Cosmetic Plastic Surgery

A rESEACH PAPER| AGAINST COSMETIC SUGERY| ENC 1102Instructor: Luse| | By Maria Garzon| 3/25/2013| Background and Thesis Opponents have historically overlooked the primary reasons for it’s against to plastic surgery. It promotes a continuing descent into all things vain. Rather than accepting their perceived flaws, growing, and developing character, they take a chance going under the knife. Plastic surgery rarely produces the desired results and creates unhealthier obsession with things that would be relatively trivial in a mentally healthy person with proper priorities and emotional disorders.Even if, by some miracle, someone is completely happy with their surgery, it only serves to perpetuate the cycle; for themselves and for others. The obsession doesn't go away in these people. Their thinking inevitably moves on to having more things done. The plastic surgery craze is insidious because it targets those who are obsessed with their outer appearance, not what's important. Furt hermore, the demand for cosmetic plastic surgery increases despite the increasing cost, in contrast to other traditional goods for which demand typically declines as price increases.Cosmetic plastic surgery has moved beyond the stage of being an exclusive privilege of the rich and famous. Nevertheless, cosmetic plastic surgery is one of the medical specialties exposed to a substantially high risk of malpractice claims. Most malpractice claims in cosmetic plastic surgery are not consequences of technical faults but because of inadequate patient selection criteria and lack of adequate communication between patient and surgeon.Proven efficient training, careful utilization of computer imaging techniques in association with the adoption of simple precautions and guidelines and adequate communication along with a completed patient's consent form are important essentials in case of medical litigation. .Mental and emotional stability are increasingly taking a backseat to physical appearanc e. People just don't realize what they're doing to themselves because they have never really valued anything other than physical appearance in the first place.The fact that these things aren't obvious to more people truly shows where our culture is heading. Just think about this question: Is the freedom to do whatever we want with our lives a valuable passport even to overpass the limits of morals and ethics. People generally aren't against plastic surgery. They're against people who look perfectly fine getting their face cut up because they want to look like their favorite celebrity. Opposition A new survey shows that more than half (51%) of all Americans regardless of income approve of cosmetic plastic surgery, this is a 3% increase from 2009.According to the February 2011 report, 52% of respondents with an income of under $25K approve of cosmetic surgery (48% of respondents with an income between $25K-$50K approve, 45% of respondents with an income between $50K-$75K approve, and 56% of respondents with an income above $75K approve) and 29% of the respondents who earn under $25K would consider cosmetic surgery for themselves. â€Å"As the numbers suggest people in every income bracket, single or married, male or female, view plastic surgery as a reasonable option today,† said Felmont F.Eaves III, MD, President of The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS). â€Å"Taking care of yourself and paying attention to physical appearance is increasingly important to everyone. As both traditional surgical procedures have been improved and refined, and new nonsurgical options have become available, aesthetic plastic surgeons have more to offer to our patients. † Other key findings of the study include:53% of women and 49% of men say they approve of cosmetic surgery. 67% of Americans would not be embarrassed if their friends and family knew they had cosmetic surgery. 7% of married Americans and 33% of unmarried Americans would consider cosm etic surgery for themselves, now or in the future. 67% of white Americans and 72% of non-white Americans say they would not be embarrassed about having cosmetic surgery. Most Americans (71%) said their attitude toward cosmetic surgery had not changed in the last five years, though 20% said it was ‘more favorable. ‘Out of all age groups, men and women between the ages of 18 and 24 are the most likely to consider plastic surgery for themselves now or in the future (37%). 7% of Americans 65 or older say they would not be embarrassed about having cosmetic surgery. The study was commissioned by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) and conducted by the independent research firm innovate. According to 2010 ASAPS Cosmetic Surgery Statistics, almost 9. 5 million cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures were performed in the United States last year. Women had nearly 8. 6 million cosmetic procedures (92 percent of total) and men had more than 750,000 proce dures (8 percent of total).Overall, the number of surgical procedures increased by almost 9 percent and nonsurgical cosmetic procedures decreased 9 percent from 2010 to access the complete 2010 ASAPS Statistics. A 2004 study published in the official medical journal of the ASPS, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery found that deaths occurring at office-based surgery facilities are rare–less than 1/4 percent. More than 400,000 operative procedures in accredited office-based outpatient surgery centers were studied from 2000-2002. Serious complications were infrequent, occurring 1 in 298 cases or 0. 4 percent with death occurring 1 in 51,459 cases or 0. 0019 percent, which is comparable to the overall risk of such procedures performed in hospital surgery facilities, this publication makes me think about my life or my beauty Well, someone has to defend cosmetic plastic surgery, says Rachel Weisz, Hollywood beauty. There are several reasons why she is in approve of cosmetic plastic surgery, that extend beyond her own vested interest of making a living. She also asks,† Where do you draw the line between acceptable vanity and unacceptable vanity? You shower, bathe and get regular haircuts.You color your hair to be lighter, darker, more dramatic, or to hide the grays. You spend large amounts of money on skin care products and eye creams. You wear cosmetics, buy and wear flattering clothing , pay a fortune for your kids to have straight teeth . Why are these things acceptable but cosmetic surgery, which actually works, is not? Do you know that the entire skin care industry is lying to you? Over-the-counter skin care products don’t work. At best, they don’t work that well. Regardless of how expensive they are, your face will still sag and wrinkle.Women spend an average of $24,000 over their lifetimes fighting wrinkles, and yet, the wrinkles keep coming. † She basically want to covey that she is in approve of cosmetic surgery because is che aper than using creams or products, she believe in vanity, plus being perfect is the main character in her life. Refutation I have fact about how cans harmful cosmetic surgeries are. October, 2000. A new study suggests that a few patients who seek facial plastic surgery have a personality disorder. Surgery may benefit some of these patients, but others remain discontented and may seek legal recourse from their surgeon.A person's self-image plays a key role in the development of personality. Young men and women with a subjective negative impression of their self-image develop defense mechanisms to cope with low esteem. Later in life, they may request cosmetic surgery to â€Å"normalize† a perceived abnormal appearance. These patients may, in fact, not need cosmetic surgery to address patterns of behavior found in certain personality types. Following surgery, conflict may arise between patient and surgeon. The researchers contend that facial plastic surgeons may encounter this problem.Their study attempts to describe the personality disorders of patients seeking facial plastic surgery to allow the specialist to make an informed decision to treat, or not to treat. The research was carried out by a team led by Henri Gaboriau MD, from the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, and H. Devon Graham III MD, from the Alton Ochsner Medical Foundation, New Orleans, LA. The findings were presented on April 28,1999 at a meeting of the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.The Bible does not specifically address a Christian having plastic surgery or cosmetic surgery. There is nothing in the Bible to indicate that plastic surgery is, in and of itself, wrong. However, there are several things that one needs to consider before deciding whether or not to undergo these procedures. Altering one's body is unnatural, and there are always risks of potential side effects, both physical and psycholo gical. No one should allow himself to be put â€Å"under the knife† without first thoroughly researching all alternatives, risks, and side effects involved with the surgery.A person also needs to fully identify his or her motivation for desiring the surgery. For many with physical deformities; whether genetic or acquired, it is natural to want to fit into society and feel â€Å"normal. † There are also cases of slight abnormalities that would cause someone to feel very uncomfortable with himself, such as a very large or misshapen nose. But many, if not most, plastic surgeries are attempts to meet emotional voids in physical ways, to attract attention, or to seek approval from others. The most important thing to do before making the decision to undergo plastic surgery would be to consult God about the issue.The Bible tells us that God cares about every worry and concern that we have, so we should take our problems to Him (1 Peter 5:7). Through the wisdom and guidance of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, we have the ability to make decisions that will please and honor Him. â€Å"Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised† (Proverbs 31:30). Even the most skilled surgeon cannot hold back the hands of time, and all cosmetic surgeries will eventually have the same result—aging. Those lifted body parts will sag again, and those cosmetically altered facial features will eventually wrinkle.It is far better to work on beautifying the person underneath, â€Å"that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight† (1 Peter 3:4). Conclusion I am against plastic surgery because it is generally unnecessary surgery which comes with very serious risks. Our society places great importance in appearance, which leads to unrealistic standards that young girls and women. Plastic surgery only strengthens these insane standards and weakens the self-esteem of girls and women who do not feel as though they measure up.Learn to love the body you have. And more people want surgery, but we are not becoming uglier as a race, we are just adjusting our notion of what is beautiful and what is not. All of us are the product of billions of years of evolution and sexual selection; we are the direct descendants of 100s of millions of others who have been found sexually attractive by someone else, we can't be that ugly. As wonderful as this piece of modern medical technology may sound, cosmetic surgery is not all that advantageous and in most of all cases, it is not needed.There is no point in transforming a healthy body. That is why the idea of the perfect body image has to be forgotten, and it has to be recognized that everyone is a special human being. Sources Laurie J. Fundukian, Richard H. Camer â€Å"Blepharoplasty. â€Å". The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine. Ed.. 4th ed. Detroit: Gale, 2011. 6 vols. Print Kimberly,HenryA. , andPennyHeckaman. â€Å"The-Plastic-Surgery-Sourcebook† Lincolnwood: NTC/ Contemporary Publishing, 1999. Print Liz Jones †If face creams really beat ageing, I wouldn't have had a facelift† 25 July 2011http://www. dailymail. co. ukNewswire Association LLC â€Å"Plastic Surgery Complications and Deaths are Rare, Despite Highly Publicized Death of Donda West† US Newswire. Nov. 14, 2007 pNA. ; http://www. plasticsurgery. org; National Review â€Å"Survey Shows That More Than Half of Americans Approve of Cosmetic Plastic Surgery† New York, NY ,April 4, 2011 ; www. surgery. org; http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/articles/A63931-2004Oct26. html http://www. prweb. com/releases/2013/3/prweb10557201. htm http://www. deseretnews. com/article/865575486/Teens-turn-to-plastic-surgery-experts-tackle-the-when-and-why. html? pg=all

Informative speech Essay

The Effects of Disney Films Specific Purpose: To inform my audience about the different stereotypes Disney portrayed in their movies. Central Idea/Thesis Statement: Different types of stereotypes in Disney movies effect children’s view on gender roles. INTRODUCTION I. When you wish upon a star; makes no difference who you are†¦. Or does it? If you recognized this classic Disney song, that means you grew up watching Disney during your childhood. II. The Disney movie franchise has been producing movies for many years now. The Walt Disney Studios Company began in 1923 in Los Angeles. Around 1937, Disney became famous for their creating the first full-length animated feature (Walt Disney Studios). The first full-length animated feature was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. III. I chose to do this topic because I write a paper in my Sociology class based on movie called â€Å"Mickey Mouse Monopoly†. This movie talked about the different stenotypes that occurred in famous Disney films that people were unaware about when growing up. IV. This topic is relevant because it informs people about the different stereotypes that occurred in Disney films. Which can bring awareness to people so it would not affect a child’s or an adult’s perspective on how they view a particular person or group. V. Many grew up with the Disney movies, their catchy songs and fantasises about a special prince or princess. In the article, â€Å"The portrayal of older characters in Disney animated film,†, the authors stated, â€Å"Disney films are passed along from parent to child, which introduces each new generation new values, beliefs, and attitudes†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Robinson, Tom 206). While Disney movies brought positive messages for children to learn; it also portrayed negative effects in the society. Disney films supported different stereotypes and social stigmas that later effected children’s view on society from childhood through adulthood; particularly girls. In today’s society there are a lot of different definitions on how people view gender types. I am going to talk about the different stereotypes that occurred in Disney movies. BODY I. Disney films characterized female stereotypes and male stereotypes. II. Stereotypes are an idea or the image of a particular type of person or thing, which can affect a children’s perspective in the society. A. Women are portrayed as rich princesses to carry the image of looking like a Barbie doll. Women are even portrayed as evil-step mothers, or even poor servants. Regardless they always need a man; either they need a prince or a father figure to save their lives. 1. For example, if you take a look at Pocahontas, Cinderella, Belle, or Jasmine you will see that they are beautiful females. They all share the similar traits of a perfect, tiny waist, and huge breasts. According to the article â€Å"Images of Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney Feature- Length Animated Films,† the author Towbin mentioned that one of the common characteristics to a female Disney character was â€Å"a women’s appearance is valued more than her intellect† (Towbin, Mia Adessa 2004). 2. Princess Ariel who was a mermaid traded her voice for her love Prince Eric. When she was in trouble she needed her father to rescue her from the evil witch. Even when you sit and think about the whole Little Mermaid story; you would see that her only goal was to find her prince and marry him. a. The only role that women play is either the beautiful princess, or the evil wicked witch. B. When you watch princess movies you will see that males are just as stereotyped as the females. Men are made to be tough, strong, and sometimes abusive. 1. In the article, Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses, the author wrote about the different masculine characteristics that Disney films portrayed. Some of the characteristics were brave, assertive, unemotional and physical strong. (England, Dawn 2011). a. In Aladdin, he was portrayed as a fearless man. He was able to fight off a huge snake with only a sword and was able to defeat dozen of bad guys. b. In Beauty and the Beast, we remember that the Beast was abusive towards Belle and Gaston only objectified her. He was attracted her because of her beauty, and discouraged he idea of her reading. What kind of message are we teaching  children? III. The different stereotypes that were portrayed in Disney films had an affect on children during their childhood. 1. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation Report (1999), children watches an average of 2 to 5 hours of television per day. 2. Disney makes most of their characters so attractive to young girls that they want to be like them in every way. a. They feel as if they must have perfect bodies like the princesses by wearing stylish and expensive clothing. b. If a child sees a character that they like, they might end up choosing to imitate that character’s appearance, behavior and their actions. c. â€Å"Little Girls of Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect,† written by Stephanie Hanes, talks about how little girls are losing their sense of imagination. Instead of them running in the back yard they are now wearing dresses to try to make themselves look pretty (Haynes, Stephanie 2012). Disney films cannot only affect your childhood, but it can also affect your adulthood. IV. The stereotypes that occurred in Disney film can also affect a person during their adulthood. The characters portrayed in Disney films create these false ideologies of what women should grow up to be. 1. In the movies, the princesses are always paired with princes that live in castles. The movies tend to exaggerate the prince and princesses’ marriage. a. Some women learn to assume that relationships are all about love at first site. b. Women tend to get disappointed when they find out that their man does not immediately fall in love with them like in the Disney Princess movies. 2. Women tend to idolize a particular character from their childhood and imitate their appearances or their behavior. a. For example, when you see Ariel’s body, women tend to believe that their bodies should look like hers. b. Which leads them in going in serious diets or even having eating disorders. TRANSITION: The Disney Classic films that we grew up with perpetuate more than a storybook ending. These films use subliminal messaging that sends false images of the world based on stereotypes that their characters are based on. These images not only teach children the wrong thing, but they  teach them ideals that they carry on through adulthood. CONCLUSION I. In conclusion, Disney Movies played an important role in our childhood lives. II. Disney Films portrayed different stereotypes that not only affected our childhood, but also our adult hood. III. So when you watch another Disney Film, remember is not real. REFERENCES England, D., Descartes, L., & Collier-Meek, M. (2011). Gender Role Portrayal and the Disney Princesses. Sex Roles,64(7/8), 555-567. doi:10.1007/s11199-011-9930-7 Hanes, Stephanie. â€Å"Little Girls or Little Women? The Disney Princess Effect.† Christian Science Monitor (2011): n. pag. Academic Search Complete. Web. 14 Oct. 2012. Kaiser Family Foundation. (1999). Kids and media at the new millennium. Retrieved April 18, 2003, from www.kff.org. Robinson, T., Callister, M., Magoffin, D., & Moore, J. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0890406507000047 â€Å"The Walt Disney Studios- History.† The Walt Disney Studios- History. Disney, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2012. Towbin, Mia Adessa, et al. â€Å"Images of Gender, Race, Age, and Sexual Orientation in Disney Feature-Length Animated Films.† Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 15:4, 2004, p. 19-44.

Effective Management and Leadership. Key Functions of Leadership and Essay

Effective Management and Leadership. Key Functions of Leadership and Management, and Their Application - Essay Example Leadership can be described as a calling. For one to practice as an effective leader, they must tap into management skills. It is important to note that leadership and management are two different concepts that must go hand in hand for the successful operation of an organisation (Armstrong, 2012:15). Notably, effective management and leadership are important in guiding a particular team towards the attainment of its goals and objectives. Particularly, any leader requires effective management skills to direct any organisation efficiently. One must therefore adapt excellent managerial principles to be an efficient leader. Various Theories of Leadership and Management and Appreciate the Contemporary Issues Facing Leaders and Managers There are various theories that can be used to describe the issues of leadership and effective management. For one to be an effective leader they must understand how an efficient team works therefore it is important to look at John Adair’s action cen tred leadership framework. This model supports previous on motivation by Maslow (Janet, 2006:45). The model offers a well defined strategy for the effective management and leadership of any group, team or organisation. It is a basic leadership and management framework that can be easily adapted or applied to various business situations. Effective managers and leaders have command of the three areas stipulated by the model. These are task, individual and team. Effective managers and leaders are said to have command of the three areas and can balance them to improve productivity within a team, improve staff morale, develop teams and build and improve quality. According to Adair’s framework, there are three basic responsibilities for management. These include accomplishing a particular task, managing a team or a group and managing people. The framework stipulates the roles and duties of a manager in achieving a given task. Some of the important roles that have been identified in clude defining the activities to be achieved, coming up with a plan on how to attain these tasks, monitoring and evaluating performance of the group and reporting the progress to the relevant authorities. The framework spells out the responsibilities of a manager towards the group (Gray, 2010:34). These are to set up and communicate to the members of the group the culture, ethics and aims and objectives of the group. Finally, it spells out the responsibilities of managers for different team members. Managers should understand their team members in terms of skills, personality, strengths, weaknesses and goal. This model concludes that management and leadership are different. Furthermore, good leaders are not necessarily effective mangers but good leaders will have effective management skills. Secondly, there is the management theory of leadership that is commonly referred to as the transactional theory. This model pays close attention to the role of group performance, supervision and organisation. It is based on a system of rewards for outstanding performance and punishments for substandard performance. From the leadership perspective, the relationship between managers and employees is an exchange. Both parties have something to offer. Rules and regulations are important in leadership (Forssell, 2008:78). Employees are not required to be creative or come up with solutions to problems. This framework is application in entities where there are simple problems. This model is only effective in specific situations and it hinders managers and employees from realising their optimum potential. There is the contingency theory of leadership and management that states that no leadership or management style is suitable for all work environments. According to the model, there are various

Econometrics assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Econometrics - Assignment Example In this case, the cumulative probability is 0.7049. This implies that the coefficient is at least -20 (100 - 70.5) = 29.5% of the time. We now test the probability that the obtained t-score with 11982 degrees of freedom is greater than 0.5385. Using the t-tables, we obtain the one-tailed p-value as 0.2951. Since this value is greater than the default level of significance (0.05) for the test, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. We establish that the value of the coefficient is not greater than -20 at the 5% level of significance. From the equations, we now determine whether students whose home language is not English are more or less likely to read fiction compared to those who read fiction at home. Firstly, we realize that the introduction of the variable â€Å"fiction† in the second model improves the value of R2 from 0.02 to 0.204. This indicates that the variable alone accounts for (0.204 – 0.02) = 18.4% of the variability in the reading scores. We take the â€Å"odds ratio† approach. We apply the formula: Again, nearly everyone in the sample who does not speak English at home reads fiction. The ratio of fiction readers from the two categorizations is 1:1, implying neither of the groups commands higher fiction reading likelihoods than the other. In the variable â€Å"fiction† were to be split into constituent components based on the likert scale rankings earlier used, such that â€Å"fict5† indicates â€Å"I like reading fiction very much† and so on, we would have to change the variable responses from scale to dummies. We assume that if an individual who, say responding to â€Å"fict5† mentions that they â€Å"do not like reading fiction very much† will be accorded 0 for the response, and 1 for â€Å"I like reading fiction very much†. The variable â€Å"fict3† is the transition between responses that affirm or disaffirm the proposal/ question. This is highlighted by the fact that the scale used has 5 points, providing for

A Comparison Of Clinique Marketing Strategy Case Study

A Comparison Of Clinique Marketing Strategy - Case Study Example These three items were said to be the only products necessary for healthy skin. The parent company, Este Lauder, had already established itself as an icon in beauty and fragrance (Xenias), and over the years Clinique developed a positive brand image as well. In addition to the simplicity of their image, the company's Web site was equally simple-illustrations of products with very little or no text. But with businesses expansion taking place in order to reach global markets, the simplicity of Clinique's marketing strategy might not have the same effect in countries other than UK and USA. Purpose of Study China is the market of the future, and successful companies expanding their bases throughout the world see China as a necessary market. What are the differences in the way Clinique reaches domestic customers and customers in other cultures Will the 1-2-3 plan work in China What barriers must be faced Two recent articles included Clinique in a list of cosmetic companies accused of using harmful chemicals in their products in China (China Monitoring 2006; Overseas Companies 2006). At present the international Clinique Web site doesn't seem to offer a simple doorway into other countries, at least for researchers. Clinique does, as a way to reach Chinese customers, discuss a product called Clinique Derma White which focuses on Asian markets. Derma White is an update on Clinique's Active White line, developed by Korean dermatologists to address pigmentation in the skin. Derma White uses blackout yeast to break up pigment into smaller fragments and exfoliants help remove them from the skin (Clinique 2006). The Asian culture considers white skin to be beautiful, while Western countries and cultures seem to prefer tanning products. The emphasis on darker skin... The importance is in drawing customers to a specific site. With Clinique, marketing strengths include introducing new, innovative products directed at specific customers and the use of language in the product names which immediately describe their attributes, i.e. Superdefense Triple Action Moisturiser and Lifting Face Serum as well as Dramatically Different Moisturising Lotion, a standard of the company since its inception. A weakness, however, could be the company's apparent belief in a customer knowing who they are, what they do and how they do it. They are taking for granted that their products will sell themselves. Clinique has not even begun to tap the opportunities to sell their products through the Internet. Much of the research information on skin care is filtered through the Està ©e Lauder advertising and press releases. It is also important for them to be aware of negative commentary online which might affect their market share if they don't meet the challenge of offsetti ng negativity. At present one of the major efforts by Clinique is to increase the male customer base, and much of their advertising focus on that market. In the meantime, the female market might be discouraged when trying to get information on the products they want, especially in China, where women are not considered worth cultivating but are beginning to see themselves in a more attractive light. Another important market for Clinique is the aging population looking for anti-ageing products such as "Stop Signs" said to "make time stand still".

Physician Assisted Suicides Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Physician Assisted Suicides - Essay Example wal of the life-sustaining treatments or administering pain medication that will hasten death through impairing critical body organ functions such as respiration (Jeffrey 73). The recent efforts of legalizing physician-assisted suicide have triggered intense medical, legal and social debates on whether physicians must be granted the authority to assist patients to intentionally end their lives. Physicians have a professional responsibility of respecting the patient’s choice and thus assisted suicide will enable the patient’s escape the pain and suffering in case of terminal illnesses (Jeffrey 68). Furthermore, a well-regulated assisted suicide practice will eliminate the slippery slope and ensure proper decision-making in assisting the patients commit suicide. The paper is addressed to health care policy makers that are tasked with offering guidelines on physician-assisted suicides in different parts of the country on how standardized physician-assisted suicide will be beneficial to the health care sector. The paper will discuss the arguments that have been put forward for and against physician-assisted suicide. The paper will make a conclusion on why the federal government should consider legalizing and regulating the practice since it is beneficial for patients suffering from extreme suffering due to life-threatening illnesses. Thesis statement: the federal government should legalize physician-assisted suicide I believe the federal government should legalize physician-assisted suicide in order to eliminate the terminal pain and suffering experienced by patients suffering from acute diseases. Although many physicians claim that they have the professional responsibility of preserving life and enhancing health care even for the terminally ill patients, the physicians have the knowledge and skills to assess the hopelessness situations of some patients and thus should assist them in committing suicide rather than leaving the patient undergo unbearable suffering

BLOBs in database Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

BLOBs in database - Essay Example The storage and retrieval of these items can be accomplished through a database system using a column type capable of storing binary data (commonly referred to as a "binary large object" or a BLOB). There are many existing database systems capable of storing BLOBs. Such systems' functionality, performance and cost vary greatly among vendors (with some costing as much as $25,000 for a single CPU license). The prohibitive cost often keeps some organizations from conducting full assessments of database systems for possible use in their operations, potentially causing a loss or revenue. Entities with limited resources need an affordable means of assessing or benchmarking their own database utilization. This thesis, first and foremost, provides a database benchmark for storing BLOBs in a database. Secondly, a database benchmark framework is provided with the example implementation being the BLOB database benchmark. By so doing: My research indicates that no research has been done comparing the performance of database systems' ability to store BLOBs. ... The software development community will now have a benchmark for storing BLOBs in a database. This benchmark will fill a void as most database benchmarks focus on OLTP (online transaction processing) that consist of very small records and none focus on the general storage of BLOBs. EXISTING DATABASE BENCHMARKS My research indicates that no research has been done comparing the performance of database systems' ability to store BLOBs. Similar research regarding database performance (for datasets not including binary data) does exist and come from the following sources: the Transaction Processing Counsel (TPC), Storage Performance Council (SPC), Open Source Database Benchmark (OSDB), Engineering Database Benchmark (EDB) and Wisconsin Database (Bitton). In addition to not considering BLOBs, the TPC and SPC benchmarks are implemented by vendors who perform many specialized database and operating system configurations. Thus, they are not pertinent to this discussion. These nonstandard configurations take advantage of the vendors' specialized knowledge of the hardware, database, operating system and benchmark. This thesis provides the first benchmark to assess the storage of BLOBs in relational database systems. The performance results are categorized into three general BLOB sizes: small, medium a nd large. Below is a brief description of the five similar database performance resources. Transaction Processing Council (TPC) Each TPC benchmark consists of a set of functional requirements to be run on any transaction processing system independent of the hardware or operating system. It is then up to the test sponsor to submit proof (in the form of a full disclosure report) that they have met all the requirements. The TPC has four non-obsolete database benchmarks:

Behavior Modification treatment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Behavior Modification treatment - Research Paper Example Behavior modification is currently considered to be an alternative intervention to cure adolescents and children from different kinds of mental disorders, such as behavioral deviation, e.g. hyperactivity disorder. Deficit hyperactivity disorder is currently treated with the help of medication (placebo, 0.15, 0.30, and 0.60 mg/kg), medication stimulation or behavior modification. In case these two types of treatment are combined, children perform better during classes and hyperactivity disorder is being gradually attenuated (Ansari, Gouthro, Ahmad & Steel, 1996). In accordance with the studies by Blotcky et al (1984) and Pfeiffer and Strzelecki (1990) inpatient treatment is effective. These scientists have identified a number of positive indices signifying disease treatment progress. These are: intelligence improvement, non-organic and nonpsychotic diagnoses, reduction of antisocial features, patients’ involvement in after care and specialized treatment programs. It is possible to illustrate behavior modification treatment by the case study from the Nova Scotia Hospital, Princess Alexandra Unit. In the context of a token economy (BMP) punitive and positive consequences are applied to adolescents aged 12-18 years old. Behavioral program lasted for eight weeks. Patients with behavioral conduct disorder, deficit of attention disorder, hyperactivity syndrome and adjustment disorder were chosen for this program. There was made an attempt to strengthen positive behavior. It was necessary to introduce positive compensation and rewards for positive behavioral changes. Another option was to introduce negative reinforcement, which was directed on strengthening of a positive behavior while having avoided negative behavioral consequences (Bijou & Ruà ­z, 1981). A practical implementation of these strategies can be illustrated in the following way: the first and foremost step is to identify an inappropriate behavior of children.

International trade Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

International trade - Assignment Example In 1984, both in foreign exchange and Turkish currency, gold market was established. Greater restructuring of the gold sector took place in the nineties when impediments in the way of imports/exports were removed by means of new and better decision making. Milestone was achieved when the Istanbul Gold Exchange was established in 1995 to organize gold trading (Istanbul Minerals and Metals Exporters’ Associations 2011). Canada and Turkey are very good trading partners. For the year 2012, Canadian total exports to Turkey totaled 512,204 thousand Canadian dollars. The major item exported was Iron. Other commonly traded export items from Canada to Turkey include coal, oil and petroleum, newsprint, nickel, aluminum and motors and engines (Industry Canada 2011). The imports from Turkey were up to 884,779 thousand Canadian dollars. In top 25 items imported, gold occupies the first position with 143,839 thousand Canadian dollars. Other product groups commonly traded between Turkey and Canada under imports constitute trucks, Iron and its alloys, dry nuts, cruise ships and angles, bars and rods of steel (Industry Canada 2011). According to figures and statistics from government bodies (Library of Parliament 2011), Turkey is Canada’s 3rd largest export nation (when talking of Middle East) and the 24th largest across the globe. In terms of imports, Turkey stands at 4th position in providing items to Canada. Since 2001 and till 2008, value of Turkey receiving Canadian exports has skyrocketed at a pace of 33% annually. In terms of investment and services, Canadian imports from Turkey for 2009 were to the tune of $111.0 million and basically comprised of travel services. The exports ran to $174.0 million and included services like government, transportation, travel and commercial. Demography: As per 2010 figures and facts, population of Turkey is 72.5 million with

Bdo Benchmarking Assignment Essay Example for Free

Bdo Benchmarking Assignment Essay When considered in general terms Turnbull described it as: â€Å"All influences affecting the institution processes, including those for appointing the controllers and/or regulators involved in organising the production and sale of good and services†¦.. it includes all types of firms whether or not they are incorporated under civil law. † (Turnbull, 2002:181) Factoring in all other definitions, in its simplest terms it can be defined as the â€Å"exercise of power over corporate entities† (Clarke, 2004). It is not the same as the management and the running of the company, it is concerned with how the Board of Directors, who are the governing body of a company, supervise management, because it is they who are responsible for holding the management of a company accountable and ensuring the company is being ran in a way which is favourable towards the shareholders and other stakeholders. It is the Directors’ responsibility to develop strategy and policies for the ompany and to determine the direction the management should take the business in and the Directors have overall responsibility for the performance of the company (Tricker, 2012). While the phrase ‘corporate governance’ wasn’t coined until the 1960’s and not commonly used until the 1980’s, it has really been in a gradual process of evolution since the 16th century and joint venture trading. One of the major developments in world economies which brought the need for corporate governance to the fore was the introduction of limited liability companies in the 19th century. What this meant was when companies were incorporated they became a separate legal entity, separate from their shareholders and with similar legal rights to buy, sell and transfer shares and assets, to employ people and to sue and be sued in the name of the company. This meant the liability for any company debts lay with the shareholders and not the management or the company. Add to this the fact that because of the introduction of the stock market, shares could be easily bought and sold, meaning the shareholders could be vast in numbers and have a large geographical spread. Due to the fact that all corporate entitites need to governed, the implications of this were that the management (executive control) and the shareholders (owners) were often separated (Tricker, 2012). Situations such as these, are where corporate governance is deemed to be most necessary because there is a root assumption, that members of management who do not own the company are likely to be more reckless with someone else’s money, i. e. the company’s, than they would be with their own money (Having Their Cake, 2013). This is known as the agency dilemma, which will be expanded upon later. Electing a Board of Directors who have the interest of the shareholders at the forefront of their mind, allows members to indirectly oversee the actions undertaken by the management, in order to ensure that as agents of the shareholders, the management is performing in line with the best interests of the corporation (Lashgari, 2004). 1. 2. Selection of a Case Company However, as Turnbull pointed out in ‘Corporate Governance: Its scope, concerns and theories’ (2002), having a restriction of only publicly traded corporations in studies of corporate governance, limits the validity of any onclusions drawn about the most efficient arrangements for corporate institutions with regards to good governance practices and the effect they have on a company’s performance. As Jensen said in 1993: â€Å"Privately held entities could provide the most form of enterprise. † (Jensen, 1993, cited in Turnbull, 2002). It was with this in mind that I chose BDO LLP UK (BDO), which is an incorporated partnership company in the UK, which is owned and ran by its members/partners. It is a company which offers financial accounting, audit, tax and business consultancy services (BDO LLP UK website, 2013). . 3. About the UK Financial Accounting and Audit Sector With the ever increasing focus on corporate governance for companies across the World, not just in the UK, audit firms such as BDO, KPMG and Deloitte are becoming more important because it is there job to ensure that companies are adhering to regulations laid out in the UK Corporate Governance Code (2010, revised in 2012). It should naturally follow that audit companies will have extremely good corporate governance practices put in place, however, this is not necessarily the case. Since 2000 there have been a number of high profile scandals within the International Corporate Financial Accounting industry, for example, Enron were found to be inflating revenues and hiding debts and there was also the Bernard Madoff â€Å"Ponzi Scheme†, where the real scandal was that the robbing of millions of pounds worth of people’s money, escaped the attention of auditors and regulators. ). Due to such scandals, many national regulators implemented new corporate governance requirements to improve standards (Mitchell Van der Zahn, 2009). In the UK new regulations with regards specifically to audit companies were also introduced, targeted directly at a certain group of companies. As of January 2010, 95% of the auditing work in the UK was being carried out by 8 firms, BDO being one of them. It was deemed that such companies had built upon their reputation to gain dominance in the UK market and the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) felt it was in the Public’s interest for these companies to be transparent and in order to maintain public trust be exemplars of best corporate governance practice. This led to the introduction of the Audit Firm Governance Code (2010) by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), which drew from aspects of the 2010 UK Code and established principles such as the appointment of independent non-executives within the governance structure of their company. While such rules did not apply outside of the targeted companies, it was the hope of the ICAEW that it would provide a benchmark of good governance for other companies to follow (ICAEW website, 2013). With such a bold statement being made about the importance of corporate governance in this field of work, it seemed to me to be an obvious choice to choose one of the 8 companies on the ICAEW’s list for my case-study. 1. 4. About BDO LLP UK As detailed earlier BDO LLP UK is an incorporated partnership company in the UK, which is owned and ran by its members/partners and it provides financial accounting, audit, tax and business consultancy services. It is the 6th largest accountancy firm in the UK and is a member of the BDO International Network, which itself is the 5th largest accounting organisation in the World. In an attempt to break into the top 4 big firms in the UK, BDO LLP UK completed a merger with PKF, a rival firm, in April 2013 (Keynote, 2013). After researching BDO LLP UK, it became very clear that corporate governance was of the upmost importance to the company. Not only did it have specific areas on its website dedicated to corporate governance and corporate social responsibility but it also had a number of relevant publications regarding corporate governance. One article for example, ‘Making Internal Audit Relevant’, discussed the high quality of corporate governance in the UK found by studies carried out by the FRC, it went on to say that this was underpinned by the UK Corporate Governance Code and that it was vital in maintaining the attractiveness of the UK market, to encourage new investment (BDO LLP UK website, 2013). My research also found that BDO had carried out a joint study with the Quoted Companies Alliance, which considered the introduction of a mandatory corporate governance code for small and mid-capital audit companies in the UK. Just as a point of fact, this was a proposition that 92% of such companies agreed with. One of the major indications that BDO think corporate governance is vital to the success of a company is that they produce an annual transparency report, which has an appendix of a statement of compliance with the Audit Firm Governance Code (2010). They have also went to great lengths to create a summary report in 2012 for businesses which they audit, detailing any changes to corporate governance regulations and focusing on leadership and effectiveness, reporting, risk, audit, remuneration and investor relations (Corporate Governance for TMT Businesses, 2012). It seems to be an interesting idea to look at a company who places so much emphasis on good corporate governance, not only for itself but also the companies it works for, to see if they do comply completely with the codes and if they are in fact â€Å"exemplars† of good practice. . Theories of Corporate Governance There are various theories and philosophies with regards to corporate governance, all of which, as a collective, have laid a foundation for the development of different corporate governance systems around the world (Lashgari, 2004). This paper will look at a number of these theories and how they relate to BDO, in order to gain a better understanding of th e governance standards at BDO. 2. 1. Agency Theory In the 1930’s, Berle and Means published ‘The Modern Corporation and Private Property’, it provided the first debate about the agency dilemma and set a basis for agency theory. They suggested that where ownership is separated from management or is widely dispersed, it becomes difficult for owners to have an effective check on the autonomy of corporate managers. The agency dilemma was further refined in the 1970’s, when theories were brought to the fore suggesting agents (managers) are likely to be self-interested and will serve their own interest before those of the principle (owners). Such theories also suggested that in order to counter this problem companies have to incur agency costs, for example, to create incentives to align the interest of the agent with the company and the cost of monitoring the conduct of agents. Many other theorists have a problem with agency theory because it does not even attempt to explore the possibility managers are not self-interested and opportunistic. However, they cannot deny that it has een very influential in developing market-based governance mechanisms and board-based governance mechanisms. Due to BDO being an incorporated partnership and their shares not being publicly traded, we will only look at the board-based mechanisms (Having Their Cake, 2013). Agency theory has caused internal reform of boards, there has been an increase in executive share options schemes, meaning that managers are being offered equity in the company they will manage, in order to â€Å"align their interest† (Having Their Cake, 2013). Agency theory has also led to the introduction of independent non-executive directors onto Boards of Directors, in order to ensure the actions of the management are being sufficiently monitored by the board themselves and role of boards have been greatly elaborated, they are becoming more involved with the setting of objectives of companies and monitoring of any actions taken by management and stricter provisions have been put in place to ensure the separation of the roles of chairmen and chief executive (Cadbury Committee, 1999). When applying agency theory to BDO, it is easy to see that there is a situation of agency and principle, with the fact that there are 193 partners in the firm and only 5 partners who are part of the Leadership Team (LT- management) which is responsible for the overall management of the company and is chaired by the Managing Partner. It is also noticeable from their 2012 ‘Transparency Report’ that all members of the LT have been partners in the company for a number of years, with currently the shortest term being 12 years. This could be considered good governance by BDO because in an effort to avoid the agency dilemma, they ensure their management team is made up of partners, whose interest is already aligned with the interests of the business. The transparency report also states that BDO have a Partner Council (equivalent to a Board of Directors) which is independent from the LT and responsible for the overall governance, in particular the oversight and accountability of the LT. They are also responsible for choosing members of the LT and for electing independent non-executive directors, for which there are 2 at BDO. These independent non-executive directors sit on the LT and report to the partner council of any issues of compliance with governance, policies and procedures, for which they are responsible for providing information on to the LT. The Partner Council is chaired by the Senior Partner who performs a client facing role and is responsible for managing all decisions. He also attends LT meetings in a non-executive capacity to facilitate his oversight role of the governance of the company (Transparency Report, 2012). As we can see the management team is subject to a lot of oversight and monitoring by the Partner Council and the roles of the Senior Partner and Managing Partner are completely separate, this is all a way of ensuring the company has a high standard of governance and to also ensure the management is acting in the best interest of the all the owners. BDO goes to a big effort in organising their governance structure in order to avoid the problems arising from the agency dilemma. 2. 2. Resource Dependence Theory This theory originated from studies performed by Pfeffer and Salancik (1978), they suggest that board members and non-executive directors can provide a firm with a vital set of resources. Non-executive directors are appointed with the expectation that they will support the organisation with its problems and to be a source of expertise which executives can draw upon for skills and advice and they can also be a source of contacts and information which they have gained through their past experience (Having Their Cake, 2013). At different stages in the life-cycle of companies, they have very different needs from their non-executive directors. To young entrepreneurial companies, non-executive directors can be a cheap source of legal, financial or operation management skills, while publicly listed companies are in need of network connections such directors can provide, for example, sources of finance. They can also provide the benefit of attaching a good reputation to their company. Mature businesses, with which we are most concerned because BDO falls into that category, can use non-executive directors for their relevant market or managerial experience and from the consumer confidence which can be gained from that person’s good reputation being affiliated to their company (Having Their Cake, 2013). Applying this theory to the independent non-executive directors of BDO, we can clearly see from the Transparency Report (2012) that both have experience of past non-executive director roles and both bring their own experience in a relevant field, Lesley MacDonagh with a high level of experience of law and business management which she gained from being a Managing Partner at Law firm Lovells and Lord David Currie having experience of business management from eing a Dean of Cass Business School and a past Chairman of OFCOM and he also has sound knowledge of the legal system from being a member of the House of Lords. This places them perfectly for their positions of overseeing the governance of and business management of BDO. 2. 3. Stewardship Theory This theory, which originated from the works of Donaldson (1990), suggests that directors can have motives which are ‘pro-organizational’ and counters the assumption by agency theorists that management aims are based in self-in terest and are not aligned with those of the shareholders. Donaldson even goes as far as to suggest that negative investor assumptions of the management will have the opposite effect to what was intended and can actually weaken the leadership of a company by weakening the management’s authority when splitting the decision making power between the board and the management. Donaldson also put forward the theory that inside managers and directors have possibly spent their lives working for the company they govern and because of this not only have a strong understanding of how the company is ran, therefore are able to make superior decisions, but also they will have naturally built a strong affiliation and personal investment in the success of the company. He also points out that decisions made by a board of outsiders could be of a lower quality because they would not be in a position to fully understand the company because they would not have access to the same informal knowledge sources and would lack any information which could inform them of the contextual nature of any business situations. All this in turn could lead to low firm performance (Nicholson and Kiel, 2007). As was stated earlier, BDO has a LT which is made up of partners who have been working for the company in a particular field and have been a partner for a number of years. The field they are responsible for as part of the LT is relevant to the field they have been previously working in, for example the Head of Audit and Tax, Paul Eagland has been a Tax Partner for 17 years. This ensures that any decisions that are being made are informed with the necessary knowledge to make the correct decision for the company. Also, as has been stated previously working for the company has long has built a strong affiliation to the company and its success. With regards to the non-executive director element of the board, it is made up of both independent members who come from outside the company (such as mentioned previously) and Directors such as the Senior Partner who has been with the company for a number of years, this allows for any gaps in the knowledge of the directors to be covered because there is an overlap between the meetings of the LT and the Partner Council when the Senior Partner sits in on LT meetings as an affiliated non-executive director. This ensures that the company is practicing good governance and that the board cannot be misled by the management as to how the company is being ran and if the interests of the other Partners are being looked after (Transparency Report, 2012). 2. 4. Stakeholder Theory Freeman (1980’s) put forward a whole new idea in terms of corporate governance theories, he argued that it should not simply be just the shareholders’ or partners’ interests which should be considered when making business decisions, he suggested that companies should be ran with the interests of all stakeholders in mind. Other stakeholders include employees, who have invested their time and skills in the company and have an invested interest in the company’s success, in order for them to ensure job security. This, Freeman classes as a direct interest in the success of the company, other direct stakeholders include customers and suppliers. What Freeman classed as having an indirect interest in the performance of the company includes the community as a whole and the environment (Having Their Cake, 2013). There is a major problem with this theory, which is that it is hard to operationalize because it is difficult to decide the weight that should be given to different stakeholders but accepting this difficulty, some theorists have suggested that while ultimately they are accountable to the shareholders, they must take into account the interests of other stakeholders when making decisions. This demand for ‘stakeholder value’ is legitimised through a number of examples, take globalisation; the spread of business and corporations across the world has led to environmental damage, an increase in corporate corruption and excessive executive pay has been, for example with RBS, to come hand-in-hand with company downsizing which has a direct impact on employees. In the name of good corporate governance, the increase in the value of stakeholder interests has led to an increase in business ethic codes and heightened corporate practice visibility and corporate reports of social responsibility and environmental matters (Having Their Cake, 2013). According to BDO’s website and their Transparency Report (2012), the company takes the interests of various stakeholders into account when making decisions about how the business is run, in a number of different ways, through policies and procedures: * Ethical Requirements The company has a Professional Services Manual and an Audit Manual, which contain rules relating to ethical conduct of employees, management and Partners. It is easily accessible on the company intranet and is supplemented with training and is designed to comply with International and UK Ethics Standards. The Partners and staff sign annual declarations as to their compliance to the code and the company has an Ethics Partner who is tasked with providing guidance as to correct ethics and also with maintaining compliance. * Client Relationships BDO has 5 core values which all partners and staff are committed to, they are; honesty and integrity, taking personal responsibility, mutual support and strong and personal client relationships. To aid in these values and to help deliver a quality service to clients, the company has robust client and engagement procedures. They carry out risk assessments on every potential client, before signing a contract and this helps to ensure that not only is the company secure but also that they provide the client with the sufficient standard and amount of staff they are in need of. The HR department also has clear policies and procedures when it comes to recruitment in training, to ensure the company has a sufficient number of staff who are competent and meet the required ethical standards, all in the name of providing a quality service to clients. * Employee Relationships BDO have an inclusive culture when it comes to recruitment and training and development, it provides every staff member with the same opportunities to progress regardless of differences. They have strong policies and procedures regarding regular reviews, which are performed bi-annually. They also seek to adopt the most relevant recruitment selection tools, in order to ensure the fit and quality of those joining the company. They also provide employees with ‘learning maps’ and ‘career and performance wheels’, which helps with career development and ensures promotions only occur when the staff member is ready. This all aids in the success of the company. * Corporate Social Responsibility BDO actively support and develop the local community, they have an established network of over 20 champions in the UK, tasked with â€Å"stimulating local ideas and initiatives† to help developing the community. They have a Community Volunteering Policy, allowing employees to take 6 days a year to volunteer, and they are not restricted to volunteer at certain organisations. It can be whatever is important to them. BDO ensure the negative impact their business has on the environment is minimised and have an Environmental Policy which can be accessed at the follow address: http://www. bdo. uk. com/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility/environment. Considering this, it could be said that with regards to ‘stakeholder value’ BDO practices good corporate governance. . BDO Governance in Practice 3. 1. Transparency Report Due to the EU’s 8th Directive on transparency reporting being adopted, in April 2008 the Professional Oversight Board published the Statutory Auditors (Transparency) Instrument (2008), requiring auditors of companies with a public interest to publish annual transparency reports. It also detailed requirements that such reports must meet, including systems of q uality control, independence practices and procedures and information about the company, i. e. he structure and the management. The BDO Transparency Report (2012) is available at: http://static. bdo. uk. com/assets/documents/2012/09/Transparency_Report_for_the_52_weeks_ended_29_June_2012. pdf . Transparency reports are used to demonstrate the quality of audit processes and practices of a company and are also used to encourage a high level of confidence and trust from stakeholders and the business community. BDO also provided a statement of compliance with the Audit Firm Governance Code (2010), which can be seen in Appendix A. The transparency includes details of the Governance Structure of the UK Firm, including the management and implementation of independent non-executive directors, the values of the company, the Internal Quality Control System, the Risk Management Control System and details the policies and procedures regarding independence, whistleblowing, professional development and partner remuneration. 3. 2. Statement of Compliance with the Audit Firm Governance Code One of the most important aspects of the Transparency Report is the Statement of Compliance with the Audit Firm Governance Code. Some of the key aspects of which include compliance with: * the owner accountability principle- the Partnership Council reviews decisions made by the Leadership Team, the management * the management principle- strategic and operational leadership is provided by the LT * the professionalism principle- the whole firm is committed to quality work and professional judgement and values. The firm’s management and the Head of Risk and Quality reinforce the appropriate ‘tone at the top’, instilling professional and ethical values in the firm. BDO employees are expected to comply with an internal code of conduct * the Involvement of independent non-executives principle- BDO appointed Independent Non-Executives in July 2008, comply with the same independence requirements as our partners and employees and they have sufficient experience and expertise to command the respect of the partners * the Compliance Principle- BDO have policies and procedures to ensure they comply with professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements * the whistleblowing policy- all actions arising out of incidents of whistleblowing, are reported to the Head of Risk and Quality who will make an annual report the Internal Reporting Principle- LT, Partnership Council, Audit Committee and Risk Committee are supplied with information in a timely manner and in a form and of a quality which enables them to discharge their duties * the Financial Statements Principle- BDO publish annual audited financial statements in accordance with UK GAAP While BDO provide a very clear statement about how compliant they are with regards to the Audit Firm Governance Code, we must look at the FRC’s ‘BDO LLP- Audit Quality Inspection, 2013’ which considered the corporate governance compliance of BDO in order to get a true understanding of their standard of corporate governance compliance. 3. 3. FRC Annual Review of BDO The FRC found that in most areas there were appropriate policies and procedures in place for its size and client base and they found that all the statements that were made in the Transparency Report were consistent with their understanding of BDO’s policies and procedures of the firm. However, when the FRC reviewed the audits BDO carried out themselves on other companies, they found that a number of governance codes were not being adhered to: * Firstly, they were not always providing a high standard of quality auditing, failing to challenge explanations and inputs from managers, they did not always report the disclosure deficiencies which were identified to the Audit Committee and there was a lack of adequate communication with the Audit Committee with regards to inaccurate information, which led to safeguards that had been put in place not being properly assessed. Secondly, the FRC found that the audits were not always being reviewed thoroughly enough and audit quality issues and omissions in reports were not being identified. * Thirdly, BDO were found to not have complied fully with ethical standards in a number of different ways; * The business plan inferred that fees should be set lower if non-audit fees are likely to be earned, this goes against their own required ethical standards and their own * Performance evaluation criteria including the cross-selling of non-audit services * The list of entities which partners held shares and could generate a conflict of interests was not up to date. A more robust set of procedures was suggested to ensure that this list was kept up to date in future Lastly, the Internal Quality Review was not of a high enough standard, it did not provide a sufficient level of detail and clarity of explanations of significant findings. 4. Conclusion We can see that BDO go to great lengths to try and ensure that they are fully compliant with corporate governance codes and regulations, not only with their policies and procedures a nd the way the company is managed but also with governance structure of the company and the values and focus of the aims and objectives of the company. They also have a strong focus on transparency and ethics within in their business and this is linked to their value of providing great customer client relationships with professionalism, honesty and integrity. They also go to great lengths to aid the companies with which they work, in complying with corporate governance codes, again this is all in the name of developing excellent quality and trustworthy client relationships, in order to maintain and improve the success of their business. However, as we can see from the FRC review, there are gaps in their governance compliance, in particular with internal reporting and ethical standards, but it will have to be seen in the coming years of reviews if the increase in transparency and an even greater focus on corporate governance will lead to BDO closing such gaps. 5. Bibliography * BDO LLP UK, ‘Transparency Report’, 2012, Available Online at: http://static. do. uk. com/assets/documents/2012/09/Transparency_Report_for_the_52_weeks_ended_29_June_2012. pdf [Accessed 02 May 2013]. * BDO LLP UK Website, 2013, ‘About Us’, Available Online at: http://www. bdo. uk. com/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility/environment [Acc essed 02 May 2013]. * BDO LLP UK, 2012, ‘Corporate Governance for TMT Businesses’, Available Online at: http://static. bdo. uk. com/assets/documents/2012/03/Corporate_Governance_for_TMT_Businesses. pdf [Accessed 02 May 2013]. * Crump, R. , May 2012, ‘Mid-cap market calls for mandatory governance code’, Financial Director Website, Available Online at: http://www. financialdirector. co. k/financial-director/news/2180374/mid-cap-market-calls-mandatory-governance-code [Accessed 02 May 2013]. * Financial Reporting Council, 2013, ‘BDO LLP: Audit Quality Inspection’, FRC Website, Available Online at: http://www. frc. org. uk/Our-Work/Publications/Audit-Quality-Review/Public-Report-BDO-LLP. aspx [Accessed 02 May 2013]. * ICAEW, 2013, ‘The Audit Firm Governance Code’, ICAEW Website, Available Online at: http://www. icaew. com/en/technical/corporate-governance/audit-firm-governance-code [Accessed 02 May 2013]. * Keynote, 2013, ‘Account ancy Marketing Report’, Available Online at: https://www. keynote. co. uk/market-intelligence/view/product/10674/accountancy? edium=download [Accessed 02 May 2013]. * Dr Lashgari, M. , 2004, ‘Corporate Governance: Theory and Practice’, The Journal of American Academy of Business, Cambridge, Available Online at: http://tharcisio. com. br/arquivos/textos/13200724. pdf [Accessed 02 May 2013]. * Mitchell Van der Zahn, J-L. W. , 2008, ‘Special Issue on: Financial Reporting, Transparency and Corporate Governance: Issues in Volatile International Markets’, International Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Performance Evaluation, Vol. 7, Nos 1/2, pp: 61-93, Available Online at: http://www. inderscience. com/info/ingeneral/cfp. php? id=962 [Accessed 02 May 2013]. * Roberts, J. ‘The Theories behind Corporate Governance’, Having Their Cake website, Available Online at: http://www. havingtheircake. com/content/1_Ideas%20that%20shape%20the%20world/fa ct%20and%20opinion/The%20theories%20behind%20corporate%20governance. lnk [Accessed 02 May 2013]. * Turnbull, S. , 2002, ‘Corporate Governance: Its scope, concerns and theories’, Corporate Governance: An International Review, Volume 5, Issue 4, Available Online at: http://onlinelibrary. wiley. com/doi/10. 1111/1467-8683. 00061/pdf [Accessed 02 May 2013]. * Tricker, R. I. , 2012, ‘Corporate Governance: Principles, Policies and Practices’, Oxford University Press: London, (2012). *

Emerging Workplace Trends that Challenge the Organization

Emerging Workplace Trends that Challenge the Organization The role of the Human Resource Professional is evolving with the change in competitive market environment and the realization that Human Resource Management must play a more strategic role in the success of an organization. Organizations that do not put their emphasis on attracting and retaining talents may find themselves in dire consequences, as their competitors may be outplaying them in the strategic employment of their human resources. With the increase in competition, locally or globally, organizations must become more adaptable, resilient, agile, and customer-focused to succeed. And within this change in environment, the HR professional has to evolve to become a strategic partner, an employee sponsor or advocate, and a change mentor within the organization. In order to succeed, HR must be a business driven function with a thorough understanding of the organizations big picture and be able to influence key decisions and policies. In general, the focus of todays HR Manager is on strategic personnel retention and talents development. HR professionals will be coaches, counselors, mentors, and succession planners to help motivate organizations members and their loyalty. The HR manager will also promote and fight for values, ethics, beliefs, and spirituality within their organizations, especially in the management of workplace diversity. This paper will highlight on how a HR professional can meet the challenges and Trend of HR Professional, how to motivate employees through gain-sharing and executive information system through proper planning, organizing, leading and controlling their human resources. II. Review of Literature and Studies Organizations have entered a new era characterized by rapid, dramatic and turbulent changes. The accelerated pace of change has transformed how work is performed by employees in diverse organizations. Change has truly become an inherent and integral part of organizational life. Several emerging trends are impacting organizational life. Of these emerging trends, five will be examined: globalization, diversity, flexibility, technology, and networks. These five emerging trends create tensions for organizational leaders and employees as they go through waves of changes in their organizations. These tensions present opportunities as well as threats, and if these tensions are not managed well, they will result in dysfunctional and dire organizational outcomes at the end of any change process. Globalization To stay competitive, more organizations are embracing offshore outsourcing. Many functions are being shifted to India, the Philippines, Malaysia, and other countries for their low labor costs, high levels of workforce education, and technological advantages. According to the 2002-2003 Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Workplace Forecast, companies such as Ford, General Motors, and Nestle employ more people outside of their headquarters countries than within those countries. Almost any company, whether in manufacturing or services, can find some part of its work that can be done off site. Forrester Research projects that 3.3 million U.S. service- and knowledge-based jobs will be shipped overseas by the year 2015, 70 percent of which will move to India. Communication and information sharing are occurring across the globe in multiple languages and multiple cultures. Global competition and global cooperation coexist in the new world economy. One major consequence of globalization is greater mobility in international capital and labor markets. This creates a global marketplace where there is more opportunity, because there are more potential customers. However, there is also more competition, as local companies have to compete with foreign companies for customers. According to Dani Rodrik, professor of international political economy at Harvards Kennedy School of Government, the processes associated with the global integration of markets for goods, services, and capital have created two sources of tensions. First, reduced barriers to trade and investment accentuate the asymmetries between groups that can cross international borders, and those that cannot. In the first category are owners of capital, highly skilled workers, and many professionals. Unskilled and semiskilled workers and most middle managers belong in the second category. Second, globalization engenders conflicts within and between nations over domestic norms and the social institutions that embody them. As the technology for manufactured goods becomes standardized and diffused internationally, nations with very different sets of values, norms, institutions, and collective preferences begin to compete head on in markets for similar goods. Trade becomes contentious when it unleashes forces that undermine the norms implicit in local or domestic workplace practices. Diversity According to Thomas (1992), dimensions of workplace diversity include, but are not limited to: age, ethnicity, ancestry, gender, physical abilities/qualities, race, sexual orientation, educational background, geographic location, income, marital status, military experience, religious beliefs, parental status, and work experience. The future success of any organizations relies on the ability to manage a diverse body of talent that can bring innovative ideas, perspectives and views to their work. The challenge and problems faced of workplace diversity can be turned into a strategic organizational asset if an organization is able to capitalize on this melting pot of diverse talents. With the mixture of talents of diverse cultural backgrounds, genders, ages and lifestyles, an organization can respond to business opportunities more rapidly and creatively, especially in the global arena (Cox, 1993), which must be one of the important organizational goals to be attained. More importantly, if the organizational environment does not support diversity broadly, one risks losing talent to competitors. This is especially true for multinational companies (MNCs) who have operations on a global scale and employ people of different countries, ethical and cultural backgrounds. Thus, a HR professional needs to be mindful and may employ a Think Global, Act Local approach in most circumstances. The challenge of workplace diversity is also prevalent amongst Singapores Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). With a population of only four million people and the nations strive towards high technology and knowledge-based economy; foreign talents are lured to share their expertise in these areas. Thus, many local HR professional have to undergo cultural-based Human Resource Management training to further their abilities to motivate a group of professional that are highly qualified but culturally diverse. Furthermore, the HR professional must assure the local professionals that these foreign talents are not a threat to their career advancement (Toh, 1993). In many ways, the effectiveness of workpla ce diversity management is dependent on the skilful balancing act of the HR Professional. One of the main reasons for ineffective workplace diversity management is the predisposition to pigeonhole employees, placing them in a different silo based on their diversity profile (Thomas, 1992). In the real world, diversity cannot be easily categorized and those organizations that respond to human complexity by leveraging the talents of a broad workforce will be the most effective in growing their businesses and their customer base. In order to effectively manage workplace diversity, Cox (1993) suggests that a HR Profesional needs to change from an ethnocentric view (our way is the best way) to a culturally relative perspective (lets take the best of a variety of ways). This shift in philosophy has to be ingrained in the managerial framework of the HR Manager in his/her planning, organizing, leading and controlling of organizational resources. Flexibility Globalization and diversity trends are forcing organizations to become more flexible and adaptable. To be able to function globally and to embrace diversity, HR Professional in organizations have to become more flexible and develop a wider repertoire of skills and strategies in working with diverse groups of people in the workplace as well as in the marketplace. The response to increased diversity has, in many cases, been increased organizational flexibility. Some organizations allow workers to have very different work arrangements (e.g. flex-time) and payment schedules. Some organizations (and workers) have found it convenient to treat some workers as independent consultants rather than employees. In certain occupations, advances in communication and information technologies have enabled telecommuting -working at home via computer. One consequence of this is the blurring of boundaries between work and home, and where and when work occurs. The benefits of greater flexibility may be countered by the negative consequences of working 24/7 including higher stress and burnout. The response to increased competition, however, has resulted in a tension generated by the demands to be flexible and yet maintain some stability as changes are implemented in organizations. To stay competitive, organizations are constantly changing and restructuring to increase flexibility and decrease costs. Business process reengineering, business process out-sourcing, job redesign, and other approaches to optimize business processes have been implemented to increase operational and process efficiency while reducing the costs of doing business. Changes in business and operational processes need time to stabilize for employees to learn the new processes, become familiar with them, and be able to operate effectively and efficiently. Yet, competitive pressures can cause organizations to go through a series of changes without giving employees adequate time for learning and training, and for the benefits of the change to be fully realized in the organization. This tension is well-captured by Columbia Business School professor Eric Abrahamson in his book, Change Without Pain (2004) in which he discussed how organizations can go through change overload and how employees can experience change fatigue and burnout. Professor Abrahamson proposes creative recombination as an alternative approach to the highly destructive, destabilizing and painful changes caused by creative destruction. Technology A Human Resource Management System (HRMS, EHRMS), Human Resource Information System (HRIS), HR Technology or also called HR modules, or simply Payroll, refers to the systems and processes at the intersection between human resource management (HRM) and information technology. It merges HRM as a discipline and in particular its basic HR activities and processes with the information technology field, whereas the programming of data processing systems evolved into standardized routines and packages of enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. On the whole, these ERP systems have their origin on software that integrates information from different applications into one universal database. The linkage of its financial and human resource modules through one database is the most important distinction to the individually and proprietary developed predecessors, which makes this software application both rigid and flexible. The function of Human Resources departments is generally administrative and not common to all organizations. Organizations may have formalized selection, evaluation, and payroll processes. Efficient and effective management of Human Capital has progressed to an increasingly imperative and complex process. The HR function consists of tracking existing employee data which traditionally includes personal histories, skills, capabilities, accomplishments and salary. To reduce the manual workload of these administrative activities, organizations began to electronically automate many of these processes by introducing specialized Human Resource Management Systems. HR executives rely on internal or external IT professionals to develop and maintain an integrated HRMS. Before the client-server architecture evolved in the late 1980s, many HR automation processes were relegated to mainframe computers that could handle large amounts of data transactions. In consequence of the low capital investmen t necessary to buy or program proprietary software, these internally-developed HRMS were unlimited to organizations that possessed a large amount of capital. The advent of client-server, Application Service Provider, and Software as a Service or SaaS Human Resource Management Systems enabled increasingly higher administrative control of such systems. Currently Human Resource Management Systems encompass: 1. Payroll 2. Work Time 3. Benefits Administration 4. HR management Information system 5. Recruiting 6. Training/Learning Management System 7. Performance Record 8. Employee Self-Service The payroll module automates the pay process by gathering data on employee time and attendance, calculating various deductions and taxes, and generating periodic pay cheques and employee tax reports. Data is generally fed from the human resources and time keeping modules to calculate automatic deposit and manual cheque writing capabilities. This module can encompass all employee-related transactions as well as integrate with existing financial management systems. The work time gathers standardized time and work related efforts. The most advanced modules provide broad flexibility in data collection methods, labor distribution capabilities and data analysis features was outdated. Cost analysis and efficiency metrics are the primary functions. The benefits administration module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee participation in benefits programs. These typically encompass insurance, compensation, profit sharing and retirement. The HR management module is a component covering many other HR aspects from application to retirement. The system records basic demographic and address data, selection, training and development, capabilities and skills management, compensation planning records and other related activities. Leading edge systems provide the ability to read applications and enter relevant data to applicable database fields, notify employers and provide position management and position control not in use. Human resource management function involves the recruitment, placement, evaluation, compensation and development of the employees of an organization. Initially, businesses used computer based information systems to: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ produce pay checks and payroll reports; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ maintain personnel records; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ pursue Talent Management. Online recruiting has become one of the primary methods employed by HR departments to garner potential candidates for available positions within an organization. Talent Management systems typically encompass: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ analyzing personnel usage within an organization; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ identifying potential applicants; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ recruiting through company-facing listings; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ recruiting through online recruiting sites or publications that market to both recruiters and applicants. The significant cost incurred in maintaining an organized recruitment effort, cross-posting within and across general or industry-specific job boards and maintaining a competitive exposure of availabilities has given rise to the development of a dedicated Applicant Tracking System, or ATS, module. The training module provides a system for organizations to administer and track employee training and development efforts. The system, normally called a Learning Management System if a stand alone product, allows HR to track education, qualifications and skills of the employees, as well as outlining what training courses, books, CDs, web based learning or materials are available to develop which skills. Courses can then be offered in date specific sessions, with delegates and training resources being mapped and managed within the same system. Sophisticated LMS allow managers to approve training, budgets and calendars alongside performance management and appraisal metrics. The Employee Self-Service module allows employees to query HR related data and perform some HR transactions over the system. Employees may query their attendance record from the system without asking the information from HR personnel. The module also lets supervisors approve O.T. requests from their subordinates through the system without overloading the task on HR department. Many organizations have gone beyond the traditional functions and developed human resource management information systems, which support recruitment, selection, hiring, job placement, performance appraisals, employee benefit analysis, health, safety and security, while others integrate an outsourced Applicant Tracking System that encompasses a subset of the above. Networks Organizations that flatten tend to encourage horizontal communication among workers. Rather than working through the organizational hierarchy, it is often faster for workers who need to coordinate with each other simply to communicate directly. Such organizations are highly networked. Another meaning of networked organizations refers to their relations to other organizations. Organizations that have downsized to just their core competencies must then outsource all the functions that used to be done inhouse. To avoid losing time and effort managing contracts with suppliers, organizations have learned to develop close ties to their suppliers so that social mechanisms of coordination replace legal mechanisms, which are slow and costly. In many industries, such as the garment industry in Italy, strong relationships have developed between manufacturers and suppliers (and other manufacturers), so that considerable work is done without a contract and without even working out a firm price. For these networked organizations to work, high trust and social capital between organizations are key elements. Networked organizations are particularly important in industries with complex products where technologies and customer needs change rapidly, such as in high technology industries. Close ties among a set of companies enables them to work with each other in ways that are faster than arms-length contracts would permit, and yet retains the flexibility of being able to drop the relationship if needed (as opposed to performing the function in-house). The trend towards networked organizations and structures create a new tension between interdependence and independence. The forces of aggregation and disaggregation throw up new challenges for organizations, for example, the use of independent contractors, joint ventures, strategic partnerships and alliances even with competitors. One advantage of networks is that organizations have greater flexibility and thus they can become more competitive in the global marketplace. Another advantage is that organizations do not require that many resources such as employee benefits, office space, and financing for new business ventures. On the other hand, networks have distinct disadvantages. Organizations may find it more difficult to control quality of goods or services as they now have to depend on their partners in the networks to deliver the quality that is desired. Legal and contracting expertise as well as negotiation expertise will also be important for networks. Alternative forms of control may need to be developed to control quality. Alternative mechanisms for coordination may also need to be developed to manage the growing constellation and sometimes tenuous nature of other partner organizations in the network. All the five trends produce result in greater organizational or system complexity for HR Professional in organizations. The tensions produced by these trends cannot be solved. They have to be managed. Effective approaches in organizational change will involve not one strategy but many alternatives and will require leaders and employees to develop greater resilience in confronting these tensions. III. Reaction True enough that the HR Professional is phasing a lot changes and trend that encouraged huge change in any organization. HR Professional must accept this trend in able to for them to grasp in never ending change. This 5 trend are now being embrace by many organizations. Globalization trend, may organization specially here in the Philippines are using outsourcing instead of hiring a HR Professional. Example: Instead of hiring Payroll and Time Keeper, may company are using electronic time captured device that allow the outsourcing company to time and payroll. This trend are creating advantages and this advantages Advantages: There will be no HR professional will focusing this area, there are strategic allocations for HR Professionals and HR professional will be focusing on Human Development. In the contrary it also has disadvantages: since time keeping and payroll are being done by the outsource company there would be a possible problem when it comes to employee satisfaction, Time keeping problems such us: failure to finger scan, un computed time, wrong computation due to time discrepancies and not all organization can embraces this trend . Diversity trend May organization here in the Philippines are owned by Koreans, Japanese, American and other foreign investor. This could be one factor that added cultural diversity in industries. Local plus foreign differences that could be resulted in a mixed local-foreign diversity. For instance an organization made of ilocano, batangeà ±o and manileà ±o could create cultural and social diversity. HR Professionals must learn how to adopt the differences because they are mainly the model in accepting diversity thus it must be reflected by HR Professional because they are creating human development that include diversity acceptance. Flexibility Because of Globalization and Diversity may HR Professional are now flexible. They can easily adopt changes. This characteristic must be posses by all HR Professional to become more successful to handle big responsibility. Technology evolution of technology is very fast. It changes the way of life. HRIS is one of the products of technology; before we are doing 201 file (we will need a lot of folders, paper and other staff) but because of HRIS we can make this thing eliminated. We can now create paperless 201 file and also we can now file are absences, leaves, overtime online. But the problem is, not all company can buy this thing. They still using traditional method and this really affect HR professional because they are being left behind. The role of the HR Professional must parallel the needs of the changing organization. Successful organizations are becoming more adaptable, resilient, quick to change directions, and customer-centered. Within this environment, the HR professional must learn how to manage effectively through planning, organizing, leading and controlling the human resource and be knowledgeable of emerging trends in training. I.V Reference 1. SHRM Workplace Forecast: A Strategic Outlook 2000-2003. Alexandria: Society for Human Resource Management. 2. Earley, P.C., Soon Ang, and Joo-Seng Tan. CQ: Developing Cultural Intelligence in the Workplace. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press, 2005. 3. John M. Ivancevich.: Human Resources Management. Mc Graw-Hill International, 2007 This paper will highlight on how a HR manager can meet the challenges of workplace diversity, how to motivate employees through gain-sharing and executive information system through proper planning, organizing, leading and controlling their human

Indeterminacy: Order Versus Chaos :: Philosophy

Indeterminacy: Order Versus Chaos ABSTRACT: Indeterminacy, uncertainty, disorder, randomness, vagueness, fuzziness, ambiguity, crisis, undecideability, chaos, are all different terms. Yet, they are also semantically related to the idea of something opposed to order or structure and organization. Such terms denote prima facie insuperable obstacles to the attainment of true, certain, or precise knowledge about things and events. After analysing the ontological, logical, and axiological status of indeterminary, I outline the aoristic logic which allows adequate descriptions of phenomena pertaining to an area of indeterminary. Aoristic logic provides a propositional calculus that makes possible the compatibility of order with indeterminacy. 1. Argument Truth, certainty, precision are the highest criteria for judgement on any statement concerning structures and processes of a universe within the reach of the human mind. People learned that the mythological heritage cannot satisfy all spiritual needs and, consequently, the mind activity extended from the perceptual explanation of the world to the conception of means to record and disseminate the resulting cognitions. Thinking became gradually a researching activity with a lasting educational component and was able to develop a twofold advance: philosophy dealing with general retrospective analyses and prospective outlooks, and science focussing the attention on particular actual problems approached by specific means. In spite of obvious differences, both philosophical and scientifical thoughts are to submit their statements to he above criteria for assuming the noblest tasks of Paideia. At the turning of our century the science of the inert world, i.e. physics and chemistry, discovered phenomena that compelled the scientists to revise old deterministic patterns of explanation wich became controversial, and to look for new ones. During our century concepts like natural law, order, certainty became a matter of doubt for both theoretical and experimental scientists. Almost concomitantly biologists discovered that life phenomena had to be approached as chains of changes, so that the concept of creation was to be redefined together with the concept of order. Similar changes were recorded in the social sciences wich are dealing with animal and human collectivities. Finally, the uncontroversial model of exactness, mathematics, had refine its tools in order to tackle the problems issued from empirical sciences and to use efficiently the amazing facilities provided by electronic computational devices. All these changes of pattern in science have entailed many ideatic changes in the philosophical camp, where were working not only specialized philosophers but also scientists who used to expound sometimes polemically their own theses on topics from their domains.

Animal Farm vs. The Godfather :: compare contrast

Animal Farm vs. The Godfather George Orwell and Mario Puzo wrote Animal Farm and â€Å"The Godfather† (from the book The Godfather), respectively, to express their disillusionment with society and human nature. Animal Farm, written in 1944, is a book that tells the animal fable of a farm in which the farm animals revolt against their human masters. It is an example of social criticism in literature in which Orwell satirized the events in Russia after the Bolshevik Revolution. He anthropomorphizes the animals, and eludes each one to a counter part in Russian history. The movie â€Å"The Godfather†, directed by Francis Ford Coppula, also typifies this kind of literature. Besides the central theme of mob life, is another prevalent theme, that of a revolution gone bad. He shows us that, unfortunately, human nature causes us to be vengeful and, for some of us, overly ambitious. Both of these works are similar in that both describe how, even with the best of intentions, our ambitions get the best of us. Both of the authors also demonstrate that violence and the Machiavellian attitude of â€Å"the ends justifying the means† are deplorable. George Orwell wrote Animal Farm, â€Å"†¦ to discredit the Soviet system by showing its inhumanity and its back-sliding from ideals [he] valued†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Gardner, 106) Orwell noted, â€Å"there exists in England almost no literature of disillusionment with the Soviet Union.’ Instead, that country is viewed either with ignorant disapproval’ or with uncritical admiration.’† (Orwell, 10) The other animals take this utopian idea to heart, and one day actually do revolt and drive the humans out. Two pigs emerge as leaders: Napoleon and Snowball. They constantly argued, but one day, due to a difference over plans to build a windmill, Napoleon exiled Snowball. Almost immediately, Napoleon established a totalitarian government. Soon, the pigs began to get special favors, until finally, they were indistinguishable from humans to the other animals. Immediately the reader can begin to draw parallels between the book’s characters and the government in 1914-1944 Russia. For example, Old Major, who invented the idea of â€Å"animalism,† is seen as representing Karl Marx, the creator of communism. Snowball represents Trotksy, a Russian leader after the revolution. He was driven out by Napoleon, who represents Stalin, the most powerful figure in the country. Napoleon then proceeded to remove the freedoms of the animals, and established a dictatorship, under the public veil of â€Å"animalism.