Business Research Paper

The purpose of business research is to allow a business to set itself apart from its competitors by gathering as much information on the industry that it can and utilizing that data to create unique methodologies and business practices. Researching a business will provide information on things such as what products consumers like or do not like to buy, what the start-up costs will be, and whether any new business opportunity is viable to undertake. Researching also reveals the profitability potential of products and services and how they size up competitively with similar products available in the market. The most successful business in each industry are perfect examples of how to successfully market, advertise, and sell your products so they should always be considered. According to chapter 1 of the textbook, it does not matter whether you are a small mom & pop bakery or a large corporation like Nabisco, business research is equally important to your company. In my personal experience I have found that the company policies and procedures set forth by the upper management will directly reflect how the employees will react to their clients and impact the business. Personal Experience I have worked for fortune 500 companies such as Verizon, AT&T, and Time Warner in the telecommunications industry and I have learned how each of these companies markets their products to both businesses and consumers. The breakthrough in technology of fiber optic internet and television that became available to consumers in the last ten years was a huge push for all of these companies. There are many different ways the companies got the word out to their customers. The top methods included direct mail, television commercials, email and internet marketing, billboards, radio advertisement, and direct sales at retail locations or residential campaigns. I was part of the residential campaign selling products to consumers at their homes. The money that companies would spend on advertising (usually in the millions) is relatively hard to track and is becoming less effective today. For example, direct mail campaigns have a less than 1% chance of reaching the customer. Whereas visiting a customer at their home has a better chance of influencing the customer to buy the product by learning exactly how it will benefit them and tailoring a package to fit their needs and save them money. I learned that many customers had switched to a competitor due to poor customer service, high prices in the area, or a lack of services offered. In some cases, just telling someone that new technology was now available in their area instantly piqued their interest. Every consumer is different, but everyone wants to feel like they are getting the most value for their money. That is why I would always try to offer the highest level of customer service, the best products, and the best value for the money. Many times people are willing to spend more money for the same products with a higher level of customer service. That is why fancy restaurants are popular, because the atmosphere and the customer service make it a much better experience than cooking a steak at home. So understanding your customer, your competition, and the market are all important factors in researching any business.

Ocean Manufacturing

The client acceptance process can be quite complex. Discuss five procedures an auditor should perform in determining whether to accept a client. Which of these five are required by auditing standards and identify the applicable standards?1. Obtain an understanding of the client's business and operations. Consideration should be given to reading available financial information regarding the prospective client such as annual reports, registration statements, Forms 10-K, other reports to regulatory agencies and income tax returns.2. Inquire as to the general reputation of high ranking employees, influential directors and shareholders, as well as the entity itself. Carefully consider any matters that may negatively reflect on management's integrity, ability and attitude. Such inquiries may be directed to the prospective client's bankers, legal counsel, underwriters, and others in the business community. Background checks obtained by investigative firms may also be useful.3. Consider mana gement's response to observations about or suggestions for improvements in internal controls made by the predecessor auditor and/or the internal auditor.4. Consider the composition and autonomy of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee, including the number of independent outside directors.5. Communicate with the predecessor auditor in accordance with the provisions of Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 84 [AU315]. Inquiries should be directed to the integrity of management and the reasons for the change in auditor.The following situations should be carefully considered in assessing whether to accept a client: o There has been a disagreement with the previous auditor over accounting principles or practices; financial statement disclosures; auditing scope; or the Form 8-K discloses a reportable event as defined in Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation S-K. o The previous auditor resigned or declined to stand for re-election or there is no clear reason for the c essation of the client relationship. o Access to the predecessor auditor's working papers has been denied. Other CPA firms have declined to serve the prospective client. There appears to be evidence of â€Å"opinion shopping. â€Å"2. Return on Equity (ROE=Net profit after tax /Total Shareholders' Equity * 100) 2521/35469 x100 = 7. 11% Return on Assets (ROA=Net profit after tax / Total Assets * 100)2521/66820 x 100 = 3. 77  Ã‚  Unfavorable Assets to Equity (Total Assets / Total Shareholders' Equity) 66821/35469 = 1. 88  Ã‚   favorable Accounts Receivable Turnover (Sales / Account receivable) 104026/7936 = 13. 10 favorable Average Collection Period (Account receivable / Sales * 365) 7936104026 x 365 = 27. 4 favorable Inventory Turnover (Cost of sales / Inventory) 69177/10487 = 6. 6  Ã‚  Unfavorable Days in Inventory (Inventory / Cost of sales * 365) 10487/69177 x365= 44. 3  Ã‚  Favorable Debt Ratio (Total Liabilities / Total Assets)31352/66821 = 0. 47  Ã‚  Not available ( industry figures) Debt to Equity (Total Liabilities / Total Shareholders' Equity) 31353/35469 = 0. 88 Favorable Times Interest Earned (Profit before interest and tax / Interest expense) 6242/1474 = 4. 23  Ã‚  Favorable Current Ratio (Current assets / Current liabilities)27064/14118 =1. 2  Ã‚  favorable Profit Margin (Net Profit before interest and tax / Sales * 100) 6242/104026 x100 = 6. 00Unfavorable The comparison needs to be done for the audited accounts and since the audited accounts are available for 2001 and 2000 but the industry figures are available only for 2001 and 2002 we have to select the year 2001 for comparison. The accounts show that the company is healthy and the ratios are mainly favorable except that the company is not properly leveraged and this is leading to a loss of opportunities and a lower profit margin and lower return on equity. There are no grounds of objection emanating from the ratios and the company can be accepted for auditing.3. What non-financia l matters should be considered before accepting Ocean as a client? How important are these issues to the client acceptance decision? Why? In order to minimize the likelihood of association with a client whose management lacks integrity, Statement on Quality Control Standards No. 2, System of Quality Control for a CPA Firm's Accounting and Auditing Practice, (QC Section 20. 4) (applicable to auditing and accounting and review services) provides that â€Å"policies and procedures should be established for deciding whether to accept or continue a client relationship and to perform a specific engagement for that client (QC Section 20. 14)†, to minimize the likelihood of the specific policies and procedures established and the nature and extent to which they may be documented may vary significantly from firm to firm. Throughout the process, from initial consideration about accepting or continuing a client to issuance of an audit report, auditors are faced with risk.This risk can b e thought of as having three components: ? The entity's business risk – The risk that the entity will not survive or will not be profitable. ? The auditor's business risk – The risk to the auditor from association with the client, consisting of the risk of potential litigation costs and the related effect on the auditor's reputation and the risk of other costs (not related to litigation) such as the effects on fee realization. ? The auditor's audit risk – The risk that the auditor may unknowingly fail to appropriately modify his or her opinion on financial statements that are materially misstated.The following discussion highlights matters that a firm may wish to consider in connection with establishing policies and procedures for client acceptance and continuance. The extent to which a firm may choose to employ any of the following is, with the exception of certain procedures required by generally accepted auditing standards, largely a matter of professional ju dgment. The discussion of specific policies and procedures is intended to be thought-provoking and useful to a firm in assessing the particular client acceptance and continuance policies and procedures it may choose to employ in its practice.4a) Ocean wants Barnes and Fischer to aid in developing and improving their IT system. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having the same audit firm provide both auditing and consulting services? Given current rules on professional independence in the Joint Code of Professional Conduct, will Barnes and Fischer be able to help Ocean with their IT system and still provide a financial statement audit?No, given the current rules on professional independence in the Joint Code of Professional Conduct, Barnes and Fisher will not be able to help Ocean with heir IT system and still provide a financial statement audit. This appointment as an IT system consultant violates this rule: â€Å"Consider whether any financial interests or relationships exist that would impair the appearance of the firm's independence from the client and preclude its expression of an opinion on the entity's financial statements. The firm should consider Rule 101 of the AICPA Code of Professional Ethics. For clients that are public companies, the firm should also consider the requirements of the SEC â€Å". and also, Consider any potential conflicts of interest that could result from the acceptance of a client†4 b. As indicated in the case, one of the partners in another office has invested in a venture capital fund that owns shares of Ocean common stock. Would this situation constitute a violation of independence according to the Joint Code of Professional Conduct? Why or why not? The venture capital fund holds 50,000 shares of Ocean stock, currently valued at approximately $18 a share. This investment represents just over a half of one percent of the value of the fund's total holdings.The partner's total investment in the mutual fund is cu rrently valued at about $56,000. Since, the value of the investment represents just over one half percent of the value of the fund's total holdings, the influence of the partner is negligible, and in addition, the partner is located at a separate office so the company may go ahead with acceptance.5a)  Ã‚  Prepare a memo to the partner making a recommendation as to whether Barnes and Fischer should or should not accept Ocean Manufacturing, Inc as an audit client. Carefully justify your position in light of the information in the case.Include consideration of reasons both for and against acceptance and be sure to address both financial and non-financial issues to justify your recommendation Ocean should be accepted as a client for the company. Even though: A check on the background of Ocean's management revealed that five years ago Ocean's vice president of finance was charged with a misdemeanor involving illegal gambling on local college football games. Charges were later dropped i n return for Mr. Stevens' agreeing to pay a fine of $500 and perform 100 hours of community service. There were no other integrity problems found in the company.The various checks carried out in Ocean include:1. Entity's Business Risk o Management:– Engages in activities indicative of a lack of integrity.– Is prone to engage in speculative ventures or accept unusually high business risks.– Displays a poor attitude toward compliance with outside regulatory or legislative obligations.– Engages in complex transactions or innovative deals that make the determination of the effects on the financial statements difficult to assess or highly subjective.– Lacks a proven track record. Is evasive, uncooperative or abusive to the audit team.– APART FROM RELUCTANCE TO INTRODUCE US TO THE PREVIOUS AUDITORS ALL THE FACTORS WERE FOUND TO BE NEGATIVEThe Entity:– Has products that are new and unproven.– Depends on a limited number of customers o r suppliers.– Is experiencing a deteriorating financial condition or liquidity crisis.– Is subject to uncertainties that raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.– Operates in countries where business practices are questionable.– Has an inadequate capital base or is highly leveraged.– Is experiencing difficulty in meeting restrictive debt covenants.– Generates negative cash flows from operations but reports operating profits.– Has publicly traded debt outstanding that is below investment grade.– Is a low tier firm in an emerging or maturing industry where weak competitors are exiting the market.– Is subject to unpredictable changes in price and availability of product inputs that cause significant variance in profitability.– Is vulnerable to rapidly changing technology.– Is investing cash from short-term borrowings in long-term assets.INVESTIGATIONS SHOW THAT ALL THE ABOVE FA CTORS AT OCEAN ARE NEGATIVE o The Industry:– Is undergoing rapid change.– Is subject to high competition, market saturation, product obsolescence, or declining demand.– Has high operating leverage demonstrated by high fixed costs and low variable costs.– Is highly cyclical or counter cyclical.– Has a low entry barrier.– Is facing regulations that will adversely impact profitability throughout the industry.EXAMINATION OF INDUSTRY DETAILS AT LEXIS NEXIS SHOWS THAT NONE OF THE NEGATIVE TRENDS IN THE INDUSTRY ARE PRESENT2. Barnes and Fischer ‘s Business Risk o The entity is prone to a high number of lawsuits or controversies. o There are frequent changes in the entity's auditors. o The entity plans to engage in an initial public offering or use the financial statements to engage in a debt or equity offering. o The financial statements will be used in connection with an acquisition or disposal of a business or segment INVESTIGATIONS HAVE SH OWN THAT IN CASE OF THE PROSPECTIVE CLIENT NONE OF THE ABOVE MENTIONED RISKS ARE THERE FOR Barnes and Fischer .5. b. Prepare a separate memo to the partner briefly listing and discussing the five or six most important factors or risk areas that will likely affect how the audit is conducted if the Ocean engagement is accepted. Be sure to indicate specific ways in which the audit firm should tailor its approach based on the factors you identify. The risk areas in case of Ocean include;2. The company is under levered.3. The company is not getting loans in the market because of disrepute not know to us.4. There might be integrity issues related to the vice- president involved in gambling but kept underground and secret. The Barnes and Fischer should be vigilant on the activities of the main executives of Ocean.5. The percentage of profit earned by the company is lower than the industry norm. Barnes and Fischer should keep a close watch on the profit margin of the company and in case of anomalistic behavior should mention it in the auditor's report Barnes and Fischer should follow SAS No. 47, as amended, Audit Risk and Materiality in Conducting an Audit (AU Section 312), which provides guidance on the auditor's consideration of audit risk when planning and performing an audit of financial statements.Examples of factors that may increase audit risk include:o Operations that are dominated by a single individual.o Undue emphasis on achieving earnings per share; maintaining the market price of the company's stock; or meeting earnings projections.o Unreliable processes for making accounting estimates or questionable estimates by executives.o Unrealistic budget levels that encourage unrealistic objectives.o A high volume of significant year-end transactions.o Compensation based to a significant degree on reported earnings. o An unnecessarily complex corporate structure. Prior-year financial statements that were restated for correction of an error or irregularity.o Attemp ts by management to reduce the scope of Barnes and Fischer .o Substantial litigation involving the entity's business practices.o Material weaknesses or other reportable conditions in the internal control structure.o Significant and unusually complex related party transactions. o Affiliates that are unaudited or audited by others.o Management espouses aggressive accounting principles.o Understaffed accounting department or inexperienced personnel.Financial reports not prepared on a timely basis. Please note the lacunae in the question. First, the question does not mention the weights Barnes and Fischer intend to give financial measure and non-financial measures for accepting Ocean as the client. Second, the question does not mention what influence the partner in the ‘other' office has in the auditing of Barnes and Fischer. This is related to the policies of the auditors. Third, the question of there being advantages and disadvantages of appointing the same firm as auditor and c onsultant does not arise. Remember, the Enron scam!Fourth, the question is not clear if Barnes and Fischer have experience of auditing accounts of firms making small home appliances. Fifth, the question mention in one place that Ocean wants to make a public issue, on the other hand the company accounts are showing that the company is under leveraged, these two things are antithetical and Barnes and Fischer should have investigated why Ocean wants to go in for equity when Ocean should actually go in for debt. Still this is an excellent question in auditing. Please use the above guidelines and write an excellent answer. Ocean Manufacturing Barnes and Fischer, LLP| To:| Jane Hunter| From:| Susan Anderson, Elizabeth Lane, Chantal Murphy, Elizabeth Robinson| CC:| Dr. Cashell| Date:| 3/5/2013| Re:| Decision on Accepting Ocean Manufacturing as a client| | Recommendation: We recommend that we do not accept Ocean Manufacturing as a client. Justification:There were several issues we considered when making our recommendation:0Independence Violation0No experience in the industry0Can’t do consulting because SOX violation0Red flag with regard to contact to previous auditor0Significant Mgt.Turnover0Unethical behavior (illegal gambling)03 years ago received qualified opinion0Aggressively accounting to meet creditor’s requirements0New accounting system0Audit trails not kept in tactFirst, we considered possible GAAS and GAAP violations. When reviewing Ocean Manufacturing’s background information, we found that a partner in the Salt Lake City office owns shares in a venture fund which holds a private equity investm ent in Ocean common stock. This is an independence violation which goes against the second general standard of GAAS.Another GAAS violation could be considered because we have a background in the healthcare service industry and Ocean Manufacturing is in the appliance industry. Since we do not have training in this field, we would be violating the first general standard of GAAS. There is also a SOX violation because Ocean Manufacturing would like us to do consulting and help prepare for the IPO. They also would like us to work with their IT program. This goes against the rules of GAAP.Since they are getting ready to offer an IPO we would be faced with higher litigation risk. Ocean Manufacturing also has various management issues that have raised red flags. The company has experienced high management turnover, which could be an indication of how the company is run on a daily basis. When the vice-president of Ocean was approached to discuss the previous auditor, he was hesitant to talk about the previous audit firm. If a potential client is even hesitant to allow engagement with prior auditor, this is not usually a good sign.Also, when the client background check was conducted, it was discovered that the vice-president of finance was involved with illegal gambling in the past, which could be an indication of his lack of ethics. This behavior could carry over to unethical behavior in the company since the leaders set the tone of the company which in turn reflects a higher litigation risk. There were also issues with the company’s financial statements. Three years ago Ocean Manufacturing received a qualified report from their auditor.Ocean’s previous auditor told us their problems with Ocean primarily related to management reflecting their revenue and accruals aggressively in order meet creditors’ requirements and the complexity of Ocean’s new IT system. When reviewing their control systems, we noticed a few issues. Ocean Manufacturingâ⠂¬â„¢s audit trails were not kept intact due to system failures and errors. There are also system failures when it comes to their new accounting system. There are problems in inventory tracking and cost accumulation, receivable billing and aging, payroll tax deductions, payables, and balance sheet account classifications.This could also explain some of the aspects of the financial statements that appeared to be off compared to previous years. Ocean’s accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses appear to be much greater than the changes in the year before. This could also be because of the aggressive accruing that was discussed earlier. In conclusion, we feel that the issues with auditing standards, management, and financial statements are good enough indications as to why we should not accept Ocean Manufacturing as a client. |

Energy Transfer and Thermodynamics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Problems of trust within EU integration process Essay

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TESCO and the JIT Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

TESCO and the JIT Philosophy - Essay Example While it is not clear which supermarket pioneered this revolutionary supply chain model, which is now adopted by many in the industry and is considered as a standard of best practice, many attribute it to Tesco’s reforms set up late in the 1990s. This is a report on Tesco’s supply chain management practices, which is recognized to be designed after Toyota’s â€Å"just in time† (JIT) model. Specifically, this report will compare JIT principles to Tesco’s business practices and assess the latter’s efficacy in the navigation of the challenges Tesco faces amidst the internationalization of both suppliers and its market. II. Relevant Operational Theories and Principles Supply Chain Management Fundamentally, supply chain management is the framework by which processes, structures, managements elements in the value chain is integrated and coordinated. It is crucial in the drive for competitive advantage and concerns the alignment of management practices into what the requirements of the customers. Seuring (2003) outlined the basic characteristics of the concept: †¢ Supply chain management is primarily an integration-oriented logistics management concept, characterized by the strategic, cooperation-oriented and interorganizational initiatives; †¢ The task of the concept is to manage the supplier-buyer relationships, particularly streamlining the complex chain and network involved; The goal is to align all activities to satisfy the requirements and needs of customers and reduce costs and enable the organization to take advantage of opportunities; The focus is to realize efficiencies and the expansion of covered activities beyond logistics, including management components and information flows among the supply chain partners. (p169-168) Lambert was able to depict the framework in the following model: Supply Management Framework (Lambert, 2000, p70) SCM Tools Supply chain management tools are essentially systems and solutions that are designed to enhance it so that the processes produce value for customers either in facilitating, integrating, coordinating, controlling, optimizing and so forth. An excellent example is technology. Through this tool, SCM is able to automate order processing, warehousing, among other stages in the value chain and make centralization possible and more efficient. Tesco’s continuous replenishment system is a specific example. Th en, there is also the so-called electronic data interchange

News Release Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Developing Staffing Plan for an Organization Research Paper

Developing Staffing Plan for an Organization - Research Paper Example An organization may prompt to promote staff from within rather than critically analyzing the needs and consequences to the organization. This strategy might not be effective towards the success of the organization (Bhat & Simon, 2008). Staffing plan enables organizations plan appropriately for the future through identification of current and future staffing requirements. This ensures compliance to the federal and state requirements, as well as assisting organizations in developing and communicating the staffing strategies to the stakeholders. Furthermore, staffing plan is critical in identification of contingency plans, and this addresses the staffing needs based on availability of resources. As a result, an organization can defend and explain the decisions taken when hiring or retrenching the personnel based on objective analysis and proper reasoning complimented by the staffing plan (Budahl, 1970). A staffing plan necessitates transformation of the staffing function to ensure alignment of the human capital to the strategic goals of a company. This enhances utilization of employee, competitive positioning and overall effectiveness.This report presents a website development staffing plan. It covers the literature review, the staff resource; staff assigned roles, resource loading and organizational structure. 2.0. Literature Review From the business point of view, not all staffing positions require full time commitment. Some key functions can be bundled up together to enable a single position cover more than one function. Furthermore, some major functions may be under board committee member or volunteer. Ideally, the staffing plan entails all the staffing needs within a period of 2-3 years. Whenever an opportunity of adding staff arises, the organization response can be quick and assured. The current staff, stakeholders and board members enhances collection of input through which a draft plan can be pulled together within a short duration. Mostly, the drafting process starts by establishing goals and mission of the organization and identification of customer requirements. Identification of customer requirements enhances determination of the kind of staff required as well as determining key functions to keep the organization afloat (Bhat & Simon, 2008). Staffing plan outlines the responsibilities and assignment of various staff to different duties to enhance accountability. This must address the need for any financing or fundraiser. The people enhancing funding should be among the staff. The staffing plan should clearly outline the business objectives. This state the measurable targets on how the business aims must be achieved and sets out the values of the business. This enhances comprehensive understanding of the underlying basis the business actions. Normally, the business objectives reflect the desired financial outcomes. These include the desired profit levels and sales, the growth rates, the amount of generated cash, and the dividends or business value paid to the stakeholders. The objectives can be corporate, functional or unit. Corporate objectives express the relationship of the entire business, and the top management takes

Technological Controversy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Technological Controversy - Term Paper Example f task from the most ordinary to the very complicated, while the machine depends on human beings to achieve increasing levels of sophistication in make and operation. It has now come to a stage when the machine can not only outperform human beings in physical performance as it has been designed to so, but is also increasingly able to outperform man in many mental capabilities. It is when grandmasters of chess are beaten by Deep Blue (Reddy, 1996, pp. 88), it is when the machine starts participating in human conversations that human beings start to cast sidelong glances at it and begin to wonder whether artificial intelligence will ever replace human intelligence. Will machines ever be able to think? Or have machines, in whatever form, already achieved the faculty that human beings have long held to be their own exclusive preserve in this world? The question under consideration has however been floating around in one form or the other. It is as old, if not older, than the computer. The popular press has had a record of being rather lenient in equating human intelligence with artificial intelligence. As early as on January 15, 1941, the Des Moines Tribune carried an article on the development of the first prototype of the ABC computer at the Iowa State University by Professor John V Atanasoff and his graduate student Clifford Berry with the headline ‘Machine Remembers’. "The giant computing machine under construction at Iowa State College has a memory consisting of 45 vacuum tubes†¦", the article reported, and went on to define it as: "An electrical computing machine said here to operate more like the human brain than any other such machine known to exist is being built." (Martin, 1991, pp. 124). The early computers were more of calculating devices when compared to modern technology. Yet, machines that coul d solve mathematical problems, including algebraic problems involving many variables, and that too at speeds unthinkable by human beings, were bound to

Entrepreneurship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Entrepreneurship - Essay Example Capable entrepreneurs try to learn in order to find, select, elaborate and communicate the necessity of several effective new opportunities that can create a successful business venture. Successful entrepreneurs generally describe the precious contribution of a new venture and propose a design of business model which can be prolonged by several potential competitive advantages. After the development of business model, the venture team develops a strategy or road map. This developed road map or strategy will help to commercialize the new developed products or services in the potential and competitive market place with a combination of several sustained and stabilized competitive advantages (Byers, Dorf and Nelson, 2012). Entrepreneurs play an important role in the economic development of a country. Entrepreneurs are key contributors to the new job growth and technological innovation. This essay will critically analyze the statement of Kalpan, JM and Warren. Literature Review & Critica l Analysis Entrepreneurship is an important economic growth driver of a country. ... According to several common myths, it can be stated that the entrepreneurs start their business with break-through invention and take uncalculated risks in order to accomplish business goals. According to Allen (2011), entrepreneurs should have effective and detailed business plan with broad research findings. Moreover, the entrepreneurs need to have sufficient financial resources and years of work experience (Allen, 2011, p.56). Taking uncalculated risk is the major objective of a successful entrepreneur while starting a new venture. According to Sahay (2009), there are several important driving forces that create potential opportunity for the new venture (Sahay, 2009, p.121). Securing sufficient capital is an important driving force. In the early stage of business development, the entrepreneurs need to secure business capital. They can think about several options like direct investment or investment through venture capitalist. In terms of investment through venture capitalist, the entrepreneurs should design an effective business plan that can attract the venture capitalists. Reformed securities regulation is another major driving force. It helps the entrepreneurs to find business capital for their new venture. Creating entrepreneurial networks and industry clusters can help the entrepreneurs to develop business contacts. Through this process the entrepreneurs can fill specific industry niches within the networks and clusters. This process is highly beneficial to entrepreneurs and economic development strategies. The entrepreneurs should take important management and financial guidance from several professional small business assistance entities as these lessons are effective for a new

Catholic Church so successfully in the years 1517-1525 Essay Example for Free

Catholic Church so successfully in the years 1517-1525 Essay Why was Luther able to challenge the Catholic Church so successfully in the years 1517-1525? Various reasons contributed to Martin Luther’s success in challenging the Catholic Church from the years 1517-25. The five key reasons behind Luther’s success were his protection by Frederick the Wise, the fact his ideas were appealing and popular, his passion and determination, the failures of the Church itself and finally, the timing of his challenge. Some of these factors also affected each other and these links provide the strength which allowed Luther’s revolt to be so successful. This is because one of these factors alone would not have been sufficient in preventing Luther gaining the same fate as those who attempted a reformation before him. Conversely, some reasons can also be considered as having a larger and more widespread effect than others, meaning they were more significant in contributing to the final outcome. Frederick the Wise, Elector of Saxony and founder of the University of Wittenberg was the most powerful early defender of Luther. He played a large role in helping Luther keep his message spreading and on several occasions used his authority to benefit Luther’s revolt. For example, The Papal Bull of Excommunication was never carried out in Saxony and neither were the terms of the Edict of The Worms. Also, Frederick persuaded Charles V to carry out the Diet of Worms in German, instead of Rome, so that Luther could defend himself safely. Another way Frederick defended Luther was in 1521 when he had him ‘kidnapped’ on his way back from Worms and taken to the Wartburg for his safety. The significance of Frederick the Wise’s protection is that he ultimately prevented Luther from being killed or persecuted by those who disagreed with his motives. This in turn allowed his message to carry on spreading and to be developed. Therefore, Frederick the Wise had a fundamental effect on the Lutheran movement because although he never converted to the religion, he contributed to its development and influence over Saxony. The main reason Wise supported Luther was because Luther was a teacher at his University and Wise did not want it to gain a bad reputation. However, other reasons can also be considered such as the fact that Luther’s ideas proved popular and therefore Frederick was happy to support him. Essentially, Luther’s success relied upon his ideas being popular and the reason for this was due to the fact his ideas appealed to people of all classes. He addressed his message differently to both the princes, in Address to the Christian Nobility, and the peasants, by creating sermons and woodcuts. This allowed his message to spread among everyone. His ideas appealed to the different classes; peasants interpreted his message of ‘priesthood of all believers’ as supporting social equality and used it as a basis for the Peasants War in 1525 thus showing they supported Luther up until this point. The nobility also joined the reform movement as they believed it would strengthen their political position and remove papal influence in their territories. His popularity is shown by the fact his publications were of the most popular at the time. The fact his ideas were popular were vital to his success as his argument had to be seen as valid for him to gain support. Moreover, the fact he had support from a variety of everyday Germans was crucial for keeping his message spreading. A significant reason for his ideas proving popular is due to the church’s failures which at the time was becoming increasingly less tolerated and gave a clear example of the faults he was trying to highlight. The lack of tolerance towards the church was due to the fact that many Germans saw the Pope as a foreigner who did little to benefit Catholics, despite the high papal taxes they had to pay to him. These taxes were used to pay for the rebuilding of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome thus not being advantageous to the Germans who were paying the tax. However the intolerance was not only towards the papacy but also parish priests who were not fulfilling their pastoral duties. Many also committed clerical abuses such as pluralism and simony. As a result, people generally had the growing feeling they were being exploited for their money and faith. This feeling over anticlericalism was further developed from Luther’s ideas. It is also a reason for the fact Luther’s ideas were popular, because they could be related too and agreed with. Failures of the Church were not a directly significant reason for Luther’s success, it allowed him to gain more support but only because his ideas were popular. Anticlericalism had been around for a long time, and only enhanced the popularity of his message as it coincided with a time when intolerance towards church failures was increasing. Another reason for Luther’s ideas proving popular was due to his personality and passion for making a change. This passion is seen through his obsession with finding salvation. In addition, he was fearless in putting his point across regardless of consequences such as in 1519 in his debate with Johann Eck where he argued his ideas confidently and 1521 at the Diet of Worms, where he claimed that by recanting, he would be promoting tyranny and his conscience would not allow him to do so, therefore he would not be silenced. Luther’s determination also relates to why his ideas proved popular, he had the power to make people believe and support him. This determination meant he was the catalyst for the reformation in Europe. He not only believed there was corruption in the Catholic Church, but spoke out publicly about his ideas that salvation would be found through faith alone. It also links to Frederick’s choice to defend him because his passion earned him the role as a lecturer at Wittenberg University which meant Frederick was more willing to support him. Luther’s personality was important for his success, he was determined to change the system of the Church and this prevented him from giving up, and instead keeping his message extending across the Empire. The final factor that can be considered and linked to the others is the timing of Luther’s movement. It coincided with the return of the Renaissance era which invited new thinking about education and society that came from ancient Greek and Roman teachings. These secular, humanist ideas believed that the Church should not rule civic matter but only give guidance in spiritual matters, which Luther also emphasised in his teachings. In other words, he agreed with the Renaissance way of thinking, focusing on the present, and seeing that change was desperately needed in the Catholic Church. This was significant as it ran parallel to his beliefs and helped in the development of his own ideas, as well as making them more relatable to everyday Germans, therefore having a similar effect to that of intolerance towards anticlericalism. In addition, his ideas were spread quicker by the invention of the printing press. His Ninety Five Theses was printed, meaning his word was spread rapidly. Previous to the printing press, people with ideas had no effective way to spread them. Therefore, the printing press also links to the fact his ideas were seen as popular because they could be seen by many. On the contrary, the fact that less than 10% of the population could read or write was a limiting factor to the spread of his message. Therefore, the fact his revolt began at a time when society and technology was also changing means it was carried along with the flow of new, revolutionary ideas, which helped his message to be heard by more people. In conclusion, many of these factors link together to produce the same outcome – that Luther’s revolt was a successful one. However, the most important factor was that his ideas proved popular. This was because they, to an extent, were radical, new and well-liked. Martin Luther was one of the first to think outside of what the church taught him. He began to question the church’s authority and what was going on inside the Church – what he found was corruption, greed and malpractice. But this alone would not have made him so successful. His personality played a role by making him determined to speak up about it and therefore gain more support, making his ideas even more popular. Without these two factors working together, he never would have gained strong enough support to form a fully fledged reformation. However, more importantly than his personality was the protection he acquired from Frederick the Wise; this kept him from Harm’s way and allowed his message to carry on spreading. Additionally, to this was the significance of the timing of his actions. It turned what would have been a small rebellion into a national reorganization of the Church, due to the printing press and Renaissance era. Finally, but with less slightly less importance, was the Church’s own failures. On one hand it was important to his success because it emphasised the corruption he was describing, making it more relatable. On the other hand, anticlericalism had been around for a long time, it only emphasised his message but did not contribute to its successfulness. In summary, all five factors played an important role however the most important were that his ideas proved popular , due to his personality, and his protection by Frederick the Wise. The other elements played lesser roles but were still important in helping his message spread to a wider audience.

Nepal Flu Pandemic: Causes and Solutions

Nepal Flu Pandemic: Causes and Solutions Short notes on the flu, influenza and Pandemic Influenza also called as flu, is a respiratory illness that is caused by a virus. Flu is highly contagious and is usually spread by the coughs and sneezes of a person who is infected. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 5% to 15% of the worlds population is infected by flu each year. The symptoms of flu are: High temperature, Joints and limbs pain, headache, fatigue, gastro intestinal symptoms that linger for about a week. The Precautions that should be taken during flu attack are Stay at home Avoid contact with other people Keep yourself warm and rest Consume plenty of liquids Avoid alcohol Through vaccination that protects you for about two weeks There are three types of flu viruses ie infuenza A, influenza B and influenza C. Types A and B viruses are the cause of seasonal epidemics and it infect about 20% population of the world each year. The type C influenza virus may cause respiratory illness of mild nature but is not responsible for epidemics. Proteins on the surface of influenza A viruses can be divided into subtypes the hemagglutinin (H) and the neuraminidase (N). 16 different hemagglutinin subtypes and 9 different neuraminidase subtypes are known to exist. A H1N1 and H3N2 are the current subtypes of influenza A viruses found in people. There are no B virus subtypes, but there are different influenza B virus strains. Pandemic A pandemic is a global disease outbreak. It needs global resources to contain the effect of disease. Influenza pandemic means a global outbreak of disease caused by a new type of virus. The past evidences and study suggest that flu pandemic virus spread in all parts of the globe within six to nine months. Due to the changed scenario of the world ie globalization and speed of air travel, influenza pandemic could spread much more quickly. A pandemic usually occur in waves but all parts of the world may not be affected at the same time. The records of pandemic in the world are: Spanish influenza killed 40-50 million people in 1918. Asian influenza killed 2 million people in 1957. Hong Kong influenza killed 1 million people in 1968. Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion Cluster The aim of any WASH program is to promote personal and environmental hygiene in order to protect health.. An effective WASH program comprises of Information exchange between the agency and the disaster-affected population Identification of key hygiene problems Formulation of Culturally appropriate solutions Ensure the optimal use of all water supply and sanitation facilities Practice safe hygiene and positive impact in public health . Hygiene promotion is essential for a successful WASH intervention. The focus on Hygiene promotion is general and specific. In general terms, hygiene promotion Is integral to all of the sections and is reflected in the indicators for water supply, excreta disposal, vector control, solid waste management and drainage. In 2005,in order to enhance predictability, accountability and partnership, Humanitarian Reform Agenda introduced the cluster approach with a clear mandate for improving coordination in emergencies. The Global Water Sanitation and Hygiene Cluster is a partnership grouping 32 partners and aiming at improving the coordination and the humanitarian response in the WASH Sector. The main pillars of WASH cluster are: Effective coordination and capacity Timely operational support to national WASH coordination platforms response as needed Improved emergency preparedness Accountability and learning to facilitates effective WASH cluster actions Operational advocacy for WASH (Cluster, 2013) WASH Cluster in Nepal The WASH cluster is led by the Ministry of Urban Development and co-led by UNICEF in Nepal. The WASH cluster is operational in Nepal since 2008 to respond to the displace people of Koshi Flooding. WASH looks after the water sanitation and hygiene of vulnerable communities. Its activities include long term resilience of the community through sustained waste access, water supply, initial need requirement assessment at the time of emergency situations to gather information on minimum water quantities required, minimum number of toilet and public places required, monitoring of water and excreta related disease transmission, household water treatments, and solid waste management. The main focus of the cluster is on the following: Hygiene Promotion Excreta disposal Vector control Solid waste management Proper drainage systems The WASH cluster in Nepal has made a preparedness status in case of an earthquake scenario in Kathmandu. According to the report, the water demand of Kathmandu valley is approx. 320 million per day where as the current supply is 160 million per day. UNICEF conducted seismic vulnerability mapping of the drinking water supply system in 2003 along with the capacity mapping in 2008. The cluster has prepared a contingency plan with the participation of Government of Nepal, UN and other I/NGOs. UNICEF has made 22,000 standard hygiene kits available along with prepositioned stock of WASH supplies that include water tanks, toilet slabs, buckets, and water treatment equipment. Prime Minister Calamity (Relief) Fund 2063 of Nepal A Prime Minister Disaster relief fund release policy 2063 was formulated to set up a Prime minister relief fund and to define the policy for the use of relief fund so that effective assistance can be provided to the disaster victims. The Fund is operated by the committee of 8 members, secretary from the Prime minister office being the secretary. All the amount of the fund is deposited in Nepal Rastra Bank or any other bank. The amount of the fund shall be operated with the signature of at least two persons. The committee can share its rights of using fund with CNDRC or DDRC as per requirement. The fund comprises the amount received from: The aid given by members of government service The amount given by NGO, INGos , industrialist, NRN , citizens Aid providing country , foreign NGO Other sources The fund can only be used for following purpose: Rescue of the disaster victim and protection of property. Temporary camp establishment To provide Emergency food, medicine , aid, clothes and education Medical treatment of those injured due to disaster Aid for dead body management. Disaster preparedness and awareness Debris removal and management Aid for Shelter construction and rehabilitation The fund operation committee comprises following members : Vice-Chairperson National planning commission Secretary : MOHA Secretary : Ministry of local development Secretary : Ministry of Population and Health Secretary : Ministry of water Resources Secretary : Ministry of Agriculture development Secretary : Ministry of physical planning and construction Secretary: Coordinator, Office of Prime minister and council of ministers. The accounts and Audits is maintained in accordance of the prevalent law. National Relief Standard 2064 of Nepal The National relief standard 2064 was formulated as a guideline for providing financial assistance to the disaster victims. It was amended in 2064 and 2069. This relief standard comprises of Rescue preparedness management Emergency Relief and Rescue Information management, Supervision and Evaluation Rescue preparedness management Central disaster relief committee arranges for standby search and rescue materials for immediate response. Risk assessment and hazard mapping for minimizing risk and warehousing of relief material in centre, regional and district level. Identify the type of disaster the district is vulnerable to . Maintenance of standby skilled manpower at least 25 . For search and Rescue , in all 75 districts , rescue equipments are warehoused and 25 persons are kept standby. Provision of central disaster relief fund of 7 lakh and District disaster relief fund 3 lakh. Socials worker, Ngos should coordinate with LDRC for public awareness about disaster management. The displace people should be organized in a camp that is established in a open space other than school and healthpost. DDRC should coordinate national and international Search and Rescue team. Emergency rescue and aid distribution DDRC should provide 40000 for the family of person who die in a disaster. If a house and food crops are destroyed due to disaster, for emergency sustainment of life Rs 5000 per family is given. If camp has to be organized, DDRC should coordinate MOHA. If food and financial aid is to be provided, the details should be sending to MOHA. The aid should be provided through either LDRC or DDRC. The presence of elected Member of Parliament/ leaders of all political parties encouraged. If the situation of local displacement is prominent upto 20,000 aid can be provided after the decision of DDRC. For the contingency situation CNDRC can provide additional 15000/ Family. The treatment of disaster victim in governmental hospital is free. RS 1000 to be provided for further care. For the rehabilitation and Reconstruction Ministry of forest should provide subsided wood. If any member of disaster victim family wants to go for foreign employment, DDRC should recommend to Department od labor and transport. The victims of Earthquake , Flood, Landslide, Thunderstrom, Strom, Cold web , Snow Fall , Air, road accident and boat capsize due to disaster are only liable for aid. CDO can spend Upto Rs 5000, through the decision of DDRC. The actions mentioned above can only be implemented by DDRC within the 30 days of disaster. Information management, Supervision and evaluation A website of National focal point should be made for information dissemination. NEOC and CDO office should update the statistics of central and district level of disaster and publish it annually. RDRC should evaluate and supervise the work of DDRC at least one time a year and send report to CNDRC. CNDRC should deploy supervision and evaluation team to monitor the activities of RDRC and DDRC . Nepal Government provided medal and prize for those who do commendable work during disaster. Dead Body management Guidelines 2068 During disaster response the dead body management is equally important as search and rescue actions. Dead body management guidelines was endorsed to guide the concerned stakeholders for effective collection, transport, storage, identification and funeral of the dead body so that dead body can be managed and the community need not bear further loss due to the effect of mismanaged dead body. The dead body management guidelines was approved by council of ministers in 2068 and thus implemented. The aim of this guidelines is to make a standard operating procedure to lawfully manage dead body effectively by Assigning responsibility to an agency for dead body management in central and district level. Defining the role and responsibilities of concerned stakeholders Provide platform for preparedness Capacity building Training and awareness for proper search, transport, storage, identification and management of dead body. Information sharing The organizational system for dead body Management The central responsibility of management of dead body is of MOHA and NEOC. In district level the responsibility of dead body management is of DDRC and CDO office. There is provision of dead body management committee in every districts that comprise of 8 member that includes members of the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force, Hospitals, Army, Red Cross and DDR The secretary of the committee is the CDO of each district. The effective dead body management means Search and collection of dead body : The dead body should be searched immediately and should be stored , identified and perform funeral rituals in appropriate manner. The following points should be considered while searching a dead body: Security clearance of dead body The security of relief workers like use of boot, gloves and personal safety equipments. Each dead body should be given different number. If the body is shattered each parts should be given a different number. Before wrapping up a dead body four pictures from different angle ie face , whole body , body below chest , body above knee should be taken . Identification form should be filled. Transportation of Dead Body: Dead body should be transported to morgue. Before transporting the dead body : Identification Secure the dead body and transport with due respect Dead body should be covered. Ambulance should not be used. Storage and preservation of dead body : Hospitals and private hospitals can be used Identification of dead body By primary methods like fingerprints , forensic deontology , radiology, DNA By secondary methods like observation, photograph , details , clothes etc. Verification of dead body: Post mortem data collection and Ante mortem Data collection Final management of dead body Set priority Issue dead certificate Handover the dead body to the concerned Information and communication management Media management Crisis communication Aid to Victim Establish family communication center Provide psycho social aid Capacity Building program: The program to enhance the capacity to manage the dead body effectively should be endorsed. Inter Agency Standing Committee Inter agency standing committee (IASC) was established in June 1992 after the resolution of General Assembly 46/182 with the prime aim of inter agency coordination of humanitarian assistance. It is a forum where the key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners are involved. Under the leadership of Emergency Relief coordinator, the IASC Develop humanitarian policies Division of responsibilities on various aspects of humanitarian assistance Identifies and addresses gaps in response Advocates for effective application of humanitarian principles. The key principles of IASC are: Respect for mandates: IASC respect the mandates of individual organizations. Ownership : All organization have equal ownership Overall objective : is to support humanitarian action Relevance to field operations Subsidiarity : decisions taken at the most appropriate level as agreed by IASC Impartiality of Secretariat Full members of the IASC are The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) The United nations office for the coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) The United Nations Development Program(UNDP) The United Nations Human settlement Programme(HABITAT) The United nations High Commissioner for refugee(UNHCR) The United Nations Children Fund(UNICEF) The United Nation Population Fund(UNFPA) The World Food Programme(WFP) and TheWorld Health Organisation(WHO). Standing invitees of the IASC are ICRC International council for voluntary agencies(ICVA) IFRC InterAction International Organisation for Migration(IOM), Office of the high Commisiioner for human Rights, Steering committee for humanitarian Responseand World Bank Describe Cluster Approach focusing on Nepal A cluster is a group of organization working together to improve the humanitarian response. Humanitarian coordinator leads the cluster at country level. In 2005, in order to enhance predictability, accountability and partnership, Humanitarian Reform Agenda introduced the cluster approach with a clear mandate for improving coordination in emergencies. Cluster approach id used for any major and new emergencies. The several criteria that triggers the activation of cluster are : Lack of capacity on ground Multi sector response Wide Range of Actors The decision lies primary in field. After the disaster the initial need and gap assessment is done. To fill the gap the appropriate sectors are activated by the humanitarian coordinator in close consultation with the Humanitarian country Team. Explain UN Civil Military Coordination in your own words Un civil and military coordination is an essential dialogue and interaction between civilian and military actors in humanitarian emergencies necessary to promote and promote humanitarian principals, avoid competition , minimize inconsistency and when appropriate pursue common goals. (OCHA). Coordination is generally a shared responsibility. It is facilitated by liaison and joint training. The basic elements of UN civil Military coordination are: Information sharing Task division Planning United Nations Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination (UN-CMCoord) is essential for the establishment and protection of the ideal humanitarian operating environment in emergencies. Cooperation and co-existence are two strategies that can be applied in certain emergency contexts. However competition and conflict may still occur. It is essential that in the times of disaster, the military and civilian actors involved in response, must coordinate in critical areas in order to enhance cooperation and co-existence and minimize competition and conflict.The critical areas for cooperation can be security, logistics, transportation, communications, health and information. Primary Tasks Associated with the UN-Civil Military coordination function are : Support the establishment and sustainment of dialogue with military forces. Assist in the development and dissemination of guidelines for the humanitarian community’s interaction with military forces and armed actors. Establish a mechanism for the coordination of the UN humanitarian interaction with military forces and other armed actors. Monitor assistance activities undertaken by the military forces. Assist in the negotiation of issues in critical areas of coordination. UN civil military coordination is a broad framework that integrates the effort of civilian and military and guides political and military actors on how best to support the humanitarian action. Based on internationally agreed guidelines, a context-specific policy is developed that establishes humanitarian civil-military coordination structures, ensuring staff members are well trained to make that coordination work. UN-civil military coordination is essential in complex emergencies order to facilitate humanitarian access, the protection of civilians and the security of humanitarian aid workers. (OCHA)