Report on International Development

Executive Summary The country of Syria â€Å"is an Asian country located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, bordering Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan and Palestine to the south, the Mediterranean Sea and Lebanon to the west (Benn 2010 p. 138). Some people like to refer to it as the Euphrates, famous from industrialization and civilization of Mesopotamia.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Report on International Development – Syria specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Syria is in the headlines currently for all the wrong reasons one may say. These reasons are based on the riots to demonstrate about the politics of the country and the struggle for ‘democracy’. Devlin indicates that, â€Å"The People and Their Culture Syria is a Muslim society, that is to say, six out of seven Syrians identify themselves as Muslims† (1983 p. 25). And the â€Å"Syrians still resent th e loss of so many lands and peoples formerly associated with their country. Syria’s people are mostly Arabs, and the major religion is Islam, although there are other ethnic and religious minorities† (Morrison and Woog, 2008 p. 16). Once a revolution is experienced in a state, there may be many reasons for that to happen. One may be able to emancipate people from political tyranny or poor state of the country. Whichever the reasons are, this paper examines why Syria is classified as a developing country. The World Bank definition of developing countries includes all low income and middle income countries (except economies with a population of less than 30000), including countries in transition (Ross and Harmsen, 2001 p.4). The question then should be, is Syria a developing economy country or is it developed? The paper tries to examine the situation in the country focusing mainly on the status of its economy and why the country is a developing country. Statement of the P roblem In the recent past, Syria has hit the headlines because of its security situation. The security situation became worse because of the uprising popularly known as the Arab uprising which hit countries like Libya, Morocco, Egypt and now Syria which are Arab countries. It is rare for the masses to rise against their governments in protest. Uprising usually comes in when people realise they are being oppressed or have been made political slaves of a given family lineage. The situation in the Arab countries has been associated with long serving heads of state. With the world economy dwindling and food prices escalating, the masses have experienced inflation in their houses. Generally, people are facing extreme conditions and the gap between the rich and the poor is widening which may make people to revolt.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Considering the situation in Syria , what would be the state of the economy of Syria? Developing, underdeveloped and developed countries are the terms used to explain the economic status of a country. The characteristics which are common to these countries are specified by the definition itself. Poverty, income and accumulated capital backwardness in technique by the standards of North America, Western Europe and Australia. But even with respect of these characteristics, there are big differences between the under developed countries and the rich under developed countries and is close to the poorest advanced country (Perthes, 2004 p.4). The state of the economy of one country as compared to the other determines whether it will trade competitively. The economic growth of a country as well depends mainly on the policies and legislation that encourages business activities while protecting the consumer. The work of the Central Bank to control the flow of money and curbing of money crimes is also very important. With this information, the basis of this study is set and the main point is to analyse and conclude that Syria is a developing country. It will also be important to analyse the actual state of the economy of Syria. In summative phrase, the main theme is to prove that Syria is considered a developing country. Objectives The main objective of this report is to explain why Syria is a developing country. To achieve this objective, it would be subdivided to more discrete objectives that can be quantified as follows: To find out the indicators of underdevelopment To find out the remedies put in place by the government in improving the state of the economy in Syria To find out the problems preventing the moving out of underdevelopment in Syria and why are the remedies are not being effected effectively What is the political will in the improvement of the economic status What are factors contributing mainly to the state of the economy in Syria As this report tries to sum up the objectives above, i t is proper to state that in Syria, â€Å"a state agricultural policy also becomes more essential, now that the obstacles to expansion of the cultivated area have been removed by mechanization and water control it is time to think of better farming† (Taheri 2002 p. 22). Perhaps these statements that may have been made years ago would have made sense now that the economy is far from a developed country’s economy. Ethical Considerations on the Report The work reported in this work is purely based on the available information from academic and credible internet sources. The report is a collection of information trying to analyse the state of the economy of Syrian as indicated by the scholarly and other peoples work. The report is none biased to the best of the ability of the writer. However, some of the information may not be verified but the sources of the information are credible. Extreme care is to taken in giving fair reporting of the information and as accurate as po ssible. It would be awkward to imply religion, racial or even economic discrimination. The careful selection of the sources of information presented in this report gives it the credibility that may be desired.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Report on International Development – Syria specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Other issues relating to copying someone else’s work without person is well taken care of by citation and actual request for information. Otherwise, all information relating to information rights were strictly adhered to. The work is also presented in a way that does not prejudice the Syrian people in any way. The Economic Status as Indicated by World Bank Economy (2010) GDP $59.4 billion Real growth rate (2010) 3.0%. Per capita GDP (2010) $2,893. Natural resources Petroleum, phosphates, iron, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower. Agricu lture Products–wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets, and other fruits and vegetables; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, and other dairy products. Arable land–33%. Industry: Types–petroleum, textiles, pharmaceuticals, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining, cement, oil seed extraction, and car assembly. Trade: Exports (2010 est.)–$12.84 billion: crude oil, minerals, petroleum products, fruits and vegetables, cotton fibre, textiles, clothing, meat and live animals, wheat. Major markets (2007)–Italy 22%, France 11%, Saudi Arabia 10%, Iraq 5%, Egypt 4%, Jordan 4%. Imports (2008 est.)–$17.2 billion f.o.b.: machinery and transport equipment, electric power machinery, food and livestock, metal and metal products, chemicals and chemical products, plastics, yarn, and paper. Major suppliers (2007)–Russia 10%, China 8%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Ukraine 6%, South Korea 5%, Turkey 4%. In 2010 the European Union (EU) was Syria’s biggest trading partner, accounting for 22.5% of Syrian trade, followed by Iraq (13.3%), Saudi Arabia (9%) and China (6.9%.) Turkey was in fifth place with 6.6% and Russia was ninth with 3%. *according to International Monetary Fund (IMF 2010) statistics The data above shows the average transactions in terms of the economic activities being carried out by the Syrian people in income generation. These factors generally explain the state of the economy. The relationship between exports and economic growth, including the direction of causality between the two variables has been a subject of much debate in the international economics literature over the past two decades (Kaushik, Arbenser and Klein 2008 p. 155). It is vividly clear that the relationship between imports and exports of a particular country mainly determines the state of the economy. Despite this fact, other players may come like the ability of the citizens to afford basic needs like food, cloth ing and shelter. From the above report of World Bank, it is clear that Syria is a developing country. According to Benn (2010, p.8), â€Å"in its extreme form, it is characterized by lack of basic human needs such as adequate and nutritious food, clothing, clean water and health services.† Agba et al (2009, p. 1) believe that poverty is a state where people lack basic human commodities which are inadequate food, clothes and housing. If the poverty level of a country is that one that 20% or more people are living below the poverty line then, even if the country has a balanced importation versus exportation, it is terribly underdeveloped. When we look at the economic indicators in comparison with the population, an assumption that one can make is that the country is a middle economy country. A middle economy country is a country that is developing at a very high rate per year. The Syria crisis could be a deterrence of the growth. The installation of proper development policies that encourage investment both local and international would be a brilliant thing that any government must do. Another thing is that the government must be in a position to work ways of increasing exports in other goods other than petroleum products and tourism so as to encourage foreign income.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The World Bank (2012) classifies countries using some Criteria. According to World Bank (2012), â€Å"Economies are divided according to 2010 GNI per capita, calculated using the World Bank Atlas method.† The groups are classified as; low income, $1,005 or less; lower middle income, $1,006 – $3,975; upper middle income, $3,976 – $12,275; and high income, $12,276 or more (â€Å"Data† 2012). From the assumption, Syria is a developing economy. Array of Indicators What would be the indicators of underdevelopment in Syria? A nation that is developing is defined as country whose cumulative average income is much below that of industrialised states. Such economies are characterised by low volumes of exports and traditional agricultural techniques. Food supply in these countries does not meet the demands of the population. â€Å"Developing nations have also been called underdeveloped nations,† (Hirsch, Kett and Trefil 2102 pp. 316). Having this in mind, on e can be able to list the indicators of Syria as a developing country. From the IMF classification, it is evident that Syria is a middle lower income country. According to Syria Agriculture (2012), the following indicators are listed: â€Å" Farming methods are crude: The average farmer’s reliance on out dated and inefficient irrigation methods is a major obstacle to improving agricultural outputs. The introduction of drip, sprinkler, and subsurface irrigation methods is handicapped because of the limited amount of money available to the common farmer. Because of these shortcomings, Syria is susceptible to food shortages during long droughts.† The decline of oil reserves, therefore, casts a shadow of uncertainty on the sustainability of the current Syrian economic program as oil revenues decline, the government could be faced with hard times (Cavendish 2006 pp. 280). This kind of economic activity is serious pegged on the amount of the reserves that are available for export. The economy mainly depends on the oil industry but it is affected by extremist activities and terrorism. Sometimes the country has been put under economic sanctions which are not healthy. According to Sukkar (2006, p.33), â€Å"Al-Utri attributed the moderate performance of the Syrian economy to eight negative factors which will be explored more fully in the subsequent analysis: Weakness in the performance of some economic sectors and low personal income Population growth pressures Dependency of export on declining oil production Small return on investment Low levels of national and foreign investments Low productivity and growing unemployment Low levels of wages and corresponding low levels of incentives Poor technical standards in the production sectors.† The indicators listed above are characteristics of an unstable middle economy of the state of Syria. It is clear that if there is a problem in any economy in its production and labour channels, then one can conc lude that the economy is facing hard times in the economic development of the country. With the facts presented, it is evident that the economy of this country needs a number of remedies in order to forge forward and move away from a low middle income economy to a higher middle income economy as the oil reserves are getting depleted. Therefore, one can conclude that Syria is a developing country (United Nations Development Program, 2012). Remedies of the indicators of Underdevelopment In every situation a country gets into, there are avenues through which it can forge its prosperity ahead. This purely depends on the political will and the workmanship of the people of the country. The policies that will be designed and followed to the later will enable the country to do great things in economic development. Syria put in place such remedies to the obstacles of development in the country and are examined below. At times, the economic policies of a country do not rhyme with the demand o f its local market thereby, going against each other. This in turn makes it difficult for the government to go beyond its boundaries to look for foreign markets (â€Å"AKDN† 2012). The country is using development partners in wealth creation and foreign investments to increase employment opportunities which are not enough for the ever growing population. A high population may be a very good market for locally produced goods but if production is not sufficient, there is extreme pressure on the available products. That will cause an undesirable effect of high prices and occasional lack of commodities for sale. The increase in population should be looked at carefully and be controlled as much as possible with regard to the growth of the economy. For instance, â€Å"the Aga Khan foundation introduced the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture which are proposing investments that will combine tourism development with conservation and re- use of landmark monuments, rehabilitation of historic areas, urban planning, and wide-ranging socio-economic development to boost living conditions in historic areas and create new opportunities for residents† (Aga Khan Development Network 2012). This may help in the improvement of the tourism sector which will increase employment opportunities in Syria. Talking about policies that affect both international and local business in the country is a thing that the government has been trying to do in order to make the country sail ahead. Simmers et al (2008, p.67) stated that, â€Å"as indicated by the U.S. Library of Congress, spot shortages of basic commodities occurred frequently and industry operated far below capacity because of routine power outages. Foreign exchange reserves plummeted, the trade deficit widened, and real gross domestic product (GDP) growth fell as economic difficulties compounded. Although the government instituted limited reforms to respond to the burgeoni ng crisis, Syria’s pressing economic problems required a radically restructured economic policy to improve future economic performance†. It is clear that the policy makers and implementers have not thought of far reaching effects of the policies they make and try to implement. Its trade partners like Iraq have been in a series of crisis activities which have been making trade with its neighbours very difficult. It is recorded that Iraq that was under war had sanctions but since Syria is its neighbour, it was allowed to trade with it (Simmmers et al 2008, p.9). As it engaged in the trade of essential commodities, the country helped Iraq to smuggle oil to other countries which was against the sanctions that were put. This made Syria to be charged at the United Nations Security council and later, Iraq was attached and it lost because the pipeline they purported they were trying was destroyed. These and many more instability issues affected largely its endeavours in economi c policies hence, dragging it to be a developing economy (Aldosari 2002, p.6). Modernisation theory, â€Å"sees economic development as a process by which traditional societies become more complex and differentiated, in order for economic development to take place, modernisation theory proposes that countries have to change their traditional attitudes, values and institutions† (Andersen and Taylor 2007 p. 252). Syria however, did not embrace much change in its development. For instance, it did not open the internet services as fast and the telecommunication facilities were so much controlled by the government. If some of these ways of disseminating information cannot be liberalised so that people can communicate freely and effectively, a country may lag behind. A number of Syrians are Muslim extremists which mean that they had to conserve some values that may not be good for economic development. An example perhaps could be the fact that Muslim women cannot work in a bar woul d really affect the tourism sector in one way or another. Things like satellite TV, Facebook, twitter and other social networks were not allowed in the country. The information system was strictly controlled implying that there was no innovation or even copying from the outer world. However, since the effects of these restrictions were evident, the government allowed people to access social sites. In February 2011, Syria announced on a Wednesday that it would reopen access to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. For the first time since 2007, Syrians were able to access these sites freely without going through proxy servers abroad (â€Å"France 24†, 2011). As the news spread, the internet activity was evident because people who were under restriction and had devised mechanisms of manoeuvring around found using the facility very easy. Some sites and blogs were never left open to the public. This may have been confused with westernisation which in their view is a bad t hing. The hate of the so called Western Culture would have influenced the thinking. This in itself indicates signs of a developing country. Analysis of the Alternative Perspectives Dependency In any country, the dependency ratio is very critical in its economic status. If the economy’s population is largely containing working youth with less people depending on them, the growth of the economy may be fast. The Age dependency ratio of the old (% of working age population) in Syria was last reported at 6.67% in 2010, and the age dependency ratio (% of working-age population) in Syria was last reported at 69.05 in 2010 according to a World Bank report released in 2011 (Trading Economics 2012). This indicates the population that depends on the working population is very high hence, a slow growth in development. If this won’t change in a few years, then Syria may as well retard back to the low income economy rather than a developing economy that it is right now. Post Colonia lism Chaitani’s goal is to show that the approaches to economic relations between Syria and Lebanon before and after independence did not necessarily follow the lines that one would have expected (2008 p. 268). He first lists three main groups of economic and political voices which are Syrian Arab nationalists, Lebanese Arab nationalists and Lebanese nationalists. These divisions within the Syrian people did not work well for the economy of the country. Some of them were seen to be detrimental to the economy of the country because of the extremist’s activities within the Syrian economy. It is clear that a divided nation with political agitation is not healthy to economic development but scares aware investments. Localism In plain words, localism is the use of political philosophies which prioritize the local, that mainly support local production and consumption of goods, local control of government, and promotion of local history, local culture and local identity. Clea rly, this is something that can affect trade directly in the Syrian Republic. Trade is something that must involve exchange of goods and services. Syria has to be ready to buy goods from countries it sells oil to. Critical Feminist Hooks indicates that, â€Å"feminism is a movement to end sexism, sexist exploitation, and exploitation† (2000 p. 1). For sure, the past was so blurred because any economic opportunity was mainly directed to men. This meant that women cannot do certain things in the society just because they are women. This has remained an issue in Syria for quite long because of the traditional and religious beliefs. Country’s that embraced the feminism strategy surely realised changes in lifestyles because the number of dependants on the working was drastically reduced. For Syria, this is still a challenge. Religious Views Other factors that can affect the economy are things that people believe in and which define their way of life. Religion can be defined as the spiritual beliefs and practices of an individual (Simmers et al. 2008 p. 291). Religion obviously affects people’s way of life and their day to day activities. Some religious practices are backward whereas others enable people to practice moderation in all that they do which is a good thing. In Syria however, Islamic extremism has made the economy to have little or no progress at all. Conclusion In conclusion, it is clear that Syria is a low middle economy country referred to as a developing country. With its numerous economic issues like unemployment, classify it as an underdeveloped country. Its economy solely depends on oil production, tourism and commerce. Industrialisation is not coming out clearly. Another issue is that it has been in various political crises, its neighbours too have experienced political instabilities which has adversely affected its economy from time to time. Its implication of helping Iraq to smuggle oil outside the sanctions that had been pu t on them was a setback in its economic operations. Reference List Agba, M., et al 2009, Poverty, Food Insecurity and the Rebranding Question in Nigeria, Canadian Social Science, Vol. 5, No. 6,Pp., Canadian Research Development Centre of Sciences and Cultures. Aga Khan Development Network 2012. Web. Aldosari, A. 2002, Middle East, western Asia, and northern Africa, Marshall Cavendish, Singapore. Andersen, M. Taylor, H. 2007, Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society, Belmont, California. Benn, T. 2010, Muslim Women and Sport, Taylor Francis Publishers, New York. Cavendish, M. 2006, World and Its Peoples, Marshall Cavendish, New York, NY. Chaitani, Y. 2007, Post-Colonial Syria and Lebanon: The Decline of Arab Nationalism and the Triumph of the State, Journal of Islamic Studies, Vol. 19, no. 2, Tauris, London. Hirsch, E., Kett, J. Trefil, A. 2002, The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New York, NY. Hooks, B. 2000, Feminism Is for Everybody: Passionat e Politics, Pluto Press, London. IMF, 2010, Syria, Journal on Syrian Arab Republic, Vol 167, International Monetary Fund Publication Services, Washington D.C. Kaushik K., Arbenser, L., Klein K. 2008, Export Growth, Export Instability, Investment and Economic Growth in India: a Time Series Analysis, The Journal of Developing Areas, Vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 155+, via ProQuest LLC. Morrison, J. Woog, A. 2008, Syria, 2nd Edition, InfoBase Publishing, New York. Perthes, V. 2004, Economic Challenges and Policy Responses. Web. Ross, D. and Harmsen, R. 2001, Official Financing for Developing Countries, International Monetary Fund Press, Washington, DC. Simmmers, A., et al. 2008, Diversified Health Occupations, 7th Edition, Cengage Learning, Clifton Park, NY. Sukkar, N. 2006, Pitfalls Along Reform Road, Oxford Business Group, Lebanon. Syria Agriculture 2012, Information about Agriculture in Syria. Web. Taheri, A, 2002, An Alternative Syrian Voice: Meet Nabil Sukkar, National Review Online Journ al, Vol 3, No. 2, Syrian Embassy. The World Bank 2012, How we Classify Countries. Trading Economics 2012, Age Dependency Ratio: Syria. Web. United Nations Development Program 2006, Human Development Report. Web. This report on Report on International Development – Syria was written and submitted by user Hugo Mccarthy to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Attentional Deficit, Alcoholism, and P300 Amplitude essays

Attentional Deficit, Alcoholism, and P300 Amplitude essays Two of the largest issues concerning youth in the United States today are psychiatric illness and drug abuse. Increasingly large numbers of young people are being diagnosed with various neurological problems, such as depression, learning disabilities, and behavioral problems. In fact, the incidence of children diagnosed with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, has risen from 4.4 million in 1997 to six million today. Drug use and abuse amongst young adults is also on the rise, with alcohol second only to cigarettes as the drug most commonly abused by teenagers. This paper will explore the neurological properties behind attention and alcohol abuse in relation to deficiencies in cognitive functioning; specifically that of working memory and attentional processing. Such deficiencies are validated by decreased amplitude at positive 300 ms (P3). in the measurement of event-related potential for certain cognitive tasks. These shared properties, along with other psychological evidence, show a possible correlation between ADHD and alcohol abuse, and consequently reveal many implications involving diagnoses and treatment of such disorders. One article that is particularly relevant to these issues is "Meta-Analysis of P300 Amplitude From Males at Risk for Alcoholism," by John Polich, Vicki E. Pollock, and Floyd E. Bloom. Since P3 amplitude is dependant on many variables and is therefore very hard measure in an experimental setting, this article is basically an analysis of numerous studies, all if which include testing for correlations between abnormal waveforms at P300 ms. and risk for alcoholism. In addition, all the studies reviewed in the article are concerned with the comparison of P3 measurements in control subjects and sons of alcoholics; this criterion was instated given that the only conclusive information available at the time (the article was published in 1998) regarding genetic risk for alcoholism related to...

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Virtual communities Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Virtual communities - Article Example t block or the other side of planet of any individual who is a part of a computer-mediated social group, as well as the potential benefits for personal or societal wellbeing of belonging to such communities. From virtual discussion blogs, networking communities and play-station networks to virtual shops, jobs, and even virtual classrooms, this widespread medium is phenomenal for bringing about such a greater sense of community. This concept/term has become so pervasive in its use that there is a propensity to blend all social activity into a sole concept and disregard the diversity of virtual frameworks (Renninger 2002, p.293). The World Wide Web has made it simpler for individuals to form virtual communities. Geographically dispersed, these communities are used for multiple social and professional groups to hold discussions, share activities, and build strong ties among members; they have become central to motivating people to get wired. There are many examples of virtual communities that serve different purposes and target different segments. For instance, for independent contractors and consultants, About.com is a key example of a virtual community that can be utilized to assist a distributed workforce. This community provides discussion platforms, online training, and other resource areas for assistance. Moreover, another example of a virtual community is BlackPlanet.com, which specifically caters to the African American society. It allows the Black minority to interact, by offering email, free personal pages, chat rooms, forums, news, instant messaging, and Internet telephony, as well as online events and special promotions. Furthermore, this community features online channels which cover a variety of topics, like career, health, money, politics, news, music, beauty, love, sex, and spirituality etc.; it also has a ‘Black Expressions’ book club (McKay 2000, p.157). Virtual communities go far and beyond to cover all segments, for example, for gaming and

Accounting and Finance Degree Reflection

Accounting and Finance Degree Reflection Accounting has always been an interest of mine. Since I was a child, I have always been good in calculation, which makes it clearer that accountancy would be a good choice. After years of studying it, I realised accounting is not only about numbers but theory that require various skills in order to perform a good accounting. The increase number of students in the accounting field has made employment extremely competitive. Major findings suggest that, employers require a broad range of generic and professional skills in graduates to add value to business. In the past, generic skills was broad in that it was usually associated with those skills developed outside the technical curriculum. More recently the scope of the term generic skills has extended to emphasize relevance to graduate outcomes in terms of the world of work and, more specifically, employability (Barrie, 2004). The mixture of skills is necessary by the employers as it helps them solve the diversity of business challenges . Generic and professional skills that employers require The embedding of generic and professional skills in higher education curriculum has been of interest for many years. Skills are important for life-long learning and employability. B. Jackling and P. De Lange (2009) suggested that the skills most desired by employers include communication skills, analytical skills and team skills. Communication skill is particularly essential to accounting profession for which interaction between the providers and the recipients of information. For accounting it is important to starts with gathering and processing of information and end with communication of processed information. Previous research shows that accounting graduates experience communication problem in early employment (McLaren, 1990: Pattern and Williams, 1990). Despite that accounting curriculum has positively contributed to the development of written communication skills (Zaid, O. and Abraham, A. 1994) Analytical skills is relating to using analysis or logical reasoning to solve a problem. It is the ability to visualize and solve complicated problems while making accurate and informed decision. Employers are looking for people that are able to think critically and its consequence. For example, one could be good at spread sheets, can manipulate data effectively but they arent good at figuring out whether the information is reasonable or realistic (Ballantine, J. A. Larres, D. M. 2004). There are an increasing number of companies that want employees to work in a collaborative environment in order to respond quickly in an environment with intense complexity. Avery (2001) proposes teamwork as and individual skills, meaning each individual in a team must take responsibility for the process necessary to accomplish a similar goal. Teamwork is used a lot in the field of accounting such as complete tasks, evaluate clients and report and analyse financial statements. Learning outcomes that are relevant to achieving these skills The degree that Im currently pursuing is Accounting and Finance. The module chosen from this course is Financial Accounting and Reporting (U50035), delivered in semester two of the 2011-2012 academic year, and Financial Accounting Theory (U50081), delivered in semester one of the 2012-2013 academic year. As a credit entry student, I took a module in year one similar to Introduction to Accounting delivered in semester one 2010-2011 academic year. The learning outcomes from the modules in the area of financial accounting were designed to provide students with opportunities to build their employability profile alongside developing their knowledge. The modules were designed to encourage students to build their skill base as part of their way to higher level of intellectual development. In my second year I did Financial Accounting and Reporting module. Throughout this module, I manage to develop some skills and achieve some learning outcomes. For instance outline the regulatory framework for financial reporting which applies to UK and international companies and also using financial and other reports to appraise the performance, financial situation and cash position of companies. We were given two coursework assignments: one individual and one group. The individual coursework is regarding IAS 19, Employee Benefits that has been amended. At a glance, the coursework is intimidating because there are substantial amount of research and reading. They reduced my motivation. However, as I started to read, common key term such as International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), defined benefits, termination benefits, service cost, net interest, re-measurements tend to appear in most of the articles. The skimming phase confirmed that my initial problems came from jargons and new terms about the IAS 19. It taught me to use critical and analytical skill in order to find key words and phrases, which help me to read long articles. The second assignment of this module is to do a group presentation on the financial performance, financial situation and cash position of Good Energy Group plc. Further, I have improved my presentation and writing skill because this coursework is presented in a professional report with graphs and financial data. We have limited time to carry out research and we were worn off by the intensive lectures. This is where I found out how time management and teamwork skills play as important elements for success. We distributed the workload among ourselves and set a time frame for completion. Group members were to adhere to the time frame stipulated. This is how we manage to complete a simple presentation, with many hidden hard work behind our success. Currently Im doing Financial Accounting Theory module. There are several learning outcomes from this module one of it is to understand the function and operation of Accounting in a range of contexts, informed by current thinking and research in the discipline. We were given homework almost every time after a seminar. In week 4 we were asked to read a few articles regarding revisiting the conceptual framework. This article refers that the framework needs updating and refining, the inconsistencies need to be eliminated because framework being less helpful in providing guidance for standard setting decisions. During the seminar in week 5, we then discussed our findings in a small group of three. Through this Ive learned a lot more than self-reading, the interaction has definitely improved my communication skills. One strategy describes by Cunningham (1998) to develop creative and critical thinking skills in students are by analysing real life case studies. During the seminars, students were asked to analyse articles provided by the lecturer. Learning outcome such as able to demonstrate the use of current accepted technical language of accounting and accounting practices internationally is achieved. A constructive feedback is given on the spot after a question is raised. This will assists students to develop a questioning attitude as well as able to update their knowledge. Introduction to Accounting is a first year compulsory module, which introduces student to certain principles and techniques of accounting. The module will be concerned with the processes used to record, summarize and present accounting data. The objective of this part of the module is to enable students to prepare company financial statements. Learning outcome after having completed this module is the ability to prepare a set of financial statements for a company from a trial balance and incorporating a variety of simple adjustments. For example when learning how to produce a financial statement, it requires technical and theoretical knowledge once I discovered how to present the information, thats when I develop non-verbal communication skills (Ballantine, J. A. Larres, D. M. 2004). When I started my first semester, I find myself struggling for time. My lifestyle has become chaotic, as I have to juggle between school, work and family. I felt tired everyday and have no motivation to complete my tasks. This is mainly due to my poor time management. As part of the module, an educational talk from one of the accounting firm, Ernst and Young has made me realize that many things could be achieved with proper time management. A person that works at least 12 hours a day still find himself some time spend with family and for his favourite sports. Conclusion This reflective statement is a learning tool, which will help students better understand, learn and reflect on issues covered in the entire course and in other relevant areas. I believe that a strong academic background is a fundamental issue for student but might not be enough in indicating whether or not a student will be successful in a particular work environment. Throughout this course I personally think that the modules I have taken have been benefiting me in terms of the aspects in which I have learned. It is designed to encourage communication skill, teamwork, critical thinking and analytical skill. This is what employers seek for in a potential candidate. Researching on coursework have opened my eyes and made me aware of any jargons that come across during reading. In the final (third) year, I feel as if I have a great deal of knowledge of the information that I looked at for these modules. The use of case studies, group-based learning, and task designed to address communica tion and presentation skills are suitable for developing appropriate competencies in accounting graduates for future employment.

Things Fall Apart Essay examples -- essays research papers

Things Fall Apart   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Chinua Achebe?s Things Fall Apart is a narrative story that follows the life of an African man called Okonkwo. The setting of the book is in eastern Nigeria, on the eve of British colonialism in Africa. The novel illustrates Okonkwo?s struggles, triumphs, and his eventual downfall, all of which basically coincide with the Igbo?s society?s struggle with the Christian religion and British government. In this essay I will give a biographical account of Okonwo, which will serve to help understand that social, political, and economic institutions of the Igbos.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the beginning of the novel Okonkwo was a fairly wealthy and well-respected member of the Igbo society, but it had not always been that way for him. Okonkwo?s father, Unoka, had been a lazy man who would rather play his flute than take care of his crops. Unoka was said to be a charming man, and was able to borrow large amounts of money from his friends, but was never able to pay it back. As a result, Okonkwo has grown up very poor and ashamed of his lazy father. At one point in the book, Okonkwo remembers hearing one of his playmates calling his father an ?agbala,? which was the word for woman, but all described a man who had taken not titles (13). Okonkwo never forgets this, and actually develops a deep-seated fear that people will think that he is weak like his father. As I mentioned, Okonkwo became very well known, and his wealth and prestige rested solely on his own personal achievements. Okonkwo had received no inheritance from his poor father, no land and no money. As a young man, Okonkwo had been very successful wrestler, and as he grew older he became a well-known warrior. He was said to have brought home five human heads, which was a great achievement even for men who were much older that he was. At the beginning of the story, Okonkwo had obtained two titles, and had the respect of every man from all nine villages of Umuofia. Symbols of his wealth and prestige were his family and his compound. As I mentioned earlier, Okonwo had received no inheritance, and at the time of this story Okonkwo is still fairly young, and the fact that he had three wives, several children, and a very productive piece of land showed that Okonkwo was a very diligent worker. ?Okonkwo ruled his household with a heavy hand. His wives, especially... ... a meeting, Okonkwo, knowing that his clansmen would do nothing to drive the white men away form their villages, killed a messenger. He then went home and committed suicide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Okonkwo is often described as being similar to characters in Greek tragedies. Okonkwo knew that the end of his clan was coming, and that they would do nothing to prevent it from happening. He took his life out of desperation. He had struggled his whole life to become a respected member of his community, and suddenly his world is turned upside down and changed forever because of an accident. Okonkwo sees that he is fighting a losing battle, so he quits. Suicide was one of the biggest offenses that could be committed against the earth, and Okonkwo?s own clansmen could not bury him. Okonkwo?s death symbolizes the end of patriarchy in Umuofia. The last page of the book is from the point of view of the white Commissioner, who notes that he wants to include a paragraph on Okonkwo?s life in his book entitled The Pacification of the Primitive Tribes of Lower Niger. Okonkwo?s struggles, triumphs and defeats are all reduced to a paragraph, much like his culture and society will be reduced.

Designing Compensation Systems and Employee Benefits Essay

A compensation system has an important role in a company. An ideal compensation system can motivate employees to enhance their job performance. An organization can use adequate compensation to retain talented employees. Retaining talented employees is important because they help organizations grow and earn high profits. A well-constructed compensation system is the key to an organization being successful and prosperous (â€Å"Importance of Compensation,† 2007). To further elaborate on the importance of compensation, the differences amongst job analysis and job evaluation and how these practices aid in creating internally consistent job structures will be described, and details will be given on the challenges that occur when creating compensations that are both internally consistent and market competitive. Also, the fairness of merit increases based upon quartiles will be discussed, the fundamental concept of insurance and how this concept applies to health care will be discussed, and the changes in the business environment and society that may affect the importance of legally required benefits will be described. Describe the Differences Between Job Analysis and Job Evaluation and How These Practices Help Establish Internally Consistent Job Structures Job analysis and job evaluation are the key to creating internally consistent job structures. An internally consistent compensation system will define the relative worth of each job amongst all jobs in a company. Companies use a basic principle when creating internally consistent compensation systems, which is jobs that require higher abilities, more responsibilities, and more intricate job tasks should be compensated more than jobs that require lower abilities, lesser responsibilities, and fewer intricate job tasks. Internally consistent job structures recognize distinctions in job traits that allow compensation managers to set pay based upon the distinctions. Furthermore, compensation professionals create internally consistent job structures by using job analysis and job evaluation. A job analysis will reveal the duties as well as compensation factors such as skill and effort that are required to sufficiently perform the job. The results of the job analysis will be used to conduct the job evaluation. Job evaluation will create pay differentials for jobs within a company. The results of the job analysis help compensation professionals set pay rates by quantifying the main similarities and differences between jobs (Martocchio, 2011). In the end, the job evaluation will categorize jobs according to their relative worth in the company. The relative worth of a job will be determined based upon compensation factors such as skill, job duties, and working conditions. Finally, job evaluation will guarantee internal equity because the value of jobs will be determined based upon compensation factors (Williams, 2012). Describe the Challenges in Developing Compensations That are Both Internally Consistent and Market Competitive One challenge in creating compensation systems that are internally consistent and market competitive deals with flexibility. Internally consistent pay systems have the potential to decrease a company’s flexibility to react to changes in the pay practices of competitors because job analysis creates structured job descriptions and job structures. Also, job evaluation creates the relative value of jobs within an organization. Reacting to competitors may require employees to perform tasks that are not included in their job descriptions whenever competitive pressures arise. This process makes equity appraisals more difficult because the definitions of jobs become more changeable (Martocchio, 2011). Moreover, some employees may resent being required to perform tasks that are not in their job descriptions. These employees may believe that the employers are taking advantage of them because they are not being compensated for performing the extra job duties. As a result, employees could become unmotivated to help their employers compete against competitors. Another challenge in developing compensations that are both internally consistent and market competitive is the bureaucracy that results from the internally consistent compensation structures. Organizations that develop job hierarchies have a tendency to create narrowly defined jobs, which results in larger number of jobs and staffing levels. This type of structure can place heavy compensation burdens on companies. Heavy compensation burdens can reduce profits for companies, which can affect whether companies use a market lead, market match, or market lag policy for compensating employees. Organizations that use the market lead policy compensate its employees more highly than most of its competitors. Employees receive pay that is above the market pay line. Organizations that use the market match policy compensate employees based upon the market pay rates. Employees will receive pay on the market pay line. The market lead and market match policies can help companies attract and retain talented employees; thus, the companies using these policies can obtain competitive advantage in a highly competitive business environment by using its talented employees. Furthermore, organizations using the market lag policy compensate its employees less than the majority of its competitors. Employees receive pay below the market pay line (Martocchio, 2011). Furthermore, a company should not be forced to choose the market lag policy because of heavy compensation burdens that could result from bureaucracy. Some companies may use the market lag policy as a cost savings method to offset heavy compensation burdens. A market lag policy could prevent a company from attracting and retaining talented employees, which could affect the competitiveness of a company. Moreover, a company could lose customers and profits if it does not have the talented employees in place to produce goods and services than can compete with the goods and services of competitors. Two Employees Perform the Same Job and Each Received Exemplary Performance Ratings. Discuss Whether it is Fair to Give One Employee a Smaller Percentage Merit Increase Because His Pay Falls Within the 3rd Quartile But Give a Larger Percentage Merit Increase to the Other Because His Pay Falls Within the 1st Quartile and Explain Why Supervisors use the merit pay grid to designate merit increases to employees. A merit pay grid contains a pay range for a pay grade. The pay range is divided into four quartiles. Employees with the lowest salaries fall into quartile 1. The salaries increase as the quartiles increase. Employees with the highest salaries fall into quartile 4. Furthermore, the lower an employee’s salary falls within its designated pay grade the larger the percentage pay raise. For example, if two employees perform the same job and both employees receive excellent performance ratings, the employee whose pay falls in quartile 3 will receive a smaller percentage merit increase than the employee whose pay falls in quartile 1. The employee whose pay is in quartile 3 may receive a 7% merit increase for excellent job performance; whereas, the employee whose pay is in quartile 1 may receive a 12% merit increase for excellent job performance. Furthermore, using the merit pay grid may be logical but not fair. It is logical because compensation professionals decrease merit pay increase percentages as quartile ranks increase to control employees’ advancement through their pay ranges. If employees in quartile 1 and quartile 3 were to receive the same merit pay increase percentage, the salary for the employee in quartile 3 more than likely would exceed the maximum pay rate for the range quicker than would the salary for the employee in quartile 1 (Martocchio, 2011). Moreover, the merit pay grid may be viewed as unfair because employees performing the same job and displaying the same amount of effort and job performance are not receiving an equal percentage merit increase. Employees may view this procedure as an unfair work practice. Furthermore, the employees may believe that the company places more value on some employees’ job performance more so than on other employees’ job performance. Discuss the Basic Concept of Insurance and How This Concept Applies to Health Care The basic concept of insurance is to spread risks. Risk does not mean that an unfavorable incident will occur but that there is a possibility of an unfavorable incident occurring. All persons have the risk of suffering a major illness. Thus, the whole concept of insurance when relating to health care is that an individual will be able to spread his or her risk among other people so that if an unfavorable incident occurs, he or she will not be overwhelmed because of high health care costs (â€Å"Understand the Concept,† 2012). In the United States, health care is classified as a multiple payer system, which means that multiple parties are held accountable for paying the costs of health care. The multiple parties can include the government, employers, labor unions, employees, and unemployed individuals (Martocchio, 2011). Moreover, insurance allows an individual to pay a few hundred dollars a month in level premium rather than having to pay a $50,000 surgery bill once (â€Å"Understand the Concept,† 2012). Finally, health-related expenses can become costly; thus, it would be wise for individuals to have some form of insurance for health care. Health insurance covers the costs of various services that promote sound mental and physical health such as physical exams, surgical procedures, and psychotherapy. Normally employers enter into contractual relationships with insurance companies to provide employees and possibly their dependents with health care. Moreover, the insurance policy or contractual relationship will specify the amount of money insurance companies will pay for health-related services such as physical exams. Furthermore, employers pay insurance companies a negotiated amount or premium to create and sustain insurance policies (Martocchio, 2011). Health insurance premiums are costly. The average monthly health insurance premium for an employee is $309. 03. The average monthly health insurance premium for an employee and his or her family members is $708. 83. Numerous private sector companies make it mandatory that employees pay a portion of health insurance premiums because of the high costs. Employees only contributed a small percentage toward health insurance premiums in 2008. Moreover, employees with single coverage contributed around 19% and employees with family coverage contributed around 29% (Martocchio, 2011). Except For the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Remaining Legally Required Benefits Were Conceived Decades Ago. Describe the Changes in the Business Environment and Society That Might Affect the Relevance or Perhaps the Viability of Any of These Benefits There are several legally required benefits in the United States. Legally required benefits are the benefits provided by the Social Security Act, which are retirement; unemployment insurance; old-age, survivor, and disability insurance; and Medicare. Other legally required benefits are workers’ compensation insurance and family medical leave. The United States government created legally required benefits to protect individuals from calamitous incidents such as unemployment and disability. Legally required benefits try to maintain the flow of family income, promote worker safety and health, and assist families in critical situations. Furthermore, providing employees with legally required benefits can be costly to companies. Present day, companies in the United States spend an average $4,400 for each employee yearly to provide legally required benefits (Martocchio, 2011). Finally, the effect that legally required benefits have on costs and the competitiveness of businesses could affect the sustainability of legally required benefits For numerous years, there have been genuine concerns that there will be lack of funding to provide the legally required benefits, especially the social security benefits. There are continuous political debates about how to safeguard the viability of social security programs. President George W. Bush signed an executive order that established the new Presidential Commission to Strengthen Social Security. Politicians have debated the advantages and disadvantages of differing solutions to strengthen the Social Security system. The administration of George W. Bush focused on encouraging tax credits for persons who save for retirement and promoting additional savings through employer-sponsored retirement plans. Furthermore, the Democratic Party suggested enhancing the tax under the Federal Income Contributions Act to strengthen the trust fund. However, business leaders have opposed the suggestion of the Democratic Party. Business leaders, especially small business leaders are concerned that the increase in tax will lower company profits (Martocchio, 2011). Legally required benefits may hinder businesses in the short term because these benefits require sizeable employer expenditures. Employers are required to make contributions that are mandated by the Social Security Act and several state workers’ compensation laws. These mandated expenses prevent businesses from investing these funds in direct compensation programs designed to increase productivity and product or service quality (Martocchio, 2011). If the money for mandated expenses could be used for compensation programs then the company could increase its competitiveness. Furthermore, enhancing productivity, products, and services can help businesses become strong competitors against its competitors. Conclusion In conclusion, a job analysis will reveal compensation factors that will be used in the job evaluation to determine the worth of jobs. Compensations that are both internally consistent and market competitive can affect a company’s flexibility to respond to changes in the pay practices of competitors, and companies have to deal with the heavy compensation burdens as a result of bureaucracy. Usage of the merit pay grid is logical but unfair. Insurance allows employees to share the costs of health care with multiple parties. The effect that legally required benefits have on costs and the competitiveness of companies could cause companies to view the mandated benefits as burdensome. Finally, compensation will always have a vital role in the strategies of companies.