Johnny Got His Gun

Melanie Gonzalez English ll March 25, 2012 Miss Hartman Johnny Got his Gun Ever wondered what it’s really like to be in war? Welcome to reality and welcome to Joe’s reality. Joe is a living, breathing, and perfect example of what war is and the effects of it. Some say, Joe might as well not even be living. In Johnny Got His Gun, Trumbo uses three rhetorical strategies; imagery, rhetorical questions, and mood and tone. Through imagery, we envision the reality of war. Through mood and tone, the author writes in such a way that creates a certain feeling towards war as well as towards Joe.Through rhetorical questions, the author leaves us thoughts to ponder on. Imagery is one of the strategies that appeal to all of our senses. Trumbo does a great job in portraying the realities and encounters of war. Trumbo carefully describes war by using spine-tingling examples. For example, in chapter XII, Joe mentions a young Englishman walking through a field and falling into a decompo sing man. The young man couldn’t get out, and he threw up, still with his arm completely lodged in the rotting flesh of what used to be a living, breathing human being.Just the way that Joe describes the situation, it sends chills running down your spine! I suddenly felt as if I was the one who had fallen through the dead man. This is just one of the many traumatizing encounters of the war. Also, in chapter XII, a man with an open-view stomach was brought to be treated. Just imagine that? I don’t think I would’ve been able to bear the sight of a person’s organs out in the open. Imagery allows us to visualize the painful, physical horrors of war.Trumbo appeals to our emotions in a way that makes us feel like we are physically in the war and what Joe must be feeling. Mood and tone is the key to how a reader feels and the way authors express themselves. The mood is depressing while the author expresses a negative tone towards war. Joe strongly dislikes that he is being forced to fight for something without meaning. This becomes depressing as more stories and encounters are told. Trumbo persuades the reader that war is basically just a place where men are sent to die.The tone stays the same throughout the whole book unless Joe mentioned or talked about Kareen, his girlfriend. Whenever Joe talked about her, it was like little by little; everyday he was getting farther and farther away from her. The mood and tone of a book always has a different outcome on the reader’s reaction to the story. It’s used to create a sense of emotion in such a way that you feel as if you were living within the characters. Last but not least, rhetorical questions. Trumbo uses and repeats many questions, leaving the reader to ponder upon.Joe continuously asks, what is honor? What is decency? What is freedom? Doesn’t that leave you thinking? Joe is told that a war is fought for freedom and liberty and to show honor for your country and to di e honorably. But who’s idea of honor or decency or freedom? It releases an anti war message. It becomes very powerful throughout the book. Joe starts questioning many aspects of the war as I mentioned before. Trumbo makes it seem as if we were in Joe’s mind or asking ourselves these same questions.In conclusion, I would’ve never come to realize the true, gruesome horrors of war if it wasn’t for this book. What difference does it make for soldiers dying on the frontlines for their country? Killing the opposing army? Or giving up your life when you don’t even know exactly what you’re fighting for and who knows if you’ll ever benefit from it? Imagery, mood and tone, and rhetorical questions have played a big role throughout this book. It’s incredible how the song of WW2 Johnny get your gun was motivating, convincing, and inviting. However, Johnny got his gun and he lost.

Different Type of Budgeting Technique

Budgeting lies at the foundation of every financial plan. It doesn’t matter if you’re living paycheck to paycheck or earning six-figures a year, you need to know where your money is going if you want to have a handle on your finances. Unlike what you might believe, budgeting isn’t all about restricting what you spend money on and cutting out all the fun in your life. It’s really about understanding how much money you have, where it goes, and then planning how to best allocate those funds. Here’s everything you need to help you create a budget using different approach. a)Incremental Budgeting This is where the current budget and actual figures act as the starting point or base for the new budget. The base is adjusted for forecast changes to, for example, the product mix, sales volume, sales price, expenses and capital expenditure that are expected to occur over the next budget period. It is called incremental budgeting as the approach does not focus on the base, but focuses on the increment (the changes from the base). An example would include increasing last years operating expenses by the rate of inflation to calculate the new budgeted figure. The major disadvantage of this is that the major part of the expense (the base) does not change and in fact is overlooked and not questioned under this approach. For example the base figure may be distorted due to extraordinary events in the previous period which are not expected to reoccur. Thus if this is not taken into account, the budget could be misleading. Advantages of Incremental Budgeting Easy to implement If you are looking for a budget that is very simple to implement, incremental budgeting might be for you. You do not have to send your department managers to any special type of training in order to utilize this budgeting system. It is easy to learn and the process can be completed within a very short period of time. Gradual Change One of the benefits of incremental budgeting is that it allows gradual change for the business. If you value gradual change instead of trying to change everything quickly, this type of budget is ideal. Many times, if your business tries to change too fast, it can become unstable and lose sight of what it does best. There are some other benefit regarding the incremental budgeting: * Flexibility–This type of budgeting is very flexible. You can easily do it from one month to the next. This allows you to see change very quickly when you implement a new policy or budget. * Avoid conflict–Companies with many different departments often run into conflict between departments because of their different budgets. With this method of budgeting, it is easier to keep everyone on the same page and avoid conflicts between departments. * The model operates under a stable and predictable system and any change will be gradual. * Managers can operate their departments on a consistent basis. * Conflicts should be easily avoidable if departments can be seen to be treated similarly. It is Appropriate where there is a large number of cost centres/budgets to calculate and forecasts do not change significantly from one year to the next * Co-ordination between forecasts is easier to achieve. * The impact of change can be seen quickly. Disadvantages of Incremental Budgeting * It assumes that activities and methods of working will continue in the same way. * It allows no proper ince ntive for managers to develop new innovative ideas. * Its normally on an upward trend, hence providing no incentive for managers to reduce costs. It encourages spending up to the budget limits so that future estimates are maintained next year. * The forecast may become out of date and no longer relate to the level of activity or type of work being carried out. * The priority for resource allocation may have changed ever since the prior estimates were originally set. * May perpetuate past inefficiencies. In other words incremental budgeting does not cause serious challenge to the status quo of managers concerned because different methods of achieving performance objectives are not put to test * There may be budgetary slack built into the estimates, which is never reviewed. In other words Managers might have overestimated their requirements in the past in order to obtain a forecast which is easier to work towards, and which will allow them to achieve favorable results. * Does not account for change–This method is based on the idea that expenses will run pretty much as they did before. However, in business, this is rarely the case. There are always variables. * No incentives–Such a simple method of budgeting really does not provide your employees with much reason to be creative. They have no incentive to innovate and come up with new ideas or policies. When a budget allows a little extra room for innovation, you might find that your employees come up with something great. * Use it or lose it–Many employees view this as a â€Å"use it or lose it† system. They know that next year's budget is going to be incrementally based on this year's. Therefore, if they do not spend everything that is allocated to them, they may not have enough money to work with next year. This creates an environment where waste is encouraged. (b)Zero Based Budgeting his method was briefly popular during the 1970s but didn’t quite make it as a widely held practice. Yet in today’s current business set-up, the method is being revived and regarded as the better approach. ZBB starts off with practically nothing on which to base one’s budget assumptions. This stands in contrast to the traditional method, in which managers and supervisors calculate their proje ctions by using the previous year’s budget as their baseline. ZBB as a budget preparation method lost its popularity due to the numerous documentation requirements imposed. Managers and supervisors have to justify every projected cost and its purposes, plus the presentation of one or more alternative courses of action, which should be similarly justified. The procedure doesn’t end there, as every proposed budget and its alternatives have to be measured in terms of productivity and efficiency performance, including the results of cost-to-benefits analyses. Moreover, the manager is also required to present the consequences, in case a majority of the top management members would vote against the proposed cost projection. It’s no wonder that ZBB lost its following in its early years, since the procession of numerous calculations, justifications, analyses and documentation are indeed too tedious for comfort. But that was in the '70s, when computerization was still in its budding stage and personal computers were unheard of. Under the current business set-up, in which research and data analyses are common, all those requirements can be produced in a jiffy, by simply using business intelligence capabilities. Inasmuch as the best budget estimations are those that are closest to the real thing, zero-based rojections may finally come of age by getting the support it needs from today’s data marts and data warehouses. (Charles, 1995) Pros and Cons of Zero-based-budgeting This budget preparation method is actually a spin-off of the budget plans introduced during the 1920s. Due to the excesses and corrupt practices of local public officials, the federal government developed a system of controlling the disbursements of public funds by way of a revised budget plan. The success of this method encouraged other industries to adopt the same system. It was modified through the years, along with certain developments in the methods of accounting for manufacturing costs. However, as businesses grew and flourished, the financial managers and accountants became overly burdened by the processes involved in developing ZBB plans. Too much time and effort were being wasted in collecting, summarizing and analyzing recorded data, only to be set aside for future implementations, which oftentimes did not materialize. Despite this drawback, ZBB was regarded as a sensible approach because of its high degree of efficiency in controlling costs and maximizing productivity. In fact, government sectors and non-profit organizations still make use of the ZBB approach, as it allows each organization to visualize the incoming year’s performance based on present trends and conditions. In summarizing all documentation to support the master budget, redundancies in initiatives and functions become more visible and are thus eliminated. Although no longer popular, some industrial companies still make use of a zero-based budgeting approach on a per-department or per-project basis. This is particularly true if the departments or projects require a greater degree of cost leveling, inasmuch as their outputs do not directly contribute to business profitability Financial managers today are hardly affected by the re-emergence of this budget approach, as their trainings are basically founded on methodologies that make use of research and data analysis. Not only that, the advent of PCs and business intelligence applications and tools makes the preparation of supporting documentation as easy as pie, so to speak. All they have to do is click or double-click on their mouses and the BI financial report writers will simply drill-down, drill-around, and drill-through databases and data warehouses or even from web-based browsers to produce reports that will provide up-to-date information. There is spreadsheet integration and its capability to automate calculations, as well as the intelligent trees, process diagrams, and balance scorecards that can establish hierarchies, workflow mapping and key performance indicators. The drawback that was once attributed to the zero-based budget planning method has become part of its history, but its usefulness fits perfectly with the methodologies of the 21st century. (Cantoria, 2011) (c)Rolling Budget Businesses are increasingly using rolling budgets. Also called continuous budgeting, rolling budgets always involve maintaining a plan for a specified time period in the future. To implement rolling budgets, many advocate leveraging new technological resources, which means software. It must be understood that the technology (e. g. , bolt-on software packages) is not the solution. It is a tool by which and an environment in which management can have the opportunity to develop solution sets. Published surveys of financial officers of the largest industrial companies in the United States, Australia, Holland, Japan, and the United Kingdom show a number of interesting similarities as well as differences in budgeting practices across countries. (1) First, the use of master budgets is very widespread in all of these countries. Another significant finding is that financial managers in many countries distinguish between cost behavior patterns–variable versus fixed costs–for a common reason: They want to prepare more meaningful budgets by building flexibility into the model. How do these facts impact the concept of rolling budgets? Rolling budgets always involve maintaining a plan for a specified time period in the future. This result is achieved by adding a new time period in the future as the current time period that ended is dropped. Large companies, such as Electrolux and General Electric, prepare strategic plans and then integrate annual operating budgets that are divided into four-quarter rolling budgets, and smaller high-tech public companies, such as Keithley Instruments in Solon, Ohio, follow a similar pattern of planning. The annual operating budgets are prepared based upon best estimates of what management expects to occur and wants to achieve during the coming year. Flexibility is built into the process by considering how costs and revenues will change if different levels of activity occur (e. g. flexible budgeting), and each quarter's changes are made to reflect changes in the economic and financial environment–things such as what the competition is doing, how the economy is spending for capital goods, and any planned changes in their product mix (adding or dropping a product line). In short, sound managers operate an entity with one eye always on the horizon, and a well-prepared business plan as reflected in a â€Å"flexible rolling budget† can be one of the financial managers' best tools to assist them in their role of planning and controlling the operations of this company. For publicly traded companies, an earnings forecast â€Å"miss† can have an immediate and devastating impact on share price. And for both public and private companies, effective allocation of resources mandates that the organization have the best possible understanding of what the short-term and long-term future brings. The speed of change in today's economy has generated a trend toward adopting continuous forecasting as part of the planning process. While this type of â€Å"rolling forecast† offers many benefits, organizations often have trouble separating their forecast from and coordinating their forecast with the operational budget. Instead of truly forecasting–which ideally should be a higher-level projection–organizations end up preparing mid-year or even quarterly â€Å"re-budgets,† with all of the associated effort. The result is a budget that takes too much time and effort–not a forecast that provides vision and direction. Advantages of Rolling budget No More Free Ride The result: an always-current financial forecast that reflects not only the company’s most recent monthly results but also any material changes to its business outlook or the economy. In addition, it provides fewer opportunities for account directors to ride the coattails of past performance. Although traditional one-year budgets are still the norm at most companies large and small, many accountants argue that rolling budgets can be a far more useful tool. Unlike static budgets, they encourage managers to react more quickly to changing economic developments or business conditions. They discourage what is too often a fruitless focus on the past (â€Å"Why didn’t we meet our numbers? †) in favor of a realistic focus on the future. And they produce forecasts that, over the near term, are never more than a few months old, even when companies are rolling them forward on a quarterly basis—the more common approach—rather than REL’s monthly basis. Implementing rolling budgets doesn’t necessarily require any fundamental change in the way a company has been doing its budgets—except, of course, it no longer does the job just once a year. However, companies that decide to step up to rolling budgets may want to take advantage of the decision to make a change and consider what else they can do to improve the process. After all, if a company can get everyone on board to make such a fundamental change, a further nudge to make the process more effective and efficient in other ways may be possible, too. (Morrow, 2010) The Problem Of Relevance In the view of many accountants, traditional budgets too often are useless because they are out of date soon after they are assembled. Assuming that much of the decision making that goes into them gets done in the fourth quarter of the prior year, by the end of the following year, traditional budgets reflect thinking and data more than 12 months old. Not surprisingly, such documents tend to get short shrift from front-line managers. In worst-case scenarios, they can even promote behaviors and business decisions that are counterproductive. Consider the real-world example of a Fortune 500 company that has been talking with REL about how it might improve its forecasting to produce better financial results. The company uses a traditional static annual budgeting process in which it sets monthly sales goals for each of its products. If the company misses its sales targets in the first month, product managers will typically push those projected sales into the final quarter of the year. By doing that, corporate management is acting as if the outlook for the full year remains unchanged even though sales were off to a slow start. But if the slow pace continues and product managers begin to realize that their lost sales can’t be made up in the last quarter, they start to budget them out over all of the remaining quarters of the year. Frequently, they wind up running massive discounting programs at the end of each quarter to hit their annual targets. Fortunately, the company can afford such budget maneuvering because it enjoys relatively high margins on its products, but such manipulation isn’t maximizing its return on investment. Acting Rationally The static budget encourages managers to create artificial demand for their products, not end-user demand. In other words, the company stuffs its distribution channel and simply delays future shipments. If the company had a more realistic budget, product managers would be able to act more rationally, eliminating the last-minute forced discounts. Payne, 2010) Not only are static annual budgets restrictive, it turns out that many managers don’t really like them. Most of the clients complain that their current planning process is extremely painful and time-consuming. General manager of the Stanford, Connecticut, office of Parson Group, a national consulting firm focused on finance, accounting and business systems. Assuming the client is operating on a calendar year, everyone runs around feverishly in October and November to do budgeting, and then at the end of the process, they’re happy to get it over with—knowing they don’t have to do it again until the next November. Manage The Information Implementing a rolling budget involves more than going through the annual budgeting process four times a year instead of one. Because the time between budgets has been compressed, management must access and process information more quickly than it was able to do in the past. To do that, line managers must become more involved in the process and the company must embrace technology that will allow it to quickly capture and disseminate the raw data needed for decision making and forecasting. Most organizations today rely on Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to do their budgeting. They work, but they can be laborious, requiring finance managers to piece together input from all the operations managers throughout the organization. The process was slow and exhausting, producing a static and reactive product that was built on data that was typically at least six months old. Today, that company uses a specially designed budget planning, forecasting and analysis software product to do the job. (For a list of such software, see the sidebar â€Å"Software for Budget Planning and Analysis. ) This kind of software makes it easier for managers throughout a company to access, enter and share data on a real-time basis, using the Internet as a communications medium. â€Å"Managers used to spend a lot of time allocating expenses among different segments of the business. Since the new software automates the process, managers can spend more time analyzing the data. (Swaller, 2010) The Big Pi cture For public companies, the benefits of more timely and accurate budgets may ultimately extend beyond operations. Under Wall Street’s close scrutiny, meeting earnings forecasts has become more important than ever. A misstep, even one that’s just a penny per share below expectations, can translate into a sharp stock sell-off and, in the long run, drive up a company’s cost of capital. Theoretically, between rolling budgets and predictive accounting, companies can minimize the controllable factors that cause inaccurate earnings projections, Therefore, they would have fewer actual-to-forecast variations, which in turn would help cut down on stock price volatility. † Although no budgeting technique can predict the future, these techniques allow companies to get much closer to the ideal. The only holdback is the willingness of a company’s managers to use these new technology tools that are now available. Unfortunately, most â€Å"static† annual budget processes fail to provide a clear vision of the enterprise's impending direction. Forecasting allows organizations to close the gap between the overall strategic plan and the detailed operational budget. An ideal planning cycle includes an ongoing forecasting component that flows directly from the overall strategic plan and integrates with the operating budget. The output from this higher-level planning system then directly impacts the outcome of the detail budget. This principle of a continuous/rolling forecast that drives a target-based detail budget is a key financial component of many organizations' highest-level strategic planning process. The â€Å"Strategic Plan† involves many nonfinancial processes (competitive analyses, initiative-focused plans, and the like) and becomes the driver for the rolling forecast. The forecast translates broad-based initiatives into key statistical and operational factors and results. The operating budget, in turn, provides plans and budget-to-actual control functions at the lower levels of the organization (e. g. cost center) Another useful feature of the forecasting system is to visually portray trends of such metrics. For example, a forecast for product revenue might include the historic revenue-per-salesperson ratio and allow a manager to forecast this future rate, in combination with the expected number of salespeople, in order to determine future revenue (see Figure 2 for a parameter-driven forec asting layout). Statistic- or parameter-driven results provide a useful basis for review of the forecast. (Montgomery, 2010) DISADVANTAGES OF ROLLING BUDGET. 1. It is very expensive because of the elaborate set up of the budget department. . The budget might be so reviewed on such a manner that there will be no significance between the budgeted and actual results. The managers may tune budget to actual and it will not serve as a good yardstick 3. It requires account forecast of changes in economics, political, social ecological and business conditions. In practice this changes may not be ascertainable because of lack of statics. Above is the major limitation of rolling budget. 4. It is very expensive and elusive fro small organization. 5. It is cumbersome for data collection except where computer is in use. (d)Activity Based Budgeting Activity based budgeting is an approach to the budgeting process that focuses on identifying the costs of activities that take place in every area of a business or organization, and determining how those activities relate to one another. The data regarding those activities and how they relate to one another is used to establish goals that allow the organization to move forward. By understanding the relationship between all the activities of the organization, it is often possible to create realistic budgets for each department that are more equitable and in the best interests of the company in the long run. The concept of activity based budgeting is different from the process known as cost-based budgeting. Often, the cost-based approach relies on assessing the actual expenditures connecting with a previous budgetary period, and simply adjusting those amounts based on the current rate of inflation, or to account for changes in the amount of revenue generated. By contrast, activity based budgeting is more concerned with what is being done within the organization, how those actions or activities work together, and then allocating funds to each activity based on how much it will cost to successfully complete those activities. Brimson, 1991) Proponents of activity based budgeting see this approach as more realistic, since it involves looking inward at activities and costs rather than basing the budget on outward influences. From this perspective, this strategy is understood to create financial forecasts that are more accurate, and thus prompt the organization to make the most efficient use o f its resources. As a bonus, the analysis of each activity and its contribution to the ongoing success of the organization means that any activities that do not appear to relate to other activities within the organization structure may in fact be unnecessary, and can be eliminated without having an adverse effect on the overall operation. Those who favor a cost-based approach over the use of activity based budgeting note that this approach does not necessarily allow for the possibility of events such as an increase in the cost of raw materials or the need to replace outmoded equipment. According to this line of thinking, the inward focus of the activity based method only accounts for part of the data needed to develop a workable budget. Only when this inward analysis is coupled with consideration of outside factors that could exert some degree of influence during the upcoming budgetary period can the organization hope to draft a budget that is truly practical and likely to meet the needs of the organization over the course of the upcoming period. ( Gietzman, 1992) Disadvantages of Activity-Based Budgeting Complexity The many advantages of activity-based budgeting notwithstanding, this technique remains a comprehensive and time-consuming exercise. The process requires identification of activities, estimation of activity output demands, and estimation of the costs of resources needed to provide the demanded activity output. The budgeting of physical inputs and costs as a function of a planned activity requires the use of an activity-cost hierarchy and making estimates on the consumption by such activities. Activity-based costing bases itself on defining or analyzing the relationship among costs and activities, which might not always be possible. Even otherwise, the contextual information that plays an important role in shaping the results may not always be available or considered. Success of activity-based budgeting depends on a thorough and in-depth understanding of the business processes and an accurate activity analysis. Not all managers remain competent to perform such tasks, and the resultant distortions make the activity an exercise in futility. Resources Among the major disadvantages of activity-based budgeting is its consumption of organizational resources. Spending too much resource on an analytical function such as activity-based budgeting becomes counterproductive. The complexity of the activity-based budgeting exercise means that it takes away considerable organizational resources in the form of managerial time and money. Such resources, if deployed in a core operational activity, would contribute to a much better bottom line. The broad scope of activity-based budgeting invariably necessitates an activity-based budgeting software, as well as training all managers to use the software and learning how to make correct activity analyses, adding to the resource demands. Duplication A major limitation of activity-based budgeting is that it is not a control budget and as such does not replace the department or line-item budget. Activity-based budgeting only provides supplemental information, and it acts as a panacea rather than a tool. It therefore does not eliminate or substitute any process but adds to the administrative functions of an organization. Short-Term Focus Finally, another major activity-based budgeting disadvantage includes its tendency to focus on the immediate and short term and ignore the long term. Activity-based budgeting uses historic data for forecast analysis, which may not always be practical. Focusing on activities that create immediate results might work well in the short term, but might cause long-term damage to an organization. While activity-based budgeting helps the organization if implemented with the correct data, preparing an activity-based budget with distorted data runs the risk of arbitrary budget cuts and creates a dysfunctional organization. (Morrow,1991) Behavior Aspect of Budgeting A main problem involves a variety of behavioral conflicts that are created when the budget is used as a control device. To be effective, the budget must be used by the managers it is designed to help. Thus, it must be acceptable to all levels of management. The behavioral literature on budgeting supports the view that the budget should reflect what is most likely to occur under efficient operating conditions. If a budget is to be used as an effective planning and monitoring device, it should encourage a high level of performance and efficiency, but at the same time, it should be fair and obtainable. If the budget is viewed by managers as unfair, (too optimistic) it may intimidate rather than motivate. One way to gain acceptance is referred to as participative (rather than imposed) budgeting. The idea is to include all levels of management in the budget preparation process. Of course this process must be coordinated by a budget director to ensure that a fair budget is obtained that will help achieve the goals of the total organization. Rahman,2011) Another way to reduce the behavioral bias against budgeting is to recognize the concepts of variation and interdependence when using the budget to evaluate performance. Recall from our discussion of the statistical control concept in that there is variation in all performance and most of this variation is caused by the system , (i. e. , common causes) not the people working in the system. The concept of interdependence refers to the fact that the various segments of a company are part of a system. Inevitably, these segments, or subsyst ems influence each other. Failure to adequately recognize the interdependencies within an organization tends to cause behavioral conflicts and motivate participants to optimize the performance of the various segments (subsystems) rather than to optimize the performance of the overall system. THE ‘BEYOND BUDGETING' MODEL – PRIVATE SECTOR In the private sector, managers are forced to consider current and future opportunities and threats, particularly where rolling monthly forecasts of financial performance operate together with a focus on other non-financial ‘value drivers'. In essence, the ‘beyond budgeting' model entails devolved managerial responsibility where power and responsibility go hand in hand. The view held by proponents of the beyond budgeting model is that the following benefits may accrue as a result of its successful application by management: (Johnson,1995) * It creates and fosters a performance climate based on competitive success. Goals are agreed via reference to external benchmarks as opposed to internally-negotiated fixed targets. Managerial focus shifts from beating other managers for a slice of resources to beating the competition. It motivates people by giving them challenges, responsibilities and clear values as guidelines. Rewards are team-based, in recognition of the fact that no single person can act alone to achieve goals. * It devolves performance responsibilities to operational management who are closer to the ‘action'. This uses the ‘know-how' of individuals and teams interfacing with the customer, which in turn enables a far more rapid adaptation to changing market needs. * It empowers operational managers to act by removing resource constraints. Key ratios are set, rather than detailed line-by-line budgets. For example, gearing and liquidity ratios may be used to show there is enough cash in the bank to meet liabilities. Local access to resources is thus based on agreed parameters rather than line-by-line budget authorisations. This is aimed at speeding up the response to environmental threats and enabling quick exploitation of new opportunities. * It establishes customer-orientated teams that are accountable for profitable customer outcomes. These teams agree resource and service-level requirements with service departments via the establishment of service level agreements. It creates transparent and open information systems throughout the organisation, which should provide fast, open and distributed information to facilitate control at all levels. The IT system is crucial in flexing the key performance indicators as part of the rolling forecast process. THE PUBLIC SECTOR The legal framework of public sector organisations would probably prevent such a system being introduced. As with al l alternatives, the success of a particular process depends on the needs of the individual organisation. The alternative of the beyond budgeting model places considerable emphasis on the need for organisational, managerial and cultural changes in order that it may be successfully applied by organisations. This will present considerable behavioural challenges and individual managers might become overwhelmed by the complexity of decision-making in such an unregulated decision-making environment. In the public sector, the budget process inevitably has considerable influence on organisational processes, and represents the financial expression of policies resulting from politically motivated goals and objectives. Yet the reality of life for many public sector managers is an increased pressure to perform in a resource-constrained environment, while also being subjected to growing competition. In essence, a public sector budget: * establishes the level of income and expenditure * authorises that expenditure, once agreed, out of the planned income * acts as a control on expenditure and income * communicates policies and plans * focuses attention on the future * motivates managers and staff. While these issues may be common with the private sector, a number of issues arise which are specific to the public sector. For example, UK local authorities are prevented by law from borrowing funds for revenue purposes or budgeting for a deficit. If the beyond budgeting model is to allow greater freedom for managers then it will take a considerable change of mindset in the public sector to achieve the flexible agenda envisaged, especially where such flexibility would involve considerable and increased delegation to managers. One wonders therefore, from a behavioural perspective, if such managers are capable of making this change, as it would entail the adoption of a radically different approach. Local authority financial regulations also tend to prevent the transfer of funds from one budget head to another (otherwise known as virement) without compliance with various rules and regulations. These rules (expressed in the financial regulations of public sector organisations) will be consistent with the policies of the organisation and are designed to prevent expenditure on items such as permanent staff where such costs would go beyond the budget year and represent a commitment of future resources. Budgets in the public sector tend to concentrate on planning for one financial year ahead. Attempts are being made by UK central government, through the comprehensive spending review, to place an emphasis on the longer-term. However, considerable difficulties exist within the individual organisations that make up the public sector when creating a budget system that reflects longer-term objectives and goes beyond the annual cycle. It also remains to be seen how the relatively new system of resource accounting in central government will fit into the budgeting framework. Traditional methods of budgeting in the public sector centre on the bid system and incremental budgeting. These approaches focus on changes at the margin and generally reflect acceptance of the budget base from the previous year. This is partly a reflection of the size and complexity of public sector organisations, but also the internal political power of large departments, which protect their positions through their relative strength. Bid systems also minimise conflict, as debate and power struggles are only concerned with the ‘incremental' items. More advanced approaches are represented within financial planning systems, and include such concepts as zero-based budgeting and planned programme budgeting systems with a timeframe greater than one year. Whether the public sector can adapt to the concept of greater flexibility – which lies at the heart of beyond budgeting – remains a matter of ongoing debate. Such an adaptation would require a mindset which not only moves away from control but also requires a reduction in the internal political power of large departments which has been at the heart of public sector budgeting for many years. The desire to generate improved performance – essentially considered the driver for the beyond budgeting model – is present in the public sector evidenced in initiatives such as key performance indicators and ‘best value' plans. But this is not matched by a desire for the flexibility inherent in the model. In terms of beyond budgeting, managers in such organisations are likely to remain constrained by the inability of their organisation to change. Finally, the behavioral conflicts associated with budgeting are reduced by using flexible budgets when evaluating performance Other factors affecting behaviour Dysfunctional behaviour may be caused by the following budgetary problems: †¢ Budget targets that are perceived by employees as too difficult to attain will result in resentment and a feeling of stress. †¢ Budget targets that are perceived by staff as too easy to achieve do not provide a challenge and may lead to a slipshod performance by staff. †¢ Managers may experience a loss of autonomy by being hemmed in by the budget and not having sufficient flexibility to use their own initiative. †¢ Managers may become narrow minded, focusing only on their own department, and create disadvantages for the organisation as a whole. The emphasis on financial goals to the detriment of non-financial goals may havea debilitating effect on the organisation. Budgetary slack or sometimes it is referring to budgetary bias, is a common process where implementer intentionally underestimates revenue or overestimates expenses in the tight budget. Managers may attempt to create budgetary slack in three ways. Managers may deliberately underestimate the production or sales budgets potential. For example, the sales budget for the month of July is RM 1 million. If the manager is able to achieve the target budget then the sales budget for the following month will be increases to RM 1. million. Manager creates budgetary slack by undervalue the budget so that the budget for August will be easier to achieve although they are able to hit the tight budget. Manager may also attempt to achieve slack by cost overestimation. They purposely used more than the budgeted expenditure so that the budget will be increases for the following months. After that they spend less than the budgets to shows that they have improve in their performance. For instance, the cost budget is set to be RM 1 million in January. Then the manager spends RM 1. 2 million in their expenditure so that the cost budget will be increase to RM1. million in February. Subsequently, they spend only RM 1. 1 million i n March which is RM 0. 1 million lesser than February to prove that they have better performance. Moreover, manager may use up all the budgets to pretend that there is no slack in the recent budget. Manager may waste his extra cost budget on non-essential expenses. Let say the cost budget is RM 2 million for March, the manager will try to finish his allowance although he only spend RM1. 8 million. This may cause by the fear of the manager that the future budget will be reduces unless the allowance is fully utilise. Rahman,2011) We see the behavior aspect of budgeting as having particular relevance for knowledge-based companies which are increasingly a feature of a developed economy. Other companies may see specific benefits in such a system, given the rapidly changing environment in which they also operate. These changes will not be introduced without conflict and difficulty due to the challenges faced in introducing change. Such challenges may be beyond the achievement of the publi c sector, due to the expression in the budget of politically-motivated policies and objectives eveloped within a complex legal and financial framework. What we can say, however, is that if we are to see the successful application of the beyond budgeting model in both private and public sectors, then this must be underpinned by a considerable organisational, cultural and managerial change. Otherwise it is doomed to failure. (John, 1995). References * Brimson, J&Fraser, R. (1991), The Key Feature of ABB, 42-43 * Cantoria. c. s, (2011)Walking Through an Example of Creating a Zero-Based Budget * Gietzman, MB,(1992) The Development and Design of An Activity Based Budgeting System, Initial Experience. Johnson, HT. (1988)Activity Based Infromation:A blue Print for World Class Management. 23-30 * Johnson, S. (2005), Beyond Budgeting, Retrieved from, http://www. acca. co. uk/students/acca/exams/p5/technical_articles/2950520 * Lynn, M. P, Madison, R. L,(2004) A closer look at rolling budgets: the challenges associated with an effective implementation of rolling budgets are management challenges, and software technology can only become part of the solution when managers are ready to use it to enhance their decision making * Montgomery,P. 2010) Effective rolling forecasts: Make sure your projections are high-level strategy and not just a Rehash of the operating budget. (Budgeting/Forecasting). * Morrow, M & Connolly,T. (1991)The Emergence of Activity Based Costing. 38-43 * Randy Myer(2001), Budget on a Roll, Retrieved from http://www. journalofaccountancy. com/Issues/2001/Dec/BudgetsOnARoll. htm. * Rahman, K. A. (2011) The Pattern of Behaviour in Response to Budgeting. * Sargent,Charles W. PH. D. (1995), Zero-Base Budgeting  and the library,   http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/pmc/articles/PMC225295/pdf/mlab00085-0055. pdf

Compare and contrast the short stories “Mr. Loveday’s Little outing” by Evelyn Waugh, and “Raspberry Jam” by Angus Wilson

In this essay I will introduce, compare and contrast two short stories, written in rather similar ways but with some very important differences. The first of these stories is â€Å"Mr. Loveday's Little outing† by Evelyn Waugh, the second, â€Å"Raspberry Jam† by Angus Wilson. Upon initial inspection of the introductory paragraphs of these two short stories it becomes apparent that Raspberry Jam is far more complex than its counterpart, and is also considerably longer. It is introduced in a fashion not unlike that of a novel, with a lot of dialogue and insight into the primary character; Johnnie's thoughts and his family's perceptions of him. The scene is set in the opening sentence â€Å"‘How are your funny friends from Potter's Farm, Johnnie?' asked his aunt from London.† We are introduced to two characters, the central character and his aunt, who appears, through her discourse as being rather posh and self-important. The story then continues with narrative giving insight into Johnnie's take on things. We immediately notice the retrospective style of writing as Johnnie recounts past events regarding his family and particularly his two elder friends; Misses Swindales, of whom his close relatives do not approve. Through their conversation we come to understand that they regard the old women as somewhat strange, â€Å"mad† even; â€Å"you really must meet them. They're the most wonderful pair of freaks.† Subsequently, through Johnnie's uneasy reaction to this talk â€Å"Many of the things the others said made the little boy bite his lip† we understand that the story is about madness, and each character's own definition of â€Å"mad† with regards to the class structure of the time.Love Poem The second story, â€Å"Mr. Loveday's Little outing† opens in a rather different manner, the first phrase â€Å"You will not find your father greatly changed,' remarked Lady Moping, as the car turned into the gates of the County Asylum.†, introduces us to, yet another rather genteel woman, Lady Moping, who is engaged in conversation with her daughter, Angela. They are going to visit Lord Moping, Angela's father in the County Asylum and again, through the latter's wife's manner of speech we can see that she does not approve of her husband being in an Asylum. The narrative technique, here is a progressive one, and thus the story is kept much less complex, with fewer mental insights, and a much more superficial approach. Although the narrative techniques and simplicity of plot and characters is distinctively different across the two stories, the main characters themselves are parallel. In both â€Å"Raspberry Jam† and â€Å"Mr. Loveday†¦Ã¢â‚¬  there is a conflict in the class structure, in the first, this is apparent through Johnnie/his relatives and in the latter, through Angela/Lady Moping. A parallel can be drawn between Johnnie and Angela as two children who seem to be thoroughly uninterested in the class system and appear to be trying to break free from it in their own ways. Johnnie is a rebel, drawing disapproval from his parents as his father is â€Å"always complaining that the child is too much with women and has no friends his own age.† Angela, on the other hand, associates herself with inmates at the asylum â€Å"Angela left the asylum, oppressed by a sense of injustice. Her mother was unsympathetic †¦ ‘He attempted to hang himself in the orangery,' replied Lady Moping, ‘in front of the Chester-Martins.' The situation of each child is very like the other's, with the parents disapproving of their children's actions on the grounds of a violation of the class structure. The biggest similarity, across the two stories lies in the fact that each and every character in both of the stories thinks that someone is mad and the plot itself is about their different perceptions of ‘mad'. In â€Å"Raspberry Jam†, for example, Grace thinks that the Misses Swindales are mad, but they, on the other hand, perceive the world as being mad, and occasionally even, each other. Both stories are therefore spinning a web of confusion and madness within which all the characters are trapped and trying to make sense of. The biggest similarity between these two short stories, however, is certainly their conclusion. Each has a ‘dormant' character that reveals themselves towards the end, having deceived the reader and the other characters for the length of the book. In â€Å"Raspberry Jam† this is the Misses Swindales, whom everyone thinks to be mad, but do not appear to be until the end when, in the presence of Johnnie, they sadistically butcher a bullfinch. In â€Å"Mr. Loveday's Little Outing†, Mr. Loveday himself is the twist in the story, when, after appearing perfectly sane for twenty years, he murders a young woman on a bicycle, repeating his previous crime and making of himself a serial killer. Finally, â€Å"Mr. Loveday's Little Outing† is much more light-hearted than its counterpart; â€Å"Raspberry Jam† which is full of physiological black humour. The latter is therefore much ‘heavier' and more sinister with regards to both the events and the style of writing. Despite the fact that Evelyn Waugh's story deals with such grim matters as suicide, it is presented in a rather comical manner â€Å"Lord Moping habitually threatened suicide on the occasion of the garden party†. It must also not be forgotten that each of these stories is a small masterpiece, each following the same template but having been written in completely different styles. Neither is superior, it is purely a matter of preference of literary styles, be it progressive or retrospective, comical or grim, each style adds a different flavour to the plot and the way in which we, the reader interpret the events.

Deception in Criminal Justice Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Deception in Criminal Justice - Term Paper Example But we can assume that criminal investigation might have started from the period of Adam itself. In any case, one thing is clear that the deception tactics also started along with the criminal investigation. Crime punishment is one of the core elements of criminal justice system along with giving suitable crime prevention programs. Despite of the severe punishments associated with crimes, the criminal behavior seems to be increasing in the current world. In other words the severity of punishments is not influencing the criminals much. This is purely because of the loopholes in criminal justice system procedures for the criminals to escape from punishments. No criminal wants to be punished for their criminal activities and they will try all type of tactics to influence the Investigative, Interrogative and Testimonial Processes. The criminal justice system is malicious in most of the countries because of the over influence of criminals on the criminal justice system. Deception can main ly occur at three levels of the crime detecting and punishment process; criminal investigation, interrogation and the testimonial process. Investigation of the criminal activities is mainly conducted by the crime investigation agencies like police. In many cases, the criminals are more influential than the police officers. They might have influences at the top levels of the political and judicial systems which controls the criminal justice system. Sometimes instead of the criminal, the investigating police officer will get punishment because of the higher influences of the criminals. Morality and ethical values are rapidly disappearing from most of the segments of human life and human profession and criminal justice system is also not an exception. In short, police officers are also human beings and they are also living in this corrupted world. Criminals can influence the investigating officer using bribes and

Electromagnetic Compatibility of Devices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Electromagnetic Compatibility of Devices - Essay Example This paper illustrates that while engineers worked on a large number of devices and their functions in an environment of electromagnetic fields, but still there is the great need for research in this field to come up with substantial human and friendly devices.  The very common example is watching TV every day! If the text message or phone call in the dynamics that are attached to the computer and the TV sound. Prior research on EMC, a lot of cases, such as the sharpness of the speakers sound, noise and stop in alarm systems, distortions in telephone lines, violations of the equipment installed in hospitals, police, schools, and others have been identified. Such problems persist until the end of the twentieth century. Experts like describes the introduction of new products in the last decade of the twentieth century that were compatible with electromagnetic devices, but doubts have remained the same. The required bandwidth for devices for the production of radiation is very high su ch as cell phones (a big emitter), the wireless set of connections, Bluetooth connection and PDAs emit electromagnetic radiation in a wide scale. This is the reason that the number of sensitive locations, such as intensive care units in hospitals, military data, and numbers, etc, is to be free from electromagnetic radiation. As Weston articulates that the devices used to detect fire and smoke, and devices that emit electromagnetic radiation should be studied continuously. Standards and specifications of the system operation are determined in accordance with their work. He also said that as the technology of electromagnetic devices have given a helping hand to the deployment of fire and smoke detection systems. Reducing Electromagnetic Compatibility, EMC is the word used to detail how well the equipment or system can function in its electromagnetic environment without inserting Electromagnetic trouble that line with other electric supply to the atmosphere. Electronic equipment that c an run and convergence criteria are called EMC devices.

Mangin Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Mangin Ethics - Essay Example This new incentive plan also put pressure on the service advisors, the front-desk counter people who meet the customers and advised them on the repairs to be done, based on recommendations of mechanics. Its good intentions were soon engulfed in the unethical behaviors by both the service advisors and the mechanics because they tend to mislead customers by recommending the repairs that were really unnecessary, just to meet their sales quotas of certain product item-specific parts and thereby earn commissions as well. The factors contributing to this unethical situation was its incentive plan which stokes the greed of employees to earn commissions and also the pressure of meeting the sales quotas imposed by the management of Sears to increase its profits. The ethical approach taken by Sears, Roebuck & Co. was the consequentialist approach because they did not mind how the sales quotas are met or attained by its employees as long as its objective of raising its profits is attained in a highly-competitive environment of auto repairs. Management was desperate to reverse its sales decline and therefore did not mind how to attain a better profit picture as long as it is achieved. In this regard, it is like the saying â€Å"the end justifies the means† which is actually quite Machiavellian in its nature already (Falco, 2004, p. 384). Sears response to the allegations was inadequate because it did not even issue apologies to its customers. Instead, what it did was justify its actions by claiming the repairs were done for purposes of preventive maintenance, especially on older cars. Further, it claimed some errors had been committed but only in rare instances, that the allegations of fraud was not widespread in its store chain. More damaging perhaps was it retained and merely re-designed its incentive plan by excluding the service advisors from commissions but the mechanics are still on

Civil Rights Legislation and the Return of Status Essay

Civil Rights Legislation and the Return of Status - Essay Example These students would become known as the "Little Rock Nine."2 In 1960, students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College staged a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Their mistreatment was televised to the nation and prompted reflection. Also in North Carolina, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee was founded at Shaw University to give black students direction in the civil rights movement.3 1963 was an active year on the Civil Rights timeline. Martin Luther King was arrested and jailed. There, he wrote his famous "Letter From the Birmingham Jail," voicing the familiar argument that is was a moral duty to disobey unjust laws. In May, Birmingham officials unleashed fire hoses and police dogs on black protestors, once again televised for the world to see. The Lincoln Memorial was the congregation point of 200,000 who joined the March on Washington, where King spoke his "I Have a Dream" speech. Violence continued in the streets of Birmingham when four young girls were killed in an explosion at the Sixteenth Baptist Church, the location of several civil rights meetings.4 Progress came in the form of the 24th Amendment in 1964, which abolished a poll tax designed to block blacks fro

The future of healthcare Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The future of healthcare - Coursework Example The administrators have to keep up with advances technology by updating their skills in technology to offer guidance on the use of these technologies (Mandl & Kohane, 2012). In the next decade, the proportion of America senior citizens will increase. The average life expectancy in the US has risen from 47 years in 1900 to about 79 years, and it is estimated that it will be around 84 in 2050 (Schiller et al., 2012). Death rates are gradually reducing as the life expectancy of the people goes up. The changing trend will compel health care administrators to increase funds for the long-term care and develop substitutes for nursing homes. The rise in the number of older patients from the Boomer generation and the loss of providers is a significant challenge to the health care system in the country (Schiller et al., 2012). Administrators have to ensure that they set aside enough resources to guarantee that the aged patients receive the much-needed medical services. Improved funding will ensure that the old generation receives the best medical services. Schiller, S., Lucas, W., Ward, W., & Peregoy, A. (2012). Summary health statistics for US Adults: National health interview survey, 2010. Vital and Health Statistics. Series 10, Data from The National Health Survey, (252),

The Klondike Gold Rush Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The Klondike Gold Rush - Research Paper Example The Klondike gold rush ended in 1899 after the discovery of another gold mine in Nome. The trade had a very remarkable impact to the economic and social conditions of people who resided in Seattle and Washington States. 2 The cultural beliefs were totally altered by the trade due to the introduction of foreign beliefs and ideologies. The economic input of the trade in these two states was equally significant. The essay below focuses on the outputs and benefits of gold trade to the Seattle and Washington state. Economic and Social Impact The Klondike gold mine changed the ways of living as well as the economic conditions of the people who resided in Seattle and by large the Washington state. The trade led to the development and growth of timber market in the Seattle state. The ship industry in the Seattle state expanded due to the increase in the number of traders who used ships to commute to Alaska.3The trade also led to the immigration of people to Seattle from North of Columbia bet ween the 1850s and 1860s. In 1850s, the gold rush to the Fraser River brought many California people to the North West, which led to the establishment of the mining industry that supplied gold to merchant in Victoria, Seattle, and Vancouver. It is the Klondike gold trade that led to the development of railway network in the Seattle state. As a result, the development of the railway network in Seattle was the facilitating factor which led to the development and growth of fish, timber, and wheat industries in the Northern part of the country. Additionally, the large number of immigrants to the area led to the immense development of the state. 4 As a result of discovery of gold rush trade in Klondike, the chamber of commerce of Seattle state met to discuss how to benefit from the trade. They planned to promote the state to an outfit center for the Northern goldfield. They formed a panel to advertise the state to the gold traders as well as other interested traders. The bureau was also mandated with the responsibility of encouraging local traders to join the trade for the benefit of the state. There was a huge campaign to inform the gold traders that Seattle was the only gate way to Alaska. The campaign has a very positive outcome because the Seattle state managed to attract more than three quarters of the gold seekers into their stores. Within the first three months of the trade, more than 15000 miners were using the Seattle resources in their trade. 5 The other business persons who operated in Seattle sold meat, clothes, and dried fruits to gold seekers. The city buildings and infrastructures also benefited from the gold trade. The houses, hotels, and other residential houses were overbooked by gold traders. This led to the construction of more houses to accommodate the traders. More job opportunities were created by increasing numbers of hotels, restaurants, and other related businesses. There was increase in the amount of money which was circulating in the Sea ttle state. In 1987, the state was trading with approximately $36 million. This increased to $ 68 million in 1898 and in 1899, the amount of money which were operating in Seattle rose to over$100 million. 6 In 1898, the Seattle chamber of commerce decided to increase the trade benefit by establishing an assay office. The idea was to help the state benefit from

Occupational Safety and Health Law Handbook Essay

Occupational Safety and Health Law Handbook - Essay Example Section 9(a) of OSHA provides that all citations should reasonably be issued promptly. The limitation period for issuing citations is six months. Therefore, no citation can be vacated within the period unless the delay prejudiced the employer1. The employer has the burden of proving that the delay hindered his preparation and presentation of the defense. The second defense available to an employer is that the affected employees were not vulnerable to the condition cited (Schneid & Schumann, 2007). The Act requires that any citation must establish that either the employees were exposed to, or there was a potential for their exposure to the hazard in question. Furthermore, the Act requires that either the employer be in control of the hazard or create it. On this latter requirement, the employer could argue that he was unaware of the condition or could not have known the same despite exercising due diligence2. It could also suffice to argue that no hazardous condition prevails at the workplace. There is the assumption that a hazardous condition exists at the workplace if what is violated is a â€Å"specification† standard (e.g. a guardrail in all working surfaces above four feet). Therefore, OSHA must prove that there existed a hazardous condition to justify the citation (Schneid & Schumann, 2007). The level of risk must be significant, which means that the employer should know of the hazardous condition requiring protective equipment3. Therefore, the employer has to be a reasonable person conversant with the industry and safety requirements. If OSHA does not prove this standard, the citation is bound to

Discourse Community Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discourse Community Analysis - Essay Example Communication among the subjects of this paper is not very different from what is generally observed but is expressed through the most recent means brought about by technology like twitter, facebook and text messaging in addition to speaking and non-verbal methods of communicating. Having an account in the aforementioned social networking sites is now common not only to teenagers but to children and adults as well but this study limits itself among the teenagers alone. Updates, friendly chats, class discussions and other important matters are now easily accessed with the wide availability of the internet to every teenager in 16th street, Downtown so that most of them are updated with the latest local news and other interesting matters there could be discussed over the internet. The growing number of internet users now places teenagers without facebook or twitter accounts among the lower class who are not able to afford personal computers or internet connections or are rather poor eno ugh not to be able to go to school and become aware of such high technology developments. Other thoughts prevalent among teenagers about those who have no such accounts are considered to be old people who are not keen enough to learn how to manipulate the computer. In the exchange of ideas whether through face to face communication or through the internet and with the abundance of sites teenagers could visit but are not allowed by their parents, slang languages have been developed among the teenagers for them to hide things they do not like their parents to know. For instance, pornographic sites or images are referred to as ‘pron’ instead of the widely known term ‘porn’. This is to trick parents that what they are talking about or referring to are not offensive and also to let them stay away from them and their friends when they are discussing such matters. When they mention skittles, they are not talking about the candy bar rather the topic is about a type of drug commonly available to teenagers. No parent would ever suspect anything fearful with this attempt of the young people to hide their discussions from their parents so that even if they are hearing them say these things, the parents are just left clueless. Another common term used among teenagers in 16th street is the word ‘trannie’ or ‘tranzie’ which refers to trans-genders and come quite derogatory to those they refer to because they are usually singled out from their groups. Some slang terms are not just used to hide things from parents but from fellow teenagers as well in an attempt not to hurt their feelings like the formerly mentioned example which could be referred to a friend who is trans-sexual, accepted in a group yet is not far from being talked about. On the other groups’ point of view however, the words mentioned earlier place those who use them as rude or even members of some gang. Although the words usually hide the real topics f rom the untrained ears of older groups like parents, such talks also come with non-verbal communication that would express arrogance, haughtiness and some air of dislike to them so that they begin the

Message to garcia Essay Example for Free

Message to garcia Essay In the book, Message to Garcia, Rowan was asked to deliver a message to General Garcia, whom was in Cuba at the time. However, General Garcia was in a place that very few people knew about which made it impossible to send him the message through a telegraph. The only way they could reach him was by somebody directly brining the message to General Garcia, which Rowan was tasked to do. When Rowan was told about this mission he was not given any more information other than what to do. He used his own means and carried out the mission, and in the face of many obstacles he did not abandon his assignment. Rowan showed many traits we as Marines strive to emulate. Discipline is a way of behaving that shows a willingness to obey rules or orders. Discipline and dedication are the two biggest character traits that I took away from the book, A Message to Garcia. It shower a disciplined individual, such as Rowan, who was able to adapt to unfavorable circumstances and maintain his sense of mission and accomplish the task at hand. Rowan was told to do something and didn’t ask any questions. He did not stop till the job was finished. He proves he can be trusted to carry out any task from the simplest to the most complicated and important.

Techniques for the Identification of Unknown Microorganisms

Techniques for the Identification of Unknown Microorganisms Identification of Unknown Microorganisms For years and years, we have been trying to classify and understand microorganisms, and in doing so, we learned of certain techniques to identify them based on what they look like, where they live, and what they eat. We used this knowledge to derive simple tests to run, and we used a key to narrow down our choices, all in an effort to identify a microorganism. Beginning in the earliest labs with the earliest microbiologists, the most common way to identify an organism is to look at it and look at what it does. In microbiology of bacteria, is it round (cocci) or rod-shaped (bacilli)? Does it stain purple (gram +) or red (gram -)? Does it use lactose as food, while creating an acidic product that can be observed? These tests based on the physiology/morphology and biochemistry fall under what is known as classic identification  [1]. Classic techniques focus on the ability of a bacterium to grow and reproduce in certain conditions, such as the fact that bile salts can interact unfavora bly with the peptidoglycan cell walls of gram positive bacteria, therefore selecting against their growth. Most tests are used to specifically select for or differentiate between the species, this in conjunction with a dichotomous key helps narrow down the choices until one is satisfactory. In contrast, modern methods of identification are based on the technological advances of recent years, namely, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and genetics. The use of PCR to identify bacteria is rooted in the study of genetic coding, in particular, RNA. Every bacterium has strands of RNA that is used to bind the mRNA for translation: the 16s ribosomal RNA (rRNA)  [2]. This sequence is conserved in all bacteria and can be used to identify species after amplification through the PCR process. Since every species has a different genetic make-up, it is simply a matter of time for identification. But for most purposes, getting samples to a PCR and running them takes quite some effort, and a lot of m oney, thus the simpler and more efficient method is the classical testing. At one point or another, we all have gotten the sore throat and cough. These symptoms are sometimes caused by microbes in the pharynx that shouldnt be there. Bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenza, and Moraxella catarrhalis can infect the area and cause this sore feeling. A more serious offender, Streptococcus pyogenes, causes what is commonly known as strep throat. These bacteria make the pharynx sore by harvesting erythrocytes and breaking them down as sources of food, in turn, destroying the lining and causing the all familiar sore feeling1. A simple test on a blood supplemented agar helps reveal what source of pathogen is causing the sickness. The agar is inoculated and incubated until growth is seen, and the plate will show a pattern of hemolysis if caused by one of the bacterial pathogens. Beta hemolysis is the ability to fully metabolize the cell and hemoglobin and will produce a clear halo around the colonies. Alpha hemolysis is the partial breakdowns of hemoglobin into billiverdin, making the halo appear yellow/green. Gamma hemolysis is the absence of halo, as it means the organism cannot lyse erythrocytes1. Procedures: Respiratory swab: Take a sterile cotton swab and swab the tonsilary region Inoculate blood agar by rolling the cotton tip in a streak plate method After the initial line, discard the swab in biohazard bin, and continue with a flamed inoculation loop Second swab: Take a sterile cotton swab and swab the tonsilary region Place the swab in a test tube Dilute to 10-3 and 10-4 Make a pour plate with nutrient agar Unknown identification: To start to identify any unknown organism by classical methods, it is necessary to create an appropriate dichotomous key to accompany the tests. The first step to any key is the gram stain; this essentially splits the number of possible organisms in half, gram positive and negative. Further tests based on morphology and biochemistry will select and differentiate between common characteristics of species until one organism stands out. At the start of every lab day, fresh streak plates and broths are prepared to keep the organism isolated and fresh. Take a single colony and prepare streak plates, one for 37 °C and one for 25 °C Prepare broths aseptically in similar fashion Dichotomous key: The dichotomous key was prepared using only the organisms on the list provided by Dr. Maxwell. Gram stain: The gram stain separates bacteria into two main groups, gram positive and gram negative. The peptidoglycan cell walls of gram positive organisms will absorb the crystal violet stain and appear purple under microscope inspection. The gram negative bacteria lose their outer membrane during the decolorization step and will absorb the safranin stain, appearing red. Prepare specimen by taking an isolated colony and heat fixing on a slide Apply crystal violet stain for 60 sec Wash with water Apply iodine fixer for 45 sec Wash with water Rinse with decolorizer for exactly 8-10 sec Wash with water Apply safranin for 60 sec If gram positive, the next step in my dichotomous key is to differentiate based on morphology: is it a cocci or bacilli? This step will split the organisms by shape, essentially cutting the number in half. Using the gram stain slide, look at the shape of the specimen under 100x oil immersion Bacilli are rod-shaped cocci are round If bacilli, run the catalase test. The catalase test will reveal if the organism has catalase, an enzyme used to breakdown harmful oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide, which could be made as a result of metabolism. A drop of hydrogen peroxide is added to the specimen placed on a slide. A positive result will cause bubbles to form, indicating presence of catalase. Put a colony on a slide Add hydrogen peroxide Observe bubbles/no bubbles If catalase negative, as in no bubbles formed, the organism is Lactobacillus acidophilus. The bacteria are part of healthy normal flora and aids in digestion  [3]  . If catalase positive, the endospore stain must be used for further classification. The endospore is a tough spore formed by some bacteria during harsh environments. The spore will be dyed green in contrast to a cell dyed red. Prepare a specimen by heat fixing on slide Cover the slide with bibulous paper Add methylene blue Place slide on steamer over a Bunsen burner Steam for 7-10 minutes, applying additional methylene blue to prevent the paper from drying out Remove slide and paper Cool for no more than 30 seconds and rinse Counterstain with safranin for 1 minute Rinse and blot dry If endospore positive, the bacteria is Bacillus subtilis. The organism is found readily in the soil and can form a tough endospore when conditions become unfavorable. Bacillus is also a great model organism for gram positive studies  [4]  . If endospore negative, the organism is Corynebacterium diphtheriae. This bacterium is the cause of diphtheria, a respiratory infection. If the organism observed is cocci, run the catalase test. The catalase test will reveal if the organism has catalase, an enzyme used to breakdown harmful oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide, which could be made as a result of metabolism. A drop of hydrogen peroxide is added to the specimen placed on a slide. A positive result will cause bubbles to form, indicating presence of catalase. Put a colony on a slide Add hydrogen peroxide Observe bubbles/no bubbles If catalase negative, the organism is Enterococcus faecalis. It is commonly found in the digestive tract of humans and is considered part of the normal flora. It does not produce catalase. If catalase positive, the use of mannitol salt agar is used to differentiate between the staphylococcus and micrococcus bacteria. Mannitol salt agar is used to select for staphylococcus. Staphylococcus aureus will produce a yellow halo. Inoculate the MSA plate with a isolated colony Incubate at 37 °C for 48 hours Observe growth If a yellow colored halo around the colony is observed, it is either S. aureus white or S. aureus gold. The way to differentiate between the two is the color of the colony itself, which respectively is, white or golden (yellow). S. aureus is part of the normal flora and what is the usually cause of infections and pimples. If the MSA plate shows no yellow halo, then it is either Micrococcus roseus or Staphylococcus epidermis. The way to differentiate between them is the color of the colony itself. Micrococcus will appear red in color due to a pigment it secretes  [5]  , while S. epidermis will be a white color. Both are normal skin flora. If the organism is gram negative, the first test to run is the lactose supplement phenol red broth. The purpose of this test is to indicate whether or not the organism can use lactose as a food source. Fermenting lactose will produce an acidic waste and cause the phenol red to change color. A positive test will turn yellow. Inoculate a tube with an isolated colony Incubate at 37 °C for 48 hours Observe color change If the organism cannot utilize lactose, then perhaps it can use glucose as a food source. The glucose phenol red broth tests for a similar metabolic process as the lactose one. Inoculate a tube with an isolated colony Incubate at 37o C for 48 hours Observe color change If the bacteria are glucose negative, then it is either Pseudomonas (Burkeholderia) cepacia or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The two can be differentiated by the pigment of the colonies. P. cepacia will appear a light purple color while P. aeruginosa will be white, and also produce a green pigment known as pyocyanin  [6]  . If glucose positive, a citrate slant must be prepared. The citrate slant tests for the ability to use citrate as a carbon source. A positive result will turn the green slant blue. Inoculate the slant with an isolated colony Incubate Observe color If citrate negative, the bacteria is Proteus vulgaris. It is a bacterium that normally inhabits the intestines of humans and in certain cases can cause infections, albeit in most cases of immunocompromised individuals. If citrate positive, the organism is Serratia marcescens. It also produces a red pigment that can be used to identify it. The bacteria are found throughout environments and can be observed upon bathtubs that dont get washed often  [7]  . If the organism can ferment lactose, then the citrate test is prepared. The citrate slant tests for the ability to use citrate as a carbon source. A positive result will turn the green slant blue. Inoculate the slant with an isolated colony Incubate Observe color If citrate negative, the bacteria is E. coli. This is one of the most used model organisms for gram negative studies in labs. The rod shaped bacteria can cause some food poisoning if ingested. But the best use of it is in the labs, as it is easy to care for, replicates fast, and genetically simple, allowing for genetic research  [8]  . If citrate positive, the bacteria could be either Enterococcus or Citrobacter. The test to differentiate between the two is a Methyl red à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ Voges Proskauer media. The MR-VP is used to differentiate bacteria based on the ability to hydrolyze dextrose and create stable organic acids during fermentation. The MR-VP test combines the two separate tests. The positive result for the methyl red test is a red color when the methyl red indicator is added to the media. The positive result for the Voges Proskauer test is a red color. Inoculate two MR-VPs Incubate Add the MR reagent to one tube and observe any color change every 10 mins Look for any color change for the VP test before addition of reagent If MR-VP positive, the organism is Enterobacter. E. aerogenes can cause infections and is considered pathogenic; however it still does exist as part of the normal flora of the human intestines. If MR-VP negative, the organism is Citrobacter. They are ubiquitous in the environment and also inhabit the intestines. Results: Respiratory swabs: The streak plate to identify organisms with hemolytic abilities showed growth of many different bacteria morphologies. Green and white colonies were observed to be growing on top of the plate. The media remained red throughout; no indication of any white spots. The pour plates for were both too numerous to count. Unknown organisms: The organisms were isolated using a streak plate. Two isolations were obtained at two temperatures, 25 ­o C and 37o C. the plate at room temperature showed red pigmented colonies (B), while the body temperature plate showed thick white colonies (A). A third unknown was given pre-inoculated (C). Three biochemical tests and two morphological tests were used to identify the first unknown organism after isolation. A gram stain revealed that the organism was gram positive; being violet under the 100x oil immersion lens. Also while under the microscope, it was revealed that organism A was cocci. A catalase test was done and organism A was determined to be catalase positive, producing bubbles after addition of hydrogen peroxide. The unknown bacteria were inoculated on a mannitol salt agar, which showed the halo, a positive result. To identify between the two staphylococci aureus, the pigment of the colonies was used: white. A gram stain revealed that organism B was gram negative; red under the 100x oil immersion lens. A lactose and glucose tube was inoculated in the same period to identify the ability to utilize those sugars. The organism was not able to metabolize lactose and was able to use glucose. A citrate slant was inoculated, after 48 hours the butt and slant of the citrate slant was turned blue; positive result. The third unknown was tested to be gram positive. A catalase test came out negative, producing no bubbles. Conclusions: Respiratory swab: Because no halo or clearing of any kind was observed in the media around the colonies, it can be safely said that none of the organisms in our throat swabs contained bacteria capable of hemolysis. This lack of hemolytic ability is known has gamma hemolysis. The pour plates were TNTC. This is probably because the dilutions performed were not enough; too many organisms were taken per tonsil swab. At the time, both participants were mildly sick and had seasonal allergies, possibly contributing to the amount of organisms per swab. Unknown organisms: Three unknown organisms were presented for identification. Organism A was successfully identified as Staphylococcus aureus white. What lead to that identification is that S. aureus is a gram positive cocci that produces catalase and is able to use mannitol and grow on the mannitol salt agar and produce the halo; it was determined that the color of the colonies was white as opposed to gold. S. aureus is a common bacteria found on the skin and part of human normal flora. The bacteria can cause minor infections of the skin and can sometimes cause serious diseases and infection if it reaches the systemic circuit  [i]  . Organism B was identified as Serratia marcescens. It is a gram negative rod that can ferment glucose and citrate, but not lactose. It is a common environmental bacterium that can sometimes cause infections in skin and the urinary tract. S. marcescens is part of the family enterobacteriaceae and produces a red pigment that can be found on bathtubs and tiles, feeding on soap residues  [ii]  . Organism C was identified to be Lactobacillus acidophilus. It is a gram positive rod that does not produce any catalase for hydrogen peroxide breakdown. The bacteria are part of Lactobacillus which ferments sugars into lactic acids. This bacterium is used often for the production of many dairy products such as cheese and yogurt. L. acidophilus is part of normal human flora and can be found on the skin or gut. Sometimes it is used as a probiotic supplement. It also prevents Candida from overgrowing in the female vagina  [iii]  . All three organisms were identified successfully with the use of classic techniques.

Hr going green- switch to paperless office

Hr going green- switch to paperless office Objectives Investigation into successful and failed implementations of the paperless office idea. To assess the cost savings for the HR department. How much can be saved? Will the costs outweigh the benefits? SWOT analysis of paperless office softwares. Analyse current practice HR Going Green- Switch to Paperless Office The term ‘paperless office, refers to an electronic documentation management environment which provides an alternative to the work flow and storage issues associated with paper files. It was initially used in 1975 as a concept of ‘The Office of the Future. At that time organizations were anticipating the scenario in near future where offices will transform into a complete paperless environment. It is important for the management practices in present millennium to recognize the potential of a paperless office and its future implications. Multinational organizations around the world now realize that the major differential factor in the global competitive world is the technology innovation. Since the advent of new millennium, this dream of a ‘paperless office is partially realized by the usage of electronic documentation systems. However the practice of electronic applications is not utilized to the full extent and more advanced document management soft-wares are requi red for office management (Sellen and Harper, 2001). Cost Effectiveness: One of the major duties of HR department is to identify practices which save organizations costs. With the implementation of a ‘paperless office, HR and finance department will experience a visible reduced cost of printing, mailing, storing and shipping documents. Therefore the companies operating in the modern corporate environment will consider paperless office implementation. Time will be saved, which is generally wasted for searching lost files. Accessing information independent of ones location and timing goes a long way in cutting the organizations costs (Farson, 1996). Bills and document generation will take less time. Departments can interact with each other by circulating e-memos. Officials can even operate from their homes if organizations develop satellite offices. In addition, the paperless office provides an opportunity for organization to realise some profit as the storage and retrieval of electronic documents is instantaneous. This is because; a substantial amoun t of time culminating into an average of $50 is lost where employees search for information from paper documents. Outsourcing is one aspect that has saved a number of organizations from crumbling. With numerous workloads coupled with deadlines that are to be met, the incorporation of a paperless office has been the saviour of institutions as it reduces operational costs as well as other fundamental resources while able to meet their target within the stipulated time. This opportunity has been made available with the inception and operation of the paperless office in most organizations (Muto Muraito, 1999). Soft wares available for processing data and information provide a variety of tools as input sources (Gordon, 1998, p. 199). An example of this is the Voice Recognition Software which has a voice recognition tool sensitive to ones voice. Information is thus effectively and easily processed saving on secretarial workload that translates into valuable time lost from typing. Typos errors are also minimised with the use of this tool. Document Management Software-SWOT Analysis: Strengths: They are less costly for HR than intensive labour management. Purchasing the available software for record entry, documentation as well as storage is cheaper. Furthermore, computers do not require intense supervision neither are they exposed to effects of huge workloads such as tiredness which is a common scenario in labour intensive institutions. They are able to process large amounts of data with little supervision thus cutting down on the number of employees while maintaining high quality and quantitative productivity (Ravens, 2002). These soft-wares efficiently and effectively manage e-documents. Such documents are easily processed, sent to and retrieved by individuals in need of them. This saves on paper as required documents such as forms can be filled electronically and sent to desired destinations. Such include; e -mails and e- memos (Alberto, 2007). They make sharing of files easy in organizations, better security of important document and proper maintenance of archives. Vital information lost in documents lost or misplaced due to poor handling by individuals is secured through available software. These soft wares are also able to copy information which can be easily accessed by various persons within the organization. Generates valuable office space. Renting office space has recently become an expensive undertaking. Designing mechanisms to generate valuable space has become a common trend by organizations with some opting to pull down walls. Embracing paperless office which is made available by various soft wares is one mechanism that organizations would use to address the aforementioned issue (Sellen and Harper, 2001). Weaknesses: The document management soft-wares may lack certain features which may not be applicable for all kinds of documents. Different documents require different features for both their development and usage. Without such features, it may be difficult to develop a specific format necessary for a specific type of document (Alberto, 2007). HR should realize that it is not possible to become totally ‘paperless. There may be some customers who will prefer ordering via memos. Attending to and satisfying a clients needs, are goals that play vital roles in the continuity of entities. To achieve this, an organization hence needs to be flexible in its approaches. Considering giving memos to some clients should therefore be taken into account. The collapse of backing system of files may result in the loss of important data. Machines are prone to collapse due to various reasons. This is inevitable therefore the only option left is to take advantage of alternative strategies such as back up. The back up system is still not a viable option as it may still be affected hence increasing the susceptibility of information to loss (Gordon, 1998, 205). Opportunities: These soft-wares are environmental friendly and can play a vital role in combating deforestation. Paperless office cuts down on the demand for paper which is mostly made available through deforestation. The effects of deforestation on the global environment have been adverse and consequently affected the survival of humans and other organisms on the planet. Reducing demand for paper is therefore a practical action towards reversing these effects with far reaching impacts on the survival of various species (Farson, 1996). The availability of optic fibre and satellite technologies would play fundamental roles in the paperless office industry. This would ease and fasten transmission of relevant documents to larger populations including those in remote locales. The fact that computing is taught in academic institutions is an encouragement. This would reduce training expenditures on new employees hence saving on costs. The new generation is also exposed to other electronic tools with computer features. This would play a big role in changing their perception of ‘super paper (Alberto, 2007). Currently, it is easier to obtain computers and soft wares due to the mushrooming of computer and software manufacturing industries in the world over. The initial capital of investing in these machines would therefore reduce owing to their increased supply. This would cater for large institutions with a high turnover of employees as most or all would be able to access computers for their needed functions (Muto Maurito, 1999). Sharing ideas through e-mails and e-memos is one aspect that would contribute to the growth of organizations. The implementation of laws and regulations on digitized information is a stepping stone towards increased adoption of the paperless office. This is supported by the Implementation of the Government Paperwork Elimination Act in the United States (Alan, 2003). Threats Increased manufacturing of upgraded computers which replace obsolete ones result in increase in e-waste. Little research has been done on disposal mechanisms of this non-degradable waste which would further affect the state of the environment. The human perception on paper. Despite reducing the utility of paper, most individuals still perceive the legality of paper documents. This is due to the fact that features such as original signatures define the legality of certain documents. Computer hacking and the effects of computer related viruses are setbacks of the paperless office. These contribute to increased vulnerability of documents to loss as well as reduced confidentiality of information (Weighright, 2000, pp.6-10). In order to analyse the current scenario, Canada is taken as one of the case studies. Despite most Canadians thinking green, working green has been a bitter pill to swallow. From a recent survey, paperless workplace to them is still pulp fiction. Workers print on average 30 copies, with approximately 10 pages (39%) finding their way to the waste bin. In addition, their printing habits were surveyed and shown to have increased over the past five years. Notably, workplace printing accounted for all printing activity despite the availability of technological tools that emphasize on use and storage of digital data. The ‘blue bin paper recycling program was a common policy in most companies. However, encouraging information from the survey shows that most firms were concerned about the impact of their practices on the environment and thus practices such as using electronic versions of documents were employed by companies (Ravens, 2002). In the United States, the courts of Utah are currently adopting the paperless office for purposes of storing vital information, increasing the accessibility to information including those remotely stored and saving on space (Alan, 2003). Hospitals have also embraced this following the adoption of the Health Information Systems to assist both the staff and patients. To ensure that this is successfully achieved, organizational structural changes, leadership, training and technical support, and usability have been the main focal points of these institutions. The Paperless Office despite being compared to the resource use paradox is an achievable option that would result in a complete overhaul of the negative effects of the use of paper. This however requires the incorporation of time as well as a change in the perception and behavioural patterns of people regarding the use of paper (Gordon, 1998, p.209). As evidenced from the above information, the accruing benefits far outweigh the pitfalls. References Sellen, A., Harper, R. (2001). The Myth of Paperless Offices. Boston: MIT Press. Alan, A. (2003). Utah Courts: towards paperless. USA: Sage. Alberto, B. (2007). Desktop Publishing: things not taught. London: McMillan Publishers. Farson, T. (1996). Progressive Technological Applications. London: Oxford University Press. Gordon, C. (1998). Paperless Office. Aslib Proceedings, 39, 197-210. Muto, P., Maurito, P. (1999). Computer Screens: the paperless office. London: Penguin. Ravens, K. (2002). Managing the Absurd. USA: McGraw Hill. Weighright, J. (2000). The Design, Implementation and Impact of Office Automation. Personnel Review, 13, 2-12

Tissue types Essays -- essays research papers

Biology Assignment 1. Tissue types and their properties! Body tissues! The four core types of tissues in the body are; epithelial, connective, muscle and nervous. Each is designed for specific functions. Epithelial Tissues! Epithelial tissues are spread out all over the body. They cover all surfaces and also line body cavities and hollow organs. These tissues are also the major tissue in glands. Epithelial tissues have many functions including secretion, protection, excretion, diffusion, absorption, filtration and sensory reception. Epithelial tissues have one surface free which is not connected to other cells; this is because the epithelial cells form linings and surfaces. The opposite side of the tissue is attached to connective tissue. Between these two surfaces are cells packed tightly together. The shapes that the epithelial cells may be are: - sqaumous, cubodial or columnar they can also be arranged in either singular or multiple layers. Simple cuboidal – found in glandular tissue and kidney tubules. Simple columnar – line stomach and intestines. Pseudostratified columnar – lines some of the respiratory tract and some of the male reproductive tract. Muscle Tissue. Muscle tissues include cells which boast the ability to shorten or contract to permit body parts to move. This type of cellular tissue also has a vast supply of blood vessels. Like the epithelial tissue the muscle tissue is also surrounded by connective tissue. Muscle tissue contains con...