Expansionary Policy

Expansionary policy is a macroeconomic policy that seeks to expand the money supply to encourage economic growth or combat inflation. One form of expansionary policy is fiscal policy, which comes in the form of tax cuts, rebates and increased government spending. Expansionary policies can also come from central banks, which focus on increasing the money supply in the economy. The U. S. Federal Reserve employs expansionary policies whenever it lowers the standard fed funds rate or discount rate or when it buys Treasury bonds on the open market, thereby injecting capital directly into the economy.I will focus this paper?on these policies and theories, and how the federal government would engage them?in an effort to move the economy out of a recession. The Great Depression challenged the classical model with the reality of a long depression and high unemployment. In The General Theory, Keynes attacked the classical model in two important ways. First, he identified some flaws in the mode l. Second, unlike the business cycle theorists, he offered a well-developed alternative model of the macroeconomy.This model was the basis for the Keynesian revolution, the change in macroeconomic theory and policy that occurred when Keynes's ideas displaced the classical explanation of how output and employment are determined. The Keynesian model begins with aggregate demand and works from there to employment, instead of the other way around (Amacher & Pate, 2012). In the 1930s Unemployment was high because planned spending was too low to generate the level of output that would result in full employment. Thus, too little spending was identified as the cause of unemployment.To reduce unemployment, planned spending had to increase. In the language of aggregate supply and aggregate demand (a model developed after Keynes), aggregate demand had to shift to the right. In attempting to identify the cause of employment, Keynes reasoned as follows: EXPANSIONARY POLICY 3 The level of employm ent is directly related to the level of production, or output. In a market economy, planned spending on the output of the business sector will determine the level of production. Firms adjust their levels of production to meet demand for their products. Put simply: Supply adjusts to demand.(In contrast, Say's law said that supply creates its own demand). Because employment depends on production and production responds to spending, the level of employment in a market economy depends on the level of planned spending in the economy (Perry, 2009). Before Keynes balanced budgets were generally accepted by politicians and the public as the responsible thing. Keynesian view challenged the desirability of balanced budgets. Argued that federal budget should be used to promote AD/full employment. Federal Budget influences AD two ways: ?Government spending on goods and services stimulates AD.National defense, highways, education, etc. Tax policy influences AD. Tax cut increases disposable incom e, increases PCE – C goes up. Business tax cut increases business investment on equipment, etc. Keynes argues that fluctuations in AD are the source of economy disturbances and create the bus cycle – â€Å"Animal Spirits. † Policy conclusion; stabilize the economy through fiscal policy (Perry, 2009). If economy is in recession, government should engage in expansionary fiscal policy†¦increase government spending and/or reduce taxes, increase budget deficit.Borrow money (to finance the deficit) from individuals, businesses or foreigners. Economy is in recession at due to animal spirits. Downward pressure on prices. Expansionary fiscal policy (active budget deficit) cut personal income taxes, cut corporate taxes; increase government spending government can pursue restrictive fiscal policy to reduce AD1 to AD2 (Investopedia, 2013). EXPANSIONARY POLICY 4 Keynesian view; government should engage in activist, discretionary, countercyclical policy to stabilize econ omy. Run deficit during recession to stimulate (increase) AD.Run surplus during expansion to restrain (decrease) AD. Since budget deficits are now permanent, restrictive policy now means a smaller deficit, not a surplus. If deficit goes from $200B to $100B, that is restrictive, even though there is still a deficit (Investopedia, 2013). When Keynes attacked the ideas of the classical school in The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money (1936), he was attacking the mainstream of 19th-century economic thought. In doing so, he ignored some important work by other economists, such as Henry Simons and Irving Fisher, who were working in the classical tradition.The ideas that Keynes criticized were those that drove the macroeconomic policies of his time. His contributions changed the policy approach to recessions and depressions for decades to follow (Amacher & Pate, 2012). Fiscal policy relies on changes in government spending and taxes (and transfer payments, which can be treat ed as negative taxes). In general, conservative Keynesians prefer tax changes, leaving the level of government spending constant. Liberal Keynesians are more likely to favor changes in government spending or transfer payments.Fiscal policy cannot be considered outside the context of the level and composition of existing government spending†¦ In the United States, a large share of the nation's income is claimed by government, and a substantial share of output is produced by or for government (Amacher & Pate, 2012). There are two kinds of fiscal policy. One kind is put into place and left to respond automatically to changes in the level of economic activity. The second kind, used less frequently, is deliberate action to change tax laws or enact new spending programs so as EXPANSIONARY POLICY 5 to influence the level of output, employment, and prices.Congressional legislation over the years, much of it enacted during the Great Depression, has created a system of tax collections an d transfer payments that change automatically in response to changes in national income. These automatic stabilizers partially offset changes in private spending and tend to reduce fluctuations in output and employment. They primarily include changes in income tax collections, Social Security and welfare benefits, and unemployment compensation claims. Because these automatic stabilizers are triggered by changes in the economy, they do not require further action by Congress (Amacher & Pate, 2012).Transactions involving bonds, reserves, loans to banks, and Federal Reserve notes are the tools of monetary policy. The Fed uses the money supply and interest rates to affect output, employment, and the price level. The Fed has three ways to influence the money supply: open market operations, changes in the discount rate, and changes in the reserve ratio. Open market operations involve buying and selling bonds to affect banks' reserves. The discount rate affects the level of bank borrowing f rom the Fed. Changes in the reserve ratio affect excess reserves (Investopedia, 2013).The Fed's preferred tool is open market operations. Open market operations are purchases and sales of bonds by the Fed on the open market in order to affect bank reserves. Open market operations are a very flexible tool. The impact on reserves can be precisely determined to be as large or as small as desired. Open market operations can be reversed if necessary and can be done without any ordeal. They are done by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Bonds are bought and sold through brokers in New York City. The New York district bank has this responsibility because New York is the financial center of the country.The New York Fed, however, does not buy and sell on EXPANSIONARY POLICY 6 the basis of its own decisions. It carries out the directives of the FOMC. (Amacher & Pate, 2012). These changes are shown on the T-accounts of Banks. If the Fed buys a bond from an individual or a firm, the seller w ill deposit the check from the Fed in a bank. The bank will clear the check through the Fed, and its reserves with the Fed will increase by the amount of the sale. No matter where the Fed buys bonds, bank reserves increase by the amount of the Fed purchase. Banks may also borrow directly from the Fed.Borrowing from the Fed by banks is called â€Å"using the discount window. † The interest rate the Fed charges a bank is called the discount rate. The higher the rate, the less eager banks are to borrow. The discount rate is normally lower than other interest rates at which banks could borrow. When an increase in the reserve ratio leaves banks with too little reserves. Banks have to contract their deposits by selling interest-earning assets or eliminating loans. Such a forced contraction creates a difficult situation for both banks and their loan customers. It takes time to adjust.For this reason, the Fed may cushion the impact of a decline in bank reserves by keeping the discoun t window open (Amacher & Pate, 2012). Each Federal Reserve Bank sets a discount rate for the depository institutions of its district, but the rates are usually the same in all 12 districts. Normally the discount rate is slightly below the market interest rate. The discount rate functions as a signal more than as a direct tool of monetary control. A decrease signifies the Fed's desire to stimulate the economy. Changes in the discount rate also alter the profitability of borrowing from the Fed in order to relend.A lower rate makes borrowing from the Fed more attractive and encourages banks to hold fewer excess reserves. They know they can easily borrow from the Fed if necessary (Amacher & Pate, 2012). EXPANSIONARY POLICY 7 The Fed sets and changes the reserve ratio. There are two kinds of assets that a bank can count toward meeting the required reserve. One is currency and coins, or vault cash. The second, and larger, consists of funds the bank has on deposit with its district Reserve Bank. The Fed requires depository institutions to hold reserves equal to certain fractions of the different kinds of deposits they have.The reserve ratio is higher for banks with deposits over $40 million. One reason why banks collapsed during panics before the Fed was created was that their reserves were too small or not readily available. In practice, reserves now have little to do with the safety of checking and savings account deposits. Their safety is ensured by deposit insurance. However, reserves do ensure that banks will have some ready funds to meet withdrawals. A change in the reserve ratio changes the maximum size of the money supply, not by changing bank reserves, but by changing the deposit multiplier.The deposit multiplier is the reciprocal of the reserve ratio. When the reserve ratio changes from 20% to 10%, the deposit multiplier increases from 5 to 10. A reduction in the reserve ratio has a double impact on the money supply. First, it converts some required reserve s into excess reserves. Second, it increases the size of the deposit multiplier. Decreasing the ratios leaves depositories initially with excess reserves, which can induce an expansion of bank credit and deposit levels and a decline in interest rates (Perry, 2009).A change in the reserve ratio is more complex than open market operations because of this double impact. Because it is such a powerful tool, changes in the reserve ratio are made rarely and in small amounts. Even a change of a fraction of a percent can have a very large (and somewhat uncertain) impact on the economy and can be very unsettling to banks. Both economists and politicians have disagreed over the effectiveness of the EXPANSIONARY POLICY 8 Fed in using its monetary policy tools. The debates of the 19th century over how freely banks should lend are still alive.There is still support for a policy of easy money, unlimited credit, and inflation among those who are in debt and want to be able to borrow more and pay it back with cheaper dollars. There are also groups who support a hard-money policy, ranging from those who simply want monetary growth carefully controlled to those who would like to return to full-bodied money, usually a gold standard (Perry, 2009). Keynesians would advocate an increase in the money supply (expansionary monetary policy), which would decrease interest rates, increase spending, increase AD, increase prices and output, and decrease unemployment.Keynesians believe in more flexibility or â€Å"discretion†, with the Fed adjusting money supply to respond to economic conditions. Expansionary Policy is a useful tool for managing low-growth periods in the business cycle, but it also comes with risks. First and foremost, economists must know when to expand the money supply to avoid causing side effects like high inflation. There is also a time lag between when a policy move is made (whether expansionary or contractionary) and when it works its way through the economy.

Modern Life vs Village Life Essay

Many towns and villages then are nothing more than suburbs today. By definition cities have larger populations than towns which are larger than villages, which is a major difference between modern life and village life. In today’s Modern life cities have an urban settlement with large populations where as villages were settlements of community with small populations. Modern life have many advantages over village, because city modern life facility are easily available, as telephone , gas , internet, schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, industries, factories, roads, airports, railway stations and many were most, but most village are deprived of these many facilities like many villages no facility of gas, telephone , roads, etc. â€Å"The Telephone,† Accawi offers an unpretentious description of how the modern world began its intrusion into a timeless and insulated culture, where â€Å"there was no real need for a calendar or a watch to keep track of the day, hours months, and years†. Read more: Essay on village life As Accawi says of village life:†we lived and loved and toiled and dies without ever needing to know what year it was, or even the time of day. † Village life is slow moving and more agriculturally based while city is the center for trade, commercial industry and education. Modern life is always on the go, there are many offers for pleasures, opportunities for jobs, if you have a good job you can live well. The village was a traditional place where everyone enjoyed life and being around each other. Although village life had its pleasure, but it also had its flaws. In village life there were more chances of dying then in modern life . Forexample health care wise, assistance is wasn’t always available in the village if someone was in danger they would of had to rely on their own resources. Medical help is more easily available in modern life. Villages were miles and miles away from the nearest hospital or police station. But in a city with EMS the nearest hospital or clinic is just a few seconds away. Mordern dangers like traffic are constant but it is rarely pointed out that villages had their dangers too. A child playing in a village park may get bit by an wild animal. Wild animals are more of a threat in villages and may carry disease. But to belive that village life is safer than modern isn’t necessarily true. A was a threat is a threat whereevery it occurs A village child may grow up with the appreciation of birds and the wonders of the out doors and miss out on priceless opportunites in the modern day life. Modern life may have its flaws, but the opportunity given outweighs them. Morden life may seem preferable to the village life, because of technology and large scenery, but there are some disadvantages too, the cost of the living is high in the city, the city is noisy, no fresh air nor pure water. So it is hard to live a healthy life. People living in cities are different but similar from people living in villages. It is normal to us that city life is more enjoyable than village life. From our prospective of modern life, city life is filled with a lot of advantages. This is because of the fact that there are a number of opportunities open to you in modern life . City life is provided with a lot of facilities too. The behavior of the people in village life is different from the people in modern life. The people in villages on the other hand are warm-hearted and friendly. People in villages are very helpful in nature whereas people living in cities tend to be more selfish in their attitude. Villagers accept you well where as modern life people tend not to. It’s quiet, peaceful and the air was fresh in the village life, employment was seasonal for example farming witch is similar to roofers in the modern life,during the rainy season and brick making in the dry season. Wages brung better way of living to many familes in the village life, villagers were able to trade things and purchase farming goods from farmers like we trade and purchase food from our modern day markets. But You would not find many facilities and opportunities in a village. Parents would be love to send their child to the city for higher studies rather than to villages. The city is filled with quality higher education institutions whereas villages do not have with high quality colleges and universities. As read in the ,the villagers did not have much, and technology was very new to them. Fore example they judged time by certain events that happened. The birth of someone important or earthquake would be enough to grasp time. The children would play in the streets and run errands for the grown ups for money. Accawi grew up in this town and he was quietly statisfied and happy with his life. He woundn’t be to kindly of change because he had fun without all the advantages of technology. Assuming everyone else was happy as well. However, when the telephone came, it changed their lives forever. The telephone brought so many opportunities for the villagers. As read in the text â€Å"the whole village would sit by the phone and wait for it to ring and bring them news, and opportunities to make money†. The people of Magdaluna fell in love with the phone. The crowd around the phone grew larger and larger. People would receive job and leave the village. This was upsetting to many people of Magdaluna, especially Accawi. . I can agree with Accawi,I miss my home town in Haiti, migrating to America was a lot to take in. Like Accawi I was so acostume to the way of living in Haiti, so similar to the village life in Magadluna. But once my father found a better job in America we moved out as soon as possible. facing a variety of finical problems crime, drugs, corruption, a troubled my town my father was overwhelmed and dissatisfied with the direction of our town. He believe life was better in the United States. Close to 70% of my town say that people who move from hatiti enjoy a better life in the U. S. And the vast majority of those who are in regular contact with friends and relatives living in the U. S. say those friends and relatives have largely achieved their goals.

The impact on the american public school system

Democracy and instruction are footings that are clearly definable yet easy misunderstood. Education is the procedure of determining society and future coevalss ( Hollis, as stated in Carr & A ; Harnett, 1996 ) ; nevertheless, it is more than simply learning immature people to read, compose, and decipher. Education is about fixing people to go responsible citizens, bettering societal conditions, and advancing cultural integrity ( Do We Still Need Public Schools, 1996 ) . Democracy, on the other manus, is a familiar word that continues to be at the centre of confusion and abuse. Defined as a type of authorities in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised straight by them, democracy is a set of ideals and rules by and large environing the thought of freedom. When jointly trying to specify democracy and instruction, it is easy to happen yourself amongst a sea of vagueness, confusion, and obfuscation. Possibly the most effectual manner to specify, explicate, or understand the interconnection between democracy and instruction is to show a clear illustration of a critical issue within the American instruction system and the impact it has on our state ‘s democracy: standardised testing for answerability. Standardized proving for answerability, besides known every bit high bets proving, has become a combative cause for argument. It, harmonizing to Dylan ( 2010 ) , is best described as â€Å" the usage of standardised accomplishment trials for the intent of keeping instructors, schools, and territories accountable † ( p. 107 ) . Populating in a democratic society, instructors, schools, and territories are being held accountable by taxpayers and parents ( although these are frequently the same people ) for the exclusive intent of guaranting that pupils enrolled in the American public school system are having an appropriate instruction. The history of standardised proving for answerability can day of the month back to the 19th century when public schools in England and Wales had been financed by voluntary organisations. By 1833, the function of support within the public schools expanded to include grants for the building of new edifices, the preparation of instructors, and for the encouragement of go toing school ( Dylan, 2010 ) . In 1858, a Royal Commission was established to ask into the province of popular instruction in England and to see what steps were required for extension of sound and inexpensive direction. The Commission ‘s study, published in 1861, recommended that the sum of public money paid to each simple school should depend on three factors: the status of the school edifices ; pupil attending ; and the public presentation of the pupils go toing the school on an unwritten scrutiny of every kid in every school to which grants were paid. Like England and Wales, standardized proving within the United States dates back to the 19th century ; nevertheless involvement in standardised testing for answerability may be traced to the landmark 1966 study Equality of Educational Opportunity, besides known as the Coleman study for its lead writer, sociologist James Coleman. Written as a survey to compare the distribution of resources and chances among kids of different races, the Coleman study besides examined differences in accomplishment tonss, or outcomes. Ravitch ( 2002 ) stated that the survey was important for many grounds, including the â€Å" displacement in research focal point from inputs to consequences, ensuing in the writers ‘ determination to analyze how school resources affected accomplishment † ( p. 14 ) . Prior to the Coleman study, instruction reform had focused chiefly on the distribution of resources, on the premise that more generous commissariats for instructors ‘ wages, installations, text editions, and supplies would repair whatever ailed the state ‘s schools. After the Coleman study, reformists advanced a broader array of proposals, many of which sought alterations in public presentation instead than, or in add-on to, additions in resources ( Ravitch, 2002 ) . This displacement in focal point from resources to student accomplishment was facilitated by the increased handiness of trial tonss. In 1970, the constitution of the National Assessment of Education Progress ( NAEP ) provided cumulative new informations and tendency lines to document educational accomplishment of American pupils. By 1992, the NAEP coverage was expanded to include pupils in take parting provinces. As more and more information was collected about pupil public presentation, elected functionaries came under force per unit area to make something about low accomplishment and about the big spreads among different groups of pupils. Confronted with the demand to better their schools in order to pull new industries to their provinces and vicinities, elected functionaries, harmonizing to Ravitch ( 2002 ) , looked at instruction much as they looked at other maps of authorities and at private corporations. Elected functionaries concluded that what mattered most was consequences – that is, whether pupils were larning. They used trial tonss as the best step of pupil acquisition, and they urged that school s should concentrate unrelentingly on bettering pupil accomplishment. By the early 1980s, governors were turning to concern leaders as their natural Alliess in seeking to better their province ‘s educational system. In every province, instruction was the individual biggest budget point, normally devouring 40 per centum of the province ‘s outgos ( Ravitch, 2002 ) . Some governors wanted to acquire instruction under their control, some wanted to do instruction disbursement more cost effectual, and most wanted to carry through both. The governors looked to concern leaders for advice on pull offing complex, labour-intensive organisations. The concern leaders looked at the schools through the lenses that were customary for them. They expected to see transparence of describing about budget, resources, operations, and consequences ; they expected to see answerability for public presentation. They encouraged governors and other elected functionaries to see incentive constructions that worked routinely in concern to better public presentation. In April 1983, the biggest accelerator for alteration within the public school system came in the signifier of a study titled A State At Risk. The National Commission on Excellence in Education issued its eye-opening study that indicted educational functionaries, schools leaders, and the American populace for complacence ( â€Å" A Nation Accountable, † 2008 ) . The recommendations set Forth in A State At Risk promised permanent reform through demanding the best attempt and public presentation from all pupils, whether they are gifted or less able, flush or disadvantaged, whether destined for college, the farm, or industry ( U.S. Dept. of Ed. , 1983 ) . A State At Risk marked the beginning of an development in proving for answerability and standards-based instruction reform. This motion towards standards-based instruction and appraisal that began with A State At Risk went national with the transition of the Improving America ‘s Schools Act of 1994 ( IASA ) . IASA reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( ESEA ) , foremost enacted as portion of President Lyndon Johnson ‘s War on Poverty that was designed to concentrate federal support on hapless schools with low accomplishing pupils. In exchange for stressing higher pupil larning results, the revamped ESEA gave provinces and vicinities more flexibleness to plan and run their ain federally funded instruction plans. The 1994 ESEA was intended to work in concert with Goals 2000: Educate America Act, which supported province and local attempts to put ambitious content and public presentation criterions and to transport out school reforms that will raise the achievement degrees of all pupils ( U.S. Dept. of Ed. , 1996 ) . With the new millenary, the criterions and answerability motion reached a new degree. President George W. Bush called for important reforms at the federal degree, which led to the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 ( NCLB ) . This jurisprudence, which was passed with bipartizan bulks in Congress and with the support of the concern and civil rights communities, built on the foundation laid in the 1980s and 1990s by guaranting that provinces accepting federal authorities ‘s targeted investing agree to step and study on consequences in footings of criterions and answerability. No Child Left Behind was complex and contained many plans, nevertheless its cardinal focal point was answerability. This was an issue that brought together Republicans and Democrats. Harmonizing to Ravitch ( 2002 ) , had there non been bipartizan understanding on answerability, NCLB would ne'er hold become a jurisprudence. Both parties believed that answerability was the lever that would raise accomplishment. While many advocates for educational reform will reason that standardised proving for answerability is a agency to transfuse a positive alteration, the cogency and value of standardised testing is frequently capable for argument. Assorted surveies raise inquiries about whether betterments in trial tonss really signal an betterment for larning ( Cannell, 1988 ) . Other surveies point to standardise trials ‘ narrowness of content, their deficiency of lucifer with course of study and direction, their disregard of higher order believing accomplishments, and the limited relevancy and meaningfulness of their multiple pick formats. Harmonizing to Herman ( 1994 ) , instead than exercising a positive influence on pupil acquisition, proving may trivialise the acquisition and instructional procedure, distort course of study, and usurp valuable instructional clip. When concentrating on the effects of standardised proving for answerability, it is indispensable to find whether or non betterments in trials tonss really signal an betterment for larning. Harmonizing to Ravitch ( 2010 ) , the information derived from trials can be highly valuable, if the trials are valid and dependable. Test consequences can demo what pupils have learned, have non learned, and where they need betterment. They can state parents how their kids are making in comparing to other kids of their age and class. Test consequences can inform instructors and school decision makers to find which pupils need extra aid or different methods of direction. It can place pupils who need aid in larning English or particular instruction services. They can inform educational leaders and policy shapers about the advancement of the instruction system as a whole. Consequences can demo which plans are doing a difference and which are non, which should be expanded and which should be terminate d. Last, they can assist to direct extra support, preparation, and resources to instructors and schools that need them ( Ravitch, 2010 ) . The drawback with utilizing standardised trials to do of import determinations about people ‘s lives is that standardised trials are non precise instruments ( Ravitch, 2010 ) . All trials have a border of mistake and the same pupil could bring forth different tonss when taking the same trial on different yearss. Testing experts ( Ravitch, 2010 ) often remind school functionaries that standardized trial tonss should non be used in isolation to do eventful determinations about pupils, but in concurrence with other steps of pupil public presentation, such as classs, category engagement, prep, and instructors ‘ recommendations. When finding if a standardised trial signals an betterment of acquisition, or deficiency thereof, cogency, as stated by Riffert ( 2005 ) , becomes a inquiry of whether a trial does so mensurate what its developers intended to mensurate. If a trial fails to supply an acceptable degree of cogency for a certain intent, the consequences are deemed useless. The cogency of standardised trials relies mostly on the course of study taught by the instructors prior to the existent trial. Adequate exposure to the course of study allows each pupil a just opportunity to derive cognition of the stuff. However, it is virtually impossible to obtain curriculum cogency at the province or national degree due to a high grade of diverseness within each schoolroom, school site, territory, and province ( Riffert, 2005 ) . For this ground, seldom will the trial green goods consequences that replicate aims that coincide with the schoolroom ( Goodwin and Driscoll, 1980 ) . The effects of standardised proving for answerability go beyond dependability and cogency. A common concern heard by educational leaders is narrowness of content due to a focal point on nucleus course of study. Similarly, many advocates argue that standardised proving for answerability disregards higher order believing accomplishments and alternatively focal points on lower order believing accomplishments such as callback of facts and information ( Dylan, 2010 ) . As advocates for standardised testing for answerability continue to concentrate on increasing trial tonss, instructors and decision makers are forced to concentrate their attempts on trial readying, go forthing many to oppugn whether an addition in trial tonss signals an overall addition in cognition. In a widely reported analysis, Amrein and Berliner ( 2002 ) examined the impact of the debut of proving for answerability in 18 provinces. They concluded that although there was clear grounds that tie ining answerability ( effects ) to prove mark results had increased tonss on the trials used within the plan, there was no grounds of improved trial tonss on other related steps. Furthermore, they found that the debut of standardised proving for answerability was associated with increased pupil dropout rates, inappropriate trial readying patterns, and decreased teacher morale. A subsequent analysis ( Amrein & A ; Berliner, 2002 ) confirmed these findings and indicated that the debut of hig h school graduation scrutinies was associated with a lowering of mean academic accomplishment. While standardised proving for answerability doubtless robs pupils of an reliable acquisition experience, the most scarey impact is the impression that high-stakes testing via medias our democratic society. Democracy is the foundation of our state ‘s history and hereafter, and guaranting and prolonging it is at the bosom of the American public school system. Harmonizing to A State at Risk, â€Å" a high degree of shared instruction is indispensable to a free, democratic society and to the fosterage of a common civilization, particularly in a state that prides itself on pluralism and single freedom † ( 1983 ) . Because democracy assumes and depends upon active and engaged people ( â€Å" Do We Still Need Public Schools, † 1996 ) , the American public school system is the vehicle in which to educate all people in order to accomplish certain basic democratic ends. Harmonizing to Ravitch ( 2010 ) , in a democracy, schooling is vitally of import and really different from schooling in other societies. No other establishment in our society is every bit suited as the public schools for presenting the immature to both the thoughts inherent in a societal and political democracy every bit good as the ideals from which democracy is derived. Harmonizing to Wolk ( 2007 ) , we are populating in a school psychotic belief. He poses the inquiry, â€Å" Do we truly believe that our schools animate our kids to populate a life of contemplation, imaginativeness, empathy, and societal duty? † ( p. 649 ) . Because of standardised proving for answerability, our state, and our schools are afflicted with a famine of educational imaginativeness, a deficiency of pedagogical bravery, and rampant anti-intellectualism ( Wolk, 2007 ) . Our textbook-driven course of study have become educational ageless gesture machines of rational, moral, and originative averageness. We dumb down and sanitise the course of study in the name of techno-rational efficiency and â€Å" American Interests † ( Wolk, 2007 ) . When our kids ‘s school experiences are chiefly about make fulling in spaces on worksheets, regurgitating facts from text editions, composing formulaic five-paragraph essays, taking multiple pick trials, and doing the occasional panorama – that is, when they are barren of chances to make an original idea – we should anticipate the obvious result: kids – and subsequently grownups – who are unable to believe for themselves. None of this should surprise us. Passive schooling creates inactive people. If we want people to believe, larn, and attention about the many dimensions of life, if we want neighbours who accept duty of be givening to the universe and doing it a better topographic point, so we need schools and course of study that are really about life and the universe. Alternatively, we have schools that prepare kids to believe like a wassailer ( Wolk, 2007 ) . In order for democracy to go on on, there is an undoubted demand for the production of democratic people via the public school system. However, standardized proving for answerability is working against the production of democratic people and is alternatively, fabricating future citizens satisfied with averageness and ignorance. From scripted course of study to a focal point entirely on mathematics and linguistic communication humanistic disciplines, schools that are committed to merely bettering standardised trials tonss have produced a state of ace trial takers. Our current public school system has done nil to develop thoughtful, considerate human existences, or to educate a democratic people ( Ravitch, 2010 ) . The transition of No Child Left Behind has made proving and accountability our national instruction scheme. The chief intent was to raise trial tonss, irrespective of whether or non pupils acquired any cognition of history, scientific discipline, literature, geographics, the humanistic disciplines, and other topics that were non of import for answerability intents. Harmonizing to Ravitch ( 2010 ) , accent on trial public presentation to run into criterions in certain academic countries may decrease the end of constructing active and morally sensitive citizens who carry out their civic responsibilities. Over the last decennary, pedagogues, policymakers, and the populace have begun to hammer a consensus that our public schools must concentrate on better fixing all kids for the demands of citizenship in the twenty-first century ( â€Å" Investing In a Culture of Learning, † 2010 ) . This push has resulted in the rise of standardised testing as the agencies of educating and measuring the success of all pupils, schools, and territories enrolled in the public school system. However, as outlined within this paper, standardized proving for answerability has many unintended effects, including: narrowing of the course of study and experiences, a focal point on lower degree thought as opposed to high order thought, a turning dissatisfaction amongst pedagogues and parents, and in conclusion, the impression that standardized proving for answerability via medias our democratic society. Despite the cooling and formidable effects, many advocates of educational reform are inquiring the inqui ry â€Å" if non standardized proving for answerability, so what? † Performance based appraisal, besides known as reliable appraisal, is an equivocal construct to pedagogues ( Keyser & A ; Howell, 2008 ) . Some refer to as a specific appraisal that reflects a real-world context while others describe it as an appraisal aligned to real-world activities or some combination thereof. Harmonizing to Wood, et Al ( 2007 ) , public presentation appraisals are tools that allow instructors to garner information about what pupils can make with what they are larning – scientific discipline experiments that pupils design, carry out, analyze, and compose up ; computing machine plans that pupils create and test out ; research enquiries that they pursue, seeking and piecing grounds about a inquiry, and showing it in written and unwritten signifier. Whether the accomplishment or criterion being measured is composing, speech production, scientific or mathematical literacy, or cognition of history and societal scientific discipline research, pupils really execute undertakings affecting these accomplishments and the instructor observes and gathers information about, and scores the public presentation based upon a set of pre-determined standards. Performance based appraisal, frequently locally controlled and affecting multiple steps of accomplishment, offer a manner to travel beyond the bounds and negative effects of standardised proving for answerability ( Wood, et Al, 2007 ) . When comparing standardized proving for answerability and public presentation based appraisals, the research ( Wood et al, 2007 ) suggests that such appraisals are better tools for demoing the extent to which pupils have developed higher order believing accomplishments, such as the abilities to analyse, synthesise, and evaluate information. They lead to more student battle in acquisition and stronger public presentation on the sorts of reliable undertakings that better resemble what they will necessitate to make in the universe outside of school. They besides provide richer feedback to instructors, taking to improved acquisition results for pupils. As a state, we need a strong and vivacious public instruction system. Ravitch ( 2010 ) stated that as we seek to reform our schools, we must take attention to make no injury. In fact, we must take attention to do our public schools one time once more the pride of our state. Our public instruction system is the cardinal component of our democratic society. Our public schools have been the tract to chance and a better life for coevalss of Americans, giving them the tools to manner their ain life and to better the general public assistance of all. To the extent that we strengthen them, we strengthen our democracy ( pgs. 241-242 ) .

Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystems - Essay Example The level of salinity is different across several marine bodies. Aquatic ecosystem such as the oceans, is a huge reserve for atmospheric CO or carbon monoxide (Aquatic ecosystems: carbon cycle and as atmospheric CO sink). As the aquatic ecosystems are huge reservoirs of flora and fauna, these are often overexploited by the people to satisfy their needs. Industrial fishing that gained preference over the past half-century had alarmingly depleted the highest levels of the aquatic food chain which are the little fishes and organisms (Pauly, et. al.). These small fishes and marine organisms are the preys or food products for the organisms belonging to the higher levels in the aquatic food chain. But multi cultural people and their food habits seems to have taken a toll on this aspect. With the growing love for sea foods in modern times, over fishing of these small creates can harm the larger marine creatures significantly. Terrestrial ecosystem is the one which is found in the land mass and consists of the tundra, the taiga, the temperate deciduous forest, and the grassland (Sheaffer & Moncada, 230).These are the source to different plant and animals. Just like the aquatic form, the terrestrial ecosystem has been over overexploited by man. The trees of the tropical grass lands are cut at a very rapid rate for many activities. The future consequences of thee activities will be that it would harm the global balance and also wipe out many exotic species. One of the exploitation activities seen in the lands is the cutting down of trees for making paper. The cost incurred is high and the revenue generated is also very profitable, similarly, over fishing in the water bodies is a form of exploitation which reduces the number of marine animals. Here too the benefit is in the form of increased revenue for the people. Altering the ecosystems Human activities like cultivation whether on the land or water can change the primary form of the ecosystems. terrestrial ecosystem con sists of agricultural land, rain forests etc. cultivation is carried out in these areas because of the easy availability of soil , manures etc. this can harm the natural balance of the ecosystems as with the increase in cultivation, the land will be modified which would also alter the landscape of the nearby areas. The animals living in those areas would be forced to migrate to other areas which would disrupt the food chain in the long run (Environmental Biology – Ecosystems). Similar disruption can be seen in the aquatic bodies too. Overfishing can lead to the depletion of the smaller, marine creatures which would force the larger creatures like the sharks and whales to survive on other forms of nutrients which might not be suitable for the organisms. Prioritization of the conservation efforts in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems On the basis of the principles mentioned in paper 1, the terrestrial organisms Pronghorns, desert cottontails and Single-leaf Pinyon can be priori tized over the others as these are exotic creatures that survive on dry arid conditions. For the aquatic creatures, Chasmistes cujus I need to be conserved as the number of their family genus is depleting. This is followed by Cui-uis, Curly-leaf pondweed or Potamogeton crispus and The Lahontan cutthroat trout or Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi as it is an endangered species. Both the ecosystems need to be conser

Critically Evaluate the Balance Between Industrial, Technological and Essay

Critically Evaluate the Balance Between Industrial, Technological and Societal Shifts Which Have Reshaped the Newspaper Industry - Essay Example that golden era, there would be fewer issues that humanity would have faced and a rat race of getting ahead of one another would have subsided, promptly (Couldry, 2010). Newspapers have to be loved like these used to be in the past. If any semblance of sanity has to be revoked again as far as the newspaper industry is concerned, all out efforts within the related ranks are much required. The glory of the past must be brought back to have a culture which is quickly fading away, for all the wrong reasons. Moving ahead with the debate, the role of the newspapers within the past comprised of just about everything that surrounded humanity and its varied manifestations. This has not changed much with the progression that has thus been made all the way through. Yet somehow or the other, the needs have changed of the people. This has called for bringing in sections which were unheard of in the past and which merit attention in this day and age. By this, what one means is the fact that the ne wspapers of present times are more or less inclusive of sections for technology, children, women, the different professionals like doctors, lawyers, pilots and so on. Also there are sections for varied events and reviews on movies, music albums, sports matches and many more. The sections have advanced with the passage of time yet the overall meaning that is conveyed within these sections has remained more or less the same. This calls for an interesting read, more so because separate sections have largely segmented the population so that they can subscribe individually to a single brand of newspaper. However, since the teenagers do not quite appreciate the possession of a newspaper within their folds, this discussion seems to be a lost cause (Keeble, 2005). A lot has been written and said... This paper approves that the newspaper industry is going down merely due to the fact that people have stopped giving it the attention. The young ones do not have an idea as to how to find time to interact and communicate with one another while the seniors are adapting the technological means in order to grow and develop. The community elders should decide for their own selves whether they would like the younger generation to move on towards newer technological front or should they stick to reading newspapers. They have to be the most significant individuals within such a debate because they have experienced how newspapers have been given the respect in the past and how the trends are changing with the passage of time these days. This essay makes a conclusion that it would be correct to state that newspapers must be given the room to exploit the conditions around them and not be seen as a thing of the past. This is because they have no parallels as far as technological tools are concerned. The luxury that these newspapers bring cannot be compared with any other tool or activity that is employed by the people. Also the role of the elders within any society of the world is a quintessential one because they have to get their point across as to what can be compromised upon and what simply cannot be accepted as a changing trend or the need of the time. These elders must adapt to the technological angles yet they should never give up on the physical copy because it used to be their favorite hobby in the past and the same should continue in the coming days as well. If they give up on newspapers, there is little that the industry can do to sustain its own self in the future.

What is mentoring at work What benefits may the mentor derive from Essay

What is mentoring at work What benefits may the mentor derive from such a process Illustrate your answer with suitable examples - Essay Example velopment, acquirement of inter-personal skills, problem solving skills, collaboration and teamwork as well as open mindedness among other positive aspects that are important for enhancement of performance. The purpose of this paper is to assess critically the meaning of mentoring at work and to assess the benefits that a mentor derives from workplace mentorship. Mentoring is a practice that involves sharing of knowledge, experience, facts as well as the point of view by a person to promote personal and career development in another individual. At work, mentoring involves maintaining a positive attitude towards work as well as developing problem solving skills among the less experienced employees to enhance the accomplishment of organizational goals. A mentor is usually an experienced worker in an organization who understands the organizational processes and is competent in problem solving (Ragins, 2007). Zachary (2005) states that, â€Å"satisfaction is one of the major benefits of mentors†. In essence, humans tend to be inclined towards helping others as a sign of social responsibility. Material benefits may not be achieved, but the mentor tends to feel esteemed when successful individuals associate their accomplishments with him/her. When a person acts as a mentor, there is a high possibility of developing a new perspective in regard to approaching issues in the workplace. The mentor gains a sense of worth on the realization that the knowledge he/she has acquired over many years is valuable not only to the organization, but also to another person who will possibly pass it over to a third person in future. In essence, he/she becomes a legendary employee in the organization whose legacy is admired by many. Willingen (2000) observes that talent is preserved in an organization, which is an indicator of success for the mentor. Moreover, the mentor understands concepts better as he/she engages in problem solving through workplace mentoring (Ensher & Murphy 2005).

The British Monarchy is a dignified part of the Constitution. Why Essay

The British Monarchy is a dignified part of the Constitution. Why - Essay Example â€Å"In the plight of this, several scandals have been unearthed eliciting interest among the media and thus an increased call for Republicans making the future of monarchy in question† (Blain & O'Donnell, 2003). In order to get an insight into the present and the future view of the British monarch, it is important to involve the composition of the entire British government that is the monarch, the House of Lords and the House of Commons in the discussion. Finally, the paper will discuss the British monarchy under the historical-constitutional context, political context and the cultural aspects with a view of establishing its constitutional validity in the UK. â€Å"During the 17th century, British monarchs were empowered to make and pass laws governing land† (Cannon, & Griffiths, 2000). The monarch was therefore an executive one. It is however worth noting that from the beginning of the 18th century, due to their impartiality, the monarch served as a constitutional mo narch. Rules and conventions were drafted that would bind them from making impartial judgements. In addition to this, the monarch’s constitution power was limited during the reign of Queen Victoria. â€Å"The main role of the monarch was mainly that of advisory to the ministers† (Cannon, & Griffiths, 2000). ... As the head of state of the commonwealth nations, the monarch has powers to confer titles, braveries and honours to persons who qualify. It is important to note that the monarch plays a key role in constituent organizations such as the Armed Forces and the Church of England. â€Å"In the armed forces, the monarch acts as the commander and as such, soldiers during their swearing in to work swear allegiance to the crown but not to the state† (Cannon & Griffiths, 2000). In the Church of England, the monarch plays the role of a governor. In addition to the constitutional roles of the monarch, there are non-constitutional roles that the monarch plays. â€Å"The queen for instance acts as a symbol of national unity where she is expected to preside over important state ceremonies as well as representing Britain in international arenas† (Cannon & Griffiths, 2000). Much of the queen’s work lies on that of representing the state within and outside the UK. This alone raises the profile of the nation raising the interest of both foreign and local tourists. A vital role of the monarch that is imperceptible and unconstitutional is acting as a symbolic head of the British Nation. This role represents the intangible part of the British constitution. It is therefore exciting and preserves the admiration of a large population worldwide. â€Å"The monarchy can be described as a dignified part of the British constitution† (Loughlin, 2007). The role of the monarch as enshrined in the British constitution can be examined by looking at various theories of the British state. First, the monarch presents a modern pluralist interaction in governance. â€Å"The ancient angle through which the monarch was first viewed has proved

Reserch Disaster Bonds (also known as CAT bonds or catastrophe bonds) Research Paper

Reserch Disaster Bonds (also known as CAT bonds or catastrophe bonds) - Research Paper Example lves risk taking; investors acquire disaster bonds for a principal and then enjoy the high rate interest accumulation as long as the disaster does not occur. According to leading experts in risk management, â€Å"Catastrophe bonds are fixed income securities, typically issues by insurance companies, which pay an attractive yield to investors, but with a provision that should a specific predetermined event†¦..occur, bondholders suffer the loss of their income and potentially all their capital† (197). Events may be due to natural damage or human induced disasters where the bond may cover either the whole or part of the damage preventing the buyer from reaching to unbalanced sheet. The risk is conveyed to the investors rather than the insurers. The structure of CAT bonds is expressed in CAT bonds demystified (See fig. 1). These bonds are now used widely as they may forego interest and principle either in part or whole as stated in the condition. They require investors’ specialized knowledge and skills in judgment of where to invest. However, the jurisdiction of application affects the disaster bonds effect on parties involved. In the above structure, SPV or SPE are the established entities that insurance companies forward the reinsurance agreement to, which then relay’s the default provisions, as reflected in the agreement as a note; if the terms are approved, transactions are managed to generate money market returns where the SPV or SPE transfer back the principal and accumulated interests in cases of minimal risk involved (â€Å"CAT Bonds Demystified,† Rsm). The disaster bonds act like financial instruments; they were first issued in mid 1990s and most specific in 1997 in American history. American continent has had numerous attacks, U.S blizzard and tornadoes in 1993, Northridge earthquake in 1994 and especially the numerous hurricanes in Mexico, U.S, Caribbean, and Bahamas among others. Japan has also had its difficulty during the 1995 Hanshin earthquake

BHS 499 (Senior Capstone Project) Module 2 SLP Essay

BHS 499 (Senior Capstone Project) Module 2 SLP - Essay Example He would also require drug companies to offer bigger discounts/rebates (at least 22.1), to Medicaid, for the health program of low-income people. This up-to-date proposed legislation is directed to create an abbreviated pathway, as well as the potential effect of the said pathway for FOB approval of the PHS Act biologics on specific federal spending. In recent years, the introduction of bio-equivalent generics for drugs which are chemically synthesized or "conventional drugs" resulted in considerable generic penetration as well as average price effects (Mathieu, 2004; pp. 10-1). In pharmaceutical industries, Patents serve to protect inventors' intellectual property rights at the same time allowing them to share information which others might use in order to progress or advance the field. Yet, in the modern pharmaceutical business, the system is quite grossly abused as it permits companies to patent drugs which are not reasonably considered as "new inventions'. As a matter of fact, several companies flooded the market with drugs which are not affordable. This practice has been used by many companies to prevent altogether and delay competition among generic drugs. 2008) that those doctors prescribe. Doctors normally prescribe more drugs the moment they acquire gifts from drug makers.

Fast food Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Fast food - Research Paper Example In today’s fast-paced life, when you are living live in the fast lane and when you are up and about in the midst of a hectic day of errands, you have hardly enough time to gulp down a drink before you are off preparing for your next appointment. Sitting down to have a decent meal, then, becomes a challenge - a challenge to which fast food restaurants have risen. Fast food has now, become so ingrained in our culture that it is difficult to imagine a world without burgers and french fries. Today, fast food is not only served in restaurants and drive- throughs but also at schools, colleges, malls, gas stations, air ports and even in hospitals. Although fast food is convenient, affordable and readily available, it has brought about increased health problems, resulted in the degradation of the environment, created a food industry controlled by giant corporations and has led to the loss of the family tradition of eating together. In his book, Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal, Eric Schlosser observes that â€Å"fast food has infiltrated every nook and cranny of American society† and that â€Å"In 1970, Americans spent about $6billion on fast food; in 2000, they spent more than $110 billion. Americans now spend more money on fast food than on higher education, personal computers, computer software or new cars. They spend more on fast food than on movies, books, magazines, newspapers, videos and recorded music – combined† (Schlosser, 4). In the past, Americans used to eat freshly-prepared and healthy meals at home. Meals were then prepared by people who cared about the health and well-being of their families. Today, however, Americans gravitate towards fast food such as hamburgers and pizza which are prepared by strangers who do not give a thought about our health or about food safety. Why and how did fast food become so popular among Americans? What had caused this more than 500% increase in fast food spending? Eric Schlosser explains part of

Building Identity Without Voice Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Building Identity Without Voice - Research Paper Example There are several points where the idea of self – realization becomes a reflection of identity and the place in which one holds in society as a minority. One is the ideology of the no name woman, represented from the beginning of the book. The representation which is set by Kingston is to not have an identity or place within society. One loses their name as well as their ability to live, specifically because of the idea of marginalization that is within society. The no name woman is one which is not accepted into society because of the belief that she is pregnant outside of marriage. This is reflective of the same concept of self – identity which the narrator states and which is seen in society. â€Å"On nights when my mother and father talked about their life back home, sometimes they mentioned an ‘outcast table’ whose business they still seemed to be settling, their voices tight†¦. They could have sold her, mortgaged her, stoned her. But they had se nt her back to her own mother and father, a mysterious act hinting at graces not told me† (Kingston, 4). This example shows the relationship between self – identity and society in several ways. The mother and father’s perception is based on the instant marginalization or outcasts that are within society. This is combined with the self – representation of how one responds to society by the acts which are performed. In this instance, they disgraced themselves and the family by sending their aunt back to her family.

Financial audit Essay Example for Free

Financial audit Essay Generally, ethics refer to moral principles and values. Random House Webster’s College Dictionary notes that ethics are â€Å"the rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or governing a particular group, culture, etc. † An individuals ethics generally define what that individual believes to be right and wrong. Professional ethics are typically expressed by a code of conduct adopted by an organization that represents a profession. Professions adopt such codes to encourage moral conduct among their members. Following is a list of the individuals involved in the AMRE case: Robert Levin, Chief Operating Officer Dennie Brown, Chief Accounting Officer Walter Richardson, Vice President of Data Processing Steven Bedowitz, Chief Executive Officer Mac Martirossian, Chief Financial Officer Edward Smith, audit engagement partner Joel Reed, senior audit manager My experience has been that students differ markedly in their assessments of the ethics of these individuals. In particular, students generally have difficulty arriving at a consensus assessment of Martirossian’s conduct in this case. I believe that the lively debate typically produced by this exercise is healthy for students since such debates allow them to begin developing or fleshing out their attitudes regarding important ethical issues and concepts. 2. The executives involved in the AMRE fraud agreed in a consent order to refrain from violating federal securities laws in the future. In addition, Robert Levin and Dennie Brown forfeited funds they realized from sales of AMRE stock during the fraud. Levin also paid $1. 8 million to the federal government, including a $500,000 fine for insider trading. Finally, Levin and Steven Bedowitz contributed approximately $9 million to a settlement pool to resolve a large class-action lawsuit. Most students conclude that the AMRE executives who participated in the fraud were appropriately punished. Their actions were motivated by greed and self-interest and they paid a heavy price for their indiscretions. The two auditors involved in this case, Edward Smith and Joel Reed, were prohibited from being assigned to audits of SEC registrants for nine months. Again, students typically find that this punishment was appropriate given the apparent mistakes made during the AMRE audits. These mistakes included failing to adequately test the computerized lead bank, allowing AMRE personnel to observe certain inventory sites, accepting client explanations without applying sufficient audit procedures, and failing to require the client to disclose large and suspicious period-ending accounting adjustments in the financial statements. The SEC issued a separate enforcement release criticizing Martirossian for his failure to take appropriate measures upon learning about the fraud. Students frequently disagree with the SEC’s criticism of Martirossian. Many of them view him as an ethical person who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. It is important to point out to students that it is not unusual for accountants to find themselves in these types of ethical dilemmas. Martirossian’s experience provides an excellent example of the potential consequences an accountant may face if he or she violates the Code of Professional Conduct. 3. Among the alternative courses of action available to Martirossian were the following: a. Aid in the cover up of the fraud. b. Demand that the executives involved disclose the fraud to the auditors. If they refused to comply, report the fraud to the SEC. c. Report the fraud to the auditors and to the Board of Directors immediately. d. Secretly report the fraud to the auditors. e. Resign his position with AMRE, Inc. Probably the best course of action for Martirossian would have been to demand that the executives disclose the fraud to the auditors. If they refused, Martirossian should have considered disclosing the fraud directly to the SEC. This action would have resulted in Martirossian upholding his professional responsibilities as a CPA. Although he may have lost his job, he would have avoided being sanctioned by the SEC. Most important, this course of action would have prevented innocent parties, such as potential AMRE investors and creditors, from being harmed by the fraudulent scheme. 4. The relevant accounting concept in this context was the matching principle. The matching principle requires that expenses be matched with the revenues they produce. A cost can be deferredtreated as an assetwhen it is expected that the cost will produce future economic benefits (generally, revenue). It seems reasonable that a portion of AMRE’s advertising costs benefited future periods and, thus, could be appropriately deferred. Nevertheless, AMRE’s policy of deferring all of the advertising costs related to unset leads was very aggressive and probably resulted in the booking of assets that would provide no future benefits for the company. 5. Listed next are key audit risk factors that were present during the 1988 and 1989 AMRE audits. a. AMREs management had a strong incentive and desire to maintain the companys stock price at a high level. b. AMRE’s unset leads increased dramatically during 1988. c. The company’s inventory also increased significantly during 1988 and increased much more rapidly than the company’s sales. d. The efforts of AMRE’s executives to influence important audit planning decisions should have been of concern to the auditors. e. The percentage-of-completion accounting method was an unusual method to apply to AMRE’s installation jobs since those jobs typically required only four to ten days to complete. f. AMRE had several large and unusual fourth-quarter adjusting entries in 1989. . Martirossian’s secret meeting with the AMRE auditors should have caused them to question the integrity of the client’s financial statements. When taken together, these items suggest that the overall audit risk for the AMRE audits was relatively high. Most of these risk factors were discovered by Price Waterhouse or were apparent to the audit firm. For example, the audit planning memo for the 1988 audit identified the large increase in inventory as a key risk factor and called for an increase in the number of inventory observation sites. Likewise, the AMRE audit partner originally requested that the company disclose the large period-ending adjustments in its 1989 10-K. Although the auditors identified these risk factors, it appears that they failed to adequately consider them during the performance of fieldwork. For example, company executives convinced the auditors to allow client personnel to observe several of the inventory sites selected for observation at the end of 1988. During the 1989 audit, client management persuaded the auditors not to require disclosure of the large fourth-quarter adjustments in AMREs financial statements. Why did the auditors apparently defer to AMRE’s executives in several situations and fail to adequately question their decisions in others? Possibly, the auditors simply succumbed to client pressure in each of these instances. During the 1989 audit, the auditors may have relied too their detriment on Martirossian, a former colleague, to inform them of any major problems in AMRE’s financial statements. Whether Price Waterhouse was justified during the 1988 audit in agreeing to allow client personnel to observe the physical counts at certain inventory sites is a matter of professional judgment. Apparently, members of the audit team did not believe that the client’s request posed a major problemthat is, did not result in a material scope limitation, otherwise they would not have agreed to it. Client management should not be allowed to influence key audit decisions such as sample size determinations, assignments of auditors to given areas of the audit, and the types of audit tests applied to specific accounts. Generally, any time a client request would prevent an auditor from satisfying the requirements of the third standard of fieldworkobtaining sufficient competent evidential matter to support his or her audit opinion, that request should be denied. 7. In most situations, the key management assertion for an expense item is the completeness assertion. That is, auditors are generally concerned that a client may attempt to understate expenses. However, in this case the fourth-quarter write-offs in 1989 were initiated by AMRE management. When management voluntarily recognizes a large and unusual expense item, an auditor may want to consider the possible motives underlying management’s decision. Certainly, an auditor in such a case will want to investigate the completeness assertion, but the existence/occurrence assertion should also be examined by the auditor in such circumstacnes. In recent years, many large firms have taken â€Å"big bath† write-offs to improve their chances of returning to a profitable or more profitable position in the near future. In fact, the management assertion of most concern to Price Waterhouse regarding the 1989 fourth-quarter write-offs may have been the â€Å"presentation and disclosure† assertion. This assertion â€Å"addresses whether particular components of the financial statements are properly classified, described, and disclosed† (AU Section 326. 08). The large year-end adjustments that resulted in AMRE reporting a net loss for 1989 were clearly not adequately described in the company’s financial statements. 8. Listed next are the key responsibilities an auditor assumes for quarterly financial information included in the footnotes to a clients audited financial statements. Refer to AU Section 722 for a more detailed discussion of these responsibilities. a. The auditor should apply â€Å"review† procedures to the interim financial information. (Such procedures consist principally of inquiries of client personnel and analytical procedures. ) b. The auditor should ensure that the quarterly data are presented as supplementary information and that each page of the data is clearly marked as unaudited. . If the results of the review procedures are satisfactory, the auditor does not need to modify his or her report on the audited financial statements to make reference to the review of the interim financial information. However, if the interim financial information does not appear to be in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, including adequate disclosure, the auditor’s report should generally be expanded to address this issue.

The Sex In Advertising Media Essay

The Sex In Advertising Media Essay Today we live in a world that sex sells mostly everything. People from all over the world are constantly bombarded with an increasing amount of sexual advertising messages whether it is seen on television, magazines, billboards, or even heard on the radio. Advertisers use sexual clips and photos in their ads or commercials to make a long lasting impression on the consumers. Sex in advertising The amount of partially and fully nude models has severely increased over the years and is more popular now than ever. Advertisers use sex as a tool to draw additional attention to a specific product and are known to be one of the most persuasive tools used by both marketers and advertisers. Advertisements often touch the borderline of the forbidden, with the emphasis of attracting attention (Heckler et. al, 2001). The limits are consistently being pushed to see how far advertisers can go. From the beginning of the 20th century focusing on a womens calf below her skirt would be enough to pass the limit for what was tolerated, and now the advertisements being used today would easily be considered as pornography. Problem Pictures, sounds, and stories, are a form of sexual information that has proven to have stirred up a variety of emotional reactions within viewers (Heckler et. al, 2001). Sexual appeals can generally be defined as messages; it can be shown through brand information in advertising contexts or as persuasive appeals in social marketing contexts, which has a connection with sexual information. In advertising, there are different types of sexual information (Lambiase Reichert, 2003). Lambiase and Reichert identified five different types of sexual content in advertising, which are nudity, sexual behavior, physical attractiveness, and sexual referents. The usage of sex appeal in advertisement Throughout the past twenty years, the exposure of sex appeal in advertising has become more or less common (Henthorne LaTour, 1994). The reality of sexual appeals in advertising is widespread in throughout many parts of the world and it is often thought of as fulfilling stimulating and arousing fantasies (Gould, 1994). Stephen J. Gould, further states that the ethics and morality of sex appeals continues to be contested, much as sexual norms and traditions in general have been challenged throughout history. A review of remaining research indicates complex connections between the usage of nudity in an advertisement and numerous lengths of advertising efficiency (ibid). The research on the use of nudity in an advertisement has found that although nudity may increase and bring forth attention it may also decrease the attention toward the brand name (Belch, Severn, 1990). Refering to a study by Richins (1991) it was stated that about half the time or even more frequently, more than 50 per cent of respondents said that when they see clothing advertisements and cosmetic advertisements, they compare themselves to the models in the advertisements. After viewing beautiful models or highly attractive individuals, for example in television advertisements or even on the cover of a Victoria Secret catalog, viewers tend to rate the attractiveness of more ordinary looking people lower than they would otherwise (ibid). Sexual appeal directed to youth Sex and sexism in advertising justify further discussion, as marketers target young audiences with sexual appeals and marketers use sexual imagery to sell products to teenagers and young adults (Reichert, 2003). The effect of sexual content in advertising may be heightened for young adults, for whom sexual expression and experiences are still relatively new and therefore sexual content is often targeted to young adults (ibid). The author states that advertising creators are producing sexual appeals for products targeted to young adults, and media planners are placing these advertisements in media consumed by younger audiences. Much of todays sexual advertising targets youth, yet there is little data in existing research to show how the youth react to such advertisement. Literary Review Arousal and response in the context of sexual advertisement stimuli Lambiase and Reichert (2003) claim that men and women perceive sexual appeals in advertisement differently. When showing the men and women a print advertisement of explicit female nudity women reacted tenser then men did. When men viewed the print advertisement, they reacted with energy arousal instead of tension arousal (ibid). In a study that was conducted, one group of participants was exposed to an advertisement with nude erotic appeal while a second group was shown an advertisement with semi erotic appeal (Lambiase Reichert, 2003). The participants in the two groups were shown an advertisement similar to each other, showing a women modeling on a beach, but the advertisement with the seminude model was masked by a perfume bottle. Both of the groups attitudes towards the brand were then evaluated. The outcome of the experiment showed that the advertisements with nude erotic appeal were negatively influencing consumers attitudes to the brand. The group that was shown the semi-nude advertisement displayed a positive association toward the brand (ibid). The author also concludes that these results indeed undermine the idea that sex sells; this is especially true when it comes to female respondents. Sexual appeals perceived by men and women in advertising Treise and Weigold (1994) argue that although it is often believed that sex sells, it sells at the consequence of controversy. This statement was supported by the author, who conducted this study. The sample responses showed that a large amount of consumers are bothered by the use of sex in advertisements. About half of the participants in the study felt that there is nothing wrong with using sexual advertisements to sell products if it is perceived as tasteful. Although participants believed that there was too much sex in advertising. More than half of the respondents in Treise and Weigolds (1994) study felt that nudity in advertising is not appropriate for general interest in magazines; almost as high figure of the respondents thought that sexual advertisements play a role in a teenagers decision to become sexually active. Men and womens response to nudity in advertising Smith et. al, (1995) have studied how partially nude models in advertising influence consumers. Authors refer back to prior studies, where they found a common finding that sexual stimulus in advertising draw attention away from brand information. Also people who viewed the advertisement will notice the difficulty in remembering the brand due to the advertisements sexual content. However, the authors repeatedly state that nudity or sexual content in an advertisement increases the consumers arousal. Increased arousal takes some responsibility for consumers increased recognition of sexual content in advertisements. As stated by Smith et. al, (1995) Advertisements with sexual content or nudity increases recognition; meanwhile, it decreases the brand recognition. The authors also states that men were more receptive to advertisements containing female nudity, but women were more favorable to advertisements with a nude male. Smith et. al, (1995) state that previous research has identified important variables that support whether nudity is considered to be effective and or ineffective in advertisements. The research showed that nudity should be avoided in situations where it can give off a negative thought our feeling, like an inappropriate product; however, the authors claim that nudity works better for products such as, alcohol and fragrances, the main reason for this is that sex appeal promote products better than others. Although majority of consumers will be aroused by advertisements containing sexual stimuli, it is important to remember that not all arousal is beneficial to the advertiser (ibid). Data Collection When collecting data for the research it can be either collected for the first time which is called primary and/or information that already exists which is secondary data. According to Yin (2003) it is more convenient to use secondary data. Yin (2003) says there are six different ways evidence can be collected. These are through documents, records, interviews, direct observation, participant-observation, and physical artifacts. Each of these do not have an advantage over the other (ibid). The method I used to collect data for this study is interviews, documentation, and observations. My secondary data will be the documentation and observations will be my primary data. Interviews will be the major source for my primary data collection. my reason for choosing interviews as my major source is because of its strength. It allows me to directly focus on the topic of my thesis. Yin (2003) believes that an interview can have potential disadvantages and can be biased because of the poor constructed questionnaires. There is also a risk for reflexivity. This is where the interviewed person will tell the interviewer what he or she wants to hear. A focus interview was used to conduct my thesis. The interview will be used to prove or disprove the theories of this study. This type of interview can be done in different ways. Interviews through the telephone are less expensive and also are time efficient; therefore telephone interviews are extremely useful when dealing with an interview that is far away; yet, face to face personal interviews can be time consuming and involve more complex questions. The personal contact during an interview also allows the interviewer to obtain more feedback from the respondent. The type of focused interview I used for this thesis is a focus group; my research was done through two focus group interview sessions. For my sample selection I chose students from Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo, California. The choice of respondents was based on my own personal preference. I thought that targeting this specific group was interesting because I would get to research what the students of Arroyo High thought about sex in advertising. Because this group of people is in high school they are considered to be under developed and immature when it comes to sex. Also they are still at an age where advertising can easily influence them. Interviews Young men The case study was conducted through two focus group interviews, one group including women and one group including men. In the first interview several students from Arroyo High School were selected. The male students participating in the focus group interview were born in 1995- 1996. The individuals participating were told that the aim of this session was not to make them agree upon one solution, but to bring forth their individual perceptions and attitudes. The focus group interview started with me showing them five magazine advertisements (appendix 2 6). The reason for doing this was to stimulate their minds in order to improve the upcoming questions. At first, the males articulated that sex sells. The group agreed that a sexual advertisement had to contain a women that was really good looking in order to be considered an erotic advertisement. The physical appearance being above the average looking individual was very important to the group when deciding if the advertisement was sexual or not. One respondent said: Sex is common nowadays, companies should think of parodying sex in advertisements. Is there too much sex in advertising and is there a limit where it becomes offensive? This question caused a lot of debate. Overall the group stated that there was too much sex in advertising. Here are some remarks from the discussion: Young children 10-14 years old as well as many of us high school students get the wrong idea. It is okay if the people are semi-nude, but not completely naked. If the sexual advertisement doesnt have much to do with the product, then there is probably too much sex involved. Is okay to use sex in advertisements? The students all agreed as long as it is used properly; otherwise, it is not okay.. One student claimed: Sexual appeal in advertisements if it promoting fragrances or lotion, but not okay when it is used for yogurt. Another respondent stated, and got support for the statement from the group: Sometimes the advertisers go too far. Do advertisements with erotic appeal change your attitude toward a brand? This question had a split answer. Some pointed out that they do not change their attitude towards the brand because the advertisement is sexual; however, two boys stated that sometimes they do. One respondent commented: If the advertisement is too sexual, I most likely will not purchase that product. The other respondents answered: if the advertisement is sexual and not relevant to the product, then my attitude usually changes towards that brand or product. You do not have the energy to care if the advertisement is sexual, you might change attitude but you do not have the energy to change buying behavior. Personally, sex in advertising is not enjoyable anymore. Do advertisements with attractive models change your comparison standards for physical attractiveness? All but one guy claimed that their standards changed after looking at attractive models in an advertisement. Also after viewing advertisements the respondents admitted they had higher standards for how the girls should look. Young women The second interview at Arroyo High included several female students born between the years 1995-1996. The focus group session was conducted in the same manner as the first one. Initially, the respondents discussed in general how they define sexual appeal in advertising. Some of the female respondents defined sexual appeal in the following way: It has a sexual appeal if they move slowly in combination with soft lightning. It does not have to include nudity to have sexual appeal.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨ Strong attraction in their eyes can tell you that it really looks like he or she wants sex.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Majority of the female students did not mention physical attractiveness, but instead talked about the importance of the actor/ actresses movement. Is there too much sex in advertising and is there a limit where it becomes offensive? The female students all seemed to agree on the following: The companies do not gain anything with sexual appeal in advertising since everybody has it. To me, advertisements based on sexual appeal do not stand out.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨The female students believed that an advertisement becomes offensive when the nudity has no connection to the product. Is okay to use sex in advertisements? The female students did not agree, they believed that sexual appeal could be used if it had a relevant purpose in the advertisement. One of the respondents mentioned, For example, a sexual advertisement is okay when it is promoting condoms. Do advertisements with erotic appeal change your attitude toward a brand? The opinions amongst the respondents were split. Some claimed that they did not think of the advertisement when buying a product. Other said that it changed their opinion about the product and instead chose a similar product. One student stated: You do not think about the advertisement when you buy a product. Another girl claimed: It might change attitude towards the brand and you might choose another brand if the advertisement you saw is bad and corny. This has happened to me before. You get a negative attitude if the advertisement is too sexual. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨Do advertisements with attractive models change your comparison standards for physical attractiveness? The female students all agreed that it does not change their perception of how your friends look, because of their personality. Although, they did agreed that it changed their outlook of people they do not know. One of the girls explained it like this: If you meet a guy on the street it can happen that you compare him with good looking models in advertisements.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨ One of the girls also claimedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¨I often find myself comparing the men in advertisements with my boyfriend. Data Analysis The survey participants believed that being nude is very different than sex appeal. The students in both the girls and boys group agreed that all the models in the advertisements I showed them were very good looking and not the average girl next door, which played a great role in how the advertisements were perceived. According to Lambiase and Reichert (2003) there are different types of sexual information in advertising; nudity, sexual behavior, psychical attractiveness and sexual referents. As previously stated, the respondents agreed that the different types of advertisement are considered to be sexual. From my research I found that men believe physical attractiveness is a more important factor than women think. Men claimed that in order for an advertisement to be of sexual content the women in the ad had to be extremely good looking. This backs up Ramirez and Reichert theory; that physical attractiveness was twice as important to men than it is to women. The male respondents did not feel bitterness towards attractive models in advertisements like women did. They explained that they realize people in advertising are perfect because they are retouched. Richins (1991) states that young adult females compare their level of attractiveness with models in advertisements, and women also tend to envy their beauty. This shows that Richins theories concerning young women feeling envy towards attractive models are not applicable to young men. Furthermore, beautiful models in advertisements are supposed to change the comparison standards for physical attractiveness (ibid). The majority of the respondents agreed to this and stated that they have higher demands on how a girl is supposed to look like due to the models in advertisements. Some of the respondents thought that the reason why many young females have bad self- self-assurance is because they are constantly fed with advertisements showing how they are supposed to look. However, some of the respondents claimed that advertisement had nothing to do with how they want to look. According to Richins (1991) young adult females feel envy and compare their beauty with models in advertisements targeted toward them. The respondents supported this theory. The respondents claimed, except for one who stated that she was not affected by models in advertisements, that the self-perception of physical attractiveness was lowered by advertisements including physical attractive models. Some of the respondents pointed out the fact that they subconsciously changed their perception after they have been exposed to eye-catching models. Richins (1991) states that exposure to advertising with idealized images of physical attractiveness lowers, at least temporarily young adult females satisfaction and self-perception of their own physical attractiveness. The discussion between the focus group confirmed this. The respondents mentioned if they were walking down the street it is extremely likely that they will have a higher comparison standard for physical attractiveness after looking at attractive models in advertisements. However, they quickly point out that it did not change their view of their friends since personality is important to them. According to Richins (1991) exposure to advertising with idealized images of physical attractiveness will raise young females comparison standards for physical attractiveness. Conclusion The findings of my thesis imply that there are some similarities between the data gathered and the research stated of how young men react to sexual appeal in advertising. However, there are also some differences. My findings suggest that young men believe there is too much sex in advertising, especially in cases where the product has no connection with sexual appeal whatsoever. Additionally, young men believe that advertisements can be discriminating both to men and women, since the models that are appearing in these advertisements are based on sexual appeal and are often well trained and good-looking. My research also suggest that nudity in advertisement is so common today that even though advertisements include unnecessary nudity young men do not change their purchasing behavior, even if the attitude towards the brand may change. Previous research confirms the change in attitude, but the fact that buying behavior does not change has not been brought up in earlier research. The focus groups suggested different products where they believed it is okay to use sexual appeal in advertising. One example is in advertisements for fragrances. The focus group also mentioned a non-suitable sexual advertisement was ice cream. Additionally my findings suggest that young men do not feel any bitterness or jealously towards models in advertisements because they are aware that the models in advertisements are retouched to for a more tasteful appearance. However, the respondents in my focus group brought up the fact that they believe people in general change their self-perception of physical attractiveness due to attractive models in advertisements. They also claimed that the comparison standard for physical attractiveness increased after viewing an advertisement, with a stunning woman, that is based on sexual appeal. My research also suggests that female respondents believe there is too much sex in advertising. This is especially true when it comes to products that have no association with sexual appeal. Also, young women believe an advertisement can be discriminating. Results show that young women believe that women are often portrayed as sexual objects in advertisements. In addition, the research also suggests that some young women change their attitude towards a brand and in some cases buying behavior if the advertisement is bad and too sexual. According to my findings young women are affected by sexual appeal in advertisement. This is due to the fact that the models in the advertisement are extremely attractive. This affects the self-confidence of young women according to the participants of the focus group. According my research, the reason for this is because young women are constantly targeted with advertisements based on sexual appeal which includes attractive models. Other findings suggest that young womens comparison standard for physical attractiveness increased concerning casual meetings. However respondents from the focus group claimed that comparison standards for friends were not increased since they had a personality which according to the focus group member is much more important. Todays adolescences are used to the sexual content showed in advertisement. Therefore I think that the corporations should rethink before choosing sexual appeals as a topic in their campaigns. Since sexual appeals are so common today that people do not react to it anymore. If the advertisement contains sexual behavior that is not in accordance with the product, it is very likely that people might change their attitude towards that product. If corporations use sexual appeal the wrong way in advertisements, people, or in this case, the youth will be against them and maybe go as far as not purchasing the product. Corporations might consider using other tools than sex in advertising, since sex is that common today. Sometimes a product works better with other appeals, such as humor, fear or even guilt. References Belch, G.E. Severn, J. (1990). The effects of sexual and nonsexual advertising appeals and information level on cognitive processing and communication effectiveness. Journal of advertising, Vol. 19 Issue 1. ISSN 0091-3367 Gould, S.J. (1994). Sexuality and ethics in advertising: A research agenda and policy guideline perspective. Journal of advertising, Vol. 23 Issue 3. ISSN 0091-3367. Heckler, S.E., Jackson, S. Reichert, T. (2001). Sexual Appeals in advertising. Journal of advertising, Vol. 30 Issue 1. ISSN 0091-3367. Henthorne, T.L. LaTour, M.S. (1994). Ethical judgments of sexual appeals in print advertising. Journal of advertising, Vol. 23 Issue 3. ISSN 0091-3367. Lambiase, J. Reichert, T. (2003). Sex in advertising. Mahwah, New Jersey : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. ISBN 0-8058-4117-2. Reichert, T. (2003). The prevalence of sexual imagery in ads targeted to young adults. Journal of consumer Affairs, Vol. 37 Issue 2. ISSN 0022-0078. Richins, M.L. (1991). Social Comparison and the idealized images in advertising. Journal of consumer research, Vol. 18. ISSN 0093-5301. Smith, S.M., Anton, M.R., Haugtvedt, C.P. Jadrich, J.M. (1995). Understanding responses to sex appeals in advertising: An individual difference approach. Advances in consumer research, Vol. 22. ISSN 0098-9258. Treise, D. Weigwold, M.F. (1994). Ethics in advertising: ideological correlates of consumer perceptions. Journal of advertising, Vol. 23 Issue 3. ISSN 0091-3367. Yin, R.K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods. (3rd ed.). Thousand oaks, California : Sage Publications Inc. ISBN 0-7619-2553-8. Appendices 1-6 Appendix 1: Interview questions I will start by showing the group the pictures of the advertisements and then the participants will discuss what they see and feel about the material. When the group is done expressing their reactions I will continue by asking them the following questions: Question 1: Is there too much sex in advertising and is there a limit where it becomes offensive? Question 2: Is okay to use sexual appeal in advertisement? Question 3: Do advertisements with erotic appeal change your attitude toward a brand? Question 4: Do advertisements with attractive models change your comparison standards for physical attractiveness? After the questions I asked if the group wanted to add anything else. Appendix 2 http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu151/brosjdm/erotic.jpg Appendix 3 Appendix 4 http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/oo126/theybf/Feb%2009/0905a17e.jpg Appendix 5 http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs20/i/2008/304/1/a/Erotic_hug_by_fdesign74.jpg

Google Internal Environment and PESTEL Analysis

Google Internal Environment and PESTEL Analysis ABSTRACT The purpose of this project is to strategically analyze a multinational company of our choice. Our case study is Google Inc. which we will analytically break down, using various sources. We chose Google because we found really interesting due to the fact that not only it is the biggest internet search engine to date, but also a pioneer in its industry. Based on existing literature and web references, will try to analyze its internal and the external environment. INTRODUCTION Google has occupied the dominating position in its industry since the beginning due to its unique product which is a result of its unparalleled working environment. It has gone on to attain the largest share of the online search engine market as it provides its users with a product that is difficulty substituted even though there are numerous competitors. By analyzing the internal and external environment of the corporation, it is evident that Google is running a well oiled machine, paying attention to even the least significant detail in order to ensure that it provides a prompt and reliable product to its customers. History Google was founded around 1995 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin while they were still university students. The idea was based on pages PhD research project called Backrub. This involved mathematical properties of a link structure on the internet. Having indexed over 50 million web addresses, Google was formally incorporated by 1998.it has such significant influence that a company could either greatly benefit, or be seriously harmed depending on the search rankings. Besides being the top search engine, Google features other functions such as Gmail, Google Earth and Google Docs. Moreover, Googles extreme success and constant expansion and development are due to their unparalleled working environment which not only aims to keep everyone happy, but successfully does so. (Google, 2011, Keller et al, 2008) INTERNAL ENVIRONMENT Resources Capability Theory Sources The combination of sources and capabilities, defines a good strategy of a company. Google achieved to combine ideally its sources and capabilities, as we can see that its strategy, is working. Ones company resources can be separated to tangible, intangible and human. Referring to Googles tangible resources are the financial sources from advertising companies, raw materials, mechanical equipment, modern facilities, innovative design of homepages and hardware. As for the intangible resources they are, high technology, worldwide reputation with users and suppliers , strong brand name , huge data-base, patents like Google Earth and eco friendly Blackle. Another important intangible factor is the business culture of Google which does not only care about the service of users but also cares about vast working environment. Moreover as for the human resources, Google has a large amount of high-skilled and capable staff. Furthermore, another important factor of Googles success is its know ho w which cant be imitated by any other rival firm. In addition all employees are experienced in the market of information based services. Google has strong leadership combined with training which resulted in loyal staff. (Christodoulou, 2010, David 2007) Capabilities The combination of sources, tangible, intangible and human resources create the appropriate capabilities. Capabilities separated as marginal capabilities which cannot easily imitated and fundamental capabilities which can. By combining its resources, Google creates some very effective capabilities. Flexibility, quick response and speed of distributing the information are produced by the combination of huge data base with the highly advanced software. These capabilities are fundamental because they cannot be copied easily. Another fundamental capability of Google is innovative and effective human resources management. This is also a result of good leadership with highly skilled and specifically trained staff. Furthermore, the combination of human resources with the software and innovations has the result of design capability, which is imitated. The right transmission of information between leadership, employees and the culture of Google results in good communication, as a fundamental capability. The combination of the right organization in human resources with the program system creates the fundamental capability of quick responsiveness to customers. (Christodoulou, 2010, David, 2007) Competitive advantage Value Google provides a high value product which satisfies its consumer needs, whatever they may be, quickly and efficiently. A costumer can use its search engine when looking for information on literally anything as well known, or not, that would be. This is what keeps it in its market dominating position as the leading search engine as it provides such a rare product. Furthermore, Google uses a program call AdSense which is vital I order for businesses to generate income. This is due to the fact that there is more traffic, hence more exposure, which consequently leads to an increase in sales. (Morrow, 2009, Thompson and Strickland, 1998) Rarity Googles rarity can be seen even on its homepage which is unlike any of the rival companies. There is a 28 word limit policy for the homepage, meaning that it is the only one that which is completely clutter free, letting customers focuses on what they want to use the product for without any distractions. This in turn shows that Google inc. wants to provide a high quality product that meets consumer needs, rather than trying to gain profit from annoying advertisements .Furthermore, the relevancy of the results of the search engine make it evident that Google succeeds and reaches its aim to provide a product of the highest quality for each customer. Compared to its competitors, yahoo and Microsoft, it is the most efficient and accurate when providing a consumer with the result. (Morrow, 2009) Imitablility Googles unique homepage has not been imitated by its competitors due to the fact that they are more interested in what consumers need to feel relaxed using this search engine, rather than profiting from advertisements. In addition even if competitors try to imitate Googles results, they would require an enormous database, extremely fast computer memory, and servers all around the world. Furthermore, Google try traces what you search each time and in a way gets smarter in order to provide you with the most relevant results each time you search. It basically can tell what you are looking for even the word which have been used has more than one meaning. (Morrow, 2009) Substitutability The fact is that Google has substitutes, such as Yahoo, Microsoft, Ask and Bing however it continues to dominate the market as it provides the best product and therefore gaining strong customer loyalty. (Morrow, 2009) Value chain Due to the fact that Google provides information based services, which is a nonphysical product, its value chain differs from the traditional form. Their raw materials are the web users who use Google to search. The same users are then directed by text advertisements into their advertising partners websites where the sales occur, which is also the finished program. Furthermore, the search engine works in such a way that it keeps record of the users previous searches in order to provide more relevant results in future searches, which in turn means that web users are directed to websites where there is more probability that purchases will occur. In addition, due to highly skilled and qualified staff, the dependency of primary activities on human resource is quite high and so causes an increase in costs. Operations, sales, distribution and services are conducted with the aid of Googles servers and its internal software, all of which contribute to the value chain as they increase the fir ms profit. It also spreads its operations globally in order to be constantly aware of changes which in turn help Google maximize its profit. (Morrow, 2009) Mission Statement To organize the world information to make it universally accessible and useful From this statement we can see that Google Inc is not interested in profit maximization but strives to meet the needs of its customers with a high quality product. Also Google states that sharing information and giving access to it, so that every person in the world could find whatever he needs from a source of his preference. (Morrow, 2009) EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT PESTEL Political As for the political environment, Google has few political restrictions. Firstly, one of the political problems that it faces is with the Department of Justice, due to the fact that there are plenty of inappropriate content and classified documents. Secondly, it has problems with the Chinese Government, because of censorship of searching results. Google tries not to have problems with censorship globally, because of its cooperation with the U.S Government and the protection of personal privacy. For this reason, it has created privacy terms on its homepage, where users can find information. In addition, many countries of Asia have limitations on what can be searched, but generally the majority of countries around the world do not have restrictions. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Economical Nowadays, there is an economic crisis all over the world witch significantly affects global sales. Furthermore, one of the countries that have been hit the most are the United States, where Google is located. However, this crisis has not affected Google, because it does not sell direct products, but services which are funded by advertisements. Also, the free provision of Google leads to an increase in its popularity, which in turn maintains its good relations with advertising firms. Finally, its excellent knowledge of the market allows Google to be able to respond to any kind of crisis. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Social Googles great advantage is that there are no social restrictions, because its services can be used by everyone despite age, religion, nationality and living conditions. Another advantage is that is not a seasonal company, for the reason that its services are always desired. Also, the development of technology and the trend of using Internet through computers and mobile phones have increased in the last years, impacting Google expansion all over the world. Google has no geographical dependence because the technology of internet is widespread worldwide. An example of geographical power is that more than 115 countries use Google, many of which are not economically developed. Googles social environment is global, meaning that is a Multilanguage society. For this reason, Googles services have been translated into numerous languages. Furthermore, it allows access to sites which may be inappropriate or appropriate. However in many countries there is a prohibition to them due to cultural and religion differences. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Technological The technology is always advancing, so this phenomenon makes Google expand rapidly. For this reason, it has to be updated constantly in order for it to follow its revolution. New technology in computers systems may aid Googles services to work faster and better, so it has to prevent its opponents from taking this new technological knowledge. Another advantage of technology for Google is that the costs are decreasing, while the quality of the services that it offers is improving and the innovation are strengthened. It also improves the speed of information, the ways of communication and transportation. These reasons help Google to expand and more important to survive. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Legal The legal environment is an issue that concerns everyone who uses the Internet. Copyright is an issue that exists in legal environment because of the ability that third party persons and companies can copy pictures and steal information from others. As a result, Google has created a page with copyright information about what is legal and what is not. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Five Forces As always analyze of five Porter forces play very important role for the study of business elements and contributes to develop the right strategy to be able to survive and become more competitive. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Entry Barriers Regarding the search engines, they have accumulated a large amount of information on customer service. Therefore, Google updates its material, in order to compete with other online search engines. For a newly introduced company it is necessary to serve and meet its customers expectations and the services should be provided at high speeds with flexibility in search. When Google was established around 1998, there were other similar companies like Yahoo, AltaVista and Excite, which had big influence in the market place but Google achieved to dominate. The web environment of search engines is more enriched, compared with the past years and its more familiar for users. As a result, the entry of new firms is not such a big threat for existing companies, especially for Google. (Morrow, 2008) Suppliers The main suppliers of Google are advertisements of companies, which expect to be popular in the world, so this factor contributes to the direct profit. Therefore, the negotiating power of suppliers is relative low, because Google is the pioneer of searching services. Over the years, technology evolves rapidly and because of it, Google achieved to install new software in mobile phones. But in this case the negotiating power is very high, because there is other companies software, like Microsoft with more experience in the market place. (Morrow, 2008) Competitors The main target of Google is to be able to face the competitiveness and become dominant company in the world of search engines. The main source of income is based on advertisements, due to reliable information that is collected daily. Since 2007, Google noted an upward evolution with annual profit rate at 110%. The main competitors of the company are Microsoft and Yahoo which have significantly lower profit. For the achievement of their profits, trademarks like MSN and Live-search played very important role. The companys high market share gives it the advantage to improve the quality of information and make the search easier. As a result, Google creates successful advertisements rapidly in comparison with its competitors. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008) Customers Since 2007, almost entirely, the profits of Google come from advertisements. The strategy of the company is to obtain new and more advertisements, of which the profit is maximum 3%. So it accumulates the profit from many small advertisements. Many firms want to advertise themselves and users have the opportunity to find them through keywords. Then, the percent of profits increased, because it is considered as an extra service. This attracts many companies which results in Google buying power in low levels. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008, 1999) Substitutes In recent years the world of Internet is the first option for the users, who search direct information. Due to the uniqueness and immediacy, there arent specific substitutes for data search. In order to Google to serve the users and become more competitive, with the help of some tools, classifies the data by date. The leading position of Google and the possible future entrance of competitors depend on the satisfaction of customers and shareholders. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008, 1999) Complementary The complementary goods are directly connected with services of Google and depend on them as these are portable computers and mobile phones. Generally, it is an industry with restricted amount of complementary goods. (David, 2007, Morrow, 2008, 1999) SWOT analysis Strengths There is a wide range of functions offered such as Google docs, Google earth, Gmail, Google translator and Blackle, besides its main operation as a search engine. Good reputation and strong brand name Loyal customers Google has developed very well its know how, Googles efficient and prompt results Pay high attention to the users Unique product-service Friendly working environment Does not distract its users by flooding the homepage with advertisements Weaknesses The requested search does not always coordinate with the results You cannot always find the information that you want in the fullest extent The information is mostly in English Hackers create many dummy site with spam Whoever is interested in using Google for advertising purposes does not have a clear idea where it would be more profitable to place their advertisements as the cost or click charging is very confusing There is a lot of useless and invalid information Opportunities Google can expand by merging Using higher value context on the web Can increase the internet usage Can local vendors advertisements on every local search It can provide more hand-held devices to capture a larger share of the market It can increase the advertising spending online Threats There are a lot of competitors and rivals Censorship A lot of legal trials due to users invasion of privacy The confusing policy for advertisements may disappoint the potential clients and Google may start losing them If it decides to follow its competitor by changing it minimal user friendly interface it may lose a lot of its users Privacy issues regarding the contents ownership It can lose its brand loyalty if it merge with other large firms (David, 2007, Thomson and Strickland, 1998) FINANCIAL Google is a company that has increasingly become popular since 2004. In recent years it has achieved to increase its incomes that helped it become a profitable company. Googles revenue is 99% from advertisement, because the products that it sells are free to use. According to the financial statement, Google is better than its main competitor, Yahoo because, it has 2.4 times more of its revenue. Additionally, Google is more profitable than Yahoo as it manages its debts better. In recent years, Google has slowed down the sales growth, income growth, assets growth, the profit Margin and the return of assets as we can see in table 1. However, it is still at a good level and it does not declare to be in a downward path, because it is still first in sales. This is a result of its steady growth, as know that no company can achieve an upward course. Googles revenue is increasing annually, even if it is not at the same rate as previous years, however, it has never been less. (Morrow, 2009) CONCLUSION To sum up, throughout its progress, Google has kept its dominant position over its competitors in the information based services industry. Furthermore, it is very important to note that Google has not only been consistent when it comes to providing a product of the highest and quality, but is also constantly developing, adapting, but more significantly revolutionizing the industry. In addition, what makes Googles product so unique in comparison to its competitors is the attention that it gives to consumer needs in order to provide a reliable and difficultly substituted product rather than focusing on maximizing its profit with every given chance which may compromise the quality of its search result; its product. Having analyzed the corporations internal and external environment it is evident that Google pays attention even to the smallest detail to ensure that it will be the leading company amongst the numerous other online search engines and has been able to create loyal customers t hat are constantly increasing. SOURCES-BIBLIOGRAPHY Morrow, B. (2009)Internal Analysis of Google Inc., 22 February, 2009. Available at: http://www.benmorrow.info/research/internal-analysis-of-google-inc [Accessed: 5 January, 2011] Morrow, B. (2008) External Analysis of Google Inc., 15 October, 2008. Available at: http://www.benmorrow.info/research/external-analysis-of-google-inc [Accessed: 5 January, 2011] Google (2011) Company Overview Corporate Information. Christodoulou, I.P. (2010) Strategy Strategic Management Perspectives. [PowerPoint slides] Lecture handouts. University of Hertfordshire.22 December, 2010 Keller, K.L., (2008) Strategic Brand Management. A European Perspective. 1st edn. England: Pearson Education Limited David, F.R., (2007) Strategic Management Concepts. 11th Ed. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall Thompson, A. A. Jr and Strickland, A. J III (1998) Strategic Management Concepts and Cases. 10th Ed. USA: Irwin/McGraw Hill (International Edition)