Thursday, October 31, 2019

Observation of community Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Observation of community - Assignment Example Facebook seems to be the most popular site when it comes to making friends and Social networking. People are free to advertise themselves as well as their skills, books and professions etc. and try to better their existing prospects. The people at Facebook have come to realize that even companies are interested in engaging themselves with other stakeholders in a more dynamic and informal manner and hence have gone that extra mile in creating a potent platform for them to associate with each other. Many big Corporate Companies and artistes have joined the Facebook Community in order to further enhance their prospects. The language used by this particular group of people is slightly more formal than the other groups. This is because professions are involved. Informal language such as â€Å"Oh c’mon yaar’, ‘yeah of course’, ‘no probs’, ‘catch you later then’ ‘bring along your resume and catch me at ma office tom. @ lunch time etc. are some of the informal phrases used in the language spoken here. Other common phrases used between associates are ‘give me a buzz’ or ‘give me a tinkle before comin’ pal’, IMHO (in my humble opinion) This is the most informal and exciting platform on Facebook because it is here that friends meet and exchange fun and ideas across the globe. The world becomes a smaller place when people interact and associate with each other between continents and across the world. The language used on this platform is filled with fun and laughter punctuated with a lot of jokes and funny ideas. People who associate with each other as friends on a surface level exchange a lot of information, thoughts and ideas which prove to be very useful and encouraging. The majority of users, take their friendship to a far more deeper level and engage in sharing their innermost and deepest feelings and emotions in exchange for solace, understanding and

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Issues in Global Business and Strategic Concepts Essay

Issues in Global Business and Strategic Concepts - Essay Example The paper also recommends certain inputs which might be beneficial for the company in its future operational growth and expansion in the emerging market of India. The report portrays that the performance of the company from the past few years has not been quite impressive which has further affected its brand image as well as the trust and confidence of its investors in the global periphery. It has also been observed that poor performance of the company has been associated with some of its internal weaknesses such as uncontrollable expansion of product lines and lacuna in complying with ethical standards and consumer needs which has hampered its presence in all over the global market. ... It has been learnt that the brand image of the company has weaken and sales of the company has declined considerably owing to the competitive forces underlying the international consumer electronics industry. To be precise, in its recent operations, the company has been witnessing various issues such as branding problem, legal interventions for hacking issues and fall in share price among others. These issues affected the trust of the investors on the future performance of the company owing to which its international growth, especially in developing nations such as India, where consumer buying behaviour is highly fluctuating, has been hampered significantly. Emphasising on the current status of Sony, this study will aim to present a portfolio report on the current strategic position of Sony by analysing all the elements of its business which shall be helpful for its further expansion and growth in the Indian market. The paper would further recommend the company with some strategies t hat would be helpful for it in its expansion to an emerging market. Background Information Company Overview Sony Corporation is one of the most familiar brand names in the world today. The company mainly manufactures audio, video and information technology products for consumers all over the world. It has been noted that the prime vision of the company is to manufacture and market products based on the preferences of the customers and enable them to enjoy a new digital entertainment experience. With this concern, the company has been operating to make certain that every product it offers should be of A-grade quality as per the industry standards (Sony, 2013). Critics have often argued that the success of the company is largely due to its innovative

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Definition Of Green Supply Chain Management Commerce Essay

Definition Of Green Supply Chain Management Commerce Essay There is no precised definition of GSCM (Srivastava, 2007). However in this context, the aim of the researcher and the given problems will determine the scope of there green supply chain. Whiles some researchers channel their attention at the procurement phase, others considers the entire supply chain activities (Zhu et al., 2008). To begin with, Handfield et al., (2005) and Kogg (2003) considered green supply chain in the environmental perspective whereby environmental supply chain management can be used to represent green supply chain management. Businesses are developing and introducing green strategies in order to green the supply chain activities to build common approaches towards energy conservation, pollution abatement, waste reduction and improve their operational efficiencies. Subsequently, the increasing importance of sustainability brought to bare the term triple bottom line of all enterprises highlighting the values enterprises must embrace to continue to operate and become more competitive. Thus when executing their professional duties, enterprises are required to simultaneously factor into the strategy or planning economic, social and environmental issues (Elkington, 2004). Even though social and ethical issues can be related to green supply chain management (Markley and Davies, 2007), social iss ues will not be further elaborated in this paper. In another school of thought, GSCM is viewed in another angle as industrial ecology (Jackson and Clift, 1998) and industrial metabolism (Frederick and Kurato, 2009). Industry is a collective word referring to mutually dependent firms belonging to the same economy (Chang and Singh, 2000). According to (Jackson and Clift, 1998) the industrial ecology focuses on improved efficiency and increasing production output of the whiles making the manufactured goods cheaper as well as preventing the pollution into the ecosystem. On the other hand, industrial metabolism which was conceptualise by Robert Ayres from the biological point of view whereby the convertion of raw materials, energy and labour into finished goods and waste are regarded as integration of physical processes (Frederick and Kurato, 2009). This biological metamorphosis is applicable to the manufacturing enterprises whereby the finished by-product of a firm becomes the input or raw materials for the other (Baily et al., 2005). In another approach, GSCM can be linked to the lean paradigm which was conceptualised by (Womack et al., 1990). Womack et al. (1990) stated that lean thinking which was the core practice of the Toyota Production System (TPS) the Japanese motor manufacturing and termed as muda, has close synergy with environment management (Hampson and Johnson, 1996) whereby companies were required to do more with less. Thus avoiding spoiled production, purposeless movement of employees and goods, unnecessary processing steps and services that fail to meet the requirement of customers. And by doing so, the organisational activities which do not create value but absorbs resources are cut off. So the ultimate aim of the lean concepts as developed by Womack et al. (1990) is targeted towards cost reduction in the manufacturing companies through value engineering and analysis so as to provide the optimum prices offered to their customers. Hines et al (2004) claim that lean exist at the strategic and opera tional levels. The customer value-creation strategic thinking applies everywhere in relation to cost, delivery and quality. However, Fisher (1997) argues that the lean thinking is not a supply chain strategy applicable to all sorts of product manufacturing. Yet in another approach Lin et al. (2001) green supply chain management is also connected to Environmentally Conscious Manufacturing (ECM) of which they viewed it as involving developing and putting into operation manufacturing processes that curtailing and getting rid of all forms of waste, improve material utilisation efficiency and improving operational safety as well as reducing energy consumption across the supply chain. McKinnon et al., (2010) supported Lin et al. (2001) views and added few expressions stating that issue of green supply chain focuses on the reduction of energy consumption and emissions, elimination of solid, chemicals or hazardous waste by material suppliers, contractors, service contractors, vendors, distributors and end users within the supply chain whiles increasing recycling and reuse. Ernst and Young (2008) pointed out energy savings and managing resources efficiently as the best option for green supply chain. Sarkis, (2001) Concluded that environmental co nscious manufacturing is an important strategy the enables companies to lower their environmental impact, improve efficiency whiles achieving profits and market share targets. The above opinions expressed regarding green supply chain management create the environmental consciousness will not be completed without the flow of information across the upstream and downstream. Gattorna (2006) viewed supply chain as the enterprises involved in the coordinating process, functions, activities and building relationships and pathways along which information, goods, services and financial transactions are moved from the upstream to the downstream. However for the purpose of the study, the researcher will agree to Hervani et al. (2005) definition of green supply chain management embedded with Gatornas opinion of supply chain. Hervani et al. (2005) viewed green supply chain management as the activities of supply chain in regards to the support of the protection of the environment. The activities range from green purchasing, green manufacturing, green distribution and marketing to reverse logistics. The reason is to make known the flow of both information and material as well relationship building among the supply chain members. It is equally important to note that the major practices of organisations that have introduced green supply chain management which varies across different organisation. 2.2 THEORTICAL FRAMEWORK OF GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT PRACTICES Sarkis (2003) assert that the decisions about the environmental practices are influenced by the four stages of the product life cycle. The introduction stage of the product is emphasised on the product research and development where investment occurs, the growth stage focuses on increasing of production capacities where the logistics channel is significant, whereas the maturity stage is concerned with the implementation of cost and efficiencies and finally the decline stage where the product divestment are necessary. According to Rao (2007) the end-of-life practices has resulted in the operational life cycle of manufacturing company which includes the inbound logistics, work-in-progress, outbound logistics and the possible reverse logistics. Sarkis (2003) focused on to the procurement decision phase as the stage that can expertly influence the suppliers and impact the environment by purchasing green products. In view of this Green et al. (1998) re-emphasize that the most effective wa y for businesses to improve their environmental performance within their supply chain activities can be achieved through green purchasing and supply. 2.2.1 Inbound Logistics (Green Purchasing) Majority of the inbound function fundamentally entails green purchasing strategies implemented by enterprises to react to the growing global issues related to environmental sustainability (Rao and Holt, 2005). Min and Galle (2001, p.1223) defined green purchasing as an environmentally-conscious purchasing practice that reduces sources of waste and promotes recycling and reclamation of purchased materials without adversely affecting performance requirements of such materials. Rao and Holt (2005) opine that engaging in green purchasing can deal with issues such as material substitution through environmental sourcing of raw materials, reducing waste of hazardous materials and other waste produced. The inbound function requires the maximum support and involvement of teh suppliers if the firms can achieve their goal. The companies develop the habit of continually managing the environmental performance of their suppliers to make certain that environmentally-friendly materials and equipments by nature are produced using environmentally-freindly processes to be supplied to the companies. A consultancy firm Carbonfund based in the United States categorically stated that acquiring any input for production should be purchased from an organisation with a carbon-free product certification. This is because such inputs will require less energy, reduce or eliminate equipment stress and lesser carbon emission during the work-in-progress as well as reducing the footprint where possible and offsetting the remaining carbon emissions through third-party validated carbon reduction projects. Furthermore the end product that differentiates the brand and product of the company, reduces its total cost of operations, increase their sales and profit margin, and improve customer loyalty whiles strengthening its CSR and environmental goals (Marshall, n.d). According to the Conservation Value Institute (2008) green refers to products, services and practices whose procurement, manufacturing and use should simultaneously facilitate economic development whiles preserving the natural resources which provides quality of life and components to the global economies for the future generations. So green produced products and services would possess any of the following attributes: the products should have low maintenance requirement, durable, energy efficient and savings; should be biodegradable or incorporate recycled content and can readily be recycled; easily to be reused; do not contain highly toxic compounds and or ozone depleting substances which can result in highly toxic by-products when undergone production stage; and finally the products are to be obtained from nearest resources and manufacturers using the lowest carbon footprint transportation. Min and Galle (1997) used a specific industry groups (heavy producers of scrap and waste materials) to outline the advantages of green purchasing as contributing factor geared to source reduction of pollution in regards to recycling, re-use and low-density packaging, and towards eliminating waste in terms of dumping or scrapping, recycling and sorting for bio-degradable packaging or non-toxic inceneration. However, Min and Galle (1997) pointed out the uneconomical recycling and re-use as the three main barriers associated with green purchasing whereas lack of state or federal regulations, lack of management commitment, lack of suppliers awareness, lack of buyer awareness, deficient company-wide environmental standards or auditing programs are also important issues. Arguably, green purchasing revolves around two key element and these include the evaluation of suppliers environmental performance and mentoring to assist the suppliers to improve their performance (Rao and Holt, 2005). Green purchasing research traditionally focused on the former element wherby the companies use range of technique and tools to assess the environmental behaviour of suppliers to enable them choose supplier. Nontheless, the adoption of environmental management standards such as ISO 14001 certification accredited to the suppliers has reduced that stress (Noci, 2000). On the other hand the latter element goes beyond monitoring and evaluation, geared towards providing guidance and support for the suppliers requiring a extensive change in the attitude of the lead corporations in a supply chain (Hines and Johns, 2001). However, Hines and Johns (2001) from a positive standpoint pointed out building teamwork, non-threatening, sharing potential benefits and supplier mentoring proactive as advantages of mentoring culture, whiles the critical weaknesses is associated with cost implications, lack of physical facilities, lack of trained personnel to deliver such mentoring initiatives and above all lack of facilities. 2.2.2 Production (Green manufacturing) Handfield et al. (2005) supported the initiatives of green design, substitution, extension of products life cycle through material selection, support of suppliers and life cycle assessment (LCA) as the strategies for environmental impact reduction. The green design of the product takes into consideration the product level (thus the environmentally friendly materials to be used) and the manufacturing process of the product. The substitution is essential in the green design so as to eliminate hazardous materials in the manufacturing of the product. Also the extension of the products life ccycle linked to the green design is characterised by the reuse of the parts of an obsolete product to manufactrure new products. In doing so, there is procedures that enables the suppliers to improve their manufacturing process. Geyer and Jackson (2004) pay much attention to the end-cycle strategy of the products which includes the recycling of the end-of-life product which is redirect from being dump ed. The life cycle assessment is concern with the complete physical life cycle of the product from cradle-to- grave (Heiskanen, 2002). So manufacturer are to take into account the environmental pollution throughout the production process. Green manufacturing is interlinked to the content of manufacturing strategy (Dangayach and Deshmukh, 2001) which focuses on three braod approaches namely: manufacturing capabilities, strategic choices and best practices. Kerr and Greenhalgh (1991) viewed manufacturing capabilities as aligning cost, quality, delivery and flexibility which is termed as competitive priorities (Spring and Boaden, 1997) to the requirements of the marketplace. Spring and Boaden (1997) outline the competitive priorities as: Cost: production and distribution of product at lower cost. Quality: manufacture of products with high performance or quality standard Delivery: meet delivery schedules Flexibility: respond to changes in product, product m ix, modifications to design, fluctuations in materials, and changes in sequence. Hill (1987) enumerates the strategic choice areas of the manufacturing strategy into two pillars; the structural and infrastructure. Skinner (1969) identified the structural pillar as process and technology for operations (plant and equipment, product design and engineering and production planning and control) whiles the infrastructure provides it with long-term competitive edge through continuously improving human resource policies, organisation culture, information technology and quality systems (Hayes and Wheelwright, 1985). Best practices in manufacturing strategy has increased in recent years and these encompasses manufacturing resource planning, flexible manufacturing system, group technology, optimised production technology, just in time, total quality management (TQM) and lean production and concurring engineering (Dangayach and Deshmukh, 2001). Hayes and Wheelwright, (1985) highlighted the characteristics of world class manufacturing (WMC) as a typical example of what green manufacturing within a particular company will entail. These are: formal thrust on strategic planning; communication of strategy to all the stakeholders; long-range orientation; strategic role of manufacturing; stress on continuous improvement through TQM; supplier-customer integration and strategic focus on development of human resources. However, procedding from the above, product life cycles are shortening and the evidence is in the computer industry. The environmentalist Lee (2008) criticise the dynamic trait of technological innovation as being problematic in the sense that the rate at which technology is used by companies to create new products in order to be continuously competitive makes that same products obsolete within a short time, which poses risk to the environment. Whiles the consumers have gained from greater variety and improved performance, the trend inexorably results in increased unsold products, increased packaging materials, increased waste and increased returns (Van Hoek, 1999) therefore it is argued that shorter product life cycles has resulted in the increment of the volume of product returns and waste entering the reverse logistics network and the cost of managing them (Giuntini and Andel, 1995). 2.2.3 Outbound Logistics (Green distribution and marketing) The concerns of businesses and consumers mostly in the industrialised countries in relation to the environment and the future of the planet has partially been transformed into corporate organisations in pursuing green or environmental marketing. The outbound function of greening the supply chain encompass green marketing, environmental-friendly packaging and environmental-friendly distribution, an initiative combine to enhance the environmental performance of an organisation and its supply chain (Rao, 2003 and Sarkis, 1999). Business-to-business (B2B) green marketing encompasses a broad scope of activities connected to: product design, the manufacturing process, packaging, service delivery processes, recycling, construction, renovation of buildings and other areas such as communication. Green marketing involves green products as well as greening enterprises (Vaccaro, 2009). The Chartered Institute of Marketing (2007) defined green marketing as the management process responsible for i dentifying, anticipating as well as satisfying the requirements of customers and society. Packaging which also forms part of the organisational life cycle of can also be made to minimise waste and its impact on the environment (Sarkis, 2003). The use of packaging contributes to the waste stream whether it is made of plastic, paper, glass or metal. As a result, several countries now have adopted legislation and programmes with the objective of curtailing the environmental impact of the amount of packaging that enters the waste stream such as the Packaging Directive in the EU (Rao, 2001). Managing of waste and waste exchange can also enhance competitiveness and lead to cost savings (Rao, 2003). Several environmentally conscious enterprises are implementing an on-site waste management treatment facilities and waste exchange networks whereby plastic containers are collected by an outsources firm and brought back to the company for recycled or empty paper carton used as a packaging material by the supplier are sent back to them by the customer for re-use (Rao, 2001). Also othe r stakeholders such as NGOs and governments are tupping in efforts to enhance industrial ecology concepts for corporations whereby a closed loop approach utilises all the waste through recycling, re-use of energy and materials Warehousing and packaging design are the major components in the outbound logistics and distribution (Wu and Dunn, 1995). Wu and Dunn (1995) argued that good warehousing layouts, easy information access reduce storage and retrieval delays and standardized reusable containers whiac are all environmentally sound leads to operating costs savings. In terms of transportation for distribution, an environmentally-friendly transportation system such as transport type, sources of fuel, infrastructure and operational practices and enterprise should be considered (Kam, et al., 2003). An example is just recently, Tesco reveal its plan to open a green distribution center (Teesport Distribution Center) in Middlesbrough. The plans are to get rid of more than 12,000 lorry journeys off the UKs roads annually. The idea is to transport all the goods that arrive from ships by rail into the various stores throughout the UK (Just-food, 2009). 2.2.4 Reverse logistics Rogers and Tibben-Lembke, (1999) viewed reverse logistics as the method of moving a product from the consumption point to another point of with the aim of recapturing the remaining value or for the final proper disposal of the product. Reverse logistics today involves more than the sheer recycling of packaging materials and re-use of containers. Sarkis (2003) outline four environmentally conscious end-of-life practices as reuse, remanufacture, recycle and disposal alternatives of which Tan et al. (2003) included into the scope of reverse logistics logistics. Reduction which is the fifth practice is necessary during the manufacturing or production stage and distribution and its not just applicable as the end-of-life strategy. Even though the reuse, remanufacture, recycle are related, the variance is between the degree of reuse of the material. The reuse is exemplified by the impact of the physical structure of the material whiles the remanufacture uses parts of the original material a nd components are being replaced with other substitute. Finally the recycling then changes the physical structure of the material completely. Tan (1999) highlighted the importance of third-party logistics providers who are anticipated to offer complete solution for collection, transportation and other value-added services. Reverse logistics can also be used to clean out slow moving inventories or customers obsolete, in order to enable customers to buy more newer products (Andel, 1997). For example, Caterpillar Asia and other industrial equipment companies have implemented liberal returns policies that enable them to collect obsolete componenets and spare parts back from their appointed dealers. In return, they then remanufacture these mechanical spare parts to recaliam many remaning value (Fites, 2000). However in the case whereby much sale is not made on the new spare parts held by the dealers, the companies will reimburse their dealers with generous allowance in excahange for spare demanded by their customers. Catterpilar also uses e-commerce program for their dealers to return their existing spare parts in the exchange for those required by new products (Tan et al., 2003). However, the execution of reverse logistics encounters several obstacles or barriers such as lack of manangement attention and company policies, concerns about competitive and legal issues, shortage of personnel and financial resources, the absence of standardized processes and technologies, etc. the poor managing of reverse logistics is due to the fact that more than one firm is generally involved in the process (Rogers and Tibben-Lembke, 1999). Significance of green supply chain management It is vital for the various enterprises to know the importance of practicing green supply chain management since the environment is a major concern to lots of stakeholders such as the customers, consumers, governments, competitors, trade associations and sector bodies, environmental regulators, community groups, business support organisations, partnership groups and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are becoming environmentally conscious and that firms supply chains are being scrutinise currently than former (Simms, 2006; Holt et al., 2001; Min and Galle, 2001). Policies (existing scm) Prooceeding from the unfolding regulations and legislations from Montreal Protocol (Mascarelli,n.d), Kyoto Protocol (Kolk and Pinkse, 2006) and Copenhagen Climate Summit (Black, 2009) point towards the significance of environmentally conscious manufacturing and distribution will contuinue to develop. The acceptance of the ISO 14001 to provide an international standard for environmental manangement system (Alexander, 1996) is to pressurise enterprises to pay more attention to environmental concerns in the supply chain reproduction so as to prevent exclusion from markets requiring compliance (Thomas and Griffen, 1996). Though the research bodies that are meant to tackle environmentally conscious supply chain management is quite scanty (Thomas and Griffen, 1996), research on environmentally manufacturing has primarily concentrated on product and process design including the concepts of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) and Design for the Environment (DFE) (Cattanach, 1995). The recent developments on environmental policy motivated Bloemhof-Ruwaard et al. (1995) to argue that the shift in focus from end-of-pipe control to waste prevention through integrated modelling approach, similar to supply chain management is to adequately address environmental issues. Beckman et al. (1995) presented a qualitative discussion by illustrating TQM concept to be corresponding with environmentally conscious supply chain management which Handfield et al. (2005) and Kogg (2003) term as green supply chain management (GSCM) in addressing supplier relations and product design. Beckman et al. (1995) concluded that modification or development of environmentally conscious supply chain management as an integrated model can assess the impact of the flow of products throughout the supply chain. Rao and Holt (2005) cited an example of 212 US manufacturing firms, 75 per cent respondents identified pollution prevention as important to their overall corporate performance of which 37.7 per cent identified customers as a key component in pollution prevention whereas 49.1 per cent of the firms pointed out the suppliers as the key players of pollution prevention (Florida, 1996). Reverse logistics- Clegg et al. (1995) design a linear programming model to find out profit-maximizing materials flows for both new and recycled or reclaimed parts in manufacturing operations. The reclaimed parts can either be partially or totally disassembled and the various part or parts may be discarded (perhaps sold) or reused in manufacturing. Clegg et al. (1995) concluded that the model can be used to check the sensitivity of the models parameters such as disassembly capacity, availability of reclaimed parts and limits on disposal. Rao (2002) and Ho et al. (2002) commented on the concept of green by throwing the challenge to suppliers, manufacturers, distributers, etc to welcome the concept since it fosters collaborative decision-making process that promotes creative thinking resulting into environmental-products innovation through cost reduction, waste and pollution minimisation and efficient use of resources. Citing example, Nikes official team jerseys for the 2010 World Cup were produced through the recycling of plastic bottles found in landfills. These eco-friendly shirts required 30 per cent less energy to produce the shirts compared to the use of traditional materials. Through this green practices, Nike prevented almost 13 million plastics bottles (approximately 254,000 kilogram of polyester waste) from being dumped to the landfill sites (Messenger and Alegre, 2010). Billington et al. (2009) openly stated that it is obvious that the reputations of organisations that fail to be socially responsible in their operations will be tarnished through bad publicity and mostly become vulnerable to and open to attack from NGOs. Hayes and Wheelwright (1985) in their four-stage framework of manufacturing emphases the need for companies to deploy sustainable or environmental policies throughout their operations and incorporating into their missions since that could help them to attain their strategic goals. Significance Preceding from the inbound perspective authors such as Bowen et al. (2001)and Rao (2002) argued that greening the supply chain has several benefits to an enterprise, ranging from integrating suppliers in a paticipative decision-making process that enhance environmental innovation and cost reduction. Authors such as Rao and Holt (2005) recognize that other stakeholders and customers all the time are unable to distinguish between a firm and its suppliers and in the case of environmental liabilities incurred by a company, the stakeholders intend to charge the leading company in that particular change responsible for the poor environmental impacts of all the enterprises within a particular supply chain for a specific product. Chatterjee (1998) claim that companies greening the supply chain is a concept that matches customers satisfaction, product and external business which increases the market shares of the company. Vaccaro (2009) stated that manufacturing and marketing green products differentiates the product to create competitive advantage for the company to become global leader as well as saving costs. Also, it is perceived that green supply chain management promotes efficiency and synergy among supply chain members and their lead corporations and enable them to minimise their waste, enhance their environmental performances and attain cost savings. The synergy is anticipated to improve the corporate image, marketing exposure and eventually to achieve competitive advantage. However Bowen et al. (2001) argue that enterprises will only implement green supply chain management practices provided only if they are able to identify that the practice will be lead to particular financial and operational benefi ts. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF GREEN SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT Challenge of green supply chain management Johri and Sahasakmontri (1998) identified high costs, variability in demand and unfavourable consumer perception as the main challenges of green marketing. Several consumers complain of the high prices and unglamorous image of ecologically-freindly products even though the increased awareness of environmental concerns is also resulting into constant development of eco-demand (Johri and Sahasakmontri, 1998) whereas consumer sceptism is used as ecological claims against some enterprise (Polonsky et al., 1997). However Min and Galle (1997) argued that the most serious hindrance towards effective green purchasing is the high cost associated to its environmental programmes. Min and Galle (2001) further raise the concerns about purchasing enterprises who reckon that investing in green products by way of having strong commitment towards environmental programs increases the total purchasing costs of the enterprise which eventually decreases their competitiveness. The reason is as a result of the added cost incur through its commitment in terms of employee training and environmental auditing which positions the company at an economic disadvantage as compared to the other less environmentally responsible companies since the incurred cost will be definitely pass onto the customer or end-user (Vance, 1975). In fact, it will be very difficult for a purchasing firm who has limited financial resources to be willing to adopt green purchasing tactics that can curtail the upstream waste sources which can eventually improve its overall environmental performance (Min and Galle, 2001). Thierry et al. (1995) found out that at the operational level particularly, managers of companies encounter the decision of buying more expensive environmentally friendly materials or purchasing traditional products based on cost, quality or lead time objectives as well as the challenge of locating the suitable information and data concerning green supply chain management. Nonetheless, Hevani et al., (2005) attributed the bottlenecks to green supply chain implementation to the higher cost of environmentally friendly products, lack of protection for innovations, lack of lead time to provide environmental friendly solutions, existing procurement specifications and technological issues. Nonetheless, considering the impact just-in-time has on the environmental performance of a company Nathan (2007) concluded that, the just-in-time approaches actually conflict with the objective of green supply chain management since the more empty trips of trucks makes their operation less efficient. It is obvious that the developed market is the main market of green products, mainly North America, Western Europe, Australia and South-East Asia. However, the demand of ecological products cannot be met by a particular economy thereby creating the opportunities for enterprises in transition economies or developing countries (Borregaard et al., 2003). Meanwhile enterprises in the developed countries take advantage of their reputable brand to expand their

Friday, October 25, 2019

Renaissance and Modern Art :: essays research papers fc

During my second time visiting the museum, I looked at paintings from the 15th and 19th centuries. Two of the art works that I choose is â€Å"The Story of Joseph† from the Renaissance period and â€Å"The Marketplace† from the modern art period. Both of these paintings were from different time periods but they were also very similar in content and style.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first pieces that I choose were from the Renaissance period. It is titled â€Å"The Story of Joseph† by Biagio d’ Antonio. The card states that it is Italian, Florentine, active by 1472. The artist, Antonio died in 1516.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The location of the artwork was located on the 2nd floor of the museum. It was kind of difficult to find as it is not listed on the map. The painting is framed and placed near the corner of the entrance to another room. The artwork measured about 3 feet by 6 feet. It is placed near paintings of portraits. This was one of the reasons why I choose this painting. As soon as I walked into the room, it caught my eyes right away as not only was it different from the other artwork in the room but it also consisted of many colors in the paintings. It was also one of the biggest artwork in the room. The room itself was fairly large. There was enough lighting to get a good look at the art work but much dimmer compare to the other rooms. The lighting fits perfectly with the period. Every artwork in the room was spread out evenly with enough spacing between them. There were about 2 artworks near the center of the room but most of the artworks were hung up against the wall.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The painting â€Å"The Story of Joseph† by Biagio d’ Antonio is made of tempura on wood. â€Å"The tempura techniques of previous centuries had already used oil as a binder, although other non-transparent substances, such as fig-tree juice and egg yolk, were more common, such binder produced a color that was absolutely opaque.† (Wundram, 17) In the paintings, it shows various events going on almost like a storyboard. The people in the paintings are going about their business, talking, trading, and fishing. The painting tells the story of Joseph who is the favorite son of the Hebrew patriarch Jacob. (Genesis 37, 39, 42-27). Throughout the paintings, there are various inscriptions painted on the artwork.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Punishment of Oedipus the King

The Punishment of Oedipus the King At the end of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, Oedipus, king of Thebes, ends up banished forever from his kingdom. Additionally, Oedipus physically puts out his own eyes, for several reasons which will be discussed later. The question is: Did Oedipus deserve his punishments? There are many factors that must be considered in answering this, including how Oedipus himself felt about his situation. His blinding was as much symbolic as it was physical pain. After all factors have been considered, I think that only Oedipus' banishment was the necessary punishment.. It is important to keep in mind the whole basic reasoning for Oedipus' search for Laius' killers: he wished to put an end to a deadly plague, and that plague would only be stopped when said murderer is killed, or driven from the land (pp 4-5). Thusly, when it is revealed that Oedipus himself murdered Laius, then banishment seems to be the only option. Death, in my mind, is not valid simply because of what it might do to the kingdom's people. Even though it seems that Oedipus has not been a particularly good monarch, in fact his only major accomplishment seems to be killing the Sphinx all those years ago, having a king put to death could have serious repercussions on the rest of the kingdom. So in the end, the only way to cure the plague and keep the kingdom stable seems to be the banishment of Oedipus. In this case, the question of whether or not he deserved to be punished seems irrelevant; Oedipus' only goal was to stop the plague and by leaving, he has accomplished that goal. Banishment was the only choice. But what exactly was Oedipus being punished for? Even after re- reading the play, this still seems to be a gray area. Incest? Immoral, to be sure, but Oedipus was obviously ignorant to his actions, and to my knowledge, in Sophoclean times, there was no written law against it and therefore no punishment for it. Oedipus' punishment may have been for killing Laius, but how could you punish someone for being a victim of fate? Greeks believed at the time of the play's writing that a man's life was † woven† by the 3 fates (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos) and that he was irrevocably bound to that destiny. Knowing this, and knowing that Oedipus became king of Thebes only because it was his destiny to murder Laius and kill the Sphinx, how could he rightfully be punished? Even Oedipus himself knows that his actions are not by choice, but by acts of the gods, he mentions this twice in the play: â€Å"Some savage power has brought this down upon my head. † As well as â€Å"My god, my god — what have you planned to do to me? † Such quotes clearly show that Oedipus knew that he had no choice in his actions. In this manner and in this manner alone, Oedipus is undeserving of said punishment. Oedipus may not have been a particularly good man, but in the end he knew what was best for his kingdom: â€Å"Out of this kingdom cast me with all speed† †¦ for only that would save his former subjects. Were that Oedipus' only punishment, the play might have been quite a bit simpler (and this essay quite a bit shorter), but Oedipus, in a fit of rage, stabs his own eyes with Jocasta's dresspins. This was Oedipus' way of trying to punish himself, as well as an escape. Oedipus would no longer gaze upon the faces of his subjects, his brother (uncle? Creon, or even those of his children. He is plunged into a world of darkness. It must be noted that this was more than simply a punishment, though I'm sure that it was one of the ways Oedipus intended it. The physical pain alone seems to prove that. There are much easier ways of becoming blind to the world than stabbing one's eyes out. As I have stated before though, Oedipus was blinded by his foolish pride long before the beginn ing of the novel. He only realized the truth behind Laius' murder when it was right in front of his nose. He was by no means stupid, in fact he came off as quite a clever man, but his was a world of blindness because of pride and power. I have been concentrating on the two most obvious of Oedipus' punishments, but there is another one that may not seem so clear. Keeping in mind that Sophocles made it very clear that Oedipus was a man of so much pride that he may have thought himself to be akin to a god, was not Oedipus basically stripped of that pride at the end of the play? The true punishment has been revealed. Oedipus' life was based on pride. It was what led to the murder of Laius, which in turn led to the killing of the Sphinx, which led to his becoming king. As he continues on his particular thread of life, Oedipus becomes more and more powerful, and as such, his pride also increases proportionately. He threatens both Tiresias and Creon, and single-handedly tries to unravel the mystery of Laius' death. What must go on inside his mind when he finds out that not only did he murder his father, the king, but he also slept with his mother? Knowing full well that his kingdom would eventually find out his acts, how could he hold his head up when walking through the city streets? How could his subjects respect and revere a king who was a murderer and commiter of incest? Oedipus is thusly stripped of his pride, the driving force behind his whole personality. He has been crushed, and that which he had so much of before has been denied him. Where he was once at one extreme (hubris), he is now at the other. To take away the very thing that drives a man is worse than any physical pain or even death itself. That is truly, as Sophocles intended it, Oedipus' ultimate punishment. When the curtain falls and the lights go out on Oedipus Rex, the king's punishments total three. Though in my mind at least, one far outweighs the other two, they are all important and they all contribute to the total experience of the Greek tragedy. In the end, I do not feel that Oedipus truly deserves the punishments he is handed, but that is only because of the fact that I place myself in the time period that this was written in, using the beliefs of that time for my own. Were this story to have taken place in modern times, Oedipus certainly would have deserved his punishment, but this idea is irrelevant because, quite simply, this did not take place in our â€Å"advanced† civilization. Oedipus was a victim of fate, incapable of free will, and as such he should have not been punished, save banishment only to cure the plague. The Punishment of Oedipus the King (Oedipus Rex)

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Indroduction and dramatization Essay

At first, she spoke hurtful words directed at Elizabeth, however the power to condemn her of witchcraft dawned on her later, which took effect towards the conclusion of the play. She faked experiencing demonic presences, blamed it on Elizabeth, and acquired her desired outcome – the imprisonment of Elizabeth. This ties in with the theme of guilt too, as revenge was a result of the affair. Rebecca Nurse’s involvement in the case portrayed a further key element of this play; she displayed others’ loss of innocence, â€Å"It’s strange how I knew you, but I suppose you look as such a good soul should. We have all heard of your great charities in Beverley. † [Page 30 Reverend John Hale] We know immediately that Hale highly esteems her; she is trustworthy and possibly the finest character in the play to unravel this mystery. When she came in contact with Betty, she instantaneously soothed her and she could establish the girls silliness, during the bogus ‘devil’s presence’ charade in Act 1. Due to this charade, Salem could not resist hysteria or accusations, hence the harrowing finish to the innocent people of Salem. Even the most righteous of characters were noosed and left to swing – this showed the extent to how matters got out of hand. Miller stages loss of innocence most significantly during the girls ‘devil’s presence’ charade. â€Å"Stop it,† cries Mary as the girls constant echoing of Mary’s words enraged her. This raised suspicion in the court, where Deputy-Governor Danforth seemed convinced. On top of this, Abigail pretended to be attacked by a ‘yellow bird’ while ‘pleading’ with Mary Warren to stop. Arthur Miller intended to develop tension in this part of the act by exchanging the dialogue quickly and concisely, â€Å"I’m not hurting her†¦ She sees nothin’! She see’s nothing† [Mary Warren page 93] and â€Å"They’re sporting. They -! [Mary Warren], They’re sporting [Girls page 93]†¦ Abby stop it! [Mary Warren], (stamping their feet) Abby, stop it! † [Girls]. If neither of the other topics were a catalyst to the uprising of this insane and barbaric event, then Reverend John Hale’s persistent dangerous implications to a zealous witch-hunt, tightened the knot, â€Å"When the Devil come to you does he ever come-with another person? (She stares him into his face. ) Perhaps another person in the village? Someone you know? † [Page 37 Reverend John Hale] Hale’s questions prompted false confessions from Tituba and Giles Corey; both characters were able to save themselves and allow another character to take the blame. In the end, Corey’s wife was imprisoned due to this method of interrogation, so Hale pulled out of the proceedings as he distrusted the witnesses condemning her to an ill-fated destiny. The beginning of many dangerous implications to follow only raised one question in the mind of the audience; would the influence of these ridiculed implications determine the result of this witchcraft case? Sadly, the answer was yes. Highly evident from the dialogue, ‘The Crucible’ was built up of many interesting themes, all of which are of contemporary relevance. It would be easy to fathom about the people in this world that are still affected by these struggles. We only had to see the racial abuse towards black footballers, whom monkey imitations were directed at from the fans. In the zealous witch-hunts case, witches’ unusual view upon lifestyle and faith was discriminated against, so the rituals had to be held secretively. Also in the modern era, we see cases of revenge splashed across newspaper front pages; the events of 9/11 (twin tower suicide bombing) was believed to be an act of revenge from the Afghans towards the USA, due the USA’s previous cases of hatred and abuse. I personally believe reputation was probably one of the most significant themes; most events either improved or did the opposite to a certain person’s reputation. It almost certainly is applicable today: jobs, shops, sports, music or communities portray some form of reputation, which shapes arguments for or against them. As a final thought, ‘The Crucible’ did not only display life in Salem, but displayed life as it were today; it is the humans’ version of the ‘animal kingdom’ and ‘where one stands is how one may live. ‘ Mitul Dave 10SD 1 ‘The Crucible’ English coursework Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Miller section.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Effects and Solutions to the Eradicating of Illiteracy Essays

Effects and Solutions to the Eradicating of Illiteracy Essays Effects and Solutions to the Eradicating of Illiteracy Paper Effects and Solutions to the Eradicating of Illiteracy Paper Words: functional literacy, earnings determinants, Ghana, Sub-Sahara Africa Abstract This article analyzes the determinants of literacy and earnings in Ghana. It links literacy and earnings with a variety of factors, including age, gender, family educational background, distance to school, and income. Literacy and age are negatively correlated, suggesting that efforts at strengthening the supply and quality of basic education programs in recent years have been successful in raising literacy rates. Females are less literate than males, controlling for other actors. Parents education is positively associated with literacy. Distance to the nearest primary school, residency in a rural area, and poverty affect literacy negatively. Functional literacy appears to be a prerequisite for entering the labor market, Which may partly explain the lack Of return to education Other than middle school and technical/professional training. The policy implication of the study is that basic education and literacy programs should target females and poorer households, especially in rural areas. We would like to thank Rosemary Bellmen and Helena Rib for invaluable support. We are also indebted to Rocco Castro; Ronald Reneging; Nicolai Christensen; our discussant, Inhabitant Data Guppy; and the other participants at the conference on the Economics of Education and Human Capital, held by the Centre for Labor Market and Social Research and the Argus School Of Business, Denmark, in June, 1399, for helpful comments and suggestions. The views expressed here are those Of the authors and should not be attributed to the World Bank or any of its member countries. Addresses: Department of Economics, The George Washington University, 2201 G street, Washington, DC 20052, USA and world Bank, 1818 H street, NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA E-mail: [emailprotected] Org, [emailprotected] Org. 1. INTRODUCTION Significant and rapid increases in earnings and education have taken place over the past hundred years in industrial economies. In developing economies the picture is different: High illiteracy rates and very low incomes, and thus widespread poverty, are realities for large parts of the world. Literacy and income are closely linked. Establishing and assessing the nature of these links may help increase both literacy rates and earnings, thereby eradicating poverty. In this article, we analyze the determinants of literacy and earnings in Ghana based on two household surveys. Our results link literacy and earnings with a variety factors, including age, gender, family educational background, distance to school, and income. Literacy and age are found to be inversely correlated, implying that younger generations are more literate than older generations. This relationship indicates that recent efforts to strengthen the supply and quality of basic education programs have been successful. Females are found to be less literate than males, controlling for Other factors. Parents education is positively correlated with their childrens literacy. Distance to the nearest primary school and residency in a rural area, are negatively correlated with literacy rates. Poverty and literacy are also negatively correlated. Our analysis Of the determinants Of earnings reveals no significant returns to education other than middle school and technical/professional training. This result may indicate that the quality of education in Ghana generally is poor. Alternatively, it could suggest that education is not serving as a signaling device in Ghana. Functional literacy affects selection into the labor market. In evolving countries, jobs are rationed (that is, demand-side determined). We therefore interpret this result to indicate that functional literacy is a prerequisite for entering the labor market. This interpretation may partly explain the lack of returns to education. The policy implications of these results are that greater efforts should be devoted to developing functional literacy skills and basic education. Policymakers should aim to increase both the supply and the quality of basic education and literacy programs. Basic education and literacy programs should target females and poorer households, especially in rural areas. The article is organized as follows. Section 2 describes changes in and determinants of literacy. Section 3 describes the Ghanaian economy. Section 4 presents the economic model and the econometric methodology underlying the analysis. Section 5 presents the data and descriptive statistics, and section 6 presents the regression analysis. Section 7 summarizes the articles findings and draws policy conclusions. 2. CHANGES IN AND DETERMINANTS OF LITERACY opinions differ widely over how best to define literacy. Unesco defines a functionally literate person as any person 15 or older who can read and write a simple statement on his or her everyday life (Unesco 1993, p. 24). The World Development Report (1997) also adopts this definition of functional literacy. Others propose a broader and more explicitly political definition. Paulo Ferrier, the Brazilian educator, sees literacy as a process of concentrations that involves reading the world rather than merely reading the word (Ferrier and Macedon 1987). Widespread literacy is a twentieth century phenomenon. Before the nineteenth century, when public school systems were developed, education was reserved for the few. School systems developed in industrial countries largely in response to increased and more peccadillo industrialization, which in turn lead to increased economic growth and demand for an even more educated labor-force. Over the past decade, education worldwide has exploded, as a result of the overstraining demand for still more specialized labor. Attitudes toward education have also shifted. Less than 50 years ago, education, especially higher education, was reserved largely for men. Today people in industrial countries believe the entire population has the right to education. 2. 1 Developments in Literacy in the United States Literacy progressed in stages in the united States. Initially, according to Has (1996), literacy spread because radical Protestants wanted to read the Bible. Their need for literacy lead to agitation for general public education in the nineteenth century. Literacy rates later rose as a result of several societal changes, beginning with Reconstruction (Coy 1988). Immigration during the Industrial Revolution and the Progressive reform movement increased literacy later in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. World War and the Depression forced the federal government into a more active and direct role, and literacy rose even farther. The civil rights event of the 1 *ass shifted the focus to minority groups, broadening efforts to fight illiteracy. Coy believes that the concept of functional literacy developed during this period and that the formalization of that concept helped increase the number of adult literacy programs. 2. 2 Developments in Literacy in Great Britain In Great Britain literacy also progressed in stages, Street (1995) identifies three distinct stages in the modern development of adult literacy programs. First, the recognition of adult illiteracy being a widespread phenomenon in the sass lead to increased focus on the issue. Government grants were provided, a national Right to Read Campaign was launched, and local practice and experience Vass developers During the sass and early sass the government-funded agency Adult Literacy and Basic Skills Licit emerged. The unit provided materials and guidelines for good practice and funded small research projects. Since the late sass there has been a shift in policy and focus, aiming at adjusting education toward changing national and economic needs. 2. 3 Rates of Literacy in Developing Countries Substantial regional differences in illiteracy rates exist. The rate of illiteracy is relatively low in Latin America and the Caribbean (13. 4) and very high in South Asia (50. 6 percent) (table 1). Ghana is in the middle of the spectrum, with an illiteracy rate of 35. 5 percent. Regions with high illiteracy rates also tend to have low per capita GNP and high philanderer ratio. Within Sub-Sahara Africa, substantial differences exist between Anglophone and Francophone countries (table 2). Illiteracy rates in Anglophone countries are 16 percentage points lower than in Francophone countries. Average per capita GNP in Anglophone countries is more than twice as high as in Francophone countries, school enrollments are higher, and pupil teacher ratios are lower (37. 8 pupils per teacher in Anglophone countries versus 47_3 pupils per teacher in Francophone countries). Table 1. Selected Social and Macroeconomic Indicators, Ghana and Six Regional Groups, 1995 Middle East Latin Europe Cubans America and North South Sahara and the East Asia Central Africa Asia Caribbean Africa Asia Ghana and Pacific Indicator Adult illiteracy rate (percent) 35. 16. 9 -? 13. 4 38. 7 50. 6 44. 0 GNP per capita 350. 0 807. 8 -? 3,419. 8 -? 354. 1 485. 6 Gross primary enrollment ratio 76. 0 1154 99. 6 Ill . 5 96. 5 egg. C 74. 6 (percent) Ratio of primary school pupils to 27. 6 24. 2 20. 0 24. 5 27. 8 62. 7 40. 6 teachers Notes: -? Not available, gross primary enrollment ratio and ratio Of primary school pupils to teachers for Ghana are for 1993. Source: World Bank Detests database. Table 2. Selected Social and Macroeconomic Indicators, Ghana and Anglophone and Francophone Countries in Substandard Africa, 1995 Indicator Ghana Anglophone countries Francophone countries in Sub-Sahara Africa in Sub- Sahara Africa Adult illiteracy rate (percent) 35. 5 36. 1 51. 9 GNP per capita 350. 0 675. 7 333. 4 Gross enrollment ratio (percent), primary 76. 88. 8 64. 4 Ratio of pupils to teachers, primary 27. 6 37. 8 47. 3 Notes: Gross primary enrollment ratio and ratio of primary school pupils to teachers for Ghana are for 1993, Source: World Bank Detests database. 2. Worldwide Increases in Literacy For the world as a whole, illiteracy rates have declined significantly, falling from almost 40 percent in 19/0 to just AS percent in 1990. Rates of illiteracy fell even more dramatically in developing countries, declining from SO percent in 1970 to AS percent in Gigs (Limb; 1996). Wide differences across gender, geographical region, and age exist within countries, however. Or the most part, m ales have higher literacy rates than females, urban areas have higher literacy rates than rural areas, and younger generations have higher literacy rates than older generations. Limb (I egg) also draws attention to the fact that while total illiteracy rates have been falling, the proportion of women in the Worlds total illiterate population has been rising. Three reasons for this tendency are suggested: the technologies of goods production, the nature Of human reproduction, and institutionalizing Of violence in the state. 2. 5 Literature on the Determinants of Literacy Little has been written on he determinants Of literacy. Law, Sprat, and Laborer (1995) analyze the determinants of literacy in Morocco. They find that illiteracy is more widespread among females than among males, higher in rural areas than in urban areas, and inversely correlated with age. The negative relationship between age and literacy may reflect both deteriorating literacy skills over time and improvements in the quality of education. Cavy, Sprat, and Laborer also find that parents literacy and household expenditure level positively affect the level of childrens literacy, suggesting that poverty and family background are important determinants to literacy. Verne (1999) analyzes the determinants of worldwide literacy rates by applying a human capital framework. She finds that enrollment rates, average years of schooling of adults, and life expectancy at birth are the main determinants of literacy, Income affects literacy in a nonlinear fashion, with a negative impact until a threshold of about $2,000 income per year per capita, after which the effect is positive, Institutional and regional variables are not very important in explaining literacy across countries. Literacy rates differ widely across regions, a finding that can be explained by social and economic notations 3. AN OVERVIEW OF THE GHANAIAN ECONOMY Ghana is a low-income country, With per capita income Of 5406 in 1998 (World Bank 199%). It relies heavily on the agricultural sector, in particular cocoa, which accounts for almost half of GAP (World Bank Bibb). From the mid. CSS to the mid. sass, declining cocoa production and trade restrictions stalled economic growth in Ghana. The return of more than a million Ghanaian from Nigeria in 1982-83 and a prolonged drought in 1982 caused growth rates to fall to laetrile low levels by about 1984 In conjunction with the MIFF and the World Bank, the Ghanaian government initiated he Economic Recovery Program (ERR) in 1983. The program implemented a number of policy reforms aimed at restoring macroeconomic stability, encouraging savings and investment, providing an enabling environment for the private sector, and improving public sector management, including prevarication of some of the many publicly owned enterprises, The ERR places significant emphasis on education. The Education Sector Reform Program, established in 1987, improved the efficiency, quality, and relevance of education. The program also increased access to education and shortened the length of pre-university schooling from 17 to 12 years. As a result of the reform program, spending on education rose from 1. 4 percent of GAP in 1983 to 3. 8 percent of GAP in 1934. The governments plans for additional reforms are outlined in its development starter, Ghana-vision 2020 (Republic of Ghana 1935). A substantial part of the programs social agenda is aimed at basic education. Specific goals include achieving universal basic education and adult literacy, increasing access to secondary and tertiary education, and strengthening laborer skills by increasing technical and vocational training. To achieve these goals, the overspent, With the assistance Of the World Bank and Other donors, launched the Basic Education Sector Improvement Program in 1996. The program plans to increase investment in school facilities and teacher housing in rural areas and to strengthen science and math in the curriculum by raising education expenditures from 3. 8 percent of GAP in 1998 to 4. Percent in 2001. 4. THE ECONOMIC MODEL AND THE ECONOMETRIC FRAMEWORK The framework tort the analysis is standard human capital theory, in which individuals build up knowledge and skills through education and experience specific on-the-job experience as well as general experience (Becker 1975: Minced 1974). According to the theory, individuals who invest in human capital are subsequently rewarded with higher earnings. Formally, the economic model may be derived from the theory of either household or individual demand for schooling, both of which view education as an investment in human capital. In industrial economies, in which subsidies for education are common, the investment decision may be viewed as an individual decision; in developing economies the relevant decision unit may be the household (Chandler, Lava, and Filmier 1994; Mason and Chandler 1997). Households will invest in education up to the point at which the marginal benefit from an additional year Of schooling equals the marginal cost of an additional year of schooling. In the traditional human capital literature, earnings are determined by education and Other individual, household, and, possibly, community characteristics. Earnings are observed, however. Only for individuals who have positive earnings (that is, who actually supply labor). To take this into account, we specify a labor supply function. Our model then becomes: (1) (2) Ii Is E(lie, HI, Chi) S(lie, Hair Chi) This implicitly assumes that the household decommissioned possesses perfect information and that capital markets are perfect. Both assumptions are very restrictive and appear unrealistic in developing economies. Where Ii (earnings of individual i) and Is (the labor supply of individual i) are the dependent variables; is a vector of individual characteristics, such as age and age squared (to capture possible nonlinearities), gender, the individuals level of education, and the level of education of the individuals parents; H is a vector of household characteristics, such as the wealth of the household: and C is a vector f community variables, such as urban versus rural location. Literacy, L, is then determined by the following simple model: (3) Lie = L(lie, Hi, Chi) The explanatory variables are similar to those in the earnings equation, with some differences. In order to investigate the possible link between poverty and literacy, we include earnings and the poverty quintile of the household in H. We also include a measure Of the distance to the nearest primary school in C To analyze the determinants of earnings, we use a Hickman selection model (1976, 1979), which can be briefly described as follows. Consider the earnings regression: (4) In Wi = Xi; * Ii here In Wi is log-earnings for individual i, Xi is a vector of explanatory variables for individual i, is a vector of parameters, and Ii is an error term capturing unobserved variables, The problem in estimating equation 4 is that we implicitly apply a sample selection rule because we observe only earnings of individuals who work; potential earnings of people who do not supply labor are not incorporated. If the sample has characteristics that dieter from those of the underlying population in a nonrandom fashion, it will suffer from a selection bias, which, if not taken into account, will lead to biased parameter estimates. Hessians solution to this problem is to incorporate the labor supply choice in the earnings equation. The earnings and labor supply choice equations thus become: In Wiz = Uzi where equation 5 is the earnings equation (equivalent to equation 4), in equation 6 is a latent variable that reflects the excess utility from participating in the labor market, and Uzi is a vector of variables explaining the labor supply decision of individual i. The latent variable l* corresponds to the indicator variable: lie- 1 if > 0, 0 otherwise The model is estimated by first estimating the inverse Mills ratio and then including it as an additional regresses in equation 5: (7) In Wi Kip -t- Ii where ski is an estimate of the inverse Mills ratio for individual i. The Hickman model views labor supply as an individual choice. This view may be inappropriate in a development context, where the absence of (public) safety nets means that there is not likely to be much of a choice involved in the labor supply decision. The labor actually supplied to the market is likely to be determined more from the demand sid e than from the supply side. This contrasts with industrial economies, in which the labor supply decision is likely to be made in a different Skilled workers are more likely to supply their labor than unskilled workers since they forgo more income than do skilled workers by staying idle (given that there is a social safety net whose benefits are high enough not to force them into working). We applied the maximum likelihood version of the Hickman selection model -? rather than the Two-Step version in order to be able to weight the data. We view the Hickman model as the general model, the validity of which must be tested against the reduced model, The reduced model here is the standard earnings equation, which is nested within the selection model. That is, the standard earnings equation is a special case of the selection model in which the selection correction terms, Ai, are statistically insignificantly different trot zero. S. THE DATA AND DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS We test the model using data from two household surveys, the 1931192 Ghana Living Standards Survey (GILLS) and the 1997 Core Welfare Indicators Questionnaire (CSCW). GILLS aims at obtaining measures of the living standard in Ghana on several dimensions, including health and education/literacy_ The survey is very extensive and includes 4,565 schooled. The CSCW aims mainly at providing data applicable for analyzing factors affecting poverty, education, and labor markets issues. It contains a much smaller number of questions (questions about earnings, for example, are not included) but a larger sample of households (14,514) and individuals (60,686). 5. Results on Literacy Investigating literacy and its covariates for the GELS data enables differentiating between several types Of literacy and reveals that being able to read and write in English is associated with higher earnings than is being able to read and write in one or more Ghanaian languages (table 3). The various measures of literacy are highly correlated, however. A problem that is likely to cause collinear in the regression analysis of the next section. To circumvent these problems, we comb ine the various literacy variables into a single composite measure of functional literacy.

Monday, October 21, 2019

The Life And Works Of Bertolt Brecht Essays - Bertolt Brecht

The Life And Works Of Bertolt Brecht Essays - Bertolt Brecht The Life And Works Of Bertolt Brecht The Life and Works of Bertolt Brecht Bertolt Brecht was one of the chief innovators of modern theatrical techniques. He was both a poet and a playwright all in one. His epic theatrical creations developed drama as a forum for social and idealistic causes. Brechts imagination, artistic genius, and social views distinguish his work and his life. Eugen Bertolt Brecht was born February 10, 1898 in Augsburg Germany, a town in Bavaria. His family was of middle class, which he came to resent, in favor of a Marxist proletarian society. In 1917 he attended Ludwig Maximillian University, in Munich, where he studied medicine. Towards the end of the First World War, Brecht served in a military hospital. During this time in 199918, he wrote his first piece of work Baal, however it was not published until a later time. In 1922 he wrote his first success, Drums in the Night. In 1923 Baal was finally produced. Until this time Brecht had lived in Bavaria. In 1924 he moved to Berlin, where he developed a strong antibourgeois attitude. Several people of his generation developed similar attitudes, as a result of the disappointing post World War I society in Germany. Among his friends, at this time, was a group of Dadaist, who aimed at destroying what they called the false standards and ideals of the bourgeois society. Brecht also became acquainted with a prominent theoretician named Karl Korsch, who taught him the elements of Marxism. During this time period from 1924 to 1933, Brecht worked briefly with the directors Max Reinhardt and Erwin Piscator. However he mainly worked with his own group of associates. In 1924 he wrote his first professional production Edward II. In 1927 he wrote A manual of Piety. In 1928, while working with the composer Kurt Weil, Bertolt Brecht created what many believe to be his finest piece of work; The Threepenny Opera; a satirical and successful ballad opera. In 1 930 he wrote The Rise and Fall of the Town of Mahogany. Also during this year he wrote his first exemplary plays, A Mans Man, which introduced his unorthodox idea of epic theatre. Epic theatre is a technique created by Brecht, which causes the audience to feel no emotions about a play, but to think critically about its content. This would become a well-used and important technique in Brechts later plays. In 1933 Brechts Marxist political beliefs forced him to go into self-imposed exile, from fascists Germany. His writings had made him a natural enemy of the National Socialists, rising to power in his native country. He first managed to escape to Switzerland, then to Scandinavia. With help from some of his fellow artists and exiles, especially Lion Feuchtwagner, Brecht was able to come to the United States of America. He became anti-Nazi writer for a periodical published in Moscow, and produced the 1938 drama Fear and Misery of the Third Reich. During this time Brecht wrote what are critically regarded as his greatest works. In 1943 Brechts desire to motivate social concerns, in his audience, led to the play The life of Galileo. In this play, through the character Galileo, Brecht reexamines the recurrent theme of obstacles to social progress. In 1949, he created Mother Courage and her Children, which enlists the spectators feelings as well as their reason. This play was both a success and a failure. It was a success because it was highly popular, but it was a failure in that it caused the audience to feel sympathy for its characters, which violated Brechts technique of epic theatre. In these mature works Brecht overgrew the single-minded didactic message of his earlier pieces, and achieved complex themes that would be impermissible under the official policies of communism. For a brief period of time, Brecht lived in Hollywood on1954 argyle Avenue. He then moved into a house on 817 25th Street in Santa Monica, from 1941 to 1942. In 1943 Brecht moved into a house on 1063 26th Street. Brecht described the latter house in his diary saying this about it one of the oldest is about 30 years old, California clapboard, whitewashed, with an upper floor with two bedrooms. I have a long workroom

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Addiction in our brain

Addiction in our brain Over time, the brain adapts in a way that actually makes the activity less enjoyable. Addictions do not only include bodily things we consume, such as drugs or alcohol, but may include virtually anything. The main addictions tend to be alcohol and heroin, and psychological dependence to activities such as gambling, sex, work, running, shopping, or an eating disorder. Signs of drug addiction include changes in personality and behaviour like a lack of enthusiasm, touchiness, bloodshot eyes and frequent bloody noses, or slurred speech. Addiction is well-defined as a chronic relapsing brain disease that is characterized by compulsive drug seeking and use, despite harmful consequences. It is measured a brain disease because drugs change the brain they change its structure and how it works. Though everyone’s path to addiction is different whether he or she tries a drug or behaviour because it’s what that person’s parents or peer do, or just out of curiosity what’s common across all substance and behavioural addictions is their stunning ability to increase levels of an important chemical in the brain called dopamine. If you have a blood relative, such as a parent or sibling, with alcohol or drug problems, you’re at greater risk of emerging into a drug addict. Men are more likely to have problems with drugs than women are. However, progression of addictive illnesses is known to be faster in females. Drug use is on the rise in the USA and 23.5 million Americans are addicted to alcohol a nd drugs. That’s approximately one in every 10 Americans over the age of 12 roughly equal to the entire population of Texas. But only 11 per cent of those with an addiction receive conduct. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that between 40 and 60 per cent of recuperating drug addicts will eventually relapse. With heroin, those rates are even higher. Some experts place the rate of relapse for heroin addicts as high as 80 present, which means that the recovery rate may be as low as 20 per cent. Most people overcome addiction to alcohol or drugs on their own, without joining a support group or entering treatment. Alcoholism and other habits are not diseases. There are specific tools anyone can use to help themselves to overcome any addiction with or without professional assistance. The old belief that it took 21 days to change a habit has now been labelled a myth. According to psychologists, while it may take approximately 21 days of mindful and consistent effort to create a new habit, it takes far longer to break an existing habit. In conclusion to this I think that depending on what you do and your daily routine you can become addicted to anything, Some people face completely different addictions to others but the most common one seems to be drug addictions.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Analysis of Newspaper Research Report Results Paper

Analysis of Newspaper Report Results - Research Paper Example The news report did not mention the kind of statistical procedure used in the study. As mentioned in the news report, I agree that it is valid and necessary to combine land and marine temperature in order to measure the average global temperature. Basically, the temperature in land and marine areas are different from each other during day and night. The idea of combining the temperature of land and marine areas is to enable the statistician determine the average global temperature within a given time frame. To determine whether a statistic is statistically significant, it is necessary to get the difference between a sample statistic and a specific population parameter (numerator) before dividing the value by the standard error (denominator) (Urdan, 2005, p. 64). For this reason, it is more difficult to confirm the statistical procedures as mentioned in the news report is valid given that the length of years used in each period of time varies from one another. and vice versa. It means that when the sample size is small, bigger the standard error will be. Since a bigger sample size will have smaller standard error, there is a higher probability that the research findings will be statistically significant because of the bigger value as a result. Because of the effects of sample size in determining whether a hypothesis is statistically significant or not, Urdan (2005) explained that it is possible that a small difference between the sample statistic and population parameter to be statistically significant provided that the sample size is big (p. 64). This concept was confirmed by Phil Jones when he explained that it is more likely to achieve a statistically significance given that the available data is good for a very long period of time (Harrabin, 2009, question B). When asked whether the global warming between 1860 – 1880, 1910 – 1940, and 1975 – 1998 were identical, the

Friday, October 18, 2019

Finance for non finance managers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Finance for non finance managers - Assignment Example 40 million from the debt market. Using debt to run the business has both advantages and disadvantages. Advantages Debt is a low cost capital. Using debt the company does not have to pay tax on it. Hence the company will have to pay less tax overall. Using debt the Earning per share of the company fluctuates more than using only equity as the source of capital. Hence during good times the Earning per share of the company will rise much higher than when the company use only equity (Tuller, 2007, p. 211). This satisfies the shareholders as they will get more in return. Hence they will always want some portion of the capital to be raised as debt. Again using debt the company don’t have to share the ownership rights with the shareholders. They don’t have to go back to the shareholders each time they need to take an important decision. All they want is to get fixed return on the investment that they have made. Again the lenders don’t have any claim on the future earnin gs. Furthermore if a debt can be paid on time, then the credit rating of the business will improve and they will readily get finance easily from the market next time they went to any financial institutions for loan. Disadvantages The company has to make regular monthly payment of instalment and interest. Barnet Solutions is going to expand in the European market for the first time. ... 176). Hence it is like a double edged sword. If the economy in the European market deteriorates the Earning per share of the company will fall down drastically. The shareholder then may ask tough questions to the management regarding their decision making process. Pure Equity The company can use Equity as the source of fund. Advantages Using Equity the company can avoid the hassle of going through the long process of applying for loan. It takes more time to raise debt than equity. It is less risky than a loan because the company will not have to pay back the obligation if they cannot afford it. The company can easily tap into its investors’ network and add more credibility to the business. The investors here takes a long term view and don’t expect and immediate return. The company also don’t need to payback if the business fails (Mason, 2010, p. 212). Disadvantages The investors can demand returns more than the interest rate the company will have to pay for debt. The investors also will require ownership of the company. They have to be consulted before making any big decision. It also takes time and effort to find the right investors for the company. Period 2012 2011 D/E 1.18 0.92 The standard Debt-equity ratio of any company is 2:1. Hence it is advisable for the company to raise fund through both debt and equity. The company can go 80:20 ratio of raising the money from the market with the majority being debt and other being equity. Hence the company can raise ? 32 million from the debt market and ? 8 million from the equity market. After using the above capital the debt equity ratio will become Period 2012 2011 D/E 1.28 1.04 This shows that the company will be well within the standards limits of the Debt-Equity ratio. Answer 2 The

Information Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Information Management - Essay Example Furthermore, the INSPIRE methodology is used to implement changes in a range of situations. This paper presents a detailed analysis of INSPIRE methodology. This research will offer a comprehensive overview of different aspects of this new emerging paradigm and its implication for the business enhancements and re-organization. Innovation System for Performance Improvement and Reorganization methodology has been developed in a broader way. This methodology facilitates in implementing and driving changes to facilitate managers to concurrently harness innovation, as well as to manage the business transformation procedure. In addition, it is useful in team building process. INSPIRE offers structures and metrics to facilitate, control, and monitor the transformation process. Additionally, the INSPIRE methodology is most helpful in process of organizational change. Despite the fact that, INSPIRE is intended for business change circumstances, it does not misplace view of the precise detail that is frequently necessary to make organization change happen efficiently. In addition, the INSPIRE methodology encompasses a lot of business aspects in case of business change like that resistance, politics, skills, knowledge, features of the marketplaces as well as economic context of a given user business. Since, these fe atures are necessary to formulate effectual organizational transformation. For the reason that INSPIRE is so influential, that it forces its clients as well as users to build up extremely accurate thinking regarding such details, with regard to enhance the influence of subsequent interference actions all through the procedure of carrying out organizational change (Kawalek, 2009). This research is based on the detailed analysis of Innovation System for Performance Improvement and Reorganization (INSPIRE) methodology. This research will concentrate on the implementation of the INSPIRE

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Do you agree with Eguchi That sex and death are related Essay

Do you agree with Eguchi That sex and death are related - Essay Example These young women stay asleep throughout the visit and while men can sleep next to her, they cannot sleep "with" her. The warden of the brothel warns Eguchi in the very beginning of the novel: "He was not to do anything in bad taste, the woman of the inn warned old Eguchi. He was not to put his finger in the mouth of the sleeping girl, or try anything else of the sort." (p. 13) The curiosity of the old men to see what actually happens in this house and the mystery of the sleeping girls opens many doors of discussion. It brings many questions to the mind and the reader is provoked to seek his own answers. How is sex connected with death here Why are sexually impotent men allowed in this house and why these men would want to sleep next to sleeping young girls Death is critical to the discussion because the entire novel revolves around it. The old man's age puts him closer to death, the sleeping girls resemble dead people and lack of noise and sound in the house also signifies death. I do not however agree with Eguchi that sex and death are related. There is a link between the two but that is in their sheer contrast and not any similarities. Sex is a completely opposite force. It injects life-force in people and makes them even more aware of their existence. The lack of sex in the place is thus closely connected with the onset of death. The quest begins with Eguchi's need for erotic gratification. He is sexually potent but needs to know more than having sex. He wants enlightenment and the experience forces him to confront who he really is. The youth and beauty of his companions at first excite him: "He caught his breath. She was more beautiful than he had expected. And she was young too. It was as if another heart beat its wings in old Eguchi's chest" (pp. 18-19). Eguchi feels young again and this is where we get an idea of why old men might choose to come to this place. Their main purpose was to drink from the well of youth that lies next to them. By looking at youth and its beauty, they feel a difference in themselves. However the reason Eguchi feels death is close to sex is because lack of later in this house makes old men even more aware of their old age and their death. When he looks at the girl, he wonders if she is alive because she looks dead. The silent and stagnant position of the girl forces him to think about how the girl had been turned into a living toy: " Though this girl lost in sleep had not put an end to the hours of her life, had she not lost them, had they sink into bottomless depths She was not a living doll for there could be no living doll; but so as not to shame an old man no longer a man, she had been made into a living toy. No, not a toy; for the old men she could be life itself." (p. 20) The girl represents much more to Eguchi at first. She is a symbol of life for him because of her youth and freshness. He carefully observes her body and features and realizes she was quite young: "She could be life itself." (p.20). His friend had also told him that he would "feel alive" sleeping next to such a woman. But Eguchi is still scared. There is fear in his soul as if something bad was about to happen. The fear becomes very real when near the end, the girl mysteriously dies. Eguchi informs the proprietress who gives a shocking. The whole crux of the story lies in that

Choose a professional career path such as CIMA, ACCA. and critical Essay

Choose a professional career path such as CIMA, ACCA. and critical evaluation of two professional bodies appropriate for your ca - Essay Example This body has an aim of ensuring that that the growth of accountancy is that of influence as well as reputation. Membership Requirements In terms of membership, CIMA offers two grades, which include Associate and fellow. This means that for associate, an auditor for instance has to pass the qualifying examinations of the institute, should have three years of qualifying practice, which has been proved by being signed by witnesses. Two persons have to propose and second the member. As for the fellow, the auditor, being a member, should have the necessary experience from the senior level (Gowthorpe, 2005). On the other hand, a candidate should register as a member so as to undertake a professional scheme qualification. If a member completes the examination successfully, he/she therefore is transferred to the affiliate status. From this status is when a member is supposed to demonstrate through an application form that they have acquired a practical and supervised experience in accountan cy hence becoming an auditor . They should also have acquired the competence that is of standard level in auditing. Also, after a membership of five consecutive years, a senior membership is automatically awarded. ACCA offers its members the access to the Association of Corporate Treasurers membership. The United Kingdom’s Security & Investment Institute also recognizes ACCA members such as financial accountants (Page, 2006). The members are allowed to take International Taxation advanced diplomas at Chartered Institute of taxation. As for the CIMA, members gain recognition by the Society of Management Accountants of Canada. It has a qualification program with New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants. Qualifications In terms of qualification, ACCA provides a variety of diplomas and certificates at a foundation level. This is generally known as accountancy foundations. It offers an entry for individuals who want to pursue a career in finance and accounts but are new to t his field and do not meet the ACCA qualification entry requirements. Other qualifications include International auditing certificates, Financial management diplomas, Certificate and Diploma in International Financial Reporting, for ACCA full membership, individuals are offered MBA from Oxford University (Mike, 2008). CIMA offers a syllabus that is structured to motivate accountants pursuing their career in finance. Therefore, the students are at a position acquire Diploma in management accounting, Advanced management accounting diplomas as well as business accounting certificate. However, this body takes a long process when marking the examinations. Before the examinations are marked, a meeting is held between the examiner and the marker whereby they discuss into details of the marking scheme. The examiner is at a position to moderate the marking system at a closer range hence reviewing the scripts of marking. Differences There are a number of differences between a financial account ant from ACCA and an auditor from CIMA. ACCA for instance is a global organization that caters for financial accountants on a professional level while CIMA offers professional management in accounts internationally. CIMA deals with management on corporate strategy, budget making and variance analysis. On the other hand, ACCA concentrates on the technical accounting that best suits tax accountants, auditors as well as corporate

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Nursing - Aplication of Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Nursing - Aplication of Theory - Essay Example However, the delivery of their services is in a detached manner, in which they have minimal physical and social contact with the patient. The nurse however is deeply involved at all stages with the patient, and has a stellar role to play throughout the recovery process, even after discharge. The nobility of the profession, already exemplified by Florence Nightingale, has been firmly established. The tremendous developments in science, education, medical techniques and information technology during the last and the present century have brought forth new concepts, Ideologies and roles for nursing as well as other professionals. An important aspect during this period has been the identification, conceptualization and practical application of numerous nursing theories’ which have established themselves as hallmarks for the nursing profession. A nursing theory has been defined as the body of knowledge that is used to support nursing practice with most of the presently recognized tw enty theories’ generated in the last 20 years, with new concepts being identified and added continuously(Web). Nursing theories have been pictorially visualized as a tree whose trunk is represented by Florence Nightingale’s whose significant contribution to the reduction of mortality in soldiers’ during the war in Turkey and efforts to bring about an association of nursing with spirituality, devotion and knowledge revolutionized the way nurses were looked at in society as well as the manner in which they operated (Tourville, 2003). Based on the strong foundations laid down by Nightingale, numerous nursing professionals have contributed to the development of this virtual tree whose roots have been described as the four meta-paradigms defined as person, environment, health and nursing (Tourville, 2003). Each subsequent contribution to the knowledge on nursing theories’ has been attributed to individual nursing practitioners’ who made a significant im pact on the subsequent school of thought in the profession. Jean Watson, who came up with the idea of her ‘carative theory’ in the latter part of the twentieth century has held great appeal in the subsequent years. Watson was influenced by philosophy and thoughts of eminent psychologists and personalities such as Carl Rogers, Yalom, Chardin, Sartre and Kirkland (Tourville, 2003). In addition she had vast experience in the nursing profession in multinational and multicultural environments. Watson relegated the scientific and medical aspects of healing to an altogether different aspect which she labeled as ‘Trim’ and stressed upon ‘caring’ for the patient as the most important aspect. She appealed for the nurses’ to treat themselves with gentleness and dignity while establishing a deep, caring relationship with the patient. She felt that the caring attitude of nurses’ as been buried under the technical aspects of healthcare. Unless and interpersonal relationship is established between the patient and the nurse, it is difficult to justify one’ duty as a nurse. The crux of her ‘carative factors focuses on unselfish concern for every human being, instillation of faith and hope in the sufferer, cultivation of sensitivity towards self as well as others, developing a helping attitude to strengthen trust, encouraging the patient to express freely, decision making through a problem solving

Choose a professional career path such as CIMA, ACCA. and critical Essay

Choose a professional career path such as CIMA, ACCA. and critical evaluation of two professional bodies appropriate for your ca - Essay Example This body has an aim of ensuring that that the growth of accountancy is that of influence as well as reputation. Membership Requirements In terms of membership, CIMA offers two grades, which include Associate and fellow. This means that for associate, an auditor for instance has to pass the qualifying examinations of the institute, should have three years of qualifying practice, which has been proved by being signed by witnesses. Two persons have to propose and second the member. As for the fellow, the auditor, being a member, should have the necessary experience from the senior level (Gowthorpe, 2005). On the other hand, a candidate should register as a member so as to undertake a professional scheme qualification. If a member completes the examination successfully, he/she therefore is transferred to the affiliate status. From this status is when a member is supposed to demonstrate through an application form that they have acquired a practical and supervised experience in accountan cy hence becoming an auditor . They should also have acquired the competence that is of standard level in auditing. Also, after a membership of five consecutive years, a senior membership is automatically awarded. ACCA offers its members the access to the Association of Corporate Treasurers membership. The United Kingdom’s Security & Investment Institute also recognizes ACCA members such as financial accountants (Page, 2006). The members are allowed to take International Taxation advanced diplomas at Chartered Institute of taxation. As for the CIMA, members gain recognition by the Society of Management Accountants of Canada. It has a qualification program with New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants. Qualifications In terms of qualification, ACCA provides a variety of diplomas and certificates at a foundation level. This is generally known as accountancy foundations. It offers an entry for individuals who want to pursue a career in finance and accounts but are new to t his field and do not meet the ACCA qualification entry requirements. Other qualifications include International auditing certificates, Financial management diplomas, Certificate and Diploma in International Financial Reporting, for ACCA full membership, individuals are offered MBA from Oxford University (Mike, 2008). CIMA offers a syllabus that is structured to motivate accountants pursuing their career in finance. Therefore, the students are at a position acquire Diploma in management accounting, Advanced management accounting diplomas as well as business accounting certificate. However, this body takes a long process when marking the examinations. Before the examinations are marked, a meeting is held between the examiner and the marker whereby they discuss into details of the marking scheme. The examiner is at a position to moderate the marking system at a closer range hence reviewing the scripts of marking. Differences There are a number of differences between a financial account ant from ACCA and an auditor from CIMA. ACCA for instance is a global organization that caters for financial accountants on a professional level while CIMA offers professional management in accounts internationally. CIMA deals with management on corporate strategy, budget making and variance analysis. On the other hand, ACCA concentrates on the technical accounting that best suits tax accountants, auditors as well as corporate