Saturday, August 31, 2019

Law Revision Kit Certified Public Accountants Essay

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the copyright owner. This publication may not be lent, resold, hired or otherwise disposed of by any way of trade without the prior written consent of the copyright owner. Â © THE REGISTERED TRUSTEES STRATHMORE EDUCATION TRUST 1992 INSTRUCTIONS FOR STUDENTS This study guide is intended to assist Distance Learning students in their independent studies. The course has been broken down into eight lessons each of which should be considered as approximately one week of study for a full time student. Solve the reinforcement problems verifying your answer with the suggested solution contained at the back of the distance learning pack. When the lesson is completed, repeat the same procedure for each of the following lessons. At the end of lessons 2, 4, 6 and 8 there is a comprehensive assignment that you should complete and submit for marking to the Distance Learning administrator. SUBMISSION PROCEDURE 1.After you have completed a comprehensive assignment clearly identify each question and number your pages. 2.If you do not understand a portion of the course content or an assignment question indicate this in your answer so that your marker can respond to your problem areas. Be as specific as possible. 3.Arrange the order of your pages by question number and fix them securely to the data sheet provided. Adequate postage must be affixed to the envelope. 4.While waiting for your assignment to be marked and returned to you, continue to work through the next two lessons and the corresponding reinforcement problems and comprehensive assignment. On the completion of the last comprehensive assignment, a two-week period of revision should be carried out of the whole course using the material in the revision section of the study pack. At the completion of this period, the final Mock Examination paper should be completed under examination conditions. This should be sent to the Distance Learning Administrator to arrive in Nairobi at least five weeks before the date of your sitting the KASNEB Examinations. This paper will be marked and posted back to you within two weeks of receipt by the Distance Learning Administrator. ACKNOWLEDGMENT We gratefully acknowledge permission to quote from the past examination papers of the following bodies: Kenya Accountants and Secretaries National Examination Board (KASNEB); Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA); Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Friday, August 30, 2019

Profit Margin and High End Segment

Cost Leadership After contemplating many different strategy options and evaluating our markets, the Ferris group decided that we would utilize and follow a strategy discussed in chapter 6 of Wheelen and Hunger’s text[1]: cost leadership. This strategy focuses on â€Å"a lower-cost competitive strategy that aims at the broad mass market and requires efficient scale facilities, cost reductions, and cost and overhead control. This strategy avoids marginal customers, and aims for cost minimization in R&D, service, sales force, and advertising. If used effectively, this strategy should reduce and control your labor and overhead costs. This would in turn decrease variable expenses and simultaneously increase your contribution margins, and ultimately your net profits. To follow this strategy, we decided to take the following actions: 1. We refrained from introducing any new products in order to prevent paying large start-up costs without efficient funding. It would have been wise to introduce a new product if we had more rounds during the simulation.This would have allowed us to specialize in the markets we were efficient in and dropped those that were costing us money. If we were to introduce a product however, to see any benefits of this initiative during the simulation, the product would have had to been launched within the first few rounds. But, spending a lot of borrowed money early on in the simulation did not make sense for our cost leadership strategy. We would have had to wait until we could fund it with our retained earnings in order to be in alignment with our strategy.However, this would not have been an option until the 3rd or 4th year, and by then much too late to see positive benefits by year 6. 2. We remained quite frugal with our allocated expenses to marketing (promotion and sales budgets) to keep our costs low and contribution margins high. 3. We decided to increase our automation for products that did not have rapidly changing market buying criteria specifications (i. e. if expectations regarding size and performance stayed fairly similar throughout the six rounds because their drift rates were small, then we increased automation for that particular line within the first year). . We attempted to use a Just In Time (JIT) strategy which meant that we tried to calculate the exact quantity each market would purchase of our products and we then produced only enough to have no more or no less on hand at the end of each forecasted year. †¢To calculate this precise forecast, in each segment we took the actual sales from the previous year and multiplied it by the market growth rate for the corresponding market segment. We then multiplied that number by a conservative (i. e. 90%) and optimistic (i. e. 10%) rate to get the respective marketing and production forecasts. †¢The only time we produced a little higher than the conservative forecast calculated using the above formula was if we stocked out of an item in the pr evious year and could then expect even higher sales the following year; essentially preventing ourselves from short-changing our forecast for the next year. If this was the case for a previous year, we would be a little more aggressive with our forecast fro the following year and used conservative and optimistic rates of around 90% and 120% respectively. . We decided to decrease the Mean Time Before Failure (MTBF) of those products (The Traditional and Low End segments) in which MTBF as a buying criteria was not very important to the customer to the minimum specification within the acceptable range to the customer (i. e. If the desired range for MTBF was 22,000 – 27,000 for a product that did not base much of their purchasing decision on MTBF, we would set the MTBF for that product at the minimum of 22,000).This was done to keep costs low by decreasing the reliability (which saves money in production costs) of those products in which customers did not care about the MTBF. Ove rall Company Performance Mistakes During the simulation, we made quite a few costly mistakes that put us in a really bad spot in comparison to the other teams. These mistakes are as follows: 1. We missed the opportunity to launch a new product because right out of the gate we were focused on the products we already had and making them all profitable.We were not willing to create a new product until we could finance the investment with our retained earnings instead of taking on debt to finance such a project. The problem was that it took us about 4 rounds to build up a cushion of cash that allowed us to feel comfortable making such an investment. Unfortunately, since it takes 2 rounds to launch a new product, we did not feel that the timing was right after round 4 because we would not have generated profits for the new product by the end f the simulation; we were unable to justify the investment for a long term project with only 2 years left in the simulation. Therefore, we did not m ove quickly enough within the first few rounds in assessing our markets as a whole and making long term investment decisions. 2. My group was also quite concerned with not increasing debt and rather building our retained earnings and collecting cash as a cushion. However, this tactic was not such a great one because it cost us points for wealth creation. We should have been using that saved cash to invest in our company, rather than hanging on to the money. . We never created any long term plans during the simulation. This was probably what hurt us the most because all we were focused on was the previous year’s results and how to make them increase. We never actually set specific goals which would have then forced us to create a detailed plan of action to help us achieve those goals; rather we were blindly just trying to be or stay profitable. 4. We continually implemented the same strategies that were not producing stellar results; especially with regards to individual segme nts.We continually tried executing the same tactics (i. e. low cost, JIT, etc†¦) without changing any details (i. e. more product development, repositioning, etc†¦) and kept hoping that things would get better. Our performance did get a little better within our underperforming segments after about 3 rounds, but not enough to push us ahead of our competition as a whole company. 5. We did not invest in automation for a few lines (Performance and Size) like we should have in the beginning.For whatever reason, a few team members believed that increasing the automation for a line that has a product with specifications that change rapidly from year to year (the High, Performance, and Size segments) was a bad idea. They were convinced that increasing the automation for these segments would be useless and that it would in fact return to where it originally started at each year end. Looking back, we should have dramatically increased the automation for these segments to keep our va riable costs low and in alignment with our strategy. . One of our biggest problems was that we kept making mistakes that cost us immensely. Some of those mistakes include: †¢Wrong Growth Rate. We used an excel spreadsheet to determine the forecasts for each segment throughout the entire simulation. However, we did not realize until we were making decisions for round 4 that the formulas were actually entered wrong into the spreadsheet and every segment was being forecasted at the Traditional segment’s growth rate rather than the actual growth rate that corresponded to each segment. Inversion of Specifications. We accidentally inverted the size and performance specifications for the High End segment during round 3. This dramatically reduced our net profit margin for this particular segment (Please see Exhibit 1). Sadly, this was originally one of our best markets and because of this mistake we missed a huge opportunity to increase our profits and perform well as a company. †¢Long Revision Dates. We did not notice until the round 4 processed that the revision date for the High End segment for round 4 was not until 2 years later.Therefore, we were unable to keep the product for this segment competitive for the remainder of the simulation; especially after our setback in round 3. In fact, this mistake dramatically decreased our contribution margin for this segment and even brought our net profit margin for the segment to a deep negative (Please see Exhibits 2 & 1 respectively). Again, we dramatically messed up one of our best selling products and were continually trying to play catch-up from our mistakes with this line; therefore, we missed a huge opportunity to increase our profits.Performance Measures To determine whether or not our company was doing well, we assessed a few areas of the Capstone Courier: 1. Contribution Margin Percentage (Please see Exhibit 3). We looked at this percentage after each round was processed to determine whether or no t it was increasing. If it was not increasing, we knew that our strategy of lowering our costs was not effective for the round in question; alerting us to lower our costs. 2. Contribution Margins (Please see Exhibit 2). We looked at the contribution margins for each segment to concentrate on each individually.Looking at whether or not the segment in question was increasing or decreasing was effective because it showed us which products were costing us the most in variable costs (i. e. materials, labor, etc†¦); showing us which segments we needed to cut costs for. 3. Net Profit (Please see Exhibit 4). This was our first indicator on the courier as to whether or not we did well in the previous round. We started off doing pretty badly but by round 3, we brought our net profits up by about $5,200 from round 1. However, the mistakes mentioned above led to dramatic decrease the following year 4 that put us in an even worse spot than we were after round 1. Luckily, we made strides to overcome those obstacles (discussed below in the Product Line Performance section) which increased our profits the following year by almost $9,500. 4. Net Profit Margins (Please see Exhibit 1). This measure was quite useful in determining how our net profits could be assessed for each segment. This told us the story of which products were profitable, which were most profitable, and which were actually costing us money to sell.Our goal for each round was to have each of the segments positive and turning a profit; which we accomplished in rounds 5 and 6, finally. Product Line Performance Errors We had many issues and made many errors with my particular line (High End – Fist) as mentioned above. During round 3, we inverted the performance and size specifications. In addition, during round 4 we did not realize that our revision date was 2 years away; this meant that my product was unable to be competitive within its segment for 3 rounds and the remaining year was spent catching u p to the competition.Once the mistakes were made, there was nothing we could do to correct our mistake. However, we did try to redirect our focus from staying competitive 100% within the High End segment with Fist, to using this product to be more competitive within the Traditional segment during round 4 while our revision date neared. To do this, we dropped the sell price from $39. 00/unit to $28. 00/unit. We did this for a couple of reasons: 1. Fist lay most closely to the Traditional product on the perceptual map.Therefore, we figured we would make the most of our mistake, which could not be undone, by trying to stay competitive on the edge of both the High and Traditional markets. 2. Luckily, the lowest price within the range for the High End segment was $28. 00/unit and the highest price within the range for the Traditional segment was $28. 00/unit as well. For this reason, we decided to sell Fist during the segments’ crisis at a price that was acceptable for both market s; this was done in hopes of picking up customers from each market since we were well aware that we would not be very competitive during round 4 within the High End segment.Statistics/Performance Below is a table to show that we were steadily climbing in our progress for Fist during the first 2 rounds and then our mistakes made this segment unprofitable during both rounds 3 and 4 (highlighted in grey) and decreased within every statistic (our customer satisfaction dropped due to the product not being competitive in the High End market, our contribution margin percentage dramatically decreased due to fewer sales/revenue, and our market share almost completely disappeared).During rounds 5 and 6, we were slowly climbing our way back to a profitable position for this segment; once we were again able to reposition Fist within the High End market we started to improve. High End Segment (Fist) Statistics Round123456 Revenue$21,615$27,099$17,301$22,253$23,470$32,026 Market Share19%20%11%6%1 2%17% Contribution Margin$7,823$9,624$4,735$4,105$6,698$9,929 Contribution %36%35%27%10%28%31% Net Margin$2,628$3,689($1,403)($1,028)$1,814$4,449 Customer Score242910111815 Functional Area Strategies and Performancelo0Due to my expertise with regards to my educational focus and previous work experience, my functional area was marketing (alongside Ashley Barnes). Unfortunately, we were not well informed about how to maximize our marketing efforts/investments (promotion and sales expenses) for the simulation until round 4. Promotion and Sales We initially remained quite frugal with our promotion and sales budgets to keep our costs low and contribution margins high in order to follow our cost leadership strategy previously.However, by investing larger amounts into sales and promotion within the first two rounds, we would have better followed our strategy. This would have been the case because we would have paid less in expenses in the later rounds since we would’ve only had to i nvest enough to maintain our accessibility and awareness percentages after the initial higher investments; essentially reaping more benefits in the later rounds of our early investments. After we learned of the formulas for producing good customer survey results however, we did quite well in certain segments.For example, we blindly allocated money to our Size segment during the first 3 rounds and slowly climbed our customer survey score. However, once we learned how to use the formulas given in the Capstone Debrief Rubric, we were able to go from a customer survey score of 16 in round 3, to a 50 in round 4, and even higher to a 57 in round 5. The formula we used came from the Capstone Debrief Rubric and stated that in order to get: †¢3 Points – The promotional budget had to lie in between $1. 4M and $2M. The Sales budget had to lie in between $2. 2M and $3M. 2 Points – The promotional budget had to lie in between $1M and $1. 4M or in between $2M and $2. 5M. The Sa les budget had to lie in between $1. 5M and $2. 2M. †¢1 Point – The promotional budget had to lie in between $. 7M and $1M or in between $2. 5M and $3M. The Sales budget had to lie in between $. 7M and $1. 5M. †¢0 Points – The promotional budget had to be lower than $. 7M or higher than $3M. The Sales budget had to be lower than $. 7M or higher than $3M. Once we started to use these formulas, we were able to allocate the right amount of funding to each segment that was appropriate.For example: if a certain segment was projected to lose money by allocating $1. 4M to the promotional budget to get the full 3 points, we would cut the budget to about $1M and still be able to get 2 points without jeopardizing our contribution margin. This is proven in the Capstone Debrief Rubric; we were allocated 3 points to our higher performing segments (Traditional, Low, and High) for rounds 4, 5, and 6 but were only granted 2 points for our lower performing segments (Performan ce and Size).In addition, we always strived to keep our size and performance specifications at exactly the current buying criteria plus the drift rates outlined on page 2 of the Industry Conditions Report. This would keep the product at what the customer expected so that they were receiving what they were asking for. Customer Buying Criteria We made it a priority to keep our prices as high as we could in each segment without disappointing our customers; this was our way of aligning our marketing strategies with our overall company strategy of cost leadership.We noted what criteria were most important to the customer to determine if we could increase our prices for each product. For example: Price was the least important buying criteria within the Size segment; meaning that these customers were not as sensitive to price changes/increases. Therefore, we were able to charge closer to the high price for the Size segment product (Fume) because this increase would not really affect the ma rket buying decisions for the Size segment; much unlike the Low End segment

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Persuasion and Influence 1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Persuasion and Influence 1 - Assignment Example In an effort to influence and persuade, people comprehend the pros of being the first to command an order to get something back. An example is in the cosmetic industry where shoppers are encouraged to make a purchase in order to receive a gift or sample. The fact that there is a gift in exchange of a purchase compels one to buy (Hogan, 2010). The law of scarcity portends that whenever choice is limited or threatened, the need to maintain a share of that limited commodity makes us crave for it even more. When an opportunity is scarce, its value increases hence, the urge to own it. In marketing for instance, department stores use scarcity to bait consumers into an uncontrollable frenzy to shop for items brought on offer at bargain prices for a limited time only, limited shopper to a restricted number of items. They make use of deadlines, limited spaces, number or availability of stock clauses to create urgency to purchase (Pratkanis & Aronson, 1992). At a personal level, power may be applied on the basis of knowledge, technical competence and the ability to articulate ideas for others to follow. It relates to building trust and loyalty, relating well with others, communicating opinions and ideas in compelling ways, accomplishments, a charismatic style, self-confidence, enthusiasm and hard work. Words shape the thoughts, feelings and attitude towards a focused subject. The use of language and mastery of words control human behavior. For instance, in tobacco commercials, which portray the calming, soothing and comforting effect of a cigarette brand. At the end of the commercial, the negative side effects are read out quickly and de-emphasized that viewers are left with the overall positive impression. Words are positively chosen emotionally packaged to â€Å"Tame the sting† (Fahnestock, 2011). To ensure prudence in shopping, it is essential to purchase or acquire products on a need be basis. It is also necessary to

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Personal Assessment of Management Skills Assignment - 1

Personal Assessment of Management Skills - Assignment Example The areas that I scored the highest were in the motivation segment and the solving problems creatively. These two areas showed that I love coming up with solutions for a specific problem. I also love motivating others by giving them advice and counselling them when the need arises. Two areas that showed that I needed improvement were gaining power and influence and building effective team and teamwork. It is important that I learn how to positively influence other employees to lead them in an effective manner. I should develop better skills in building teamwork with my colleagues. This is because teamwork is a significant aspect for any organization. After noting down my personal scores, I also noted down the scores of my associates. These are people who know me well enough to be in a position to rate and assess my management skills. From the results, I was able to determine the areas that showed the greatest variance between my personal assessment and the assessment of my associates. The areas that showed the greatest variance are motivating others and empowering and delegating. There are reasons that can explain the great variance in these two areas. In motivating others, my associates may have considered the instances where despite my efforts, I may not effectively motivate others as they expected of me. In empowering and delegating, my associates could have also overlooked the small acts of motivation I make to people without necessarily having to talk about

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Examining the Challenges Faced By Teachers in the Inclusion of Pupils Assignment

Examining the Challenges Faced By Teachers in the Inclusion of Pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) in the Mainstream C - Assignment Example 3 Causes of Autistic Spectrum Disorders ............................................................................ 4 Inclusion Defined †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Characteristics of children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 5 Expectations of teachers †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 7 Challenges Teachers face in the inclusion ASD pupils in mainstream classrooms .......... 7 Way forward to eliminate the challenges teachers face †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 12 Conclusion ............................................................. .............................................................. 15 Introduction Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties (BESD) is a term which describes a range of complex and chronic difficulties experienced by many children and young people. Such people demonstrate features of emotional and behavioural difficulties such as being withdrawn or isolated, disruptive and disturbing, hyperactive, failing to make friends and lacking concentration and mature social skills; and presenting challenging behaviours. It may also cover people with anxiety, who self-harm, have school phobia or depression and those whose behaviour or emotional wellbeing are seen to be deteriorating (DFES, 2001). BESD and learning difficulties Children suffering from BESD face many challenges in learning such as struggling to overcome trust issues, hence fail to make relationships with others, ability to cope with school routines and relationships, failure to reason appropriately. As such, their emotional and behavioural difficulties make them fail to fit well in an environment where they can learn like other normal children. Their failure to fit in the learning environment contravenes with the learning theories advanced by different psychologists such as Bandura, Piaget, Pavlov, Thorndike and Skinner. These theories imply that learning can only take place where there is punishment or reward, observation, imitation, social interaction, attachment to others and pre-existing mental cognition (DCSF, 2007, Midgley, 2008, Cooper, 2008 and Bandura, 1999). Causes of BESD There are several causes of BESD, which are from within or outside the child. Inner causes are very much associated with biological traits within an individual child. However, external causes may include single parenthood, poverty, lack of attachment, parental conflicts, erratic discipline and neglect, (Jull, 2008). Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Defined Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a lifelong disability that affect s how a person communicates with, and relates to, other people. It is a form of BESD which also affects how they make sense of the world around them since it affects ability to understand people, interpret events, communicate, and interact with others. This implies that, just like BESD does, ASD also plays a vital role in the learning of individuals. The term ‘Spectrum’ is used, because, autistic children experience a board band of problems which are grouped into having difficulty with social communication, social interaction and social imagination. For example, a child with autistic spectrum disorders is argumentative, disobedient, annoying, blames others for own mistakes, easily annoyed, resentful, vindictive, likes fighting, destructive, truant, a bully, intimidating, tormenting

Monday, August 26, 2019

Make a title Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Make a title - Essay Example In essence, child spanking is a shortcut to child disciplining which is not effective. Child spanking does more harm and little, if any, good. To begin with, spanking gives a wrong example to children. In disciplining a child, the approach should be positive. Children learn from what they observe their parents do. As a result therefore, when a child is spanked, the lesson learnt is that violence would solve problems. It may be perceived as a mode of bullying. The child could view it that, it would be right for an older person to hit a younger one. It would thus be dangerous for the child to grow under that perception. The parent in spanking aims to correct an action that is viewed as an act lower to the acceptable disciplinary standards. To the child, it would be another message sent. In most cases, it is notable that many mothers are of the view that the child should not be spanked. At times however, their child would engage in an act and they prompt to spank them. The spanking could thus be an act of low self-control. Now, is that the message that should be delivered to the child? One characteristic of discipline is self -control. It is what the child should learn. However, under spanking, the lesson is all different. Rob Walters’ states that, â€Å"When your child misbehaves or acts in ways that are defiant, inappropriate, or even dangerous, you want to show him that this behavior is unacceptable and needs to change. Spanking may seem like a direct and effective way to do that, but it also delivers other messages you dont want to be sent† (Walters) The relationship between the parent or guardian and the child is affected significantly. The trust after spanking would be lost. The child upon being spanked questions the love that her spanker has for her or him. The foundation for trust between the two is thus shaken. The child is frustrated and angry. The feelings would progress to the teenage

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Examine the contribution of functionalists accounts towards an Essay

Examine the contribution of functionalists accounts towards an explanation of the family - Essay Example As such, these parts tend also to function in an orderly manner, with minimal conflict. Even when the different parts are not in equilibrium (which they usually are in), their interrelationship is one of consensus, rather than conflict. In this regard, the role of functionalists is to examine social phenomena and its significance to society as a whole (Murdock 1949). The emergence of functionalism as an anthropology school of thought came about in the twentieth century. The development of functionalism at that time is especially credited to two renowned anthropologists of the Great Britain; A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, and Bronislaw Malinowski. In this regard, functionalism as a theory sought to check on the excesses of the nineteenth century diffusionists and evolutionary theories, as well as the theory of historicism later in the twentieth century (Goldscmidt 1996). Functionalists hold the argument that the nuclear family is capable of fulfilling many roles which have an impact on the larger society. One of the functionalists, Parsons, believes in the contemporary role of the family; the instrumental role of the male, and the expressive role of the female. Whilst the male works as a bread winner, the female gives care and emotional support to the husband and children. Although the argument sounds sexist, a majority of the nuclear families applies this contemporary role. Murdock, on his part, believes that the nuclear family should be of benefit to the larger society. In this regard, his functionalists’ ideas are based on the stable personality of adult, whose role it is educated the children about the values and norms of the society. Several scholars have been credited with the development of the theory of functionalism in the family. However, Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist, have been regarded as an advocate of the school of

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Psycological study of sleep depravation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Psycological study of sleep depravation - Essay Example These include restoration of physiological function, energy conservation and facilitation of the healing process (Dotto, 1996). Adequate sleep is thus required for all these purposes. Moreover, studies have elucidated that in addition to adequacy of sleep, the quality of sleep acquired also has major bearing on one's functioning. This fact is emphasized by Dr. Carlyle Smith, professor of psychology at Trent University in the following words: "Whether you're studying for university exams, memorizing the script of a play, learning to drive a car or training intensively for an athletic competition, your performance can be affected not only by how much sleep you have had, but also by what type of sleep you got and when you got it (Dotto, 1996)." Sleep disturbances are fairly common in today's society and with the pressing demands of work, education, etc and the ever-increasing time constraints, sleep deprivation is inevitable and studies have shown a 20% sleep reduction amongst Americans over the past century (Colten & Altevogt, 2006). Sleep deprivation and sleep related problems have been found in an alarmingly high number of people and some studies suggest figures as high as 50 to 70 million amongst Americans (Colten & Altevogt, 2006). ... The degree of sleep deprivation has been shown to vary according to different factors such as one's age, occupation, lifestyle, etc. Sleep related issues are most common amongst teenagers, women and adults who are aged greater than fifty years (Virginia Mason Medical Center, 2009). Almost one third of the young adults have been found to be insomniac (Bonnet & Arand, 1995) and almost 58million Americans have been shown to suffer from symptoms of excessive sleepiness throughout the day which impairs their social and functional capacities (Virginia Mason Medical Center, 2009). These figures reflect the gravity of the situation from a public health perspective. The magnitude of the burden of this disorder can also be judged from the exorbitant medical costs, both direct and indirect, which can be attributed to this disorder. Some studies report the costs associated with sleep deprivation and its hazardous consequences to be as high as 56 billion dollars per year (Bonnet & Arand, 1995). The duration of sleep varies within and amongst populations and hence it is difficult to determine the level of sleep which can be defined as adequate. Various studies have concluded that individuals require a minimum of eight hours of sleep per day (Bonnet & Arand, 1995) and recent estimates show that amongst adults, the average number of hours spent sleeping is six hours and 57 minutes which considerably less than that termed as adequate (Virginia Mason Medical Center, 2009). However, these values vary from individual to individual. Thus it becomes relevant to assess the sleep need on an individual basis. This is achieved by letting the individual go to bed in

Friday, August 23, 2019

Federalism and Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Federalism and Business - Essay Example A federal system is favourable than a unitary one because the state territories can be used as laboratories to try out business policy changes such as several fusions of laws, technological adjustments and tax policies. New policies are important to promote competitiveness as time goes by. It is easier for a federal government to perform experiments on policy changes since it can use a selected state as a ‘lab rat’. This experimentation phenomenon has been successfully used severally in the UK in health, education and economic policies (Martin & Sanderson, 1999, 249). If a policy leads to better business performance in the selected state, it can then be used throughout the regions. If disastrous, the federal government can correct or control the effects more economically unlike a central government. Centralized governments employ more of similar policies in the entire area of governance. They are therefore reluctant to try out new policies due to extensive risks likely t o affect the entire economy (Rich & William, 2002, 58). State governments have more information on their constituents’ needs than the central government. Presumably, decentralized governments are closer to their constituents and are more likely to have better knowledge of local cost conditions and preferences. If such information is publicized, businesses can be able to take advantage of the market niche that needs to be filled. Even though the central government can theoretically employ local agents, they will probably have less political incentive to put into account their constituents’ needs above those of local government agents. The states will therefore have a relative advantage over the central government in experimentation and creating variation.... The states will therefore have a relative advantage over the central government in experimentation and creating variation. Federalized governments are better supervisors of business and business related activities. This is as a result of reduction in complexities associated with bureaucracies in centralized governments. Federal governments can therefore be said to be more effective in performing their supervisory duties to the public. According to Lord Bryce in Zavodnyik, 2011 (p65 - 68), the growth in civil order in the United States has been as a result of state governments ability to closely monitor affairs of the citizens than congress was. As per Zavodnyik, this is one of the factors which drove USA to being one of the largest and most organized economies in the world. The US through its states system can better enforce business contracts in the states. It can also perform more effective control in the respective state markets due to ‘closeness’ of the government to the people. This reduces counterfeits and the number of transactions performed in the black market. Fabbrini 2009, in the book ‘Democracy and Federalism in the European Union and the United States: Exploring Post-National Governance’ seconds this pointing the US and UK as the countries with the lowest levels of counterfeit products in their territorial markets. Even though the governments may use the federal government to reduce illegal trades in order to maximize on the amount of taxes it collects, this promotes businesses whose markets are put at risk by counterfeits and illegal transactions which are expensive (European Center for Security Studies, 2010, 103). This creates a conducive breeding ground for businesses since it means less bureaucracy and red tape measures which