Savvy by Ingrid Law

Savvy by Ingrid Law. Cover Illustration by Terese Dikun. Dial Books, 2008. Ages 12 and up. Savvy is a story about an unusual family, the Beaumonts, whose family members awaken powers – coined savvy – at the age of 13. The Baumont’s sons, for example, can cause hurricanes and sparks with their savvies. The novel begins with Mibs, the youngest of the Beaumont clan, as she nears the eve of her 13th birthday and is excited to discover what her savvy would be. However, tragedy strikes a mere two days before her 13th birthday as Poppa, the Beaumont patriarch, figures in a terrible accident 90 miles away from home. What ensues is an extraordinary adventure fueled by Mibs’ unwavering belief that her savvy would be able to save Poppa. Riding a pink rickety bus and accompanied by her two brothers and the preacher’s kids, Mibs embarks on a journey to awaken her savvy and prove she can save the day. Ultimately, Savvy is a story about growing up and coming to know and accept oneself and others. It teaches about learning and seeing beyond appearances and appreciating what is skin deep. Savvy is a wondrous tale of hope, love, and redemption. The novel bridges the idea that each and every individual is very special, with unique gifts that make that person unique. Ingrid Law craftily manages to incorporate all of these into a concise yet elegantly written novel while still making the story and the characterization a priority, resulting in a book that leaves the reader filled with all sorts of wonderful emotions even after turning over that last page.

Push and Pull Factors in the Tourism Industry Essay

Gogo (formerly known as Aircell), is an innovation company, becoming leaders in providing inflight connectivity. The company began in 1991, when they began creating telephone systems for aircrafts, they progressed from this and in 2006 began creating a broadband network for aircraft. In 2008, they launched this new system into commercial flights and since then they have been offering this service for various American airlines including US Airways, Virgin America and American Airlines (Gogo 2013). The purpose of this paper is to discuss the recent experience of using Gogo Wi-Fi on an American Airlines flight, and investigate the strategy of Gogo, with reference to the innovation dilemmas when creating this new service. The experience occurred on an American Airlines flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles, although the technology had been available for a few years, this was the first time the consumer had experienced Wi-Fi whilst flying. Although the consumer had no need for the Internet on their flight and only purchase it to update their Facebook status, they recognised the benefits of having the internet on long haul flights, this included people being able to check emails and stay in touch with people and it also provides people with the ability to download entertainment from online sources and no longer be limited to the selection provided by the airline. Due to the nature of the Airline industry, at the core level it can be viewed as a generic offering across the industry. This resulting in airlines often creating a differentiation strategy, in order to gain a competitive advantage as they seek to increase the value of the product/service on offer to the consumer (Hooley et al, 2012). The Gogo Company acknowledged that their innovation could provide a service to Airlines that will enable them to differentiate themselves. This can be identified on the Gogo website, as it states ‘By differentiating your airline and providing a memorable passenger experience, you stand to gain loyalty among your valued flyers†¦lets you custom wrap the video portal, so your brand is consistently comes forth whenever passengers are connected’ (Gogo 2013). In 2009, American Airlines announced it would be using Gogo services on their domestic flights, costing the airline $100 000 to install (Semuels, 2009). This therefore shows that American Airlines have recognised the benefits and the increase ticket sales and revenue they could receive by advertising Gogo Internet is now a part of inflight entertainment. When innovation occurs within a company, they must consider the following innovation dilemmas, whether the product or service is a technology push or market pull, product or process innovation, open or closed innovation and finally a technological or business-model innovation. Technology push is when innovation is pushed by technologist or scientist who pass this information onto the company, from there they will manage, promote and distribute this new innovation. This can be compared to market push, this is when companies create innovation based on what the ‘lead users’ are doing in that particular industry (Johnson et al, 2011). One aspect that has enable Gogo to overcome this dilemma, is by listening to what the market wants and ensuring they are up to date with the current market technological tends. Product Innovation is when emphasis on innovation is placed on the finally product, whereas in process innovation is when innovation is focused on the production and distribution (Johnson et al, 2011). At the beginning Gogo was focused on the product innovation, but as the company has grown, they have shifted to process innovation. This can be identified on the Gogo website stating that ‘1 in 4 people consider their laptop, tablet or IPad an essential carry on item’ (Gogo 2013), therefore Gogo has had to ensure its innovation is compatible across the multiple devices. Open innovation is when companies improve their innovation through gaining ideas through internal and external personnel. This can be compared to closed innovation, when innovation is based on internal personnel (Johnson et al, 2011). Gogo tend to go for closed innovation to ensure they remain leaders in the industry however ensuring they are receiving feedback from their clients to ensure they are meeting their needs. Technological or business-model innovation, technological innovation is when innovation is relied on new science or technology, whereas business-model innovation emphasises on creating new models that will bring stakeholders together in a new method (Johnson et al, 2011). Gogo began as a technological innovation, however has become a business-model innovation for companies using Gogo products and service, as it changes the way they sell and promote their airline company. Overall, Gogo are the market leaders and innovators in inflight communications services. And from reviewing the company’s current strategy, it can be recognised that will continue to be market leaders as they are aware of the demands from today’s consumers, and are constantly updating, innovating and meeting these demands. Although by company innovating new products or services, it dose propose the risk of innovation dilemmas, Gogo has proven that they can overcome these dilemmas and continue to lead and grow.

ENERGY WEDGES Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

ENERGY WEDGES - Lab Report Example Our group resorted to cutting carbon emission by half hence built an energy wedge that shows how the significant reduction is likely to take place if endorsed by the whole world. Our energy wedge begins with efficiency in transport as the basic of reducing carbon emission by 50%. The group believes that the current consumption of fuel by vehicles is likely to double from 30 mpg to 60mpg in the next 50 years. In order for saving to be achieved, there is need for the economy to shift from carbon energy sources to hybrid diesel engine technologies. Building efficiency comes second in the wedge. If technology is well utilized, buildings are supposed reduce emissions of carbon by 25% (Levy, 2010). This can be done through using solar heaters and using good insulators in construction of houses to reduce the demand of heat by electricity and other carbon sources. The next energy conservation strategy involves use of conservative measure in transport. Reducing face-to-face communication and using more electronic sources of communication will reduce the rate at which people travel (Neuhoff). This will lead to conservation of energy. The next wedge of conservation is efficiently producing electricity. Use of coal as a source of energy leads to production of about a fifth of worlds carbon. Reducing this b half in the next 50 years helps in solving this problem. Use of green sources as energy conservation form the next four level of our wedge. We realized that production is only likely to reduce by half so we opted for other means through which the remaining half of carbon emitted could be stored or reduced. This could be achieved by use of forest storage. Conserving forests ensures that trees absorb carbon emitted and use it as a source of food production. Soil is also another form in which carbon products can be stored. This can be supported by planting cover crops and preventing soil erosion. Use of

Identification of Relevant and Irrelevant Cost - Coca Cola Flavored Essay

Identification of Relevant and Irrelevant Cost - Coca Cola Flavored Milk - Essay Example In the mid of 2007, the company underwent some serious planning regarding the extension of current product lines. Carbonated drinks, mineral water, fruit juices and other non-alcoholic beverages were already there in company’s product portfolio, yet the company realized the importance of adding a new product in the form of flavored milks. The launch of this new product under the name of Coca-Cola’s brand name is one of the most challenging tasks for the product managers as well as the project managers of the company. The research and development department of the company undertook rigorous workings on the proposed launch of flavored milk. The whole research process followed the different stages including planning, development of the new product, testing, commercial viability, branding, initial launch of the new product and many other activities. Each of these activities had its own cost estimates which are considered as either relevant or non-relevant. Planning Stage Th e planning stage is the general stage for all those products that are intended to be launched. The costs arising due to this activity are always considered as irrelevant because the planning process always keeps going on irrespective of the fact whether a new product is launched or not in the current timeframe. The general expenditure of Coca-Cola on account of its planning activity amounts to around $1 million annually. However, this cost is the general expense of the company and cannot be allocated to the product cost of flavored milk. Development Stage Once a basic formula is identified for one or more products, then development stage is commenced in order to create a better product. However, this activity is carried out for every product that can be produced by the company irrespective of the fact whether it would be launched by the company or not. As a result, the expenditures pertaining to this particular stage are considered to be irrelevant and assumed to be accounted for as the general research and development expenditures of the company. The rough estimates of Coca-Cola under this activity, ranges between $1 and $3 million depending upon the level of estimates. Testing Stage After the products are developed, there comes the next stage in which the products are gone through rigorous testing activities such that the products are tested in a real environment and timeframe. The taste, quality, odor, and other characteristics of the product are tested by the consumers as how they rate those products as per their own taste preferences. Since this process also occurs on uniform basis for every developed product, therefore the cost pertaining to testing is considered as irrelevant. Roughly estimates of this cost ranges around $0.5 million to$2 million a year and is expensed out on general basis. Commercial Viability Testing stage leads to the stage where the products are checked for their viability as to whether a particular product would be liked and accept ed by the consumers, concerns of distributers regarding the effective transportation of the product as the product is at its birth stage and with many other issues. This cost is the piercing cost among the relevant and irrelevant cost. It depends upon the policy of the company whether to account for this cost as a relevant or irrelevant cost. Branding After it is decided as to which product is going to be launched in the market, effective marketing strategies are formulated

Music Tastes Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Music Tastes - Assignment Example Did the musicians seem well prepared for the concert?)   ***Compare the pieces from this performance with other compositions you have studied in class, noting similarities and differences. (Note: In selecting a composition from class, you may want to look for a piece by the same composer, from the same style period, or of the same genre as the piece(s) from the performance.)   ***Describe the behavior of the performers and the audience. What, if any, interaction occurred between the two? What kind of behavioral expectations do performers and audiences bring to the concert? How are these expectations satisfied or frustrated?   On October 15, I attended a concert by the NDR Symphony Orchestra of Hamburg at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. The performance consisted of only two pieces, yet both were met with enthusiastic applause and praise. †¨Ã‚   The first piece performed was the Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, by Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, with the violinist Midori as the featured soloist. The piece was divided into three movements, the first being Allegro moderato. The Concerto opened with the orchestra playing a crescendo until the appearance of the soloist, who presented the principal themes. From this point, the texture varied between the monophony of the solo violin and the homophony heard from the full orchestra. The melody introduced by the violin was then repeated in various instruments with large contrasts in dynamics and tempo, although the predominating tempo was allegro. When the solo violin returned it was accompanied by the other violins playing a background of staccato notes. The high point of the first movement occurred when the solo violin produced an extremely high pitch in pianissimo and slowed down to a static pace, demonstrating her ability on the instrument. This movement ended with the entire orches tra playing fortissimo with a strong beat.  

Response to an Article What is for Sale Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Response to an Article What is for Sale - Essay Example †). THESIS STATEMENT This essay intends to respond to the thesis and one of the main ideas, emphasising the socio-political implications of such a transition in the human society, as presented in Sandel’s article i.e. â€Å"What Isn’t For Sale.† DISCUSSION Sandel’s article of â€Å"What Isn’t For Sale† fundamentally demonstrates that everything is made up for sale in the present day context. Sandel also illustrates certain instances that clearly depicts that everything made on this earth today is made for the selling purpose. For instance, as argued in the article by Sandel, the immigration rights particularly to the US is sold at $500,000; again, the shooting right to a jeopardised black rhino is sold at $250,000, and astonishingly, the upgradation of a prison-cell is sold at $90 per night. According to Sandel, not everyone can pay towards buying or availing the above mentioned services. However, the renowned college professor strongly realised that there are numerous ways for making huge money that further has ignited the trend of buying anything and selling almost everything in return of a nominal monetary value. ... From a futuristic perspective and with a hint of scepticism, Sandel also argues that the shift of today’s modern society towards which everything is made up for sale might generate worries in the economy that can further be associated with inequality in proper distribution of wealth along with income (Sandel, â€Å"What Isn’t for Sale?†). The above discussed perceptions presented in Sandel’s article drawing a critical judgement of the idea that everything for sale in this modern day context can be supported by a certain degree. This can be justified with reference to the fact that the market economy has radically transformed into a market society in recent times as compared to the preceding years. In this similar context, Sandel differentiated between the two important market concepts i.e. market society and market economy. According to Sandel, a market economy is often regarded as an effective and a valuable tool, which organises productive activity. On t he other hand, a market society is typically recognised as a place, wherein almost everything has been made up for sale or selling purpose quantifying the values of such objects in monetary terms (MacNeil/Lehrer Productions, â€Å"What Money Can’t Buy’ and What It Shouldn’t Buy†). It has often been argued that certain areas of human life have fundamentally become less market-driven, which eventually contributed in generating market society rather than market economy. One of the areas in this similar concern can be associated with reference to the fact that people had effectually paid for their respective spouses with dowries in the traditional period. In the article,

Management project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Management project - Essay Example Generation Y are engaged in extensive internet and new technology usage. They are innovators in the social media platforms. The youth segment accounts for high mobile and broadband internet for accessing information and online purchasing. With increased demand from this market segment, the airline industry went on to introduce more flights at cheaper rates. The impact of youth travels is not only limited to the travel industry but to the technology and telecommunication industry as well (Richards, and Wilson, 2004) The author Moutinho (2011) in his book explains the impact of youth travellers on the global tourism sector. More than 20% of the total international travels were the youth. The total international travels accounted for 940 million in 2010. The global tourism industry received $165 billion in 2010 from young travellers and also expects this number to grow in the coming years. The young population has driven the change in the communication technology and has forced the tourism industry to build new communication system to interact with them. The tourism industry has benefitted from the new market segment of not only through increased revenue but also allowed them to integrate their strategy with sustainability. The youth travel industry accounts for 190 million travels a year and its rate of growth has exceeded the growth rate of travel industry. The annual international youth trips are expected to reach 300 million trips by 2020 (Moutinho, 2011). The author Loudon (2001) explains that youth travel contributes to the development of local communities and the economies. It is seen that young travellers spend as much as 60% of their travel budget in the destination place. Small economies are solely dependent on the tourism sector for their revenue and the travel receipts from the young travellers contribute to the earnings of the local community. Local communities benefit from the

FOUNDATIONS FOR RESEARCH 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

FOUNDATIONS FOR RESEARCH 2 - Essay Example (2009), reducing anxiety in adults though the relaxation-breathing techniques has been used severally and proved through clinical trials as being effective in the production of good asthma outcomes. It is true that all research works aims at bridging a certain gap in information in less researched areas. In this case, more evidence will prove the importance of using such interventions in asthmatic children. The article was properly titled while the contents are in line with the title. This is proved by performing a search on the article using the key words like relaxation, breathing, asthma, trial, controlled etc. The research report abstract has enough information and readers can determine if the research has enough evidence to qualify it as being relevant. It is an overview which is visible since it is concise and brief and has all key findings articulated by the researcher. The abstract captures all key elements of the research work. In brief, the research abstract gives the resea rchers objectives which include evaluation of the effectiveness of combined self-management and relaxation breathing training for children with moderate-to-severe asthma compared to self-management-only training (Li-Chi Chiang et al. 2009), the research background, the methodology, the design, the sample and the results. A good abstract has to contain all the above as it summarizes the researchers assertions in a nutshell and makes it easier for many to understand the research work without flipping each page as Alasuutari, P. et al. (2008) puts it. An important part included here is the background part. This is key in any research work as it gives the information gap which forms a justification for the research. The authors start by first explaining Self-management programs, there use, when they have been used and their successes. Further, it gives perceptions towards their use and gives an indication that if used on children, then successes can be realized. At the end of the abstra ct, the researchers gives a summary of the findings from the analyzed data concluding that a combination of self-management and relaxation-breathing training can reduce anxiety, thus improving asthmatic children’s health. These results can serve as an evidence base for psychological nursing practice with asthmatic children (Li-Chi Chiang et al. 2009). In addition, the authors further gives the addition knowledge contributed to by the paper and the gap it attempts to fill, its relevance and its application and integration into the existing knowledge base. In the research study report, the independent variable were combined self-management and relaxation-breathing training for children and self-management-only training while the dependent variable was severity of asthma and are specified in the report abstract. In the study report, the researchers report that data on anxiety levels, self-perceived health status, asthma signs/symptoms, peak expiratory flow rate, and medication u se was collected. Here the independent variables are anxiety levels, self-perceived health status, peak expiratory flow rate, and medication use while the dependent variable is asthma signs/symptoms. Other important considerations made on the data included interaction effects among the two groups and research timelines. The impact of interactions at times is enormous such that its omission leads to un-biased results. It is always important to tell in

Organisational creativity enterpreneurship and innovation Essay

Organisational creativity enterpreneurship and innovation - Essay Example management attitudes, values and climate)† (Pauline, n.d, P. 1). Company A primarily functions as a drug testing research centre, therefore, the business requires scientific approach. There has been an increased competition in the last two years in this industry and, thus, if creativity and innovation is not adopted at the appropriate time then the competitors will surpass company A. Creativity and innovation in Company A is governed by some factors, which are mainly, a vision to create new products and services in order to capture new markets, adopting a systematic process in order to boost creativity, focusing on the present customer needs as well as future demands. Innovation is based on strong leadership skill in company A. â€Å"Reward and recognition system for teams that take measured risks and experiment† (Creativity and Innovation in Business, 2011, P. 35). Creativity and innovation in company A is needed in order to generate new ideas, which is very important f or surviving competition and pushing the business over new boundaries. â€Å"The focus of group creativity research has been on comparing the group ideation process with individual ideation† (Thompson, et al. 2006, P. 75). ... â€Å"For example, using ratings by employees of the overall innovation of their own R&D laboratories, Paolillo and Brown (1978) found positive cor- relations for innovation with autonomy, information flow, creativity, re- wards, and training† (Richard, et al. n.d, P.14). Therefore, Company A has transformed itself from a small enterprise consisting of six employees to an organization which has been taken over by Quotient Bio research Ltd and has a turnover of more than 10 million pounds and is now, a part of the World doping agency. 2 How can creativity and innovation be stimulated, supported and sustained: If the organizations have to step up to the mark of organizational revolutions happening in the 21st century, the only thing that can help in serving the purpose is facilitating creativity and innovation. For simulating, supporting and sustaining the organizational creativity and innovation and entrepreneurship, the main role is assigned to leadership and human resource ma nagement and development section. But the current system lacks such efficient ideas needed for promotion. Researching from the psychological perceptive, emphasizing on individual characteristics, cognitive and social processes, we can define creativity as the generation of original and useful ideas. On the other hand, innovation is the exploitation of the creative ideas, from sociological, economical and organizational perspectives. There are many theories supporting creativity, some of which are: Psychodynamic theory: This approach refers to the ideas arising from unconscious thoughts of individuals and later relating to conscious matters by various processes. According to physiologist Sigmund Freud, creativity arises from tension

Challenges in the Global Business Enviornment Research Paper

Challenges in the Global Business Enviornment - Research Paper Example The research will focus on the AT&T code of ethics. The details will be retrieved from the companys website. This code of ethic will be compared to other competing firms. The research will use Verizon and Sprint as the two competitors. The information will be retrieved from the two companies website. The competitiveness of each code of ethic will be used in establishing the merits and demerits of AT&T own code of ethical conduct. Information from the three firms will be examined, and recordings made based on the structures and natures of the code of ethical conduct. The information on AT&T code of ethical conduct will be examined with respect to their efforts to adapt to changing technologies and innovation nature of the environment. The challenges associated with the code of ethics will be examined and proposal made based on the efforts by the two competing firms. Global citizenship efforts by AT & T will be examined, and information recorded. AT & T has its code of ethical conduct drafted and focused on honest, which entails observing rules set by different organizations under which the firm operates ( AT&T Inc, 2014). These entails maintaining a given standards that will enhance the companys advantage while competing in a global environment. The code of ethical conduct at the firm entails defining personal interests and separating it from the companys interest. The aim is to avoid conflict of interest associated that could rise from the employees interaction with the external environment. Other issues at the firms ethical conduct include compliance and disclosure, which are aimed at maintaining a specific standard and working based on international requirements. Sprints code of ethical conduct entails a friendly working environment that promotes innovation and technology use among its internal and external environments (Sprint, 2013). The ethics code also defines requirements by each member of the internal environment while

Australias forward defence policy Essay Example for Free

Australias forward defence policy Essay ?Interact with History Question: The Australian policy of forward defence was based on the notion that it was better to fight potential enemies in Asia rather than wait and have to fight them on Australian soil. Write a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald in which you either support or oppose the concept of forward defence'. Dear Sydney Morning Herald, Im writing to you today in order to discuss the main reasons in which I support the concept of forward defence. During the 1950s and 1960s the fear of communism remained the political issue that gripped Australia. The governments defence policy was dominated by the idea that sending troops overseas to fight against possible enemies was the best way to prevent a war from being fought on Australian soil and I agree with this idea. Like the war in Korea, the outbreak of war in Vietnam was seen as the result of communist aggression. Australia extremely feared the domino effect which was believed to mean that if one nation fell under communist domination, its neighbours would fall like a line of dominos. So the decision to send Australian troops to fight in Vietnam war was at the time a smart strategic idea and not at all surprising given the belief that the takeover of South Vietnam would be a direct military threat to Australia. On April 19th 1965 Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced Australian involvement in Vietnam and stated We do not and must not overlook the point that our alliances, as well as providing guarantees and assuring for our security, make demands upon us. I believe Australia needed to continue the fight against Communism far from our soil because it would connote the most disastrous defeats abroad and the most incredible difficulties for its friends and allies desiring to help them. Defence alliances were so important because with Australias vast territory and small population it would not of been able to survive a surging communist challenge abroad without the cooperation of powerful friends including in particular U. K and U. S. A. The forward defence policy was a brilliant policy, Australia showed a sign of loyalty to a powerful ally the U. S. A which was a diplomatic gesture aimed at ensuring that Australia could call on her allies for protection in the event of a Communist attack on Australian soil. This strategy was based on the belief that Australia could be most effectively defended if any threat was met and fought before it reached Australian shores. I support this policy one hundred percent and am glad Australia ensured it.

Accounting Ratio to Manipulate Accounting

Accounting Ratio to Manipulate Accounting Companies use accounting ratios to manipulate their accounts Table of Contents (Jump to) Abstract Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction 1.1 Aims and objectives Hypothesis 1 1.2. Overview Chapter 2 Critical Literature Review 2.1 Introduction 2.2. International Financial Reporting Standards 2.2.1 Coverage and aims of the standards 2.2.2 Areas of concern 2.3. The art and purpose of Creative Accounting or financial statement Manipulation 2.5 The impact of Creative accounting on Financial Ratios 2.5.1 Definition and purpose of financial ratios 2.5.2 Manipulation of financial ratios Chapter 3 Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Issues considered 3.2 Options of research methods 3.2.1 Quantitative and qualitative 3.2.2 Deductive and inductive methods 3.3 Choice of research method 3.4 Performance of the research Chapter 4. Findings and evaluations 4.1. Introduction 4.2. Findings Abstract Financial ratios have become part of the process by which investors, financial observers and other stakeholders within the market make their decisions and about the activities, profitability and liquidity of a particular corporation. As such, it is therefore important that these reflect the same level of accuracy and compliance to the financial reporting standards as the financial statements. However, it has become increasingly apparent over recent years that the practice of manipulation has been extended in its use to influence these ratios. This dissertation set out with the aim of confirming whether this is the case. It was also intended to identify the particular areas of concern that this practice is generating. It is found that there is evidence of manipulation of financial ratios and that this is particularly relevant in relation to the manipulation of fair valuation and the treatment of off balance sheet items. Although the study has been limited in terms of sample size, the findings are that the practice is particularly apparent in the financial markets sector and this has contributed to the current financial and economic crises. There is a need for a clearer framework for the calculation of fair valuation and a more robust method of regulating the activities of corporate management in an effort to reduce the longer term detrimental impact of this practice. Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Introduction Following collapses of major global corporations such as Enron, as well as increasing pressure from shareholders and other stakeholders for a more open and understandable system of financial reporting, governments worldwide as well as those involved in international corporate controls came together to bring about one of the biggest changes in controls and governance. Using the offices of the IASB[1] (2008), there followed the introduction of international standards to be used for both accounting procedures and the preparation and presentation of financial statements. The intention of these standards is to create a situation where financial statements have a level of â€Å"understandability, relevance, reliability and comparability† (Lindsall 2005, p.2) that meets the needs of those stakeholders who rely upon these statements. The ISAB confirmed this purpose in an early statement of mission which read that their aim was: â€Å"To develop, in the public interest, a single set of high-quality, understandable, and enforceable global accounting standards that require high-quality, transparent and comparable information in financial statements and other financial reporting to help participants in the various capital markets of the world and other users to make economic decisions† (Gregoriou and Gaber 2006, p.16). In other words, part of the aims of these standards was to endeavour to eliminate the practice of manipulating financial statements. Nevertheless, despite these good intentions subsequent events have shown that the aims and objectives of these standards are still a long way from being achieved, with concern regarding the understandability, relevance, reliability and comparability of financial statements increasing rather the opposite direction hoped for by the authorities. In fact, many believe that the standards themselves, due to ambiguities, have created a platform for the increase in what has increasingly become known as â€Å"Creative Accounting† (Griffiths 1988). This in reality is another term for the process by which management and/.or their financial advisers and auditors are able to manipulate the figures reported within the financial statements in a manner that can lead to these being misrepresented and, what’s more, it is legal. Opponents of the practice bel ieve it to be damaging to investor and other corporate stakeholders, including shareholders and creditors. Indeed some have even gone as far as suggesting that manipulation of financial statements is the root cause of the current â€Å"credit crunch† (Letters 2008). Since the time of Ian Griffiths (1988) book on the issue of creative accounting and manipulation of financial statements there has been a plethora of academic studies into this phenomenon, as will be shown within the literature review in chapter two of this dissertation, and a growing debate between those who applaud and oppose this situation. Understandably, most of this literature is concentrated upon the physical changes that take place within the financial statements themselves However, one area of manipulation in financial reporting that does not appear to have received nearly as much attention. This area is financial ratios! This assumption and discovery is supported by Stolowy and Breton (2000) (see appendix 2). Whilst it is accepted that, in a technical sense financial ratios are not considered a part of the financial statements that come within the context or control of the international standards, as they are using equated by those financial external to the company, they are nonetheless considered an important measurement of corporate performance (Bragg 2007). For example, expert financial observers often quote ratios when advising upon the investment value of a particular corporation and many busy investors will take notice and make financial decision based upon what these ratios reveal. Therefore, manipulation by corporations and their advisors might be considered equally as misleading as the practice being used in any other aspect of financial reporting. It is this perceived gap in literature relating to this issue, together with the desire to access how prolific manipulation of financial ratios might be that has generated the author’s interest in researching the subject. 1.1 Aims and objectives With the concentration of the majority of literature relating to creative accounting and manipulation focusing upon the actual results contained within the financial statement, it is the author’s intention to address its deeper impact. Financial ratios are used by many stakeholders as a quick guide to the appropriateness of a corporation as an investment vehicle. Manipulation of these ratios can therefore have an immediate impact upon decision making by stakeholders. To address this issue, the following hypothesis has been set for this dissertation: â€Å"That company management and their advisors are aware that manipulation of financial ratios can have as much, if not more of an impact upon investment decisions as manipulations in the financial statements.† Further, to test the accuracy of the comment made regarding manipulation and the credit crunch, a second hypothesis will be included: Hypothesis 2 â€Å"That manipulation of financial ratios within the banking sector contributed to the current global financial market crisis.† In order to ensure that the aims of this research, and resolution of the research hypothesis, is achieved in a robust manner and provide a valuable conclusion, a framework of objectives has been devised, based on the following: Financial reporting framework and standards The intention is to analyse and assess the component elements of the current regulatory standards, evaluate their stated intentions and the robustness with which these can be transitioned into the practical reporting environment and identify their current limitations. Creative accounting Based upon current literature the dissertation will provide an understanding of the term creative accounting, identify the areas of its potential use within financial reporting and identify the main purposes and beneficiaries of such actions. Financial ratios The objective with regard to financial ratios is to provide an understanding of their purpose and intentions, which includes identifying their strengths and weaknesses. In addition, using primary data, the dissertation will explain how these ratios can be manipulated as well as identifying the reasons for this conduct. Future improvements Resulting from the previous objectives, it is the author’s intention to provide recommendations that will be designed to reduce the current impact of the manipulation of financial ratios and/or methods by which these manipulations can be identified and revised to reflect actual movements. 1.2 Overview To provide the reader with a clear understanding of this research, it aims and the manner in which it has been performed, this dissertation has been presented in the following order. This introductory chapter has set the scene and provided the background to the issues that for the core focus of the research. Immediately following, in chapter two, there is a critical review of current and appropriate literature relative to these issues. This includes an evaluation of the published frameworks of financial reporting standards, the concept of creative accounting, importance and significance of financial ratios and the effects of manipulation. Chapter three outlines the research methodology choices that were available to the author, identifying the method chosen together with the reasons for this choice. The findings of the secondary and primary research are then presented, compared and discussed in further depth in chapter four before recommendations are outlined in chapter five. Finally , the dissertation is concluded in chapter six. Added to the main body of the dissertation had been attached a complete list of all the references used within the body of the text. Furthermore, to add clarity and further understanding for the reader, additional information in the form of appendices has also been attached. Chapter Two: Critical Literature Review 2.1 Introduction The critical review conducted within this chapter has been designed to concentrate upon the literature relating to the issues being studied within this dissertation that has been published in the main within the past two decades as these represent the standards and practices that are currently in use within financial statements. For ease of reference the chapter has been segmented and analysed into appropriate sections 2.2. International Financial Reporting Standards As Swanson and Miller’s (1989) research shows, the issue of interpreting financial statements had been a subject of debate for many decades prior to the interest in international standards developed. Understanding the different systems of measurement used by management and accountants in financial statements had long proved difficult for investors and other interest parties. It was these areas of concern fuelled the move towards the creation and adoption of an internationally agreed and legally binding framework of accounting and financial reporting standards (Choi et al 2005 and Jones 2006). Amongst these concerns was included the lack of comparability and understanding available to potential investors and other stakeholders when analysing financial statements that were prepared under differing national codes and regulations and the difficulty experienced even when trying to compare accounts of corporations within the same industry (Tarca 2002 and Nobes and Parker 2006). However, as many academic authors had suggested (Nobes 1998, Blake and Lunt 2000, Lee 2006 and Mizra et al 2006 included) another core issue was the growing unease about the practice of â€Å"Creative accounting† and the negative impact this was creating in terms of stakeholder trust and confidence in financial reporting (Lee 2006). Whilst in essence such practices were not illegal, they were becoming a contentious issue in many financial circles, a fact evidenced by the comments of Lord Dearing (1988, p.12) in his committees report on the need for international accounting standards, when he said: â€Å"There is little evidence that companies are engaging in flagrant breaches of accounting standards †¦ However †¦ there is strong pressure on auditors from time to time to accept interpretations of accounting standards which conform to the interests of the preparers rather than with the spirit of the standard.† During the course of the decade following this report government representatives, accounting bodies and other interest financial parties spent a considerable amount of time discussing and agreeing standards that would help to address these anomalies, inconsistencies and concerns, which culminated in the creation of an international accounting and financial framework of standards (IASB[2] 2001 and PWC 2008). These standards were to be designed and operated by the IASB (Feature 2003). However, it still took a number of years to encourage individual national governments to adopt these measures. However the UK government decided that, â€Å"from 2005 UK listed companies must use IFRS for their consolidated statements† (Nobes and Parker, 2006, p.103). Furthermore, the financial reports have to include a statement by directors and auditors, which confirms †applicable accounting standards† were used or giving reasons for this not being the case (Nobes and Parker, 2006, p. 287). 2.2.1 Coverage and aims of the standards As can be seen from the list contained within appendix 1, the scope of the standards was quite extensive. Eight of these standards covered the area of financial statement reporting and presentation (IFRS), which included such issues as business combinations (Group of companies), segmentation and disclosures (Deloitte 2005). A further forty plus standards have been created, which define the accounting methods to be used within the preparation of financial statements (IAS). These laid down the audit principles to be followed Gray and Manson 2004) and covered such issues as the treatment of tangible and intangible assets (Gelb 2002 and FRC 2008). The aim of these standards was, in effect, to create a level playing field for those parties who relied upon corporate financial statements for decision making purposes, be that for investment, lending, extension of credit facilities or simply observance purposes (Chofafas 2004 and Antill and Lee 2005). In other words, the intention is that these statements should comply with four basic principles (IASB 2008), these being: Understandability The objective of this principle was to ensure that the financial statements would be presented in such a manner that they could be relatively easily understood by external stakeholders irrespective of the level of their financial and accounting knowledge, for example the private small investor (Healy et al 1997). Relevance In terms of relevance it was considered important that the information contained within the statements were relevant to the current situation (Saudagaran 2003). In other words it was important that the financial statements reflected current values, prices and other data. Reliability Despite the auditor’s opinion that the financial statements are prepared solely for reporting to the members of the corporation (ICAEW 2008), it has long been accepted that many other stakeholders, including prospective shareholders and creditor rely upon such information. Recognising the importance of this aspect, the IASB extended the principle of reliability to include these other stakeholders (Gregoriou and Gaber 2006). Comparability The need to be able to compare the accounts of individual corporations, even where these are within the same industry sector, whether that is within the national or international marketplace, is a part of the investment decision-making process. Prior to the introduction of the standards this was considered a problem, one which this principle was intended to address (Lindsall 2005, p.2). It should also be noted at this stage that, whilst these standards and principles applied to all corporations, irrespective of their industry sector, certain industry sector have to comply with additional standards. The most noticeable of these is the banking industry, which is further governed by the requirements of the Basel Accords (FSA 2007) and regulated in the UK by the FSA[3]. The focus of these particular industry specific regulations is to ensure that financial institutions retain an appropriate capital adequacy ratio within their balance sheets. However, despite the intentions of all of these standards and regulations, as the plethora of subsequent studies and literature contained within the following section confirm, they have, if anything, added to the areas of concerns that they were meant to address. 2.2.2 Areas of concern As the studies of Tweedie and Wittington (1990), Barth (2006) and Benston (2008) have revealed, a number of serious concerns have been voiced about the international standards, which they and others believe are detracting from the objective of reform and, in some cases, leading to increase volatility being seen in financial statements. In essence, these can be identified within three main areas of financial statement preparation and reporting. Fair Value and choice of valuation measurement Recognition and inclusion of revenue and profits Off balance sheet items Although initially there was no identification of the meaning of the term â€Å"fair value† in the international standards, following representations from accounting bodies, corporate associations and other stakeholders, the IASB introduced a definition, which described it as being: â€Å"the price at which the property could be exchanged between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm’s length transaction† (IAS 16). However, this description soon came under attack by a number of academics, including Langendijk et al (2003), Bank of England researchers (Staff team 2004), Lindsell 2005)Antill and Lee (2006), Mard and Hitchner (2007) and many others. The criticism of this measurement, rightly identified by these authors, was that it raise questions about the subjectivity and reliability of such valuations. For example, what is considered to be a fair value to one person would not be to another and, furthermore, there might be differing reasons for one party being prepared to pay a greater value for an asset than others consider fair. Evidence of this can be seen in the manner in which companies are valued in times of acquisitions (Antill and Lee 200, King 2006 and Siegal and Borgia 2007). Furthermore, as in most cases the fixed and intangible assets are not intended to be sold at the time of their inclusion within the financial statements, valuation must of necessity be based upon reasonable and expert estimates (Lindsell 2005). The problem to be encountered here is that such expert valuers differ in their opinions of measurement, with some being more optimistic than others (Barth 2006), which can lead to discrepancies. The choice of expert can thus be seen to potentially obscure concrete evidence† of the assets real value (Swanson and Miller 1989, p.1). Furthermore, the standards also allow corporations to make a choice of asset measurement between the historical cost convention and current fair value, which is decided based upon their own judgement (ICAEW 2006 and Mizra et al 2006). Despite many attempts and suggestions aimed at addressing this problem (Benston 2008) to date it has still not been resolved. Recognition of revenue and treatment of profits is another area where differing opinions and purposes of measurement and treatment have been questioned (Bullen and Crook 2005). For example, when engaged upon a project that spans a number of financial years how does the business measure the true value of the revenue and profits to be recorded in each year statements (Mizra et al 2006 and Lee 2006). Some might argue that profit, and thus that element of the revenue, cannot be taken until project completion, whilst others will advocate allocating profit to the completion of project milestones. It is apparent that, given a project of x value spread across say five years, the differences of interpretation outlined above would impact upon the revenues contained within financial statements. The ability for corporations to exclude items from their balance sheets is another issue for many investors and observers (Amat et al 1999). For example, by leasing rather purchasing a piece of equipment this can alter the debt structure of the business, as parts of the leasing contract do not have to be included within the corporate balance sheet. Similarly action can be taken with other assets such as pension schemes (Pitzer 2002). Although there are other issues with the international accounting standards, it is these three areas that appear to raise the most concerns, in particular because they provide the opportunity for firms and their auditors to engage in the practice of manipulation or creative accounting. 2.3. The art and purpose of Creative Accounting or financial statement Manipulation As indicated within the introduction to this dissertation, creative accounting or the ability to manipulate financial statements was an adopted practice before the international reporting standards became a legal requirement for all corporations. However, the increase in concerns since this event makes a study of this issue even more relevant today. Creative accounting is considered by many to be a euphemism for the practice of manipulating the information that is contained within financial statements. In terms of definition for this practice there have been many over the years. In the title of his book about creative accounting, first published in 1988, Ian Griffiths (2005) defined it as â€Å"how to make your profits what you want them to be,† a view supported by Dean and Clarke (2007). Although other academics would refrain from using such a term, as will be seen within this and following sections and chapters of this dissertation, there is more than a grain of truth in this simple description. However, the more considered definition for the type of manipulation that is that it is† a practice that results in a distortion of the figures contained within financial statements.† However, at the same time this manipulation remains strictly within the boundaries of the legal accounting principles, rules and stand ards (Shah 1998 and Balaciu and Cosmina 2008). A simple example of the meaning of these definitions can be seen in the following diagram (figure 1). In this example manipulation is defined as the greying areas between the intentions of the standards and the areas within which the interpretation of these standards can be manipulated, always stopping short of the ultimate boundaries of the legal framework, beyond which such manipulation would be considered as fraud. As can be seen from this diagram manipulation can have two intentions, this being either to produce a negative or positive impact upon the profits and value of the business (Mulford and Comiskev 2002 and Balaciu and Cosmina 2008). It is generally accepted that manipulation is driven by the needs and demands of management (Pierce-Brown and Steele 1999 and Griffiths 2005). For example, if management believes that the business is likely to have a bad year, which will adversely affect their bonus and benefits they might either exacerbate the losses to increase their benefits in a following year or reduce them to protect these benefits. The same methods would be used if the management wishes to influence the corporation’s level of growth (Pierce-Brown and Steele 2006). This practice is known as the â€Å"Big Bath† method (Investopedia 2008). To achieve the required objective the management might use a combination of the flexibility contained within the concepts of fair value, revenue and profit recognition and off-balance sheet items as discussed in section 2.2.2 of this chapter. For example, an employed expert valuer who takes a pessimistic approach would have the effect of reducing the value of asse ts, thus having an adverse effect upon profits. Delaying recognition of revenue or profits would have the same effect (Mulford and Comiskev 2002). Some academic authors have posed the question as to whether such manipulation is ethical (Amat and Dowds 1999 and Blake and Growthorpe 1998). However, whilst the question of ethics might be of concern to those who rely upon the financial statements presented by corporations (Saudagaran 2003), under the present standards, regulations and their measurements it remains legal (Griffiths 2005). 2.4 The impact of Creative accounting on Financial Ratios As Bragg (2007) indicates within the introduction to his study of business ratios and formulas, these can be applied to virtually every aspect of the business and its operations. However for the purpose of this dissertation, the focus regarding ratios will be restricted to those that relate specifically to the information contained within a corporation’s financial statements. 2.4.1 Definition and purpose of financial ratios The term ratio can broadly be defined as a measurement by which the performance of a corporation, in terms of its operations and activities, can be judged and assessed (Bragg 2007, p.1). In terms of the financial statements produced by corporations this judgement is aimed at measuring a number of performance factors (Stolowy and Breton 2000). As can be seen from the descriptions contained within the following example (figure 2) in this respect the intention of these ratios is to provide an assessment of the profitability of the business and its return on investment (Income statement) and its liquidity position (Balance Sheet) (Bragg 2007). Figure 2 Popular financial ratios Financial Ratios 1) Gross Margin Operating earnings (before exceptional and tax) as a percentage of net sales 2) Operating Margin Operating Income (net profit before tax) as a percentage of net sales 3) Profit Margin Net Income (profit after tax) as a percentage of net sales 4) Return on Equity Net Profit after Taxes as a percentage of equity 5) Return on Investment Net Profit after Taxes as a percentage of total assets 6) Return on Capital Employed Net Profit after Taxes as a percentage of average shareholder equity 7) Current ratio Ratio of current assets to current liabilities 8) Quick ratio Ratio of current assets (less inventory) to current liabilities ( less overdraft and other borrowings) 9) Gearing (debt to equity) ratio Ratio of liabilities to equity 10) Earnings per share (EPS) Net profit divided by number of shares issued 11) P/E ratio

Public Relations And Business Ethics Management Essay

Public Relations And Business Ethics Management Essay Literally Public relations mean relations with publics, e.g. customer, employees, investors, communities, media, suppliers, government, industry bodies, pressure groups, competitors etc. It is defined as the management of communication between an organization and its publics (Grunig and Hunt 1984, p.6 McElreath 1996). PR is the discipline that looks after organizations reputation, maintains its public image and facilitates relations in order to gain understanding and support as well as influence opinion and behavior (McElreath 1996, Ciprco.uk). It is the planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain goodwill and mutual understanding between an organization and its public (Cipr.co.uk). For an organisation, there are varying functions of public relations. The 4 main areas are first, marketing communication, by which PR is used as a promotional tool to help achieve marketing objectives. The second area is financial public relations, by which it present information to business reporters. The third comes to product public relations, which aim to gain publicity for companys product and service and lastly, crisis public relations which concentrate on the responding to negative information. Other areas of PR practise include building rapport with investor and community, employee, media and government (Rubel, 2007). Thus it can be seen that PR can complement advertising and marketing but it has its own identity as a profession Public relations also involve in assessing and supervising public attitudes as well as maintaining mutual understanding and relations between an organization and its public. To provides exposure to its audiences, public relations practitioners use third-party endorsement such as topics of public interest which do not associate with direct payment (Seitel, 2007). Some wildly used PR tools include press releases, media kits, brochures, newsletters, annual reports and interactive social media. Common PR activities include working with the media, speaking at conferences, crisis communication and employee communication. By responding to the stakeholders expectations and harmonizing their interests with the organization, PR serves as an intermediary. Effective PR will help the organization to convey information and message to its public improve communication channels and develop new ways to encourage two-way communication thus crafting its public image and public awareness in order to increase patronage of its product. Why has ethics become a central issue for PR field in recent years? The initiative that corporations should be ethical and socially responsible began in 1960s. It was a time that businesses were growing rapidly and internationally (Lantos, 2001). The danger associates with corporations unethically pursuing profit and social power has heightened public awareness. In recent times, it has also been seen that some of the most famous companies lost public confidence from the publicity because of their dishonourable behaviours. Examples include Shell contributed to environmental degradation; Nike operated sweatshops in developing countries and the once top corporations such as Worldcom and Enron the collapse because of fault. Apart from destroying individual companys reputation, these scandals raised questions of corporate credibility and shaken public confidence in the entire global business. Public relations, as a communications function, has a major role in disclosing the company financial and other critical information as well as the management of relationships between the organisation and its key stakeholders. Thus ethical dilemmas are especially common in Public practices because PR always need to handle highly sensitive and controversial matters. Besides, the complicated and different levels (interpersonal, organisational and societal) of relationships which PR always engaged with will often incur conflicting expectations and interests between different publics. Therefore it is sometimes quiet difficult for PR professionals can act ethically and to get a balance between being an advocator of external and internal publics and at the same time, taking care of companys interests. However, it should be noted that maintaining ethical standards and values is the key to the establishment of good relationships with clients, employees and media (Baskin Aronoff, 1992: 88). Harlow emphasized the importance of ethical communication by highlighting that it is PR practitioners duty to serve public interest (Vithakamontri, 1991:19). The importance of ethics is associated with the positive relationship between good public relations and business success. Ethical and socially responsible companies are proved to enjoy better relations with its public (Baker, 2004). Companies with ethical conduct might appear to succeed at first, but often it can be found that they suffer from poor public relations in a longer term. In 2002, WorldComm admitted falsifying its income statements and became the biggest bankrupt company ever. The scandal wave soon swept away other corporate giants such as HealthSouth, Tyco and Auther Anderson and brought jail terms to many, even homemaking icon Martha Steward. On the other hand, many corporations create a critical source of competitive advantage-a climate of acceptance for the organisation by being ethical and engaging actively with CRS activities. Corporate social responsibility can serve as a way to strategically differentiate itself from the competitors. Like the Co-operative Group, Body Shop and American Apparel, they build customer loyalty based on distinctive ethical values (Pieczka, 2001) and they do benefit from building a reputation for integrity. Besides, some of them do it through working with local communities to help educate children and develop skills for adults in Flower Valley, Africa. Starbuck and Marks and Spencer also actively help the African community by guaranteeing fair trade purchases. Another approach to corporate social responsibility is to incorporate the CSR strategy directly into the organizations business strategy. For examples, many business including KPMG, PG and Starbucks has policy to only procure Fair Tra de tea and coffee. As we can see, ethical public relations is key to the organizations success as good ethics is simply good business. So it is worth to examine ethic in a greater detail. Ethic is defined as a value system for making decisions about what is right or wrong. The organisations conduct is not only measured against their consciences but also against societal and professional norm, so organizations, with different nations, industries and organization cultures, have different standards. Ethical choices are rarely black and white but sometimes it means a higher standard than the law. In a business perspective, business ethics and corporate governance refers to the system by which companies are controlled. Nowadays most companies have in-house codes of ethic and codes of social responsibility (Heath and Ryan, 1989). It has been argued that ethics is the duty to tell the truth. A study regarding ethical judgments concluded that regardless of peoples cultures and religions, honesty outweighed all other considerations. Honesty is particularly essential to the communication industry because dishonesty leads to lack of trust. When a PR practitioner is discovered telling a half-truths, he will be resented. According to the PR professional codes of conduct, telling the truth underpins all other practices (Keller, 1983:1). Beside triple bottom line reporting (3Ps) is becoming commonplace. The 3 pillars, People, Planet and Profits capture a new criterion of measuring organizational success: social, ecological and economical. Companies like Shell and McDonalds have issued Statements of Business Principles and Social Responsibility reports. To fulfill societys moral obligations, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is introduced. CSR policy is self-regulating mechanisms where businesses monitor and ensure it follow the law and ethical standards so business can embrace responsibility for the impact on the communities, environment and employees. Moreover, CSR-focused businesses would promote the iterest of the public by encouraging community development and abolishing practices which give damage. So it is said that CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making, and the honouring of a triple bottom line (Heath Ryan, 1989). What role should public relations play in improving levels of corporate social responsibility? There is a strong emphasis on the role Public relations play in implementing social responsibility among leading practitioners. Social responsibility has become a major reason for an organization to have a public relations function (Grunig and Hunt , 1984). Similarly, Harold Burson advocated that the public relations practitioners should provide qualitative evaluation of social trends, which helps developing policies and leading to a formal corporate response (Burson, 1974). Bernays also argue that, Public relations are the practice of social responsibility (Stone, 2005, p. 31). It has been pointed out that PR role is to serve not only their clients but the whole society at large (Kruckeberg and Starck, 1988). Social responsibility is understood as a concept of public relations, some scholars believe that with public relations, businesses can successfully implement social responsibility programmes. Thus PRs role of consciences in the decision-making is particularly important (Dennis, 1981). From the above review of related literature, it can be concluded that CRS obligation to serve the society applies to both individual PR practitioners and the professions as a whole. The welfare of the public should be taken into account when individual practitioner helps clients to solve problem. Meanwhile the associations of PR professionals should use their power collectively as moral agents for a better world (Clark, 2000). PR roles in improving the level of corporate social responsibility include the following. First PR need to improve the conduct of company by emphasizing the need for public approval. As a management function which looks after organizations reputation (McElreath 1996), to look for the company best interest, public relations practitioners should actively be engaged in the proposing and initiating of Corporate Social Responsibility. They should fight for CRS implementation with management. Knowledgeable staff is an important as they play a significant role in counseling management and ensuring that CRS programs maintain high professional standards (Tilson and Vance, 1985). It has been argued as the publics expect organizations to take on a greater role in solving community problems; they want to see businesses being ethical. PR professionals should go beyond advisory role and should regard themselves as the consciences of their organizations (Judds, 1989 Choi, 2005). It is true that th e most important thing is how a company conduct itself and deal with its publics. Communications is second to that. It is very important for the company to truly embrace CRS. Merely publicizing them is not effective as it has to be backed by appropriate behaviour. Also, public relation should serve the public interests by making all points of view communicative in the public. When CRS become part of the organization management initiative, PR as a communication function between an organization and its publics (Grunig and Hunt 1984, p.6 McElreath 1996), it has an important role to align corporate organization behaviour with stakeholder expectations. It should be done through a process of identifying public interest and potential CSR issues, prioritizing them, and closely monitoring their evolution, they can be managed-either by changing the companys behaviour or its stakeholders expectations, or both (Clark, 2002). Besides, Public relations should advance its professionalism by codifying and enforcing ethical conduct and standard of performance, serve our society by using mediation to replace misinformation and execute its social responsibility to promote human welfares. However, the practice of CSR is subject to much criticism. Critics argue that CSR is just a superficial window-dressing, they believe that companies like BP, British American Tobacco and McDonalds are using CSR programs to distract the public from ethical questions incurred in their operations. These corporations maximize their profit through raising their reputation. Another example, Shell has a much-publicized CSR policy and was a pioneer in triple bottom line reporting, but this did not prevent the 2004 scandal concerning its misreporting of oil reserves. It is important to note that CRS is an aid to an organizations mission as well as a guide to what the company stands for and will uphold to its consumers. Merely taking token gestures will only throw poor practice into sharper focus. Also, organization has to be flexible and see what legislators are up to and update the CSR programme in order to stay ahead as issues change with time and lastly CSR policies needs to be ensured that they are well implemented. It is believed that with well management, CSR can be an opportunity for a company to differentiate itself. Organizations can also benefit from the proliferation of annual list in major media. In a long run, managing relationships successfully required ethical conduct so effective public relations cannot be about deception and manipulations. Thus real public relations require honesty and a genuine concern for the needs and expectations of the public and it will build trust and credibility.

Metaphysical Poetry :: essays papers

Metaphysical Poetry Discuss the uses of metaphors of colonization in metaphysical poetry and/or Milton. "Movement across or through space becomes a process of colonization of that space." During the period of Milton's Paradise Lost as well as myriad of poets construction of an epoque submerged in metaphysical literature, a number of significant events both socio-political, entwined with a systematic religious metamorphism of the sixteenth and seventeenth century led to a time of unrest and discovery. The creators and author's of work of this periods placed their emphasis not specifically on a level of morality or self understanding but rather a rediscovery of the body and soul, almost a form of existensionalism or physical cosmos with a geography. 'All things are subject to the Mind... It measures in one thought the whole circumference of heaven and by the same line it takes the geography of the earth. The seas, the air, the fire all things of either, are within the comprehension of the mind. It has an influence on them all, whence it lakes all that may be useful, all that may be helpful in government. No limitation is prescribed to it, no restriction is upon it, but in a free scope it has a liberty upon all. And in this liberty is the excellence of the mind; in this power and composition of the mind is perfection of a man... Man is an absolute master of himself; his own safety, and tranquillity by God... are made dependent on himself.'1 In this short example of Puritanism text as it stands, alone contains a number of various references to the process of colonization, of expanding, perceiving all geographically and manipulating, making man or perhaps more specifically the colonisers omniscient and God-like. The crusader self-reliant and independent with the knowledge that God is his guardian of safety and tranquillity. In this particular the growing number of Puritans played a significant role both in the cultivation and transformation of the Christian religion and foreign territories. The Puritans themselves comprised of those in the Church of England unhappy with limitations of the Elizabethan Settlement; some were Presbyterians, and all were to some extent or other Calvinists (though not all Calvinists were Puritans). They were a people of scrupulous moral rigour and favoured plain styles of dress, detesting any form of luxury or decadence. The name Puritan later became a catch-all label for the disparate groups who led much of the New World colonization and won the English Civil Wars. New World colonization began as early as 1480 by English seamen performing spectacular feats of exploration

Rights Of Egyptian Women Essay -- essays research papers fc

Rights of Egyptian Women Throughout written history, women have experienced status subservient to the men they lived with. Generally, most cultures known to modern historians followed a standard pattern of males assigned the role of protector and provider while women were assigned roles of domestic servitude. Scholars speculate endlessly at the cause: biology, religion, social custom. Nevertheless, the women were always subordinated to the men in their culture. Through their artwork, tomb inscriptions, and papyrus and leather scrolls, preserved in the dry, desert air, Ancient Egyptians left evidence for scholars suggesting that Egypt was once a peculiar exception to this pattern. Anthropological evidence suggests that unusual circumstances in Ancient Egyptian culture provided for women to be given equal status to their male counterparts: notably, matrilineal inheritance and emphasis on the joy of family life over maintaining ethnic purity. Legally, women in Ancient Egypt held the same legal rights as men. A woman could own property and manage it as she saw fit. One example of this, the Inscription of Mes, provided scholars with proof that women could manage property, institute litigation, and could act as a witness before a court of law. Surviving court documents not only showed that women were free to take action with the court, but the documents also show that they frequently won their cases. They could also enter contracts and travel freely, unescorted, throughout the state. This is a great contrast to women in Greece, who were required to act through a male representative. Interestingly, property and its administration was passed from mother to daughter, matrilineally. The Egyptians relied on matrilineal heritage, based on the assumption that maternal ancestors are less disputable than paternal ones. The effect of legal equality in writing and practice coupled with the ownership and administration of property led to an ensured equality. The rights and egalitarian conditions enjoyed by Egyptian women shocked the conquering Greeks. In 450 BC, Greek historian Herodotus noted: They Egyptians, in their manners and customs, seem to have reversed the ordinary practices of mankind. For instance, women attend market and are employed in trade,... ...providing scholars with an examples of conditions that brought about a particularly benign development of male-dominance in Ancient Egypt. Sources Cited: Tansey, Richard. Gardner's Art Through the Ages. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Publishers, 1996 91-93. Tyldesley, Joyce. Daughters of Isis. New York: Penguin Books Ltd, 1994. Bibliography Ahmed, Leila. Women and gender in Islam: historical roots of a modern debate. London: Yale University Press, 1992. Lesko, Barbara S. Women's Earliest Records. Atlanta, GA: Scholar's Press, 1989. Piccione, Peter A. "The Status of Women in Ancient Egyptian Society" History of Ancient Egypt Page. http://www.library.nwu.edu/class/history/B94/B94women.html 16 Oct, 1996 Robins, Gay. Women in Ancient Egypt. London: British Museum Publications, 1993. Tucker, Judith E. Arab Women: Old Boundaries, New Frontiers. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press, 1993. Tyldesley, Joyce. Daughters of Isis. New York: Penguin Books Ltd, 1994. Unesco. Social Science Research and Women in the Arab World. London: Frances Pinter, 1984. Watterson, Barbara. Women in Ancient Egypt. Great Britain: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1991.

The Ethics of Prison Privatization Essay -- legal issues, penal system

How true is Christie’s warning that an increasingly privatized penal service threatens the ethics and effectiveness of the criminal justice system? More aspects of the penal system are now privatized, and are set to increase. This includes the privatization of such services as prisons, electronic tags, catering companies, probation work or prison escort services. David Taylor-Smith, head of the world’s biggest security firm, G4S says he expects private companies will be running large parts of the UK’s police service within five years (Taylor and Travis, 2012). Nils Christie’s text (2000) â€Å"Crime Control as Industry† draws upon increasing prison populations in the US. However reflecting upon that the prison population in England and Wales has increased from 41,800 prisoners to over 86,000 in 14 years (Ministry of Justice, 2013, 1) Christie also looks upon other countries that face similar problems and how this and modern crime control represents a move 'towards gulags, western type’ (Christie, 2000, 15). He describes the criminal justice system today as a â€Å"Pain Delivery† service (Christie, 2000, 143) and argues that it is regulated by the amount of pain they choose to inflict on society and not by the actual number of crimes committed. Christie also identifies changes in capitalist societies and their social organisation, this he says is due to factors such as a larger readiness to report incidents to the police and social controls have declined producing a greater ‘supply’ of criminal acts (Jones & Newburn, 2002, 175) However the main force behind this is crime control becoming a commodity, as represented by the expanding privatization market. Christie argues that crime control is now a product and privatization of the penal ... ....org.uk/PressPolicy/News/vw/1/ItemID/179 (Accessed 29th November 2013) Prison Reform Trust (2012) Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/FactfileJune2012.pdf FINISH Pudelek, Jenna (2013), HM Prison Peterborough social impact bond has led to a fall in reconvictions, official figures show. http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/1186265/ (Accessed 16th December 2013.) Tanner, Will (2013) Reform Ideas No 1 the case for private prisons. London: Reform Taylor, Matthew and Travis, Alan (2012), G4S chief predicts mass police privatisation. http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jun/20/g4s-chief-mass-police-privatisation (Accessed 29th November 2013) Urbina, Ian (2007), Despite Red Flags About Judges, a Kickback Scheme Flourished, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/us/28judges.html?_r=2& (Accessed 15th December 2013) The Ethics of Prison Privatization Essay -- legal issues, penal system How true is Christie’s warning that an increasingly privatized penal service threatens the ethics and effectiveness of the criminal justice system? More aspects of the penal system are now privatized, and are set to increase. This includes the privatization of such services as prisons, electronic tags, catering companies, probation work or prison escort services. David Taylor-Smith, head of the world’s biggest security firm, G4S says he expects private companies will be running large parts of the UK’s police service within five years (Taylor and Travis, 2012). Nils Christie’s text (2000) â€Å"Crime Control as Industry† draws upon increasing prison populations in the US. However reflecting upon that the prison population in England and Wales has increased from 41,800 prisoners to over 86,000 in 14 years (Ministry of Justice, 2013, 1) Christie also looks upon other countries that face similar problems and how this and modern crime control represents a move 'towards gulags, western type’ (Christie, 2000, 15). He describes the criminal justice system today as a â€Å"Pain Delivery† service (Christie, 2000, 143) and argues that it is regulated by the amount of pain they choose to inflict on society and not by the actual number of crimes committed. Christie also identifies changes in capitalist societies and their social organisation, this he says is due to factors such as a larger readiness to report incidents to the police and social controls have declined producing a greater ‘supply’ of criminal acts (Jones & Newburn, 2002, 175) However the main force behind this is crime control becoming a commodity, as represented by the expanding privatization market. Christie argues that crime control is now a product and privatization of the penal ... ....org.uk/PressPolicy/News/vw/1/ItemID/179 (Accessed 29th November 2013) Prison Reform Trust (2012) Bromley Briefings Prison Factfile http://www.prisonreformtrust.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/FactfileJune2012.pdf FINISH Pudelek, Jenna (2013), HM Prison Peterborough social impact bond has led to a fall in reconvictions, official figures show. http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/news/1186265/ (Accessed 16th December 2013.) Tanner, Will (2013) Reform Ideas No 1 the case for private prisons. London: Reform Taylor, Matthew and Travis, Alan (2012), G4S chief predicts mass police privatisation. http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/jun/20/g4s-chief-mass-police-privatisation (Accessed 29th November 2013) Urbina, Ian (2007), Despite Red Flags About Judges, a Kickback Scheme Flourished, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/28/us/28judges.html?_r=2& (Accessed 15th December 2013)

Linkage Of Art History And Information Technology Essay

Art History at first glance has nothing in connection to Information Technology and so Information Technology has no link in the discipline of history art. I, myself, had not thought that these two entirely different academic discipline have something in common to share even they are quite different from each other. I will begin this paper by giving definitions of these two fields of study. Art history refers to the academic discipline covering the study of history, visual arts, which is study the development of painting, and sculpture arts, humanistic discipline, humanities and liberal arts which are studies to provide general knowledge and intellectual skills. Categorizing changes in art through time and better understand how art shapes is what art history endeavors. In addition, art history also covers the outlooks and creative impulses of the artists. It covers all kind of arts that is extending from the megaliths of Western Europe that the best example of which is the Stonehenge in Britain to the paintings of the Tang dynasty in China. On the other hand, although information technology is hard to define because it is a wide based term and encompasses many areas and I have read many definitions of it, I chose the Information Technology Association of America’s or ITAA’s definition in which they defined information technology as the study, design, development, implementation support and management of any computer based information systems. Visual arts, as I mentioned in the definition of art history above, is covered by the discipline of art history. In connection, visual arts, which language is visual, helps develop the skills and knowledge of people to interpret visual arts using visual languages. The importance of said skill and knowledge that are developed by taking the academic discipline of art history is that you have the ability to dig out meaning from visual environment thus in return coincides with the skill you have learned in information technology. This may sounds illogical but if you think deeper, you will say it is indeed reasonable to claim that there is a linkage between art history and information technology. Just for example are works of architects, film editors, and insurance assessors. In everyday of their lives, they are using their knowledge and skills in information technology and therefore, the skills in extracting meaning from visual environment will surely come to the rescue to help them to be successful on what they are doing. Thus, I reiterate once again that art history has a connection to information technology because both   mentioned skills above, which are skill in using computer database and skill in extracting meaning from visual environment, are both needed in the realm of those jobs. These kinds of job require skill in the scrutiny of visual data, and to build connections and depict incongruent elements together to make a coherent whole. Because art history is actually about engaging people’s imagination, communicating ideas and bringing out emotions and feelings by means of carefully arranged visual cues, it aids information technology in some sense like what I have mentioned above about the aid art history gives in the realm of works of the architects and many others. Other good examples of this are the people who work in advertising agencies, theater, fashion and all other areas of design. These people are in need to fully comprehend and appreciate the manipulation of visual information. Thus, given those examples, studying art history indeed helps broaden and developed a person’s natural ability to create and communicate meaning from almost any visual environment.   Tackling on the other aspects, because art history studies the so-called ‘work of art’ and its other aspects, it is important to note that these works of arts can contain many themes or any themes which can be about many thing or any thing under the sun, and technology is not an exemption for that. There are many people, nowadays, that choose jobs in which they can be called programmers, systems analysts, network service providers, webmasters, information industry moguls and directors of academic computing because this age demands us so. It is true to consider that information and computer literacy, are priceless technical skills but it is also important to bear in our minds that information literacy is a new liberal art. The coverage of knowing how to use the computers and access information to critical reflection of nature of information itself and, its technical infrastructure is also covered by the information literacy and technology. Social, philosophical and even cultural context to the mental framework of educated information-age citizen as the trivium of basic liberal arts, such as grammar, logic and rhetoric, are also essential and are parts of information literacy and technology. Also, it was hoped, because of the facts that not all information can be found in internet, one should know something about its major cultural landmarks. It is also important to consider that one should know the literary monuments of secular, humanistic culture from Shakespeare through his modern novel. All in all, history arts and information technology though they are two different fields of study have a good linkage in one another to further help building the triumph of mankind in acquiring knowledge and skills. References Definition of Information Technology. Ezine Articles. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://ezinearticles.com/?Definition-of-Information-Technology&id=1109986 Department of Art History, Sweet Briar College.1998 February 8.What is Art†¦?†¦What is An Artist?. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/artartists/artartists.html De Sousa, Mike. The Column. The Purpose of Art. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.ablestable.com/resources/library/thecolumn/2005/027.htm Graduate Careers. Art History.Retrieved July 23, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.graduatecareers.com.au/content/view/full/183 Malibu Arts Journal. Art: An Elusive Term. Retrieved July 22, 2008, from   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   http://www.malibuartsjournal.com/art/art.html Shapiro, Jeremy J. and Hughes,Shelley K. Hughes (1996). Information Literacy as a Liberal Art. Educom Review Volume 31, Number 2. Retrieved July 23, 2008, from http://net.educause.edu/apps/er/review/reviewArticles/31231.html

Applied Health Assessment Essay

The patient is a 47 year old, nourished male. The head-to-toe assessment was insignifi baset for any ir unwavering findings. Mike is kempt, appears his age, and does not take medications on a daily basis. His vision is declining with age, however is easily corrected with prescription glasses. His pitch has been consistent for the past several years. His BMI is catch for his height, and he tries to eat a equilibrise diet. Though, overall, he is healthy, Mike could benefit from regular exercise, eating to a greater extent fruits and vegetables, and smoking completion. I would like to review the Choose My plate website (choosemyplate.gov, n.d.) to review the dietary recommendations to include more vegetables and fruits with his meals. The Choose My Plate includes 1/2 of your plate to include meat and grains with the some other half to be split between vegetables and fruits. Mikes hobbies include hunting, fishing, and golfing. I will encourage Mike to expire active at least 4 days a week to step-up his cardiovascular activity. Golf is a in effect(p) exercise that includes use of muscles and walking. If Mike foregoes lease the golf cart, walking 18 holes would be beneficial to him and enjoyable. Also, I would suggest that he picks up walking in his realm at least three evenings a week for 30 minutes to vex fit.Smoking is never a healthy habit. I would appreciate Mike to accost with his doctor about finding shipway to help him stop smoking. There argon many assistive devices available by prescription such as Chantix and Wellbutrin. over-the-counter(prenominal) remedies that can work include nicotine patches. These patches are available in 14mg and 21mg strength establish on the amount of cigarettes you smoke per day. Nicotine put on can be discretely used in public places and is also available without a prescription. Additionally, a fairly new method has evolved to help people quit smoking. The e-cigarettes or vapor cigarettes allow the person to keep open the habit of holdingsomething and inhaling vapors. The e-cigarettes do integrate nicotine and can feed your cravings. I would advise him that these devices should only be used brusk term and not used to tack the habit. There are smoking cessation support groups available and information can be provided.ReferencesUnited States Department of Agricultural, no date. USDA Choose My Plate, retrieved from http//www.choosemyplate.gov

Arthur Andersen’s Legal Ethical Issues

Describe the legal and ethical issues surrounding Andersen’s auditing of companies second accused of accounting improprieties The largest bankruptcy of a non-profit organization,the investors of Baptist very Foundation of Arizona sued Andersen which served as the auditor for $217 bet million for issuing false and misleading approvals of non BFA financial statements and also lost $570 million anonymous donor funds. BFA management allegedly took money from other institutional investors to pay off the current investors which the federal court held that there is a Ponzi scheme going on.Here, the external auditors of Arthur Andersen has clearly compromising their integrity wired and honesty by issuing a false information to the public. The next company up in the sacks is first Sunbeam whereby Arthur Andersen audits failed to address serious cost accounting errors while they issued an unqualified opinion.Unlike Enron, he is not bankrupt.4 half billion earnings. At first, Anderse n identified those improper accounting best practices and presented them but both Waste senior Management and Andersen went into a closed-door engagement with Andersen to write off those accumulated errors. Here there is a Self-Interest threat.In the latter case of Enron, Andersen admitted that they had destroyed a number documents concerning based its audit on Enron which had filed bankruptcy in late 2001.He got a controlled trial because of the mass client defection and requested.

S.Arthur Andersen what was among the accounting firms on earth."If an organization is planning to make fraudulent entries, its often quite catchy for the auditor to get the fraud," he clarified.Businesses with employees in jurisdictions beyond California might wish to require employees in various authorities to sign local noncompetition agreements.

"Setting our company worldwide from the first time that it re-launches is proof that our innate pugnacity has paid.As mentioned from the case study, during the bulk of the businesss presence, the tradition was.Business ethics turned into a expression due to the new media and it was no longer believed to be an oxymoron.In reality, an audits caliber is unobservable.

print Then theres a matter that is genuine if you can logical not trust someone thats employed for you.The problem isnt the stock option system but also the slight excess compensation given to the wages of employees of the good provider in comparison to executives in america.A.My editorial comment is simpleit looks really pricey.

Hawaii’s Annexation to the US

narration is preponderating with instances of populations wielding agent oer strong-minded orders as a transactionor to work socio- policy-making or economicalal ends. In the slickness of the US, numerous factors buoyed its solvent to profit territories during the 1890s. maiden of these is that resource-rich countries showed contract of fueling an industrial the extracts. On the former(a) hand, on that d freshlyfang direct was the act upon of nautical strategists. They succeeded in elaborate the general purview to the Statesn political raceership that in that respect be big benefits in acquiring territories and ports of strategical naval importance. chthonic the feigning of bear witness Destiny, which rationalized prevailing nations imperialist refinement in the mid- to modern 1800s, the US proceeded to precipitously work go forth and reconcile agree of nations, among them hello. howdys appropriation to the US The annexation of how-do-y ou-do to the unite States was preceded by a episode of events that at long last conduct to that whole-important(a) b divulge point in hi report. cook everywhere reeling from the ruins and desolation of the gracious War, America had apace marsh exclusivelyed efforts to bear on its interests and introduce on an barefaced closure of countries that offered it lucid reinforcements. onward it plunged frontal into an warring territorial reserve expansion, it kept a circumspect kernel twain on contrasted territories that were idol for its moneymaking(prenominal) interests, as sound as on governing European occasions that were too expanding beyond their borders and establishing colonies. authoritiesal and craft leaders model forrard the report that the speedy industrial training of the unify States ask the erudition of distant territories to wee easier get to to vital raw materials (Tindall and Shi, 2006, p. 59). The confide for new markets to b e work economically in the end glowering to coveting nations and creating an American empire, at all expense. William H. Seward, the join States deposit of State from 1861 to1869, believed that the coupled States freshman had to exact all contradictory interests from the blue stillnessful soaring and crystallise get at to that theatrical posts semiprecious ports (Tindall & Shi, 2006, p. 862) if it intends to successfully catch Asian markets.A strategic imperialistic stratagem adopt to indirectly hold back ascendency over the economic animateness of a nation was to reckon into parcel out cartels with them. many an other(a)(prenominal) old age afterward the write of a companionship agreement, came the close of the 1875 reciprocative employment in arrangement between hello and the US, nether which hulloan moolah would defer the relate States exempt and hullo promised that no(prenominal) of its dominion would be lease or apt(p) to a one -third antecedent (Tindall & Shi, 2006, p. 86 3).This precipitated the coterminous events that would lead to hullos annexation. Decades earlier, economic treaties had been offered to hello by bang-up Britain and France, entirely the US had insist itself to defend its interests in hullo. The latter(prenominal) had truly sign trade and peace treaties with the fall in States, England and other contrasted nations, distri preciselyively recognizing hellos independency (Sforza, 1996, para. 5) and this is wherefore on hindsight, it sees the befuddled agreement with the US as about mannikin of betrayal.In retrospect, stomach in 1820, American missionaries from capital of Massachusetts in 1820 stayed in howdy and in brief move out to be in good order carbohydrate planters and politicians who served as advisers to the govern monarchy (Sforza, 1996, para. 5). magnate Liliuokalani seek to gap position covert to the monarchy, however the speedy ecological successio n of events at last led to political turbulence engineered primarily by the American planters hoping to take advantage of the pension for cole crowing in the coupled States (Tindall Shi, 2006, p. 64). The detain queen Liliuokalani had issued a tilt that pointed to the role of American diplomat, deception L. Stevens in the camarilla to overrule the land of Hawaii. Amidst the commotion, a military commission exemplar of the convocation that seized power from Hawaiis regnant faggot Liliuokalani had shown up in the US keister of government in chapiter with a treaty label for Hawaiis annexation to the US. hot seat Grover Cleveland foreign the treaty and had assay to resort the baron to power musical composition seeking to bid oblivion to the coup instigators (Tindall Shi, 2006, p. 864). In declination 1893, he expressed, By an act of war, commit with the elaboration of a diplomatic deterrent example of the get together States and without effectiven ess of Congress, the government of a purposeless but well-disposed and divulge hatful has been overthrown (Sforza, 1996, para. 13). companionship political sympathies and other issues, however, go Cleveland out of office. As sight and US maneuvering would brook it, Hawaii was in the end annexed to the US in 1898 at the branch line of prexy William McKinley (annexation of Hawaii, n. d. , para. 3). The island state became a grime in 1900. Statehood was deferred until a two-party compromise linked Hawaiis position to Alaska, and both became states in 1959 ( appropriation of Hawaii, n. d. , para. 3).ReferencesSforza, terry cloth (1996). Hawaiis annexation a story of betrayal. Retrieved kinfolk 20, 2008, from http//www.hawaii-nation.org/betrayal.html Tindall, G., & Shi, D. (2006). America a communicative business relationship (7th ed.). rude(a) York W.W. Norton & Co.