Ethics in Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Ethics in Accounting - Essay Example AICPA principles of professional conduct AICPA principles are the guidelines that guide the conduct of members in the accounting profession. 1.Accounting professionals are expected to exercise moral judgment and professionalism in the conduct of activities. 2.Professional accountants are expected to act in a manner that ensures public interest. Accountants must be committed to professionalism and earn public honor. 3.Accountants are expected to uphold high levels of integrity to earn public interest. 4.Accountants must be show objectivity and independence when discharging responsibilities. 5.Accounting professionals must continuously enhance their competencies to improve service delivery. 6.Members are expected to adhere to professional codes of conduct when determining nature and the scope of services provided. Definition and characteristics of U.S. GAAP U.S GAAP denotes internationally recognized frameworks that guide financial accountants. The principles ensure ethics in the field of accounting. The characteristics include: 1.Financial information must be relevant in that it ought to contain information about the business. 2.Information must be reliable in such a way comparative analysis can be made. The information must also be verifiable (Duska R, Duska S, and Ragatz 33). 3.Comparability ensures that differences and similarities between events can be easily made. That is, Past and currents statements can be analyzed. 4.Financial statements must also be consistent in that they are easily understandable by the users of the statements and the preparer.

What are the major points of difference in Realist International Essay

What are the major points of difference in Realist International Relations Theory - Essay Example The developments of this period acted as wake-up calls because nations started getting interested in owning resources, creating political boundaries, and ruling the world (Viotti, & Kauppi, 2012). Since then, war has been a part of life for some countries because of lack of peace with neighboring states, for example, Iran and Iraq. Other countries such as the European Union and America found peace by forming international organizations such as United Nations, which formulates the rules that govern the interaction between countries. Scholars have formulated theories to help states to determine how they should interact with others. The main theories of international relations include realism and idealism. The theory of realism has been embraced and criticized at the same time because of the contradictions in its tenets; this makes it useful to analyze the hypothesis and determine the differences in its arguments. Origin of Realism Theory The theory of realism bases its arguments on eco nomic principles, and it argues that states aim at maximizing their utility relative to others. The utility of states increases when they own more resources and power contrary to their counterparts (Rengger, 200). This means that the techniques used to acquire power and resources are not questionable, even if they are against humanity and ethics. The founders of this theory include Nicholas Spykman, Carr, and Hans Morgenthau, all who are from the European Union. Watz and Alexander Hamilton of the United States later contributed to theory. The artistic works of Thucydides and Sun Tzu that existed before the foundations of the theory were used as the basis for the formulation of its principles (Donneley, 2000). Assumptions of the Theory The hypothesis assumes that the government is the highest level of power in a country, and that the leaders of the state make rational decisions. According to Machiavelli, rational decisions are those that increase wealth and power. Therefore, national leaders do not take courses that degrade the power and resources of the state because this would be irrational. This means that the theory disregards international organizations such as the United Nations and International Monetary Fund, which may dictate the actions of the government. The independence of the actions of states means that countries interact in an anarchical system; this is where each government aims at gaining comparative advantage in the acquisition of certain resources and powers (Resende, 2007). Tenets of the Realism Theory of International Relations The principles of the theory were developed by Morgenthau after the Second World War when international relations became a popular subject. However, the ideologies that were applicable during the war included those of Carr and Machiavelli. The first principle of the theory of realism argues that states are governed by the rule of law, and that it is the regulations that manage international relationships (Mary, Rosec rance, & Steiner, 2010). This means that states that do not have laws may not find peace with others, and even those that have inefficient regulations may also fail to find peaceful international neighbors. This then depicts that countries must concentrate on the formulation of logical and efficient laws, in order for them to prosper in the international economy (Machiavelli, & Marriott, 2010). This is because a country analyzes the laws of another state when determining whether to engage in foreign relations

Employee reward

Employee reward Employee Reward Assignment The aim of this essay is to discuss the advantages and disadvantages relating to broad-banding and grading pay structures. The first part of this paper will define broad-banding and grading pay structures. It will continue including various examples of both broad-branding and grading pay structures and also discussing the benefits and drawbacks of applying both structures within an organisation. The summary of the key findings will be included at the end of this paper in conclusion. A pay structure outlines the various levels of pay for jobs or groups of job by reference to their relative internal value as recognized by job evaluation and to external relativities as recognized by market rate surveys. In Figure 1.0 is an example of a Pay-graded structure. Example of a pay graded structure is shown in fig 1.0 (Google Images) The pay structures in organisations must be suitable to the necessary characteristics and needs of the required organisation and employees to enable it to work and be successful and worthwhile. The structures should make it attainable to achieve equity, operational flexibility and continuous development, steadiness and fairness in managing employee reward. The main types of pay structures are narrow-graded, Broad banded , job family, individual job grade, pay curve, spot rate and pay spine. Broad banding is the compression of a hierarchy of pay grades or salary ranges into a small number (typically four or five) of width bands. This was first introduced in organizations in the late 1980s and early 1990s (World at work, 2002). The aim of breaking down the job clusters or levels of positions into a fewer number of width bands are to: Provide pay structures which fit flatter organisation structures, Allow processes initially created to withstand hierarchy and vertical movement to be replaced, Work upon other methods of payment that reflect a broader range of employee development and contribution, as well as increased levels of competence, skill acquisition, incessant learning, career development and flexibility, etc. Each of the bands therefore spans the pay opportunities, which beforehand were covered by several pay ranges as illustrated in figure 2.0 Figure 2.0 Example of a broad-banded structure (Armstrong, 2002). ‘Broad banding is an attractive alternative to rigid, structured, specialized and hierarchical organizations. (Aon Consultings Forum, 2002). It differs from a conventional grading system due to the greater pay range within each band and the smaller number of bands. Determining the width of the bands requires care to be taken because if a band tends to be too broad it runs the risk of giving impractical expectations to those near the bottom. In this case, some organisations have introduced bands within bands, which are known as ‘zoning, and reason being is to contain expectations and make the structure more easily to understand and manage. The way Broad banding works is that, when job evaluation has been finalized, the artificial divisions, which normally differentiate between grades, are ignored. A group of titles such as manager, supervisor, operative, clerk are gathered into one large band. This then allows all employees in the organisation to fit into a salary structure, which may have as few as 5 broad bands as illustrated and mentioned above. Also, in Figure 3.0, is an example of a broad-banded salary structure. Figure 3.0 Example of Broad-banded salary structure (Stredwick, 2005) Adopting a broad banded structure concentrates on evaluating the individual, focusing on lateral career development and on competency growth rather than upward progression through a hierarchy. In a 1994 survey by the American Compensation Association/Hewitt Associates examined why organizations had implemented broad banding, 71% of the participants reported supporting a flatter organization and nurturing a new organizational culture, 57% mentioned the promotion of a widely skilled work force and facilitation of career development, and 55% reported minimizing administrative effort and reducing job evaluations. (Peters, 1994). Reasons as to why organizations adopt such an approach are; a de-emphasis on formal job evaluation systems can free up time for senior managers and compensation professionals to focus on critical business and people management issues. In addition to this, a broadband structure can support organizations with collaborative work styles that value process and results over control and status. (Aon Consultings Forum, 2002) Pay Expert Michael Armstrong recommends 12 steps for developing and installing a broad banded pay structure in his publication ‘ Employee Reward. A couple of examples of these steps are: ‘ Reach an agreement that it is the most appropriate pay structure for progression. ‘Decide on the width of bands, the degree of overlap (if any), the anchor points and pay zones. (LGE) Broad banded are most likely to be introduced to organisations, which are flexible, who do not operate with extended hierarchies and believe in continuous development. Broad banding continues to be an approach that has a great interest to managers seeking to enhance organisational performance. During the 1990s the number of companies implementing broad banding continued to increase from 10% of firms surveyed in 1993 to 23% in 1999. (HR Focus, 2000). Broad banding started out in the USA. William Mercer carried out a study in 1997. One of the outcomes of the study was that of approx. 3000 US organisations it was found that close to 45% had either installed the broad banding approach or were considering to do so. (Armstrong, 2002) Looking at the percentage, it is quite a large amount of organisations, which make broad banding look more attractive to other organisations that may be unsure about adopting this approach. Broad banding started of slow in the UK but research carried by Watson Wyatt in 1996 showed that 20 per cent of the 346 firms surveyed had introduced the system. More than half of the remaining firms planned to introduce it in their organisations. (Armstrong, 2002) Since then, there has been a considerable increase in the number of organisations with broad bands. The CIPD 1999/2000 survey of 193 organisations (Armstrong and Brown, 2001) found that 60 per cent of them had broad banded structures with five or fewer bands. Broad banding has become the most popular approach to the design of pay structures. In broad bands, pay is managed more flexibly than in a conventional graded structure and great is paid to market relativities. There are many advantages of adopting a broad banded structure as there are fewer number of bands which makes it easier to manage and an organisation operating with a small number of bands is able to address communication issues more effectively because it grades far more employees within the same pay category, greater width of bands, greater overlap between bands which means continuous development without being upgraded. Although broad banding has come to the force, graded pay structures remain the most standard types in the private sector, however broad banded structures are replacing traditional graded structures. ‘ In a broadband structure, the range of pay in a band is significantly higher than in a conventional graded structure. The band width may be as much as 100 per cent or even more, and there may be only four or five bands in the structure (Perret, 2007) As more employees will be grouped in the same band it can be used to reduce the status consciousness that is often found in a narrow banded pay structure. This in turn might help to focus employee attention to the external environment rather than internal equity. Broad-banding has flatter organisational structures and also encourages flexibility dispensing the need for constant regarding and promotion, less competition compared to graded pay as there is competition trying to compete to the next level of the structure rather than working as a team. ‘In broad banded pay systems, employees are encouraged to pursue the development of job skills the need to achieve the next promotion. (Loma, 1999) From research that was conducted it was found that in one large organization that had introduced broad banding, senior management reported that they received more thoughtful recommendations for promotions because managers did not need to promote people to get a raise simply because they were at the band ceiling. (Tyler, 1998) There are rewards rather than attributes in broad-banding and also worker commitment is at its highest. In traditional pay grading structures theres no prospects at getting to the top. In a business environment where organisations want to respond flexibly to global developments and customer requirements, the inflexibility of a traditional scheme has far too many disadvantages. Promotions are now far fewer as organisations have de-layered, reducing greatly the number of management and supervisory positions. Employees need to be far more flexible, willing to change their roles and learn more skills to meet the needs of the quickly changing their roles and learn more skills to meet the needs of the quickly changing national and international marketplace. The stiff, hierarchical grading structure is far less likely to match the quick-moving, responsive culture required in both manufacturing and service industries. They need to be able to adapt quickly to new changes being implemented. Despite the numerous advantages of the wider use of broad banding, at the close of the 90s, a Wyatt survey of 1,300 companies found that less than one in 10 used broad bands. If one was to remove the larger companies from the survey (5000 employees or more), only 6% to 7% used this approach. (Stern Associates, 2006) A few companies find that it works for them, but most are redesigning their structures to allow pay ranges to reflect the market. Conclusions As with any compensation structure, broad banding must be suited to the strategy, culture and employee needs of the particular employer. In my opinion and after careful consideration on broad banded structures I feel a broadband structure is best adopted in a culture that is flexible and team-based or at least is moving quickly in that direction. Companies should carefully weigh broad bandings pros and cons to ensure it fits with their organizational culture and business goals. Despite all the advantages of the broad banded systems, broad bands are still viewed as a novel approach to pay, yet to be proven workable. While companies continue to move to broadband pay programs, anecdotal reports indicate that many early-adopters are returning to more traditional pay structures. Clearly it is found that managers in organizations that have implemented broad banding believe they will have greater flexibility in directing the workforce if they can move people more readily in all directions within the organization without the constraints of narrowly defined jobs and restrictive pay grades/ranges.

The Importance of Dinosaur Discoveries Essay example -- Anthropology E

The Importance of Dinosaur Discoveries When a paleontologist makes a discovery about Dinosaurs it is usually a celebrated event and will appear on all sorts of covers of magazines and even newspapers, with good reason. These discoveries are often quite exciting for a few reasons. The whole experience of finding a fossil that is hundreds of millions of years old is quite an adrenaline rush, but the fact that each discovery has the ability to answer questions in relation to evolution is quite amazing. Each finding of Dinosaur remains can help answer questions of how that certain species evolved from another. If our species can fully understand how Dinosaurs evolved, maybe in the future we can learn something about our evolution. Without discoveries from the past how is our society supposed to persevere and learn from mistakes that may lead to our own extinction, and who to learn better from than perhaps the dinosaurs that have gone through many stages of evolution and have faced extinction. The finding that will be discussed is the discovery of a new type of long- necked Sauropod Dinosaur named Rapetosauras, in the country of Madagascar (National Science Foundation). It was found by two groups of scientists. One group was headed up by Dr. Catherine Forster of SUNY Stony Brook and the other was led by Dr. Curry Rogers of the Science Museum of Minnesota (National Science Foundation). The paleontologists in total found a skeleton that possessed a set of 80 to 90 vertebrate from the neck all the way down to the tail (National Geographic). The two teams also discovered two nearly complete skulls, one from a young Rapetosauras and another from an adult (National Geographic). The Rapetosauras is a type of Dinosaur called a Titano... ...4 (Primary Source) Hartman, Joseph, Krause, David, and Rogers Raymond. †Stratigraphic Analysis of Upper Cretaceous Rocks in the Mahajanga Basin, Northwestern Madagascsar: Implications for Ancient and Modern Faunas.† The Journal of Geology vol. 108 (2000) : 275. Parsell, D.L. â€Å"Skeleton of New Dinosaur â€Å"Titan† found in Madagascar on National Geographic.com.† 1 August 2001. National Geographic News. 4 April 2004 â€Å"Brachiosaurus† Enchanted Learning.com. 2004. 4 April 5 2004 â€Å"New Long-necked Dinosaur Discovered in Madagascar.† Office of Legislative and Public Affairs. 1 August 2001. National Science Foundation. 5 April 2004

Martin Luther King Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. When he was grown, he wrote that he came from a family â€Å"where love was central and where lovely relationships were ever present† (Colaiaco, 1984). He could never remember his parents fighting, and he was surrounded by people with deep religious beliefs and a profound sense of human dignity. His father was pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church and his mother had been a teacher. Her father had been pastor of Ebenezer before his death. Martin had an older sister; Christine, and a younger brother, A.D. Martin grew up during the Depression, a time when many were without jobs and had to struggle to make a living. His family wasn't wealthy, but they were comfortable and had enough to eat.Discussion and BackgroundHans Luther sent his son to the University of Effort to maintain the dream of him becoming a lawyer. By 1505, Luther had completed the Bachelor s program and received his Master s degree. He was on his way to becoming the lawyer that his father had always dreamed of, until June 1505. On his way back to the University after visiting his family, Martin was caught in a thunderstorm and a flash of lightning hit him. In the open field where he laid, he promised God he would join a religious order. (Leonard, 2002) When Martin s friends heard of his promise, they were shocked. His father was angered that he had spent a large amount of money to send his son to school, and his son was not going to be able to support the family.For the rest of his brief life, he inspired people to fight for their rights using nonviolent means (Lincoln, 2001). King paid a great price for his vision. From 1956 until his death in 1968, he was arrested, stabbed, stoned, and finally assassinated. And although he loved his family, he was often away from home, traveling tirelessly, from town to town, state to state, and even to Europe, Africa, and Asia to share his dream of peace and love.ConclusionIn 1964, Martin Lu ther King, Jr., won the Nobel Peace Prize. This important award is given almost every year to the person, people, or organization most responsible for promoting peace. King, at age thirty – five, was the youngest person ever to receive the prize. In December, he set off with family and friends to Oslo, Norway, where the award ceremony look place. On his return, King was shower with honors. The city of Atlanta, where he lived, gave him a dinner. Together blacks and whites sang the civil rights movement's anthem, â€Å"We Shall Overcome† (Lincoln, 2001). Only a few years before, King had been arrested in Atlanta for trying to eat al an all-white lunch counter. ReferencesColaiaco, James A. (1984).†The American Dream Unfulfilled: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the ‘Letter from the Birmingham Jail'.† Phylon.Leonard, Cowries, W. (2002) Martin Luther Jr. Leader of the Reformation. New York: Fredrick A. Pager.Lincoln, C. Eric, (2001). Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Profile. American Century Series. New York: Hill and Wang. P 156-159

Responsibility for Personal and Professional Development Essay

Effective personal and professional development is the result of co-operative and co-ordinating working at all levels in the University and also with the individual members of staff. At the strategic level the personal and professional development implications of strategy and vision must be recognised and resourced. Overall responsibility for the development and delivery of Personal and Professional Development policy and strategy rests with the Director of Human Resources and the Personal and Professional Development Unit. The Director of Academic Professional Development and the Academic Professional Development Advisory Group, convened by the Director of Human Resources, acts as a central focus for the co-ordination, planning and provision of a range of learning and teaching development activities. The Deans and/or Associate Deans for Learning & Teaching, as appropriate, liaise with the Director of Academic Professional Development in order to consider appropriate ways in which de velopment needs can be met, including delivery at department/section/unit or Faculty level, or through central delivery. The link between centrally delivered and Faculty-based development activities is supported by regular and ongoing contact between the Director of Academic Professional Development and Faculty contacts for Academic Professional Development, normally the Associate Dean for Learning & Teaching. Heads of department/section/unit ensure that all staff employed in their area receive appropriate advice so as to ensure direct and substantial benefits are achieved for staff undertaking any development, support towards identifying their developmental needs through the review process and by other means, and ensure that adequate time is made available within workloads to allow staff to engage in identified and agreed development activities, as appropriate, to address these needs. Faculties and departments/sections/units are expected to expand upon the centrally delivered personal and professional development programme by making effective use of any monies devolved to them for this purpose. Day-to-day management of university-wide generic personal and professional development and training, as well as management training and development, is the responsibility of the Director of Management and Personal Development. Generic personal and professional development and training comprises those  activities which serve a widespread need in the university such that is efficient and effective to provide them centrally, either in-house, bought-in or externally provided, rather than ask departments or Faculties to source them. They include interpersonal skills, administrative skills and management skills. They do not include skills narrowly applicable to only one specialist function or discipline, which are best sourced through a department’s or individual’ s links, perhaps to the research community or a professional society.

Berenguela of Castile

Berenguela of Castile About Berenguela of Castile Known for: role in the succession of Castile and Leon; regent of Castile for her brother Enrique I Occupation: briefly, queen of LeonDates: January/June 1, 1180 - November 8, 1246Also known as: Berengaria of Castile More About Berenguela of Castile Berenguela was born to King Alfonso VIII of Castile and Eleanor Plantagenet, Queen of Castile. An arranged marriage to Conrad II of Swabia did not happen; he was murdered in 1196 before the marriage was held. Berenguelas Marriage In 1197, Berenguela was married instead to Alfonso IX of Leon, her dowry including lands were settlement of a conflict between Leon and Castile. In 1198, the Pope excommunicated the couple on grounds of consanguinity. The couple had five children before they dissolved the marriage in 1204 to remove their excommunication. Berenguela moved back to her fathers Castilian court, with her children. Berenguela and Castile When her father, Alfonso VIII, died in 1214, her mother Eleanors grief was so great that Berenguela had to handle the burial of Alfonso. Eleanor died less than a month after her husband did. Berenguela then became regent for her young brother, Enrique (Henry) I. Enrique died in 1217, killed by a falling roof tile. Berenguela, the eldest daughter of Alfonso VIII, renounced her own claim to the throne in favor of her son, Ferdinand III, later to be canonized as Saint Ferdinand. Berenguela and Alfonso IX - Battles Over Succession Berenguelas former husband, Alfonso IX, believed he had the right to rule Castile, and he attacked Berenguela and Ferdinand who won the battle. Berenguela and Alfonso IX also fought over who would succeed Alfonso in Leon. He wanted his daughters by his first wife to be preferred in the succession. Alfonso tried to marry one of these elder daughters to John of Brienne, a French nobleman and crusader who had been named King of Jerusalem. But John selected instead Berenguela of Leon, a daughter of Alfonso by his second wife Berenguela of Castile. Some of their descendents became Englands House of Lancaster. Unification Under Ferdinand When Alfonso IX of Leon died in 1230, Ferdinand and his mother Berenguela negotiated a settlement with Ferdinands half-sisters, and he brought Leon and Castile together. Berenguela of Castile remained an active advisor of her son, Ferdinand III. Background, Family: Mother: Eleanor, Queen of Castile, a daughter of Henry II of England and Eleanor of AquitaineFather: Alfonso VIII of CastileSiblings included: Urraca of Castile, Queen of Portugal; Blanche of Castile, Queen of France; Mafalda; Constanza; Eleanor of Castile; Enrique (Henry) I of Castile Marriage, Children: Husband: King Alfonso IX of Leon (married 1197-1204)Children:EleanorFerdinand IIIAlfonsoBerengariaConstance