Reproductive Technology Essays - Fertility Medicine, Fertility

Reproductive Technology Reproductive Technology Technological development and the advancement of science constantly raises new political and legal challenges. We must promote scientific development, but at the same time we must also impose restrictions involving certain human and social values. Reproductive technology is one of the best examples of the challenges posed by the development of medical science and it's involvement with the law. Issues involved with Reproductive Technology include: Techniques, Morals and Ethics, and The Charter of Right and Freedoms. Reproduction is a fact of life, but it has always fascinated humans. Why did babies die? Why were some people sterile? How can childless couples be helped? To answer these questions scientists began research. This research began mostly in the late nineteenth century. However, some of the techniques used today have been used for hundreds of years. Artificial Insemination is the oldest known assisted reproductive technology. The first known cases of this type occurred in 1790. Many years of research were put into the development of In Vitro Fertilization. Following the research dealing with humans, scientists began with animals. The first successful transfer of an embryo which resulted into the birth of young was between two rabbits in 1891. During this time, many attempts were made to transfer embryos between mammals. Success was not achieved until the 1970s. Using mice proved to be an important advance because the similarity in the technique used for humans. Despite these similarities it was a long time before anyone achieved success in humans. Bob Edwards of the UK reported successful fertilization of human eggs in vitro in 1969. Upon finding a technique to retrieve the eggs, experiments were performed to determine the best time to retrieve the eggs, how long they should be incubated, and what conditions were most favourable for the embryos. The first ?test tube baby? whose name is Louise Brown, was born in 1978. Since the development of these techniques, many new technologies have been established. A total of 20,659 babies were born in 1996 (in the USA) using one of the following techniques: In vitro fertilization, gamete intra fallopian transfer, and zygote intra fallopian transfer. In vitro fertilization involves extracting a woman's eggs, fertilizing the eggs in the laboratory, and then transferring the resulting embryo(s) into the woman's uterus through the cervix. Gamete intra fallopian transfer is when a fiberoptic instrument called a laparoscope is used to help place the unfertilized eggs and sperm into the woman's fallopian tubes through small incisions in her abdomen. Zygote intra fallopian transfer involves fertilizing a woman's eggs in the laboratory and then using a laparoscope to help transfer the fertilized eggs into her fallopian tubes. There are a number of other techniques but they are not as popular and do not have a very high success rate. Other techniques have been used for specific reasons. Some parents who have children with blood disorders decide to have a ?test-tube baby? so that it can save their suffering child. ?Ellen Phillipson called a fertility clinic in Newcastle upon Tyne to discuss the possibility that a baby brother or sister could save her four-year-old daughter, Simone, who has Fanconi anemia?(NP-1). There is a very high demand for this type of reproduction technology. The first ?Designer Baby? is thought to be Adam Nash. ?Adam's parents selected their son's embryo from among others in a petri dish in order to ensure it was free of his sister Molly's life-threatening blood disease, Franconi's anemia.?(NP-2) With all these new reproductive technologies becoming available to people, ethicists are popping up with questions on whether the developing child is harmed during the medical procedure. In the case with Adam Nash, he experienced no pain when donating his umbilical cord (since there are no known nerve terminals in the umbilical arteries). In future cases involving organ donation it will be hard to assess whether the donor child will be harmed. ?How will it be possible to assess whether a child from whom a kidney is removed would have been stronger and healthier had he or she not been subjected to an operation in infancy(NP-3) This question is highly controversial with the ethicists. But there is another concern that passes unnoticed by the ethicists. ?A human being's moral

Catch the Moon Essays

Catch the Moon Essays Catch the Moon Paper Catch the Moon Paper Both â€Å"Catch the Moon† by Judith Ortiz Cofer and â€Å"The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant† by W. D. Wetherell are short stories with similar ideas and themes. Although the characters and plots differ slightly, the central themes are very similar. In â€Å"Catch the Moon†, the love of the main characters mother continues to strengthen him even after her death. In â€Å"The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant†, the narrators love for fishing continues to give him strength after he loses the girl he thought he loved. In both short stories, love gives the main character strength. In Cofer’s â€Å"Catch the Moon†, a teenage boy, Luis, who had been running with the entirely wrong crowd is let out of a juvenile hall on the simulation that he will labor for his father at his junkyard for the remaining six months of his original sentence. Luis began making bad choices after his mother died three years before. Once his mother died he began to not get along with his father even though his father gave him a job at his junkyard. He does not appreciate his father’s junkyard business and considers him pathetic because he won’t let go of anything that pertains to his wife that passed away. Luis’s situation remains unchanged until he meets Naomi, a stunning young woman who needs Luis’s help finding the right hubcap for her Volkswagen. Unknown to Luis, Naomi’s family owns the funeral home where his mother’s funeral was held. This, along with Naomi’s wholesomeness, brings back Luis’s memories of his mother, because she always told him how proud she was of him, even when Luis did nothing. His mother’s words of kindness and encouragement cause Luis to have a revelation; he breaks down and begins to see things in an entirely different way. Luis drives to the junkyard late one night, climbs up on his mountain of hubcaps, and, â€Å"by lamppost light†, begins what he refers to as the â€Å"treasure hunt† for the â€Å"moon-shaped wheel cover† for Naomi’s car. He â€Å"sorted the wheel covers by make, size, and condition, stopping only to call his father and tell him where he was and what he was doing. † When finally Luis found the perfect match for Naomi’s VW, he washed and polished it, then on an oak branch outside her window, hung it, â€Å"the first good thing he had given to anyone in a long time† (239-240). During Luis’s late night search for Naomi’s perfect hubcap he became closer to his father. He realized that doing â€Å"something that had a beginning, middle, and an end† (239) has a overpowering effect on people. He realized the reason why his father had been keeping so busy the past three years was because of his mother. Luis made a promise to lend a hand to his father more often; he even promised himself he would construct a display wall for his father’s junkyard, the same business he used to hate. The love Luis’s mother had for both Luis and his father became their strength even after she was gone; it just took Luis a longer time to realize this. In Wetherell’s â€Å"The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant,† the narrator also has an internal struggle in the beginning. Sheila Mant, the girl next door, becomes the narrator’s object of infatuation. He eventually gets the courage to ask her out to a local dance, and offers to take her there in his small fishing canoe. On the way, he discovers that Sheila is strongly against fishing; she considers it â€Å"definitely dumb. † Just then, his rod that he had cast habitually before picking her up, bends double: â€Å"The line, tightly coiled, [peels] off the spool with the shrill, tearing zip of a high-speed drill† (247). The narrator doesn’t want Sheila too think anything bad of him because he likes fishing. So, â€Å"through a superhuman effort of self-control,† the narrator cuts the line â€Å"with a sick, nauseous feeling in [his] stomach† and continue to the dance with Sheila (249). The dance is all a fog for the narrator; the only event he remembers clearly is Sheila approaching him afterwards to inform him that she would be leaving with Eric Caswell in his Corvette. Throughout his entire canoe ride, the narrator was faced with an internal dilemma. He loved to fish, but he thought he loved Sheila more. It would be great if he could reel in perhaps the biggest bass he had ever hooked, but then again, it would be great if Sheila Mant, the gorgeous girl next door who was three years older than him, came to love him. There were two paths the narrator could have taken, and he made his decision. What he didn’t know was that Sheila would end up leaving him anyway. He realizes that his love for Sheila was only temporary because â€Å"the spell she cast over [him] was gone before the month was over. † The narrator still regrets his decision; he states that â€Å"the memory of that lost bass haunted me all summer and haunts me still†. Even after losing what he thought was the love of his life, the narrator’s love for fishing gave him strength in the years to come. He â€Å"never made the same mistake again† (250). Love can do many things. It can be both harmful and beneficial. Love can scar, and love can inspire. Love can torment, and love can encourage. Love can irritate, and love can comfort. The unseen force of love can go even further than that, though. Love can strengthen. This is seen through both main characters in Cofer’s â€Å"Catch the Moon† and Wetherell’s â€Å"The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant†.

The Good and the Bad: How to Handle Early Decision News

As the fall semester of your senior year of high school comes to a close, colleges start to send out their initial round of admissions decisions. It is a bit early for regular admissions decisions, but colleges will definitely be sending out decisions to applicants who applied for Early Decision or Early Action. If you haven’t applied to a school under that option, take a breath. You won’t be hearing back for another few months. If you did, it’s time for your first round of admission decisions! By this point in the semester, you may be experiencing a great amount of stress and anxiety as you wait to hear back from the colleges you applied to as an ED/EA applicant while also juggling extracurriculars and heading towards final exams. We at recognize this and want to help you get through this trying time. Here is a helpful guide to help you deal with admissions anxiety and what to do if you’ve already heard from schools. We’ll take each possible scenario you could be going through right now as an Early Decision or Early Action applicant and give you our best advice on how to get through it. If you haven’t received your decision letter/email yet, that is perfectly normal. Sometimes, due to a high volume of applicants or other reasons that students cannot possibly predict, colleges wait until the end of a semester or even later to release their decisions to Early Decision applicants. Whether you receive your decision sooner or later has no indication of whether you have been accepted to the college or not. For some more reassurance, see Early Action: What to Do After the EA/ED Deadline? However, you ought to double check and make sure that you haven’t received the admissions letter or email already! Check your email junk folder, your mailbox, or the online application portal for the university you applied to in order to make sure that you haven’t accidentally missed the notification. The radio silence you are hearing from colleges right now is probably deafening. If the anxiety of not receiving a decision is really bugging you, try these things to calm yourself down: If your friends have already received their early decision letters from other colleges, congratulate them (or console them if they did not receive the news they were hoping for) and then tune them out. There is no need to stress yourself out further by comparing yourself to your friends. We at know it’s all too easy to stress yourself out by thinking, â€Å"My friend got their letter! How come I haven’t gotten mine?†, so try your best to avoid those thoughts. To help you interact with your peers during this time, read about How to Talk To Your Classmates About College. It’s your senior year of high school! You have far more fun things to do then sit around stressing about college applications. You should make an effort to participate in school activities and attend events like football games, dances and formals, and other fun activities. This will probably be your last chance to experience these things, and it’ll be a nice distraction from college applications. Interested in getting expert help in every part of the application process? Check out ’s College Application Guidance Program . We’ll pair you with your own personal admissions specialist that will guide you through a comprehensive step-by-step process that will help you craft applications that give you the best chance of getting accepted. We can help you find the right schools to apply to based on your profile, craft perfect college essays, and prepare extensively for your interviews.

Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 21

Marketing - Essay Example In this paper, we will define this product category as clearly as possible and we will then examine it thoroughly. As mentioned in the introduction section, the product category chosen is apparel. Apparel is clothing in general. This could range from t-shirts to dresses to cardigans to skirts to denim wear. Some people may even include under garments in this category but for our purpose, we will only consider outer garments or attire. We will later consider companies who make these, other products and product categories that compete with these also. Outer garments or clothing may range from casual, inexpensive t-shirts to sophisticated, costly and maybe even branded suits. Companies who sell (and/or make) casual clothing include Abercrombie and Fitch, Gap, Guess, Old Navy etc. Companies or designers who sell expensive branded clothing are Armani, Prada, Chanel, etc. There are several others that sell both types of clothing or only one of them that are not mentioned above. The point that I am trying to make is that clothes as a product category is not singular. It has many different branches, as mentioned above. We will mainly consider casual apparel retail products. Another way of further categorizing the clothes category is in terms of gender and also age. For example, some companies provide apparel for women only such as Ann Taylor. Others provide clothing for only men or most retailers sell both men and women apparel. Another sub-category of the apparel product category is clothing in terms of age, for example, Toddlers, Children, Teenagers. There are retailers that provide one of them or all of them. Some retailers may specialize in providing only apparel for new born babies, toddlers and pregnant women (maternity apparel) such as Mother Care. There are many different retailers in the apparel retail industry in the US. According to a report by Nielsen Net Ratings,

Urban tourism in Bath Field Report Dissertation

Urban tourism in Bath Field Report - Dissertation Example Urban tourism is often perceived as an opportunity for a community centre to economically advance itself and its residents. However, the urbanization process usually entails many transformations that compromise some local values and advantages towards achieving and maintaining attractive spaces in a city.This is with the goal to sustain growth of business and the communities,attraction of visitors,provide reasons for spending,and other social and economic gains Some of the results and effects, however may be adverse to the community’s welfare such as increase social problems of migration and unsustainable population growth, and environmental degradation. This paper through participant observation, was able to identify some of the environmental problems that Bath as a city currently experiences in its attempt to sustain and maintain the area as an urban tourist destination. Changes throughout history have made it one of the more architecturally blessed cities of the world with its original tourist attraction. The growing population and demand for urban tourism, however, has brought in environmental issues such as reduction of green belt and parks to sustain housing demand, surge of water costs, garbage collection and disposal, as well as disease control and prevention. It was noted that these issues should be addressed through adoption of policy on sustainability as well as strict implementation of cooperation to achieve sustainable goals. Chapter 1: Introduction Man has always kept moving like a butterfly. Most of us cannot stay in one place for long. I myself am like that and man should have been born with wings or wheels, for easy transport. In every individual there is a passion to soar in the clouds and go to the distant end of the earth. However, choice is limited where he can go to or how. Some people indulge in the joy of â€Å"tourism†. Tourism means that one goes out to different areas of the world enjoying the sites, culture, and the ent ertainments. Many tourists enjoy their life and comfort that touring provides. Touring gives an aura of cool nomads, happy to go where the wind and water takes them (Buckley & Littlefair, 2007). Urban pertains to the city areas and its lifestyle. Many main cities of Europe, the Americas, Asia, and everywhere have unique traits to show off. However, creating and reinventing urban areas to become a tourist spots is a difficult and long process, with lots of work, and costly investments. Urban areas are places that require a much attention and cooperation between leaders, the private sectors, the public and even outsiders to turn into one a tourist attraction. According to Lundie et al (2007) the four qualities of a city tourist spot are: 1) High physical densities of structures, people and functions; 2) Social and cultural heterogeneity, 3) Economic mal-functionalism; and 4) Physical centrality within regional and interurban systems. Demands for urban tourism rose rapidly due to the n eed to sustain growth as well posterity. However, urban tourism is multipurpose and multidimensional in nature. National and local governments in cooperation with various sectors invest in selected areas which are considered attractions such as malls, entertainment zones, historical districts, redevelopment zones, ethnic and sacred spaces. Tourists flock to areas that provide accommodation, transport, best facilities, attraction and guides. However, tourist satisfaction does not equate to a beautiful and healthy environment as urbanism and tourism address similar problems of growth, density, demand, and other forces that require sustainability and balance. Tourist spots are from time to time reconsidered to sustain healthy, safe, and nurturing spaces. This paper will try to identify different environment impacts of tourism in Bath, United Kingdom, point out

New building †Tools and Wiring Essay Example for Free

New building – Tools and Wiring Essay Now that we understand the codes and standards needed to create this building, it’s time to put stuff in it. Our task at hand is to start wiring the building for a new computer science and electrical engineering labs. This building will have a lot of devices that need to be connected to the school campus network and we will need a lot of tools to do it. First off I think since our building is going to be connected to a lot of students I believe that our best choice of cabling to connect to the building will be fiber-optics. This way the students and professors can access whatever they need as fast as possible from any location on campus. On the inside to save money I would run cat5e cables to each individual device. Running fiber-optics to each computer in the computer labs would take a lot of work since fiber is so hard to handle. This will allow them to do all kinds of test involving the network while not being too budget heavy. Depending on how many floors we have in the building we will need at least one telecommunication room. This is where we will house our skeletal frame that holds our servers and networking equipment. We will run the horizontal cables to all of the room wall plates. We will leave the patch cables to the person in charge of the room arrangements. If there are multiple floors in the building we will install backbone cables through the risers so we can have another telecommunication room for the other floors. Depending on where the plenum is for the floor we will run the horizontal cables under the floor or on top of the false ceiling. If the plenum is over the false ceiling we will need to install a ladder rack and cable trays. We will need a lot of tools to install this network. First off we will need connectors and crimpers so we can connect the cat5 cables to the devices on both sides. Then after we crimp the cables we will have to test the cables  with the wire map testers to make sure that all the wires are connected correctly. We will also need a tone and probe so we can figure out where each cable is going, there’s a chance we will forget which cable is which and that is why we will need this. When the installation is done we will need at least one laptop to connect to the wall jacks so we can test to see if the connection is live in every room the from there we need to find out how many devices will be connected in each room so we can create a rack for them. After the racks are connected to the wall jacks and once they arrange the devices around the room wecan come back and set up the patch cords to the computers and then the building will be completely wired to the school campuses network. References Handout NT1310 Physical Networking Unit 4 Key Concepts: Cabling and Cabling Systems Textbook- Cabling: the complete guide to Copper and Fiber-Optic Networking 4th Edition by Andrew Olivero / Bill Woodward

Essay --

It was my first time leaving the country, and I was excited. The summer of Saudi was hot, and I couldn’t stop thinking about going away for the first time. My family and friends were helping me pack the last of my luggage, and I was on my way to the airport. As I made my way through the gates and into the plane, I could never imagine the experiences that were to come. It all started with my airport and Canadian immigration services, then meeting my host family and the people of Canada, and last but not least the school experience. As I left Saudi Arabia, it was a bittersweet feeling. I left from Riyadh to Vancouver via London. My experience at the airport in London for the first time was very difficult. So when I was in Riyadh airport, my father and mother gave me advice to study hard and be a good student. All my friends were with me to say their final good byes because it was my first time leaving alone. Before I got on the plane, I met a new friend who I didn’t even know would end up at the same university as me in Canada. It’s a small world because I did not expect this. We became good friends and our friendship continues until today. When I arrived at Heathrow airport in London, I felt this empty feeling, like I was missing something already. My mind started to go blank and the little English that I knew, I forgot. So it was very difficult for me to talk to any airport staff and ask them where I should go. Then I became nervous because I didn’t know what to do. I w as praying that somebody would be able to help me. Suddenly, I found a guy who looked like an Arab and I approached him to ask him for his help. I found out he was Egyptian. He was very kind to me and was able to guide me to my terminal a... ...tely, my test was not very good so I was put in the beginners level. I struggled at the beginning, but as time went on, I became more comfortable and started speaking little by little. The more I spoke, the better my communication in English became. One year passed and I became comfortable in the city, with my host family, and new international friends, all because I spoke better English. My experience of leaving Saudi Arabia has made me a better person. Of course at the beginning it was very difficult, but I’m glad now that I was able to get a scholarship to study in Canada and learn English. Maybe if I didn’t get this opportunity, I would not have met the people I met and become friends with them. The best thing I can say about leaving my country is that now I have friends from all over the world and I would not change anything for that experience.

Strategic Control

STRATEGIC CONTROL- ERIK TREFFTZ Strategic Control refers to the activity of analysis and surveillance of the Strategic Planning. Its main objective is to monitor and implement corrective measures when facing any kind of deviation in the original Strategy, after comparing it with the Strategic Standards, and thus granting the good-riddance of the company? s targets. It works through the establishment of reference points, rules, methods and devices that allow to measure the development efficiency and effectiveness of the Strategy in whatever concerns seizing its goals, and also allows a better comprehension of the periods of crisisIn other words, Strategic Control seeks to provide an answer to the following issues: 1. Whether the Strategy is being implemented as planned. Any possible failure in a company achieving its goals might be due to wrong performance from Operational and/or managerial personnel. The responsibility of regulating and correcting possible deviations in the course of the strategy. 2. If targets continue being valid. It is, Strategic Control is in charge of spotting any alteration in the behavior of external forces, and uncontrollable environment that require a change in the Corporative targets.Since environment is submitted to constant change, Opportunities and risks may arise that weren’t acknowledged when the original Corporative Strategy was conceived, and thus, the pertinent measures weren? t taken. For instance, a certain company provides a country with its products, but, all of a sudden, inner armed conflicts spark in that country, rendering it instable and dangerous. Under that conditions, the company might reconsider if it is still worth trading with this country, or perhaps it may regard abandoning transactions with it, thus, modifying its original targets. . Whether Outcomes of the Strategy are the expected or not. It means that Strategic Control also needs to verify whether the Strategy has been properly raised. Managerial and Operational personnel may have properly fulfilled their tasks to whatever concerns to the Strategy, but it may not have produced the desired outcomes. This might be due to the fact that the Strategy is not properly formulated. Strategic Control is in charge of re-formulating it so as to eventually achieve desired goals.Unlike conventional ways of Organizational Control, Strategic Control operates â€Å"a Posteriori†, which means that it is focused on the events that have already taken place, identifying past mistakes, and distributing responsibilities. Under no circumstances this kind of Control seeks to recover losses, but rather to acknowledge them, note them down, and develop the pertinent mechanisms to avoid them in future operations. This way of operating, nevertheless, may render negative repercussions on the very own internal engine of the enterprise.The tight surveillance exerted by those in charge of applying this Strategic Control, strictly girded to stiff itinerar ies generates a feeling of insecurity and fear within the staff. Another negative â€Å"side-effect† of Strategic Control is that the exhaustive scrutiny to which the company? s operations are subjected leads to a slower pace. The process of Strategic Control is subdivided into 3 steps: 1st: Measuring the performance of the Organization:Before Business managers can take any action concerning the future of the Enterprise, they need to dispose of any measure of its current performance. They perform so via the so-called Strategic Audit. This Audit consists in a series of exams that intend to evaluate the whole range of operations within any organizations which undergo a process of Strategic Planning. Its main target is to promote the development and integration of interrelated functions. It is, to ultimately enhance the enterprise? productivity. Its function is clearly represented in the following graphic, in which â€Å"t† stands for the variable â€Å"Time†. Stra tegic Audit provides managers with the tools necessary to perform their tasks as Strategic Controller, known as â€Å"Strategic Audit Measurement Methods†: Strategic audit is divided into three stages: 1st stage – Diagnosis: It implies reviewing key documents such as the strategic plan, organizational structure, operative plans, resource allocation plans, etc.Afterwards operational, financial and commercial results during a given period are analyzed and compared with the company? s standards so as to identify possible deviations and unnoticed newborn constants. The Diagnosis also provides the manager with vital knowledge about the division of labor, different positions of responsibility, and processes of decision-making, as well as psychic perceptions of the organizations from its members, and their attitudes towards it, (via Interviews, sets of fixed questions, etc. and also from relevant customers, so as to get an accurate picture of the brand image of the organizati on within the environment in which it operates. Posed in other terms, Diagnosis allows decision-makers to become fully aware of the intrinsic functioning processes of their companies, and the perception the rest of the world has of it, thus allowing them to perform an optimum control, and identify the functioning aspects of the strategy, eventually being able to formulate several hypothesis about problems and opportunities, and how to implement changes in their strategy. nd stage – Focus of the Analysis: This stage consists in applying the different hypothesis to the strategic problems and opportunities of improvement that shall arise and challenge the organization, via the analysis of specific issues, and identify interrelations and interdependence among components of the strategic system, and afterwards, reaching conclusions concerning weaknesses and deficiencies in the execution and / or the formulation of the Strategy. rd stage – Recommendations: 3. 1. Develop alte rnative ways of solving eventual problems and also of making profit out the opportunities that might arise, always taking into account potential costs, risks and compensations these measures may bring. 3. 2. Finally, the last step consists on developing concrete recommendations that will help to develop the right plan of action that will improve strategic results. 2nd: Comparing Organizational performance with pre-set standardsOnce pertinent measurement of the organizational performance has been done, top-managers shall compare them with current objectives and standards. Objectives are established in previous stages of the Strategic Planning, whereas standards may differ from one organization to another. Standards imply the desirable position concerning a certain aspect of the organizational strategy that the enterprise seeks to achieve. The most common standards, first adopted by the well-known General Electrics, and then implemented by almost each and every business during the 90? range from standards of profitability, of market-seizure, of productivity, standards of innovation and leadership, of staff development, of optimum staff attitudes, of public responsibility (of increasing importance nowadays), and finally standards of equilibrium between long-term and short-term objectives. 3rd: Implementing the proper corrective measures This implies a major change in the organizational operation that makes sure it will be able to seize its targets as efficiently and profitably as possible.Its complexity may vary from changing a product? s price, to renew the productive chain System, re-locating resources, improving the efficiency of the labor force, etc. The whole process of strategic control can be summed up as follows: Still, Strategic Control needs to take into account the following variables so as to perform its activity correctly: Organization? s structure: Strategic Control needs to take into a high account the composition of the enterprise, to be able to i mplement an accurate overview and regulation over the Organization? strategy. If this structure is unknown, it is not possible to manage to comprehend its inner functioning, and therefore no control will be implemented properly. System of Values /Culture: The main values of the organization and its members, its culture may be a defining factor of the activities it may carry out, and therefore, it is necessary to come to a closer understanding of these cultural nuances, so as to be able to apply control properly. Information system: To perform right control over the company? becoming, it is necessary to dispose of an effective information system that allows managers to gather the sufficient amount of information that enables them to exert their task. Compensation system: As mentioned before, Strategic Control implies a tighter control upon organizational operations, and this directly results in an increase of the pressure to which staff is undergone. Therefore, a system of compensati on shall be established that makes it up to the personnel for the increased pressure. For instance, economic compensation, translated into higher wages.

WorldCom Accounting Failure

This research paper will seeks to discuss accounting failure at WorldCom by trying to understand the nature of fraud committed, the perpetrators who caused the failure, the lacking controls that may have caused all these problems and the intentions of the perpetrators as would be revealed by the extent and frequency of manipulation done in the financial reports of the company. This paper hopes to find the lesson of the story for the guidance of people who may be involved the same way or the other. . Analysis and Discussion 2. 1 Brief background of the company. WorldCom was part the Telecommunication Company before its name it was eventually named to MCI in 2003, Inc after several events including its merger with LDDS and later with MCI Communications as part of its strategy to get out from bankruptcy caused by the scandals that the company went through. MCI, Inc was purchased by Verizon Communication and now part of Verizon Division. What happened at WorldCom, what caused them to commit fraud? WorldCom’s stocks were used as means to enrich its chief executive officer (CEO) Ebbers and other officers basically from finance and accounting departments at the expensed of many investors by making the company’s to look more profitable than what is real. The fake profitability has caused the price of the company’s stock to rise significantly but only to be used by certain people to take advantage with malice against the investors. As to what caused them to commit fraud may be clearly blamed on the apparent greed of these people for more wealth with of the involvement of many of officers or from another point of view, by the laxity of the system of control that allowed things to happen so easily. As to which is more believable would be subject to analysis in the following sections and subsections. 2. 1. b. What kind of fraudulent accounting practices were used to manage earnings, describe the specifics of how it was accomplished? The two fraudulent practices could be classified into two. The first one the underreporting of â€Å"line costs† by capitalizing them rather than recording as expenses for the period and the second one is inflating or overstating the revenues. In accounting profitability is measured by the excess of revenues over expenses every period. The company in effect deferred the recognition of the expenses so that company appeared more profitable that what is real when expenses are recognized properly. The other fraudulent practice is therefore logical and would have the same effect as the first since inflating or increasing the revenues would cause to the company’s profitability to look better. Each of the fraudulent practice is described in detail below. The overall objective of efforts was to keep reported line costs to approximately 42% of revenues which is far from having actually reached levels in excess of 50%, and to maintain in its report to investors double-digit revenue growth when the truth is that actual growth rates were so much lower substantially. People became rich because of the frauds including the company’s CEO Bernard as derived from the increasing price of his shareholdings with the company. The start of the fraudulent accounting was found to be 1999 when the company wanted to paint a good financial condition contrary to what the company was actually in after the downturn in the telecommunication industry shortly after WorldCom has acquired MCI in 1998. By painting a different picture investors were plainly deceived into investing. 2. 1. b. 1) Underreporting ‘line costs’ (interconnection expenses with other telecommunication companies) by capitalizing these costs on the balance sheet rather than properly expensing them The first fraud committed is the reduction of reported line costs, which represents the company largest category of expenses. It is a good thing its internal audit personnel were the ones which alerted about improperly transfer of $3. 852 billion from line cost expenses to capitalized a ccounts during 2001 and the first quarter of 2002. It was latter announced by company about the additional line cost accounting fraud which when combined with the first $ 3. 8 billion would total at $6. 412 billion in improper reductions to line costs. These and other manipulations of line cost caused fraudulent jumping up of pre-tax income by over $7 billion. The fraud actually started as line cost adjustments in the form of accruals in 1999 and 2000 but when it was not possible to make more large accruals, the next scheme as to capitalized or defer 2001 and 2003 operating line cost as assets . Capitalizing will cause the assets to be bigger than actual and would also make the financial structure of the company which would make it attractive to investors while improving its profitability position because of understatement of expenses that would bloat the income. Line costs could be defined charges for carrying a voice call or data transmission from one point to anther point which represents the company’s largest single expense from 1999 to 2001. Being the largest, it was in reality approximately more than 50% of total expenses. This was taken particular focus by company management and other parties particularly outside analysts to find out the trends by the use of ratio of line cost expense to revenue (E/R ratio) as a way to measure the trend of behaviour of the cost to revenues . The company’s manipulation in accrual could be found in releasing the same with the required analysis even it was in excess of the amount required. Even in case of excess accruals, the company did not cause them to be effected at the time of identification. What happened rather was for certain line cost accruals to have been kept as rainy day funds and managers caused only their release when needed. It appears that everything was really in the control of the perpetrators which included key accounting and finance officers since the accounting information was almost being manipulated to serve their selfish purpose as when there is a felt need to improve results. There could only be malice for this kind of behavior since accounting information as supposed to be reported because standards require them to be such. Another manipulation in the accrual as found by investigators was the release of accruals that are applicable for other purposes thus further again understating the expenses to attain the targeted level of profitability as promised to the investors by the manipulators. The inappropriate releases of had commonality in features since they appear directed Chief Finance Officer Sullivan, Controller Myers, and Accounting Yates who are incidentally part of the finance organization in the company. Another is the fact that released occurred not during ordinary or normal day to day operations but during adjustment periods after the end of each quarter and documentation are lacking and employees involved have raised concerns at time because they knew what was indeed happening to the company. The company has fundamentally worn out available accruals at the most possible means to address the needed manipulation of line costs as reported in its financial report by the end of 2000, The following quarter of 2001 and one year after in 2002, the reduction was reached $3. 8 billion from the capitalized $3. billion as directed by its Chief finance officer. It was a clear violation of company’s capitalization policy and the generally accepted accounting standards. Sullivan when asked about the violation commented that there is the plan to ultimately reduce these apparently bloated assets accounts with a hefty restructuring charge to be effected in 2002. The practice of capitalizing operating expense would produce the effect of shifting these costs to balance sheet from income statement and the effect was to bloat income and assets at the same time. Without the capitalization, there would have been losses instead of pre-tax gain as reported. Capitalization by reduction of line cost allowed the company to have E/R ratio of about 42% in every quarter while in reality the company has exceeded 50% E/R ratio. The message that it was bringing to the stock market was that the company’s have been able to sustain profitability despite the problem in the telecommunication industry. A capitalization strategy is in fact part of the internal control but was twisted by manipulators to serve their ends, and for this reason Chief Finance Officer Sullivan needed consent from a number of people from financial and accounting departments of WorldCom. The company had its General Accounting group that is based in Clinton, Mississippi, which made actual journal entries, but the system of the company allows the creation of a swell effect from the books by adjusting databases and reports from several finance-related groups. These groups include Property Accounting group which had its base from Texas which and which as tasked to tracked company’s capital assets. Due to non-passing through the ordinary capital expenditure process, the group was called to effect the capitalizations physically in its database and on its reports. Another group from Texas, called capital reporting group had also participated responsible since it was tasked to approve capital expenditures and to track the same capital spending. It was normal to have the employees within the General Accounting group since the problems on manipulation are basically done by journal entries and their adjustments that these people became concerned about the propriety of the practice causing them to express concern to each others and some even talked of looking for outside that given the risks that they were exposed to. Fortunately, something happened and the tilt of what is good eventually came to the rescue when the Internal Audit discovered the capitalization sometime in June 2002. 2. 1. b. (2) Inflating revenues with bogus accounting entries from ‘corporate unallocated revenue accounts’). WorldCom painted itself in the market as high-growth Company, and how its revenues is going to grow is a thing that should speak for a successful company. Company’s main business is to provide goods and service which are measurable by revenues. Since revenues increase was clearly critical factor of its success, WorldCom was able to convince investors what the company was above water even if market conditions throughout the telecommunications industry were not that good in 2000 and 2001. Since investors would like to make money, it would it was very easy to dupe them into believing that the company could sustain growth. Claiming to have successfully managed industry trends which on contrary were already hurting all of its competitors, the company was wonderfully deceiving people with the promises of double-digit growth rates. It would be asserted in addition to what was stated earlier, the higher the revenues, the higher also would be the profitability if all other things like the expenses are assumed equal. But the company has already bloated revenues and deliberated understated the expenses, so that the growth in profitability was indeed tremendous to attract people to invest in the company’s stocks. The manipulators behind the schemes were therefore focus on revenue enhancement. Ebbers was found by investigators intensely to have put much efforts on revenue performance, by his receiving and closely examining revenue reports which are given to him on a monthly basis by the company’s Reporting and Accounting Group. It was starting in 1999 that the company people made efforts to bloat revenues after the end of every reporting quarter to show to users of information that it was achieving high revenue growth targets that CEO Ebbers and Chief Finance Officer Sullivan had made or wanted to happen. The bloating of revenues was basically done by making adjustments between the differences of actual and â€Å"targeted revenues† and level the same as corporate unallocated revenue accounts. In simple means the company’ management announced a target in revenues to be attained and such must be attained and presented when reporting period comes that the same will require adjusting entries and level the same as unallocated. According to investigators, the questionable revenue entries found under the Corporate Unallocated accounts reached millions or tens of millions of dollars which appeared generally only in the quarter-ending month which were recorded weeks after the quarter has ended. Between Ebbers and Sullivan, it was the second one who became concerned since revenues recorded were already masking the result of the company’s operation. 2. 1. c. Who in the company perpetrated the fraud? Discuss also the fact that the corporations CEO, Bernard Ebbers, took millions of dollars in personal loans from the corporation’s funds. Very briefly discuss the outcome of the fraud and the whole WorldCom scandal, how it was discovered, what happened to the perpetrators. Ebbers persuaded the company’s board of directors to provide him loans amounting to over than $400 millions to cover his margin calls that he failed and was ousted as CEO in April 2002 by John Sidgmore. He and other perpetrators were eventually prosecuted and convicted of crimes in relation to corporate scandals. It was discovered by the internal audit group an announcement was made for the hefty understatement of line cost in the amount of more than $3 billion. This kind of fraud in additions other understatement of lines cost by capitalization and inflation of revenues caused their perpetrators caused their freedom and they are now serving the prison sentences. The fraud was the on the damaged caused to investors who lost their money because of the fake profitability and financial condition of the business. 2. 2) Discuss in detail what controls/ internal controls were missing and/or subverted in order for this fraud/accounting failure to occur. The needed controls/internal controls that were missing and/or subverted in order for this fraud/accounting failure to occur is the independence of the auditors and integrity of the officers of the corporation. The need for independent auditors to ensure reliability of the financial statements is paramount since management not independent in many instances of their engagements and the most probable thing to happen is for management to make self-serving representation in the preparation of financial statements. The practice of accounting profession where the independent auditors will have to attest to the reliability of the financial statements requires the auditor must indeed be independent, competent and with integrity. Lacking one of these requirements would really make a big difference. It appears that the auditor of WorldCom was Arthur Andersen which had involvement with Enron which also collapsed and Waste Management Company. In fact the Security and Exchange Commission had Mr Arthur Anderson convicted at lower court but said conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court sometime in May of 2005. Although he was acquitted of the charge eventually, the fact that he was already charge and convicted is a question of character which do not have a place in the accounting profession. The role of auditors between their client and the public is one vested with public interest so that auditors must have good moral character. Since the auditor should be independent the engagement must be purely auditing or attestation service. It was possible that Andersen was maintaining secretly a special relationship with the management of WorldCom thus Ebbers and company was courageous enough to do the fraudulent act as the very nose of the regulators and the investing public. Dependable information is essential to the very existence of our society. The investor making a decision to buy or sell securities, the banker deciding whether to approve a loan, the government is obtaining revenue based on income tax returns, all are relying upon information provided by others. In many of these situations, the goals of the providers of information run directly counter to those of the users of the information. The purpose of having an auditor is for attestation function or to provide assurance as to reliability of the financial statements. Arguing to have the external auditors to protect the company assets from fraud would be sounding too simple since more than the auditors the stockholders or owners of the corporation must have also the protective or preventive attitude. In addition therefore for the need to have independent, honest and competent external auditors, the company must have also the same independent and honest officers, particularly those who are members of the audit committee and those performing money related functions. The function of company officers are part of a good internal control that any normal or good company must have so that functions would be defined and duties would be segregated or separated in such way that would provide checks and balances. This system of checks and balances are part therefore of good internal control that a company must put into effect. A good internal control must also ensuring compliance with the GAAP is by having since the two are complementary. The GAAP is an external requirement to provide the needed characteristic of information to be reliable for decision making. It is faulty to argue that a company has an efficient and effective internal control over financial reporting if it not consistent with the requirements of GAAP. The underreporting of expenses and inflating of revenues are clear violations of the GAAP since GAAP works for fair presentation of financial statement which are governed by revenue recognition principles and expense recognition principles. Under the revenue recognition principles, revenues must be properly recognized when earned. The practice of inflating revenues by adjusting entries in creating corporate unallocated revenue accounts could easily be detected if there is an effort to do so since the name of unallocated accounts is very revealing but since the perpetrators are from the very people who are to ensure the reliability of the financial statements, the standard appeared to have no power over their criminal minds. But as found in the investigation, it was the internal audit which first calls for the alarm when there was a transfer of line costs amounting to more than $ 3 billion. This means that the system of internal control of the company still allows the working of revenue recognition principle to be noticed since they found that the ratio of expenses to revenue was already too low despite the transfer of big amount of expenses to assets. The revenue recognition principle could have guided them the simple minds of auditor that it was utterly impossible to have produced those ratios. To go back to internal control, it is management’s responsibility to have it in place but the people who were governed by the procedures did not all work together to protect the company assets since some are just evil while others are perhaps touched by their conscience especially the internal audit personnel who called the alarm on the transfer of more $3 billion line costs to assets. It appears that internal control must also have the characteristic of integrity as a system since if others are honest but others are dishonest, it will still malfunction because the company appeared to have two sets of values. Every practicing accountant and auditors will agree that the purpose of the internal control is to provide assurance that its financial statements are reliable and its preparation are in accordance with the accounting standards as issued by Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Since internal control policies and procedures for the maintenance of record in reasonable detail and reflecting the same in accurate and fair manner, first and foremost, the objective must be desired by management as a goal. In the case of WorldCom it is believable to assert that the company did have internal control but its implementation was clouded by the intention of the few who wanted to enrich themselves at the expense of investors. If the company has indeed proper values that are adopted and desired by its members, the company could have surmounted the internal control’s inherent limitations for its not to have prevented or detected the misstatement of revenues and expenses. 2. 3 Discuss in detail what a forensic accounting consultant (you) would have recommended or instilled to have prevented this fraud/accounting failure. pages As a forensic accounting consultant, what was needed was independence of the auditor from management. Auditors are to maintain their independence from the client as called for by their ethical standards but the moment that there is connivance, it goes pretty sure that fraud could easily happen. The work of an external auditor is separate from that of the company ac countant or even an internal auditor. Companies must reliable financial reporting system so that information should accurate and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). One way of ensuring compliance with the GAAP is by having an efficient and effective internal control over financial reporting. Since it is management’s responsibility to do the same, the company must do the same with a sense of integrity as part of its defining values. . Since the purpose of the internal control is to provide assurance that its financial statements are reliable and its preparation are in accordance with the US GAAP must be become a necessity for the company to make it good. Internal control is policies and procedures for the maintenance of record in reasonable detail of information and should the reflection of the same in accurate and fair manner. This set of policies and procedure would provide assurance at reasonable level so that unauthorized acquisition or disposition of company’s asset that could materially affect financial statements are detected timely and prevented accordingly. Every company’s internal control has its own inherent limitations that may not prevent or detect the misstatement that must be watched. It is thus accepted by experts in accounting that projections of any effective evaluation to future periods could still have risk thus making the controls inadequate to respond to the needs for more reliable financial statements because of changing conditions as a necessary part of business and degree of compliance with establish procedures may decline as well. It is for this reason that the managements desiring to have the internal in effect must conduct its own evaluation of its existing internal control on its financial reporting. It cans use as framework the Internal Control – Integrated Framework as issued by the Committee of Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). 3. Conclusion The story of WorldCom is a story of how greed would cause damage to people and how the accounting profession could be used as an instrument to perpetrate fraud. Theoretically, accounting is considered as the language of business and that it should provide information to help users for decision making. The basic requirement of valid accounting information is that it must be accurate or truthful. This characteristic was absent in the case of WorldCom as the accounting information was twisted to serve the interest of few people. No wonder Ebbers and company have to go to jail to suffer for the accounting fraud they have committed against the investors and for other crimes which are connected to the act of fraud. The analysis revealed to have to good internal control as requirement for providing reasonable assurance of providing information that is reliable for decision making. Said purpose must be consistent in the company’s being subjecting itself to compliance with US GAAP for the preparation of its financial statements that are reliable. The company must put and serious stand on this since the standards are meant to reconcile conflicting interest of users to prevent one user from taking advantage at the expense of the other. The set of policies and procedures from the efficient and effective internal control would provide reasonable that unauthorized acquisition or disposition of company’s assets that could materially affect financial statements are detected one time and preventive efforts could be applied accordingly. In the final analysis however, between the good internal control and the people who would implement, more weight should be given in the need for integrity and honesty of people who will implement the internal control. The maker should control what it has made. By the same principle the good internal control will mean nothing if people do not have integrity and are only seeking their selfish interest at the expense of all other stakeholders. There is no cure for greed there is a way to discourage or minimize the same by threat of strict implementation of the law. The case of Anderson who became an auditor of WorldCom appears to have not resulted to his prosecution of any crime but the auditor’ case with Enron was different. However he got himself acquitted in the higher court. Government therefore has also a role to play. It has imprisoned the perpetrators of WorldCom hence it should be a warning for many who plans to cheat investors.

kang hsi essays

kang hsi essays The Self Portrait of Kang-Hsi is a work unlike any other that a typical reader could expect to encounter. It is both educational and exciting, incorporating many elements such as morality, history, and wisdom, that when combined, stun the reader into admiration for one of Chinas greatest emperors. The Emperor Of China is a beautifully written masterpiece both on the part of the author Kang-Hsi and the editor Jonathan Spence. The book takes its readers into the 17th century China, presenting them with the Chinese way of life as well as the Chinese culture in general. The way in which Kang-Hsi presents his thoughts, victories, and defeats is spectacular to both the old and the young. Kang-Hsis self portrait allows the readers to psychologically enter the mind of the great emperor witnessing the true perspectives of his job, as well as evaluating how well he accomplished such an enormous task as ruling an empire for over sixty years. In the words of Kang-Hsi himself, his job was hard work, two words so simple, yet with such great meaning. Despite the hardships, Kang-Hsi was able to clearly define and describe his own function as the leader of his country, while performing all crucial tasks with unmatched excellence. It is clear to all that summarizing a job of an emperor is not an easy task, since this is the only job that has no limits and extends in all directions and all areas of a fairly large empire. Kang-Hsi was well aware of that and even pointed out, I have worked with unceasing diligence and intense watchfulness, never resting, never idle. (Spence, 170) Conceivably the reason for Kang-Hsis accomplishments understanding his role as well as carrying it out, were due to his high intellectual standpoint, as well as a virtuous heart. Kang-Hsi fought wars but knew when to be cruel as well ...

Engineering design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Engineering design - Assignment Example Additionally, the implication takes note of the risk level that is associated with the established significant parameters (Budd, 2006). From the questionnaire generated, the customer requirement for key ring torch includes a metal shell body having different colors, 58 by 20 MM size, LED light for lighting, nice color, and 4pc button cells that are included on the key ring. I used the questionnaire over the other methodologies because the responses are collected in a standardized manner; therefore, this method is more objective, certainly more than the Focus Group Discussion and Interviews. Generally, the method is relatively faster in collecting information than the interviews and the FDG. However, in some cases the method took a longer time to develop, apply and to analyze. Additionally, the information can be easily collected from a larger group portion. The potential is not always realized because the questionnaire returns are usually very low. However, the rates of return can be improved ones the questionnaire is responded and delivered on time. The questions in the questionnaire are outlined in the appendices (Cather, 2001). . Design Parameters Some of the design parameters for the keyring torch include type of material body color of the keyring torch Led lights Switch battery size packing mechanism flash mode Charge lead time. Using a Focus Group Discussion, the major design parameters include the material used, the body color, and the charge lead time on that order. Some of the key features of Key ring torch include the unbreakable LED light, a lithium batters having a shelf life of one year, burn time of over ten hours, the lay on the chain of the key, and small and lightweight. Some of the application of the key ring include the lighting for driver, emergency for office and home, chart reading for the pilots and astronomers, and outdoor tasks like hunting, camping, and fishing. The key ring torches are bright idea for promoting a company. The customer key ring can be customized with a company’s logo or even the message. From the Focus Group Discussion it was evident that the clients preferred aluminum alloy material, blue, pink, red, and silver body color. The brightness for the LED light is 13000mcd, a button switch, a battery of 3*LR44, a size of 58*20MM, key ring flash mode, and the charging leading time of five to seven days. The clients required the packing to be in an inner box of 500 pieces, with cumulative weight of 12.5 Kg. FDG conducted is outlined in the appendices Design Specification Name Parameter Specification Features Body color Blue, Pink, Silver, Green, and red painting Material Aluminum alloy Switch Button LED Lights Brightness of 13000mcd Size 58 by 20 MM Battery 3*LR44 Packing 1 piece/OPP, 100pcs/CTN, NW 12.g Kg Charge Lead time 5-7 days Flash mode Key ting Details of Packing Packing Inner Packing Outer Packing Meas G/N.w 1 pcs/ bag 100 pieces /inner box 500 pieces per Carton 32*23*24cm 13.5/ 12.5 Kg Design Specification and the customer requirement The design is based on the outlined specification. The reliability requirement of the key ring torch was part of the technical specification document. The company set the requirement for the key ring torch. The reliability of the product is not easy to specify. It is very easy to use the qualitative language like the needs of the product needs to exceed the expectation of the client. The key ring torc

The American Identity Crisis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The American Identity Crisis - Essay Example On the other hand, there were those who felt that American colonists had come to the New World to leave the world of monarchy and authoritarian decree behind, to found a home for democracy and for personal equality and freedom. The current debate in public opinion has to do with the American war in Iraq. There are many who believe that the United States, once an example for freedom and liberty, is acting like a colonial, or even an imperial power in its handling of Iraq. Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein, the country has sunk into a brutal civil war, which neither the American military nor the Iraqi military can contain. These thinkers assert that, since there is no clear exit strategy for the American military, that President Bush has given his military forces an impossible task of restoring full order before returning home. Instead of leaving the troops there indefinitely, these people argue, preparations should begin immediately for troop withdrawals, since there is no clear rationale for their continued presence in the country. On the other side of the argument are those who believe that the American military has a duty to establish that order before it leaves, and that to leave any earlier would g ive terrorists a foothold in the Middle East and would leave a power vacuum that could end up being very dangerous to American interests. Paine, of course, was on the side of military action against the British government. He used highly incendiary language in his pamphlets: in The Crisis, he wrote that "[t]yranny, like hell, is not easily conquered, yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph." He explicitly compares the fight for American independence from Great Britain to a religious battle between forces of good and evil. He scorned the sensibilities of the Tory loyalists, who, in his opinion, were selling out their children's futures for their own short-term comfort: he quotes the Tory tavern owner who said, "Well! Give me peace in my day!" while playing with his young son. Paine argues that his concern should be more the future, and that he should think, "If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace." Paine's argument was that a swift military action against the British would serve to lance the boil of American servitude that wo uld only continue to fester under the pressure of further British acts of taxation and other forms of official oppression. Paine's rhetoric is no tamer in his larger pamphlet known as Common Sense. He wrote, "Now is the seed-time of Continental union, faith and honour. The least fracture now will be like a name engraved with the point of a pin on the tender rind of a young oak; the wound would enlarge with the tree, and posterity read in it full grown characters." In other words, Paine felt his time period to be a crucial one in the direction of the fledgling colonies: they would either continue under British imperial rule, as would such areas as India and South Africa, or they could break free from their colonial ties and become a flagship for liberty in the New World. He uses the metaphor of writing on the tree to show how long-lasting the lessons of that historical moment would be. And just how permanent