/doc/english/Us_Eu/ada_e/pres_com/pres-dd/lucywong. htm

Language And Nonsense In Lewis Carrolls Alice Books English Literature Essay

Language And Nonsense In Lewis Carrolls Alice Books English Literature Essay Im very much afraid I didnt mean anything but nonsense. Still, you know, words mean more than we mean to express when we use them; so a whole book ought to mean a great deal more than the writer means. So, whatever good meanings are in the book, Im glad to accept as the meaning of the book.  [1]   Many people think Alices Adventures in Wonderland is an example of the limit-breaking book from the old tradition illuminating the new one. They also consider it being a tale. From the looks of it, the story about Alice falling through a rabbit-hole and finding herself in a silly and nonsense world is fairly guileless as a tale. The underlying story, the one about a girl maturing away from home in what seems to be a world ruled by chaos and nonsense, is quite a frightening one. Alice finds herself confronted in different situations involving various different and curious animals being all alone. She hasnt got any help at all from home or the world outside of Wonderland. The theme with Alice growing and shrinking into different sizes could reflect the ups and downs of adolescence with young people sometimes feeling adult and sometimes quite the opposite. One other example of maturing is Alice getting used to the new sizes she grows. She talks to her feet and learns some of the new ways her body works in. Her feelings are much shaken from her adventures and she cries quite often when its impossible to obey the rules of the Wonderland or is it adulthood? Everything is so out-of-the-way down here, as Alice often repeats to herself. Carroll is an expert at puns and irony. The part with the mad tea-party is one of the best examples of this. MAD TEA PARTY Theres a lot of humour in the first Alice book, but in the second the mood gets a bit darker and more melancholic. The quote Everyone in Wonderland is mad, otherwise they wouldnt be down here told by the Cheshire Cat can be given an existential meaning. Is it that everyone alive is mad being alive, or everyone dreaming him- or herself away is mad due to the escape from reality? Time is a very central theme in the story. The Hatters watch shows days because its always six o clock and tea-time. Time matters in growing up, I guess, but further interpretations are left unsaid. The first manuscript was called Alices Adventures Underground, and that some at least the Swedish translation of the title is a bit ambiguous, it becomes more apparent, that the world Alice enters isnt just any childrens playground, but a somewhat frightening and dangerous place for maturing. It becomes more interesting when Alice finally gets into the garden and finds a pack of cards ruling it, with a very evil queen at its head. It appears to be a way of saying that the garden isnt really what it appears to be. http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/explain/alice841.html Humpty Dumpty informs Alice that there are three hundred and sixty four days when you might get un-birthday presents. His statement is another augmentation to one of the oldest and rudimentary philosophical controversies: whether Non-Being, like Being, exists.  In the  Sophist  dialogue, Plato argues that what is not in some sense also is, refuting Parmenides concept of the impossibility of the Non-Being to exist. Non-Being is just a being characterised only by its difference from another being. Carroll was no stranger to Greek philosophy. Carroll is over and over again seen to be fascinated by the idea that Nothingness is more than what meets the eye: Take some more tea, the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly.   Ive had nothing yet, Alice replied in an offended tone, so I cant take more. You mean you cant take LESS, said the Hatter: its very easy to take MORE than nothing.  [2]   The Hatter told Alice that he knew Time and that one cannot talk about wasting it because Time is him. Time, says the Hatter, is someone that if you only knew how to keep on good terms with him, hed do almost anything you liked with the clock, you could keep it to half-past one as long as you liked.  [3]   To Humpty Dumpty, as well as to the Hatter, Time is a real entity. Once we become aware of this reality, Platos concept presents no hindrance to the existence of either birthdays or un-birthdays. As with Time, Numbers too are portrayed by Carroll as real entities. Upon entering the garden Alice comes up to three card gardeners presented by Carroll as Two, Five and Seven. To Carroll, the Christ Church mathematician, Numbers, like Time, are more than just abstract figures they are real Beings. Carroll venerates here Pythagoras concept about Numbers. Aristotle records that the Pythagoreans held that Numbers were: the first things in the whole of nature and that the elements of numbers are the elements of all things   http://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/school/alice1017.html Language plays many roles in Alices Adventures in the Wonderland. Carroll illustrates Alices powers of reason, gives her identity and explores rules of conversation. From the beginning of the book, Carroll portrays Alice as a remarkably intelligent little girl, demonstrating this through her verbal reasoning. After drinking the bottle and shrinking down to the proper size for entering the garden, she finds she has left the key to the garden on the table, now far above her head. Finding a cake that will likely produce another change in her size, she decides to eat it. If it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door: so both way Ill get into the garden, and I dont care which happens.  [4]  Alice wisely recognizes that any change in size, whether it be smaller or larger, can suit her purpose.   Alices power of reasoning seem to be inadequate to a little girls character. One could certainly argue that Alices fearless reasoning as to the advantages of eating the cake is uncharacteristic of a child.   However, even while Carroll uses Alices reasoning to draw attention to her, he skillfully weaves Alices childish nature into her words, as when she announces: and I dont care which happens!  [5]  . Despite her intuitive reasoning, her speech is still childish. Indeed, Alices reasoning is always stated plainly, as a child might conceivably speak. At the mad tea party, when the Dormouse is telling his story, Alice keeps interrupting. Noting discrepancies in the story that the others seem to overlook, she says: But I dont understand. Where did they draw the treacle from?  [6]  Alice has observed that it is difficult to draw something out of a well if you are already in the well, yet the rest of the characters treat Alices questions with impatience. Despite the sense of her questions, they are phrased as a child asking, why? repeatedly, which keeps her in character for a little girl even as she displays her intelligence. In this manner her reasoning stands out from the complexiti es of the nonsensical Wonderland.   Another function of language in Alice in Wonderland is to explore Alices identity. According to Martin Heidegger  [7]  , human identity is dependents on language. Alice shows evidence of this identity through language. Having found her size so abruptly altered with eating the cake, she questions if she is still herself:   Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if Im not the same, the next question is Who in the world am I? Ah, thats the great puzzle!  [8]   And she began thinking over all the children she knew that were of the same age as her, to see if she could have been changed for any of them. Carroll also explores the rules or social conventions of language. Early in the story, Alice strikes up a conversation with a mouse. She only succeeds in offending it, however, by talking about cats:   Oh, I beg your pardon! cried Alice hastily, afraid that she had hurt the poor animals feelings. I quite forgot you didnt like cats. Not like cats! cried the Mouse in a shrill, passionate voice. Would you like cats, if you were me?  [9]  Ã‚   Throughout her time in Wonderland, Alice learns to adjust her conversation topics to her size, and not offend creatures with reminders of where they rank on the food chain. She demonstrates her new understanding of Wonderlands rules of etiquette during her visit with the Mock Turtle:   Oh, as to the whiting, said the Mock Turtle, they youve seen them, or course?   Yes, said Alice, Ive often seen them at dinn she checked herself hastily.  [10]  Ã‚   Alice has learned from her previous encounters with Wonderland creatures what is considered offensive by the rules of language, and stops herself just in time from mentioning that in her world, whiting are food, not friends.   If any one of them can explain it, said Alice, (she had grown so large in the last few minutes that she wasnt a bit afraid of interrupting him,) Ill give him sixpence. I dont believe theres an atom of meaning in it. If theres no meaning in it, said the King, that saves a world of trouble, you know, as we neednt try to find any. And yet I dont know, he went on, spreading out the verses on his knee, and looking at them with one eye; I seem to see some meaning in them, after all.  [11]   The King then proceeds to dissect the poem in order to find its meaning. He is, in fact, analyzing the poem with the interpretation already decided upon a fallacy that is all too easy for an overzealous scholar to commit. Alice, on the other hand, is willing to take the poem at face value as a poem and nothing more thereby displaying the innocence that Sontag so wistfully describes. Using the conflict between the King and Alice, Carroll makes a statement about the danger of trying to read too much into a work of art.   Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland is a great exploration of language. Carroll uses language to set Alice apart as intelligent, even while he uses simplicity of diction to show that she is still a little girl. Using a mixture of introspection and conversation, Carroll explores the issue of identity, successfully demonstrating that Alices identity through her reasoning abilities, even though she herself doubts who she is. Carroll also plays with the rules of language and how they are learned, by putting Alice in unheard of situations and demonstrating how she learns the new laws of conversation etiquette. Finally, by showing the absurdity of using a poem as criminal evidence, Carroll berates his readers for trying to read too much into his own story. The many roles of language in Alice in Wonderland show Carrolls skill at manipulating words to make his points. http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/13706/the_roles_of_language_in_alice_in_wonderland.html?cat=38 Carroll makes a contrast between the absurdity of the plot and the rationality behind the characters comprehension of Alices language and their literal manipulation of words, phrases, and names. Carroll toys with linguistic conventions in the Through the Looking Glass, making use of puns and playing on multiple meanings of words throughout the text. The author creates words and expressions and even invents new meanings for words. But even after a sense of the pattern is established, the perceptive use continues to surprise. This method pushes readers to examine the use of language and articulation. Anything is possible in Wonderland, and Carrolls manipulation of language reflects this sense of unlimited possibility. Written in nonsense verse, Jabberwocky is almost a satirical heroic ballad that embodies Lewis Carrolls imaginative language play. The poem creates an altered sense of meaning through invented words. These invented words have English attributes and are simple to read and say, they just do not have meaning outside the context of the poem. he lyrical arrangement, sound of the syllables, and placement in the syntax give many clues as to each words meaning, but no precise definition can be determined. Jabberwocky shows how words void of any meaning in and of themselves can have power, tone, and feeling. After reading it Alice is only sure of one thing, somebody  killed  something (Carroll 97).Later in the story, Carroll revisits the topic of names and the poem Jabberwocky when Alice meets Humpty Dumpty. Humpty Dumpty, who seems to be substituting words at will, tells Alice he can control of his words as well as their meanings. Shortly before meeting Humpty Dumpty, in chapter four, Alice meets a pair of twins who seem to be mysteriously under the control of language. Tweedledee and Tweedledum are twins who converse in a manner suggesting a difference of opinion as Tweedledee often remarks Contrariwise! However that which follows this expletive doesnt ever seem to be contrary as exhibited when Tweedledum tells Alice I know what youre thinking aboutà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦but it isnt so, nohow, the other follows adding Contrariwiseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isnt, it aint. Thats logic (Carroll 114). The recitation of a nursery rhyme about the two has predictive powers in Looking-glass world. Words seem to initiate their battle preparations, as if Tweedledum and Tweedledee are predestined by the rhymes she recites, similar to the White Queen telling Alice she remembers things that happen week after next (Carroll 126). The foretold actions and emotions of Tweedledee and Tweedledum illustrate that language can have real power and influence, a message reiterated by the battle of the Lion and the Unicorn. Lewis Carrolls seemingly absurd destabilization of language has the ability to comment on language in society in a unique and simplistic manner. This is exhibited with great ease and admirable form while seeing Carrolls hilarious characters and situations run a constant discourse on the nature and possibilities of language. He creates a duality in his treatment of language in Alices Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass. By splitting words from meanings and names from individuals, Carroll implies an emptiness of words and phrases. However, he also infuses language with the power to create real outcomes and words with power to have several meanings. Language, like life, can aggravate and confuse, but it also contains possibilities that goes unrecognized everyday. http://www.suite101.com/content/properties-of-language-alices-adventures-in-wonderland-a229304 In conclusion Carrolls wonderland charters (all adults) are complete mockeries of the adults that Victorian children had to obey.(Hayes, 2) They show the ignorance and absurdity of their time. Yet Carroll does show a note of hope. At the end of the first book Alice stands up and expresses her feelings that the whole trial is nonsense and that the soldiers were just a pack of cards. In the second book Alice, sick of the chaos and confusion, summons the courage to challenge the Red Queen. With these two achievements Alice breaks the spell of the domineering, repressive authority figures(Makinen, 2) and gives hope that in reality this could also be possible. http://www.echeat.com/essay.php?t=25907 Meaning, according to Humpty Dumpty: Weve had enough of that subject, and it would be just as well if you mention what you mean to do next, as I suppose you dont mean to stop here all the rest of your life.  [12]  

The Implication of creative accounting on the firms

The Implication of creative accounting on the firms This project will explore several definitions of creative accounting and the range of reasons for a companys directors to engage in creative accounting. It explores the nature and occurrence of creative accounting practices within the context of ethical considerations. In addition, it considers the various ways in which creative accounting can be found and summarizes some empirical research on the nature and incidence of creative accounting. The role of the auditors in detection creative accounting is discussed, drawing evidence from several empirical studies. Then, it will illustrate the source of data, the sampling method and the data analysis technique that had been chosen for this research. Finally, the paper concludes with the analysis of possible solutions for the creative accounting problems. Chapter 1 Introduction Manipulation of financial information is known by several terms. In USA the preferred term and widely used is Earnings management whereas in Europe the favored term is Creative Accounting and also this term will be used in this study. The term can be defined in different ways. However, primarily it is a process whereby accountants use their knowledge of accounting rules to manipulate the figures reported in the accounts of a business. Further definition will be explored later in this paper. Creative accounting occurs when managers involve in changing the accounting figures to alter financial reporting. The motive behind the alteration is either to mislead stakeholders about the poor performance of a company or attract new contract and investment that depend on figures in statements. This research will apply the previous study in some scandal cases, such as Enron to find out whether it has same motive as mentioned by other authors. In addition, it will show the way in which managers have used creative accounting to committed fraud. The rest of study is organized as follows. In chapter 2 the literature is reviewed to pinpoint certain definition of creative accounting and explore the motives behind creative accounting. In chapter 3 the research method is employed to identify the relevance of creative accounting to Enron annual reports. In chapter 4 the paper will discuss major finding, recommendation and conclusion of the study. In chapter 5 different sources of the study will be listed including articles, journals and so on. Rationale of study: Many fraudulent cases had been found in the past few years. These scandals had been made by directors and managers of the organizations. There are numerous victims who suffered from misuse of the position starting from shareholders, going towards employees and end up with societies. Although most of these organizations have been audited by external auditors, the fraud has been occurred within the firms. This is because the auditors give only a reasonable assurance of their view on the financial statements and even some of them involved in fraud like Arthur Andersen. There are many people who are still not aware of how the company may use creative accounting in manipulate the accounting figure and hence committed fraud. This paper will explore the ethic and the way of using creative accounting providing with practical example. Aims and Objectives: To understand the meaning and explore definitions of creative accounting. To explore several reasons or motives of the using CA by companys managers. To list and explain the techniques of creative accounting. To understand the role of auditors and responsibilities in deduction of CA. To identify whether the auditors (both external and internal) play role in minimizing the CA in corporation. To find out the implication of CA on the countrys economy. Limitations of Study The research had successfully obtained the financial statements of Enron Corporation for four years started from 1997 till 2000. However, there was failure in collection the adjustment reports figure except for income and long term debts. These missing figures might be important to use in methodology for accurate judgment. Furthermore, the time to accomplish this study was slightly short to collect some important data for this research. Chapter 2 Literature Review There are various scholars who defined creative accounting (CA) in different views. These are as follows. Involves the repetitive selection of accounting measurement or reporting rules in a particular pattern, the effect of which is to report a stream of income with a smaller variation from trend than would otherwise have appeared. (Copeland, 1968) Is any action on the part of management which affects reported income and which provides no true economic advantage to the organization and may in fact, in the long-term, be detrimental. (Merchant and Rockness, 1994) Whereby the true financial performance of a company is distorted by managers for private gains (Klein, 2002) It has noticed that although scholars from different decades had defined the CA, they agree the basic concept of CA which is use knowledge of accounting rules to manipulate accounting figure to show the faulty result of the organization performance. The reasons and motivations of creative accounting Various authors have studied about the issue of management motivation towards creative accounting. There are many reasons. One of these was mentioned by: Shafren (2009) concluded based on his analysis of Satyam Company that the stakeholders are interesting on companys financial statements because there are mean to show how the firm is performed and its position in market. Therefore, managers try depicting these figures in such way to send positive indicator to the investors. The investors always attracted if annual statement is superb. Thus, to express this view mangers aim to modify the statement by means of tricks of CA. In other hand, the directors also have their own reasons as their bonuses may decide in proportion with the profit they made or reported. Lttner et al (1997) have also agreed that when the manger bonuses and stock options are depend on the company performance there is likely that the manager modify the figures upward to get the desired result. other motivation was mentioned by Dharan and Lev (1993) who Showed in their study of The valuation consequence of accounting charges that an organization used CA when its share price started to fall following the increase in share price which it reported previously. This reason arises when company face great pressure from a variety of obligations and constraints based on amounts reported in statements. For example: based on survey of US bank managers, they found that when a new bank manager hold responsible for an entity there is inspiration to adjust loan provision so he makes sure that any losses occurred by previous manager can be covered from this provision. Whereas Beatty and Harris (2001) said that mangers may manipulate the accounting figures in such way to reduce the burden of tax levies or to allow them to pay lowest possible income taxes by providing that the cost involved is less than the income tax benefit. Niskanen and Keloharju (2000) agreed in their research of earning cosmetics in a tax-driven accounting environment: evidence from Finnish public firms which is based on European companies that the corporate tax could be the reason for CA used by managers of the company. These are some of common motives for CA. However, the most noticeable motives are modifying the accounting figures to show positive indicator to investors and downward the firm income for tax purpose. Therefore, stakeholders should at least to be aware of these two areas. If there were more independent directors in the board then there will be less motivation or even it can be eliminated. Therefore, the best way in elimination this practice is not to know the ways that can be occurred but to appoint more independent directors. Techniques of creative accounting Largay (2002) wrote in his article of Lessons from Enron regardless of the high regulation exist in some countries like USA, the accounting environment afford great flexibility. The potential way for CA and the techniques can be found in certain areas. One of the techniques which can be used in CA as mentioned by Schipper (1989) is flexibility in regulation. He added in the article of Commentary on creative accounting that accounting regulation provides a great flexibility in choosing any policies that are set by International Accounting Standard Board, for example it allows the non-current assets to be valued either at historical cost or at revalued amount. Thus, if management decide to change policies of the company it may easy to deduct in the year of change but it is much difficult to be identified after sometimes probably after few years. Another point is the lake of regulation in some area existing in almost every country. AS it can be seen in Romania and Spain where there are few mandatory requirements for stock option and recognition of pension liabilities. CA can also be finding as the discretionary position of the management that may used in some items to obtain stability in financial position. This had explained by McNichols and Wilson (1988) that manager may decide to increase or decrease the provision of bad debts to adjust the desire result. The timing of some transactions also offers mangers the opportunity to increase the revenue and give an impression result when net profit is not adequate. For instance, company has an investment in historical cost which can be sold at current value (i.e. at higher value) where operating profit is showing an adverse figure. The third technique mentioned by the author is the artificial transactions that are usually use to manipulate balance sheet amount or to move the profit figure between accounting periods. This can be achieved by entering the related transactions with third party like a bank. Suppose an arrangement had made with bank to sell the asset to bank and lease back the same asset for the entire of its useful life. The arrangement consists of selling the asset at lower or higher value than i n an uncontrolled transaction and the compensation is from the difference of rental price. The another technique had explained by Gramlich et al (2001) in which they said that firms may attempt to manipulate balance sheet in order to change the liabilities classification to improve liquidity ratio. Most of time this manipulation is occurred to improve the investors perception. Although there is not much difference between 298 million and 301 million, investors perceived the latest amount more than the earlier one. The International Accounting Standard had been created to reduce or even eliminate the accounting fraud that is occurred by the management of the organization. However, sometimes IAS unintentionally play role in committing fraud by providing different ways of treatment of an item in financial statements. All of the techniques have one motive which is to makes FS more attractive on the view of stakeholders. The role of auditors and their responsibilities After many alleged scandal cases occurred in last decade, many individuals, such as shareholders have lost confidence on the audit firms. They are wondering the responsibility of the auditors in deduction the fraud and whether they played key role in committing fraud. According to Audit Committee Institute (2007) auditors should be aware of all circumstances that lead the firm to face a pressure from both within and outside the organization and thus, encouragement firm to involve in inappropriate earnings management (creative accounting). The independent audit should be often alert of the possibility occurrence of CA and should deeply understanding the companys processes in modifying accounting policies, estimates and judgments in order to assess these processes. Donaldson and Palmer (2003) were mentioned in conference the role that auditors played in accounting scandals of Enron and WorldCom. The auditors failed to resist pressure faced by the manager and therefore, accept the misleading financial statements i.e. they involved in fraud. Auditing may depend on external sources to verifying data. However, if the employees of the company have an intention to defeat the auditing function, they can cooperate with individuals outside the company, so even the best auditors will be unable to protect investors from such conduct at all cases. The role of auditors in minimizing the CA in the firm It had mentioned above how the auditors were involved in corporate scandal. However, internal and external auditors are also play role in at least to minimize these scandals when the audit standards, accounting standards and ethical code of conduct have been properly used. Ebrahim (2001) had mentioned in his study of Auditing Quality, Auditor Tenure, Client Importance, and Earnings Management: An Additional Evidence how the quality of auditors can be effective on earnings management or CA behavior. He used sample that listed in NASDAQ, NYSE and AMEX. The data was collected for 9 to 11 years. The sample included only the firms with fiscal year ended i.e. December 31. He found that the quality of auditor and the firm size had no relation with creative accounting. Amat et al (2008) argued in their empirical study of Earnings management and audit adjustments: An empirical study of IBEX 35 constituents the view of Ebrahim (2001). The sample of the study was collected from IBEX 35 index (Spain). It had collected a sample size of 42 companies for period between 1997 and 2004. The study attempted to explore the role of auditors in prevention of the creative accounting practice. As the result, this study had supported the significant role of auditors in financial market particularly in the prevention of CA practice. Clikeman (2003) mentioned in his journal of Auditors on Alert for Earnings Management that the external auditors are not only the staff who detect the CA practice but the internal auditors also have a duty and role in prevention such a practice and to comply with various requirements of the standards and Acts, such as Auditing standards and Sarbanes-Oxley Acts. The internal auditors have many measurements available to assist them in detection unethical practices. the trend analysis to find out extraordinary variations in revenues and expenses and cutoff testing which enables to monitoring sales and purchases in income statements of the company for the years end. These are some of the tools available for the auditors to detect any suspicious occurred and reported to the board. Director should be the one who should detect fraud at the first place as he is in position that allows him to access to every single part of the business. Thus, the government and the regulatory should have to improve the rules of the board of directors and management teams rather than focusing only on the auditors responsibility. Although there are many regulations for the auditors to conduct their work efficiency, there were many corporate scandals cases recently. This indicates that there are still some weaknesses in these standard and regulations. The implication of CA on the countrys economy Everyone is concerning about CA including analyst, regularities and government due to its impact not only on the firm but also on the countrys economy. The previous studies had found that the CA has a negative effect on the economy as a whole especially when it leads to large corporate scandal. One of the recent articles of these affect was by Hugh (2009). Hugh (2009) explained in his article of Creative Accounting and Italys Growing Unemployment Problem how the CA affected the Italy economy. He mentioned two types of unemployment benefits that are available in Italy. The Ordinary Redundancy Funds which applies in uncertain event, such as market crises and the Extraordinary Redundancy Fund that available in the case of bankruptcy. To benefit from this scheme, Companies cheating different states by sending their employees home under redundancy procedures and then informally re-employment and paying them under the table. The procedure will allow the firm to pay only 30% of the salary and remain will be paid by the state government. This is lead to the Italian underground economy around 15% of the total GDP for the state i.e. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ 300 billion per year. The firms might benefit from the aid but they are distorting the market and discouragement the future of more productive companies. Others like Bernoth and Wolff (2006) had found in their study of Fool the market, Creative Accounting that the CA increases the risk premium. They used the portfolio model of five interest differential and modified it to investigate the implication of CA on bond yield spreads between countries. The modifying process of the model had carried on by assuming that the government might used CA to make the observation of financial position of the country difficult to observe. They found that when the country discloses transparent information, the CA increases the cost of borrowing significantly (if it becomes known) especially in the case when the market is unsure the extent to which the CA exist. On other hand, Sopelsa (2010) warned in his article of US Creative Accounting could repeat Greek Tragedy that US could face the same problem as Greece heavy debt if it does not control its spending and deal with its structural deficit. This is due to the engagement in CA for years by USA similar to those that occurred in Greece. The US government did not secure the Federal Reserve and government sponsored entities, such as Fannie Mae into its financial statements. As the result, the total debt to GDP had reached to 85 percent and may going to be at 100 percent in two years. Thus, the situation would be worsening if it goes to the foreign loans. The government has to impose tight budget control, alteration social security, deal with health care costs and restructure tax system to generate more revenues. The CA would lead to economy bubble in country like US as had mentioned by Sopelsa (2010). Instead of blaming the audit firms or the companies that had been got into hot water (involved in scandal), the government should concern first why it is happening. Unfortunately, some governments are aware of what happening neighborhood or far away country but they do not see the problems in their own countries. They already knew the danger of the CA; therefore they have to find solution to avoid the fraud in the future. Chapter 3 Methodology This paper is restricted to secondary data that had collected from various source including journals (weekly and quarterly), articles, news paper, magazine, financial reports and so on. It had reviewed certain literatures which were collected from different sources (as mentioned above). Later in this chapter, the sampling, data analysis and presentation will be explored. Sampling of companies and Data collection The researcher verified a major accounting scandal that had been occurred last decade, such as Enron, Freddie Mac, Halliburton, Merrill Lynch and the recent case of Bernard L. Madoff hedge funds. These samples were randomly chosen from various cases. Last but not least, among these alleged fraud one sample had been selected which is Enron Corporation. The financial data of Enron was collected from its annual reports from the year of 1997 to 2000 (see appendix). 3.2 Data analysis and presentation The Enron Corporation US Energy Company was commenced in 1932. It became as a group of company in 1979. It employed approximately 22,000 staff in over 40 countries worldwide. It ranked in Fortune 500 as seventh largest company that operated in American, sixth largest energy Company and one of the leading company in communication, paper and pulp in the world with reported revenue more than $ 100 billion. In late 2001, Enron forced to fill up chapter 11 of bankruptcy protection after disclosed fraud and being sued by investors and creditors to claim their privileges. It was one of the largest bankruptcy cases in the US history. According to Holmes (2006) Kenith Lay (CEO of Enron) used creative accounting as a way to modify reports that allowed them to create artificial shortage by increasing prices about ten times. In this paper the financial ratios will be used to illustrate the affection of CA on companys annual reports. The ratio will be analyzed for 4 years from 1997 to 2000. Enron net income should be reduced in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000 by $96 million, $113 million, $250 million and $132 million respectively. It was also found that companies long-term debts should further added to the one which had reported previously. By the end of the year 1997, the additional debt should be added to give the total of $14103 million. Similarly, the extra amount of $ 561 million and $685 million should be included in 1998 and 1999 respectively to reflect the actual long-term debts of the company. The company should also add the amount of $628 million in 2000 to adjust its debts figure. These balances can be seen as follows: These were the major items which required adjustments (there were other adjustments which were not taking into account in this study). Next, it will show how the some ratios affected by these adjustments. Although the gap between the reported amounts is not much different from the adjustment balance, it is significantly important after cumulatively adding these differences for the years. Furthermore, these are information where only available at the time. There are additional adjustments required in balances for some other items, thus the gap will further increase between the reporting and adjustment balance. It can be found that the major change was in return on share capital which had reached to 2.6% of the gap between the two balances in 1999 (look to the above table). The gearing level was high especially in 1997. This indicated that company had too much debt. The debt level decreased significantly in 1999 to 65% after the adjustment that might gave to company a little hope to overcome the problem but its gearing level had increased again approximately to 70% in 2000. This explained why Enron had used CA as it wanted to hide what was going in the company. 3.3 Data presentation The below bars chart are an illustration of affection of the CA on the companys balance. 3.4 Finding It had been founded that after the adjustments in income and long term debts, there were significant changed in returns on capital and in net profit. However, there were other figures that need to be adjusted, thus the affection will be even much greater. Therefore, it leaded to misguide the public by allowing them to think that the company was in good position and it was a good investment to them but actually it was suffering from heavy debts. This was one of the companies that used the CA practice. There were other companies that exercise the CA, such as Duke Energy. As the result, there was a significant negative impact on that industry which in turn had badly affected on US. The accounting manipulation that had used by Enron affected investors much greater that what had shown above as some bogus figures were not included in this paper. Chapter 4 Conclusion and Recommendation 4.1 Conclusion Many corporate accounting scandal cases had occurred since 1980. One of the earliest scandals was an Australian Nugan Hand Banks and the latest case of Lehman Brothers and Golden Sachs. Yet, the will be many accounting scandals may the world face if nobody try to improve the procedures to prevent the CA. The paper had discussed various issues regarding to creative accounting. It had explained why the companys directors involve in CA to commit fraud. The most common reason is the one that mentioned by Dharan and Lev (1993) and it said; when the company wants to increase its share price. The paper had explained some of the techniques of CA which can be used by the firms including changes in accounting treatment, adjustments in provision of bad debts, movements of the figures between the accounting period and many more. It had also discussed about the responsibility of the auditors, especially external auditors, in corporate scandal and how to detect the potential fraud. In addition, it had also explained the role of the auditors in minimizing the risk of CA by disciplinary following the audit standards and some other regulations. The quality of auditors is also play important role in detection the fraud. Finally, the literature review warned the affection of CA on the economy. It had found that in some cases the CA increased the rate of interest and it would lead to heavy debt burden to country that exercising CA as what happened in US. Moreover, it would affect the GDP as in case of Italy. In methodology, it had talked about the sampling and from where the data was collected. Then, it had analyzed annual report of Enron Corporation form the year 1997 to the year 2000. It had found the earnings of the company that reported were difference from the one after adjustment. As the result, it had given a bogus report to the stockholders. 4.2 Recommendation Many issues had occurred because of the CA, some had already mentioned in this paper and remain were discussed by the others. Some are blaming the auditors whereas others are saying it is the government responsibility. However, there are many people are involved in the CA. To overcome the problems of this practice, the researcher had given various suggestions from different point of view which can be seen below. From the investors point of view, they can follow certain steps to reduce the risk of CA. The investors should not depend only on companys financial statements in deciding of whether it is worthy for their investments. They should also seek for second professional opinion because sometimes the F.S accomplished with material misstatement. The investors should diversify their investments widely and not to keep them in one basket. Although it is difficult to eliminate risk, the investors can reduce such it through spreading their security into wide range of companies or even investing in other countries so if there is any loss in one company resulting from the practice, they will gain in another one. Therefore, the investors can make profit from their average returns regardless of some negative investment that included in portfolio. From the companies point of view, they should appoint more independent directors to take care of public interest, thus avoiding personnel interest. This would lead to the more honest in reporting of the company situation. I case if there is a tragedy event, they will solve it in prudent way rather than using unwelcome practices. They should also appoint qualified audit committee with high level of experience and honesty to detect the material misstatement that could occur in the F.S. Moreover, the audit committee will take all the necessary steps to prevent such fraud. Whereas from the governments point of view, it should select appropriate standards and follow excruciating punishment against those who breach the rules. In addition, although there are some countries not allowing the auditor firm to provide more than one service, there are some governments allow the firm to provide various services to its client. This should be avoided in each country. Chapter 5