The Pure Essence of the Individual Essay Example for Free

The Pure Essence of the Individual Essay Many stereotypes exist within the social context of today’s world that stem from old and new preconceived notions of the unfamiliar. For example, some stereotypes stress generalizations that pertain to the aspects of different cultures such as religion, behavior, and even down to the type of cuisine. These misconceptions generalize an entire group of people based off of one characteristic, not taking into account the individuality of each person. Stereotypes produced by the social world at times can lead to ignorance as well as bring light to how wrong the misconceptions are compared to the truth. Surrounded in the confusion, people than develop tainted perspectives about other cultures and even their own, often leading to struggles in self as well as cultural identity. In Amy Tan’s short story, A Pair of Tickets, the main character Jing-Mei struggles with her cultural and self-identity but ultimately learns to rethink her misconceptions leading to her understanding of what it truly means to be Chinese. In the first section of the story Tan introduces the main character Jing-Mei, accompanied by her elderly father Canning Woo on a train to Guangzhou in China where they will visit with some family that Canning has not seen since childhood. Throughout the train ride and even after the two arrived to Guangzhou and met the family, Jing-Mei possessed many stereotypical viewpoints about China and the Chinese culture. En route to Guangzhou, Jing-Mei reminisced about her mother, Suyuan who passed away three months ago, and how she would always remind her Chinese roots saying that someday the Chinese in her will finally be let out because when Jing-Mei was fifteen she would always deny that she had any Chinese in her. During these conversations, she said she felt herself transforming like a werewolf. In a way Jing-Mei felt that she would finally come to terms with her Chinese roots only by force. Tan informs the reader that aside from herself, even Jing-Mei’s Caucasian friends remarked that, â€Å"She was as Chinese as they were†, making it clear of Jing-Mei’s unawareness of and distance from her own culture. She also obtained her stereotypical point of view on the way Chinese people behave from her mother’s occasional display of personal quirks, such as haggling with store owners, picking her teeth in public and the choosing out of season colors to wear during the winter time. Along with comparing to the grotesque transformation from a human into a werewolf, she pictured herself starting to act in such a way describing it as a â€Å"syndrome† (189). Jing-Mei’s perceptions on Chinese culture get proven wrong once her and her father arrive in Guangzhou. When she disembarked the train she felt the need to remind herself that she was in China. The atmosphere to her felt like that in San Francisco; the pushing and rushing crowds within the station and the crowded lines of people waiting to go through customs (192). Once Jing-Mei and Canning Woo united with the family and arrived at the hotel, Jing-Mei grew even more shocked at the way the hotel looked referring to it as a â€Å"grandeur version of the Hyatt Regency† and once again she asked herself this was the communist China (194). The magnificent, modern and fancy atmosphere of the hotel surprised Jing-Mei because she expected to arrive to an area of lesser quality especially since she requested to the traveler agent to lodge somewhere that would only cost them forty dollars a night. She then became worried about the expense as well as being judged as a typical spoiled American not able to go one night without luxury. When dinner time rolled around, Jing-Mei expected to finally try her first authentic Chinese feast but to her surprise, her relatives chose to eat hamburgers, French fries and apple pie, a stereotypical American dinner (195). As time passed during her visit in China, Jing-Mei began to grow more interested with her family roots. One night she overheard Canning Woo and her aunt, Aiyi, having a conversation about her mother, Suyuan, and her search to find her twin daughters from her previous marriage. Engaging herself in the conversation Jing-Mei learned more about her mother’s suffering and sacrifice during the Japanese occupation in China in 1949. She was curious as to what the names of her two half-sisters were and meant as well as her mother’s name, and eventually Jing-Mei questioned her father about the meaning of her own name; learn ing the special meaning behind the names her mother gave her and her twin sisters and her beautiful poetical nature (199-200). After Canning Woo told his daughter the intimate story of Suyuan’s hardship and sacrifice in giving up her two twin daughters during the occupation, Jing-Mei grew anxious in meeting her two sisters once she and Canning Woo departed Guangzhou for Shanghai. She dreaded the arrival feeling that her sisters would somehow blame her for Suyuan’s death in that she did not appreciate her mother. When Jing-Mei finally met her sisters for the first time a beautiful moment occurred as she saw two faces that resembled her mother waving and greeting her that arrived and faded. With great joy the sisters united and held each other capturing the moment with a Polaroid camera. Once the picture came transformed the plane gray surface before their eyes, the girls saw that each of them looked like Suyuan and realized that her dream of being with her daughters had finally come true (201).The three sisters embodied their own individuality as well as their mother. In her trip to China, Jing-Mei discovered what her mother meant about experiencing what it meant to be Chinese through their family history and also gained a sense of self identity. She grew to understand the importance of her family in correlation with their culture; that the resilience and strength that ran through the veins of her relatives now run through hers discovering her heritage. Jing-Mei’s journey from America to China resembled her own personal journey in finding herself as well as understanding her roots. By learning from her family past, she was able to discover her true self and understand her own culture as well. In the beginning of the story Jing-Mei’s perceptions of being Chinese clouded her ability to understand her heritage as well as herself as an individual. She denied her Chinese roots since her teenage years and never understood what her mother meant in that someday the Chinese in her blood will be set free. In choosing to leave her comfort zone in San Francisco, Jing-Mei began her journey in discovering that her preconceived notions of her own culture were different than reality, causing her to dive deeper into her own past so that she could find and understanding of where she came from. By the end of the story the trip had caused Jin-Mei to see her heritage as well as the view of herself differently. Like Jing-Mei, many people become accustomed to stereotypes because they help explain that which we cannot clearly understand. Such stereotypes can cause misapprehension towards others but more importantly towards us. By choosing to leave the comfort of invalid certainty, Jin-Mei found that her heritage meant more than eating authentic Chinese meals and arguing with storeowners. In finding the truth about her culture, she found the importance of herself as an individual. By stripping away the generalizations and false notions that stereotypes engrain in our perspective, we then can then distinguish the pure essence of what it truly means to be an individual.

Technological Change And Manufacturing Process Innovation Business Essay

Technological Change And Manufacturing Process Innovation Business Essay Due to market research and marketing analysis about what consumer needs or wants, company has to develop new product and services or improve them with the creation of new idea, design or technology to satisfy consumer. Also to compete with other competitors to be first to introduce one new product, industry needs to constant innovation. For example in 2010, because of low barriers to entry to New Zealand banking market, the banking industrys initiative to innovate their products and services such as make easier for customers to switch banks and competitive interest rates and it leads to high customer satisfaction ratings and increase in profits. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3objectid=10845099 Competition in an industry is always affected by rivals racing to be first to introduce one new product or product enhancement after another Product innovation is the development of new products, changes in design of established products, or use of new materials or components in the manufacture of established products. Thus product innovation can be divided into two categories of innovation: development of new products, and improvement of existing products. New product development describes the complete process of bringing a new product or service to market. There are two parallel paths involved in the process: one involves the idea generation, product design and detail engineering the other involves market research and marketing analysis. Improvement of existing products includes, but is not limited to, improvements in functional characteristics, technical abilities, or ease of use. 2. Marketing innovation Introduce of new ways to marketing products like costing, packaging and promotion, can attract buyers interest, and increase industry demand and product differentiation which can lead company to change the competitive positions of rival firms. For example, companies like Dell; they use one-to-one marketing strategy for customers to customize their products based on what they need to satisfy them more. It shows that marketing innovation can sustain business growth without introducing new products. the introduction and implementation of new marketing methods, like costing, packaging and promotion etc.///////Introduce of new ways to market products, can spark a burst of buyer interest, widen industry demand, increase product differentiation, and lower unit costs-any or all of which can alter the competitive positions of rival firms and force strategy revisions. Innovation is very important to sustain business growth and innovation new products should be strong enough to enter into market place 3. Technological change and manufacturing process innovation Development in technology manufacturing process can make industry to produce high quality product at lower cost which can lead to higher industry profitability. As the increase in technological changes, lots of companies automate their manufacturing processes which can leads to increase production and reduce expenses. However, it also has disadvantage such as loss of many factory job so CEO has to consider carefully about implementing this strategy to not to have conflicts between labor forces. Advances in technology can dramatically alter an industrys landscape, making it possible to produce new and better products at lower cost and opening up whole new industry frontiers. 4. Changes in who buys the product and how they use it change in buyer demographics and how consumer use the products can change how customers make purchasing decisions, where customers purchase the product and how customer consider value. And it can cause more competition between other competitors. Shifts in buyer demographics and the ways products are used can alter how customers perceive value, how customers make purchasing decisions, and where customers purchase the product. 4. Increasing globalization Even though globalization has benefits to developing country, it also brings negative effect such as eliminates jobs, lower wages, and exploits workers on standards of living in some country. Therefore some countries are now trying to restrict globalization. Due to globalization, lots of global company like Apple or Samsung tries to manufacture their product in low-wage country to export and import at a very low cost. It can be benefit to developing country. However, it will decrease manufacturing jobs in developed countries. Moreover, because of low-wage in developing country, wages for employee in developed country is underestimated. Even though, the standard cost of living is higher than what they earn. Lastly, there were some serious social issue about Nike that they treated workers in low-wage country very badly, people were working in terrible environment with very low-wage. According to this, global company only thinking about utilize labor force because of low wage without co ntribute toward productivity in developing country. Question 3 b) Some people view the increasing globalization as a threat to many local markets and see it as it makes poor people become poorer and wealthy people become wealthier because profit is unevenly distributed. But Increasing globalization can be beneficial and may develop many countrys economy, politics, culture and environment. It also made the world easy to exchange information all over the world which makes global company to exchange faster or use knowledge efficiently to cope with rapid changes in global market. Because of globalization, global companies like Apple, Samsung or Nike are trying to manufacture their product in low-wage country to export and import at a very low cost. And to do that, they have to build their facilities, training staff and develop good relationship in country which can offer solutions for unemployment and trade problems. It also brings new production methods and management techniques. Moreover it also spreads out new types of technology faster. The company has to adopt new technology to increase their quality of products and sales. Due to globalization, new technology spreads out the world faster which makes company to satisfy their customer expectations efficiently. It is beneficial and may develop many countries economy, politics, culture and environment. And it could also bring happiness to customer by satisfying their needs. But some people view the increasing globalization as a threat to many local markets They see it as it makes poor people become poorer and wealthy people become wealthier. But if people understand globalization in a different way, it might help and develop the economy of many countries. Growth of modern electronic communication, made the world easy to transmit information all over the world Globalization offers solutions for trade problems and unemployment in many countries It also spreads out knowledge, new types of technology and cheaper economic polices It also brings new production methods and management techniques. Products can be exported and imported at a very low cost. It can be perceived either as a problem or an opportunity. Nike has spent the last four years building facilities, training staff, and developing relationships in China Question 4 1) Value Chain Analysis Value Chain Analysis is tools for managers to check that company is utilizing their resources effectively and efficiently to produce benefits for the company or wasting their resources unnecessarily during operations. By analyzing primary activities and support activities of companys operations can figure out their competitive advantage. Moreover, it helps to find ways to give satisfaction to customers. Primary activities for Dell Inbound logistics Dell stores the component for computers until they need for them on production and assembly line. So suppliers are located close to the factory plants to reduce costs. Dell relies mostly on their suppliers and they are using just in time deliveries with their suppliers with good relationship. Also they let suppliers to deliver items like monitors and speakers directly to the customers to reduce inventory costs. Here goods are received from a companys suppliers. They are stored until they are needed on the production/assembly line. Goods are moved around the organization. Dell relies mostly on its highly reliable supplier, where Dell streamlines its operation and relies on its computer monitor supplier to ship directly to the customer. As long as its supplier retains its leadership position, Dell would collaborate with it to achieve mutual success. 1. All those activities concerned with receiving and strong externally sourced materials 2. Just in time ordering 3. Close to suppliers Operations The offer customization option for customers to satisfy exactly what they need and all the goods are manufactured with (build-to-order) system to reduce expenditure on stock and cost. This manufacturing process is their main competitive advantage to grow business. This is where goods are manufactured or assembled. Every Dell system is built to order. Customers get exactly what they want. Dell uses knowledge gained from direct customer contact before and after the sale to provide award-winning reliability and tailored customer service. 1. The manufacture of products and services- the way in which resources inputs are converted to outputs 2. Build-to-order 3. Customizations options Outbound logistics Dell delivers the finished good to their customers directly which can makes them to communicate easily with customers and build good relationship. This direct model gives them benefits such as finding out sales trends and understands what customer need or what customer dont want. When Dell introduced the direct model, its competitors were selling computers to end consumers via distributors. Dell, on the other hand, sells directly to consumers and is continuously communicating with them and benefiting, especially in two areas, seeing sales trends and learning about unmet customer needs. The company also relies on customers knowledge of what they want to purchase and when they want to complete the transaction to drive the direct business model. Dell leverages this source of customer knowledge by making it as easy as possible for a customer to place a customized order electronically. 1. All those activities associated with getting finished goods and services buyers 2. Close to customers 3. The monitor example 4. Room for improvement 5. Evening delivery Marketing and sales Dell offers online-sales or telesales directly with customer and without any retailers. Advantage of direct model is that the company can continuously in contact with its customers which helps them to get an idea of how to innovate their sales and marketing strategy and they also can reduce cost on researching market trends. Dells direct to customer model solve the problem for additional capital for marketing and sales. By selling directly to consumer it eliminated retailers along the way. One advantage of this kind of system is that the firm is continuously in contact with its customers and they are benefiting in two areas concerning sales and marketing, seeing sales trends and learning about unmet costumer demands. 1. Essentially an information activity- informing buyers and customers about products and services 2. China/ credit card/ shop essential 3. What about people who dont computers 4. Improve a lifestyle brand Services Dell provides Dell provides installation services by Dell experts as well as 24/7 online support for large businesses and institutions as well as for small businesses and home PC users. Asset recovery and recycling services in an environmentally friendly manner are offered. PC support services in case of malfunctions and protection services against accidental damage are provided. Dell spent dollars training well-educated business segment managers provide state-of-the art advice to customers. The company also initiated a collaborative customer-solution teams that collaborate with customers to fulfill any unmet customer needs. Because of the nature of work of Dells employees they are continually being inspired to stay abreast of technology threats and opportunities that may alter the competitive landscape in the future. 1. All those activities associated with maintain product performance after the product has been sold 2. Service a poor 3. People dont lick offshore support, usually stressed when they call and this adds to their stress 4. If something goes wrong the pc has to return in the past Supporting activities for Dell Procurement It is on this activity that Dell is weak because Dell do not enjoy protected by trademark or patent or copyright technology. The technology being used in the industry is shared by all industry players. 1. Sourcing and negotiating with materials suppliers 2. Lowering the bargaining power of Intel and Microsoft Human resource management Dells mission statement is to be the most successful computer company in the world at delivering the best customer experience in markets we serve. Dell employees, direct salespeople, help-desk operators, engineers, and the like all have to be knowledgeable and customer focused to ensure Dells continued competitiveness. 1. Those activities concerned with recruiting, developing, motivating and rewarding the work force of a business 2. Potential for spinning it off as a separate business unit 3. Hosted payroll Technology development Technology is an important source of competitive advantage. And here is one strength of Dell for the firm enjoys better access to technology. Dell introduces the latest relevant technology much more quickly than companies with slow-moving indirect distribution channels. 1. Activities concerned with managing information processing and the development and protection of knowledge in a business 2. Lagging behind in technology research and development Infrastructure Dell revolutionized the traditional value chain of computer manufacturing industry by introducing the direct to customer model. Dell also employed a global business consultancy, to help it develop a set of metrics to judge business-unit performance. By doing so, daily decision making were more efficient. The chief financial objective that steered managerial evaluation at Dell was return on invested capital (ROIC). Which leads to no inventory build-up, Dell turns over inventory every six days on average, keeping related costs low. 1. Concerned with a wide range of support systems and functions such as finance, planning, quality control and general senior management 2. Reacting to problems by change in senior management Operation to meet adding value, improve quality, add efficiency and increase profit Receiving and distributing raw material Converting raw material into a finished product Identifying customers and distributing the product Supplier relationship process Sharing data with suppliers Investment Privileged suppliers Long time relationship with suppliers Sending latest news about new products or services by email to build good relationship with customers. . Question 4 2) Benchmarking †¢ In todays competitive marketplace, all firms are seeking ways to improve their overall performance. One such method of improvement, recently adopted by many firms, is benchmarking. Benchmarking is a technique used to evaluate internal business processes. In this analysis, managers determine the firms critical processes and outputs, baseline those processes, then compare the performance of each process against a standard within the industry. Dell offers similar products, serves different customers, and use different strategies to achieve their goals. Dell can learn from the competition. The most effective way to learn about the industry is by benchmarking world-best practices. This practice has been successful for Dell in the past and should be a continuing evolution of benchmarking annually.

Windows NT security summary :: essays research papers

Winders NT Security NT was introduced in 1993 and quickly became a popular platform for client-server environments. NT is based on 32-bit architecture so it provides many features like multi-tasking, resource sharing and high availability of resources. NT provides increased security over older operating systems like Windows 9x and UNIX.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  NT has both server and client versions. The client version of NT does not have as many features or capability. The Server version can handle 256 connections while client version can only do one. Global security management functions are not supported by client version either.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  NT gives an administrator the ability to control user accounts and groups. Domains are used to contain machines in groups. This can be used as an administrative tool to control users privileges and access to system resources and data. It can also be useful for updating and stuff like that. One machine in a domain is set as the controlling system and from that machine a security policy can be created and enforced on the entire domain. Backup domain controllers are recommended. Machines on a domain share a user database which allows a user to have a single ID and easily sign on to any machine as long as its in the domain. NT uses the ideal of trusted domains. If a user authenticates to his primary domain, he is free to access any other sub domains as long as that domain trusts the primary domain. (Pass through validation) Domain trusting allows for a user who does not have an ID on a given domain to still gain access to it as long as the user is validated on the primary domain, however, what permissions the user has is dictated by the Admin of the domain he is a guest in. Domains make it easier to control users, machines, and what goes on. It is useful in enforcing policies on groups and restricting the rights of users. Security issues are minimized in remoter applications because there is no need for someone at each site to be in charge of security and policy enforcement. One Admin can group remote sites into their individual domains and provide increased security from his desk. User accounts come in both local and Domain flavors. This means a user can be restricted to using only the local machine or any machine on the domain. NT has a guest account, recommended password protecting it.

The Clinton-lewinsky Scandal :: William Jefferson Clinton Essays

Lately, the top story in the news day after day, months after months have been about William Jefferson Clinton, also known as Bill. Who could blame them, there is nothing better than a story out of the ordinary, especially one with presidential status. For the past months he has been the most talked about figure, being the essential topic for news, talk shows, late night comedy and even going as far as the big screen. Talk about 'Primary Colors' and 'Wag the Dog.' What has gotten to me the most however, were the constant flow of Republicans, along with a few Democrats, who just want to say how shocked and embarrassed they are along with the people of the United States.The president had not just become the most talked about figure, but also one history had ever seen, so far that is, breaking the record and becoming a topic of conversation and debate 'twenty-four seven.' The people, who I think were most affected by this crisis and feel very sad for, are the Republicans, since they ha d lost severe amount of sleep over the president's bedroom crisis. They had to perform their republican duties by shocking our brains with the president's affair with Monica Lewinsky. We had to ignore the rest of the world news and its issues while they plough through the valley of lies, abuse of power and something they called high crimes and misdemeanors. At first we listen and listen and listen but eventually got bored. Not a whole lot of people felt comfortable smelling someone dirty laundry which was aired for a very, very long time. I personally got tired of this never ending story a very long time ago, since I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Clinton. I love the guy and no I am not talking romantically. I love Mr. Clinton as a teacher and most importantly as a role model. There is a story behind how Mr. Clinton earned my respect, which had nothing to do with his cute looks, but rather his character.From what I've seen, he is a hardworking, dedicated, and caring individual. Most of all, he maintains his personality as an ordinary person just like you and me. His work as a president for the past years speaks for it self. From what I've observed, Mr. Clinton is always willing to act on the people's behalf and addressing the issues that concern them the most. The Clinton-lewinsky Scandal :: William Jefferson Clinton Essays Lately, the top story in the news day after day, months after months have been about William Jefferson Clinton, also known as Bill. Who could blame them, there is nothing better than a story out of the ordinary, especially one with presidential status. For the past months he has been the most talked about figure, being the essential topic for news, talk shows, late night comedy and even going as far as the big screen. Talk about 'Primary Colors' and 'Wag the Dog.' What has gotten to me the most however, were the constant flow of Republicans, along with a few Democrats, who just want to say how shocked and embarrassed they are along with the people of the United States.The president had not just become the most talked about figure, but also one history had ever seen, so far that is, breaking the record and becoming a topic of conversation and debate 'twenty-four seven.' The people, who I think were most affected by this crisis and feel very sad for, are the Republicans, since they ha d lost severe amount of sleep over the president's bedroom crisis. They had to perform their republican duties by shocking our brains with the president's affair with Monica Lewinsky. We had to ignore the rest of the world news and its issues while they plough through the valley of lies, abuse of power and something they called high crimes and misdemeanors. At first we listen and listen and listen but eventually got bored. Not a whole lot of people felt comfortable smelling someone dirty laundry which was aired for a very, very long time. I personally got tired of this never ending story a very long time ago, since I have a great deal of respect for Mr. Clinton. I love the guy and no I am not talking romantically. I love Mr. Clinton as a teacher and most importantly as a role model. There is a story behind how Mr. Clinton earned my respect, which had nothing to do with his cute looks, but rather his character.From what I've seen, he is a hardworking, dedicated, and caring individual. Most of all, he maintains his personality as an ordinary person just like you and me. His work as a president for the past years speaks for it self. From what I've observed, Mr. Clinton is always willing to act on the people's behalf and addressing the issues that concern them the most.

Essay --

The following essay addresses the effect and impact of environmental and ethical management within the sport and recreation industry, critically analysing such methods against current literature in the field. Utilising Carroll’s (1991) model of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), it seeks to evaluate, by means of an ethical audit, the current ethical principles employed in the operation of a London-based recreation facility, and objectively assess the extent to which the organisation is committed to the concepts of CSR management. According to Robin and Reidenbach (1987), business ethics demand an organisation behave in agreement with a shared set of believed principles related to moral philosophy, while social responsibility relates to the social conventions that exist between business and society. In other words, social responsibility includes all of the requirements and duties of business to the society it operates in, while business ethics, to some extent, involves the duties of business to the individual decision maker. While the two concepts of ethics and social responsibility are fairly dissimilar, they evidently share a common link. Based on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel and Turner, 1979), Turban and Greening (1997) argued that a company’s corporate social performance (CSP) was favourably associated with their reputation and attractiveness as an employer, suggesting that CSP may provide some competitive advantage in attracting staff. While ethical standards are defined as ideologies that when followed, encourage values such as trust, positive behaviour, justice, and compassion, there is no one consistent set of principles that all organisations adhere to, but rather, each has the ability to create the standards they de... ...h CSR activity, viewing this as a means for its managers to meet the apparent opposing concerns of social responsibility and bottom-line performance. However, to properly manage consumer relationships and its own reputation, GLL should not only adopt CSR as in integral part of its mission, but must also seek to communicate this widely to its members through use of effective social media. While it is plain GLL understands the demands placed on it and its divisional managers, by employees, suppliers, community groups, sporting governing bodies and local authorities, to increase their participation in CSR, it must be wary of this reality as it expands, as business norms and principles, regulatory structures, and stakeholder demand for CSR can and will vary considerably across differing regions of the UK, and along multiple lines of business (McWilliams, et al., 2006).

Acc 400 Essay

Culotti’s Pizza operates strictly on a carryout basis. Customers pick up their orders at a counter where a clerk exchanges the pizza for cash. While at the counter, the customers can see other employees making the pizzas and the large ovens in which the pizzas are baked. Instructions: Identify the six principles of internal control and give and example of each principle that you might observe when picking up your pizza. (Note: It may not be possible to observe all principles.) The six principles of internal control are establishment of responsibility, Physical, mechanical, and electronic controls, segregation of duties, independent internal verification, documentation procedures, and other controls. 1.Establishment of responsibility: Establishment of responsibility depends on if one or more employees are receiving money from the customer. If this is the case it could cause an issue with the cash register coming up short. The manager would then have difficulty determining which individual is responsible for the shortage. 2.Physical, mechanical, and electronic controls: Physical controls pertain to safeguarding of assets, and records that help protect the company’s assets. Mechanical and Electronic controls safeguard assets and help intensify the accuracy of and responsibility of the records in accounting. Physical, Mechanical, and Electronic controls are imperative which include examples such as Safes, and safety deposit boxes, storage cabinets that are used for inventory and records, pass key access in companies, alarms, television monitors, and time clocks for recording of time. 3.Segregation of duties: Segregation of duties embodies the ideas that responsibility related activities should be delegated to different individuals and that record keeping for an asset should be kept separate from the physical custody of that same asset. When a customer walks into Culotti’s Pizza they can see employees making the pizzas in the oven area. The custody of the asset (in this case the pizza) is being kept separate from the front counter clerk. The front counter clerk stays out of the kitchen and is responsible for ringing up the sale in the register system (documenting the sale) and trading payment for the product. These are two duties that are within customer view that are kept segregat ed. 4.Independent Internal Verification: When walking in to pick up a pizza a  customer may see one employee on the cash register taking the cash from the customers to pay for the pizza. This employee is designated by the owner to maintain custody of the cash on hand. This internal control makes it easy for the owner to track down the person responsible if there are any discrepancies with the cash at the end of the day. A customer may also observe the employee when he or she is reading the register tape. This employee is verifying the transactions on the register tape with the cash that is in the drawer to make that each the amount of each transaction is accounted for by the cash that is in the drawer. 5.Documentation procedures: In the event of this story, there are no document procedures. 6.Other Controls: In consequence of employees handling the cash from the customers, each employee could be bonded, which allows insurance for the business due to the theft of the employees. Rotating the employees on the cash register at set times and making sure each closes their portion at the end of his or her shift. The procedure will allow the company to check each drawer and make sure it is correct. Finally, the company can do a background check on their employees. This information will provide the company with the information on potential employees and if he or she has ever been charged with a crime that relates to theft from another company. CHAPTER 7 PROBLEM SET B: P7-2B (PAGE 359) The board of trustees of a local church is concerned about the internal accounting controls pertaining to the offering collections made at weekly services. They ask you to serve on a three-person audit team with the internal auditor of the university and a CPA who has just joined the church. At a meeting of the audit team and the board of trustees you learn the following: 1. the church’s board of trustees has delegated responsibility for the financial management and audit of financial records to the finance committee. This group prepares the annual budget and approves major disbursements but is not involved in collections or record keeping. No audit has been made in recent years because the same trusted employee as kept church records and served as financial secretary for 15 years. The church does not carry any fidelity insurance. 2. The collection at the weekly service is taken by a team of ushers who volunteer to serve for 1 month. The ushers take the collection plates to a basement office at the rear of the  church. They hand their plates to the head usher and return to the church service. After all plates have been turned in, the head usher counts the cash received. They head usher then places the cash in the church safe along with a notation of the amount counted. The head usher volunteers to serve for 3 months. 3. The next morning the financial secretary opens the safe and recounts the collection. The secretary withholds $150-$200 in cash, depending on the cash expenditures expected for the week, and deposits the remainder of the collections in the bank. To facilitate the deposit, church members who contribute by check are asked to make their checks payable to â€Å"Cash†. 4. Each month the financial secretary reconciles the bank statement and submits a copy of the reconciliation to the board of trustees. The reconciliations have rarely contained any bank errors and have never shown any errors per book. Instructions: (a) Indicate the weakness in internal accounting control in the handling of collections. One weakness in the internal accounting control for handling collections includes the comprehensive use. In the event of internal audit control systems, they can be very broad in their application that creates a weaker audit control system (Vitez, O). A weakness in the handling of collections found could also be one since the cash is handled by multiple ushers and can become time consuming. This weakness also becomes difficult for management situations for the church members that attempt to maintain the proper business practices. The second weakness is the lack of knowledge that the individuals that handle and record the money have. If the ushers that count and record the money do not know how to properly record the fund this could lead to shortages. (b) List the improvements in internal control procedures that you plan to make at the next meeting of the audit team for (1) the ushers, (2) the hea d usher, (3) the financial secretary, and (4) the finance committee. The ushers will be on a rotation for a set amount of time so; every usher will at some point hold the responsibility of collecting the offering. A team of appointed ushers will take up the collection. The ushers will then take the collection to the back area of the church where the funds are counted. Once the money has been collected the ushers will then hand off the collection of funds to the head usher. The head usher will recount the funds received from the collection, and place the funds into the  church safe along with a total count of the funds that were collected. Improvements for the Financial Secretary: After re-counting the cash she should record how much was collected on an accounting record and record how much she kept on hand for that week and how much she deposited in the bank on this same record. Checks should be made payable to the name of the church for example â€Å"Saint Josephs or The First B aptist Church.† Improvements for the Finance Committee: The finance committee should have audits conducted at least once a year at random. The finance committee should run a background check on all members who handle cash. The finance committee should oversee the board of trustees and take final look at all financial records. The finance committee should get fidelity insurance. (c) What church policies should be changed to improve internal control? Audits should be done regularly to ensure the accuracy and that financial records are being completed ethically. I would suggest doing it on a quarterly basis. Additionally, the church should immediately obtain fidelity insurance. I see no problem with the monthly rotation of ushers who collect the donated funds; however they should stay in the basement office and serve as a witness to the counting of donated funds. The head usher should fill out a form stating how much has been received in cash and how much in check donations. The funds should then be placed in a sealed bag with the initials of those present written on the seal. Funds can continue to be placed in the church safe. The financial secretary needs to determine how much money is needed for the weekly expenditures and submit this amount along with the sealed bag of donations to the bank. She should then watch the bank verify the amount of cash and check donations in the sealed bag. The entire amount should be deposited and the financial secretary should then withdrawal the amount needed for the week either by withdrawal slip or check. Everything should be thoroughly documented in the bank’s financial records. Additionally, donations made in the bank form should never be written to cash but rather to the church itself to insure checks are going to the church and not for personal use. The financial secretary’s reconciled b ank statement should be reviewed thoroughly by another person before submittal to the board of trustees. REFERENCES: Kimmel, P. D., Weygandt, J. J., & Kieso, D. E. (2007). Financial accounting: Tools for business decision making (4th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons. Vietz, Osmond. Weaknesses in an Internal Audit Control System. (2012).http://www.smallbusiness.chron.com/weaknesses-internal-audit-control-system-3810.html Williams, J. R., Haka, S. F., & Bettner, M. S. (2005). Financial & managerial accounting: The basis for business decisions (13th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.

Cyclone Devastates Australia’s Banana Crop Essay

Cyclone Larry destroyed approximately $300 worth bananas crop which is 90% of the production at Queensland. The fall in supply and unchanged demand will result in a shift of the supply curve to the left resulting in an increase of the equilibrium price. The demand will stay the same however there might be a slight fall in the demand at a later stage due to increased prices but in the short run demand remains same. A fall sharp in supply means quantity supplied will be less than the quantity demanded of bananas leading to an increase in price as shown in the graph below. The graph shows the original quantity demanded (D) and supplied (S) with the intersection as the market equilibrium at price P1 and quantity Q1, the inward shift of the supply curve to the left with new quantity supplied after the cyclone with a new intersection point representing increased market equilibrium at price P’ and quantity Q’. 2a. Determinants of price elasticity of bananas The following are some of the factors that affect the elasticity of demand for bananas: Substitutability: Since bananas have a large number of substitutes like other fruits, it is inelastic in demand. Proportion of income: Price elasticity of low priced goods like bananas is low. This means that the demand for bananas grow slowly as income increases as it is very small proportion of the total income earned. Necessity: The greater the good is considered a luxury the more elastic it is. Banana is a necessity and is therefore inelastic in nature. Time: Consumers need time to adjust to changes in price. In the short run there will no change in demand for bananas but in the long run, consumers might reduce their purchases and switch to other substitutes. 2b. Price Elasticity of Demand before and after Cyclone Larry Cyclone Larry will result in a change in price and a change in the quantity demanded. The price elasticity of demand can be calculated as follows: Price elasticity of demand = Percentage change in quantity demanded Percentage change in price Change in price and quantity will not change the percentage change in either the price or the quantity. However quantity demanded in units and price demanded in dollars will be changed. This will not change the price elasticity of demand. 2c. Impact on West Australian Producer’s Revenue There will be a shortage in the market for bananas due to the cyclone and so only West Australian production which comprises of 5% of the total production will be available in the market. No import of bananas is allowed due to biosecurity risks. Since bananas are inelastic in nature the change in quantity demanded is less responsive to changes in price. Total revenue (quantity demanded*price) of West Australian producer’s revenue will increase. A good year can reduce farm income as the quantity demanded remains same, supply increases and so the price goes down. 3a. Government Intervention Governments mostly put minimum price floors and restrict imports of agricultural products to support the farmers. Since the elasticity of these products is low, an increase in price raises the total revenue of the farmers. A good bumper year results in an increase in the quantity demanded which leads to a fall in price hence a fall in the revenue earned by farmers. A fall in the production of agricultural products will increase price and therefore the revenue for the West Australian farmers. Farmers in Queensland will their little production at high prices. The government can intervene by either setting price ceiling or floor. Price Ceiling A price ceiling means that the price of bananas cannot exceed the maximum price set by the government. A price ceiling above the equilibrium price will have no effect, since equilibrium can be attained. A price ceiling below the new equilibrium will be effective. But it will not be beneficial for farmers as they will be forced to sell at or below the maximum price ceiling. This will result in excess demand. The graph below shows the effect of establishing a price ceiling below the market price. Price Floor A minimum price floor means that the banana growers cannot sell at a price below the price set by the government. Bananas will be sold at or above the minimum price established. A price floor that is set at or below equilibrium has no effect because equilibrium can be attained. However, if the price floor is set above equilibrium price, it will be effective. This will be beneficial for the growers but not for the consumers. There will be an excess supply. The following graph shows establishment of a price floor above the market price. 3b. Consequences of Price Floor As shown in the graph above a price floor will result in higher prices. This will be profitable for the banana growers but not for the consumers. In this case the quantity supplied will exceed quantity demanded. The excess demand will have to be taken care of. The government will have to step in and buy the excess quantity supplied and either store it in the warehouse which will not be feasible since banana is a perishable good or dispose it off. 3c. Should the Government Intervention be supported? The government can step in and subsidize bananas and help the unemployed workers by finding an alternate job for the seven months till new banana crops grow. A price ceiling above the equilibrium should not be supported as it will create the potential for black market. Banana will be bought at the controlled price and sold at the market price. The government can support a price floor which would result in excess supply which can be bought by the government and sold at a lower price. References Samuelson A. , Nordhaus D. (1989). Economics. McGraw-Hill http://www. smh. com. au/news/national/thousands-of-jobs-gone-with bananas/2006/03/20/1142703270076. html Illustrations www. netmba. com/econ/micro/demand/elasticity/price http://www. smh. com. au/news/national/thousands-of-jobs-gone-with bananas/2006/03/20/1142703270076. html