Jargon Usage in Intervention Essay Example for Free

Jargon Usage in Intervention EssayThe independent variables in the study are the intervention rendering (jargon vs. no jargon) and group (teachers vs. undergraduate), trance the dependent variable was their scores in the Treatment Evaluation Inventory (TEI Kazdin, 1980a). The case used in this study was more or less a boy named Michael who has a habit of leaning back in his chair and unfortunately experience hurting himself due to accidental falling for several(prenominal) times The subject of this study took the examination in their respective classes.The researcher explains to them briefly the objective of the research. The demonstrate kits were distributed to them, they read the direction and completed a pen sheet TEI was used to rate the intervention. The test takes 15 minutes to finish. The scores of the test were examined using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and independent t test. Based on the result, there were significant differences between the teachers and student s overall acceptability rating.The teachers rated the jargon rendering of time-out as significantly more acceptable than the no jargon description, while the result of the test of the undergraduates revealed that there were no significant differences between the jargons versus the no jargon intervention description The result of this result thus contradicted some of the source researchers. Some of them were as follows 1. Significant higher ratings of teachers for the jargon versus non jargon.It was mentioned in the review some former researchers from Hall Didier, Kazdin and Cole, and Watt et. al. (as cited in Hyatt, Tingstrom Edwards, 1991) regarding the difficulty and negative find out encountered by third party (parents, teachers and ward personnel) in using jargon intervention description. Outcome of this research was reverse because the teachers favor more using jargons and it has electropositive influence on them. 2. No difference in judgment between low experienced teach ers and high experience teachers.The difference between the result of the test and the research of Witt and company (as cited in Hyatt, Tingstrom Edwards, 1991) and the researcher said that this maybe due to the difference in the method they use in treating the variables understudy. Other result of the test revealed that 3. For undergraduates on this study they have found out that jargon versus no jargon description in intevention is not an issue for the undergraduates. It doe not subject area to them whether which of the two approach is use in the intervention description.The acceptability ratings also revealed that both upperclassmen and underclassmen favored both intervention descriptions. It also revealed that they respect the intervention description whether it uses technical or non-technical language and the outcome of the intevention is still the same for their opinion. The researchers of these study pointed out that their research has its limitations that might one way or the other usurp the result of the test and they were as follows 1. Generalizability to classroom interventions other that time-out (Hyatt, Tingstrom Edwards, 1991)2. Jargons other than behavioral (Hyatt, Tingstrom Edwards, 1991) 3. Teachers not seeking additional educational past the bachelors degree. (Hyatt, Tingstrom Edwards, 1991) 4. Relative Effect of jargons versus other variables like teachers time expenditure, theoretical orientation and intervention agent on intervention acceptance (Hyatt, Tingstrom Edwards, 1991) The researchers recommended further additional studies to can this study. The use of variables is recommended a. Regular and special education teachers in school settingb. Jargons influence on acceptability to a behavioral opinion c. Design, evaluation and acceptance of behavioral intervention for Children.ReferencesHall, C. W. , Didier E. (1987) Acceptability and Behavioral Treatment Review of Variables that influence treatment selection. Professional Psy chology Research and Practice. In Hyatt, S. P, Tingstrom, D. H, and Edwards, R (1991) Jargon Usage in Intervention During Consultation Demonstration of a Facilitative Effect. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation. 2(1) 49-56

Insider Dealing in Hong Kong Essay Example for Free

Insider Dealing in Hong Kong EssayAlthough insider dealing has been a criminal tallyence under section 291 of Chapter 571, Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) in Hong Kong since 2003, the Securities and Futures citizens committee (SFC) was initially slow to prosecute offenders, commencing its first criminal insider dealing prosecution only in January 2008.Factors to be considered to commence criminal proceedingsIn decision making whether to commence criminal proceedings against an alleged insider dealer, the SFC will have regard to the guidelines in the prosecution policy of the Department of Justice, which require two basic factors to be considered1. Sufficiency of manifest The burden of proof is greater in criminal proceedings and the SFC will generally only recommend criminal proceedings where on that point is admissible, substantial and reliable evidence that an offence has been committed and there is a reasonable prospect of a conviction. Where there is a lack of suffic ient evidence to meet the criminal burden of proof, the SFC is likely to initiate civil proceedings.2. Public interest Whether, taking into account the circumstances of a particular case, it is in the universal interest to bring a prosecution before the courts.First Criminal Case of Insider Dealing in Hong KongIn the case of HKSAR v Ma Hon-yeung (DCCC 229-240/2008) which elusive Ma Hon-yeung, former Vice President of BNP Paribas Peregrine Capital Ltd, now known as BNP Paribas Capital (Asia Pacific) Ltd (BNP Paribas), an investment bank.The case is related to trading in the shares of Egana Jewellery Pearls Ltd (Egana), a listed company in Hong Kong prior to an announcement made to the market on 11 Jul 2006 aboutprivatization of the company.Ma Hon-yeung learned of a proposed privatization of Egana and tipped off his girlfriend, common ivy Lo Yuk-wah and three different family members, Sammy Ma Hon-kit, Cordelia Tso Kin-wah and Ronald Ma Chun-ho, within days of becoming privy to t he proposed deal. All of them bought shares in Egana before the company announced a privatization plan and made a profit as a result.Between 1 June 2006 and 6 July 2006, trading in Eganas shares ranged between HK$1.35 and HK$1.61 with average day-by-day turnover of 636,630 shares. Trading in the shares of Egana and EganaGoldpfeil were suspended on 7 July 2006 pending an announcement. On 11 July 2006, Egana and EganaGoldpfeil made a joint announcement about a proposed privatization of Egana. The proposal offered shareholders a choice of receiving HK$1.80 per share or one share of EganaGoldpfeil for every 1.5 Egana shares or a combination of both. Following the announcement on 11 July 2006 the share price closed at HK$1.84 with substantially increased turnover of 25 million shares. The privatization proposal was approved by shareholders and by the court and became impressive on 23 October 2006. Egana was delisted on the following day.Ma acted as a financial consultant for Egana duri ng the privatization move, which he knew was confidential, price sensitive entropy. Ma had counselled or procured Ivy and Sammy to trade in Egana shares. He was convicted of insider dealing inauspicious to section 291(1)(b).Ivy, bought 1.51 million shares in Egana between June 20 and July 6, 2006. She was convicted of insider dealing contrary to section 291(5)(a).Ma transferred a total HK$1.7 million into Ivys account before the privatization announcement. She later sold the shares and transferred the money back to Mas account.Sammy , Cordelia and Ronald bought Egana shares separately from July 6.Sammy, Ronald and Cordelia traded in Egana shares having information through Mas fellowship to Egana about the proposed privatisation. Owing to their close family relationship between Ma andhis three family members, who received and made profit by utilizing such information, all of them were convicted of insider dealing contrary to section 291(5)(a) and (8) of SFO.Ma and Ivy were given c ustodial sentences of 26 months and 12months respectively.Mas three family members were ordered to serve 200 hours of community service.Fines were also enforce in amounts equivalent to the profits they had made while dealing in Egana shares ahead of the privatization which are HK$230,000, HK$210,000, HK$330,000, HK$110,000 and HK$17,000 respectively.The Court also ordered them to pay the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) investigation costs totaling HK$322,742.This is the first time any person has been sentenced to jail for insider dealing in Hong Kong.The family members avoided custodial sentences because they were merely timeserving investors making use of the relevant information divulged by the vice-president. There was no evidence that they assisted him in carrying out his plot for personal gain by using insider information. The conduct of the girlfriend, on the other hand, warranted a custodial sentence as she was the person executing the plot on behalf of the vice-pres ident. She was fully aware of his position of trust in the financial validation and had used her trading account to perpetrate the plot. As such, the court viewed her involvement in the misconduct as being much more serious than that of an opportunistic investor community service could not adequately reflect her culpability.However, we continue to see obvious and flagrant breaches of the insider dealing laws, such as insiders and/or their families members will apply the confidential information they obtained to make a gain on disposal of shares. One of the reasons may be that the punishment for insider dealing in Hong Kong is mild for the offenders.

Porters value chain

Porters even out mountain chainRUNNNING HEAD PORTERS VALUE CHAIN ANALYSISPorters Value Chain and Information corpseName of the WriterName of the InstitutionPorters Value Chain and Information SystemIntroductionThe person most accredited for mounting and articulating the value chain thought is Michael Porter in his 1985 book, Competitive advantage. He offers viewing a unanimous as a sequential procedure of value-creating actions as a means of a influential conceptual tool for thoughtful the building slabs of competitive advantage. What is a value chain?The value chain shows the full variety of activities that are nedded to bring a product or organization from conception, throughout the intermediary stages of proceeds (involving a grouping of physical change and the effort of various manufacturer military services), rescue to final consumers, and final removal after use. (Porter, 1985) The Michael Porter value chain structure has two parts. The first part holds five primary han dleesInbound Logistics (warehousing, receiving and inventory management of raw materials and mechanism)Operations (value-creating actions that change raw materials and parts into holy salable yields)Outbound Logistics (warehousing, order fulfillment, transportation)Sales Marketing (channel assortment, pricing, advertising, gross sales)Service (customer care, repair, etc.).The second part holds quaternary support type methodsFirm transportation (management, finance, quality, legal)Procurement (acquirement) merciful Resources (enlisting, development, reimbursement)Technology Expansion (research and growth, process mechanization, and other technology progress). (Porter, 1985)The five forces analysis is intended to attention corporations understand how gainful an industry is and also what they can do to alleviate unenthusiastic forces and thereby improve productivity. Considering the five forces model, we can create to see how this links to the generic approaches. Value chain ana lysisThis needs an dexterity to resolve the value the quick is demanding to create. Value in this logic is simply the reason why customers favor one companys product over that of its opponent ie, the surplus value they recieve from the companys product. This value should logically effect from either a lower cost or extra profits for which they are equipped to pay more. apply our investigation so far, they acquire from cost influential or differentiators. We can use value chain study to ensure that all actions in the truehearted are in procession with its search of this value. (Tsoukas, 2002 p. 567-582) A watertight follow a cost leadership strategy would initiate suitable activities throughout its value chain, as would a company pursuing separation.So, to gain a competitive advantage, a company must follow either cost leadership or demarcation, along with a suitable degree of focus. It can after that use a five forces analysis to charge how this strategy may succeed and produ ctivity might be enhanced. Value chain analysis canister help to recognize and create actions that support the selected generic strategySome economists assert that the breaches of conceive (e.g., at Enron, ImClone, WorldCom, and Global Crossing) that resulted in passage of the Sarbannes-Oxley Act (SOX)were all crimes of information partly involving an unsupervised expert. While Boards will continue to rely on experts much(prenominal) as the CIO for advice, the responsibility remains theirs. (Tsoukas, 2002 p. 567-582) The value chain affirms the importance of the CIO, but lets knows that the Board will be exercising oversight by consulting a chip of sources, looking for convergence and consistency. Another example is Infosys that began to move up the IT services value chain into consulting and end-to-end IT solutions while continuing to offer low-end software services. As it moved up the value chain, the company weathered a global downturn due to the September 11th tragedy and the dotcom and telecom bust. (Romme, 2003 p. 558-573)In constituted planning for information systems (IS), companies start with imagining the desired future IS for the company, analyze the present application portfolios, and then compare the two to identify gaps. It is then possible to reconcile if a peeled portfolio of applications is to be developed to reach the desired future state. Advances in global information technology (IT) and telecommunications infrastructures, trends in deregulation and trade liberalization, and the emergence of beginning(a) skills and capabilities in offshore locations (Tsoukas, 2002 p. 567-582) have opened up reinvigorated sourcing opportunities beyond traditional domestic in sourcing and outsourcing.Along the ownership (in source versus outsource) and location (domestic versus offshore) dimensions, four main types of sourcing mechanisms are available domestic in sourcing, domestic outsourcing, offshore insourcing, and offshore outsourcing. (Van de Ven , 2005 p. 1377-1404) While the outsourcing phenomenon has been well recognized and addressed in the literature, the business process outsourcing and off shoring phenomena are relatively new.Through modular business process and IT designs, firms can unbundle their value chain processes, decouple them from the underlying IT support infrastructure, and lay down sourcing decisions that best fit the characteristics of business processes. Tight coupling of business processes and IT is negatively associated with a firms ability to detach its processes from each other and from IT. This may leave the firm with no choice but to use a uniform sourcing mechanism for all business processes. (Van de Ven, 2005 p. 1377-1404) Our findings imply that the firm may forego opportunities to exploit low-cost, high-quality capabilities in offshore locations because tight coupling among business processes and with IT may make it infeasible or too costly to separate a business process from the firm and sour ce it from offshore locations.The information chain To the basic elements of the information engineering approach, we add the notion of information chains. The information-chain concept parallels that of the value chain. In fact, for every chemical element of the value chain, at least one information chain exists to support it. Such a chain may begin with a marketing forebode. The forecast leads to a sales plan, from which managers develop a production plan, and thence to a series of decisions about purchases, labor force commitments, and finally a series of sales results. The sales results are eventually quantified as ACTUALS in a sales report, and senior managers can assess the validity of the original marketing forecast in light of these actual results. (Boland, 2000) Unfortunately, most information systems cannot support the association of specific plans and observed results. That is, they cannot close the information chain. Although these systems are excellent at processing tr ansactions, they privation the capability to trace the flow of events, materials, information, and the decisions managers make about them. The transaction processing focus is an intrinsic limitation, but it isnt the only one. Another limitation is the overwhelming dialect most organizations place on financial results. When organizations stress financially oriented performance measures, they tend to obscure or confuse the tracking of more constitutional causes of performance successes or missures. (Van de Ven, 2005 p. 1377-1404) New accounting methods like activity-based costing are an improvement, but still stress financial measures. Creating customer value is a bonnet proposition without a focus on traceability. Traceability of causes Traceability of cause and effect is a basic requirement in the transition to competing based on value-chain logic. Traceability is important in solving problems of delivering goods to customers on time, because this performance measure is fundamen tal to perceived value in the marketplace. In this area, most information systems can provide a quantification of service levels but few provide the mechanisms to determine why specific measurements were observed. For example, more steel service centers have informative systems that can accurately report how many days it took to deliver a quantity of steel to a customer, but few such systems provide management insight on why slightly deliveries were late. (Tsoukas, 2002 p. 567-582) The value-chain architecture The key benefit of value-chain logic is that it clarifies the relationship of internal operations to events visible to the companys customers and critical stakeholders. Information engineering, with a few methodological improvements, can help clarify the corresponding information relationships through which the company creates those events. For example, the function-entity matrices that contrast business function against data can be useful in finding smirch of sensitivity a nd leverage in performance. (Romme, 2003 p. 558-573)Conclusion In the past, outsourcers tended to look just like enterprise IT departments, handling large numbers of diverse devices, systems and applications. By contrast, the new model is based on the idea that different players in the market will focus very narrowly on a limited set of competencies (e.g., managing data centers, servers, a particular application, or a specific business process). Since, for example, the competencies requisite to succeed at operating server farms are different from those needed to provide a specific application service, the rules of competitive engagement will change Companies that try to provide totally integrated outsourcing are likely to fail against competitors that are themselves highly focused, and have a series of inter-dependent partnerships. This major restructuring of the IT value chain introduces its own forms of complexity and the need for something akin to integrated, end-to-end multi-ve ndor management. It will also create the need for a new type of industry player, a service integrator. Early leaders in this new role are world(prenominal) Network Services (INSwww.ins.com) and ATT Solutions (www.att.com/solutions). (Romme, 2003 p. 558-573) The ability to address a much wider range of concepts and the quality of those insights are much higher. Now the team can plan encyclopedism in relation to time, which dramatically portrays opportunities lifecycle cost. The depth of analysis is greater. There is also tremendous learning potential through scenario analyses, which are embedded in the new tools. The effect is a more representative project profile.While the development of unconventional resources is a complex value chain, the new tools and processes Shell unconventional crude oil has implemented are applicable to conventional opportunities where there is a portfolio of projects to be managed. In these instances, the same tools and processes outlined here enable a portfolio of multiple rise to be more strongly managed at a higher aggregation level. If a portfolio contains multiple individual projects with dependencies and common resources (constraints), it is a candidate for more effective modeling using the dynamic business-simulation planning processes.ReferencesBoland, R., F. Coilopy. 2004. Managing as Designing. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.Huff S.L., Maher P.M., and Munro M.C., What Boards Dont Do-But Must Do-About Information Technology, Ivey Business Journal, 69/1 (September/October 2004) 1-4.Porter Michael, Competitive returns Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance (New York Free Press, 1985).Porter M.E. and Millar V.E., How Information Gives You Competitive Advantage, Harvard Business Review, 63/4 (July/August 1985) 149-160.Romme, G. 2003. Making a difference Organization as design. Organ. Sei. 14(5) 558-573.Tsoukas, H., R. Chia. 2002. On organizational becoming Rethinking organizational change. Organ. Sei. 13 567 -582.Van de Ven, A. H., M. S. Poole. 2005. Alternative approaches for studying organizational change. Organ. Stud. 26(9) 1377-1404.

Six Month Accountancy Internship Personal Development Essay

Six Month Accountancy Internship Personal Development EssayThe merger of PwC Lybrand in 1998 formed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the commodious four firms in Singapore and worldwide (Wikipedia, 2010). Boosting a revenue of US$2,935 million in the Asia region for financial year 2010 (PricewaterhouseCoopers Global, 2010), PwCs principal activities include assurance, consultive and tax run, for its customers, in accordance with the latest generally accepted accounting principles. I am abandoned to assurance Operating Unit 5 (OU5), where in 2010, the department has achieved the following performanceDiagram 1 Assurance OU5 Financial Report (Year ended June 30)Performance IndicatorsJuly 2010August 2010Revenue$1,083,000$949,000Headcount9890Billable hours per month12,1589,868Billable hours Year- to- date12,15822,026VisionWhat guides the organisation and its people lies in the vision, which is to be a leader in rendering professional services, strategically solving problems for its lymph nodes, in daub to enhance the values for the firm and its thickenings. Furthermore, the firm aspire to be a hub to attract, train and retain talents from all over the world, where as many as 163,000 efficient and innovative staff in 151 countries play an important role in the creation and moulding of the PwC experience.Diagram 2 PwC ExperienceAs seen in the PwC Experiences flow diagram above, the firm emphasises on the building the values of individuals and relationships within the staff and with their clients by understanding their needs and connecting with them. They also launched a radical identity (logo) on 17 September 2010, which represents a continuing and preponderating desire to create values, achieving goals and building great relationships for its people and its clients (PricewaterhouseCoopers Singapore, 2010).Organisation ChartThe organisation chart of PwC Singapore is attached in appendix A. In an engagement police squad, the organisation structure wou ld be similar to the diagram belowDiagram 3 Organisation Structure of an encounter TeamCultureThe culture of the firm also helped in shaping the overall experience. The firm has an open door policy, which I found comfortable come up my seniors and managers at any time. In PwC, the staff leave alone be assign to a career coach and buddy, whose responsibility includes guiding and advising their juniors in making choices or simply, to be a listening ear in times of needs. Besides just lap, PwC also focus on wreak-life balance. Activities such as community services and Certified Public Accountants (CPA) games are organised to provide opportunities for net engagementing with some professionals in the industry and also to promote work-life balance.Roles and ContributionsDiagram 4 Simplified flowchart of work flowGeneralAt the start of the attachment, I was tasked with simple tasks such as call-over and casting of figures in the financial statements. Though these tasks may seem boo tless to some, they were essential to ensure the accuracy of the figures shown in the financial statements, and for the call-over, to ensure that the two copies were similar and the changes that were antecedently noned, were reflected in the latest copy.PlanningDuring the planning for an engagement, I mapped and merchandise the trial balance provided by the client into the database trunk so that the team members would be able to extract figures for the sections that they are responsible for. For the walkthrough, I enquired the clients on their system and noned down for example, how a sale transaction would be processed from the start to the end point. Furthermore, I arranged with the corporate secretary to carry give away statutory review. Statutory review is carried out twice for an engagement. The first session would be during the planning stage, where the purpose would be to gain an understanding of the changes in get wind management personnel and the resolutions passed fro m the end of the last engagement till watercourse year. The second session would be carried out after financial year end, and this would help the take stockors to find out whether any subsequent events such as acquisition of a business unit that would affect the audited figures.FieldworkAfter planning, the team would proceed to the clients place to carry out fieldwork. For the accounts receivable section, I performed accounts receivable ageing test, by vouching the major debtors invoices and re-performed the accounts receivable ageing. I as wellk the effect of days between the invoice date and year end date, and minus away the credit terms for each individual debtor, to find out the number of aged days. After which, I sort out these into ageing bands of intervals of 90, that is, 1 to 90 days, 91 to 180 etc and compared the end results with clients classification. This step was done to test the reliability of the accounts receivable ageing analysis report provided by the client a nd this would living the substantive analytical review and other substantive analytical testing that were existence performed on accounts receivable.For the accounts payable section, I performed the test for untaped liabilities to assess if on that point was any understatement of liabilities, by vouching to the paid invoices after year end to determine if they are current obligations and whether they work been recorded in the current financial year. I also traced to the unpaid invoices after year end to ensure that they deem been accounted for in the current year. If the liabilities sire non been accounted for in the books, liabilities would be understated.For the fixed asset section, I performed reasonableness test on the depreciation charges, to ensure that depreciation, a form of accounting estimates has been provided accurately. Using the fixed asset exist at the beginning of financial year, I removed the fully depreciated and disposed assets and provided partial deprec iation for the new additions during the year. After which, I compared the end results with the clients amounts. If depreciation charges have been underprovided, it would result in overstatement of the fixed assets balance.Follow-up SessionAfter the end of the fieldwork, we will have a follow-up session, to clear outstanding matters such as documents and queries not obtained during fieldwork or to do subsequent reviews after the previous session. I performed accounts recoverability testing by vouching for subsequent receipts after year end. If there were non-recoverable amounts above the pre-set planning materiality, the team would need to discuss with the management to provide for provision.Audit Instructions and Agreed Upon ProceduresIn addition, I assisted to draft the audit instructions and agreed upon procedures for other PwC firms overseas. PwC firms in the CATSH (China, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong) regions adopt the same audit methodology. This was because our client was i ncorporated in Singapore, but their accounting records were kept in overseas. Therefore, taking into consideration the time and cost factors, we would request the PwC firm in the country where the records were kept to carry out the audit for us and to sign an inter-office opinion. teaching Experiences and AchievementsCommunication SkillsOne of the most important lessons I have learnt so far is communication skills. In school, we were so used to communicating with our peers and teachers casually. We do not need to prepare beforehand and could speak from our minds. However, from this internship, I came to understand that the way you talk and your message affects the communication with other people. When we are out for engagements, we need to come about and negotiate among the team, such as on meeting time and venue, delegation of workloads and to clarify instructions.Nevertheless, in my opinion, the most difficult form of communication lies with the client. Every new engagement bring s along a whole new team to work together for the client. We have to be selectively and be aware of how and what we enquire the client on. This is especially important as we are not in the clients place most of the times, therefore, we rely on the information that the client provides us with. Also, there great power be miscommunication if the client misunderstood our queries.I was assigned to test the controls for payment of expenses. I vouched to the physical suppliers invoices, corresponding payment vouchers and recorded the payment voucher number and telegraphic transfer number. I found out that the payment voucher was not in the usual 6 digits format starting number 6 and it was in the telegraphic transfer format i.e. TT OCBC SG 123456. Being very confused with the arrangements, I approached the Finance Manager, to clarify my doubts. I remembered using the words in series(p) order and TT number is different in my questions. The client immediately rebutted me, You mean our paym ent vouchers are not in sequential order? Fortunately, my team in-charge helped me out by clarifying my questions with the client. My original intention was to enquire the use of TT transfer number that is different from the banks reference and to find out the stand on using such formats. After some clarifications, the client explained the change in the use of the formats from June 2010 onwards, a new format for the recording of the payment voucher number, in the way familiar to them. For example, TOS 11 10 07 01 stands for TT OCBC Bank in SGD and where 11 is the currency code for SGD, 10 being year 2010, 07 being the month and 01 being the sequential numbering of the payment voucher. GIRO payment would have the format starting with 65 and payment by cheque will have the numbering starting with 84. From this incident, I have learnt to be tactical with my words and not mention words that might imply that the client was in the wrong. Firstly, we should request the client to walkthrou gh with us on the system. When they are done with the explanations, we could enquire on the deviations from the general procedures that they have briefed us on previously. I would also confide out down all the questions that I need to ask on a piece of paper, so as to avoid approaching the client frequently.Building relationshipsRelationship-building is paramount in the line of assurance, because we are not desk-bound jobs and require frequent travelling. I heard that most clients do not like auditors and we would often be scolded by them. However, I would think otherwise. I felt up that it all boils down to how we manage our relationship with our peers, colleagues and clients. I really enjoyed the relationships that I shared with my first engagements client. forwards the official working hours, I loved to join their staff at the pantry to chat and also shared with them my working experiences so far. The times that we have laughed were definitely fond memories. My seniors warned me that the Finance Manager was a fierce person who was unwilling to help. However, I despatch that after much interactions with him, he would guide and communicate with me. Even now, when I called back to follow-up, the staff recognised my voice and sent me the outstanding documents within a short time. I never felt uncomfortable been recognised as a student. The relationship that I maintained with my seniors was also more like a friend. We would play hard and work hard at the same time.These have definitely taught me not sacrifice work for time used for building of relationships. The close relationships that you have forged so far would be beneficial to you in the future. In school, many of us have Innovation and Enterprise (I E) events in year 3 for our Interdisciplinary Studies (IS) modules. Many of these events require the support of our friends, whether financial or in participation. If we have cherished the relationships with our friends, many of them would be willing to support our events. No one is alone. Therefore, it is important to meet new people, localize in efforts in maintaining these relationships and these people could possibly help us even after our studies or internship.Being Proactive and Taking OwnershipBeing proactive in my attitude and be responsible for the tasks assigned to me was another learning experience for me. I am a slow learner and I should not allow this to affect the progress of the engagement team. As such, I read the prior years financial statements and checked with my team in-charge at least a few days before the engagement if there is anything that I could be help of and to discuss on my job scopes. These efforts paid off when I realised that I was able to relate what I have read in the prior years files to current years audit, as we would normally expect the motility to continue. In addition, going through the walkthrough performed by my seniors has allowed me to know the key management personnel that I may need to approach during fieldwork and to familiarise with the filling system, so as to expedite the vouching process.I believe that taking ownership of the tasks assigned is important. It is being responsible for yourself and others. When someone handles me a task, I would complete it as presently as possible, or if I am busy, I would ask the other interns to assist. This is because the other party have put their trust in you to help them to complete these tasks. If we are not responsible, our seniors would not want to entrust us with tasks and we would miss these opportunities for learning. Similar to the learning experiences in school, when we are assigned projects by our lecturers, we should always put in efforts, and not grumble and submitting substandard work, because the projects are designed to enable us to have a hands-on approach on the concepts learnt in lessons, and to throw out us to do research and explore beyond the lecture notes.IndependenceDuring this internship, I becam e less reliant on my seniors. For my first engagement, there were solitary(prenominal) 4 people in the team, including myself. My team in-charge resigned before the end of the engagement and both my seniors took annual leave and study leave, leaving myself to do the follow-up for that engagement. My manager was too busy to guide me. In the end, I was sent to do follow-up at the clients place alone for two days. As I was tasked to do only vouching for certain sections during fieldwork , I do not have a good understanding of the clients business and operations, as compared to my seniors and team in-charge who have handled the different sections and have liaised direct with the clients finance manager and director before. I felt nervous, lost and I tried very hard to remember what my seniors and manager had told me. I started on my work and reported to my manager once every few hours, to update her on my progress and obtain feedback from her on the work done so far. I felt that I was too protected by my seniors and in-charge previously, as they would check my work before submitting my work to the manager for review. For now, there was no one to check my work and I have to think on my feet and complete them with care before submission. As compared with the project work and assignments in school, we could seek our friends help and lecturers opinions before the last submission and do not need to worry about making mistakes.Reflection on an IncidentCarelessnessFor my first engagement, one of the tasks that I was assigned to was to vouch the credit terms for the major debtors. As it was my first time, I was nervous and stressed up over the deadlines. When asked by my team in-charge if I have completed all the vouching, I told her that I have completed the task and she believed me. However, to her dismay, she realised that the section was not completed when we went back to the office. I have bury to vouch that particular section and my in-charge had to call up the client to enquire on the details one by one. This has definitely added on her workloads as I understood that the section was due for review by the director that day.I thought that I have learnt my lesson from this incident. However, for the same engagement, but for the follow-up session, my team members were not around and my manager took leave and later on fell ill for another 2 weeks before my follow-up sessions. My manager had told me to keep track of the confirmations and correspondences with the client and third parties while she was away. Upon receipt of the confirmations and correspondences, I have to update in the control sheet, whether the confirmed balance is the same as the balance as shown in the accounts receivable and accounts payable listing. When my manager came back from her medical leave, she alerted me that I have signed and filled in a confirmation, which was actually returned to us, without any confirmation of the balances, as the address for the intercompany in Italy was wrong. Since the signing of the accounts was agreed on 13 December 2010, we were running short of time. My manager reprimanded me for the carelessness.I took immediate action by requesting our client to alert their intercompany in Italy to send a confirmation again, if not, at least, a scanned copy before the signing of the accounts. I regret for not learning my lesson previously as this was a repeat incident. Ever since then, I resolved to be careful in my work and to double check before submission. My manager acknowledge that I have put in efforts in my future tasks ever since that incident.Word Count 2940AppendicesAppendix ASource (PwC Singapore, 2010)

Benetton Group Advertising Campaign Media Essay

Benetton Group Advertising Campaign Media EssayOliviero Toscanis job title was Creative Director and photographer for the Benetton Group starting in 1982. Under the direction of Oliviero Toscani, the Benetton Group had a very questionable publicizing footrace. The Benetton Group used fall outrage denote until Oliviero Toscanis final examination campaign about death row inmates. Customers and retailers alike did not approve of this particular advertize campaign. This happened in the year 2000 and caused Toscani to leave the high society. The Benetton Group has since switched their publicize to more than traditional methods under(a) the direction of James Mollison (Ganesan 2, 8-10). There argon certain basic marks of denote. When Benetton used rape publicize, it had both pros and cons. There be still certain companies that use rape advertising today, but not to sell clothing and accessories.There are many basic objectives of advertising. The main basic objective of advertising is to convince the customer to buy the harvest-tide or service that the business is selling. Our textbook defines marketing objectives as, what is to be accomplished by the over both marketing program. (Belch 33). The objective of most advertisements is to solve a problem or concern for the customer. Another objective is to make sure that no one is offended by the advertising. The advertising should stage the product or service in a substantiating light that will somehow benefit the customer. Our textbook describes public relations as it relates to a positive image as follows, generally has a broader objective than publicity, as its purpose is to establish and maintain a positive image of the company among its various publics (Belch 25).Before they hired Oliviero Toscani to be their Creative Director and Photographer, they used an outside advertising agency. It saved Benetton a lot of money to do their advertising in-house. Luciano Benetton, one of the original owner s of the company, approved all of Oliviero Toscanis work (Ganesan 6). The main advertising objective for Benetton while Toscani was in charge of it was to make the public aware of dis dropable social and political foreshortens (Ganesan 1). These issues were at the heart of the advertisements, while the Benetton label looked like just a footnote in the advertisement (Ganesan 6,7). Some wad whitethorn not even have known they were advertising for Benetton. Viewers must interpret the message advertisers are trying to communicate to them. Our textbook discusses the clarity of the advertising message by stating, Many ads are objective, and their message is clear and straightforward. Other ads are more ambiguous, and their importation is strongly influenced by the consumers individual interpretation (Belch 121). Benettons alarm advertising could be interpreted differently depending on each individual person. This relates to the concept of selective comprehension. Our textbook discuss es selective comprehension by stating, Consumers may plunge in selective comprehension, interpreting discipline on the basis of their own attitudes, beliefs, motives, and experiences (Belch 122). The purpose of advertising is to convince the customer to buy your product or service. Unless the product or service the company is trying to sell relates to a particular social or political issue, it should not be mentioned in the advertising. Benettons product symbol was the social and political issues that it was trying to make the public become aware. Our textbook discusses product symbolism and states, For many products, strong symbolic features and social and psychological meaning may be more important than functional utility (Belch 61). After Toscani left the company, they focused more on traditional advertising where the product was the primeval focus, along with a positive look at an issue (Ganesan 13). For example, the advertising campaign after Oliviero Toscani left centered on being a put up Figure (x) on page 10. Some other issues addressed after Toscani left Benetton that werent portrayed in a controversial way included worldwide hunger, protect human rights, poverty, and child labor (Ganesan 10,14). Social and political causes were Benettons message (Ganesan 1). Our textbook states the following regarding a companys message, The encoding process leads to development of a message that contains the information or meaning the source hopes to convey. The message may be verbal or nonverbal, oral or written, or symbolic (Belch 148).There are both pros and cons to Benettons shock advertising campaign. One of the pros of Benettons shock advertising campaign is that it attempted to educate bulk on the various social and political concerns happening at that time. The customers watching the advertisement may pay closer financial aid and start talking about the issue. It gives viewers a forum for open discussion of an issue (Ganesan 1). Shortly after Olivier o Toscani started working at Benetton, the social issues such as quite a little of different races doing things together and getting along were the primary focus. These images portray positive ways of hazarding and encourage unity among different races (Ganesan 4). For example, Figure (i) that is shown on page 4 has a multi-racial group of people smiling and hugging. In addition, enactment 4 on page 15 of the adult white hand against the childs black hand are appropriate, positive images. Although Figure (viii) on page 8 looks a little unpleasant, the message is positive and a little uplifting. Nevertheless, as more time went on, the advertising campaign headed by Oliviero Toscani started to get disturbing, especially when it was backbreaking on the political issues. One of the cons of Benettons shock advertising campaign is that the images shown can offend some viewers (Ganesan 13). Children do not really need to bet some of those images. The overcrowded Albanian ship shocked me (Picture 11 on page 16). It just made me realize that all those little dots shown on there were all people-individual human beings. Picture 15 on page 17 was a little shocking also because all those little dots on there are portraying real people who have AIDS. Some of the images I saw offended me and I really did not want to look at them. In particular, Picture 5 on page 15 with the white angelic-looking girl next to the black girl with her hair looking like horns. I do not underwrite any purpose to this advertisement. This picture is the total opposite of the prior pictures that encouraged racial unity. It looks like, that in this case, Benetton is being inconsistent with their previous advertising. The campaign glamorizing death row inmates Figure (ix) on page 9 and Picture 13 on page 17 was the most shocking. This was the same campaign that caused Oliviero Toscanis departure from the company, for good reason. cardinal million dollars was spent on this campaign that offended and shocked so many people. (Ganesan 2, 8-10). This advertising campaign used the death row inmates as shock value in order to sell their product. I do not gain what showing death row inmates has to do with selling clothing or accessories. Some issues do not need to be addressed, especially worldwide, through an advertising campaign. They lost retailers, particularly Sears, and were sued by the victims families. This is a direct result of their deadened advertising campaign. This entire advertising campaign has caused bad publicity for the Benetton name (Ganesan 8-10). Our textbook discusses negative publicity by stating that, Publicity is not always under the control of an organization and is sometimes unfavorable. Negative stories about a company and/or its products can be very damaging (Belch 24). That is what happened in this situation with Benetton. It put their name out in the public, but in a negative light. It also tainted their reputation (Ganesan 2).I definitely do not accord with Oliviero Toscanis opinion that it is acceptable for offensive images to be in art and journalism, so therefore offensive images should be acceptable in the advertising industry. Offensive images are not acceptable in art, journalism, or advertising. One of the objectives of advertising is to try to persuade customers to buy your product or service. I do not understand how an image of a newborn baby with their umbilical cord still attached Figure (vi), page 7 persuades the customer to buy Benetton clothes.An advertising campaign that uses shock advertising is the anti-smoking commercial messages. This is appropriate because they are trying to let the viewer know the consequences of smoking and inform viewers that smoking may eventually kill you. Some people do not believe that bad things will ever happen to them. Seeing a commercial like this may really shock a viewer into quitting smoking to improve their overall health. Some of these commercials are very difficult to watch without having to turn away. For example, the commercial they currently show where they cut into the point of a person who was only in their 30s to show that they died of a stroke from smoking. Another anti-smoking commercial that sticks in my mind that really shocked me was when they showed the artery and squeezed out all the plaque that was built up from smoking. The message of this commercial was to show that smoking builds plaque up in your arteries, which will eventually kill you. Anti-smoking advertising also uses fear appeals to try to stop people from smoking. Our textbook discusses fear appeals and states, Fear is an emotional response to a threat that expresses, or at to the lowest degree implies, some sort of danger. Ads sometimes use fear appeals to evoke this emotional response and arouse individuals to take steps to remove the threat (Belch 197).A commercial for something that actually has something to do with a controversial social issue is when shocking adver tising would be acceptable to use. It shocks people into doing something about the problem. For example, the commercials they have on picture now for the ASPCA that show animals that have been hurt or are suffering. Those commercials shock you because of the abuse the animals suffer. But, they are a charitable organization that is soliciting funds for the ASPCA to help these animals, so thats why they are acceptable. The images they show on the commercials are related to the cause they are trying to get money for. The animals have no control of how people treat them. This tugs at the heartstrings of people who love animals. The song Angel plays in the background and the singer Sarah McLachlan comes on to speak out against animal abuse and unload and asks for donations to the ASPCA. Another shock-advertising commercial that they show frequently on television is for The Humane Society of the United States. These commercials have the same sort of message as the ASPCA. These commercia ls shock me and stick in my mind because I remember the image of the overfilled cage of dogs shown on them.Another scenario where shock advertising is used and is acceptable is for the Christian Childrens Fund. The commercials show children that are dirty and living in squalor in order to solicit funds for their charitable organization. They show a child living in shocking conditions and ask the viewer to sponsor a child for just a certain amount of money per day or month. The commercial states that many children have died just because they are poor and do not have enough healthy food or clean water. These commercials are usually windy late at night and the announcer says something about how the viewer should do it right now while they are just watching television and have zip else to do. They do want the viewer to put it off until tomorrow because it will be too late then. It is appropriate to use shock advertising when a charity or non-profit organization is using it to solicit funds for their organization.I whole-heartedly agree with Benettons decision to stop their shock advertising and return to advertising that is more traditional. There is a time and place for everything, and shocking people in order to sell clothes is not it. If Benettons goal was to bring controversial issues to the attention of people, it should have been done in a separate forum. And, if Toscani insisted on shock advertising, it should only be in an adult-type setting where children do not have to see images that offend adults. An alternative could have been to set aside a minimal amount of their advertising funds into the shock advertising and the rest into traditional advertising. A company should want to put a positive image in their advertising to sell their products, not negative images that some people may think of as offensive. These shocking images are probably the images that people remember most in their mind and therefore forget what the product is that the company was trying to sell.Benettons shock advertising was negative and offensive to many people. Viewers may remember the advertising because of the shock value of it. However, we may never know how many people really remembered that those shocking images were an attempt to sell Benetton clothes. The basic objective of advertising was not met under Oliviero Toscanis direction. There is no logical reason to try to sell clothes with images that have nothing to do with clothes. There are times when shock advertising is appropriate, but selling Benetton clothing and accessories is not one of them.

Buddhism Essay -- essays research papers

Buddhism     Buddhism, one of the major religions of the world, was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, who lived in northern India from 560 to 480 B.C. The time of the Buddha was one of kind and religious change, marked by the further advance of Aryan Civilization into the Ganges Plain, the development of trade and cities, the breakdown of old tribal structures, and the rise of a whole spectrum of new religious movements that responded to the demands of the times (Conze 10). These movements were derived from the Brahmanic tradition of Hinduism but were also reactions against it. Of the new sects, Buddhism was the most successful and eventually spread throughout India and most ofAsia.      directly it is common to divide Buddhism into two main branches. The Theravada, or "Way of the Elders," is the more conservative of the two it is dominant in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand (Berry 23). The Mahayana, or "Great Vehicle," is more divers(prenominal) and liberal it is found mainly in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, and among Tibetan peoples, where it is distinguished by its emphasis on the Buddhist Tantras (Berry 24). In recent times both branches, as well as Tibetan Buddhism, have gained followers in the West.     It is virtually impossible to tell what the Buddhist population of the world is today statistics are heavy to obtain because persons might have Buddhist beliefs and engage in Buddhist rites while maintaining folk or other religions such as Shinto, Confucian, Taoist, and Hindu (Corless 41). such persons might or might not call themselves or be counted as Buddhists. Nevertheless, the number of Buddhists worldwide is frequently estimated at more than 300 one million million (Berry 32).     Just what the original teaching of the Buddha was is a matter of some debate. Nonetheless, it may be said to have centered on certain basic doctrines. The get-go of the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha held, is suffering, or duhkha. By this, he meant not only that human existence is occasionally painful but that all beings humans, animals, ghosts, hell- beings, even the gods in the heavens are caught up in samsara, a cycle of rebirth, a maze of suffering in which their actions, or karma, keep them wandering (Coomaraswamy 53).     Samsara ... ...bsp  The heart of window glass monasticism is the practice of meditation it is this feature that has been most popular in Zens spread to the West. Zen meditation highlights the experience of enlightenment, or satori, and the possibility of attaining it in this life. The strict educate of Zen monks, the daily physical chores, the constant wrestling with koans, the long hours of sitting in meditation, and the special intensive periods of practice, or sesshin, are all directed toward this end.     At the same time, enlightenment is generally thought of as being s udden. The meditator needs to be jolted awake, and the only one who can do this is his Zen senior pilot (Davids 113). The master-disciple relationship often involves private interviews in which the Zen trait of unconventionality sometimes comes to the fore the master will allow no refuge in the Buddha or the sutras but demands from his disciple a direct answer to his assigned koan (Davids 114). Conversely, the master may goad the disciple by remaining silent or pityingly help him out, but with the constant aim of trying to cause a breakthrough from conventional to absolute truth (Corless 131).

The Kennedy Assination: A Conspiracy? Essay -- American Presidents, JF

What reasons did the HSCA have in 1979 for suggesting that President Kennedy was the dupe of a conspiracy in 1963?In 1976, the House Select direction on Assassinations began to reinvestigate the events at the assassination of JFK. A report was published by the committee in 1979 stating that there was a probable conspiracy surrounding Kennedys death, contradicting the Warren Commissions theory. However, the HSCA could not prove that someone other than Oswald may have assassinated the president. What the HSCA could do however, was to prove that there were flaws in the establish that the Warren Commission used to formulate their theory about Oswald being the lone assassin of JFK. A major part to the Warren Commissions theory was the three bullet idea, in which the first bullet supposedly passed through Kennedys neck and then caused Governor Connallys three wounds in the chest, wrist and thigh. The bullet that did this damage, often referred to as the magic bullet, was later found on C onnallys stretcher, with no trace of blood and almost fully in tact. Attempts that have been made to recreate this situation have proved that it was almost impossible that the bullet could have, firstly, changed direction so many magazines to make Kennedy and Connallys wounds and, secondly, remained so undamaged after passing through blood, bone and human tissue. The Zapruder film of the assassination also shows that there were two seconds between Kennedy and Connally being hit, indicating that they were in love by two different bullets. Governor Connally backed this up by saying that he heard a gun shot and then had time to turn around to see where the gun shot came from, before getting hit himself. Connally also said that he was almost cer... ...e, Lynden Johnson became president after JFKs assassination, so his motive to mop up JFK would have been his desire to rule America. It is also known that the Mafia saw Johnson as a much better maven in the Whitehouse than JFK, which m eant that Johnson could have planned JFKs assassination with the help of Mafia. However, this is just a hypothesis and cannot be proved, like the HSCA found out when they uncovered the gist of different conspiracies that there could have been surrounding Kennedys death. There were too many conspiracies that couldnt be proved which meant that the HSCA could not pinpoint who exactly did murder JFK.To conclude, judging by the flaws in the Warren Commissions theory and the amount of people that could have benefitted from Kennedys death, the HSCA had good reasons to suggest that JFK could have been the victim of a conspiracy.