Financial Accounting Free Essays

This paper seeks the locate the Balance Sheet, Income Statement and Statement of Cash Flows from the 2007 annual reports of Amazon and Dell respectively and describe the general organization of each of the three sets of financial statements. This will be followed by a determination of whether net income or cash from operating activities which is more useful in the organization for each of the two companies. The last part requires to make one prediction about each company from that company’s financial statements and to reach one additional conclusion about each company from the additional information that may be found in their annual reports. We will write a custom essay sample on Financial Accounting or any similar topic only for you Order Now The required financial statements were indeed found from the two companies. For Amazon, the general organization of each of the three sets of financial statements is as follows: The Statement of Cash Flows was presented first, followed by the Income Statement (or Statement of Operations) and then by the Balance Sheet (Amazon, 2007). Since the Statement of Cash Flows came ahead than the Income Statement, it follows that cash from operating activities is more useful than income for the organization. For Dell, on the other hand, the general organization of each of the three sets of financial statements is as follows: The Balance Sheet was presented first, followed by Income Statement and then by the Statement of the Cash Flows. The more useful for Dell, is the opposite with the case of Amazon, as this time, net income is more important than cash from operating activities because Income Statement came ahead of the Statement of Cash Flows (Dell, 2007). For Amazon, it could be predicted the revenues will grow 39% while total assets to grow by 49% in 2008 based on the Income Statement and Balance Sheet revenues figures for 2007 and 2006. For Dell, it could be predicted the sales will grow by 6% while total assets to grow by 8% based also on historical financial statement figures See Appendix 1. One additional conclusion that could be made for Dell will continue to have higher profitability that Amazon for the year 2008 in terms of return on sales and return on assets in 2007 for both companies. See Appendix 1. How to cite Financial Accounting, Papers Financial Accounting Free Essays Veronica Bradley Financial Accounting August 12, 2012 Internal Controls Case Study 2 Internal Controls LJB Company, a local distributor, has asked your accounting firm to evaluate their system of internal controls because they are planning to go public in the future. The Company has to check the internal controls of a system of checks and balances designed to detect and prevent fraud and errors. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires U. We will write a custom essay sample on Financial Accounting or any similar topic only for you Order Now S. companies to enhance their systems of internal control. The company hired has to detect the internal control system and meet the companies requirements. The internal control standards applicable to Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) apply only to large public companies listed on U. S. exchanges. There is a continuing debate as to whether non-U. S. companies should have to comply with this extra layer of regulation. Debate about international companies (non-U. S. ) adopting SOX-type standards centers on whether the benefits exceed the costs. The concern is that the higher costs of SOX compliance are making the U. S. securities markets less competitive. These activities are the backbone of the company’s efforts to address the risks it faces, such as fraud. The specific control activities used by a company will vary, depending on management’s assessment of the risks faced. This assessment is heavily influenced by the size and nature of the company. The principles of internal control activities are (1) establishment of responsibility, (2) segregation of duties, (3) documentation procedures, (4) physical controls, (5) independent internal verification, and (6) human resource controls. Advise the President of what the company is doing right (they are doing some things well) and also recommend to the President whether or not they should buy the indelible ink machine. When you advise the President, please be sure to reference the applicable internal control principle that applies. The things that the company is doing well are that using the pre- numbered invoices. When the company was not using pre-numbering they violated the documentation procedures. If pre-numbered documents are not used, then it is virtually impossible to account for the documents. This will keep good documentation on some things for future reference to have on hand and things aren’t done more than one time by different people. Pre-numbering helps to prevent a transaction from being recorded more than once, or conversely, from not being recorded at all. Second, the control system should require that employees promptly forward source documents for accounting entries to the accounting department. This control measure helps to ensure timely recording of the transaction and contributes directly to the accuracy and reliability of the accounting records. With the information provided the company should invest in an indelible ink machine. This will put the company in more control of accounting procedures. And with this in hand will help reduce the chance of any fraud going on in the company with the checks being more manageable. Use of physical controls are essential. The accountant’s act of keeping the checks in a safe in his office is in accordance with the physical controls principle. This reflects the safeguarding of assets and enhances the accuracy and reliability of the accounting records. The President should also know what they are doing wrong like the petty cash situation. All employees have access to the petty cash in a desk drawer and are asked to only place a note if they use any of the cash. The company had a hard time getting the employee to admit it was him because the company does not assign individual passwords. The company is violating the establishment of responsibility, and segregation of duties, documentation procedures, independent internal verification and human resource controls. With the petty cash Internal control over a petty cash fund is strengthened by: (1) having a supervisor make surprise counts of the fund to confirm whether the paid petty cash receipts and fund cash equal the fund amount, and (2) canceling or mutilating the paid petty cash receipts so they cannot be resubmitted for reimbursement. With the establishment of responsibility the company is violating that responsibility by not assigning responsibility to specific employees. Control is most effective when only one person is responsible for a given task. Without doing this leave the door open for fraud and other possibilities to of things to occur. With the company hiring convicted felons and sex offenders with them having a human resources department this all would have been avoided. They wouldn’t have to worry about employees using the internet to view porn sites. When the company hires employees they should have an independent verification for each individual employee. This will track all the employees with their computer and signing in and out of the system and all things that require a verification to proceed. An accountant is not certifiable to interview everyone for certain positions unless it is involved with their position. The President of the company needs to do a big evaluation of the system of internal controls to make sure all the standards are being met for planning the future of the company. As discussed earlier in the requirements of the company in order for them to go public in the future. They are going to have to follow all the guidelines for the principles of internal control are: establishment of responsibility; segregation of duties; documentation procedures; physical controls; independent internal verification; and human resource controls. How to cite Financial Accounting, Papers

International Journal Production Economics -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The International Journal Production Economics? Answer: Introduction The report is prepared for demonstrating how quality is managed within the business organisation Woolworths in Australia. Woolworths is one of the leading retail brands that has been using the Metric Stream solutions for maintaining the quality, safety, and audit within the company. But here it is the concept of Quality Management system which is used to improve the business processes, practices of total quality management and enhance the profit level of Woolworths. For the company, QMS sets various policies, procedures and regulations to execute the strategic plans and create a positive impact on the core business area. ISO9001 is an example of the QMS that has integrated the internal operations of the organisation and find ways to improve the control and management of main business processes. This has lead to the enhanced productivity and maintenance of high quality to satisfy the needs of customers (Conti 2012). The QMS has been linked with the organisation strategy for making sur e that the roles and responsibilities of the organisational members are clarified. The TQM including the Six Sigma procedure, benchmarking and ISO 9000 has also facilitated the relationships with employees and customers and ensured proper corporate social responsibility as well. Quality Management Systems and Processes Woolworths being a retail company is more specialised in providing grocery items like vegetables, fruits, meat, packaged food items and other drinks though there are other products as well including health and beauty items, household products, etc. It is one of the largest company within the Australian supermarket and holds 80 percent of the supermarket in Australia. The quality management systems are managed by allowing the vendors to access the Quality assurance standards and other Codes of practices (Benavides-Velasco et al. 2014). They must have a system to obtain information about the food, healthcare and safety issues, rules and regulations along with the production level and sales of products and services. Being one of the most established organisation, the company must maintain quality standards always to keep the customers'' needs and requirements fulfilled and ensure that information is stored properly and secure for further improvements. QMS would include electronic system s that could manage backup of the data and information in case of system failure or data loss (Bon and Mustafa 2013). Link with organisation strategy The quality management policies and strategies must provide the organisational objectives and commitment for the supply of good quality and fresh products to satisfy the demands and preferences of customers. The policies would be linked with the organisational strategy to maintain food safety and prevent quality issues. The organisational strategy should be linked to the quality management policy by the Senior management of Woolworths who has the authority to do so. The Quality Management systems would be linked with the strategies to manage the safety of food items and even maintain the legality and quality of products with ease and effectiveness (Chang 2016). It could be understood that in the ISOP 9000 quality system, the strategies had been implemented to deliver the right quality products and services supported by documented information related to the policies, procedures, forms, rules, and regulations for work. By aligning the strategy with QMS, it would be easy for Woolworths to understand what the customers thactually wanted. The three-year strategic aspect was implemented to focus mostly on the customers' need by focusing on innovation of products, improve the internal processes by following the Lean retail model and finally improve the offers on products, though not compromising on the quality of those (De Mast, J. and Lokkerbol 2012). Another strategy was monitoring of employee performance to identify the areas of weaknesses and improve the level of customers' services, furthermore maintained a steady and loyal relationship with them and influenced their buying behaviors too. The open communication strategy was also lined with the QM systems to encourage new ideas and prevent issues faced by working in coordination. This would not only promote the views and responses of the farmers and manufacturers, but would also conduct the business operations properly to keep the customers satisfied and maintain a sustainable place in the market (Goetsch and Davi s 2014). Clarity roles and responsibilities As the documents and related information should be made accessible to the vendors and employees of the organisation, it is important to provide training to employees during the requirements of quality management system. This would make the staffs of the organisation to understand their roles and responsibilities and establish a good working environment to improve the business processes with ease. To clarify the roles and responsibilities, they must be accessible to the complete ISO 9000 and ISO 9001 Quality management system manual, forms and procedures and gain information about how to implement it step by step. The training would provide more scopes to gain strengths in the areas of internal processes and understand the requirements of ISO 9000 (Heras?Saizarbitoria and Boiral 2013). By following these documents, the individuals working within the organisation have learned the areas where change is needed such as the focus on customer relationship, management of foreign objects, con trol volume and weight, management pest prevention techniques and avoid risks while manufacturing and production of products and services at Woolworths (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). Total Quality Management By implementing the Total Quality Management or TQM, has been able to integrate the management of documents, audits regarding quality of food, sustainability processes and finally reporting all these to the higher authorities in a structured and centralized framework. This allows the users to monitor the quality of food items, measure the safety and even the internal business processes' efficiency is improved. The TQM system has streamlined the business sustainability processes and automated those to derive the optimal level of output. Total Quality management focuses mostly on the business, culture and people working within the organisation, i.e., management of human resources (Nanda 2016). TQM has enabled the organisation to store data and important information in a Web-based repository so that any sort of unauthorized access is prevented and ensure that data is not lost anyhow. This information and data are used to prepare effective reports related to the management of quality and obtain valuable insights and knowledge to make an effective decision in the end. Thus, TQM is one of the most important concept of improving quality and manage sustainability at Woolworths (Oakland 2014). Six Sigma Six Sigma is effective when compared to other quality improvement methods like TQM, because it has allowed Woolworths to focus on managing improvements of quality consistently until all the business processes have been fully optimised. Six Sigma is used during the processes of manufacturing to production at Woolworths to eliminate any defects and reduce changes of quality variation for a product. Six Sigma describes the ways of implementing an effective measurement-based strategy to improving the effectiveness of procedures by following the step-by-step processes including define, measure, analyse, design and lastly verification (Priede 2012). These are the quality levels through which the process of manufacturing products go through by making a decision based on verified data and statistical methods and not by some lame assumptions and future predictions. Six Sigma follows the DMADV project methodology where the business objectives are developed according to the needs of customers a ligned with the organisational strategy, identify the main components for managing quality of products and production process, analyse the alternative approaches, design the most suitable alternative and finally, verify the design by running pilot tests (Pyzdek and Keller 2014). Lean manufacturing The lean manufacturing methods have allowed Woolworths to utilise fewer resources, though delivering the highest value to its customers. As it is a consumer centred company, it understands the value of customers well and thus has focused on the lean manufacturing processes to increase the value offered to the customers and create zero waste. Thus, the main objective of implementing the lean manufacturing methods is to eliminate wastes from the processes of manufacturing and production and improve the effectiveness of business operations, through delivery of more value to customers and gaining better profit in business. Woolworths has used the lean retail operating model to reduce the cost of products and saved an annual cost of $500 million (Rahani and Al-Ashraf 2012). The lean manufacturing aims to manage investments to enhance the experiences of customers by lowering down the products' prices and promoting better innovation and sustainability. This has increased the market share, e nabled the company to hold a good cost position and created satisfied and loyal customers (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). ISO 9000 ISO 9000consists of several international standards related to the management and assurance of quality for the products of a company. It has allowed the organisation to document the quality management system and its components properly and ensure that the safety, health and quality standards are met to keep the customers safe. The quality standards that constitute the ISO 9000 have been designed properly by Woolworths to meet the statutory and regulatory requirements for maintaining the safety and quality requirements and meet the preferences of customers as a whole (Tai and Chuang 2014). Benchmarking Woolworths has benchmarked the Supplier Excellence program for promoting a best retailing practices and maintain the global product safety standards. The benchmarking is applied to all the individuals involved with the operations and supply chain management. The benchmarking has promoted accreditation, managed the checking of certifications of quality and ensured maintenance of quality standards. A currency certification regarding the product and public liability insurance has been accepted as a controlled record by Woolworths, which can be used afterwards to making any necessary changes to the requirements of international vendors (Terziovski and Guerrero 2014). The benchmarking also facilitated vendor's good business relationship with the company. Quality Improvement Process for the 21st Century Organisation Woolworths monitor the performances of employees and encourages them to perform to their potential for delivering excellence in terms of value to the customers. Good relationships with the employees are established by maintaining safety at workplace through mitigation of risks and losses faced due to job related incidents. The employees have been rewarded and have been provided with additional benefits for their performances, which has kept them motivated to work harder. By evaluating the job, labour market conditions, lack of skilled workers and budget limitations, the HR managers have considered the compensations and benefits as effective to manage a motivated workforce and establish a [positive organisational culture too (Usichenko et al. 2012). Training is provided by the organisation to its workers for improving their abilities and enhance the retention of employees too. Therefore, it could be understood that good relationships had been established with the employees of Woolwort hs. Relationship with customers The Quality management systems at Woolworths have enhanced the efficiency of ways by which all the internal business processes are combined together to achieve a desired purpose of delivering products of highest quality. Though it incurs a huge amount of cost, still quality management system encompasses the most effective ways of fulfilling the expectations of customers, which is often considered as a major component of business success. The QMS has enabled the business organisation to focus on the consumer goods and services and furthermore deliver the best value to them through implementation of improvement programs (Crane, Matten and Spence 2013). Wastes have been reduced and resources have been maximised to facilitate clear understanding of the expectations of customers and suppliers. With the implementation of QMS, workers have managed to obtain data and information easily that has supported data-driven decision making and even ensured proper documentation of how the internal pr ocesses will be managed at the retail supermarket (Woolworthsgroup.com.au 2017). By providing good quality products and services to the customers, positive relationships would be built, which could improve the flow of customers and allow the company to achieve the expected level of profit with ease and effectiveness. At Woolworths, various approaches are undertaken for the suppliers to ensure the best quality and safety of food items. With the enforcement of the Consumer Protection Ac, the company has made sure that the quality of products is satisfactory and safe for consumption by the consumers. Any sort of complaints regarding the quality and safety of products could be done by the customers up to 3 years after the happening of any incident. The QM systems enable assessing the feedbacks and responses of customers and make sure that relevant changes are made to improve the quality and prevent any sort of harm that may be experienced due to the poor quality of product delivered by the company (Zhu, Cordeiro and Sarkis 2013). Corporate social responsibility The corporate social responsibility of Woolworths is focused on the achievement of sustainability objectives and commitment towards a better future. by incorporating the CSR strategy, Woolworths has encouraged diversity of people by striving for equality of gender and with that, 40 percent of the senior and executive managerial positions are held by women. The male and female workers are treated equally with no wage gaps while diversity is managed by involving more team members to remain committed to the initiative of Federal Government's Employment Parity (Bon and Mustafa 2013). Business has maintained good relationship with the suppliers and inspired consumers to consume the products in a finance and sustainable way. The palm oil found in food products have become certified palm oil and taxes have been paid properly as well. Sustainable human progress Landfills are managed for wastes by focusing on the development of zero wastes and the carbon emissions have been reduced, which is a good sustainability approach as well. One of the most effective sustainability strategy introduced by Woolworths is "Doing the Right Thing", which allowed the company to put a subsequent amount of time and effort to focus on corporate responsibilities and develop sustainability programs. This has created better ways for consumers to consume products sustainability, manage wastes disposal and create a much lesser harmful impact on the environment for making it a better and safe place for human beings to live in (Chang 2016). Conclusion The topic reported about the development of quality within the business organization named Woolworths in Australia. The Quality management system and Total Quality management were different and it showed that QMS had set various policies and procedures along with codes of practices to ensure maintenance of quality of food items delivered by the company. These were linked with the strategy of the organization to clarify roles and responsibilities and manage easy understanding between individuals within the workplace. ISO 9000, Six Sigma methods were considered as effective quality improvements methods considered as effective by the organization whereas lean manufacturing method helped to utilize fewer resources, though not compromising on the quality of products and services delivered. The ISO 9000 standard was set to ensure that the quality standards had been met and customers would remain safe and healthy. Corporate social responsibility of the organisation was maintained by encoura ging diversity of people and prevented discrimination as well while sustainability practices like waste disposal and less carbon emissions were also considered effective for the company. References Benavides-Velasco, C.A., Quintana-Garca, C. and Marchante-Lara, M., 2014. Total quality management, corporate social responsibility, and performance in the hotel industry. International Journal of Hospitality Management,41, pp.77-87. Bon, A.T. and Mustafa, E.M., 2013. Impact of total quality management on innovation in service organizations: Literature review and new conceptual framework.Procedia Engineering,53, pp.516-529. Chang, J.F., 2016.Business process management systems: strategy and implementation. CRC Press. Conti, T., 2012.Building total quality: a guide for management. Springer Science Business Media. Crane, A., Matten, D. and Spence, L.J., 2013. Corporate social responsibility in a global context. De Mast, J. and Lokkerbol, J., 2012. An analysis of the Six Sigma DMAIC method from the perspective of problem solving.International Journal of Production Economics,139(2), pp.604-614. Goetsch, D.L. and Davis, S.B., 2014.Quality management for organizational excellence. Upper Saddle River, NJ: pearson. Heras?Saizarbitoria, I. and Boiral, O., 2013. ISO 9001 and ISO 14001: towards a research agenda on management system standards.International Journal of Management Reviews,15(1), pp.47-65. Nanda, V., 2016.Quality management system handbook for product development companies. CRC Press. Oakland, J.S., 2014.Total quality management and operational excellence: text with cases.. Priede, J., 2012. Implementation of quality management system ISO 9001 in the world and its strategic necessity.Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences,58, pp.1466-1475. Pyzdek, T. and Keller, P.A., 2014.The six sigma handbook(p. 25). New York: McGraw-Hill Education. Rahani, A.R. and Al-Ashraf, M., 2012. Production flow analysis through value stream mapping: a lean manufacturing business process case study.Procedia Engineering,41, pp.1727-1734. Tai, F.M. and Chuang, S.H., 2014. Corporate social responsibility.Ibusiness,6(03), p.117. Terziovski, M. and Guerrero, J.L., 2014. ISO 9000 quality system certification and its impact on product and process innovation performance.International Journal of Production Economics,158, pp.197-207. Usichenko, T.I., Rttenbacher, I., Kohlmann, T., Jlich, A., Lange, J., Mustea, A., Engel, G. and Wendt, M., 2012. Implementation of the quality management system improves postoperative pain treatment: a prospective pre-/post-interventional questionnaire study.British journal of anaesthesia,110(1), pp.87-95. Woolworthsgroup.com.au. (2017). Woolworths Group: Quality Brands and Trusted Retailing. [online] Available at: https://www.woolworthsgroup.com.au/ [Accessed 9 Oct. 2017]. Zhu, Q., Cordeiro, J. and Sarkis, J., 2013. Institutional pressures, dynamic capabilities and environmental management systems: Investigating the ISO 9000Environmental management system implementation linkage.Journal of environmental management,114, pp.232-242.

The Giver by Lois Lowry Essay Example

The Giver by Lois Lowry Essay Lois Lowry depicts an ideal society in her book The Giver. She successfully accomplishes this by conveying a utopian community through the eyes of a young boy named Jonas and she even won the John Newbery Medal for its great success. By following the protagonist, the reader is given the ability to recognize the ways in which the residents of the community have structured their lives over the years in order to live the most desirably. Lowry communicates to the reader the importance of societal relationship connections by implementing central themes including the importance of memory and individualism throughout the community in which Jonas is living. Jonas allows the reader to grasp the ideas and desirable behaviors the entire community shares as he is maturing in life. The community residents have imposed strict rules governing everything in daily life in order to eliminate what are some of the more depressing elements of an ordinary world. These include such things as pain, hunger, hatred, competition, and illness in exchange for happy and peaceful everyday lives. Adherence to the rules and community cooperation is the key to their utopian society. As this sounds like mere fantasy, the community is able to accomplish since no one possesses any memories of such elements. Therefore, the community is able to create and perfect society without disruption since the residents are not aware of the different choices in life that could change their community structure dramatically. With such order, the community is able to ensure the most convenient and pleasant society possible. We will write a custom essay sample on The Giver by Lois Lowry specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Giver by Lois Lowry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Giver by Lois Lowry specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Within the strict guidelines reserves the right to one specially selected community resident to retain all of the memories for the community as a whole. This selected resident is known as The Receiver of Memory and is highly respected. As the reader learns when Jonas is selected for this duty, that it is extremely important and is the job which is the most honored in the community (61). The retiring Receiver of Memory, The Giver, passes on the memories of the community and of the entire world onto Jonas through senses. All of the memories that passed onto Jonas are new to him and according to the rules must remain mysterious to the rest of the community. Some of the memories passed on include enjoyable ones like snow, sledding, trees, and colors. However, other memories The Giver passes on to Jonas are not so enjoyable such as pain, suffering, and death. The selection of jobs like Jonas is the foundation for the structure of the small community. The community keeps careful order of the residents by grouping them according to similar age groups starting at birth. As each group progresses to an older age group, the community ensures that the most suitable residents fill specific jobs and even families according to their abilities and interests observed and determined by the community residents. The community was so meticulously ordered, the choices were so carefully made (48). The community residents put families together by selection and request from an already selected couple and were assigned exactly two children each. Such structure was important for the community to retain its perfect environment; even the sight of colors and different weather patterns as Jonas learned were not allowed. As The Giver tried to explain the community and Jonas new assignment he stated, they dont want change. Life here is so orderly, so predictable-so painless. Its what theyve chosen (103). As Jonas received more and more of the communitys memories, including death and release, he began to gain an appreciation for each memory individually. He wished that the entire community could share them as well so that they too could have the same appreciation since he was beginning to realize how orderly and empty the lack of memories was keeping the community. He knew they could not understand without the memories since without them they could never experience things like love and pain (135). The community designated The Receiver of Memory to possess all of the memories to ensure that they did not repeat the mistakes of their p ast and to prevent change. The memories transformed Jonas and allowed him to appreciate the importance of the memories for the survival of each resident in the community. The memories gave Jonas his own individualism, something he didnt understand why it was being kept from the entire community. Jonas was determined to change the way the community structured itself forever by giving the citizens their own history. He released himself from the community physically and mentally in a quest to find Elsewhere in order to help The Giver disperse the memories to the entire community. He was awed by the surprise that lay beyond each curve of the road after a life of Sameness and predictability (172). His journey, like the memories, taught him more about the outside world because he experienced the dangers of hunger and exhaustion first hand. Jonas character develops and transforms dramatically as do the central themes throughout the Lowrys book. The transferring of the communitys memories onto Jonas created a sense of individualism for himself as well as his questioning of the current community structure. The memories transformed Jonas as he in turn plans to transform his community. He experiences the importance of individualism and sets out on a life threatening quest in hopes to allow the community as a whole to experience individualism too. However the ending is uncertain, Jonas himself is successful at understanding the importance of societal relationships by staying strong and searching for a change for his entire community.

Mass Incarceration in the United Kingdom The WritePass Journal

Mass Incarceration in the United Kingdom WRITEPASS SOCIAL SCIENCE DISSERTATION CUSTOM ESSAY WRITING Mass Incarceration in the United Kingdom ).   The increased need for spaces due to higher rate of imprisonment   led to the emergence of the prison-industrial complex, whereby people were incarcerated without a mechanism for reintegrating them back to the society. Prisons became contracted out, and the influence of the government was reduced. As Panchamia (2012) concludes, ten percent of the prisons in the United Kingdom and Wales are currently contracted out. Davis (1998: 3) states: â€Å"while government-run prisons are often in gross violation of international human rights standards, private prisons are even less accountable†. The emergence of these prison-industrial complexes is attributed to the criminological theory, hinged on the conflict theory, arguing that t there is a   struggle between different groups (Akers 1979: 527).Crime is perceived as a function of the conflict within any society based on Marxist theory, calming  Ã‚   that social and economic situations facilitate criminal activities. This paper argues that the emergence of the prison-industrial complex in England and Wales was attributed to mass incarceration, the lack of effective social policy, and early interventions. Mass Incarceration Mass incarceration is characterized by the removal of people from communities and taking them to   prisons.   (Newburn 2002: 165). Sparks and McNeill (2009) define mass incarceration as restricting the freedom of a group of people, subjecting them to surveillance and regulation, while increasing their dependency.   According to a recent publication by Wacquant (2001), the plain aim of prison complexes and mass incarceration is to segregate people. The author goes further, and compares prisons with Ghettos. Focusing in the American context, the article highlights the impact of class segregation on the demographics of prison population. The above argument is powerful, as both prisons and ghettos are considered to be places extremely hard to escape from. The main aim of mass incarceration is to remove the criminal from the neighbourhood to ensure that they are detained. Often this priority means that prisoners are denied rehabilitative facilities (Harnett 2011: 7). As an implicati on,   prisons become areas for punitive segregation, for the criminals who must be removed from the society. Therefore, most of these prisons are detention centres where people enter   a perpetual cycle of incarceration for crimes committed because of their economic need. Davis (1998) states that prisons are not providing adequate solution for crime or social issues. The author goes further, claiming that prisons reflect that racial bias and social injustice of the society. Studying American prison population, the author states that â€Å"the political economy of prisons relies on racialized assumptions of criminality – such as images of black welfare mothers reproducing criminal children and on racist practices in arrest, conviction, and sentencing patterns† (Davis 1998: 2).   The defining features of mass incarceration are that it is characterized by comparatively high number of people in prisons. In Reagan’s United States prosecution patterns and conviction rates increased the proportionate representation of   African Americans and Hispanics,   as well as those from lower socio-economic statuses (Wacquant 2010, p. 74). This was during the New Deal and Great Society, which contributed a lot towards   the increasing tren d of   mass incarcerations, and the adoption of the prison-industrial complex system that emphasized governance through punitive acts (Downes 2001, p. 62). At the advent of economic reforms introduced by Britain’s Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, the rising rate of unemployment hit   the working class the most. With the   labour market in crisis,  Ã‚   urban areas had to bear the burden of   the high proportion of lower class and unemployed population. As social issues increased, the government resorted to the creation of a prison-industrial complex, to deal with the people that suffered most (Wehr 2015, p. 6). The newly created prison-industrial complex that emphasized mass incarceration was based on cultural bias and social injustice (Sparks and McNeill, 2009). These institutions symbolised thee society’s thoughts and prejudice,   suggesting that the degradation of a person may be a way to solve the social conflict. As a result, the British   society started to increasingly rely on   criminological theories to support mass incarceration of the lower classes, whereby the prison-industrial complexes become a large enterprise for the state. Democracy, Inclusion and Social Policy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is worth noting that mass incarceration in England and Wales led to the economic and social exclusion of people within the prisons. This segregation and incarceration endangered democracy (Sparks and McNeill, 2009). In line with the conflict criminological theory, mass incarceration of offenders who mostly belong to a particular race or class enhanced the structures of oppression and privilege (Van 2007, p. 189). This occurred when mass incarceration gave undue advantage to one group as opposed to another. Today, both in the United States and the United Kingdom, it is   evident that   people of colour or lower classes are disproportionally overrepresented within the prison-industrial complex. While the mass prison complex created privilege to higher classes, it created a situation whereby the victims were stigmatized, criminalized, and did not enjoy the privileges of democracy and inclusion. The economic and social drivers of mass i ncarceration are explained by Downes (2006), who confirms that there is an inverse relationship between a state’s spending on welfare and imprisonment rates. Mass incarceration also hindered democracy by preventing means through which people could share ideas or communication (Young 2000, p. 208). An incarcerated person experienced political disempowerment and a lack of influence, power, while he became extremely dependent on the prison complex (Travis 2002, p. 19).   Despite several attempts of inclusion, provision for rehabilitation, training, and work opportunities,   current social policies   have not been successful in reinstating the equal representation of lower classes, and the mass incarceration continues. (Reiman 2004, p. 5). Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The above review of publications and research studies, it is evident that the conflict theory accurately explains the emergence of mass incarceration during the reign of Thatcher in the United Kingdom, and Reagan in the United States. Historically, the upper class, that was more advantaged socially, economically and politically created laws and policies that increasingly criminalized the less powerful, creating a policy of segregation. Increased incarceration within the prison-industrial complex removed people who were not wanted. Apart from enhancing exclusion and stifling democracy, it helped the powerful class to maintain its influence, wealth and position within the society. Bibliography Akers, R.L., 1979. Theory and ideology in Marxist criminology.  Criminology,  16(4), pp.527- Davis, A. (1998). Masked racism: Reflections on the prison industrial complex.  Color   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lines,  1(2), 11-13. Downes, D., 2001. The Macho Penal Economy Mass Incarceration in the United States-A European Perspective.  Punishment Society,  3(1), pp.61-80. Downes, D. (2006). Welfare and punishment The relationship between welfare spending and   Ã‚  Ã‚   imprisonment. Hartnett, S. J. 2011.  Challenging the prison-industrial complex: activism, arts, and educational alternatives. Urbana, University of Illinois Press. Newburn, T. 2002. Atlantic crossings: ‘Policy transfer’ and crime control in the USA and Britain.  Punishment Society,  4(2), pp. 165-194. Panchamia, N., 2012. Competition in prisons.  Institute for Government,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Instituteforgovernment. org. uk/sites/default/files/publications/Prisons,  2. Reiman, J. H. 2004.  The rich get richer and the poor get prison: ideology, class, and criminal   justice. Boston, Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. Sparks, R. and McNeill, F., 2009. Incarceration, social control and human rights. THE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL ON HUMAN RIGHTS POLICY Project on Social   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Control and Human Rights Travis, J. 2002.  Invisible Punishment: An Instrument of Social Exclusion (From Invisible Punishment: The Collateral Consequences of Mass Imprisonment, P 15-36, 2002, Marc Mauer and Meda Chesney-Lind, eds.). Van der Linden, H. 2007.  Democracy, racism and prisons. Charlottesville, Va, Philosophy Documentation Center. Wacquant, L., 2010. Class, race hyperincarceration in revanchist America.  Daedalus,  139(3), pp.74-90. Wacquant, L., 2001. Deadly symbiosis: When ghetto and prison meet and mesh.  Punishment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Society,  3(1), pp.95-133. Wehr, K. 2015.  Beyond the prison industrial complex: crime and incarceration in the 21st century. [Place of publication not identified], Routledge. Young, I. M. 2000.  Inclusion and Democracy. Oxford, Oxford University Press.

Existentialism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Existentialism - Essay Example For that matter, he explored the said journey of every man focusing on the lives of his acquaintance. According to Frankl, people exist sue to different factors regardless of the nature of the said factors. Some people live based on negative or positive reasons yet they still exist and survive. The said view then is referred to as the â€Å"will to meaning.† His followed the inspirations of Freud who proposed the view â€Å"will to pleasure† and Adler’s â€Å"will to power† in his objective to give meaning to human existence (Pytell 285-306; Frankl and Allport 101). The most notable applications of the view of Frankl had been about the experiences in concentrations camps which occurred during the time of Holocaust. During the period of high stress wherein the main objective that consumes a person’s life is survival, thus, even simple things and events can give a person’s life an important meaning. Based on his observations, such situations can be considered as the time wherein the simplest principles of existentialism applies, an event wherein luxuries are deprived and even basic needs are in shortage. He then summarized that even in worst situations, existence will still have meaning. For that matter the will to meaning is an important reason for existence (Frankl and Allport 15-20). Soren Kierkegaard is a Danish proponent of Existentialism and is s theologian. He is against the formalities undertaken by the Danish church. For that matter, he often discussed issues that are related to Christianity, ethics, and the emotions of the people in different situations and decision-making events in life. Basically, Kierkegaard can be considered as a relatively opinionated person who explored challenging issues of his time such as existentialism, philosophy, psychology, literature and a number other fields. For that matter, his critics can be classified in both the fields of science, literature and even

The effectevnice of the green building evaluate & labing system Article

The effectevnice of the green building evaluate & labing system - Article Example ilding formulated the green building evaluation and labeling system (GBELS) which uses nine indicators to evaluate if a building project is environmentally viable. After implementation in 1999, the government mandated that all state building should undertake the green building design. Green building labels were awarded to building fulfilling at least four indicators. Differing feedback have been received with some claming that some GBELS indicators cant be used at the initial design stages, neglects the designer, clients and contractor needs and is not effective. However, some positive feedback indicates that GBELS helped in power conservation, improvement of project life cycle and promotion of green building. In light of these, this research work evaluated GBELS by examining its effectiveness, implementation, application, scope, current practice as well as reveling its merits and demerits for the purposes of recommending on the methods of improving it and using it internationally. ( Chinese architecture and building center, 2007; Lin et al, 2006 and Vivian, 2007) The main aim of the research work was to evaluate and analyze the effectiveness and implementation of GBELS its terms of its applicability, suitability as compared to other environmental assessment tools, its merits and limitations as well as its applicability on an international level. After collecting the data, selection was done to discard wrongly filled questionnaires. For the comparative analysis the author compared GBELS with BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method), HKBEAM (Hong Kong Building Environmental Assessment Method) and LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) (CET, 1999). Where W was the weight given by each factor by the respondent {1(least important)-5(most important)}, A was the highest weight, N was the total number of the sample and was the relative importance index. Administering of questionnaire provides for an adequate means of

Management Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Management Theory - Essay Example Many theories are formulated for different schools of thoughts with the help of fathers of Management. There are different management theories main are Scientific management theory, it clearly focus on the maximizing the efficiency by matching the job description with people; other is administrative management with clearly enlighten the creation of efficient systems in management and in organization. Then comes the behavioral management theories, these are developed both pre and post Second World War, this theory focus on the phenomenon of controlling the work force and leading them in a way to increase the performance. Lastly the management science theory that was born during Second World War and gained popularity in researchers, this theory focus on the measuring and controlling of organizations performance through quantitative and analytical techniques done by managers. To deal with formal organization and the concepts for enhancing the management efficiency Classical organization theories were born by Taylor formed scientific management concepts in 1947, Weber introduced the bureaucratic approach in 1947 and Fayol presented the administrative theory of the organization in 1949. These three management fathers have contributed a lot in the developing on classical theories. Adam smith was the founder of management theories, he observed two factories making pin wheel. In one factory a worker had to perform 18 tasks on his own to make a pin wheel and could make few thousands of pin wheel by the end of the day, where as in other factory 10 workers has expertise on one task and were able to manufacture 48,000 pin wheel per day. This gave birth to the idea of Job Specialization, it means that if workers are skilled in one tasks then and will do it repeatedly, they will have safe hands and will have faster rate of production with same quality. It will increase the efficiency and will lead to great organizational performance. Era of modern management was begun with t he theories of Fredric Taylor, when he noticed the national loss of men and started condemning the â€Å"awkward, inefficient, or ill-directed movements of men". This started in late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He transformed the old management system into new scientific management. Taylor actually wanted to increase the productivity of the organization through mutual understanding of trust between the managers, management and workers. Taylor suggested few techniques to improve the productivity and increasing the trust level. He suggested that 1) The rewards should be given to workers for high productivity. 2) Focus on the elimination of anxiety and stress from the work place. 3) Proper training and guidance should be provided to develop the capabilities in workers, 4) Eliminating the typical concept of â€Å"boss†, will increase the efficient and effectiveness at work? Further, Taylor also developed four principles for improving the productivity in scientific ma nagement theory that are 1) rule of thumb 2) scientific selection of the workers 3) Labor and management’s co-operation rather than the conflicts 4) Training and development of workers scientifically. However Taylor focused on breaking of a job into its parts, timeline for each part should be configured, and then reengineering the parts in a way that it minimizes the time and