Plato Knowledge Essay

Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics Reading Questions (1) In the Meno, Plato argued that it was impossible for us to learn something genuinely new: if you know x, you needn’t inquire about x, and if you don’t know x, you won’t recognize it when you find it. Thus, Plato argued, all learning is really recollection. Aristotle is trying to give a different answer to the Meno problem, one that doesn’t involve reincarnating or Platonic Forms. What is it? Aristotle argues that knowledge must be displayed in the demonstrative structure of a science. (2) How – and why – does Aristotle distinguish things â€Å"prior and better known to us† from things â€Å"prior and better known by nature? He distinguishes things â€Å"prior and better known to us† from things â€Å"prior and better known by nature† in Posterior Analytics. What is better known to us versus what is known by nature is not the same thing because what is known to us is affected by our perception. Whereas we have what is prior and better known by nature which is furthest from perception (particular vs universal is how he describes such. He proves we will result in Plato’s theory in the Meno of confirming what we already know or learning nothing at all if we fail to distinguish between the two. (3) Why does Aristotle deny that everything can be demonstrated? Aristotle denies that not everything can be demonstrated. Those of which whom allow circular demonstration (i. e: If A, then B, then A must equal C. ) are reiterating that in conclusion, A is A at all times. This method can be used to prove anything because we are not considering the distinctive properties of each factor. Also, concluding that the results are not deduction nor relevant to the things assumed. (4) Can you explain Aristotle’s claim that â€Å"perception produces the universal in us†? How does this explain how something indemonstrable can be known? Aristotle claims that â€Å"perception produces the universal in us† it describes that we have prior knowledge of a subject that is a commonly accepted idea until one of the factors from that subject proves otherwise. It is not to say that because one takes a stand that all others will do as well but through reasoning we can come to a paradigm shift that accepts the new theory. It would not need to be demonstrated then but simply understood and accepted amongst the community. (5) Plato would agree with Aristotle that we can know x in virtue of having demonstrated that x. But he would disagree with Aristotle’s account of how indemonstrable can be known. Why, and what would he say instead? Plato would disagree with Aristotle’s account of how indemonstrable can be known because where he understood universals as forms, Aristotle believes universals are generalizations from particulars.

Introduction of Education Essay

Purpose of education – Prepare students for the working world, for employment: credible labour force – Develop skills: social skills, critical thinking – Impart knowledge: accumulation of knowledge – How to be an educated person / a good citizen, unity, national identity – Building up character, facing adversity, ethics – Teaching right from wrong ( conformity? – Understand matters in life Types of education – Liberal education: education including the arts, equal weight given to arts and sciences ( Literature, history and appreciation of the arts – Home schooling. – Family education (parental guidance) – Informal and formal education (skills and academics) – Experiential learning – National education – All-round education Overemphasis on excellence eroding purpose of education? – Pursuit of achievement: meritocracy, guided by principle of progress: development – Credible labour force to satisfy economic needs ( Knowledge: improve ability to handle learning in future ( English teaches us communication skills – Career ( Secure better jobs because past excellent track records show that individual has capability of handling what is required of him – National. identity ( People strive for economic growth, creating prosperity, increasing standard of living of people, making them happy and hence more loyal to the nation ( National education ( BUT increasingly competitive ( Uneven distribution of income ( Cannot eliminate discrimination, likely that discrimination will prevail – Disunity ( Rise of elitism: encouraging unhealthy competition ( SAP, independent schools, IP – Compromises ethical values ( Too concerned with quest of excellence, may try to excel using underhanded means ( Undermines moral development, ignore ethical means ( Conceal knowledge, unwilling to share knowledge with people Thinking mind better than accumulation of knowledge? – Develop independent learning process – Montessori: emphasis on self-directed learning on the part of the child and clinical observation on the part of the teacher – More receptive to views: learn not to be so subjective or opinionated – BUT may develop non-conformist thinking, disrupting social stability. Society may become more opinionated due to the diversity of opinions – Increased acumen to resolve social and moral dilemmas. ( More tolerant and understanding of each other ( empathise better with each other ( understand problems or issues better ( Importance of upholding social values (altruistic punishment) – BUT too liberal: unable to uphold values ( Difficult to create a staunch and orthodox thinking, no particular value to adhere to, makes it difficult to define values ( France: liberty is subjective vs. liberty is institutionalized in US Learning in schools vs. on the Internet vs. at home – In line with purpose of education? ( Who’s the ‘teacher’? Reliable source? Able to deliver all purposes of education? – Information: amount, accessibility, coverage in terms of depth and breadth, response-time, reliability ( Internet = â€Å"information superhighway†: additional 7. 3 million pages per day ( Sep 30 2007, 1. 244 billion people use the Internet according to Internet World Stats – Pace of learning: linked with building up a strong foundation or understanding of a concept – Exclusivity: must take into account that everyone has the right to be educated – Learning environment: conducive vs. environment with lots of distractions – Formal vs. informal education Special types of schools: SAP and IP – Linked with racism or elitism. – Consider purpose of setting up these special types of schools in the first place ( In line with bilingualism: to take Chinese and English as first language ( Better amenities to further develop students’ potentials – What debate has it spurred? ( Exclusion of Malays, Indians and Eurasians: endanger social fabric of nation, Singapore is supposed to be a multi-racial society ( Creating a bigger divide between the intellects and those who do not do well in studies – Is it a justified cause? ( SAP may not be because Malay and Tamil are official languages as well. Why exclusively the Chinese? ( Since Singapore only depends on human capital, need to maximize the learning potential of more capable students ( probably inevitable to have a divide *Dependent on the maturity of the students. Students in elite schools should not be arrogant or flaunt their abilities ( could be the cause of the debate in the first place. – Government can work on giving Malay and Tamil more recognition, and providing schools with more amenities if they deem themselves deserving of the facilities – Can look at how well these types of schools tie in with the purpose of education. Do they fulfill the purpose of education better than mainstream schools?

Symbolism in the Chrysanthemums

Aliya Grayman Professor Gulliksen English 131 (D8) 24 October 2012 Your Inner Chrysanthemum How many people sit down and think about what symbolizes their lives? A symbol is a person place or thing that suggests something other than its literal meaning. In John Steinbeck’s â€Å"The Chrysanthemums† Elisa Allen lives on a ranch with her husband Henry in Salinas Valley. Henry is off talking to men about the livestock on the ranch while Elisa is tending to her garden. A tinker comes up to their yard and begins to talk to Elisa about his work and all of his travels.He tries to get Elisa to let him work, but she does not feel that she needs any work done. The tinker notices the garden of chrysanthemums, and tells Elisa that he knows a woman that wants to grow them. Elisa develops a short lived attraction to the tinker as she is offering him the flower and giving him careful instructions on taking care of them. Steinbeck uses symbolism throughout this short story. Things such as the wire fence around the garden, the changing of Elisa’s clothing, and the chrysanthemums themselves mean something beyond their literal meaning.Everyone has an item or person that symbolizes their life. Because the title of the short story is â€Å"The Chrysanthemums,† the chrysanthemum is an obvious symbol. Elisa’s beautiful garden of chrysanthemums is very important to the story. They are Important because the chrysanthemums are Elisa, meaning they represent her throughout the story. The chrysanthemums symbolize Elisa’s life. Like her they are unimportant to the men in her life. When the tinker asks her about the flowers Elisa brightens up. When Elisa offers a flower to the tinker, she offers herself as well.When the flowers are rejected it symbolizes society’s rejection to women being anything other than mothers and housekeepers. Both the Elisa and the chrysanthemums seem to be simply decorative, and add little importance to the world. The wire fence surrounding the garden of chrysanthemums shows how Elisa lives her life. Elisa lives a very guarded life. Elisa only tends to the garden inside the fence, never venturing out into the world of work on her ranch. Henry takes care of all of the business deals on the ranch. The fence represents the sheltered life Elisa has been living.The type of fence has significance as well. The wire fence shows that Elisa can look outside of her garden with ease; a wooden fence would keep everything out and in. Steinbeck gives great detail of Elisa’s clothing. In the beginning of the story she is wearing bulky gardening clothes and a man’s hat. After her conversation with the tinker, there is an abundant amount of detail as Elisa is preparing to go out to dinner with her husband. The description of what she chooses to wear shows her masculine persona becoming feminine.The sentence â€Å"When she had dried herself she stood in front of a mirror in her bedroom and looked at her body†(247), shows her new found sexuality. Everything has more than one meaning. When an object is a symbol of something else the meaning becomes much more important. Steinbeck meant for his readers to see the true beauty of a chrysanthemum, and by having them symbolize the main character in the story he did just that. Showing inner beauty and strength gives an inanimate object life. Everything has an inner chrysanthemum.

The main factors which influence customer buying decisions Essay

The main factors which influence customer buying decisions - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that cares the individuals who buy goods and services for consumption purposes, the difference between a consumer and customer is that a customer is a group of businesses and organizations that purchase goods in order to use them as inputs in their production processes example the purchase of Raw materials. A fall in the price of a product will result in an increase in the quantity of a product purchased, however, these depend on the price elasticity of a product. If a product is price elastic and this means that the price elasticity of the good is more than one, then the products demand will rise at a greater proportion than the rise in price. If the price elasticity of a product is less than one then the demand for the product will not rise in a greater proportion than the price. The price of substitutes also play a major role in determining the consumers purchasing behavior, in a situation where a substitute of a product is less expensiv e, then the consumer will purchase the substitute example margarine and butter are substitutes, if the price of butter goes up then the consumer will purchase margarine. Under the price of a product we will also consider the risk associated with buying a certain product, the more expensive a product is the higher the risk and the higher the consequences of making the wrong decision, buyers will also consider the scrap value of and mostly this is associated with vehicle and machinery product, products with very high prices and low scrap value will be less preferred.

Aristotle on property and family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Aristotle on property and family - Essay Example According to the theories of Socrates, there should be no private property in the ideal community. Aristotle had a different point of view on this issue. He supposed that women and children belong to some male individuals and therefore can also be referred to as property. It is possible to imagine what will happen if all citizens would have the right to use the wives and children of each other. Aristotle has limited the sharing of property to several cases which would bring the benefits to the state. For example, he explained when the soil can be common (Lear 214-215): (1) the soil can be common and the products from it can be used for common consumption; (2) the soil can be common only if it is cultivated in common and the products are divided among the individuals for the private purposes. Aristotle has made one important point which makes it clear that common sharing of goods will not be beneficial for the state. When people share equally all of the benefits, those who labor much will always be dissatisfied with those who labor less but receive the same reward. As Aristotle has noted, it has been always very difficult for the men to have all human relations in common.

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 135

Discussion - Essay Example After researching, I realized that the Americans maintain direct eye contact, which is considered as an indication of honesty and confidence. According to the Asians, direct eye contact is considered rude and aggressive. The assumption that similarities exist in both our cultures was a huge mistake. Nonverbal signs are often misinterpreted leading to miscommunication. Rather than taking offense, that my friend seemed dishonest, confronting him on the issue would have solved the problem. The tendency of concluding that he was dishonest was not wise instead of taking time to understand him (Samovar and Porter 118). In conclusion, intercultural communication can bring up a conflict because of misunderstanding of information. Schools should teach about the different cultures to avoid instances of misinterpretation of nonverbal communication such as postures, gestures, and other body language. Every culture’s beliefs and values should be

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words - 2

Project Management - Essay Example Projects also enable the development of new products and services and help the organization to respond to changes in the external environment like development of information technology. In today’s scenario, project management indulges in the use of information technology to communicate and develop projects effectively. Projects are designed to enhance the organizational performance and continuously update the systems as they are continuously developing. But in reality, many projects are scrapped or dumped as they are not able to function properly or have incurred heavy expenses during the production space. The aim of this report is to make the readers understand the different reasons behind the failure of a project. The report is divided as follows: section 2 will present an overview of project management; section 3 will discuss risk management and its importance in project management. Section 4 will discuss why a project fails and in section 5, deeper understanding would be gained by the analysis of a case of UK passport processing agency. This report will present why the project to implement new information system failed in the Agency. A project is defined as â€Å"a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim† (Oxford Dictionary). It is defined as â€Å"a unique venture with a beginning and an end, conducted by people to meet established goals within parameters of cost, schedule and quality† (Buchanan and Boddy, 1992). Few examples of some well published project is the Apollo program which landed the man on moon (Nasa, 2010), the Genome project which mapped the human genome (Genome, 2010). The characteristics of the project is that it is temporary i.e. it has a definite beginning and end, it creates unique deliverables, creates capability to perform a service and is developed in steps. It is different from operations as the processes in operations are ongoing and

California and The United States Research Paper

California and The United States - Research Paper Example This is because revealing of gold was an essential indication of the future economic growth of the state. Consequently, this led the U.S to acquire California for its future economic strength and expansion of its territorial boundary towards the west (Olson & Olson, 2011). The need for the United States to expand its territory was also a factor that led to the acquisition of California. The then President James K. Polk influenced the territorial expansion during his tenancy to ensure his region had a wide area of influence as well as security against other rival states at that particular time such as Mexico and Spain (Genovese, 2010). Polk achieved his desire of expanding the U.S territory through the invasion of Texas, ending the Mexican-American war and negotiation of the Oregon treaty with Britain (Genovese, 2010). Finally, the outcome of these activities was an acquisition of California among other states and US’ western advancement in terms of territory. Manifest Destiny focused on US’ territorial boundary growth, in particular, the western expansion in order to spread beliefs and culture of America. Manifest destiny drew support from democratic individuals who were for the spread of American ideologies while employing nonviolent measures for the peaceful coexistence of the people (Paris, 2012). Thereby, Manifest destiny became crucial in the acquisition of California during the process of western expansion. Discovery of gold in California also attracted a large number of emigrants thus prompting global emigration of wealth seekers from Germany, Turkey, Mexico, China, France, Ireland and Chile thus creating suspicion of the US gaining California (Gold, 2012). This created the necessity to establish measures of eradicating suspicion brought by foreign immigration (Gold, 2012). The number of Chinese immigrants was high than the other immigrants that come for the sake of acquiring wealth through the sale and purchase of gold.

Discussion Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Discussion - Dissertation Example More or less, the same preference patterns are noted among G8 students from both genders. In addition, the same pattern of preferences has been found for the overall sample. Academic achievement also comes into play, and has been emphasized by Nolting (2002) who said that it goes up when students are actually aware of what learning style suits them best, as well as by Bahar (2009) who further noted that achievers displayed the key traits of independence, competitiveness, competence and participation. Wallace, meanwhile, found that students benefited a lot more when they worked alone as compared to when they worked within a group – provided, of course, that these students actually knew how to work effectively on their own. Still another study by Yazicilar et al (2009) focused on 5th grade students in order to correlate academic achievement and retention based on whether or not they received varied educational intervention depending on their learning style preference. This study , in turn, found that said treatment would have a marked impact on academic achievement among students. ... tyle as part of cognitive style and stated that â€Å"learning style, as one aspect of cognitive style, refers to a person’s characteristic style of acquiring and using information in learning and /or solving problems† (p.145). The outcomes above suggest that the quad learning style is preferred by high achievers, whereas low achieving students are more inclined to use multi-learning styles. Research Question 2 Are their differences in reading achievement of students due to their learning style preference? To answer this question, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) analyses were carried out. This is to ascertain the influence of gender and each of the learning style types (VARK7G and multi-single) on the two dependent variables, RAAF and FT scores. The same procedure has also been carried out to determine the effect of grade level and learning styles category on reading achievement between males and females. Analyses of variance were carried out as a post hoc te st to MANOVA. To control for Type 1 error, the Least Significant Differences procedure was carried out. One finding from these is that there were significant differences for both gender and grade level on RAAF. No such differences were observed on VARK7G learning style categories in relation to the RAAF scores and FT scores. Moreover, there was a significant interaction between grade and gender on the reading achievement variables. A significant interaction between gender and learning styles VARK7G on the dependent variables. Moreover, the ANOVA outcomes indicate that there were significant gender differences on RAAF and FT scores. Moreover, there was a significant interaction effect between grade and gender on RAAF. Gender and learning style (VARK7G) likewise exerted a significant effect on RAAF. The

The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Syria Essay Example for Free

The Impact of the Global Economic Crisis on Syria Essay Introduction: The Syrian Arab Republic lies on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, between Turkey and Lebanon, stretching eastward towards Iraq and Jordan. Of its total area (18. 5 million ha) one-third is arable land or forest. The remainder consists mainly of steppe (Al Badia) or rocky areas. The Mediterranean climate, rainy winters and dry, hot summers separated by two short transitional seasons, prevails in the Syrian Arab Republic. The Syrian Arab Republic compares in land size with Tunisia, Senegal, Uruguay or Cambodia, and in population (16. 7 million) with much smaller Netherlands or much larger Chile or Madagascar. Syrian resident population increases by 0. 4 million per year, a still high rate of 2. 45 percent, despite the long term deceleration. Demographic growth imposes a heavy pressure on the economy and its natural resource base. Population is evenly distributed between urban and rural areas, making almost half of it depend mainly on agricultural and related activities. Indeed, agriculture is the main source of employment for the Syrian labour force. Agricultural land (arable land and permanent crops) account for about one-third of the total land area, a proportion similar to Tunisia, slightly above Greece and slightly below Bulgaria, while the rural density of population (1. 15 rural inhabitant per ha of agricultural land) compares with those of Greece or Morocco. Type of State: Syria is a republic officially based on a parliamentary democracy but in reality it is controlled by an authoritarian, military dominated regime where the President and his ruling party have immense powers. Type of economy: Lower-middle-income economy. A country which depends a lot on its petroleum activity. It ranks 29th in the world with production of 26 million tones. Agriculture has an important place: the sector employs 35% of the active population. Economy overview The Syrian economy grew by an estimated 3. 3% in real terms in 2007 led by the petroleum and agricultural sectors, which together account for about one-half of GDP. Higher crude oil prices countered declining oil production and led to higher budgetary and export receipts. Damascus has implemented modest economic reforms in the past few years, including cutting lending interest rates, opening private banks, consolidating all of the multiple exchange rates, raising prices on some subsidized items, most notably gasoline and cement, and establishing the Damascus Stock Exchange which is set to begin operations in 2009. In October 2007, for example, Damascus raised the price of subsidized gasoline by 20%, and may institute a rationing system in 2008. In addition, President ASAD signed legislative decrees to encourage corporate ownership reform, and to allow the Central Bank to issue Treasury bills and bonds for government debt. Nevertheless, the economy remains highly controlled by the government. Long-run economic constraints include declining oil production, high unemployment and inflation, rising budget deficits, and increasing pressure on water supplies caused by heavy use in agriculture, rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and water pollution. Real GDP and growth rate of Syria: GDP real growth rate: 4. 3% (2007 est. ) Definition: This entry gives GDP growth on an annual basis adjusted for inflation and expressed as a percent. The economy of Syria has seen a moderate growth over the last three years as can be depicted in the real GDP growth rate which averaged 5 percent over the last three years. In 2005, real GDP grew significantly by 21. 74, 25% between 2006-7 and 22. 86 between 2007-8. Inflation rate (consumer prices): 12. 2% (2007 est. ) Year Inflation rate (consumer prices) Percent Change Date of Information 2006 5. 00 % 138. 10 % 2005 est. 2007 8. 00 % 60. 00 % 2006 est. 2008 12. 20 % 52. 50 % 2007 est. Definition: This entry furnishes the annual percent change in consumer prices compared with the previous years consumer prices. The chart shows an increase in consumer price from 2005 to 2008. Year Export Import Net export 2005-6 424300 502369 -78069 2006-7 505012 531324 -26312 2007-8 579034 684557 -105523 Exports and Imports of Syria: Our export rose from 2006 to 2008 but also on the second hand, our export rose from 2006 to 2008. In all the years we can notice that our import is more than our export which is reflects badly on GDP. Government Tax, government expenditures and fiscal deficit: Syrias system of income tax is apportioned into three main income categories: (1) profits from an industrial, commercial, or non-commercial activity; (2) wages; and (3) income derived from movable capital assets. While the overall fiscal deficit increased to about 3 percent of GDP in 2007 the non-oil deficit remained stable. This reflected a drop in expenditures by about one percent of GDP, as both current and capital outlays declined. This was achieved despite the pressure on budgetary expenditure arising from the large number of Iraqi refugees. Oil revenue decreased by about 2 percent of GDP as the net external oil trade surplus virtually disappeared. Non-oil receipts, also declined, partly reflecting the reduction in customs tariffs. The external current account deficit widened to an estimated 3. 3 percent of GDP in 2007 (from 2. 8 percent in 2006). The net oil surplus (after subtracting the share of foreign partners) was eliminated due to a decline in output and an increase in domestic consumption. However, non-oil exports, tourism, and transfers, were buoyant partly as a result of strong regional demand and the relaxation of foreign exchange controls. Net foreign assets of the Central Bank of Syria (CBS) and the Commercial Bank of Syria (CBoS) stood at about $17 billion. The World Economic Crisis and the Syrian Economy Prices are rocketing in Syria. All things has doubled its prices and maybe tripled. A quick view to the average of salaries in Syria and comparing it to the prices will give you a quick idea about the World economic crisis and its effects on Syria. Syria Has faced one of the worst seasons in the agriculture field last year. The effect of drought has hit the meat and the framers who are growing ups Goats. Syria is depending on goat as a main source of meat in contrast to other parts of the world, which depends on cows. The prices of meat were at the bottom during last summer. That was owing to the drought and the lack of grasslands in Syria. What happened in this fall is the rocketing of Meat prices, which has doubled. That is only one face of problem. The other face of the economic crisis of the world and its effect on Syria is another issue. The effect of this crisis on Syria is mild. Thanks to George Bush who has put sanction on Syria especially in the financial field. These sanctions have limited the relations between Syrian Financial firms and The American ones. This has saved Syria from the crisis at least till now. Here we have not seen a bankrupted banks or insurance companies. Syrian financial sector still junior and limited to the Syrian market and it has not any big relation with the world financial sector. With an embryonic banking sector, low leverage ratios, and no stock market, Syria seemed ideally positioned to escape the brunt of the global rout. But Syria has not been so lucky. Gathering storm clouds are evident in the shifting tone and statements of Syrian Government officials. Conclusions: Syria’s politicians are much like those in other countries. Few predicted the extent to which their economy would be hit by the global credit crisis. The Russian ruble is under serious attack by currency traders and has fallen more than ten percent over the last few days. Recent economic reforms have opened Syria’s doors to a great array of new imports; tariffs between Arab states have been eradicated altogether, forcing Syrian manufacturers to compete with inexpensive imports for the first time. Chinese goods, falsely labeled as â€Å"made in the UAE† are now entering Syria with few mark ups. To make matters worse, the Syrian pound has risen in value against the dollar at the same time that the government has slashed subsidies on petroleum and electricity. Local producers are reeling from these many challenges. Government officials have responded with a few stop gap measures to protect local producers, such as restricting the source countries of products and by threatening to buy the products that carry suspiciously undervalued invoices. Importers commonly avoid paying import duties by low-balling purchase prices on their invoices for non-Arab produced imports. While such measures look good on paper, they are notoriously hard to implement and police. Syrian import duties are simply too high and importers will continue to find ways to avoid exorbitant duties, whether by by outright smuggling or by falsifying invoices. It is very hard to keep inexpensive foreign manufactures from getting into Syria. This is a war that local producers stand little chance of winning. Syria needs to use the recent drop in commodity prices to devalue its currency and improve its export competitiveness. It also needs to broaden its tax collection base. This can be done by lowering exorbitant import duties that force merchants to cheat and by tightening income tax collection on the countries wealthy and well off. References: Dr.Hayan Ahmed Salman, S. (2008) â€Å"The activation of our foreign trade to face the global financial crisis the concept and Economic Accounting’’ iqtissadiya [online], Vol. 347. Available,www. iqtissadiya. com, [Accessed 10 June, 2009]. Syria. (2009). In Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved June 12, 2009, from Encyclop? dia Britannica Online:http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/578856/Syria, Sarris, A. 2002. Final Report on Agricultural Development Strategy for Syria. December 2001. (Chapter 1)

Past Madrassah Reform: a History

Past Madrassah Reform: a History The 1962 Reforms Since its inception, Pakistan has tried three times to undertake major renovations in the madrassah school system. The first reforms occurred in 1962 under General Ayub Khan. In 1961, a committee was formed to analyze the current curriculum and make recommendations concerning how best to reform the system so that graduates would be more employable. The resulting report was released in 1962. Notable alterations included: introducing courses like mathematics into the curriculum, instructing in Urdu at the primary levels and Arabic and/or English at the higher levels of study, and testing graduates in five exams including Euclidean mathematics.27 The second part of the reform strategy was to control the level of funding madrassahs received. Khan sought to strengthen the role of state institutions at the expense of traditional community leaders like the ulama, who he thought opposed his regime and thus limited his power. One way he limited religious scholars influence was to restrict who could fund madrassahs.28 The funding portion of reform was moderately successful, but the recommended changes to the curriculum exposed a core conflict that would derail the 1962 reforms and all the reforms that followed. To alter the madrassah curriculum meant, in a way, reforming the nations practice of Islam, which is sacred to the vast majority of Pakistanis. Since madrassahs produce the next generation of religious scholars, government changes to the schools that contradicted what the ulamas viewed as instrumental in training their successors had social implications far beyond making  modifications to a curriculum. Many disagreed with the governments interpretation of  Islam, and, as a result, rejected the proposals of the 1962 report.29 The 1979 Reforms The second round of attempted reforms occurred in 1979 under the regime of General Zia-ul Huq, and were far more extensive than the 1962 reforms. As previously noted, Zia was responsible for the Islamization of Pakistan. Under his regime, the nation became far more sectarian and Islam infiltrated more aspects of life than it had under past rulers. Unsurprisingly, Zia was very interested in the countrys madrassahs. The reason for the 1979 reform was almost identical to the one in 1962: the madrassahs were failing to provide adequately employment opportunities outside of the  religious sect, and thus it was decided the system should undergo modernization. The recommendations were very similar, as well-again reinforcing the necessity of introducing more modern subjects into the curriculum, including: . . . Urdu, arithmetic, and general science at the primary level; English, general mathematics, and Pakistan studies at the secondary levels; political science, political economy, and English as optional subjects at the baccalaureate and masters level; and comparative religious sciences as a mandatory subject at the masters level. The committee proposed an autonomous National Institute of Madrassahs to compile and revise madrassah curricula, supervise these institutions, administer standardized tests, and award diplomas to the students. The proposed national institute, the committee recommended, was to have an equal number of members from all four subsects within the madrasah education system, and representatives from the government.30 The Report of 1979 sought to create a curriculum that all the different sects of Islam would accept. That being said, the boards ultimately saw the compromise of their beliefs as a loss, because their students would no longer be ideal representatives of their branch after being taught a hybrid faith. 31 Though the results of the 1962 and 1979 reports were similar, there was a significant difference in the composition of the 1979 committee that authored the later report. This committee included numerous ulamas, who worked alongside government officials in constructing the proposed reform. The 1962 committee, however, did not include ulamas nor did it consult with them about which reforms they would support. As a result, the ulamas were originally more open to the 1979 report, as they felt they had significant input in the process. However, while they were invited to participate in the committee, they were not a majority voice on the committee and the committee was led by a government official, so some ulamas still resented the governments authority in dictating the final report.32 It didnt take long after the release of the report for many ulamas to issue reservations about the proposed reforms; others boycotted it completely. The 1979 reforms occurred at the same time as the Iranian Revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The fact that Irans mullahs were successful in overthrowing the Iranian shah, and thus inserting religious figures in powerful political roles in a nearby country, convinced many Pakistani madrassahs that their schools did not need to modernize to be influential in the region.33 Many completely disregarded implementing the reforms, convinced, more than ever, that religious education was more important to Pakistan than the curriculum endorsed in the 1979 reforms. Such  tumultuous regional events had a profound impact on Pakistan, and complicated the madrassah reform process greatly. In fact, these events led to the expansion of a more extreme curriculum in madrassah, making the schools more threatening to development just as the state sought to reform them. During this time Pakistan became the battleground for an international Sunni versus Shia war. Iran was helping the countrys Shias generate support, while countries like Saudi A rabia were funding Sunni militant groups, often through madrassahs. In competition for the funding being offered by Saudi Arabia, some schools attempted to increase their focus on Wahhabism to ensure they would receive more funding than other madrassahs.34 Slowly, schools evolved from being primarily intellectual and religious institutions to political ones, as more students became involved in the religious revolutions occurring outside their borders. The Iranian Revolution served as a huge inspiration to Pakistans minority Shia population, who, seeing the successful Shia revolution in Iran, grew emboldened in their aspiration for political power. The number of Shias in the country began to increase, as many moderates in the country shifted their allegiance to Shia due to its opposition to Zias aggressive Islamization campaign.35 Zia, a Sunni, saw the rise in Shia activism as a threat to his regime, especially following the 5 July 1980 demonstration in Islamabad where 25,000 Shias v iolently protested the zakat36 law put in place as part of Zias lamization campaign.37 The zakat funds allowed the government to increase funding to schools like madrassahs since they often cater to the underprivileged. In 1984 alone over nine percent of the zakat fund was distributed to 2,273 madrassahs.38 Zias hope was that through these donations the madrassahs would become dependent on the state for their finances and, upon graduation, employment. While some madrassahs eagerly accepted the contributions to their struggling schools, other resented the government oversight and the obligations to the Zia regime that accompanied the zakat funds. They no longer wanted to be dependent on the government for what they viewed as bribes to expand government oversight of religious schools. The reliance on zakat funds, others believed,  had caused voluntary contributions to madrassahs to sharply decline, resulting in an overall loss of income for schools.39 The Shias decided to actively reject the zakat funds, which they believed were contradictory to their faith. Despite wa nting to limit the Shias influence, Zia had to relent to the 1980 protests of the Shia, as they effectively shut down Pakistans capital city. The victory of being exempt from paying zakat to the government inspired many independents in the country to declare themselves Shias. In retribution, Zia funneled more zakat funds into the nations Sunni-controlled madrassahs. The madrassahs became a venue in which Zia could resist the Shia influence, and thus these madrassahs became increasingly anti-Shia. Since Zia actively encouraged this behavior in order to resist the rise in Shias, it is no wonder that the school system became a place in which students grew intolerant of Shias, which led to a more sectarian and aggressive society. For the short-term goal of limiting Shia influence, Zia created a school system that, even   today, remains entrenched in perpetuating an exclusionary worldview, rather than an  accepting and tolerant environment for students. As previously reported, Z ia, in an attempt to recruit the support of the nations ulamas, decided some madrassah degrees would be considered equal to degrees from government schools. This movement correlated to the 1979 reforms, for though Zia wanted to increase employability for madrassah graduates, he wanted to make sure that as professionals the graduates had skills useful in the workplace. Under the assumption they could study Islam and still graduate qualified to work in the government, the number of madrassah graduates skyrocketed. Between 1960 and 1980, over 5,000 ulamas had been trained; following the equivalency certificates in 1981-1985, over 6,000 ulamas graduated-thats 1,000 more graduates in a quarter of the time.40 Though this initiative was intended to provide madrassah graduates with more authority, many new ulama graduates became less interested in the traditional study of Islam, and more concentrated on religious ideology as a means to influence the government. As such, some opened their own madrassahs so that they could funnel more graduates into the government or increasingly powerful political parties.41 In the late 1980s, the country began its decade of democracy. However, rather than economic prosperity and social equality, the decade produced poorer economic conditions and economic stagnation. The recession reduced employment opportunities, and many madrassah graduates who assumed they would secure a job within the government went unemployed. The curriculum many of the new madrassahs implemented left their students unqualified to beat out top students from government or private schools for the few positions available in the government, and it also left them unqualified for traditional ulama positions, which they theoretically could have secured if  they had followed traditional madrassah curricula. Rather than making students qualified for both religious and government work, the 1979 reforms had made students unqualified for either. With no opportunities in government or in religious posts, many new madrassah graduates focused their efforts on pursing their political agendas.42 They abandoned established political parties to form more extreme, militant ones. They also opened their own, more ideologically-minded madrassahs at an accelerated rate, thanks in part to the ncrease in zakat funds given to some madrassahs. While the more established madrassahs largely maintained their traditional curriculums, the madrassahs that were built during this time-especially those close to Afghanistan-were overseen by low ranking ulama who replaced traditional curricula with those that endorsed militarization. The goal of these madrassahs was to train students to become political activists, which they saw as more influential than a traditional ulama Post September 11th, it is clear how this radical momentum leading into the 1990s produced in Pakistan an environment similar to that in Afghanistan which provided Osama bin Laden p rotection and opportunity in planning the September 11th attacks. Why I Chose to Be an Accountant: A Reflection Why I Chose to Be an Accountant: A Reflection Accounting is an information and measurement system that we use for the purpose of identifying, recording, measuring, and communicating relevant and reliable information about an entity to those with an interest in the entity. Accounting is a very challenging and rewarding career with a wide variety of career paths that one can venture in. Accounting is more of a communicating language in the world of business and as a result, the demand for accountants are constantly increasing, making accounting an extremely marketable career path. An accountant, like a majority of other jobs, has the ability to work as an independent accountant or work in a corporate atmosphere. I decided to make a career into the field of accounting in the corporate market, working for a firm and then a private company. My goal is to achieve a position of a CFO or venturing into my own business. When I first heard about accounting I thought it was a generic degree that had only one specific work area inside of a business. However, after speaking to accountants and learning more about the career I learned of several opportunities that are available to an accountant with a Bachelors degree. This can include auditing, bookkeeping, budget analyst, financial accounting, management accounting, tax, and much more. Inside each of these careers, accountants could also find a specific niche that they particularly like. For example, I spoke with a lady who works as a tax consultant but has never done a tax statement in her life because all she does is work with international markets for her company as it pertains to the budgeting for the tax aspect. Auditing is one of the most common areas that accountants have chosen to build their careers in. I believe in this era that we are in today, the work of an auditor is extremely important to ensure that the numbers reported by an entity are accurate and as a result, we, as citizens, are able to invest in companies accordingly. Also, having the ability to audit a company requires in-depth knowledge into the market, legal environment, and the entity. Although I am interested in audit, I would like to start my career in tax. This is because taxation is an extremely important to a company and is extremely limited in regards to acceptance and turnover of employees. I believe to be a qualified tax accountant, an individual must have good knowledge of the necessary kind of government regulations and generally accepted accounting principles. As a tax accountant, I will be first be placed on a team in a tax department, where my duties can include reviewing files and company financial records, preparing ledgers, filling out tax forms, maintaining contact with tax agencies and holding meetings that are related to taxation and strategy (Admin, n.d.). My backup plan is to venture in becoming a forensic accountant with the FBI. I believe with my degree, as well as my military background in the U.S. Marines, I will be a qualified candidate. However, I dont believe in pursuing that as my primary career goal because the government funding is fi ckle as well as the pay, compared to the corporate market. Although tax in many firms, have a low acceptance rate and many companies require you to have at least 2-3 years work experience in the field as well as at least a bachelors degree, I believe I will excel when given the opportunity. This is because not only do I have a passion for it but I also excel in the quantitative areas. As far as the work experience that is required, I will be trying to go through an internship to full-time offer with one of the local firms in Miami, which doesnt require the work experience. With every accounting career field, you are required to work a lot of hours during busy seasons. At times I have heard of accountants working up to 7 days a week for 13-14 hours a day. I believe every qualified accountant expects a salary that is higher than or on par with other undergraduates from a number of business schools. Unfortunately, these expectations are rarely met in the current society. Currently the broad career field of Accountants and Auditors has an average hourly wage is $36.19 with an average annual salary of $75,280 (Labor, 2016).   However, as an entry-level tax accountant, I can realistically expect to earn between $47,568-$59,269 (salary.com, n.d.). Quite a number of students have joined the big accounting firms that pay higher salaries but its usually an average of around $50,000-$60,000. In other words, a lot of qualified accountants will be forced into sectors that dont pay as well. I believe in order to make the most in the beginning of my career, I should try not to fall victim to this lower market of accounts by realizing the dilemma and work and figure out ways to avoid it. One way I hope to avoid this is by completing my Master s in Accounting as well as my CPA. I also believe by doing programs like VITA and internships, will make me a key candidate that will be viewed as having the ability to succeed in any turmoil the company might face. The type of internships I will be looking to acquire internships that will give me experience with software solutions such as Inuit QuickBooks, Sage 50 Accounting, ATX Total Tax Office, CCH ProSystem fx TAX, Delphi Technology, and Oracle E-Business Suite Financial ls (Development, n.d.). Hopefully the internship I will be offered a full-time position in which I believe can help progress my career in one of the corporate offices because of a majority of their corporate promotion structure. I believe this will help mold me into an accountant that will be incredibly marketable in the corporate market. In conclusion, I would say that accounting is the very diverse career path that will forever be in demand. As our world moves more towards global transactions I also believe that we accountants will be in more demand. This is because accountants are a necessity to determine how successful a business entity is, that can be detrimental in determining if a business segment can survive in a new international market, costs needed to allocating, etc. For a successful career in accounting, I should always look for opportunities to mold myself as a capable accountant as well as adapt the new technology advances and learn how to adapt to the changing government regulations and generally accepted accounting principles. References Admin, W. (n.d.). What does a Tax Accountant Do? Retrieved March 27, 2016, from http://www.topaccountingdegrees.org/: http://www.topaccountingdegrees.org/faq/what-does-a-tax-accountant-do/ Development, N. C. (n.d.). Accountants. Retrieved March 22, 2017, from My Next Move: https://www.mynextmove.org/profile/summary/13-2011.01 Labor, U. S. (2016, March 30). www.bls.gov. Retrieved March 22, 2017, from Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.mynextmove.org/profile/ext/oesmaps/13-2011.01 salary.com. (n.d.). Tax Accountant | Salaries. Retrieved from salary.com: http://www1.salary.com/Tax-Accountant-I-Salaries.html

Is Psychology Reductionist and Is This a Bad Thing?

Is Psychology Reductionist and Is This a Bad Thing? Reductionism can be defined as a theory that reduces every complicated phenomena into a number of simple psychological components or principles and then identifies or explains these phenomena merely in terms of those fundamental parts (Sloane, 1945; Peele, 1981; Ausubel, 1982; Barendregt Rappard, 2004; Vul, 2011). For instance, in psychological studies reductionism tend to oversimplify all cognitive processes, human behaviour or social activity into more basic component, and so disregard the complexities of human mind. The reductionist approach has led to several vital discoveries in scientific studies as they compromise simpler explanation for a complicated phenomenon and, the effects of one variable can be solely isolated and tested, in order to discover causal relationships. For example, in order to develop an understanding of stress the nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system needs to be studied (Minton, 1994). Rose (1997, as cited in Nagel, 1998) introduced few types of reductionism; philosophical reductionism, which implies that if all science is unitary psychology should easily merge into other sciences, thencomplex psychological behaviour needs to be broken down to physical laws (Jessor, 1958). Methodological reductionism; for instance, in order to find out about the nature of memory and specifically deduce something related to the structure of long-term memory, (Hulme, Maughan Brown, 1991) conducted a study based in a laboratory, giving participants a list of familiar and unfamiliar words to remember.Based on the findings a generalisation of how human long-term memory functions may be made. However, these kinds of researches in psychology are at the reductionist level. Currently the type of reductionism that is of most interest in psychology claims that all behaviours should be reducible to biology (Oppenheim Putnam, 1958; Peele, 1981), meaning that most mental phenomena (consciousness) are equated with biological phenomena. In this essay the idea of reductionism will be analysed through psychological research and a conclusion can then be made based upon evidence to decide whether psychology is a reductionist or not. Reductionism tends to be applicable when explaining behaviour in basic terms, with the more focused sciences at the top and general sciences at the bottom. Behaviours can be explained at different levels, ranging from molecular (physics), followed by the intracellular (biochemistry) then parts of individual’s (physiology), people’s behaviour (psychology) and finally the behaviour of groups (sociology).For instance, mental disorders may be explained by neurotransmitters (physiology) or in terms of the mind (unconsciousness) and in terms of social systems (dysfunctional family). However, when explaining behaviour all level of explanations needs to be taken into account. For example, by taking physiological explanation into account schizophrenia is caused by excess levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine located in the brain (Howes Kapur, 2009; Jentsch, Robert Roth, 1991). The evidence for the involvement of dopamine comes from drugs, such as amphetamines (when taken by people without psychiatric disorder) cause behaviour that resembles the positive symptoms of schizophrenia (Angrist, Rotrosen Gershon, 1980). The drug has the effect of increasing dopamine levels in the brain. However, one problem with this dopamine hypothesis is that not every patient with schizophrenia who takes drugs to reduce dopamine levels has their symptoms reduced, and also everyone who takes drugs that increases levels of dopamine may not show the symptoms. This clearly shows that individual differences are difficult to explain by reductionists, mainly because despite being in its smallest constituent, behaviour is oversimplified. This suggests that dopamine cannot be the only explanation, as every human being is uniqueand therefore all respond differently. So, reductionist explanation is limiting, because the same symptoms or behaviour in two persons may be caused by different factors, such as environmental or biological factors (Walker Diforio, 1997). However, The best solution is probably the diathesis stress model, which combines all approaches together. The diathesis-stress model indicates that physiological explanations tend to offer a predisposition to mental illnesses. Also, an alternative explanation is that a stressful life event causes the onset of mental disorders (Walker Diforio, 1997; Eberhart, Auerbach, Bigda-Peyton Abela, 2011). The individual may have a predisposition to the disorder but only people who experience stressors will develop the disorder. The diathesis stress model can be applied to the cognitive and biological explanation, suggesting that people may have vulnerability for mental illness but the disorder only manifests itself when triggered by life events or when a person misinterprets other people’s behaviour. Although physiological explanation can be seen as reductionist and simplistic, they do offer explanations of mental disorders behaviour. Understanding what is going on in abnormal behaviour by relating it to healthy behavioural processes is undeniably reductionist, but sometimes reductionism helps psychology to devise treatment strategies for mental illnesses. They are not intended to provide exhaustive explanations for why these symptoms exist. They do however; offer some kind of insight into what it might feel like to experience such disorders. For instance, offering anti-depressants to treat patients suffering from depression may seem like an optimum solution but the underlying cause may be disregarded, such as unconscious mental process or personal experience. However, physiological reductionism attempts to consider a more humane tactic to treat certain mental illness, as the individual with mental illness are not to be blamed and the patients have essentially no control or choic e in the matter. Nevertheless, most of these theories are merely reductionist-oriented explanation. In addition, there is some evidence proposing that mental disorders are inherited or at least there is a significant genetic component (Petronis, 2004). Family, twin and adaption studies have been used to investigate this genetic explanation. If the cause of mental disorders were entirely genetic, then the concordance rate between MZ twins would be 100% (Evans Martin, 2008). However, Evans Martin (2008) research have notfound100% concordance so it clearly shows that other factors must be involved in the onset of certain disorders. It is impossible to isolate the effects of genes (nature) from nurture (shared environment) when studying behaviour. Therefore, studies that indicate the concordance rates for disorders must be treated with caution, to avoid impractical cause and effect links. Furthermore, Bandura (1965) claimed that social learning has an influential role on children’s aggressive behaviour. However, biological explanations of aggression have stressed factors that have nothing to do with social learning butmore to do with biological influences, such as the role of hormonal mechanisms. For example, high levels of testosterone have shown to be associatedwith aggressive behaviour (Archer, 1991). These findings emphasise that aggressive behaviour cannot be purely base on a learned behaviour. Also, this explanation neglects to take into account various approaches to explain certain behaviour and therefore being a reductionist.Additionally, there are significant methodological problems in these experimental researches, as research usually does not equate to real world, which could then lead to falsification of the findings. Also, using the social learning theory (Bandura, 1965) to isolatecertain behaviour into various chunks may not provide a full underst anding of how behaviour functions as a whole. This suggests that reductionism may be appropriate for simpler systems rather than a complex human behaviour. However, Morley and Hall (2003) argue that genetic vulnerability associated with anti-social behaviour only inadequately predict an increased risk of aggressive behaviour in an individual than the general population.Other factors (such as environmental influences) determine whether aggressive behaviour is displayed in a particular situation. Similarly, (Hines and Malley-Morrison, 2005)claim that some people are more likely to commit anti-social behaviour as a result of their genotype. Alternatively, suggesting that genetic influences are probabilistic rather than reductionist. Twin researchers also assume that MZ and DZ twins raised in the same environment experience the same experience with their co-twin, therefore any greater similarity between MZ twins must be due to the greater genetic similarity. However, Evans and Martin (2003) suggest that parents, teachers and peers treat MZ twins more similarity than DZ twins; therefore greater similarity in terms of aggressive behaviour may also be due to the greater similarity of their experiences. In this respect, various approaches needs to be considered to explain behaviour, as using simple explanations may be inappropriate. Having said that reductionism can be appropriate for some levels of explanation, it makes more sense to use cellular biology to explain living cells, rather than psychology.But if all animals and humans are made of atoms, then their behaviours can be reduced to a physical level. Researches believe that the two types of units including the physical brain and physical mind interact with each other (Pandya, 2011). Also suggesting that the mind can have an influence on physiology. For example, Martin, Martin, Rai, Richardson and Royall (2001) found that same level of serotonin was altered in the brain of depressed patients who received psychotherapy and those who received drug as a treatment. On the other hand the multi-store model (MSM), which was proposed by Atkinson and Shiffrin (1968) uses mechanistic, computer analogies to explain cognitive processes such as attention, memory and problem solving. This model is using reductionism to explain how memory functions, as the brain is equated with acomputer system. This model plays a restricted role in understanding evolution or memory, as it describes memory at a reductionist-level. Also, research associated with memory often involves memorising a list of nonsense words to measure the capacity or the duration of long-term and short-term memory, and the findings often offer an erroneous explanation of memory in general (Hulme Maughan Brown, 1991).Researches have found limited evidence for long-term memory. The finding to such studies should not be generalised, as the key variable is oversimplified.However, some research have found evidence for long-term memory, Bahrick, Bahrick and Wittlinger (1975) investigated recall of high school yearbooks photos to find out the duration of long term memory, they found 90% accuracy of long term memory, mainly because the information was meaningful to the participants. In addition, reductionism overlooked the notion of emotion, mostly because it is difficult to determinehow someone is feelingbylooking at neurotransmitters located in the brain. Nevertheless, studies have found that certain hormones such as noradrenalineleads to better memory performance in an individual (Stegeren, 2008). This yield to the conclusion that perhaps there may be an association between biology and behaviour (emotion). However, while it is possibleto observe how human brain responds to certain sounds by looking into a scanner, the scanner cannot reveal how the person feels when they hear a particular sound. For instance, (Schmidt and Trainor, 2001) found that certain section of the brain associated with happiness is stimulated while listening to a particular sound, however this does not mean that the person is happy. In this respect, using reductionism may not be an unacceptable way of assessing feelings. There are many arguments against the idea of reductionism in psychological studies. A prime example of these disagreements involves the discussions of nature versus nurture that whether environmental factors have any involvement in shaping behaviour. Ecological influences can shape behaviour throughout the lifespan even if that person was born with certain genes associated with mental disorders; environmental factors such as family and society play a major role in shaping any further behaviour. The diathesis stress models places an importance on the interaction between the person and their environment, suggesting the biological predisposition to any mental disorders is dormant until stress in the environment makes it active. The diathesis stress model brings together unrelated causal factors into a unified model. The flexibility of the model is that individual differences can account for various contributing factors of mental illnesses (Patten, 2013; Sloane, 1945). This means that the model can explain most instances of mental disorders. The source of stress could be genetic, or perhaps disrupted and inconsistent parenting and communication within family. All the factors above have been suggested as having a causal role in the development of mental disorders, although none of them alone is sufficient to cause the disorder. For example, it seems as though schizophrenia is a complex disorder reflecting problems with genetics and birth, as well as with more general problems living in a busy society. However, such factors do feed into the diathesis stress model described. Alongside with the biological explanation schizophrenia should also be treated at the level of experience. However, further research is sorely needed in the area of reductionism in psychology, as most of these explanations are inconsistentbecause in psychology human behaviour cannot be explained entirely in terms of one single factor, such as physiology, genetic, culture, ethnicity or cultural factors. Therefore, the all these factors should not be disregarded as most people suffering from mental illness may have distinct personality traits, specific genotype or abnormal brain structure, which makes them more vulnerable to develop certain type of mental disorder.Furthermore, reductionist theory fails to explain realism in psychology, as it only view a series of components rather than the whole, which can lead to inadequate explanations of the reality. Perhaps acknowledging all phases of explanations such as physiological, ecological or emotional could lead to a better understanding of the reality.Finally, the reductionist approach has been criticised by many, nonetheless the fact that stu dying the brain allows a deeper understanding to the cause of most behaviour cannot be ignored. Word count: 2200

Analysis- Software Solutions :: Computer Science

Analysis- Software Solutions In order to make my database I am going to use Microsoft Access. Other possible systems I could have used are programmes such as Microsoft Excel and also a simple manual system where all the data is hand-written. I chose Microsoft Access, as this is more efficient and more professional as a whole. If I used a manual system I could have improved my problems by having all of the documents filed in alphabetical order, having more filing cabinets or by writing out documents more neatly and more tidily. Filing all documents in alphabetical order would have tidied up the documents and made them easier to find, but as documents would still be in a filing cabinet even though in alphabetical order it would still be time consuming to find them rather than a computerized system which would be a lot faster to find and therefore less time consuming. Also if you use more filing cabinets in which to store documents this may still not be very practical if the person the changes are designed for works in a small office with limited space. As well as this, by taking more care in writing and filling in documents and writing more neatly this would improve the system but it would also be inappropriate at times. This is because you are unable to take care and write neatly all of the time, as there are many occasions in which you are rushed which causes the neatness of your writing to falter. The final reason why I have opted to use Microsoft Access rather than a manual system where filing cabinets are involved is because in Access you can store about 20,000 files but if you had to store 20,000 files using a manual system huge amounts of space would be taken up and it would be very awkward to find the specific document you desire. If I used Microsoft Excel in which to store data this would improve on the current system as it is computerized but it is still not as efficient as other computerized programmes. Microsoft Excel would allow me to create tables, perform calculations, print out single documents and also print out multiple documents. Being able to print out improves on a manual system as it is a lot quicker and you do not have to keep typing documents out time and time again. Although using Microsoft Excel is a large improvement on using a manual system Microsoft Access is the one I have opted to use. This is because on Microsoft Access you are able to perform all actions

Volleyball :: essays research papers

Title:Blocking in Volleyball Description: Blocking in Volleyball Blocking is a very important defensive aspect of volleyball at higher levels. Blocking is one of the hardest skills to learn, and does not always show direct results. The Body: Blocking in Volleyball Blocking is a very important defensive aspect of volleyball at higher levels. Blocking is one of the hardest skills to learn, and does not always show direct results. The block serves four basic functions. The first is to stop the ball, and hopefully return it to the opponents side for a point or side out. The second is to eliminate as a much of the court for the opposing hitter to hit into, also making the court easier for the back row to defend. The third is to deflect the ball up so that it can be used for an attack. The last function is to force the use of a secondary (possibly weaker) hitter, or a secondary hit such as a tip or half hit. The basics of the block begin at the feet. The feet should be parallel, about fourteen inches from the net, and about shoulder width apart. The weight should be on the inside of the feet, with more weight on the foot opposite the direction of the most likely movement. Knees should be slightly bent. Hands should always be kept at shoulder height, elbows flexed, and the forarms should be parallel to the net. Prior to jumping a half squat position should be assumed, with back straight, leaning slightly to the net. Ater jumping hands should go up and slide over the net as far as possible. The arms and hands should be rigid, with thumbs upward and fingers spread apart. Before contact, the arms, shoulders, and hands should be turned inward to the center of the court. The body should pike. The hands should be open to surround, and try to catch the ball. There are two main methods of movement. These include the side step and the crossover. The side step is meant for covering a short distance. The body stays square to the net. The foot closest to the direction of the movement moves first. The outer foot then follows sliding back to a shoulder width position. Setting the block involves several variables. These include the distance of the set from the net, height of the set, attacker, angle of hitters approach, what hand the hitter uses, and lastly the position of the attacking arm and elbow in relationship to the ball.

Ferguson Foundry Limited

————————————————- Case: Ferguson Foundry Limited (FFL) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Date: March 10 2013 To: Mark Ferguson, President From: Carl Holitzner Re: FFL’s Lower-Than-Budgeted Profit for the Fiscal Year Ended May 31 2010 The major issue is determining why Ferguson Foundry Limited’s (FFL) actual profit was $367,600 lower than budgeted, despite selling 2,000 more wood stoves (12,000 instead of 10,000 units). This will be explained using Variance Analysis to demonstrate the underlying reasons why the company failed to meet its president’s expectations.FFL profit for 2010 was below budget due to many factors both production and marketing related. From a production perspective, there were 3 major areas of concern all of which were unfavorable with respect to Variance Analysis (As shown in Exhibit 3): 1. Direct Labor 2. Variable Overhead 3. Fixed Cost The $139,2 00 unfavorable Direct Labor Variance can be attributed to many reasons however it is most likely linked to the management team. Due to the early retirement of the sales manager, the production manager being hospitalized and the accountant quitting, it can be understood that inefficiencies were bound to arise.Without proper management, labor reduced overall productivity of the company, as these workers took 121,200 hours to produce 12,00 stoves rather than the standard 120,000 hours that it should have taken. This reduced Net Income by $18,000 (Labor Yield Variance calculation). Secondly, the problem arising from Direct Labor also transcends to the Variable Overhead, as it is used as its cost driver. As a result, the $69,600 unfavorable Variable Overhead Variance can also be attributed to the more hours undertaken to produce the 12,000 stoves.With the lack of an inefficient management team, overhead could have accumulated through inefficient use and/or the budget could have not even accurately portrayed current rates for overhead items. The third problem with regards to the production perspective concerns the increase in fixed costs. In particular, the fixed manufacturing cost increased by $30,000 over budgeted costs, which in turn resulted in a reduction of net income by the same amount. This could have resulted due to several reasons such as additional machinery being required to handle the increased sales volume.However at this point it is unclear given the information provided and so further investigation must be conducted in an effort to better budget for future fixed costs. From a marketing perspective, there were also 3 major areas of concern all of which were unfavorable with respect to Variance Analysis: 1. Price 2. Fixed Cost 3. Sales Mix In analyzing the price changes, although it was beneficial to increase the sell price of the Basic Wood Stove ($300 to $325), this income benefit was significantly outweighed by the reduction in sell price of the Del uxe Wood Stove ($800 to $700).In the end, the price changes of both products resulted in a $300,000 reduction in profit (Sales Price Variance). Another reason for FFL’s lower than budgeted profit, although obvious and minor, had to do with the increase in selling and administration cost. As can be seen in Exhibit 3 by the Fixed Selling & Administration Budget Variance, an increase in the fixed costs reduced net profit by $7,000. The third problem area, concerning the marketing perspective, involved the difference in sales mix from actual to budget.FFL actually sold more Basic Wood Stoves and fewer Deluxe Wood Stoves than budgeted. Unfortunately, the Deluxe Wood Stove possessed a higher standard contribution margin per unit than the Basic ($210 to $80). Therefore the difference in the mix of sales caused FFL’s net profit to be reduced by $234,000 (Sales Mix Variance). Ultimately, more market research must be conducted to better understand consumer wants and needs and th us be able to efficiently budget company products accordingly to reach profitability goals. APPENDIX EXHIBIT 1| | BASIC (Actual)| BASIC (Std. | DELUXE (Actual)| DELUXE (Std. )| Selling Price| $325| $300| $700| $800| Variable Costs:| Direct Materials| $67. 50| $70. 00| $171. 00| $190. 00| Direct Labor| $104. 00| $90. 00| $248. 00| $240. 00| Overhead| $52. 00| $45. 00| $124. 00| $120. 00| Sell & Admin| $15. 00| $15. 00| $40. 00| $40. 00| Total Variable Costs| $238. 50| $220. 00| $583. 00| $590. 00| Contribution Margin| $86. 50| $80. 00| $117. 00| $210. 00| CONTRIBUTION MARGINS TABLE| Illustration of some calculations involved: *Using the Actual Results Table Provided in Exhibit AActual Unit Selling (Basic) = Sales Revenue ? Sales Volume (units) = $2,340,000 / 7,200 units = $325 Unit Direct Materials (Basic) = Direct Materials Cost ? Sales Volume (units) = $486,000 / 7,200 units = $67. 50 *Using the Unit Cost Standards Table Provided in Exhibit B Std. Unit Direct Labor (Basic) = DL Std . Qty. Per Unit x DL Std. Rate Per Hr. = 6 hrs. x $15. 00 per hr. = $90 APPENDIX EXHIBIT 2| For the Year Ended May 31 2010| | ACTUAL| FLEX-BUDGET VARIANCE| FLEX BUDGET| SALES-VOLUME VARIANCE| STATIC BUDGET| TOTAL VARIANCE| Quantity (units)| 12,000| | 12,000| | 10,000| |Sales Revenue| $5,700,000| ($300,000)| $6,000,000| $250,000| $5,750,000| ($50,000)| Variable Costs| $4,515,600| ($99,600)| $4,416,000| ($181,000)| $4,235,000| ($280,600)| CM| $1,184,400| ($399,600)| $1,584,000| $69,000| $1,515,000| ($330,600)| Fixed Costs| $919,500| ($37,000)| $882,500| | $882,500| ($37,000)| Net Income| $264,900| ($436,600)| $701,500| $69,000| $632,500| ($367,600)| FLEXIBLE BUDGET REPORT| GIVEN CALCULATED FILL IN THE BLANK VARIANCES: ($) = UNFAVORABLE & $ = FAVORABLE Illustration of some calculations involved for Flex Budget: Flex Sales Revenue = Std.Sell Price Per Unit x Actual Sales volume (units) Basic Wood Stove = $300 x 7,200 units = $2,160,000 Deluxe Wood Stove = $800 x 4,800 units = $3,840,000 Total Flex Sales Revenue = $6,000,000 Flex Variable Costs = Std. Variable Price Per Unit x Actual Sales Volume (units) Basic Wood Stove = $220 x 7,200 = $1,548,000 Deluxe Wood Stove = $590 x 4,800 = $2,832,000 Total Flex Variable Costs = $4,416,000 Flex Fixed Costs = Static Fixed Costs APPENDIX EXHIBIT 3| | FLEX BUDGET VARIANCE| SALES VOLUME VARIANCE| SALES VARIANCES| | | | Sales Price| | $300,000 U| -| Sales Mix| | -| $234,000 U|Sales Quantity| | -| $303,000 F| Sales Volume | | -| $69,000 F| TOTAL SALES VARIANCE| | $300,000 U| $69,000 F| | | | | VARIABLE COST VARIANCES| | | | Direct Materials| | $109,000 F| -| Direct Labor| | $139,200 U| -| Overhead| | $69,600 U| -| Selling & Admin| | $0| -| TOTAL VARIABLE COST VARIANCE| | $399,600 U| -| | | | | TOTAL CM VARIANCE| | $399,600 U| -| | | | | FIXED COST VARIANCES| | | | Mfg. Budget| | $30,000 U| -| Sell & Admin Budget| | $7,000 U| -| TOTAL FIXED COST VARIANCE| | $37,000 U| -| | | | | TOTAL VARIANCE| | $436,600 U| $69,000 F| | | | | VA RIANCES TABLE| U = UnfavorableF = Favorable APPENDIX Illustration of some calculations involved in creating Exhibit 3: SALES VARIANCE Section Sales Price Variance = Actual Units sold x (Actual Sell Price – Budgeted) Basic Wood Stove = 7,200 x ($325-$300) = $180,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = 4,800 x ($700-$800) = $480,000 U Total Sales Price Variance = $300,000 U Sales Mix Variance = (Actual Sales Mix % – Budgeted) x Actual total units sold x Budgeted CM per unit Basic Wood Stove = [(7,200/12,000)-(4,500/10,000)] x 12,000 x $80 = $144,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = [(4,800/12,000)-(5,500/10,000)] x 12,000 x $210 = $378,000 UTotal Sales Mix Variance = $234,000 U Sales Quantity Variance = (Actual total units sold – Budgeted) x Budgeted Sales Mix % x Budgeted CM per unit Basic Wood Stove = (12,000-10,000) x (4,500/10,000) x $80 = $72,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = (12,000=10,000) x (5,500/10,000) x $210 = $231,000 F Total Sales Quantity Variance = $303,000 F Sales Volume Variance = (Actual Sales Volume – Budgeted) x Budgeted Cm per unit Basic Wood Stove = (7,200-4,500) x $80 = $216,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = (4,800-5,500) x $210 = $147,000 U Total Sales Volume Variance = $69,000 F Ferguson Foundry Limited ————————————————- Case: Ferguson Foundry Limited (FFL) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Date: March 10 2013 To: Mark Ferguson, President From: Carl Holitzner Re: FFL’s Lower-Than-Budgeted Profit for the Fiscal Year Ended May 31 2010 The major issue is determining why Ferguson Foundry Limited’s (FFL) actual profit was $367,600 lower than budgeted, despite selling 2,000 more wood stoves (12,000 instead of 10,000 units). This will be explained using Variance Analysis to demonstrate the underlying reasons why the company failed to meet its president’s expectations.FFL profit for 2010 was below budget due to many factors both production and marketing related. From a production perspective, there were 3 major areas of concern all of which were unfavorable with respect to Variance Analysis (As shown in Exhibit 3): 1. Direct Labor 2. Variable Overhead 3. Fixed Cost The $139,2 00 unfavorable Direct Labor Variance can be attributed to many reasons however it is most likely linked to the management team. Due to the early retirement of the sales manager, the production manager being hospitalized and the accountant quitting, it can be understood that inefficiencies were bound to arise.Without proper management, labor reduced overall productivity of the company, as these workers took 121,200 hours to produce 12,00 stoves rather than the standard 120,000 hours that it should have taken. This reduced Net Income by $18,000 (Labor Yield Variance calculation). Secondly, the problem arising from Direct Labor also transcends to the Variable Overhead, as it is used as its cost driver. As a result, the $69,600 unfavorable Variable Overhead Variance can also be attributed to the more hours undertaken to produce the 12,000 stoves.With the lack of an inefficient management team, overhead could have accumulated through inefficient use and/or the budget could have not even accurately portrayed current rates for overhead items. The third problem with regards to the production perspective concerns the increase in fixed costs. In particular, the fixed manufacturing cost increased by $30,000 over budgeted costs, which in turn resulted in a reduction of net income by the same amount. This could have resulted due to several reasons such as additional machinery being required to handle the increased sales volume.However at this point it is unclear given the information provided and so further investigation must be conducted in an effort to better budget for future fixed costs. From a marketing perspective, there were also 3 major areas of concern all of which were unfavorable with respect to Variance Analysis: 1. Price 2. Fixed Cost 3. Sales Mix In analyzing the price changes, although it was beneficial to increase the sell price of the Basic Wood Stove ($300 to $325), this income benefit was significantly outweighed by the reduction in sell price of the Del uxe Wood Stove ($800 to $700).In the end, the price changes of both products resulted in a $300,000 reduction in profit (Sales Price Variance). Another reason for FFL’s lower than budgeted profit, although obvious and minor, had to do with the increase in selling and administration cost. As can be seen in Exhibit 3 by the Fixed Selling & Administration Budget Variance, an increase in the fixed costs reduced net profit by $7,000. The third problem area, concerning the marketing perspective, involved the difference in sales mix from actual to budget.FFL actually sold more Basic Wood Stoves and fewer Deluxe Wood Stoves than budgeted. Unfortunately, the Deluxe Wood Stove possessed a higher standard contribution margin per unit than the Basic ($210 to $80). Therefore the difference in the mix of sales caused FFL’s net profit to be reduced by $234,000 (Sales Mix Variance). Ultimately, more market research must be conducted to better understand consumer wants and needs and th us be able to efficiently budget company products accordingly to reach profitability goals. APPENDIX EXHIBIT 1| | BASIC (Actual)| BASIC (Std. | DELUXE (Actual)| DELUXE (Std. )| Selling Price| $325| $300| $700| $800| Variable Costs:| Direct Materials| $67. 50| $70. 00| $171. 00| $190. 00| Direct Labor| $104. 00| $90. 00| $248. 00| $240. 00| Overhead| $52. 00| $45. 00| $124. 00| $120. 00| Sell & Admin| $15. 00| $15. 00| $40. 00| $40. 00| Total Variable Costs| $238. 50| $220. 00| $583. 00| $590. 00| Contribution Margin| $86. 50| $80. 00| $117. 00| $210. 00| CONTRIBUTION MARGINS TABLE| Illustration of some calculations involved: *Using the Actual Results Table Provided in Exhibit AActual Unit Selling (Basic) = Sales Revenue ? Sales Volume (units) = $2,340,000 / 7,200 units = $325 Unit Direct Materials (Basic) = Direct Materials Cost ? Sales Volume (units) = $486,000 / 7,200 units = $67. 50 *Using the Unit Cost Standards Table Provided in Exhibit B Std. Unit Direct Labor (Basic) = DL Std . Qty. Per Unit x DL Std. Rate Per Hr. = 6 hrs. x $15. 00 per hr. = $90 APPENDIX EXHIBIT 2| For the Year Ended May 31 2010| | ACTUAL| FLEX-BUDGET VARIANCE| FLEX BUDGET| SALES-VOLUME VARIANCE| STATIC BUDGET| TOTAL VARIANCE| Quantity (units)| 12,000| | 12,000| | 10,000| |Sales Revenue| $5,700,000| ($300,000)| $6,000,000| $250,000| $5,750,000| ($50,000)| Variable Costs| $4,515,600| ($99,600)| $4,416,000| ($181,000)| $4,235,000| ($280,600)| CM| $1,184,400| ($399,600)| $1,584,000| $69,000| $1,515,000| ($330,600)| Fixed Costs| $919,500| ($37,000)| $882,500| | $882,500| ($37,000)| Net Income| $264,900| ($436,600)| $701,500| $69,000| $632,500| ($367,600)| FLEXIBLE BUDGET REPORT| GIVEN CALCULATED FILL IN THE BLANK VARIANCES: ($) = UNFAVORABLE & $ = FAVORABLE Illustration of some calculations involved for Flex Budget: Flex Sales Revenue = Std.Sell Price Per Unit x Actual Sales volume (units) Basic Wood Stove = $300 x 7,200 units = $2,160,000 Deluxe Wood Stove = $800 x 4,800 units = $3,840,000 Total Flex Sales Revenue = $6,000,000 Flex Variable Costs = Std. Variable Price Per Unit x Actual Sales Volume (units) Basic Wood Stove = $220 x 7,200 = $1,548,000 Deluxe Wood Stove = $590 x 4,800 = $2,832,000 Total Flex Variable Costs = $4,416,000 Flex Fixed Costs = Static Fixed Costs APPENDIX EXHIBIT 3| | FLEX BUDGET VARIANCE| SALES VOLUME VARIANCE| SALES VARIANCES| | | | Sales Price| | $300,000 U| -| Sales Mix| | -| $234,000 U|Sales Quantity| | -| $303,000 F| Sales Volume | | -| $69,000 F| TOTAL SALES VARIANCE| | $300,000 U| $69,000 F| | | | | VARIABLE COST VARIANCES| | | | Direct Materials| | $109,000 F| -| Direct Labor| | $139,200 U| -| Overhead| | $69,600 U| -| Selling & Admin| | $0| -| TOTAL VARIABLE COST VARIANCE| | $399,600 U| -| | | | | TOTAL CM VARIANCE| | $399,600 U| -| | | | | FIXED COST VARIANCES| | | | Mfg. Budget| | $30,000 U| -| Sell & Admin Budget| | $7,000 U| -| TOTAL FIXED COST VARIANCE| | $37,000 U| -| | | | | TOTAL VARIANCE| | $436,600 U| $69,000 F| | | | | VA RIANCES TABLE| U = UnfavorableF = Favorable APPENDIX Illustration of some calculations involved in creating Exhibit 3: SALES VARIANCE Section Sales Price Variance = Actual Units sold x (Actual Sell Price – Budgeted) Basic Wood Stove = 7,200 x ($325-$300) = $180,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = 4,800 x ($700-$800) = $480,000 U Total Sales Price Variance = $300,000 U Sales Mix Variance = (Actual Sales Mix % – Budgeted) x Actual total units sold x Budgeted CM per unit Basic Wood Stove = [(7,200/12,000)-(4,500/10,000)] x 12,000 x $80 = $144,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = [(4,800/12,000)-(5,500/10,000)] x 12,000 x $210 = $378,000 UTotal Sales Mix Variance = $234,000 U Sales Quantity Variance = (Actual total units sold – Budgeted) x Budgeted Sales Mix % x Budgeted CM per unit Basic Wood Stove = (12,000-10,000) x (4,500/10,000) x $80 = $72,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = (12,000=10,000) x (5,500/10,000) x $210 = $231,000 F Total Sales Quantity Variance = $303,000 F Sales Volume Variance = (Actual Sales Volume – Budgeted) x Budgeted Cm per unit Basic Wood Stove = (7,200-4,500) x $80 = $216,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = (4,800-5,500) x $210 = $147,000 U Total Sales Volume Variance = $69,000 F Ferguson Foundry Limited CASE ANALYSIS: FERGUSON FOUNDRY LIMITED (FFL) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction After reviewing the financial statements for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, Mark Ferguson, President of Ferguson Foundry Limited’s (FFL), was disappointed with the results. Operating Income was $367,600 below expectation, despite having sold 2,000 wood stove units greater than budgeted. To determine which areas FFL’s actual performance was better or worse than expected, a variance analysis will be conducted.However, it is important to note that variance analysis alone can only emphasize areas that need improvement, and not determine the reason for these discrepancies. A further investigation is warranted once determining the issues outlined through variance analysis. Analysis – Qualitative and Quantitative There are many areas within FFL’s production which have been proven to be unfavourable, and where immediate improvement is necessary. Of particular concern is the variable overhead, where an unfavorable variance of $180,600 was discovered (Appendix F).Within this variance, the variable overhead costs, both manufacturing and non-manufacturing of the Deluxe model are what seem to be causing inefficiencies. The Deluxe model accounts for $157,200 of the $180,600U mentioned above. Other Key Areas of Concern Outlined Through Variance Analysis: * Appendix I: Although the selling price of the basic model increased by $25, a $100 reduction in the selling price of the Deluxe model counterbalanced this increase, and negatively affected income. Appendix E: The difference between the budgeted and actual sales mix had an adverse effect on revenues. The Deluxe model had a greater CM/unit of 210, and was budgeted at 55% of the sales mix, however, it only ended up accounting for 40% of the actual sales mix. * Appendix H: The market share of FFL resulted in being less than expected (10% to 9%), in a market which was larger than expected/budgeted (133,333 to 100,000 uni ts). Recommendation and Implementation We recommend a proper rectification of the issues with regards to FFL’s unfavourable variances.Firstly, is it of utmost importance to have all the necessary components of management (i. e. supervisors, directors, and managers) on the job and ready to manage. Once FFL has the personnel to solve these significant issues, the following must be corrected, in order: Direct labor inefficiencies and high overhead costs, most importantly. Then, they can â€Å"fine tune† and solve higher than usual selling and administrative expenses and high fixed overhead costs. Further instructions with regards to solving these issues are outlined in Appendix K.However, if FFL is not capable of reorganising the company by itself, external help is necessary to implement specific changes that will improve FFL’s bottom line. REFERENCES Bhimani, Alnoor et al. Management and Cost Accounting. Pearson Education Limited, 2012. Print. APPENDIX A DIRECT MA TERIAL VARIANCES Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX B DIRECT MATERIAL VARIANCES CONTINUED *540,000 + 912,000 = 1,452,000 *315,000 + 1,045,000 = 1,360,000 Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX C DIRECT LABOR VARIANCESNote: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX D DIRECT LABOR VARIANCES CONTINUED Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX E SALES VARIANCES 7200/12000 = 0. 6 4500/10000 = 0. 45 Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX F VARIABLE OVERHEAD VARIANCE *Variable Selling & Administrative Expenses are labeled as Non-Manufacturing in this table. Total Variable Overhead for Basic and Deluxe = 27,000U + 18,000F = 9,000U Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX G FIXED OVERHEAD VARIANCE *750,000 ? 115,000 = 6. 217 Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX H MARKET VARIANCES Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX I VARIANCE OVERVIEW Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPE NDIX J ANALYSIS OF THE UNFAVORABLE VARIANCES Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable Note: $421,300 represents the sum of all unfavorable variances that have brought down the company’s annual earnings. Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX K RECOMMENDATIONS: REDUCING THE TOTAL UNFAVOURABLE VARIANCE

Assignment 1 Essay

Professor Identify the pros and cons of the partnership as a form of ownership. Discuss funding options for small businesses. Determine and discuss how managerial accounting can help managers with product costing, incremental analysis and budgeting. Discuss the basic components of the marketing process using a product or service of your choice as an example. Discuss the roles of social responsibility and technology in the marketing function. A partnership as a form of ownership is formed quite simply. When two or more people get together and come to an agreement on what type of business to take part in, then all parties share investment, profit, and of course loss. Let’s discuss the pros and cons ofa partnership. Pros, one of the many things all investors would like to see out weight the cons in anything they are engaged in mentally, physically, and of course financially. First of all, one pro would be how easy it is to create a partnership. You simply get with at least one other person come to an agreement over all the business details, and â€Å"BAM† you have a partnership. Some people are comfortable in erbal agreements but I personally would suggest you get all your partnership details on a written legal document Just in case. Funding is another advantage toa partnership. When two or more people come together to form a business partnership money is invested from all parties involved in turn the business has a stronger financial backing to support it. Not only will the business have a strong financial backing all partners invested may have access to outside money to support the business even further along. One of the best advantages in being in a business partnership is shared responsibility. Shared responsibility is crucial in a successful business and of course partnership. When the business starts to get a bit heavy you can hand it to your partner or partners to carry the work load for a while. You can also look to your partners for moral support when you may think things aren’t going as stated in your business plan. So far we have heard the pros ofa business partnership but like every bandage that fixes that painful spot you eventually have to pull it off. Cons, the opposite of Pro, the many things that all business investors need to know before investing but never want to hear. You may be thinking since it was a breeze to create this business partnership the rest will come as a breeze. You could your mind; everyone who is a partner is liable for all debts. You and your partners are all Jointly or individually liable for all debts accumulated by the business. For example, let’s say your partner or partners are taking the profits the business is making and gambling with it. Your partners blow away all the profits on poker games and skip town what then, that’s right you are still liable for any debt accumulated by the business. Another obvious con is your business partners will want to share the rofits made by the business. You can’t assume when the business makes profit everyone will agree on saving it. Your partner or partners may want to buy cars, houses, or maybe boats. You don’t have total control of the business. Business decisions are made Jointly not on your own. You may run into disagreements that in turn create the other partner to leave the business, or even lead to buying out the other partner. Pros and cons are a great way to see if you’re the, â€Å"partner type†, if so make sure you pick the right partner or partners for your business. There are many ther factors in owning and running a business. For example, in order to get your business off the ground you have to find the money to do so. Debt financing is one way you can start up your business. Debt financing is simply going to a bank that knows you have good credit, a good standing history with them, and apply for a small business loan. In the current economy most banks can be very hesitant to offer you the loan so another way is equity. Selling a share of your business meaning you aren’t solely in charge or will now be sharing the profits may be scary, but it can help you start up your business. After starting up your business you now have to manage the business or appoint someone for the Job. Managing the accounting is a great way to stay on top of product cost, and budgeting. Managerial accounting is detailed data used for inside members of a company. Managerial accounting includes things like cost of the product, cost of shipping, cost of employee benefits, cost of turnover, basically every number available to you and your partners. You can determine if you have the budget to raise wages for your employees to boost employee morale. Each business owner can use the data to do their Job better. You can go to your losses data and determine if your employees are stealing from you. Then determine how much more security you will need in order to prevent product loss. If you or your manager for your business needs to determine if their product was set at the right price they could view the sales data to see if the supply met the demand. If you see that one of your items hasn’t been selling very well you can set it at a lower price or you can Just order less of such product. If you see you sold a lot of a particular product you can raise the price as you see fit. You now know if you are the partner ype, you know a couple ways to possibly fund your business, and you know how to manage your data and budget. How are you going to get costumers through your door or buying your product? How will you market yourself? Let’s use my dream business as an example. I would like to open up a caf © lounge that serves fair trade coffee, craft beer, and fine wines. In order for me to make any kind of better profit for my business I have to market my business. You have to give the people what they want in my case I would produce amazing cups of coffee. My business would offer a coffee with better taste, and appeal. My coffee would be made with love and not thrown at you in the pickup line simultaneously saying, â€Å"NEXT†. My caf © lounge would major downtown street. Location is important for my caf © lounge so doing a little research of the area by visiting throughout all times of the day to see the amount of traffic the area receives is crucial. Then maybe you can ask around the nearby stores to see if customers purchase a lot of coffee. You can even go to the nearest coffee shop and see what coffee and vibe they offer and simply ask the locals what kind of coffee they like or would like to drink in what kind of atmosphere. After finding your target market, a great location, building your business, affordable product pricing, and setting your hours of operation it is time to promote your business. You can put ads in the local newspaper, ads in local magazines, and maybe even do a commercial broadcast in the tri county area. You will have to set your product apart from all the other competitors. For me coffee is all about personality, process, and taste. In order to retain customers your employees have to be personable, professional, and building customer relationships. Then there’s process, customers will see you make heir drink every step of the way making it an enjoyable experience. Lastly is taste, my employees being highly trained baristas will make you a drink to your satisfaction in a timely fashion all the while maintaining a welcoming atmosphere for my caf © lounge. Having the best tasting coffee and vibe may do Justice but for long term business it may not be enough this is when you bring in the events. Doing special events with your business such as charities, open mic nights, acoustic Jam sessions, and book clubs is a great way to attract more customers and maintain current ones. Internet is your best friend. Creating a website for your business is an amazing marketing play. It allows your customers to have 2417 access to information, and product choices. You can post updates on new product arrivals, special events, and specific information for each product you offer. The best part about having a website is they can look you up anywhere in the world that offers internet. Another great marketing strategy is purchasing ad space on other websites like a grocery franchise or sports sites. Green marketing is another great way to market your business. Customers love knowing your business is eco friendly by recycling, or using recycled aterial. By simply pushing customers to buy coffee to drink in house rather than take away conserves paper cups in turn less garbage. If customers choose to take to go anyways inform the customers all your paper products are recycled and recyclable. Offering organic treats to eat along with their coffee can promote a green business as well. In the end knowing everything there is to build, manage, and market your business your goal is to have long term profitability. You want to exceed customer satisfaction, you want to blow away the competition, and be prepared for even harder competition in the future.