Saturday, October 12, 2019

William Kinmond’s What a newsman found who got into red China and Mark

William Kinmond’s What a newsman found who got into red China and Mark Salzman’s Iron and Silk In William Kinmond’s â€Å"What a newsman found who got into red China† and Mark Salzman’s Iron and Silk, the reader experiences a mental ride of China. Both Salzman and Kinmond use subtlety and skill to write about what they found in Red China. The texts’ have somewhat different subject matters because each writer visited China with different motives and at different time periods. As the title suggests, Kinmond who goes to China in 1957 is there to report for the Canadian newspaper ‘The Globe and Mail’. On the other hand, Salzman goes to China in 1982 to teach English. Nonetheless, both writers’ construction of Red China and its people can be zeroed in with the help of one important issue; their coverage of train transport. Trains are by far the main means of transport in China and most people’s lives are centered around them. Although, through the analysis of train travel, both Salzman and Kinmond construct the C hinese people, Salzman concentrates on the government connection in train transport while Kinmond concentrates on the actual conditions aboard a train. Salzman’s first point about government interference is that travel officials are on a power trip when it comes to dealing with travelers. Since the communist government controls and governs all aspects of train business, Salzman vividly constructs the relationship between the people and the government. He shows that unlike in his home country of USA, travel officials in China go out of their way to deliberately interfere with people’s travels. After two years of teaching English and learning kung-fu in China, Salzman’s received lots of gifts from hi... ...r the reader through their coverage of train travel although they each largely concentrate on the different aspects of it. Salzman illustrates that the government is present in all aspects of train travel in china and people have to put up to its way of running the show. Kinmond shows that the train accommodation is of so low key, but the Chinese people put up to it anyway. Their similar observation concerning government propaganda soliciting should show the ‘the cause and effect’ relationship between government interference and bad accommodation. Works Cited List: Chui, May. Student at Lafayette College. An interview with her in the library. April 11, 2001. Kinmond, William. â€Å"What a Newsman Found Who Got into Red China†. US News and World Report. New York. August 9th, 1957. Salzman , Mark. Iron and Silk . Vintage Departments . New York (1986).

Friday, October 11, 2019

Healthcare in Netherlands vs. U.S. Essay

Completing this assignment will require anywhere from 60-80 minutes. It will count as two response papers. This documentary is a case study in policy making. It helps us to learn about the mechanisms of making laws at the national level for high profile policies in America. In particular, this case focuses our attention on the role of powerful and wealthy interest groups in Washington, and how they can easily influence government and sway laws to their benefit. It also helps us to lean about who has power over and in government, who is represented, who has voice, influence, and who doesn’t. Please, watch â€Å"Obama’s Deal: PBS Documentary Exposing Corruption and the Role of Big Money and Powerful Lobby in American Policy Making Process† You may start filling out the questionnaire while you are watching the documentary. Simply copy these 14 questions into your response paper and answer them in the order of appearance. 1. What immediate problem did the president run into when initiating the healthcare reform? 2. Obama’s administration believed that taking on a healthcare reform is a test of what in American politics? According to Obama, it was intended to prove what? 3. Who opposed the healthcare reform under both Clinton and Obama? Who stood to lose from the healthcare reform? 4. What did the propaganda ads funded by insurance lobby advertise to the American public about the healthcare reform? Whose interests did they keep in mind when doing that? 5. Who could get to the congressional hearings on the healthcare reform? Was there anyone representing 50 million uninsured Americans at the congressional hearings? 6. While powerful insurance lobbyists initially stated that they would support the reform, what did they request in return and why? (hint: they wanted some feature added to the bill, what is that feature?) 7. Senator Baucus received $2.5 millions from insurance interest groups to do what? Whose interests did he represent? 8. Who is denied a seat at the negotiation table about the healthcare? Who is removed physically by guards from the press conference in the White House? 9. When in Congress senator Baucus introduced â€Å"Medicare prescription drug bill†, it was a payoff to drug  and pharmaceutical industries for what? Who did the bill benefit (financially)c? 10. Insurance lobbyists (Ignani being one big player) spend tens of millions of dollars to defeat the health bill through ads that created panic, scare, rumors, and etc. Why? What is at stake for insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists if a meaningful healthcare reform took place? 11. The answer to this question would require some speculation on your part: why do you think many Americans bought the negative campaign ads against the healthcare reform that were manufactured by the insurance lobby? Why did some ordinary Americans end up siding with greedy insurance and pharmaceutical lobbyists, even though saving money and health of working Americans is the last thing that those lobbyists cared about? 12. What does this documentary show us about the role of money and powerful interests in American politics? For whose benefits laws are made or blocked? Based on this case study, what would you say about who controls American political process? 13. What have you learned from this documentary that either reinforces or contradicts information from the textbook chapter 11 about interest groups? 14. Anything else you wish to state about your reaction to this case study in policy making: Background and further readings on healthcare policy in the U.S.: Healthcare is one of the most contentious policy areas in American politics. Some of the most conspicuous issues with healthcare provision in our country are: -medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy for middle class and low income households in America -Insurance premiums and co pays are too high and limits for patients with preexisting conditions are numerous; insurance industry is fairly unregulated and has monopoly on setting the rules of the game on who and how they cover. -50 million Americans remain uninsured, with elderly, students/young, and workers in low paid or part time jobs that offer no health insurance benefits most affected. We do not have a public health option that would offer a choice aside from private care, just like we have public education/universal education for any American who does not wish to spend tons on private education -while we have such programs as Medicare (for the elderly), Medicaid (for low income families), and emergency rooms, they do not cover all those who need medical care; states became strict with qualifications for such programs, cutting funding and  eliminating many Americans from qualifying. Emergency rooms, if you have been to one, do not offer quality care, preventative treatment, and many other essential services. Insurance does not cover pre-existing conditions; insurance plans have limits and co-pays that many people simply cannot afford once faced with a serious illness. -Healthcare is too expensive and inaccessible to many -What reforms are needed to address such disparities in healthcare? And more importantly, in our political system what reforms can or cannot be made? This documentary provides one way to think through the structure of policy making process in America. Supplementary/suggested readings: Start with understanding facts, numbers, and myths about Obama’s Affordable Care Act: http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform Margaret Flowers: Obamacare did not go far enough, we still need universal health coverage for Americans: http://www.thenation.com/video/168604/margaret-flowers-obamacare-doesnt-go-far-enough# Number of uninsured Americans rises to 50.7 million: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-09-17-uninsured17_st_n.htm Census data on health coverage in America: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/data/incpovhlth/2010/highlights.html Republicans who benefit from Obama’s healthcare bill are torn about the candidates: http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/06/health/republicans-conflicted-obamacare/ Listing some benefits for women under Obama’s healthcare bill, particular for potential cancer patients: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021447151 Three myths about Obama’s Affordable Care Act: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Noq_tktemE0 Republican presidential candidate Romney on healthcare: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/05/opinion/krugman-romneys-sick-joke.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0 Public opinion about Obama’s healthcare bill: healthcare is complex in terms of public opinion–while a majority favored it’s repeal, large majorities actually favored each aspect of the law. Moreover, with the Supreme Court’s upholding the law, this seems to have made it more popular (but made the Court less so): http://themonkeycage.org/blog/2012/10/03/the-effect-of-the-courts-ruling-in-the-aca/ http://themonkeycage.org/blog/2012/06/27/framing-and-health-care-reform/ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62242.html Paul Ryan’s (runs as vice-president on the Republican ticket in 2012 election) plans to undercut social security and Medicare infuriate the elderly, he dismisses concerns with contempt and removal of a senior citizens from the hall: http://www.upworthy.com/paul-ryans-medicare-plan-will-hurt-old-people-paul-ryans-security-guys-have-hurt?g=2 Healthcare debate in cross-cultural perspective: Canada vs. U.S. http://www.diemer.ca/Docs/Diemer-TenHealthCareMyths.htm Healthcare in Netherlands vs. U.S.: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/magazine/03european-t.html?pagewanted=all

Thursday, October 10, 2019

Uphill: Question and End

Angela Wigger Rosebrough English Comp II October 5, 2012 Explication Essay â€Å"Uphill† written by Christina Rossetti, this poem is explaining life as a journey and life’s unavoidable death. This poem tells the reader that no matter what we face in life there is going to be hard times that we must endure. Life’s road will never be easy and no matter how we choose to live our life, death is the ultimate price we must pay. We must try to live life the best we know how so that in the end we will find comfort in our resting place. Rossetti sets the tone of this poem as conversational.A question is asked by her and someone then answers her. This pattern is used throughout the entire poem. Four stanzas are used, two questions are asked and two answers are given. The rhythm of this poem gives the reader the feel as if they were climbing â€Å"uphill†. The rhythm used is ABAB. The meter used in this poem gives the reader a feeling of pacing steps as if they were climbing. There is an alternating pattern of five stresses per line (pentameter) then three stresses per line (trimester). â€Å"Uphill† starts by asking a question â€Å"Does the road wind uphill all the way? Rossetti is simply asking if life’s journey is uphill. Then in the second line someone answers her back saying, â€Å"Yes, to the very end. † This gives the reader a feeling of sadness, thinking that life will be a long journey with many challenges ahead. In line three and four there is another question with an answer. â€Å"Will the journey take the whole day long? †(3)/ â€Å"From morn to night, my friend. †(4) The words in these four lines continue to give the reader a feeling of uneasiness. They are telling the reader that life is difficult and will be long.As we come to the second stanza Rossetti begins to ask questions about the challenges that may be faced as the journey is travelled. In line five â€Å"But is there for a night a res ting place? † Then in line six is answered â€Å"A roof for when the slow dark hours begin. † In line five Rossetti is asking if there will be place to rest at the end of her journey of life. The response is yes there will be a roof where you will find a sort of peace. In line seven Rossetti is asking how she will be able to find this place, â€Å"May not the darkness hide it from my face? † The author is hoping she will find this place.The answer in line eight reassures her that she will find the place, â€Å"You cannot miss that inn. † By the end of line eight the reader can assume that there is an end to the journey, some place, somewhere the reader believes in when the end of life comes. As the reader continues to read lines nine and ten, we see that the author is asking questions about ones who have travelled this long road before. The question asked is, â€Å"Shall I meet other wayfarers at night? † Is then answered with, â€Å"Those who have gone before. † This answer tells her that the ones who have travelled this road will be there waiting in the end.As we read line eleven the question is returned back to the subject of the â€Å"inn†. â€Å"Then must I knock, or call when just in sight? † Again this question makes the reader think about the end of the journey. â€Å"They will not keep you standing at that door. † The answer lets her know that the travelers that have past will not leave her there, they will take her in. In the fourth stanza the reader sees the true question being asked. The author finally asks the main question, â€Å"Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak? † This question is asked to find out if in the end she is going to end up where she should be.She wants to know if this place is going to be comfortable for her or if she will even like it there. Line fourteen gives her the answer, â€Å"Of labor you shall find the sum. † This answer is telling her that depending on the way she lives her life is going to determine how comfortable she will be. The last lines of the poem the author is trying to bring back her original question of comfort by asking, â€Å"Will there be beds for me and all who seek? † The answer she receives is, simply, †Yea, beds for all who come. † As the reader comes to the end of this poem, we wonder, who is answering these questions.Is it someone who has travelled this road before? Rossetti left this question for the reader to answer for themselves. Whatever entity we choose it to be. Whether it be God, or Jesus, or whatever the reader believes in. Rossetti writes this poem with very simple rhythm and conversation. This is her view of life’s journey, with all the challenges we face, in the end hopefully peace and comfort will be found. UPHILL by: Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) Does the road wind up-hill all the way? Yes, to the very end. Will the day's journey take the whole long day? Fr om morn to night, my friend. But is there for the night a resting-place?A roof for when the slow dark hours begin. May not the darkness hide it from my face? You cannot miss that inn. Shall I meet other wayfarers at night? Those who have gone before. Then must I knock, or call when just in sight? They will not keep you standing at that door. Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak? Of labor you shall find the sum. Will there be beds for me and all who seek? Yea, beds for all who come. Work Cited Kennedy, X. J. , and Dana Gioia. Backpack literature: an introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing. 4th ed. Boston: Pearson, 2012. Print. MLA formatting by BibMe. org.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Drainflow Repairing Jobs That Fail to Satisfy Essay

William Assemiah, 12021643 Irene Aidoo, 12021610 Sroda Adzo Apam, 12021626 Asare Ohenedwira Thomas, 12021639 Dorothy Dede Aklerh Asamoah, 12021634 Sampson Abbey Armah, 12021630 Arthur Sherifa, 12021631 Amadu Waliu, 12021617 Report Summary 1. Executive Summary DrainFlow, a plumbing maintenance firm in the USA, has been losing its customers to competitors due to poor services. Job motivation and satisfaction among employees is declining across various job categories within the firm. This dissatisfaction has been attributed to the overspecialization of some job functions in the company. The report attempts to assist DrainFlow improve in three key areas: job structure and design, incentive policies, and recruitment practices. It will go further to analyze the causes of the woes being faced by DrainFlow and provide a constructive recommendation on how to overcome them The main contents include an introduction to the problems DrainFlow is encountering, analyses of the current business, and recommendations on how DrainFlow can overcome these issues to foster a long-term competitive advantage. 2. Introduction Research shows that a happy worker is a productive employee. Satisfied employees tend to be better at their workplaces. Many of the individual behaviors at the workplace are affected by job satisfaction The main contents include an introduction to the problems DrainFlow is encountering, analyses of the current business, and recommendations on how DrainFlow can overcome these issues to foster a long-term competitive advantage. The goal of this proposal is to provide recommendations for a new job structure, a new incentive structure, and new hiring practices. The job structure recommendations will allow for more cross training between office workers and service providers. This will enrich all jobs at DrainFlow by adding different tasks, autonomy, and feedback. The new incentive structure will allow for flexible benefits and recognition. This is designed to motivate  employees and improve customer service. Lastly, the new hiring practices will provide a repeatable solution for finding a cohesive set of new employees. The report consists of five (5) parts: Executive Summary, Introduction, Motivation and Job Structure Analysis, Recommendations and Implementation. 3. Motivation and Job Structure Analysis 3.1. Job Design Research shows that there is a moderate relationship between job satisfaction and job performance as well as customer satisfaction. Satisfied employees perform better at their jobs and provide better customer service. Employees of DrainFlow are dissatisfied and that is the root cause of their present situation. Generally, specialization results in cost effectiveness and delivering of core competencies among employees when jobs are complex and require years of experience and learning for mastery. It becomes an albatross when jobs have few tasks and require little skill. The bottom line is, jobs have different effects on efficiency and motivation. The current job structure of DrainFlow due to its specialization has contributed to job dissatisfaction among employees and in 25% cases, turning employees away from the company. Work groups are dissatisfied with each other’s output. The current job structure only assigned tasks without considering the interdependency of those tasks. Due to this, problems such as assigning a plumber assistant on a job meant for a plumber, and vice versa, and poor customer service have plagued DrainFlow. DrainFlow should adopt Hackman’s Job Characteristic Model to describe current jobs in the firm. The JCM has five core dimensions which include skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy and feedback. Skill variety is the use of different skills and talents to complete a variety of work activities. The current job- tasks in DrainFlow are very narrow and do not allow employees that skill variety. Task identity is the degree to which a job requires completion of a whole or identifiable piece. This will help communicate the interdependence of work from one group and the other through the order to bill process. Task significance is the degree to which the job affects the organization and society. There no feedback channels in the firm at present and as such it’s difficult to measure customer satisfaction. Autonomy will provide the freedom, independence and discretion in scheduling  work and determining the procedure to be used in accomplishing it. DrainFlow has a preplanned and stringent procedure to follow. Feedback will provide employees with direct and clear information about their own performance. DrainFlow’s employees haven’t that information to assess their performance. 3.2 Incentive Scheme DrainFlow has no incentive scheme in place that will motivate employees to put any extra effort on the job. The present reward system is based on skill and qualification. Plumbers are rewarded the most as compared to the others because of their level of skill and not on performance. Generally, reward systems tend to motivate employees better when they are:   linked to performance; the rewards are important, when team rewards are used for interdependent jobs and those rewards are valuable. Lee’s attempt to salvage DrainFlow by introducing the reward system is laudable but it will need a few modifications. 3.3. Recruitment Practices The current recruitment processes by DrainFlow are based on unstructured interviews by different managers thereby creating a higher level of inconsistencies in the choices of selection of employees. The use of shortcuts for judgment such as selective perception (tendency to selectively interpret what one sees based on one’s interests, background, experience and attitudes), or stereotyping (judging someone on the basis of one’s perception of the group to which that person belongs) are prevalent. Although the shortcuts may aide accurate perceptions and hence predictions, they are not full proof and may result in perception inaccuracies. Research indicates that impressions are formed within a tenth of a second, based on a first glance. Wrong perceptions may result in employees that are unqualified for the position and/or dissatisfied with work. The current situation at DrainFlow was aggravated by these perceptional recruitment inefficiencies. Most employees lack training in customer service, organizational behavior and are anxious about speaking with customers. Order processors do not have  sufficient knowledge or skill to explain the customer’s situation to DrainFlow Plumbers or Plumber Assistants. Billing representatives must deal with the negative reactions of dissatisfied customers; however, Bill processors are only involved at the end of the job process and unaware of any job details. DrainFlow plumbers are sometimes reluctant to deliver bad news of an unexpectedly high bill to customers. Furthermore, it is clear that a majority of order processors do not know any more about plumbing than customers calling in. These deficiencies have resulted in a direct negative impact on the revenue and cost savings, which were to be achieved by dividing assignments and specializing job responsibilities. 4.0 Recommendations A. Job Redesign DrainFlow work units have been overspecialized and there is little or no coordination among employees of different functional units. Therefore, we recommend a radical redesign of the job structure and business processes to achieve dramatic performance improvements and motivation. Order and Bill Processing be merged into one work unit under a job title. This will enable employees to have a first-time touch with customers. Cross training programs should be organized to enhance their knowledge of plumbing and plumbing-related activities. Feedbacks on customer satisfaction can easily be tracked. Plumbing assistants, besides performing less technical plumbing works, should be given the opportunity to do rotational job activities in Order and Bill Processing unit. This will foster a better relationship among employees, enhance skill variety, cross training; reduce boredom and increase motivation and job satisfaction. Plumbers should organize training sessions on plumbing for worker in Order and Bill Processing Unit and continue to do complex plumbing works. The training should be interactive and focus on providing skill on how to respond to plumbing problems. This is to add a variety to plumbers’ activities. B. Incentive Scheme There is no current incentive scheme in place that is capable of providing employee satisfaction and motivation. DrainFlow should introduce an incentive scheme geared towards increasing employee satisfaction. This scheme should be both intrinsic and extrinsic; it should be both skill-oriented and performancebased.   Skills in customer service, plumbing and work attitude should be considered in the scheme. Performance-based will reward employees who create and maintain high customer retention rates. At the end of any job, a customer satisfaction survey should be conducted to assess level of customer satisfaction. Results from the survey should be the bases for implementing Lee’s reward scheme. Rewarding performance should be an ongoing managerial and not just periodic. Therefore, extrinsic rewards such as performance pay should be consistent with overall management objectives, used to reinforce a motivational in which nonmonetary rewards exist such as employee recognition. C. Recruitment Practices Based on the problem analysis concerning recruitment practices in DrainFlow, we recommend that management should design a consistent recruitment procedure that is capable of finding and hiring individuals who have the skill and experience to function well on the job. The recruitment policy procedure should emphasize on: ï‚ · A brief summary judgment about the applicant’s strength and weaknesses ï‚ · Interpreting facts as they appear on resume and make judgments; highlight and comment on experience and skills only as they apply to the needs of DrainFlow ï‚ · Identifying personality  traits (such as Agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, extraversion, and emotional stability) that will improve customer service and emotional labor 4. Implementation This is probably the hardest part of it all. DrainFlow’s challenges of improving employee and customer satisfaction whiles increasing profit levels through cost containment and job performance is contingent on implementing our recommendations. However, any successful implementation of these recommendations will require support from toplevel management. The objectives of the changes should be clearly communicated to employees. DrainFlow should not do any radical changes; they should introduce the changes gradually in order of importance. Redesigning the job structure is essentially the first change management should introduce. The focus is on combining order and billing work responsibilities into a single work unit. This should be followed by cross training and weekly job rotational activities. Workers of the newly created Order and Billing Unit should be given the opportunity to clone a plumber or plumber assistant to learn the basic concepts of plumbing. This will equip them with the necessary competencies in executing order and bill processing. DrainFlow needs to implement a new incentive scheme that is capable of boosting employee satisfaction to put in more effort in their work. The proposed incentive scheme should include a financial reward system, as proposed by Lee, and an intrinsic, employee recognition program. Research has shown that financial rewards are mostly effective and deliver good results   only in the short-run. Employee loyalty and long-term motivational needs are triggered by non-financial rewards such as recognition. 5. Conclusion This report summarized recommendations on how DrainFlow will gain a competitive advantage by improving three key knobs: job structure and design, incentive scheme and recruitment practices. The recommendations are clear and understandable and should be technically easy and financially cost effective to implement. The report proposes combining some job units,  encouraging a weekly job rotational activities, cross training by utilizing the current talents available within the organization, etc. A new incentive scheme will create job satisfaction through job motivation; this will boost productivity, performance and customer retention. The new recruitment policy entails finding and training employees that fit and share the dreams and aspirations of DrainFlow. Consequently, DrainFlow will see positive changes in employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and retention, motivation, loyalty, performance, productivity and profitability.

America as an Imperialist Power Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

America as an Imperialist Power - Essay Example Imperialism is the policy or practice in which one country starts to enforce an indirect control over other weaker nation. The reason behind a weak nation being controlled by imperialists is because they have unbalanced economy, governance, and infrastructure. Imperialism comes into practice, when a stronger nation for the sake of economics and other political benefits take over the indirect control, which involves the use of power beyond its border on weaker nation. The cause of imperialism includes the unwillingness of the victim nations to control which is due to weak economics, foreign political structure and a threatening repute of strong holding states. The world still is suffering the consequences of imperialism, which took place in the last decades of the nineteenth century. It can be noticed that imperialism is applied by countries such as US or Germany, which has helped these countries to become significant influence in the global political and social setup. To understand the entire study of empire system, it is important to first comprehend the word â€Å"empire†. The term empire comes from a Latin origination. Empire means power or authority, a control that associates to a kingdom, a state or an emperorship. Empire system basically intends to control over the sovereignty of other state by forceful means. An imperial system of government aims to acquire and get hold on colonies and lands of weak individual states due its ethnic, national, cultural, and religious diversification. Historically, an empire system emerges due to strong political – military dominance of population over the weak cultural and ethnic group. The system resembles a structure where power inflates and weak gets into biased retribution. This is to serve the agenda of emperorship and submerge a powerful geopolitical influence on other victimized nations. In contrast the empire system resembles the ancient roman emperorship, where cruelty, ruthlessness an d brutality floated throughout the global political system (Howe). The study of empire helps in understanding, the developments and changes that took place around the world. It was just a swirling revolution where empire system dominated and passed on to the world politics. Scholars have firm believe that even today the ongoing changes and developments around the world are due to the presence of an empire system. Through researchers’ analysis it can be evidenced that empire rules have existed in the history and still are prevailing. The imperial system has been continually evolving with developments and instances that took place in historical eras. Thus, the definition of empire cannot be evaluated by one factor since it has numerous reasons to cope up with. As Stephen Howe’s states that the world has a complex history and intertwined equally with contested words such as colonialism, globalization, and imperialism (Howe). History of empires is to a great deal of worldà ¢â‚¬â„¢s history. In fact it is being noted by researchers, that almost the entire history is associated with imperialism or colonialism. The significant study of empire is essential as it covers up all aspects related to countries originations and their contemporary situations. As some scholars consider that the world is becoming more and more flat due to cultural import and globalization by means of people, technology, and commerce. Moreover, study of empire explains the modern and historical migration, found in the world today such as cultural import, trade, religion practices, they all trace back to historical empires (Howe). Imperialism Context of Empire: Imperialism has been the most influential power during the last four to five centuries in the world history. In

Monday, October 7, 2019

Stamp Act Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Stamp Act - Term Paper Example Today, Americans may have forgotten this important period on their journey to freedom, but the fact remains that without Stamp Act, the American Sons of Liberty and other freedom-fighters may not have gotten an opportunity to launch attacks against their colonist. The British claimed victory in the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) that was fought against the European powers of those days. It was a typical polarizing war that pitted Great Britain, Prussia and a group of German states (small in size) against nations like Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, and Saxony that formed a staunch military alliance during that period (Morgan et al. 1995, 20-28). However, Britain has spent a lot on this war which seemed to have taken a huge toll on the colonist’s finances. Reportedly, British national debts had doubled by the time the war was concluded (Morgan et al.1995, 21). Apart from this issue, Britain also worried about how to source finances to keep so many soldiers that had fought in the war, many of whom have political links to the parliament. The fears of not wishing to see the soldiers become jobless and not knowing how to fund their continued engagement had forced Britain to come up with a strange method of financial The British Parliament, in 1765 eventually came up with the Stamp Act to source funds to finance the continued existence of its military contingent in North America by imposing taxes on printed materials, which include but not limited to newspapers, legal documents, magazines, and several other papers used in the colonies (Morgan et al. 1995, 80-95). The general acceptance given to this Act by British two arms of Parliament (House of Lords and House of Commons) revealed that Great Britain had seen this Act as the solution to its crippling financial situation at that time (Murrin et al. 2007, 187). The Parliament did not perceive anything wrong in this approach as it deemed it the appropriate way to find the money to solve its

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Envalue the Auditor Independence Provisions Essay

Envalue the Auditor Independence Provisions - Essay Example The audit committee and the Charter of Audit usually offers independence of code of ethics and management of the company which assist in guiding the clients, third parties or suppliers on theories and concepts of independence (Federation of European Accountants, 2013). The independence of external auditors signifies freedom from those parties that have increase in the consequence published in the financial statement of the entity. The external auditors should be supported by the Audit committee of the company, and reference should be drawn from the public accounting codes and standards. The external and internal concerns are complicated when the nominally self-regulating divisions of the company offer consulting and auditing services. In order to solve this complication, Sarbanes – Oxley Act of 2002 is a legal solution. In case of statutory audit the most significant principle is regarded as objectivity. Before considering any non-assurance or assurance engagement, audit or en tering into any relationship with the client, the auditor should consider all the threats to their independence that might hinder principle of objectivity (ICISA, 2004). Regulations in the European Union There are various regulations within EU in relation to auditor independence. The major enforcement in case of auditor independence is directed through the Companies Act of 1985, and Companies Act of 1989. The Companies Act of 1985 states that it the accountability of the shareholders to appoint auditors rather than the directors at the annual general meeting. This theory has been stated so that the directors cannot influence the auditors by... This essay summarises the concepts, that are used today in the legal regulatory framework, and identifies the conceptual framework of auditor’s independence. Apart from this the regulations for auditor independence that also are discussed in the essay by the researcher, with respect to European Union, as this will assist in analysing how the auditors can keep their personal interest aside and focus towards an unbiased and flawless audit report. Audit firms and auditor must maintain their independence for the reports of the auditors to be free from any external, personal and organisational impairment. There are various ideas and assumptions present regarding the future development of auditing in context of independence. In US the audit control procedure states that the audit reports should be reviewed by another company once in three years. The researcher mentiones that this essay discussed all those factors which were enough to discuss how auditors can keep aside their persona l objectives and interests in order to support the quotes that have been mentioned at the beginning of this study. Auditors today are like examiners who check the annual performance of the companies in order to assist them in forecasting and decisions making. However, the researcher also concluds that if code of ethics and laws are not followed, then companies would function on wrong guidelines, and there are many examples that can be drawn from the recent financial crisis to describe how faulty judgement can lead to bankruptcy.