Researching Ancestors Using the Canadian Census

Walmart case study ( growth strategy) Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Walmart ( development procedure) - Case Study Example It has begun doing this by looking for speculators in those countries just as using online business to contend with different organizations too. The procedure may take some time however it is on the correct way as indicated by the pioneers responsible for the universal markets (Banjo, 2014). In conclusion, there is the biological system development methodology that is planned for connecting the Walmart supercenters with their littler stores and even offers conveyance in the wake of requesting through the mobiles (DePillis, 2013). This will contend with the dollar stores and guarantee to hold their clients in the lower chain while not bargaining their high-finished clients. This is likewise still in the underlying phase of advancement however it seems like a development system that will bring them once again into the spotlight and help raise their deals indeed. Banjo, Shelly. â€Å"Wal-Marts Strategy to Jump Start Growth in China.† The Wall Street Journal, August fifth, 2014. Recovered from: http://online.wsj.com/articles/wal-shops strategy-to-kick off development in-china-1407252531 DePillis, Lydia. â€Å"Here’s Walmart’s new methodology for being your everything.† The Washington Post, October, seventeenth, 2013. Recovered from:

The Work of Svetlana Alexievich, Recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature

The Work of Svetlana Alexievich, Recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature The recipient of the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature is Svetlana Alexievich from Belarus. By naming her this year’s recipient, the Swedish Academy has made a strong statement in support of an author who is a champion of freedom of speech. Svetlana Alexievich’s home country Belarus is Europe’s only dictatorship. Belarus has no freedom of speech, no freedom of the press, and no freedom of assembly. The country sentences its political prisoners to death and persecutes its authors and journalists. The Belarusian regime sees Alexievich as a threat because her books are based on interviews with hundreds of ordinary citizens where they talk about their experiences during World War II, the Soviet Afghan War, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and the identity crisis experienced by many in the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse. By giving voice to the individual, Alexievich gives voice to a narrative that opposes the official propaganda of the regime, an act that forced her into exile for many years. If you wish to read the books by Svetlana Alexievich, so far three of them have been translated into English. War’s Unwomanly Face War’s Unwomanly Face is Svetlana Alexievich’s first book and was published in 1985 in what was then the Soviet Union. Based on interviews with hundreds of women, Alexievich tells the story of their experiences at the Soviet front lines in World War II. Zinky Boys: Soviet Voices from the Afghan War At the time of publication, Zinky Boys caused an outrage in the Soviet Union. In her book, Alexievich gives voice to the soldiers who fought in the Soviet Union’s ill-fated war in Afghanistan and their families, exposing the truth behind the government’s propaganda. An excerpt from Zinky Boys has been published by Granta. The excerpt contains the testimonies of a soldier, a widow, a mother, and a nurse. Voice from Chernobyl: The Oral History of a Nuclear Disaster In February 1986 the nuclear power plant at Chernobyl in Ukraine exploded, causing the greatest peacetime nuclear disaster in the world. Northern Belarus received most of the radioactive fallout. An excerpt from Voices from Chernobyl has been published by The Paris Review. It is a harrowing and deeply emotional read that exposes the human suffering as well as the hypocrisy of the now-defunct Soviet regime and the current dictatorship of Belarus. Note: A previous version of this post stated that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is located in Belarus. This has now been corrected. Save Sign up to Today In Books to receive  daily news and miscellany from the world of books.

Religion A Blessing or a Curse - 609 Words

Humanity have been involved in wars far before religions appeared. In prehistoric times, wars took place between different cultures and empires merely for domination purposes. Later on, after religions appeared wars became religiously purposed. The best example for this is the Crusades where Evangelicals were send to fight in the name of converting people to Christianity. We can also state the wars by which Muslims gained control of the southern part of Spain from Christians. Hagia Sophia, a former Greek Orthodox patriarchal basilica that later became an /imperial /mosque, and /now a /museum in /Istanbul, /Turkey is one example among thousands which date us back to that era. This dominance of religion remained during the Middle Ages where emperors labeled as Gods on earth ruled with atrocity. Finally, during the enlightenment period things changed; the development of scientific ideas that contradicted religious teachings made societies more secular although religions remain ed powerful. Word War 1 and 2 are proof for this because their reasons are merely political and not related in any way to religion. However, in the last 20 years religious conflicts resurfaced and became a source of international threat and terrorism. Since the 9/11 incident Muslims have been labeled as terrorist although most if not all of Muslims are against what happened. This religious based terrorism is unfortunately taking place currently in Lebanon and many other Arab countries whereShow MoreRelatedThe Agricultural Revolution: Augmentation and Dissemination Essay examples1221 Words   |  5 PagesThe blessing and curse of the Agricultural Revolution is advocated with its augmentation and dissemination. Taking the stipulative definition of â€Å"blessing† and â€Å"curse† from the original premise, one can only superimpose the layman’s terms of â€Å"negative† and â€Å"positive†. Upon examination of the two classifications within the Neolit hic Period and ancient Mesopotamian civilization one can confirm the premise. Therefore, the agriculture revolution was a blessing and a curse for humanity. Human societyRead MoreAbrahamic Covenant of Grace Essay1231 Words   |  5 Pagesthreefold including: making him into a great nation, making his name great, blessing others who bless him and cursing those who curse Abraham. Unlike a conditional covenant which requires â€Å"If you, Then I† promises, these promises were established by the Lord, and only the Lord would be able to completely fulfill his end of the bargain. There was no condition on Abraham, only a command to leave so that he can partake in the blessings the Lord will bestow upon him. When looking to gain knowledge aboutRead MoreThe For The Nation And Its People Through The Various Counts Of Sin1083 Words   |  5 Pagesthe nation and its people through the various counts of sin. Hosea once again invited the Israelites to repent for their sins for restoration. God promised them healing and blessing in return. He used agricultural terms to describe the future blessings and repentance of Israel which gained their attention, since they had a religion dedicated to a god that provided agriculture fertility (Arnold and Beyer, pg. 434). God had redemptive plans for the unfaithful people (2: 6-15). God had three â€Å"therefore†Read MoreHamiltons Curse Book Review1464 Words   |  6 PagesBook Review: Hamilton’s Curse: How Jefferson’s Arch Enemy Betrayed the American Revolution- and what it means for America Today What kind of country is the United States of America? Is it really the land of the free or are the Americans controlled by an imperial presidency? Is America peaceful and prosperous? Is it possible to identify the source of America’s economic problems? Some people have a clear picture of how things really are; while others are never able to see the entire scope ofRead MoreThe Social System Of India1230 Words   |  5 Pageson the jobs they perform and are excluded and isolated from the rest of society. The book written by William Darlymple, Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India, provides an exception to this rule. It depicts several instances in which religion is used as a weapon to resist and fight back against an unjust social system. The Nun s Tale. This is of woman that was born into an affluent family of merchant making her part of the Vaishyas caste. She renounced everything and chose to liveRead MoreEssay about Taking a Look Back at the Black Death755 Words   |  4 PagesEurope and the Middle East were struck with the Black Death in the mid-14th century, religion was the most important aspect of everyone’s lives. The two most popular religions at the time were Christianity and Islam. Although these religions are very similar in their beliefs, what differentiates them is how their followers reacted to the Black Death and what they believed about it: seeing it as a blessing or as a curse. The most common opinion regarding the cause of the plague was religious. TheRead MoreThe Hebrews Are A Covenant Oriented Demographic925 Words   |  4 Pageshow the current population of Jewish people follows and practice their religion. The first Covenant is the Abrahamic covenant this is defined in Genesis chapters 12 through 13. In Genesis 12 and 15, God grants Abraham land and descendants. This Covenant states that to make of Abraham a great nation and bless Abraham and make his name great so that he will be a blessing, to bless those who bless him and curse him who curses him and all peoples on earth would be blessed through Abraham. To give AbrahamRead MoreAncient Egypt vs. Mesopotamia - Comparative Essay988 Words   |  4 Pagesfeared or praised their gods. Mesopotamia, also known as the Fertile Crescent, was located inside the Euphrates and Tigris River. The fertile land was a home to the many city-states. Although the city-states are not unified, they share the same curse/ blessing. All city states are located near the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. The rivers provide rich soil that is favorable for farming. The continuous supplies of minerals, silt, left over from the flooding replenish the soil. Also, many archeologistsRead MoreCeltic Mythology and Folklore1235 Words   |  5 PagesChristianity. After converting, the Celts dropped all traces of their former religion to be found by subsequent inhabitants of their lands. First the stories and tales were told by oral tradition and later written down by bards, poets, and monks. This literature could be found across Ireland, Wales, Scotland, bits of England, and smatterings of Europe [insert citation from godchecker.com]. Generally speaking the ancient Celtic religion like many other soc ieties and civilizations at that time was polythesticRead MoreThe Emblem Of The Curse Of Domestic Violence1015 Words   |  5 PagesSimilarly,in France, Jacqueline Sauvage became the emblem of the curse of domestic violence when she was convicted of killing her abusive husband. Online campaigns were organized to support her and around 4, 00,000 signatures were collected online to support Jacqueline Sauvage (Yanan Wang,2016).French President Francois Hollande has reacted to an extensive plea that has mushroomed all over social networks to free Jacqueline Sauvage from prison and has pardoned her. SNS helps women to voice their

Autism Spectrum Disorder and Attitudes About Inclusion...

Autism Spectrum Disorder Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) refers to a range of neurological disorders that usually affect the normal functioning of the brain. They are characterized by highly repetitive behavior, extensive impairment in communication and social interactions as well as severely restricted interests. The spectrum encompasses Autism, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, Rett Disorder, Pervasive Development Disorder, and Asperger’s Disorder. Prevalence statistics The prevalence of ASD ranges between 3.3 and 10.6 for every 1000 children with a general mean prevalence of 6.6 per 1000 children. There is significant higher prevalence among white non-Hispanic kids compared with black non-Hispanic kids (Centers for Disease†¦show more content†¦Each of the disorders that make up the spectrum has its own set of unique symptoms. However there are common symptoms in all of the five disorders. The general symptoms of Autism spectrum disorder include; social and communication impairments, repetitive as well as restricted behavior, atypical eating, difficulty in sensory processing, anxiety especially in unfamiliar situations, and inconsistent attention patterns. The repetitive behavior seems ritualistic with the child preferring a certain way of doing something. In addition, there are incidences of self injury, compulsive behavior and unusual abilities that differ with each child. Inclusion Inclusion refers to a system of education that merges special education and general education such that children who have disabilities and therefore require special education learn in the same environment and classroom setting similar to that which normal children learn in. In the past, special and general educations have been viewed as two distinct sections of the education system. Special education is dedicated to providing learning opportunities to children who are diagnosed with disabilities as well as disorders that impede their normal learning experience. The philosophy behind inclusion is the need to have children with disabilities and disorders that affect their learning experience to have equal learning opportunitiesShow MoreRelatedThe Class Room By William Wright G000516811318 Words   |  6 PagesGeneral Purpose: Inclusion in the Class Room Specific Purpose: To persuade my readers that inclusion is important in the class room. Central Idea: Institutions should have programs for special needs children to integrate them in classrooms with regular students. . INTRODUCTION I. Attention Material A. Models to show how students with assistance can be measured 1. Some teachers think that inclusions are a plus in the class rooms. 2. Other teachers think that think inclusion would be more workRead MoreAutistic Children in Mainstream Schools1753 Words   |  8 Pages â€Å"The current prevalence rates of Autism Spectrum Disorders range from 0.5 to 6.7 per 1,000 among children ages 3 through 10 years† (Shtayermman 88). With this dramatic change in the frequency of autism comes the development of special education schools and, in turn, a rise in the presence of autistic children in a general classroom setting. While many think that a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, in attendance at a regular school would be beneficial to the child in question, there areRead MoreSpecial Education vs Inclusive Education887 Words   |  4 PagesResearch suggests that the integration and inclusion of students with special educational needs can be beneficial to not only the student, but also to the parents, teachers and peers of the student (Stainback, Stainback Jackson, 1992). It is also suggested that integra tion and inclusion is also beneficial to students in areas of learning other than academic, including that of emotional and social development. Wagner is in support of inclusive education, but believes that â€Å"Placement in regularRead MoreThe Role Of Special Schools For Students With Children With Learning Difficulties1983 Words   |  8 Pages Inclusion in school is built upon removing barriers to participation access and achievement for all pupils (Grimes, 2009) it is only effective if it has been well-resourced and has targeted funding, early identification implemented covering the children’s needs and intervening as early as possible, the correct training for teachers and support staff needs to be implemented to improve awareness and understanding, it is also important to have adequate and appropriate support, whilst recognising theRead MoreInclusion and Autism in Main Stream Schools3923 Words   |  16 PagesApart or A Part? Inclusion and Autism in Main Stream Primary Settings. The number of pupils with autistic spectrum conditions (ASC) being educated in mainstream settings is increasing (Humphrey 2008). Inclusion in main stream education can be extremely beneficial for pupils on the autism spectrum (Great Britain. Department for Children, Schools and families, 2009), however there is growing concern about the educational experiences of pupils with ASC. Only 12% of parents with children in anRead MoreA Case Study of a First-grade Student1344 Words   |  5 Pagestantrums. Although he has deficits in communication and social skills, Adam excels in completing certain tasks that are designed for upper level students. After reviewing the symptoms and the reactions he exhibits, I believe the student has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). At this time, I would choose treatment options that implement behavior modification techniques. I believe this is the correct form of treatment due to his behaviors not being severe enough to be treated with medication. He is no t exhibitingRead MoreEssay about Challenges in the Classroom: ADHD and Autism1482 Words   |  6 Pageswho suffer from ADHD to physical disabilities to students with autism to ones that are bullied in school. There are so many things going on in our students lives we sometimes forget they have lives, pressures and disabilities that affect their performance and attitude in our class that have a profound impact on how they learn. For this paper I have chose to focus on learners that struggle with autism and students who have ADHD. Autism and ADHD learning disabilities are becoming more and more commonRead MoreAutism Spectrum Disorder ( Asd )1852 Words   |  8 PagesThe following paper is going to cover the topic of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Using research and data collected from various authors and journalists the paper will describe the different variations of autism and discuss the impact autism has on a person- in society, at home, in the classroom, and in their careers. B eginning at infancy, autism has a major impact on not just the child but their family’s life as well. The child’s lack of ability to interpret social cues, gestures, and expressionsRead MoreThe Influence of Childhood Mental Disorders On the Quality of Public Education1037 Words   |  5 Pagescontemporary world to see a child with some sort of mental disorder. Fortunately, it is usually not as serious as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but nonetheless it is a great stress for both the kid, their family and people around them. According to the reports by the U. S. Surgeon General and the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health (2010), four million children and adolescents in this country suffer from a serious mental disorder that causes significant functional impairments at home, atRead MoreChildren With An Autism Spectrum Disorder2726 Words   |  11 Pagessociety. This was also the categorization of children with autism until recently in the United States. View s regarding these kids have changed over time; influence from the environment has had a great impact on these changes. The views of these children now and what teachers in the 21st century need to do to help them are key to not reliving the past. To understand why children were treated differently in the past, knowledge of autism is required. The Diagnostic and statistical Manual (DSM-5)

Importance of Foreign Market Entry Free Essays

For a business organization to grow, it has to constantly find new opportunities to exploit. Globalisation is a large driving force that has led to the trend of the rising number of business organizations operating beyond their home country. As with globalisation,there is now a decrease in trade barriers which makes doing business abroad easier. We will write a custom essay sample on Importance of Foreign Market Entry or any similar topic only for you Order Now Likewise,there is also an increased in the number of competitors in the local market and many a times, a organisation has to expand into a new foreign market so as to achieve a higher market share. One major pushing force for a organisation to go abroad is the limited opportunities in the local market which could either have no need for the organisation’s offerings or the market could be quite saturated. A global market,on the other hand,offers endless possibilities and a bigger market. Consider a small country like Singapore which only has a population of close to 5 million, a business organisation can do so much more with an expansion overseas whereby the population size is many times the local population. Local companies like Eu Yan Sang (traditional chinese medicine) or Prima Taste have their products located in different parts of the world where there are definitely a demand for it. Consider the Chinatown in London where many Chinese nationalities are currently residing/studying at. Chinese products that are found in their home countries are bound to appeal to them due to the brand familiarity as well and if there is a demand for such products,business organisations can reap from the benefits by supplying these products. This is also the case for many agriculture industries whereby the production of the products are far much more than what the population can consume. The amount of coffeebeans that are harvested in Latin America are more than sufficient for its population and organisations can make a profit out of it by actually selling the excess. The importance about a global expansion is also the competitive advantage the organisation is able to to reap. Firstly, the organisation may become more fficient due to the larger market size. Economies of scales which was previously not attainable due to the limited population size can now be realised as the number of markets and customers increase. Underutilised machinery can also be put to fuller use as the number of orders increases. For another class, we actually visited the Manner production plant in Vienna and we noticed that many of their machines were not running at full capacity. By exporting overseas and increasing the demand for Manner products,this can actually help increase the production and make better use of these machines. Besides achieving economies of scale, the organisation may be able to reap the benefits of an experience curve and this can further bring cost of productions down or making the organisation a more efficient one. Another advantage of a foreign market entry is that it can actually increase the product life cycle when it is sold in less developed countries. For a product with a short life cycle(especially technology gadgets),exporting it to other less developed countries can prolong its cycle as the level of sophistication and technology that is demanded might be lower. Consider the case of cellphones in a developed country like Japan. New models of cellphones are constantly introduced and it will not be long before a model is phased out. Manufacturers of the older model can then find a new market in a less developed market (for example, India) that does that require the newest technology but just require the cell phone for its basic functionality. How to cite Importance of Foreign Market Entry, Papers

Water Works By Doctrorow And In Cold Blood By Essay Example For Students

Water Works By Doctrorow And In Cold Blood By Essay Capote In E.L Doctrorows novel, The Waterworks, Mr McIlvaine suggests that some stories were, not reportorially possible. .. that there are limits to words in a newspaper (page 201). The character Mr McIlvaine like Truman Capote the author of In Cold Blood are both journalists who have found stories to which they feel newsprint, in itself would not have brought justice. Therefore to what extent has truth in narration, and truth through journalism influenced the writing of the novels of In Cold Blood and The Waterworks? Truth is hard to define, the Collins English Dictionary(1992) defines truth as, state of being true, and true as, in accordance with the facts, exact, correct. If we are to strip something down to its bear essentials like a newspaper headline we would hear that, CLUES ARE FEW IN SLAYING OF 4 (Page 97, In Cold Bold) or in the case of The Waterworks: Telegram freelance reporter gone missing after allegedly seeing dead father. We will write a custom essay on Water Works By Doctrorow And In Cold Blood By specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now These headlines although truthful do not tell the whole truth, so in away they misrepresent the real truth. In trying to find the truth both authors take different approaches. In Cold Blood is written in the voice of an omniscient narrator. Capote was drawn to the Clutter killings by reading a headline in a newspaper of a killing in Holcomb, Kansas of four family members (Stephen Harris December 1999) and wanted to find out more than what could be transmitted through news media, he wanted to really investigate talk to the people and find the truth. Capote rarely alludes the reader to himself, and the investigative lengths he went to, to get the story. Capote is able to go into such detail due to these investigations. We are told in the, Acknowledgments, that, All the material in this book not derived from my own observation is either taken from official records or is the result of interviews with the persons directly concerned (Page 9). In Cold Blood is told as a life narrative not as a traditional factual account. Capote has added depth by using the narrator and realistic imagery as a filler between real factual evidence, documents, newspaper articles and interviews. The Waterworks is a fictional novel. Doctorow uses the character McIlvaine, a newspaper Editor of the New York Telegraph, to tell the story through the technique of realistic reportage of Martain Pembertons disappearance, Martian Pembertons fathers reappearance and a greater social evil. McIlvaine is always questioning his journalistic morals, he defines journalism as, the cheapest commonest realm, the realm of newsprint. My realm.(Page 8). MacIlvine constantly questions his own objectiveness towards the story of the Pemberton family, Did that mean I found myself prepared to put the interest of the story ahead of the lives of the people involved in it? (Page 200),. The conflict within McIlvaine seems true but there is no real conflict as this is a work of fiction. When McIlvaine puts himself across as a credible narrator the reader is able to better accept the rest of the story he is telling. Despite this in The Waterworks there are many devices used to make the book seem real or truthful. These will be explained latter. Did Capote (a journalist himself), have the same moral struggle when writing the work In Cold Blood as McIlvaine had in The Waterworks? The text never alerts the audience to any struggle of journalistic duty between the truth and the rights of the victims and the offenders, but there are areas in which one could argue there was such conflict. Capote edited out certain parts of Dick Hitckocks letter in which, Hickock revealed his pedophiliac tendencies,(Page 278). Capote had obviously in this instance decided that the rights of Hickoks victims were more important than the publics right to know. whether Capote was forced to edit out these parts of the book we will never know, because of the style of narration Capote has chosen, but the greater question is, Has anything else been left out because of its sensitive nature? Stories, which are often as complex as the people who write them, can be altered in many ways, such as how the writer was feeling at the time and if they felt sympathetic towards the person or people in question. McIlvaine explains how a journalist constructs an opinion for a reader without them realising: they (reporters) did not make such a sanctimonious thing of objectivity, which is finally a way of constructing an opinion for the reader without letting him now you .

corporate and business law Essays

corporate and business law Essays corporate and business law Paper corporate and business law Paper corporate and business law BY etu20110952 GASPARD vjrgile LAFITTE Pierre AC504E External auditing Take home case Pacific Sunwear of California Inc Executive summary † 3 The Sarbanes Oxley act: a compliance plan 4 Overview: 4 Summary of the Sarbanes-Oxley 4 The Sarbanes-Oxley act: † 404: Checklist: 5 Auditing standards n05: description of the procedures to comply with the section 5 International standards of auditing in reference with the 6 Processes to comply with the Section case How to comply with the 7 Procedures section 404? mplemented by Pacific Sunwear.. 8 Evaluation of the effectiveness of the process implemented by 9 Impact of the information disclosed on the stock PacSun † 10 Costs and benefits of Sarbanes- Oxley † 13 Recommendations for 15 References. 16 Appendix A : Deadline for the compliance with the different sections of internal the act.. † . 17 Appendix B: Certification required by the SEC about . 9 Appendix C: Certification required by 2 0 the SEC about disclosure controls Executive summary Pacific Sunwear of California entered in the stock market on Nasdaq in 1993. The Sarbanes Oxley act redacted in 2002, established new or enhanced standards for listing companies in the US markets and in particular the section 404 about the creation of an internal report each year, in response to a number of major corporate In this report, we will establish the impact of this United States federal law on PacSun by analyzing the process engendered, influence of the disclosures on the stock price, and the cost/benefits relation. The Sarbanes Oxley act: a compliance plan The Sarbanes-Oxley act enacted in 2002 is a United States federal law to respond to some major corporate and accounting scandals such as Enron, Tyco international or World com. These scandals cost billions of dollars to investors when stock prices collapsed and decreased the public confidence about nations securities markets and auditing standards. So, this standard established new or improved standards and regulations, for all US public company and all foreign companies listed in the US stock markets. This act contains 11 sections and required the Securities and Exchange Commission (US regulator which regulates the securities industry and the stocks and options markets) to implement the rules and comply with the new law. The deadlines to implement SOX are exposed in Appendix 1 . Summary of the Sarbanes-Oxley act: Then, we are going to describe quickly the different sections of the SOX act (except the section 4 explained below): 1 Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB): the objective of this board is to register and regulate all public accounting firms to implement compliance standards 2 Auditor independence: creation of standards for external auditor ndependence to reduce conflicts of interest 3 Corporate responsibility: defines the relation between external auditors and corporate audit committees 5 Analyst conflicts of interest: evokes practice to create a new public confidence in the reporting 6 Commission resources and authority: highlights practice to create a new public confidence in the financial analysts 7 Studies and reports: SEC has to make various studies and explain their findings 8 Corporate and criminal fraud accountability: describes criminal penalties for fraud 9 White collar crime penalty enhancements 0 Corporate tax returns requir ed to be signed by the Chief Executive Officer 1 1 Corporate fraud accountability: identified corporate fraud and records classified as criminal offenses The Sarbanes-Oxley 404: Checklist: The section 4 is about enhanced financial disclosures and increases requirements for financial reporting like off-balance sheet transactions. It requires internal controls to offer the accuracy of financial reports and disclosures. An internal control system is failures, or weaknesses in the system that must occur. The section 404 is the cornerstone of the section 4 and demands that each annual eport contain an internal control report. This additional report assesses the responsibility of management for establishing and implementing adequate procedures for financial reporting. This report must include: assessment of effectiveness of internal control structure and procedures, any code of ethics and contents of that code. Consequently, this section is really decisive because it implies extra costs to comply with this requirement for registered public companies in the US stock markets. The Appendix 2 and 3 sum up the certifications required by the SEC. Auditing standards 05: description of the procedures to comply with the section 404 Issued the 24th may 2007, the Auditing standards n05 substitutes the Auditing standards n02. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board releases the AS n05 to describe the procedures to comply with the section 404: o Highlights a top-down risk based approach (financial risk assessment) o Places greater reliance on entity-level controls o Focuses on understanding and testing controls related to risks for significant accounts and disclosures o Allows for greater ability to rely on work of others o Changes definition of material weakness and significant deficiency: Material weakness: a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the companys annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Significant deficiency: A deficiency or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting that is less severe than a material weakness, yet important to merit the attention by those responsible for ove rsight of the companys financial reporting. o Simplifies the auditors opinion by eliminating opinion on managements ssessment of internal control 5 International standards of auditing in reference with the case The section 404 referred to some ISA standards: ISA 230 about audit documentation ISA 300 about planning an audit of financial statements ISA 330 about the auditors procedures in response to assessed risks ISA 500 about audit evidence ISA 600 about using the Work of Another Auditor 6 Processes to comply with the Section 404 After evoking the requirements of the section 404, we will describe the processes implemented by Pacific Sunwear first and by the other listed companies in general. Complying with Sarbanes-Oxley is complex; compliance requires a multiple approach involving many departments and many people which will be detailed below. How to comply with the Section 404? Generally, according to Sanjay Anand an internal control in accordance with Sarbanes-Oxley is following an eight-step process: 1 Establish a compliance committee which is specialist of the compliance with Sarbanesoxley and can have a general overview of the company about the risk and the solutions. The objective of this committee is to commit the various departments, to provide training and to communication about the objectives. Assess risk in order to identify the magnitude and potential impact of each risk in order to create a risk portfolio. 3 Set reporting objectives by determining the probability of risks and errors to define decision rules and reporting objectives. For ensuring internal control compliance, these areas need to be created: personnel control, system and resource controls, strategic planning controls and business service controls. 4 Prepare a formal implementation plan, which is a transition plan to move from project step to a day-to-day operation for an internal control system. Communicate the ongoing procedures by presenting clearly and effectively with the focusing on understanding, acceptance and observance. 6 Provide training implemented by the compliance committee in internal policies, practices and procedures. 7 Document processes and risk management certified by the Chief Executing Officer and the Chief Financial Officer so as to demonstrate the efficiency of the internal control system. Perform continuous evaluation performed by the manager in order to establish and maintain controls and to ensure the appropriate compliance. 7 Procedures implemented by Pacific Sunwear The most expensive costs of compliance were those linke d with the section 404: costs about internal controls over financial reporting. The procedures of compliance are only described for the two first years in the case study: 2004 and 2005. Before the compliance, PacSun had not internal control system. They only created it in mid 2003 and they paid the services of a Big-4 auditing firms as required by the section 404. They expanded the internal control department at the end of 2004. About the procedures they implemented in 2004, PacSun followed a process in five steps: 1) Scope and plan the evaluation 2) Document the controls nd correct deficiencies 5) Reports on internal control They identified also 21 major business processes assigned to an owner with the objective to develop detailed process narratives. These major business processes were divided into sub processes with the detail of the business objectives and the risks. At the end of 2004, they had identified a total of 238 key controls and they managed to highlight a significant deficiency about the revaluation of deferred leases which can affect by definition the reliability of external auditing data. Then, all public officers had to certify in their area that the control was effective. The CEO and CFO certified then of the fairness and reliability of the financial statements. In 2005, the process became easier because all the information had already been created. They reduced the number of key controls to 222, only a 7% decrease, in comparison with larger companies (19% of decrease). They discovered a new significant deficiency because they didnt recognize liabilities about the companys loyalty program. 8 Evaluation of the effectiveness of the process implemented by PacSun Strengths: Enables to discover two significant deficiencies which misstate the financial statements Enable to create an efficient internal control system, which reduces the risks and increases the efficiency of the global system Implementation of a double control : internal control and Big-4 auditing firms control Better assessment of risks implied Significant reduction of the costs after the first year of implementation of about 40%, comparable to the other companies Commitment of all the employees which can increase the motivation and the corporate culture Better disclosure of financial information for financial analysts and investors Weaknesses: Compliance costs of $2 million in 2004 and $1. million in 2005 Additional costs associated with the training of the staff with the necessary creation of a SOX program training The compliance is very time-consuming with an increase of the formalization Competitive disadvantage in comparison with the other competitors not listed Overall, PacSun had efficiently implemented the compliance and the weaknesses will tend to reduce over the long term. However, PacSun management believed that the costs are greater than the benefits engendered. The costs implied and generally the time spent to respect the compliance rules, can Justify this opinion. Impact of the information disclosed on the stock prices In 2005, PacSun need to restate his prior two years financial statements, which resulted in no material change to net income. Auditors Judge restatement like deficiencies but they dont agree about the type of deficiency: two of the Big-4 firms judge this particular type of restatement as only a significant deficiency, i. e. a control deficiency, or combination of control deficiencies, that adversely affects the companys ability to be in accordance with GAAP. The others two Judge it to be a material weakness, i. e. significant deficiency, or combination of significant deficiencies, that result in more than remote likelihood that a material misstatement of financial statements will not be prevented or detected. by the PacSun loyalty program called Pac Bucks. In fact, the liabilities and expenses of this program were not recognizing in the proper quarter. This accounting problem was considered by external auditors like a significant deficiency, but not a material weakness. Thus, in FY 2005, PacSun received clean financial statement and 404 opinions. What is the impact of Information Disclosure provided by these deficiencies n PacSuns stock price? In this graph, we can see that the PacSuns stock price is very volatile between 2005 to 2007 (Beta higher than 1) when the NASDAQ is regularly up. This volatility can be explained by 10 the convergence of PacSun to SOX and the substantial increase of information provided on the firm. But it is very hard to have a real opinion of the impact of Information Disclosure on stock Market Returns with a unique firm. Thus we will answer with papers which study this impact on a large sample of US Company. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 is one of the , if not the, most important pieces of egislation affecting corporations traded on the US stock exchanges, since the Securities Act of 1932 and Securities Exchange Act of A934 were enacted (Gordon et al. 2007). The SOX act introduced significant changes to financial practice and corporate governance regulation, including new rules designed to protect investors by improving the accuracy and reliability of corporate disclosures made pursuant to the securities laws. And the part of the Act having the most impact must be Section 404, which requires management to submit to the SEC with the companys annually filed financial statements, an internal control report, an assessment of the ffectiveness of the internal control structure and procedures for financial reporting, and finally an audit report which include a description of material weakness in such internal controls and of any material noncompliance. Furthermore, where significant deficiencies exist, they need to be identified as required under SOX like we saw in the PacSun case. Many studies demonstrate that the passage of mandatory government regulation like SOX may be altering the operation of capital market by affecting the stock performance of firms. In 2007, Balakrishnan et Al. , examine, by a dataset on stock arket abnormal returns and consists of 300 firms, how the stock market reaction varies for 8-K filling and how this reaction have changed since the passage of the SOX act. The result is that the SOX have the particularity to increase the information flow of a firm. Thus when a disclosure of a deficiency is promulgated, the information is quickly announced by media and have a direct negative impact on the stock market price. Inversely, when a firm received clean financial statement and 404 opinions, we can think that stock price is positively impacted because its an evidence of a very ood internal control of the firm. Another interesting dimension to consider would be the size of the firm. The effect of Sarbanes-Oxley on the firms information environment is expected to vary with the size of the firm (Ghose et al. 2006). In fact, international firm, but in the US sportswear market, this size is important. In a stock market where diversification is one of the solutions to leverage the risk, PacSun can be a blue chip. Thus, a special attention is paid to it by media. 1 Finally, we can say that disclosure of these deficiencies have had a negative effect on irms stock price but, on the contrary, clean financial statement certification and Good 404 opinion have a positive impact on stock price. In addition, a firm can decide to increase the speed with which information reaches investors by publicizing it in me dia articles. Its a good way to build a loyal firms brand image i. e. increase the investor recognition and limited the impact of bad news on the stock price. 12 Costs and benefits of Sarbanes-Oxley PacSun executives seem convinced that the costs of complying with SOX were greater than the benefits to the company. Though, according to a survey entitled Oversight Systems financials Executive Report conducted with 222 corporate finance leaders, 74 percent said their company benefited from SOX, 79 percent reported significantly stronger or somewhat stronger internal controls as a result of SOX, 46 percent said SOX compliance benefits the company by ensuring accountability and 75 percent said they would vote to keep Section 404 if they were members of Congress. In fact, the benefits of SOX Compliance are multiple: There is a positive influence on maintaining investor confidence (and long-term share price) through increased ransparency and fewer surprises. Financial reporting is more timely and reliable. Overall control culture and corporate governance process are improved. Outdated, redundant and inflective processes and controls are eliminated. Employee on- boarding process is easier Then, why did PacSun not benefit from the compliance process to the same extent as some other companies? Or were their compliance costs too high? The main issue of PacSun is this medium size ($1 billon in market capitalization). The high cost of SOX implementation is financially draining many firms. The SOX doesnt ake a distinction between large-cap billion-dollar companies and small-cap; $75- millon companies (the minimum cap to be obliged to apply SOX). Therefore, the Act requires all public companies to comply with the same regulations; it doesnt take into consideration that small companies arent as complex in organizational structure as large companies. Because large corporations have complex business models, more complicated accounting practices, they already have a lot of controls in place to ensure the efficiency of their operations that are required by SOX. In other hand, maller companies have simpler organizational structures and, thus, have slighter accounting practices, which generate simpler financial statements. These small firms require less internal controls. Therefore, since small companies have simpler subject to the same internal control and external auditing requirement of large companies. In the case of PacSun, this business model and accounting practice are closer from a small firm as shown this number of key controls (222 versus an average of 540 for the large companies). In addition, the SOX were created to fight against corporate scandals like Enron. But the majority of these scandals have occurred in large corporations with thousand of shareholders by the intermediary of retirement/pension fund. PacSun doesnt have the same type of shareholders and doesnt require the same level of protection for the shareholder interests. Therefore, although shareholder interests should be protected, SOX regulations arent needed for smaller firms that have simple business structures and a small number of shareholders that are unlikely to fraud themselves (entrepreneurs who start the company, their families, and public shareholders without any link between them). Implanting SOX is a long and costly process for companies. In the case of PacSun where his market is not occupied by large companies but especially by little firms (under the $75-million cap) which dont apply SOX, this implantation creates for PacSun a competitive disadvantage and stumps their growth by requiring them to spend excessive amounts of money and time to implement regulation. As example of costs, we have the cost of training, the implementation of a strong internal control, an increase of the size of finance/accounting departments, the fees of the audit firms ; he required amount of money is disproportionately larger in comparison with the largest firms. Thus in conclusion, we can say that SOX were designed in priority for large and complex companies. These costs are too high in relation with the engendered benefits for small caps. 4 Recommendations for PacSun Continue the work to reduce the number of key controls and try to improve a large part of them (better define it and really find an utility) Check the conformity between all marketing projects and internal control before a launching Optimize the balance between internal and external auditors to reduce the work of he external auditors Change your mind: SOX is an advantage to improve internal control Create a training and development program with an e learning module for example References Anand, S. (2006), Sarbanes-Oxley guide for finance and information technology professionals, John Wiley and Sons, 2nd edition Balakrishnan, K. , Ghose, A. and Ipeirotis, P. 2007), the Impact of Information Disclosure on Stock Market Returns: The Sarbanes- Oxley Act and the Role of Media as an Information Intermediary, University of Cambridge Bowling, D. Julien, R. and Rieger, L. (2003), Implementation of Sarbanes-Oxley S 404: Ensuring Compliance, Leveraging Opportunities Ghose, A. and RaJan. U. (2006) The Economic Impact of Regulatory Information Disclosure on Information Security Investments, Competition, and Social Welfare Proceedings of the Workshop on Economics of Information Security, University of Cambridge Gordon, L. , Loeb, M. , Lucyshyn, W. and Sohail, T. (2006), The Impact of the Sarbanesoxley Act on the Corporate Disclosures of Information Security Activities. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 25(5) pp. 503-530. Grinberg, E. 2007), The impact of Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002 on Small Firms, Pace University Ramos, M. (2004), How to comply with Sarbanes-Owley Section 404. Assessing the Effectiveness of Internal Control, John Wiley and Sons, Inc. Available on: http:// books. google. fr/books? id=GAMR23qTQUC=process+to+comply+with+section +404=frontcover=bl= LaTJJAf1 e 1 16 Appendix A : Deadline for the compliance with the different sections of the actl professionals, John Wiley and Sons, 2nd edition, page 63/64 17 18 Appendix B: Certification required by the SEC about internal controls2 professionals, John Wiley and Sons, 2nd edition, page 68

The Grapes of Wrath Importance of the Title

'The Grapes of Wrath Importance of the Title The Grapes of Wrath, a Pulitzer-prize winning book written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939, tells the story of   the  Joads, a poor family of  tenant farmers driven out of Depression-era Oklahoma also referred to as Oakies by drought and economic factors, who migrate to Californa in search of a better life. Steinbeck had trouble coming up with the title for the novel, a classic in American literature, and his wife actually suggested using the phrase. From Bible to Battle Hymn The title, itself, is a reference to lyrics from The Battle Hymn of the Republic, written in 1861 by  Julia Ward Howe, and first published in The Atlantic Monthly in 1862: Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord:He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored;He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword:His truth is marching on. The words have some important resonance in American culture. For example, Martin Luther King Jr, in his  address  at the conclusion of the Selma-to-Montgomery, Alabama, civil rights march in 1965, quoted these very words  from  the hymn.  The lyrics, in turn, reference a biblical  passage in  Revelations 14:19-20, where the evil inhabitants of Earth perish:    And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine press of the wrath of God.  And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the wine press, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs. In the Book The phrase grapes of wrath does not appear almost until the end of the 465-page novel: In the souls of the people, the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage. According to eNotes; The oppressed such as the Okies are ripening in their understanding of their oppression. The fruit of their anger is ready to be harvested. In other words, you can push the downtrodden so far, but eventually, there will be a  price to pay. In all of these references from the tribulations of  Joads, to the battle hymn, the biblical passage and Kings speech the key point is that in response to any oppression, there will be a reckoning, likely ordained by God, and that rightness and justice will prevail. Study Guide QuotesThe Battle Hymn of the RepublicQuestions for Study DiscussionJohn Steinbeck Biography

Assume that Canadian Tire is opening up a store in Ghana Essay

Assume that Canadian Tire is opening up a store in Ghana - Essay Example It was dominated by two colonial powers, which are France and Great Britain. In time, Britain was able to dominate both the political and cultural forces in Canada. Two significant communities are distinguished by language, culture, religion and politics and they live separately from each other since they have divergent views on the history of Canada as a nation. In comparison to Ghana, Canada has two distinctive characteristics of everyday consumptions. Canadians are big eaters where meat tends to be the dominating portion of each meal. They have three regular meals in a day where breakfast is the largest and most important meal of the rural people. Canadians take lunch at midday, and the urban people take a snack but it remains an important meal to the rural people. Dinner is the final formal meal of the day, which is taken by residential group as a whole, and it can be extended to nonfamily members. Ghana’s main diet is made up of starchy staples accompanied with soup or stew. Forest crops such as cassava and tropical yams are mostly consumed in the south (Kaminski, 2012). Corn and rice are most important among the Ga community though their main food is fufu combined with cassava. Soup ingredients in many communities include common vegetables accompanied by animal proteins, especially fish. In addition, palm nuts and peanut crops a re the favorite among different communities in Ghana. Indigenous foods are eaten at all social functions even by the western people. It is rare to find restaurants outside urban business districts though most local bars offer various foods to workers and bachelors. Ghana’s economy mostly depends on primary products such as cocoa, gold and timber. International trade contributes to one-third of the GDP while 70 % of export income comes from the latter three major commodities. The domestic economy is mainly involved with primary agriculture

The Nature of God Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Nature of God - Essay Example Therefore, people that find it in their hearts to follow the nature of God will have progress in their lives. Hitler states that a person discovered that the nature of God is a wonderful notion. According to the nature of God, there are several laws that have been put in place. If a man wants to understand the nature of God, he must try to understand that the nature of God has various laws. The almighty has laws which should be fully obeyed to the latter (Hitler, Trevor-Roper and Weinberg, 234). Obeying these laws is a form of understanding the nature of God without questioning why the laws were instated. This will lead mankind into getting a better understanding the ways of almighty in all aspects. In essence, a man should strive to worship these laws as instated by the almighty. Apparently, Hitler states that these laws are revitalized by priests and leaders who exploit the feeling in people. Since a human has the notion that the laws should be observed, priests ensure the laws are followed to the latter. This is instigated by the fact that priests and the leaders threaten punishments on human beings for not observing these laws. Consequentially, a man is threatened by punishments, especially when the punishment is coming from the almighty. Therefore, men will strive to observe the laws that are stated by the nature of God. The nature of God can be understood by the fact that it offers refuge to all that seek refuge in the almighty. Hitler states that all people need refuge and protection. This is a strong statement that needs artistic evaluation on the type of refuge that a man seeks. A person does not have refuge in other men or any other place in the world. This leaves a single option in the world, which is the almighty. Therefore, the nature of the Lord is to offer refuge to the people that seek refuge (Hitler, Trevor-Roper and Weinberg 237). The nature of God, as stated by Hitler will offer consolation and help humans in time of unhappiness. Therefore, p eople that seek consolation should find it in the almighty as the nature of God states that God is the ultimate consolation. Nevertheless, Hitler shows contradiction as he states that Russians do not have God but they are not prevented from facing death. According to Hitler, the nature of God does not allow religion and socialism to exist as one. Therefore, they can never exist together. In the light of this statement, it is explicitly stated that religion will have to exist on its own. Apparently, it is openly seen that religion should not be mixed with other aspects in the world. This can be explained from the ancient prophets that were instated to explain the nature of God. The nature of God does not allow mixing religion with other aspects of the world as they are likely to affect religion. As such, religion should be left to exist on its own (Hitler, Trevor-Roper and Weinberg 245). This will enhance the growth of religion, which will bring better understanding in concerns to th e nature of God. Hitler continues to state that in the long run, the two will never exist at the same time. National Socialism is a different aspect that will never exist in religion. Therefore, there should be a discrepancy between the two as there will be no time in the world where the two will be mixed and exist as a single entity. This is not particularly the nature of God to bring together two entities that are insoluble. Therefore, a man must strive to observe this particular issue in the world. Though this seems like war, Hitler

Beloved, by Toni Morrison :: Literary Analysis, Toni Morrison

The novel Beloved, written by Toni Morrison, shows a family’s life before and after slavery. The main character, Sethe, escaped from slavery and had a daughter, Denver, while she was escaping. Although Denver never actually experienced slavery, her life has still been affected by it. Morrison uses Denver to show how although people can be affected by a life destructing experience such as slavery they do have the ability to move forward in life if they believe they can. Before Beloved comes to 124, Denver was not able to learn much about the past because of Sethe’s inability to experience the past again. She feels left out because she is not involved. This causes her to consume herself in the events of the past. Denver also starts out very shy. When Paul D first comes to 124, he and Sethe reminisce about the past. Denver says, â€Å"How come everybody run off from Sweet Home can’t stop talking about it? Look like if it was so sweet you would have stayed† (17). Sethe replies, â€Å"Girl, who you talking to† (16). Sethe’s surprised tone shows this is not normal behavior for Denver and she is usually much more soft-spoken. Denver’s outspoken behavior comes from her frustration with her ignorance of the past. Denver also locks her self away from the rest of the world before Beloved comes. After the incident with Nelson Lord, Denver â€Å"never went back† to Lady Jones’ house (121). Denver was cut off from the outside world even more when â€Å"she walked in a silence too solid for penetration† (121). Denver’s hearing returned â€Å"by the sound of her dead sister trying to climb the stairs† (122). The dense diction used by Morrison shows Denver’s deafness was very powerful. Denver believes Beloved got her hearing back for Denver, which makes Denver look to Beloved to solve her problems later in the novel. This makes Denver and Beloved’s relationship even more powerful because something very strong had to happen to bring back Denver’s hearing and Beloved was it. Unlike the other characters in the novel, Denver refers to Beloved as an actual family member and not just a baby further connecting the two characters. Before Beloved returns to 124 in person, Denver has a connection with her spirit and she relies on her companionship.

John Kotter’s Eight Steps to Change Essay

A Systematic Approach: Eight Steps to Change. We shall use the impact of low-cost airline as an example to understand each step. In 2003, Lufthansa was facing intense competition from low-cost airline on short-haul domestic flights. In the fight for domination in the German skies, Lufthansa intend to match the low-cost rivals by expanding its own network of cut-price domestic and European services. Establish a sense of urgency. From previous experiences of battling competition and enforcing change, the first step leading to the successful implementation of change is – the creation of urgency. Establishing a sense of urgency is vital for eliminating contentment and achieving the collaboration needed to implement change. Employees are required to co-operate, understand the differences between the company’s current situation and a desired future participate and step up to the mark in order to succeed. . 2. 2Step 2. Create a powerful guiding coalition. Once sense of urgency is established within the organisation, the next step is forming a strong group of guiding coalition. The group could consist of internal or external organisation members with significant credibility and authority. These â€Å"outsiders† can provide valuable judgement, experiences and ideas that in turn allow the employees to share a common level of understanding for change. 3. 2. 3Step 3. Develop a compelling vision. Obviously, the reason for changes is discontentment with the current situation and having the desire for a better future. For that reason, management have to develop a clear and accomplishable vision that consists of these characteristics: a desirable future, compelling, realistic, focused, flexible and, easy to communicate. They have to be specific about how the change will improve the organisation and how those improvements will benefit employees in the organisation. 3. 2. 4Step 4. Communicate the vision. During the implementation of change, there are bound to have resisters opposing the change. Communication is the crucial factor to convert the resisters with managers taking advantages of all the communication channels in the organisation to get the transformation effort across to all. It must be able to convey and explain the specifically how the vision will benefit them. 3. 2. 5Step 5. Empower others to act on the vision. In every change, there are bound to be obstacles. The first four steps encourage employees to accept changes. To further support change, obstacles that obstruct the way to attaining the vision should be eliminated. If the obstacles happen to be an employee, the organisation may well have to decide the option available or sever the relationship with the individual. 3. 2. 6Step 6. Generate short-term wins Depending on the significance of change, some transformation of change might take years to before it is successfully implemented. In the case of Lufthansa, in order to top the low-cost aviation industry, the duration might approximately take ten years. Attitude and motivation among employees might fade along the way. Soon, they will loose sight of the vision and become discouraged and disappointed therefore Lufthansa should set up multiple short-term win situations in a major transformation change. 3. 2. 7Step 7. Consolidate gains and push for more change. It is important to note that celebrating a short-term win might create complacency among employees. So instead of celebrating or declaring victory prematurely, organisation should take the opportunity to implement larger changes. With the confidence and belief, employees will be able to accept larger and more drastic changes than before. Organisation should build on the current momentum to push for more change. 3. 2. 8Step 8. Anchor new approaches in the company’s culture. Once the objective has been achieved, prove the positive result to employees. After that, management should ensure that cementation work such as new working methodologies and policies are enforced into the company culture whereby continuous improvement and changes are seen as norm and survival.

A critical evaluation of the proposition - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2249 Downloads: 7 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Sociology Essay Type Critical essay Level High school Did you like this example? Introduction David Collinson and Jeff Hearn posit that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ a challenge to mens taken-for-granted dominant masculinities could facilitate the emergence of less coercive and less divisive organisational structures, cultures and practices (Collinson and Hearn, 1996: 73). This paper offers a critical evaluation of this proposition within a structuralist/poststructuralist conceptual framework, centring on discourse as a means by which taken-for granted dominant masculinities may be ameliorated. The theoretical examination, detailed under Conceptual foundations below, begins with an appraisal of the value of discourse in both the workplace and wider society. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "A critical evaluation of the proposition" essay for you Create order Discourse is shown to be powerful and widely accepted, with the potential to challenge dominant masculinities. This potential, however, is not without its difficulties. The practical considerations of the potential challenge identified are examined under The challenge to dominant masculinities below. Previous challenges to taken-for-granted masculinities are considered and are found to have been limited in their success, inter alia, due to the external points of origin of their discourses. Finally the Conclusion recapitulates upon the papers findings. Collinson and Hearns (1996) proposition is found to be valid but conceptually flawed and optimistic, requiring a more robust challenge than they imply. Conceptual foundations Language is the tool of the various discourses that contribute to the formation and communication of social structures, cultures and practices (Van Dijk, 1997). The linguistic turn à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the name given to the encapsulation of the centrality of language in the development of structures, cultures and practices à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" is a product of structuralist and post-structuralist philosophy (Barrett, 1998), and is most commonly associated with the nineteenth and twentieth century work of Ferdinand de Saussure, Jacques Derrida and Michel Foucault (Potter, 2000). The linguistic turn concept captures the importance of both words and interpretation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" signification (Barrett, 1998) à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" which may be described as being either internal, i.e. that which is acceptable to and readily adopted within the relevant settings (and usually originating therein), or external, i.e. that which is unacceptable and rejected by the relevant settings, due to having originated from outside and hence being recognised as alien. The processes by which these significations arise are herein respectively described as internalisation and externalisation. Collinson and Hearns (1996: 73) suggestion can be read in two ways à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" as a workplace challenge, or one with a wider, societal base. Examination of the quoted sentence in its entirety à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" The possibility of a challenge to mens taken-for-granted dominant masculinities could facilitate the emergence of less coercive and less divisive organisational structures, cultures and practices, a fundamental rethinking of the social organisation of the domestic division of labour and a transformation of men at work' à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" suggests that their reference point encompasses the domestic division of labour (the private sphere) as well as the workplace (the public sphere). Collinson and Hearn (1996) optimistically suggest that dominant masculinities are precarious due to the ir inherent conflicts and the absence of solidarity between men. An alternative understanding of this is that dominant masculinities are necessarily in conflict due to masculinitys characteristic division and competitiveness: it is in divisiveness that masculinity achieves its conceptual unity; the contradiction inherent in the converse situation, where divisive, competitive masculinities would be founded on consensus and trust, illustrates this. Collinson and Hearns (1996) conceptualisation may, therefore, be faulty and over-optimistic, and dominant masculinities may be less precarious and more difficult to challenge than they suggest. The dominance of masculinity is long-standing and deeply rooted; however, there is no deeper root than language, and from the root of language springs perception, assumption and understanding about reality, and importantly, the construction of reality (Potter, 2000). Any purely workplace-based challenge to masculinity would be unlikely to be sufficie nt, raising the question whether the domestic challenge has prospects of success. At the functional level it appears not: there have been many challenges that attempt to encourage or shame men into tackling domestic chores, yet these have met with overt resistance or subtle resistance, and have achieved little success (Crompton, 1997). It is, therefore, the contention of this paper that to be successful, any challenge must be rooted in language, as this is the only way in which discourse can be modified à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" the discourse which will ultimately shape the private sphere and the public sphere together, leading to the consensual and unitary structures, cultures and practices that Collinsons and Hearns (1996) suggestion requires. The challenge to dominant masculinities Mens specific experience in the workplace and society has only recently become the subject of academic focus. For masculinity to be challenged, however, issues around it must be considered from this particular perspective (Goodwin, 1999). Challenges to masculinity are not new, even though many take the form of explanations for gender segregation or discrimination and the challenges themselves remain implicit. Indeed, the promotion of feminine characteristics such as that favoured by Hong Kong businesswomen in contrast with their western counterparts (Hills, 2000) presents an oblique challenge, mirrored by Cockburns (1991) call for equivalence rather than equality. Feminism too, in its typical western form, represents such a challenge, albeit still a secondary one emerging from feminisms aims, many of which are conceived in terms of gender conflict. Previous conceptual challenges typically took the form of critiques of patriarchy a conceptualisation whereby women are subordinated t hrough tacit co-operation between men and capital (Pateman, 1988), or whereby capital and patriarchy are not supportive but are mutually exploitative in the interests of their survival (Johnson, 1996). Alternative challenges emerge from conceptualisations including preference theory, within which womens biological circumstances govern their choices (Hakim, 1996), and social reproduction, whereby despite womens education levels having equalled and sometimes exceeded those of men, women are conditioned to expect discontinuous employment and lower-level work (Blackburn et al, 2002). Additionally direct, top-down challenges arose from more practical and codified bases, typically in the form of equality legislation and workplace initiatives. Included in these challenges was the modification of language so that it came to use the explicitly gender neutral and spectacularly clumsy singular pronouns s/he and him/her, and the grammatically difficult plural pronoun their in place of the singu lar, the latter typically favoured by those who wish to be fair but do not wish to be seen to be motivated by a feminist agenda, an example of which is BTs missed-call message You were called at 5.32pm today. The caller withheld their number. (Humphrys, 2004: 287-288). This modification of language has not, so far, been central to the feminist process; it has not driven the process forward, but has merely followed along as a by-product of it and a useful signifier of correct attitudes. As detailed in the previous section, language has a long history of reflecting thought and forming thought (Van Dijk, 1997). In language there is a historically accredited and widely accessible means of challenging mens taken-for-granted dominant masculinities, but to be successful, language must be the main focus of the challenge, internalised in the cultures, structures and processes of society and the workplace, and its signification must be internal. It is easy to explain what the challenge must do, but less easy to imagine what it will look like. The two strands described above nouns (and by extension, pronouns) and discourse are good places to start. Each is examined in turn below. It has been shown that nouns carry meaning and assumptions, and that they establish and perpetuate the dominance of masculinities. It is true that there is a feminist critique of, in the terminology of this approach, malestream nouns à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" exemplified by the comparatively new noun womyn, the use of which is intended to neutralise the adjunct-to-men associations of the noun women (Warren, 1989). Unfortunately, due to faulty signification, this strategy has not achieved the sought-for outcome; womyn has, for some, come to mean no more than woman expressed in the context of the feminist critique of patriarchy à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" effectively it has externalised itself from the settings it was designed to reform (Kendall, 2008). Dialect of the Middle Ages provided the non-gende red pronoun a and the sixteenth century similarly contributed ou (Wright, 1898), but both have fallen out of usage and reintroduction would be difficult without externalisation, although due to its comparative contemporary familiarity one may be used with greater prospect of success and with reduced likelihood of externalisation. Discourse in both the private and public spheres traditionally uses metaphors relating to confrontation, struggles, hunting, warfare and the sports field. In the commercial world, examples can be readily found in management statements, an interesting example of which may be found in IBMs corporate song: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ weve fought our way through, and new fields were sure to conquer too; forever onward IBM! (Deal and Kennedy, 1988: 115). The winning of contracts is also frequently conceptualised and verbalised as winning a battle in the commercial jungle (Collinson and Hearn, 1996: 69-70). The jungle image implies a view of the market as a place where su rvival of the fittest and dog-eat-dog are recipes for success, with failure to achieve these being soft, i.e. feminine. The overarching signification implies that masculine equals success and feminine equals failure. This is the basis of dominant masculinity, and it is through long-standing usage and deep internalisation of these admittedly useful and vivid metaphors that dominant masculinities come to be taken for granted. The Hong Kong businesswomen mentioned above wanted their femininity, not their ability to imitate the behaviour of their male colleagues, to be respected (Hills, 2000). If they wish to achieve this they must begin by revolutionising the discourse of their lives and their workplaces. This means that fighting must become discovering, and goals or victories must become answers or solutions. The ways in which discourse must change are as numerous as the types of structures, cultures and practices in which they operate. It is not through the appreciation of female cha racteristics that the discourse and structures, cultures and practices of the workplace will become less coercive and less divisive; it is through discourse that female characteristics will come to be appreciated and structures, cultures and practices of the workplace will become less coercive and less divisive. It is, among other things, from discourse that dominant masculinity came to predominate, and it is, among other things, through discourse that it may be abated. Within the compass of this paper it is discourse that is the root and the cause of the problem, not the symptom and the outcome. Conclusion Critically evaluated, it has been shown that the initial statement may be too optimistic. Collinson and Hearns (1996) view that dominant masculinities are precarious as a result of their inherent division and competitiveness seems at first sight to be reasonable, although this may be illusory. Examination of the converse situation, that of a hypothetical consensual and trusting masculinity, reveals that, conceptually at least, masculinitys divisions and competitiveness are to be expected and in this it finds a kind of unity, and hence calls into question the validity of Collinson and Hearns (1996) conceptualisation of the problem. That is not to say that a challenge cannot successfully be made. The common shortcomings of previous challenges are that they all suffer from faulty signification, having originated externally or having become externalised. The suggestion made in the context of this paper is that for the challenge to be successful it must originate in discourse. The power of discourse as a support to dominant masculinities has been shown, and so it is not unreasonable to suppose that a similarly rooted challenge may have comparable power and resultant success. The key to success, however, is that the challenge must begin with discourse and be à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" and remain à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" wholly internal. Previous challenges developed their own discourses but these were weak due to their emergence from externalised agendas: they were effectively limited to their academic, political or feminist original locus. 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