Fleet Management System Essay

ABSTRACT The current situation in Kenya demands a good fleet management due to the  rising factors of economy that needs to be addressed in order to have a flourishing economy. Vehicles aid in transportation of goods and services in government offices. Effective use of transportation resources especially in the government we help a great deal in keeping the country’s economy at per with other developing states around the globe. It also helps improve service delivery and good governance. Currently, there are no effective ways of monitoring and managing the government vehicles. In order to have a good method of controlling the vehicles in different government departments, we need a good fleet management system. Fleet management system is focused on maintenance management, and helps people to ensure that fleet assets are maintained properly and on schedule. The system controls the entire operations of a vehicle to enable effective utilization of the vehicles and more so to increase accountability among the civil servants. It is aimed at keeping drivers records, vehicle details and records of bookings made. The system goes beyond maintenance management to offer optional features such as fuel logging, personnel records, route logging and inventory tracking. The system enables you to establish a pre-emptive approach to fleet maintenance management. It helps you prevent costly, unexpected break-fix scenarios and downtime due to neglected fleet vehicles and equipment. It serves as a ready resource for fleet maintenance history, fuel usage, and all expenses associated with operating a fleet of motor vehicles and other mechanical assets. It also help significantly ease your reliance on a pen and a paper. The research adopted a questionnaire driven methodology to gather information and follow-up processes. CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction. 1.1 Background information Fleet management is the management of a company’s transportation fleet. It includes commercial motor vehicles such as cars, ships, vans and trucks, as well as rail cars. Fleet (vehicle) management can include a range of functions, such as vehicle financing, vehicle maintenance, vehicle telematics (tracking and diagnostics), driver management, speed management, fuel management and health and safety management. It is a function which allows companies which to rely on transportation in business to remove or minimize the risks associated with vehicle investment, improving efficiency, productivity and reducing their overall transportation and staff costs, providing 100% compliance with government legislation (duty of care) and many more. These functions can be dealt with by either an in-house fleet-management department or an outsourced fleet-management provider. According to market research from the independent analyst firm Berg Insight, the number of fleet management units deployed in commercial fleets in Europe will grow from 1.5 million units in 2009 to 4 million in 2014. Even though the overall penetration level is just a few percent, some segments such as road transport will attain adoption rates above 30 percent (Maduro M, 2010). Fleet management system enables people to accomplish a series of specific tasks in the management of any or all aspects relating to a company’s fleet of vehicles. These specific tasks encompass all operations from vehicle acquisition to disposal. Software, depending on its capabilities, allows functions such as driver and vehicle profiling, trip profiling, dispatch, vehicle efficiency, etc. It can provide remote control features, such as Geo-fencing and active disabling. Current vehicle diagnostic information can also be related to a management site, depending on the type of hardware installed in the vehicles. New platform, based on Fleet management software, is fleet controlling with higher amount of information available for both drivers and dispatchers of a fleet. At this time (2012) online software platforms are very popular: users no longer have to install software and they can access the software through a web browser  (Lakhani, K. R., & Von Hippel, E, 2003). 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT: Kenyan Government departments face a common challenge of controlling their fleet assigned to them to carry out various functions in the ministries. Vehicles record management is done manually and there is a need to computerize the whole process of assigning a vehicle to a driver, its maintenance and its daily operation. The project will be an online system which will take care of all the vehicles operations and maintenance and also provide security so that only the authorized users will be able to access the data. The system is aimed at improving or rather eliminating all these problems that are encountered during the operations of fleet management. 1.3 THE OBJECTIVES OF FLEET MANAGEMENT SYSTEM The objectives of the system will include: To enable accurate and complete data that will be stored in the database about all the government vehicles. To help keeping records of every vehicle i.e. The designated driver of every vehicle. The mechanics Fuelling and mileage Insurance cover To enable in keeping the drivers details i.e. Valid license number. Valid National ID number. Painting of the vehicle Changing of break fluids. Changing tires. To determine whether the vehicle is taking the government at a profit or loss. 1.4 SCOPE OF THE PROJECT The focus of this proposal is to analyse the how a fleet of vehicles have been managed in various government departments and how the current situation is in vehicles management in terms of their job allocation and general maintenance. There has been great controversy about the use of an online  management system. This study therefore wishes to analyse the effectiveness of the Online Fleet Management System. 1.5 PROPOSED SOLUTION Due to the advancement in technology the researcher will develop a computerized system that will be implemented to overcome the old system which the government have been using. 1.6 PROBLEM JUSTIFICATION Fleet Management System will be very appropriate when it comes to management of a fleet of vehicles government. It will help reduce misuse of vehicles and it will more accountability to the drivers and officials assigned to those vehicles. A report about each vehicle will be generated to rate the performance of the drivers and the vehicle itself. Security is also paramount. The system ought to have a controlled access so that no unauthorised persons is allowed to manipulate the data that is in the system. 1.7 CONSTRAINTS OF THE PROJECT Time constraints- time is a limiting factor in the study due the fact that lecturers are on. Limited funds- Finances to carry out an in-depth study are not available to me since am depending on somebody. Shortage of material related to the study- the sample is limited to government departments only. Longitudinal effects: unlike most professors who can take several years researching on a single research problem, the time available to investigate a research problem and to measure change or stability within a sample is constrained by the due date of my assignment making it difficult to carry a proper feasibility study. Lack of prior research on the topic: the fleet management system topic has not been thoroughly researched on making it difficult to find existing work. 1.8 SOLUTION STRATEGY Development of an Online Fleet Management System will find a solution to the problems associated in vehicle fleet management. The system will be developed using PHP, HTML, CSS and java script at the front end and MySQL at the backend. 1.9 WHY THE CHOICE The Kenyan government institutions have been facing so many challenges when  it comes to management of its fleet of vehicles. I considered this system to be appropriate to solving the existing challenges in effectively monitoring the vehicles. CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Vehicle Fleet Manager 3.0 Fleet management system works more the same as Vehicle Fleet Manager 3.0 which has been developed by vinisoft through enabling you to record, manage and consult all information concerning your vehicle fleet quickly and efficiently. It is designed not just for large transport firms, but service companies and businesses, too. Whether you have a fleet of 3 or 1000 vehicles to look after, we have the solution to meet your expectations. In terms of functionality, fleet manager 3.0 works more less the same as Fleet Management System. It does the following: It tracks and manages the drivers information Get notified when insurance has expired. Creates group of vehicles. Monitors the petrol consumption Keep a record of the vehicles’ details. However, Vehicle Fleet Management 3.0 does not have a module to cater for the bookings of the vehicles made in different organisation departments. (Kanuka, 2003; Schwegler, 2000; Taylor, 2006) 2.2 Intelligent Fleet Management System This is a system that was developed to control the vehicles in a city. The routing plan of a delivery fleet is usually developed a priori and provides an optimal way of serving customers by taking into account certain constraints, such as delivery time windows. However, such plans may not cope adequately with the dynamics of a city logistics environment, in which unexpected events (e.g. traffic congestions) often occur during delivery execution. We present the development and evaluation of a real-time fleet  management system that handles such unforeseen events. The system monitors the delivery vehicles in real time, detects deviations from the initial distribution plan, and adjusts the schedule accordingly by suggesting effective rerouting strategies. The system has been tested in simulation environment and in real-life cases and the results show that delivery performance is enhanced significantly and customer satisfaction is improved. Gaps in the system: Unlike Online Fleet Management System, the Intelligent Management system, the system does not capture the details of the driver and also the bookings made to deliver commodities and staff members within the city. Online Management System will capture all this data and it will a far much better system as compared to the Intelligent Fleet Management System. 2.3 Fleet Management in defence The United Kingdom Government developed a system managed its army fleet. However, in the long, the government realized that the system had its own shortcomings. Due to these fact these drivers, in the UK the concept of Whole Fleet Management (WFM) was devised as a way of meeting all operational and training commitments with a reduced fleet and reduced equipment. It was proposed that the practice of issuing units and formations with their full establishment of vehicles would cease and instead, units would hold a reduced fleet of vehicles sufficient only for low level collective training. The plan was that their holdings would be augmented from a central pool for higher level training and operations. This process has the potential to improve availability, reduce maintenance costs and allocate diminished resources at the right time, in the right place and in the correct configuration. The operational benefits and efficiency of the WFM concept are such that the UK MOD proposes to extend it to all ground based equipment and vehicles across Defence. As such, the benefits are that there will be a reduction in the number of vehicles procured, which will result in a smaller Total Fleet Requirement (TFR). Quite simply, without WFM the UK MOD will not be able to meet future operational and training requirements. The Management Information System Requirement FM within expeditionary warfare, invariably demands short planning times, so to plan for future operations Commanders need precise and timely information on units, formations and fleets, including: Equipment location. What the state of repair of each asset is. How each piece of equipment configured. When each piece of equipment will be ready for use. Research Gaps: Poor visibility of: Land equipment configuration, locations, ownership, usage, maintenance, reliability and availability; Inefficient maintenance techniques and procedures, which did not implement Reliability-centred Maintenance (RCM) well and involved little data analysis. Few effective logistic support partnerships with Industry. 2.4 Sierra Wireless Fleet Management System Sierra Wireless defines Fleet Management Solutions (FMS) as a system designed for commercial or private vehicles, trailers or similar vehicles that incorporates data logging, satellite positioning and data communication to a back-office application. Within this definition we note the following areas of Fleet Management Solutions: Fleet management (trucking, local delivery, service fleets, utility companies, taxis, rental vehicles, public transit, school buses, emergency service vehicles, heavy equipment, etc.) Container/Trailer tracking User based insurance (Pay as you drive) Stolen Vehicle Recovery / Tracking Track and Trace Driver Behaviour Metrics Fleet Management systems allow companies that rely on transportation in their business to remove or minimize the risks associated with vehicle investment, improving efficiency, productivity and reducing their overall transportation costs. Fleet management can include vehicle financing, vehicle maintenance, vehicle telematics (tracking and diagnostics), driver management, fuel management and health and safety management. Advanced fleet management systems can easily connect to the vehicle’s on-board computer, and gather data for the user. Data collected can vary and can include details such as mileage, fuel consumption, and much more, which are then gathered into a global statistics scheme. Research Gaps Sierra Wireless Fleet Management System only to keeps log of the track of the vehicles without holding both the vehicles and drivers’ details. CHAPTER 3 SYSTEM MODEL 3.0 Introduction This chapter outline the online fleet management system model .It covers the following areas: implementation of the system, system analysis, project design DFDs, ER diagrams case diagrams, case scenarios and UML diagrams. 3.1 PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION The online fleet management system is to be developed using PHP scripts and MYSQL database. Java scripts will be used to validate the data captured from the interface as it is a client side scripting language. The system will be on windows platform but once hosted on a server, it can be accessed by anyone using any platform. 3.1 SYSTEM ANALSYSIS The task of system analysis is to establish in detail the proposed system requirements i.e. functional and Non-functional. It aims in understanding the input and output of a system and processing steps necessary to perform inputs into outputs. What interface will be provided for the users to interact with the system, based on the skills and computer proficiency of the intended users and what control measures will be undertaken in the system. 3.1.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENT Hardware Requirements The online fleet management system should be hosted on a server which has Intel duo core processor of speed 3GHz and above, Ram of 2 GB, Hard disk of 160 GB and above. Functional Requirement These are statements of services the system should provide, how the system should react to particular inputs and how the system should behave in particular situations. The following are modules which aid in implementing  the system functional requirement: i) Security module This module performs login, logout from the system and privileges allocation depending on the type of user who is accessing the system. ii) Vehicle Registration This module captures the details of all the vehicles that are owned by government departments and institutions. iii) Driver Registration This module captures the details of the drivers that are assigned vehicles at department level. iv) Booking Vehicles This module captures the details of the vehicle bookings made by the different people. v) Duties assignment of vehicles. This module holds the assignment for all the vehicles available at department level. Non-Functional Requirement These relates to the behaviour of the system in its operation environment. The system should be safe and secure where it should operate without catastrophic failure and protect itself against accidental and intrusion. It should be reliable and available thus delivering services as specified and when requested for. 3.2 SYSTEM DESIGN Based on the nature of the project I chose the waterfall development model for software engineering. This model will be used to build the Online Voters Registration System. Its paradigm is as shown below.

Exam Notes

Chapter 1- PRE MID Study Questions : 1) What are the challenges of working in the new economy 2) What are the organizations like in the new workplace? 3) Who are the managers and what do they do? 4) What is the management pricess? 5) How do you learn the essential managerial skills and competencies? Overview of the 21st century workplace -Organizations must adapt to rapidly changing society -Economy is global and driven by innovation and technology -High performing companies gain extraordinary results from people working for them -Interdependent, knowledge based STUDY QUESTION 1Intellectual Capital- People are the ultimate foundations of organizational performance, it is the collective brainpower or shared knowledge of a workforce that can be used to create value. A knowledge worker adds to the intellectual capital of an organization. Globalization- National boundaries of world business have largely disappeared. Globalization is the worldwide interdependence of resource flows, produc t markets, and business competition that characterize the new economy. Technology- There is an increasing demand for knowledge workers with the skills to full utilize the technology such as (internet computers and information technology)Diversity- Workforce diversity reflects differenes with respect to gender, age, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, and able bodiednes. Creates a diverse and multicultural workforce but challenges and offers opportunities to employers. Ethics- Code of moral principles, society requires business to operate according to high moral standards. Emphasis today is on restoring the strength of corporate governance. STUDY QUESTION 2 Some Critical skills for success in the workplace are; mastery, contacts, entrepreneurship, love of technology, marketing, passion for renewal.Organization- A collection of people working together to achieve a common purpose. Organizations provide useful goods and or services that return value to society and satisfy cus tomer needs. Organizations are Open Systems- Composted of interrelated parts that function together to achieve a common purpose and interact with their environments. They transform resource inputs into product outputs(goods and services). Environmental feedback tells organization how well it is meeting the needs of customers and society.Organizational Performance- value is created when an organization’s operations ads value to the original cost of resource inputs. Value creation occurs when businesses earn a profit or nonprofit organizations add wealth to society. Organizational Performance -Productivity: an overall measure of the quantity and quality of work performance with resource utilization taken into account -Performance Effectiveness: An output measure of task or goal accomplishment -Performance Efficiency: An input measure of the resource costs associated with goal accomplishmentWorkplace changes that provide a context for studying management; belief in human capital , demise of â€Å"command and control†, emphasis on teamwork, Preeminence of technology, Embrace of networking, New workforce expectations, concern for work-life balance, focus on speed. STUDY QUESTION 3 Importance of human resources and managers; toxic workplaces that treat employees as costs, High performing organizations treat people as valuable strategic assets, managers must ensure that people are treated this way.Manager- a person in an organization who supports and is responsible for the work of others, they are the ones who help those whose tasks represent the real work of the organization. Levels of Management: a)Top Managers- responsible for performance of an organization as a whole or for one of its larger parts. b) Middle managers- in charge of relatively large departments or divisions. c) Project managers- coordinate complex projects with task deadlines d) Team Leaders or supervisors- in charge of a small work group of non-managerial workers.Reponsibilities of te am leaders: Plan meetings and work schedules, clarify goals and tasks, and gather ideas for improvement, appraise performance and counsel team members, recommend pay raises and new assignments, recruit, develop and train team members, encourage high performance and teamwork, inform team members about organization goals and expectations, inform higher levels of work unit needs and accomplishments, co-ordinate with others teams and support the rest of the organization. Types of Managers: a)Line Managers: responsible for work activities that directly affect organizations outputs. )Staff managers: use technical expertise to advise and support the efforts of line workers c) Functional managers: responsible for a single area of an activity d) General managers: responsible for more complex units that include many functional areas. e) Administrators: work in public and nonprofit organizations. Managerial Performance and Accountability- accountability is the requirement of one person to answ er to a higher authority for relevant performance results. Effective managers fulfill performance accountability by helping others to achieve high performance outcomes and experience satisfaction in their work.Quality of work life (qwl) – an indicator of the overall quality of human experiences in the workplace. Some indicators are: fair pay, safe working conditions, opportunities to learn and use new skills, room to grow and progress into a career, protection of individual rights, pride in work itself and in the organization. High performing managers: build working relationships with others, help others develop their skills and performance competencies, foster teamwork, create a work environment that is performance driven and provides satisfaction for workers.The organization as an upside down pyramid: each individual is a value-added worker. A managers job is to support workers’ efforts. The best managers are known for helping and supporting. STUDY QUESTION 4 Managem ent is the process of planning, organizing, leading and controlling the use of resources to accomplish performance goals. All managers are responsible for the four functions, and they are carried on continually. Functions of management a) Planning – the process of setting objectives and determining what actions should be taken to accomplish them. ) Organizing- the process of assigning tasks, allocating resources and arranging the coordinated activities of individuals and groups to implement plans c) Leading- the process of arousing people’s enthusiasm to work hard and direct their efforts to fulfill plans and accomplish objectives. d) Controlling- the process of measuring work performance, comparing results to objectives and taking corrective action as needed Managerial activities and roles a) Interpersonal roles- involve interactions with persons inside and outside the work unit b) Informational roles- Involve giving, receiving, and analyzing of information. ) Decisio nal Roles- involve using information to make decisions in order to solve problems or address opportunities Characteristics of managerial work: Managers work long hours, work at an intense pace, work at a fragmented and varied tasks, work with many commutation media, work largely though interpersonal relationships. Agenda setting- Development of action priorities for ones job, includes goals and plans that span long and short Networking- The process of building and maintaining positive relationships with people whose help may be needed to implement ones work agendasSTUDY QUESTION 5 Essential managerial skills: Skill-the ability to translate knowledge into action that results in desired performance Technical skill- the ability to apply a special proficiency or expertise to perform particular tasks* lower level managers have more of this Human skill- the ability to work well in cooperation with others Conceptual skill- the ability to think critically and analytically to solve complex p roblems. * top level managers have more of this Managerial Competency- A skill-based capability that contributes to high performance in a management job.Managerial competencies are implicit in: Planning, organizing, leading and controlling. Informational, interpersonal, an decisional roles. Agenda setting and networking. Chapter 7-PRE MID Study Questions: 1) How is information technology changing the workplace? 2) What is the role of information in the management process? 3) How do managers use information to make decisions? 4) What are the steps in the decision-making process? 5) What are the current issues in managerial decision making? STUDY QUESTION 1Knowledge and knowledge workers provide a decisive competitive factor in today’s economy. Intellectual Capital- shared knowledge of a workforce that can be used to create wealth * irreplaceable organizational resources* Electronic commerce- the process of buying and selling goods and services electronically through use of the internet. Implications if IT within organizations: Facilitation of communcation and information sharing, operating with fewer middle managers, flattening of organizational structures, faster decision making and increased coordination and control.How IT is changing the office: progressive organizations activiely use it to help achieve high performance in uncertain environments. Key developments in networked offices are instant messaging and peer to peer sharing (p2p) STUDY QUESTION 2 Data- raw facts and observations Information- Data made useful for decision making drives management functions Characteristics of useful info: timely, high quality, complete, relevant, understandable. Information system- Use of the latest IT to collect, organize and distribute data for use in decision making.Management Information System (MIS)- specifically designed to meet the information needs of managers in daily decision making. Decision to support syste (DSS)- An interactive information system that allows users to organize and analyze data for solving complex and sometimes unstructured problems. Group Decision Support System (GDSS)- facilitates group efforts to solve complex and unstructured problems. *use groupware Artificial Intelligence (AI)- computer systems with the capacity to reason the way people do. Expert Systems (ES)- Software systems that use AI to mimic the thinking of human experts.Managerial advantages of IT utilizations 1) Planning advantaes- better and more timely access to useful information, involving more people in planning. 2) Organizing advantages- more ongoing and informed communication among all parts of the organization, improved coordination and integration 3) Leading advantages- improved communication with staff and stakeholders, keeping objectives clear. 4) Controlling advantages- more immediate measure of performance results, allows real-time solutions to performance problems STUDY QUESTION 3Performance deficiency- actual performance being less th an desired performance Performance opportunity- actual performance being better than desired performance Problem Solving- the process of identifying a discrepancy between actual and desired performance and taking action to resolve it. Decision- a choice among possible alternative course of action. Programmed decisions- apply solutions that are readily available from past experiences to solve structured problems, these problems are ones that happen often and are familiar.Nonprogrammed decisions- develop novel solutions to meet the demands of unique situation that presents unstructured problems. Commonly faced by higher-level management Crisis Decision making – a crisis involves an unexpected problem that can lead to disaster if not resolved quickly and appropriately. Certain Environment- offers complete info about possible action alternatives and their outcomes Risk Environment- lacks complete info about action alternatives and their consequences, but offers some estimates of probabilities of outcomes for possible action alternatives.Uncertain Environments- Information is so poor that probabilities cannot be assigned to likely outcome of known action alternatives. Systematic v/s intuitive thinking- systematic thinking approaches problems in a rational step by step and analytical fashion. Intuitive thinking approaches problems in a flexible and spontaneous fashion. Multidimensional thinking applies both intuitive and systematic thinking. Effective multidimensional thinking requires skill at strategic opportunism. STUDY QUESTION 4 Decision making ProcessStep 1- Identify and define the problem: focuses on information gathering, info processing and deliberation. Decsion objectives should be established Step 2- Generate and evaluate possible solutions; potential solutions are formulated and more info is gathered, data are analyzed, the advantages and disadvantages of alternative solutions are identified. Step 3-decide on a preferred course of action; classica l decision model managers act rationally in a certain world, managers face clearly defined problems and have complete knowledge of all possible alternatives and their consequences this results in an optimizing decision.OR behavioral decision model; managers act in terms of what they perceive about a given situation, recognizes limits to human information-processing capabilities, they will choose the first satisfactory alternative Step 4- Implement the decision solution; involves taking action to make sure the solution decided upon becomes a reality, managers need to have willingness and ability to implement action plans. Step 5- evaluate results; involves comparing actual and desired results, positive and negative consequences of chosen course of action should be examined.STUDY QUESTION 5 Availability Heuristic- people use information â€Å"readily available† from memory as a basis for assessing a current event or situation Representativeness Heuristic- People assess the like lihood of something happening based upon its similarity to a stereotyped set of occurrences Anchoring and adjustment Heuristic- People make decisions based on adjustments to a previously existing value or starting point. Ethics double check- any decision should follow this ethics rule ask yourself â€Å" how would I feel if my family found out about this decision? â€Å"how would I feel if this was published in the newspaper† *ethical decisions satisfy the following criteria : utility, rights, justice, caring. Chapter 2- POST MID Study Questions 1) what can be learned from classical management thinking? 2) What ideas were introduced by the human resource approaches? 3) What is the role of quantitative analysis in management? 4) What is unique about the systems view and contingency thinking? 5) What are the continuing management themes of the 21 century? STUDY QUSTION 1Classical Approaches to management: 1) Scientific Management-(Frederick Taylor) Decelop rules of motion , st andardized work implements and proper working conditions for every job. Carefully select workers with the right abilities for the job. Carefully train workers and provide proper incentives. Support workers by carefully planning their work and removing obstacles. (The Gilbreths) Motion study, science of reducing a job or taskt to its basic physical motions. Eliminating wasted motions imporves performance. ) Administrative Principles ( Henri Fayol) – RULES OF MANAGEMENT a) foresight- co complete a plan of ation for the future b) organization- tp provide and mobilize resources to implement the plan c) coordination- to fit diverse efforts together and ensure information is shared and problems are solved. d) Control- to make sure things happen according to plan and to take necessary corrective action PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT a) Scalar chain- there should be a clear and unbroken line of communication from the top to the bottom of the organization. ) Unity of command- each person sh ould receive orders from only one boss c) Unity of direction- one person should be in charge of all activities with the same performance objective. MARY PARKER FOLLET Group and human cooperation; Groups are mechanisms through which individuals can combine their talents for a greater good, Organizations are cooperating communities of managers and workers. Mangagers job is to help people in the organization cooperate and achieve an integration of interests.Forward-looking management insights; making every employee an owner creates a sense of collective responsibility (precursor of employee ownership, profit sharing, an gain sharing). Business problems involve a variety of inter-related factors. Private profits relative to public good (precursor of managerial ethics and social responsibility) 3) Bureaucratic Organization (max Weber)- Bureaucracy is an ideal intentionally rational and very efficient form of organization. Based on principles of logic, order, and legitimate authority.Char acteristics of Bureaucratic organizations : clear division of labor, clear hierarchy of authority, formal rules and procedures, impersonality, careers based on merit. STUDY QUESTION 2 Human resource approaches include : 1) Hawthorne Studies – initial tudy examined how economic incentives and physical conditions affected worker output. No consistent relationship found. â€Å"Psychological factors† influenced results. Relay assembly test room studies manipulated physical work conditions to assess impact on output, was designed to minimize the â€Å"psychological factors† of previous experiment.Factors that accounted for increased productivity : group atmosphere and participative supervision. Employee attitutes, interpersonal relations and group processes- some things satisfied some workers but not others, people restricted output to adhere to group norms. Lessons from the Hawthorne Studies: Social and human concerns are keys to productivity, hawthorne effect-peopl e who are singled out for special attention perform as expected. 2) Maslows theory of human needs- a need is a physiological or psychological deficiency a person feels compelled to satisfy.Need levels: physiological, safety, social, esteem, self actualization. Deficit principle- a satisfied need is not a motivator of behavior Progression principle- a need becomes a motivator once the preceding ower level need is satisfied. *Both principles cease to perate at a self actualization level 3) McGregors Theory X assumes that workers: dislike work, lack ambition, are irresponsible, resist change, prefer to be led. McGregors Theory Y assumes that workers are: willing to work, capable of self control, willing to accept responsibility, imaginative and creative, capable of self direction.Implications of Theory x and y : managers create self fulfilling prophecies, theory x managers create situations where workers become dependent and reluctant. Theory Y managers create situations where workes r espond with initiative and high performance * central to notions of empowerment and self management 4) Argyris’s theory of adult personality – classical management principles and practices inhibit worker maturation and are inconsistent with the mature adult personality.Management practices should accommodate the mature personality by: increasing task responsibility, increasing task variety, using participative decision making. STUDY QUESTION 3 Management science (operations research) foundations – scientific application of mathematical techniques to management problems. Techniques and applications include: mathematical forecasting, inventory modeling, linear programming, queuing theory, network models, simulations.Quantitative analysis today- use of staff and specialists to help managers apply techniques, software and hardware developments have expanded potential quantitative applications to managerial problems. Good judgement and appreciation for human factors must accompany use of quantitatitve analysis. STUDY QUESTION 4 System-collection of interrelated parts that function together to achieve a common purpose. Subsytem- A smaller component of a larger system Open systems- organizations that interact with their environments in the continual process of transforming resource inputs to outputs.Contingency thinking- triest to match managerial respinses with problems and opportunities unique to different situations. * espically indicidual or environmental differences. No â€Å"one best way† to manage. Appropriate way to manage depends on the situation. STUDY QUESTION 5 Quality and performance excellence- managers and workers in progressive organizations are quality conscious. * wuality and competitive anaylsis are linked Total Qaulity Management (TQM) – Comprehensive approach to continupus quality improvement for a total organization, creates context for the value chain.Global Awareness- pressure for quality and performance exce llence is created by a highly competitie global economy. Has promoted increasing intrest in new management concepts: process engineering, virtual organizations, Agile factories, network firms. Adoption of the theory Z management practices. Core Factors of a leraning Organization -mental models -personal mastery -systems thinking -shared vision -team learning In the 21st century managers must be Global strategists, masters of technology, inspiring leaders and models of ethical behaviour.

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Apple company - Essay Example Conclusively, in the current fiscal year of 2010, the company was recorded to earn its all time highest profit of $15.68 billion, certainly as a result of its efficient strategic choices (Apple, 2010). An appropriate strategic alliance is undoubtedly a crucial tool to determine the success of a company. Thus, the paper in its further discussion shall emphasise on the strategies adapted by the company and their competency level in comparison to the major competitors Apple Inc. at present is ranked first in the computer manufacturing industry, with an over all score of 7.95 in the international market. To secure the company in this position the management had to adapt numerous strategies, tactics and operational measures. For instance, the innovation strategy, the expansion strategy, the financial strategy, and many other strategies have continuously implemented by the company to achieve the position it is holding in the global industry (Tkaczyk, 2010). The company has been known in the market to bring up continuous innovations and creations to develop its competency. The history of Apple Inc. is stuffed with many such creations of new products and developments of the old ones to bring about revolution in the global technology industry. Even in the current year the company is not without its technological creation. For instance, the company adapted a strategy in the current year to diversify its marketing product from merely PC based to non-PC based items. It was in this respect that the company launched the iPad after the impressive success of iPods and iPhones (Yoffie & Kim, 2010). As strategies mean the planning and decision taking for the betterment of the company, tactic refers to the clever implementation of the planning. It is important due to a certain reason that a strategic plan is only going to be successful if it is applied in the correct form at

Personal professional development Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Personal professional development - Case Study Example nts in the gathering are some of those experiences which enable the leaner to explore those things and topics and issues which have not been read and understood previously. Many sources enable students to learn new and important things. For example, journal articles, books, website information and tutorial videos on YouTube are the most important sources for self-managed learning strategies. Self-reliance would be a key advantage. In the traditional learning style, a learner is required to rely on the support and attention of a tutor. And for this purpose, the learner is required to receive time, energy and attention from the tutor whereas the learner does not face such issues but more reliance is put on one’s own learning abilities in the self-managed learning approaches. Self-confidence is also improved. It has been observed that when a learner receives knowledge from a tutor; he is not only relying but also obtaining support for developing confidence on the learned things. On the other hand, the learner relies on the self-learning and self-managed strategies in which self-confidence is also increased naturally. The above mentioned self-managed learning approaches are only useful when the application of SWOT analysis is carried out. The SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as well.1 These four strategic words enable a learner to pinpoint and understand his/her own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats as well. For example, if the learner is confident about some key words which are mainly used for understanding a topic, he can use and avail the source of the Internet for quickly learning new knowledge and improve self-confidence and experience a reduced reliance on the support of the tutors. It is not possible to use all constituent parts of the SWOT simultaneously. The SWOT approach has four parts and each one is totally and markedly different from the other. Under this situation, it would be very difficult to fully

Case Study on Marketing and Public Relation strategies for local movie

On Marketing and Public Relation strategies for local movie theater - Case Study Example It is imperative to have an understanding of the business environment within which the Carmike Cinema in Lawton operates in. Acknowledging competition is one way through which a workable approach would be sought. In the area of Lawton, there are other movie theatres. The other theatres include the Dickinson Central Mall 12 theatre or even Vaska theatres. The existence of competition, therefore, should inform the business tact employed at the theatre. Any business model should be aligned with the demographics within which it operates in. For the movie theatre, it is imperative to understand the imminent trends in the Lawton area. For instance, the local population, as was statistically recorded in the census done in 2011, was 98,177 (City of Lawton). Consequently, the target population for the movie theatre should work with the figure in mind. Besides, the figure should put into consideration the possible turn out from the whole population. This should be a figure worked with the competition from the Dickison Central Mall theatre in mind. In reference to cutting a niche in business, most organizations are focusing on how to effectively and efficiently win the perception and acceptance of their services by the consumers (Cutlip, Allen & Glen 49). Business organizations have developed and implemented new marketing strategies such as low pricing and extensive distribution of products as well as new public relations strategies in ord er to receive positive perception from the public. Every movie theatre has to have an online portal through which it reaches out to its clients. In as much as the Carmike theatre has an official website, the usability that the interface offers is unlike other recognized portals. In this case, a comparison is done against the online portal for Regal Entertainment Group. Improving the outlook of the online portal is one way of improving its perception among the public. It offers a means through which the movie theatre gets marketed to

Evaluating The Validity Of The PPP Hypothesis A Time Series Analysis Dissertation

Evaluating The Validity Of The PPP Hypothesis A Time Series Analysis Of The US-UK Exchange Rate - Dissertation Example Although significant coefficients in this regression seems to indicate that variations in the price level differential lead to changes in the exchange rate, deeper inspection of the stationarity properties of the relevant series establishes that we actually fail to find any evidence to support that PPP holds for the two countries under question. However since the time period covered is only of a short duration of 37 years, we conclude that this evidence should not be taken to be conclusive. It could still be the case that PPP holds in the long run but what has been examined in this paper covers only the short run and during this period the exchange rate is at a perturbed state. Introduction The exchange rate is one of the most important macro variables that have significant implications for policy of any open economy. It is therefore of primary importance to identify what determines the long run real exchange rate between two currencies for either of the countries involved. Additiona lly, given the state of other macro variables what should be expected of the medium and long term dynamics of the exchange rate for any given economy? That is, should it be expected to appreciate or depreciate over time? How does the nominal exchange rate affect inflation? These are all critical questions can be answered using the Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) theory. It is therefore critical to evaluate its empirical validity. The vital notion of the PPP hypothesis is that the real rate of exchange between the currencies of any two countries is determined essentially by the ratio of the price levels of the countries in question. ... This is essentially the implication of the law of one price which postulates that the same good should sell at the same price in all markets because if different prices are charged then arbitrage will arise until the prices are equalized. Alternatively, the theory suggests that changes in real exchange rates are essentially driven by relative price level changes (Froot and Rogoff, 1995). Now, there are absolute, relative and weak versions of the hypothesis and these are distinguished as follows. When the exchange rate is simply equal to the relative price level ratio absolute or strong PPP is said to prevail. If the variability of the exchange rate is caused by variations in the relative price levels, then we say that relative PPP holds. And finally, weak PPP is known to hold whenever changes in the relative price levels significantly affect the exchange rate. The reason that this theory has motivated a large number of studies and keeps on motivating new pursuits of empirically evalu ating the PPP theory lies in the strong potential of the theory to have strong bearing on various policy aspects. For instance, an economy which has newly become independent can utilize this theory to ascertain its exchange rate. Forecasting macro-dynamics is critical for effective policy and this theory can be utilized to forecast the medium and long term exchange rates if it is found to be a valid determinant of the exchange rate. With this as the basic premise, in the present paper, we shall evaluate the validity of the PPP hypothesis as in its capacity of predicting real exchange rates. In particular, we want to evaluate whether the PPP hypothesis

Schizophrenia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Schizophrenia - Essay Example This difference in levels of cognition in various patients led to more research into other underlying pathologic pathways responsible for severe cognitive impairment in NPI patients but was apparently working fine in patients on NPNN category. Brain morphometry was used to analyze differences. Both groups were tested against each other on the basis of four tests to asses the attention and working memory (verbal and nonverbal) and were confirmed by California verbal learning test and degraded stimulus continuous performance test. The standard deviation within 0.5 was the cut off for near normal cognition whereas 1 standard deviation below normal rendered the patient cognitively impaired. They gray matter was found to be smaller in both the groups along with larger third ventricle. An additional pathology found in NPI was that along with the gray matter, their white matter was also decreased in volume. The lateral ventricle cavity was also enlarged. Whitford et al (2007) further invest igated the white matter abnormalities in schizophrenics and also studied whether the degenerative changes are progressive. T1 weighted magnetic resonance images (MRI) of 41 first- episode schizophrenics were compared against those of 47 normal comparable people for baseline volume of white matter using voxel-based morphometry in statistical parametric mapping- 2 (SPM2). The schizophrenics had decreased volume of white matter in frontal and temporal lobes. However there was an increase in white matter at frontoparietal junctions on both sides. The longitudinal changes at follow up after 2 to 3 years were compared using tensor based morphometry which showed decreased white matter bilaterally in middle and inferior temporal cortices of schizophrenics. The neural connection abnormalities were attributed to this progressive loss of white matter. The structural brain abnormalities at the time of first psychotic episode were studied by Fannon et al (2000) whose research involved 37 patient s going through their first episode of psychosis. T1 weighted steady brain scans of 1.5 mm contiguous sections were obtained and volumetric brain measurements were taken. The patients were found to have structural deviations and there was generalized reduction in brain volume, along with enlarged third and lateral ventricles. Cortical and temporal gray matter was found to be decreased. Schizophrenia is a chronic progressive mental disorder. It is associated with cognitive impairment and worsening interpersonal skills. The attacks are accompanied by hallucinations and delusions. Person feels that he is hearing different sorts of voices and has false beliefs and perceptions. There is extreme emotional instability and the patient may suffer from depression or social isolation. Cognitive decline involves memory impairment, decreased ability to pay attention and difficulty in functional execution of activities. The abnormalities are attributed to abnormal distribution and ratios of gray and white matter in the brain. Apart from that, increase in size of ventricular cavities as well as generalized reduction in brain volume also adds to affect the typical schizophrenic picture. The result is alterations in various brain functions owing to

See the instructions Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

See the instructions - Research Paper Example Given these detrimental consequences of the attack, a revolution in the modern aviation was ineluctable. This discussion will establish the impact of the 9/11 attacks on the contemporary aviation with a keen interest in the changes that have been put in place in this respect. Prior to the 9/11 an attack, the â€Å"Common Strategy† tactic was employed in the case of aircraft hijacks but were no longer effective after the striking event. The â€Å"Common Strategy† involved complying with the hijackers because most of the hijacks entailed the plane being flown to a particular destination after which the hijackers made their demands, such as ransom. As such, compliance was the sure way of surviving hijackings. However, in the 9/11 attacks, the hijackers neither made any demands nor did they allow for negotiation and this meant that the mundane tactic was inapplicable. Given this, the modern aviation security system has been altered to accommodate suicide attacks, such as the 9/11 attacks. Passengers and crew members have been encouraged to consider the risk of cooperating and resisting the commands of the hijackers by not only considering their interests but the people on the ground as well. Pilots and flight attendants now undergo intensive tr aining in self-defense and anti-hijacking training aimed at baffling bombing and hijacking (Sheehy, 2004). Besides, Air Marshalls have been added to the crew in order to forestall hijacking. Cockpit doors have been fortified and made bullet prove to deter hijackers from taking control of planes (Woodruff, 2011). These novel improvements to the aviation security system stem from the lesson learned in the 9/11 attacks. Airports security checking systems were proved to be weak, and major changes were inevitable. Before the attacks, private companies conducted the screening of passengers under the supervision of the Federal Aviation Administration.

Growing up as a child in my family Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Growing up as a child in my family - Essay Example I fell pregnant on five separate occasions but had a total of six children, all of whom were all girls. I gave birth for the first time in 1977 and had my last child in 1981. In conjunction with being a full-time mother, I also worked two jobs to help support my children. In 1989, a met a really nice guy who was to be my future husband. We have now been together for 22 years and are still in love with each other just as much as we were back then. In the year 2000, my husband and I decided to become foster parents. We have cared for over 32 kids since then and have gone on to adopt three of those kids, all of whom are girls. These girls were so adorable that we had no choice but to open our hearts and accept them. They are currently aged 11, 14, and 17 years old respectively. For the last 26 years I have been working as a C.M.A. All this time I have been trying to finish raising my girls. It is only now that I have realized that I need to go back to school in order to finish my high s chool diploma. I don’t have much to say about my childhood except I became a mother far too soon. I thank God every day for each of my three kids. I am part of a gospel group called God’s Chosen Generation, of which I am the group’s manager; my husband is in charge of the music. My two youngest daughters sing as part of the group along with my friend’s daughter too. Every Sunday we go to church and participate heavily in the church’s activities. This is the story of me â€Å"growing up as a

The Fault In Our Stars Summary Essay Example for Free

The Fault In Our Stars Summary Essay The Fault in our Stars by John Green is an outstanding novel and one of Green’s best works. It tells a modern story about a girl named Hazel trying to live like a normal teenager. However this is not the easiest thing in the world for her because wherever she goes, she must carry an oxygen tank with her as a result of her having cancer. However at a teen cancer support group, she meets Augustus Waters, a very different yet similar person to her. This novel tells a sweet, painful love story about pain, miracle, adoration, and inspiration about how to overcome obstacles in life Augustus Waters is someone who probably would not be a probable match for Hazel. He lives life with uncertainty because his cancer is not 100% cured. Hazel lives upon diagnosis. She accepts that she will die soon and doesn’t want to hurt Augustus because she knows he had been hurt that way before. Hazel spends her time inside her home all day reading the same book over and over again, and oddly enough decides to share it with Augustus. He seems to have his own secret reason for loving the book as much as she does. Augustus uses his wish from the Wish foundation for cancer patients to take Hazel and her mother to Amsterdam to meet the author who wrote the book they both admire. They unfortunately discover that the author they had come to meet is a repugnant jerk and they leave soon after arriving. Many of the situations that both teens encounter are very realistic and relatable. There are many repugnant jerks in the world and most of the time, the only mature thing to do is walk away. There are also people like Hazel’s mother, who knows Hazel’s situation and knows the trip will put her at risk but understands that Hazel needs to do something exciting in her life and going on vacation with a boy whom she loves will make her happy. When they return to Indiana, Hazel soon discovers that Augustus is not well. With everything that has happened in her life, she is the one is left angry at the world. She doesnt seem to understand how someone as amazing as Augustus had to have a terrible fate that she had once accepted was upon herself. The most terrible things always happen to the people who deserve it the least. There really must be a fault in our stars. Although I do not have cancer and I do not have any life-threatening diseases, this book was important to me. The Fault in our Stars shows that no matter what the circumstances are, you can always prove yourself wrong and keep at things even though they get tough. John Green has captured the idea of true love and overcoming obstacles in the best way possible.

The Tsarist regime between 1881-1904 Essay Example for Free

The Tsarist regime between 1881-1904 Essay Why did opposition to the Tsarist regime increase between 1881-1904? Page 1 Opposition to Tsarist Government had long been a feature of the Romanov rule with strict laws in place to oversee that nobody spoke out against the Tsar’s rule. During the autocratic years from 1881-1904 Russia went through two Tsars, Alexander III and his successor Nicholas II both obsessed with keeping absolute power over Russia. During that period it was an offence to speak out against the Tsar whilst nobody could challenge the Tsar’s rule as there was no parliament in place to speak for the people and no free press which meant that no one could release information that might influence the people to revolt for a better quality of life. This led to a hard struggle for the Russian people who endured numerous years of hardship under the Tsar; however it also resulted in the formation of politically organised parties in Russia that would each have separate ambitions for what they wanted for the future of Russia and her people. The causes of Tsarist opposition could be argued to have been started by Alexander II who ironically was trying to stop opposition to the Tsarist regime by relaxing controls over the press and universities which inadvertently saw the emergence of the intelligentsia. After Alexander II assassination in 1881 the first signs of opposition to Tsar Alexander III where the educated and free-thinking middle class, who were able to travel to western nations and read new ideas that, had never before been herd of in particularly the idea of Karl Marx’s, Marxism where it was thought that the people would overthrow the government and become a Democracy, and without a state Russia would become communist. The 1890s saw the great spurt of modernisation and industrialisation in Russia. Modernisation was driven by one man, Sergei Witte, the minister of finance from 1893 to 1903. An increase in the production of coal in the Ukraine and oil in the Caucasus promoted massive economic growth. Iron, chemical, engineering, petroleum and steel industries were established within ten years. Although this benefited the Russian economy the growth in industrial workforce concentrated in urban areas. This along with the combined high taxes and low incomes caused terrible living and working conditions in the cities. Witte’s economic policy created long term discontent within the Russian people as the high taxes and low wages led to high poverty throughout Russia whilst the increase in peasantry created more pressure on the agricultural land which led to an economic slump after 1902 which resulted in an increase in unemployment. Civil unrest further increased in 1900-1902 with poor harvests leading to starvation and an outbreak of violence in the countryside. This civil unrest led to the formation of various political parties throughout Russia which became the main sources of opposition to the Tsar’s rule. Parties such as the Liberals, and Social Democrats followed the relatively new idea of Marxism. However the Democrats wanted a revolution whereas the Liberals thought they could achieve their aims through a series of non-violent protests. The Democrats would later split into the Bolsheviks who thought the party should be ruled under one central leadership and that the way forward would be revolution whereas the Mensheviks beliefs were more democratic as they believed in allowing each member a say. The Liberals would also later split into the Kadets who wanted a parliament and better re-distribution of land for the peasants but had no problems with a constitutional monarchy whereas the Octoberists who also wanted a parliament were more focused on increasing Russia’s economic strength. Page 2 A third party the Social Revolutionaries grew directly out of the Populists and continued their predecessor’s approach of terrorism to reach their aims as a group founded in 1879 â€Å"the peoples will† were responsible for the assassination of Tsar Alexander II whilst also continuing their extremist views into the early 1900’s between 1901 and 1905, were it was the terrorist faction of the Revolutionaries that dominated with over 2000 assassinations, including Plehve, the interior minister, and the Tsar’s uncle, Duke Sergei. Eventually this unrest along with several assassination attempts from the Revolutionaries resulted in Alexander III abdicating in 1894 leaving his young and shy son Nicholas II as supreme ruler of Russia. Nicholas was never interested in politics however he was a great admirer of his father Alexander III. He had been brought up to believe that repression was the only way to keep the Russian people under control and that any kind of reform would simply encourage them to want even more. Nicholas wanted to rule like an autocrat but he did not have the skill to do so as he was an untrusting individual always being afraid of conspiracy which led to him refusing chair meetings, only seeing his ministers one at a time, trying to use divide and rule tactics which ultimately led to the government not making any decisions for Russia. Nicholas II further created unrest as he was unwilling to give any concessions to national minorities such as Finns and Poles with any protests repressed and his secret police the Okhrana crushing political activists, rounding them up and exiling them. The culmination of the revolution reached its climax with the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in February 1904. Defeats on land and sea at the hands of the Japanese military shocked the Russian public creating mass humiliation. The war was beyond any doubt a Japanese victory when Russia lost Port Arthur in January 1905. With the Russian peoples pride in tatters after defeat from what they believed was an inferior Eastern nation along with the war creating shortages in food, fuel and higher prices leading to further unemployment it seemed the last straw for the Russian people creating a huge upsurge of discontent. On the 22nd January 1905 Father Gapon and orthodox priest decided to lead a peaceful march of workers and families on the Winter palace in St. Petersburg where they wanted the Tsar to acknowledge the needs of the Russian people such as living conditions, poverty and starvation in Russia. However this peaceful protest soon caused mass panic for the police and authorities who did not know what to do, with no decisive leader they felt the only option was to fire at the protesters in the hope they would disperse. Hundreds of people died on the day that is now known as Bloody Sunday. This led to a national outbreak of disorder with strikes and riots in major cities whilst even minor mutiny in the Army and Navy who were ashamed of the defeat in the war, the Tsar was at war with his own people the revolution had begun. There were many factors of why opposition increased between 1881 and 1904 however the main reason was the introduction of western ideas to what had previously been a nation in isolationism with the prevention of free press. The ideas (Marxism) that had seeped in to Russia made the public question why they couldn’t have a say in how their country was run which led to the development and rise in organised political parties which became the main opposition to the Tsarist regime as both Tsar’s struggled to cope with what the people wanted. Ultimately the sheer size of Russia and its massive population made it impossible to govern and whilst Russia struggled to get out of its backward status the public’s welfare was compromised as both Tsars main priority was to increase Russia economically. This led to an inevitable uprising.

Harmonisation of Accounting Standards

Harmonisation of Accounting Standards Accounting Standards are the reliable statements of best accounting practices issued by recognized expert accountancy bodies relating to various aspects of measurements, treatments and disclosures of accounting transactions and events, as related to the codification of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). This report presents harmonization of accounting standards, a brief history, and the achievements so far and some challenges faced by the organizations such as the International Accounting Standard Committee (IASC) that are pursuing harmonization of accounting standards. 1.0 ACCOUNTING HARMONIZATION: Many authors have put together different definitions for accounting harmonization in various ways. It would seem not an easy word to define, as neither the European Commission nor other organs of the commission have explicitly defined the concept of accounting harmonization (Christopher Nobes, 1992). Some have even complicated the whole concept, by attempting to substitute harmonization with standardization, as if to mean that the process is the same, rather than making it more compatible. In practice, harmonization of accounting tends to mean the process of increasing the compatibility of accounting practices by setting bounds for the degree of variations (Nobes, 1992). This can be accepted to be the most suitable definition of the concept. Harmonization of accounting standards has become a highly demanded issue of discussion and debate among accounting professionals around the globe. Accounting Standards are the authoritative statements of best accounting practices issued by recognized expert accountancy bodies relating to various aspects of measurements, treatments and disclosures of accounting transactions and events, as related to the codification of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). These are stated to be the norms of accounting policies and practices by way of codes or guidelines to direct as to how the items, which make up the financial statements, should be dealt with in accounts and presented in the annual accounts. In fact, such statements are designed and prescribed to improve and benchmark the quality of financial reporting. They bring about uniformity in financial reporting and ensure consistency and comparability in the data published by enterprises. These are aimed at furnishing useful info rmation to different users of the financial statements, such as shareholders, creditors, lenders, management, investors, suppliers, competitors, researchers, regulatory bodies and society at large(Shil et al. 2009). The process of harmonization gives the global community a single entity. The diversity of stockholding doesnt matter today if the accounting system can generate general purpose financial statements in real sense. Thus, along with the process of globalization, the awareness of investors in capital markets has increased manifold and the size of investors is multiplying. Foreign institution investors (FIIs) are investing in significant volumes globally, as also are several Indian companies through GDRs (Global Depository Receipts) and ADRs (American Depository Receipts). Hence, the need for harmonization of accounting standards has been strongly advocated globally in order to faster the economic decision-making process(Shil et al. 2009). Wallace, et al (1997) argue that the mission for international harmonization of reporting practices cannot be as easy as looking at a cash flow statement, where you identify different ways of categorizing cash flows, alternative formats of presenting cash flows from operating activities and just many other differences. In addition, several issues such as: the bad debts provision; valuing marketable securities; and the treatment of long-term contracts, can be considered specific and given particular treatment. The role of the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) for example is to issue accounting standards in the United Kingdom. It is recognised as a standard setting body in the UK for the purposes of Section 256(1) of the UK Companies Act 1985 and in Northern Ireland for the purposes of Article 264(1) of the Companies (Northern Ireland) Order 1986.(Mccallig et al. 2010). 1.1 The Need for Harmonization The increased globalisation of capital markets has resulted in a need for international accounting standards. In an increasingly globalised world, it is clear that financial statements of companies operating under different accounting management systems are not easily comparable. This has led to the need and development of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) whose stated objective is the development of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"a single set of high quality, understandable, enforceable and globally-acceptable International Financial Reporting Standards (Mccallig et al. 2010) This harmonization is needed due to the globalization of businesses and services and an increase in cross-border investments and borrowings(Zeff 2011). Some of the benefits of harmonization are: It ensures reliable and high quality financial reporting and disclosures in certain cases; it can prove to be crucial to the economic and financial development of a country. It enables a systematic review and evaluation of the performance of say multinational companies having subsidiaries and associates in various countries wherein each country has its own set of GAAP. It makes the comparison of the performance of a company against its domestic and international peers easier and more meaningful. It adds to the international credibility of a company. It is a precursor for accessing international capital markets which can, in turn, reduce the capital cost and consequently, improve the performance of a company. It provides a level playing field where no country is advantaged or disadvantaged by its GAAP. (Mogul 2003) Additional benefits of a global financial reporting framework that can be achieved through harmonization are numerous and can include greater comparability of financial information for investors, greater willingness on the part of investors to invest across borders, lower cost of capital, more efficient allocation of resources; and even higher economic growth not only for companies and organizations but for governments also. 2.0 IMPLEMENTATION CHALLENGES The most fundamental of obstacles to achieving uniform practice is the size of the present differences between the accounting practices of different countries. Using the different types of classifications of accounting systems used in different countries, there are several significant differences even within the equity class, let alone between that class and the other. These differences go to the root of the reasons for the preparation of accounting information(Nobes 2001). Still, there are a couple of strong variants of accounting practices (say, for example, US GAAP, UK GAAP, IAS etc.) over the world existed and practiced simultaneously. These variants are working as threats towards harmonization of accounting practices. However, the profession has also witnessed some improvements in recent years in the process of global convergence putting some ray of hope. International and even local standard setting bodies have come up with projects of harmonization and in most of the cases became successful. The day is not far away when we will observe that accounting world is controlled and guided by a single set of standards giving it a status of legal discipline in true sense(Shil et al. 2009) Implementation challenges at the international and national levels of the objectives of an improved and harmonized reporting system being achieved are still evident. For example the question of how the IASB should cope with the Securities and exchange commissions (SEC) eventual decision to adopt, converge to, or continue to study International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) as the financial reporting framework to be used by U.S. issuers? The process of mutual convergence between IFRS and U.S. GAAP, which has been an avowed policy of both the IASB and the FASB since 2002, will surely not extend beyond the terminal dates of the major projects currently heading toward completion.37 Countries that have signed on to IFRS, as well as the leadership of the IASB, believe that the time is nigh for the SEC finally to decide whether to commit to IFRS, or not. If it does not, the IASB must consider the consequences of an IFRS world without the United States. Considering that the U.S. capit al market is still the largest and most important in the world, and the SEC is the worlds most respected securities market regulator (Zeff 2011). 3.0 CONCLUSIONS A significant number of entities and countries around the world have adopted International Financial reporting Standards (IFRS) as their basis for financial reporting, often initially regarding these as a means of improving their quality of information on corporate performance. The benefits of adopting IFRS have been extended to include winning the trust investors, greater willingness on the part of investors and companies themselves to invest across borders, lowering of capital costs to companies, more efficient allocation of resources; and even higher economic growth not only for companies and organizations but for governments also. On the overall one can argue that this approach to financial management can greatly impact the global economy as a whole.

Affirmative Action :: essays research papers

Affirmative action has two distinct meanings. The first definition of affirmative action refers to individuals having equal opportunity without regard to their sex, race, and religion. The second meaning is almost exactly the same, except that it is directly related to sex, race, and religion. Affirmative action was brought about to ensure the freedom and rid of discrimination in many different situations. For example, many "Upper Class " jobs, such as government employment, were rarely ever given to the minority classes. Although, affirmative action has had numerous negative impacts despite the fact that it was created for the good of society.(http://www.adversity.net/Terms_Definitions/TERMS/Affirmative_Action.htm) The United States authorized the Civil Rights in 1964, as a result, many problems were brought about in society and the way it functioned. Many disadvantages and consequences were faced for people with physical complications such as those with handicaps or the elderly. In time, the problem became greater and something had to be done in order to resolve this issue. On September 24, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson made Executive Order #11246 official at Howard University which required federal employees "to take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed..without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." Without knowing so, President Johnson had created one of the most problematic and ironically one of the most segregated legislations.(Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia) At first affirmative action was made in order to assist the under privileged people of America which was highly discriminated against when the Civil Rights act was brought about. There was social conflict, economic stress, and racial tension did not make the position of those with no source of income any easier. Was it a coincidence that most entrepreneur, business leaders, and managing positions in the United States was held by white males? It did not take long before the majority realized that the business leaders and corporate executives were discriminating towards minorities and those not of the same race, religion, or sex. President Johnson's choice was highly approved by most of the middle and lower class people. Naturally, the leaders, executives, and managers did not think highly of President Johnson.(Compton’s Interactive Encyclopedia) Not so long after the legislation was passed, many minority groups were already seeking revenge and were looking to take advantage of the newly implemented affirmative action laws. The main minority group that was affected by the new laws were those of African-American decent.

Our Lady Of Guadalupe :: Essays Papers

Our Lady Of Guadalupe The image of the Virgin Mary seen by Juan Diego has changed the world. About forty years after Mary’s appearance to Diego, it is believed to be a turning point in western civilization. At this time there were a lot of copies of the painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe being circulated around Europe and one ended up in the hands of Admiral Giovanni Andrea Doria. The King of Spain gave this special copy to him. There were three hundred Turkish ships blocking the Gulf of Lepanto and the admiral was given command of a squadron to sail to the blockade. The Christian fleet consisting of about three hundred ships was to meet the Turkish navy head on. However, the Turkish outmaneuvered the Christian forces. It is said that when this crucial hour was at hand, Doria went into his cabin to kneel and pray before the Image of Guadalupe. By nightfall the direction of the battle started to shift. One Turkish squadron was defeated and captured causing the others to panic which lead to the de struction of the whole fleet. Fifteen thousand Christians that were enslaved in the Turkish galleys were freed. This battle marked the end of the Ottoman Empire’s expansion into the western Mediterranean.1 First Apparition In 1531, ten years after the capture of Mexico City, a poor Indian named Juan Diego left his house to attend divine service in the beginning of December. On his way he passed the hill of Tepeyacac ("Hill of the Nose", in Nahuatl) and he heard beautiful music from the top of the hill. The music was heavenly; he heard the most beautiful songbirds singing soft and pleasant. He wondered if he was worthy of hearing such beautiful music, and if maybe it was a dream. He thought he might have died and gone to heaven. Over the sounds of birds Juan heard a voice from the hilltop; however, it did not frighten him. In fact he was strangely set at ease by the voice. He climbed the hill in search of the mysterious voice. When he reached the top of the hill he saw a magnificent woman who appeared to glow like nothing he had ever seen before. She radiated like the sun, and the stones that she was standing on were like gems beneath her feet. The foliage surrounding the magnificent woman was full o f translucent colors that glimmered in the radiating light.