Hate Crimes and the Homosexual Community Essay Example for Free

Hate Crimes and the Homosexual Community Essay Abstract In this paper I am talking about Hate crimes against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. I show that though Hate crimes are classified as crimes that are evoked by sexual orientation, race, identity, gender, or religion. Hate crimes are more common amongst the gay and transgender men. I show states with highest conviction rate in 2012. I also show the upward incline in numbers since 2005 until now. I offer explanations as to who commits these crimes and why. Lastly I show the progression of time and how prejudice and hate crimes although upward in numbers are really being accepted in our communities. Hate crimes and the Homosexual community After the Civil war the Government passed the first Hate crime Law in America. Recently, in 2009 sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and disability were added to the categories covered by the law. According to ( Stotzer,2012) these crimes are more common among homosexual men and the transgendered community, because most hate crimes are committed by heterosexual men. Even though lesbian women are victims of hate crimes, statistics show that hate crimes are more common among homosexual men and the transgendered community, because heterosexual men commit most hate crimes (Stotzer, 2012). Studies also find that twenty in 200,000 lesbians, gay men and bisexuals reported being victims of hate crimes. 52 in 200,000 gay men reported being victims of hate crimes. Yet only twenty in 200,000 reported being victims of hate crimes. Hate Crimes against Homosexual and Transgendered â€Å"There were 15,351 anti-homosexual hate crime offenses during 2002-2011†. (Potok, 2012, para. #). According to the (Intelligence Report, winter 2010, Issue Number: 140. The numbers show that gay men are two times more likely  to suffer a violent hate crime attack than Jews. Gays are 3 times more likely to be attacked than blacks, and five times more likely than Muslims. FBI reports say that hate crimes against gay men have been on the rise since 2005. Violent hate crimes against LGBT people grew by 48 percent from 2005 until 2011. In 2010 Census.gov shows that half of all hate crimes were based on sexual orientation bias (Census.Gov, 2010). In 2011 reports show that there were 26 transgendered murders reported in the USA alone. In 2010 the Uniform Crime Reporting Survey in USA found that approximately 75% of sexual-orientation related hate crimes were of a violent nature.(Stozer, 2010) Physiological Research on Straight Men Who Kill or Physically Harm Homosexuals Mison (year) states that [a] murderous personal reaction toward gay men should be considered an irrational and idiosyncratic characteristic of the defendant and should not be allowed to bolster the alleged reasonableness of the defendants act(Dressler, 1995, p.4). Helena L. Alden and Karen F. Parker also state â€Å"that homophobia and gender stratification directly influences the incidents of hate crime victimization† (Alden, Parker, 2004). People who commit hate crimes are not limited to but mostly are Caucasian lower-class men who commit the crimes for fun or simply in resentment toward a certain group (Comstock 1991: 60-62; McDevitt and Levin 1993). Studies say that most men who commit these crimes have no physiological defects or problems. This means that these men are committing these hate crimes knowing exactly what they are doing. These studies ultimately prove that the victim is not at fault for the attack. These crimes are being committed out of sheer hate, hence the name â€Å"Hate crimes†. Examples of Hate Crimes against Homosexuals Matthew Shepard In 1998 the sad and horrifying murder of Matthew Shepard woke people up to just how serious hate crimes are getting. Matthew Shepard was only 21 years old. He was first robbed, then beaten within inches of his life and left for dead by two men. The two men told shepherd they were Homosexual and wanted to hang out with him. Matthew went with them and was led to a desert where he was beat to death. They did not charge the men with a hate crime;  therefore it kept them from receiving the maximum punishment. Following the attention and emotion evoked by Matthew Shepard’s death People’s eyes begin to open, both in the public and in the political office. 11 years after Matthew’s murder Obama passed an act to include sexual orientation, identity and gender. In honor of Mathew this act was named after him and James Byrd Jr. The Act is the first federal law to extend legal protections to transgender persons (James, 1998). Gwen Araujo Gwen Araujo – born Edward â€Å"Eddie† Araujo was a pre-operative transgender teen. Eddie was born as a boy and began living life as a girl at the age of 14. Her name was legally changed to Gwen Amber Rose Araujo two years after her death. In the early hours of Oct. 4, 2002, Gwen was killed by a group of men in her hometown of Newark, California then buried in a homemade grave after they found out she was born male. The men were convicted of second-degree murder in connection to the killing of Gwen Araujo who was beaten, tied up and strangled, according to previous media reports. (Heinrich, 2006) States That Have Highest Rate of Hate Crimes against Homosexuals New York and California are the two states with the highest anti-gay hate crime rates.in 2011 in California a three fourths of hate crimes were motivated by the sexual orientation of the victims. The majority of hate crime reported in that category targeted gay men. â€Å"These crimes continue to disproportionately affect LGBT people of color,† (Marroquin, 2012, p. #). The second highest state is New York with a percentage of 19.6 in 2010 and 39.4 in 2011. (Lovett, 2011). In 2011, the most common reported types of bias motivation in hate crime incidents involved: race/ ethnicity religion, and sexual orientation leading at 40.6 percent.(Lovett,2011). Incidents with a sexual orientation bias increased 15 percent, from 119 in 2010 to 167 in 2011 (Lovett,2012). Consequences of hate crimes and conviction rates Haider (2001) states that â€Å"Hate crime policy implementation is shaped by the support and efforts of officers, the tractability of the problem, the support of police leaders, and the presence of state hate crime policies, police resources, and public opinion.†(p.1). The Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990 required the U.S. Department of Justice to collect data on incidence  of hate crimes. This Act was passed by Bush in 1990. As a response to the murders of Matthew Shepard president Obama passed the most recent act in 2009. This Bill helps protect the LGBT community against hate crimes. Hate crime laws seems to be good but due to lack of enforcement a lot has still gone undone. There are still many hate crimes unsolved as well as unreported. Numbers have not gone down but, they have gone up. (Parfaite-Claude, 2012). Conviction Rates are shockingly low. According the Attorney General’s Report, only 51% of cases filed as â€Å"Hate Crimes† result in Convictions . Conclusion In conclusion, No matter what state you are in the statistics say that anti-gay hate crimes are leading in numbers. Sadly, Crime against persons is number one. Second is crime against Property. What must be taken into consideration is that more than half of anti- gay hate crimes are not reported, Due to fear, pride, or embarrassment. Although America has come a Long way with its hate crime laws and convictions, something more must be done. The enforcers of the law must do their jobs and remain loyal to their promises to their communities. In effect the people will feel more protected, which will in turn help them to feel more comfortable in reporting crimes. The key to overcoming hate crimes is to overcome hate. References Gay men more likely victims of hate crimes. (2012, May 23). Windy City Times Altschiller, D. (2009). Hate crimes: V.1: Understanding and defining hate crime; v.2: The consequences of hate crime; v.3: The victims of hate crime; v.4: Hate crime offenders; v.5: Responding to hate crime. Choice, 46(12), 2418-2418. Brownworth, V. A. (1992, Hate crimes: Confronting violence against lesbians and gay men. Lambda Book Report, 3, 34-34. Coker, C. T. (2011). Hope-fulfilling or effectively chilling? reconciling the hate crimes prevention act with the first amendment. Vanderbilt Law Review, 64(1), 271-299 Dressler, J. (1995). When heterosexual men kill homosexual men: Reflections of provocation law, sexual advances, and the reasonable man standard. Journal of Criminal Law Criminology, 85(3), 726-726. Fernandez, J. M. (1991). Bringing Hate Crime into Focus-The Hate Crime Statistics Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-275. Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, 26(1), 33. Haider-Markel, D. P. (2001). Implementing Controversial Policy: results from a national survey of law enforcement department activity on hate crime. Justice Research and Policy, 3(1), 29-62. Herdt, G. (1995). The protection of gay and lesbian youth hate crimes: The rising tide of bigotry and bloodshed by jack levin and jack McDevitt / violence against lesbians and gay men by gary david comstock. Harvard Educational Review, 65(2), 315-315 Herek, G. M. (2000). The psychology of sexual prejudice. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 9(1), 19-22. Heidenreich, L. (2006). LEARNING FROM THE DEATH OF GWEN ARAUJO?—Transphobic Racial Subordination and Queer Latina Survival in the Twenty-First Century. Chicana/Latina Studies, 50-86. Hoffman, S. W. (2011). Last night, I prayed to matthew: Matthew shepard, homosexuality, and popular martyrdom in contemporary america. Religion and American Culture : R AC, 21(1), 121-164. Lampinen, T. M., PhD., Chan , K., Anema, A., Miller, M. L., R.N., Schilder, A. J., Schechter, Martin T,M.D., PhD., . . . Strathdee, S. A., PhD. (2008). Incidence of and risk factors for sexual orientation-related physical assault among young men who have sex with men. American Journal of Public Health, Mariana Marroquin(2011), L.A. Gay Lesbian Center’s Anti-Violence Project. Martin, S. E. (1995). A cross-burning is not just an arson: Police social construction of hate crimes in baltimore county. Criminology, 33(3), 303-30398(6), 1028-35 Morin, S. F. (1977). Heterosexual bias in psychological research on lesbianism and male homosexuality. American Psychologist, 32(8), 629. Nadine, R. R., Davison, G. C. (2002). Articulated thoughts about antigay hate crimes. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 26(4), 431-447. Nolan,James J., I.,II, Akiyama, Y., Berhanu, S. (2002). The hate crime statistics act of 1990: Developing a method for measuring the occurrence of hate violence. The American Behavioral Scientist, 46( 1), 136-153. Parfaite-Claude, D. (2012). Gay-bashing, interrupted: the effects of the presence of state hate crime statutes on the prevalence of hate crimes against gay individuals. Stotzer, R. L. (2008). Gender identity and hate crimes: Violence against transgender people in los angeles county. Sexuality Research Social Policy, 5(1), 43-52. Stotzer, R. L. (2010). Sexual orientation-based hate crimes on campus: The impact of policy on reporting rates. Sexuality Research Social Policy, 7(3), 147-154 Tejeda, M. J. (2004). Egalitarianism and self-esteem as correlates of hate ideation against gay men and lesbians. Journal of Multicultural Nursing Health, 10(1), 42-50 Wilson, M. S., Ruback, R. B. (2003). Hate crimes in pennsylvania, 1984-99: Case characteristics and police responses*. Justice Quarterly : JQ, 20(2), 373-398

Most Important Issues Facing British Society

Most Important Issues Facing British Society Ever since the 1880, immigrants came to Britain to flee from various reasons such as poverty, religious persecution, and other different social reasons. Britain was the worlds largest market for transportation of human lives. Now, Britain offers LGBT rights, Black rights, and other minority rights that most countries lack. Moreover, it also offers health care benefit for anyone living inside Britain. Lastly, it is a safe haven for refugees to seek for asylum. As a result, Britain has received more immigrants and asylum seekers than any other countries in the European Union. There immigrants come from countries in many different parts of the world including Afghanistan, Poland, and even Ireland. However, in the recent years, there have complaints by the British natives that there have been way too many immigrants. In the past 10 years, there are about 1.5 million people immigrated into the UK. Over two-third of them came from the continents of Asia and Africa. In 2006, the United Kingdoms population was 61 million. If immigration continues at this current rate, the total population in the UK in 2031 will be 70 million according to the government actuary department. Currently, the people born outside of the UK account for 10% of the UKs population compare that to just 6% in 1981 and 8% in 2001. This has made Britain a very ethnically diverse nation. However, there have been major clashes between cultures in the United Kingdom. Native British people believe in tradition rather than fairness and value community rather than individualism. Most indigenous British residents complained that the government allow too many immigrants to enter inside Britain and felt that the British culture has been diminished by these newly immigrants. Most of these complaints are from the London region, where most of the immigrants resided. With the large wave of immigrants, British people felt their tradition was being harmed. With the freedom of mobility in the European Union, people from countries inside the EU can visit and stay in the United Kingdom. Many of them would just stay and not return to its formal countries. There is an estimate that there could be 35000 people from outside of the European Union who come on a visitors visa and then never leave. When these immigrants arrive, they for m their own community and transforming the once British community into their own. This frustrates a lot of indigenous British citizens as they see their old community getting converted into a foreign community. For example, the largest immigrant group to Britain is Polish. Currently, Polish represents 1/60 of the population in Britain. These polish immigrants dont fully integrated into the British society and still continue their lives as if they are in Poland. They form their own community in Britain and keep themselves separated from traditional English community. Furthermore, many indigenous British citizens are concerned that their jobs might be taken away from these newly immigrants. Most of the immigrants who came into Britain are usually from poorer nations. They would work hard and would be satisfied with getting paid minimal wages. Many indigenous underclass British people have seen their jobs taken away by new immigrants. Moreover, indigenous British complain that these immigrants have received more benefits from Britain such as health care benefit than they have contributed to the system. British people argued that they see the quality of their social service decline as immigrants are drying up the social fund. According to governments latest Citizenship survey, over 77% of the population thinks that immigration should be cut. Therefore, in the UKs election in may, both the Labour and the Conservative party are considering putting a limit on immigration. They also want to increase security to prevent illegal immigration and will have stricter criteria for refugees to join, making sure that refugees genuinely need help in order to survive . Race Relation: Ethnic minority in the United Kingdom complained that they dont receive the same rights or opportunity as native white British citizens. A lot of ethnic minorities find it hard to find jobs in Politics or to take on an executive position in a company compared to white British citizens. For instance, Yasmin Aili Brown said she was the only minority in her News Paper company in the United Kingdom. The British public had been very hostile/racist against her, sending her hate mails and saying that the real Britain is for White people. A lot of ethnic minorities especially the Muslim group shares the same experience as her when it comes to discrimination. Immigrants complained that there were stereotypical and derogatory jokes towards them. For example, Black is often characterized as uneducated and uncivilized outlaws. Muslim would often have characterized as wearing Hijab, turbane all the time and their refusal of alcohol. One example our speaker Adrian gave us was an example of a Musli m who immigrated into UK 10 years ago had to change his name from Mohammad to John in order to fit in with the British Society more. He always doesnt get invited to social events or get promoted. Lastly, many ethnic minorities / immigrants dislike the fact that most British people would classify them either as Black or Asian. People from India, China, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, and Japan would all be considered Asian and People from Hispanic countries, Caribbean island are all be considered as Black. Thus, this is causing a lot of minorities feel as if they dont belonged in Britain as they have lost their identity. Therefore, the clash between the indigenous and newly immigrants is currently a serious issue facing Britain. Security: Due to the recent waves of immigrants into Britain, there is a fear of the Muslim community with Islamic religion. In 2006, 3% of the working age populations are immigrants born in the Middle East. People feel like security being jeopardized because of the concern for terrorist attack. In recent years, many terrorist activities were conducted by the Muslims who were born inside Britain. For instance, there was a coordinated suicide attacks in London subway station on July 7th, 2005. The bombings were carried out by four British Muslim men, three of Pakistani and one of Jamaican descent, who were motivated by Britains involvement in the Iraq War. Furthermore, there was an attempt bombing attack by a British African this year. Many of members of these terrorist organizations were 2nd or 3rd generation immigrants, meaning they were born in Britain. This is a serious issue currently for Britain because it cant prevent internal terrorist attacks from its own citizens. Economic recovery: Due to the recent financial crisis, Britain is currently facing serious issues in terms of cutting its unemployment rate and reducing its national debt. In 2008, the United Kingdom had to bail out its financial banks such as RBS from bankrupting because a large part of the UKs economy was financial based. As a result, the United Kingdom has piled itself with debt after many stimulus packages to revitalize the economy. Now, the United Kingdom faces the problem of fixing its financial system and the need of reducing its national debt. The UKs government has to cut public spending and raise taxes. This is a serious issue because Britains social welfare budget and government spending has already been very low due to the poor economy. It would be difficult to continue to cut spending in the public sector when there is a very high unemployment rate. Cutting spending in social welfare program would mean there will be less benefit for the UKs citizens and the homeless people who need it on t he street. Moreover, raising taxes in a country that already has a very high VAT of 20% wont be good for the economy as people will have less disposable income to spend. In order to reduce deficit, the labour party said that there will be a tax increase of 60% to only the top% of earners. The conservative party proposed to start cut spending immediately in 2010 to eliminate the UKs structural deficit within the next five years. Therefore, both parties consider the large UK deficit as a serious issue facing the UK. However, cutting spending and raising taxes would ultimately slow down the UKs recovery and would be an issue for the public as no one likes paying high taxes. UK economy is too weak for sharp spending cuts. Currently, both Tory and labor party tried to avoid taking about spending cut because the public usually isnt very supportive of it. The government faces the issue of reducing the unemployment rate at the same time because there would be social unrest. Britain certainl y doesnt want its economy to be like its economy in the 1970s when there was a very high unemployment rate. The government is currently proposing to provide training for unemployed workers in the UK for more than six months in order to solve the unemployment issue. Relationship with the Europe Union Britain has lost its once dominance as an empirical power in the world. However, it stills wants to exert influence in the world. Ever since the end of WWII, Britain is losing its once close relationship with Australia and Canada as they are continuing becoming more independent. It is hard for Britain to maintain its relationship with the commonwealth countries due to geographic reason. In 1973, Britain joined the European Union to receive funding from the EUs central budget in order to salvage its poor economy. Moreover, it joined to give Britain an more importance role in world affairs. Currently, with the rise of emerging markets such as China and India, Britain has found itself falling behind in terms of influencing the world and need to develop a closer tie with the European Union. Now, it faces the issue of whether to further integrate into the European Union or not. Currently, the European Union wants to further integrate economically and politically. However, Britain dislike the idea of political integration in Europe and still wants to keep independency/sovereignty as an imperial state. Britain refuses to adopt Euro as its official currency and refuses to contribute to its part of the share into the Common Agricultural Policy. Britain is against most of the policy proposed to the European Union such as enlargement of the EU. Thereby, most European nations consider Britain as a hindrance rather than a helper for the European progress. This is really harming the relationship between Britain and the European Union. According to the Suns poll, the majority of British citizens prefer the European Economic Community rather than the European Union, where Britain will only receive trading benefit for the EU rather than political benefit. It is not taking an advantage of its relationship with the European Union in terms of trading because most of the UKs businesses are service based. Many citizens proposed that Britain should withdraw from the EUs political uni on as they dont want a centralize government to make the decision for the British. British people want a British government, in which the British can enjoy the basic democratic free right and the ability to throw out a Government they dont like. Leaving the European Union would severely harm the relationship between the United Kingdom and Europe. Therefore, developing a good relationship with the European Union while maintaining Britains sovereignty is one of the major issues Britain is facing today. Conclusion: Britain is a rapidly transforming nation that still wants to retain its traditional customs and imperial status. However, current issues such as immigration, internal ethnic relationship, internal security, economic recovery, and Britains relationship with the EU act as major blocks to the progress of the British society. Whatever the next British government may be, these are the issues that party has to address and solve. The modern British society has to find ways to deal with these crucial issues in order to move towards a brighter future. Citations: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/apr/01/immigrationpolicy.immigrationandpublicservices1

Corporate Budgeting Systems: Overview and Analysis

Corporate Budgeting Systems: Overview and Analysis Joo Hee Kim Accounting and Financial Management Budgeting is the Process of expressing quantified resource requirements (amount of capital, amount of material, number of people) into time-phased goals and milestones (BusinessDictionary.com, 2017). Budgets help decision makers to identify problems and to increase their understanding of the task environment (Ahrens 1997). For this reason, budgeting is still regarded as an organizational imperative if costs are to be controlled and financial performance to be achieved (Frow, Marginson and Ogden, 2010). The budget has historically entered the central stage of the management control system in most organizations (Otley, 1994). One of the main reasons that big companies get their budgets in the first place is to coordinate different parts of the business. By sharing accurate information publicly and based on a common set of decisions, ensuring harmonious interactions between units can lead to efficient processes, high-quality products, low inventories and satisfied customers (Jensen, 200 1). As such, traditionally, budgeting system has been considered to provide effectively four major benefits to the most organizations. (1) First of all, budgeting system provides the capability for managers to quantify the necessary resources and distribute these to the involved organizations prior to the beginning of the project. (2) Throughout the budget planning activities, the involved organizations will have a better interaction and communication to identify the problems, understand issues, pertaining to the tasks and then, finally allocate the necessary budgets to each organization. (3) Consequently it encourages each organization to conduct their task diligently and efficiently without wasting their resources. (4) Finally, It provides the persistent evaluation how the project performed under the budgeting planned and the great future index for the next budgeting plan. However, under the current increased competitive global environment, requiring more dynamic and imminent resource allocation have raised the concern that the traditional budgeting systems are inefficient and incapable to satisfy dynamically changing environments and suggested the myopic decision making and budget games in which they proposed (Hansen et al., 2003; Ostergren and Stensaker, 2011). Also, Welch has described the unnecessary wage increase due to the misguided performance evaluation, inherited by the incorrect budgeting planned (Welch, 2005). In addition to the inherited slow adaptive functionality and misguided performance evaluation. Jensen has described that the traditional budgeting process wastes time, twists decision making, consuming a huge amount of wasting executives time, due to the intentional false forecasts or manipulating critical information, consequently, twisting the resource allocation (Jensen, 2001; Jensen, 2003). In addition to these human and organizational barriers, genuinely, it takes lots of unnecessary time and resources to create a proper budget, prior to the beginning of the tasks. Statistically, organizations spend 20-30% of their time in the budgeting process. Also, budgeting generally limits the likelihood of achieving high growth or significant cost savings by setting an upper limit of the allowable budgets. At the same time, budgets can hinder high growth because overspending over budget would cut costs in the short term in order to achieve margin goals, consequently, hindering long-term goals (de Waal, Hermkens-Janssen and van de Ven, 2011). Recently, in order to overcome of the issues in the traditional budgeting system described above, a number of alternative methodologies have been proposed for the budgeting process, including activity-based budgeting, profit planning, rolling budgets and forecasts, zero-based budgeting, and beyond budgeting (Hansen, Otley and Stede, 2003). In particular, Jensen proposed a A Linear Compensation Plan to remedy the current budgeting process in which actual performance, regardless of budgetary goals, will be utilized to provide senior executives unbiased estimates for the planned achievable goal. However, later, Jensen described that it can be problematical for organizations to simply adopt or implement the proposed linear compensation system. It is because Target-based bonuses are deeply ingrained in the minds of managers and in the managerial codes of most organizations. More than that, if the measures and evaluation were not correctly performed, executives will have the more risk of distorting managerial decisions, even under a linear bonus system. In addition, the positioning and slope of the bonus line are based on the prior years performance. Of course, it would reduce the risk of overcompensating for the performance, but it can cause the reduction of incentives for the increasing performance, which results in dropping the motivational effects of the performance targets. Also, the increased performance compensation would require companies to increase bonus caps way beyond traditional compensational levels, which can make organizations discomfort (Jensen, 2001). In addition, more difficulties have described that the cost of changing the current budgeting process can be high due to the initial cost to implement the new system which requires the staffing time change, strategic planning, resource allocation, cost management (Neely, Sutcliff and Heyns, 2002), and eventually results in impacting on other unrecognized management processes, due to the lack of understanding of the current and future adopted systems (Waal, Jap Tjoen San and Zwanenburg, 2006). To overcome the raised issues on the linear compensation schemes, the curvilinear schedule methodology has been proposed which actually, reintroduces a strong incentive in terms of the budget. Jensen has also later agreed that the budget process itself is not the root cause of unproductive behavior. Rather, determining the compensation should combine the budget goals to have proper performance measurements. He has also point out that performance indicators should reflect the functionality of other business units, to align with the departmental performance measures. Management flexibility, decentralization and delegation can also minimize the risk of measuring performance (Jensen, 2001). Jensen criticizes managers for damaging their business because they lie to get more incentives. But currently, companies do not set incentives based only on manager reporting. Annual bonuses can be organized into three basic components: performance measurement, performance standards, and the sensitivity of the pay-for-performance relationship. Most companies rely on two or more measures of performance when evaluating manager performance, such as sales or revenue, earnings per share, operating profit or profit (Towers Perrin, 2005). Historically, accounting-based performance indicators are backward-looking and easy to lie, so firms can avoid cheating by using other measures such as operational or strategic performance goals, quality improvement, and scorecard-based systems. If managers were still cheating as Jansen criticized, the incentive system would not have spread like it does today. In recent, the percentage of SP 500 firms using multiyear accounting-based performance (MAP) incentives for CEOs increased from 16.5% in 1996 to 43.3% in 2008 (Li and Wang, 2016). There are many good reasons to explain why long-term incentives are an effective wage component. First, it provides the most direct correlation between company performance and wages. In other words, incentives can motivate directors to work hard and help them make shareholderoriented decisions. Second, long-term incentives can provide valuable human capital to the board and increase the loyalty of incumbent directors (Irani and Gerayeli, 2017). Furthermore, there is a way to hire a compensation consultant company to get rid of the possibility of any remaining lie. Compensation consultants such as Towers Watson, the Hay Group, and Hewitt Associates can assist the board in setting up wages with knowledge of industry and other peer groups compensation package design. In particular, they can give advice and assistance to the compensation committee (Bender, 2007). In the UK, virtually all companies show that they hire compensation consultants (Conyon, Fernandes, Ferreira, Matos and Murphy, 2011). The existence of an independent board is also important in the process of receiving incentives. Directors must have sufficient pay-performance sensitivity (PPS) for managers (Bruce, Buck and Main, 2005). Jensen insisted Corporate budgeting is a joke. and Corporate budgeting consumes a huge amount of executives time. But I disagree with him. Therefore, I strongly believe that instead of simply tossing off the budgeting process, the efficient budgeting system, combined with a proper performance measurements to determine the correct compensation, is necessary and essential for the company to achieve their goals in a rapidly changing 21st century international economic environment. In particular, from the Abogun and Fagbemis research, budgeting is still selected as a most effective and necessary tool for planning, controlling, communicating, making decisions and creating value (Abogun and Fagbemi, 2011). For instance, on the survey conducted by Libby and Lindsay, most managers have rated the budgeting as good value to achieve their organizational goals, regardless of budget games occurred to some extent in the organization (Libby and Lindsay, 2013). They have also agreed that the right u se of budgeting is of significant value to management. As an additional valuable evidence of the budgeting system, more than 150 organizations in North America uses frequently cost management tool to budget resources that can include everything from raw materials to human resources and facilities (Horngren, Sundem, Stratton, Burgstahler Schatzberg, 2008). In the same opinion, at a meeting on the traditional role of the budget in the organization organized by CIMA and ICAEW in 2004, the budgeting and accompanying process were indispensable and also noted that the traditional budgeting processing was widespread. Significant number of European companies has a budget and continues to use this process (CIMA-ICAEW, 2004). Most of current companies in Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States prepare budgets (Anand, Sahay and Saha, 2004). Is corporate budgeting really just a waste of time, as Jansen argues? If his argument was correct, now that more than 15 years ago, many companies would have to abandon the budgeting system. However, since the economic crisis that started in 2008, the survey and historical data have showed that the budget became more important in planning and resource allocation and companies emphasize specific budgeting features over other companies in response to economic crises (Becker, Mahlendorf, Schà ¤ffer and Thaten, 2016). In Case Study Evidence (Frow et al., 2010), the paper introduces the concept of continuous budgeting to emphasize how an organization can coordinate these potentially conflicting goals. By integrating the use of other budgetary controls with other management controls, the process of continuous budgeting encouraged management to exercise operational discretion when unexpected events occur in which it has placed a strict burden on managers to ensure that they continue to str ive to achieve their financial goals. Again, it has proved that Budgeting effectively contributes to the flexibility and financial principles to implement effective strategies. Therefore, its the right path to adopt alternative budgeting process rather than giving up entirely the budget. For example, continuous budgeting or traditional budgets can be supplemented by other management controls such as Balanced Scorecard (Frow et al., 2010) or Rolling Forecast (sandalgaard, 2012). For other management controls, according to a study by Choe, Dey and Mishra (2014), analyzing diversified companies in Australia by 2004-2008, companies that rely on long-term incentives for executives have achieved even greater progress. Long-term compensation consists of options, equity and other long-term incentive payments. Most of these compensation factors are based on company-wide performance. On the other hand, short-term rewards mainly consist of salaries and bonuses. In some cases, bonuses are targeted at company-wide performance, especially CEOs. For department managers, bonuses are often based on departmental accounting performance. Therefore, we need to develop some compromise schemes to set an upper bound of compensation, for instance, using the all department compensation difference and same time setup the ratio of long-term compensation and the short-term compensation ratio depending on the nature, scale, and profit of the company. Of course, as mentioned before, this compensation system depends on the previous years data to setup the compensation plan for the future potential growth. It may also be a necessary to evaluate company financial system regularly auditing from an independent accounting company that is not related to the companys incentive system. Corporate budgeting is like a knife. Knife would be a weapon when it is caught in the hands of robber, but it can serve as a tool for making delicious food in the hands of a cook, and it can save people when it is in the hands of a doctor. As Jensen argues, when corporate budgeting lefts in the hands of immoral managers, it is easy to become a weapon that damages the company for the benefit of the individual. But if a conscientious manager catches it, it becomes a tool for creating a happy company. If a wise CEO control it, it can also play a role in saving the company. Hence, I strongly believe that we should move toward improving the budget system by incorporating various suggestions described above. Question 2. Typical Executive Compensation Plan in a traditional pay-for-performance compensation plan, managers receive a hurdle bonus when they reach a certain level. The bonus will be improved until the maximum challenge is reached. When managers have a good year and performance is nearing the budget limit, there can be a desire to push the remaining profits into the future. Because they do not receive additional compensation even if they performance exceeds the cap, they will increase their chances of raising their expenses in current year or postpone their sale and gain to next year, in order to increase bonus next year. Suppose there is the organization named ABC, which has fiscal year end December 31 and Fiscal year 2016 budget goal for research expense is $100,000 and service contract revenue is $500,000. Fiscal year 2017 budget will be the same. Currently, ABC financial reports for fiscal year 2016 shows that research expense is $20,000 and service contract revenue is $500,000. ABC research department received a request from a research engineer to purchase $50,000 equipment for beginning of January 2017 and ABC sales department expects to sign on a two months service contract with a client amount of $200,000 in December 2016, but start date could be either December 2016 or January 2017. Because of timing issue of recording expenses and revenues, the managers are able to meet budgetary targets for 2016 and 2017, if they plan to expense more in current year and record revenues in the next fiscal year. The research department manager could record $50,000 equipment expenses for Fiscal year 2016 askin g a vendor to deliver the equipment and send out the bills to accounting departments few days earlier before January 1, 2017, unnecessarily, because research expense for the year 2016 already met budget goal, which means research manager still can get bonus for the year 2016 even though the research department recognizes $50,000 more expense in 2016. By doing so, the research department probably will exceed budgetary expense targets in 2017, because the department lower actual 2017 expense by $50,000. Also, sales manager could push revenue to the next fiscal year, by choosing the two months service contract start date as 1/1/17, instead of 12/1/16, because FY16 sales budget goal is already achieved. Even if the company ABC financial statement for FY16 can show more revenues if the service contract starts on 12/1/16, sales manager could take 1/1/17 start date, considering his FY16 bonus is guaranteed already, and it would be easier for him to achieve FY17 sales goal since he already achieved $200,000 out of $500,000. It is highly unlikely that any refinements to the budgeting process will ever enable budgets to be perfect because budget is plan for future. However, I think few refinements to the budget plan can prevent Jensons business scenario from real business world. First, senior management can set up their budget comparison method by adopting advanced IT budget system. In Jensons scenario, senior management set the budgets with limited input from line personnel. Because of limited input from same personnel, the budget could be manipulated for the purpose of getting more bonuses. If senior management set up IT budget system, such as uBase and add the procedure to their budget report review procedures, comparing generated report out of uBase to the prepared budget report by limited personnel, and researching the variances between two reports and fluctuation between months, senior management might identify what are the most common unfaithful ways used for management to consistently exceed finan cial targets. Second, the organization uses an incremental budgeting system for a full year. If an organization changes budget period from a full year to half year, and change distributing bonus from annual basis to semi-annual basis, the organization can reduce a lot of cut off issues management used to exceed financial targets. To avoid connecting budgets and sales goals to bonus, Jensen proposed Linear Compensation Plan is an incentive system that compensates for actual performance regardless of your budget goals. Administrators will receive the same bonus for some level of performance even if the budget target is set below or above that level. By eliminating kinks, the unit manager no longer collects cash beyond the target and would not need to make lower the target by putting false information into the budgeting process. As a result, senior management receives unbiased estimates of what they can achieve in the future, and the quality of planning and coordination is significantly improved. In order for Jensens proposed linear compensation scheme to be successful, we need to obtain the following refinements: First, when using multiple performance indicators for individual managers, companies must carefully set up a single, well-defined measure of overall business success, such as economic value added. Ratios such as sales margins or asset returns inevitably result in games. Second, management tends to concentrate in the short term. If you earn a high bonus within a year, it will be harder to get a higher bonus next year, so you will lose incentives to improve performance. A better way is to look at the future in more detail by setting a line of bonuses over the years based on long-term forecasts of growth and profitability. Finally, define the upper limit of compensation as a salary. Also, we need to set absolute objective criteria such as activity-based costing to determine performance by how many tasks have been done in certain time, rather than how many hours an employee worked. Question 1. (1) Answer is d. (2) If Sanjay Ltd sells all 1000 units, it needs not pay for scraping costs, so the minimum price is $ 2. But if it cannot sell all of them, it has to add $ 500 to its sales because it shoud pay for scraping costs. For example, if it sells 100 units, $ 5 is added per unit, so the minimum price is $ 7. However, if it sell 500 units, it will add $ 1 per unit, so the minimum price is $ 3. In the worst case, if Sanjay Ltd cannot sell any units, its better to give them away for free. (3) Total cost = DM(Direct materials) + DL(Direct labour) + OH(Overhead) $25,000 = $20,000 + DL + 1.5 DL $5,000 = DL + 1.5 DL = 2.5 DL DL = $2,000, $25,000 = $20,000 + $2,000 + Overhead As the result, Overhead is $3,000. (4) Total costs = Direct material + Direct labour + Overhead = $1,475 + $1,500 + {50(labour hour=$1,500/$30) $35} = $1,475 + $1,500 + $1,750 = $4,700 As the result, Total costs is $4,700. (5) Profits = Total sales Fixed costs Variable costs Profits ($100,00) = Total sales(Selling price 500,000) Fixed costs($400,000) Variable costs(0.75 Selling price 500,000) $100,000 = Selling price 500,000 400,000 0.75 Selling price 500,000 $500,000 = 0.25 Selling price 500,000 $500,000 = 125,000 Selling price As the result, Selling price should be $4. (6) Total Manufacturing Costs ($ 900) = Direct Materials ($ 455) + Direct Labor ($ 300) + Variable Manufacturing Overhead ($ 45) + Fixed Manufacturing Overhead ($100) Target Sales Price ($ 1440) = Total Manufacturing Costs ($ 900) + {Total Manufacturing Costs ($ 900) Mark Up 60% ($ 540)} It does not need to pay Fixed Manufacturing Overhead if Diamond Interiors accepts Mr. John Lees one-time only special order, because of Diamond Interiors has an excess capacity. In this case, Fixed Manufacturing Overhead should be excluded when calculating Total Manufacturing Costs. But Mr. Lee wants the cabinet in a metallic finish rather than laminate, so direct materials will increase by $30 per unit. Total Manufacturing Costs ($ 900) Fixed Manufacturing Overhead ($100) + additional direct materials ($30) = 830 Therefore, the minimum selling price is $830. (However, this minimum selling price did not include the mark up fee. Therefore, the actual selling price may vary depending on the sellers decision.) (7) The net present value (NPV) is the difference between the present value of the cash inflow and the present value of the cash outflow. NPV is used in capital budgeting to analyze the expected investment or profitability of the project.The following is the formula for calculating NPV: where Ct = net cash inflow during the period t Co = total initial investment costs r = discount rate, and t = number of time periods {20,000/1.1 + 25,000/(1.1)2 + 30,000/(1.1)3 +15,000/(1.1)4 + 12,000/(1.1)5 } 75000 = {18181.8 + 20661.2 + 22539.4 + 10245.2 + 7451.1} 75000 = 79078.7 75000 Net Present Value of the computer system is $ 4078.7 A positive net present value indicates that the projected income generated by the project or investment (in present dollars) exceeds the projected cost (also in present dollars). In general, investment with a positive NPV is a profitable investment, and investment with a negative NPV is a net loss. It is the basic element of the net investment value rule that a project or investment must be performed only if the NPV value is positive. Since the NPV of the computer program in question is positive, it is a wise choice for the mayor to purchase this computer program. (8) The cost of equipment is the items purchase price. Knowing the internal rate of return and the expected life of the equipment, the cost of equipment purchase can be calculated using the following formula. 15,000/1.12 + 15,000/(1.12)2 + 15,000/(1.12)3 + 15,000/(1.12)4 + 15,000(1.12)5 = 54071.7 As the result, Cost of the equipment is $ 54,071.7 (9) Return on investment is a simple rate of return without a concept of time. The IRR is calculated by compounding the time it takes to enter a profitable point. There is a limit to the evaluation by simple profit rate calculation that does not consider time. Internal rate of return (IRR) is the interest rate at which the net present value of all the cash flows (both positive and negative) from a project or investment equal zero. Internal rate of return is used to evaluate the attractiveness of a project or investment. If the IRR of a new project exceeds a companys required rate of return, that project is desirable. If IRR falls below the required rate of return, the project should be rejected (Investinganswers.com, 2017). When a minimum desired rate of return is 12%, the present value of project is calculated as $ 1,646. Because the IRR is positive, Imperial Airways Ltd. should accept this project. 75000/1.12 + 75000/(1.12)2 + 75000/(1.12)3 + 75000/(1.12)4 + 75000/(1.12)5 + 75000/(1.12)6 280000 50000/(1.12) 4 + 10000/(1.12)6 = 308355.6 280000 31776 + 5066.3 = 1645.9 As the result, Present Value of the Project is $ 1,646. When a minimum desired rate of return is 12%, the present value of project is over than zero (calculated as $ 1,646). Thus, the internal rate of return is more than 12%. (10) Year1 Inflow1 + Year2 Inflow + Year3 inflow = $22,000 Inflows from Year1 to Year 4 = $28,000 The payback period is between Year 3 and Year 4. Accurately calculated PBP = minimum period + shortage of inflows / inflows in event = 3 + 3000 / 6000 = 3.5 As a result, payback period is 3.5 years. REFERENCE Abogun, S. and Fagbemi, T. (2011). The Global Debate on Budgeting: Empirical Evidence from Nigeria. International Business Research, 4(4). Ahrens T. (1997). Strategic interventions of management accountants: everyday practice of British and German brewers The European Accounting Review 6(4), 557-588 Anand, M., Sahay, B.S. and Saha, S., 2004. Cost management practices in India: An empirical study. ASCI Journal of Management, 33(1-2), pp.1-13. Becker, S. D., Mahlendorf, M. D., Schà ¤ffer, U. and Thaten, M., 2016. Budgeting in times of economic crisis. Contemporary Accounting Research, 33 (4), pp.1489-1517. Bruce, A., Buck, T. and Main, B.G., 2005. Top executive remuneration: A view from Europe. Journal of Management Studies, 42(7), pp.1493-1506. BusinessDictionary.com. (2017). What is budgeting? definition and meaning. [online] Available at: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/budgeting.html [Accessed 15 Jan. 2017]. Choe, C., Dey, T. and Mishra, V., 2014. Corporate diversification, executive compensation and firm value: Evidence from Australia. Australian Journal of Management, 39(3), pp.395-414. CIMA ICAEW, (2004). A report on Better Budgeting Forum. July, 2004. Retrieved December 16, 2008 from http:// www.icaew.com./index.cfm/route. Conyon, M.J., Fernandes, N., Ferreira, M.A., Matos, P. and Murphy, K.J., 2011. The executive compensation controversy: A transatlantic analysis. de Waal, A.A., Jap Tjoen San, R. and Zwanenburg, E. (2006), Budgetteren in Nederland: stand van zaken en ontwikkeling, Tijdschrift Controlling, Vol. 3, pp. 8-11. De Waal, A., Hermkens-Janssen, M. and van de Ven, A., 2011. The evolutionary adoption framework: explaining the budgeting paradox. Journal of accounting organizational change, 7(4), pp.316-336. Frow, N., Marginson, D. and Ogden, S. (2010), Continuous budgeting: reconciling budget  flexibility with budgetary control, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 35 No. 4,  pp. 444-61. Hansen, S.C., Otley, D.T. and van der Stede, W.A. (2003), Practice developments in budgeting:an overview and research perspective, Journal of Management Accounting Research, Vol. 15, pp. 95-116. Hope, J. and Fraser, R. (2003), How Managers can Break Free from the Annual Performance  Trap, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, MA. Horngren C. T., Sundem, G. L., Stratton, W. O., Burgstahler, D. Schatzberg, J. (2008). Introduction to Management Accounting. (14th Ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Investinganswers.com. (2017). Internal Rate of Return (IRR) Definition Example | Investing Answers. [online] Available at: http://www.investinganswers.com/financial-dictionary/investing/internal-rate-return-irr-2130 [Accessed 21 Jan. 2017]. Irani, M. and Gerayeli, M.S., 2017. Relationship between Corporate Governance and CEO Compensation among Listed Firms in Tehran Stock Exchange. International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, 7(1), pp.285-292. Jensen, M.C. (2001), Corporate budgeting is broken lets fix it, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 79, pp. 94-101. Leahy, T. (2001), The top 10 traps of budgeting, Business Finance, Vol. 7 No. 11, pp. 20-34. Libby, T. and Lindsay, R.M., 2010. Beyond budgeting or budgeting reconsidered? A survey of North-American budgeting practice. Management Accounting Research, 21(1), pp.56-75. Li, Z. and Wang, L., 2016. Executive compensation incentives contingent on long-term accounting performance. Review of Financial Studies, 29(6), pp.1586-1633. Neely, A., Sutcliff, M. and Heyns, H. (2002), Driving Value through Strategic Planning and Budgeting, Research Report, Cranfield School of Management and Accenture, Cranfield. Ostergren, K. and Stensaker, I. (2011), Management control without budgets: a field study of  beyond budgeting in practice, The European Accounting Review, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 149-81. Otley, D.T., 1994. Management control in contemporary organizations:  towards a wider framework. Management Accounting Research 5, 289-299. ROZENFELD, G.C., 2017. CHAPTER FOUR DISSIDENT OPINIONS ON BUDGETARY CONTROL SYSTEMS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: EVIDENCE FROM A MULTINATIONAL RETAIL ORGANISATION LOCATED IN THE UK. Dissident Voices in Europe? Past, Present and Future, p.41. Zhang, C., Wang, S., Gao, Z. and Zhao, X., 2015. Study on the Manipulation Effect of CEO Power on Executive Compensation Level: A Literature Review. Reflective Essay: Grief and Bereavement Reflective Essay: Grief and Bereavement This essay is a reflective journey through the loss I have experienced in my life. The essay will discuss two models of bereavement, dual process and continuing bonds. Towards not only understanding self in the process of loss, but also to understand some of the theories used to assist those who are grieving. Relevant referenced literature will be used to demonstrate understanding of the models of loss chosen for the assessment. The loss that has impacted my world most recently began with the wonderful knowledge of pregnancy. That beautiful piece of news set in motion a series of events beginning with the primary loss of membership within a band, which I had created and maintained for six years. The band was a manifestation of hopes, dreams and realisations I had carried since childhood and finally began actualising in my early thirties. The secondary losses were simple I thought, as in losing the social network associated with being a band member, and the loss of a portion of identity. However, a major friendship was also lost in the process and this in reality lay far deeper than the apparent primary loss. This friend and fellow band member M was actually my x partner and soul mate, with who I had shared my life and musical experiences from the age of nineteen. Even though we had separated as partners we were still very close as friends and involved musically. I had lost my x, my best friend, my band membe r, fellow song writer, and pain in the butt. I acknowledge that adjusting to motherhood and the happiness of my new family life overshadowed the losses I was experiencing, and also my resilience, spirituality and being quite differentiated contributed to my ability to cope, move forward and adjust to yet another segment of my very interesting, challenging and rewarding life. Attachment and meaning, family systems, social support, cognitive process in adjustment and coping, are all factors and terms associated with the theories of loss and bereavement which have preceded and assisted Stroebe and Schut (2007) to generate the dual process model. Their model perceives a person oscillating between loss-orientation and restoration-orientation. Loss-orientation deals with the process of having a good cry and experiencing and dealing with the emotion of loss, and restoration-orientation deals with getting oneself back into feeling okay to proceed with life emotionally, physically and psychologically. Within this process of oscillation it is important to understand the need for both negative and positive thought processes within both loss and restoration. Furthermore it is important that one experiences and adjusts to both aspects of thought processes in life, even when it appears that loss is not perhaps a prominent focal point. Stroebe and Schut (2004) discuss how attachment theory plays a role within the dual process model, by aligning loss-orientation with the experience associated through loss of a relationship where the bond of attachment is deep. Secondly their restoration-orientation process can align with cognitive stress theory by making use of tasks or coping strategies to assist a grieving person to find balance in their process of loss. The strength of the dual process model as Stroebe and Schut (2004b) explain is the ability to understand that people fluctuate between positive and negative thoughts and emotions. Additionally by applying certain aspects of cognition tools and the understanding of attachment, a balance between the swaying emotions and thoughts can be normalised and processed in a comfortable and personal manner as adaption takes place. In my experience of grief I certainly experienced the swapping of emotional positions such as sadness that our friendship had ceased, and feeling okay that M wanted to disconnect. I am able to reflect with both sadness and joy, when I ponder our shared love and experiences. However I also take great strength from my husband and son, my parents and siblings in an almost unconscious process of living and loving. Continuing bonds resonated with me in that it recognised attachment bonds dont disappear when one experiences loss or death, instead the connection and bonds change and continue. Klass and Walter (2004) explain continuing bonds as recognition that the human condition in both life and death is far more complex and unique than many theorists previously had argued. In addition research discovered that many diverse people carried on conversations and relationships with the dead. Klass, Silverman, Nickman (1996) relate that continuing bonds means that those left behind feel a real sense of the person they have lost, either unconsciously or on a conscious level, therefore their changed relationship with the deceased is a continuous process of adjustment. It is now realised people dont get over a loss of a loved one, they continue to have an internal relationship or tell stories to keep their meaning alive. From what I have understood of continuing bonds dealing with grief, is simply not a s simple as getting over a loss, but a process of mourning, grieving, adjusting and changing. Packman, Horsley, Davies Kramer (2006) cite Hogan and DeSantis who refer to attachment in connection with continuing bonds such as reaffirming relationships, search for understanding, checking in with deceased, reconnecting, asking for guidance, and seeking to meet again, it seems the process demonstrates once more that attachment and love does not cease with the death or loss of our loved ones. Nadeau (2007) discusses continuing bonds around how families make meaning via conversations and shared feelings through storytelling, family conversation or verbalising experiences of the person who has died. In addition to dreaming, comparing and experiencing interpretations of personality, joining or linking of events or perhaps considering fatalistic observations, through which these processes assist a person to deal and adjust to the loss and life without the physical presence of their loved one. It almost seems ridiculous in my mind to consider those Ive lost in life as being completely gone just because they died or have disconnected their friendship. In my personal culture of beliefs, values, and spirituality, death is but a single part of an enormous cycle where as human beings we experience the physical plane of existence, which is only a fraction of our total cycle of being and knowing. The process of writing this assessment has made me consider exactly what losses I have experienced. I began by making a time line of losses, and realised that through death I had lost four grandparents, friends, one x mother-in-law, and one current mother-in-law, nine cats, one bird, and one dog. The losses consisted of my heart at least three times, contact with aunts and uncles, and my cousins, jobs, dreams, my band, friends, even my respect at certain times, and the most significant friendship of my life prior to meeting my husband and my baby. Through contemplating my losses I can identify with certain aspects of poor self-esteem that has occurred in my life, and understand how feeling unworthy of certain considerations from friends is mixed in with the manner in which I handle loss in general. Being strong inside even though I feel alone is part of the coping mechanism loss in my life has taught me. For me being differentiated and resilient are the real keys to handling lifes my riad of experiences. Walsh (2006) suggests that beliefs and values build our cultural and family historical story that in turn builds resilience, which is strongly tied in with ones spiritual beliefs and life meaning. Weiten, Lloyd, Dunn, Hammer (2009) cite Gallagher and Chase who suggest that children benefit immensely from having their sense of resilience strengthened and nurtured by cherishing close relationships between children and parents. Resilience can help with the development of coping strategies, for example how to release anger, or help children be able to differentiate between risk assessment of traumatic event and management of possible danger. Furthermore the importance of relating and sharing of values and beliefs, not only in self, but also in a wider social arena, and encourage the ability to see and endeavour towards a positive future. My sense of myself as a differentiated and resilient person has also been a driving force behind my search of spiritual answers outside my birth religion. I live my life through my sense of spiritual knowing, which I align with the Buddhist concept of dharma, reincarnation and karma. My foundation of spirituality and knowing in God as my belief and value system is how I function through lifes loves and losses. I now understand how positive functioning is interconnected with a sense of differentiation. Corey (2009) discusses, differentiation is the process of becoming an individual with a positive sense of separateness from family of origin, able to live life with an ability to accept responsibility for ones own emotions, thoughts, feelings, perceptions and behaviour. I am truly thankful for the two strengths of resilience and differentiation, as in whenever I feel alone in my experiencing of loss, be it as simple as feeling I have no one to talk to, I can draw from inside myself the strength to escape negative emotional spirals. I also have an immense sense of connection to a higher spirit and find great comfort in lifes meaning and feeling of universal love. Since life, love, death, loss and grief all are experienced, affected, and expressed, in highly individual styles and approaches it seems logical there should be different methods and theories attached to grief and loss counselling. Therefore when I look at the two models of dual process and continuing bonds, I feel it important to understand attachment in life and loss. Machin (2009) discusses that the sense of self and independence is born out of the relationships of attachment we experience across our lifespan. These attachments are what allow a person to develop resources such as coping mechanisms, resilience, and the predisposition towards either positive or negative outlooks on life as well as death and loss. Sigelman and Rider (2009) refer to Bowlbys theory of attachment, concerning how a person copes through lifes challenges and stages, which can depend a great deal on the style of attachment they have developed, such as securely attached opposed to avoidant or resistant atta chment. These attachment styles play out through life in the manner of relationships beginning with family relationships, meaningful friendships, and marriage relationships, a person experiences through life and through their losses. Sigelman and Rider (2009b) cite Parkes who in conjunction with Bowlby constructed their theory of attachment model of bereavement, based on the simple fact that loss and love are counterparts that cannot be separated. Furthermore our interpersonal connections are built through attachment and centred on the conveying and sharing of love. Machin (2009b) also considers that attachment styles are also impacted through family culture, especially in how a person is taught the norms, values and beliefs surrounding appropriate mourning and grief, and life and love. As I reflect on how I seek and find support around my loosing M as a close friend, the cultural influence and norm my family advocates, is that of behaving as if nothing has changed. Almost like sayi ng, what are you worried about, and ignoring any deep feelings that need sharing to complete the cycle of grief. In relation to attachment within my family history I would say I have learnt secure attachment as a child, but as I grew my sense of attachment to my parents and siblings had a feeling of separateness, which funnily enough I feel was the grounding for my sense of differentiation and resilience, self reliance, sense of spiritual belonging and an ability to have a positive life mindset. On the flip side that separateness I felt when younger was the underlying force behind my poor self-esteem which was an enabling factor in the attachment style of relationship I shared with M. No matter the type of grief or loss one experiences or suffers in some way or another, love is at the heart of the felt experience. Even if the loss is as simple as the loss of a job, or perhaps a beloved cat, or friend, a partner, a mother or father, sister or brother, or sadly a child, it is love that binds us, it is love that makes life and death worthwhile. Kubler-Ross (1998) put it very succinctly when she wrote, you should live until you die, no one dies alone, everyone is loved beyond comprehension, everyone is blessed and guided, and the hardest lesson to learn is unconditional love, everything is bearable when there is love, and finally the only thing that lives forever is love (p288). To conclude this essay I would reflect on the importance of a counsellor taking the time to experience and deal with lifes losses and loves. Whether one chooses a particular model or process to assist the journey of self discovery, it is important to understand the underlying concepts of the attachment bonds that are formed over a life span. The bonds we form also bring the love that not only continues but also fluctuates between positive and negative emotional balancing and adjustment.

A Painful Childhood Experience Essay example -- essays research papers

Painful Childhood Experiences In a child’s world, there is always a lot of imagination. Children create worlds of their own out of their familiar surroundings, despite what adults tell them. The only way to let them realize the truth is to make them experience it, as Rosaura from â€Å"The Stolen Party† and An-mei from â€Å"Scar† do in their lives. Liliana Heker’s â€Å"The Stolen Party† and Amy Tan’s â€Å"Scar† share a similar theme. Both stories follow the perceptions of young girls. Although Tan’s â€Å"Scar† and Heker’s â€Å"The Stolen Party† share a distinct resemblance, they also differ. Rosaura suffers the pain that others give to her, but An-mei suffers it from her loved ones, such as her grandmother. The main similarity is that both Rosaura and An-mei suffered from the painful circumstances of their lives. Rosaura convinces herself that Luciana is her friend and that she has been invited to Luciana’s birthday party as any other guests. For Rosaura, there is the proof that every afternoon she goes to Luciana’s house and they do their homework together. That is all the evidence Rosaura needs to consider herself a friend to Luciana. She even helps out with some chores during the party thinking she has some sort of â€Å"special† status in the house because of her familiarity with Luciana’s home, as Heker states, â€Å"Rosaura was the only one allowed into the kitchen. Senora Ines, Luciana’s mother also says, â€Å"You yes, but not the others, they’re much too boisterous, they might break something.† Rosaura ha...

International House of Pancake History :: essays research papers

IHOP was not always a multinational conglomerate. It is now one of the nations leading sit down, cheap restraint chains. With over 1,000 locations world wide it is a commonly known restraint. As of recent IHOP has had a 52-week high of 39.4 and a low of 27.04. Recently, IHOP rang the bell of the NYSE in celebration of the kick-off of the National Pancake Day (March 4) and the launch of a brand rejuvenation strategy for IHOP, which celebrates its 45th year in business this July. In honor of the occasion, Julia A. Stewart, President, CEO, COO rang the bell. Before laying out the entire history of the International House of Pancake here is some simple background information: IHOP Corp. is a family restaurant chain that serves a wide variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner selections. Offering more than 16 types of pancakes, as well as omelettes, breakfast specialties, burgers, chicken and steaks, IHOP's menu is designed to appeal to people of all ages. IHOP restaurants are developed, operated and franchised by the Company. As of December 31, 2003, there were 1,165 IHOP restaurants in 48 states and Canada to be exact. In 1958, IHOP Corp. traces started up by opening of the first International House of Pancakes restaurant in a suburb of Los Angeles, Toluca Lake, California. The American eating public quickly took to the concept of a restaurant based on one of America's favorite foods†¦. pancakes. Within four years the number of units had increased to nearly 50, with many of the restaurants being operated by franchisees. That is incredible when you think about it since it takes a while to start up a franchise. Obviously past, present, and future In 1961 the company became publicly traded under the name International House of Pancakes. The remainder of the decade was a time of acquisition for the company. The company acquired both food and non-food businesses during this period with a strategy of becoming "The Franchise Company." Because of these acquisitions and to reflect properly the diversified conglomerate become, the company adopted the name International Industries, Inc. in 1963. Restaurant brands under International Industries control during the 1960's included International House of Pancakes, Orange Julius, Love's Wood Pit Barbecue, Golden Cup Coffee Shoppes, The Original House of Pies, Wil Wright's Ice Cream Shops, Woody's SmorgasBurger, The Dog House and Copper Penny. Non-food brands included The Big Brake Safety Center, The Golden Oaks Retirement Homes, United Rent-Alls, House of Nine, and Sawyer College of Business.

AtlantiCare and the “Voice of the Customer” Essay

Introduction Located in southeastern New Jersey, AtlantiCare is a nonprofit organization that provides acute and chronic health care services in the following areas: cancer, trauma, cardiac care, stroke, behavioral health, urgent care, hospice, home care, family medicine, occupational medicine, child care, early learning, and mission care for the homeless. Because of the nature of the services it provides quality is essential at AtlantiCare, and the organization delivers it. In fact, AtlantiCare applies the principles of total quality so comprehensively and consistently that the organization has received the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. At the core of AtlantiCare’s quality program is a process the organization calls the â€Å"Voice of the Customer.† This is a five-phase process used to make the organization’s patients partners in its continual-improvement efforts. Voice of the Customer identifies patient requirements and then makes sure that AtlantiCare’s services satisfy these requirements. The company’s customer focus does not stop with external customers. It also includes internal customers-employees (Goetsh & Davis, 2011). Total quality is not a concept anymore in day to day operations at AtlantiCare. It is part of the management team work ethic and philosophy, and the rest of the nonprofit company staff. AtlantiCare applies the principles of total quality in such a way that not only takes care of its customers, but also its internal customers. By doing so, the company has achieved organizational excellence. The case that follows is about the steps taken by the administration at AtlantiCare and also the lessons learned by the executives and the staff to become a world-class health care provider. Questions AtlantiCare has learned how to apply the principles of effective communication in a Total Quality setting. If total quality is the engine, communication is the oil that keeps it running. Much of what total quality is all about depends on effective communication. Without it, total quality breaks down. Some of the key elements of the total quality concept are customer focus (internal and external), total employee involvement and empowerment, leadership, teamwork, decision making, problem prevention, problem solving, and conflict resolution (Goetsh & Davis, 2011). The core of the AtlantiCare’s Total Quality system is a process called the â€Å"Voice of the Customer.† This is a five-phase process used to make the organization’s patients partners in its continual-improvement efforts. Voice of the Customer identifies patient requirements and then makes sure that AtlantiCare’s services satisfy these requirements. The part that AtlantiCare applies perfectly well i s the focus in its internal and external customers. This approach has giving the nonprofit company the information necessary to fix its mistakes and to reengineer its process, so AtlantiCare keeps its customers satisfied. Basically, what AtlantiCare does is to listen to all the stakeholders, following the principles of effective communication: message received, message understood. To listen responsively, managers and employees must learn to simultaneously use their ears, eyes, brains, and hearts. Responsive listening can pay substantial dividends for managers in a total quality setting (Goetsh & Davis, 2011). PepsiCo and IKEA are among the top companies were people wants to work at. It is not only because these companies have a recognized name or they are multinational companies. It is basically because these two companies also apply Total Quality programs where listening the suggestions and concerns of its employees and customers is a very big component. According to IKEA Welcome Inside 2012 report they in many markets we are the employer of choice, and latest results from our co-worker satisfaction survey, VOICE, show a very high level of satisfaction among our co-workers. The VOICE result also identifies areas where we can improve. IKEA is listening actively. They paid attention to their employees. They are sensitive to the information they receive, and also they act in consequence. They are being creative by developing programs to help their employees to grow and develop. In 2012, PepsiCo was listed among the Top 25 ‘World’s Best Multinational Workplaces’ by the Great Place to Work Institute  (PepsiCo, 2012). PepsiCo is always looking for talent and sustainability for them it means to invest in their associates to help them succeed; providing a safe and inclusive workplace globally; and respecting, supporting and investing in the local communities where they operate. In all of their markets, they are developing the talent of associates, preparing them to lead PepsiCo into the future. Through PepsiCo University and online courses offered by their global functions, more than 8,000 of their associates completed more than 11,500 courses in 2012. The professional development they offer to their associates enables them to develop the skills, capabilities and mindsets needed to drive sustainable financial performance and value creation. PepsiCo is combating the inhibitors of listening by providing to its employees with opportunities of professional development. Conclusion In order to have a Total Quality program that works effectively it is important to put at the core of the program the communication piece. Especially the information that is brought and communicated by the customers is the piece that has to have a mechanism that assures that it is inputted in to the Total Quality program. In the case of AtlantiCare, the nonprofit company has a system in place that voices the suggestions, complains, and demands of both customers: external and internal. The core of the AtlantiCare’s Total Quality system is a process called the â€Å"Voice of the Customer.† This is a five-phase process used to make the organization’s patients partners in its continual-improvement efforts. Voice of the Customer identifies patient requirements and then makes sure that AtlantiCare’s services satisfy these requirements. The part that AtlantiCare applies perfectly well is the focus in its internal and external customers. In the case of IKEA, the company has its own program called the â€Å"VOICE.† The VOICE result also identifies areas where we can improve. IKEA is listening actively. They paid attention to their employees. They are sensitive to the information they receive, and also they act in consequence. The area where this program could improve is in the external customer. According to this program they are only surveying the employees, but they are not taking in consideration the important information that the external customers have and can be used in the company’s advantage. On the other hand, in 2012, PepsiCo  was listed among the Top 25 ‘World’s Best Multinational Workplaces’ by the Great Place to Work Institute (PepsiCo, 2012), which means PepsiCo takes care of its internal customers. In all of their markets, they are developing the talent of associates, preparing them to lead PepsiCo into the future. Through PepsiCo University and online courses offered by their global functions, more than 8,000 of their associates completed more than 11,500 courses in 2012. PepsiCo provides for its employees professional developing opportunities and career growth, but they do not have a program in place that assures that its employees are providing information that could help the company. Less say they are not putting communication at the core of its Total Quality program. Finally, both companies could learn something from AtlantiCare by implementing Total Quality programs that included their external customers. Especially in the case of IKEA that sells directly to the final consumer. References David L. Goetsch, Stanley B. Davis. (2011) Quality Management for Organizational Excellence: Introduction to Total Quality, (7th Ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education IKEA Group (2012). Welcome inside 2012. Retrieved from http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_US/pdf/yearly_summary/ys_welcome_inside_2012.pdf PepsiCo (2012). Annual Report. Retrieved from http://www.pepsico.com/download/PEP_Annual_Report_2012.pdf

Dark and gothic atmosphere Essay

In this essay I will show how Mary Shelley manipulates the reader’s view of the monster throughout her novel â€Å"Frankenstein.† I will show that Shelley creates many different impressions on the reader, through various methods, to change their opinion throughout the book.  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Frankenstein† is a romantic gothic horror novel written in 1818 by a young woman named Mary Shelley. It includes the classic gothic themes of romance, horror, religion and good and evil. â€Å"Frankenstein†, however, is centred on a issue still debated today; whether trying to change life is playing God and if it will lead to dire consequences. At the time of writing Mary Shelley was 16, the wife of Percy Shelley and staying in the Swiss Alps with Lord Byron and her husband. One of the more classic methods Shelley uses to manipulate her readers is setting. In chapter 5 the setting gives a dark and gothic atmosphere, which tells the reader that the monster is horrifying and to be feared. â€Å"One in the morning; the rain pattered dismally against the panes, and my candle was nearly burnt out.† This quote is giving the reader the idea of isolation; something surreptitious and forbidden. Mary Shelley does this by using a classic gothic horror setting; the night which traditionally implies evil, secrecy and darkness, the bad weather, used to make everything more dank and dismal, and the burnt down candle, a symbol of long hours of frenzied work and manic concentration. This setting also reflects badly on Frankenstein’s character; the middle of a stormy night when most people would be in bed and he is up, furtively completing a long held ambition. The burnt down candle image heightens this idea but also adds the concept that Frankenstein himself may be close to burning out. The candle is used as a metaphor for his own exhaustion. This type of setting shows the reader that Frankenstein is doing something secretly, something offensive to society. This casts a negative shadow on his character. The setting is also used to put a negative slur on the monster and just about everything else in the scene. The setting is used to make everything worse. The strange hour of the night and turbulent weather show the reader that the monster must be weird and unnatural to be kept away from normal people. Overall the main effect of this setting is to make all the ideas Mary Shelley presents to her readers in this chapter seem twisted and dangerous. Another thing which Mary Shelley uses to influence the reader’s opinion of the monster is its appearance. We are introduced to the living monster in chapter 5 and this is where most of the description concerning its â€Å"horrid† appearance is used. The monster is repulsive and gruesome, which is described in horrifying detail, causing the reader to make negative judgements on its character. In describing the monster Shelley also uses the reference of â€Å"Dante†. This comparison introduces a religious element; in playing God, Frankenstein has produced something worse than can be found in Hell. This also reinforces the unnatural image. This is continued with the idea that the monster has not turned out the way Frankenstein expected. â€Å"Beautiful! Great God! His yellow skin scarcely covered the work of muscles and arteries beneath†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The whole vivid description centres on the unnatural and freakish, especially the way the monster’s innards are described as visible through the monster’s sallow skin. This creates a dramatic image in the readers mind as something human shaped but ultimately wrong, different and scary, more animal than human. The monster is also described as having â€Å"watery eyes† which make us think of illness, or perhaps, in the case of the monster, crying. This idea makes the monster seem all the more wretched and repulsive. Mary Shelley also uses the reaction of Victor Frankenstein to prejudice her readers against the monster in chapter 5. â€Å"†¦the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart.† The inventor turns against his creation immediately after giving it life. He takes no responsibility for the monster’s well being though he is the closest thing to a father the monster could have. He runs from his duty and breaks down, delirious with the shock of losing his dream and realising that he has done an evil deed. This adds to the fear felt by the reader; if even it’s creator cannot stand the monster, how evil would a stranger find it? The way Frankenstein turns against the monster the moment it comes to life signals to the reader that this is the moment when the sin is committed. Giving life is going against God so this is where all the negativity in this chapter, and in most of the book starts. The last influence on our opinion of the monster I will look at in chapter 5 is the monster’s own words and actions. In this chapter they are deliberately given a double meaning; animal, or baby? â€Å"His jaws opened, and he muttered some inarticulate sounds, while a grin wrinkled his cheeks.† This quote shows the monster as incoherent, whether due to a lack of intelligence or experience is unclear at this point. However the monster has, in effect, just been born and the behaviours Shelley describes are very similar to young children not quite in control of their movements, trying to pick up or chew on everything they find. When these movements are applied to the monster Shelley describes they become intimidating and threatening which gives the reader an even worse impression of the monster, when in reality it is just a scared child who has been called into the world and then rejected within minutes. Frankenstein is the first living creature the monster sets eyes on. This means that in its view Frankenstein is its father. This means that the monster reaches out to him for comfort and shelter. â€Å"†¦one hand was stretched out,† This quote shows the monster reaching for Frankenstein. However Shelley deliberately leaves the action open for interpretation as an animal attack to reinforce the overall impression received by the reader in this chapter that the monster is an ugly, evil, dangerous, horrifying animal. There are a lot of contrasts between chapters 5 and 10. The first is the setting which becomes a lot more dangerous and inaccessible in chapter 10. The setting is first portrayed in this chapter as enormous and amazing, as yet untouched by humans. â€Å"Solemn silence of this glorious presence-chamber of imperial nature was broken only by the brawling waves or the fall of some vast fragment.† This quote shows why Frankenstein has come to this place; he wants peace and isolation, and to think about more than just his own personal tragedy. â€Å"They elevated me from all little ness of feeling, and although they did not remove my grief, they subdued and tranquillized it.† The language used to describe the setting is more elaborate in this chapter, which reflects the increased grandeur of the scene. This is done to create a sense of awe from the reader and to show them how isolated the setting is, which affects their perception of the monster when he is introduced to the c hapter.