Exploring the role of change management and new HRMS system adoption Dissertation

Exploring the role of change management and new HRMS system adoption the case of American Express Bahrain - Dissertation Example However, there are some strategic loopholes that can addressed to reap full benefits of the system. Table of Contents 1 Chapter One- Introduction 2 Chapter Two- Literature Review 3 Chapter Three- Research Methodology 4 Chapter Four- Results and Findings 5 Chapter Five- Conclusions and Recommendations 6 References 7 Appendices Chapter 1- Introduction 1.1 Title Exploring the role of change management and new HRMS (Human Resource Management System) adoption; the case of American Express Bahrain. 1.2 Aim To explore the role of change management by studying the steps American Express Bahrain has put into action to introduce the new HRMS on its employees. 1.3 Research Question What are the chronological steps that a company must apply in order to introduce new software to the organisation? 1.4 Objectives To examine the techniques that American Express Bahrain use when introducing change to employees. To establish a questionnaire to understand the steps those were taken. To draw conclusions on ways and theories that help organisations sequential their introduction of change to their employees. 1.5 Background to the study The term Change Management deals with the substitution of one thing or set of conditions for another , thus making something different from its previous condition, be it an alteration in state, or quality, variety, variation, mutation(Sofroniou,2009). Change Management is something that all managers should know how to cope with especially with our rapidly changing world and the contribution of technology to the modernisation of business functions and practises. Consequently, organisations must adapt to the environment around them in order to stay competitive by leveraging technology and new systems (Saunders, Lewis, and Thornhill, 2009). Organisations must be able to adapt to the changing environment if they are to survive. Threats to organisational existence include but are not limited to changes in technology, the tastes of consumers, the regulation s of the Government, the increase in the cost of various resources, and values and capabilities of the prospective employees, downsizing, mergers and acquisitions(Palmer et al, 2006). However, all these reasons came from one major source –Globalisation. According to Webster’s dictionary the term globalisation is the development of an increasingly integrated global economy marked especially by free trade, free flow of capital, and the tapping of cheaper foreign labor markets (merriam-webster, 2012). Thus, the world’s economy is treated as one big market which makes it difficult for organizations to be unique and different from competitors. Moreover, globalization has majorly affected organizational change. This is evident because of all the planned and unplanned changes that occur in small and multinational companies. In the recent time the most important thing faced by most of the global organization is the constant changes in the all aspects of business. Due to the technological revolution most of the organizations are practicing the new technologies related to the human resource management system(HRMS). The development in the information technology has given a new paradigm shift to the HRMS. Most of the global organizations are accepting the virtue of the HRMS (Grobler & Warnich. 2005. P, 39) The new trend in the global organization is to apply computer based technologies to create a strong HRMS. Most of the organizations like American Express are using the HRMS to revamp the HRMS

Case Study of Week Essay Example for Free

Case Study of Week Essay Analysis of the template is most suitable for Kinkead. The reason is based on the case, electricity meters (EM), power tools (EI) products for customers to perform the same basic function. So their alternatives, so it needs to calculate a sales combined variances template, template B did not provide this data. Part B Answer: According to the relationship between the BCG matrix, analysis of market share and market growth. First, for the EM 499 286 According to Table, the variance of the size of the market is unfavorable, the size of the market because their budget is 800000, but the actual market size of 650000, it does not implement the expectations. The EM market share difference to 0, with 10% of the actual and budgeted position, it will not change. Therefore, they are a cash cow. Therefore, EM is the Cash Cow. Additionally, the Kinkead has been a leading Australia firm, and EM is the older but still dominant technology. Followed by EI table EI of the variance of the size of the market for 374,464 budgets, the size of the market for 250,000, lower than the actual market size of 363,500, more than expected. The market share variance is 241,321 Unfavorable which has decrease from 10% to 8%. Therefore, EI question mark. In addition, EI technology is new, or experiment. EIs future is uncertain. Part C Answer: They seek cash cow product strategy, so there are two aspects of the important aspects of the performance, EM, reduce production costs and increase market share. More particularly, their market share of the difference does not change, which means it is a mature stage, and manufacturing has been standardized. So the company should take some new measures to reduce production costs. Secondly, the company should increase their market share, such as increased management fees. EI use of labeling strategies, there are three aspects of performance is very important to the EI. The first is the R ; D performance; they should increase R ; D costs continue to research new technologies for enterprises to create more profits in the future. Followed by market share, companies need to increase their market share of the product EI, because it is the mark phase of the problem, the future is uncertain. Thus, increasing its market share will change in the future star. Finally, production and sales is also very important, EI, because only effective production, to meet customer demand, increase the number of sales. Part D Answer: Assessment of the electromagnetic properties of the first actual sale price of $ 29, less than the standard price of $ 30, but only sold 65,000 units lower than planned sales of 80,000 units. There are two reasons led to this situation, first of all is their total market demand has been shrinking. Second, the actual sales commission EM is only $ 1, but the EI commission is $ 14. 9, which could lead salespeople do not want to sell the product. To evaluate the EI performance, the first problem is underpriced. Although the actual selling price is $153 which is higher than $150, the sale volume is 29,000 units which is large than budget 25,000 units. Secondly, although the size of the market from EI budget increase 250,000 units 362,500 units, the EI market share is not meet expectations, it has dropped from 10% to 8%. This means that the performance of the EI Company is not satisfied. Third, the staff may lack experience, because the actual manufacturing cost is $ 42. 1, higher than the standard $ 40. Finally, from a fixed cost analysis can be found, $ 121,000 of costs and unfavorable actual production costs are higher than the planned $ 11,000, from $ 1,388,000 to $ 1,399,000. Therefore, enterprises should improve production efficiency. On the other hand, the overall performance of EM and EI, and a profit of $ 51,000, cost of sales decreased $ 5,000 plans to invest $ 250,000 of the actual value of $ 245,000. The sales mix variance data can be found, there are more people choose EI, because the EI sales mix variance is $ 1,789,714! EM sales mix variance is $ 1,253, 571 should not be. The reason may be that the sales staff did not want to sell products EM, actual sales commission EI is 14. 9 dollars, but the commission is only $ 1. Second, EI is a new product and new technology, which will attract more customers to buy and more popular than the old.

Explain Formally The Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis Economics Essay

Explain Formally The Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis Economics Essay Clearly as countries strive for increased growth they attempt to produce greater output and logic dictates that with greater output, ceteris paribus, there must be greater input and thus a depletion of resources from our environment. Simultaneously greater output leads to greater levels of emissions and waste, thus the carrying capacity of the biosphere will be exceeded sooner. Simon Kuznetss Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis states that economic inequality initially increases, reaches a critical threshold, and then decreases as the country develops (Economic Growth and Income Inequality, 1955). The hypothesis is shown by Figure 1 below. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Kuznets_curve.png Figure It is important to realise the relationship of the EKC shows a correlation between environmental equality and income, not causation. This simply means that a trend has been realised between income and economic inequality which states that initially as income rises so does inequality, however at a certain threshold inequality begins to diminish, and the reason for this change is not immediately apparent. The concept that environmental equality is influenced by economic growth originated from earlier economic theory, as in many 1970s theoretical literature on pollution and growth, optimal pollution control models have inverted U curves of pollution implicitly embedded in them (Selden, 1994). There are two main economic explanations for the Kuznets Curve hypothesis. Firstly the environment can be viewed as a luxury good. This means that although initially individuals are not willing to trade consumption for environmental investment, at a certain level of income individuals begin to increase their expenditure on the environment to enjoy its benefits. It can therefore be argued that economic development is a means to environmental improvement and thus whilst initially the environment will suffer from growth, it will benefit from the economic prosperity in the long run. Secondly as countries experience growth and income increases there are recognised historical structural development stages to the countrys economy much like, as Roslow noted, the moving from traditional to industrial economies and then to a mature mass consumption economy (The Stages of Economic Growth, 1960). For example, in a Less Developed Country (LDC), a structural transformation from primitive agriculture, through manufacturing and into services would initially utilise the environment efficiently through agricultural trade, with greater income this might transform into manufacturing which is highly dependent on environmental resources and also carries large negative externalities such as pollution. However once again, with further growth industry and trade will move towards services which have the least impact on the environment. The study by Syrquin in 1989 econometrically ties structural changes to economic growth and is often used to discuss the EKC hypothesis (Grossman, et al., 1995). It is obvious to conclude that if these developmental stages occur and the transitions between the stages correlate with specific per capita income levels, then a relationship where pollution levels initially rise before subsequently falling, as average incomes increase. Unrah and Moomaw argue that we cannot be sure whether the stages of economic growth are a deterministic process that all countries must pass through, or simply a description of the development history of a specific group of countries during the 19th and 20th centuries that may never again take place (An alternative analysis of apparent EKC-type transitions, 1998). We can look at the turning point in the EKC from increasing environmental inequality to diminishing environmental inequality as a change of individual interest from self-interest to social interest. However Arrow (2000) points out that the EKC provides very little information about the mechanisms by which economic growth affects the environment. For example, as income increases industry developments and innovations may have reduced negative externalities on the environment. Also with greater national income and wealth there is greater demand on the authorities for environmental regulations. There have been several empirical and analytical studies of the EKC hypothesis and whilst some support the conclusions of Kuznets others counter his findings. There is however, little debate that many pollution emissions in the developed countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have stabilised or indeed declined over recent years whilst these same countries per capital incomes have simultaneously increased (An alternative analysis of apparent EKC-type transitions, 1998). Unrah and Moomaw demonstrate in their 1998 empirical study of France GDP growth against CO2 levels an inverted U-shaped curve is produced which supports Kuznets hypothesis (An alternative analysis of apparent EKC-type transitions, 1998). Image Figure France CO2 vs GDP 1950-1992 Grossman and Krueger in 1994 produced a study with an N-shaped curve where after a high enough threshold there were increases in environmental degradation. Grossman also in 1994 found that the turning point is sooner for an obvious short term environmental hazard for the local population (Grossman, et al., 1995). Arrow in 1995 stated that responsiveness is not immediate so income growth does not spontaneously bring a reduction to environmental degradation. As such Arrow concludes that while short term indicators would support Kuznetss hypothesis, long term indicators would not. The huge potential for economic growth through effective utilisation of the environment has made efficient and socially desirable management of environment resources is a key issue within economics. The environment surrounding each individual economy has always been fundamental to the performance of economic growth. Along with creating economic prosperity the environment also performs the essential function of supporting life and thus managed with care and responsibility. As has been seen through history, exploitation of the environment which has provided crucial economic inputs may also be the instrument which impairs the earths ability to support life. For example, in last decade we have seen the emergence of concern about how economic expansion of the world economy is leading to irreparable global damage (Silbert, 2009). As such decisions regarding the environmental trade-off between economic growth and preservation require careful consideration from political authorities. Kuznets EKC Hypothesis EKC Analysis Conclusions One policy proposed by economists is to allow countries to economically grow out of environmentally damaging activity. Looking at countries with already large economies, we see signs of environmental regulation such as emissions standards, extensive recycling programs, and limited timber harvesting. The economists supporting a policy that initially allows for environmental degradation assert that if a country can achieve sufficient economic growth in a short period of time then perhaps environmental damage should be tolerated. A well-known hypothesis providing support for a policy that emphasizes economic growth at the expense of environmental protection is the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis. It posits that countries in the development process will see their levels of environmental degradation increase until some income threshold is met and then afterwards decrease. If true, economic policies should allow extensive, although not necessarily absolute, use of the environment for growth purposes. But carrying out such policies involves inherent dangers. If developing countries decide to overlook environmental protection by counting on rising incomes to abate environmental damage the consequences could be devastating. The most pressing danger is that additional environmental degradation could cause some irreversible and significant harm. This could occur before the predicted income threshold is met. The other concern with counting on incomes to reduce environmental damage is that the EKC hypothesis could easily be incorrect and relying on its predictions would lead to consistently insufficient protection. This paper evaluates the validity of the EKC hypothesis and argues that it is not a sound basis for policy formation and justification with so much at stake. The plan of the paper is as follows. Section II examines the basis for the EKC hypothesis and conditions under which it may accurately predict a countrys future environmental status. Section III briefly summarizes empirical studies investigating EKCs and looks at the findings of these studies. Section IV identifies the inherent dangers in determining environmental policy based upon the EKC hypothesis. Some concerns are relevant if the hypothesis does not hold and others are present even if it proves a correct forecaster of environmental quality. Section V concludes with my assessment of how well the hypothesis works as a justification for dubious environmental policies. Section II: The Concept of the Environmental Kuznets Curve The EKC hypothesis asserts that countries will naturally move from relatively low environmentally degrading activity to highly degrading activity and then, once a certain income threshold is achieved, will proceed to less degrading activity once again. This assertion allows one to predict the relative level of environmental damage being caused by a country by looking at GDP per capita. However, this prediction is relative to individual countries. In other words, each country has its own EKC, based upon resource endowment, social customs, etc., from which it progresses along relative to its GDP. A graphical model of the hypothesis helps illustrate the inverted U shape of the relationship: Environmental Damage Y* Income per capita The y-axis represents the amount of environmental damage due to economic activity and the x-axis represents income per capita. Y* represents the threshold income, sometimes referred to as the turning point. That point signifies the income level at which environmental damage per capita begins to recede. It is important to note that the theoretical EKC graph does not explicitly express time as a dimension and for this reason the use of the EKC hypothesis to justify policy decision an action that by definition incorporates time would appear inadequate. Only by comparing two different countries can the inverted U shaped curve be derived as seen above. However each country possesses its own unique EKC and therefore each countrys policies should be organized accordingly. In order for the graph to show an EKC, and thereby be valid as policy justification, we must incorporate a time dimension. We find a time dimension along the x-axis. The EKC hypothesis assumes that changes in income per capita only occur over time. By including this supposition of changes in income inherently signifying time, the graph can now show an EKC for a specific country. The identification of a countrys particular EKC provides a basis for using it to influence policy. Possessing the theoretical model by which t he EKC hypothesis is used for economic policy we turn our focus to explaining why the inverted U shape exists. There are two primary explanations for the proposed shape of the EKC. The first examines the history of developed countries and the paths they took to achieve development. The second reflects the changing preference for environmental quality as incomes rise. Historically, all developed countries economies were originally based upon agriculture, a state that produced little environmental damage. Their economies later switched to a much more environmentally damaging state that focused on industry and manufacturing. Finally, upon switching from heavy industry to the now-prevalent service-based economies the levels of environmentally damage fell in most developed countries. Two main factors lead to environmental damage that occurrs during industrialization. First, the harmful by-products of production damage the environment. High levels of pollution and water contamination accompany the expansion of industry. The second factor is the increased consumption of natural resources. The extensive over-use of land, deforestation and mining of mountains is a form of environmental damage in and of itself. A common conclusion of this development pattern is that LDCs must pass through the same phases in order to achieve economic growth. Furthermore, if forced to adhere to strict environmental regulations, LDCs will be at an economic disadvantage compared to the already developed countries. Many LDCs point to this competitive disadvantage when rejecting global environmental standards. The next stage of development saw industrial nations switching to service-based economies, a trend that all global GDP leaders tend towards. During this phase the income threshold of for the EKCs for certain substances appear to have been reached. Service-based economies are able to avoid many of the most environmentally damaging economic activities. Also, highly resource-dependant production is cut significantly which reduces the impacts of resource input and harmful emissions. The graph reflects the switch from an industrial to service-based economy somewhere around point Y*. The decreasing industrial production decreases the environmental damage despite the rising GDP associated with the service sector economy. Environmental impacts also fall as a result of improved technology discovered in developed countries. In some cases technology leads to a more efficient use of inputs. Other technological advancements make it possible to restrict the harmful effects that economic activity have on the environment. The second reason that a high-income level can reduce environmental damage is by altering the demand for environmental quality. Known as the income effect, sufficiently high GDP per capita often leads individuals to place environmental quality above additional economic growth. The aggregation of these individual preferences plays an integral role in determining the income threshold. The EKC income threshold aggregates all environmentally damaging agents into a single numerical value. However, taken individually economists can place dollar values on the turning points of damaging agents. For example, in a 1997 paper by Cole, Rayner and Bates, the authors found the turning point of CO and NO2 emissions to be around $9,900 and $14,700, respectively. Using environmental quality preference as an explanation, the income threshold represents the income level per capita at which the preference for environmental quality outweighs the preference for additional income. This change in preference occurs on a public level, rather than a private one. Microeconomic decisions to support more environmentally friendly goods and services cannot account for the income effect. The issue is instead a matter of public policy. The changes in environmental standards reflect political pressure on the federal government and state governments. Effective lobbyists have altered the political and social landscape to favour one of increased environmental quality. Despite the clean nature of high-income countries it remains difficult for EKC supporters to explain certain things such as the fact that the United States is, by far, the worlds largest greenhouse gas emitter. Defenders of the EKC hypothesis say this is due to the incredibly large economy of the U.S. and that the seemingly large figures are, proportionate to GDP, not as astonishing as they appear. The only other defense to the greenhouse gas emission statistic is that the income threshold may not have been reached. According to the EKC hypothesis, changes to evolving economies and the individual preference for environmental quality combine to determine the income threshold. However, whether or not an inverted U shaped curve exists at all is still up for debate. Section III: Evidence For and Against the EKC Hypothesis Evidence regarding the EKC hypothesis is circumstantial and inconclusive. Most early studies that supported the hypothesis focused on a single damaging agent, such as a pollutant. Identifying key characteristics associated with agents that have been studied we find that only certain types of agents exhibit an EKC. Evidence supporting the EKC first began in 1994 when Selden and Song found an EKC for SO2 (Environmental quality and development: Is there a Kuznets curve for air pollution emissions?, 1994). A later test in 1995 by economists Grossman also found SO2 emissions to follow an EKC (Grossman, et al., 1995). They found a turning point between $4,000 and $6,000. Another early documentation of EKC support came from Theodore Panayotou who found the turning point of deforestation to be $823. After the initial studies, other economists began to investigate the validity of the EKC hypothesis and found refuting evidence. In the 1997 paper by Cole, Rayner and Bates, they found no EKC for traffic, nitrates or methane. A different study in 1997 by Horvath examined energy use and found no EKC; rather, energy use per capita rose steadily with increased income. Evidence appears to support the EKC hypothesis only for a limited type of damaging agents. The emission SO2 is found in urban waste areas and is thereby characterized by its locality. Deforestation also reflects a situation involving a specific location. Damaging agents that affect only a particular site tend to show EKCs. However, a damaging agent such as traffic is plain to see and also affects certain areas heavily. In this case the agent is dominated by a scale effect increased activity leads to increased environmental impact. While traffic-related pollution is generally iterated by population size, damaging agents such as energy production by-products increase with GDP per capita. Section IV: Dangers of the EKC Hypothesis as Policy Justification There exist many dangers in allowing an economy to simply grow out of environmentally damaging activity. Some of these dangers arise because the EKC hypothesis does not hold true in all cases. Others exist even if we assume the hypothesis as an accurate predictor of environmental conditions. The following is a list of concerns regarding the EKC hypothesis: (I) It remains inconclusive if most damaging agents follow the EKC. (II) The threshold income may be irrelevantly high or the temporary period of increasing environmental damage too long. (III) The decrease in environmental damage seen in developed countries may reflect the production of dirty products abroad and subsequent importation. (IV) The absorptive capacity of our earth is unknown. (V) EKCs may only exist in certain political atmospheres. A detailed examination of the above concerns illustrates the inherent dangers in accepting the EKC hypothesis and afterwards using it to justify policy. As discussed above, only local and regional damaging agents show signs of EKCs. Other difficult to detect agents may simply increase with GDP per capita. This discovery leaves open to question whether more agents than not respond to income increases. If there exist more agents that do not respond then attempting to grow past these impacts would be impossible. Many damaging agents may respond to income levels, but not until GDP per capita approaches out-of-reach levels. If in a developed country, the turning point for a damaging agent is above, say, $50,000 then neglecting to react will create damage for a considerable amount of time. Over the time it takes to achieve the turning point, the environmental damage may prove more costly than its worth. Obviously, in an LDC the turning point value needs only to be considerably lower and still have the same adverse effects. It is important to note that it is unclear if forgoing the opportunity for economic growth may is the right or wrong decision. Nonetheless, using solely the EKC hypothesis to justify this action remains unwise, as the outcome is not known. Another consideration that challenges the EKC evidence is that wealthy countries may be importing dirty products, thereby contributing to environmental degradation; the only difference is that the degradation is not domestic. The first hypothesis to bring up this possibility was the Pollution Haven hypothesis. It states that developed countries export their dirty industries to LDCs whose governments have more lax environmental standards. Many economists discounted this hypothesis with strong evidence showing that capital flows do not follow environmental regulations. However, this does not exclude the possibility of dirty industries existing in LDCs and coincidently exporting their products to wealthy countries. In this case, wealthy countries only started along the downward slope on the EKC by domestically reducing environmental damage. When taken globally their increased consumption due to income may still be increasingly damaging. Another danger is that leaving the quality of our environment subject to economic activity, even for only a short period, may be disastrous. The ability of the earth to absorb the damaging agents produced by economic activity, called absorptive capacity, is not yet known. A good example is global warming. More and more studies confirm that rising global temperatures are due at least in part to human activity. Predictions regarding the consequences of this change are still being debated. But further activity could push the environments limits to a point that causes serious repercussions for humanity. A final concern is that even if developing countries can achieve high levels of income per capita they may not possess a political atmosphere conducive to environmental protection. Assuming that the aggregate turning point is in a country reached, that country it is not necessarily going enact protection. Countries that possess sufficient demand for environmental quality still only achieve it with policy revisions. The most successful avenues for obtaining environmental quality are lobbyists. Without a government that responds to political pressure by these public groups there is no reason to believe that its policies will reflect the demand for a cleaner environment. In addition to this point, it also remains to be seen if all cultures place similar values on environmental quality. While constituents of currently developed countries may desire protection, countries in the process of developing may reach a point of equivalent income and still not demand environmental quality. Convers ely, they may actually demand protection earlier. Section V: Conclusion The questions and concerns about the EKC hypothesis that I have examined in this paper raise significant doubt as to the wisdom of adopting environmental policy based upon the EKC hypothesis. Even assuming its validity, the EKC hypothesis generates considerable doubt as to its effectiveness at balancing economic growth with environmental protection. Given these doubts policies must be, at most, based only partially on predictions by the EKC hypothesis. The correct balance between environmental protection and economic growth continues to be debated. Both of the opposing views present important arguments. Obviously, having either extreme either unhindered economic activity or overly protective environmental measures is an inadequate solution. The largest problem facing the debate is the lack of knowledge regarding the degree of robustness present in our earths environment. Still unclear of its ability to offer its resources and to soak up our by-products, our only course of action is to, with both needs in mind, tread carefully.

The Montessori Method Essay examples -- Teaching Education

The Montessori Method (Word count includes Annotated Bibliography) The Montessori method began in the early 1900's by the first female doctor in Italy, Dr. Mary Montessori, as a way of educating mentally disabled children. Her ideas were so successful with these children that she began to apply her understanding of learning to study the potential of normally functioning children (Oalf, 2001). Dr. Montessori's approach to education stresses the importance of learning styles, independence and responsibility. According to Maria Montessori, 'In the special environment prepared?in our schools, the children themselves found a sentence that expresses their inner need, 'Help me to help myself.' ? (Standing, 1957). The ?prepared environment?, according to Montessori, consists of clean, bright, multi-sensory stimulating materials that are engaging for the child and that are placed in at their level so they can be accessed freely. There is a concentration on ?discovery moments?, defined as when a child learns new information through personal exploration (Fisher, 1964), in reading, math, social skills, and other subjects. The guided discovery approach means careful planning and direction for the child and that adults must know the purpose and meaning of each activity the child chooses in the classroom. Montessori teachers attempt to instill an internal drive into the children using this child-centered approach to teaching. An example of this is the use of mats or rugs in the classroom. Eac h child has a mat or rug to spread their materials out on. Every other child is respectful of this child?s space and he/she, in turn, is respectful of others. The result of this approach is a classroom full of self-monitoring students. ... ...cation Week, 21, 24. Retrieved April 14, 2004 from ERIC/EBSCO database. This article discusses the difference between direct instruction and the Montessori method, using the example of one school in Texas, which offers parents a choice of which instruction they would like for their child. The end of this article tells that test results from each classroom turn out about equal, despite the radically different teaching approach. This is because different children do well in different types of classrooms. Zad, M. (1990, November 18). Montessori way highlights video for preschoolers. The Washington Post, pp. y.08. This is a local article taken from The Washington Post regarding the use of video in Montessori classrooms. The use of video technology corresponds with the Montessori method if it is stimulating to the child and aids in discovery learning.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP Auditors? Independence Issues & Violations :: essays research papers fc

SEC Concerned with Changes in the Public Accounting Profession The SEC and the former Chairman Arthur Levitt Jr. were extremely concerned that the public accounting firms were violating the auditors independence rules addressed through the Securities Exchange Acts. Auditing firms now had dual citizenship in public companies: (1) they issued opinions on audited financial statements and (2) they participated in various consulting engagements for those same companies. Levitt's solution was to split auditing and consulting. The former Chairman was concerned that the public would lose confidence in the financial markets †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ and the whole system would be jeopardized. Public Accounting Revenues vs. Consulting Revenues by 1999 By 1976, audit fees accounted for approximately 70% of total revenue earned by any accounting firm in general. According to the Public Accounting Report, an Atlanta newsletter, the auditing and assurance services revenues dropped to 30% and tax services business accounted for 19% of the total revenues earned in 1999. Mathematically speaking, this means management consulting services accounted for approximately 51% of the total revenue being earned in 1999 by public accounting firms. Fact: According to The Business Journal's Book of Lists, PwC had $75 million in South Florida billings in 1998 to place third among accounting firms. SEC Auditors’ Independence Rule The independence rules require that auditors refrain from investing in companies that they audit, to ensure objective, truthful reporting and opinion. The rule applies to all auditors, their relatives, spouses, dependents, non-dependents, and, in some cases, associates must disclose all holdings. On the September 25, 2002 issue of BusinessWeekOnline.com, the Accounting Wars Powerful auditor-consultants are the target of Arthur Levitt’s crusade articles defined â€Å"Independence to mean, CPAs cannot audit their own or their partners' work†¦.†¦..clear and honest information is dependent on the CPAs independence†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦an auditor must not have any financial stake in the health, or even survival, of a client company.† There are those in the profession that believe this rule is archaic and does not hold any value in today’s financial world. Barry Melancon, President and CEO of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants stated, â€Å"The SEC has a right to expect the profession to adhere to the rules; however, the profession has a right to expect the regulatory environment to remain modern.† Fact: In 1933, when Congress first required public financial reports, lawmakers debated whether audit fees would taint auditors' independence. PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP is a public accounting firm formed through a merger between Coopers & Lybrand LLP and Price Waterhouse LLP, which was consummated on or about July 1, 1998.

Lord of the Flies. Utopia and Dystopia Quotes

A Utopia is a place or society that appears perfect in every way. The government is perfect, working to improve society’s standards of living rather than their own, social aspects of the community run perfectly. There is no war or disease, only peace and happiness. Dystopia- Dystopia came from the term Utopia. It defines a place or society which is in complete chaos. The citizens are all suffering and are miserable. Often times in novels what appears to be a Utopian society it first by the visiting protagonist is actually revealed to be a dystopian society.The citizens are often revealed to live in terror, under complete control by the government, unaware of corrupt world in which they actually live in, or suppressed by the society as a whole. 3. ) This island in Lord of the Flies used to be a utopia because in the beginning of the story they had this beautiful new environment they could explore and run wild through without any adult supervision or anyone to tell them what to do. The boys were only concerned, at first, about having fun with no adult supervision. The island than became a dystopia when Ralph was struggling to regain his power while Jack was trying to have complete control.It also became a dystopia when everyone started to fight amongst each other and then when two of the boys died the island had defiantly become a dystopia. Utopia Quote: â€Å"Aren’t there any grownups at all? † â€Å"I don’t think so. † â€Å"The fair boy said solemnly; but then the delight of a realized ambition overcame him. In the middle of the scar he stood on his head and grinned at the reversed fat boy. † â€Å"No grownups! † Dystopia quote: â€Å"But then the fatal unreasoning knowledge came to him again. The breaking of the conch and the deaths of Piggy and Simon hung over the island like a vapor.These painted savages would go further and further. Then there was that indefinable connection between himself and Jack; who th erefore would never let him alone; never. † 4. ) The Running Man by Richard Bachman, 1984 by George Orwell, Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 5. ) In the article Utopias and Dystopias: A Comparison of Lord of the Flies and Animal Farm, I believe the author did a very good job. I liked how the author organized the article and how she included quotes that went well with what she was just talking about.I also liked how she had a small summary of the stories she was talking about because since I had only read Lord of the Flies and not Animal Farm I would have been very confused with what her point was and what she was trying to get across. But since she had a small summary that went with what she was talking about, not a huge summary of the ientire book chapter by chapter, I understood just what she meant. I also appreciated how the author included page numbers after the quotes she used. Such as, â€Å"Apart from food and sleep†¦ found time for play, aimless and trivial† (Golding 49).

Broadening Your Perspective Essay

In this paper the Broadening Your Perspective Exercise 18.1 is completed. The exercise is about Martinez Company that has decided to introduce a new product to its product line (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2011). Two methods are evaluated to determine what is the best method to use either capital-intensive or labor-intensive method. Exercise 18-1 A In this part of the exercise the break-even point in annual unit sales of the new product is calculated for the capital intensive manufacturing method and labor-intensive manufacturing method (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2011). To calculate the break-even point the total fixed cost has to be computed first. For the capital-intensive method the total fixed cost is fixed Manufacturing cost-2508000 plus incremental selling expenses of 502000 equaling 3010000. The next step is to find the contribution margin per unit. For the capital-intensive method the contribution margin per unit is calculated by the selling price of 30.00 minus the variable cost of direct materials-5, direct labor-6, variable overhead-3, annual expense-2, thus equaling $14.00. Then the break-even point in unit sales for the capital-intensive method is calculated by the total fixed cost-3010000 divided by the contribution margin per unit of 14, thus equally the break-even point in unit sales for the capital-intensive meth od is 215000 units. Next we calculate the labor-intensive method. To calculate the break-even point the total fixed cost has to be computed first. For the labor-intensive method the total fixed cost is fixed manufacturing cost-1538000 plus incremental selling expenses of 502000 equaling 2040000. The next step is to find the contribution margin per unit. For the labor-intensive method the contribution margin per unit is calculated by the  selling price of 30.00 minus the variable cost of direct materials-5.50, direct labor-8.00, variable overhead-4.50, annual expense-2, thus equaling $10.00. Then the break-even point in unit sales for the labor-intensive method is the total fixed cost-2040000 divided by the contribution margin per unit of 10, thus equally the break-even point in unit sales for the labor-intensive method is 204000 units. Exercise 18-1 B In the next part of the exercise it states to determine the annual unit sales volume at which Martinez Company would be indifferent between the two manufacturing methods (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2011). To determine the indifference point of the annual unit sales of the capital-intensive and labor-intensive method the total fixed cost and contribution is used. This is calculated by capital-intensive total fixed cost of 3010000 minus labor-intensive total fixed cost of 2040000 divided by the difference of the contribution margins of capital-intensive-14 and labor intensive-10. Thus totaling 242500 units as the indifference point of the two manufacturing methods. Exercise 18-1 C The last question to complete the exercise states, Explain the circumstance under which Martinez should employ each of the two manufacturing methods (John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 2011). Depending on the goal or forecast of how much sales are to be reached determines the manufacturing method that should be used. If the business expects to reach sales beyond the indifference point of 242500 units then the capital-intensive method would be the best manufacturing method to be used. If sales are forecasted to be below 242500 then the labor intensive method should be used. Thus the ationale to choose the manufacturing method depending on sales of units assures that the higher profit margin is obtained. References John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (2011). Accounting, 4E, Exercise 18-1. Retrieved from: www.ecampus.phoenix.edu/wileyassignment