Internal Control

What is internal control and why is it important The American Institute of Accountants first defined the term internal control in 1949, followed by further clarifications in 1958 and 1972. In 1977 publicly held companies came under legislation to adequately implement controls to protect their financial information. A report by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations in 1992 and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 are more recent documents defining internal controls. ( Bishop, 1991,p. 117-123; Colbert and Bowen, 1996, 26-35)This essay will describe and explain the internal control and discuss why is it important.There are five points about the importance of internal control, which respectively are Control Environment, Risk Assessment, Control Activities, Communication and Information and Monitoring. There are two definitions about internal control . Frist, internal control the integration of the activities, plans, attitudes, policies, and efforts of the employees of a department working together to provide reasonable assurance that the department will achieve its mission. More simply, internal control is what a department does to see that the things they want to happen will happen and the evidences they don’t want to happen would not happen. Manea Birza,2012,p. 75)Second, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO)(2005) has claimed that internal control is process, effected by an entity’s board of directors, management and other personnel ,designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following thing: effectiveness and efficiency of operations and reliability of financial reporting. One of important reason of why is it significant that is control environment.The control environment, sometimes referred to as â€Å"tone at the top†, is the foundation for all other components of internal control. The control environment is influenced by management’s philosophy, opera ting style, integrity, ethical values, and commitment to competence. If this foundation is strong, if the control environment is positive, the overall system of internal control will be more effective, because the control environment component is the foundation upon which all other components of internal control are based, and it sets the tone of an organization.A small business can have unique advantages in establishing a strong control environment. Employees in many smaller businesses interact more closely with top management and are directly influenced by management actions. Through day-to-day practices and actions, management can effectively reinforce the company’s fundamental values and directives. The close working relationship also enables senior management to quickly recognize when employee’s actions need modification. (Ratcliffe, 2005,p209 and Chunk landes,2009,p56) Two of important reason of why internal control is important that is risk assessment.Risk asses sment is the identification, analysis, and management of risks relevant to the achievement of the department’s goals and objectives. Risks include internal and external events or events that may occur and adversely affect oppositions. Once risks are identified, management should consider their impact or significance, the probability of their occurrence, and how to manage them. ( Spencer Pickett and Pickett , 2010)Risk assessment, as it relates to the objective of reliable financial reporting, involve identification and analysis of the risks of material misstatement .Establishment of financial reporting objectives articulated by a assessment process. Risk assessment in small businesses can be relatively efficient , often because in-depth knowledge of the company’s operations enables the owner and management to have first-hand information of where risk exist. In carrying out their normal responsibilities, including obtaining information gained from employees, customers, supplier, and others, these managers identify risks inherent in business processes. ( Ratcliffe, 2005)In this way ,the risk assessment is quiet significant for company or enterprise.Three of important reason of why internal control is important that is control activities. Internal control activities are tools – policies, procedures, techniques, and mechanisms – that help ensure management’s directives are carried out. Control activities help identify, prevent or reduce the risks that can impede accomplishment of the department's objectives. Control activities occur throughout the department, at all levels and in all functions; they include activities such as approvals, authorizations, verifications, reconciliations, documentation, separation of duties, and safeguarding of assets. Root,1998) Many smaller companies use certain compensating controls to achieve the objectives, when resource constraints compromise the ability to segregate duties. They help ensure tha t necessary actions are taken to address risks to a achievement of the entity’s objectives. Control activities occur throughout the organization at all levels and in all functions. (Ratcliffe, 2005 and Chuck Landes, 2009)Control activities are one of most important in internal control.Four of important reason of why internal control is important that is Communication and Information. Information systems identify, capture, and distribute information supporting the achievement of financial reporting objectives. Information systems is small businesses are likely to less formal than in large ones, but their role is just as significant. (Chuck Landes, 2009) For a department to run and control its operations, it must have relevant, valid, reliable, and timely communications relating to internal and external events.Managers must be able to secure reliable information to make informed business decisions, understand their risks, and communicate policies and other important information to those who need it. (Rezaee, 2002)so, it is also integrant for internal control. Finally, monitoring is most significant for internal control’s reason why is it important. The department’s internal control system needs to be monitored to assess whether controls are effective and operating as intended.Monitoring occurs through routine managerial activities such as supervision, reconciliations, checklists, comparisons, performance evaluations, and status reports; monitoring may also occur through separate internal evaluations example internal audits/reviews or from use of external sources example comparison to peer groups or industry standards, surveys. Deficiencies found during monitoring need to be reported to those responsible for the function, with serious deficiencies being reported to top management. (Rezaee, 2002, p. 07) Committee Of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO) of the Treadway Commission have suggested that senior executives have long sought ways to better control the enterprises they run. Internal controls are put in place to keep the company on course toward profitability objects and achievement of its task, and to least loss. (Spencer Pickett, 2005) It reveals the important of monitoring. In conclusion, there are many beneficial point to prove internal control is important because Pickett (2010) consider that the overall purpose of internal control is to help a department achieve its mission and reach certain goals and objectives.An effective internal control system helps a department to promote orderly, economical, efficient and effective operations and produce quality products and services consistent with the department’s mission and safeguard resources against loss due to waste, abuse, mismanagement, errors and fraud and promote adherence to statutes, regulations, bulletins and procedures and develop and maintain reliable financial and management data, and accurately report that data in a timely manner.Therefore, in many countries, internal control is very popular in different company or different government; however, it is not available in all of situations, because whether an organization achieves operational and strategic objectives may depend on factors outside the company, such as competition or technological innovation. These factors are outside the scope of internal control; therefore, effective internal control provides only timely information or feedback on progress towards the achievement of operational and strategic objectives, but cannot guarantee their achievement. ( Rezaee,2002)

Last Sacrifice Chapter Four

AND WHEN I SAY THEY blew up, I mean they blew up. Flames and smoke unfurled like petals from a newly opened flower as those poor monarchs exploded into pieces of rock. For a moment, I was stunned. It was like watching an action movie, the explosion cracking the air and shaking the ground. Then, guardian training kicked in. Critical observation and calculation took over. I immediately noticed that the bulk of the statue's material blew toward the outer sides of the garden. Small stone pieces and dust rained down on the funeral procession, but no large chunks of rock hit Lissa or anyone standing nearby. Assuming the statues had not spontaneously combusted, whoever had blown them up had done so in a precise way. The logistics aside, huge billowing pillars of flame are still pretty scary. Chaos broke loose as everyone tried to get away. Only, they all took different routes, so collisions and entanglements occurred. Even the pallbearers set down their precious burden and took off. Ambrose was the last to do so, his mouth agape and eyes w ide as he stared at Tatiana, but another look at the statues sent him off into the mob. A few guardians tried to keep order, herding people back down the funeral path, but it didn't do a lot of good. Everyone was out for themselves, too terrified and panicked to think reasonably. Well, everyone except for Lissa. To my surprise, she wasn't surprised. She had been expecting the explosion. She didn't run right away, despite people pushing past and shoving her aside. She stood rooted where she'd been when the statues blew up, studying them and the wreckage they'd caused. In particular, she seemed concerned about anyone in the crowd who might have been hurt by the blasts. But, no. As I'd already observed, there seemed to be no injuries. And if there were, it was going to be because of the stampede. Satisfied, Lissa turned and began walking away with the others. (Well, she was walking; they were running). She'd only gone a little distance when she saw a huge group of guardians hurrying toward the church, faces grim. Some of them stopped to aid those escaping the destruction, but most of the guardians were on their way to the blast site to see what had happened. Lissa paused again, causing the guy behind her to slam into her back, but she barely felt the impact. She intently watched the guardians, taking note of how many there were, and then moved on once more. Her hidden thoughts were starting to unravel. Finally, I began to see pieces of the plan she'd kept hidden from me. She was pleased. Nervous, too. But overall, she felt– A commotion back at the jail snapped me into my own mind. The usual quiet of the holding area had shattered and was now filled with grunts and exclamations. I leapt up from where I'd been sitting and pressed against the bars, straining to see what was happening. Was this building about to explode too? My cell only faced a wall in the hallway, with no view of the rest of the corridor or its entrance. I did, however, see the guardians who usually stood at the hall's far end come tearing past me, toward whatever altercation was occurring. I didn't know what this meant for me and braced for anything, friend or foe. For all I knew, there could be some political fringe group launching attacks on the Court to make a statement against the Moroi government. Peering around the cell, I swore silently, wishing I had anything to defend myself. The closest I had was Abe's book, which was no good at all. If he was the badass he pretended to be, he really would have slipped a file into it. Or gotten me something bigger, like War and Peace. The scuffling died down and footsteps thundered toward me. Clenching my fists, I took a few steps back, ready to defend myself against anyone. â€Å"Anyone' turned out to be Eddie Castile. And Mikhail Tanner. Friendly faces were not what I had expected. Eddie was a longtime friend from St. Vladimir's, another new guardian like me and someone who'd stuck by me through a lot of misadventures, including the Victor Dashkov prison break. Mikhail was older than us, mid-twenties, and had helped us restore Dimitri in the hopes that Sonya Karp–a woman Mikhail had loved who had turned Strigoi–might be saved as well. I glanced back and forth between the two guys' faces. â€Å"What's going on?' I demanded. â€Å"Nice to see you too,' said Eddie. He was sweating and keyed up with battle fervor, a few purple marks on his face showing he'd met someone's fist tonight. In his hand was a weapon I'd seen in the guardians' arsenal: a baton-type thing used to incapacitate people without killing them. But Mikhail held something much more valuable: the keycard and mechanical key to open my cell. My friends were staging a prison break. Unbelievable. Crazy was usually my specialty. â€Å"Did you guys †¦' I frowned. The thought of escape filled me with joy, but the logistics were sobering. Clearly, they'd been responsible for the fight with my guards that I'd just heard. Getting down here in the first place wasn't that easy either. â€Å"Did you two just take on every guardian in this building?' Mikhail finished unlocking the door, and I didn't waste any time in hurrying out. After feeling so oppressed and smothered for days, it was like stepping onto a mountain ledge, wind and space all around me. â€Å"Rose, there are no guardians in this building. Well, maybe one. And these guys.' Eddie gestured in the direction of the earlier fight, where I assumed my guards lay unconscious. Surely my friends hadn't killed anyone. â€Å"The rest of the guardians are all checking out the explosion,' I realized. Pieces began coming together–including Lissa's lack of surprise over the commotion. â€Å"Oh no. You had Christian blow up ancient Moroi artifacts.' â€Å"Of course not,' said Eddie. He seemed shocked that I would have suggested such an atrocity. â€Å"Other fire users would be able to tell if he did.' â€Å"Well, that's something,' I said. I should have had more faith in their sanity. Or maybe not. â€Å"We used C4,' explained Mikhail. â€Å"Where on earth did you–‘ My tongue locked up when I saw who was standing at the end of the hallway. Dimitri. Not knowing how he was during my imprisonment had been frustrating. Christian and Tasha's report had been only a tease. Well, here was the answer. Dimitri stood near the hall's entrance in all his six-foot-seven glory, as imperious and intimidating as any god. His sharp brown eyes assessed everything in an instant, and his strong, lean body was tensed and ready for any threat. The look on his face was so focused, so filled with passion, that I couldn't believe anyone ever could have thought he was a Strigoi. Dimitri burned with life and energy. In fact, looking at him now, I was again reminded of how he'd stood up for me at my arrest. He wore that same expression. Really, it was the same one I'd seen countless times. It was the one people feared and admired. It was the one I had loved. â€Å"You're here too?' I tried reminding myself that my muddled romantic history wasn't the most important thing in the world for a change. â€Å"Aren't you under house arrest?' â€Å"He escaped,' said Eddie slyly. I caught the real meaning: he and Mikhail had helped Dimitri escape. â€Å"It's what people would expect some violent probably-still-a- Strigoi guy to do, right?' â€Å"You'd also expect him to come bust you out,' added Mikhail, playing along with the game. â€Å"Especially considering how he fought for you last week. Really, everyone is going to think he busted you out alone. Not with us.' Dimitri said nothing. His eyes, while still carefully watching our surroundings, were also assessing me. He was making sure I was okay and uninjured. He looked relieved that I was. â€Å"Come on,' Dimitri finally said. â€Å"We don't have much time.' That was an understatement, but there was one thing bugging me about my friends' â€Å"brilliant' plan. â€Å"There's no way they'll think he did it alone!' I exclaimed, realizing what Mikhail was getting at. They were setting Dimitri up as the culprit in this escape. I gestured to the unconscious guardians at our feet. â€Å"They saw your faces.' â€Å"Not really,' a new voice said. â€Å"Not after a little spirit-induced amnesia. By the time they wake up, the only person they'll remember seeing will be that unstable Russian guy. No offense.' â€Å"None taken,' said Dimitri, as Adrian stepped through the doorway. I stared, trying not to gape. There they were together, the two men in my life. Adrian hardly looked like he could jump into a fistfight, but he was as alert and serious as the other fighters here. His lovely eyes were clear and full of the cunning I knew they could possess when he really tried. That's when it hit me: he showed no sign of intoxication whatsoever. Had what I'd seen the other day been a ruse? Or had he forced himself to take control? Either way, I felt a slow grin creeping over my face. â€Å"Lissa lied to your mom earlier,' I said. â€Å"You're supposed to be passed out drunk somewhere.' He rewarded me with one of his cynical smiles. â€Å"Well, yes, that would probably be the smarter–and more enjoyable–thing to be doing right now. And hopefully, that's what everyone thinks I'm doing.' â€Å"We need to go,' said Dimitri, growing agitated. We turned toward him. Our jokes vanished. That attitude I'd noticed about Dimitri, the one that said he could do anything and would always lead you to victory, made people want to follow him unconditionally. The expressions on Mikhail and Eddie's faces–as they grew serious–showed that was exactly how they felt. It seemed natural to me too. Even Adrian looked like he believed in Dimitri, and in that moment, I admired Adrian for putting aside any jealousy–and also for risking himself like this. Especially since Adrian had made it clear on more than one occasion he didn't want to be involved with any dangerous adventures or use his spirit in a covert way. In Las Vegas, for example, he'd simply accompanied us in an observer's role. Of course, he'd also been drunk most of the time, but that probably made no difference. I took a few steps forward, but Adrian suddenly held out a hand to stop me. â€Å"Wait– before you go with us, you need to know something.' Dimitri started to protest, eyes glinting with impatience. â€Å"She does,' argued Adrian, meeting Dimitri's gaze squarely. â€Å"Rose, if you escape †¦ you're more or less confirming your guilt. You'll be a fugitive. If the guardians find you, they aren't going to need a trial or sentence to kill you on sight.' Four sets of eyes rested on me as the full meaning sank in. If I ran now and was caught, I was dead for sure. If I stayed, I had the slim chance that in my short time before trial, we might find evidence to save me. It wasn't impossible. But if nothing turned up, I was also most certainly dead. Either option was a gamble. Either one had the strong possibility of me not surviving. Adrian looked as conflicted as I felt. We both knew I didn't have any good choices. He was simply worried and wanted me to know what I was risking. Dimitri, however †¦ for him, there was no debate. I could see it all over his face. He was an advocate of rules and doing the proper thing. But in this case? With such bad odds? It was better to risk living as a fugitive, and if death came, better to face it fighting. My death will not be penciled in on someone's calendar. â€Å"Let's go,' I said. We hurried out of the building, anxious to get moving with the plan. I couldn't help but comment to Adrian, â€Å"You've got to be using a lot of spirit to pull off all those illusions on the guards.' â€Å"I am,' he agreed. â€Å"And I don't really have the power to do it for very long. Lissa could probably make a dozen guardians think they'd seen ghosts. Me? I can barely make a few forget Eddie and Mikhail. That's why there had to be someone they remembered to attract the attention, and Dimitri's the ideal scapegoat.' â€Å"Well, thank you.' I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. As warmth flowed between us, I didn't bother telling him I was a long way from being free yet. It would diminish his heroics. We had a lot of obstacles ahead, but I still appreciated him stepping up like this and respecting my decision to go along with the escape plan. Adrian shot me a sidelong glance. â€Å"Yeah, well, I'm supposed to be crazy, right?' A flash of affection shone in his eyes. â€Å"And there isn't much I wouldn't do for you. The stupider, the better.' We emerged to the main floor, and I saw that Eddie had been right about guardian security. The halls and rooms were virtually deserted. Without a second glance, we hurried outdoors, and the fresh air seemed to renew my energy. â€Å"Now what?' I asked my rescuers. â€Å"Now we take you to the getaway car,' said Eddie. The garages weren't far, but they weren't close either. â€Å"That's a lot of open ground to cover,' I said. I didn't bring up the obvious problem: me being killed if spotted. â€Å"I'm using spirit to keep us all vague and nondescript,' said Adrian. More testing of his magic. He couldn't handle much more. â€Å"People won't recognize us unless they stop and stare directly at us.' â€Å"Which they probably won't,' said Mikhail. â€Å"If anyone even notices us at all. Everyone's too worried about themselves to pay much attention to others in all this chaos.' Looking around outside, I could see he was right. The jail building was far from the church, but by now, people who'd been near the blast had made their way to this part of Court. Some were running into their residences. Some were seeking guardians, hoping for protection. And some †¦ some were going the same direction we were, toward the garages. â€Å"People are freaked out enough to actually try to leave Court,' I realized. Our group was moving as fast as we could with Adrian, who wasn't in the shame shape as dhampirs. â€Å"The garages will be crowded.' Both official Court vehicles and visiting guests parked in the same area. â€Å"That could help us,' said Mikhail. â€Å"More chaos.' With so many distractions in my own reality, I couldn't plunge completely into Lissa's. A light brush of the bond found her safe, over in the palace. â€Å"What's Lissa doing during all of this?' I asked. Believe me, I was glad she wasn't involved with this busting-me-out-of-jail madness. But, as Adrian had noted, her ability with spirit could have gone much farther than his here. And now, looking back on it all, it was obvious she had known about this plan. That had been her secret. â€Å"Lissa needs to stay innocent. She can't be linked to any part of the escape or explosion,' replied Dimitri, eyes fixed ahead on his goal. His tone was firm. He still regarded her as his savior. â€Å"She has to keep herself visible with the other royals. So does Christian.' He almost smiled. Almost. â€Å"Those two would certainly be my first suspects if something exploded.' â€Å"But the guardians won't suspect them once they realize the blast wasn't caused by magic,' I mused. Mikhail's earlier words returned to me. â€Å"And hey, where did you guys get a hold of C4? Military grade explosives are kind of extreme, even for you.' No one answered me because three guardians suddenly leapt out into our path. Apparently, they weren't all out at the church. Dimitri and I surged ahead of our group, moving as one, just as we always had in battle together. Adrian had said the illusion he'd stretched over our group wouldn't hold if anyone was facing us directly. I wanted to make sure Dimitri and I were the first line of contact with these guardians, in the hopes they wouldn't recognize the others behind us. I threw myself into the fight without hesitation, defensive instincts kicking in. But in those milliseconds, the reality of what I was doing truly sank in. I'd fought guardians before and always felt guilty about it. I'd taken on the ones at Tarasov Prison, as well as the queen's guard during my arrest. I hadn't really known any of them, though. Just realizing they were my colleagues had been bad enough †¦ but now? Now I was facing one of the most difficult challenges in my life, as small as it seemed. After all, three guardians were an easy match for me and Dimitri. The problem was–I knew these guardians. Two of them I'd run into quite a bit after graduation. They worked at Court and had always been kind to me. The third guardian wasn't just someone I knew–she was a friend. Meredith, one of the few girls in my class at St. Vladimir's. I saw the flash of uneasiness in her eyes, a sentiment mirroring my own. This felt wrong to her too. But, she was a guardian now, and like me, she had had duty drilled into her throughout her life. She believed I was a criminal. She could see I was free and in attack mode. Procedure dictated she take me down, and honestly, I wouldn't have expected anything less. It's what I would have done had our roles been reversed. This was life and death. Dimitri was on the other two guys, as fast and badass as ever. Meredith and I went for each other. At first, she tried to knock me down by virtue of her weight, probably in the hopes of pinning me down until backup could help grab me. Only, I was stronger. She should have known that. How many times had we sparred in the school's gym? I'd almost always won. And this was no game, no practice drill. I pushed back at her attack, punching her on the side of her jaw and desperately praying I didn't break anything. She kept moving through the pain, but–again–I was superior. I caught a hold of her shoulders and threw her down. Her head hit hard, but she remained conscious. I didn't know whether to be grateful or not. Maintaining my grip, I put her in a chokehold, waiting until her eyes closed. I released as soon as I was sure she was out, my heart twisting in my chest. Glancing over, I saw Dimitri had also taken down his opponents. Our group kept moving as though nothing had happened, but I glanced at Eddie, knowing there was grief on my face. He looked pained too but sought to reassure me as we hurried along. â€Å"You did what you had to,' he said. â€Å"She'll be okay. Banged up, but okay.' â€Å"I hit her hard.' â€Å"The medics can deal with concussions. Hell, how many did we get in practice?' I hoped he was right. The lines between right and wrong were getting confusing. The one good thing, I supposed, was that Meredith had been so occupied by the sight of me that she probably hadn't noticed Eddie and the others. They'd held back from the fight, hopefully keeping on Adrian's veil of spirit while Dimitri and I took the attention. We finally reached the garages, which were indeed more crowded than usual. Some Moroi had already driven off. One royal was hysterical because her driver had her car's keys, and she didn't know where he was. She was shouting to passers-by to see if anyone could hotwire the car for her. Dimitri led us purposefully forward, never wavering. He knew exactly where we were going. There had been a lot of planning, I realized. Most of which had probably happened yesterday. Why had Lissa obscured it from me? Wouldn't it have been better for me to have a heads-up on the plan? We scurried through the people, heading toward the garage on the very farthest side. There, sitting just outside of it and seemingly ready to go, was a drab gray Honda Civic. A man stood near it, arms crossed as he examined the windshield. Hearing our approach, he turned around. â€Å"Abe!' I exclaimed. My illustrious father turned and gave me one of those charming smiles that could lure the unwary to their doom. â€Å"What are you doing here?' demanded Dimitri. â€Å"You'll be on the list of suspects too! You were supposed to stay back with the others.' Abe shrugged. He looked remarkably unconcerned at Dimitri's angry expression. I wouldn't have wanted that fury directed at me. â€Å"Vasilisa will make sure a few people at the palace swear they saw me there during suspicious times.' He turned his dark eyes toward me. â€Å"Besides, I couldn't leave without telling you goodbye, could I?' I shook my head in exasperation. â€Å"Was this all part of your plan as my lawyer? I don't recall explosive escapes being part of legal training.' â€Å"Well, I'm sure it wasn't part of Damon Tarus's legal training.' Abe's smile never wavered. â€Å"I told you, Rose. You will never face execution–or even a trial, if I can help it.' He paused. â€Å"Which, of course, I can.' I hesitated, glancing toward the car. Dimitri stood by it with a set of keys, looking impatient. Adrian's words echoed in my memory. â€Å"If I run, it's just going to make me seem that much more guilty.' â€Å"They already think you're guilty,' said Abe. â€Å"You wasting away in that cell won't change that. This just ensures we now have more time to do what we need to without your execution looming over us.' â€Å"And what are you going to do exactly?' â€Å"Prove you're innocent,' said Adrian. â€Å"Or, well, that you didn't kill my aunt. I've known for a while you aren't all that innocent.' â€Å"What, are you guys going to destroy the evidence?' I asked, ignoring the dig. â€Å"No,' said Eddie. â€Å"We have to find who really did kill her.' â€Å"You guys shouldn't be involved with that, now that I'm free. It's my problem. Isn't that why you got me out?' â€Å"It's a problem you can't solve while you're at Court,' said Abe. â€Å"We need you gone and safe.' â€Å"Yeah, but I–‘ â€Å"We're wasting time arguing,' said Dimitri. His gaze fell on the other garages. The crowds were still chaotic, too busy with their own fears to notice us yet. That didn't affect Dimitri's concern. He handed me a silver stake, and I didn't question the reasons. It was a weapon, something I couldn't turn down. â€Å"I know everything looks disorganized, but you'll be amazed at how quickly the guardians will restore order. And when they do, they're going to lock this place down.' â€Å"They don't need to,' I said slowly, my mind spinning. â€Å"We're already going to have trouble going out of Court. We'll be stopped–if we can even get to the gate. There are going to be cars lined up for miles!' â€Å"Ah, well,' said Abe, idly studying his fingertips. â€Å"I have it on good authority there's going to be a new â€Å"gate' opening up soon over on the south side of the wall.' The truth dawned on me. â€Å"Oh lord. You're the one who's been doling out C4.' â€Å"You make it sound so easy,' he said with a frown. â€Å"That stuff's hard to get a hold of.' Dimitri's patience was at an end. â€Å"All of you: Rose needs to leave now. She's in danger. I'll drag her out if I have to.' â€Å"You don't have to go with me,' I shot back, kind of offended at the presumption. Memories of our recent arguments emerged, of Dimitri saying he couldn't love me and didn't even want to be friends. â€Å"I'll take care of myself. No one else needs to get in trouble. Give me the keys.' Instead, Dimitri gave me one of those rueful looks that said he thought I was being utterly ridiculous. We could have been back in class at St. Vladimir's Academy. â€Å"Rose, I can't really get in any more trouble. Someone has to be responsible for helping you, and I'm the best choice.' I wasn't so sure of that. If Tatiana really had made progress in convincing people Dimitri wasn't a threat, this escapade would ruin it all. â€Å"Go,' said Eddie, surprising me with a quick hug. â€Å"We'll be in touch through Lissa.' I realized then that I was fighting a losing battle with this group. It really was time to leave. I hugged Mikhail too, murmuring in his ear, â€Å"Thank you. Thank you so much for your help. I swear, we'll find her. We'll find Sonya.' He gave me that sad smile of his and didn't reply. Adrian was the hardest to leave behind. I could tell it was difficult for him too, no matter how relaxed his grin seemed. He couldn't be happy about me going off with Dimitri. Our hug lasted a little bit longer than the others, and he gave me a soft, brief kiss on the lips. I almost felt like crying after how brave he'd been tonight. I wished he could go with me but knew he'd be safer here. â€Å"Adrian, thank you for–‘ He held up his hand. â€Å"It's not goodbye, little dhampir. I'll see you in your dreams.' â€Å"If you stay sober enough.' He winked. â€Å"For you I just might.' A loud booming noise interrupted us, and we saw a flash of light off to my right. People near the other garages screamed. â€Å"There, you see?' asked Abe, quite pleased with himself. â€Å"A new gate. Perfect timing.' I gave him a reluctant hug too and was surprised when he didn't pull back right away. He smiled at me †¦ fondly. â€Å"Ah, my daughter,' he said. â€Å"Eighteen, and already you've been accused of murder, aided felons, and acquired a death count higher than most guardians will ever see.' He paused. â€Å"I couldn't be prouder.' I rolled my eyes. â€Å"Goodbye, old man. And thanks.' I didn't bother asking him about the â€Å"felons' part. Abe wasn't stupid. After I'd asked him about a prison that had later been breeched, he'd probably figured out who was behind Victor Dashkov's escape. And like that, Dimitri and I were in the car, speeding off toward Abe's â€Å"new gate.' I regretted not being able to say goodbye to Lissa. We were never truly apart with the bond, but it couldn't take the place of face-to-face communication. Still, it was worth it to know she would be safe and free of any connection to my escape. I hoped. Like always, Dimitri drove, which I still thought was totally unfair. It had been one thing when I was his student, but now? Wouldn't he ever give up that wheel? This didn't seem like the time to discuss it, though–particularly since I didn't plan on us staying together much longer. A few people had come out to see where the wall had blown up, but no one official had surfaced yet. Dimitri raced through the gap as impressively as Eddie had when he'd driven through Tarasov Prison's gate, only the Civic didn't handle the bumpy, grassy terrain as well as the SUV in Alaska. The problem with making your own exit was that it didn't come with an actual road. Even that was beyond Abe. â€Å"Why is our getaway car a Civic?' I asked. â€Å"It's not really great for off-roading.' Dimitri didn't look at me but continued navigating over the rough ground toward a more drivable area. â€Å"Because Civics are one of the most common cars out there and don't attract attention. And this should be the only off-roading we do. Once we hit a freeway, we're putting as much distance between us and Court as we can–before abandoning the car, of course.' â€Å"Abandon–‘ I shook my head, letting it go. We reached a dirt road that felt like the smoothest surface on earth after that jolting start. â€Å"Look, now that we're out of there, I want you to know that I mean it: you don't have to come with me. I appreciate your help in the escape. Really. But hanging out with me won't do you any favors. They'll be hunting for me more than you. If you take off, you can live somewhere around humans and not be treated like a lab animal. You might even be able to slink back to Court. Tasha would put up a fight for you.' Dimitri didn't answer for a long time. It drove me crazy. I wasn't the kind of person who handled silence well. It made me want to chatter and fill the void. Plus, the longer I sat there, the more it hit me that I was alone with Dimitri. Like, really and truly alone for the first time since he'd become a dhampir. I felt like a fool, but in spite of the dangers we still risked †¦ well, I was still overwhelmed by him. There was something so powerful about his presence. Even when he made me angry, I still found him attractive. Maybe the adrenaline pounding through me was addling my brain. Whatever it was, I was consumed by more than just his physical aspects–though they were certainly distracting. The hair, the face, his closeness to me, his scent †¦ I felt it all, and it made my blood burn. But the inner Dimitri–the Dimitri who'd just led a small army through a prison break–captivated me just as much. It took me a moment to realize why this was so powerful: I was seeing the old Dimitri again, the one I'd worried was gone forever. He wasn't. He was back. At long last, Dimitri replied, â€Å"I'm not leaving you. None of your Rose-logic arguments are going to work. And if you try to get away from me, I'll just find you.' I didn't doubt he could, which just made the situation more confusing. â€Å"But why? I don't want you with me.' I still felt a lingering attraction for him, yes, but that didn't change the fact that he had hurt me in breaking things off between us. He had rejected me, and I needed to harden my heart, particularly if I wanted to move on with Adrian. Clearing my name and leading a normal life seemed far away right now, but if it happened, I wanted to be able to return to Adrian with open arms. â€Å"It doesn't matter what you want,' he said. â€Å"Or what I want.' Ouch. â€Å"Lissa asked me to protect you.' â€Å"Hey, I don't need anyone to–‘ â€Å"And,' he continued, â€Å"I meant what I said to her. I swore I'd serve her and help her for the rest of my life, anything she asks. If she wants me to be your bodyguard, then that's what I'll be.' He gave me a dangerous look. â€Å"There's no way you're getting rid of me anytime soon.'

Preparing to Conduct Business Research Essay

On September 12, 2012 the New York City Health Department voted eight-zero with one vote abstaining, to enact a city wide ban on sugar-sweetened beverages in containers over 16ounce in size (Susman, 2012). At the urging of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg the health department is hoping that this ban will have an impact on the growing obesity problem among New York citizens (Susman, 2012). Opposition to the ban was evident before the final vote by citizens believing violations of his or her freedom are occurring and vendors who see the choices in what he or she serve the customers under dictation from city hall. Perhaps the group with the most to lose is the beverage industry; the ban limits servings of sugar sweetened drinks to 16 ounces or less in the city’s 24,000 restaurants, delis, movie theaters, sports venues, and street carts (Petrecca, 2012). This means no 20-ounce bottles, no super-sized drinks, no monster drinks at the movie theater, the fact is most of these establishments consider a 16-ounce beverage a small or medium drink (Petrecca, 2012). So smaller drinks mean smaller profits; however, it may be possible that this is not the case. The ban does not limit the number of 16-ounce drinks a person may purchase; the possibility for additional sales does exist (Petrecca, 2012). Because only restaurants offer free refills, it is possible that the smaller size drinks will result in greater quantities of sales at the other locations. Business Research The CEO of the Coca Cola Company is communicating with Learning Team A, hiring Learning Team A to research potential issues and opportunities resulting from the ban on containers over the limit of 16 ounces of sugar sweetened beverages in the city of New York. Coca Cola is showing interest in learning what the consumer thinks of the ban; how the customers believe it will affect his or her recreational and dining experiences. Coca Cola is not only showing interest in this information as it pertains to New York City but also because the interest this ban is attracting from other large cities and what it would mean to the company if this became common practice in other locations (Koebler, 2012). Hypotheses Team A offers several hypotheses to the ban and the effects it will have on the citizens, vendors, and distributors of sugar sweetened beverages: ? Team A hypothesizes that the ban on sugar sweetened beverages will cause a decrease in beverage sales that contain sugar, costing the Coca Cola company millions of dollars in sales. ? Team A hypothesizes that the ban on sugar sweetened beverages larger than 16 ounces will cause consumers to purchase multiple quantities of beverages in replacement of what they use to purchase. Also the sale of sugar free beverages will rise; this will cause an increase in revenue for the Coca Cola Company. ? Team A hypothesizes that the public will be unreceptive to the ban and believes that the government body responsible for it has overstepped their bounds. The public will think that the removal of this choice goes against the constitutional rights every person has and that he or she will attempt to find a way around the ban. ? Team A hypothesizes that although there will be citizens upset in regard to the ban, the citizens will embrace the law proving a measurable difference on the obesity problem in New York City. Variables to Consider and Questions to Ask In an effort to offer to the Coca Cola Company the most complete information, the best recommendations, and a reliable foundation on which to base future changes it is necessary to research as many variables as possible. Variable questions to include in the research include: 1) â€Å"The various age groups of the consumers, and their drink preferences. † 2) â€Å"How the vendors plan on handling this new rule and will the vendor adjust the prices, add free-refills, implement buy one get one programs, and add additional drink dispensers to accommodate customers. 3) â€Å"How these bans encourage customers to leave the city limits and visit establishments in the suburbs? † 4) â€Å"How the consumer understands the reasoning behind the ban and the obesity issue with the removal of beverage choice? † 5) â€Å"Coca Cola currently holding a 70% market share in New York; this is a significant margin over the competition (Petrecca, 2012). It is important to research if the customer loyalty level will hold up to â€Å"deals† by the competition and how aggressive Coca Cola is going have to be with marketing and pricing. † 6) â€Å"Is Coca Cola willing to embrace this ban, explore ways to market their diet products and fruit juices as an alternate to the sugar sweetened beverages? † Ethical Considerations Ethics play a critical role in conducting research projects (Donald R. Cooper, 2011). It is critical to examine how the results of the research issue breach the rights of the citizens. In the case of the New York City law that limits the sales of sugar sweetened drinks there are several ethical questions that arise. The strongest being, â€Å"how will this state law infringe on an individual’s rights to choose the size of their desired beverage? † The motivation behind the law is the unhealthy factors of sugary drinks, targeting one unhealthy option. Supporters of the law believe that this law will help prevent obesity; however, opposition believes it is unfair to place the weight of this issue on one product. Also at question â€Å"Is it ethical to restrict a consumer’s right to choose what he or she wants to drink? † Along with sugar sweetened beverages there are other unhealthy products available that have proven effects on weight with no restrictions. Vendors and beverage makes can argue that the law shows bias and is discriminatory. This leads to another ethical issue; does the law give preference or competitive vendor advantage over consumer’s advantage. A consumer, who may wish to purchase a larger drink, may find the need to purchase multiple drinks, thereby increasing the sales of the company but yet not eliminating the risk of obesity. Also under consideration is the ethical question, â€Å"does the beverage company have a responsibility to their customers to reduce the chance of obesity, knowing that these beverages offer empty calories with no nutritional value? † Conclusion Moving into the future it is important to understand what difficulties a company will be facing. Knowledge from research projects provide companies the possibility to develop contingency plans and reduce the chance that the unknown will alter the course of a successful business plan. Earlier this month the New York City Health Department passed a law that has altered the way beverage makers and vendors conduct their business and altering the freedom consumers have in choosing something as simple as the beverage he or she drinks. The Coca Cola Company is looking to go forward armed with the knowledge they will need to maintain their superiority in the New York Market. This task has fallen on Learning Team A, as they will research and discover what the market and consumers will demand to remain customers of Coca Cola. References Donald R. Cooper, P. S. (2011). Business Research Methods, Eleventh Edition. McGraw-Hill Company. Koebler, J. (2012, September 12). Experts: Courts Likely to Uphold New York Soda Ban. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from U. S. News: http://www.usnews. com/news/articles/2012/09/14/experts-courts-likely- to-uphold-new-york-soda-ban_print. html Petrecca, L. (2012, July 18). Coke, Pepsi, others launch assault against NYC beverage ban. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from USA Today: http://usatoday30. usatoday. com/money/industries/food/story/2012-07-09 /coke-pepsi-fight-soda-ban/56279302/1 Susman, T. (2012, September 13). New York City bans big sugary drinks in restaurants. Retrieved September 20, 2012, from LA Times: http://articles. latimes. com/2012/sep/13/nation/la-na-soda-ban-20120914.

National Student Survey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

National Student Survey - Essay Example The qualitative research involves only a small number of respondents, statistical significances and the confidence levels are usually not performed on the raw data for this type of research. The quantitative research mostly uses a random sample and usually involves a large number of respondents. This type of research is undertaken to draw conclusion about the whole population. (Smith, 2000) The advent of the internet and the falling costs of personal computers have expanded the realms of possibilities for the researcher in their choice of research techniques, and in particular, methods for conducting research surveys. (Schonlau, Fricher et al. 2001). It wasn't very long ago that online surveys weren't considered an effective means of data collection and were seen with suspicion within the marketing research community, mainly, because the online population was not considered sufficiently representative of the population at large. Perceptions have changed overtime with the increase in internet penetration, online research has now become increasingly prominent and is considered as effective as other mail surveys, and interviews (face-to-face and telephone interviews). Advocates of online survey argue that they have distinct advantages over traditional data collection methods. The greatest strengths of internet surveys are the potential to colle... The advantages they offer are: - Online surveys consume less time than traditional methods which can take a long time to implement due to separate and distinct phases of design, data collection, coding and analysis. - Incur less cost and are cheaper to conduct as it has no outgoing or return postage and other administration costs - Easier to conduct - The output produced is comparable in quality to other data collection techniques such as postal surveys etc - It is possible to target a diverse range of potential respondents in terms of geography and industry background. - The sample size can be kept moderately large to take advantage of the lower marginal cost per respondent. - Can be conducted with a convenience sample where the respondents themselves select themselves into the survey - Cost per response decreases with the increase in sample size, so a large sample size can be selected to ensure that the sample is representative of the population - Access to high-income, high-tech, professionals. These and other business people are normally difficult to identify and reach via other methodologies. The greatest strengths of internet surveys are the potential to collect a large amount of data in a relatively short amount of time, and the elimination of the necessity for researchers to enter or process the data. Electronic survey content results may be no different than postal survey content results, yet provide strong advantages of speedy distribution and response cycles [Yun & Trumbo, 2005; Swoboda, et al., 2001] Analysis and Discussion Every survey methodology has its negatives and online surveys are no different. There are problems associated with online surveys that go beyond

Gratuities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gratuities - Essay Example In the instant case, as the Chief of Police, it becomes my primary responsibility to uphold the above principles and set an example to my colleagues and subordinates. However, the owner of the restaurant has been operating in the city for the past 15 years and the free meals he offers to the police officers is a token of his appreciation for the efficient services they render and not a favor that the officers extract. In addition, he is also a personal friend of the mayor, my boss. Thus, it appears that the restaurant owner has been offering gratuities to the officers with the tacit knowledge of the mayor. Under the present circumstances, where police corruption has become a threat to nations across the globe, as a responsible officer, I cannot tolerate the acceptance of gratuities in any form, especially when the criminal justice system is planning and implementing various policies for the prevention of corruption. Therefore, I will very politely refuse the offer of the restaurant o wner. In addition, I will also request him to not extend any such favor anymore to the officers of my department. I will also explain the situation to the mayor and apprise him of the policies that our department have on such issues. On the other hand, I understand that my decision may hurt the bona fide intention of this man and, hence, I will agree to accept some contribution from him for any facility or utility for the public visiting the police stations for any service such as building a rest room. However, prior to committing anything, I will discuss the issue in detail with my boss, the mayor. Thus, a liberal citizen’s contribution to the services we offer will ultimately revert to the benefit of the other citizens in the community. Question 2: The National Incident Management System (NIMS) provides the â€Å"national framework† for managing and supporting operations during any emergency, based on standardized incident management strategies (Emergency Operations Plan, 2013, p.8). The Incident Command System (ICS) is a standard command and control system as stipulated by NIMS for the â€Å"response at the scene of incident† (Local and Tribal NIMS Integration, n.d., p.8). Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), on the other hand, is a guide that contains the relevant guidelines to be followed â€Å"before, during, and after† an incident or emergency (Emergency Operations Plan, 2013, p.5). The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) serves as the â€Å"focal point† for managing information, making decision and providing support as well as â€Å"resource distribution† during emergencies (p.5). Thus, it transpires that the NIMS, ICS, EOP and EOC are the major components for the management of various operations during an emergency. NIMS prescribe the uniform standard and all the other components that work together during any major incident. While EOP is the set of policies to be formulated locally to counter any emergency, these wi ll be based on the standards that NIMS prescribes, the EOC and ICS execute the policies and procedures that the NIMS stipulate. Therefore, it can be construed that the activities of all these components are interrelated and mutually complementary to one another. These

Nursing course reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nursing course reflection - Essay Example Throughout the course I have encountered intimidating as well as exciting activities; I have discovered quite a lot through my clinicals and after every session pieces of the puzzle seemed to fit together clearer. Yet I recognize I still have a long way to go to consider myself a guru in the field of nursing. I have learnt that nursing changes with and is changed by technological innovations; it is in constant change and technological changes affect nursing practices. Equally, ethical issues are widespread in nursing. I came to an understanding that the ultimate object of nursing students is attaining a particular confidence level attuned to their respective skill level to permit them to safely work within their practice scope while upholding capacity to address areas requiring further knowledge/training (Idczak, 2007). Before attaining this knowledge, I used to think that only the nurse’s determination and decision making were significant in providing nursing services. And although I knew the importance of planning, I underestimated its value. Collaboration of all parties involved in patient care and particularly consideration of patient’s needs are at the heart of nursing and planning is vital for effective service provision. Thus, my stance on service provision has changed. Previously I would only focus on the carer for evaluation of quality of nursing services but from now on I will be considering the characteristics of all parties involved in service provision, and I will emphasise on planning.

School Fundings Tragic Flaws Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

School Fundings Tragic Flaws - Assignment Example The main message that the authors aim to reveal is the clear and distinct unequal allocation of funds for schools that are currently skewed towards higher income students rather than the neediest. The effect of the policies emerging from the three levels of government agencies is that educational funds that are supposed to be allocated equally tend to be distributed more to higher income pupils, highlighting disadvantaged educational benefits that are supposed to be equally received by students regardless of income level.The significance of the argument is seen in terms of the policies’ effect on teachers preferences for place of work High-poverty schools typically have less experienced teachers and high turnover rates, so the average teacher salary is much lower in those schools† (Casey and Rosa, 2008, 1). As shown, higher-poverty schools do not attract highly experienced teachers due to poor working conditions and the lower salary rates that come from the disparate all ocation of educational funding. In this regard, the pupils from high-poverty schools are exposed to teachers with lesser experiences and training and thereby, could compromise the level of instructions accorded to these students, when compared to lower-poverty schools that receive greater funding.One personally agrees with the author’s contention that there is a need to reevaluate and assess the disparities in educational funding accorded to school on a national level to justify allocation on an equal basis.

Investment Banking in 2008 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Investment Banking in 2008 - Essay Example This paper demonstrates the result of deregulatory measures initiated by the authorities of the United States in the decade of 1990s.The reason for such hype of the deregulatory measures has been primarily the universal bank model. The deregulatory measures allowed the investment banks to participate in the depository functions. The supporters of the deregulations believed that modern day clients preferred to do all of their business ranging from life insurance to commercial lending, from mergers and acquisition advisory to retirement planning, under one roof. And only a deregulated market could allow this to happen. Therefore, replacement of Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 (which prevented depository and brokerage functions) by the Gramm-Leach Bliley in 1999 opened a whole lot of opportunities for the bankers. With the approval to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act in 1999, investment banks, insurance companies and commercial banks were equally placed in respect to the products and the markets. This led to the concentration of financial power in fewer hands and soon the investment banks were being absorbed by the commercial banks. The deviation led to the rise in pressure on investment banks to create return on equity compared to the universal banks like Duetsche Bank and as a result investment banks laid more emphasis on the traditional services like M&A, underwriting, sales and trading. Also, the intense competitive pressure led to the withdrawal of Net Capital rule. and SEC allowed unlimited and unregulated leverage (in way of debts) to their brokerage units which proved to be fatal in the long run. Remaining Competitive Against the Trend From the analysis of the case, it appears that Goldman Sachs (and also Morgan Stanley, if not others) could have surely remained competitive without increasing its leverage to boost its return on investment. In fact, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley were honest enough at the outset and had written down the losses in residential mortgages and leveraged loans and tried to avoid the excessive exposure to the mortgage industry. But as Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley faced increasing pressure from the investors as their profits eroded and return on equity subsided. Consequently, they decided to be the bank holding companies (under FED regulations) and initiate the depository functions which would allow them to play as commercial banks and have diversified banking operations apart from invest banking functions, which in turn would help them to stay competitive. Collapse of Lehman Brothers but Bear Stearns Saved For the purpose of bail out of Bear Sterns , Federal Reserve lent JP Morgan Chase $ 30 Billion out of which JP Morgan Chase agreed to assume responsibility for $ 1 Billion leaving the charge of other $ 29 Billion to the U.S. tax payers. But when the Lehman Brothers, which had almost 75% higher valuation of the assets (compared to Bear Sterns as on 30/11/2007) approached Federal Reserve they did not get the nod. The prime reason of such a decision by Fed is believed to be the political dominos. The decision makers hesitated to take another bail-out measure

Post devolution, do separate or dual identities exist in England and Dissertation

Post devolution, do separate or dual identities exist in England and Britain - Dissertation Example Such assumptions were based on the esoteric understandings of the two labels, British and English, and tended to affect the framing of the concept of a so called national identity that were based on territorial differentiation and the respective identities, nature of citizenship, and social inclusion. The nationalistic identity of any state which is dependent on its socio-political characteristics, may go through various transformations (like devolution); and under pressures from the changed local, political, and social conditions, may undergo differentiation. Under changed circumstances the nationalistic identity of ‘Britishness’ may take a back seat, with the regional identity of ‘Englishness,’ eclipsing the former. ... The Existence of Separate or Dual Identities in England and Britain post devolution period 1 Introduction 1.1 Background History â€Å"The history of England [is] not in England but in America and Asia† J.R. Seele Since 1997, United Kingdom has been undergoing devolution as regards to its 4 member states, England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. England has been ‘eventually promised’ a new and ‘Greater London Authority,’ with a separate and Assembly and mayor, while separate regionally elected assemblies are also on the annals for England; while the remaining 3 states have been given varying degrees of autonomy in their assemblies. Thus this entire process of devolution spells out into new territorial contours within the realms of United Kingdom. A look at the history shows us that Britain did not quite have a homogenous nature right from the time of its conception, and the then British foreign secretary Robin Cook, ascertained that the concept of this â€Å"homogeneity of British identity that some people assume to be the norm was confined to a relatively brief period. It lasted from the Victorian era of imperial expansion to the aftermath of the Second World War...The diversity of modern Britain expressed through devolution and multiculturalism is more consistent with the historical experience of our islands† (Cook, 2001). The topic or concept of ‘British,’ after being reviewed by various experts has been found to consist of a large and gaping conceptual void (Kumar, 2000, 576). Historical records, in general, are found aplenty, starting with political, constitutional, social, and economic histories of England, yet there has

Religion in King Lear Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Religion in King Lear - Essay Example The chaotic mixture of fairies with Gods seems to characterize the religious confusion in the play. Characters endlessly invoke Gods, divine powers, and mystical forces; there seems to be an assumption that something governs our lives on earth, but the direction of the play as a whole is towards a radical questioning of this whole idea. When Gloucester says As flies to wanton boys, are we to th’ Gods; They kill us for their sport (IV, 1, 36-7). his view will not do here as a summary of the world shown in the play, for one thing because there simply is no evidence of Gods doing anything at all, callous or benevolent. In Act V Edgar comments on his father’s fate in terms which again assume some sort of divine order in things: The Gods are just, and if our pleasant vices Make instruments to plague us: The dark and vicious place where thee he got Cost him his eyes (V, 3, 170-3). ... It is a world without justice, nor any convincing sense of meaningful moral order. The characters assume, however, that the divine is present in their world, and that it can be addressed and appealed to, though it comes in many forms. Lear begs "sweet heaven" (I, 1, 46) to prevent him from going mad. He prays for "all the stor'd vengeances of Heaven" (II, 4, 163) to strike down his ungrateful daughter, and begs the "Heavens" (II, 4, 273) to give him patience and strength. "O Heavens, / If you do love old men" (II, 4 191-2), he says in the same scene. In the storm scenes Kent's description of its peculiar severity prompts one to see it as more than just a physical event. He has never in his life seen "such sheets of fire, such bursts of horrid thunder" etc., and the implication is that the storm has more than natural causes. This leads Lear to his reflection on the power of the storm to purge evil and crime: Let the Great Gods, That keep this dreadful pudder o'er our heads, Find out their enemies now(III, 2, 49). He believes the Gods are present and that they have the power to punish wrongs - even his own. In III, 4 he acknowledges his own responsibility for how Goneril and Regan are: "Judicious punishment! 'twas this flesh begot / Those pelican daughters" (III, 4, 75-6). Gloucester too believes in the divine, but in very muddled way. His son Edmund feels none of the strength of the spiritual, and despises his father for his naivety: Thou, Nature, art my goddess; to thy law My services are bound (I, 2, 1-2). means, in fact, that he has no gods or goddesses, that religious sense to him is bosh, and a sign of superstitious weakness in others. His closeness to the sisters is clear. His "Nature", it is obvious, is a different

Bill of Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Bill of Rights - Essay Example I. Freedom of religion, speech or of the press; or peaceful assembly; right to seek redressal of grievances from government. II. Freedom to keep and bear arms. III. No house should be occupied by a soldier except with permission of owner. IV. People should be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures; warrants should be reasonable and issued upon probable cause and describe the person, place, papers and effects being seized. V. Indictment by grand jury, prohibition of double jeopardy; self incrimination application for due process of law. VI. In all criminal prosecutions, accused shall have a speedy trial by jury; be confronted with the witnesses against him; should compel witnesses’ attendance and have counsel to defend him. VII. In suits of value exceed twenty dollars, trial shall be by jury. VIII. Restraints against excessive bail and fines. IX. The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be constr ued to deny or disparage others retained by the people. X. The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people. The Fifth Amendment provides for due process of law which means that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property at the whim of the government acting in an unreasonable manner. Secondly, it provides protection against self incrimination. This means that no person will be made to testify about something which may offer evidence against himself in a criminal case. The rule has evolved into new concepts of law. One such, known as the Miranda (1966) warnings mandate that a person about to be arrested or during the course of inquiry if he is a suspect should be made aware that what he will speak after that point shall be used as evidence against him and that he has a right to remain silent. It further provides that the person should be informed that he is en titled to legal counsel before speaking. Any confessional statement obtained during course of criminal proceedings without Miranda warnings would be inadmissible in evidence if used against the person. In Kirby (1972) it was held that criminal proceedings include formal charge, preliminary hearing, indictment or arraignment. Confession, an admission of guilt by a person is covered under the Fifth and Sixth Amendment. Fifth prohibits self incrimination and Sixth provides for legal counsel and applies after formal charges have been filed. In Fikes (1957) it was held that â€Å"in the totality of circumstances† the defendant did not exercise his â€Å"power of resistance† and the confession was held inadmissible. In Massiah (1964) it was held that statements made by defendant to a co-accused in absence of counsel could not be used against the defendant. The knowledge of the public regarding the Bill of Rights is very low. In general there is much â€Å"ignorance of the c ontent and meaning of the Bill of Rights† ( Patrick, 1988). The results of the survey reveal the above statement to be true. Though the population for the survey is small, the results match with bigger surveys. According to a survey, â€Å"Many more Americans remember that Michael Jackson sang "Beat It" than know that the Bill of Rights is part of the Constitution (N. D.). Another survey, however revealed that the right to worship as you

African American Press Essay Example for Free

African American Press Essay ?â€Å"We wish to plead our own cause. Too long have others spoken for us. Too long has the public been deceived by misrepresentation of things which concerns us dearly,† written on the front page of the first African-American owned newspaper, Freedom’s Journal. Freedom’s Journal was published on March 16, 1827 by a group of free African-American men in New York City. Freedom’s Journal was published the same year slavery was abolished in New York and was used to counter racist commentary published in the mainstream press. Samuel E. Cornish and John B. Russwurm served, respectively, as its senior and junior editors where they worked together to publish four-page, four-column weekly newspapers. Though The Freedom’s Journal was not the first African-American paper published, it was the first Africa-American owned newspaper. Freedom’s Journal consisted of news on current events, anecdotes, editorials and used to address contemporary issues such as denouncing slavery, advocating for black people’s political rights, the right to vote, and speaking out about lynching. Cornish and Russwurm desire were to give African-Americans the freedom to voice their thoughts, ideas and opinions. They sought to improve conditions for more than 300,000 newly freed men and women living in the North. They fulfilled this desire, by employing 14 to 44 agents each year to collect subscriptions. Each agent was paid $3 a year for their work. To encourage black achievements Freedom’s Journal featured biographies of celebrated black figures and continued to promote better living conditions by printing schools that were open to blacks, job offering and housing listings. Freedom’s Journal, eventually, circulated 11 states, the District of Columbia, Haiti, Europe and Canada before ceasing publications in 1829. During that time, Russwurm became the sole editor of Freedom’s Journal, after Cornish resigned in 1827. Russwurm began to promote the Colonization Movement which was frowned upon by majority of the newspaper’s readers. The Colonization Movement was a movement that was conceived by members of the American Colonization Colony where they began repatriating free African-Americans back to Africa. When the Freedom’s Journal shifted in complete support of colonization, it lost most of its readers and in March 1829 Freedom’s Journal ceased publication. Even though Freedom’s Journal existed for two years, its two years of existence helped spawn other papers. Since then, African American press has evolved and has substantially increased in the population over the years. After Freedom’s Journal, African-Americans had begun establishing and owning newspapers. It began May 1829, when Cornish attempted to revive the Freedom’s Journal under the name The Rights of All, however, the publication was not successful and failed after a year. David Walker, hired as an agent for Freedom’s Journal, became a well known, anti-slavery writer which was inspired by his experience with Freedom’s Journal. In 1830, Walker’s published his most famous publication known as Appeal which called for slaves to rebel against their masters, â€Å"†¦they want us for their slaves, and think nothing of murdering us†¦therefore, if there is an attempt made by us, kill or be killed†¦and believe this, that it is no more harm for you to kill a man who is trying to kill you, than it is for you to take a drink of water when thirsty,† (Walker). Another attempt at publication, Samuel Cornish, along with, Philip Bell, and Charles Bennett Ray launched The Weekly Advocate, January 1837. Later, the men changed the name to The Colored American March 4, 1837. The Colored American main purpose was to strengthen the moral, social, and political elevation of colored people as well as emancipation of slaves. The Colored American became well-known in the North because of the wide spread support of abolitionists, African-American churches and local abolition societies, and Caucasian allies. The Colored American published 38 articles, becoming an important paper of its time. The last edition of The Colored American was published on Christmas day in 1841. Other early African American newspapers include the Provincial Freeman, published in 1854, which was the first African-American owned newspapers to be published in Chatham, Ontario, Canada. The North Star was an anti-slavery newspaper published in 1847 by Frederick Douglas. He later agreed to merge it with the publication Liberty Party Paper with Gerrit Smith creating the Frederick Douglass’ Paper, in Rochester, New York. The National Era was published in Washington, D. C. in 1847 by the American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society. The Liberator was probably the best-known publication during the era, published by William Lloyd Garrison in Boston between 1831 and 1865. Other anti-slavery newspapers of note include the Friend of Man, published weekly for the New York State Anti-Slavery Society from 1836 through 1842. The Emancipator, originally known as Genius of Universal Emancipation, was one of the first anti-slavery newspapers published in the United States by Benjamin Lundy in 1819 and National. Anti-Slavery Standard established in 1840. All of these newspapers advocated for the abolition of slavery and for the civil rights of all African Americans. By the start of Civil War, more than 40 black-owned and operated papers had been established throughout the United States. After the end of the Civil War, more than 100 newspapers were beginning to publish. Many of the major African-American owned publications include, Baltimore Afro-American, also known as The Afro, was founded by a former slave, John H. Murphy, SR. , in 1892. Today, The Afro is the longest-running African-American, family-owned newspaper in the United States. The Chicago Defender was founded by Robert Sengstacke. Abbott on May 5, 1905. The Chicago Defender included writing pieces from the well-known Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks and Willard Motley. The Pittsburgh Courier an African-American newspaper published in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1910. The Pittsburgh Courier became the most widely circulated newspaper in America for African-Americans. During its peak, the Pittsburgh Courier circulated around 450,000 publications, with more than 400 employees in 14 cities. The Pittsburgh Courier discussed major issues impacting African-American communities. It campaigned against segregation and poverty, and promoted the social advancement of blacks. In the 1930s, the Pittsburgh Courier urged Black voters to vote Democrat, creating a political alliance that still exist to this day. Other publications includes, The Philadelphia Tribune (1912-2001), Atlanta Daily World (1931–2003), Cleveland Call Post (1934-1991), Los Angeles Sentinel (1934–2005), New York Amsterdam News (1922–1993), and Norfolk Journal and Guide (1921-2003). With African-American newspaper publication on the rise, organizations to help promote the publication began to form to support African-American journalist. In 1940, Robert Sengstacke Abbott, founder of Chicago Defender, along with other African-American publishers, organized the National Negro Publishers Association. The members of the National Negro Publishers Association worked together, â€Å"harmonizing our energies in a common purpose for the benefit of Negro journalism†, (Sengstacke). Today, the National Negro Publishers Associations is composed of more than 200 black newspapers in the United States and the Virgin Islands. In 1975 in Washington D. C. , 44 African-American journalists founded the National Association of Black Journalists. The National Association of Black Journalist’ purpose was to provide quality programs and services to and advocate on behalf of black journalists. These organizations are still going strong today and have contributed greatly to the African American population. Today, there isn’t a firm count of how many African American newspapers circulating the United States, however, according to Allied Media Corporation, an ethnic marketing firm, they have listed 250 newspapers in circulation. The National Newspaper Publishers Association, better known as the Black Press of America, assist in the publication of African-American owned newspapers, counts more than 200 black-owned newspapers as its membership. As you can see, since the Freedom’s Journal, the number of newspaper publications has increased. It began with the main purpose being that Africa-Americans would stick together to fight the constant oppression they were under. Now that we don’t see African-American oppression, as we did then, publications has different focal points. Many of the newspapers provide news and insight on African-American culture, including a variety of perspectives from leaders, celebrities, trendsetters and great minds from the African-American community. The Freedom’s Journal created a new stepping stone for the African-American population. It provided the platform for issues and concerns pursuant to ensuring our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and to preserve a legacy of black conservatism for generations to come. References 2, M. A. (n. d. ). Early African American and Anti-Slavery Newspapers | Marjory Allen Perez. Genealogy Family History | Search Family Trees Vital Records . Retrieved August 1, 2013, from http://www. archives. com/experts/perez-marjory/early-african-american-and-anti-slavery-newspapers. html Black Newspapers Listing | The Network Journal. (n. d. ). Black Business | Black News, Career Ideas for Black Professionals. Retrieved August 1, 2013, from http://www. tnj. com/lists-resources/black-newspapers-listing David Walker, 1785-1830. Walkers Appeal, in Four Articles; Together with a Preamble, to the Coloured Citizens of the World, but in Particular, and Very Expressly.

Auditor Crazy Eddie

Auditor Crazy Eddie Question: What specific mistakes (apart from failure to notice â€Å"red flags†) did the auditor make? For each mistake, describe what the auditor should have done. If you were the Managing Partner for the CPA firm and had full knowledge of all the facts and events in this case, what changes in policy or procedures would you implement to make sure this audit failure does not occur in the future? The Crazy Eddies financial statements had many fraudulent over and understatements done in many ways that the auditors should have caught. They created fictitious revenues by a number of means. They prepared phony invoices showing sales which overstated their revenues to show the company was growing faster than they actually were. Their vendors collaborated in the fraud by lying to the auditors when the auditors attempted to confirm some of these receivables. The auditors were not diligent when they verified these invoices. They should have probed further into the vendors to verify that these sales occurred. They also should have understood the relationship between Cray Eddies and their vendors to understand if there were motives for fraud. They overstated their assets by overvaluing inventory. They would borrow merchandise from suppliers to inflate the ending inventory. The suppliers would ship the merchandise to the Crazy Eddies stores and hold the billing until after the end of the accounting period. The employees of Crazy Eddie went to great extents to deceive the auditors. They would move inventory to the stores or warehouses that were being audited to conceal the shortages. The auditors should have caught that the merchandise was not billed and understood what accounts they charged in the books when the merchandise was received. Another means of overstating the inventory was they shipped inventory from one store to another store so it could be double counted. This should have been caught by the auditors by having the entire inventory verified in parallel. The employees included in their inventory consigned merchandise and goods being returned to suppliers. This could have been found by understanding the details of Crazy Eddies inventory. The auditor should have identified the consigned merchandise and goods being return to separate it from the normal inventory. Crazy Eddie used the accounting periods to overstate assets and income. They held off closing the books past the end of the accounting period to overstated assets and income by boosting sales. The other means used was to reduce liabilities and expenses by not recording them until the next period. The auditors should have verified books at the end of the accounting periods to make sure that all transactions were recorded. The auditors needed to verify the transactions around the end of the period to verify their timing accuracy. Another category of fraudulent activities was when they were completing their financial statements. They didnt adequately disclose facts in the financial statements according to GAAP. The footnote during one period stated that certain income was recognized when received and the following period disclosed that income was recognized when earned. The auditors should have added an explanatory paragraph or a modification of wording for lack of consistent application of GAAP. Main Hurdman was the auditor for the companys annual audits and its consulting division was charging Crazy Eddie millions of dollars to computerize Crazy Eddies inventory system. This violates rule 102 for integrity and objectivity. Auditors cant objectively audit an inventory system they developed which means this is a conflict of interest. They should have chosen to develop the inventory system or be the auditor but not both. Crazy Eddies employees later stopped using the computer based inventory system designed by Main Hurdman and used their manual inventory system. The auditors should have noticed the change in the inventory system being used and understood why they changed. This should have been a signal that they were removing some of the quality controls in the inventory system. Many of Crazy Eddies accountants were former members of Main Hurdman accounting firm. The SEC added a requirement in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act that requires a member of the audit team not work at the client for one-year in certain key management positions. The firm is not independent with respect to the audit client if a former auditor accepts employment with the client. There were several reported instances where the auditor requested the client documents and were told that those documents were lost or inadvertently destroyed. Sarbanes-Oxley Act states that all working papers must be retained for 7 years. The inadvertent destruction of working papers that are less than 5 years has a penalty of 10 years in prison. The collusion of key personnel at Cray Eddies made it very difficult for auditors to uncover the fraud. If the auditors would have done a risk assessment prior to engaging with the client they would have identified a risk with so many family members employed at the company. The success and growth rate of Crazy Eddie was not normal. The auditors should have completed a comparative analysis of other electronic retailers. This would have shown that their high growth rate wasnt typical compared to others. This would have prompted the auditor to look closer at why they were outperforming the competitors. To prevent the CPA firm from having this occur in the future, they should follow the elements of quality control. The one element is the policies and procedures before accepting or continuing a new client relationship. They should complete a client evaluation form which includes evaluation of the clients management. If this was done in the Crazy Eddies case, they would have found that it was a risky client based on his selling techniques alone. The firm should follow the element of personnel management where all new personnel should be qualified to perform their work competently. The personnel should have adequate training and proficient. The field auditors for Crazy Eddies were young and inexperienced. The management team was able to manipulate and influence the auditors. The auditor needs to follow the procedure of verifying the inventory count by observing it. Precautions must be taken to avoid allowing the inventory to be moved by verifying it in parallel if multiple locations exist. Crazy Eddies auditors were fooled by not taking precautions to avoid double counting the inventory. The firm must follow the Generally Accepted Auditing Standards. One of the standards of field work is to obtain a sufficient understanding of the entity and its environment including its internal control. If this was done, the auditors could have seen that Crazy Eddie had influence over his suppliers to cooperate in inflating the assets. The change in the inventory system back to the manual system showed a lack of internal control. The firm must follow the rules of conduct. They must keep their objectivity by not providing other services such developing or advising an inventory system. They must remain independent by not auditing a client that has former members of the audit team working at the client within one-year.

The impact of culture on women entrepreneurship

The impact of culture on women entrepreneurship The author has been involved from the age of thirteen years old in business enterprise both Small and Medium Enterprises (SME). The author comes from a business orientated family and spent her working life both in family business and private capacity. This made the author believes that one of the most important issues that the women entrepreneur experiences in this business sector is culture challenges. The author believes that women entrepreneurship has got many opportunities but the impact of culture challenges these opportunities in particular if we compare UK and Sub-Saharan women entrepreneurship. Considering entrepreneurship sector it has long been considered an important factor for socioeconomic growth and development because it provides millions of job opportunities, offers a variety of consumer goods and services, and generally increases national prosperity and competitiveness (Zahra, 1999). Although in recent years women have been included in a number of studies on entrepreneurship, however, there has been little focus on challenging traditional definitions of entrepreneurship or on developing new methods to collect information on entrepreneurship (Moore 1990, p.278; Stevenson 1990, p.442; Moore and Buttner 1997). The entrepreneurship literature has increasingly acknowledged the desire by women to be economically independent and their role and contribution as female entrepreneurs in shaping the labour market (Goffee Scase, 1985). Entrepreneurship or self-employment normally involves setting up a new business or buying an existing business. Gartner, (1988) defines entrepreneurship as the behaviours associated with performing entrepreneurial activities (i.e. what an entrepreneur does rather than on whom the entrepreneur is). The entrepreneur environment is surrounding by many societal factors such as cultural, economic, political and social forces. These factors can join together to create threats or opportunities where entrepreneur operates. Despite the presence of a favourable environment, individuals who are motivated by factors such as financial rewards, achievement, social, career, and individual fulfilment, for these conditions or motives to encourage into entrepreneurship a national culture supports and encourages entrepreneurial activity is needed. Berger, (1991), points out that individuals personalities and behaviours, firms, political/legal systems, economic conditions, and social traditions are all intertwined with the national culture from which they originate. Hence, the study of entrepreneurship on a cultural basis seems appropriate. Furthermore, taking women themselves as subjects for analysis and comparison three levels of similarity or difference should be considered. First, no matter w here women live, they experience similar types of role complexity, especially when combining the roles of working mother and wife. Second, no matter where women live, they encounter similar problems when trying to get started as entrepreneurs or when trying to expand their business activities. Third, in contrast to male entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs face unique challenges arising from the local environment in which they must operate. It is these differences arising from the specific social and cultural environments in which WEs operates that are the subject of investigation in this study as well as the differences between women themselves, their roles or their personal experiences. Consequently, this study takes the cultural approach to study the women entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa compared to the U.K by examining factors in the environments in which Women Entrepreneurs (WEs) operate. The goal is to understand better how cultural barriers of many types impact the efforts of WEs. In order to address these gender-particular problems, social cultural is suggested to cover two goals: Addressing the changing social beliefs, attitudes and behaviours that negatively affect women entrepreneurs. The ways of improving conditions in institutional systems and environments in the women entrepreneurs The research questions The extant entrepreneurial literature has certainly increased our understanding of entrepreneurs and the gender dynamics of entrepreneurship, a key concern is the tendency for typical studies to focus on entrepreneurship issues in Western developed economies to the neglect of developing .If entrepreneurship is accepted as a key driver of economic growth and an essential component of national development, then a better understanding is needed of those factors which promote or inhibit womens entrepreneurship in the U.K and sub-Saharan Africa. Two questions are of principal interest in this study: Under what conditions do women become entrepreneurs in the U.K and sub-Saharan Africa? What types of cultural and environmental barriers must they face and overcome? The next section explains the methodology. We then present and discuss the findings and argue that while many challenges identified are common in this sector they are experienced differentially and are strongly influenced by the nature of the cultural values in context. Keywords: women entrepreneurs; sub-Saharan Africa; U.K, cultural environment The research methodology In order to understand the nature of WEs experience in the U.K and sub-Saharan Africa, it is necessary first to understand the socio-economic and cultural context in which they live and work. The present study is exploratory in nature. The study was carried out in the U.K with selecting women entrepreneurs doing different types of business. The study covered two types of participants women entrepreneurs from the U.K and others women entrepreneurs who originally came from Sub Saharan African countries settled and started a business in the U.K. The combination of the selected groups gives different business cultures. Our goal is to demonstrate both similarities and differences in the experiences of WEs trying to operate their own business. The data for the study was collected from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data was collected from selected women entrepreneurs through formal interviews. The participants from the Sub Saharan Africa were selected on a convenience basis to represent Somali, Ethiopian, Eritreans, and Ugandans. The reasons that made the researcher to perform samples interviews from both participants are the limited timescale for the researcher as well as the availability of these women in entrepreneur business in the U.K. Secondary data was collected from published data in books, journals, magazines report and newspapers. In trying to assemble relevant statistical data from secondary sources for this profile, the researcher encountered considerable difficulties with incomplete, out-of-date, or missing data. Even in publications produced by Department for Business innovation and Skills (BIS), banking system such as Nat west, in the U.K and leading international agencies such as the World Bank, UNESCO (2011), UN, and the CIA (2011), statistics proved to be inadequate for the purposes of this study. The next section presents the relation between the gender and the entrepreneur. Gender and the Entrepreneurial Career Choice The literature described the term entrepreneur with a particular emphasis on the view of the nature and purpose of entrepreneurial activities. Thus, an entrepreneur is defined as one who undertakes a commercial enterprise and who is an organisational creator and innovator (Gartner, 1990; 2004). Theoretically entrepreneur includes elements of smallness, competition, deregulation, innovation and risk (Verheul Thurik, 2000). Considering these features an entrepreneur historically assumed to be male (Green and Cohen 1995, p.299; Beggs et al.1994). However, Winn, (2005) stated that entrepreneur is the one who prospects for or exploits opportunities and who has a tenacity to face challenges. Whereas, Krueger and Brazeal (1994) described entrepreneurship as gender neutral who perceive themselves as pursuing opportunities irrespective of existing resources. This definition is in line with affirmation of Buttner and Moores (1997) that the entrepreneurship is a gender-blind career choice. Alt hough this assertion is theoretically true, in practice gender and environment act together to confirm the success or failure of women as entrepreneurs. Studies report that women entrepreneurs differ from men in terms of their motivations, the types of external barriers that they face, and the type of help available to women (Buttner and Moore 1997; Mattis 2004; Woldie and Adersua 2004). Cromie (1987) compares womens and mens reasons for forming businesses on 13 different criteria and notes that women are less preoccupied than men with economic gain, and more often cite child-rearing demands and career dissatisfaction as reasons for business formation. In a similar way, Hisrich (1989) summarises the comparisons that have been made between female and male business owners in terms of motivation, source of funds, occupational background, and reasons for occupational departure, personality, background, support group and type of business. Other studies similarly compare the motivation of female and male entrepreneurs (Cromie 1987; Birley 1989) and management styles in women-owned and men-owned enterprises (Chaganti 1986). Accordingly, the literature points to a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that might influence women to choose an entrepreneurial career. Intrinsic factors include the persons personality or traits such as having a proactive, assertive personality, being self-governed and positive (Akrivos et al., 2007, Mordi, et, al., 2010). In this respect, female entrepreneurs have been found to be less oriented to financial reward than men (Rosa et al, 1996), valuing work satisfaction and challenge, and to hold androgynous or masculine self perceptions (Brodsky, 1993) such as confidence, a sense of adventure and risk taking. Extrinsic factors include family circumstances and family orientation, the influence of socio-cultural factors, the political-economic climate surrounding the business environment and dominant features of human resources within the labour market (Ituma Simpson, 2007). The aspiration to own and manage a business might stem from a desire to be self-sufficient, to gain personal satisfaction and esteem as well as a desire for more opportunities and flexibility than exists for women in the employed labour market (Carter, 2000; Winn 2004, 2005; Carter and Cannon, 1992). This quest for autonomy and flexibility may be particularly relevant for those women with caring responsibilities (Carter, 2000; Hewlett, 2002) who accordingly seek to combine work and non-work activities (Mordi, et, el., 2010). Using these comparisons and to develop a form of typical female entrepreneur the factors that describe the differences between the male and female entrepreneur can include women and men are socialized differently and as a result have different orientations especially when it comes to business; as women face certain structural and cultural barriers rather than men and finally women have distinctive ways of conducting and managing their own business (Amine Staub, 2009). Carter (2000) points out; women are not disadvantaged in the world of self employment because of their lack of mental, physical, educational and other kinds of abilities, but as a result of gendered categorisations. These categorizations have close links to other variables, such as cultural values, family commitment, lack of business capital and credit facilities that can act as limitations to the female entrepreneur (Mordi, et, al., 2010). Taking these differences there is anecdotal evidence that cultural beliefs about gender and entrepreneurship have consequences for women entrepreneurs. For example, women entrepreneurs frequently reported that perceived lack of credibility by investors due to their gender disadvantages them in their searches for credit (Moore and Buttner 1997; Carter and Cannon 1992). Kiggundu (2002) reported that most successful African entrepreneurs are male, middle-aged, married with a number of children, and are more educated than the general population. Staub and Amine (2006) argue that many women in sub-Saharan Africa are ready to go as entrepreneurs, if only environmental conditions are more favourable to their efforts. Consequently, theory suggests that gender stereotypes may systematically disadvantage women entrepreneurs as few studies have investigated the extent to which cultural beliefs about gender might impact men and women in the initial decision-making process of choosing to start a business in the first place (Heilman and Chen 2003). This gender carrier choice review highlights the significance and value of some of the cultural and environmental factors which is the focus of this study. To deepen our understanding for these factors the next section will present more cultural motivations and types of women entrepreneurs. Types and motives of Women Entrepreneurs Definitions of the term entrepreneur tend to assume and emphasise a particular view of the nature and purpose of entrepreneurial activities. Goffee and Scase (1985) distinguish between four types of female entrepreneurs (conventional, innovative, domestic and radical). Goffee and Scase (1985) argue that Conventional businesswomen are highly committed both to entrepreneurship ideals and to the conventional gender role for women. These women accept the fact that they have to work long hours to fulfil both their domestic and entrepreneurial roles. Goffee and Scase note that conventional businesswomen run their business in ways which are compatible with their domestic obligations and do not require family members to undertake additional tasks. Goffee and scase (1985, p.96) suggest that these women do not see the need for restructuring of gender relationship. However Innovative entrepreneurs, by contrast, are committed to entrepreneurship ideals but not to the conventional gender roles. D omestic businesswomen do not uphold entrepreneurship ideals but are committed to conventional gender roles. Radical proprietors have low commitment to both entrepreneurship ideals and to conventional gender roles. Through this framework, Goffee and Scase (1985) are able to explain some of the differences in whose willingness to compromise with the male business world and to sacrifice personal and family relationships for the sake of their enterprises enables them to overcome many of the obstacles which many women face'(ibid.,p.142). To be precise, innovators women entrepreneurs are likely to be booming entrepreneurs in so far as they imitate the male work norm. Considering these types of women entrepreneur Birley (1989, p.37) argues that profile of women entrepreneur in the future will continue to move closer to that of their male counterparts. To achieve this stage women entrepreneurs need certain motives to encourage them to be in business. Scholars emphasised different motives for entrepreneurs as general the most notably economist Cantillon and Marx who pointed out that profit maybe one motive of entrepreneur business. Furthermore, the entrepreneur may be driven not only by economic motives but also by psychological motives like the desire to innovate and create new products (Schumpeter, 1934). The desire to take risk and a spirit of adventure may be another (Knight, 1921). Moreover some entrepreneurs have greater access to information or knowledge and wish to exploit that advantage (Kirzner, 1973). However, the positive reasons alone may not motivate entrepreneurship as some individuals may have no other option but to choose self- employment (Basu Altinay, 2002). (references in london articles) Krueger and Brazeal (1994, p.101) asserted that favourable environmental conditions such as support from political, social, and business leaders and a team spirit in the community effectively encourage entrepreneurship among both men and women. Social support from family and friends who provide positive role models, as well as from parents who promote entrepreneurial aspirations during childhood, all contribute to create positive environmental conditions favouring womens entrepreneurship. In contrast, (Mordi, et, al., 2010) argue that lack of access to seed funds and working capital are two environmental factors that particularly discourage women entrepreneurs. It is clear that motivations of women entrepreneurs based to some extent on the gender beliefs. Thus in the next section the relation between the gender beliefs and entrepreneurship will be discussed. Gender Beliefs and Entrepreneurship This section presents the shared cultural belief about genders by prescribing different expectations of competence for women and men or gender status beliefs in the area of entrepreneurship. Then analyze the implications of those beliefs for womens as entrepreneur business choice. It is reported that women often perceive they lack credibility because of their gender when they seek funding (Carter and Cannon 1992; Moore and Buttner 1997; Smallbone et.al. 2000). To discuss this sociologists increasingly understand gender as a multilevel structure, which includes cultural beliefs and distributions of resources at the macro level, patterns of behavior at the interactional level, and roles and identities at the micro level (Ferree, Lorber, and Hess 1999; Ridgeway and Correll 2004; Risman 1998) (Reference- baud2010.SPQ.snap article). The influence of culture on entrepreneurship was first emphasised by Max Weber at the beginning of this century. As Weber (1976) famously argued, Protestantism encouraged a culture that emphasised individualism, achievement motivation, legitimation of entrepreneurial vocations, rationality, asceticism, and self-reliance. Based on that Hoftstede (1991, p.5) defines culture as a collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. In this sense Hoftstede (1991) regards culture as a collective phenomenon that is shaped by individuals social environment, not their genes. In this way he defines culture a set of shared values, beliefs and norms of a group or community. Basu Altinay, (2002) argue that these cultural values and norms will either converge or conflict with a societys ability to develop a strong entrepreneur orientation. For example, thinking about a new business ventures means confronting a great deal of uncertain ty. Moreover, in the development of new ideas, entrepreneurs have to make their own decisions in setting where there are few, if any, historical trends, and relatively little direct information (Basu Altinay, 2002). Accordingly, Hofstedes in his research shows that national culture affects workplace values across a range of countries. Basu Altinay (2002) views the cultural differences result from national, regional, ethnic, social class, religious, gender, and language variations. Hence, values are held to be a crucial feature of culture and cultural uniqueness. Consequently, Berger (1991) argues that any modernisation in countries must include cultural transformation. As such, entrepreneurship develops from the Bottom up such that culture gives rise to entrepreneurial potential. Thus, Bergers stated that it is culture that serves as the conductor, and the conductor, and the entrepreneur as the catalyst (to entrepreneurship) (Berger 1991, p.122). To widen our understanding to the effect of culture on the women entrepreneurs it seems necessary to take some examples on this field. In the United Kingdom, notably in the East Midlands (Nottingham and Leicester) Somali women have challenged the male-dominated perception which portrays women as housewives with little contribution to the public arena. Study by Hassan (2002) reveals how Somali women in the UK rejected their traditional culture that gives husbands authority over their wives. A traditional power relation at the household level that allows husbands to control their wives is no longer accepted in the UK. A Somali woman narrates Men should learn how to cook, do the laundry and change the nappies (Hassan 2002), a new male role which used to be a female role in Somali. This led to an increase in marriage breakdown. However, women have become shapers of their lives. On the other hand men seem not happy with the new culture that they need to understand and to response to posit ively. They put religion to stop women taking new roles. Men are using religion as a scapegoat when they say that women are abandoning Islam. This is the way this country is, and we should adapt to it, said a female interviewee (Hassan 2002). In the city of London Ethiopian and Eritrean women have improved their entrepreneur skills and become engaged in different small business activities such as restaurants and cafes to generate income to help them to support themselves and to improve their living standard as well as to send remittances to their families and communities in their homeland. Thus, challenging the economic exclusion is that many women in Diaspora are exposed to and also giving them financial independence and economic power. Moreover, gaining economic power could lead to decision-making power at household level. Thus, challenging the patriarchal system that perpetuates males domination. In a study comparing indigenous African entrepreneurs to entrepreneurs of European and Indian descent operating in Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, Ramachandran and Shah (1999) found significant differences between sample members. Differences were seen in their education, networks, and business growth rates, with entrepre neurs of European or Indian descent having more formal education and better business networks. Despite the considerable progress many countries have achieved in developing their economies, entrepreneurial activity remains relatively limited in many these nations (Berger 1991) Cultural Challenges of Women Entrepreneur The literature showed that women entrepreneur businesses are generally smaller, grow more slowly, and are less profitable (Fasci Valdez, 1998; Hisrish Brush, 1984; Kalleberg Leicht, 1991; Rosa Hamilton, 1994). Buttner and Rosen (1988) similarly found that American loan officers rated women as significantly less like successful entrepreneurs on the dimensions of leadership, autonomy, risk taking, readiness for change, endurance, lack of emotionalism, and low need for support when compared to equivalent men. More generally, scholars have argued that entrepreneurship is an activity that involves a sense of dominance tied to notions of masculinity within modern capitalist cultures (Bruni, Gherardi, and Poggio 2004; Connell 1995; Mirchandani 1999). A number of theorists attempt to identify barriers which female business owners face. These theorists focus on the social structures, which support gender differences. Several authors maintain that research on women entrepreneurs suffers from a number of shortcomings. These include a one-sided empirical focus (Gatewood, Carter, Brush, Greene, Hart, 2003), a lack of theoretical grounding (Brush, 1992), the neglect of structural, historical, and cultural factors (Chell Baines, 1998; Nutek, 1996), the use of male-gendered measuring instruments (Moore, 1990; Stevenson, 1990), the absence of a power perspective, and the lack of explicit feminist analysis (Mirchandani, 1999; Ogbor, 2000; Reed, 1996). Loscocco et al. (1991), for example, examine why women-owned businesses are typically less financially successful than businesses owned by men. They argue that womens lack of industry experience and family situation (in particular responsibility for childcare) explain part of the difference in income. Other reasons include the fact that women-owned businesses are typically small in size and are concentrated in poorly paid sectors of employment. Other barriers are identified by Aldrich who studies entrepreneurial networking and notes that women tend to form larger numbers of strong ties; this over-investment in the maintenance of networks can translate into business disadvantage as a woman entrepreneur risks spending much of her time on relationship matters rather than business ones (1989, p.121). Woldie and Adersua (2004) reported that aspiring WEs face additional barriers to success arising from negative social attitudes. Prejudice against WEs is experienced much more severely in Africa than in developed Western nations, arising from deeply-rooted, discriminatory cultural values, attitudes, practices, and the traditions of patriarchal cultures. Local prejudice is expressed through differential attitudes toward women in general, and through different standards and expectations for womens social behaviour in particular. While social attitudes are not the only factors hindering womens entrepreneurship, they are recognized by Gartner (1985) as critical factors. Lack of educational opportunities for girls throughout sub-Saharan Africa puts women at a tremendous disadvantage in adult life. Not only are they unable to improve their own intellectual and social abilities through education, they also suffer from social subservience and an inability to engage in business on an equal footing with men. Inadequate education leaves women ill-equipped to resist normative pressures from society for them to conform to traditional social role expectations for division of labour. Educational deficits also make it difficult for women to counter pressure by their husbands and family members to conform to social norms. In Muslim communities of sub-Saharan Africa (such as in Nigeria), it is not considered socially right or proper for a woman to work outside the home or to own her own business. It is feared that a married womans access to an independent source of income will change traditional roles in the family, undermine patriarchal domestic relations, and affect the balance of power within the household, potentially leading to divorce and the possibility of self-determination. Socially constructed meanings may interpret the fact of a married woman working for pay outside the home as deriving directly from a mans inability to control his wife or to provide adequately for his family without her assistance. Fearing such a loss of control, personal honour or social standing, many men simply refuse to allow their wives to start or operate their own businesses. An even greater threat is the social stigma that might attach to a man if his wife is seen to be more successful than he is (Njeru and Njoka 2001). Such deep social embarrassment and dishonour of the family name are deemed intolerable outcomes in many cultures of the world, not just in Africa. (See, for example, studies of the social impact on families of womens employment in the maquiladora factories along the US-Mexican border over the last 30 years [American Friends Service Committee AFSC 2006].) While such fears are grounded in traditional socio-cultural beliefs, attitudinal change can be accomplished through education of both men and women, allowing women to achieve self-determination and men to enjoy a more prosperous family life with their wives financial contribution to the household. Recommendations on how to bring about this type of change in attitudes towards women, work and independent enterprise will be addressed in a later section on social marketing. Some type of problem or proposed shortcomings of women. Women are discussed as: (the references on articles on women) Having a psychological makeup that is less entrepreneurial or at least different from that of a mans (Fagenson, 1993; Neider, 1987; Sexton Bowman-Upton, 1990; Zapalska, 1997) Having less motivation for entrepreneurship or for growth of their businesses (Buttner Moore, 1997; Fischer et al., 1993) Having insufficient education or experience (Boden Nucci, 2000) Having less desire to start a business (Carter Allen, 1997; Kourilsky Walstad, 1998; Matthews Moser, 1996; Scherer et al., 1990) Being risk averse (Masters Meier, 1988) Having unique start-up difficulties or training needs (Birley et al., 1987; Nelson, 1987; Pellegrino Reece, 1982) Using less than optimal or perhaps feminine management practices or strategies (Carter et al., 1997; Chaganti, 1986; Cuba et al., 1983; Olson Currie, 1992; Van Auken et al., 1994) Behaving irrationally by turning to unqualified family members for help (Nelson, 1989) Not networking optimally (Aldrich et al., 1989; Cromie Birley, 1992; Katz Williams, 1997; Smeltzer Fann, 1989) Perceiving other women as less cut for the role of entrepreneurship (Fagenson Marcus, 1991) Attributing loan denials to gender bias instead of flaws in the business plan (Buttner Rosen, 1992) The Africans we interviewed display an impressive confidence in their entrepreneurial ability. Insert your interview quotation here Women entrepreneurship problems explanation Hisrich outlines the central problems faced by women entrepreneur and develops prescription for (their) success (1989, p3). These prescription include the need for women to gain experience in financial management by taking loans and managing family finances, obtain occupational experience in middle management, study engineering, science, technical or business-related subjects, learn to prioritize between organizational and family responsibilities, and develop support systems and mentors. According to Hisrich suggests that women need to develop a girls network (1989,p.280 to parallel theold boyss network, and to learn to delegate business or family responsibilities to others when necessary.) Aldrick argues that women need to increase their network diversity by adopting, like male entrepreneurs, an assertive and instrumental orientation to personal networks (1989,p.128). Goffee and Scase argue that real potential for the growth of small business (1985,p.142) lies with women who have a low attachment to conventional gender roles, such as the innovators whose willingness to compromise with the male business world and to sacrifice personal and family relationships for the sake of their enterprises enables them to overcome many of the obstacles. Recommendation and conclusion This study allows us to make several points about the impact of culture on women entrepreneur. This review of the literature on women entrepreneurship and gender presents a complex picture of critical environmental barriers, social challenges and practical problems that men, and more particularly women, must overcome, if they want to become entrepreneurs or expand their small businesses. In sum, this study supports the theory that cultural beliefs about gender and entrepreneurship play a key role in determining who becomes an entrepreneur and who does not. This finding is substantial given that entrepreneurship, unlike any one specific job or occupation, is an entire form of work. That is, entrepreneurs cover a wide range of occupational skills and educational backgrounds, not just those that are particularly male-dominated. Thus, the simple fact as reviewed that cultural beliefs benefit men at the task of business construction restricts the alternative of otherwise qualified, creative women. Furthermore, there is no doubt that entrepreneurs generate jobs and contribute to economic development and innovation. If widely held cultural beliefs about gender constrain womens involvement in that process, then their role as leaders in society, and in economic production more specifically is also constrained. The specific recommendations of this study are: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ To contribute to building a strong studies on women entrepreneur on a long-term vision favouring stability in this field that can lead to sustainable development and regional integration among ent