The ghost of Christmas Essay Example for Free

The tinge of Christmas EssayScrooge A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching covetous overaged sinner Hard and sharp as a flint , from which no steel had ever struck out generous fire secret and egotism contained , and solitary as an oyster Charles Dickens coveys his moral message in a christmas carol by raising aw atomic number 18ness of the poor and peoples perceptions of the poor in the Victorian times. Most of his literary works concerned the poor and how they lived. Another of his famous novels was Oliver Twist round an orphaned boy. He wrote nigh this issue because he had experienced abject poverty himself. When he was only nine, his father, mother, and his seven brothers and sisters were sent to debtors prison. This left Dickens out in the cold as a churl labourer. After his family were released, Charles Dickens was fortunate enough to go back into education and became a law clerk. He then wrote these novels to describe the desperate poverty in society and raise peoples awareness. Throughout his life, Charles Dickens was a philanthropist, doing many good whole kit and caboodle for his community.He was going to bring the poverty issue to the attention of his readers by producing a campaign leaflet but then realised that more people could relate to a story and more people would read what he has to say. A christmas carol is an allegory. He is saying that people, who live a greedy senseless life, w paralytic suffer themselves in the futurity. If we live our life doing good deeds and generally getting into the spirit of seasons then we will be rewarded in life and the after life. The main character in a christmas carol is Scrooge.At the start of the story, he is described as a covetous old sinner and his famous words bah, humbug describes his opinion of Christmas. In his school days, he was very serious and was more interested in his education than Christmas. Later in his life he had a fianci e and he used to have it off the festiv ities. Money then took over his life and he has rejected everyone ever since and because of this, even though he is financially richer, his life is much poorer. Scrooge, throughout the story, is visited by three phantasmas. One of the christmas past , one of the christmas present and one of the christmas yet to come.The ghost of the Christmas past represents his memory and makes Scrooge reminisce about his life as a child and what Christmas was like for him then. The school is not quite deserted, a solitary child, neglected by his friends, is left there still This child, of course is Scrooge. He cared more about his education than Christmas. His friends, if he had any, had left him to look a sad sight on his own. This image made Scrooge think about what he had missed out on in his childhood. He had rejected the opportunity for fun or any friends and he felt bad about it.Even having thinking this through, he still needed more evidence for him to change his frame of mind. The next gho st to visit the misguided Scrooge was the ghost of the Christmas present. This ghost represented charity and showed Scrooge how giving to other people can be a fun part of Christmas. He took Scrooge to confused parties which included his old employers party, Fezziwig, his nephews party, Fred , and the Christmas dinner of phellem Cratchit and his family, who, in the sense of that time, were very poor because of the ridiculous wages given by Scrooge in his office.At his nephews party, they were playing a game of yes and no where they ridiculed Scrooge the brisk fire of questioning to which Fred was exposed, elicited from him that he was thinking of and animal, a live animal, rather a disagreeable animal, a savage animal, an animal that growled and grunted sometimes and talked sometimes.. What is it? Cried Fred. Its your Uncle Scrooge This made Scrooge feel very upset inside that his nephew thought of him this way. At Bob Cratchits house, Bob proposed a toast to Scrooge and his wif e was very reluctant to do it.He also saw Tiny Tim, Bob Cratchits son, who was very ill and as the family was so poor, they could not endure to help him. This also made Scrooge hurt inside and for the first time, Scrooge decided to change his ways. The ghost of Christmas present shows Scrooge how to celebrate Christmas , but he still needed a small amount of help, and thats where the ghost of Christmas yet to come came in. The ghost of Christmas future was in the shape of the grim reaper and the ghost that Scrooge feared the most. He represents death and Scrooges fear of it.He shows Scrooge what impact his death has on the community. They are celebrating. This scares Scrooge as he didnt realise how much people hated him. Spirit, he said, this is a fearful place. In leaving it, I shall not leave of absence its lesson trust me, let us go Undoubtedly, the turning point for Scrooge though, was when he saw the empty chair and crutch that was once Tiny Tims. The Cratchits could not aff ord to help him so they were mourning him. This brought tears to Scrooges eyes. He knew that he could do something to help. What of Tiny Tim? The ghost doesnt reply.

Leadership is a critical management skill in various organizations

Leadership is a critical management skill in various organizationsIntroductionLeadership is as a critical management skill in various organizations, which influences and motivates a group toward the achievement of organizational cultivations (Rafferty Griffin 2004). One of the greatest assets of an organization is that strong managers cause an environment to encourage members and motivate their high energy (Taggart, 1989). It is highlighted that drawship is an influence relationship between leadership and followers who intend real changes and outcomes that reflect their sh ar purposes. Effective leading has drawn great attention from organization management in recent days due to its contri bution to organizations rivalrous advantage. Leadership is conk out very much on every managers mind today in organizations. Originations are struggling due to the increasingly dynamic environment. As the gainsays of leading and managing increase, leaders of organizations need to at a l ower placestand process, skills and knowledge to perform leader functions hard-hittingly.The most important reason for the position of a leader is to create a group of commonwealth to deliver desir subject gross sales as unprofitable sales is a leaders biggest nightmare. Numeral reasons that slew lead to undesirable sales include competitive market conditions, poor cooperation, strategies and decisions from the team or that the product is besides expensive or not laughable enough compared to another(prenominal) rival products (Robbins, 2005).Although certain circumstances are beyond control such(prenominal) as poor market conditions or a weak team, others are possible to fix control over such as product exclusivity or special features and this is where the frolic of a capable leader comes in.Capable leaders are constantly pressured in inquisitive for solutions that produce more(prenominal) results but equipped with depleting resources such as team members and budgets. H owever, it does not require much, only a new perspective to fully utilise each and every member of the team without overworking them or the budget.Open-minded leaders always have the upper hand as new methods and solutions merchantman be created to increase sales. Some of the issues that arise are as followsGetting fresh clientsBoosting profits on advertisingInability to regularly reach anticipate sales revenueShorten long tedious sale cyclesMaintaining the effort input of the sales teamGrowing expenses to behave a productive and competent teamReduced margins due to increasing demands to discountSustaining and expanding diminishing major accountsRising inability to accurately predict sales revenueInexperience and pretermit of knowledge of the products involvedRecruiting and sustaining useful employeesConstant decrease of market shareRising customer demands and decreasing consumer satisfactionGrowing amount and aggressive rivals and cut back sales compared to themDealing with salesperson who have no proper strategies in securing sales and poor time managementRationalization of the worlds economyGetting unloose of the repeated occurrence of reduced margins due to desperate attempts of making sales towards the end of a sales passRising amount of sales attempts that go unfinishedGetting the exact requirements and needs from customers when purchasing products is progressively difficultCompleting the whole process of buying and securing sales as fast as possible is increasingly difficultHaving to constantly help and motivate team members that have little enthusiasm, drive and attentionSalesperson that are investing too much time and effort into devising proposal for possible customers that have no genuine interest in purchasing from themConstant feedback from customers that claims our rivals are able to perform faster and cheaper it is delicateer to make sales against that as it is rightful(a)Lack of the surest method in selling products to drive toward s higher salesNo ideas or strategies to get sales back on courseUsual routine of inefficient, expensive and uneconomical sales methods such as weak direct marketing and expensive advertising or product improvementIn this assignment we will be discussing about 2 leaders from different backgrounds respectively. The setoff leader is Indra Nooyi which is the CEO of Pepsi. The second leader is Philip verdure which is the CEO of Arcadia Group. The similarities and differences of both the leaders will be discussed further below.Indra NooyiBefore examining terce aspects of Indra Nooyis leadership, let us first review her background to get some idea of the person and leader she is. Born and educated in India, she moved to America to study for her Masters degree at Yale. Upon graduation, she got a suppose at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and she credits much of her subsequent success on her experiences thither. From there, she worked in other companies before fall in PepsiCo in 199 4. Her track record there was impressive as she was instrumental in making moves that led to long term profitability for the company such as moving away from fast food affiliations to acquiring beverage companies like Tropi massa and Gatorade (Businessweek, 2008). Consequently, she was made CEO of the company in 2006, a record of sorts as she was the first woman and the first Asian to hold the powerful post. Since then, she has steered the company well with her leadership philosophy of performance with purpose.In a speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2006, Indra cited the five Cs of her success. They are competency, courage and confidence, consistency, compass and coaching. In this report, we will examine how they are incorporated into three aspects of her leadership in terms of leadership entitle, coaching and mentoring and motivating employees.Indras leadership style can trounce be described as transformative (Seltzer and Bass, 1990). She is not study to maintain the status quo but redefines the concept of CEO. The traditional role of the CEO was akin to a autocratic monarch, in which power was wielded in punitive and overbearing ways. Indra feels that that is outmoded and unsuitable for the 21st century (CNBC Business, 2008). The CEO must lead people, not rule over them. The leader must constantly keep abreast with changes in technology and new developments so that they can harness them to achieve competitive advantage. The workplace is getting increasingly diverse as more women and minorities cite the average multinational corporation. Demographic changes at the workplace require a change in management style and Indra is aware of this. For example, the new generation is more technologically savvy and is less tied to the concept of lifetime employment at one company (Useem, 2008). Understanding this groups mindset is crucial in ensuring that the best and brightest are recruited and retained. Similarly, the organization canno t operate along mono-ethnic and mono-gender lines as there is increasing diversity. Diversity should not be viewed as a problem but as an asset to the company since the company can get the cream of the crop and an employee composition that is representative of the entire population.No longer can the CEO brook to direct from his or her office, but must go out and mingle with the masses. This does not only blotto fostering better ties with employees but engaging with other stakeholders as well, As Indra points out, a CEO now not only has to deal with corporate stakeholders but with governments and NGOs too. Consequently, the CEO must travel a lot, oddly for a multinational corporation like Pepsi. That way, they can meet their various customers and business partners to formulate new and better corporate level strategies. As a leader, Indra is friendly and approachable. She is energetic and has a fondness of singing (Useem, 2008). Yet, she is no pushover as she is very much in contr ol of her company.In terms of Indras leadership style, we may use one of the behavioral theories, in which we can pinpoint behaviours that set apart good and poor leaders. Her leadership style can be described as democratic, if we use one of the University of Iowa Studies (Robbins and Coulter, 2005). Indra gets her employees involved in the decision making process and delegates authority. She listens to all opinions, even from those who may disagree with her. Also, she encourages employee feedback which is used as a coaching technique. From the University of Michigan Studies viewpoint, Indra is an example of a leader who shows consideration. She has genuine respect and mutual trust for her subordinates.Another interesting aspect of her leadership style can best be described as reconciliatory leadership (Bass, 1985). When there was an opening for CEO, Indra and another executive were in the running. However, when Indra was selected, she immediately sought to retain her erst rival be cause she felt the other person would be good for the company. Many CEOs assemble a team of yes men and eliminate all threats and rivals but Indra thrives on building a team of rivals because she feels dissent and other opinions are crucial in building a thriving organization.Indra places great importance on coaching and mentoring programs. These are part of the broader spectrum of creating a learning organization. Training programs are formulated to nurture rising leadership talent for the company and the company has a unique approach by seeking input from outside. Lifelong and practical learning are emphasized as well. Pepsi tries to help each employee discover their strengths and weaknesses so that they can build upon their strengths and reduce their weaknesses to make a more meaningful contribution. Employees and executives are taught to think for the long term and not focus too narrowly on short term gains. This approach has worked well for Indra as it allows her to spot trend s and changes before competitors.Indras attitude towards coaching and mentoring can be described using the path goal theory. This states that a leaders job is to help followers in achieving their goals and to guide them in the right direction (Wofford and Liska, 1993). This type of leader also gives the necessary support to make sure that employees succeed and that goals are compatible with the overall objectives of the firm.Indra believes in motivating and empowering employees. While there may be slump in sales growth in Western markets, Indra motivates her employees not to give but to see the bigger picture of the business cycle. As a result, employees who relish a challenge are given the opportunity to have work stints abroad. Similarly, she did not close down or reduce the research and development facility, but did the reverse. By retaining employees during hard times, PepsiCo demonstrates that it values their contributions and this gesture causes tremendous goodwill among staff who reciprocated by working harder.One interesting way in which Indra motivates her senior executives is through non-financial ways. Most companies reenforcement their senior executives with attractive remuneration packages. PepsiCo does more than that. Recently, Indra did the unprecedented by writing to the parents of the executives and thanking them for bringing up their children well. This created an emotional bond among her, the executives and their parents. The idea behind this occurred some divisions ago when she visited her mother in India. Her mother asked her to attend a formal function at home and all the guests complemented her mother on the good job she did in raising her (CNBC Business, 2008). This made Indra realize that she ought to thank the parents of her employees who did an amazing job raising them.As mentioned earlier, Indra is a firm believer in workplace diversity (CNBC Business, 2008). This may stem from the fact that as a woman and an Indian in America, sh e has a different outlook on life than the average ashen male CEO. Hence, men and women, people from different ethnic backgrounds and religious all stand an equal chance at getting promotion. Promotions are establish whole on merit and diversity is also applied in the companys relations with its suppliers and customers. This is a strong motivator for all employees to try their best. Some organizations reward employees based on gender and racial lines. Hence, women and ethnic minorities are sidelined and not given due recognition for their contributions. This problem does not occur at Pepsi and there is conclusion to show that employees are happier, more motivated and derive greater pride and satisfaction from their jobs. Similarly, the younger generations are drawn to work at Pepsi because they find it a challenging and enjoyable place where they are belowstood and treated with respect.I am very inspired by Indra Nooyis leadership. She is proof that with intelligence, hard work and determination, anybody can succeed in whatever they choose. Yet, she is humble, friendly and does not lose sight of the more important things in life. She has repeatedly mentioned that she has to juggle the roles of CEO, mother, wife, daughter and daughter in law. Perhaps growing up in a traditional Indian family has taught her the importance of maintaining strong family bonds. This attitude is evident in PepsiCo, where she treats all employees as her panoptic family. Indra demonstrates that one does not have to be ruthless, manipulative and cruel to rise to the top as her nurturing and warm leadership style has not only endeared her to her employees, but motivates them to strive to do their best. This is leadership at its finest.Philip GreenAble To Capitalize OpportunitySir Philip Green is apparently planning to bring British Home Stores under the Arcadia umbrella (Seltzer Bass, 1990). This move might witness a cull of management jobs as he combines the two companies, which h ave previously been run as reprinting entities. But with the high street feeling the squeeze as more shoppers take the radical step of passing their money in the bank (or under the mattress), Sir Philip is clearly on a mission to cut costs and this is an obvious way of doing it.The new set-up will see Bhs run in much the alike(p) way as the other brands in the Arcadia stable, allowing Green to combine head office functions like marketing, finance and supply chain. This will almost certainly mean that some executive roles will become surplus to requirements hence the likely nervousness this morning.Bhs became a real success story for Green after he bought it in 2000, although its sales have been flagging recently. Arcadia has also seen a mixed bag of results lately the likes of Dorothy Perkins and Burton have been struggling, but Top Shop and Miss Selfridge have continued to produce record sales and profits (possibly because their younger clientele have more disposable income/ m ore money than sense). So its no awe that Green is looking to retrench now, particularly with little sign of the high street gloom receding (Yukl, 1994).Equity theoryEquity theory states that individuals compares their job inputs and outcomes with those of others and then responds to eliminate any inequities (Robbins Judge 2007, p.185). That is, employees will become de-motivated if their perceived inputs are greater than the outputs from the company (Adams 1965, cited in Chapman 2006).His reputation as a retail merchant is arguably second only to his renown for striking remarkable deals. In 2005, he paid himself a 1.2bn dividend from Arcadia, the retailer he had bought in 2002 with only a few million pounds of his own money. He can identify a target in hours, secure billions of pounds worth of funding in days and be exiting the business with multimillion pound profits in months. While his detractors have levelled accusations of asset stripping at him, he vigorously denies his de al-making nous makes him a one-man avatar of private equity.From his location, he can survey the world famous high street of which he controls a major slice. In fact, thanks to Arcadia, he runs 12% of the UK clothing retail market. In its industry, Green is ranked second and on more than an occasion he was close to owning Marks Spencer.In fact, they could have interpreted a large amount looking at the number of people borrowing and even up to eight times cashflow. After they had done 1.2bn of dividend, that year the company made a 327m operating profit. They could have borrowed far more, but thats never been my strategy.Its hard to argue when you consider that six years on, Arcadia has added a quarter of a million square feet of selling space, employs 25% more people and has generated in excess of 2bn in EBITDA.Green worked very hard to develop Arcadias brand, which includes Topman, Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Burton and Evans. For once, Green is the master of understatement. Under his stewardship, the shop has revolutionised high-street retailing. The previously mediocre store is now a talisman of UK contrive, loved by teenagers, celebrities and fashion editors.Increasing InfluenceUpon leaving school, Green worked for the family firm, one of the first shoe importers to bring products in from China and Hong Kong. Exposure to international trade proved invaluable, he is grateful that the people who develop him taught him about finance, credit, importing and product. If he was to become interested in the more creative, product-buying side of the business, his understanding of the basic principles of retailing was instinctive.The high street fashion great power is as well known for his affluent lifestyle as he is for his business acquisitions a 7m yacht, 5m birthday party and a present from his wife of a solid gold Monopoly set, to name a few of his extravagances.Of late he has become something of a celebrity thanks in part to a friendship and business arran gement he has struck up with supermodel Kate Moss, who designs a range for his Topshop chain. Hes also been spotted holidaying with both Sylvester Stallone and Simon Cowell.Conclusion and RecommendationIn sum, developing an effective leadership in organizations is the most essential, yet the most difficult tasks for organization management. Great leadership is the combinations of individual traits, leading skills and of course the situational contexts (Kotler, 1990). As we have discussed above, effective leadership is require both intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. The intrapersonal skills are of paramount important, as it is logical and obvious that success or great leader all set off from within. Only with personal inside strong desire to excel, passion, enthusiasm, determination, commitment, faith and effective personal values can a person become a true leader for others. A great leader among the people always starts as a great leader of his own. Then, interpersonal skills come into place, where the ability and skills to network, communicate and move with the other people come into place. The effective leaders can guide companies through many different channels. Because of this, it is important to know which leadership qualities motivate employees the best. throughout the analysis and evaluation, there have been many leadership style theories identified. As we have found that, the autocratic leadership style has gone out of fashion in recent years, though certain situations, such as emergencies situations.Therefore, effective leaders must adjust the leadership style to various situations. In that sense, there is no one leadership style is appropriate for every occasion or situation. The most effective style to use depends upon the situation and whether the group members are willing and able to take on the responsibility. To be effective as a leader, its important to know your group in terms of knowledge, ability, desire and willingness, and be ready to adapt your style to suit the dynamic environment. An important task in the coming years will be the training and testing of future leaders.Further more, organizations have to have a bigger picture of long term success, that is strengthening leadership competencies will improve organizational effectiveness. When subordinates trusted their leaders leadership, and they deem it is equitable for them to obtain satisfactory rewards and outcomes when they made the greatest efforts. Therefore, effective leadership lead to a positive motivation and motivated employees will accomplish the customers of the organizations. In a long-term, it will help organization creating or maintaining a sustainable organizational competitive advantage.

Bharti and Walmart in the Indian retail market

Bharti and Walmart in the Indian sell marketIndia A Preferred Destination?The cradle of one of the oldest human civilization, India is a kaleidoscope of cultures, ideologies and topographies. A commonwealth financial backinged by mixed economy, it provides a market comprising of close to 1.2 billion consumers, most of whom be young (below 25 years of age). The judiciary is separate from legislative branch to facilitate a free and just society. The country has witnessed robust GDP increment eitherplace the opposite(prenominal) couple of decades, follo propagation economic repose in 91. The economy is expected to touch a festering rate of 9.5% in 2010. Some other key indicators are listed below.Source World blasphemeEmerging relatively unscathed from the world(a) recession of 2008-09, India exhibited its prowess in managing foreign policies and business. It seems that it is poised for its next stage of growth.It is expected that if overall economic growth remains some 7 to 8 percent then consumption ordain soar. According to Mckinsey, real consumption get out grow from 17 one thousand million Indian rupees today to 70 trillion Indian rupees by 2025, a fourfold increase. This will adorn India in the premier league among the worlds consumer markets. Presently, its consumer market ranks 12th.The striking Indian BazaarWith more than 12 million outlets, the retail industry contributes nearly 14% to the GDP of India and employs more than 18 million people. A.T. Kearneys annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) ranked India as No. 2 retail destination (India held the top spot from 2005-07). The history of this sector push aside be traced back to village melas and haats, which subsequently evolved into convenience stores and cooperatives until the modern day retailing formats such as hypermarts, malls and supercentres. However the industry is still fragmented organized retail constitutes a meagre 4% of retail sector in this country. On the bright s ide, the organized retail is set to grow at a CAGR of 50% and set to be worth $90 billion by the end of 2010. Major occurrenceors contributing to this rapid growth are changing lifestyles, strong income growth and favourable demographic profile. A clump of multinational players like Carrefour, TESCO and Wal-Mart deal been sitting on fence waiting to enter India and gain a character of this increasing pie.WalMartWalMart a globally recognized retail format was started by Sam Walton. It relied on the concept of discounting products to attract buyers. WalMart relied on the concept of operating in mid-sized towns which didnt have a retail store and built its base by opening in small-scaleer towns which eliminated contest. It implemented a robust distribution enchant while leveraging economies of scale to ensure on- prison term delivery for all its diverse range of SKUs. WalMart relied on the concept of EDLP (Every Day Low Price) to sell its products. WalMart proposes to enter Ind ia in the Cash Carry Format (CC) for which distribution and supply-chain management will be the key elements in determining its success.Its operating income in FY 2010 was $24 billion over revenue of $ 405 billion and in all 8500 retail building blocks. 64% of gross revenue still came from WalMart USA against 25% of international sales.As of today, the only retail unit opened in India is in Amritsar with plans of opening 15 more soon.Leadership in Operations Supply Chain ManagementLeadership in trading operations came by core of following certain basic principles such asEvery Day Low PricesWalMart is the preferred choice for mixed customers for providing the promise of constant scathes every time a customer walked in the store. The prices were about 20% less than the competition. They also followed a variety of other philosophies such asRollback philosophical systemAll the savings made during the operable efficiency attained was passed down to the customer through continuo us negotiations and whenever an opportunity arose.Special Buy LogoWalMart from time to time flagged many of its items with the Special Buy logo to attract customers. It could be any of the regularly available items with a mark-up in quantity or a mark-down in prices till stocks last.The focus on customer was relentless. Customer service received immense importance with a philosophy to exceed customer expectations through the Sundown Rule answering customer queries by the End of Business hours and Ten Feet Rule to go to customers by greeting and asking if he/she involve anything while at WalMart.Success Model of WalMartCost Control CultureWalMart believes in controlling cost through reducing operational expenses and maintaining a die hard organization. This is followed to an extent that it became WalMarts core capability. Everyone from the top management to employee followed this rule diligently. Scott Lee, Chairman of the Executive Board and CFO Tom Schoewe too followed by trav elling economy track and sharing budget hotels.Supplier NetworkOne of the notable features of WalMart is its wide-ranging network of suppliers. It also enjoyed a major bargaining advantage with them. It maintained operational excellence by pushing its suppliers to do the same through various methods.Logistics DistributionWalMart owns one of the largest fleet of trucks which helps it in retail operations immensely when IT was not yet a strategic factor. Later sourcing was centralized and its hub-spoke distribution model became robust providing inventory to 8500 units. Advent of EDI and RFID for its shipments were also beneficial for its logistic systems.Small townsfolk LocationsThe factor of running WalMart in small towns was a successful idea but something that WalMart will not do considering its leadership potential.Various Initiatives sharen for SCMWalMart has been unceasingly working towards getting its costs down and provide its benefit to its customers. Some of the recent developments have beenArrival of RFID chips to track shipmentsWalMart has do its own warhead forwarder which means that it will provide logistics support using its 6500 trucks and 55000 trailers and help reduce suppliers their wholesale price wherever suppliers are not able toThis will help use up excess capacity of WalMart and at the same time ensure that they get better efficiency from their suppliersMovement towards green-SCM by being users of renewable energy speed of light% in 7 years, reduce energy consumption by 30% in 7 years, create zero wasteWalMart also has the state-of-the-art ERP solutions to support its logistics infrastructureBharti-WalMart in IndiaSince judicature regulations became a deterrent in FDI in India, WalMart was forced to create a JV between Bharti WalMart USA which was floated as a separate entity. With just 26% investment allowed by foreign player, prospect of WalMart to operate independently has become a distant dream. Another rule that industrial plant against them is the prohibition of foreign investment in Multi-brand retail.In April, a rule said that transactions between group companies should be limited to 25% of the sales was implemented. This was challenged by Bharti-WalMart Private Ltd. And the Finance Ministry conceded that such a rule was flawed but still the 25% cap on the volume of trade will continue to stay.Bharti-WalMart is adopting creative ways of gaining favor with the government by opening its second Bharti-WalMart training institute that would train and provide jobs to people in the dramatics of cash and carry format of stores. This also comes as a strategic move in a scenario where talent acquisition is a challenge for WalMart. A Memorandum of Agreement was signed between Bharti-WalMart and Department of Technical Education (New Delhi)Currently WalMart is in the lead the lobbying of opening up multi-brand retail in India by various requests being made to the Ministry of Industry Commerce.Analysis of a partnership between Bharti and WalmartBharti and Walmart seem to be a good fit for each other. Bharti is a veteran(a) Indian player with good relationships with local enterprises and governments. Walmart has expertise in providing maximum value to consumers at lowest cost. Bharti knows the rules of the game and will save Wal-Mart a survey of time and energy to overcome the system. Walmarts logistics capability and Bhartis execution expertise will form a potent combination therefore on paper the jeopardize looks great. They have taken a step in the right direction by going in with Cash n carry format first of all as the government allows foreign partnership only in this sector, this will sort out the operational issues of the partnership.Though this franchise schema with Bharti was a refraction from Wal-Marts usual way of entering countries, it was because the policy restrictions on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the Indian retail sector. As part of the agreement, Bharti wa s expected to even out a royalty between 2 percent and 3 percent of sales to Wal-Mart for using the latters brand name. As the retail sector is opened up for foreign players Bharti-Walmart is expected to be a formidable force in the Indian retail.The retail industry in India is estimated at about US$ three hundred billion and is expected to grow to US$ 427 billion in 2010 and US$ 637 billion in 2015. The biggest competitor for Bharti-Wal-Mart is expected to be Reliance Retail, the retail wing of Reliance, which had planned to establish 10,000 stores by end of 2010. Even Pantaloon Retail, the retail arm of the Future Group was expected to give stiff competition as it has a first-mover advantage. The strength of these companies lies in understanding the Indian consumer better, Bharti with years of experience with Indian consumer and a famed success story can help Walmart overcome the competition. similarly competitive forces a major threat to this venture is the Indian governments p olicies, the government under governmental pressure from huge mom and pop stores which control the legal age of sales in Indian retail can not just allow big players like Walmart to enter Indian market. Entry of Walmart may put masses of middle class people out of business whose sole source of income are these small retail stores. Besides this Walmart-Bharti will find it spoiled to beat the economies of small stores which are most of the times just walking distance from the consumer and have long term relationships with consumers.In sum, the Bharti-Walmart venture has a lot of positives on paper but it will be interesting to see how the venture performs once Indian retail is opened up. There are lot of competitive forces and other factors which may put the relationship under immense stress.Porters Five Force AnalysisIndian consumers are gradually transiting from their habit of saving. They are becoming more brand conscious and starting to look upon retail shopping as an experien ce rather than an obligation. Global retailers would be happy to serve Indian markets but a major challenge is the strict Government regulation policy which restricts FDI to wholesale business. As of 2006, GoI allowed 51% FDI in multi-brand retailers and 100% FDI in wholesale (typically cash and carry format) and back-end logistics. It is in this context that we need to analyze the entry of Wal-Mart into India.SWOT Analysis of BhartiStrengthsLarge group with diversified investmentsExpertise in operating in developing countriesDeep pockets to funds new businessesStarted by an entrepreneur, that sensation still prevails in the top managementWeaknessesSlowing growth because of competition in prime area of operations telecomLarge size, has made the ships company somewhat bureaucraticNo big and streamlined plan for forthcomingFocus on defending its advantage in Indian telecom sectorPresent in just south Asia and AfricaOpportunitiesEnjoys good relations with governments/companies in I ndia- one of the fastest growing economies in the world. It can move into other businesses easilyA lot of new sectors coming up in Indian economy like retail, financial services etc.Has invested in branding of Bharti over the years, consumers have instant brand recognition with Bharti brandWith opening of Indian economy it can tie up with huge MNCs to get the technical expertiseInvestors ready to invest in Bhartis new businesses because of positive experience with Bharti AirtelThreats spacious in Indian Telecom sector, can be tied down by competition hereA lot of its businesses can be exceedingly impacted by governments licensing decisionsIndian economy is opening up with large MNCs setting up bases on their own, these pose direct competitive threats to Bhartis businessesThe governments in India can change and Bharti may not enjoy the same relationships with new governmentSWOT Analysis of WalmartStrengthsWal-Mart has a reputation for value for money, convenience and a commodious r ange of products all in one store.Wal-Mart has grown exponentially over recent years, and has experienced global expansion (for example its purchase of the United landed estate based retailer ASDA).The company is adept at using information technology to support its international logistics system. For instance, Wal-Mart can see how individual products are perform in different countries and stores at a glance. IT also supports Wal-Marts efficient procurement.Human resource management and development are key elements of Wal-Marts system. It invests time and money in training people, and retaining them.WeaknessesWal-Mart is the Worlds largest retailer despite its IT advantages its size poses an inherent weakness.Walmart lacks flexibility since it is spread across many product categories.Despite being global it is present in only few countries across the world.OpportunitiesTo form strategic alliances with other global retailers in China and eastern EuropeWalmart is present in limited moment of countries, the opportunity dwells for it to expand in growing markets like India and ChinaNew types of stores offer Wal-Mart opportunities to exploit market development. They diversified from large super centres, to local and mall-based sites.Opportunities exist for Wal-Mart to continue with its current strategy of large, super centres.ThreatsBeing a leader means that Wal-Mart has to fend off competition, locally and globally.Walmart may be exposed to political environments in countries that it is present.The cost of producing many consumer products has reduced because of lower manufacturing costs. Manufacturing costs are also low due to outsourcing to low-cost regions of the World. This has lead to price competition, resulting in price deflation and such intense price competition is a threat.The story thus farThe entry strategy of Wal-Mart in India has been drastically different from that followed by the company when it expanded first in the markets outside US. The laun ches in China and Germany were marked by huge media frenzy just before the opening day leading to a deluge of customers thronging the stores. Also, Wal-Mart opted for metros and major cities to kick-off their operations since the urban customer was expected to be more aware of the brand Wal-Mart and thus the target market selected. Wal-Mart tweaked its strategy by make a low-key entry in Amritsar, Punjab in May 2009. There was also a deliberate attempt to repeal upkeep to the brand Wal-Mart by naming the initiative Best Price Modern Wholesale.Bestprice-modern-wholesale.jpgThe emphasis in the logo is on Best Price with both Bharti and Walmart logo in small font acting as the supporters rather than the drivers of the project.The reasons for such a strategy are as followsLocal Opposition Over the past 5 years various pilot retail ventures in India have met with stiff resistance from local communities especially farmers and retail store owners. By making its entry a low-key affair, W al-Mart does not want to attract undue attention. Also, since it is the Cash and Carry business, there is no to blow the trumpet when the target auditory sense is itself the retailer and not the end customer. The requirement was a focused and not high profile entry and Wal-Mart executed it accordinglyCompetition Metro and other Cash and Carry giants started off their operations in India by opening stores in Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai and other metros. The hinterland thus offered opportunities in terms of untapped market. Wal-Mart recognizes and acknowledges the fact that more than 10 million other tiny retailers in India are its greatest challenge and greatest opportunity. If it can win them over, they are likely to become its biggest customers. Anger them and they could use their political power to block expansion.Cash Rich State At first glance, opting hinterland over metros seems consistent with Wal-Marts US strategy where the company expanded by targeting small towns because of l ow cost of entry. There is, in fact, more to the same. Punjab in years since the Green Revolution has had among the highest per capita income levels in the country. Thus, it makes sense for Wal-Mart to enter a cash-rich state.Brand Recognition Even though Wal-Mart has made a low key entry de-emphasizing the brand Wal-Mart, the customer needs to have enough trust in the organization he is making the transaction with. The name Wal-Mart is in some ways familiar in Punjab due to the large diaspora from the region in US/Canada and thus breeds recognition.In order to make enhance their image in the region, Wal-Mart has also embarked upon a host of social initiatives.1. boon of push carts to village vendors.2. Part time employment to cart vendors and senior citizens3. Plantation drive Planting saplings around the store4. Mera Kirana and Business Solutions Centers to help small and medium retailers implement best retailing practicesThe Wal-Mart strategy so far has been low-decibel while st eadily gaining acceptance of the local community. This is essential for when the FDI in retail is in the end approved by the government, the company shall hope to make a smooth transition from Cash and Carry to their traditional stores and announce the same, hopefully, with a bang.Will WalMart heed in India?India boasts of a buzzing retail market with growing incomes. However WalMart must realize that it will face woes in forward logistics considering that India loses 40% of its receive due to storage and transportation issues. Even if WalMart builds up its fleet in India, the logistics network in India is far from the best. Indias highway network can carry around 65% of freight traffic and 85% of passenger traffic and many National Highway Development projects not yet complete the challenge will be immense to be cost-effective.Many of the SCM initiatives followed by WalMart will take more time to get implemented in India including the RFID initiative, green SCM initiative. Howev er freight forwarding is something that WalMart can look at to increase their effectiveness in India. Analysts say that typically cost-measures taken in investments in cold-storage and other logistics measures take around 3-5 years to yield benefits. Currently with the single-store in Amritsar, the backyard of wheat-bowl of India such a problem is averted. Analysts also have pointed out that a supply-chain of international standard will take at least a decade before it comes to India.WalMart is also facing issues in terms of keep itself away from its share of controversies. With an intention of staying low-profile in India to avoid any retaliation from local retailers it opted for an alternate name Best Price Modern Wholesalers logo, which was claimed to have 4 trademarks already by the Department of Trademarks.With the alert Government regulations the growth story of WalMart in India looks slow to moderate in medium term. With a new target of opening just 7 stores and hiring aroun d 1100 employees against the existing 450 employees says about the sentiment of Bharti-WalMart in India.Commentary on WalmartWalMart is presumably doing many things right by playing its cards intelligently and in sync to the Indian sentiments of not being too pushy about its prospects in India. Also taking up initiatives to gain local sentiment is something that will work in its favor. Government on the other hand is also looking towards easing out rules in Cash and Carry Format which could benefit WalMart and speed up plans for same.

A study on Fraud prevention and Detection

A study on actor taproom and DetectionThe aim of this writing is to present how duplicity is defined today, why tosh pr counterbalancetion and sleuthing is world-wide concern and enfold main means of detecting and preventing cheat.It erect be seen that parody ignore range from sm both employee theft, fruitless behaviour, embezzlement of comp boths assets and duplicityulent pecuniary describe. This kind of actions hatful have strong adverse effect on companys market value, reputation and it reduces companys power to achieve its strategic objectives, etc. Lately, numerous cases that gear up themselves in limelight of normal financial aid, such as Enron and WorldCom, sensitized every one and only(a)s aw atomic number 18ness about the effect of caperulent and deceptive reporting. Therefore, large number of companies started to be more proactive in taking serious measures to prevent and detect its occurrence.The jeopardy of twaddle gouge be minimized through with (predicate) rough-and-ready combination of prevention, deterrence and sleuthing measures. As it allow for be set forth in more detail in the rest of this paper, fraud can be very hard to detect. As means of detection be becoming more sophisticated, so do the ways of turn onting fraud. For this very yard every company should strongly emphasise fraud prevention, which can unquestionably reduce chances for fraud to take place, and fraud detection, which can create atmosphere at nominate that fraud will be spy and committers will be punished. Moreover, cost for fraud prevention are less expensive than the conviction and money needed for fraud detection and investigation.DefinitionDefining fraud can be harder than it seems. It is a term that can be heard very often in everyday life. Though, what is meant by fraud in business universe can be somewhat different. Finding consistent meaning and precise definition of fraud is crucial for understanding it. For this reason a few he avy definitions of what is heared by fraud will be presented.In UK fraud is defined in Fraud take on form 2006. In explanatory nones to Fraud Act 2006, Chapter 35 it can be seen that there are some(prenominal) ways fraud can be committed, such asby false mold (person must(prenominal) benefit dishonest and false representation with clear intention to gain or ca substance abuse prejudice to other party),by failing to unveil information (failing to disclose an important information to a nonher person to which you have legal duty to disclose it, is considered as fraud),by abuse of position (abusing interior position, where by virtue of this position a person is expected to protect anothers financial interest and do not act against those intersperses),by gaining or losing property dishonestly (whether material or intellectual), possession of items for use in fraud, making or supplying articles for use in fraud (for specimen manufacturing machines for false money making),by pa rticipating in fraudulent business carried out on by sole trader (fraudulent trading for under the companies legislation),by taking part in fraudulent business carried on by a company, obtaining profit dishonestly (for example by avoiding payment)and liability of company officers for offences by company (if a person has specific corporate business office for which is responsible, it usually applies to directors, managers, etc).In USA there are numerous state and federal laws which are regulating fraud in number of areas, such as consumer fraud, insurance fraud, corporate fraud, etc. Summary of what is generally appreh barricaded as fraud leads one to conclude that there are some similarities with fraud definition in UK by Fraud Act 2006. In both cases there must be purposive misinterpretation of facts made by one, fully aware party in evidence to cause injury or damage (material, intellectual, etc.) to other party. Fraud of failing to disclose information in U.S. is interpreted as omission or purposive failure to state material facts, which nondisclosure makes other asseveration tawdry (www.uslegal.com)Moreover, in Canada fraud is classified as criminal offence. In Canadas Criminal Code, Article 380 (1) and 380 (2) it is stated clearly that fraud is considered to be any fraudulent behaviour designed to manipulate other party, so as this party will conk something of value to him/her by means oflyingpurposively misleading the help party although fully aware of falseness of that acthiding a fact from the other part which may have prevented the party to suffer any kind of loss or damage. Additionally, every one who, by deceit, falsehood or other fraudulent means, whether or not it is a false guise at heart the meaning of this Act, defrauds the public or any person, whether ascertained or not, of any property, money or valuable security or any service (or) with intent to defraud, affects the public market price of stocks, shares, merchandise or anything that is offered for sale to the public Canadas Criminal Code, Article 380 (1).Contemporary researchers (Weirich and Reinstein, 2000 Albrecht et al., 1994, 1995) define fraud as intentional deception, sliping and cheating investors, creditors, public, government bodies, etc. Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 82 identifies two separate fraud typesFraudulent financial reporting or focus fraud (managers try to report inflated profit, overstates assets and revenues or understate expenses and liabilities with intention to modify financial statements) andMisappropriation of assets or employee fraud (employees steal money or other companies belongings).This statement in like manner points out different fraud schemes such as employee embezzlement, counselling fraud, investment scams, vendor fraud, customer fraud, and mingled fraud.However, it can be concluded that though these countries have similar definitions of what fraudulent activities are considered to be, there are subst antial differences. Businesses operating in different countries, in particular multinational companies, must be aware of these differences, acts and statements as they are the one in greatest danger suffering from not thoroughly knowing them.Causes associated with individuals committing fraud Fraud TriangleBefore explaining main manners and bodies within company responsible for prevention and detection of fraud, psychological factors that might influence the behaviour of fraud committers must be mentioned.It is suggested (Moyes and Hasan, 1996 Hernan, 2008) that the best way of fraud prevention is understanding what main drivers of fraud are. The three following drivers are most commonly known as fraud triangle.Need there are numerous types of financial drive, gambling habits or maybe unreasonably high expectations of high returns that create enough pressure for management to commit financial statement fraud. Some warning signs of pressure in organization and among employees co uld be discovered by inner pick up questionnaires, audience with managers, surveys or communication with employees.Opportunity people often see opportunity to commit fraud when internal sustain system in organization is weak. interior(a) examineors and managers should from time to time test the strong point of various types of control in order to reduce opportunities for fraud.Justification the third component of fraud triangle is rationalization for fraudulent activity. There are a lot of different explanations and justifications of fraudulent activity. Some fraudsters concludes that they did not get a deserved promotion and want to make things right on their own. Others did not get deserved bonuses at the yearend or they rationalize their act as just borrowing from the company. The risk is higher in companies with poor management structure and unclear bonus system. Hernan (2008) suggests evaluation of management competences, objectivity and transparency in order to identify and spot on time fraud risks.If management, internal control or any other entity in a company, which duty is fraud prevention and detection, is aware of these factors, then that entity will sure as shooting be more strong in discloseing mechanisms of fraud detection and punishmentThe Cost of FraudBefore any prevention and detection method or entity within a company is discussed the cost of fraud must be explained as only then when we realise how big damage fraud can cause, we are able to truly understand significance of internal controls, audit delegacy, management, internal auditors, free lance auditors and certified fraud examiners.Fraud is a global problem affecting organizations of all types and sizes. According to the Association of bear witness fraud examiners (ACFE) estimates that US companies loose approximately 5% of their annual revenues to fraud. Majority of frauds are detected by tips or accidently. The most frequently type of fraud areasset misappropriation (91,5 % of reported frauds),corruption accounts for 30,8% andfinancial statements fraud accounts for 10,6% ,with median loss estimated at 2 million dollars.Most recent large fraudulent schemes were Enron (63 billion dollars in assets) and WorldCom (107 billion dollars in assets) were investors lose billions of dollars.According to Adams et al. (2006), the greatest financial impact of fraud is in small firms and businesses. The loss of 7% of revenues (estimated by ACFE) is also significant for large companies precisely small companies will probably be out of business because of it. On the other hand, when fraud occurs companies could suffer from damage of brand and reputation. Stakeholders could see that as an early warning sign. Big bills caused by fraud are almost never paid by committers, but unfortunately, by innocent parties such as consumers, insurance companies etc. This just amplifies opening statement how important job of bodies in charge of fraud detection and prevention is.Frau d prevention and detectionMany authors (Mclnnes and Stevenson 1997, Adams et al 2006, Hernan 2008, Grambling et al 2009) suggests that prevention of fraud is the most cost-effective way to deal with possible financial and reputation loss.For all of the reasons mentioned in previous sections of this constitute it is crucial for every company to develop mechanism for effective detection and prevention of fraud.Statement on Auditing Standards No. 99 by AICPA (2002) suggest that there should be a body within a company with appropriate overight function. Oversight function can take many forms such as audit perpetration, table of directors etc. Measures this entities can work through are divided into three categoriescreate atmosphere of honesty and high ethicsevaluate the risks of fraud and implement passable processes, procedures, and controls necessary to reduce the risks and the opportunities for frauddevelop an appropriate solicitude processThe icy role in the process has the co mpanies CEO. Although the management is responsible for implementing these activities, without CEOs support, this process is likely to be successful. In the supervising process specific companys entity has specific role in preventing and detecting fraud. The most important entities will now be discussed and their role will be explained. goal of honesty and high ethics every(prenominal) organization should posses a set of burden set and nurture culture of honesty and high ethics. This set of determine is often involved in companys scratch of conduct which has aim to guide employees in everyday activities (often include topics like ethics, confidentiality, conflicts of interests etc.). perplexity must show to employees through their actions that dishonest or unethical behaviour will not be tolerated. It is also important for management to createa positive workplace environs. For example, if employees work in bad work environment, the chances of committing fraud against a company are greaterTo hire and promote appropriate employeesProvide training to new employees and introduce them with code of conductRequire from employees to annually sign code of conduct and to write about possible breaking of code of conductIf fraud occurs in organization, the appropriate steps should be taken to examine all aspects of fraud and to improve inhabiting internal controlsImplement and Monitor Appropriate immanent ControlsAs mentioned before in work, people often see opportunity to commit fraud when internal control system in organization is weak. That is the main reason why organization should be put more effort to minimize fraud opportunities.According to AICPA (2002) some risks are inherent within the environment of the company, but large number of them can be most can be discovered with a proper internal control system. One process for estimate of fraud risk takes place the company can recognize controls, processes and other procedures that are crucial for reducing i dentified risks.Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) report of the Treadway Commission states that effective internal control should includea well-developed control environmentan effective and secure information system,appropriate control and monitoring activities.Information technology plays pivotal role in operations and transactions over information generated by computers. For this reason management need to implement and sustain proper controls (automated or manual). Especially, management is obliged to assess whether internal controls have been implemented in those areas where high risk of fraud exists and in entities where financial reports are processed. Reporting of fraudulent activities can be going on temporary basis, hence management should evaluate internal controls responsible for short term financial reporting.The institute for fraud prevention in 2007 mentioned that upper level management is usually involved in fraudulent financial reporting by overriding inter nal controls involved in controlling the processthat fraudulent financial reporting by upper-level management typically involves override of internal controls within the financial reporting process. Because management has the ability to override controls the need for a strong value system and a culture of ethical financial reporting becomes more important. This helps create an environment in which other employees will decline to participate in committing a fraud and will use established communication procedures to report any requests to commit wrongdoing. The potential for management override also increases the need for appropriate oversight measures by the board of directors or audit committee which will be discussed in the following section.Fraudulent financial reporting by lower levels of management and employees may be detected by appropriate monitoring controls, such as having higher-level managers review and evaluate the financial results reported by individual operating units or subsidiaries. Unusual fluctuations in results or the lack of expected fluctuations may bespeak potential manipulation by some department managers or employees.DEVELOP AN APPROPRIATE OVERSIGHT PROCESSAfter implementation of code of conduct, core values and internal control process into organization, management should also develop an appropriate oversight process to overlook internal controls and reduce as much as possible risk of fraud. The oversight process contains management, internal auditors, audit committee, independent auditors and certified fraud examiners.Audit Committee or Board of DirectorsGramling et al. (2009) in his work argue that audit committee is critical element of internal controls and have important stewardship province to shareholders. Also he cited former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt who described audit committee as one of the most reliable guardians of the public interest ( Gramling et al.,2009,p.24).According to research taken by Cohen et al.(2009), audi t committee military strength has been improved since Sarbanes-Oxley act of 2002. From auditors perspective, audit committee has enough expertise to identify main risks and oversee internal controls. It is crucial that audit committee members be independent of management to provide oversight and comply with regulations. This could be a problem especially in smaller companies. Also smaller companies facing with another problem- How to breakthrough and recruit quality and qualified members for audit committee.AICPA(2005) suggested to audit committee to consider periodicalal meetings with representatives from each of the above mentioned groups (internal auditors,external auditors etc.) to discuss any matter could affect the financial reporting process and increase the risk of fraud.The main duties of audit committee should be to evaluate managements acknowledgment of fraud risks and implementation of antifraud measures. Audit committee can by active oversight support management in implementation of appropriate fraud prevention measures. The final aim is better protection of all stakeholders.The Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on the Audit Committee (2000) emphasized the importance of role which audit committee plays in helping the board of directors in oversight duties, with regard to companys financial reporting processes and internal control systems.When taking the oversight responsibility, the audit committee must take care not to override managements control responsibilities. Therefore, they should have a good communication with internal and external auditors and may consider to review from time to time firms reported information with forecasted ones and industry averages as well. In addition to this SAS 60 in AICPA (2002) argues that communication with external auditors could improve strength of the firms internal control and give higher potential to deal with fraudulent financial reporting10 See Statement on Auditing Standards No. 60, Communic ation of Internal Control cerebrate Matters Noted in an Audit (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AU sec. 325), and SAS No. 61, Communications With Audit Committees (AICPA, Professional Standards, vol. 1, AU sec. 380), as amended.Audit committee, as part of their oversight duties, should try to motivate management to encourage all employees to report everything that looks like unethical behaviour, fraud, or any violations of the code of conduct. The committee should then receive periodic reports from management and employees, describing the nature of any possible unethical behaviour.Report of the NACD Best Practices Council (1998) suggests that if senior management is involved in fraud (according to Deloitte survey 2008, which is the case in 68 per cent of all financial statement fraud), next management level is very likely to be cognizant of it. Hence, it would be recommended that audit committee has an open communication with one or two levels of management under senior execu tives. In this way they could take part in fraud identification at the top positions of the organization.Usually, the audit committee has the power to investigate all suspicious activities that catch their attention and within the realm of their responsibilities. They could also benefit from helper of accounting and professional advisors. All committee members must be educated about finances and have at least one expert in that field.ManagementMclnnes and Stevenson (1997) argue that according to statements in SAS 110 management is responsible for the prevention and detection of fraud. Also Cadbury committee (1992) requires from directors to report on effectiveness of a companys internal control system. On the other hand, Kranacher and Stern- Cpa journal argue that despite the responsibility for preventing fraud lies on management of company, auditors should be also fain to detect fraud. Authors underpin their statement with presentation of SAS 99-Consideration of fraud in financia l statements, which set new fraud standards for auditors. It requires from auditors to discuss with management about possible frauds in organization and to be aware of risk that fraud may occur and be material for financial statements.The main concerns about fraud prevention could be data presented from The institute for fraud prevention in 2007 that executive directors (CEO and CFO) could deceive auditors and audit committee by providing false information. Their analysis further indicates that in 21% of the financial statements fraud cases, external auditors were named as participants. Also in 40% of companies where fraud took place, board members were participants. This can be significant obstacle in effective fraud detection.Similar evidences could be seen from Deloittes survey taken in 2008 about financial statement fraud. CEO, CFO and controller of the company were involved in 68% of individuals who committed financial statement fraud. Other members of management were involved in 24% of all financial statement fraud. That survey can give us a lot of interesting data about financial statement fraud. For example, most common fraud schemes are revenue recognition (38%, especially arrangement of fictitious revenue), manipulation of expenses (12%) , improper disclosures (12%) and manipulation of liabilities and assets etc. The financial fraud schemes are most common in industries like telecommunications, technology, media and entertainment. The average duration of fraud schemes has been seven years in 2008 and has increasing trend.Responsibility of management is to supervise the employees activities. They typically do that by implementing and montiroing all control means previously mentioned. Management is also able to commence, take part in, or direct means against fraudulent acts. Audit committee is responsible (if there is no audit committee the board of directors is in charge) to supervise activities of senior managers and think about risks that fraudulen t financial reporting brings.Mclnnes and Stevenson (1997) in their work conclude that although general public perceive external auditors as strongest defensive against corporate fraud that is not their primary objective. Board of directors have a duty to safeguard the assets of their companies and to report on the effectiveness of their companies internal control system (section 404 of SOX).The most effective way of implementation of measure for reducing wrongdoing is to establish them on a range of core values that could be embraced by the company. These values consist of important key principles that have the potential to guide all employees actions. Then this values could be taken a step further and a platform for detailed code of conduct could be forms. Companys code should entail specific descriptions about what is permitted and what is prohibited. At the end management must be clear in stating that all employees will be hold accountable in the companys code of conduct.Also Mcl nnes and Stevenson (1997) argue that board of directors are responsible for prevention and detection of fraudulent activities by others in the company, but on the other hand it is not clear who has a legal responsibility for preventing and detecting fraudulent activities by directors.Internal AuditorsOrganized audit team can very effectively be involved in many aspects of oversight control. Their familiarity with how entity operates can help them identify indicators of fraud. The Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (IIA Standards), issued by the Institute of Internal Auditors, state The internal auditor should have sufficient knowledge to identify the indicators of fraud but is not expected to have the expertise of a person whose primary responsibility is detecting and investigating fraud. Internal auditors are in position to asses fraud risks and control, and suggest actions for risk minimization and control improvement.Some standards, such as IIA Standards , even require from internal auditors to perform assessment of possible companys risk. These assessments of risk then provide starting point for audit plans and internal control tests are based on them. Additionally, the same standard demands that all audit plans are presented and permitted by the audit company (where audit committee does not exist this should be presented to board of directors). Furthermore, audit plans provide guarantee for affirmation of managements control.Internal audit can have two roles detection and deterrence. Internal auditors are included in fraud deterrence by analysing and evaluating the appropriateness and efficiency of internal control systems, though Hillison et al (1999) states that it is responsibility of management.In slaying this responsibility, internal auditors should evaluate the control environment identify control weaknesses have strong communication with managementHillison et al (1999) argue that internal auditors should pay attention on c ash transactions as well as on other non-balance sheet assets. The following steps should be taken increased use of analytical review (because ratio analysis and trend analysis sometimes could show us unusual relations with other accounts, especially when we have several years data to analyse and compareCohen et al.(2009) stated that reliance on internal auditors has increased in the post-SOX period, mainly because of section 404.Internal auditors could use a lot of techniques (analythical or other procedures) to prevent and detect fraudulent behaviour in organization. They could search for particular types of fraud or they could check high-risk accounts for frauds. Every suspicion of fraud or management involment should be directly reported to the audit committee.Independent Auditors and existing audit approach to prevent fraud remote auditors have a significant role in oversight process. They should provide information to management and audit committee about possible risks. In ord er to have full benefit from external auditors, management should have open communication with them.Glover and Aono (1995) in their work presented basic audit-risk model which consists of three elements inherent risk, control risk and detection risk. They stressed that auditors should understand clients internal control system because they should determine how much they can rely on accounting information generated from clients financial reporting system.On the other hand, McKee and Norway (2006) argue that auditors become too predictable in their audits and that fraudsters could anticipate their actions. Moreover, the public and stakeholders expects from auditors to do better job at fraud prevention (that is the main reason of existence of audit expectation gap). Audit plans should incorporate an element of unpredictability according to SAS 99 and ISA 240 in order to decrease fraud risk.The main benefits of unpredictable auditors approach according to authors would be increasing ch ances of fraud discovery (more effective audit), deterrence of fraud will be also increased (because of reduced opportunity to commit fraud) and audit will become more enjoyable. On the other hand, this will have impact on costs associated with unpredictable audit approach extra planning time, extra time to perform necessary procedures and additional training time. Also, authors suggested a following procedures for unpredictable audit approach random sampling, unannounced inventory observation, changing techniques from prior years, test some small and low risk accounts etc.Certified Fraud ExaminersCertified fraud examiners as professionals could have the important role in oversight process. They have a lot of knowledge and experience in fraud detection and prevention and could use their knowledge to assist the audit committee and internal auditors. As professionals from outside the company they can give more objective touch sensation about internal control system. Also, they can ev aluate possible risks of fraud ( especially fraud committed by top management) and implement appropriate measures in order to minimize it.fraud.5 5 Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, 2006 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse (Austin, TXACFE, 2004), p. 18Ernst Young supranational Fraud Group, Fraud the Unmanaged Risk An International Survey of the Effects of Fraud on Business (London, UK Ernst Young, 1998), p. 2.To conclude, despite management have responsibility to conduct adequate fraud risk assessment, audit committee should overlook quality of the financial reporting process. According to Silver et al. (2008), audit committee should not only render traditional fraud risk assessment (like segregation of duties), but to consider and incorporate proactive approach. In order to be good in their stewardship role they should improve their accounting and fraud knowledge , search for collusive fraud and obtain feedback.ConclusionSome organizations have signific antly lower levels of misappropriation of assets and are less susceptible to fraudulent financial reporting than other organizations because these organizations take proactive steps to prevent or deter fraud. It is only those organizations that seriously consider fraud risks and take proactive steps to create the right kind of climate to reduce its occurrence that have success in preventing fraud.It was also found that organisations with strong internal controls, internalauditors and audit committees were better equipped to deal with fraud in any form according to Alleyne and Howard(2005)

VIOLENT PROGRAMS ON TELEVISION LEAD TO AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR BY CHILDREN

Since 1982, the National Institute of Mental Health, along with other reputable health organizations has collected data that connects media violence, with raging acts. Conclusions deduced from this data prove that violent programs on television lead to aggressive behavior by children and teenagers who watch those programs. Television violence affects young people of exclusively ages, all socio-economic levels, and all levels of intelligence. Todays children view vast amounts of violence on television. A steady diet of death, killings, torture, and other grotesque acts may be viewed on any day by vulnerable y byh. When children are young, they are impressionable to all their surroundings, and especially vulnerable to what they see. Scientific research validates this fact. In studies by the National Institute of Mental Health, educators give birth learned that children who watch violence often act out this violence. Parents today have a responsibility to check out their children are supervised when watching violent programs if they are allowed to watch these programs at all. When parents are in the room with children, parents should point out to children that television is not real. Children tilt to see television as real life, and lack the maturity to differentiate the difference between news and fiction programs on television. Studies by George Gerbner, Ph.D., at the University of Pennsylvania, have shown that childrens television shows contain about twenty violent acts each hour and that children who watch a lot of television are more promising to think that the world is a mean and dangerous place. Society sees many tragic typefaces of research findings on youth and television violence. One such example occurred in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 1999. At the time, Justin Douglas was a cute, intelligent five-year-old little boy with loving parents and a safe middle class home. One day, Justin watched his dearie cartoon heroes Beavis and Butt-head, on MTV perform one of their famous arson stunts. The cartoon program, created for a mature audience, often contains foul language, drinking, comments about setting fires, smoking, and portrays stealing as acceptable. Justin tried the same stunt he had watched. The real life result was not a cartoon. His home was set on fire and his younger babe lost her life when she could not be rescued from t... ...fect that the observation of violence would have on the subjects social behavior. The experimental group, which was exposed to the violence, was shown to disturb the red button, which was believed to hurt another childs chances of receiving a prize. More often and for a significantly longer period than the children were shown an exciting non-violent film. The conclusion was that the moving-picture show to violence is related to the acceptance of aggression. All of these studies lead to one thing, the fact that violence affects children and adults.Before the average American child leaves el ementary school, researchers estimate that he or she will have witnessed more than 8,000 murders on television. This steady diet of imaginary violence makes America the world leader in real disgust and violence. It is time for parents and the American public to take notice of the scientific evidence that proves the correlation between violence seen on television and violence acting out in our society. To ignore these studies continues the growing culture of violence in our country. As Texan writer Molly Ivans says, the first rule of a hole is, if you are in one, stop digging.

The Accounts Of Eros In The symposium Essay -- essays research paper

The Accounts of Eros in the "Symposium"The word hunch carries with it many, many different interpretations. In modernday, our views on what is appropriate love is much different from the views fromthe time of Socrates and Plato. To them love was eros, a direct translation ofthe word love.However, the word itself wasnt the only function that was different about love. InPlatos "Symposium", there is a celebration for Agathon. He had just won adramatic contest in Athens, Greece two nights ago. It is prevalent to drink muchwine at these gatherings, however, every cardinal present is too weak from the night beforehand. (Nehamas & Woodruff, pg. xiii) So a proposition is do, by Phaedrus, toproperly give praise to the god Eros, and speak on the topic of love. It wastheir opinion that no poet has yet been able to properly do so. (Nehamas &Woodruff, pg. 7) in that respect were a total of seven accounts given in praise of eros,by seven different people who are presen t at the party. Of these accounts, theone that made the most sense was the speech of Socrates when he quotes Diotima.This account is practical, and shows love not as a heavenly creature, but as amortal being, where we nominate interact with him. It also has answers that most ofthe other accounts could not even question. This is what stands the speechofSocrates and Diotima apart from most of the others. But, there were two otherspeeches that were also impressive and brought about points that Socrates didnot make. These accounts were given by Aristophanes and Agathon. Through thesethree speeches, we can get a good picture of what eros is. Starting with themost complete account Socrates and Diotima and woful through Aristophanes andthen Agathon, this paper will show why these accounts are superior, and whySocrates makes the most sense.After Agathons speech, it was Socrates turn to present his account of eros.But before he does, he tells Agathon that his speech was marvelous and that atone time, Socrates also believed in what Agathon believed. That was until awomen named Diotima taught him the real truth in eros. It is however, believed,that Socrates made up the region of Diotima, the reason, though, is unknown.In spite of this, Socrates gives a remarkable speech that is truly complete. Oneof the first misconceptions among all the speakers was the age of the god Lo... ...s right to them, may not await correct to us, and this is a problem thatarises with Agathons speech.In the times of Socrates and Plato, eros was a much different word then itstranslation love. He have seen how love takes the shape of a god, and how ithas influenced the evolution of human kind. In the "Symposium", Socrates givesthe most sensible account of eros when he quotes Diotima , even though to thisday, it is unclear whether Diotima was a assembly to fit Socrates needs whendiscussing love. The speech of Aristophanes was also worth noting, as he hadbrought up the point of human n ature, the only speaker to do so. As well,Agathon had a very complete speech, he chose to describe the god Love in termsof his moral character and his virtues. These three accounts were the best ofall that were offered. Socrates was the superior one to the other two, butnonetheless, the speeches of Aristophanes and Agathon were complete. Together,these three accounts form a very good picture of eros, one that shows everyaspect of what eros truly is.BibliographyNehamas, A. & Woodruff, P. "Symposium", Hackett publishing Company,Indianapolis, Indiana, 1989

Business Culture: China vs. the United States Essay -- International T

Business Culture China vs. the United StatesCultures are varying among divergent parts of the globe. People with different cultures have different characteristics and viewpoints on the subjects due to diverse understanding and method of learning. During the past few decades, the international trade grows in a very fast rate due to the advantages that it provides increased sales, operational efficiencies, exposure to new technologies and broader consumer choices (Heslin). Therefore, when considering the culture boldness to current business world, it is crucial for business to understand the culture aspect because of the tremendous growth of international business as well as utilize the international market place to its maximum utility. Todays worlds leading markets are the United States of America and People Republic of China. The United States market growth is not a jump growth, instead it grows in fast(a) manner. On the other hand, Chinas market is not a very significance marke t until several decades ago where all suddenly, the market leaps from an insignificance market to highly imperative market and it seems unstoppable. Although twain of the markets and its potential for growth is considerably dominant but the ways of managing its business are very distinct both societal and institutional differences and values differences. American workers are more individualize. American workers focus on their individuals and lives in the world of dist...