Dow Chemical Business Analysis Essay

Historically, the chemical industry has operated in a competitive environment, which is not anticipated to change. Dow experiences significant competitions in each of its operating segments as well as in each of the geographic areas in which it operates. Dow competes globally on the foundation of quality, technology, price, and customer service and operates in an integrated manufacturing environment. Basic raw materials are processed through many stages to produce many products that are sold as finished goods at different points in the process. Dow has two major raw material streams that feed the production of the finished goods which are chlorine-based and hydrocarbon based raw materials. (Dow Chemical Company, n.d.) Business Environment The business environment of Dow is one that has strategically positioned itself to withstand the ever-changing forces of economic, social, political and technological factors it faces daily. Dow consistently identifies opportunities and new technologies before its competition which stimulates their industry-leader position. (1) Financial Health Dow has great financial strength. Their sensible financial discipline has proven beneficial in recent global economic challenges and has actually helped position it for future growth. The recent global economic challenges forced Dow to take steps towards strengthening and diversifying its portfolio. The company has come out on the other side of the challenges with a portfolio that is better equipped for economic uncertainties. (Dow Chemical Company, n.d.) During 2011, Dow: * had double-digit gains in revenue and earnings per share * posted  record revenues at a Company level, as well as in emerging geographies * introduced â€Å"game-changing† investments and partnerships that will allow the Company to capture more demand in the world’s fastest growing regions * recognized a stronger than ever before R&D innovation pipeline Analyzing the data attained from Dow’s 2011 financial statements confirm the Company’s financial heath and sustainability. Dow’s Liquidity ratio is a follows: Current Assets = 23,442 million Current Liabilities = 13,634 million Liquidity ratio = 23,422/13,634 = 1.72 Dow has $1.72 of current assets for every $1.00 of current liability. The current ratio should be at a 2 or greater to be considered a safe risk; however, Dow is a reputable global organization accepting the investment to be a safe risk. Dow’s Acid-test ratio is a follows: Cash = 5,444 million Accounts Receivable = 4,900 million Measurable Securities = 7,057 million Current Liabilities = 13,634 million Acid-test ratio = 4,444+4,900+7,057/13,634 = 1.28 Dow has 1.28 acid-test ratio. The ratio needs to be between a 0.05 and 1.0 to be satisfactory. The acid-test ratio determines whether an organization has enough short-term assets to cover immediate liabilities without selling inventory. (Nickels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2010, p. 20-21) Dow’s ratio is just slightly above 1.0, allowing it to be considered satisfactory. Dow’s Debt to owners’ ratio is as follows: Total Liabilities = 27,476 million Owners’ Equity = 22,281 million Debt to owners’ ratio = 27,476/22,281 = 1.23 or 123% The debt to owners’ ratio should be anything 100% or less. (Nickels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2010, p. 20-21) Dow is just over; however, other competitors in the industry have similar ratios signifying debt financing in the chemical industry is more acceptable and commonplace. Dow’s Return on sales is as follows: Net Income = 3,200 million Net Sales = 52,985 million Return on sales = 3,200/52,985 = 0.06 or 6% Return on sales for Dow is slightly lower than its researched competitors in producing income from sales. Competitors As previously stated, the chemical industry is a highly competitive environment. Two of Dow’s leading competitors include BASF and DuPont. BASF is the world’s leading chemical company with about 111,000 employees and just under 370 production sites worldwide. BASF serve customers and partners in almost every country in the world. In 2011, BASF posted sales of $73.5 billion. (BASF web site) BASF’s Liquidity ratio is a follows: Current Assets = 27,088 million Current Liabilities = 16,447 million Liquidity ratio = 27,088/16,477 = 1.64 BASF has $1.64 of current assets for every $1.00 of current liability. The current ratio should be at a 2 or greater to be considered a safe risk; however, BASF is a reputable global organization considering the investment to be a safe risk. (Nickels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2010, p. 20-21) BASF’s Acid-test ratio is a follows: Cash = 2,048 million Accounts Receivable = 10,886 million Current Liabilities = 16,477 million Acid-test ratio = 2,048+10,886/16,477 =. 78 BASF has a .78 acid-test ratio. The ratio needs to be between a 0.05 and 1.0 to be satisfactory. The acid-test ratio determines whether an organization has enough short-term assets to cover immediate liabilities without selling inventory. (Nickels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2010, p. 20-21) BASF’s ratio is in line and right where it should be; furthermore, considered satisfactory in regards to this measure. BASF’s Debt to owners’ ratio is as follows: Total Liabilities = 35,790 million Owner’s Equity = 25,385 million Debt to owners’ ratio = 35,790/25,385 = 1.41 or 141% The Debt to owners’ ratio should be anything 100% or less. (Nickels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2010, p. 20-21) BASF is just over; however, other competitors in the industry have similar ratios signifying debt financing in the chemical industry is more acceptable. BASF’s Return on sales is as follows: Net Income = 6,188 million Net Sales = 73,497 million Return on sales = 6,188/73,497 = 0.08 or 8% Return on sales is higher than Dow’s and lower than DuPont. Another strong competitor is DuPont. DuPont is a world leader in market-driven innovation and science. DuPont brings science and engineering to the global marketplace through innovative products, materials and services which enable their customers in almost all industries to meet the current and future needs of society. (DuPont.com) DuPont’s Liquidity ratio is a follows: Current Assets = 18,058 million Current Liabilities = 11,185 million Liquidity ratio = 18,058/11,185 = 1.61 DuPont has $1.61 of current assets for every $1.00 of current liability. The current ratio should be at a 2 or greater to be considered a safe risk; however, DuPont is a reputable global organization permitting the investment as a safe risk. (Nickels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2010, p. 20-21) DuPont’s Acid-test ratio is a follows: Cash = 3,586 million Accounts Receivable = 4,598 million Measurable Securities = 433 million Current Liabilities = 11,185 million Acid-test ratio = 3,586+4,598+433/11,185 = .77 DuPont has a 0.77 acid-test ratio. The ratio needs to be between a 0.05 and 1.0 to be satisfactory. The acid-test ratio determines whether an organization has enough short-term assets to cover immediate liabilities without selling inventory. (Nickels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2010, p. 20-21) DuPont’s ratio is satisfactory. DuPont’s Debt to owners’ ratio is as follows: Total Liabilities = 39,899 million Owner’s Equity = 8,593 million Debt to owners’ ratio = 39,899/8,593 = 4.64 or 464% The Debt to owners’ ratio should be anything 100% or less. (Nickels, McHugh, & McHugh, 2010, p. 20-21) DuPont is significantly over this desired range at 464%, indicating that the significantly financed based on borrowed funds that must be paid back. In comparing this ratio to industry competitors, DuPont is still considerably over. DuPont’s Return on sales is as follows: Net Income = 3,474 million Net Sales = 37,961 million Return on sales = 3,474/37.961 = 0.09 or 9% DuPont’s return on sales is strong when comparing DuPont to Dow and BASF. Technological Advantages Dow’s innovation sets them apart from the competition on numerous levels. Dow is the world’s: * largest and most experienced ethylene and chlorine producer * largest producer of chlorine and caustic * leader in the production of purified ethylene oxide As of December 31, 2011, Dow owned a total of 18,120 patents world-wide. These patents protect the results of its research. The company had revenue related to patents and technology royalties of $437 million in 2011. Today, Dow’s innovation efforts further supports a new level world-wide growth, generates strong cash flows and enables them to commercialize or bring the technologies to the market. (Dow Chemical Company, n.d.) Dow’s innovations from 2011 include: * DOW POWERHOUSE Solar Shingle – a solar panel which aesthetically looks like a shingle for the housing industry. * PASCAL Technology – a new polyurethane insulating solution to boost energy efficiency in appliances. * EVOQUE Pre-Composite Polymer Technology – allows paint manufactures to maximize hiding efficiencies. Globalization In an effort to satisfy the demands of a growing world, Dow is putting their innovations to work on every continent. In 2011, 32% of sales were gained from emerging geographies. Dow’s increasing investment into developed and emerging regions of the globe is empowering them to take advantage and capitalize on growth where it is happening. (Dow Chemical Company, n.d.) Benchmarking Dow’s vast and well-balanced portfolio enables the company to face the complex realities of today and the future head-on. The company has united its businesses with geographies and end-markets for significant growth. Dow is commercializing game-changing technologies today that are delivering real value to the bottom line. In 2011 nearly one-third of its sales were from products launched in the last five years reinforcing their strategic goals. DuPont is an industry leader in safety. DuPont quickly realized that in order for the organization’s safety mindset to be successful, safety had to be embraced from the top down. The safety culture of the company has proven successful in many areas. In 2000, over 90% of DuPont’s sites world-wide, operated with zero injuries, an unheard of accomplishment. In addition, DuPont has leveraged its acclaimed safety program and had provided safety training to other companies including General Motors, GE and Alcoa, Inc. (Vinas, 2002) Conclusion Dow is the third largest chemical company in the world. The healthy business environment fosters sustainability for decades to come. Dow offers financial and technological strengths with a promising future in the world-wide market. References Nickels, W. G., McHugh, J. M., & McHugh, S. M. (2010). Understanding Business (9th ed.). : McGraw-Hill. Dow Chemical Company. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.dow.com BASF Chemical Company. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.basf.com DuPont. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.dupont.com Vinas, T. (2002, Summer). Best Practices DuPont safety starts at the top. Industry Week, (), Retrieved from http://hhtp:www.industryweek.com/articles/best_practices_—_dupont_safety_starts_at_the_top

Flexible Budgets Acc543

Flexible Budgets Team ACC/543 Professor Deborah Fitzgerald Thomas University of Phoenix 2010 Team B, You have done a great job on the assignment. I have noted some minor issues to help you on future assignments. Abstract The purpose of this paper is to give an overview of the budget process. It analyzes flexible budgets, discusses the relationship between fixed and variable cost, explores the differences between static and flexible budgets, and how budgets assist in the cost-volume-profitability analysis. The Purpose of Flexible Budgets A budget is a tool used by businesses to plan for upcoming revenues and expenses.Businesses understand the difficulty of planning for the future. Circumstances inevitably arise that can change the outlook of a company’s financial picture overnight. Intelligent businesses look to increase flexibility. To do this, businesses explore the relationship between fixed and variable costs, incorporate techniques to transform static budgets, and use flex ible budgets to perform cost-volume-profit analysis. The relationship between fixed and variable costs used in a flexible budget A flexible budget is a statement of projected revenue and expenditure based on various levels of production.It shows how costs vary with different rates of output or at different levels of sales volume. The flexible budget responds to changes in activity and may provide a better tool for performance evaluation. It is driven by the expected cost behavior and cannot be prepared before the end of the period. A flexible budget adjusts the static budget for the actual level of output. It is more sophisticated and useful than a static budget. A flexible budget is compared to a company’s static budget to find variances between the levels of expected and actual spending. The following steps are used to prepare a flexible budget:   1.Determine the budgeted variable cost per unit of output. Also [Add comma here for clarity or to offset an afterthought from the rest of the sentence] determine the budgeted sales price per unit of output, if the entity to which the budget applies generates revenue. 2. Determine the budgeted level of fixed costs. 3. Determine the actual volume of output achieved (e. g. , units produced for a factory, units sold for a retailer, patient days for a hospital). 4. Build the flexible budget based on the budgeted cost information from steps 1 and 2, and the actual volume of output from step 3 (Caplan,  2009).Fixed  costs  are expenses that do not change as the activity of a business changes within the relevant period. For example, a  retailer  must pay rent and utility bills regardless of sales. Variable and fixed costs make up one of the two components of  total cost. Variable costs are expenses that do change as the activity of a business changes within the relevant period. The cost’s behavior determines whether it is fixed or variable. In a flexible budget, all costs are estimated. Variable costs are known as standard variable costs since they are the best estimate for production costs determined by management.Variable costs behave in a fixed manner when calculated on a per unit basis. Whether the number of estimate units sold increase or decrease the standard cost will remain the same. Total variable costs in relation to the number of units sold will behave in a variable manner because total variable costs increases or decreases based on the number of units sold. The differences between static and flexible budget A static budget is a budget that remains unchanged regardless of fluctuation in the volume of sales, expenses, or other relevant factors.Static budgets are produced for a given financial period and are compared to actual results. Consideration is not given to revenue changes effecting variable costs. The main budget of a company is generally a static budget, while the budgets associated with departments are more fluid (Byrne & Mather, 1997). Fluid budgets, a lso known as flexible budgets have the ability to adjust for changes in output levels or shifts in income. These budgets differ from static budgets in that they show projected expenses and revenue at a variety of levels (Edmonds, 2007).Like all budgets, the flexible budget establishes line items for expenses and revenue for a given period with a value assigned to each line. This budgeting approach allows for quick changes to line items in the event of unforeseen complications. A rigid, static budget that is based on a single set of projections, and doesn’t [Contractions are inappropriate in academic writing–write it out] readily permit adjustments could be seen as inefficient (Byrne & Mather, 1997). How a flexible budget lends itself to a cost-volume-profit analysis Flexible budgets are a very useful management tool.These types of tools can provide information needed for planning and performance evaluation. Flexible budgets are based on actual volume of activity [Add c omma here for clarity or to offset an afterthought from the rest of the sentence] which assists organizations with achieving desirable profit levels. â€Å"Managers may assess whether the company’s cash position is adequate by assuming different levels of volume. They may judge if the number of employees, amounts of materials, and equipment and storage facilities are appropriate for a variety of different potential levels of volume,† (Edmonds, 2007, p. 5).A flexible budget often compliments a cost volume profit (CVP) analysis. Both of these are tools that evaluate performance and benchmarking. It is helpful in understanding the relationships among cost, volume, and profit. Essentially CVP’s are an extension of the breakeven point. Using the CVP, a manager can calculate the breakeven point, which is a great indicator of a minimum production level. CVP goes further and shows how much to produce to earn a certain amount of profit. Also, CVP identifies the likely ch anges in profit whenever a key factor changes such as price, cost and quantity (Edmonds, 2007, p. ). Conclusion Budgets are useful and necessary tools used to plan for future saving and spending. Like everything in business, there is more than one way to achieve this. Knowledge of the relationships and techniques described in this paper are invaluable to a business. Once a business understands the process, it can increase flexibility. This allows a business to portray a more accurate financial picture and leads to more intelligent spending and a sustainable business plan.References Byrne, M. , & Mather, J. (1997). Managing the budget process. Club Management. Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu Caplan, D. (2009). Flexible Budgeting. OSU. Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu/secure/aapd/cwe/citation_generator/web_01_01. asp on 11/26/2010 Edmonds, T. P. (2007). Fundamental financial & managerial accounting concepts. Retrieved from https://ecampus. phoenix. edu Elmerra ji, J. (2010). How budgeting works for companies. Investopedia. Retrieved from http://www. investopedia. com/articles/07/budgetingforcompanies. asp

Machine Essay

Society is in all shapes and forms a lie. Consumerism drives our economy, our government, and our lives. As a people we are amazed and enthralled by the new technology that has become available to us in recent years. From smart phones to 3-d televisions we have it all, technology may as well be an extention of our bodies at this rate, it is creeping in. The speed at which technology has developped is impressive to say the least, we are able to make the blind see, the def hear, or the mute able speak. Computers have connected the world, opening a wealth of information to anyone witch access. With the annoucement of a new wearable computer called â€Å"Google Glass† we have taken a step forward into the cyborg age, not only that but we have taken a step into the what will be known as Surveillance States. We have given the oppurtunity to the government to control us even further. There are many positive and negative developments that come with the age of information, like the ease of accesing information from anywhere, to constantly being watched by our government or even to the militirization of these technologies. How could this affect our lives today, and more importantly tomorrow? Mann is an innovator, a man who excels in the field of technology. He had created a portable CD player before they were officially marketed, in time he began working on a portable computer that would allow him to access any of the information he needed. He even created a program that would replace ads on bilboards with things he felt were more important, and that he wanted to see. Some may wonder when this technology may be available but the fact of the matter is, it is available. It is all around us, Mann began experimenting with portability and computer in 1987. It is now the year 2013, and the technology has developped at an exponential rate, with the release of Google Glass we will be able to live the way Mann lived, replacing ads we dont want to see with other things that interest us. Another thing this technology will allow us to accomplish is having a better understanding of dissabilities, and how we can â€Å"correct† them; that is to say giving a blind individual the ability of sight. We’ve had the technologies to accomplish these feats for some time, but is only until now that we have seen them begin to surface. Not everything about these technological advancements are good, although they may seem that way we must always think about the way this tech can change our lives, potentially for the worst. With the route government is taking these technologies might end up being used against us, inventions like Google Glass will permit the government to have 24/7 surveillance of everything we do. Countries have slowly been turning into Surveillance states, all illusions of privacy are slowly being taken away and we are doing nothing to change this. The population has been made docile, we sit at home on computers and walk around with phone in hand while the world around us closes in; slowly suffocating us until we can no longer catch our breath. Soon enough all of this technology will be implemented into our bodies, turning us into, basically, cyborgs. Can we expect to live life like Mr. Roboto, becoming the â€Å"modern man†. Imagine seeing Robocop prowling the streets for miscreants while we all access our own personal â€Å"HUD† the song that is playing. These are the things we can come to expect, along with a number of severe problems; cyber terrorism, iruss, trojan horses, â€Å"key stroke† programs (that is to say, in this context, a program able to acces your mind and watch everything you do). How will these issues be resolved is a mystery as it is nearly impossible to eradicate and keep up with the number of programs that are being made even today. Will the human race become â€Å"more machine than man†? Can we still consider ourselves human if we are made up of more computer and metal then we are of flesh? How will we experience life differenty? Do we really want to take this direction with technologie, considering the repercussions of such an act and the sacrifice involved? It may be safe to say that we may be going too far. Although the technological advancements we are creating are phenomenal we cannot expect them to be used to only improve our lives; it is a well known fact that the human race is a self-destructive creature, and seems to be addicted to finding new and more efficient ways to kill eachother. That being said the technological era we are moving into brings a great many benefits to society, and to the army. The militirization of these innovations will be inevitable. This can be both seen as good and bad, depending on your point of view. War often incites change and pumps up the economy, although with these technologies we will be experiencing a different kind of war, one that could quite possibly affect us all. What will happen to these technologies in the coming years is somewhat of a mystery, perhaps â€Å"Johny Mnemonic† will be the world of tomorrow, those who chose to augment themselves versus those who did not. This technology brings a number of opportunities to better our lives, we will be able to improve our life span and cure more illness and disease, amputees will be able to live normally and those with ental dissabilities may be â€Å"cured† with the use of microchips. With the direction we are taking concerning technology we will have to come to expect that the government will take advantage of these technologies, with profit in mind, and it is very likelly that the uneven distribution of wealth and power will be easily distinguishable in the world of tomorrow. It is impossible to know exactly what the future holds and so we must simply do what we can today, to ensure that tomorrow is the way we want it too be. With that said, how far away are we from being able to see into the future?

Paper Based on Four Movies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Paper Based on Four Movies - Essay Example The title in itself gives a hint of the plot, somehow one feels that it is bound to be a rags to riches story. In contrast, the movie The Pianist describes a man, caught in the horrors of war, who gets by because of his amazing talents and the compassion and humanity of other people. The title The Pianist is somehow still distinct from the Amelie because the latter is a proper name, while the former is not. The movie Amelie and the use of the name of the lead character as the title of the film suggests an intimacy that perhaps is not there in the two other films. The third movie wishes to establish an intimate and personal connection between the movie watcher and the character, drawing the watcher into the life and emotions of the character. So while all three movies focus on characters, the way they choose to do so are in different ways, all of which, however, set the stage for the unfolding of each of the movies’ rich narratives. Second question The depiction of space and pl ace in the movie Slumdog is best seen during the scene when the two boys who come from the slums work as â€Å"tourists† in the Taj Mahal. One can see the resplendence of the Taj Mahal as a towering symbol of Indian elite and it contrasts starkly with the material realities of the two boys who show tourists around. What is striking as well is the ease with which the boys, especially Jamal, walk around the Taj Mahal, as if comfortable in its splendor and luxury. This to me suggests an image of India that is replete with contrasts and dissonances, but somehow these contrasts and dissonances merge seamlessly into each other: as though poverty is used to and not appalled by the obscenity of wealth, and luxury has become so indifferent to poverty. One is jarred to the core by the horrific scenes of child exploitation, as for example a syndicate in the business of collecting beggars and deliberately maiming children so they can bring in more income. And then we are shown the busy s treets of India’s gleaming urban landscape, the call center capital of the world where dreams are fashioned from the magic wand of outsourcing. One too is struck by the scene where Jamal jumps into literal feces, an apt metaphor for the lives the â€Å"slumdogs† lead. And yet the characters, particularly the poor ones, accept this dichotomy with indifference, even acceptance. The images of space and place highlight the contrasts with clarity, and one is left with an image of India as a country straddling between economic greatness and dire poverty, an uneasy mixture that will soon explode in its face. Fourth question Ciki is a Bosniak soldier who finds himself in a trench with a Bosnian Serb during the height of the Bosnian war. He finds himself in an absurd situation with Nino, the Bosnian Serb, as they confront each other while under threat of an exploding land mine but stop short of killing each other. As the media gathers and international human rights observers jo in the fray, the exchange between Ciki and Nino becomes an interesting tableau of both the capacity of human beings for comedy amidst the tragedy of war. Ciki is extremely important to the film because he moves the story forward and delivers the necessary decisions and actions to allow the plot to unfold, e.g., jumping over Cera so the bomb would not explode, shooting Nino. Jane Livingstone is also in the film No Man’

Romantic Love Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Romantic Love - Essay Example As the essay declares love is one of the most profound emotions known and as exhibited from the thesis statement above, every person has an affinity to feel loved and wanted to make their lives interesting and bear meaning. Others seek romantic relationships where they are able to express their feelings to another compatible partner (preferably of opposite sex) as the main type of love. A romantic relationship for this reason is the most meaningful of elements in human lives that provides a deep source of fulfillment from the mutual association. According to the paper findings the ability to have a loving and healthy relationship is not innate. A great deal of evidence suggests that love possess certain specific characteristics, the ability to form a stable relationship right from infancy. A child’s earliest experience of love may be from a caregiver who reliably meets the infant's needs for food, protection, care, stimulation, and social contact. Consequently, romantic love is an invention of the modern world not an archaic relic. Most of historical societies did not experience or know love as compared to the modern society where individuals are allowed to make their individual, independent choices on the person their heart loves cutting across ethnic diversity, races and nationality. Popularly, parents would arrange marriages based on the families mutual attraction in the ancient days giving linking people with a destiny not of their own choice or selection. The modern society hence allows grounds for love to thrive and add meaning into life.

Patton Lessons in Leadership by Alan Axelrod Essay

Patton Lessons in Leadership by Alan Axelrod - Essay Example The main focus of the said work is the collection of the knowledge and the lessons brought about by George S. Patton, one of the most successful military general in the US. The most significant of the said concepts is the application suggestions to the corporate America even in the absence of war (Axelrod, 2001). The ideas of George S. Patton can be considered innovative but unconventional for his time. Although this is the case, upon the study of the published work, a significant affirmation regarding the feasibility of the ideas can be considered as the driving force for the popularity of the presented concepts and ideas. The views of Patton covered an extensive variety of experiences he related to leadership in any form, specifically the needs of the present era (Axelrod, 2001). One of the most evident attributes of Patton is his confidence to execute his decisions and views, a character that can be considered to have an important role in his capability to achieve goals, act upon what he planned and motivate his people. When one observes a leader such as Patton, at some point, following his goals and views can be inevitable. This can be attributed to his achievements during his leadership. The different concepts in leadership based on Patton can be related to the leadership image, communication in the organization, setting up of priorities, teamwork, performance, loyalty and achievement. The ideas presented in the published work mainly revolve in the corresponding applications of the concepts and methods Patton applied in military leadership during the war and the needs of the corporate world in terms of leadership. One of the ideas is projected in the development and upholding of the image of the leader. According to Patton, to be able to achieve success as a leader, the image for the people to follow is one of the most important factors.

Use of Communication Skills to Facilitate Therapeutic Relationships Essay

Use of Communication Skills to Facilitate Therapeutic Relationships - Essay Example In psychiatric setup, the nurse aims at helping the Client to become independent and establishing confidence. Williams& Irurita (2004), states that disclosure is the cornerstone for this relationship to be effective and also for the achievement of self-disclosure. There is need for trust, intimacy, effective relational communication and the assurance of confidentiality (Popoola et al 2012). According to Cull (2012), the Nurse uses their communication skills to understand human behaviors and personal growth so as to ensure Client’s growth. Communication enhanced through an emotional supportive enquiry. The nurse aims to familiarize themselves with the Client and their situation. This can be done through listening, taking notes, clarifying and checking perceptions. It is important to confirm that one has understood what the Client needs. This can be achieved through reflective conversation, reflecting feelings and silence. Thereafter, the Nurse should lead the conversation. Focus should be on the Client’s ideas, expression and feelings and the nurse should be friendly but not a friend to the client. This line needs to be clearly drawn by the nurse. It is important that the Client should be safe, confidential, reliable and consistent with the existing boundaries. For these to happen, the nurse should be genuine, empathetic and positively regard all Clients re gardless of their mental state. Genuineness in this case is the self awareness of the Client’s feelings as they arise in the relationship and the ability to communicate them when necessary. This works to build trust and further prompt the client to open up. The Nurse should be capable of empathy.

Social Security's role in our society and public administration Essay

Social Security's role in our society and public administration - Essay Example This Civil War Pension program provided benefits to war veterans with disabilities, in addition, widows and orphans could receive pensions equal to the amount paid to veterans. Starting with the year 1906 old age has become the main qualification for the benefits payment. Thus, by the year 1960 the following groups of people were receiving benefits: Civil War veterans, survivors with disabilities, and the old-aged. Later, these programs would become known as Social Security. In particular, four major demographic changes led to the emergence of Social Security in the early 1930s: the Industrial Revolution, the urbanization of America, the disappearance of the extended family and the market increase in life expectancy. Also, as a result of an Agricultural Revolution the majority of self-employed workers were transformed into industrial working class. When primary income comes from wages, economic security is threatened by recessions, layoffs and business failures, factors that employees have no control over. Industrialization has led to city growth and by 1930 half of the population was living in cities. The trend towards urbanization resulted in the disappearance of the extended family. This was due to large families living in the same residence. The major advantage of an extended family was that when one member became too old too work, the other members assumed responsibility for his well-being. Urbanization limited this kind of support and many old peo ple appeared behind the line of poverty. Finally, due to improved healthcare and sanitation Americans began to live significantly longer. The net result from these demographic changes was that Americans were older, more industrial and fewer people lived in extended families. The existing provisions of economic security were becoming increasingly fragile. The Social Security programs adopted in late 1935 relied on the concept of social insurance common in Europe at that time. The initial aim of the Social Security system was to shift the responsibility for economic security to the governmental institutions. In the late 19th century several European and Latin American states already had some form of the social insurance campaigns. The major points of the American Social Security included old age assistance, unemployment insurance, aid to dependent children and grants to the states to provide medical care (Tanner, 2004). The section on old-age benefits is what people think about Social Security today. Although the American social insurance program has been initiated much later, it was relatively successful compared to the other systems. For example, in the book "Relief and Social Security" Meriam notes the following: " . . . social insurance and the allied services, as they exist today, are conducted by a complex of disconnected adminis trative organs, proceeding on different principles, doing invaluable service but at a cost in money and trouble and anomalous treatment of identical problems for which there is no justification. In a system of social security better on the whole than can be found in almost any other country there are serious deficiencies which call for remedy" (Meriam, 1946, p. 2). Meriam talks about the American Social Security Act of 1935 as one of the most successful. Particularly, she outlines four major benefits this act has offered (Meriam, 1946, p. 16-19): The creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps by the national government

Cultural diversity and language education Essay

Cultural diversity and language education - Essay Example Ð fter 21/2 yeÐ °rs of immersing myself in SpÐ °nish through study Ð °nd trÐ °vel to Mexico Ð °nd GuÐ °temÐ °lÐ °, I grÐ °duÐ °ted with Ð ° minor in SpÐ °nish. SpÐ °nish cÐ °me very eÐ °sily to me becÐ °use of Ð °ll the French I hÐ °d tÐ °ken Ð °nd my strong desire to leÐ °rn the lÐ °nguÐ °ge. Ð fter college, I trÐ °veled for Ð ° yeÐ °r in South Ð mericÐ °, where I both reinforced my SpÐ °nish Ð °nd Ð °lso picked up Portuguese while visiting BrÐ °zil. When I returned from South Ð mericÐ ° I wÐ °s unsure whÐ °t I wÐ °nted to do, so I enrolled in Ð ° bilinguÐ °l teÐ °cher educÐ °tion progrÐ °m sponsored by Title VII. Ð  yeÐ °r of student teÐ °ching Ð °nd bilinguÐ °l methods courses certified me Ð °s Ð ° bilinguÐ °l teÐ °cher. I becÐ °me Ð ° bilinguÐ °l teÐ °cher out of my love for SpÐ °nish. I see the process of becoming bilinguÐ °l Ð °s Ð ° lifelong journey, one in which I Ð °m still involved. When I stÐ °rted teÐ °ching, I hÐ °d no ideÐ ° thÐ °t bilinguÐ °l teÐ °ching wÐ °s so controversiÐ °l, stigmÐ °tized, Ð °nd complex. For 6 yeÐ °rs, I struggled Ð °s Ð ° SpÐ °nish-English bilinguÐ °l elementÐ °ry school teÐ °cher in OÐ °klÐ °nd, CÐ °liforniÐ °. PÐ °rt of this struggle wÐ °s cÐ °used by lÐ °ck of support from my principÐ °l Ð °nd colleÐ °gues, who did not understÐ °nd the purposes of whÐ °t is needed to develop bilinguÐ °lism. During thÐ °t time, I obtÐ °ined Ð ° mÐ °sters degree in curriculum Ð °nd bilinguÐ °l educÐ °tion. Ð t the clÐ °ssroom level, despite my teÐ °cher trÐ °ining Ð °nd mÐ °sters degree, I still fÐ °ced dÐ °ily dilemmÐ °s such Ð °s, "WhÐ °t should I do with 30 kids whose lÐ °nguÐ °ge dominÐ °nce vÐ °ries from SpÐ °nish to English Ð °nd Ð °ll the shÐ °des in between?" "WhÐ °t kind of curriculum should I use for OmÐ °r, who hÐ °s just come from Mexico to my fourth-grÐ °de clÐ °ss Ð °nd doesnt know how to hold Ð ° pencil becÐ °use he hÐ °s never gone to school before?" "How do I work with Guillermo, who is very bright, fully

Research Portfolio Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Research Portfolio - Essay Example This signifies that for a similar product or service, if a firm contracts with the vendor for a specific volume because of rate fluctuations, then they will be paying extra. The customs duty structure is openly related to such rates that will have more impact (Taylor, 2004). Cash loss also enhances thereby damaging the working capital needs. In essence, this openly plunges the productivity of a business. Research Questions/Topics Some of the research questions that this paper seeks to answer include the causes, as well as effects of the global financial crisis (Evans & Lyons, 2003). Such a topic is extremely important as the global financial crisis are considered to have been brought about by miscalculations in the foreign exchange market. Another research topic is the assessment of changing patterns of global comparative advantage along with its policy implications. The third question includes how major world exporters and importers are dealing with the issues affecting foreign exch ange market. It would be interesting to know how major economies in the world are trying to deal with these issues affecting foreign exchange (Evans & Lyons, 2003). Fourthly, another question includes factors leading to the exchange rate volatility in major world economies. Finally, the fifth question would be how the issues affecting the foreign exchange market affect trade, productivity and employment. Data Required This study will incorporate nations such as the United States, United Kingdom, China, Germany, Brazil and other key world traders. The paper selected these nations because they are the ones who are always on the media discussing the issues in the foreign exchange market. Also, major companies will also be incorporated in this study, such as car exporting firms and food importing firms among others and the sample size will be nearly 50 respondents. The study will take place over two months, and some of the variables that will be studied in the survey include causes, as well as effects of the issues in the foreign exchange market, who are being affected and what is being done to deal with these issues. Proposed Methodology The study on foreign-exchange intervention is all about empirical research. The paper includes a wide range of experimental techniques and strategies. The various methodologies presented diverse types of problems about which anybody evaluating this paper’s results should be mindful. It is vital to include both primary and secondary sources effectively to come up with the information of the topic (Lothian & Dijk, 2006). Primary information could be gathered from business managers or owners of the business while secondary data could be gathered from already published sources of this topic. The overarching issue, which confronted this empirical survey, was the simultaneous determination of bureaucrat intervention, as well as exchange-rate changes. Since the study lacked an adequate amount of high frequency sources, I generall y did not apply standard numerical techniques to this issue. Question 2 Overview Market structure indicators like the number of banks, as well as banking concentration, usually have been regarded as the main determinants of business rivalry in the banking sector. However, critics argue that these variables have no important impact on market power (Angelini & Cetorelli, 2003). Firm rivalry in the ba

The End of the War is Just the Beginning Essay Example for Free

The End of the War is Just the Beginning Essay In the world of poetry, the most inspirational topics are often the most tragic. War is one of those subjects that evoke a bottomless well of stories, opinions, and emotions. Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941 and Dulce et Decorum Est are two examples of poems centered around battle with different perspectives on war itself. In the poem Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941, author Sharon Olds gives an account of a visit to a burial site where hundreds of dead bodies lay, victims of the siege on the city of Leningrad in World War II. The image is further darkened by the fact that since the ground is frozen, the corpses are unable to be buried. The overall effect created by this poem is to show the brutality of that time on and off the battlefield, as well as to convey the message that there is no hiding from the truth: the world is not a perfect place. The use of metaphors and similes, diction, sounds of words, and most importantly, the overall tone communicates harsh details. Though distributed throughout the work, these features are sometimes concentrated in specific sections; my guess is to create a stronger effect en masse. Though written without stanzas, I could see this poem being divided into four separate parts. The first part serves as an objective view of the cemetery itself and describing the image before the speaker. The first line That winter, the dead could not be buried (1) creates the sort of impact that Olds wanted to have carried throughout the whole poem. This unflinching depiction of truly gruesome scenes is what makes this piece so powerful. Readers are given an image of bodies lying in the cold and then told that the coffins were burned for firewood and that the gravediggers too hungry to work. This is, to say the least, a very bleak picture. When I read the next section, the s sounds filled me with a bit of a chill like I could feel the cold of the winter there. So they were covered with something and taken on a childs sled to the cemetery in the sub-zero air. (5) This is an example of one of the many tactics used by the author to further draw the reader in and make the poem more of an involving experience and not just some words on a page. The next defining section comes with the description of the corpses themselves, though not in a the same grisly detail-filled way as would be suspected after what had been written so far. Although the overall descriptions are tragic, they are camouflaged by metaphors and similes dealing with positive messages in an attempt to pull away from this grim spectacle. Corpses wrapped with dark cloth and rope are compared to a trees ball of roots/ when it wants to planted(8) an image often associated with the beginning of somethings life, not the end. The same lifelike comparison is found in the next sentence when those wrapped with sheets are associated with cocoons that will split down the center/ when the new life inside is prepared (11). Another very positive outlook on the current situation, but also very out of place, especially considering the diction used later to describe the corpses as, pale, gauze, tapered shapes/stiff (10). However, the work then takes a complete turnaround and changes positions very quickly, taking the antithesis of the previous comparisons by associating the bodies with inanimate objects naked calves/ hard as corded wood(14). Its as if the speaker is returning back to the reality of the present situation from the temporary escape the speaker had just made with his positive descriptions and allusions to new life. The use of sounds of words is used once again, but with a sharp k sound to emphasize the harshness of the surroundings. But most lay like corpses, their coverings coming undone, naked calves hard as corded wood spilling from under a cloak, a hand reaching out (15) This harsh alliteration gets back to and more closely follows one of the original motivations of the poem, to shock and disturb readers. The last part of this poem, without a doubt, holds its most powerful image and in turn its most powerful message serving as the best example of the pieces straight forward and introspective tone. From under a cloak, a hand reaching out with no sign of peace, wanting to come back even to the bread made of glue and sawdust, even to the icy winter, and the siege. (18) Throughout this work, there are a number of references to death and life, ends and beginnings, but this is the only mentioning of a longing to return to life from death. It strongly communicates the idea that any sort of life that the reader is leading, no matter how bad, is a life nonetheless for which he or she should be grateful. Here these corpses lay and would give anything to be alive, even if it meant living in this awful place under these terrible conditions. Its better than death. The use of general and formal features explains both the speakers attitude towards the scene at the cemetery as well as creates a stance on Grays theories concerning the lust of the eye. The two practically overlap because the goal of the work is to recreate the scene that caught the speakers eye in the first place. Then relay it to the audience and capture them with the lust of the poetic ear. Shock and amazement are prevalent throughout this piece, especially in the end and the sight of the outstretched hand. Though different from Grays panoramic and impersonal images of power and destruction, these grisly images evoke the same lust of the eye in the speaker and upon viewing them, he tries to delude himself. By comparing the images he sees to more positive visions he can relate to, such as the butterfly cocoon and the trees roots, he feels more comfortable, it calms him. These ideas are but fleeting, though, and he is brought back to realize that the world is no longer perfect. It is as he sees it and no more, and that is overall message. There is no escape from the truth. In the poem Dulce et Decorum Est, author Wilfred Owen provides the reader with not just one, but two entirely different views on war, both of which vary greatly from Olds. Written in an as it happens type style, the piece depicts a group of soldiers caught in the middle of a mustard gas attack during World War I. Owen then switches gears and describes the aftermath of the assault with a cynical view not apparent in the first half of the poem. The purpose and overall effect of this poem is tell the reader that the messages created by the media are wrong and that dying for ones country is not a glorious thing. This idea cant be truly realized unless one has looked death in the face personally. The use of tone, imagery, diction, and stanzas are crucial in getting this point across and I have pointed out where and how they are utilized. The first thing that struck me about this poem was the impact created by the imagery used by the author. Like the Leningrad cemetery, this view it is powerful in scope; only filled more with action and allows less time for reflection by the reader. The first scene is described as a group of soldiers returning from battle Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,/ Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through the sludge, (2) Moving as this image is, it is somewhat ironic that the imagery can be so powerful when you consider that due to the gas, the senses of the speaker and his companions are practically inoperable. This somehow enhances what the reader experiences. I say this because if these soldiers could take everything in, it wouldnt be any great surprise for them because they were so desensitized to war, a familiar concept felt in Olds poem. I often viewed the speaker in the Leningrad cemetery as being someone like a reporter or gravedigger that no longer sees the bodies as the truly lay. He can only see the images that the bodies remind him of. However, by describing normally insignificant events of battle going on around those numbed physically and mentally, the audience is given a clearer picture of what the world they are living in is like. Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots/ Of disappointing shells that fell behind (8). Bombs fall around them and they pay no heed. This ignorance lasts not for long though. Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! An ecstasy of fumbling/ Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time (10). This surprising interjection of action breaks the ambience of the background noise and the silent solace in which they marched. Inventive and unorthodox diction is responsible for making some of the most profound statements in this section that much more noticeable. Not only for the scenes these words help to create, but to make the reader stop and question their usage. The use of the word ecstasy to describe the fumbling of the gas mask caught my eye. Whether we should view this as comical or just plain hopeless leaves the audience uncertain what to feel and in a way temporarily pulls the reader away from the seriousness of the current situation. But someone still was yelling out and stumbling/ And floundering like a man in fire or lime (12). Gripped with a fear for his own life and the gravity of the moment, the speaker can do nothing but watch his comrade guttering, choking, drowning (16). Another example of how the power of the diction fuels the fire of the emotions already being felt by the reader. Its after this point that the speaker reaches his breaking point and realizes that things will never be the same. The stanzas, which had been similar in length and mostly objective, take a dramatic turn in the last half of the poem. After watching his companion die, a new stanza starts only two lines in length. As in the first poem, the last part of the work takes a turn to make an overriding point with just one image. In these sentences, the speaker stops reflecting on the past and talks about the present. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight/ He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning (16). We realize that for the speaker, this war has never really ended for him, but just keeps getting replayed over and over in his head. He knows hell never be able to shake that image and expresses his feelings in the final stanza. In this last and most important paragraph, time slows down and the memory burned into the speakers head comes bubbling to the surface, as fresh as if he had seen it yesterday. He accounts, with gruesome details, the body of a dying soldier flung in the back of a cart. A man whose slow death he had been witnessing for the past few minutes and was unable to help. He was now on his way to being just another statistic and the all the speaker could do was watch. And watch the white eyes writhing in his face/ His hanging face, like a devils sick of sin; (20). It is here that his tone becomes obvious and he relays to readers his belief about war and that the glory so often talked about is absent when it comes to dying on the battlefield. As General Patton once said, No man ever died for his country. Go out and make some other man die for his country. Both of these poems strongly emphasize the aftermath of war more than the grand spectacle itself. Its this shared factor that in a way negates what Gray says about the lust of the eye and becoming separated from the world by the panoramic and jaw dropping sight of battle. Though neither of the poems disproves this idea, both Olds and Owen focus on a different lust of the eye, one having more to do with what is seen at the end and not so much during the conflict itself. The images of the dead create a lasting impression in the readers minds that as uncomfortable as it may be, must be a thousand times worse for a material witness. It gives me a whole new respect for veterans. I no longer appreciate just what they did, but what they have to live with.

Costco Wholesale in 2012 Essay Example for Free

Costco Wholesale in 2012 Essay Costco is one of United States’ largest retailers, serving over 3600 variants of convenience products at excellent quality with competent prices. Founded in 1983, Costco quickly expanded in its operations to over 598 stores worldwide. One of the unique selling propositions of Costco is the fact that they offer very low prices as compared to their competitors without requiring to compromise quality. This paper will analyze Costco’s key success factors in terms of its strategic management. Business Model Costco’s business model is simple and straightforward; they offer high quality products at affordable rates. The centerpiece of Costco’s model entails high sales volume and rapid inventory turnover. Costco enjoys high inventory turnover which means that they don’t need to stock a particular good for long period of time. Also, before they need to pay the suppliers, they are able to sell it. Which means, they are able to pay suppliers with the cash derived from sales, leading to low working capital. This shows significance in financial health and good financial management. This kind of business model is appealing for several reasons; low prices can generate high number of customers, indicates healthy operations, encourage rapid turnover, decrease warehouse costs and many more. However, in order to keep up with this business model, Costco needs to continually maintain overhead costs, which will be discussed further into the paper. Strategy Costco’s low pricing strategy highly depends upon several factors. In terms of pricing, they offer bargain products at low prices. Their earnings highly come from membership fees, over which members can join in an annual subscription and enjoy promotional rates as members. Even though Costco enjoys less profit margins, they have high number of annual members and earn their profit by membership revenues. In terms of product, their Kirkland Signature is also of good quality as a representation of their brand. They are also ready to experience loss of sales by customers who do not want to purchase in larger quantities. Treasure-hunt merchandising is also a smart  method to continually renew their product lines to encourage members to purchase the item right away in fear of not having them available at the next visit. Jim Sinegal and Core Values as CEO Jim Sinegal shows good examples of leadership as a CEO. He conducts an open-door policy which makes him accessible to staff, thereby increasing employee motivation. Jim also conducts regular store visits as opposed to working at a desk, which shows his willingness to step down to the field to help improve the store. The business environment is made to be causal and unpretentious, so employees feel sense of belonging and are often committed to the organization, in benefit of themselves and the company. Low employee turnover shows the compatibility of the employees and the company, which means that the corporate culture can be maintained or enhanced. Financial Perspective We have come to understand that Costco achieves much of their revenue from membership renewals. Observing the financial data, we see that Costco’s membership fees if four times over from 2000 up to 2011. This signifies their proficiency in making member packages attractive. Their actions in prioritizing members have been successful as we see that members are continually signing up. Therefore, membership is encouraged to be sustained. However, we see that sales also increase significantly over the years, almost 3 times over. Therefore, we can conclude that despite having less marketing activities, Costco is able to attract customers by emphasizing on price efficiency. Their working capital ration (current assets minus current liabilities) is kept at a low level due to high inventory turnover. Competitive Advantage over Competitors A key competitive advantage owned by Costco over its competitors is, without a doubt, their low prices. Although they do not invest much in store layout, store ambiance, labor and marketing, they have low overhead costs which contributes to being able to keep prices low. Also, they offer a wide array of product categories from food products to gasoline, although within a product category, they offer less brands than usual retailers (Llopis, 2011). Strategic Weaknesses in Comparison to Competitors The fact that Costco carries only 3600 selections of merchandises could potentially be a major flaw in their strategy. Generally, other stores carry over 10.000 selections. Customers may initially feel the thrill of shopping at cheap prices at Costco but could eventually dislike the lack of choices in terms of brands and may choose to shop at stores with larger varieties. Secondly, Costco spend less for advertisements and rely on word-of-mouth and certain campaigns. However, their competitors, Sam’s Club and BJ’s Wholesale Club spend much more on advertisements. Presently, Costco’s financial conditions show steady results in sales but the power of marketing is such that customers may choose to shop elsewhere for various reasons. It is also important to note that customers’ switching costs (from Costco to another) is relatively low. Compensations Policies Costco offers attractive compensations as compared to their competitors. The employee benefits covers all aspects such as fixed wages, health benefits, medicinal discounts, eligibility for company profits, counseling services and many more. At a quick glance, we notice that Costco spends much on compensation, despite the comparatively lower amount of labor, due to the vast varieties of compensations. In my opinion, it shows good corporate culture to take care of employees. In most companies, CEOs are the first ones to be rewarded with sky-high numbers. It is different in the case with Costco, where CEOs are paid enough without failing to reward employees appropriately. Conclusions and Recommendations Although from a management and operation point of view, Costco is doing everything to a tee, there are several recommendations provided to further improve its performance: Increase product lines to above 3600 in order to compete in terms of product choice with their competitors, especially after understanding that customers’ switching costs are low. Costco already has a big advantage in terms of prices and can do wonders when they also hold product advantage. Prepare some funds for marketing. Branding and brand awareness are two of the most important factors for warehouses to remain sustainable in the market to be seen as reliant. With more marketing, Costco can retain top-of-mind positioning as the â€Å"place to shop† in customers’ mindsets. Maintain membership fees at a fair rate. Currently, Costco’s membership fees are higher compared to their competitors. They can maintain their fees at this level only if they can provide more attractive member benefits to their customers compared to their competitors. Reference: Llopis, G. (2011, January 31). The Costco Factor: To Win The Business Game, You Need to Change How You Think. Retrieved February 20, 2015, from Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/glennllopis/2011/01/31/the-costco-factor-to-win-the-business-game-you-need-to-change-how-you-think/

The Role Of External Auditors In Detecting Corporate Fraud Accounting Essay

The Role Of External Auditors In Detecting Corporate Fraud Accounting Essay INTRODUCTION This introductory chapter intend to inform the reader on the multiples issues that will be tackled in this paper. So after describing the main issues, this chapter will therefore cover the rationale of the research, the aims and objectives as well as the limitations encountered, which all will be fully explored. Eventually a review of the structure of the research will also be conducted to conclude this first part. Description of the issue External auditors responsibilities and roles have always been highlighted by several questions such as Where were the auditors (Yuhao Li, 2010) in main financial scandals as the Enron affair in 2001, the WorldCom in 2002 and Parmalat in taly in 2003. As these entities stated were very wealthy and profitable, when suddenly they were declared bankruptcy subsequent to the discovery of several irregularities and fraud. Alleyne and Howard (2005) argue that these kind of corporate disasters are frequent and are affecting the responsibility as well as the independence of auditors in detecting corporate fraud. Why did not the auditors catch it this is the first question that arises following a corporate failure. That is why, in relation with the above question and according to Millichamp and Talor (2008), there is a difference called Perception Gap between the public and the auditing profession concerning the duty of an auditor regarding the fraud and errors detection. Therefore the auditor duty can be seen as the independent examination and expression of opinion over the financial statements produced by the entities. It must be done by an appointed auditor in compliance with the relevant statutory obligation (Millichamp and Talor, 2008). Yuhao Li (2010) in the case analysis of the Enron scandal and some others authors such as Koh H. C. and Woo E-S (1998) the Expection Gap in Auditing, acknowledged that the public and stakeholders hold different beliefs about the auditors duty and role but also about the message stated in the companies audit reports. So apparently the public misperceptions are mainly the major liability issues that auditing profession is facing. So given these concerns, the external auditors role and duty are being misunderstood by the main part of the public due to the recurrence and the diversity of corporate fraud. Thus this paper targets to address the numerous issues related to the role and the duty of an auditor in particular concerning fraud. Rationale of the research In the financial and auditing area, several literature and researches exist on the crucial role and duty of external auditor in preventing and detecting corporate fraud. Some authors, who stand for investors and those having interest in business, toughly consider that a corporate failure is resulting from either negligence or even often from a lack of knowledge from auditors. So in other words, most business failure is due to an audit failure (Dixon, Woodhead and Sohliman, 2006). Multiples studies similar to the research stated above are holding the public belief unchanged, thinking that auditors are mainly responsible for any corporate financial scandals. Thus, further research over this concern is required in order to bring an efficient approach to reply over this issue. Also this research will be focusing on the only role and duty of the external auditors, which is different from previous paper on both external and internal auditors. The paper will also emphasize on fraud as eleme nt of the expectation gap. This will enable separate point of view from corporations angle and from individuals angle. Therefore the research aims to bring additional contribution to a well-known ground in the major counties with important stocks exchanges such as the United Kingdom. 1.4.Aims and objectives: This study will target to bring a clear and defined overview of the role of the external auditors in the auditing process in particular their responsibilities regarding the corporate frauds. Then the research will be carried out and will be focused on the role and the liabilities of the auditor in fraud detection. In the meantime fraud concept will be explained and detailed to help to better understand the types of fraud, the ways usually used and as well as the different potential perpetrators. During all the study long, some responds will be brought to many questions underpinning this paper. Those questions may vary from related questions to the traditional role of auditors to their role and liabilities into corporate fraud. Thus the essential questions underpinning this study are: The importance and effectiveness of auditing. The role of the auditor in particular in an financial environment changes The origin, overview, size and type of corporate fraud What further measures should be taken by auditors to ensure detecting corporate fraud Should auditing move from the archival approach (auditing process at the end of accounting period) to a permanent auditing where auditing will be processed while corporate is operating. What changes should be made to ensure the efficacy of auditing. However, by studying these questions, this paper will discuss on the fundamentals issues on auditing especially auditors role in detecting fraud, but will also bring a presentation of the auditing theory and practice which are, most of the time misunderstood. Therefore one of the key objectives of this study will be to show whether or not that auditors responsibility were engaged in failing to detect the frauds in the past financial scandals. Limitations and constraints This study has encountered some limitations and constraints. Indeed the research will be deliberately focusing on the sole external auditors as third party appointed to report to shareholders. This choice is due to the fact that in this research, it was imperative to maintain a detachment between auditors and managers so that the auditor cannot be friend or relative to any owner. It is also crucial that he is not holding any stock in the entity or any monetary stake in any other of their subsidiaries or holdings. Also the fraud concept used in the research has been defined as the act of deceit that results from misrepresentation of a material fact with knowledge of falsify of the representation or with lack of reasonable ground for belief in its truth (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, 1986, P12). The factor Time also remained as constraint as such research requires much longer time for data collecting, searching and data analysis purpose. As well as the time, the study has experienced constraint over the search of literature because most papers written does not support the auditor duty or role due to the fact that they are subsequent to financial scandals. However the purpose of this paper is to review the different opinions concerning the role and the independence or auditors and the effectiveness of auditing to detect frauds and errors. 1.6. Structure of the research This research on the role of the auditor in detecting corporate fraud will be designed by a second chapter called context in which, different financial crisis such as Enron and Parmalat will be analysed. A third chapter will present different literature review concerning, the role and reliance of external auditors at the light of past scandals as well as the nature and different kind of fraud. An consideration will also be given to the independence of auditors and their related auditing bodies. The fourth part, which is the description of the methodology, used to carry out this study, will also include the justification of the employed method as well as its limitations and divers constraints confronted when conducting the research. A fifth part will therefore summarise the research finding, then interpret the numerous collected data. Then eventually the sixth part of the paper will address a conclusion of the study and the results found from it. In this section, a general summary will be required including further research guidance and recommendations. 1.7. Summary The research will underpin on the different questions stated in the introduction of this research. Therefore in the second chapter (context), an analysis of the environment through which the research has to be related is essential. Chapter 2: Context The fact of carrying out an audit remains vital and important for all companies, especially for public listed companies. It is essential for companies that audits are carried out for several reasons. First of all it ensures stakeholders that company is being properly run on their behalf, respectful of company policies and complying with the law but also that the investors money is in safe hands. The concept of auditing has been extremely developed over the past decades, raising some reflections on auditing as a discipline rather than just a simple practice. Thus some questions have quickly been raised on the role of the auditors. So to better understand the role of the auditors as well as the auditing process within a corporate, it is important to adopt a critical approach, as part of the issue surrounding the role of the auditors, starts by a misunderstanding of the nature and the role of the auditor. (Soltani, B., 2007). To describe the main issues around the role of the external auditors in detecting corporate fraud, it will be useful to refer to questions such as do auditors spend more time to cover their backs than giving helpful information to investors or where were the auditors? , Critical and general questions that arise after financial scandals such as Enron in 2001 in the United States of America or the Parmalat affair in Italy. Indeed these kinds of corporate failure are repeated and have exposed some issues regarding the responsibility of the auditors in detecting corporate fraud (Hilton, A., 2010). The cost of fraud is increasingly affecting many businesses all around the world. Everybody is affected as a victim of fraud because of the high products costs and also because of low corporate profits. So in order to put an end or to reduce this practice, auditors (internal and external) are operating to help to enforce accountability and to set up confidence in financial reporting. Therefore this introductory stage aims to inform the readers on the issues that will be addressed in this paper. The paper will also cover, the aims and objectives of the research, the used research methodology, the scope and limitation of the study and the literature review with the proposed chapters. 2 LITTERATURE REVIEW: 2.1Overview on Auditing: First of all, audit will be defined as an exercise designed to enable an auditor to express an opinion whether the financial statements are prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with an applicable financial reporting framework (the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, 2008, P.6). So an auditor is the qualified person who gives a conclusion whether the financial statement of a company shows a true and fair view. It is important to know that it exists the audit threshold, which is specific to each country or economic area, for example in the United Kingdom, all companies according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (2008) are required to be audited except some very small companies and since 2004 exemption were extended to all companies which fulfil the following criteria: -The business must be qualified as small company under the 2006 companies act -The businesss turnover must be less than  £5.6 million -The companys gross assets (noncurrent assets and current assets) must not exceed  £2.8 million. Essentially after the industrial revolution (1750-1850), the management of companies moved from owners or sole traders to managers to make it more professional, therefore that where the need for auditors comes from in order to have independent auditors from management to report to owners. In the United Kingdom the primary purpose is to detect frauds and the errors. However the general objectives of all audit engagement will include the following targets according to Soltani B. (2007): A check up and evaluation to find out whether the financial statements and the footnotes have been prepared in accordance of the specified criteria A global evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control systems used for the financial reporting during the past accounting period An evaluation of the possibility of fraud that could occur within the organisation And finally it will be essential to evaluate the probability that the organization will carry on as a going concern. Also the main purpose of the audit consists in helping to enforce accountability and promote confidence in financial reporting. Auditing as well represent a relevant way for shareholders and stakeholders to help ensure that managers and directors are acting in companys best interest, because directors are mainly responsible for managing the affairs of the company on behalf of the shareholders (Wells, J. T., 2004). 2.2History of the auditor role concerning fraud: Auditing has gone forward in the capital market economy especially during the past century while its traditional and original purpose was to ensure that honest and accurate accounting have been held in the affairs of state, government services or others public bodies. With the time the concept of auditing has enlarged essentially with the economic and industrial developments, since then auditing concepts have expanded bringing more than practical aspect to its previous one. Thus a review of auditors objectives evolution in the time will be essential to appreciate all the controversy made round the auditors liabilities (Soltani, B., 2007). 2.3Auditors and fraud history: 2.3.1Prior to 1500: Long time in the past, the auditing function was used, for example merchants were helped by some auditors to support them in their business accounting. As that kind of audit was design to control and to verify the duty of agents in charge of the trade, so the audit primary function was to prevent and to detect frauds (Turley and Cooper, 1991). 2.3.2Between 1500 and 1850: With the expansion of the industrial revolution, auditing also have been developed due to the fact that even a that period there were a separation between investors or owners and the persons in charge of running the businesses. Few changes were made for this period and overall the objectives of auditing remained the same as the practice was based on verifying the business transactions to uncover false operations. So this stage has settled standards for accounting practice that will be expressed later in the British company act 1862 (Turley and Cooper, 1991). 2.3.3Between 1850 and 1905: Due to the expansion of businesses and the separation of ownership and control, it became obvious to find a proper control system rather than a check up of companys records by owners. Also with the establishment of the Society of Accountants in Edinburgh in 1854, which became the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, it has been recognised that it is important to be trained and to have relevant skills for such control function (Turley and Cooper, 1991). 2.3.4Between 1905 and 1946: At this period the role of the auditors has evolved due to more complexity in business. So auditors duty changed toward their capacity to express their confidence and credibility over financial statement rather than certifying documents and therefore making them clear even though they were not (Turley and Cooper, 1991). 2.3.5Between 1948 and 1980: During this period the audit objectives have moved from the simple fraud and errors detection to an expression of an expert opinion over the adopted financial reporting and financial information. Since then auditors will be in charge of verifying recorded information and whether they have been correctly made, they also had to check if transactions in books are in accordance with disclosed information before they finally expressed their opinion whether the accounts have been prepared regarding a True and Fair view (Turley and Cooper, 1991). 2.3.6Current situation: During the years after1980, many financial scandals previously stated have put the effectiveness and the responsibility of the auditors in cause. However the role of the auditors did not change deeply when the fact showed that extension have been brought to the auditors duty. Also to reinforce their practice, the financial services had imposed a duty to report all frauds suspected or detected. Consequently to changes, the Auditing Practices Board has issued the statement of auditing standards 110 related to fraud and error (The Institute of Chartered Accountants In England and Wales, 2008) 2.4DESCRIPTION AND VARIETIES OF FRAUD: An auditor is in charge to draw conclusion whether a companys financial statements are free from material misstatement that could be due to fraud. Thus the International Standards on Auditing set out auditors responsibility regarding fraud through the ISA240; which will take account of evaluating risks of material misstatement and will also involve finding out the sensitivity of the financial statements to material misstatement caused by fraud (the Institute of Chartered accountants in England and Wales, 2008). Fraud is a word which is often use to cover a wide range of illegal acts, then according to OGara J. D., (2004) Fraud is the intentional and illegal act of deception or of manipulating accounts. It can be operated for the benefit or to the detriment of the corporate and by persons inside or outside the organization. Its also essential to mention that fraud is a deliberate cheating for the satisfaction of an individual or group. However in this paper we will only be concerned by fraud that may be detected by auditors. Actually, we will classify fraud through two dimension which are whether the perpetuated fraud is for or against the organization and secondly to find out the class of the culpable or perpetrator. Regarding the type of fraud it could either be: Corruption or misappropriation within the business which case is a fraud against the business. Fraud concerning the financial reporting which is considered as a fraud for the organization as well as the money laundering. External fraud against the organization (for example false checks or credit card fraud), (OGara, 2004). And for the perpetrator it could either be: management, employee or non-employee. However management frauds are most of the time completely different from employees, as management will be using positional power rather than taking advantage of internal control weaknesses. Most of the time financial reporting fraud occurs at the top of an organization and is run up by senior management the operating management is more likely to commit bribery and corruption as fraud rather than the others types, whilst administrative managers will go for asset-misappropriation. For many others reasons, management fraud is under detected, and also when its detected most frequently it remains not prosecuted, that why for internal auditors the primary responsibility will be recognition and detection (OGara, J.D., 2004). As stated above, external and internal auditor remain different, thus that is why management frauds against the business are extremely difficult to detect for internal auditors and it s requires further perspectives than just normal accounting. So detecting management fraud remains the greatest challenge for those internal auditors because of its high impact on the business often even more significant than the other types as it is usually an off the books fraud (OGara, 2004). 2.4.1FRAUD AGAINST THE ORGANIZATION: 3.1.1Management fraud: As mentioned earlier, the area of most management fraud against the organization, generally conflict of interest, is under reported, because it is the most embarrassing for a corporation. According to John D. OGara (2004) Management fraud could also involve non management individuals, and we will states below some common characteristic to those frauds: Mainly relational fraud, which could be for example to divert corporate profit rather than doing transactions, which could be detected by auditors. The average management fraud loss is 8 times the average employee- fraud loss (excluding financial statement fraud) The impact of the fraud is significant and essentially not apparent in the records (income statement or statement of financial position of the corporate) due to the fact that they are off the books. Also the perpetrator is a higher in the corporation so making him a trusted employee. Frequently other persons could facilitate management fraud for example some accomplice specially in bidding situation. Also for most of the time, fraudulent misappropriations happen through fraudulent middlemen companies which are typically created for the sole purpose of fraud without any legitimate business purpose. In some cases the middlemen company is easily identifiable because of the volume of businesses or for its real position between suppliers and customers (Wells, J. T., 2004). Some symptoms making the fraud detectable: Some symptoms can help to find out the ongoing fraud situation in corporations such as: Clear appearance of some anomalies in the profit and loss accounts, such as diverted profits. Generally when there is fraud at the top, we could also see fraud further down just like food chain. There are lifestyle manifestations of the fraud in most cases because individuals are engaged in fraud to make their personal business The use of substantial middlemen companies, inserted between the corporation and its suppliers or its customers that are no economic benefit to the corporation. The changes that can affect corporation margin and which are not supported by external or inherent economic conditions. Inexplicable bankruptcies or significant gaps between market and contract prices. It is important to mention that a high volume of personal and confidential mail sent to managers or senior managers could also pull auditors attention (OGara, J., D., 2004). 2.4.2FRAUD FOR THE ORGANISATION: Significant fraudulent financial reporting used to be done and whats surprising is that it does not specially result from a breakdown in the internal accounting control system, but it just comes as a confirmation that senior management uses positional leverage to overpower their corporate accounting control system. And it has been demonstrated that usually more corporate fraud begins at the top and one issue for the internal audit is the corporate accountability rather than the corporate accounting (OGara, J.D., 2004) So, many questions arise to find out what is the role that internal auditor should play? The internal auditors should be an arm of corporate governance rather than a group of controllers or accountants (Wells, J.T., 2004). Some symptoms of financial reporting fraud: Considerable off the book businesses or transactions with related entities especially when disclosure rule is not properly respected. Unsupported journal entries particularly around period end that can have effect on the income statement or changes in the statement of financial position such as provisions, depreciation or inventory valuation. A lack of transparency of financial statements or changes in accounting principles to a favourable basis in order to make more benefit or to hide corporate profits Volatile operating margins mixed with controversial margins which do not match with the corporate results from operations (OGara, J. D., 2004) 2.4.3Role of the auditor in investigating and detecting: In this part it is important to make a clear difference between recognition and detection and between detection and investigating. So chronologically fraud recognition happens first because at that step auditor becomes aware of fraud possibility then followed by detection when he determines the probability of fraud (OGara, J.D., 2004). Usually it is better when fraud recognition happens earlier so auditors could have more time to run deep investigation s through corporate financial statement. Investigations constitute a separate stage from detection in the fraud chain as they will be concerned by: Verifying inventories and checking bank reconciliations, also confirming receivables When detected, pay attention to fraud life circle to find out the duration and the mechanism Determine the true identity or any middlemen company and also make himself available for employees that could bring more information than expected Using corporate resources carefully and discreetly to obtain information Interviewing employees, but in this situation the order does matter because it is advised to keep prime suspect for to end and not to let them know about any prior information from others employees interview (OGara, J.D., 2004). After investigating stage when fraud is found then it will be time to report it in accordance of the Auditing standards. Also an auditor should have these qualities stated below according to the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (2008, P75): Accountability Integrity Objectivity and independence Competence Rigour Judgement Clear, complete and effective communication Association Providing value Fraud is a major cost for corporation, that why auditors are operating to uncover typical fraud that could affect corporations. And also auditors are really close to corporations than any other adviser to try to help them and to eliminate fraud. However auditing also has certain limitations that affect it on its way to investigate and track fraud. 3.METHODOLOGY 3.1Overview The main purpose of this part is to expose the methodology used to realise this research. It will also detail the different steps including the scope and limitation of the paper. 3.2Methodology used: The methodology employed in this paper can be divided in two parts. In the first, it will be question to detail the effective role of the auditor as well as an explanation of fraud and its different types. The second part will include a review of the responsibilities of auditors based on the previous financial scandals such as BCCI, WorldCom or Enron in the United States of America. However this research will involve both a primary and a secondary research The objective is to properly define the responsibilities and liabilities of the auditor in a primary research. Then in a secondary one, due to numerous researches dealing with the topic, it will be essential then to compare the current role and liabilities of the auditors with the stated behaviours of the auditors which were related to the past financial scandals. Also a full explanation will be given regarding the fraud to better understand the scope of the research. 3.3Justification of the methodology used: This part is intended to justify the choice of the current research methodology, so it crucial to say that this study has been established to answer some questions such as: Are auditing crucial in the in the corporate capital markets? Can auditors effectively detect or prevent all frauds, what further changes could be suggested? These questions are discussed in a context of extensive changes in the capital market as well as the subsequent complexity brought into the corporate financial reportings. 3.4Scope and Limitations: This part gives an overview of the issues encountered during the research. So first, it is important to mention that the use of both primary and secondary data brings some problems. Thus the secondary data were essentially used due to the time and material constraints. However, if not properly interpreted, such data usage may cause error. Also this paper will be mainly focusing on the role of external auditors in fraud detection concerning the major financial scandals in Europe particularly in the United Kingdom. But also due to the importance of some scandal like Enron in the United States of America, this study will include analysis based on such case. As well the scope of this research might be different to another paper in term of period, as a research made after Enron or Parmalat case might be different from a research made before. 3.5Research Timetable: RESEARCH ACTIVITY JAN FEB MAR APRIL MAY JUN JUL AUG SEPT OCT Topic choice and defining research area Literature search and critical analyses Proposal submission Conducting and transcribing interviews Analysing and discussing results Write up Dissertation submission 4.CONCLUSION This paper highlights the effective role and function of auditing in a difficult context such as financial scandals like Enron, BCCI or Parmalat. Also it is crucial to define the borders of auditors role in fraud detection as well as the scope of the auditing process within the corporate. However this studys final words and recommendations will be based on further research and the next findings.

Greece :: Greece History Geography Greek Essays

Greece Greece†¦most people think that Greece is just a vacation paradise, but to its inhabitants, they might not think the same because how hard it is to live there. Greece, located between 41.8  ° N and 35  °N, 19.8  ° E and 28.2  ° E, is the country I am going to inform you about. The country of Greece has no other name besides just â€Å"Greece.† There are some different technical names that Greece can be associated with. The conventional long form that you can call Greece is the â€Å"Hellenic Republic,† while the short form is â€Å"Greece.† The long form in Greek is â€Å"Elliniki Dhimokratia† and the short form is â€Å"Ellas.† The former country name is â€Å"Kingdom of Greece.† Greece’s capital is the largest and most populated ancient Athens and is situated in Central Greece at approximately 38 ° N 23.7 ° E. Athens is now known as one of the safest and most affordable cities in the world and is also the world-renowned home for the ancient Acropolis- (acro: edge, polis: city), the home of the statues of the gods and goddesses like Zeus and Athena. The majestic statue marvels are no longer in the Acropolis, but in local museums because of the threat of pollution. The city of Athens has become Greece’s largest center for industry as well as an urban center.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Greece shares many boundaries with other countries, as well as borders with the seas. The bordering countries are Albania to the northwest, Macedonia to the north, Bulgaria to the north, Turkey to the northeast, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia to the north. The bordering seas are the Mediterranean Sea, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Aegean Sea to the east. The Mediterranean Sea serves as a quick route to the major trade routes and the Red and Black Seas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The country of Greece is actually not that small of a country. It occupies a comparative statistic in area to the American State of Alabama. It may be considered very similar in area to Alabama, but it occupies a water area many times more than that of Alabama’s with 1,140 sq. miles. The land area occupied by Greece is approximately 130,800 sq. miles, including the Greek mainland and all the Greek islands, large and small. The total area of Greece’s land and water area is 131,940 sq. miles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The population of Greece compared to the population of America’s is extremely minute with a total population of about 10,662,138, based on a July, 1998 estimate.

The Law Enforcement Profession :: essays research papers

The Law Enforcement Profession Abstract In order to understand comptemporary law enforcemment, we should recognize the conditions that impact our profession. It is agreed upon by many scholars that major changes in law enforcement occur every five years. Policing is sometimes characterize"... like a sandbar in a river, subject to being changed continuously by the currents in which it is immersed..." (Swanson, Territo and Taylor, p. 2). However, in recent years some major changes have occurred in a shorter time period. Innovations in law enforcement During the past two decades, I have observed major changes in the viewpoint of society towards police officer's as the symbol of trust and dignity, the technological advances of communication and information systems in law enforcement, and the revision of selection and hiring practices for police officers. Organizational change occurs both as a result of internal and external agents (Swanson, Territo and Taylor, p. 664). These changes have manifested both positive and negative reverberations in the way we perform our job. Police officials have contemplated for years over the key to maintaining a positive image for their organization. Unfortunately, several incidents in the past years have altered society's perception of police in some communities. Police in America are no longer strangers to innovation born of scandal. Law enforcement agencies nationwide have repeatedly been shaken by controversy and forced to make undesirable concessions. Has law enforcement failed to maintain the high standards required by the profession? The cost of public trust is high. It increases each time faith must be regain. Historically, law enforcement agencies throughout the nation have experienced periods of low confidence in communities preceding episodes deemed to be a breach of trust. Early pioneers in law enforcement history such as August Vollmer (1902 - 1932). Berkeley Police Department and J. Edgar Hoover (1924) the Federal Bureau of Investigation made numerous advancements towards improving the professionalism of law enforcement (Anderson and Newman, p. 119 - 120). Other attempts were made in 1956 by the International Association of Chiefs of Police adopted "The Law Enforcement Code Of Ethics" (Wilson and McClaren, p.8) Examples of several historical events locally have attributed to society's decline in respect for police. For example, nine members of a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department special narcotics squad were charged with misappropriating tens of thousands of dollars confiscated in drug raids (L. A. Times, p. 4, Sept. 9, 1989). Another local incident involved 80 Los Angeles police officers stormed and wrecked an apartment and allegedly beat several residents on "Dalton Street." The city was forced to settled in a civil law suit by the resident with a settlement of $3 million dollars of taxpayers money

Race vs. Social Class Essay example -- Sociology Racism Prejudice Essa

Race vs. Social Class THESIS: Race differences in identity and social position were, and are, more important than class differences in American society. "Events in the nineteenth century made it abundantly and irrefutably clear that race as a concept sui generis superseded social class as the dominant mechanism of social division and stratification in North America." (Smedley 219) For many decades people have been using race as a way to classify humans into different social categories. Lower, Middle, and Upper classes were created to divide humans into appropriate categories using their individual lifestyles, financial income, residence, and occupation. People decided to ignore this classifying system and classify one another, simply by the color of their skin. People's skin color says nothing as to what a person does, their beliefs, attitudes, or any of the ideas for creating a fair social classification system. Racial barriers were created that divided people into different groups at work and at home. Race differences in identity and social position were, and are, more important than class differences in American society. The role of work, money, and the effect they have on individuals has changed throughout the past years due to social classes and racism. Social classes being based on by race is just the beginning of the differences. In the work force there are always people who feel the need to dominate in their field or profession solely because they think they are the dominant social class or race. People of any rank at the office will look down upon others, not because of their position, but skin color. People are not only treated differently at the work site based due to these issues, but also in some cases th... ...at a person's skin color to make their judgement on whether or not they want to take the time to talk and get to know the person. Then, they will classify that person, without knowing any background information on them. Is this fair? It does not matter or not if it is fair, it is the way people work. As Takaki says, 'race is just a concept', an idea created, it should not be used to separate people. Works Cited Baer, Hans A. African Americans in the South: issues of race, class and gender. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1992. Martin, Deutsch. Social Class, race, and psychological development. Winston: Greenwood Press, 1968. Smedley, Audrey. Race in North America: Origin and Evolution of a Worldview. Boulder: Westview Press, 1999. Takaki, Ronald. A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1993.

The Host Chapter 20: Freed

Jeb let me cry myself out without interrupting. He didn't comment all through the following sniffles. It was only when I'd been completely silent for a good half hour that he spoke. â€Å"Still awake in there?† I didn't answer. I was too much in the habit of silence. â€Å"You want to come out here and stretch?† he offered. â€Å"My back is aching just thinking about that stupid hole.† Ironically, considering my week of maddening silence, I wasn't in the mood for company. But his offer wasn't one I could refuse. Before I could think about it, my hands were pulling me through the exit. Jeb was sitting with crossed legs on the mat. I watched him for some reaction as I shook out my arms and legs and rolled my shoulders, but he had his eyes closed. Like the time of Jamie's visit, he looked asleep. How long had it been since I'd seen Jamie? And how was he now? My already sore heart gave a painful little lurch. â€Å"Feel better?† Jeb asked, his eyes opening. I shrugged. â€Å"It's going to be okay, you know.† He grinned a wide, face-stretching grin. â€Å"That stuff I said to Jared†¦ Well, I won't say I lied, exactly, because it's all true if you look at it from a certain angle, but from another angle, it wasn't so much the truth as it was what he needed to hear.† I just stared; I didn't understand a word of what he was saying. â€Å"Anyway, Jared needs a break from this. Not from you, kid,† he added quickly, â€Å"but from the situation. He'll gain some perspective while he's away.† I wondered how he seemed to know exactly which words and phrases would cut at me. And, more than that, why should Jeb care if his words hurt me, or even if my back was aching and throbbing? His kindness toward me was frightening in its own way because it was incomprehensible. At least Jared's actions made sense. Kyle's and Ian's murder attempts, the doctor's cheerful eagerness to hurt me-these behaviors also were logical. Not kindness. What did Jeb want from me? â€Å"Don't look so glum,† Jeb urged. â€Å"There's a bright side to this. Jared was being real pigheaded about you, and now that he's temporarily out of the picture, it's bound to make things more comfortable.† My eyebrows furrowed as I tried to decide what he meant. â€Å"For example,† he went on. â€Å"This space here we usually use for storage. Now, when Jared and the guys get back, we're going to need someplace to put all the stuff they bring home with them. So we might as well find a new place for you now. Something a little bigger, maybe? Something with a bed?† He smiled again as he dangled the carrot in front of me. I waited for him to snatch it away, to tell me he was joking. Instead, his eyes-the color of faded blue jeans-became very, very gentle. Something about the expression in them brought the lump back to my throat. â€Å"You don't have to go back in that hole, honey. The worst part's over.† I found that I couldn't doubt the earnest look on his face. For the second time in an hour, I put my face in my hands and cried. He got to his feet and patted me awkwardly on the shoulder. He didn't seem comfortable with tears. â€Å"There, there,† he mumbled. I got control of myself more quickly this time. When I wiped the wet from my eyes and smiled tentatively at him, he nodded in approval. â€Å"That's a girl,† he said, patting me again. â€Å"Now, we'll have to hang out here until we're sure Jared's really gone and can't catch us.† He grinned conspiratorially. â€Å"Then we'll have some fun!† I remembered that his idea of fun was usually along the lines of an armed standoff. He chuckled at my expression. â€Å"Don't worry about it. While we're waiting, you might as well try to get some rest. I'll bet even that skinny mattress would feel pretty good to you right now.† I looked from his face to the mat on the floor and back. â€Å"Go on,† he said. â€Å"You look like you could use a good sleep. I'll keep watch over you.† Touched, new moisture in my eyes, I sank down on the mat and laid my head on the pillow. It was heavenly, despite Jeb's calling it thin. I stretched out to my full height, pointing my toes and reaching out with my fingers. I heard my joints popping. Then I let myself wilt into the mattress. It felt as if it were hugging me, erasing all the sore spots. I sighed. â€Å"Does me good to see that,† Jeb muttered. â€Å"It's like an itch you can't scratch, knowing someone is suffering under your own roof.† He eased himself to the floor a few yards away and started humming quietly. I was asleep before he'd finished the first bar. When I woke up, I knew that I'd been solidly asleep for a long time-a longer stretch than I'd slept since coming here. No pains, no frightening interruptions. I would have felt pretty good, except that waking on the pillow reminded me that Jared was gone. It still smelled like him. And in a good way, not the way I smelled. Back to just dreams. Melanie sighed forlornly. I remembered my dream only vaguely, but I knew it had featured Jared, as was usual when I was able to sleep deeply enough to dream. â€Å"Morning, kid,† Jeb said, sounding chipper. I peeled back my lids to look at him. Had he sat against the wall all night? He didn't look tired, but I suddenly felt guilty for monopolizing the better accommodations. â€Å"So the guys are long gone,† he said enthusiastically. â€Å"How 'bout a tour?† He stroked the gun slung through a strap at his waist with an unconscious gesture. My eyes opened wider, stared at him in disbelief. A tour? â€Å"Now, don't turn sissy on me. Nobody's going to bother you. And you'll need to be able to find your way around eventually.† He held out a hand to help me up. I took it automatically, my head spinning as I tried to process what he was saying. I would need to find my way around? Why? And what did he mean â€Å"eventually†? How long did he expect me to last? He pulled me to my feet and led me forward. I'd forgotten what it was like to move through the dark tunnels with a hand guiding me. It was so easy-walking barely took any concentration at all. â€Å"Let's see,† Jeb murmured. â€Å"Maybe the right wing first. Set up a decent place for you. Then the kitchens†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He went on planning his tour, continuing as we stepped through the narrow crevice into the bright tunnel that led to the even brighter big room. When the sound of voices reached us, I felt my mouth go dry. Jeb kept right on chatting at me, either missing or ignoring my terror. â€Å"I'll bet the carrots are sprouted today,† he was saying as he led me into the main plaza. The light blinded me, and I couldn't see who was there, but I could feel their eyes on me. The sudden silence was as ominous as ever. â€Å"Yep,† Jeb answered himself. â€Å"Now, I always think that looks real pretty. A nice spring green like that is a treat to see.† He stopped and held his hand out, inviting me to look. I squinted in the direction he gestured, but my eyes kept darting around the room as I waited for them to adjust. It took a moment, but then I saw what he was talking about. I also saw that there were maybe fifteen people here today, all of them regarding me with hostile eyes. But they were busy with something else, too. The wide, dark square that took up the center of the big cavern was no longer dark. Half of it was fuzzy with spring green, just as Jeb had said. It was pretty. And amazing. No wonder no one stood on this space. It was a garden. â€Å"Carrots?† I whispered. He answered at normal volume. â€Å"This half that's greening up. The other half is spinach. Should be up in a few days.† The people in the room had gone back to work, still peeking at me now and then but mostly concentrating on what they were doing. It was easy enough to understand their actions-and the big barrel on wheels, and the hoses-now that I recognized the garden. â€Å"Irrigating?† I whispered again. â€Å"That's right. Dries out pretty quick in this heat.† I nodded in agreement. It was still early, I guessed, but I was already sweaty. The heat from the intense radiance overhead was stifling in the caves. I tried to examine the ceiling again, but it was too bright to stare at. I tugged Jeb's sleeve and squinted up at the dazzling light. â€Å"How?† Jeb smiled, seeming thrilled with my curiosity. â€Å"Same way the magicians do it-with mirrors, kid. Hundreds of 'em. Took me long enough to get them all up there. It's nice to have extra hands around here when they need cleaning. See, there's only four small vents in the ceiling here, and that wasn't enough light for what I had in mind. What do you think of it?† He pulled his shoulders back, proud again. â€Å"Brilliant,† I whispered. â€Å"Astonishing.† Jeb grinned and nodded, enjoying my reaction. â€Å"Let's keep on,† he suggested. â€Å"Got a lot to do today.† He led me to a new tunnel, a wide, naturally shaped tube that ran off from the big cave. This was new territory. My muscles all locked up; I moved forward with stiff legs, unbending knees. Jeb patted my hand but otherwise ignored my nerves. â€Å"This is mostly sleeping quarters and some storage. The tubes are closer to the surface here, so it was easier to get some light.† He pointed up at a bright, slender crack in the tunnel ceiling overhead. It threw a hand-sized spot of white onto the floor. We reached a broad fork-not really a fork, because there were too many tines. It was an octopus-like branching of passageways. â€Å"Third from the left,† he said, and looked at me expectantly. â€Å"Third from the left?† I repeated. â€Å"That's right. Don't forget. It's easy to get lost around here, and that wouldn't be safe for you. Folks'd just as soon stab you as send you in the right direction.† I shuddered. â€Å"Thanks,† I muttered with quiet sarcasm. He laughed as if my answer had delighted him. â€Å"No point in ignoring the truth. Doesn't make it worse to have it said out loud.† It didn't make it better, either, but I didn't say that. I was beginning to enjoy myself just a little. It was so nice to have someone talk to me again. Jeb was, if nothing else, interesting company. â€Å"One, two, three,† he counted off, then he led me down the third hallway from the left. We started passing round entrances covered by a variety of makeshift doors. Some were curtained off with patterned sheets of fabric; others had big pieces of cardboard duct-taped together. One hole had two real doors-one red-painted wood, one gray metal-leaning over the opening. â€Å"Seven,† Jeb counted, and stopped in front of a smallish circle, the tallest point just a few inches higher than my head. This one protected its privacy with a pretty jade green screen-the kind that might divide the space in an elegant living room. There was a pattern of cherry blossoms embroidered across the silk. â€Å"This is the only space I can think of for now. The only one that's fitted up decent for human habitation. It will be empty for a few weeks, and we'll figure something better out for you by the time it's needed again.† He folded the screen aside, and a light that was brighter than that in the hallway greeted us. The room he revealed gave me a strange feeling of vertigo-probably because it was so much taller than it was wide. Standing inside it was like standing in a tower or a silo, not that I had ever been in such places, but those were the comparisons Melanie made. The ceiling, twice as high as the room was wide, was a maze of cracks. Like vines of light, the cracks circled around and almost met. This seemed dangerous to me-unstable. But Jeb showed no fear of cave-ins as he led me farther in. There was a double-sized mattress on the floor, with about a yard of space on three sides of it. The two pillows and two blankets twisted into two separate configurations on either half of the mattress made it look as if this room housed a couple. A thick wooden pole-something like a rake handle-was braced horizontally against the far wall at shoulder height with the ends lodged in two of the Swiss cheese holes in the rock. Over it were draped a handful of T-shirts and two pairs of jeans. A wooden stool was flush with the wall beside the makeshift clothes rack, and on the floor beneath it was a stack of worn paperback books. â€Å"Who?† I said to Jeb, whispering again. This space so obviously belonged to someone that I no longer felt like we were alone. â€Å"Just one of the guys out on the raid. Won't be back for a while. We'll find you something by then.† I didn't like it-not the room, but the idea of staying in it. The presence of the owner was strong despite the simple belongings. No matter who he was, he would not be happy to have me here. He would hate it. Jeb seemed to read my mind-or maybe the expression on my face was clear enough that he didn't have to. â€Å"Now, now,† he said. â€Å"Don't worry about that. This is my house, and this is just one of my many guest rooms. I say who is and isn't my guest. Right now, you are my guest, and I am offering you this room.† I still didn't like it, but I wasn't going to upset Jeb, either. I vowed that I would disturb nothing, if it meant sleeping on the floor. â€Å"Well, let's keep moving. Don't forget: third from the left, seventh in.† â€Å"Green screen,† I added. â€Å"Exactly.† Jeb took me back through the big garden room, around the perimeter to the opposite side, and through the biggest tunnel exit. When we passed the irrigators, they stiffened and turned, afraid to have me behind their backs. This tunnel was well lit, the bright crevices coming at intervals too regular to be natural. â€Å"We go even closer to the surface now. It gets drier, but it gets hotter, too.† I noticed that almost immediately. Instead of being steamed, we were now being baked. The air was less stuffy and stale. I could taste the desert dust. There were more voices ahead. I tried to steel myself against the inevitable reaction. If Jeb insisted on treating me like†¦ like a human, like a welcome guest, I was going to have to get used to this. No reason to let it make me nauseous over and over again. My stomach began an unhappy rolling anyway. â€Å"This way's the kitchen,† Jeb told me. At first I thought we were in another tunnel, one crowded with people. I pressed myself against the wall, trying to keep my distance. The kitchen was a long corridor with a high ceiling, higher than it was wide, like my new quarters. The light was bright and hot. Instead of thin crevices through deep rock, this place had huge open holes. â€Å"Can't cook in the daytime, of course. Smoke, you know. So we mainly use this as the mess hall until nightfall.† All conversation had come to an abrupt halt, so Jeb's words were clear for everyone to hear. I tried to hide behind him, but he kept walking farther in. We'd interrupted breakfast, or maybe it was lunch. The humans-almost twenty at a quick estimate-were very close here. It wasn't like the big cavern. I wanted to keep my eyes on the floor, but I couldn't stop them from flashing around the room. Just in case. I could feel my body tensing to run for it, though where I would run, I didn't know. Against both sides of the hallway, there were long piles of rock. Mostly rough, purple volcanic stone, with some lighter-colored substance-cement?-running between them, creating seams, holding them together. On top of these piles were different stones, browner in color, and flat. They were glued together with the light gray grout as well. The final product was a relatively even surface, like a counter or a table. It was clear that they were used for both. The humans sat on some, leaned on others. I recognized the bread rolls they held suspended between the table and their mouths, frozen with disbelief as they took in Jeb and his one-person tour. Some of them were familiar. Sharon, Maggie, and the doctor were the closest group to me. Melanie's cousin and aunt glared at Jeb furiously-I had an odd conviction that I could have stood on my head and bellowed songs out of Melanie's memory at the top of my lungs and they still would not have looked at me-but the doctor eyed me with a frank and almost friendly curiosity that made me feel cold deep inside my bones. At the back end of the hall-shaped room, I recognized the tall man with ink black hair and my heart stuttered. I'd thought Jared was supposed to take the hostile brothers with him to make Jeb's job of keeping me alive slightly easier. At least it was the younger one, Ian, who had belatedly developed a conscience-not quite as bad as leaving Kyle behind. That consolation did not slow my racing pulse, however. â€Å"Everybody full so quick?† Jeb asked loudly and sarcastically. â€Å"Lost our appetites,† Maggie muttered. â€Å"How 'bout you,† he said, turning to me. â€Å"You hungry?† A quiet groan went through our audience. I shook my head-a small but frantic motion. I didn't even know whether I was hungry, but I knew I couldn't eat in front of this crowd that would gladly have eaten me. â€Å"Well, I am,† Jeb grumbled. He walked down the aisle between the counters, but I did not follow. I couldn't stand the thought of being within easy reach of the rest. I stayed pressed against the wall where I stood. Only Sharon and Maggie watched him go to a big plastic bin on one counter and grab a roll. Everyone else watched me. I was certain that if I moved an inch, they would pounce. I tried not to breathe. â€Å"Well, let's just keep on movin',† Jeb suggested around a mouthful of bread as he ambled back to me. â€Å"Nobody seems able to concentrate on their lunch. Easily distracted, this set.† I was watching the humans for sudden movements, not really seeing their faces after that first moment when I recognized the few I could put names to. So it wasn't until Jamie stood up that I noticed him there. He was a head shorter than the adults beside him, but taller than the two smaller children who perched on the counter on his other side. He hopped lightly off his seat and followed behind Jeb. His expression was tight, compressed, like he was trying to solve a difficult equation in his head. He examined me through narrow eyes as he approached on Jeb's heels. Now I wasn't the only one in the room holding my breath. The others' gazes shifted back and forth between Melanie's brother and me. Oh, Jamie, Melanie thought. She hated the sad, adult expression on his face, and I probably hated it even more. She didn't feel as guilty as I did for putting it there. If only we could take it away. She sighed. It's too late. What could we do to make it better now? I didn't mean the question more than rhetorically, but I found myself searching for an answer, and Melanie searched, too. We found nothing in the brief second we had to consider the matter; there was nothing to be found, I was sure. But we both knew we would be searching again when we were done with this asinine tour and had a chance to think. If we lived that long. â€Å"Whatcha need, kid?† Jeb asked without looking at him. â€Å"Just wondering what you're doing,† Jamie answered, his voice striving for nonchalance and only just failing. Jeb stopped when he got to me and turned to look at Jamie. â€Å"Takin' her for a tour of the place. Just like I do for any newcomer.† There was another low grumble. â€Å"Can I come?† Jamie asked. I saw Sharon shake her head feverishly, her expression outraged. Jeb ignored her. â€Å"Doesn't bother me†¦ if you can mind your manners.† Jamie shrugged. â€Å"No problem.† I had to move then-to knot my fingers together in front of me. I wanted so badly to push Jamie's untidy hair out of his eyes and then leave my arm around his neck. Something that would not go over well, I was sure. â€Å"Let's go,† Jeb said to us both. He took us back out the way we had come. Jeb walked on one side of me, Jamie on the other. Jamie seemed to be trying to stare at the floor, but he kept glancing up at my face-just like I couldn't help glancing down at his. Whenever our eyes met, we looked away again quickly. We were about halfway down the big hall when I heard the quiet footsteps behind us. My reaction was instantaneous and unthinking. I skittered to one side of the tunnel, sweeping Jamie along with one arm so that I was between him and whatever was coming for me. â€Å"Hey!† he protested, but he did not knock my arm away. Jeb was just as quick. The gun twirled out of its strap with blinding speed. Ian and the doctor both raised their hands above their heads. â€Å"We can mind our manners, too,† the doctor said. It was hard to believe that this soft-spoken man with the friendly expression was the resident torturer; he was all the more terrifying to me because his exterior was so benign. A person would be on her guard on a dark and ominous night, a person would be ready. But on a clear, sunny day? How would she know to flee when she couldn't see any place for danger to hide? Jeb squinted at Ian, the barrel of the gun shifting to follow his gaze. â€Å"I don't mean any trouble, Jeb. I'll be just as mannerly as Doc.† â€Å"Fine,† Jeb said curtly, stowing his gun. â€Å"Just don't test me. I haven't shot anybody in a real long time, and I sort of miss the thrill of it.† I gasped. Everyone heard that and turned to see my horrified expression. The doctor was the first one to laugh, but even Jamie joined in briefly. â€Å"It's a joke,† Jamie whispered to me. His hand strayed from his side, almost as if he was reaching for mine, but he quickly shoved it into the pocket of his shorts. I let my arm-still stretched protectively in front of his body-drop, too. â€Å"Well, the day's wasting,† Jeb said, still a little surly. â€Å"You'll all have to keep up, 'cause I'm not waiting on you.† He stalked forward before he was done speaking.