10 Tips for Constructive Correspondence

10 Tips for Constructive Correspondence 10 Tips for Constructive Correspondence 10 Tips for Constructive Correspondence By Mark Nichol Business writing, or any communication for other than personal reasons, requires a higher standard of compositional conduct. Whether you are requesting service or complaining about it, or applying for a job or responding to an applicant, correspondents have certain expectations about how you approach them. Keep the following suggestions in mind the next time you craft a letter or an e-mail message. 1. Outline Rehearse what you have to say by making an outline or simply listing the points you wish to emphasize. If you have difficulty articulating your thoughts in writing, simplify your language; you can always make your message more sophisticated later (or not). â€Å"I want to know what you meant when you wrote (blank). Your letter was confusing because (blank)† is a good foundation on which to lay a lead-off such as â€Å"Please clarify your request in your letter about (blank). I was confused by the reference to (blank).† 2. Subject If you’re sending a letter, you need not state the subject of the correspondence as if it were a memo. But if the correspondence is an e-mail message, make the subject line meaningful. â€Å"Request for Purchase Records,† for example, is more likely to receive prompt attention than â€Å"Information Needed.† 3. Greeting Use the salutation â€Å"To Whom It May Concern† followed by a colon, not a comma only when all else fails. (â€Å"Dear Sir or Madam† is a relic of a bygone era.) If you cannot identify in advance the person to whom you should direct your correspondence (or someone who can direct you or your letter or e-mail message to the proper person), you are either writing to a bureaucracy or a business that does not value its constituents or customers and steadfastly resists your efforts to identify a specific recipient, or you have not made much of an effort to do so. 4. Intimacy and Impartiality If you are initiating contact with the recipient, refer to him or her, for example, as Mr. Smith or Ms. Jones; if the person’s gender is unclear from his or her name, address the recipient with the salutation â€Å"Pat Johnson,† followed by a colon. If you are replying, maintain a formal tone in your salutation if the recipient signed his or her initial correspondence with a full name; if, however, he or she signed off with â€Å"Pat,† for example, feel free to use the first name alone in the salutation of your response, and sign your letter or e-mail message informally. Be cautious, however, about being too intimate or personal in communicating with someone you don’t know or know only casually, or of assuming that the other person has certain political, ideological, or religious beliefs, even if the recipient’s affiliation implies sympathy with your own values. Remain professional even on a first-name basis or after one or more face-to-face encounters. 5. Leading Off State the purpose of the correspondence immediately. If you are thanking someone for a service rendered, say so outright and then go into details. If you are requesting service or clarification, do so at the outset. If you have a complaint or grievance, begin by describing the matter. 6. Tone Use respectful language. If you are angry or frustrated or disappointed, it is appropriate to write just that, but do not attack the recipient or the recipient’s company or organization. Simply detail your grievances and state what you would like the recipient to do to resolve the issue. Be confident and/or firm, but take care that you do not come across as arrogant, condescending, or demanding, and above all, even if you are writing a complaint or protest, be courteous. 7. Perspective Effective correspondence recognizes the proper point of view or emphasis. A letter or e-mail message of complaint that starts out â€Å"Your store has lousy service† may prompt the same results as â€Å"I wish to complain about the poor service I received at your store yesterday,† but it’s rude. Rather than making a blanket and perhaps inaccurate assumption, simply describe your experience and stick to the facts. If you’re seeking employment, or asking for a favor, emphasize the recipient, not yourself. You will of course state what you have to offer the company or what you would like to receive from it, but put the recipient first: â€Å"World Wide Widgets is highly regarded in the widget industry, and my professional goal is to start at the top† is more appealingly audacious than â€Å"I believe that I have much to offer World Wide Widgets.† 8. Language Write in a professional tone, but avoid stiffly formal wording. Use clear, concise language that conveys your message. Spell out acronyms, eschew abbreviations, and favor transparent terms over jargon and standard usage over slang. 9. Form and Length Monitor and minimize sentence and paragraph length. If the recipient becomes fatigued because of overlong sentences and blocky paragraphs (or obtuse language or error-ridden text), you are less likely to achieve the desired outcome. Review your correspondence not only for errors but also for excessive length. A letter or e-mail message that continues for more than a few paragraphs of a few lines each is likely to be a self-defeating message. Respect your recipient by rereading your correspondence several times, looking for opportunities to make your message more concise, omit redundancy, and eliminate superfluous content. 10. Conclusion In closing, concisely restate the purpose of the letter, and specify the results you hope for. Write something like â€Å"Please provide the requested information† or â€Å"Please clarify what I need to submit, and when, so that I may satisfy your request.† If your request is constrained by a tight deadline, try to communicate, if applicable, how a prompt response will benefit your recipient, or other parties, as well as you. If you are in no hurry and the person will be doing you a favor, tack on a relaxing phrase such as â€Å"at your convenience.† In either case, remember to thank the recipient, but be sure that your gratitude is sincere and not overbearing or stinting. â€Å"Thanking you in advance,† for example, implies that you can’t be bothered to follow up with a note of gratitude after the recipient has complied with a request. â€Å"Thank you† is sufficient. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Whimsical WordsRound vs. AroundDrama vs. Melodrama

Quality management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Quality management - Essay Example Nurses and healthcare professionals should understand appropriate patient standards. They are expected to implement them in spite of their personal opinions or preferences. I believe that the quality of care is determined by finding the right balance between the possibilities realized and the existing framework of norms and values. As a result, the quality of care not only depends on the attitude of the nurse, but it is also influenced by the organizational culture in the healthcare institution (Weston & Roberts, 2013). The observation is influenced by a realization that the quality of care is determined by multiple factors such as the standards established by the healthcare industry. During my CRT clinical experience, I witnessed one example that provides an opportunity to evaluate the quality of care given in that instance. The case involved a teenage girl who had been admitted to the hospital after a failed abortion attempt. The patient was bleeding and in a lot of pain. When she arrived, the available nurses and doctors surrounded her. They administered preliminary medication to ease her pain and stop the bleeding. Then they wheeled her to an operating room where an attempt was made to save her life. The operation took about four hours. Although the doctors stated that she would not be able to have a child in the future, they had succeeded in saving her life. The patient was clearly traumatized by the whole experience. The nurse in charge tried to find information about her. She had been brought to the hospital by two female friends and a male friend. After informing her parents, the nurse called the police to report the incident. Another nurse tried to initiate a conversation with the patient when she could talk. The nurse could spend a lot of time talking to her. As time progressed, I could see that the patient was more open and smiling. The parents were asked to

Code switching project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Code switching project - Essay Example 3). In this view, the determination of the social motivations for a language alternation becomes important. This paper looks at the social motivations for code switching I terms of the various applications in social, discourse and identity expression situations. This follows an interview analysis that seeks to determine the patterns for code switching, as well as the attitudes evident from such changes. According to Buchholtz and Hall (2005), socio-cultural linguistics arises as an important subject that looks at the broad interdisciplinary area involving the integration of culture, society and language (Nilep 2006, p. 3). The utilization of code switching arises as a key determinant of bilingual and multilingual speakers. The availability of language resources including the knowledge of two or more languages enables different individuals to depict instances of language alternations. Code switching refers to the application of two or more languages between various speakers during a given speech or conversation (Lowi 2005, p. 1). In this case, the concept stands to be essential in such practices involving bilingual or multilingual speakers. This translates to the utilization of code switching as a means for conversation, and as an approach towards the establishment, maintenance and description of existing boundaries due to ethnicity (Fong 2011, p. 23). Additionally, the idea arises as an important tool for symbolizing relevant features of background in speakers. This provides multilingual speakers with an opportunity of expressing their own identities, thus, becoming an effective social process (Lowi 2005, p. 1). In providing for a social context, code switching allows individuals to explore their identities and ethnic backgrounds. This arises due to the various communicative functions depicted with the utilization of code switching (Shin 2010, p.94). The use of code switching becomes essential in ensuring that communication between two or more

How graphic design and skateboard graphics coincide and have Essay

How graphic design and skateboard graphics coincide and have influenced the growth in skateboarding since the 70's - Essay Example consisting of roller-skate wheels attached to a two by four; once the push bar of the scooter-like contraption was broken off, skateboarding was born’ (Skateboarding History, 2007). Through the years, skateboarding has been developed extensively especially as of the shape and the size of the skateboards. Moreover, graphics were added on skateboards presenting figures of all types (always in accordance with the cultural and social trends of a specific period). Current paper examines the relation of skateboarding with graphic design. The influence of the latter to the development of the former especially after the period of 1970s is the main issue analyzed in this paper. In order for the above relationship to be clearer, it is necessary to present the history of skateboarding from its appearance (approximately in 1959) until today. At the same time, it would be useful to refer to the development of graphic design throughout the years especially in relation with skateboarding. Th e views of professionals in the specific area have been also considered to be a valuable tool towards the understanding of the role of graphic design in the development of skateboarding since the 70s. The historical development of skateboarding has not been continuous. The period that characterized by a high growth of this activity is 1970s. In fact, it was during that period that the first skatepark appeared while skateboarding was extensively advertised in the television and the cinema. Moreover, new styles of skateboarding were adopted like slalom and freestyle. Regarding the developments in skateboarding that took place in the above period it is noticed that ‘this was the first time skateboarding had stars, some of the first really big names being Tony Alva, Jay Adams and Stacy Peralta; the look of skateboards also changed from being six to seven inches in width to over nine inches, providing better stability on vertical surfaces’ (Scateboarding History, 2007). In the above context,

Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 2002 Accounting Essay

Sarbanes Oxley Act Of 2002 Accounting Essay The purpose of this report is to present the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, starting from the history of self-regulation and its regulatory bodies, presenting the governance scandals which triggered the Acts creation, emphasizing the requirements of Section 404 and concluding on recent crises. The history of self-regulation in the United States is structured in two parts: (1) Early Standards, including the Acts of 1933 and 1934, GAAS and GAAP, with short focus on peer review, and After seventy years of self-regulation many accounting frauds, governance scandals and bankruptcies shacked the U.S. market. Due to their relevance and impact on regulatory standards the cases of Enron and WorldCom were chosen to be discussed. After enacting the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the U.S. Congress started a new era, by choosing to enforce a new independent body (PCAOB) to monitor the auditing companies. In relation with SOX the followings were considered: (1) SOXs summary, with its objectives and main sections, (2) Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), with its mission and enforced authority. Next, the analysis focused on the section 404 of SOX 2002 because is the provision which caused the most violent discussions from executives part. Due to the section impact on companies financial statements the report includes a short presentation of its rules with a larger analysis of implementation costs and benefits. Still, even if the SOX and the SEC regulated the market in order to protect the investors and to avoid future corporate frauds, the financial crisis revealed new scandals, out of which in this report are mentioned: (1) Bernard Madoffs Ponzi scheme, and (2) Bank of America Corporations lack of disclosure related to Merrill Lynch merger. Taking into consideration these scandals, changes of regulations must be considered for the future and, maybe, reconsiderations of auditors role as management strategic advisors. HISTORY OF SELF REGULATION IN USA I.1. Early Standards In the United States, at the beginning of the 20th century, the regulations for accounting and auditing were the same as United Kingdom regulations due to the fact that the major American corporations were branches of Britain companies (Benston G., et al., 2006). Still, the market experienced a low level of regulation (or almost absent), the succeeding events (stock market crash in 1929 and depression from 1930) indicating a strong need for regulating and disclosing policies to be established by the federal government. Securities Act of 1933 and Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The historical foundation for regulations of financial disclosure by corporations is considered to be the moment when, immediately after the market crash from 1929, the U.S. Congress enacted two major laws, the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. For the first time in history, those two rules contained pragmatic provisions regarding corporate investors and financial disclosure: Companies publicly offering securities for investment dollars must tell the public the truth about their businesses, the securities they are selling, and the risks involved in investing. People who sell and trade securities brokers, dealers, and exchanges must treat investors fairly and honestly, putting investors interests first.  [1]   GAAS. Starting with 1939, the first generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) were drafted and adopted by the American Institute of Accountants (currently AICPA), through its Auditing Standard Executive Committee (AudSEC) (currently Auditing Standards Board). Because GAAS refers to risks assessment and ways to mitigate them, three areas of provisions were defined (Benston G., et al., 2006): (1) general standards for determining the auditors personal traits; (2) fieldwork standards for setting the audit analysis, evaluation of internal controls and audit evidences; (3) reporting standards for assessing the disclosures of financial statements and the audit opinions, respectively the application of GAAS to GAAP. GAAP. Starting with 1936-1938, the SEC entrusted the Committee on Accounting Procedure (part of AICPA) to issue a private-sector accounting standards in order to set-up an accounting system requested by the market needs. The first generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) were developed in its initial form of Accounting Research Bulletins (ARB). Peer Review. In the early 1960s, the major consulting accounting companies started to form peer reviews for a better quality of accounting, auditing and attestation services performed by AICPA members  [2]  . This means that every CPA firm must be reviewed by another CPA firm. The latest company must independent from the reviewed company and must have qualified experience. The supervision of the peer review activities is assured by the Public Oversight Board (POB), an independent private sector body  [3]  , which, even if was created by SECPS members, is independent from the profession and the regulatory process. I.2. Regulatory Bodies Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The US Congress, through Securities Exchange Act of 1934, established SEC as an independent agency, having as main duty to define technical, trade, accounting, and other terms used in securities market, in the United States. The Commission is responsible for (1) interpreting federal securities laws; (2) issuing new rules and revising existing rules; (3) supervising the examination of securities players (brokers, investments advisers, other agencies); (4) monitoring private regulatory organizations in the securities area; and (5) complying U.S. securities rules with other American and foreign authorities  [4]  . Currently, the SEC is administrating the most important laws that standardize the securities industry, laws which are: (1) Securities Act of 1933, (2) Securities Exchange Act of 1934, (3) Trust Indenture Act of 1939, (4) Investment Company Act of 1940, (5) Investment Advisers Act of 1940, (6) Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The authoritative power of SEC implies laws enforcement in cases of fraud, insider trading, and any other infringements done by the individuals and companies on the securities area. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). If all preceding associations (like the American Association of Public Accountants, the Institute of Public Accountants, the American Institute of Accountants) are taken into consideration, than it can be stated that AICPA dates from 1887  [5]  . Associating all the certified public accountants (CPAs) in the U.S., the AICPA is the main non-government authoritative body in developing auditing standards (including technical rules and ethical codes) and other regulating services for CPAs. Furthermore, it has the authority to monitor and to enforce the law in cases of non-compliance with the standards. Auditing Standards Board (ASB). Within AICPA, the ASB is assigned to be the committee in charge to actually issue the standards and the regulations for CPAs, for non-public company audits, next to the necessary guidelines and the interpretations of the laws. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Over time, the mission to regulate the private sector by clear defined financial accounting standards passed from AICPAs Committee on Accounting Procedure to the Accounting Principles Board. By the end of 1960s the market development triggered an increasing demand for accounting standards updated in the same rhythm as the economical growth. As a result, since 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been created as a private, non-profit institution, founded with the purpose to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting for the guidance and education of the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of financial information.  [6]   CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: FAMOUS SCANDALS In 2002, Ribstein L. argues in the Journal of Corporation Law that the traditional approach of corporate governance in large corporation must be established by government regulation. This approach is based on assumption that the shareholders, in order to protect their ownership goals, lack of tools to control the management actions. On the other hand, acknowledging the shareholders weakness, the managers are predisposed to take advantage of the situation by acting on their own personal interests and power. Companies financial statements are the mean through which the managers can show their contribution to the corporate overall growth. If in this judgment is included the fact that corporate management usually has had compensation formulae strongly related with companies financial performance (such as options on companys shares), the management tendency to manipulate companies financial statements becomes obvious, or, in other words, the management is highly interested to manage earnings (Kaplan R., 2004). After seventy years of corporate regulation, in 2001 and 2002 series of management frauds rocked the investors trust in the market. Scandals like Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia, and Waste Management opened a new era of financial manipulation. What is essential to be mentioned is the fact that all these frauds were possible despite all the levels of supervision in place, such as executive directors, external auditors, accounting firms, debt rating agencies, or securities market analysts (Ribstein L., 2002). The most resonant scandal was Enron, which, after being one of the worlds biggest power dealers, revealed in October 2001 losses higher than $70 billion in equity value. WorldCom, which played an important role on telecommunication market, disclosed in March 2002 that its revenues are overstated by capitalizing expenses, losing $180 billion in shareholder equity. Both cases will be discussed in the following section, emphasizing on fraudulent operations and corporations weaknesses. II.1. Enron Short summary: Disclosure date October 2001 Charges False increased profits, hidden liabilities totaling over $1 billion by using off-the-books transactions. Manipulation of the Californian energy market during the electricity crisis, recording total profits of $2.7 billion from trading electricity and gas in western markets (Markham J., 2006). Extorting and gaming the power prices, as well as an overcharge of $175 million for electricity generated by Enron wind farms (Markham J., 2006). Securities fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, insider trading, and filing false income tax returns (for Enrons executives). Auditing firm Arthur Anderson With losses higher than $70 billion in equity value (Bryce R., 2002), Enron scandal is one of the biggest political scandals in American history. In 1985, Enron started its business as an important trader on U.S. energy market, developing its operations within: transactions with natural gas, constructions of power facilities and pipelines, telecommunications services, buying/selling commodities. Its rapid growth offered to the public media a sensation of unstoppable revenues and solid financial stability. Before the public disclosure from 2001, the revenues and the incomes reported by Enron were impressive (Markham J., 2006): in 1998 $31 billion in revenue and $703 million in net income after expenses; in 1999 $40 billion in revenue and $893 million in net income after expenses; in 2000 $100 billion in revenue and $979 million in net income after expenses. In fact, the revenues were not real, the financial image presented to the shareholders being an illusion. In order to hide its losses Enron stretched the limitations of accounting standards and took advantage of all the regulatory lacks. Due to its business specificity, the accounting recording was challenging. First aspect regarded the long-term contracts for which the current accounting rules obliged the company to forecast the future revenues. In this case Enrons income recognition was made at present (or fair) value, using mark-to-market accounting, regardless the prospective economic conditions. The second aspect was linked with Enrons reliance on structured financial transactions and, implicitly, on special purpose entities (SPEs). In this area the accounting standards were questionable, being debated by practitioners because of the difference which could be created between real economic situation and companies financial indicators. Behind this glowing image, Enron built a network of derivatives trading and transactions with SPEs, which generated substantial revenues not only for the company itself, but also for the companys directors involved in the SPEs partnerships. The report of investigation of the Enron Special Investigative Committee (Powers W., et al., 2002) mentioned the amounts by which Enrons employees were illicitly enriched: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Fastow (i.e. Enrons CFO) by at least $30 million, Kopper (i.e. Enrons finance executive) by at least $10 millionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. In October 2001 Enron had to recognize expenses of $1.01 billion after tax and two months later, Enron filed for bankruptcy. Enrons failure is a clear example of corporate governance malfunction. Managers were compensated with stock options based on the companys short-term performance with no other restrictions, compensation program that incentivized managers to increase the short-term performance regardless the long-term consequences. Next to Enrons management, part of the blame is assigned to external auditors (Arthur Andersen) and to parties responsible for the companys internal governance (see appendix 1 for a graphic representation of the links between Enrons managers and investors). Analyzing the implications of accounting rules over the Enrons scandal one statement must be made. U.S. GAAP are very extensive and, even more, rigid in its provisions, inspiring financial professionals to find creative accounting solutions to avoid the rules. II.2. WorldCom Short summary: Disclosure date March 2002 Charges Use of undisclosed and improper accounting that materially overstated its income before income taxes and minority interests by approximately $3.055 billion in 2001 and $797 million during the first quarter of 2002  [7]   WorldComs transfer of its costs to its capital accounts violated the established standards of generally accepted accounting principles  [8]  resulting in $3.8 billion fraud. WorldCom violated the anti-fraud and reporting provisions of the federal securities laws  [9]   WorldComs CEO Bernard Ebbers received from the company off-the-books loans of $408 million. Auditing firm Arthur Anderson In 1995 LDDC (Long Distance Discount Company) became WorldCom, one of the biggest telecommunication company on the U.S. market. Its CEO, Bernie Embers, joined the company in its early starts, in 1985. During his administration, the company experienced a period of high growth, with revenues reaching billions of dollars. In 1996, after the acquisition of MFS Communication Inc., WorldCom became the fourth biggest telecommunication company (Markham J., 2006), looking forward to using the opportunities offered by the new breakthrough innovations, such as fiber-optics and Internet. In October 1997 WorldCom announced the merger with MCI Communications for $30 billion. The company continued to grow, reporting earnings of $16 billion (Markham J., 2006) between 1996 and 2000, even if the SEC obstructed the company from considering deductible large amounts spend in research and development. In the early 2000, the entire telecommunication industry started to slow down, and, also, the stock prices were declining. The same happened in WorldComs case. By the middle of 2000, the stock price was almost half its 1999 price. Even so, WorldCom announced surprising profits (Markham J., 2006): $1.4 billion for 2001 and $130 million for the first quarter of 2002 (when in fact the company recorded losses). In March 2002, after an internal audit engagement, WorldCom announced the restatement of its financials figures due to inappropriate accounting recordings of the revenues between beginning of 2001 and first quarter of 2002, revenues which were not in compliance with GGAP provisions. In June 2002, the SEC charges WorldCom for $3.8 billion fraud  [10]  . As it was revealed by the SEC investigation, WorldCom used an accounting artifice to capitalize its line costs (e.g. fees paid by WorldCom to third party services providers) and, in this way, to keep companys earnings at expected levels. WorldCom filed for bankruptcy in July 2002, wiping out $180 billion in shareholder equity (Markham J., 2006). Ebbers was dismissed from the position of WorldComs CEO in April 2002  [11]  after admitting that he borrowed money from WorldCom in its attempt to cover his losses from buying WorldCom shares  [12]  . In 2005 Ebbers was sentenced to 25 years in jail. As presented by SECs WorldCom corporate monitor, Richard Breeden, in his report on the companys measures to restore its governance, WorldCom seemed to meet most of the governance standards of its time (Breeden R., 2003). The companys configuration included all the necessary structures required for corporate governance (such as audit committee, compensation committee etc.), with almost 80% of the directors fulfilling the independence requirements. But, in fact, most of these independents were very strong linked to Ebbers, through their incomes. So, corporate governance is not only accomplishing a checklist with requirements, but being deeply concerned about the independence impediments. In WorldComs case the management board failed to assess the companys risks and to draw corrective risk procedures. In Enrons case, the board allowed the CFO to participate in financial partnerships (e.g. SPEs), searching for his personal gain. In both cases, Enron and WorldCom, the CFOs failed to supply accurate financial data. Their fraud involvement was a real obstacle for which the problems were discovered too late. Hard interpretations of GAAPs provisions regarding net income and future earnings as well as unrealistic cash flow statements were present also in both companies. Furthermore, lacking of an appropriate internal control system, the adjustments in the companies financial reports were easy to be made by the high level employees. SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002 The scandals of accounting fraud, corporate misbehaviors, non-compliance with business ethics, and bankruptcies occurred in high-level companies like Enron and WorldCom revealed the markets strong need for deeper reforms in corporate regulations. In July 2002, the U.S. Congress ratified the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (known also as the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investors Protection Act of 2002) in response to the corporate crisis. One of the most important legislative action since the Acts of 1933 and 1934, Sarbanes-Oxley has as objectives to rebuild the investors trust in the market and to enhance the transparency and morality of public companies, avoiding future similar allegations. Through the Sarbanes-Oxley Act are addressed issues like managements legal liability, increased independence rules for internal governance agents, mandatory internal control audits, and increased managements responsibility for financial reporting. Furthermore, Sarbanes-Oxley increases the SECs power to determine that an individual is unfit to serve as an officer or director of a publicly-traded company, even in the absence of a judicial finding of a violation of the federal securities laws (Fisch J., 2004). Source: Anand S., 2007, Essentials of Sarbanes-Oxley, John Wiley Sons, Inc., ISBN 978-0-470-05668-4, page 23. Emphasizing on the importance of business codes of ethics, in 2003, Harvard Law Review explained the Acts provisions related to self-policing as a consequence of the general perception that these series of scandals and bankruptcies are not just a failure of the regulations, but a failure of management behavior. It was not enough anymore to just comply on formal managerial structure and independence requirements. Both, Enron and WorldCom had management boards that complied with independence standards, but were not able to work efficiently due to conflict of interests and strong relationships with CEOs. Furthermore, management boards must be deeply involved in companies business and must understand the risks, rather than simply remain independent (Fisch J., 2004). Enrons and WorldComs boards were far away from taking real actions against CEOs/CFOs practices or from reacting in real-time to companies difficulties. Considering the patterns of fraud cases and the fact that CEOs and CFOs acted as primary deceivers, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act states, as main provision, the necessity to increase top-managements responsibilities for the consistency of companies financial statements. IV.1. SOXs summary The Act requirements must be perceived by the companies as a starting point in building operational processes, with an enhanced internal control system through entire business. Complying with SOX is not a one-time project, but a continuous improvement process, with executives going beyond compliance and focusing on the quality of overall business operations (KPMG, 2004). Source: KPMG, 2004, Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404: An Overview of the PCAOBs Requirements, KPMG International Despite the fact that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is structured in eleven different sections, the law itself must be understood as an overall, compact regulation, and companies must seek for complete compliance. Still, the Acts objectives are more obvious in certain sections, while other sections are important through their compliant difficulties (Anand S., 2007). The summary of the Acts titles is presented in appendix 2. Still, from the compliance point of view and relevance for the two fraud cases previously presented, the most important sections of the Act  [13]  are: Section 302 regarding the corporate responsibility for financial reports; In order to avoid deceiving financial statements Section 302 includes provisions related to internal controls and the management responsibility to evaluate the efficiency of these controls and to disclose any deficiency which might have a negative impact over the financial indicators. Section 401 for Disclosures in Periodic Reports; The financial statements must contain accurate information and must be issued to the public investors with a clear display in order to avoid any misrepresentation or incorrect statement. Also, the transactions, especially the liabilities, from off-balance sheet must be transparent and presented in the reporting file. Section 404 is related with the management mandatory evaluation and certification of companies internal control systems; This section raised many discussions, being one of the most controversial provisions of the Act. The main reason for these discussions was the character of this section which implies the highest amount of resources and efforts to be spend in order to obtain SOX compliance. As stated by Section 404, in annual financial statements, executive directors must declare their acknowledgement of the responsibility for establishing, implementing and maintaining the internal control system. The main purpose of this statement is to present the investors the internal controls structure and to assure them about its efficiency. Section 409 stating the necessity of real-time disclosures when important changes are made in companies financial indicators during the periods between quarterly reports. Without this section the investors would have to base their decisions on obsolete statements. Unlike Section 404, this section didnt implied heavy resource allocation. IV.2. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) The Sarbanes-Oxley Act created the PCAOB, a private-sector, nonprofit corporation, having as mission to oversee the auditors of public companies in order to  protect investors and the public interest by promoting informative, fair, and independent audit reports  [14]   By creating the PCAOB, the self-regulating model of accounting industry was no longer valid, the responsibility and authority of creating standards and enforcing audits for public companies being transferred from the profession side (AICPA) to an independent party (PCAOB). Through its provisions, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act obliged, for the first time in regulating history, the auditors of public companies to be overseen by external and independent parties. The SEC maintained its authoritative power over the PCAOB, by naming the governing board and by amending the organizations bylaws, standards and budgets  [15]  . SECTION 404. MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT OF INTERNAL CONTROLS V.1. Section 404 Rules As stated by the SOX Section 404, there are a set of rules for management to follow in assessing the internal controls structure within the company. The broad definition of the term internal control refers to all the areas within an organizations business, but inside SOXs terminology, the internal control term is used strictly for defining the internal control over financial reporting. First of all, the management is responsible for creating the internal controls structure, in accordance with his business processes. An important aspect must be clarified here. Neither internal auditors, nor external auditors are in charge with developing the internal control keys. The companys CEO and the top-management team must take this responsibility and act in accordance as a whole. Furthermore, it is not enough just to create the system, but to periodically update it in order to keep up with the business changing rhythm. The assessment of internal controls must be made with a recognized framework. In the U.S. most companies uses COSO framework (the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission framework), or COBIT framework (the Control Objectives for Information and related Technology framework). (We will not discuss these frameworks in this report.) The internal controls assessment must be performed annually, at the year-end. The external audit company must not reassess the internal control system, but perform an audit in relation with the managements appraisal. In other words, the external audit must not redo the entire internal control structure assessment, but only to rely on the managements performance regarding the internal control appraisal. Even so, senior management must obtain the full confidence that its assessment presents a true landscape of the internal control system, as of the year-end, with comfortable assurance that any material misstatement can be avoided or identified (The Institute of Internal Auditors, 2008). V.2. Consequences of Implementing Section 404 Costs of implementing SOX 404. Generally speaking, the costs derived from internal controls implementation and testing can be easily identified as payments for audit and compliance employees, time spent by operational employees and external audit fees. Still, in the first year of compliance, overall efforts were overwhelming due to work amount needed to be done, work which included analyzing documentation, verifying accounts balances, monitoring and evaluating controls keys performance and efficiency, establishing reporting structure. One important reason for which compliance process was so complex was the fact that a major part of the control keys were done manually, with very much time-consuming, and only a small part of control keys were IT-based. Next to these costs, Langevoort D. (2006) mentions the opportunity costs and the distractions, referring to the fact that some audit tests require direct observation of operations (e.g. cash processing) and explanations from in-charge personnel or manager. He is going even further by stating that direct control can create discomfort to employees which will impact the sense of trust and decrease the employees loyalty. As mentioned before, the compliance with Section 404 turned out to be the most expensive part of the entire Sarbanes-Oxley Act. In August 2004, the Financial Executives Institute revealed a study of 224 companies which indicated costs up to $3 million for the biggest companies (Rittenberg L., Miller P., 2005). Even more, in an article from BusinessWeek, William Zollars, chairman and CEO of Yellow Roadway, the U.S. largest trucking firm, explained that his company paid about $9 million to accountants for their work, amount which represented 3% of annual profits for 2004  [16]  . After first year of SOX implementation, an analysis carried out by the PCAOB concluded that the costs for compliance were high because, in many cases, too many audit tests were performed and documented by auditors, companies spending too much time on internal controls related to financial reporting processes (OBrien P., 2006). Still, as presented in the left hand picture, in January 2005, according to a survey developed by the Institute of Internal Auditors, 72% of respondents considered that the costs are higher than the benefits for SOX 404 first year of implementation. After six years of SOX compliance, in August 2008, Dodwell W. argues, in an article in the CPA Journal, that initial implementation expenses made by companies are paying off. Next to the costs presented above, the cost-benefit analysis should also consider: concen

Fossil Fuels: Our Societys Dependency :: essays research papers

Fossil Fuels: Our Society's Dependency Our society has become dependent on fossil fuels for energy. That seems fine for now considering the fact that everyone is generally happy in the present situation. Fossil fuels are relatively inexpensive and seem to be doing the trick right now. Using fossil fuels arise such issues as global warming, rising costs of scarce resources, and shortages of raw materials. None of these problems will draw full attention until the demand is needed, it's the old supply and demand scenario. Although my opinion may seem pessimistic if you look at past events it points to the supply and demand scenario.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During World War II rubber supplies were cut off to the western world and we began to work on a compound that was a synthetic rubber. We succeeded in supplying the demand and now that same synthetic compound is used today. My theory is that the same thing will happen with such things as plastic, which is made from fossil fuels. Someone will either come up with a synthetic plastic or come up with something to substitute for plastic. The person who comes up with the solution will become and instant millionaire and everyone will be happy. There is one draw back of this way of solving problems, I mean sure it's great to wait until the demand but we should still learn from our mistakes. We should learn to plan ahead and see what the consequences could possibly be.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We still have other demands to meet, there are three major demands of fossil fuels and they are heating, transportation, and industry. Although transportation is taken care of, we may not like the thought of a solar car or an electric car but there are solutions out there. Frankly the oil companies don't want to lose their monopoly in the transportation industry and that brings us into the whole economy issue. If we run out of fossil fuels what will happen to the economy? Will it suffer? These are just a few questions that are asked everyday, but for now we are just going to look at solutions for demands on fossil fuels. This chart below illustrates the demands and the possible solutions. Energy Demand Alternative Energy Sources and Practices heating - solar heating, heat pumps, geothermal energy, biomass gas, and electrical from hydro and nuclear plants transportation - alcohol/gasohol and hydrogen fuels, and electric vehicles - mass transit, bicycles, and walking - solar energy, nuclear energy, and hydroelectricity - improved efficiency and waste heat recovery In conclusion I don't think the need for a substitute for fossil fuels will

Advertising-Critical Appraisal Essay

Abstract: The paper traces the journey of television in India which started for promoting development and serving the cause of the poor and the underprivileged. While some efforts were made to fulfil these brave goals, television also earned the unholy reputation of being a vehicle for government propaganda. Doordarshan – the public service broadcaster was the only available terrestrial network till 1991 when transnational satellite television channels began to make forays into the country. Soon Indian players entered the television industry thereby leading to enormous expansion. Since then, the very nature of Indian broadcasting has changed. Television has transformed from a medium devoted to development communication and the cause of the marginalised, to a true middle-class medium. Contemporary Indian television is divorced from the realities of the ‘other half of India that lives in abject poverty and deprivation, thus presenting a distorted view of social reality. This paper seeks to examine these and other related issues, and make some suggestions for policy initiatives to put the development agenda back on television. See more: The Issues Concerning Identity Theft Essay Keywords: Indian television, Doordarshan, television and development communication, public service broadcasting, commercialisation of Indian television, broadcast regulation 1 Introduction Out of the different mass media such as newspapers, radio, television, internet among others, the one introduced in the country with the aim of promoting development was television. Television began in India in 1959 as an educational project supported by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the Ford Foundation. Television was based on the model of a public broadcasting system prevalent in many countries of Europe. In independent India, the political leaders recognised the value of information and its use for accelerating the process of development. Thus was started a model of public broadcasting committed to inform, educate and entertain the people. The then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru decided to have full government control over broadcasting for the time being. In retrospect, many observers feel that it was the hangover of the colonial legacy of controlling the media and fears about the power of the mass media to inflame social conflicts that prevented Indian policy makers from thinking creatively about radio and television in the country (Agrawal and Raghaviah, 2006; Jeffrey, 2006). In the decades since 1959, vast changes took place in the television landscape of India. In its early years, apart from being used as an educational tool, television was also misused as a mouthpiece for the central government and the party in power. Programming was primarily in Hindi and much of the news and current affairs focussed on Delhi – the seat of political power (Johnson, 2000; Singhal and Rogers, 2001). Thus, while television was entrusted with the brave goal of promoting national integration, the same medium was found to reinforce a sense of alienation in many parts of the country particularly in the north-eastern states (Joshi, 1985; Ninan, 1995; Page and Crawley, 2001). Despite being the world leader in experimenting with television and satellite technology, India failed to capitalise on the lessons learnt from early development communication projects such as the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) and the much acclaimed Kheda Communication Project (Singhal and Rogers, 2001). Contemporary Indian television is criticised by many for having shifted from its humanitarian goals and becoming a medium for the urban middle class. It is this class which owns and operate most of the television industry in India. It is the same class which is transmitting its own values, principles, and opinions to the rest of India (Johnson, 2000). Consequently, the cause of the poor, underprivileged people for whose development the medium was brought to the country has suffered a setback. Changes in the television system did not occur in India alone. There was a worldwide trend during the 1980s towards the commercialisation of television. Herman and Mc Chesney (2001) argue that during this decade the policies of deregulation and privatisation were applied to national broadcasting and telecommunication systems that were traditionally regulated and often publicly owned and operated. This had a detrimental impact on public service programs which were replaced with more and more entertainment programming. The subsequent sections in the paper examine the divergence between the rhetoric of television for development and actual practice. Some of the ground-breaking initiatives in development communication using television are also captured. Before that, it becomes essential to dwell on the concept of development communication and the role of media is social change. Role of Media in Development It is important at this point to clarify the meaning of „development communication‟ for the term has a wide variety of connotations. Development communication is more than agricultural extension or rural communication. It doesn‟t restrict itself merely to the development of rural areas, nor is it concerned with agricultural development alone. It is oriented towards development whether it be in rural or urban areas, or in areas such as agriculture, family planning, or nutrition (Gupta, 1995). Theory and research suggests that mass communication can act as a positive agent of social change for some people while impeding and obstructing change for others (Johnson, 2000). There are many who dispute the role played by the mass media in bringing about social change (Gupta, 1995; Rodrigues, 2010; Vilanilam, 2005). Gupta (1995) asserts that radio and television are the best sources for creating awareness and interest among the audience regarding a new message or idea â€Å"but when it comes to adoption of the idea, interpersonal sources such as extension agents, friends, neighbours, family members are the most effective† (Gupta, 1995, p.72). In the 1960s, communication scholars and media experts were quite sure that television and the other media of mass communication would help national development. The media were considered the prime motivators of development. Eminent communication scholars such as Daniel Lerner, Wilbur Schramm and Everett M. Rogers, who based their theories of development and media efficacy on the important work of Walter Rostow, namely, The Stages of Economic Growth, stressed that the economic and technological development achieved by the Western nations were the result of increased media use (Vilanilam, 2005). However, since the 1970s the dominant paradigms of development have been challenged by different disciplines (Gupta, 1995; Vilanilam, 2005). It has been realised that distribution of goods and services along with economic and political opportunities among the majority is a pre-requisite for development. An information revolution ushered into a largely private society without appropriate changes in the social structure will not benefit the large majority of the people (Vilanilam, 2005). Everett M. Rogers and many other theorists criticised the dominant paradigm of development (as cited in Rodrigues, 2010) and broadened its definition from one that centred on materialistic economic growth to other social values such as social advancement. The concept of development in the 1970s was expanded as a widely participatory process of social change in a society, intended to bring about both social and material advancement, including greater equality, freedom, and other valued qualities, for the majority of the people by giving them greater control over their environment. Similarly, the new concept of development communication that began to emerge dealt with the promotion of social change leading to improvement in people‟s quality of living, by encouraging better health, higher literacy and higher production of goods through more effective communication (Rodrigues, 2010). There was also a tendency in communication theory and practice to regard the television audience as passive beings moulded and manipulated by those who create the media messages (Johnson, 2000). Many development communication campaigns suffered on this count. However, it is increasingly being realised that for such messages to be effective, people must be involved at all stages – planning, production, and presentation. The need for localisation of development communication has been emphasised by many researchers and commentators (Joshi, 1985; Page and Crawley, 2001; Singhal and Rogers, 2001; Verghese, 1978). The Beginning of Television in India: In the name of Development When television was introduced in the country in 1959, it started as an experiment in social communication for which small teleclubs were organised in Delhi and provided with community television sets. Educational television began in 1961 to support middle and higher secondary school education. Its experiments in teaching of science, mathematics, and language proved successful and received appreciation from many UNESCO experts (Kumar, 2000). A few years later telecasts for farmers began in the form of Krishi Darshan. It was telecast on Wednesdays and Fridays for 20 minutes each day and served 80 villages (around Delhi) provided with community television sets. This pilot project was initiated by the Department of Atomic Energy in collaboration with the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, All India Radio, the Indian Agricultural Research Institute and the Delhi Administration (Kumar, 2000). Vikram Sarabhai, the architect of India‟s satellite communication experiments, in 1969 presented a paper entitled â€Å"Television for Development† at the Society for International Development Conference in New Delhi. The idea that the backward countries can and should tap the most advanced communication technologies including television for leapfrogging into rapid economic growth and social transformation was first presented here (Joshi, 1985). Indian television in its infancy was managed by All India Radio. In 1976, television was separated from radio and given a new name – Doordarshan. This adjunct arrangement is seen by some commentators as an impediment to the natural development of television in its initial years (Page and Crawley, 2001). The public service broadcaster – Doordarshan has been used over the years to deliver a number of useful messages. These include messages on family planning, immunization, nutrition of the mother and the child, the need to stem bias against the girl child, among others. Experience suggests that some communication campaigns have worked better than others. A key reason for the failure of many development communication campaigns was the lack of co-ordination with field level agencies (Ninan, 1995; Singhal and Rogers, 2001). Ninan (1995) explains just why the family planning message, the mainstay of development communication messages on television, failed to work. She attributes the failure to the inability of state agencies to provide back-up facilities in rural areas that were required to make the campaign successful. On the other hand, certain messages conveyed through television have worked well. Notable in this category are the health, hygiene, sanitation, and oral rehydration messages which people have adopted to a large extent (Ninan, 1995). Educational Television is another area in which Doordarshan has made significant contribution. Ever since the inception of television in India in 1959, one major responsibility entrusted to it is to provide support for the education system in the country. School television (STV) was launched in October 1961 as an organised, systematic and sequential support to formal school instruction. Teachers appreciated STV as a tool for teaching and presentation of content (Kumar, 2000). The country-wide classroom initiative of the University Grants Commission dedicated to higher education started its telecast on Doordarshan in 1984 with one-hour educational programmes. Though the urban youth may not even be aware of such programmes, these were found to be very useful in the small towns and remote areas of the country where people had less access to other sources of information (Ninan, 1995). In order to boost educational telecasts, a satellite channel devoted exclusively to education Gyandarshan was launched in 2000 in collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Indira Gandhi National Open University. Gyandarshan offers interesting and informative programmes of relevance to special categories – pre-school kids, primary and secondary school children, college and university students, youth seeking career opportunities, housewives, adults, and many others. In addition to educational fare, programmes from abroad are also broadcast to offer viewers a window to the world (Agrawal and Raghaviah, 2006). For three decades ever since the inception of television, the dominant theme was communication for development so as to improve the quality of life for the vast rural majority. The logic was that in an underdeveloped, largely rural country; television could be used to convey messages on agricultural improvement, health care, and family planning to millions of people without depending on the extension infrastructure such a task would normally require. But the irony was that none of this was done imaginatively or consistently (Ninan, 1995). Commenting on the weaknesses of India‟s educational and instructional broadcasts, the Verghese Committee set up in 1977 to suggest an autonomous framework for broadcasting, noted that in the absence of co-ordination with concerned government departments and educational institutions; the health, farm and educational broadcasts have not been very effective. Another area where it felt the broadcast media was found inadequate was in promoting social justice and educating the underprivileged about their rights (Verghese, 1978). Despite some such shortcomings, Indian television also has to its credit significant initiatives of promoting social change in rural areas. Notable among them are SITE, the educational telecasts and the Kheda Communication Project. One of the most extensive educational and social research projects, perhaps the largest national television experiment in the world, has been SITE (Vilanilam, 2005). Some of these landmark initiatives are discussed in the next section. Landmark Initiatives in Development Communication using Television The journey of television in India took a new turn with the launch of the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment in 1975-76. It was a one year pilot-project using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration‟s ATS-6 satellite to broadcast educational messages through satellite to 2400 villages in the six states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Its objectives were to improve rural primary education, provide teacher training, improve agriculture, health and hygiene, and nutritional practices and contribute to family planning and national integration (Singhal and Rogers, 2001). SITE was â€Å"an unqualified success in terms of hardware but the software wasn‟t specific enough to the area and audience in content or language, and therefore was not so useful and comprehensible† (Joshi, 1985, p.32). The important lesson learnt was that the software has to be area-specific, relevant to the needs and aspirations of the audience, and has to be in the local language (Page and Crawley, 2001; Singhal and Rogers, 2001). The Kheda Communication Project (KCP) launched in 1976 remains to-date the most innovative experiment in using television for empowerment and participatory rural development. Initially known as Pij TV, it used a one-kilowatt transmitter. The Pij transmitter could be received in a radius of about 30 km from Pij village (Agrawal and Raghaviah, 2006). It was India‟s first effort at decentralised community television broadcasting and received the prestigious UNESCO-IPDC prize for rural communication effectiveness. Some 650 community television sets were provided to 400 villages and installed in public places. One of the reasons for the success of the KCP was due to its ability to tap into the existing development infrastructure of Kheda district. It collaborated with extension agencies working in dairying, agriculture and health services, with local banks, cooperatives and employment exchanges (Singhal and Rogers, 2001). The accent was on participatory programme making, the themes were often local, dared to deal with controversial subjects such as caste discrimination, alcoholism etc., and for the first time systemic audience research was carried out (Thomas, 2010). Recognising it contribution, UNESCO noted, â€Å"Kheda was an exceptional example of the combining of modern technologies with a participatory approach to communication. The project employed traditional cultural expressions of a rural community in the creation of its audiovisual programmes, while using modern evaluation techniques for its programme planning. Overall, this project proved to be a good example of the applications of 9 communication for the promotion of human development, particularly of the rural poor, women and children† (UNESCO website, 2011, para. 14). Despite being such a success, the Kheda Project was carried out in splendid isolation from the mainstream and its lessons were not allowed to influence the development and programme trajectory adopted by Doordarshan (Thomas, 2010).