Final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 6

Final - Essay Example This report will examine how the ministry collected information, the major events that occurred in the ministry, the plans that the ministry has to improve its performance, the challenges that the ministry faced, and recommendations as to how these challenges can be mitigated. The goal of my ministry is to spread useful information to every part of our empire within the shortest time possible. As the minister I aim to facilitate the smooth running of this ministry. I will unite my team and motivate them to work towards achieving this goal. I believe information is vital to the economic growth of our empire. The ministry was involved in collecting information in various fields. I led my team to collect information and analyze it. The collected information, after analysis, was sent to the concerned Parties for necessary action to be expedited. We, as a ministry, ensured that all the necessary information including the texts were handwritten and published in the sense of being made public and distributed in relative numbers. We saw that it was essential for your Excellency to be acquainted with the fact that it is our gratification that all limitations which were formerly advanced in official pronouncements regarding the Christians should be known by all, and this was our mandate as a ministry (Rosenwein 313). We worked hand in hand with other stakeholders including other ministries like the ministry of finance, the ministry of security, and the ministry of the police to collect intelligence information from all over the empire. Our spying team collected information from those people who were spreading propaganda against the leadership in our empire, and those who were spreading negative rumors were punished according to the laws of the land, your Excellency. I ensured that all your speeches were well written and published. All your directives were forwarded by my team to the various departments for necessary actions by various bodies. The

ACCOUNTING THEORY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

ACCOUNTING THEORY - Essay Example Among these are the ground concepts that may be used in the formulation of accounting theories among other aspects of accounting theories. Some contend that in the beginning many primitive societies, those that were in existent in the earliest days, developed the art of counting before developing the art of naming (Brown, 2006, 3). These primitive forms of accounting for the number of items provide the basis by which early societies may be said to have been practicing accounting. Such groups are likes of the Egyptian with the need to account for grain harvested and stored. Examples of other such systems may be found in other early civilizations such as the Greeks and the Tibetans. Over time these systems of accounting for various items moved into the business world. This was in earlier European and Asian countries that mostly participated in trade with one another and within their countries. One will find evidence of the differences in practices among the various countries to indicat e differentiation in as far as the earlier practice of accounting is concerned. There is also need to mention the contribution of the likes of Luca Pacioli who made contributions to the earlier forms of accounting (Riahi-Belkaoui, 2005, 3). He is credited with developing the double entry system of bookkeeping that is still widely taught and practiced in accounting spheres to date. It is though that over time this Italian system of accounting was adopted in most parts of the world. In the United States various forms of accounting methodologies were also being applied. These methods may not have been allowed for uniformity, due to the differences in the underlying guidelines. These theories were to be streamlined with the development of bodies such as the SEC which became the ultimate authority as far as providing guidance on accounting related matters (Previtis, Walton & Wolnizer, 2011, 121). Accounting theory development The development of accounting theory on the other hand may be said to have progressed with the developments that were being experienced in the accounting field. Their development was also being fueled by the changes that were occurring in corporate world. A good example may be the case with the development of the railway that led to the growth of the stock market for the purposes of raising needed financing. This growth in a whole industry catapulted the need to develop theories to be used in corporate financing deals (Schroeder, Clark & Cathey, 2011, 4). The current environment The recent financial crisis affected the world in a way that most did not see coming. This crisis also exposed a lot of the misdeeds that have been happening in the financial world. The effect is that there has been an increase in the oversight that is being paid to these sectors of the economy. Accountants and the accounting theories that they choose to use are being placed under greater scrutiny by various bodies. This is in a bid to try and prevent the recurrence of another crisis. The major concern being caused by the derivatives that have come to play a major part in corporate entities and that may have carried some blame when it comes to the causal effect of the crisis. Accounting for these derivatives requires additional accounting regulations as compared to other marketable securities (Stickney, 2010, 579). Accounting theory definition Before an in depth analysis and look at the various theories and how they affect the accounting world, one needs to be aware of the definition or the basic characteristics of an accounting theory. Dictionaries place the definition as, well organized knowledge that can be applied in a wide variety of situations. These are principles and assumptions that can be used to predict how a given

Successful implementation & methodology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Successful implementation & methodology - Essay Example When implemented with these elements in mind, BPR can be successful and may be absolutely vital to the health of an organisation. The factors that impact a successful Business Process Reengineering (BPR) fall into the categories of implementation and environmental. The first factor to consider in the implementation is the design of the project. The project should be visionary and realistic. The design of the BPR needs to take into account the strategic goals of the business and consider the direction of the organisation. Timeframes must be adequate to allow for the team to accomplish its goals. There are key questions to be asked during project design phase. Will it provide any competitive advantage Will it remain competitive in the long term These questions require knowledge of the business environment. Grover et al. (1995 p. 112) asserts that " A major finding of the planned change approach indicates that implementation success occurs when commitment to change exists; commitment to the project exists; and the project is well defined and plans are clearly specified". The design team will need to know the product, the market, and the customers to complete a successful design. The redesign phase is one of the most important factors in any methodology. To be of any value, the redesign needs to be accompanied by a cost/benefit analysis. Is the redesign worth the cost of reengineering What are the risks involved with the redesign Radical change involves cost cutting measures that may impact vendors, suppliers, and employees. Stoddard & Jarvenpaa (1995 p.105) warns that, "... revolutionary change process might not be feasible given the risk and cost of revolutionary tactics". Companies need to assess the risk and evaluate the degree of change tolerance that they may be subjected to. Communication is another key factor to aid in the success of BPR. Management needs to communicate with the staff the scope and the motivation of the project. Communication is also essential to get employees to think about the new way of doing business. If the project involves downsizing, the workforce needs to be aware of the plans and the alternatives that will be provided. The design phase should include a Human Resources strategy. The major threads that run throughout the successful implementation of BPR are, "...communication, empowerment, people involvement, training and education, creating a culture for change, and stimulating receptivity of the organisation to change are the most important factors related to change management and culture" (Al-Mashari & Zairi, 1999 p.88). These issues revolve around the human resource issue. It is imperative that communication with the employees be

Effective Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Effective Management - Essay Example The party- the core principal which may be the local city may decide to give contracts to the contractors to do the work in accordance to the stipulated guidelines. The contracts may invoke agency problems since the contractors may fail to deliver what their principle requires. For example schools with the help of school boards may decide to contract unqualified teachers on behave of the teachers unions because of the low price that the teacher has offered. Often, the contractors will do will always do their tasks to save costs at the expense of quality of the work that they have been contracted to do. They may also fail to finish the work or do the work at their interests. Normaly, recognision of the incentives is pivotal in the effectiveness of the management. The incentives that are given to the contractors should be increased so as to act as a motivation to the contractors. This will enable them to do the work without the desire to minimize costs thus compromising the quality of the work. In class most students rated others with high and perfect score, this was an agency problem since many revealed conflict of interest as per the requirements. I think the incentive should be changed and that the perfect score should only be given when there zero

Peer Influence on Individuals Behavior Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Peer Influence on Individuals Behavior - Essay Example Additionally, studies have indicated that adolescents are more controlled by their peers compared to grown-ups. This increased vulnerability to peer compliance during adolescence has been expressed as an â€Å"emotional way station† that connects the gap between being expressively reliant on parents during babyhood to becoming an expressively independent grown-up (Fadell & Temkow, 2010). Influence from peers and peer choice are corresponding processes that collaborate to generate the adolescent’s social framework. Adolescents obtain friends who are comparable to them and they as well seem to get new friends who are somewhat similar to their old friends. This hemophilic selection process generates stability in the social framework. However, friends might be alike on one trait while being dissimilar on others and are never the same to the adolescent. These disparities generate opportunities for adolescents to influence the behavior of each other. In consequence of this influence, adolescents might alter their approaches or behaviors. Consequently, prospect friendship selection might reflect this change. Thus, the adolescent social framework is best considered as being dynamic where choice and influence collaborate to generate both stability and change for the adolescent (Luo, et al., 2003). Peer groups regularly institute unspecified standards for their members behavior that differentiate them from other peer groups. For instance, most high schools have groups of solemn students, musicians, insurgents, athletes, outsiders and collectively oriented or admired students. These groups form an esteemed chain of command since they have diverse statuses. The well-liked crowd, differentiated by luxurious clothing and striking physical appearance, are frequently the peer groups in the highest class. Adolescent’s confidence can be affected by how they perceive the grade of their individual peer group as compared to other groups. Grown-ups occasionally reproach

Marketing Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example However, it is evident that a number of challenges have engulfed the company within its marketing and human resource sectors, which are threatening its survival in the dynamic business market. From this point of view, the company has a challenge to re-launch its organizational strategies to ensure that the company survives in the competitive telecommunication market. Organizational marketing is an important business strategy as it defines the mechanics that an organization deploys to attract the customers to buy their products. For brand managers, marketing ensures that company sales remain high and that the customer population increases every time (Lamb, Hair and McDaniel 11). In the contemporary business environment, competition is inevitable and companies are always struggling to reach out to as many customers as possible. The changes in market trends have made issues of marketing more complex and demands new approaches of marketing. From a critical point of view, it is evident that new approaches of marketing are slowly pushing away the traditional marketing approaches, putting marketing managers at their toes to adapt to these changes. The telecommunication company has become one of the most dynamic markets due to rapid changes in information technology making it a necessity for service providers to be flexible and agile in responding to ma rket issues. The purpose of this essay is to design an efficient marketing plan for Sprint Corporation. Assuming the role of a brand manager, I will develop a strong marketing strategy that Sprint to ensure that the organization remains profitable by attracting even more customers to buy its products and services. The success of any organizational function depends on the type of leadership that the organization deploys within the business structure. For an organization to survive, it must be able

How to Write an Article Review Essay Example for Free

How to Write an Article Review Essay Writing an article review, which is also sometimes referred to as an article critique, is a special type of writing that involves reading an article and then providing the reader with your personal take on its content. In general, article review essays should start with a heading that includes a citation of the sources that are being reviewed. The first paragraph, which is the introduction to the article review, should provide a summary of the article highlights. This summary should not provide every last detail about the article being reviewed. Rather, it should only discuss the most important details. If you find yourself carrying on or needing more than one paragraph to write your summary, you need to revisit the paragraph and find ways to trim down the length of your summary. Following the brief summary of your article, you will then need to explain why the article is significant. Questions you should ask yourself when writing these paragraphs include: Does the article fill a void within the literature that already exists on the topic? Does the article contain any information that would be considered â€Å"breakthrough† information? Will the information contained within this article cause other people in the field to change their ideas about the subject matter or does it simply revisit information that is already known in the field? In your final paragraphs, you will need to present your personal evaluation of the article. Some questions you should ask yourself in order to come up with your personal evaluation include whether or not the article is well written and clear. You should also consider whether or not any information was missing and if more research is needed on the topic. If you are writing the article review for a class, try to connect the article to organizational and industrial experience and try to connect the content of the article to information that you have been studying in your course. As you write your article review, keep in mind that you are doing more than just a book report. Rather than focus on telling what the article was about, your article review should reflect your personal opinions on the article as well as how it affects you or the field in which it was written. After you have finished writing your article review, be sure to go back and re-read it. This way, you will be able to look at it with a fresh set of eyes and you may notice errors that you had not previously noticed. Outline of the Article Review Please include the following categories in your article review. Full Bibliographic Reference Introduction: Objectives, Article Domain, Audience, Journal and Conceptual/Emprical Classification Very Brief Summary Results Contributions Foundation Synthesis with other materials Analysis Additional Analysis General Critique) Further Critique of a Conceptual Article -or- Further Critique of an Empirical Article Issues (in your opinion). Questions Annotated Bibliography Citation Analysis Appendix 1. Full Bibliographic Reference State the full bibliographic reference for the article you are reviewing (authors, title, journal name, volume, issue, year, page numbers, etc. ) Important: this is not the bibliography listed at the end of the article, rather the citation of the article itself! 2. Introduction: Objectives, Article Domain, Audience, Journal and Conceptual/Emprical Classification Paragraph 1: State the objectives (goals or purpose) of the article. What is the articles domain (topic area)? Paragraph 2: State whether the article is conceptual or empirical, and why you believe it is conceptual or empirical. Empirical articles and conceptual articles have a similar objective: to substantiate an argument proposed by the author. While a conceptual article supports such an argument based on logical and persuasive reasoning, an empirical article offers empirical evidence to support the argument. Empirical articles offer substantial, detailed evidence which the authors analyze using statistical methods. Empirical articles must include hypotheses (or propositions), detailed research results, and (statistical) analyses of this empirical evidence. Empirical research includes experiments, surveys, questionnaires, field studies, etc, and to limited degree, case studies. Conceptual articles may refer to such empirical evidence, but do not provide the detailed analysis of that evidence. 3. Brief Summary For an article review, do not spend much space summarizing the article. Instead focus on analysis of the article. Thus, in this section, summarize the article only very briefly. Paragraph 1: what is the problem or opportunity being addressed Paragraph 2: which solution is proposed (the solution could be a new model or a theory that explains the problem) Paragraph 3: what evidence is put forth that this solution is appropriate (If this is an empirical article, be sure to briefly describe what kind of empirical study was done as part of the evidence) 4. Results Very briefly summarize the important points (observations, conclusions, findings) in the article. Please do not repeat lists of items in the articles just summarize the essence of these if you feel they are necessary to include. 5. Contributions. An article makes a contribution by adding to the knowledge of researchers in a research field. An article can make a contribution to the research field in many ways. Does it provide a new way to look at a problem? Does it bring together or synthesize several concepts (or frameworks, models, etc. ) together in an insightful way that has not been done before? Does it provide new solutions? Does it provide new results? Does it identify new issues? Does it provide a comprehensive survey or review of a domain? Does it provide new insights? Also, is it salient (relevant and current) to a particular scientific issue or managerial problem? Are the issues addressed introduced in a way that their relevance to practice is evident? Would answers to the questions raised in the article likely to be useful to researchers and managers? Note: Do not discuss the contributions of the technologies the article describes, but rather the contributions of the article itself! The articles contributions should be original. Describe each contribution clearly in a separate paragraph or bullet point. Discuss why the contribution is important. Alternatively, if you believe the article makes no contributions, explain why clearly. 6. Foundation. Good research often is built upon theories and frameworks that other researchers have developed. Sometimes articles will be substantially based upon this prior work, and refer back to it in some detail. (Not all research articles will do this. ) Which theoretical foundations does this article and research build on, if any? In what ways? Include references/citations of the foundation work. (You can determine this in part from the works the article cites. )Note, however, that most works cited are not core foundational work, but rather just support certain aspects of the article. Similarly, do not confuse a general discussion of related topics as foundational work. If the article does not build upon key pieces of prior research, then write in your review This article does not build upon any foundation research. (If you do not state this explicitly, you will not receive credit for this section. ) 7. Synthesis with Class Materials Synthesis means analyzing a particular topic by comparing and contrasting it with, and thinking about it from the viewpoint of, the class materials from across the semester. These materials include the articles, models, frameworks, guidelines and other concepts weve covered. (Of course, only certain materials will be relevant for any given article. )Note: You have to do this synthesis! You need to relate this article to other things we have studied, so by definition you will not find this analysis in the article itself! You also could analyze the approach the author took to the articles analysis and discussion. Discuss the articles approach and results in terms of one or more of the frameworks, etc. , from the text or readings, or any you find elsewhere. As part of this analysis, reference other articles youve read, when appropriate. Compare the approach, results and contribution with all articles about similar topics or with a similar approach. For all of these, do your synthesis comparison in as much depth as you can! 8. Analysis Note: Many people assume this category is the same as General Critique. It is not. General Critique is a different category from this, and follows below. What has changed since the article was written? How do its lessons, ideas and theories still apply? To what extent has its issues been resolved? Additional Analysis Optionally, try applying the articles models, frameworks and guidelines, etc. yourself. Do you find them useful? In addition, you may optionally add your own additional analysis in a separate subsection. (Do not repeat the authors analysis in the paper you could summarize this as part of the results section. ) 9. General Critique In this section you should state your opinions of how well (or poorly) the authors did their research and presented the research results in the article. Your critique can contain both positive and negative comments. Justify and explain in detail each of your critique points in a separate paragraph of at least 4-5 sentences. The following are suggestions only: Does it build upon the appropriate foundation (i. e. , upon appropriate prior research)? Did the authors choose the correct approach, and then execute it properly? How confident are you in the articles results, and why? Are its ideas really new, or do the authors simply repackage old ideas and perhaps give them a new name? Do the authors discuss everything they promise in the articles introduction and outline? What are the articles shortcomings (faults) and limitations (boundaries)? Did it discuss all of the important aspects and issues in its domain (topic area)? In what way should the article have made a contribution, but then did not? Do the authors make appropriate comparisons to similar events, cases or occurrences? How complete and thorough a job did the authors do? Do the authors include an adequate discussion, analysis and conclusions? Did they justify everything adequately? Did they provide enough background information for the intended audience to understand it? For you to understand it? Were there adequate and appropriate examples and illustrations? Ask yourself these questions when justifying your critique points: why/why not? how? what distinguishes the differences/different approaches, and in what ways? 9. 1. Further Critique of a Conceptual Article (only for conceptual articles) A critique of a conceptual article examines the logic of the arguments made by the authors. Both strengths and weaknesses should be identified in a critique. Explain and justify each of your critique points in at least 3-4 sentences. Give examples whenever possible. To the best of your abilities, discuss each of the following categories in a separate paragraph: 1. LOGICAL CONSISTENCY: Do any parts of the article or research contradict or invalidate other parts? If so, have the authors acknowledged and explained this adequately? 2. COHERENCE: Does the article make sense? Did the authors approach this article (and this research) sensibly? Does the article develop an argument that follows a coherent line of reasoning? Are the boundaries of the argument reasonably well defined? Does the argument anticipate most, if not all, rival arguments? Does the article flow in a logical sequence? Do later parts build logically upon earlier parts? 3. SUBSTANCE: Does the article provide an argument or a line of reasoning that offers insight into important issues, or does it merely summarize previous studies in a shallow way that does not reflect depth of analysis? Does the article provide ways (a model, framework, guidelines, etc. ) to guide future thinking about the issue(s) the author is addressing? 4. FOCUS: Is there a clear audience that the authors address? Was the article written at the appropriate level for this audience? 9. 2. Further Critique of an Empirical Article (only for empirical articles) A critique of an empirical article examines the strength of the empirical evidence supporting the authors argument. Both strengths and weaknesses should be identified in a critique. Explain and justify each of your critique points in at least 3-4 sentences. To the best of your abilities, discuss each of the following categories in a separate paragraph: 1. CLARITY: Is the articles purpose and argument clear? Do the researchers clearly develop a major research question, proposition, or hypothesis that is to be evaluated in the empirical study and discussed in this article? If the study is exploratory (preliminary), is sufficient justification for an exploratory strategy given? 2. THEORETICAL GROUNDING: Is the researchers argument grounded in more basic theory? Is it clear whether the structure of the empirical study (i. e., what they do) was derived from theory, or just made up? In theory-building articles, is the need for new theory adequately established? 3. DESIGN OF RESEARCH INVESTIGATION: Is it clear exactly how the empirical study was carried out? Is the design of the research approach (field study, experiments, questionnaires, etc. both contents and how they will be used) adequate to address the common threats to internal and external validity? Have appropriate controls been established, and is the selection of research sites justified? Are the hypotheses and experiments, etc., significant? 4. MEASUREMENT: Empirical studies can have quantitative measurements (i. e. , numeric results) and qualitative or subjective measurements. Are the measures used adequately described (i. e. , what is measured in the study and how)? Are data on the reliability and validity of these measures reported? Does the article feel anecdotal or solidly supported with evidence? For example, in case or field studies, are the results well documented? Is it clear who the subjects were, and with whom interviews were carried out? Were important results cross-checked, i. e., determined across a range of subjects or just gotten from one or two subjects? 5. ANALYSIS: Is the analysis of empirical data conducted properly? Do the data conform to the requirements of any statistical tests used? Are qualitative data adequately described and presented? 6. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: In discussing the results of the empirical study, do the authors remain true to the actual findings of the study? Are the claims made in the conclusion of the article actually supported by the empirical data? If the study is exploratory, do the authors offer research questions or hypotheses for future research? 7. BIASES: Do the biases of the authors affect the design of the research or the interpretation of the results? Are the authors aware of potential biases and the affect on the study? 10. Issues (listed by the author) What open questions or issues has the author stated remain unresolved? Discuss each in a separate paragraph of 5-10 sentences. Each issues paragraph should take the following format: what is the issue? why do you believe this is an important issue? in what way is it unresolved suggestions for resolving it if you give your own suggestions (instead of or in addition to the authors, then precede each with I would propose If it has been resolved since the article was written, then state how it was resolved. 11. Issues (in your opinion) List several open questions or issues which remain unresolved in your opinion? For example, what possible future research questions could arise from this article? Discuss each in a separate paragraph of 5-10 sentences. Each issues paragraph should take the following format: what is the issue? why do you believe this is an important issue? in what way is it unresolved suggestions for resolving it 12. Questions List three insightful questions of your own, arising from this article. Do not ask definitions, but rather questions that really make one think. 13. Annotated Bibliography For every item you have cited in your report, you need a full reference and an annotation explaining it. List the full bibliographic references (authors, title, journal name, volume, issue, year, page numbers, etc. ) for anything you have cited in your review. IMPORTANT: This is NOT the bibliography listed at the end of the article. It is the bibliographic references for any readings you yourself referred to inside your review. Write 2-4 sentences describing the article. Write 2-3 sentences describing why you cited it. 14. Citation Analysis Appendix If the article has no citations then write in that section I found no citations in the [Science Citation Index or the Social Sciences Citation Index or on the Internet]. Note, if your article has more than 20 citations, you only need to include a selection of them: State how many citations each index has and the Web search found List 1-2 citations for each year in which the article has been cited. Try to include citations from several different journals spread over your selection ? Include a citation analysis to see who has cited it and how.