Christian capacity Essay

Stevens’ poem Sunday Morning represents the fundamental human struggle over faith. The symbolism in the poem is prevalent in its relation to defining the role of God in a Christian capacity and lack of belief in that God. The start of the poem presents the reader with an image of a woman. Stevens uses an array of color and setting to create imagery in the poem with such phrases as â€Å"green freedom† and â€Å"coffee and oranges† in order to twine the corporeal with the mundane (i. e. â€Å"holy hush of ancient sacrifice† and â€Å"complacencies of the peignoir and late coffee and oranges in a sunny chair†). Stevens is suggesting that the woman, instead of going to Church on Sunday, has stayed home, yet divines of a â€Å"silent Palestine†, which alludes to the celestial struggle over God in the poem. The second section or stanza of Stevens’ poem portrays a masculine voice who questions, â€Å"Why should she give her bounty to the dead? / What is divinity if it can come / Only in silent shadows and dreams? †. Here Stevens is relating to the reader an extension of his faith question and asking why there should be such importance based on a religious icon, a thing that is only an image. The third stanza travels into a type of etymology or history of the conceptualization of divinity, as the poem’s section begins, â€Å"Jove in the clouds had his inhuman birth†. Thus, the reader picks up the idea of movement in the poem; the movement from Greece to Palestine; or, in the history of the Christian God, Stevens is alluding to the religious movement from polytheism to monotheism. In Greece, many different Gods and Goddesses were worshipped, but with the implementation of Emperor Constantine, the practice of monotheism became popular. Stevens is suggesting in this section the dominant question of moving past monotheism, â€Å"Shall our blood fail? †. The theory of unification is further written by Stevens by his suggesting that this could be the time of â€Å"the blood of paradise†. The use of language is intricate in this section, but despite its verbosity, Stevens manages to point the reader into a singular direction: where is religion going? In the fourth section Stevens goes back to the feminine voice, and then the masculine voice. With these two perspectives, Stevens is creating a contrary point of view and a tension in the poem as one voice constantly questions the other’s point of view. The female voice wants to know where paradise will be found without birds, and the masculine voice responds, â€Å"There is no haunt of prophecy †¦Remote in heaven’s hill, that had endured As April’s green endures; or will endure†. The masculine voice is stating that everything changes, and does not last. The imagery that Stevens uses to express this idea are common motifs in the Christian religions (i. e. greening earth, prophecy, grave, cloudy palm), and by using them in this context Stevens is making a direct strike on Christian religion. The fifth stanza returns to the feminine voice, who has not been waylaid, and continues to question the masculine voice. This stanza makes many allusions to death, while the masculine praises death; the feminine and masculine twined, create a relationship between death and desire which is quite prevalent in Stevens’ words. The stanza is suggesting that change is always needed, so death is an integral part of the universe. In the final stanzas Stevens suggests a change in religious practice. Stevens proposes a pagan practice, â€Å"a ring of men† chanting â€Å"in orgy on a summer morn†. In the final images of the poem however it may be surmised that Stevens is truly suggesting a pairing of masculine and feminine, or pagan and Christian, of life and death. Work Cited Stevens, W. Sunday Morning. Online. Accessed: August 1, 2007. http://www. web-books. com/classics/Poetry/Anthology/Stevens_W/Sunday. htm

Audit and Assurance

BA (HONS) ACCOUNTING & FINANCE BA (HONS) PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANCY COURSE YEAR 3 AUDIT & ASSURANCE 1 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT BRIEF HAND OUT DATE:5th October 2011 HAND IN DATE: INSTRUCTIONS FOR COURSEWORK You are required to research and prepare a report based on one of the following topics. Please seek the assistance of the module leader Ivor Pingue and your seminar tutors for help and guidance with your coursework. Do not leave the research too late!! The word limit for the report is a minimum of 3,500 (+10%) words. maximum word count can be + 10% (Note: reports submitted with less than 3,500 words will be rejected and given a mark of zero !! ). Reports must indicate the word count and any report that does not include this will be rejected. All reports must be properly referenced and also be submitted with a TURNITIN report. NOTE that high similarity reports could be subject to further investigation which might lead to a charge of academic misconduct for plagiarism. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN In addition to the written report, you are to prepare a separate individual personal development statement in accordance with the attached brief. This individual submission is to be handed in for the attention of Peter Blowes. The personal development statement will contribute up to 10% of your overall mark for the unit. TOPIC 1 Given the recent banking crisis and the current volatility of the financial markets, some commentators have suggested that the current audit model is not fit for purpose and should be changed to reflect the current business practices and models particularly relating to risk and risk assessment. REQUIRED Critically evaluate this statement and consider whether in your view, the current risk based approach to auditing should be amended and if so, what model should be adopted. (NOTE: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RESTRICT YOUR RESEARCH TO THE UK). TOPIC 2 External auditing has changed to accommodate the changes in corporate governance in the UK and other countries such as South Africa, Australia, US, India and China REQUIRED Using a country or countries of your choice, research and prepare a report to critically evaluate the above statement. TOPIC 3 With the current emphasis on carbon emissions and damage to the environment that businesses cause and an awareness of social issues, the role of auditors in providing social and environmental assurance engagements is likely to increase as we enter into the 21st Century. REQUIRED Research and explain the growth and development of social and environmental auditing in both the UK and a country of your choice. Explain whether you agree or disagree with the statement made. (NOTE: make sure that your research supports and is evidenced by any assertions that you make !! TOPIC 4 Auditors are not only engaged in performing statutory audits but can provide assurance reports to a number of entities both incorporated and unincorporated. Also, auditors can help reduce the incidence of fraud within a business. REQUIRED Write a report suggesting ways that an assurance engagement can be useful to various forms of businesses including the use of forensic auditing services. Also, do you agree that an assurance service can reduce the incidence of fraud? How and why do you arrive at your view? TOPIC 5 There have been a number of reports by the Audit Inspection Unit examining, amongst other things, audit quality and audit compliance reviews (ACR’s) REQUIRED Research the reports that have been produced in the UK that have considered audit quality and critically appraise them. In your report, you should make clear why you consider audit quality to be an important aspect of both the external and internal audit process. Your report should also consider how an audit firm can perform an effective audit compliance review (ACR). TOPIC 6 Given the behaviour of the audit firm Arthur Andersen in the Enron debacle, it could be argued that auditors are never truly independent of their clients and cannot be properly ethical in relation to their dealings with them for a variety of reasons, one of which being fees. REQUIRED Critically appraise the above statement by examining the relationship of the auditor to Enron. You should also consider how governments and the auditing professions in the US and UK have dealt with the issue of auditors independence and ethics. Have they gone far enough in providing public confidence in this area? What suggestions would you make to improve the position? TOPIC 7 The question of competition within the audit market is a ‘hot topic’ particularly for the middle tier and lower tier audit firms who have argued for some time that there is an unfair dominance of big ‘4’ audit firms in relation to FTSE 100 companies. REQUIRED Consider whether in your view the mid and lower tier audit firms have a fair argument in terms of the dominance of the big ‘4’ audit firms in relation to the FTSE companies. What can be done to address this issue to ensure fair competition in the audit market ? Can governments do more in this regard? (NOTE: Consider the current debate relating to this as well as the relevant reports). TOPIC 8 Examine articles within the following auditing journals: Auditing: A Journal Of Practice & Theory International Journal of Auditing Take a period of 36 months and selecting a theme that has been examined within these journals, write a report showing how it has been considered in these journals. Within your answer, state whether in your opinion, the matter has been satisfactorily resolved or whether further research and examination is required. MODULE LEADER

Becton Dickinson: World Wide Blood Collection Team Essay

Problem Identification Becton Dickinson a manufacturing company, with operations worldwide, and revenues of over $2.7 billion was founded in 1897, and had ten core businesses organized into two product sectors: medical and diagnostic. Mainly US domestic operation was beginning to give way to expanding international sales, warranting a separate division in Europe. By 1970s, the company was organized by business divisions centered in US and focusing on the largely domestic US market, and an International sector. Since most revenues were earned from the domestic market, priority tended to be domestic, which frustrated managers in foreign countries who wanted to focus more on the resources on their local market. Going international, better said, transnational was the beginning of an evolving problem that Becton Dickinson would face in the upcoming years. Causes of Problem Becton Dickinson and Company (BD) was a supplier of medical products and diagnostic systems to healthcare professionals, the medical industry, hospitals and the general public which included mostly medical gloves, hypodermic needles and intravenous catheters in the medical sector. Blood collection devices, automated systems to detect and identify bacteria and blood cell analysis systems were one of the few diagnostic products that Becton Dickinson produced. During the 1970s BD’s managers did not really take the international market as serious as they should do. Orders were only processed, when the domestic ones were filled out and completed. Furthermore, the managers’ refusals to accept and consider new product requests from abroad were a big threat to the company. In 1980, BD’s senior executives decided to take attempts to develop products and strategic ways to meet the worldwide demands of marketing needs for medical technologies. The competition did not sleep and started expanding into Europe, which began to be another threat to Becton Dickinson not only for the international sector, but also for the US market. Realizing this, BD started to build European Strategic Business Units (SBUs) that reported to the headquarters in the US. Growing concerns about emphasis given to international sales,  especially with European managers voices becoming loud, concerns led to a study senior management’s readiness to consider a new structure of BD’s worldwide activities. A consulting firm offered two structural solutions: â€Å"The Worldwide Product Division† and â€Å"Europe as an Equal Partner†, which was appealing as a way to ensure greater dedication of resources to Europe, but also threatening to duplicate efforts and costs, with the danger of different strategies slowly emerging in each division. After meeting with Harvard professor Christopher Bartlett and his colleague Sumantra Ghoshal â€Å"The Transnational Solution† was born in cooperation with the senior managers. The solution has three faces to it. The first was the challenge faced by MNCs to simultaneously achieve global efficiency, local responsiveness and worldwide innovation. The second was that these objectives needed an environment of international differentiation and asymmetry. Thirdly, they advised firms not to merely change formal reporting lines, but to focus on underlying cultures and values. A typical chain reaction was, that these circumstances affected how Becton Dickinson faced a challenge in implementing a structure that would overcome challenges posed by the growth of business outside of USA. Lack of clear vision and goals by previous management, a lack of clear articulation of the same to second line management and other employees down the chain of command are just some of the few problems that BD had to solve. Alternatives Changes to the existing organizational structure. A change to the existing structure is urgently needed, so that there’s a shift from a corporate mentality to an organization driven by Strategic Planning. This would include meeting the need for a global collaboration and local flexibility that they so badly needed as a fast growing multinational company. Managers and company itself were not prepared, which the case showed, and the lack of anticipation for the need of a suitable structure for a growing company then led to the issue, of quick fixes. This means that whenever managers in other parts of the world were discontent, only then did top management in the US would start to respond and make quick fixes to structural issues.  Cooperation and commitment between top management, middle management and employees is another important part of the change. With no cooperation, and divisions going in different direction the company soon showed signs of urgent need for structural re-designing. Disadvantages to this re-designing could result in a complete departure from the existing task based matrix structure, while others wanted to retain the structure but with minimum changes. This could as well lead to dissatisfaction within the managers and even employees. Secondly, another problem to restructuring is how well conflicts are managed or avoided all together as the company continues to have more divisions out of its central control. Open Research and Development plants in Europe and Japan. With the more and more growing market in these two sectors, Becton and Dickinson should focus on creating R&D centers within these areas and not only in the US with organizations in non-US divisions. Kozy’s thoughts about the future should also include that the European sector is an immensely fast growing one. Within seven years the net trade sales increased by over a $100 million, whereas the US sector increased by â€Å"only† $80 million. Looking at the numbers, you can see that Europe is on the move. A Research and Development center in England, for example, would help to produce local needs and act faster than going through the whole process of talks with US R&D departments and the European R&D organizations. Knowing that with Dufresne BD has a â€Å"champion† on its boat, he should be able to set up his own team of researchers, build a real Development center and take some things in his, better said, the European division’s hand. Japan not to exclude, which has also rising numbers and different marketing needs would also profit from an own R&D plant. Different needs require different solutions, therefore having the US as the only R&D plant, will not help the company nor its divisions. Even with regional R&D managers, like Dufresne, and R&D organizations outside the US, he still does not have team to work and interact with on a day-to-day basis. This would also help to accelerate new product development and quality standards, while maintaining the current distribution systems Budget restrains are a major disadvantage in BD’s case. Total expenses are high in Europe and the numbers jumped in the years from 1985 – 1992 from ca. $10,000 to a high $31,000. The plant would not only bring extra costs, but land had to be bought, people would have to be hired, and machines would have to be purchased. Another negative aspect looking at a plant in Europe or Japan would be the loss of power that the US headquarters and R&D currently have. Becton Dickinson’s US division still wants to have a certain power over its foreign ones. Therefore giving up the R&D department to a certain extent would not be everyone’s favorite in the senior management’s committee. Give Europe and Japan divisions more operating power. As for now, BD’s European and Japanese divisions are quite under the control over the â€Å"parental† guidance and supervision of the US division. The evolution from this classic structure to a new transnational company is a very important part in the future of Becton Dickinson. Even with the introduction of World Blood Collection Team (WBCT), I think that a division in itself should have more power in deciding which products to introduce, which marketing steps should be taken, etc. In the early 80’s the Japan division suffered from not being heard upon on what is need in this division. BD lost small market share in that time. The WBCT illustrated in Exhibit 8(p. 385) illustrates the Strategic, the Operations and the Marketing Team within the whole company including the whole World Blood Collection Team. In my eyes, a smaller group separated in regional divisions would help the success of the company. For example, they could combine the President BC Europe, the Director Manufacturing Europe and the Director of Marketing Europe in one group to run the regional division Europe. They would then have the power to decide which steps should be taken, what to manufacture and how and where to do the marketing. The negative aspect of this approach is that this might leave the path that WBCT and BD in general have taken up until now and again this alternative might run into problems and dissatisfaction with the headquarters. It could also lead to complete separation of the diverse division from the headquarters mission and plans on where the company wants to go. Best Alternative Looking at Becton Dickinson’s past and the way they used to business, the best alternative would be the first one mentioned of the three. Changes to the existing organizational structure, which is also part of the third alternative, would be affecting the outcome the most. The way the company will be working, how the employees will be situated within the company and most importantly how the whole company will be structured, not just domestically, but in the transnational field, is what makes them more competitive. Implementation Steps It would appear that the phenomenal growth of the business was an ambition in the managers’ plans, but they did not make any efforts to construct a structure that would suit for a company whose operations were growing with big leaps. However, there is need to make some changes to the existing structure, so that there’s a shift from a corporate mentality to an organization driven by Strategic Planning. In order to create organizational learning, top management has to create a sense of shared purpose and belonging for all divisions and individuals in the company. There is no better way to do it than to implement an organizational structure that allows and pushes free flow of information from division to division, and back to corporate headquarters without a feeling of restrictive set-ups. The main task of the top management is to shape behaviors of people and create an environment that enables them to take initiative and be more and more cooperative. Another important step is to restructure systems to reflect a willingness to accommodate different geographical and product needs. The old system was structured to suit an operation around the US, and was only slightly changed to accommodate European operations, which were still not considered equal by the US headquarters. Now with sales and operations fully developed outside of the US, it is wise to decentralize some decision-making centers so as to  allow for innovation, local responsiveness and flexibility.

Socialization in Kindergartens Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Socialization in Kindergartens - Essay Example (p62) Egertson, on the other hands focuses his attention on the injustices of the shifting of curriculum away from the child-centered approach to academic centered. He agrees with Harry that kindergarten should be a foundation level in which a child is prepared socially, emotionally and physically. This in turn will facilitate child development. He laments the current trends where by adults expectations to the child are given first priority over the interest of the child development. As a result the kindergarten schools have introduced "transition classes" (par.6) that have been both traumatic and disruptive to the child growth and development. Harry noted the expectations of both parents and staff in a Wright School kindergarten. According to the parents and staff, kindergarten experience help the child find an opportunity for physical growth that will satisfy his/her needs for "self expressions". In short the kindergarten experience would provide the child with an opportunity to grow happily and purposely with others... (p62) On the other hand, Egerson sees the parents and kindergarten staff expectations as the prime reason why the kindergarten curriculum keeps on shifting. This he argues has compromised the child socio-psychological development at kindergarten level. Egertson argues that, socialization process in a kindergarte... He further emphasis that, the responsibility of developing the child development oriented curriculum lays in the hands adults (parents and Staff). According to Harry, as much as parents and staff of Wright school agree with this, the parents and school have a responsibility to tailor a kindergarten environment in order to help the kids to develop a socially acceptable behavior. The goal of kindergarten school should be to help children "grow" in all ways: physically, emotionally, socially and academically. (p62) Harry observed that, teaching and learning of classroom routines is the main element of the student role. Kindergarten teachers spend almost the first half of the year in training the children to follow routines which teachers create. Children are drilled to tasks and activities created by teachers. These tasks and activities have to be done rigidly and repeatedly until the child knows exactly what he/she is supposed to do. (p63). Egerson notes the same trend when he argues that, most of parents view the kindergarten as the transition level where the child is prepared for higher grades. This he says have made some parents to delay their children until they acquire certain age that they deem is appropriate for their children to perform well. Harry was concerned with the lack of full involvement of children in formulating the tasks and activities. According to her, all the activities she observed in the Wright school which applies to other kindergarten schools were made by adults for the children. She was particularly concerned with the way children were made to follow familiar sounds during singing rather than helping the children follow familiar words in the "my country song". (p66). Though, this method

Country Profile Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Country Profile - Research Paper Example Kenya is a country situated in the eastern coast of Africa and lies on the equator. The country hares borders with five countries; Tanzania lies to the South, Uganda lies to the West, South Sudan to the North-West, Ethiopia lies to the North part of Kenya while Somalia lies to the North-Eastern side of the country. (Pateman, 28). The Republic of Kenya has a total land area of 582,684 square km. (224,960 square miles) this is nearly the same size as Texas. The country got its name from Mount Kenya, which is quite a significant landmark and is the second highest mountain peak in Africa. The capital city of Kenya is Nairobi which is also the largest city in the Eastern Africa region. HISTORY The history of Kenya can be evidently be traced in the late 1800s when the Kenya-Uganda railways was being constructed by the British. Before then, the country was under the Protectorate of Sultan of Zanzibar who handed over the country to the Germans. The Germans later handed over the country to Im perial British East Africa which was in charge of constructing the railways going through the two countries (from Kenya to Uganda). Later on after the First World War and the completing of the Kenya-Uganda railways most of the British and European settlers in the early 20th century chose to settle in the country especially the central highlands this was in order for them to practice farming and grow coffee and tea. This in did not go down well with the locals as they felt their lands had been grabbed by the colonialists who had forbidden them from cultivating their lands by imposing huge taxes soon their houses and farming. The natives later started a resistance and they called the resistance Mau Mau Rebellion. From the October of 1952 to December 1959 the country was under the state of emergency and the Mau Mau fighters were engaged in guerrilla war against British rule. The capture of key Mau Mau fighters led to the war ending and thereafter the first direct elections for the Afri cans in the Legislative Council was held in the 1957 and in December 12th 1963 Kenya gained independence from Britain and also formed their first constitution on the same day. (YouTube) and (Pateman). One year later on 12th December 1964 Kenya was declared a republic. The first president of the country was Jomo Kenyatta who was the president until his untimely death in 1978. Daniel Arap Moi took over the country from 1978 until 2002 when a new political revolution led by the current president Mwai Kibaki won the election took over. In 2007 there was a massive ethnic unrest and political violence after different political parties accused the current president of rigging the election, this led to approximately more than 1000 people being killed and more than 60,000 displaced in the ethnic violence that was the aftermath of the flawed election. President Mwai Kibaki is expected to hand over the presidency in 2013. STRUCTURE OF GOVERNMENT Kenya is a democratic republic in the sense that the president is both the head of state and also he is the head of the government. The country has also a multi party system of politics. After the 2007 ethnic clashes caused by the elections, there has been constitutional amendments that enabled the sharing of the executive powers between the two political rivals in the government that is the President and the Prime Minister. The executive power is mainly exercised by the

The Discovery and conquest of the Americas Essay

The Discovery and conquest of the Americas - Essay Example Diaz’s account is written very much in hindsight, at the end of his life. As well as describing what happened , it can also be taken as a biography of Herman Cortes, the leader of the Conquistadors, appointed by the Emperor and Queen of Spain, to conquer new lands, bring back riches, but also to introduce the Christian religion to new peoples. Diaz admired Cortes, but also felt free to state his faults , Cortez having died in 1546, whereas Diaz lived until 1585. He describes his book as being a true account. He would have been aware of other accounts already written and wants to set matters straight. Naturally the conquered people had a rather different point of view, one which Leon-Portillo claims is usually ignored. For this reason he includes accounts from the Aztecs, some written only seven years after the arrival of the Spaniards, and in their own languages. He includes descriptions of terrible slaughter, presumably carried out in the names of the Spanish rulers and for the sake of the Christian religion. This wasn’t war – those celebrating a fiesta were killed from behind for instance ( Leon-Potillo, 1971, page II-321). Cortes’ letters are written to inform the queen of Spain Dona Juana, and her son, the Emperor Charles V, what was going on. They are therefore written in quite formal language, flattering the royals, more so than the other texts considered ( Cortes, 1519, the first letter , page 3), but also from the point of view that the doesn’t know exactly what they already know from other sources. He states his aim as letting them know about the new discoveries, the land, the people, the religious life and local customs. To this he adds the important rider that he also wants to explain how the royals and Spain might benefit from what has been discovered ( Cortes, 1519, pages 3 and 4). His descriptions are rather mixed in that he states that the Spaniards were well received, and then , in the same paragraph, describes how the natives had killed many Spaniards. Also in the letter he informs his sponsors of the actions of others , as of Velazquez, who , in some cases , was acting with out permission, so he is covering himself. The letters were written over a period of several years, and so each one covers a considerable period of time, looking back in some instances over two years, but they are the nearest we are likely to find in that time to topical news reporting, even if biased in its outlook. Also included by Cortes are descriptions of how natives were required to accept the Catholic religion. He justifies his actions by saying that the natives were to be seen as were the people of Jericho in the book

Social Welfare in America Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Welfare in America - Research Paper Example The great depression of 1930s had devastating effects to the citizens of United States. Legislatures of that time took an initiative to create Social Security act in 1935, which influenced programs such as pension schemes, address issues touching on the unemployed, and children welfare (Alexander 5). Cushion families from financial difficulties was the intention of the social security act. The government stability depends on its ability to address factors influencing the wellbeing of its people. President Roosevelt’s regime lingers in the minds of the Americans whenever they discus social security programs. US legislatures amended the social security act in 1939 to cater for unemployment compensation (Tushnet 125). Unemployed are susceptible to hard life conditions, which can drive them into committing social crimes as a means to cater for their needs. The program intended to provide stipends, which would cater for their basic needs. Federal government created agencies, which could oversee welfare programs in United States. The agencies created through 1939 social security act include Department of Health and Human Service (HHS), Labor Department, Education, Agriculture, and Urban Development and Housing (Caputo 231). Each department addresses issues affecting US citizens. For instance, the department of agriculture addressed influences that originate from agricultural production in the nation. Education department ironed issues, which influenced acquisition of education in the United States. Historians believe that US welfare has been able to address critical issues, which influence human development (Handel 143). In 1965, US passed a social welfare act, which influenced the lives of elderly persons in the nation. The intention of the act was to compensate old persons by creating a kitty, which would cater for their wellbeing. The elderly have the challenge when it comes to finances, which would settle their bil ls in the society. The elderly compensation program has enabled many elderly persons to lead a positive life after retirement. In 1996, US government passed Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (Epstein 46). The intention of the act was to address poverty effects in the society. The growing number of the poor in US was worrying and the government had to develop strategy, which could influence their lives. The act gives the federal government the power to direct funds to various states to cater for the poor. Assisting the poor accords human rights because the government has the mandate to protect the poor (Reintsma 212). Largely, the protection of the poor as stipulated in the in the constitution is a reality through this act. Medicare provision to US citizens has elicited debates on how the poor could benefit from the welfare program. The provision in the Medicare program is to ensure the US citizens can access quality healthcare. The program is in line wi th United Nations requirement, which intends to improve human health care as a basic requirement (Zastrow 136). Medicare social welfare program dates back to the time of President Johnson when United States had to compensate war veterans and their families for their contribution to