To Accompany Essay Example

To Accompany Paper With the enhancements of technology, global transactions and competition between accountancy firms, professional accountants now provide various consultancy engagements to maintain their competitive advantage. The expanded role of professional accountants has resulted in accountants carrying out tasks which may include risks, management, personnel, consulting investment, controls and investigation. Following recent significant corporate collapses and their relationship to auditors and accountants discharging their responsibilities, there have been spate of regulatory and profession reforms that are designed to restore confidence to OTOH the public and the profession. The concept of audit independence is being examined critically in respect of its relevance and contribution to the public interest. The impact of the expanded role include: Increased public scrutiny of the fees payable to and the independence of auditors; Increased opportunities for auditors and accountants to be involved in the management of businesses, with the increasing risks to independence, Increased government regulations and professional regulations regarding the tasks performed, quality control and scope of auditors work. Increased acceptance of the importance of auditor independence. What role does ASIA have in the regulation of auditors? We will write a custom essay sample on To Accompany specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on To Accompany specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on To Accompany specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer ASIA has a significant role in the regulation of auditors. ASIA is the statutory administrative body for the enforcement of the Corporations Act 2001. Government regulation is exercised through ACACIAS surveillance program Which involves the scrutiny of all aspects of the financial statements of listed and some non-listed Australian public companies. The Objective Of this surveillance program is supplemented by an auditors review program and a liquidators review program. ASIA has the following powers and influence over the regulation of auditors: Registration by individuals, firms and companies as auditors; The audit inspection program enforced by the ASIA which covers the auditor rotation program, the policies and work practices of auditors; and Audit independence issues. This statutory body also has the power to impose a penalty on registered auditor or liquidator if he/she is found to be guilty of failing to discharge duties properly. It the auditor is deemed to be not a tit and proper person, his/her registration can be cancelled or suspended, such as bankruptcy, What are the different types of audit activities that an auditor may perform? Discuss. Audits are generally classified into different types of activities ? Financial statement, compliance, performance, comprehensive and environmental audits, Auditors may also be performing internal audit as an assurance engagement. The objective of a financial statement audit is to enable the auditor to express an opinion as to Whether the financial Statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with an identified financial reporting framework. The financial statement audit involves obtaining and evaluating evidence about n entitys financial affairs so as to establish the degree of correspondence between the managements assertions and the established criteria, such as legal requirements and accounting standards. This type of audit is performed by independent auditors appointed by the shareholders of the company, or by equivalent proprietors of non-incorporated entities whose statements are being audited. Auditors must be qualified and able to exercise their skills in an independent and objective manner. The nature and extent of the audit examination are provided in Part MM. 3, Division 3, Audit and Auditors Report, of he Corporations Act. A compliance audit involves obtaining and evaluating evidence to determine whether certain financial or operating activities of an entity conform to specified conditions, rules or regulations, The established criteria in this type of audit may come from a variety of sources. Management, for example, may prescribe policies (or rules) pertaining to overtime work, participation in a superannuation plan, and conflict of interests. Compliance audits based on criteria established by management may be undertaken often during the year. Business enterprises, to-for-profit organizations, government units and individuals are required to prove compliance With many regulations. In many instances, the audit opinion issued under the requirements of the Corporations Act has elements of a compliance audit, where the auditor is required to express an opinion on the companys compliance with the provisions of the Corporations Act. Corporate and individual taxpayers comply With the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cloth), as amended, in filling out their annual tax returns. In the public sector, the term regularity audit is used to denote an examination hat reports on the legality and control of operations and the integrity photoset dealing with public funds, including the expression of an opinion on an entitys compliance with statutory requirements, rules, ordinances or directives that govern its activities. A performance audit is an audit of all or part of an entitys or entities activities to assess economy and/or technical and/or effectiveness. It involves obtaining and evaluating evidence about the efficiency, economy and effectiveness of an entice/s operating activities in relation to specified objectives. This type of audit activity can be undertaken in the private or public sector, by an internal or external auditor, or as an one-off project or an ongoing engagement. Sometimes performance audit may also be referred to as a value-for-money (VPN), operational or management audit. The term performance audit is usually applied in the public sector, with some application in the private sector; the other terms are common to both private and public sectors. The Australian National Audit Office (NANA) defines a performance audit as: an independent and systematic examination of an organization, program or function for the purposes f: ; forming an opinion about: whether the organization, program or function is being managed in an economical, efficient and effective manner; and the adequacy Of internal procedures for promoting and monitoring economy, efficiency and effectiveness; and ; suggesting ways by Which management practices, including procedures for monitoring performance, might be improved. Comprehensive auditing occurs when an auditor undertakes a range of audit and related services for a client -? a scenario that is more common in the public sector. A comprehensive audit encompasses the elements of a financial tenement audit, a compliance audit and a performance audit. Environmental matters may have an impact on the financial statements. Some examples of environmental matters affecting financial statement accruals, the impairment of assets, disclosures or the basis of preparation include: ; a pollution prevention system, of which the cost may be accrued for remediation costs ; liability relating to transportation of, or contamination by, hazardous waste ; the obsolescence of inventory due to environmental laws and regulations. Auditors are required to carry out their environmental audit with an attitude f professional skepticism, recognizing that the audit may reveal conditions and events that would lead to questioning whether the entity is complying With relevant environmental laws and regulations. The environmental audit is a recent trend and normally involves a review or an agreed-upon procedures engagement Internal audit is defined as an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organizations operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, ND governance processes. How does the profession/government ensure that external company audits are performed at an appropriate level of quality? Every profession is concerned about the quality of its services, and the public accounting profession is no exception. Quality audits are essential to ensure that the profession meets its responsibilities to clients, to the general public and to regulators who rely on independent auditors to maintain the credibility of financial information. To help assure quality audits, the profession and the regulators have developed a multilevel regulatory framework. This framework encompasses many of the activities of the private and public sector organizations associated with the profession. For the purpose of describing the framework, these activities may be organized as follows: ;Standard setting: The JABS issues Standards, Guidance Notes and other guidance to provide clear standards for auditing and assurance services, and for review and Other related services. The professional bodies and AFC issue ethical codes to establish and monitor the performance Of professionalism and ethical behavior Of professional accountants. ; Firm regulation: Each public practice entity adopts policies and reoccurred to ensure that practicing accountants adhere to professional standards. Self- or peer regulation: The accounting profession has implemented a comprehensive program of self. Regulation (including mandatory continuing professional education) and a program of quality control and practice reviews. ; Government regulation: The FRR, ASIA and CALEB, along with the courts, courts monitor and regulate auditor independence and conduct. The quality control standards help firms to achieve quality practice at firm and individual levels, The quality control standards include: Miscellaneous professional statements (Pass); APPEASE regarding conformity with auditing and assurance standards; and ASSAYS (ISAACS) which identifies the responsibilities of an engagement partner and engagement team in an audit engagement. Brim regulation involves with the implementation of a system of quality control within firms. They typically include elements such as leadership responsibilities, ethical requirements, systems in acceptance and continuance of client relationships, proper allocation of human resources, control of engagement performance and monitoring and quality reviews. On the Other hand, self-regulation is imposed by the professional bodies using artifice of practice, continuing professional education requirements, and reviews. In addition to these, the government practices overall surveillance through ASIA, with reference to the registration and monitoring of auditors by the CALEB. Â  Lindsey L] used the following sentence in the 1895 London and General Bank case. How would you describe the relevance of the auditors role in present times? His business is to ascertain and state the true financial position of the at the time of the audit, and his duty is confined to that.. Rayon The role of the auditor has changed considerably since the time of the London ND General Bank case. These changes have been brought about by changes in statute and common law and by changes in community attitudes and expectations. The auditors role is still very relevant in terms of adding credibility to financial statements. Nowadays, auditors also offering a broader range of assurance services to satisfy the information needs of doffs users of financial information. Examples of this broader range of services include performance audits and environmental audits. 1. Discuss the different types of assurance which may be obtained in an assurance engagement. Reasonable assurance engagement: The objective of a reasonable assurance engagement is to reduce the assurance engagement risk to an acceptably low level, With the aim to arrive at a positive form of expression of conclusion. Limited assurance engagement: Limited assurance engagement aims to reduce the assurance engagement risk to a level that is acceptable in the circumstances of the engagement but where that risk is greater than for a reasonable assurance engagement, as the basis for a negative form of expression of opinion. What are the limitations, if any, off financial statement audit? A financial statement audit is performed in accordance with AS 200 Objective and General Principles Governing an Audit of a Financial Report. There are inherent limitations in any audit. These limitations include the use of testing, reliance on internal control structures, the possibility of collusion and the tact that most audit evidence is persuasive rather than conclusive. Regardless of the type of audit, a professional subjective judgment will be used in gathering and evaluating evidences and forming the relevant conclusion. These inherent limitations also mean that the auditor cannot achieve a zero engagement risk. Therefore, an absolute assurance is not possible in a financial report audit. An enhancing role Of auditors has developed where the audit expertise is used widely to assist the clients needs. What are your views concerning the role described, with particular reference to the appearance of audit independence? The enhancing role described is a logical extension of the auditors traditional role, in order to meet the changing expectations of users of financial statements in recent years. Auditing has also progressed from a compliance role to a value- adding role to management and business. Along with increasing competition among firms and cost}efficiency pressure, auditors often provide consulting services to audit clients. Hence there is a blurring or relationship with clients. The public confidence of audit independence had been in decline as a result of high profile corporate and audit failures, partly due to the wide range of services that were performed by the auditors involved in these cases, and partly due to the lack of effective corporate governance. However, legislators, the profession and the audit firms all have been working hard to push for reform to restore inference, independence and integrity to the profession. Recent examples of significant reform to audit independence are The enactment of Serbians-Solely Act in US; Big Pour Firms such as KEMP and Presumptuousnesss have separated their management consulting and assurance services by selling their consultancy arm to a third party; and A mandatory cooling Off period for retiring partners joining the board of their audit clients and a mandatory rotation of engagement partners. What is meant by a comprehensive audit? Should a comprehensive audit be carried out by an independent auditor? A comprehensive audit encompasses the elements of a financial report audit, a compliance audit and a performance audit. It is most commonly undertaken in the public sector through the office of the Auditor General, A comprehensive audit would normally be carried out by an independent auditor, in either the public sector or the private sector. I . 0 How do you think the corporate collapses have influenced the role of auditing in recent years? The corporate collapses in US and Australia have had a fundamental impact to the role of auditing in recent years. Recent events have led closer public scrutiny n the role of the auditor, the audit independence and the methodology on how an audit is carrying out. That is, there is greater understanding the expectation gap between the public and the auditing profession and the acknowledgement by the profession that it needs to reduce this gap. Significant steps hue been made to influence the enhancing role of auditor to that of a convergence role, Which emphasizes the following: A clear Objective to enhance and maintain the integrity of the profession; Clearly address the auditor interest to the public is as important as to the client, such as safeguarding independence by eliminating ample relationship with audit clients (i. E. Omit to audit only); Reiterate ethical governance; A clear distinction of audit and non-audit engagements carried out by auditor, this leads to legislation and self regulation being established to a ban on certain non-audit services for audit clients; Stronger regulation on auditors and audit firms as well as tougher enforcement on non-compliance; Return to a more rigorous audit of substantive matters, rather than limit to the testing of internal controls; Increasing the forensic nature of audit and stronger awareness of report fraud; Relate audit risks to business risk Professional application questions Audit objectives Required Discuss the current changes in the objectives of auditing, identifying the expanded roles of professional accountants and some of the reasons attributable to the changes. The traditional audit role was a conformance role. Audits focused on finding errors in balance sheet accounts and on stemming the growth Of fraud. The detection of fraud had a very important emphasis. As companies began to grow and become more complex during the nineteenth century, the detection Of fraud came an unrealistic objective although was still generally perceived as one of the main objectives of a financial report audit. The difference in perception of responsibilities and reality were addressed in the case of Kingston Cotton Mill co(1896) 2 Chi. 0279. Lopes, L] said of auditors: He is a watchdog, but not a bloodhound. Elf there is anything calculated to excite suspicion, he should probe it to the bottom but, in the absence of anything of that kind, he is only bound to be reasonably cautious and careful This effectively stated that it is impossible to detect all fraud as part of the audit. Auditing standards place the following requirements on auditors: The auditor should plan the audit to have a reasonable expectation of detecting material misstatements that have a material impact on the financial report (ii not all fraud). The auditor should report any irregularities (including fraud) even if the effect on the financial report is expected to be immaterial. In conclusion, the primary Objective Of an audit is to express an opinion as to whether the financial report is prepared, in all material respects, in accordance With an identified financial reporting framework. The Objective to detect fraud is n the context of the auditors opinion. Also in recent years, the role of the auditor has expanded to meet the changing expectations of users of financial statements. This expanded role is evidenced by the wide range of assurance services now offered by auditors. 1. 2 Independence Based on the series of accounting crisis and corporate collapses in the early sass, discuss the importance of maintaining independence by an auditor. Audit Independence is the cornerstone of auditing. Independence is the essence that underlies the success and credibility of the accounting profession and its service to the public. Maintaining independence allows the auditing and accounting profession to be self-regulated, a highly prestigious character, This objectivity permits the profession to perform its attestation and monitoring functions effectively. Independence is also a key component of the agency theory of auditing. In the management shareholder agency relationship it is important that the monitoring function (audit) is and is seen to be separate from management, for it to be a ;value added service. I . 3 Standard setting a. Comment on an auditors ability and methods in attesting the credibility of uncial statements prepared by the governing party of an organization. Due to formal training and experience, the auditor has the ability, credibility and authority under Corporations Law, to undertake attestation of financial statements. At minimum, an auditor who carries out an audit must be a current registered member of CPA Australia and ACACIA. In accordance with the requirements laid down in the various Auditing Standards, the auditor plans the nature, timing and extent of procedures to be followed to arrive at a positive expression of an opinion under the requirements of AS 200 and AS 220. B. Explain what type of assurance an auditor should provide in a financial statements audit. A financial statements audit is one that expresses an opinion on written assertions and thus the audit level of assurance is expressed as a positive opinion. The financial statement audit provide a reasonable level Of assurance which enhances the credibility of the information provided by the party responsible for the matter, such as in the audit report on financial statements under the Corporations Act 2001. While the assurance of the financial statement audit is objective, it is subject to a number of inherent limitations. Some of these limitations include time lapse, audit testing based on selective samples, a subjective assessment of materiality, and that where there are highly specialized areas, the auditors may need to seek external advice regarding the subject matter being audited. 1. 4 Regulatory trademark a) One component of this framework is the oversight ability of the FRR, Identify the type of work that is performed by the FRR which aims to enhance the quality and independence of professional services Section 225 of the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Act egg lists the function of the FRR. They include: Â  Overseeing the setting of accounting standards in Australia; Â  Appointing members of the AAAS other than the chair; Â  Giving directions to the SAAB on matters of general policy and procedures; Monitoring the operation of accounting standards to assess their continued relevance and effectiveness in achieving their objectives; Â  Monitoring the effectiveness of auditor independence requirements in Australia; Â  Reporting to the minister and giving advice about continuing Steps to enhance auditor independence; and Monitoring disciplinary procedures of accounting bodies.

Term Paper on Abortion

Term Paper on Abortion In biological terms, abort means to expel a foetus during the early months of pregnancy or to check a disease or a condition during its early stages and abortion means the premature birth of an embryo before it is capable of continuing life. Abortion is considered a crime of murder if it is allowed to be done intentionally as a life, which is not capable to be born still, is tried to be eradicated with the help of medical expertise. Abortion can be also be caused by carelessness of the mother or any accidental happening when the mother is unable to secure herself or her baby. Sometimes, there is a situation when the mother’s life is in danger; the doctors recommend the mother and her relatives to abort the unborn baby as to secure the life of the mother. In case of securing mother’s life, abortion is not considered a crime but if the child is aborted for any unauthorized or illegal purposes, it is a criminal activity that is prohibited by law. Students who belong to the discipline of medical and the professionals of medical are well are of the effects and causes of abortion, they also know about the precautionary measures that a woman should take after abortion and they are also aware of the stages and needs of pregnancy that a woman should follow during her pregnancy but the commoners are not knowledgeable about any effects and causes and the precautionary measures which they should take during pregnancy. In such a situation, the medical practitioners and students of medicine should write a term papers on abortion or abortion term papers for the awareness of common people in terms of abortion and its harmful effects and the steps that a woman should take after her abortion. Now, the problem faced by medical students is how to write a term paper on abortion or term papers on abortion? For writing term papers on abortion, follow the following steps: Introduce the topic of term paper on abortion. Your introduction should contain information and a thesis statement that should reveal your point of view related to abortion. A thesis statement is a one-line answer to your abortion term paper question. Your term paper on abortion should be simple and clear, so that, everyone can understand your term paper on abortion. Divide your term paper on abortion in various sections such as introduction, literature review, effects, adversities caused by abortion, reasons for abortions, legal conditions associated with abortion, findings, precautionary measures and conclusion and any other, that seem suitable to you for inclusion in term paper on abortion. Include only precise and accurate information in your term papers on abortion. You can also buy term paper on abortions from any supporting entity that provides abortion term papers for support of students or read some writing tips how to write a term paper on our blog.

A Breath of Fresh Air

It is common knowledge that second hand smoke is extremely dangerous for your health and even more dangerous to infants and children. Exposure to second hand smoke causes 150,000 to 300,000 acute lower respiratory tract infections (pneumonia and bronchitis) annually in children 18 months and younger; these infections result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations each year. Second hand smoke exposure causes buildup of fluid in the middle of the ear, resulting in childhood operations and of childhood hearing loss. A California EPA study estimates that 46,000 (range is between 22,700 and 69,600) cardiovascular deaths, 3400 lung cancer deaths and 430 sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) deaths are annually associated with second hand smoke exposure. 1 Many children are essentially forced to breathe in toxic fumes and particulates due to their parents’, siblings’, and surrounding elders’ poor choices. Enforcing stricter smoking laws and regulations can drastically help the effects second hand smoke causes in children’s health. â€Å"Choice† is a key word and the children do not have one. It is up to us, as responsible adults, to protect them and give them a healthy living environment for them to grow and develop in. Second- hand smoke, side-stream smoke or passive smoke can affect anyone near it, including innocent children which are sometimes overlooked. Infants and young children are especially susceptible since their lungs are still developing and childhood exposure to second hand smoke results in decreased lung function. Children who breathe second hand smoke are more likely to suffer from cough, wheeze, phlegm and breathlessness. There are many ways we can help protect them with simple changes in the way we live today. While Environmental Tobacco Smoke exposure, otherwise known as ETS, is on the decline in California due to increased public awareness of its harmful effects, smoking in vehicles still poses a very real threat to vehicle occupants, especially children. Smoking can cause respirable suspended particle, otherwise known as RSP, and CO levels in cars to reach high levels when the windows are open or closed. Recent research from the Harvard School of Public Health has shown that ETS in cars can reach levels comparable to smoky bars or restaurants. In addition, smoke can settle on car surfaces, including child safety seats, making it possible for children to pick up ETS with their fingers, which they may place in their mouths, causing them to ingest ETS particles. In fact, next to workplaces, homes and cars are considered the most unhealthy places in terms of ETS exposure, again particularly for children. One step that we have made in the right direction towards car air quality for children, is Article 2. 5 Smoking in Motor Vehicles 118947, the Marco Firebaugh Memorial Children’s Health and Safety Act of 2007, otherwise known as the â€Å"Smoke Free Cars† law. It was enforced as of January 1st 2008 and states that it is unlawful for a person to smoke a pipe, cigar, or cigarette in a motor vehicle, whether in motion or at rest, in which there is a minor. A violation of this section is an infraction punishable by a fine not exceeding one hundred dollars for each violation. Even though this new law is a great start to shielding children’s health problems from second hand smoke, there are still things that can be changed within this same law to maximize its power. For instance, this law states that a law enforcement officer shall not stop a vehicle for the sole purpose of determining whether the driver is in violation of this article. This part of the act should be changed, giving law enforcement the power to stop a vehicle just to determine whether a violation is taking place so that this law can have more of an impact. This act also punishes the violators by placing a fine of no more than one hundred dollars for each violation. I feel that this punishment is not enough and should be raised to a higher fine of at least two hundred and fifty dollars per offense with the ability for the fine amount to increase with each following offense. Higher penalties for the violation of this law would help make people understand the severity of their actions and hopefully change their habits. An act to amend Sections 19994. 30 and 19994. 33 of Part 2. 6 of Division 5 of the Government Code relating to tobacco, states that no public employee or member of the public shall smoke any tobacco product inside a public building, or in an outdoor area within twenty feet of a main exit, entrance, or operable window of a public building. When walking up to a building with people smoking twenty feet from the entrance, the presence of smoke is still very strong and apparent to almost anyone walking through it. Twenty feet from an entrance, exit, or operable window to a building is still too close for people to be smoking without risking second hand smoke effects. The current Surgeon General’s Report states that there is no risk-free level of second hand smoke exposure. Even brief exposures can be harmful to children. If this distance were to be changed to twice the amount, it would allow for a larger pathway to enter or exit a building without having to suffer from exposure we are currently bare to under the current law of only twenty feet. Another part of today’s law that should be revisited and updated is the current smoking age. The California law for buying tobacco products (cigarettes) is eighteen. up the habit before the age of twenty-one. 5 Raising the required age to purchase cigarettes to twenty-five would greatly shrink the potential dangers of having ignorant and uneducated smokers poisoning others around them. Being eighteen years of age does not necessarily mean you can make adult decisions. Besides raising the legal smoking age, doing things like demanding television channels to air more anti-smoking ads, like the truth commercials, or just airing the anti-smoking ads more frequently during prime time hours would decrease the current smoker numbers and prevent future smokers from picking up the dangerously addictive habit and in turn, damaging children’s health due to second hand smoke. Education is the best deterrent to preventing smokers to smoke and potential smokers to start. Although we can cut down on children’s contact to second hand smoke in and around public buildings and now even in vehicles, there is still the huge problem of the second hand smoke that is inhaled by children in their own home. The National Survey on Environmental Management of Asthma and Children’s Exposure to Environmental Tobacco Smoke (NSEMA/CEE) (U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2004) has found that 11% of children aged 6 years and under are exposed to ETS in their homes on a regular basis (4 or more days per week) compared to 20% in the 1998 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) and that parents are responsible for 90% of children’s exposure to ETS. Children face a higher risk than adults of the negative effects of secondhand smoke. Not only is a childs body still developing physically, but their breathing rate is faster than that of adults. Adults breathe in and out approximately 14 to 18 times a minute, where newborns can breathe as many as 60 times a minute. Up until a child is about 5 years old, the respiratory rate is quite fast; usually between 20 and 60 breaths per minute. When the air is tainted with cigarette smoke, young, developing lungs receive a higher concentration of inhaled toxins than do older lungs. 6 To cut down on children involuntarily inhaling second hand smoking in the home, a new law should be passed making it illegal to smoke in your house, apartment, condo, trailer, etc. if there are children living there. Cigarette smoking should only be permitted outdoors on the porch or balcony with the door and windows closed and the person smoking being of no less than forty feet from the entrance, exit, or windows. Harsh fines should be put into action if parents, siblings, family members or even babysitters decide to smoke indoors with children currently living there. With these laws into place we can protect our children and give them a much stronger chance of living a long healthy life. One great law that the Government has implemented in order to reduce the appeal of smoking and the risks of second hand smoke, chiefly dwindling the amount of smokers in the United States, is the taxes on tobacco. In California, due to proposition 10, every pack of cigarettes sold has an automatic eighty-seven cent tax attached to it. California is ranked 30th among all fifty states when it comes to cigarette taxes, where as New Jersey is ranked number one, with a $2. 7 tax added to each pack sold. The more taxes added to tobacco purchases the more money there will be present for paying for health and smoking-cessation programs. Tobacco products are taxed by the Tobacco Products Surtax, which is currently 46. 7% of the cost of the product. Tobacco products include cigars, unrolled tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco, and any other product, which contains 50 percent tobacco or more. The California State Board of Equalization determines the annual surtax rate. Proposition 86 would amend the state constitution by raising the tax on cigarettes in California an additional $2. 64 per pack above the current cost of about $4. 00 a pack, effectively raising the cost of a pack of cigarettes to close to $7. 00. The Board of Equalization is required by state law to increase taxes on other tobacco products in an amount equivalent to any increase in the tax on cigarettes. Prop. 86, therefore, would increase the excise tax on other tobacco products. Proposition 86 ould likely increase excise tax revenues for about $2. 1 billion annually in 2007-08. 7 Unfortunately proposition 86 did not pass and cigarettes in California only have an eight-seven cent tax on them. Making cigarettes unaffordable is a great way to reduce the number of tobacco consumers however the taxes should be steeper in order to effectively lessen cigarette purchases. If this higher tax would be implemented, there would be fewer and fewer smokers, which makes for lesser and lesser second hand smoke. With all the new rules and regulations enforced; smoke free cars, extending the distance of smoking by entryway, increasing the age to purchase cigarettes, prohibiting smoking in the home with children living there, and the increased taxes on cigarettes, innocent bystanders will remarkably suffer less then they do now by second hand smoke. Ignorance today is causing children to experience asthma, and even die from SIDS. The changes that I have proposed in the laws could help people decide to quit smoking or at the very least be smarter about where, how, and who they smoke around. Though refraining from smoking may not be easy because it is extremely addictive, the best solution to ending second hand smoke is to convince the public to quit. â€Å"If you can’t quit for yourself, quit for your kids. Kids of parents who smoke are more likely to start smoking themselves when they get older. † If you can’t quit, at least don’t smoke inside your home or your car or other places that your children will be directly exposed to the smoke. 8 The most important thing is that we keep educating ourselves on smoking safety for us and those around us also, focusing on the risks we are taking every time we decide to smoke a cigarette.

Nursing Theory Website Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nursing Theory Website Paper - Essay Example An example was the theory by smith that contradicted the child as the client. she was a nursing theorist who was a veteran in the development of theories that concerned nursing. However, the goal attainment theory is the most popular being featured in major nursing theories. The site that delineates the particulars of the theory is the most accessible. The subject matter is also broader than that of Casey’s model (Imogene, 1987). Most of the nursing books have also come into existence after the advent of the goal attainment theory. Nevertheless, the theories have borrowed from the theory. Books that are reaching the market after the theory include `Imogene King’s nursing theory by Varghese and the Helvie theory books by Carl Helvie. The theorist still serves as an American licensed nurse and also a professor of Nursing at Old Dominion University. The site for her theory is well updated and easy to locate while surfing the web. On the other hand, the site is peculiar in that the theory bases the argument on primary findings from research carried out to peasant persons and consequent education and practice (Jarrà ­n, 2007). Books written after the theory are by people such as Julia B George, Melanie McEwen and Evelyn M Wills. Their books are also readily available and provide good

Discussion board Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion board - Essay Example Younger children might have suggested the best place for the third eye was the forehead, since they might not understand more abstract concepts other than current, real-life eye placement. The subject solved the problem with theoretical reasoning and provided a less tangible placement for the third eye that took into consideration the objective of the new third eye rather than simple function as a seeing tool. Piaget would likely reinforce that people in this stage of development would come up with unique solutions in this hypothetical situation without resorting to only obvious outcomes. Adults may not always reason according to Piaget’s theory due to many different factors, one of which is cultural beliefs that either promote or support abstract thinking. For example, family influence in a more docile and less motivated family structure might not have the same support network for education and creativity as other people. Social influence is important in human development. Ye s, ASU has helped in this effort. ASU challenges students to excel in learning and also to become motivated to consider alternative possibilities to unique problems. The college focuses on theoretical concepts that challenge more conceptual solutions to real-life problems in many classroom teachings.

An Analysis of the Social Gradient of Health Essay Example for Free

An Analysis of the Social Gradient of Health Essay â€Å"The demonstration of a social gradient of health predicts that reducing inequality itself has health benefits for all, not simply for the impoverished or deprived minorities within populations. † (Devitt, Hall Tsey 2001) The above quote from Devitt, Hall and Tsey’s paper is a relatively well grounded and well researched statement which draws on contemporary theoretical sociological concepts to support the assertion that reducing inequality is the key to improving health for all. However the assertion that the demonstration of a social gradient of health predicts that a reduction in inequality will lead to health benefits for all is a rather broad statement and requires closer examination. The intention of this essay is to examine the social gradient of health, whose existence has been well established by the Whitehall Studies (Marmot 1991), and, by focusing on those groups at the lower end of the social gradient, determine whether initiatives to address inequalities between social classes will lead to health benefits for those classes at the lower end of the social scale. The effectiveness of past initiatives to address these social and health inequalities will be examined and recommendations made as to how these initiatives might be more effective. The social gradient described by Marmot and others is interrelated with a variety of environmental, sociopolitical and socioeconomic factors which have been identified as key determinants of health. These determinants interact with each other at a very complex level to impact directly and indirectly on the health status of individuals and groups at all levels of society; â€Å"Poor social and economic circumstances affect health throughout life. People further down the social ladder usually run at least twice the risk of serious illness and premature death of those near the top. Between the top and bottom health standards show a continual social gradient. † (Wilkinson Marmot 1998) In Australian society it is readily apparent that the lower social classes are at greater disadvantage than those in the upper echelons of society; this has been discussed at length in several separate papers on the social gradient of health and its effects on disadvantaged Australian groups (Devitt, Hall Tsey 2001, Robinson 2002, Caldwell Caldwell 1995). Within the context of the social gradient of health it can be inferred that Indigenous groups, for example, are particularly susceptible to ill health and poor health outcomes as they suffer inordinately from the negative effects of the key determinants of health. A simple example of this is the inequality in distribution of economic resources: â€Å"Average Indigenous household income is 38% less than that of non-Indigenous households. † (AHREOC 2004). The stress and anxiety caused by insufficient economic resources leads to increased risk of depression, hypertension and heart disease (Brunner 1997 cited in Henry 2001). Higher social status and greater access to economic resources is concomitant with a reduction in stress and anxiety levels, as individuals in these groups have more control over economic pressures which create this stress. This simple comparison proves that the social gradient of health accurately reflects how socioeconomic determinants affect the health of specific social classes at the physiological level. An extension of the research into the social gradient and the determinants of health is the examination of the pathways through which specific social groups experience and respond to these determinants. These ‘psychosocial pathways’ incorporate psychological, behavioural and environmental constraints and are closely linked to the determinants of health; â€Å"Many of the socio-economic determinants of health have their effects through psychosocial pathways. † (Wilkinson 2001 cited in Robinson 2002). These pathways have been demonstrated by Henry (2001) in the conceptual model of resource influences (Appendix A), a model which illustrates the interaction between the constraints mentioned above and their impact on health outcomes. Henry states that a central differentiator between classes is the amount of control an individual feels they have over their environment. Whereas an individual from a lower class group holds a limited sense of control over their well being and consequently adopts a fatalistic approach to health, those in higher classes with a stronger sense of control over their health are more likely to take proactive steps in ensuring their future wellbeing. This means that both individuals will cope differently with the same health problem. This is partly as a result of socioeconomic or environmental determinants relative to their situation, but it is also a result of behavioural/physical constraints and, most importantly, the modes of thought employed in rationalising their situation and actions. In essence these psychosocial pathways occupy an intermediate role between the social determinants of health and class related health behaviours. This suggests that, while the social gradient of health is a good predictor of predisposition to ill health among specific classes, it cannot predict how reducing inequality in itself will affect health outcomes or how a specific social class will respond to these changes. An examination of some initiatives aimed at reducing inequality in the indicators of health outcomes reveals this problem; â€Å"In 1996 only between 5% and 6% of NT Aboriginal adults had any kind of post secondary school qualification compared with 40% of non-Aboriginal Territorians. † (ABS 1998). Within the context of the social gradient of health, education is an important indicator of health outcomes. It is evident from the quote above that there exists huge inequality within the Northern Territory education system; this suggests an increased likelihood of ill health for Aboriginal people in later life. Even though there have been initiatives to address this inequality in one of the indicators of health outcomes (Colman 1997, Lawnham 2001, Colman Colman 2003), they have had only a minimal impact on Indigenous second level education rates (ABS 2003). This is partly due to the inappropriateness of these initiatives (Valadian 1999), but it is also due to the disempowerment and psychosocial malaise (Flick Nelson 1994 cited in Devitt, Hall Tsey 2001) which are a feature of Indigenous interaction and responses to the social determinants of health. Research has also been carried out into how effecting change in the inequalities in other indicators of health might affect health outcomes. Mayer (1997) cited in Henry (2001) examined the effects of doubling the income of low income families and concluded it would produce only modest effects. Henry believes that this points to the strong influence of the psychological domain in influencing health behaviours. This suggests that the key to better health for all lies not just in reducing inequality between the classes but also in changing those elements of the psychological domain which influence health behaviour. Another example of the gap between initiatives to reduce inequality and their impact on those inequalities is evident in an examination of economic constraints experienced by Indigenous Australians on social welfare. Price and McComb (1998) found that those in Indigenous communities would spend 35% of their weekly income on a basket of food, compared to just 23% of weekly income for those living in a capital city for the same basket of food. To combat this inequality it would seem logical to reduce the price of food in Indigenous communities or else increase the amount of money available to those living in remote communities, i. e. a socioeconomic approach. It has already been established that increasing income has only modest effects and in combination with the fact that smoking, gambling and alcohol account for up to 25% of expenditure in remote communities (Robinson 2002), how can it be guaranteed that the extra funds made available through either of the two suggestions above would be employed in achieving a desirable level of health? One possible suggestion is that a socioeconomic approach must be complemented by a psychosocial approach which addresses those abstract modes of thought, cultural norms and habits and health related behavioural intentions which dictate healthful behaviours. â€Å"Culture and culture conflict are factors in Aboriginal health. But instead of the emphasis being placed on Aboriginal failure to assimilate to our norms, it should rather be put on our failure to devise strategies that accommodate to their folkways. † (Tatz 1972 cited in Humphrey Japanangka 1998) Any initiative which hopes to resolve inequality in health must incorporate a sound understanding of the influence of the psychosocial pathways relative to the class level and cultural orientation of that group, otherwise its success will be modest at best. Using Henry’s model of resource influences provides a framework for understanding how addressing these psychosocial pathways can lead to greater uptake of initiatives designed to address these inequalities. An analysis of the National Tobacco Campaign (NTC 1999) reveals how this initiative failed to impact significantly on Indigenous smoking rates. This was a purely educational initiative which aimed to raise awareness of the effects of smoking on health. One of the primary flaws of its design was its failure to even acknowledge those Indigenous groups at the lower end of the social scale; it also failed to communicate the relevance of its message to Indigenous people; â€Å"The only thing is that when it comes to Aboriginal people, they will not relate to Quit television advertisements because they don’t see a black face†¦. I’ve heard the kids say ‘Oh yeah, but that’s only white fellas’. They do. † (NTC 1999) Not only did this initiative fail to connect with Indigenous people, it also failed to influence the elements of the psychological domain which legitimate such high rates of smoking. Within Indigenous culture smoking has become somewhat of a social practice, with the emphasis on sharing and borrowing of cigarettes (Gilchrist 1998). It is ineffectual to put across messages about the ill effects of smoking if the underlying motivation of relating to others is not addressed. In a report conducted on Indigenous smoking (AMA APMA 2000 cited in Ivers 2001), it was suggested that one of the key themes of an initiative aimed at reducing indigenous smoking rates should be that smoking is not a part of Indigenous culture. The ‘Jabby Don’t Smoke’ (Dale 1999) is an example of an initiative whose design attempted to influence accepted social norms. Its focus was primarily on children, thereby acknowledging the importance of socialization and the instillation of cultural norms at an early age. Unfortunately no data is available detailing its impact on smoking rates. As mentioned earlier in this essay, another feature of the psychological domain which has an effect through the psychosocial pathways is the modes of thought employed in rationalising actions and responses to various determinants and constraints. Self efficacy or the amount of perceived control over one’s situation is an important contributor to health status; â€Å"Empowered individuals are more likely to take proactive steps in terms of personal health, whilst disempowered individuals are more likely to take a fatalistic approach† (Henry 2001) Examples of initiatives which have strived to empower Indigenous people in being responsible for their own health include ‘The Lung Story’ (Gill 1999) and various health promotion messages conveyed through song in traditional language ( Castro 2000 cited in Ivers 2001, Nganampa Health Council 2005). By encouraging Indigenous people to address these issues in their own way, the amount of perceived control over their own health is increased thereby facilitating a greater degree of self efficacy. The intention of this essay has not been to deny that the social gradient of health does not exist or that it is not an effective tool in creating understanding of where social and health inequalities lie. Unfortunately programs and initiatives which have been guided by the social gradient of health and have been purely socioeconomic in their approach have failed to have a significant, sustainable effect on health inequalities. In the US, despite socioeconomic initiatives to resolve inequality, the gap between upper and lower class groups has actually widened in recent times (Pamuk et al 1998 cited in Henry 2001). The scale of the intervention required to ensure a sustained impact on health inequalities has been discussed by Henry (2001), he also highlights the need to garner substantial political will in order for these changes to happen and makes the point that those in the upper classes are relatively content with the present status quo. This essay has attempted to demonstrate that in an environment where well grounded, evidence based socioeconomic initiatives are failing to have the desired out comes, it is perhaps time to focus more on altering those strongly held health beliefs which not only dictate responses to social determinants of health but also dictate responses to initiatives designed to address these inequalities; â€Å"Healthful behaviours are due to more than just an inability to pay. A mix of psychological characteristics combines to form distinctive behavioural intentions†. (Henry 2001) In the current environment of insufficient political will and finite resources it would be prudent to use every tool available to ensure initiatives aimed at reducing inequality between the classes will have the maximum amount of benefit. This approach is not a long term solution, but until it is possible to achieve the large scale social remodelling necessary to truly remove social inequality, and consequently health inequality, it is the most viable solution available. REFERENCES. ABS, 2003. ‘Indigenous Education and Training’, Version 1301. 0, A Statistical Overview, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra, viewed 22nd August 2005, http://www. abs. gov. au/Ausstats/[emailprotected] nsf/Lookup/FC7C3062F9C55495CA256CAE000FF0D6 A statistical overview of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in Australia 2004, Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission (AHREOC), Sydney, viewed 20th August 2005, http://www. hreoc. gov. au/social_justice/statistics/. Brunner, E. 1997. ‘Stress and the Biology of Inequality’. British Medical Journal. No. 314, pp 1472-1476. Castro, A. 2000. ‘Personal Communication’. No other details available. Caldwell, J. Caldwell, P. 1995. ‘The cultural, social and behavioural component of health improvement: the evidence from health transition studies’, Aboriginal Health: Social and Cultural transitions: Proceedings of a Conference at the Northern Territory University, Darwin 28-30th September. Colman, A. 1997. ‘Anti-racism Course’, Youth Studies Australia, Vol. 16, Issue 3, p. 9, viewed 22nd August 2005, EBSCOhost Database Academic Search Premier, item: AN 12878155. Colman, A. Colman, R. 2003. ‘Education Agreement’, Youth Studies Australia, Vol. 22, Issue 1, p. 9, viewed 22nd August 2005, EBSCOhost Database Academic Search Premier, item: AN 9398334. Dale, G. 1999. ‘Jabby Don’t Smoke, Developing Resources to Address Tobacco Consumption in Remote Aboriginal Communities’, Paper presented to the Eleventh National Health Promotion Conference, Perth. 23-26th May. Devitt, J. , Hall, G. , Tsey, K. 2001. ‘An Introduction to the Social Determinants of Health in Relation to the Northern Territory Indigenous Population’, Occasional Paper. Co-operative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Tropical Health. Darwin. Flick, B. , Nelson, B. 1994. ‘Land and Indigenous Health’, Paper No. 3, Native Titles Research Unit, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, Canberra. Gilchrist, D. 1998. ‘Smoking Prevalence among Aboriginal Women’, Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal, Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 4-6. Henry, P. 2001. ‘An Examination of the Pathways through Which Social Class Impacts Health Outcomes’. Academy of Marketing Science Review, vol. 3, pp 1-26. Humphery, K. , Japanangka, M. D. , Marrawal, J. 1998. â€Å"From the Bush to the Store: Diabetes, Everyday Life and the Critique of Health Service in Two Remote Northern Territory Aboriginal Communities. † Diabetes Australia Research Trust and Territory Health Services, Darwin. Ivers, R. 2001. ‘Indigenous Australians and Tobacco; A Literature Review’, Menzies School of Health Research and the Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal and Tropical Health, Darwin. pp. 67-80, 93-107. Lawnham, P. 2001. ‘Indigenous Push at UWS’, The Australian, 27th June, 2001. p. 34, viewed 22nd August 2005, EBSCOhost Database Academic Search Premier, item: AN 200106061025662941. Marmot, M. G. , Davey Smith, G. , Stansfield, S. , Patel, C. , North, F. , Head, J. , White, I. , Brunner, E. and Feeney, A. 1991. ‘Health Inequalities among British Civil Servants: the Whitehall II Study’, Lancet, 337, 1387. reading 1. 5. Mayer, S. 2001. What Money Can’t Buy: Family Income and Children’s Life Chances. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. National Tobacco Campaign. 1999. ‘Australia’s National Tobacco Campaign: Evaluation report Volume 1’. Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care, Canberra. Nganampa Health Council. 2005. Nganampa Health Council, Alice Springs. Viewed 23rd August 2005, http://www. nganampahealth. com. au/products. php Pamuk, E. , Makuc, D. , Heck, K. , Reubin, C. , Lochner, K. 1998. ‘Socioeconomic Status and Health Chartbook’. Health, United States. National Centre for Health Statistics, Maryland. Price, R. , McComb, J. 1998. ‘NT and Australian Capital Cities Market Basket Survey 1998’. Food and Nutrition Update, THS, Vol. 6, pp. 4-5. Robinson, G. 2002. ‘Social Determinants of Indigenous Health’, Seminar Series, Menzies School of Health Research. Co-operative Centre for Aboriginal Health. Valadian, M. 1999. ‘Distance Education for Indigenous Minorities in Developing Communities’, Higher Education in Europe, Vol. 24, Issue 2, p. 233, viewed 22nd August 2005, EBSCOhost Database Academic Search Premier, item: AN 6693114. APPENDIX A. CCONCEPTUAL MODEL OF RESOURCE INFLUENCES. [pic] Henry, 2001. .

Stage Directions for Act I Scene iii in The Merchant of Venice :: Free Merchant of Venice Essays

Essay Instructions: Choose a speech or dialogue that interests you. You are going to write an essay from the director’s point of view including ‘pointers’ to the actors. Act I - Scene iii (p25-26) Hello actors, as you know, I shall be your director for a part of Act I - Scene iii. This dialogue is played by Shylock and Antonio. I intend to give you both specific stage directions on where you must stand, who you should look at and how you should act. To start with you Antonio, when you pronounce your first line, I would like you to place your hand upon Shylock’s shoulder while you look at him. Your second hand is to be held to the side with your palm facing up as if you were to shrug your shoulders. A slight pause after ‘Shylock’ would sound good with a questioning tone of voice for the rest of the sentence. You need to sound as if you really desire the money from Shylock and that he is your last hope for your best friend’s contentment in the future with his dearest Portia. Shylock should appear hesitant and exasperated as if he was opposed to lending him the money. He must also be thinking about a way in which Antonio could suffer the consequences if the bond isn’t repaid. During the long retort I would like you, Shylock, to add many pauses, more or less long after the commas and other sorts of punctuation marks. From ‘Signior Antonio’ to ‘our tribe’, you should have a calm voice with a minor impression of irritation. You must look at Antonio as you address him but then look away while walking around the stage and looking occasionally at the audience. I require hand gestures such as indicating yourself, rubbing your thumb and middle finger to indicate money, shrugging your shoulders et cetera. For the last line of this section, you are trying to create self-pity hence it would be appropriate if you use a melancholy and moving attitude and soft voice. Shylock, in this next sentence, you should gradually increase the volume and intensity put in the words. You have to accentuate the main words to emphasise his deep anger and hatred Shylock has towards Antonio.

The Ethical Issues Coca Cola Needs to Consider

P1 – Describe the ethical issues Coca Cola needs to consider in its operational activities. Your manager has asked you to prepare briefing papers to explain the ethical issues the client organisation needs to consider in its operational activities (P1) Understanding Business Ethics| Understanding business ethics| Business Ethics plays an important role in business today and it can be defined as an examination of how people & institutions should behave in the world of commerce and it Ethics – is the study of the moral obligations and the difference between right and wrong.Ethical values – the standards that are held and are set by a business or individuals that control their behavior. Business Ethics . Every activity and every profession requires that employees work with the responsibility and must respect not only general, but also the special requirements of professional morality. Since ancient times it comes to professional morality or professional ethics, emph asizing such things as professional conscience and responsibility, self-esteem and dignity. Source http://www. ibe. org. uk/index. asp? upid=71&msid=12Individuals and professionals within Coca-Cola must be ethical in the decisions they make this include: Respect other workers and managers, Using appropriate behavior Perform job competently Act loyally Act honestly Coca-Cola ethical activities Coca-cola always focuses on making a positive contribution to the community. Coca-cola support a lot of charities, aims to be the beverage industry leader in energy efficiency and climate protection. Also they keep trying to improve bottling plants to safely return to nature and communities an amount of water equivalent to what they use in their beverages and production.Operational activities Operational activities are day-to-day actions taken by a firm to achieve its primary purpose to simplify that it is what a business actually does. Coca-cola makes soft drinks and beverage products, factori es contain machinery and have people running them, it makes and receives deliveries, people travel to and from the factory. Operational management is very important and that includes controlling how a business works, so that it achieves the aims and objectives which is set by strategic management. Aims and objectives An aim is where the business wants to go in the future, its goals.Objectives give the business a clearly defined target. Plans can then be made to achieve these targets. Without aims and objectives there is no meaning to business, it's the aim and objectives that give meaning to subsequent activities of planning, directing, staffing, organising and controlling. Coca-cola’s aims and objectives are to: To refresh the world – in mind, body and spirit by providing the best product that they can to the public in order to create customer satisfaction and ensure that all employees are working to their highest standards.Coca-Cola also wants to be the best beverage sales and customer service Company and make sure to never let their high standards of quality fail. To create a value and make a difference – everywhere they engage. To inspire moments of optimism – through their brands and actions Live Our Values Coca-Cola’s values serves as a compass for their actions and describe how they behave in the world. Values include: Leadership: The courage to shape a better future Collaboration: Leverage collective genius Integrity: Be real Accountability: If it is to be, it's up to me Passion: Committed in heart and mindDiversity: As inclusive as our brands Quality: What we do, we do well http://www. thecocacolacompany. com/ourcompany/mission_vision_values. html Corporate Responsibility Coca-Cola manages their corporate responsibility through the Public Policy and Corporate reputation council. Coca-cola also have to review Company policies and practices relating to significant public issues of concern to the shareholders. After res earching Coca-cola’s Code of Conduct I found that Coca-cola said: Corporate responsibility is not just good for Coca-Cola, but for the whole world too.Protecting resources, saving energy and encouraging recycling are serious challenges. If we all play our part in meeting them, everybody will benefit. http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/ourcompany/pdf/COBC_English. pdf Corporate Governance The Coca-Cola Company is committed to sound principles of corporate governance. The Board is elected by the shareowners to oversee their interest in the long-term health and the overall success of the business and its financial strength. The Board serves as the ultimate decision making body of the Company, except for those matters reserved to or shared with the shareowners.The Board selects and oversees the members of senior management, who are charged by the Board with conducting the business of the Company. After researching Coca-cola’s Code of Conduct I found that the responsibili ty for administering the Code rests with the Ethics & Compliance Committee, with oversight by the Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel and Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. The Ethics & Compliance Committee is comprised of senior leaders representing corporate governance functions as well as operations. http://www. thecoca-colacompany. om/ourcompany/pdf/COBC_English. pdf Environment Environment is very important as it’s the natural world either as a whole or in a particular geographical area. When it comes to Coca-Cola they keep trying to improve themselves and be environmentally friendly. Coca-Cola designed water programs to support healthy watersheds and sustainable programs to balance the water used throughout their production process. Also they use sustainable packaging, energy saving and climate protection. There are many bad stories how Coca-Cola had a bad impact on the environment. Negative stories – EnvironmentIn 2004 Coca-Cola opened bottling oper ations in India – Kala Dera village and after factory was opened the community started to notice a rapid decline in groundwater levels and people was thirsting because of Coca-Cola. Coca-Cola has more than 50 bottling plants and six are reported that they are draining water too much, because each bottling plant extracts up to 1. 5m litres of water everyday from the ground and it takes about 9L of clean water to manufacture a 1L of Coke. Sustainability Sustainability can be defined as maintaining the world’s resources rather than depleting or destroying them.This will ensure business can support human activity now and in the future. Coca-Cola is always trying to reduce and optimize the amount of materials and energy used for their packaging, also 85% of their products is delivered in recyclable bottles and cans. Coca-Cola are also trying to reduce their impact and minimize their use of water and their goal is to improve their water efficiency by 20% by 2012. So all in a ll Coca-Cola is keep trying to stay sustainable as possible, although they have bad stories about depleting water in India. In 2000 Coca-Cola opened a new plant at Plachimada in India and it produced 1. m litres of coke everyday which is almost 11m litres of clean water from the ground everyday. Human rights are the rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled. Coca-Cola is constantly improving their human rights by respecting their employees and customers and protecting workplace rights. Coca-Cola had a lot of bad stories about human rights. To date, there have been a total of 179 major human rights violations of Coca- Cola's workers, including 9 murders. In 2001 Coca-Colas bottling companies had been linked to many controversies.These included the murder of eight union leaders. Violence, abductions and torturing of the union members were common practice in Colombia. In Code of Conduct Coca-Cola have said â€Å"We are continually advancing our understanding of human rights by engaging with experts in the field and with our peer companies. In 2007, The Coca-Cola Company joined the Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights (BLIHR), a network of 11 multinational companies focused on identifying practical ways of applying human rights principles within the business context. † http://www. thecoca-colacompany. om/ourcompany/pdf/COBC_English. pdf Corruption is to be guilty of dishonest practices and impairment of integrity. Corrupt means getting something by unfair means. It’s a major concern for every business and Coca-Cola do have a policy on corruption, although they were involved in corruption in past such as they â€Å"underhand dealing† and getting contracts not ethically and fairly. Anti-Corruption Partnership As a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, Coca-Cola are actively engaged with other companies and nongovernmental organizations in the fight against corruption.In December 2007, Coca-Cola became a signatory to t he World Economic Forum Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), making The Coca-Cola Company the first food and beverage company to join approximately 140 other multinational companies in the private sector fight against corruption http://www. thecoca-colacompany. com/ourcompany/pdf/COBC_English. pdf Trading fairly – is market-based approach to empowering fair trade where: * Business is carried on in an open manner * Consumers can feel secure that the goods and services that they paying for are going to be of satisfactory quality * Competition is open and fair 005 Pepsi Co had filed a case in the US accusing Coca-Cola of monopolizing the market of fountain dispensed soft drinks in the US. 2005 Coca-Cola agreed to end all its deals with shops and bars in Europe to stock only Coca-Cola. 2005 Coca-Cola were accused of poor trade practices in Mexico, because Mexicans were buying â€Å"Big Cola† rather then products from â€Å"Coca-Cola† because it was cheap er therefore Coca-Cola changed pricing strategies in Mexico and therefore started threatening the small business owners to stop selling â€Å"Big Cola†.Coca-Cola had few bad stories for not trading fairly in past these includes not letting shops to sell other soft drinks. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Fair_trade Legal and regulatory compliance Legal Compliance is more important than regulatory compliance. The most important statutory areas are; * Freedom of Information Acts (2000 and 2002) * Data Protection (1998) * Health and Safety * Employment Law * Human Rights (2000) * Animal Welfare Acts And Regulation * Contractual Relationships * Environmental Information regulations 009 Lawsuit was filed in regards to company flavours, of Vitamin Water. Claims say that there is 33 grams of sugar in each bottle of Coca-Cola that is more harmful than the vitamins and other additives. 2008 Coca-Cola were accused in Philippines for an unfair competition case because investigation raided three of cokes warehouses for illegally possessing imported bottles. 2008 Coca-Cola had to pay $137. 5 million to settle a shareholder lawsuit as they were channel stuffing or artificial inflation. Coca-Cola was charged in a U. S.District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, with â€Å"forcing some bottlers to purchase hundreds of millions of dollars of unnecessary beverage concentrate to make its sales seem higher. † Regulatory compliance is almost as important as legislative compliance. This is an important element in both good management and institutional efficiency. Elements include: * Funding * Teaching Quality Assessment * Research Quality * Financial Audit * Risk Management * Disaster Planning and Business Recovery http://www. lilesparker. com/areas-of-practice/regulatory-compliance http://www. thecoca-colacompany. om/ourcompany/pdf/COBC_English. pdf Coca-cola negative stories Working conditions Working conditions can be defined as the conditions in which staff works this can include stress and noise levels, degree of safety or danger or physical environment. Coca-cola has strict working conditions to ensure that their staff is always safe. Working conditions are really important and it includes health and safety standards. Coca-cola has bad stories for its working conditions. To investigate Coca-cola’s working conditions few undercover students’ was sent to Coca-cola’s factory for temporary job during summer.One of the student’s was beaten by staff members at the agency and student said that he was beaten by staffers at the agency after he demanded pay for his work at Coca-Cola. Coca-cola had even more bad stories relating to summer jobs these can be found in link bellow: http://www. chinadaily. com. cn/china/2009-08/20/content_8591019. htm Business Practices Business practices are a method, procedure, process, or rule employed or followed by a company in the pursuit of its objectives. Coca-cola has a lot of b usiness practices and some of them was not been followed in the past.In 2003 Indian NGO, Centre for Science and Environment has announced that they found cancer causing chemicals in Coca-Cola. 2007 Coca Cola's products that were produced and distributed in the Indian market contained pesticides such as DDT, lindane, malathion and chlorpyrifos which all contribute to cancer and a weakened immune system of the human body. Individual Ethical responsibilities Every single worker in Coca-cola’s company must act in accordance with the law it does not matter is it staff member or is it manager all individuals should follow their own ethical principals at all time and be ethical.Conclusion Therefore to conclude this report on ethical business culture and trade practices of Coca Cola, some basic elements that can be adopted by Coca Cola are like Develop worldwide code of ethics, by these we mean that the statement given by the company's business culture is not true and the company sho uld come up with a proper solution to this problems and should not tolerate any human rights infractions in any of its plants, or by any of its subsidiaries.Consider ethical issues in strategic development, while making the strategic the company should consider ethical issue and develop its strategy according to it. Develop periodical â€Å"ethical impact statements†, when they are promoting any of its product they should make an ethical statement with it as it will help them to improve the company's image in the minds of consumer. RecommendationsCoca-Cola Company must ensure that they keep their company always ethical and don’t have any bad stories. Although they are doing good job and not getting and bad stories about them lately, but still they should try to make their company even more ethical for people to think that it is a good company that has a good corporate image. Source: Coca-cola bad stories – http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Criticism_of_Coca-Cola

Life as a Spy During American Revolution Essay

Hello, my name is John Honeyman, and I am a spy. It is 1777 on the calendar. The real thing I do is spying for George Washington. You might ask me, why have I chosen such a dishonest duty? Why do I help the enemies of the Crown to which I have given an oath? Well, let me explain and perhaps you will not treat me as a cheat. At first, I am discharged from the British army, so i am not tied with my oath anymore. I am a married person living between Americans, so I feel myself American, but not British . I have seen so many injuries and untruths caused to the colonists by the British, that I became sympathetic about those honest and hard-working people. I understand and support the ideas of freedom for which they are fighting and I believe that their struggle is just. This convinsion became even stronger when I had an honor to be introduced to George Washington himself a year ago in Somerset, New Jersey. Already after his first words I realized that this is a great person and a charismatic leader. His speech sounded so convincing and his faith in victory was so great that I realized that my duty now is to serve this corageous man. He wanted me to continue my life and business in Trenton and to make further contacts with the British. I have demonstrated, that I am a conservative Tory to make them believe me. Their confidence allowed me to freely move inside the town and gather information about it’s garrison . Later I was â€Å"taken prisoner† by the colonists and managed to â€Å"escape†. Nobody of the British guessed that being a â€Å"prisoner† I have shared the gathered data with Washington himself. But this was not the whole buisiness. I have fooled the British command by telling them, that the continental army would never dare to attack Trenton, and he believed me. But right after Christmas of the previous year Washington has lead a force of 2400 men to attack Trenton and gain a decisive victory in this battle . When the battle was over I walked around the snowy battlefield covered with bodies of the dead. God, those people might have never died in case I did not betray them. And than I saw Washington riding a horse and moving towards me. Look, – he said – what victory can cost! Maybe Americans died for freedom this day, but what did those redcoats died for? For ambitions of England, and for nothing more. Thus said Washington. i do not know whether I did right or wrong, but I know that there is no way back. Nobody can say now how this war is going to finish. I am too old to fight it a a soldier, so I was ordered to stay in Trenton and pretend that nothing has happened to escape revenge by our enemies. I continue living here with my family and I am still trading goods. Washington and his followers continue to fight this war with tremendous bravery. Maybe they will lose, but they will still remain right, so God bless them!

Essay on Integrated MarketingEssay Writing Service

Essay on Integrated MarketingEssay Writing Service Essay on Integrated Marketing Essay on Integrated MarketingBranding plays an extremely important part in the contemporary business environment. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the development of the branding strategy of the company influences consistently the competitive position of the company and its business development. In this regard, even the largest company needs the effective branding strategy to maintain its competitive position in the market (Breneman Taylor, 2007). On the other hand, there are many companies, who used to have popular brands in the past but currently they have lost the popularity of their brands. At first glance, such brands can be lost, but still brands, which used to be once popular, can revive. One of such brands is the United Airlines, which was the leading airline brand in the US but the company has not faced the full decline. Instead, the company faced the problem of the consistent deterioration of its brand image after 9/11 terror attacks and, at the moment, the company attempts to recover after the decade of the decline of its brand popularity. Today, the company still performs and holds a strong position in the US market but the company needs the revival of the brand because the improvement of the brand image can enhance consistently the position of the company in the world market.The United Airlines held the leading position in the US airline industry on the turn of the century. The brand of the company was recognized nationwide and internationally. The popularity of the brand provided the United Airlines with an opportunity to enhance its position in the market consistently because the high popularity of the brand attracted customers to the company and its services. The company used the full potential of the popularity of its brand expanding its business in the domestic market, taking a larger share of the US market, and in international markets, entering new markets and enhancing its position in existing ones.The United Airlines fa ced the considerable downturn in the popularity of the company’s brand after 9/11 terror attacks. The flight 93 of the United Airlines was hijacked and crashed that contributed to the formation of the negative brand image of the entire company. The terror attacks became the turning point in the history and development of the United Airlines. The incident caused the death of 44 people in an attempt of some of the passengers to regain the control over the aircraft, when terrorist had committed the hijack attempt. Naturally, customers have become concerned with safety issues, while using services of airline companies, while the United Airlines faced the problem of the consistent deterioration of its brand image because customers were anxious about their safety, while using services of the United Airlines. Unlike other airline brands, which have not suffered hijacking on 9/11, the United Airlines was associated with the risk of terror attacks. In such a way,The recovery of the br and image should include several key elements which can persuade customers in the reliability and safety of the United Airlines (Blanchard Bowles, 2003). The improvement of the brand image of the company and revival of the brand as one of the leading airline brand in the US should involve complex measures that should be directed not only on the enhancement of the safety and security of the brand but also on the development of a new brand image that will be attractive for the target customer group and mark the change or even the complete transformation of the United Airlines.One of the first and major steps the United Airlines should make to increase the popularity of its brand is the enhancement of the quality management. In this regard, the company should introduce the total quality management on the ground of which the new quality management policy of the company will be built up, while the enhancement of the quality management will lead to the improvement of the brand image amon g customers. The quality management is crucial for the contemporary branding strategy (Masterson Picton, 2004). At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the development of the branding strategy can help the company to enhance its marketing position, while the quality of products and services determines the perception of the brand by customers. Customers naturally look for companies that provide them with services and products of the high quality.The enhancement of the quality management will contribute to the higher customer satisfaction, while the higher customer satisfaction will steadily contribute to the growing popularity of the brand. The introduction of the total quality management can help the company to regain the popularity of its brand due to the high level of the customer satisfaction (Peters, 2007). At the same time, it is worth mentioning the fact that the quality management refers not only to the quality of products and services provided by the company but also to internal business processes and all operations within the company. In such a way, the company does not only improves the quality in relations with customers but also enhances its organisational performance that eventually leads to the formation of the positive brand image among customers because they feel that the company becomes a solid and responsible organisation. In light of the downturn in the brand popularity of the United Airlines because of the terror attacks, the growing awareness of customers in the reliability of the company is very important for the formation of the positive brand image. At this point, it is worth mentioning the fact that the customer satisfaction will not increase the popularity of the brand in a short-run. Instead, the recovery of the brand image based on the customer satisfaction and the high quality of services offered by the company will need time and efforts from the time of the company.Essay on Integrated Marketing   part 2

Pro's Google Medical Records Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Pro's Google Medical Records - Essay Example Medical information has long been stored by doctors, hospitals, clinics and housewives. Doctors, hospitals and clinics have always used the medical charting system, keeping notes in thick files. Medical information was misread, misplaced, faded, and suffered a variety of accidents. Information was shared over telephones and FAX machines, or more often not shared at all. Bits and pieces would perhaps find their ways to a summer camp director, a human resource department, an insurance representative or some other storage destination, where it would become buried and inaccessible to the person whose body was the subject. Each member of the medical team responsible for the health of a given patient, stored only a limited set of medical information and there was little to no coordination of care (Gassee, 2010). To further complicate the patient’s fractured health picture, given the notoriously illegible handwriting of overly-busy doctors, what information there was in storage was o ften inaccurately interpreted. Without access, a patient could not take responsibility to correct inaccurate information. Inaccuracies became compounded. Google’s medical records storage system digitizes all the information and stores it in a central location, online. All members of the medical team, and patient-designated others, have easy access to accurate information, along with the patient (Seidman, 2011). Accuracy is enhanced by patient access to clearly organized records which, like credit card information or educational transcript information, can be corrected when errors are pointed out. Security, a critical issue, is well-assured with Google. Under the old charting system, the patient could not keep track of who had what personal medical information. There was no way to take information access away from those who had access. Google increases medical information security by linking access invitation, always generated by the patient, to specific e-dresses, keeping acc ess power and access-revocation power under patient control (Gassee, 2010). The patient can always see who has viewed personal medical information. Shared records are read-only (Kincaid, 2009). Probably the most important policy implemented by Google, with regard to use of their EMR, is that they will not share any information with anybody, without specific user permission to do so (Google Health, 2011). This policy clearly puts the patient, and not Google or â€Å"Big Brother†, in charge. Without this policy being in place and assured, those forecasting science fiction nightmares about lack of privacy and loss of self-determination, would have a point. Google is a technological giant. Such a massive undertaking as this EMR represents, requires human expertise and impressive computer capability. Google has more success in scalability than most other organizations. They have more than 2.5 million servers indexing and storing data daily, so they are experienced with this sort o f thing (Gassee, 2010). Furthermore, Google has joined forces with a consortium, to develop a software platform that automatically uploads medical information from home healthcare devices (Kirkpatrick 2009). They have associated with partner hospitals, pharmacies, etc., to link information, for the convenience of doctors and patients alike (Google Health, 2011). Google’

Terrorist Event Response Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Terrorist Event Response Paper - Essay Example ving in to the terrorists’ demands as part of their counterterrorism strategies, the terrorists become more innovative in devising changes in the nature of their terrorist threats. The effects of terrorist activities on the economy of a country besieged by violent attacks could not be ignored. These activities hamper investment opportunities and erode public and investor confidence. In addition, terrorist activities limit economic growth because more government funds are being allocated for security and defense. In this regard, as the part-time emergency management director of a small country with a small population and a small tax base, I am tasked with the responsibility of describing how limited resources would be leveraged to respond to a terrorist event. Due to the methods, weapons used, impact and threats that terrorist activities create in peoples’ lives; various organizations must be prepared to respond in cases of terrorist attacks. Terrorists have shifted their focus to utilizing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) which poses more danger to human lives, properties and environmental safety. Further, with the advancement in technology, terrorists utilize the World Wide Web as a means to proliferate their agenda. In this regard, the response procedure that must be applied and divulged through all local units of the government is that of a tiered response which â€Å"emphasizes that response to incidents should be handled at the lowest jurisdictional level capable of handling the work. The vast majority of incidents are, in fact, managed locally.†( USDNS, 2008, 27) This means each and every member of the local government unit, private sector representatives, emergency responders, and the community, in general, must par ticipate in awareness and in building response capabilities. As emphasized in the US Department of National Security (USDNS), the National Response Framework (2008, 27) the â€Å"three phases of effective response: prepare, respond, and