Globalization Coca Cola Essay Example

Globalization Coca Cola Essay Globalization describes the proliferate synthesis of the world’s economic, political, technological and socio-cultural systems through the liberalization of international trade and investment or the reduction of barriers to international trade such as tariffs, import quotas and other related import and export restrictions. Globalization has allowed a greater establishment of goods, services, wealth and society development throughout the world, however, its implications such as the unequal distributions of income and employment opportunities due to outsourcing methods to derive relative unit labour costs and the constant company and government power struggles is becoming an increasing cause for concern. Nevertheless, companies continue to expand and develop and take advantage of globalization, which is considered to be an historic trend and an inevitable evolution process. The Coca Cola Company is a prominent, American Multinational beverage company that constitutes its own product manufacturing, distributing and marketing efforts in over 200 countries worldwide. The company that is best known for its bellwether beverage, Coca Cola, was established as The Coca Cola Company in 1889 by Asa Candler and has presently, collaborated with approximately 300 bottling partners throughout the world. It offers 500 brands of products including of diet beverages, sports drinks, teas coffees and juices. We will write a custom essay sample on Globalization Coca Cola specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Globalization Coca Cola specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Globalization Coca Cola specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Coca Cola is considered to be one of the biggest brands in the world and the company, one of the world’s first global companies. The influence and impact of globalization on The Coca Cola Company was crucial for the company’s success as statistics prove that presently, 70 percent of the company’s income is propagated through non local operating territories. As a consequence of globalization, the Coca Company has capitalized on many opportunities and experienced many backlashes. When the Coca Cola syrup was created by pharmacist, John Pemberton in 1886, citizens of the United States were delighted and enthusiastic by the new product that was distributed from a cola fountain. As the demand for the product grew John sold the exclusive rights for the product to salesman, Asa Griggs Candler, who began developing the product as a brand. Asa Candler began to introduce Coca Cola throughout the United States by developing marketing strategies such as offering coupons and merchandise with the Coca Cola logo. This strategy soon made coca cola to be available and consumed in every state of the United States. Subsequently, because of the exceedingly increasing demand for the beverage new measures had to be established to distribute the product to reach all their customers. In the year 1894 coca cola was put into bottles that allowed the product portability. Large scale bottle manufacturing activities was then initiated after statistics had proven that the bottled coca cola sales surpassed the fountain sales. The new bottling innovation along with continuous marketing strategies took the company to the global stage and the coca cola beverage was now bottled in Cuba, Panama and Canada. The exclusive right to sell the product was then sold to lawyers, Benjamin F. Thomas and Joseph B. Whitehead whom had to please their exceedingly expanding consumer base as the company was now an international company. Globalization of Coca Cola’s operations allowed the organization to serve a greater variety of consumers that contributed to a great increase in demand however it also affected the company negatively as it also spurred competition. Joseph and Benjamin began implementing and delegating new methods to safeguard their product such as advertising to consumers to demand the authentic coca cola and to refuse substitutes. They also gave the coca cola beverage a new feature, they distributed the beverage in a contour glass bottle that can be recognized anywhere by consumers and this advancement brought new life to the company. The new design allowed the company to further expand globally. The company was also able to utilize outsourcing methods to achieve cheaper labour and machinery costs to enhance the company’s profitability. The company then began distributing its flagship product to Puerto Rico, France and other foreign countries. By the year 1900-1920 the Coca Cola Company had established about 1000 plants worldwide from only 2 plants initially. One can observe how the competitive forces and increasing demand, as a result of globalization, basically forced the company to become more innovative and creative subsequently resulting in better and reinforced marketing strategies as well as an new and more appealing and distinctive image for the product that positively impacted the profitability of the company. However if the company did not respond to the new pressures of the global environment they may have experienced a lesser demand for their product and lose competitive advantage due to the fact that fellow competitors would be given an opportunity to move in on their market share. This would have severely impacted the success of the companies in a negative way as the company would be losing customers thereby losing revenue and profits. So it can be said that a global business environment requires a company that must be able to survive susceptible changes. These susceptible changes are triggered because of the continuous change in consumer needs and wants that is mainly generated by advance the continuous progression of globalization. To survive these susceptible changes companies must consistently derive new innovations and new ideas to keep up with their constantly changing consumer needs. As the world began interconnecting more globally because of technological, political, educational and corporate advancement mainly because of social and cultural preferences beginning to become more similar, new doors began to open for the corporate world to strategize their global operations and recognition. In 1923 Robert Woodruff who was then the president of the company utilized the Olympic Games as an international foundation for the company. The company sponsored the United States team which allowed coca cola to further be recognized on highly publicized international stage. During this event, Robert Woodruff began to introduce new inventions, these inventions were the six pack carrier case, a vending machine and new fountain dispensers with a bell shaped glasses. The games assisted to spur new innovations within the global environment on a more recognized stage thereby further impacting the success and growth of the company. Again as globalization progressed changes in innovations were needed inorder to secure and expand market share, reinforce competitive advantage and please the changing demands of international consumers. Becoming an international company means that one would be serving an international market therefore consumers will have different preferences and with coca cola continuing to derive new methods to distribute their product in different ways consumers will now have a variety of ways to enjoy the product, subsequently this would allow more options for consumer to be pleased therefore attracting more customers and expanding market share. The Coca Cola Company continued to reinvent its marketing strategies to grasp international attention and appeal. They added a new shorter trademark name entitled ‘coke’ to the beverage. This new ‘name’ was responded to with mix reviews as some international bodies slammed the name because it was the same shortened name used for the illicit substance cocaine. Being a growing international success, the changes conducted by company would be more highlighted in the global spotlight due to organizations watchdogs and similar corporations, therefore a greater reaction would be accompanied by the change. In this case the reaction was a controversial one that can negatively affect the image of the company . Consumers were now hesitant to use the new ‘name’ nevertheless, coca cola responded to this matter by creating a young character entitled the ‘Sprite boy’ to promote the new trademark for the product, and even though the criticism pursued statistics have proven that the word ‘coke’ presently is one of the most popular words utilized in the English vocabulary today, so obviously the marketing tactics devised and implemented by the company was victorious. By devising this strategy consumers felt more comfortable with the change and therefore acknowledged the new innovation at ease. As the international success of the company expanded, Woodruff continued to use the arising global opportunities to his advantage. World War 2 had now commenced and Woodruff made the beverage available to all service people in uniform at a cheaper price this allowed the beverage to be purchased in massive amounts during the war which then allowed the company to the opportunity to create 64 additional bottling plants inorder to provide for United States military and service personnel in international countries. This laid the most important international foundation that increased the international market of the company. Most people got to experience their first taste of the beverage for the first time ever this led to business boom after the war for the company. When the war subsided the company capitalized on its new foundation by using advertisements that promoted coca cola as the beverage that can suit any lifestyle and that can bring happiness to one’s life and relieve post war stress. This once again led to a desire for more innovative measures to be established to distribute its product to its consumers and as a result this led to the invention of the ‘coke in cans’. Coke in cans further extended the company’s market share and with the company’s global success progressing substantially, more coca cola manufacturing plants were established in other foreign countries. Globalization also allowed more varied beverage manufacturing companies to penetrate the beverage market. Consumers therefore developed a need for a variety of beverages such as juices, coffees, teas, sports and health drinks etc. This new demand was necessitated by new companies who influenced the desires of the customers by creating further beverage innovations. Coke therefore decided to develop other brands and types of beverages besides its bellwether beverage to reinforce its competitiveness and increase its consumer base in the beverage manufacturing market. The company began producing a carbonated beverage called Sprite, a diet drink called Tab and a coffee entitled Georgia Coffee Original. These new products allowed the enterprise to establish plants in China. The company was the first company ever permitted to sell packaged cold drinks in China bringing the total number of countries that Coca Cola distributes its products to 163. In the 1980’s the CEO of coca cola decided to further strategize the operations of the company in order to improve and extend its operations in a methodology that would increase profitability by organizing the various United States bottling organizations into a public company entitled Coca Cola Enterprises international. The company also introduced another successful beverage on the market, ‘diet coke’ to appease the needs of health conscious consumers. With globalization becoming more persistent throughout years, Coca Cola Company decided to reconstruct the taste of its product coca cola to establish a competitive advantage. Consumers responded to this change negatively and the company had to revert to its original recipe. However its success was not halted as the company continued to collaborate with more international sporting events such as the Fifa World Cup and the Rugby World Cup. The company also started producing other beverages such as Powerade sports drink, Vitamin Water, Fanta and Dasani bottled water. The company also bought the popular juice manufacturing company, Minute Maid and extended its product line. Proceeding into the early 2000’s coke began to experience severe global backlashes. The ingredients utilized in the company’s product recipe became a major concern to consumers, mainly the high fructose corn syrup, as researchers linked lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, dental erosion, strokes, hypertension and osteoporosis to the prolong use of coke’s products. Activists also accused coke’s products of being addictive because of the level of caffeine and other chemicals utilized in the recipe along with the aggressive marketing strategies, researchers even linked the advertisement schedule of the company to the cause for the increase in child obesity. The advertisements for the organizations Vitamin Water product was lso slammed as being misleading as the recipe utilized for the product was not at all healthy. The increase of health conscious behavior was as a result of globalization. Despite coke having substantial experience with the susceptible changing global environment the company failed to establish efforts to appease the demands of t he ‘new’ health conscious era of consumers that ultimately led to this backlash. Consumers were also becoming more environmentally friendly and coke’s damaging environmental impacts such as the polluting of the atmosphere and destruction of agriculture became more prominent to the public eye. The enterprise responded to this new change in consumer behavior by establishing plastic, semi recycled bottles and utilizing transportation that was less destructive to the atmosphere. Coke already had formatted and practiced glass recycling that cut the company’s production costs but this practice only became recognized during this era. It is therefore understood, that with the cultural changes of consumer behaviors that consumers expect corporate establishments to also care about what they proclaim to be morally right. One consumer behavior also initiates a progressive change among society causing the society to adapt and expect the same care to be considered and assisted by corporations whom they purchase from. So businesses must take the concerns of customers into consideration to fully please their consumers. Allegations have also surfaced of questionable, practices constituted by the company. The company was believed to have been involved in a series of assassinations of trade union advocates. It is alleged that paramilitary personnel were hired by Coke to reprimand the advocates which ultimately resulted in their deaths. This allegation seriously affected the image of the company and market share was now on the verge of declining. Coca Cola was also accused of attempting to monopolize the beverage market and therefore incurred a lawsuit that in turn led to restructuring of the company’s competitive efforts that was not as successful as their previous efforts therefore decreasing their competitive advantage and allowing more competitors to capitalize on their market share. Consequently, these events resulted in multiple lawsuits being filed against the enterprise and motivated activists to implement boycotting actions. These activities received major international support and coca cola products were subsequently banned from several universities. The multinational organization responded to the boycotting activities by simply denying any wrongdoing on the company’s part and defending themselves in court. This was realistically a weak approach to such a serious situation that presently continues to negatively affect the company’s image. If boycotting actions prolong, this will negatively affect the company’s market share resulting in demand and profit declines. Ultimately, as the health conscious behaviors continue to develop an additional pressure would be exerted on the company and as discussed before if the company continues to deny the concerns of consumers the company would lose their customers and eventually have to eradicate its operations due to substantial losses. The Coca Cola Company being a beverage manufacturing company is governed and regulated by the Food and Drug Administration. As consumers concerns of the health risks associated with ingredients utilized by coke continues to accelerate, these concerns can influence the FDA to ban such ingredients thus affecting the company’s operations. Additionally, with environmental concerns persisting to exist the eventual, forbiddance of specific types of manufacturing plants such as smelters and glass refining plants in certain international territories can also impact the company. International environmental change will also allow further opportunities and threats to be uncovered by companies. Climate Change is an intensifying actualization that will continue to impact the entire world. It is estimated that the future will bring warmer temperatures, with a warmer climate there would be a greater demand for cold beverages and also for Corporate Social Responsibility efforts to save the wildlife and societies that thrives on colder temperatures. The economic recession may even get worst and new methods would have to be established to allow the company to reduce costs inorder to enhance profitability and provide affordable prices for consumers. The Coca Cola Company being the successful business venture can use its marketing strengths and international operating experience to enhance its operations and eliminate current difficulties. The company possesses strengths such as large financial bases and loyal consumers. The company however must first respond to boycotts by giving an international ambiguous and detailed briefing of the events that inspired the boycotts. The company must also include in their briefing, methods that would be establish to discontinue consumer health and environmental concerns associated with the company’s operations and products. The company must also meet with distraught trade unions and the murdered victims’ families to discuss the existing issues. This would allow the company to be respected and thereby contributing to the recovery of the company’s image. The company must then launch research activities to obtain healthier recipes that would allow the same great taste to please the consumers. To replace the high fructose corn syrup the company can outsource cane sugar from Indonesia at an affordable price that would not increase the cost of the company this would allow the exemption of the fructose syrup and replacing it with a healthier substitute. Other unhealthy ingredients can also be replaced with affordable outsourced substitutes that would provide the same taste. If the company refuses to change the formula, an invention that can reduce the effect of the unhealthy ingredients such as a simple powder to sprinkle in the beverage before consuming that would eliminate or decrease the effects of the caffeine and other health risky ingredients can be manufactured and made available to consumers this will bring additional revenue to the company and appease health conscious customers. The company can also capitalize on this health conscious effect by developing a new and affordable 100% healthy juice made from real fruit and vegetables to appease health conscious consumers. Increased labour outsourcing methods combined with ingredient outsourcing products may also derive a cheaper relative unit labour cost that can accommodate more affordable prices to consumers during the progression of the global recession. Coca Cola must also focus more on environmental friendly policies by installing filters in all smoke exhausts and contributing to agriculture by initiating a tree planting program and also educating the public on how to recycle appropriately. Their products must also be packaged and branded with ecofriendly packaging. Coke must also introduce and develop new methods to distribute its products in case of smelters and glass manufacturing processes being abolished in the future. Coke can invent new technologies such as portable product dispensers that are long lasting and ecofriendly. In the event of severe climate change, the organization can constitute donation funds that can allow its customers to donate to efforts to devise methods such as advertising educational programs that states the steps one can take to take a stand against decrease the process of climate change such as eliminating the use of products containing CFC’s and limiting burning isposal efforts and upgrading to ecofriendly products. These advertisements can also highlighlights the company’s engineered ecofriendly packaged products. The company should also pioneer new products that would provide a cooling comfort to societies experiencing a warmer climate and warmer products that would comfort societies experiencing c older climates.

Misplaced Modifiers Mix Meanings

Misplaced Modifiers Mix Meanings Misplaced Modifiers Mix Meanings Misplaced Modifiers Mix Meanings By Mark Nichol Scrambled sentence structure can lead to humorous or at least head-shaking imagery that readers will stumble on. Be alert in your writing for infelicitous misplacement of meaning: 1. â€Å"Kangaroo babies are the size of a lima bean at birth.† But we’re not told how big a lima bean is at birth. Oh perhaps it means this: â€Å"At birth, kangaroo babies are the size of a lima bean.† 2. â€Å"A famous athlete in the ancient Olympics named Milo of Kroton could break a string tied around his head with his bulging forehead veins.† OK, wait, let me get this straight: Milo of Kroton tied a string around his head with his bulging forehead veins? Why not just tie the string to, um, the string? Milo evidently wasn’t using his head after all: â€Å"In the ancient Olympics, a famous athlete named Milo of Kroton could, with his bulging forehead veins, break a string tied around his head.† (It was also unclear whether the athlete or the games were called Milo of Kroton.) 3. â€Å"The first company to pioneer the idea of extended stay in 1975 was started by an apartment developer.† A year-specific long-term residence hotel? What an intriguing business model! Which entrepreneurial insight did they have for 1976? (And first and pioneer are redundant.): â€Å"The company, which pioneered the idea of extended stay, was started by an apartment developer in 1975.† (â€Å"In 1975, an apartment developer started the company, which pioneered the idea of extended stay† is also correct and is also more active, but the context may prefer passive construction.) 4. â€Å"Mail was delivered by the Pony Express in the Wild West, a system in which riders rode to checkpoints, got a new horse, and rode on.† I’ve never heard the Wild West described as a system: The writer meant, â€Å"Mail was delivered in the Wild West by the Pony Express, a system in which riders rode to checkpoints, got a new horse, and rode on.† 5. â€Å"Based on a true story, divers are left behind to float in the open seas in Open Water.† The divers are not based on a true story; a true story inspired the movie: â€Å"In Open Water, based on a true story, two divers are left behind to float in the ocean.† 6. â€Å"The president says valor and sacrifice in the armed forces are no longer defined by sexual orientation at historic signing.† What does sexual orientation at a historic signing have to do with valor and sacrifice?: Nothing. The sentence should read, â€Å"At a historic signing, the president says valor and sacrifice in the armed forces are no longer defined by sexual orientation.† 7. â€Å"If you learn to laugh with, and at, your family, you’ll be able to survive just about anything that life throws at you with confidence and style.† Why let your life throw things, much less throw things with confidence and style?: â€Å"If you learn to laugh with (and at) your family, you’ll be able to survive, with confidence and style, just about anything that life throws at you.† (I also placed â€Å"and at† in parentheses to break up a string of commas that would, unchecked, have flattened the sentence.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Computer Terms You Should KnowBest Websites to Learn EnglishNarrative, Plot, and Story

Accounting Problems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Accounting Problems - Essay Example a) A project with a beta of 1.3 requires a return greater than 16.5% in order to add value b) The slope of the SML can be calculated by referring to any two points on the SML, for example the points representing Assets 1 and 2. Slope is equal to difference in return divided by difference in beta (.175 - .125)/(1.5 - .05). c) If Asset 2 has an IRR greater than15% then it should be accepted (according to the SML and the firm objective of maximizing value. d) All projects plotting on the SML have an NPV of zero Question 10 E(R) = Rf +ÃŽ ²*(Rm –Rf) E(R) = 0.03 +1.2*(0.04) Risk adjusted rate of return= 7.80% Question 11 Correct statements a) Positive NPV assets plot above the line and are considered to be underpriced b) The risk-free asset has a beta of zero and the market portfolio has a beta of one c) In equilibrium all financial assets will plot on the SML line and have an NPV of zero. d) All assets, securities and portfolios which plot on the SML are efficient. Question 13 True , because the portfolio is less risky

Enron Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Enron - Essay Example It was only after the scandal that the government decided to do something about the prevention of possible future crimes that might be committed. Ethical considerations for the case and verdict required that no further information on the criminal case was leaked out into the public. As for justice on the crimes that were committed, the defendants had to pay for their crimes and were sent to jail. As much as they claimed that they were innocent, the jury had found them guilty with no biases made. The victims, although suffered terrible losses in terms of finances in the market, nothing more could be asked as the criminals who were the cause of the crime were sent to jail—it was better than having the criminals set loose. For the rest of the people in society who were not involved in the incident, justice was served as the government had took action to close the company so as to prevent more probable problems that might come from them. As a result of the scandal, the UK and the USA were the first countries to make the necessary changes so as to prevent anything like the scandal to happen again. Accountability and legal changes were made and this lead to the creation of the Sarbanes-Oaxely Act which required that CEO and CFO of any company to certify annual reports that will be passed to the government. The inability to do the required action of the law meant the probability of facing charges on the part of the CEO and CFO (â€Å"What is the Sarbanes-Oxely Act?

Ethical And Moral Dilemma Case Studies Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Ethical And Moral Dilemma Studies - Case Study Example She is also obligated to honor the orders from her seniors and hence the conflict of interest. By letting go of the cocaine case, Linda would be acting against morality and the oath of service she took and the distribution of the drug would cause more harm to the society. Failing to heed to the distress call by the dispatcher would imply that she doesn't honor the authority and as such liable for punishment. Besides, her failure to attend to back up the burglary case may imply that her fellow officers would be outdone by the criminals and as such the whole force being on the losing side. Linda also would consider the morality in failing to arrest the drug trafficker on the premise of overcrowding o the jails which would also be unethical. This paper postulates that Linda would assume the call by the dispatcher to concentrate on the drug crime as it is an equal crime as the burglary is. The ethical support o such reasoning would be based on the fact that crime towards humanity is alwa ys unethical. Trafficking harmful substance such as the drug compromises the social well-being of the people who would use it and hence the moral responsibility of the police force to combat the crime. Although burglary is an equal vice, Linda is not ethically justified to leave drug crime to attend to the burglary because as much as burglary needs attention, drug trafficking requires an equal and urgent attention. Linda is therefore in the crisis between choosing to be loyal to the seniors and acting legally as the profession expects of her.

History Of The Stewardship Theory Accounting Essay

History Of The Stewardship Theory Accounting Essay The stewardship theory holds a different approach from that of the agency theory, it first premise is that, the company serves a large range of social purposes rather than just trying to maximize the wealth of shareholders. The stewardship theory also called the stakeholders theory assumes that corporations are social entities that affect stakeholders welfare and stakeholders are individuals interacting with the firms directly, therefore, they can affect or affected by the achievement of the firms objectives(Donaldson and preston,1995, freeman,1984) According to Starik and Rands(1995), a companys success can be judge by its ability to add stakeholders value(starik and rands,1995,Dunphy et al,2003).stakeholders will only return to a firm for more when they always get what they wantFreeman,1984, freeman and Mc Vea,2001).Hence stakeholders are regarded as instrumental to corporate success and they tend to possess some moral and legal rights(Donaldson and Preston,1995, Ulrich,2008).Companies management have to take in to consideration the claims or concern of stakeholders in their decision making process(Blair, 1995), stakeholders participation in the companys decision making process enhance better efficiency (Turnbull,1994) and also reduces conflicts(Rothman and friedman, 2001). A company can use two approaches when considering or integration stakeholders in their decision making (kaptein and van Tulder,2003). These two approaches are reactive and proactive approach. Reactive approach on one hand is when the concern of stakeholders are not considered or integrated in making corporate decision. This usually leads to misalignment of the companys objectives and the demands of stakeholders (Mackenzie,2007).The scandals of world com was attributed to the fact that they never integrated the stakeholder concern in their decision making processes(Curral and Epstem,2003, Turnbull,2002, walkins,2003 and Zandstra,2002) .In respond to these scandals, some regulations were set up by governments with the aim of aligning stakeholders interest with corporate objectives. For instance, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. On the other hand, the proactive approach is when companies integrate the concern of stakeholders in their corporate decision making process, thus establishes a good cor porate governance structure( de wit et al, 2006). 3.5 Summary of the theories. The knowledge of agency theory can be credited to Coase (1937) however the ideas of this theory was practical only to directors and boards since the 1980s.Following . agency theory, individuals are self-interested and not altruistic, therefore individuals can never be trusted to always act in others best interest. On the other hand,, individuals will always want to maximize their utilities functions, the agency theory considered managers and shareholders relationship as a contract ( Adams, 2002). This means that managers actions must be properly monitored to guarantee that they always act in shareholders best interest. The stewardship theory on its part opted that companys board of directors and their CEO, acting as stewards, are encouraged to act in the companys best interests and not trying to satisfy their selfish interests. This is partly because, previously senior executives regarded companies as an extension of themselves (Clarke, 2004; Wheelen Hunger, 2002).The stewardship theory therefore suggested that,like shareholders, top management of a company should care more on the future success of the company (Mallin, 2004). 3.6 The impact of Audit committee The AC is seen to have great impacts in attempt to ensure good corporate governance. These impacts can be seen on audit process and audit fees 3.6.1 The impact of AC on Audit process It has been acknowledge that AC has a pertinent role to play in verifying and protecting the integrity of the companys financial statement and the company internal control systems (Abbott et al, 2004; klein, 2003; Australian accounting research foundation et al, 2001).Included in this role, the AC has the responsibility of guaranteeing the independence and competence of external auditors(ASX, 2003;Australian accounting research foundation, 2001).According to Sabones-Oxley act, the AC has the responsibility to appoint auditors and they have to oversees the performance of the auditors regarding the firms external financial reporting(US congress, 2002) It was argued by smith report (2003) that AC have to review the engagement memo at the start of audit and the AC has to take in to consideration the audit scope and the suitability of the work that is planed.Furthermore, according to smith report,(2003) ,at the end of the audit work, the AC have to evaluate the the audit findings and management opinions regarding the auditors recommendations. As a recommendation, AC has to meet with external auditors at least on a yealy basis in the absence of the management to deliberate on issues arising fro the audit (smith report, 2003, Australian accounting and research foundation et al, 2001). Some research has been carried out to sample auditors view regarding the impact of AC on audit. Cohen et al,(2002) carried out a structured interview sampling the opinions of auditors. It was revealed that AC has a less significant role to play on audit process compared to senior management or the board. In this interview, the auditors specified that they only met with AC 2 to 3 times a year and in these meetings, the AC plays a passive role rather than acting proactive as the auditors tends to be reporting to the AC. However, deliberations with AC are reported to have significant impact on the audit risk assessment and audit setting(cohen et al, 2002). Another key area where AC has a pertinent role to play in audit process is to resolve conflicts between the management and the auditors(cohen et al,2002, Turley and Zaman, 2004).As revealed by beattie et al (2000), AC seems to diminish the confrontational strength of interaction between the auditors and management by increasing the level of discussion and reducing the need for negotiation(Beattie et al (2000).On the other hand, some studies like Dezoort et al,2003;Dezoort and salterio, 2001:and knapp,1987) observed influential factors on the AC decisions to support auditors in steads of the management. Such factors include, AC members expertise and experiences, the nature of the conflict, the auditors perseverance and clients financial situation. 3.6.2 The impact of AC on Audit fees A good number of studies have found out that there is a link between audit fees and the AC.( Goodwin-stewart and kent, 2006; sharma, 2003).This is seen on the AC role of guaranteeing that audit hours are not cut down to a level that will compromise audit quality(Cadbury committee, 1992,;jack, 1993).According to smith report(2003), in situations where the AC is not contented with the audit scope, more work or task has to be requested. Also, the AC have to be satisfied that the audit fee is appropriate and that efficient and effective auditing performance will be achieved for the fees charged. As a consequent, incase the AC fails to carry out their responsibilities properly, they will lose their status or reputation and will face litigation when there is audit failure(Abbott et al, 2003).Therefore, the AC have high incentives to request for good auditing quality. Chapter 4 4.1 Corporate Governance issues in Developing Countries (Cameroon) According to Wallace (1990), developing countries are defined as those countries found in mid-stream of development and are referred to anamorphous and heterogeneous group of countries found mostly in Africa ,Asia, Latin America ,Middle East and Oceanea. There exist difference between developed and developing countries in terms of culture, politics and market economics (Waweru and Uliana,2005).Due to lack in skilled human resources, developing countries therefore find it difficult to attract personnels verse with accounting and financial skills in their committees. The cultural variation between highly individualistic countries ( like North America) and highly collectivistic countries (like Africa) necessitate different corporate governance arrangements. Rabelo and Vasconcelos (2002) pointed out factors like economic trends towards globalization, under developed capital market as well as government intervention has made the model of corporate governance to differ from those in Europe an countries and North America. Mensah (2002) argued that countries in Africa are not well equipped in implementing the kind of corporate governance found in the western world because of the economic and political regimes characterizing these countries(example weak fraudulent legal and judicial regimes ,state ownership of companies as well limited capacity in skilled human resources.). Corporate governance structures in less develop countries are determined by the zeal to maintain control by the majority shareholders over firms ,the dependent on debt finance, weak financial markets and ineffective legal system (Rabelo and Vasconcelos,2002).Developing countries are always confronted with problems like less developed and illiquid capital markets, economic uncertainties ,investors protection as well as weak legal and judicial control system (Tsamenyi et al,2007). According to Goddard and Masters(2000),audit committees has become more relevant and prevalent latterly but however there is paucity in the empirical research about their value. Kalbers and fogarty(1993) further indicated that the issue of whether audit committees are really discharging their relevance responsibility remain insufficiently understood, suggesting therefore the need to examine the ways audit committees are operating in developing countries like Cameroon In Cameroon, most companies are owned by institutions and such institutions are owned by the state(government), therefore most board members are serving the position as management of shareholders not because of their qualification neither their experiences(Mensah,2002).Audit committees operations in developing countries are different compared with the practices in developed countries .In 2001,the Cameroon capital market authority gave guidelines regarding corporate governance activities for listed companies.one of this guideline was that which called all boards to form audit committees comprising at least three independent non-executive directors. Figure 2, corporate governance(CG) fram work in Cameroon 4.2 The legal and Regulatory Framework of corporate governance for listed companies in Cameroon Cameroon operates under two systems of laws namely ;the common law and the civil law. The bilingual nature of Cameroon is inherited from Britain and France when the county came under the administration of these two great powers. Therefore Cameroon has a bijural system with the English Common Law effective in the two Anglophone provinces of North West and South West and the French Civil Law effective in the eight francophone provinces namely ; Adamaoua, Centre, East, Far North, Littoral, North, West and South. The surveillance of the principles of good corporate governance in Cameroon listed companies have been protected by the mixture of voluntary and mandatory mechanisms .The DSX code of best practices for listed companies in Cameroon is voluntary and is aim at enhancing good business practices and standard for all listed companies in Cameroon. On the other hand, mandatory corporate governance requirements linked to companies are enclosed in the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2001).(CAMA). The following bodies are loaded with the responsibilities of guaranteeing effective management, accountability and control of companies in Cameroon.it is important to deliberate on the respective roles and responsibilities of these institutions . 4.2.1 The Douala Stock Exchange(DSX) The DSX is the top regulatory organ of stock market in Cameroon. DSX was formed , and organized in agreement with the provisions of degree No.99/015 of the 22nd December, 1999.but it went effective from 2001. The DSX is both a standard bearer of the national economic and the financial community .It is a public limited company with board of directors. DSX has a total capital of 1.8 billions CFA of which 7% is owned by private commercial banks , credit foncier of Cameroon and the Dutch bank FMO, 23% by public interest and 13.3% by private insurance companies. In Cameroon, the number of companies listed in the Stock market is very insignificant. There are only three companies listed in the DSX namely the mineral water company(SEMC), the African society of Agriculture and forest Cameroon(SAFACAM) and the Cameroon Society of palms(SOCAPALM),DSX got as it main objective the promotion of active stock market by creating a conductive investment environment to encourage foreign investors to in vest in Cameroon. To ensure appropriate standards of conduct and expertise in security business, one of the main functions of DSX is to ensure total protection of securities, the registering of all security merchants, investment consultants and physical market like the stock exchange trading floors or branches. In custody of its mandate of spreading good corporate governance, the DSX presented the code of best practices for companies listed in Cameroon. The aim of this code was to make sure that managers and companies shareholders perform their obligations within the context of accountability and transparency. This code of best practices focuses more on the board of directors, the audit committee and the shareholders. 4.2.2 The Board Of Directors ( BODs) The code of best practices focuses more on the board responsibilities and their functions. The board have the obligation of directing the activities of the company in a legal and efficient manner as well as ensuring that the company progresses in its value creation process. According to the code, the main functions of the board are strategic preparation, selection, performance assessment and compensation of senior executives. communiquà © with shareholders, guaranteeing the truthfulness of financial control and report and also guarantee that ethical business standards are upheld and that the company is in compliance with Cameroon laws .The code endorses the board size of almost 15 members and a least 5 members made up of both executive and non-executives directors. 4.2.3 The Audit Committee (AC) The DSX code of best practices identify the importance of audit committee due to its strategic position in guaranteeing good corporate governance standards in companies. The recommendations of audit committee are an addition to the provisions of CAMA. The main duties of audit committee can be summaries as listed below; To determine if the company accounting and reporting policies are in compliance with the legal requirements and in accordance with ethical business practices Reviewing the scope and the preparation of audit requirements -Ensure the effectiveness of the companys accounting system and internal control -Make approval to the board concerning the appointment, dismissal and compensation of the companys external auditors -Approve the internal auditors to conduct investigations on activities which are of prime interest to the committee -the appraisal of the integrity of the firms financial statements; -To counsel the board on the trustworthiness of financial and maybe other informations that has to be published in the name of the board; -To supervise the financial reporting and disclosure procedures -The deliberation on the nature and scope of the audit with the external auditors -To evaluate the management memo from the external auditor; -To ensure the effectiveness of the internal control operations of the firm To evaluate any substantial findings of internal investigations 4.2.4. The Shareholders The DSX code of best practices for corporate governance in Cameroon made a series of recommendations to ease shareholders contribution at the general meeting. In respect of this, the place for the general meeting has to be such that it is conceivable and affordable in both cost and distance, to permit a mainstream of shareholders to be present in the meeting and to vote, thus avoiding the violation of shareholders right. The code also necessitates that sufficient notice of such meetings should be made available to shareholders and these meeting notices should reach the shareholders a least 21 working days before the meeting day. The notice must contain informations on the annual reports , financial statements and other relevant information to allow them to vote appropriately on these issues. The general meeting is like a venue for the companys board to communicate and boosts shareholders contribution in the companys governance 4.2.5 The Government The role of Cameroon government is not left out in ensuring good corporate governance practices. The government offers the legal frameworks for firms incorporation, outline the limits of business activities, the government ensures that the companys operations are in compliance with formed standards and that stakeholders obligations are met. The basic principles which are entrenched in the stature regarding the management and control of business corporations in Cameroon include; -The acknowledgment of company as a legal entity different from its owners. -Infinite life of a company due to shares transferability -The designated board supervises the running of the company and is answerable to the all members on their stewardship. -The directors has the obligations of keeping good records of the financial issues of the company and make proper returns. There are three main legal form for doing business in Cameroon that is, an individual functioning as a sole owner without formality, a partnership of a least two persons and the creation of a limited liability company recorded under CAMA. The CAMA gives a lot of tasks to the board members to direct the companys activities effectively to guarantee business accountability, transparency and responsible to firms owners and stakeholders. 4.3 The Actors of Corporate governance; Managers and shareholders In Cameroon, there is a cumulative rise of the question of what companies owners will become as they are simply the viewers on the management of their money by managers. To answers this question, we have to look at Managers behaviors, however Managers behaviors varies depending on shareholders influential abilities. Managers behaviors defined the importance of Corporate governance in companies due to the critical position they occupy in the value creation process (Caby and Hirigoyen,2001) and also due to the detachment of ownership and decision making functions. Managers as shareholders agent have as their key objective to manage the business at shareholders best interest(Ross,1973 and Jensen and meckling,1976) but however both the manager and firms owners has varied utility functions and each tries to maximize its utility function(Ross,1973).Agency conflicts or problems can then result from managers opportunistic behaviors .For instances, managers are much motivated in seeking compa nys growth because their salary depends on it .(Baker ,Jensen and Murphy,19958),Also there is the issue of diversification that managers are always interested on .Managers can have the will to diversify risk but it will contradict shareholders interest (Aminud, and Lev,1981).Managers occupy a pivotal position in a company as they represent shareholders and act as the employees superior authority their arbitrations are difficult(Arcinles,1995).Corporate governance role is then to aligned managers attitudes near shareholders and stakeholder wealth maximization criteria. However , the extend to which corporate governance is importance is determined by the power exerted by shareholders and board of directors operations. shareholders having greater shares; This role of firms owner with larger shares is been justified by schileifer and Vishny,(1986)as a guarantee of managers discipline when there is capital dispersion, to supervise managers activities is then difficult and very costly to a shareholder taking it individually. Therefore to obtain optimal monitoring which is profitable to all shareholders, only shareholders with greater shares are allowed to incurred monitoring expenses .It is in this light that Jensen (1993) mentioned the nation of Active shareholders -Financial monitoring plays a role in situations where a company like joint stock company is been controlled by a group of persons whom because of their share capital contribution or as a result of foreign ownership representative can significantly influence the companys management. -The importance of family monitoring.(Allouche and Amann,2000) regard family shareholding as source of active shareholding .For instance, in Cameroon ,family shareholding have unequal economic roles and they tend to represent the main proportion of the country economic fabric .Factors such as confidence and family ties can explain their outstanding performance (Bourdieu,2002) Chapter 5; Research Methodology 5.1 Introduction Research method deals with the style in which datas are collected, analyze and interpreted to achieve the study objectives. This chapter will treat the design and method used to address the study questions as it was mentioned in chapter 1.This research made used of questionnaires survey and interview survey . 5.2 The questionnaire survey Questionnaires is the widely used method in social science fields ((Easterby-Smith et al, 2001; 2008). This is a method in which all participants are asked almost the same questions in the same situation (Easterby-Smith et al., 2001; Li et al., 2000;Merriam, 1988; Payne, 1980). In this study, a questionnaire was developed from a review of related conceptual, theoretical and pre-tested with a sample of auditing practioners. The questionnaires which is made up of 58 questions in total (see appendix 2) directly addresses the study objectives. This questionnaires centers on the audit committees operations, composition, financial skill, independence, self-evaluation, relationships, major achievements and outstanding challenges facing audit committee .A majority of these questions are Yes or NO question type and in the others, the respondents were expected to rate the committee achievements with a score of 4(to a greater extend ) to a score of 1(not at all). The researcher circulated the questionnaires to all targeted respondents which included ; audit committee chairpersons, company secretaries and the finance heads of the 3 listed companies in DSX with audit committee in place. This gave a total of 9 questionnaires ( 3 audit committee chairpersons, 3 company Secretaries and 3 finance heads) which was sent to these three sample groups. In regard to external auditors, this research included only auditing firms that carry out the statutory audit of companies listed in the DSX in the most recent 2 years. It is well noted that the DSX have enforce certain qualification for audit firms that can carry out statutory audit of the listed companies. One major qualification is that, the audit Firm has to be a partnership or joint venture entity, nonetheless a majority of the audit firms in Cameroon are owned by sole proprietors .In Cameroon, there are over 30 registered audit firms but only 6 audit firms are qualified to carry out the external aud iting for listed companies in DSX in the last 2 years .this survey involved all the 16 partners of the 6 qualified firms, therefore making a general total sample of 25 that received the questionnaires. Table 1. The sample Questionnaire survey analysis Group sample Sample size percentage AC chairpersons 3 12% Finance heads 3 12% Company secretaries 3 12% External auditors 16 64% Grand total 25 100% 5.3 Administration of the questionnaire survey The researcher mailed the questionnaires to the participants on the 12th December 2012 . The Mail package comprised a set of questionnaires, a motivating letter , a free post envelope and the researcher return address. The motivating letter is supportive in gaining higher response rate, this is because the motivating letter clarifies the participants on the purpose and importance of the study. In this motivating letter (see appendix 1), the researcher highlights the nature and importance of the survey, inviting to complete the questionnaire, guaranteeing the confidentiality of the participants responses. To enhance higher response rate by the respondents, the researcher exerted maximum efforts to monitor the survey through e-mails and telephone calls. 5.4 Response of the questionnaire survey The researcher mailed a total of 25questionaires out of which he received the response of 23 participants. 6 participants were considered disable in the survey. The details of this is given in the table below. Table 2, response analysis Description Mail sent Received Response rate unable AC chairpersons 3 3 100% 0 Finance heads 3 3 100% 0 Company secretaries 3 3 100% 0 External auditors 16 10 62.5% 6 Total 25 19 76% 6 The table shows that an overall response rate of 76% was conceived (19 out of 25).All the AC chairpersons, the finance heads and the company secretaries of the 3 listed companies in DSX (SEMC,SOCAPALM, and SAFACAM) responded to the questionnaires each having a response rate of 100%.However, the External auditor had a response rate of 62.5%( 10 out of 16).6 of the external auditors never responded to the questionnaires due to geographical dispersal and busy work schedules . SPSS was used in analyzing the datas , the researcher made use of frequencies to assemble raw data to facilitate interpretation, the average was used to rank the scares. However, the researcher did not conduct any statistical analysis since with 19 useable respondents, the subgrouping will be very minute for a significant statistics. Nonetheless, with the fact that 5 of the respondents declared their willingness to further participate in this study and the high questionnaire response rate of 76%; the research findings are still going to be meaningful. 5.5 Interview Survey The primary aim for the researcher to carry out an interview survey in this research is to permit participants to develop further their opinions because the closed questions of the questionnaire sealed participants into arbitrarily limited alternatives (Foddy, 1999). The researcher made used of semi structured interview method in conducting the interview. This method eases the researcher control over the time, content and the arrangement of the interview. Furthermore, this method permitted the interviewer to pose penetrating questions that gave a deeper understanding of the research issue. Consequently, semi-structured interview was carried out to confirm the outcomes of the questionnaire survey and to get a deeper understanding of the findings. 5.6 Administration of Interview survey The 5 respondents from the questionnaire survey who indicated their willingness for further participation in this study were the participants for the interview. This group of interviewees were made up of 2 AC chairpersons , 2 external auditors and 1 finance head. The researcher contacted the interviewees firstly through telephone to book for appointment. The interviewees were later e-mailed the interview agenda(see appendix 3) to enable them know beforehand what will be deliberated and also to confirm the appointments(date and time) The Interviews were conducted on working days through telephone, at the start of each interview, the researcher presented himself, explained the purpose for the study and guaranteed the interviewee the confidentiality of their responses. Each interview lasted for at most 30 minutes. 2 of the participants were interviewed on the same day and the rest of the 3 participants were interviewed on 3 separate days ( all on working days and in the same week).The discussion questions were centered on the participants backgrounds, the attributes of AC (composition, size, qualification, experience),the roles of AC to ensure good corporate governance ,some of the achievements and limitations. The interview ended with words of appreciations from the researcher. All the 5 respondents who opted for the interview made them self-available and their responses supplemented the questionnaire response to give a deeper understanding of the research issue. The high response rate of the questionnaire survey and the interview will make the research findings and discussion very meaningful. Chapter 6; Finding and Discussions 6.1 Introduction This chapter is to discuss the findings of the surveys. The researcher is going to present the findings in 3 main subjects of the survey namely; audit committee operations, relationships and major achievements/challenges. However, it is very necessary to talk about the background of the respondents that participated in this survey. The details are given in the table below. Table 3. Educational qualification of respondents Degree AC chairperson Finance heads secretaries External auditors Total N ° rate N ° rate N ° rate N ° rate N ° rate Bachelor 0 0 1 33.3% 2 66.7% 0 0 3 16% masters 1 33.3% 1 33.3% 1 33.3% 3 30% 6 32% Doctorate 2 66.7% 1 33.4% 0 0 7 70% 10 52% Other 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Total 3 100% 3 100% 3 100% 10 100% 19 100% The above table reveals that, out of a sample of 3 for AC chairpersons, 2 chairperson have obtained a doctorate degree as their highest educational qualification(66.7%) and 1 with masters degree(33.3%).In the sample of finance heads,1 had a bachelor degree,1 masters degree and 1 a doctorate degree giving a 33.31% to each degree. In the part of the company secretaries,2 obtained a bachelor degree(66.7%) and 1 a masters degree(33.3%).Lastly for external auditors, out of 10 who responded to the survey(6 where considered unable),3 holds a masters degree(30%) and 7 a doctorate degree(70%).In total, out of 19 respondents who participated in the survey, 3 are holders of bachelor degree(16%),6 holds masters degree(32%) and 10 doctorate degree holders(52%).All the 4 groups of respondent have qualifications and experience in fields related to accounting, finance, economics, marketing and management 6.2 The Operations of AC It has been revealed that all the respondents have established audit committee charters, though only 60% of the charters are updated yearly whereas the 40% specified that their charters are been updated as needs arises. This complies with the literature which says that firms should established a tailor made charter, however this is contradictory with the commendation of yearly updates of charters (Hoi et al ,2007: Rezaee et al, 2003).we can base this on the limited human resource capacities in less developed countries (Mensah, 2002). AC has as their main duty to oversee the companys financial reporting scheme. The AC must have th

The Cherry Orchard - The Struggle :: Anton Chekhov Cherry Orchard Essays

The Cherry Orchard - The Struggle Anton Chekhov’s play The Cherry Orchard introduces readers to a pre-Revolution Russian family faced with the impending sale of their estate, the Cherry Orchard. The main character in the play is the owner of the Cherry Orchard, Lyubov Andreyevna. It is in the play that Lyubov must ultimately decide whether to allow her Cherry Orchard to be cut down to make room for villas or to sell the entire estate to pay off her debts. It is her unconditional love for both the Cherry Orchard and what it symbolizes to her that allows her to put the estate up for sale rather than have the Cherry Orchard cut down.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although she is a member of the Russian upper class, Lyubov is hopelessly out of touch with reality and very irresponsible when in comes to finances. She often throws money around as though there are no consequences to her actions. After her husband died and her boy was tragically drowned at the Cherry Orchard, she fled to Paris and bought a villa, which she soon had to sell to pay off her debts. Lyubov dines lavishly and tips handsomely when in all actuality she hasn’t a dime to spare. She throws parties and hires orchestras she knows she can not pay for. It is this type of behavior that put Lyubov deep enough into debt to where her beloved estate has been put at risk.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   To Lyubov the Cherry Orchard means so much more than the acres and acres of beautiful cherry trees and rivers; so much more than the piece of land that was featured in the encyclopedia. To her it represents her sense of nostalgia, a longing for the past. It is the place where her grandparents lived. Her mother and father lived there as well. It reminds Lyubov of her youth. When she looks at the cherry trees she does not just see branches and blossoms, she sees a time when she walked through the orchard with her mother as a young girl. She says â€Å"I used to sleep here when I was little†¦and here I am like a child again.† Lyubov’s innocence also remains a part of the Cherry Orchard, for as a child she did not own serfs or squander her family’s money. Even though the Cherry Orchard invokes thoughts of her lost husband and son, she still treasures it.

Income Inequality

Currently there are many problems and flaws with the way the Canadian government’s policies deal with healthcare, income inequality and poverty. Time to time changes in policies have been made, perhaps to improve these issues, however, the gap between rich and poor keeps increasing and there is very little improvement in healthcare and the economy. In fact, healthcare keeps on becoming costly. Major issues like income inequality and poverty are not being taken care of by the government. According to Dr. Raphael (2002) poverty is caused by several reasons such as inequality in people’s income, weak social services and lack of other social supports (p. VI). He states, â€Å"Poverty directly harms the health of those with low incomes while income inequality affects the health of all Canadians through the weakening of social infrastructure and the destruction of social cohesion. †(Raphael, 2002, p. VI) Income inequality and poverty are interrelated with the way government structures policy decisions in its social and economic sphere (Raphael, 2002, p. VI). Dr. Raphael (2002) also claims that the health effects of poverty is strongly related to income inequality and poverty because societies that has high levels of poverty is bound to be economically unequal (p. 4). Canada’s government policies are inefficient in preventing income inequality and poverty. We do not get to see the whole picture as to how the Canadian government ignores and/or fails to provide services in all parts of Canada who requires improvement of healthcare, prevent income inequality and poverty. People who are living in urban areas are extensively lacking access to healthcare. The population in rural areas of Canada are lower than the population in urban areas. As a result, the government provides less healthcare in rural, northern and remote areas (Hay, Varga-Toth, Hines, 2006, p. III). I believe government is able to do this because people in cities knows less and/or cares less about people living in rural and remote areas. And perhaps government purposely ignores these people in rural areas. For decades aboriginal people living in these areas has been deprived of their rights whether it was healthcare, social assistance, jobs and access to daily needs and services. These aboriginal people often face issues such as poverty and occupational hazards (Hay, Varga-Toth, Hines, 2006, p. III). The reason these problems occur is because government policies are not implemented properly in these areas and the health care professionals in these areas are also not trained properly and there are less staff members workings at these rural areas (Hay, Varga-Toth, Hines, 2006, p. V). There are shortages of doctors and nurses. There is less community health services in these areas. Also these areas are purposely given less funding by government and private organizations (Hay, Varga-Toth, Hines, 2006, p. V). The reports are not being prepared accurately for these areas and government does not make enough efforts to evaluate these reports properly (Hay, Varga-Toth, Hines, 2006, p. V). Some of the major healthcare services are lacking, such as major trauma, mental health services, palliative care, aged care, dental health services and children with special needs. I n most areas these services are not offered and sometimes culturally and linguistically they are not available (Hay, Varga-Toth, Hines, 2006, p. V). This means that in many cases a patient has to travel a great distance in order to get these services and this means spending a great deal of money from their own pocket and if they do not have it, they have no choice but to receive no services or care (Hay, Varga-Toth, Hines, 2006, p. 25). Also women's healthcare is a significant issue in rural areas. They have difficulties with giving births as there are not enough medically trained doctors for deliveries in rural areas (Hay, Varga-Toth, Hines, 2006, p. 25). They often rely on family physicians and physicians trained in anaesthesiology to have deliveries done. Also there has been many closers of hospitals in these rural areas. As a result, now women too have to travel a great distance to have their deliveries done by a professional. Some women have to reach cities 1 month prior to their delivery and pay all their own expenses (Hay, Varga-Toth, Hines, 2006, p. 25) Because of all these hospital closures and reduced services now there are problems with surgical procedures and pharmacists. Most of the doctors and pharmacists does not stay long in these areas. They leave the community and return to cities (Hay, Varga-Toth, Hines, 2006, p. 26) Also these rural areas do not receive much care for alcohol problems and HIV/AIDS. These services are poorly served. Aboriginals are also not given proper education in how to prevent these diseases (Hay, Varga-Toth, Hines, 2006, p. 26). These are some major issues that government fails to address or as it seems they choose purposely to ignore because these issues has been going on for decades. The government should be a bit responsible with making better policies and taking expert advices constantly to improve the policies. That is why we pay high taxes and high price for goods and services, so that the government should be always on their toe and working hard to make sure we get better and efficient policies. Policies that would help reduce inequalities and poverty in Canada. There are problems in cities too regarding healthcare access. Access such as emergency services, diagnostic equipment and medical specialist are problematic (Soroka, 2007, p. 15). Wait times get longer and longer each year (Soroka, 2007, p. 5). For example, a 50 year old women would have to wait 6 months for her biopsy, a 65 year old man who needs hip replacement has to wait 6-12 months for the surgery (Soroka, 2007, p. 15). There are also delays and lack of service for home care for senior citizens and elderly mentally challenged people. According to author Soroka (2007) 87 percent Canadians claim t hat there is a great amount of lacking in the number of doctors and nurses (p. 16). This happens because government is failing to provide more money to hire more doctors and nurses (Soroka, 2007, p. 16). Yet, the government brings in many immigrant doctors and nurses based on their education who still can not find a job in Canada. So it seems that even when there is qualified doctors and nurses available, they government is failing or not investing enough amount of money to hire them. According to Green and Milligan (2007) the gap between Canada’s rich and poor has increased significantly from year 1980 to 2000 (p. 3). The study shows that rich and poor are heading in different directions at an extreme level where the top 1% earners and CEOs only getting richer while middle and the poor only gets poorer (Green & Milligan, 2007, P. ). As an example Green and Milligan (2007) shows that during 1980 to 2000 top 5% Canadian earners earned about $121,260 disposable income where as the bottom 5% families had only $3,104 as disposable income (p. 3). This means that the top earners had 39 times higher income bottom 5% earners (Green & Milligan, 2007, p. 3). The study suggests that the Canadian government’s used income tax policies in order to widen this gap of inequality between rich and poor (Green & Milligan, 2007, p. 4). Green and Milligan (2007) states, â€Å"In 2000, the top 10% of income earners had a disposable income of approximately $97,000. That’s 16 times more than the average of $5,900 earned by the bottom 10% of income earners. †(P. 7) While top earners income rose, the bottom earners income remained the same (Green & Milligan, 2007, p. 7). Also in a Globe & Mail newspaper article author Tavia Grant (2008) points out that an average earner in the year 2005 earned about $41,401 which is almost the same as an average earner 1980 who earned $41,348 (p. 2). Therefore, it is evident that the poor and less advantaged are being kept at the same level of income and resources, while expenses and prices of goods and services has always gone up. As a result, it is the middle and the poor class who suffers by paying the price unfairly, because their income never increase and also their income stayed at the same level for 20 years. According to Grant (2008) 11. 4 percent lives below low income which is considered a poverty line (p. 3). Also immigrants in Canada earn way less then a Canadian born worker. Statistics show that immigrant men earned 63 cents for each dollar a Canadian-born worker earns (Grant, 2008, p. 3). In general, women earn about 85 cents for every dollar men earn (Grant, 2008, p. 3). Lower income deprives basic needs of human life, it leads to depression and it also leads to poverty sometimes. According to Mikkonen & Raphael (2010) Canada’s richest neighbourhood’s residents on average, live four years more than the poorest neighbourhood (p. 12). Their study finds that the most deprived Canadians had 28% higher death rates than the least deprived Canadians. Also health issues are a major concern because the poor has far more health issues like heart attacks and diabetes (Mikkonen & Raphael, 2010, p. 12). They lack resource and information. The poorest neighbourhoods also have a much higher suicide rate (Mikkonen & Raphael, 2010, p. 12). Therefore, in Canada it is evident that income inequality is not being addressed by government policies, it is depriving and affecting the poor and the immigrants, and it is also making them vulnerable where it becomes really difficult to climb out of their situation. Sweden’s government has a different policy for income inequality and poverty. As author Palme (2006) indicates that Sweden’s government is doing well in promoting reduction in poverty and inequality (P. 16). Swedish government has a universal model of social protection. This social protection plan reaches out to venerable people in both rural and urban areas. This plan protects women’s labour force, aging population, all kinds of workers and salary based employees (Palme, 2006, p. 16). The plan also combines both public and private sector where improvement is necessary. There are three basic parts o this program. First, family support and old-age pension program which comes under citizenship benefits. Secondly, for different sectors of society there is a universal scheme which is the social earning insurance. Finally, there is housing benefits and social assistance in which income is verified and tested for families with elders and children (Palme, 2006, p. 16). By using these tactics the Swedish government has been successful in reducing overall inequalities to some extent (Palme, 2006, p. 16). Our government has somewhat similar policies for social services and assistance. However, Sweden pushes the boundaries in making the policies better and providing better services to its citizen. Perhaps Canadian government should also look to other countries and/or advices, it does not have to be Sweden, but they should at least try and find different policies that works better for Canadians. One of the major crisis that the Canadian middle and the working class is facing today is coming out of the 2008 world wide recession. Minimum wage is still very low compared to the rising prices of goods and expenses. During the recession people lost jobs, hours were cut and a lot of people were laid off. In order to survive and pay their bills, a lot of low income Canadians had no choice but to borrow and acquire huge amounts of debts. However, most of the top earners and CEOs kept the same paycheques that they were earning before the recession, while the working class took and are still taking most of the financial blow (CBC News, 2011). This makes their lives even more difficult. Therefore, much of countries capital money is circulating at the top, the vast middle and working class does not have the purchasing power to keep the economy flowing. For a short term goal I would like to propose ‘tax reforms’. Tax reforms that is going to reduce taxes for middle and the working class. Also provide a wage support. Increase marginal income tax on the top earners and limit their earnings. There are a lot of elites and CEOs in Canada who are fortunate and skilled enough to earn a very high income. For example, if someone is earning $500, 000 or $5 million a year then they should pay much higher income tax than what they are paying now. Their tax money should be used not only to evenly distribute, but they should be used to better health services, education, social services and transportation. This way it will not only circulate the money back to middle and working class but it will also help families and individual advance in their life. This helps society as a whole. There are several reasons why government should accept my policy rather than accepting others policies. It is common sense that first and the most important basic need for human is being stable mentally and physically. To maintain this stability you need food, shelter, health, clothing and most importantly education. When people are deprived of these basic needs because of poverty or less income, then the outcome might only be negative consequences and there also might be a social crisis. A society cannot function and/or improve without meeting these basic needs. A society also cannot improve without better education, better healthcare and better social assistances. Therefore, government of Canada should look to invest in poor and hard working people with low income, by providing their basic needs and by educating them in different areas of the policies we have and how to get help from different social assistance programs. Perhaps the government should also take public opinions, discussions and ideas into consideration while making major decisions and policies because it’s the people’s problems that they need to address and the only way to address them is to find out first hand what the real problems are, and what are the best means by which the government can provide efficient and helpful service to the public. The government should also improve income distribution and tax policies. I believe there is no better investment than investing in every person in society and government should focus on improving human capital. In the long run, investing in improvement of human capital improves society and mankind as a whole.

Carlin on Euphemisms, Redundancies, and Soft Language

Carlin on Euphemisms, Redundancies, and Soft Language Words fascinated George Carlin. From his early routine on Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television to the inventory of euphemisms in Airline Announcements, languageespecially bent or abused or soft languagewas his recurrent theme. By and large, he once said, language is a tool for concealing the truth. Carlin, who died in 2008, clearly knew a thing or two about claptrapand twaddle, poppycock, balderdash, gobbledygook, and drivel. In fact, drivel was the word he used to describe his own writingsGood, funny, occasionally smart, but essentially drivel (Napalm Silly Putty, Hyperion, 2001). For an example of Carlins drivel, consider his short essay Count the Superfluous Redundant Pleonastic Tautologies. The essay doesnt include all 200 of the common redundancies in our own list, but it comes close: My fellow countrymen, I speak to you as coequals, knowing you are deserving of the honest truth. And let me warn you in advance, my subject matter con ­cerns a serious crisis caused by an event in my past history: the execution-style killing of a security guard on a delivery truck. At that particular point in time, I found myself in a deep depression, making mental errors which seemed as though they might threaten my future plans. I am not over-exaggerating.I needed a new beginning, so I decided to pay a social visit to a personal friend with whom I share the same mutual objectives and who is one of the most unique individuals I have ever personally met. The end result was an un ­expected surprise. When I reiterated again to her the fact that I needed a fresh start, she said I was exactly right; and, as an added plus, she came up with a fi ­nal solution that was absolutely perfect.Based on her past experience, she felt we needed to join together in a com ­mon bond for a combi ned total of twenty-four hours a day, in order to find some new initiatives. What a novel innovation! And, as an extra bonus, she presented me with the free gift of a tuna fish. Right away I noticed an immedi ­ate positive improvement. And although my recovery is not totally complete, the sum total is I feel much better now knowing I am not uniquely alone.(When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? Hyperion, 2004) Behind Carlins comic observations lay the sharp linguistic insights of a self-described disappointed idealist. Question everything you read or hear or see or are told, he recommended in a 2004 CNN interview. Question it. And try to see the world for what it actually is, as opposed to what someone or some company or some organization or some government is trying to represent it as, or present it as, however theyve mislabeled it or dressed it up or told you. Now that Carlin has passed on, kicked off, checked out, made his exit, gone to glory, cashed in his chips, and joined the great majority to sleep the big sleep, we wouldnt dare say nice things about him. Its too late for that. Its a perverse fact that in death you grow more popular. As soon as youre out of everyones way, your approval curve moves sharply upward. You get more flowers when you die than you got your whole life. All your flowers arrive at once. Too late.(Napalm Silly Putty, Hyperion, 2001) So well just say, thank you, George. Thanks for all the drivel.

Guilty by Suspicion, a Film essays

Guilty by Suspicion, a Film essays Guilty by Suspicion, a Film of Turmoil. After watching the film Guilty by Suspicion and reading historical information about the same era: the Red Scare in the 1950s, I am beginning to be disgusted with our so-called perfect America. I know that this may be dissident, and some people may consider that I am jumping to conclusions, however, I am not going to adhere to the atrocious reality of what America has turned out to be on several occasions. The United States of America has been dubbed the land of the free, but is all that just a sham to falsely glorify our own country in order to adopt preeminence over other countries? I was educated for 11 years, and am continuing my education for years to come, and it is sad to see that so far into my education that I have just begun to realize that I have only learned what my country wants me to learn, not what I could have learned. Time has shown that those who are the winners of that historical event write history, if you can really call them winners after killing so many people to reach to a goal that seems void once they attain it. Tell me, is it worth fighting for the people, if all the people had to be killed in order to succeed in reaching your goals? There are very few sources of information about our history that condemn American actions. In the film I just watched, it didnt force me to believe what they were trying to portray, the film had only helped me envision that our country is not exactly the sensation that we have come to adopt under a blanket of deception. History has not been my favorite subject throughout my education, I cannot slap a reason on why I do not like it, it may be the fault of my teachers, or that I just dont like reading about George Washingtons wooden teeth. However, a plausible reason may be the fact that I am jaded with the repetition of how wonderful America is, and how lucky you are able to be i...

N Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

N - Assignment Example Like any company, a hospital with medical practitioners operating in a team, can systematically organize their approaches in relating with their patients. In the hospital where I am working, there is yet so much to do to improve the relations of clinical teams and in bridging the healthcare professional’s divide. The hospital also needs to improve its medical facilities, technologies and communication system to achieve integration of its systems. While it can be inferred that the hospital are financially capable of meeting all these needed facilities but an integrated medical services truly require transformational management that can facilitate organizational reforms and improve relations among workers. As practitioners are considered as healthcare team or clinical microsystem teams, thus, they function on their role as to meet the needs of the patient in exchange for values. As such, they work as small staff with shared goal but fundamentally meant to address a patient conce rns. They must therefore be group in a more reasonable fashion instead of grouping them rapidly or in an unplanned manner for an emergent purpose. This is however relatively experienced because in other hospitals, those team that are group rapidly consist of expert or highly trained professional doctors, although they rarely work together. These are medical professionals who are needed in critical events as contingency team. With regard to ‘silos’ status, the hospital where am working has relatively attained that level although not yet completely. True, the hospital has its own pharmacy, laboratory, rehabilitation clinic, ambulatory clinic, maternal delivery and children’s section, but not all of these operate independently from the other. Perhaps, the physicians may have independently hold its office within the hospital as resident physicians; the

Quantitative research appraisal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Quantitative research appraisal - Essay Example Determinations of the effectiveness of pain management, effectiveness of nurse-led diabetic clinic, effectiveness of appropriate or specific dressing methods in management of venous ulcer, effectiveness of specialist nurse practitioner in the accident and emergency as a primary care giver are just few of the numerous examples to assess evidence and change practice based on evidence (Sousa et al., 2007, 502-507). Observational and Interventional Research Designs: The investigator conducting observational research observes both the independent and the dependent variables, when there is insufficient knowledge about a phenomenon, or for ethical reasons or otherwise, an observational design is most suitable. In experimental research, researchers actively intervene and create the independent variable, which means that people in the sample will be exposed to different treatments or conditions (Driessnack, et al., 2007, 684-688). Experimental and quasi-experimental designs: Experimental designs provide strong evidence about the hypothesis and provide a causal relationship between independent and dependent variables. ... However, quasi-experimental designs lack randomization to treatment groups, which characterizes true experiments. Quasi-experiments, thus, are not as powerful as experiments in establishing causal connections between interventions and outcomes (Coughlan et al, 2007, 658-663). Differences between Inferential and Descriptive Statistics: Statistics are either descriptive or inferential. Descriptive statistics are used to describe and synthesize data. Averages and percentages are examples of descriptive statistics. Actually, when such indices are calculated on data from a population, they are called parameters. Inferential statistics on the other hand is used to draw some inferences out of the numerical data (Zellner et al., 2007, 55-59). The title of the research article chosen by the author to base this assignment is "Randomised controlled trial to compare surgical stabilisation of the lumbar spine with an intensive rehabilitation programme for patients with chronic low back pain: the MRC spine stabilisation trial" by Fairbank and coworkers published in the British Medical Journal (Fairbank et al., 2005, 1233). Purpose: The purpose of this particular study is to assess the clinical effectiveness of surgical stabilization in the form of spinal fusion compared with that with intensive stabilization for patients with chronic low back pain. The design obviously was a multicentric randomized controlled trial (Cook et al., 2008, 128-133). Randomization or random assignment involves placing subjects in groups at random. Random essentially means that every subject has an equal chance of being assigned to any group to avoid systematic bias in the groups that could affect the dependent variable. Randomization remains the most trustworthy and acceptable method of