Voucher Threat

A popular topic in education reform is the impact school vouchers will have on America†s public education. Public education is at a serious threat do to the debate over education vouchers. School vouchers will redirect the flow of education funding, channeling it directly to individual families rather than to school districts. This will result in less government funding going towards improving public schools, lowering class sizes, and purchasing supplies and may eventually cause the downfall of public education all together. The issues of school vouchers go beyond the classroom and are borderline unconstitutional. The idea of public funds being spent on private schools raises issues in its self. Public funds being spent on private religious schooling will raise interesting questions about the separation between church and state. Most nonpublic schools in America right now are run by religious organizations. Is it even constitutional for tax money to be spent religious schooling? One of the most widely believed untruths about school vouchers is that it will allow poor inner city kids to have more opportunities to go to private schools, however compelling this argument may seem the truth of the matter is that vouchers will siphon the money out of the cities public schools causing the children whose parents still cant afford the subsidized tuition of these pricey private schools to receive an inferior education and create a large underclass of students who are trapped in a public school without enough resources to receive a quality education. The fact of the matter is that school vouchers will create a competitive market in the education field causing the strongly funded private schools to thrive while the public schools that this country was built on to slowly deteriorate in quality due to fewer tax dollars being spent on the resources needed for public education to succeed. The action I would like to see the government take on this issue is to focus more attention on improving public education, instead of the redirecting of taxpayer†s money to private education. The choice is clear if more attention was placed on creating a better learning environment in our public schools all children could benefit not just those who can afford subsidized private schools. Instead of offering an alternative to ineffective unsafe public schools why not focus our attention on improving those schools. Taking money away from already troubled public school systems without offering any solutions to the existing problems is bound to create a downward spiral in the already shaky public school systems. The low impact approach I would take on this matter is to set up rallies especially in those areas where the vouchers would have the largest negative impact. Those areas being the troubled school systems of the inner cities. I would get forty or fifty people together to go to their local or district office and talk with their senator or state rep. I would start up a web page supporting my issue with links to advocacy groups and information that take a similar stand on the issue of school vouchers. In the web site I would also include a prefab letter explaining the negative effects of school vouchers that viewers could download, sign and send to there local or state representative to help support my issue. Furthermore I would write to the editors of my local newspapers and explain my stand on the issue in a small column that would reach many potential voters. As an attempt to get some free media attention while spreading the word of my issue I would hold a public forum on vouchers and have the local news cover it. The forum would inform citizens how they can get involved. I would hold the forum in a local schools gymnasium and try to get some influential speakers who support my issue in hopes to gain more supporters who will take action against school vouchers. In a high impact manner I would use an entirely different approach. Supposing I had a year off from life and 100,000 dollars to contribute to the fight against vouchers I would start by getting national attention. I would try to team up with some key officials in congress who take the same position as I do. I would try to hold a national rally against vouchers. As an attempt to gain wide range publicity I would set up a web site for volunteer support effort. I would use the web site to keep my supporters updated on rallies and protests supporting my cause. I would set up a national call in day via the web where I get membership of the site to call into congress and support our stand on the issues. I would help raise money by holding rallies and support groups for members of congress and other political leaders who are running for office and who support my issue. As would organize bus trips from inner cities around the country to Washington D. C. so that constituents could go to the members of congress that represent their district and explain to the congressmen their concerns with vouchers. All of these things would help to raise concern over school vouchers and hopefully have an effect on votes when the issue comes up in legislation.

Effectiveness of Time and Financial Management Essay

The researchers chose 7 different scholars to conduct a survey about the chosen topic. Most of the respondents came from student assistant’s category and the others came from the category of academic scholars. These scholars were given scholarships from Ozanam Study Grant Program and Megaworld Foundation. On the range of their ages, 17-22 years old were the students who were given an opportunity they wanted to have. The scholars being interviewed have a daily allowance of more or less 150 pesos. On the Graph 1.1 being shown below are some of the expenses of the following students. Graph 1.1 A little number of respondents said that they stay in boarding houses that cost them Php 1,600 to Php 1,700. Literally, the cost was being solved by their parents. 3 out of 7 students said that both of their parents are self-employed. 1 respondent said that his/her parents run a business and another corresponds to unemployed parents. The rest of the students match up on other answers like their father/mother neither is an overseas Filipino worker, a tricycle driver, a plain housewife nor was deceased. Researchers proceed to the monthly income of their parents in able to measure the financial background of each and every respondent. Graph 1.2 illustrates the possible monthly income of the parents of these learners. Graph 1.2 As you can see, there is an equality of 14,000 and lower and 15,000-20,000 income. It is based on the survey being conducted by the researchers and from the occupation of their parents. On the part of their financial management, they spent the biggest part of their allowance for their food (50%) followed by their transportation and some other expenses. This shows that food is very important especially for the scholars like them. Food is an essential and they must not ignore because of the responsibilities they have in the university. The primary reason of the pupils asked in preferring themselves in being a scholar of Adamson University is that because they wanted to help their parents in decreasing the expenses. In this reason, an individual can determine that financial or money matters are the first basis in order for them to have financial management. Other reasons are for them to gain independency. The effectiveness of financial management is measured by proper usage of money and thinking a creative way of using up money. The researchers also find ways on evaluating time supervision of scholars. Because of a more number of student assistants being interviewed, most of their time is allotted on their duties. Here is Graph 1.3 that shows how long an ordinary scholar uses his /her time in the university. Graph 1.3 Take a look of the graph that has been illustrated by the researchers. Student D and F are academic scholars. According to the information gathered from the survey, these students are academic scholars. As academic scholars, their worlds are focused on studying. They usually spend time in resting, studying and even have a time for leisure. On the other hand, the remaining students (A, B , C and E) make use of their time in duties and offices. Equalizing time in each activity of a student like them is not easy to do. Like on the Graph 1.3, student assistants are divided in different opinions. Some of them were able to balance their time and others cannot. Same answer was derived by academic scholars. However, they also answered it depends on the situation. Situations are unpredictable and make equalization of time in different planned activities. Somehow, all of them have a time for rest and have a break after long hours from school. Lastly, as a scholar, grade is the most important or basis in acquiring scholarships. Grades of these scholars are not affected by activities being done in school. Therefore, these learners have a good strategic measures in managing their time and studies. Conclusion Based on the presented and interpreted data above, the following conclusions were drawn: 1. That most of the scholars spend their money more on food for it is an essential need. 2. That most of the scholars wanted to help their parents to reduce the number of expenses. 3. That most of the scholars allot their time to school by doing different duties but assures that grades of them will not be affected.

Asian Exclusion Laws Essay Research Paper There

Asiatic Exclusion Laws Essay, Research Paper There were a really big figure of local, province, and federal Torahs that were specifically aimed at interrupting the flow of Chinese and Nipponese immigrants to the United States. Two of the major Torahs were the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and the 1907-1908 Gentleman s Agreement. Although the Torahs had some differences, they were rather similar and had similar impacts on the immigrant population. The 1882, Congress enacted the Chinese Exclusion Act, which outlawed Chinese in-migration. It besides explicitly denied naturalisation rights to Chinese, intending they were non allowed to go citizens, as they were non free Whites. Prior to the Chinese Exclusion Act, some 300,000 labourers arrived in California, and the act was intended to chiefly forestall the entry of more labourers. The transition of the Chinese Exclusion Act was the first effort by Congress to censor a group of immigrants based on race or colour. The lone Chinese that lawfully entered the United States during the six decennaries the Exclusion Act was in topographic point were those in exempted categories such as merchandisers, pupils, diplomats, and travellers ( Chan ) . An unknown figure illicitly entered through the Canadian and Mexican boundary lines and many others entered as paper boies. The act did non forestall Chinese in-migration per Se ; it merely prevented most legal in-migration. The 1907-1908 Gentleman s Agreement was the consequence of a struggle between the San Francisco school board and the Asian ( peculiarly Nipponese ) community related to school segregation. President Roosevelt made an understanding with the Nipponese authorities. In exchange for the school board s leting Nipponese pupils to go to white schools in California, the Nipponese authorities agreed to halt publishing passports to labourers. ( Chan ) Despite the passage of the Gentleman s Agreement, some 120,000 Nipponese arrived in California during the 15 old ages continuing the understanding ( Chan ) . The two pieces of statute law were similar in that they attempted to hold the in-migration of labourers. It seemed the United States authorities was directing a message that they wanted merely educated, professional immigrants from Asiatic states, and there was no longer a demand for the labourers they one time welcomed. The Chinese Exclusion Act and the Gentleman s Agreement were both blazing efforts by the United States to shut the door to Asiatic immigrants. While other pieces of statute law were simply punitory to the immigrants already here, such as the Alien Land Laws and the Foreign Miners Tax, these clearly aimed to deny Asiatic immigrants entry to the United States. The Gentleman s Agreement was less restrictive than the Chinese Exclusion Act, as it allowed Nipponese adult females to come in the United States. From the beginning of the Nipponese in-migration there was an apprehension that adult females would be allowed to come in the U.S. , and the Gentleman s Agreement did non revoke that. The Chinese Exclusion Act and the Gentleman s Agreement were rather similar with similar impacts on the immigrant population, although their names suggest otherwise. The Chinese Exclusion Act sounds really rough, while the Gentleman s Agreement sounds more genteel. Deceptive names aside, the two pieces of statute law were really much the same.

Summary Analysis about Cape Verde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Summary Analysis about Cape Verde - Essay Example Cape Verde is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). As a result of all the mentioned factors, there has been increased tourism, American and European trade, and investment in Cape Verde in recent years. The Cape Verde government is happy with the nation’s development, and it has therefore taken the initiative to further develop the economy of Cap Verde. After a lot of evaluation and consultation, the government decided that establishment of an aviation hub in Cape Verde will lead in the attainment of further economic development. The government chose Dubai as a blueprint for their undertaking. The project is a long-term plan that will be executed in three phases. The first phase will involve investment of 310 million Euros and generation of 15,000 new construction jobs (â€Å"Dubai International Airport,† ameinfo.com).The second phase will involve the development of a fully operational airline and airp ort, while the third phase will involve investment of an additional 3billion Euros (â€Å"Dubai International Airport,† ameinfo.com) to ensure the creation of a consumer centered and commercially oriented strategic aviation hub. The establishment of an aviation hub similar ton Dubai in Cape Verde is a viable project. This is because it will promote trade, tourism, hospitality, and travel, which are the key sectors that drive growth in Cape Verde. The competitiveness of Cape Verde’s economy will also be enhanced, foreign direct investment will be enhanced, local companies in Cape Verde will be integrated into the global business community, and more jobs will be create. The establishment of an aviation hub in Cape Verde will have a great effect on the economy of Cape Verde and Africa in general. 2. Chinese Ambassador says that Cape Verde may get Chinese-African Trade Zone Beijing authorities plan to establish six special trade areas in Africa. According to a speech by Su n Rongmao, who is the Chinese ambassador to Cape Verde; Cape Verde may be selected as one of the six special trade areas. Sun supports the selection of Cape Verde due to its strategic geographical location. Sun added that he, together with the Chinese Embassy in Cape Verde were making great efforts to ensure that the Chinese government selects Cape Verde among the six trade areas. However, the decision by the Chinese government would depend on a number of other factors such as Cape Verde’s links to other African nations and the nation’s infrastructure. Jorge Borges, the foreign minister of Cape Verde emphasized on Cape Verde’s interest to Beijing authorities in holding the special trade area. He also emphasized on the nation’s strategic geographical location between Europe and the Americas, social stability, and the peace that abounds, making it favorable for economic undertakings. The support of Cape Verde’s selection as an African Economic Zone b y the Chinese ambassador and the Chinese Embassy in Cape Verde is a great step in the attainment of Cape Verde’ s economic goals. Cape Verde’s interest in becoming an African Economic Zone is also a considerable factor. Another advantage comes from the fact that the nation’s geographical location is no doubt strategic and will promote businesses in Africa, Europe, and the

Formal Report-Analyzing two possible career choices PART 2 Assignment

Formal Report-Analyzing two possible career choices PART 2 - Assignment Example The choices that are being considered are that of a career as a Sales Manager or as a Marketing Manager. These two positions will be evaluated on the basis of the salary, number of hours worked, the benefits that go with the job and the long term prospects for the job. Career Alert conducted extensive research on the job opportunities open for a Sales Manager and a Marketing Manager through the website Glassdoor.com, the ExecutivesOnTheWeb.com and Careerbuilder.com. Information regarding the current salary ranges of both the Sales and Marketing Managers were based on these sites. Interviews were conducted among current Sales and Marketing Managers to get insights on their careers. Career Alert believes in the importance of making the right decision in choosing a career. We are aware that a career choice is dependent on several factors such as the salary and the future prospects for the job. Your concern is our concern too. We measure our success by the success of our clients. We are dedicated to helping you decide what the best career path is for you, a Sales Manager or a Marketing Manager. A Sales Manager is responsible for the sales program of a company. Sales Managers are the ones who set the goals for the sales team. They are in-charge of assigning the sales territories of the sales representatives (Halvorsen, n.d.). Moreover, training programs for the sales representatives are designed by the Sales Manager. Sales Managers serve as advisers or mentors of the sales representatives regarding ways on how to improve their performance and meet their sales targets (Halvorsen, n.d.). A Sales Manager must be able to analyze sales statistics gathered by his sales staff in order to find out the sales potential of certain areas and address the preferences of the clients (O*NET Online, 2011). The salary of a Sales Manager is usually broken down as fixed salary per month, cash or stock bonuses and

Research Paper Preliminary Stage Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Preliminary Stage - Research Paper Example This had even led many Americans to go through financial bedlam and disarray2. Meanwhile, in Chicago, while the stock market headed off a declining path, the World’s Columbian Exposition emerged wherein it highlighted the advancing technology and culture of the city. Amidst the economic turmoil experienced, Americans gaped at the new innovations brought about by the economic transition of the United States. Celebration for the accomplishments of the corporate America was emphasized. Nevertheless, it was in this phase of the United States economic history that a new style of music emerged that would enable Americans to identify themselves in an evolving modern nation. The economic crisis of 1893 and the World’s Columbian Exposition, and their enigmatic description had a monumental effect on the American culture: a time when America adopted ragtime music3; thus, the birth of Jazz. The Early Years of Jazz Ragtime music rose to rapid fame from 1897 to 1917, and this trigger ed modern technological modifications with businesses eyed close relation to Jazz as a national music4. The peaking popularity of the ragtime music likewise stimulated the economy with many piano manufactures increasing their production to accommodate the fast growing need for the instrument. During the 20th century, particularly in the second decade, piano production was at its summit producing more than 400,000 pianos annually. Vaudeville and Minstrel shows also proliferated following the growing number of amateur musicians who started to adopt and learn the art of Jazz music. These shows became prevalent in the United States and offered complete entertainment for many Americans. The Minstrel shows were usually held in salons – a relatively smaller venue as compared to theatres. Vaudevilles were staged in theatres, a development that attracted women and children to watch Jazz musical presentations. This had led to the growing audiences of Vaudeville shows that featured Jazz music. Then, Jazz music spread across the United States, particularly in three of its largest cities: New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. This turned out to be the focal point of the changing American Culture in the 1920s. During the height of ragtime music in which African Americans were leading, the issue on racial discrimination still contaminated the new music industry. Nevertheless, offensive description and racism of African Americans were reduced in order to attract more audience5. The ever increasing fascination to ragtime music paved the way to the dispersal and proliferation of the music through phonographs and radios. This allowed a larger proportion of the American population to get acquainted and spellbound by Jazz. Due to the growing demand, more and more musicians were hired to create and perform ragtime music. And despite the toning down of crude representation of African American musicians, stereotypes against them still survived. Nevertheless, Vaudeville offered t he Black actors and musicians the chance for employment6. The Greats of Jazz and the New Niger There is no question about the popularity of Jazz during the early 20’s with African Americans acted as pioneers of the musical genre. It was during this period when the Harlem Club was established, debuting the giants of Jazz music: Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. But apart from the two pioneers, when it comes to

Fibromyalgia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Fibromyalgia - Essay Example It was observed there is high aggregation of Fibromyalgia in families of Fibromyalgia patients. The mode of inheritance followed is probably polygenic. An association between Fibromyalgia and polymorphisms of the genes in the serotoninergic, dopaminergic and catecholaminergic systems was observed in research. However these polymorphisms are not specific for Fibromyalgia and are associated with a range of somatic disorders and with depression (Buskila 332-8). Stress is often considered as a risk factor for Fibromyalgia It has also been hypothesized that because exposure to stressful conditions can alter the function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, the development of fibromyalgia may stem from stress-induced disruption of the HPA axis (McBeth et al . R992-R1000) There is strong evidence that major depression and fibromyalgia are associated with each other. The symptoms of fatigue, sleep disturbances, and cognitive disturbances that are characteristic of Fibromyalgia are also present in depressive illness. Patients with Fibromyalgia often improve with antidepressant medications. Although current major depression was found in only about 18-36% of Fibromyalgia patients, a lifetime history of depression was observed in 50-70% of the cases in a study (Goldenberg 778-779). Gender and age are the other important risk factors in Fibromyalgia as Fibromyalgia is 10 times more prevalent in women than in men and is most likely to be diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50 (Chakravarty and Zoorob 247). The most important signs of Fibromyalgia are pain in multiple sites, fatigue, and poor sleep. Patients often complain of low back pain, which may radiate into the buttocks and legs. Also common are complaints of pain and tightness in the neck and across the upper posterior shoulders. The pain may be described as a burning or gnawing soreness, stiffness, or aching. Many patients awaken frequently at night and have difficulty falling back to sleep. Upon waking, many patients feel exhausted and complain of stiffness, which improves as the day passes by. Pain must last for more than 3 months in all four quadrants of the body.Fibromyalgia is diagnosed if there is a history of widespread pain lasting more than three months-affecting all four quadrants of the body and presence of 11 tender points among the nine pairs of sites specified by the American Rheumatology College (Chakravarty and Zoorob 248-249) Many patients with fibromyalgia complain of cognitive difficulties (known as "brain fog" or "fibrofog") such as short and long-term memory problems, groping for words, and poor vocabulary. Headaches, including migraine type, also are common. A feeling of swollen joints without actual swelling, and paresthesias without objective neurologic findings, are considered two important features of Fibromyalgia (Chakravarty and Zoorob 248). As a medically unexplained syndrome, there is no known cure or universally accepted treatment for fibromyalgia, and treatment is typically aimed at symptom management. Along with pharmaceutical treatment, research was done on a variety of alternative treatments for Fibromyalgia with varying results. Short-term exercise programs for individuals with fibromyalgia have consistently improved physical function, especially physical fitness, and reduced tender point pain; however the exercise must be done at moderate intensity and consistently. The exercise should start at intensities below the

Delinquent youth subculture (Gangs) Research Paper

Delinquent youth subculture (Gangs) - Research Paper Example Rubel, these youth gang members mostly comprised of Mexicans who had migrated to the region of United States and may have developed a gang due to their difficult lives in America (Rubel, 1965). It has even been recorded that gangs started surfacing in major regions of United States such as New York during the period of 1800s when the Industrial Revolution was gaining pace (Franzese, 2006). As industrialization started to spread throughout the United States and attracted more and more immigrant populations, increase in number of gangs was witnessed in larger metropolitan areas such as Chicago (Franzese, 2006). The United States has witnessed an upsurge in the number of gangs and the gang members especially during the periods in which huge number of immigrant populations has travelled to the United States. Gangs have even emerged as a result of hostile activities that have been carried out against the ethnic groups they represent. In early periods of 1900s, Chicago witnessed an increas e in the number of African American gangs and gang members as a result of the hostilities they were facing at the hands of the White American gang members (Franzese, 2006). Later during the period of 1950s the African American gangs started becoming prominent on the streets of the Western regions of the United States (Franzese, 2006). These gang members could easily be witnessed in the regions where mostly those families resided that did not have access to proper economic opportunities. The Southern regions of the United States were the last in the race to experience the issue of gang related activity. Gang activity in these regions emerged and escalated between the periods of 1980s and 1990s (Franzese, 2006). Gang members and related activities are quite prevalent in the United States even in the years of 21st century. According to 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment, more than 1.4 million individuals are working with different gangs of United States and can be witnessed on the

Saturation of Media is Causing Loss of Democratic Communication Essay

Saturation of Media is Causing Loss of Democratic Communication - Essay Example It is worth noting that free flow of information and fast transmissions are key advantages of media. The advances of media have been events of celebration in history but their increased use has reached a saturation point. The saturation is leading to a gradual loss of democratic communication. Society has embraced media without holding back. Media forms an integral part of human existence in the current world. Because of the increasing saturation, man is slowly losing the essence of democratic communication. Democratic communication is a two-way platform that allows individuals access to information and gives them the opportunity to raise debate and criticism of such information to qualify it as the absolute truth. Concerning social media, there are many social websites in society. These include facebook, twitter, MySpace, badoo, Skype, and netlog. Facebook and twitter have numerous subscribers in the American society. Most of the subscribers spent a lot of time on the websites but d ue to saturation level, they do little while online. Few subscribers create new information. On the contrary, people transmit the existing information. In addition, television, disk players, smart phones are all over in the society. People are in constant access with these forms of media such that they have forgotten the experience of life without any of them. Each time, there is a continuous flow of data and information from status updates, tweets, photos and videos from friends. The influence of media images, opinions, commentaries, critics, and observation has been blinding people from embracing the truth as it is in real life. There is so much available on data networks that influence the opinions and reasoning of people, that very few people can make unbiased analysis of events and happenings. People have allowed media to influence their daily relationships. The daily access to images over time has led to loss of the reality. Print media was the first to reach a saturation poin t and next came the era of the internet. Before the internet, came public broadcasting and television. Through all these, people access limitless information and images to a point whereby, they take what they see or hear as the truth. At the start of media, images were but representatives of the real objects. As saturation increases, people have allowed the media images to take the place of reality. Most of the people in society no longer take time to analyze things as they are in real life. They do not form opinions in communication without the influence of media and this hinders democratic communication. People have lost the autonomy in communication because they imitate what the media presents from the celebrities to movie characters. The media has multiple impacts on the political decisions of people. The public makes political decisions based on the media criticism and allegations. Very few people analyze the quality of leaders from real life reality. Therefore, the people rely on misleading compulsion from the media sources that do not reflect the reality on the ground. There is too much on any data source that one cannot discern what is true or false. Most of the forms of media do not allow a two-way form of communication. The people cannot effectively raise criticism on the data they receive. Nobody has the time to weigh out and criticizer the

History of Internet Advertising Essay Example for Free

History of Internet Advertising Essay The history of Advertising goes back a long time in history during the time of the Romans in which merchants had street signs advertising their wares. With the invention of printing press during the middle part of the 1400s, things changed as it heralded a new era that shaped the course of civilization. The rise of broadcast technology in the twentieth century had made further advances in the world of advertising. In the 1920s, radio advertising carried the industry into its prime and become central to the operation of the advertising world until the rise of television advertising in the 1950s which rose to its prominence ever since up to the present time in which another break through in advertising has risen, the internet. Although internet began in the late 1960s it was only during the creation of the â€Å"Unix User Network or Usenet† (Prince, p. 3) that people got connected and â€Å"ready to do business† (p. ) through the â€Å"store-and-forward† net work ,where people could post news, views, and other communications to be read by others. Prince pointed out that the Usenet was â€Å"quickly adapted as a high-tech classified circular† (wherein categories were established for listing of items for sale. However, it was only in 1995 that a more profound use of the internet for advertisement had started as advertisement becomes more informative and specific. The internet advertising has since then begun to take substantial share of the market advertisement, and the year 2000 recorded the big leap in the internet advertisement with over eight billion dollars in revenue. Since then though, the growth of the internet advertisement in terms of dollar revenues were up and down but it is indisputably that the internet advertisement has become the most sophisticated and far reaching mode of advertisement.

The Characteristic Of Teaching Young Learners English Language Essay

The Characteristic Of Teaching Young Learners English Language Essay The concept of learning is influenced by the psychological study of the learning process and is widely interpreted in the popular use. The psychological concept extends quite far and includes all parts of childrens development, from language acquisition to social roles and changes in their personality. Language teaching can be widely interpreted as all activities intended to facilitate and cause language learning. At the beginning of learning the new language, the learners knowledge has none or hardly any associations with the language, it is as an infant learning its first language. The lack of contact with the language and the lack of a safe reference system can give the learner an intellectual and emotional shock which can discourage from further learning. Thus, the task for the teacher is to overcome childrens disorientation which characterises the beginnings of learning, build up and associate a system of positive attitudes and feelings with the language: that is, being able to reply spontaneously and to think in the second language. In teaching of the second language, certain social strategy is also needed, so that children should feel a need of imitation and acquire the second language in the same way as their first one. (H.H. Stern Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching:397-400) Childrens world is based on games and having fun and the same should apply to their learning. Children should not be aware of learning, neither lexicon nor grammar, but the teacher can easily use these facts to teach the foreign language through games, stories and songs. In teachers work with young learners, it is important to teach them according to psychological and pedagogical rules. The amount of material which the learners can remember depends on teaching techniques and the way the material is drilled. It is important to remember that lack of stress in learning makes it more efficient and easier to use in real situations. What is more, only friendly attitude of the teacher towards a learner, teachers willingness for learning and using all methods of relaxation can protect a child from being discourages and shy in learning and using the foreign language. Any good associations with parts of the material can cause that vocabulary or grammar will be better and longer remembered. It is also important that childrens concentration span is quite short and it is crucial to use any procedures which can make the learner able to longer concentration. Student should be also involved and interested in the lesson (BrzeziÅ„ski 1987: 145-150). Childrens learning is based on imitation and having fun rather than on their awareness of learning. Imitation is the easiest way of introducing new vocabulary and its aim is to lead to correct articulation and intonation of sounds and their memorization. In teaching young learners, intonation exercises are especially useful because of childrens flexibility of larynx which disappears with time. In terms of imitation exercises, the teacher should pay attention to learners reactions determined by their age. Furthermore , the teacher should change the techniques of teaching to avoid learners getting bored (WoÃ…Â ºnicki, T./ Zawadzka, E. 1979: 60). Most activities for children should consist of movement and involve their senses. The teacher needs many objects, visuals and pictures to work with, and to create a possibility to use all of the schools surroundings. It is also important for the teacher to let the pupils play with the language, talk to themselves as much as it is possible, use songs, rhymes and tell stories. As a matter of fact, the teacher should let pupils talk even nonsense to enable them to experiment with the language. The basic principle in teaching a language is a variety of activities, pace, organisation, voice and face expressions. Nevertheless, routines in the classroom are also essential so that the children can know the rules, be able to use the mark system and complete tasks. Using familiar situations or activities creates the atmosphere of safety, especially for the shy learners. Another important criteria in making teaching a language efficient is the classroom atmosphere. During the lesson, there is s upposed to be room for shared experiences, group work, pair work; what is more, rewards and prizes should be avoided. It is much more useful for the teacher to make notes about each pupil regularly in case the teacher would like to inform the pupils parents about their progress (W. A. Scott Teaching English to Children:5-7). Theory of language acquisition in the early age From around 1975, language acquisition is contrasted with language learning. The American applied linguist Krashen uses the word acquisition to describe learning of the second language which is analogous to the way in which a child learns naturally his or her first language and does not focus on the linguistic form. The disadvantage of Krashens terminology is that it is contrasted with psychological terms. Krashen differentiates between acquisition and learning, as learning for him is more or less conscious. It is a very valuable distinction but it implies a constraint on the use of the term learning, and frequently deliberately limits it to the school-like learning (H.H. Stern Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching: 18-20). In the light of an early start of language learning, Anderson claims that the way a person acquires mother tongue still remains a riddle. Between birth and the fifth year of life, children develop their ability to speak. Children in the first stage observe adults behaviour and any noises they produce. After some time, they start understand the meaning of such noises without seeing adults movements. The next step is imitation of sounds and (partially) a creation of their own ones. Consequently, children find out that they can control adults behaviour by making certain sounds. Lonnerberg mentions that only 10% of childrens utterings is like adults ones and that 90% of such utterings is their own language production. As far as it is concerned, childrens language acquisition is a dispute between an innate, individual parole and the langue created and used by the society (BrzeziÅ„ski 1987: 22-23). A critical age for foreign language learning Regarding the age of the earliest acquisition and learning point as birth, the best moment to start teaching a child the second foreign language is the age of 4-5. This is because of childrens flexible larynx which allows for nearly ideal imitation of sounds and the most efficient brain which all together create a great opportunity for language acquisition. Nevertheless, only until the age of 12-13, children keep their flexibility and natural readiness for language acquisition. Lenneberg shows through extended case studies the stages of physiological maturity processes taking place in the brains hemispheres (especially the left one), which is dominant. What is more, if it happens that the left hemisphere is damaged before the age of 12-13, it is possible that the right hemisphere takes over the domination and speech problems can be reduced. In addition, after this age such a process is almost impossible (BrzeziÅ„ski 1987: 28-29). 1.2.2 Childrens second language acquisition The phenomenon of mother tongue acquisition is interesting for linguists, psychologists, neuropsychologists and even neurophysiologists. Furthermore, it is connected with natural bilingualism which occurs when a child learns, in a natural way, the second language. The process of the second language acquisition in natural conditions is quite similar to the first language acquisition or even identical. The only difference between those two is the fact that the second language is assimilated later and is based on experience and knowledge of the first one and, as a result, the whole process happens faster and more effectively (BrzeziÅ„ski 1987: 18). Chomsky(1964) claimed it is a common observation that a young child of immigrant parents may learn a second language in the street, with amazing rapidity, and that this speech may be completely fluent and correct to the last allophone, while the subtleties that become second nature to the child may elude his parents despite motivation and continued practice (BrzeziÅ„ski 1987: 8). The first international meeting connected with childrens acquisition and its use in teaching foreign languages took place in Hamburg in 1961. Participant tried to find out if it is right to introduce foreign languages in the primary schools, if it is true that children learn better than teenagers and adults and which techniques are supposed to be used in teaching them. After four years, the second meeting took place and the first answers were given. During many decades, lots of contrary opinions developed. As early as 1967, Corder points out: It still remains to be shown that the process of learning second language is of fundamentally different nature from the process of primary acquisition. On the other hand, in 1972, Moulton stresses that in teaching a foreign language to young children it is possible to adopt some methods and intuition procedures, used by a child during mother tongue acquisition, and weave them into learning of the foreign language (BrzeziÅ„ski 1987: 8). 1.2.3 Factors of efficient language learning In 1960s, the matter of teaching a foreign language during the early age was a topic of many discussions. After the war, in many methodological books it was said that children can easily absorb, imitate and produce the new language. Learning of languages in the early age is connected with the habit of repeating words and sentences in a foreign language and acquisition of language material with the help of various memory techniques. The technique of frequent repetition of the material, as the main key to learning a language, is also supported by many psychologists such as Watson and Thorndike. In many psychological books, it is easy to find many completely different definitions of habit. According to MaÅ‚y sÅ‚ownik psychologiczny, habit is well-practised through numerous repetitions: actions which are done always in the same way and automatically. This definition can bring one to a wrong opinion that one should always react in the same way. Lado definites habit as fluency in using units and models of a particular language in answering while attention is not paid to units but to content. There are many more definitions of habit written by A. Szulc, Lompscher or Rubinsztejn, but all these definitions come down to the conclusion that the habit is way of mechanic, unconscious repetition and conscious production leading to the conscious process where consciousness is removed so long as the automatic element is eliminated. In this case, the fact that the process of repetition is the most important comes from the opinion of psychologists based on the theory that acquiring the mother tongue comes from the imitation of adults. There are also certain reasons directly influencing and shaping the process of learning and its efficiency: age - ­ after the age of 10, language acquisition ease diminishes. Childrens minds lose their flexibility and it is not that easy to acquire a language. Younger learners have better and more specific memory but have less ability to learn and need more repetitions. Children are more willing to imitate but have a very short concentration span. Their mechanical memory is better than that of the adults, and their short memory is more dynamic and more effective. The older the child, the more specific the way of learning is. Older children have their own range of memory, their long-term memory is more developed and more logic. They can focus more easily and have wider general knowledge. Being more mature, having better learning techniques and better motivation, the young and adults can easily make up this matters, which children can reach thanks to their imitating skills and more flexible minds. attitude in learning, there are many elements which have influence on better acquisition or learning, but attitude is one of the most important because it stimulates brain to better work and makes memory work more efficiently. What is more, the lack of motivation can cause that person who is not interested in the topic or in learning itself will not remember anything. previous experience connected with the material that has to be learned the more experience the learner has, the easier and more efficient learning is for him or her. material and content there are some units of material which are more difficult to understand or remember, for example, sentences which have lots of information. Also, the size of the material, the length of sentences, the kind of material (Passive Voice sentences are harder to remember and require longer time to learn than Active Voice sentences) significantly influence the effectiveness of the learning process. way of learning Humans use mechanical or logical memory while the logical one is more preferred and a part of material learned in a logical way is not only easier to reconstruct, but also stays longer in human memory. Certain researches show that talking in a foreign language is not only a simple reproduction of material that was learned. A learner should pay attention to very basic patterns which can be modified and updated with new vocabulary and structures. Mechanical memorising of sentences can be even a quite dangerous and tricky factor because certain language elements occur in a particular arrangement, in a way they were learned and drilled by exercises. number of exercises and repetitions Psychological research shows that the long term memory is extended in proportion to the learning time. What is more, overlearning is a very important element in the memorizing process. The higher the level of overlearning, the slower is the process of forgetting. Yet, the level of overlearning is reached individually after each learner performs a number of repetitions. At the same time, mindless repetitions cannot be treated as overlearning. time spent on learning It is important how long and how often repetitions and exercises are done. Frequent and short exercises are more efficient than rare and long ones (WoÃ…Â ºnicki, T./ Zawadzka, E. 1979: 30-40). The characteristic of childrens memory Learning styles are various ways of learning. They involve education methods, characteristic for an individual, which are used by the individual to learn best. The alleged basis and efficacy for these proposals have been extensively criticized. Learning styles depend on individual preferences, and, according to Nail Fleming, such styles may be divided into four categories. The fist group is made of visual learners, who, as the term suggestsplies, receive most information visually. These learners have a tendency to do well at public schools because most of what they are taught is presented through visual teaching tools. They do well with visual aids like pictures. For visual learners, the easiest way to learn is watching and calling up visuals in their minds to remember what they studied in the past. They have a tendency toward appreciating arts: crafts, painting or drama. They tend to be creative and imaginative. The second group are auditory learners who tend to learn better through listening. They listen to instructions and follow them in such a way that they can gather large amounts of information and deal with it. Auditory learners are very good at listening to lectures and conversations for a longer time without getting bored. They are more concentrated than visual learners and may be more discerning and attentive in the class. They prefer to study with music in the background. These students may also be creative and imaginative. They are good at listening to information and reproducing it in their individual ways. Students with another style known as kinesthetic learning might be mistaken for too active in the classroom. They do not like waiting for information. They prefer to find things out for themselves without any prompts. They are the explorers who want to make new discoveries. They are quick to learn new things and do not mind being left on their own with a particular toy to find out how it works. They can be successful in practical tasks, such as carpentry and design. These children prefer doing rather than thinking. Homeschooling might be a better for these learners because regular classroom activities might not be interesting enough for them. The forth group consists of logical learners who think in a conceptual manner. They explore patterns and like to know how things work. They often ask questions and are good at puzzles, math problems, strategy games and computers. They understand abstract concepts faster than others. These students prefer inventing and building their own contraptions, for example, with toys (http://www.ehow.com/info_7881656_inventory-learning-styles-child.html#ixzz1MXMcJS9C). Initial memorisation According to many researches, children have lots of problems when trying to remember and repeat parts of material or longer sentences. In a situation when a group of kindergarten children was asked to remember and repeat, they were passive and even did not take any action to do so. 8-year-old children are a slightly better and show some will to do what they were asked, although only the 10-year-old children and older pupils are able to deal with efficient memorization, data processing and are even able to organise new information to remember it better. According to this research, one can observe that at the beginning children can use only simple techniques and just after some time those techniques develop, become more complicated and fitted to individual preferences and styles. This fact is quite disturbing because during the very early school-years children are often required to remember mane, sometimes even complicated information like lyrics, grammar rules or definitions. On the o ther hand, children can easily learn their mother tongue, they widen their knowledge about society or nature quite fast. Children are often able to repeat the dialogue of their parents even if they seem not interested in it. In their first years, they are not aware of how their memory works. The flash memory term became very popular according to the discovered phenomena that some people have perfect perception and prefer things they saw rather than those which they listened to. It is a very important fact that children use flash memory in a metaphorical way because they mechanically transfer the received information to their memory. Everything seen by people is remembered for a very short time in their operation memory. For a long-term memorisation, it is useful to include various visual aids in the teaching process. Children are able to remember not only pictures but also many details from such pictures. However, sometimes a picture shown to a child may be slightly different, may h ave different colours or shapes (especially of those elements which amazed the child). Autistic children have a very efficient flash memory and after a few seconds they are able to memorise very complicated and detailed pictures; what is more, they do so without much effort. From the previously discussed research, one can deduct that only from the age of ten children can consciously memorise some facts for a longer time. More effective memory depends on which study techniques the child uses. Those study strategies consist of certain elements like: the level of consciousness and awareness of the aim the child is learning for and willingness the child hasmemorisation strategy effort used to learn a specific part of the material Sometimes it is very hard to prove which element from the ones mentioned above is used. It can be even said that children create memorization strategies in internalisation. Before a child creates its own technique of learning, a child cannot achieve better results in learning but when those strategies are already created, the child knows how to study to achieve his or her aim. Then, the process of memorisation becomes faster, easier and more efficient. After some time, children not only know how to learn faster but also can understand more and do this more freely. Nevertheless, at the age of six it is still very complicated for the young learner to organise material which has to be learnt, and this is why children start to repeat. Only nine-year-old children are consciously able to group certain pictures into categories to achieve better memorisation. To sum up, one can easily say that children develop their memorisation skills according to their age and in this process children reme mber those things which they pay attention to but it is short memory and at the same time hard memory which are used. Sensitivity on keeping memory on the alert and reaction do not depend on where this new information comes from (society, nature or their own body) but in case of children it is mainly automatically received and processed by their brain. This process happens quickly and almost without any effort and the teacher cannot see those processes and cannot stop or modify them. This process can be only stopped and controlled, but then it works much slower and requires some effort. What is more, a child has to be conscious of information and has to recognise it. To distinguish between automatic and controlled memorisation, one can distinguish three levels of the automatisation processes: the first level is dominated by the automatic use of information (also without paying attention) the second level is partially automatic when attention is not focused on information the third level is only rarely automatic but full attention is needed in this case ( E. Gruszczyk- KolczyÅ„ska, Ewa ZieliÅ„ska Wspomaganie dzieci w rozwoju zdolnoņºci do skupiania uwagi i zapamiÄâ„ ¢tywania WSiP Warszawa 2005: 52-68). The theory how media influence children Media themselves may introduce lots of positive things but also the negative ones into the human life, shape attitudes and mentality of the young people. Furthermore, especially children may be easily influenced by commercials. Media contents are brought to people through the Internet, radio or television, and such media information consists of specific stimuli which affect brain, senses and create or change attitudes and ways of looking at the reality. The good side of the media is the fact that it is created for peoples development, making life more convenient, introducing social and personal values and causing that long distances are easier to overcome. As a result, even such aspects as education or culture are closer to various and separated nations. On the other hand, mass media become a kind of of a boundary or a cage in which a person is isolated from the others, as it may create a situation of misunderstanding and limit of ones social life which is then substituted with cyber space. Needless to say, the mass media caused radical reorganisation of the social life. In terms of education and upbringing of young generation, the media are creating new types of personalities, a sort of a new civilisation. This new generation of media-people is an inextricable part of the modern life, and can be source of many good, positive and improving aspects as well as bad, demoralising, violent and the ones encouraging unacceptable deviations. Media in education The fact of striving for more effective ways of teaching is a main subject of many modern researches. Nowadays, in order to achieve the goal it is natural to use the most entertaining and universal tools like the Internet and other mass media. Thanks to these tools, learning can be more pleasant and successful for the learners and also easier and less effort-requiring for the teachers. More and more modern teaching techniques make education up-to-date and allow for leaving (old) traditional methods in education and introduce the modern model of integration of education with entertainment. In this context, education becomes a product, (almost a technological device), a source of educational tools and an incentive for the unconscious learning. Media may be easily and freely used not only in school teaching but also in private, out-school or even global, social, personal and cultural training. They can provide news, information and educational content using all possible multilingual tools. What is more, this kind of instrument has certain aspects which are singled out by Henryk GrudzieÅ„ in his work Media jako skÅ‚adnik procesu dydaktyczno-wychowawczego: direct influence this means that especially television programs and films immediately influence their audience (human emotions and intellect) building-up influence means building up information, associations and feelings connected with films or TV programs which cause some changes in the human psyche subconscious influence similar to the one above, but the audience is not conscious of changes in its attitudes because at the beginning the audience refuses the given way of thinking due to its unsuitable content and after some time its resistance disappears. Media also have a tremendous influence on the lifestyle of the young people, and they affect lots of spheres of young peoples lives, for example: the effect on the way that somebody behaves (making decisions, aggressive behaviour, social actions etc.) the effect on the level of knowledge (level of information, range of knowledge, level of communication skills etc.) the influence on attitude (believes, religion, judging of other people, etc.) the influence on physical fitness (damaging of senses, lack of motion, addiction) The processes mentioned above depend on many conditions such as age, psyche, actual situation in ones life, level of knowledge, weather, place of receiving such information or influences, company or gender. For example, the most influential may be a film watched in a cinema where the level of focus is very high, a bit weaker may be television and the weakest the radio. The Internet in childrens education Nobody can deny that modern technology has changed and revolutionized education. Teachers have also quickly adjusted their teaching methods in a response to new technology because gadgets in the classroom can create a more interesting, interactive and entertaining environment. If schools strive to keep up with technological trends, then the learning that takes place there becomes more relevant and meaningful for the learners. The Internet and computer knowledge and literacy of major software programs is no longer reserved only for higher educational systems or special trade schools in the modern society. ( http://www.ehow.com/about_5410187_uses-modern-technology-classroom-teaching.html#ixzz1Iai4xP5X) Many children, when going to school, deal with individual difficulties on the basis of their opportunities. Nowadays, from the very early age, children get used to computers, the Internet and other modern technologies. The access and the use of the Internet fulfil many of the aims of education. What is more, it broadens childrens mind horizons, gives them a sense responsibility, builds up their self-esteem and develops their autonomy. A big advantage of the Web is its easy access and lack of duty to have a face-to-face contact. The author of the book Special educational needs and the Internet: issues for the inclusive classroom Chris Abbott claims that there are four principles and each one proves that websites and the Internet have become an influential tool for teaching as the pupils are: Informed The Internet is a source of information and news used in topic work, planning visits, web sites pictures of classmates work, connection with other pupils even outside the school, village or town and also link with past friends. Involved In the virtual tour, in preparing material, in creating and sharing their ideas; in group with the integrated activities where physical presence is not significant. Empowered enabling access for children with any physical difficulties, various tools, e-mails Recognised pictures on websites of the children and their work, whiles of the school council meeting, aiding successes and building self-esteem. (111-112) The Internet has a large part to play in the future education of the young people. In this book, the author included many useful tips when using computers in teaching young learners. For example, the page a teacher wants to use should be put on the screen before children come into the classroom. What is very important, computers should be set in a way so that the children cannot open unauthorized sites and also it is important to remind the children of behaving in a good way to prevent the pupils from running to get to the computers first. It is also useful to create a list of computer room rules. Wherever possible, there should be no more than three pupils per one computer. If children cannot see the screen, they may quickly lose interest in their school work and may not be willing to learn. All these elements can make children more concentrated and make learning more effective (C. Abbott Special educational needs and the Internet: issues for the inclusive classroom New York 2002).

affirmative action Essay -- Affirmative Action Essays

Affirmative action is an attempt by the United States to amend a long history of racial discrimination and injustice. Our school textbook defines affirmative action as â€Å"a program established that attempts to improve the chances of minority applicants for educational or employment purposes, although they may have the same qualifications, by giving them leverage so that they can attain a level that is equal to caucasian applicants† (Berman 522). There are people that support and oppose this issue. Opponents of affirmative action have many reasons for opposing this issue, one of them being that the battle for equal rights is over, and that this advantage made for people of color discriminates against people that are not of color. The people that defend affirmative action argue this advantage is needed because of how badly discriminated the people of color once were. Because of the discrimination that once was these people claim that they are at a disadvantage, and alwa ys have been, therefore equality of opportunity is needed. It is also said that affirmative action is used to encourage diversity and integration. This paper will discuss the history of affirmative action, how it is implemented in society today, and evaluate the arguments that it presents. In order to discuss how affirmative action was put into legislation, we must review the history of black americans and slavery. America’s Declaration of Independence stated that â€Å"all men were created equal,† but under the Constitution blacks were not created equal because first of all, they were not American citizens; they were considered to be property. This is seen in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case (1857) when Dred Scott, a slave is taken by his master to settle into other free states and back into the state of Missouri (not a free state). When his master died, he claimed to be free because he had lived in states where slavery was illegal. This case went to the Supreme Court, where it was ruled that Scott could not sue because he was not a citizen (Berman 508). Slavery was abolished by the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, but blacks, other minorities, and women continued to be deprived of the right of citizenship. The Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1868, making blacks citizens and promised them the "equal protectio... ... admissions although many people do support it and use it as an advantage. Although affirmative action is used to give people a greater opportunity, it has been seen that it has been used in unjust ways. This is what the government hopes to omit. Works Cited Artze, Isis. â€Å"College Find New Ways to Diversify.† Hispanic. (2001): 64. Berman, Larry, and Murphy, Bruce Allen. Approaching Democracy. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. Bergmann, Barbara R. In Defense of Affirmative Action. New York: Basic Books, 1996. Eastland, Terry. Ending Affirmative Action. New York: Basic Books, 1996. â€Å"Excerpts From Clinton Talk on Affirmative Action.† Editorial. New York Times 20 July 1995:A9. Gose, Ben, and Schmidt, Peter. â€Å"Ruling Against Affirmative Action Could Alter Legal Debate and Admissions Practices.† Chronicle of Higher Education. (2001): 36. Stonecipher, Harry C. A Place to stand. 21 Debated Issues in American Politics. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2000.

Francisco I. Madero :: essays research papers

Franciso I. Madero The Rosary was born in the Property, Parras, Coahuila, in 1873. It belonged to a well-off family of agriculturists. It made studies of commerce in France and the United States. From 1904 it took part in political subjects of Coahuila. President of the Independent Democratic Party named, that was against the re-election of the governor, Miguel Cardinal red. He collaborated in the organ of that party: The Democrat, in whom he wrote political articles, spreading his ideas on the human rights, the vote and the freedom. In 1908 I publish the Presidential Succession of 1910, book in which put to recover the democracy under protection of the Constitution of 1857. In its work it defended the political freedom and it showed the necessity to form a great political party that participated in the presidential elections of 1910. It defined to the Constitution of the 1857 like the triumph of the liberal ideas: Both great parties that formed, once obtained our independence -liberal and the conservative-, then represented the aspirations and the interests of two great Mexican groups. first, of ideas outposts, he wanted to implant in our country the most modern principles, and the second he wished to conserve to where outside possible, the old traditions. This party, integrated mainly by the people of money, always preservative, and by the clergy possessor of immense wealth, looked for the shade of a government of its form, the protection to its numerous interests (...) in the Hill of ace Bells was buried for always old the Conservative Party ". With its initiative the National Party Antireeleccionista was created (1909), of which candidate to the presidency of the Republic went. As of that moment, it initiated an intense political campaign by all the country to spread the democratic principles. This party, directed by Emilio Và ¡zquez Go'mez, made a convention the 15 of April of 1910, in which the basic principles were proclaimed that they sustained to the organization: †¢ Nonre-election. †¢ Strict fulfillment of the Constitution of 1857. †¢ Freedom of the municipalities. †¢ Respect to the individual guarantees. The 6 of following June, Log was jailed under the accusation of "CONATO of rebellion and ultraje to the authorities". It was transferred San Luis Potosi, where he waited for the accomplishment of the elections, that favored it mainly, and where it received the news of the fraud committed by Diaz, who declared reelecto again. The 6 of October, Log fled, taking refuge in San Antonio, Texas.

JIT Manufacturing and Inventory Control System Essay examples -- Busin

JIT Manufacturing and Inventory Control System Since the dawn of human existence evolution in all sectors of society has occurred due to Economic factors. This has mainly happened due to the fact that all technological achievements have occurred in favor of money. Specifically we can admit that Economy is the main reason for growth and development. By these means it is in our interest to establish strong economies either as societies (macroeconomics) or as individuals (microeconomics). For these reasons several techniques and methods have been initiated in order help modern individuals to develop. Such techniques are usually Accounting or Managerial in their nature. However one of the most important technique is both an Accounting and a Managerial technique and is called "The just in time method". Just in time manufacturing "was an inventory control approach that was developed by Taiichi Ohno at Toyota Motor Company of Japan. Specifically it requires that "the exact quantity of defect-free raw materials, parts and subassemblies are produced just in time for the next stage of the manufacturing stage" (Ivancevich-Lorenzi-Skinner, p 427). That actually means an inventory is never large and by this way cost is being reduced due to the fact that there are no losses of materials due to ba...

Enron Case Study

When Sharron Watkins, the former UP of Corporate Development offered to show the problems in counting decisions, Ken Lay, the Chair of the Board refused and said â€Å"He rather not see it†. 2. Regulatory Agencies, SEC and BAS Enron was able to hide their losses behind their ESP. or Special Purpose Entities by omitting an Spec's assets and liabilities from its consolidated financial statements and both SEC and BAS failed to provide formal guidelines for companies to follow in ESP. accounting and reporting.As a result of the minimal legal and accounting guidelines for Esp., Enron along with other companies was able to divert huge amounts of their liabilities and asses to off-balance sheet entities. 3. Management and Accounting team of Enron Both management and accounting team Of Enron manipulated the revenue recognition principle by making vague assumptions that inflated the profits booked on Enron's commodity contracts. There attempt was to keep the stock prices high by showin g inflated financial statements in order to receive high credit ratings and increased lender cash flow into the company. 4.Anderson Accounting Firm The Anderson firm, an independent audit firm failed to provide a more transparent financial statements of Enron. Anderson firm audited the many for 1 5 years where its auditors failed to perform their duties and professional standards of accounting. In fact, Anderson made efforts to restructure Enron's ESP. to continue to qualify as unconsolidated entities once they became aware of Enron's rapidly deteriorating financial condition. Anderson firm was more interested in retaining Enron as their client to provide consulting services hence creating a conflict of interest.Lists three type of consulting services that audit firm have provided to their audit client in recent years. For each item, indicate the specific threats, if any, that the reversion of the given services can pose for an audit firm independence. Auditors independence is consi dered a cornerstone in the accounting profession since they are entrusted by the general public to provide true picture of a company's financial position. It is believed that non-audit services provided by audit firms impair auditors independence to fairly attest the financial statements produced by the client company.Consulting and audit a same firm causes conflict of interest. Anderson firm earned approximately $52 million in fees from Enron in 2000, less than half of which was directly elated to the auditing, rest were for non-audit services. Audit firm may provide many types of consulting services such as: 1. Tax consulting services 2. Accounting system design services 3. Bookkeeping or other related services 4. Financial advice services, including internal audit consulting service. In this highly competitive market, non-audit services have taken precedence over the traditional accounting and auditing services.Even if an audit firm is fairly attesting financial statements and pr ovides honest opinion of a company, its stakeholders and other users may still presume otherwise due o the recent accounting debacles such as Enron and Anderson firm. The additional non-audit services may prove to be a threat to the audit firm's independence. By providing financial advice services for Enron's accounting procedures, Anderson provided them an opportunity to manipulate the reporting and treatment of the Esp..Bookkeeping and following correct accounting procedures are very important components of preparing financial statements. Manipulations of these data are likely to show up when it is audited accurately, and with precision. When the same company repaper and audits the financial statements, it can create conflict of interest just like in this case, where the creators of accounting procedures I. E the management and Anderson team fabricated the financial statements by using complex accounting procedures and loopholes that users could not understand.Any other consulting services such as tax advisory also creates a threat to the independence of the auditing firm, where manipulations are more likely to happen which can hurt the creditability of the audited statements and the auditor's opinion about the company. For purpose of this question, assume that the excerpts from the Power Report shown in Exhibit 3 provide accurate description of Andersen's involvement in Enron accounting and financial reporting decisions. Given this assumption, do you believe that Andersen's involvement in those decisions violated any professional auditing standards?If so, lists those standards and briefly explain your rationale. Arthur Anderson, once known as one of the top accounting firms in nation, was ridiculed and criticized for their questionable accounting and auditing procedures of their client Enron, which ultimately lead to its demise. Their faulty accounting practices shattered investor confidence in auditors throughout the country and made way to Serbians-Solely Act of 2002 and the creation of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PEPCO) to oversee the rule-making process for independent audit function.Anderson provided external auditing, internal auditing and consulting services to Enron. They violated several of their professional and ethical standards by accepting large suns in fees and perhaps by looking the other way to the faulty accounting practices contemplated by Enron's management ND giving them an unqualified audit opinion on the financial statements. Andersen earned around $52 million from Enron during 2000, but only $25 million was payment in reference to the 2000 audit. With such an involvement in non-audit services they were not independent of the company, violating the most important standard of auditing.They put their own interest before the interest of the users of their audited financial statements and opinion. From the excerpts it can be concluded that they were deeply involved in the accounting and structuring of the Esp., where they were more interested in electing millions of dollars in fees and failed to provide objective accounting judgment that should have prevented these transactions from going forward. Andersen failed to bring to the attention of Enron internal Audit and Compliance Committee about the serious reservations brought on internally about the related-party transactions, I. . Esp., which clearly shows the violation of professional auditing standards. Anderson firm should have supervised the auditing services provided by its auditors to maintain independence. This lacks of planning and supervision made Anderson to be highly involved in client accounting and financial porting decisions. Anderson had concerns about the disclosures of the related third-party transactions in the financial statement footnotes and instead of pointing those out to the Audit and Compliance Committee they vouched on its accuracy and issued an unqualified opinion on the financial. Enron Case Study Executive Summary: As per requested this group assignment prepared from Group 2 (NASA) contributed by Norazman Saharum , Shaufi Akil , Abd Manaf Jalil and Zubir Zainal Abidin . This group assignment part of final course entitle for 25 marks . This assignment to fulfill our MSU MBA Syllabus for subject Accounting For Corporate and Evaluation (DAC 5013) instructed by Dr Mazlinah Mat Zain . Our group have chosen The Arthur Andersen Troubles. The most famous scandal case Arthur Anderson scandal was involved in was the fraudulent auditing of Enron. In this case Arthur Anderson shredded vital documents sourcing the audit of Enron which occurred in the year 2002. Enron has clearly done some damage to the U. S. economy, but it will not hold up recovery from the current recession. The fundamental health of the U. S. economy is strong and now getting stronger. Some individual new economy companies will have depressed stock prices for some time, but they, too, will recover as they demonstrate that they are prepared to prevent Enron-like behaviour. We do believe Enron will be the morality play of the new economy. It will teach executives and the American public the most important ethics lessons of this decade. We will discuss more information on this issues based on the question given on Arthur Andersen and among them are the conflict of interest between the two roles played by Arthur Andersen, as auditor but also as consultant to Enron; the lack of attention shown by members of the Enron board of directors to the off-books financial entities with which Enron did business; and the lack of truthfulness by management about the health of the company and its business operations. Lastly, we would like to thanks to Dr Mazlinah on her dedicated and helpful to achieve our mission and mission to be a successful entrepreneur for the future. Arthur Andersen case study reminds us the most important ethics lessons of this decade. AMIN. Introduction; Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, was once one the â€Å"Big Five† accounting firms among Price Water House Coopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG , providing auditing, tax, and consulting services to large corporations. In 2002, the firm voluntarily surrendered its licenses to practice as Certified Public Accounting in the United States after being found guilty of criminal charges relating to the firm’s handling of the auditing of Enron, the energy corporation, resulting in the loss of 85,000 jobs. In this case Arthur Andersen shredded the vital documents sourcing the audit of Enron which occurred in the year 2002 . Although the verdict was subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States, it has not returned as a viable business. However, how did this company get the reputation that it has while following such a moral slogan? As the clients demanded for more profit margins , Arthur Andersen scandal had to compromise his morality leading to the allegation that he had fraudulently altered the statement of such companies and corporation for example Sunbeam Products, Waste Management Inc. , Asia Pulp and Paper, The Baptist Foundation of Arizona , and WorldCom . Due to the downfall of Arthur Andersen, it lost nearly all of its business and clients. It lost not millions but billions of dollars due to this intense investigation. Although it is still in business and operating under Omega Management and has not as of yet declared bankruptcy, the firm will never reach its past legacy. Arthur Anderson's motto of â€Å"Think straight, talk straight† has forever been tainted in the eyes of Americans corporations. This devastation of fraudulent activity has forever left a deep and painful scar on America’s businesses. . The Arthur Andersen’s Troubles: Question 1: What did Arthur Andersen (AA) contribute to the Enron disaster? The most famous scandal case Arthur Andersen was involved in was the fraudulent auditing of Enron. In this case Arthur Andersen shredded vital documents sourcing the audit of Enron which occurred in the year 2002. According to Watkin, a financial executive who worked with Andrew Fastow told Enron CEO Kenneth Lay she feared that Enron would â€Å"implode in a wave of accounting audit scandal â€Å" (1: USA Today, Wed, Jan 16, 2002) AA apparent mistakes may have been made for several reasons to the Enron disaster including: †¢ Incompetence , as displayed and admitted in the rhythms case . Judgement errors; . as to the significants of each of the audit findings, or of the aggregate impact in any fiscal year. †¢ Lack of information caused by Enron staff not providing critical information, or failure on the part of AA personal to search it out . †¢ Time pressures :related to revenue generations and budget pressures that prevented adequate audit work and the full considera tions of complex SPE and prepay financial arrangements . †¢ Desire not to confront Enron management or advise the Enron board in order not to upset management, and particularly fastow, Skilling and Lay Lack of Independence. The Board of Directors failed to ensure the independence of the company auditor , allowing AA to provide internal audit and consulting services while serving the Enron outside auditors . †¢ A failure of AA’s internal policies whereby the concerns of a quality control or practice standards partner can and was overruled by the audit partner in charge of the Enron account. AA was the only one of the Big 5 accounting forms to have this flaw and it left the entire firm vulnerable to the decisions of the person with the most to lose by saying no to a client. A misunderstanding of the fiduciary role required by auditors . for example AA allowing Enron to engage in high risk accounting , inappropriate conflict of interest transactions, extensive undisclo sed off-the-books activities and excessive executive compensation . Given this â€Å"tone at the top’. It is reasonable to assume that AA partners were going to be motivated by revenue generations. But if too many risks are taken in the pursuit of revenue the probability of a series of audit problems leading to increasingly unfavorable consequences becomes greater . That is exactly what happened to Enron disaster. Unfortunately, the leaders of AA failed to recognize the cumulative degree to which the public, the politicians, and the SEC (The Securities and Exchange Commission) were angered by the progression of AA audit failures . Question 2: What Arthur Andersen (AA) decision were faulty? Arthur Andersen (AA) decision were faulty . This is the ‘ Enron Debacle† section presented previously covers in detail many of the questionable accounting transactions, legal structures, and related disclosures that AA reviewed as auditors of and consultants to Enron. AA faulty may have been made for several reason , including: †¢ AA apparently approved as auditors and consultants (and collected fees for the consulting advice) the structure of many special purpose entities (SPEs) that were used to generate false profits, hide losses, and keep financing off Enron’s consolidated financial statements , failed to meet the required outsiders 3 percent equity at risk, and decision control criteria for non consolidation . AA failed to recognize the generally accepted accounting principle (GAAP) that prohibits the recording of shares issued as an increase in shareholders’ equity unless they are issued for cash . †¢ AA did not advise Enron’s audit committee that Andrew Fastow, Enron’s CFO and his helpers were involved in significant conflict of interest situations without adequate alternative means of managing these conflicts. †¢ AA did not advise the Enron audit committee that Enron’s policies and internal control were not adequate to protect the shareholders’ interests even though AA had assumed Enron’s internal audit functions . Many transactions between Enron and the SPEs were not in the interest of Enron shareholders since: a) Enron profits and cash flow were manipulated and grossly inflated, misleading investors and falsely boosting management bonus arrangements. b) Extraordinarily overgenerous deals, fees, and liquidation arrangements were made by Fastow, or under his influence, with SPEs owned to Fastow , his family, and Kopper, who was also as employee of Enron . AA aparently did not adequately consider, the advice of its quality control partner, Carl Bass. He asked AA for an accounting change that would have resulted in a $30 – $50 million charge to Enron’s earnings. †¢ AA apparently did not find significant audit evidence, or did not act upon evidence found, related to the: 1)Mistaken valuation of shares or share rights transferred to SPEs 2 )Side deals between Enron and banks removing the bank’s risk from transactions such as the : a) Chewco SPE Rhythms hedge. ) Numerous prepay deals for energy futures, even though AA made a presentations to Enron on the GAAP and AA requirements that preclude such arrangements. Questions 3: What was the prime motivation behind the decision of Arthur Andersen’s audit partners on the Enron, WorldCom, Waste Management the public interest or†¦? Cite examples that reveal this motivation . The AA was motivated by greed instead of serving the public interest. The amount of money they got from the consulting fee has compromised their auditing works. In 1997, client Waste Management Inc. had the largest earnings restatement to date, wiping out $1. 7 billion in profits that it pulled in through the 1990s. The lead auditor on Waste Management was Robert Allgyer, who was known inside the firm as â€Å"the Rainmaker† for his success in cross-selling extra services to auditing clients. He was clearly successful at selling to Waste Management, which paid $17. 8 million in fees unrelated to the audit between 1991 and 1997, against audit fees of $7. 5 million. But he was also signing off on drastically inaccurate books. Among other things, the fast-growing trash hauler wasn't properly writing off the value of assets such as garbage trucks as they aged, a ruse that pumped up reported profits. The SEC's acting commissioner, Laura Unger, concluded that the agency had the â€Å"smoking gun† it was looking for to prove that the lure of consulting fees compromised auditor independence. The SEC filed suit in March 2002, accusing six former Waste Management executives of fraud. It alleges that Mr. Allgyer's judgment was skewed by consulting fees, in particular a $3. 7 million â€Å"strategic overview† of Waste Management operations. The project lasted for 11 months, but the client didn't adopt the recommendations. Bellow table shown example AA’s involvements in the major financial scandals as the audit firm that failed to discover their mistakes that reveal this motivation: |CLIENT |PROBLEM MISSED, DATE |LOSSES TO SHAREHOLDERS |JOB LOSSES |AA FINE | |WorldCom |$4. billion overstatement of |4179. 3 Million |17,000 |N. A | | |earnings announced on June 25,| | | | | |2002 | | | | | | | | | | | |Inflation of ncome, asset, | | | | | |etc bankrupt Dec 2, 2001 | | | | |Enron | |$66. 4 Billion |6,100 |$. 5 Million | | |Overstatement of income by | | |(for shredding) | | |$1. billion, 1992-1996 | | | | | | | | |$7 Million | | | | | | | |Waste Management | |420. 5 Billion |11,000 | | Question 7: Under what circumstances should audit firm shred or destroy working paper ? According to section 802 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, accountants who audit or review an issuer's financial statements are required to retain certain records relevant to that audit or review. These records include workpapers and other documents that form the basis of the audit or review, and memoranda, correspondence, communications, other documents, and records (including electronic records), which are created, sent or received in connection with the audit or review, and contain conclusions, opinions, analyses, or financial data related to the audit or review. To coordinate with forthcoming auditing standards concerning the retention of audit documentation, the rule requires that these records be retained for seven years after the auditor concludes the audit or review of the financial statements. Refer to the above question, for example if we as a professional audit firm can’t simply shred or destroy working paper. How long to keep a document, when and how to store the document, and how to dispose of the document, will depend on the type of document . As any internal auditor knows, there are numerous types of documents that may be accumulated as part f an audit or review. The final rule here requires the retention of all records relevant to the audit, including working papers and other documents that form the basis of the audited financial statements, as well as certain supporting documents. The guideline for document retention is that they must meet two criteria: (1) Documents are created, sent, or received in connection with the a udit or review, (2) the documents contain conclusions, opinions, analyses, or financial data related to the audit or review. Both Enron and Arthur Andersen are now gone, but this audit work-paper clean-up exercise, no doubt, was a major motivating factor for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act , Section 802 rules outlining penalties for the destruction of documents. The rules require external auditors who audit or review an enterprise's financial statements to retain certain records relevant to that work, including work papers and other documents that form the basis of the audit or review. These retention requirements include memoranda, correspondence, communications, other documents, and records, as well as related electronic records that are created, sent, or received in connection with the audit work and contain conclusions, opinions, analyses, or financial data related to the work. These records are to be retained for seven years after the auditor concludes the financial statements review. This rule was nothing new for many internal auditors as many audit functions have followed similar document retention rules based on U. S. tax document retention guidelines. The rules also states that if you know your company is under investigation, or even suspect that it might be, all document destruction and alteration must stop immediately. And, you must create a company records showing that you’ve ordered a halt to all automatic e-data destruction practices. Question 8: Answer the â€Å"Lingering Question† on page 94 . Enron has clearly done some damage to the U. S. economy, but it will not hold up recovery from the current recession. The fundamental health of the U. S. economy is strong and now getting stronger. I do believe Enron will be the morality play of the new economy. It will teach executives and the American public the most important ethics lessons of this decade. Among these lessons are: 1. You make money in the new economy in the same ways you make money in the old economy – by providing goods or services that have real value. 2. Financial cleverness is no substitute for a good corporate strategy. . The arrogance of corporate executives who claim they are the best and the brightest, â€Å"the most innovative,† and who present themselves as superstars should be a â€Å"red flag† for investors, directors and the public. 4. Executives who are paid too much can think they are above the rules and can be tempted to cut ethical corners to retain their wealth and perquisites. 5. Government regulations and rules need to be updated for the new economy, not relaxed and eliminated. Due to the downfall of Arthur Anderson, it lost nearly all of its business ,employees, and clients. It lost not millions but billions of dollars due to this intense investigation. Although it is still in business and operating under Omega Management and has not as of yet declared bankruptcy, the firm will never reach its past legacy. We believe accounting regulations should be altered to prohibit ownership of both auditing and consulting services by the same accounting firm. Accounting firms are already moving to sever their consulting businesses. The SEC should probably adopt additional disclosure requirements. Various regulators should tighten requirements for directors to be alert and provide protections for whistleblowers who bring improper behaviour to public attention. But, in the final analysis, the solution to an Enron-type scandal lies in the attentiveness of directors and in the truthfulness and integrity of executives. Clever individuals will always find ways to conceal information or to engage in fraud. Enron Case Study Executive Summary: As per requested this group assignment prepared from Group 2 (NASA) contributed by Norazman Saharum , Shaufi Akil , Abd Manaf Jalil and Zubir Zainal Abidin . This group assignment part of final course entitle for 25 marks . This assignment to fulfill our MSU MBA Syllabus for subject Accounting For Corporate and Evaluation (DAC 5013) instructed by Dr Mazlinah Mat Zain . Our group have chosen The Arthur Andersen Troubles. The most famous scandal case Arthur Anderson scandal was involved in was the fraudulent auditing of Enron. In this case Arthur Anderson shredded vital documents sourcing the audit of Enron which occurred in the year 2002. Enron has clearly done some damage to the U. S. economy, but it will not hold up recovery from the current recession. The fundamental health of the U. S. economy is strong and now getting stronger. Some individual new economy companies will have depressed stock prices for some time, but they, too, will recover as they demonstrate that they are prepared to prevent Enron-like behaviour. We do believe Enron will be the morality play of the new economy. It will teach executives and the American public the most important ethics lessons of this decade. We will discuss more information on this issues based on the question given on Arthur Andersen and among them are the conflict of interest between the two roles played by Arthur Andersen, as auditor but also as consultant to Enron; the lack of attention shown by members of the Enron board of directors to the off-books financial entities with which Enron did business; and the lack of truthfulness by management about the health of the company and its business operations. Lastly, we would like to thanks to Dr Mazlinah on her dedicated and helpful to achieve our mission and mission to be a successful entrepreneur for the future. Arthur Andersen case study reminds us the most important ethics lessons of this decade. AMIN. Introduction; Arthur Andersen LLP, based in Chicago, was once one the â€Å"Big Five† accounting firms among Price Water House Coopers, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Ernst & Young and KPMG , providing auditing, tax, and consulting services to large corporations. In 2002, the firm voluntarily surrendered its licenses to practice as Certified Public Accounting in the United States after being found guilty of criminal charges relating to the firm’s handling of the auditing of Enron, the energy corporation, resulting in the loss of 85,000 jobs. In this case Arthur Andersen shredded the vital documents sourcing the audit of Enron which occurred in the year 2002 . Although the verdict was subsequently overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States, it has not returned as a viable business. However, how did this company get the reputation that it has while following such a moral slogan? As the clients demanded for more profit margins , Arthur Andersen scandal had to compromise his morality leading to the allegation that he had fraudulently altered the statement of such companies and corporation for example Sunbeam Products, Waste Management Inc. , Asia Pulp and Paper, The Baptist Foundation of Arizona , and WorldCom . Due to the downfall of Arthur Andersen, it lost nearly all of its business and clients. It lost not millions but billions of dollars due to this intense investigation. Although it is still in business and operating under Omega Management and has not as of yet declared bankruptcy, the firm will never reach its past legacy. Arthur Anderson's motto of â€Å"Think straight, talk straight† has forever been tainted in the eyes of Americans corporations. This devastation of fraudulent activity has forever left a deep and painful scar on America’s businesses. . The Arthur Andersen’s Troubles: Question 1: What did Arthur Andersen (AA) contribute to the Enron disaster? The most famous scandal case Arthur Andersen was involved in was the fraudulent auditing of Enron. In this case Arthur Andersen shredded vital documents sourcing the audit of Enron which occurred in the year 2002. According to Watkin, a financial executive who worked with Andrew Fastow told Enron CEO Kenneth Lay she feared that Enron would â€Å"implode in a wave of accounting audit scandal â€Å" (1: USA Today, Wed, Jan 16, 2002) AA apparent mistakes may have been made for several reasons to the Enron disaster including: †¢ Incompetence , as displayed and admitted in the rhythms case . Judgement errors; . as to the significants of each of the audit findings, or of the aggregate impact in any fiscal year. †¢ Lack of information caused by Enron staff not providing critical information, or failure on the part of AA personal to search it out . †¢ Time pressures :related to revenue generations and budget pressures that prevented adequate audit work and the full considera tions of complex SPE and prepay financial arrangements . †¢ Desire not to confront Enron management or advise the Enron board in order not to upset management, and particularly fastow, Skilling and Lay Lack of Independence. The Board of Directors failed to ensure the independence of the company auditor , allowing AA to provide internal audit and consulting services while serving the Enron outside auditors . †¢ A failure of AA’s internal policies whereby the concerns of a quality control or practice standards partner can and was overruled by the audit partner in charge of the Enron account. AA was the only one of the Big 5 accounting forms to have this flaw and it left the entire firm vulnerable to the decisions of the person with the most to lose by saying no to a client. A misunderstanding of the fiduciary role required by auditors . for example AA allowing Enron to engage in high risk accounting , inappropriate conflict of interest transactions, extensive undisclo sed off-the-books activities and excessive executive compensation . Given this â€Å"tone at the top’. It is reasonable to assume that AA partners were going to be motivated by revenue generations. But if too many risks are taken in the pursuit of revenue the probability of a series of audit problems leading to increasingly unfavorable consequences becomes greater . That is exactly what happened to Enron disaster. Unfortunately, the leaders of AA failed to recognize the cumulative degree to which the public, the politicians, and the SEC (The Securities and Exchange Commission) were angered by the progression of AA audit failures . Question 2: What Arthur Andersen (AA) decision were faulty? Arthur Andersen (AA) decision were faulty . This is the ‘ Enron Debacle† section presented previously covers in detail many of the questionable accounting transactions, legal structures, and related disclosures that AA reviewed as auditors of and consultants to Enron. AA faulty may have been made for several reason , including: †¢ AA apparently approved as auditors and consultants (and collected fees for the consulting advice) the structure of many special purpose entities (SPEs) that were used to generate false profits, hide losses, and keep financing off Enron’s consolidated financial statements , failed to meet the required outsiders 3 percent equity at risk, and decision control criteria for non consolidation . AA failed to recognize the generally accepted accounting principle (GAAP) that prohibits the recording of shares issued as an increase in shareholders’ equity unless they are issued for cash . †¢ AA did not advise Enron’s audit committee that Andrew Fastow, Enron’s CFO and his helpers were involved in significant conflict of interest situations without adequate alternative means of managing these conflicts. †¢ AA did not advise the Enron audit committee that Enron’s policies and internal control were not adequate to protect the shareholders’ interests even though AA had assumed Enron’s internal audit functions . Many transactions between Enron and the SPEs were not in the interest of Enron shareholders since: a) Enron profits and cash flow were manipulated and grossly inflated, misleading investors and falsely boosting management bonus arrangements. b) Extraordinarily overgenerous deals, fees, and liquidation arrangements were made by Fastow, or under his influence, with SPEs owned to Fastow , his family, and Kopper, who was also as employee of Enron . AA aparently did not adequately consider, the advice of its quality control partner, Carl Bass. He asked AA for an accounting change that would have resulted in a $30 – $50 million charge to Enron’s earnings. †¢ AA apparently did not find significant audit evidence, or did not act upon evidence found, related to the: 1)Mistaken valuation of shares or share rights transferred to SPEs 2 )Side deals between Enron and banks removing the bank’s risk from transactions such as the : a) Chewco SPE Rhythms hedge. ) Numerous prepay deals for energy futures, even though AA made a presentations to Enron on the GAAP and AA requirements that preclude such arrangements. Questions 3: What was the prime motivation behind the decision of Arthur Andersen’s audit partners on the Enron, WorldCom, Waste Management the public interest or†¦? Cite examples that reveal this motivation . The AA was motivated by greed instead of serving the public interest. The amount of money they got from the consulting fee has compromised their auditing works. In 1997, client Waste Management Inc. had the largest earnings restatement to date, wiping out $1. 7 billion in profits that it pulled in through the 1990s. The lead auditor on Waste Management was Robert Allgyer, who was known inside the firm as â€Å"the Rainmaker† for his success in cross-selling extra services to auditing clients. He was clearly successful at selling to Waste Management, which paid $17. 8 million in fees unrelated to the audit between 1991 and 1997, against audit fees of $7. 5 million. But he was also signing off on drastically inaccurate books. Among other things, the fast-growing trash hauler wasn't properly writing off the value of assets such as garbage trucks as they aged, a ruse that pumped up reported profits. The SEC's acting commissioner, Laura Unger, concluded that the agency had the â€Å"smoking gun† it was looking for to prove that the lure of consulting fees compromised auditor independence. The SEC filed suit in March 2002, accusing six former Waste Management executives of fraud. It alleges that Mr. Allgyer's judgment was skewed by consulting fees, in particular a $3. 7 million â€Å"strategic overview† of Waste Management operations. The project lasted for 11 months, but the client didn't adopt the recommendations. Bellow table shown example AA’s involvements in the major financial scandals as the audit firm that failed to discover their mistakes that reveal this motivation: |CLIENT |PROBLEM MISSED, DATE |LOSSES TO SHAREHOLDERS |JOB LOSSES |AA FINE | |WorldCom |$4. billion overstatement of |4179. 3 Million |17,000 |N. A | | |earnings announced on June 25,| | | | | |2002 | | | | | | | | | | | |Inflation of ncome, asset, | | | | | |etc bankrupt Dec 2, 2001 | | | | |Enron | |$66. 4 Billion |6,100 |$. 5 Million | | |Overstatement of income by | | |(for shredding) | | |$1. billion, 1992-1996 | | | | | | | | |$7 Million | | | | | | | |Waste Management | |420. 5 Billion |11,000 | | Question 7: Under what circumstances should audit firm shred or destroy working paper ? According to section 802 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, accountants who audit or review an issuer's financial statements are required to retain certain records relevant to that audit or review. These records include workpapers and other documents that form the basis of the audit or review, and memoranda, correspondence, communications, other documents, and records (including electronic records), which are created, sent or received in connection with the audit or review, and contain conclusions, opinions, analyses, or financial data related to the audit or review. To coordinate with forthcoming auditing standards concerning the retention of audit documentation, the rule requires that these records be retained for seven years after the auditor concludes the audit or review of the financial statements. Refer to the above question, for example if we as a professional audit firm can’t simply shred or destroy working paper. How long to keep a document, when and how to store the document, and how to dispose of the document, will depend on the type of document . As any internal auditor knows, there are numerous types of documents that may be accumulated as part f an audit or review. The final rule here requires the retention of all records relevant to the audit, including working papers and other documents that form the basis of the audited financial statements, as well as certain supporting documents. The guideline for document retention is that they must meet two criteria: (1) Documents are created, sent, or received in connection with the a udit or review, (2) the documents contain conclusions, opinions, analyses, or financial data related to the audit or review. Both Enron and Arthur Andersen are now gone, but this audit work-paper clean-up exercise, no doubt, was a major motivating factor for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act , Section 802 rules outlining penalties for the destruction of documents. The rules require external auditors who audit or review an enterprise's financial statements to retain certain records relevant to that work, including work papers and other documents that form the basis of the audit or review. These retention requirements include memoranda, correspondence, communications, other documents, and records, as well as related electronic records that are created, sent, or received in connection with the audit work and contain conclusions, opinions, analyses, or financial data related to the work. These records are to be retained for seven years after the auditor concludes the financial statements review. This rule was nothing new for many internal auditors as many audit functions have followed similar document retention rules based on U. S. tax document retention guidelines. The rules also states that if you know your company is under investigation, or even suspect that it might be, all document destruction and alteration must stop immediately. And, you must create a company records showing that you’ve ordered a halt to all automatic e-data destruction practices. Question 8: Answer the â€Å"Lingering Question† on page 94 . Enron has clearly done some damage to the U. S. economy, but it will not hold up recovery from the current recession. The fundamental health of the U. S. economy is strong and now getting stronger. I do believe Enron will be the morality play of the new economy. It will teach executives and the American public the most important ethics lessons of this decade. Among these lessons are: 1. You make money in the new economy in the same ways you make money in the old economy – by providing goods or services that have real value. 2. Financial cleverness is no substitute for a good corporate strategy. . The arrogance of corporate executives who claim they are the best and the brightest, â€Å"the most innovative,† and who present themselves as superstars should be a â€Å"red flag† for investors, directors and the public. 4. Executives who are paid too much can think they are above the rules and can be tempted to cut ethical corners to retain their wealth and perquisites. 5. Government regulations and rules need to be updated for the new economy, not relaxed and eliminated. Due to the downfall of Arthur Anderson, it lost nearly all of its business ,employees, and clients. It lost not millions but billions of dollars due to this intense investigation. Although it is still in business and operating under Omega Management and has not as of yet declared bankruptcy, the firm will never reach its past legacy. We believe accounting regulations should be altered to prohibit ownership of both auditing and consulting services by the same accounting firm. Accounting firms are already moving to sever their consulting businesses. The SEC should probably adopt additional disclosure requirements. Various regulators should tighten requirements for directors to be alert and provide protections for whistleblowers who bring improper behaviour to public attention. But, in the final analysis, the solution to an Enron-type scandal lies in the attentiveness of directors and in the truthfulness and integrity of executives. Clever individuals will always find ways to conceal information or to engage in fraud.