Dissertation on Mexican Immigration

Dissertation on Mexican Immigration to the United States

America, as the saying goes, is a nation of immigrants. So are other countries, perhaps all other countries, if one delves back far enough into the prehistory of human wanderings. The flow of immigration in the contemporary history of the United States is not similar to traditional patterns of immigration occurred before. Europe accounts for only about 13 percent of the recent immigrants (Tichenor, 2002). Central and South American and Caribbean countries send significant numbers, as do several Asian countries. Immigration into the United States is now overwhelmingly from the third world. From the statistical and practical perspectives, the largest number of immigrants is coming from Mexico, and these immigrants, both conventional and illegal, represent an oppressed population.

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Scholars and specialists on immigration have approached the subject from many perspectives. Some use economic models, some sociological. Some studies focus on social change at a large-scale level, some on individual decision making. Some are historical, others are ethnographic and still others are abstract and even mathematical. Interestingly, the experience of Mexican immigration has led social scientists to develop new theories of immigration that focus on family decision making (Monto, 1994). More than any other stream of immigrants in American history, Mexicans come to the United States without breaking their personal and family connections at home. Many travel back and forth across the border frequently. They come to the United States intending not to make a permanent home but to increase their incomes to make better lives for themselves and their families in Mexico. Many urban and rural communities in the Southwest are now dominated by people who feel a more permanent commitment to Mexico than to the United States - and, correspondingly, many communities in Mexico are populated by a majority of people who have spent some significant part of their lives in the United States (Monto, 1994).

The United States shares a 2,000-mile border with Mexico. In the nineteenth century, the United States annexed almost half of Mexican territory, and the Mexican population with it. Mexico has sent people across its shifting northern border at least since the time that statistics were first gathered. The latest period, however, has seen a huge increase in Mexican immigration. From 1961 through 1993, over 4 million Mexicans arrived legally, or 21 percent of the total documented immigration into the country (Tichenor, 2002). When the undocumented arrivals are factored in, the Mexican share of immigration in the fourth wave is well above one-quarter.

Most Mexicans come into California or the southwestern states, particularly Texas - both of which were formerly part of Mexico. Over most of American history, a majority of Mexican immigrants provided agricultural labor. In this respect, the Mexican immigrants differed from the Europeans, whose backgrounds were often rural but who immigrated to American cities. An acute labor shortage in the fields of the Southwest during World War II led to the American and the Mexican governments’ negotiating the Bracero program (Monto, 1994). Under this program, Mexicans entered the country temporarily in order to provide seasonal agricultural labor. They were guaranteed certain standards of wages and working conditions (although, in practice, the guarantees often failed), and they returned to Mexico after the work was finished. The program was dropped between 1947 and 1951 and then resumed again until 1964 (Monto, 1994). In peak years, it brought almost half a million workers to the United States.

The Bracero program ended, but the demand for Mexican workers did not. Immigration, both legal and illegal, grew from the 1960s until the present. The border became porous, with people moving back and forth across it. In earlier periods, Mexican migrants were concentrated in certain specific sending communities, but over time, the appeal of emigration has broadened. The 1980s and 1990s have seen “a significant flow into the United States of non-Spanish-speaking Indians from Mexico, the largest group being Mixtecs from the southern state of Oaxaca” (Zabin et al, 1993, p.51).

In the United States, Latinos have become the second-largest ethnic minority group - and Mexican Americans constitute the largest number of Latinos (Tichenor, 2002). Mexican Americans remain concentrated in California and the Southwest, where they have a major effect on the culture. Native Mexican Americans, or Chicanos, along with Mexican immigrants, provide the largest share of agricultural labor in the region. The struggles of the United Farm Workers, under the charismatic leadership of the late Cesar Chavez, to organize them and improve their living conditions caught the imagination and sympathy of much of the country. Still, Mexican immigrants, and the Mexican American population generally, are no longer predominantly agricultural (Monto, 1994). Like other immigrant ethnic groups, they have moved to the cities. Los Angeles has become a principal center of Mexican population especially East Los Angeles and, increasingly, the formerly predominantly African American area of South Central Los Angeles.

With a few exceptions, countries «specialize» in the types of immigrants they send to the United States. The principal exception is Mexico, which ranks first in both conventional and illegal immigrants (and many legal immigrants from Mexico have had one or more previous periods of U.S. residence as undocumented immigrants) (Tichenor, 2002). Still, of the total immigration during the 1980s from Mexico, El Salvador and Guatemala, only 30 percent was legal, and 70 percent was undocumented, according to the most informed demographic analysis (Fix and Passel, 1994).

The sources of conventional immigration are spread broadly, with a concentration in the Caribbean region (Mexico, the Dominican Republic and El Salvador) and Asia (the Philippines, China, India and Korea). Although Mexico is the largest single source, it does not dominate. In 1993, the top ten countries sent just 58 percent of the total conventional immigrants (Tichenor, 2002). People move to the United States for a variety of reasons. Part of the fascination of learning about the subject is to begin to understand the variety, not to try to reduce it to a single cause. Jorge Durand and Douglas Massey illustrated this particularly clearly in the case of Mexican immigration to the United States (Durand and Massey, 1992). In a review of studies of thirty seven Mexican communities, they found enormous differences. Some migrants came from relatively stable communities, others from disrupted communities (Durand and Massey, 1992). Some intended to leave Mexico for good, others for only a brief time. Some migrants were from the poorest stratum of their communities; others were relatively prosperous. Some owned land at home, some did not and some used their U.S. earnings to purchase land. In some cases, the commercialization of local agriculture opened new options to poor people and therefore reduced immigration to the United States; in other cases, commercialization led to unemployment, deprivation, and more emigration (Durand and Massey, 1992). Some communities sent almost exclusively adult men to the United States, whereas others sent balanced groups of women and children along with the men (Durand and Massey, 1992). In some Mexican communities, a majority of the people had migrated to the United States at some point in their lives, and in other communities only a small minority. Among the thirty-seven communities, almost every possible pattern was found. Durand and Massey concluded that “the social structures of individual communities differ greatly, that it is the interaction of community structure with individual and family preferences that leads to the decision to migrate and that therefore a large number of different patterns and causes naturally emerge” (Durand and Massey, 1992, p.92).

At current moment, there are about 10 to 11 million illegal migrants in the United States who are doing the jobs most Americans rather not do (Toro-Morn & Alicea, 2004). Some people suggest that the illegal immigrants should all be deported, but they do not realize the severe economic consequences this would cause America and it’s employers. Reforms have been attempted in order to create a solution, but it seems as though nothing has actually solved the problem. President Bush addressed the situation by sharing a proposal for reforming immigration laws. President Bush wants to create a “guest-worker” program that “would go hand in hand with a stiffer, more improved border security program” (Toro-Morn & Alicea, 2004, p.91-92). Bush also added that U.S. employers have to demonstrate that no American workers are willing to do a job before it can offer it to a person under the “guest-worker” program. Those under this program are not guaranteed to not be deported at the end of their “guest-worker” period. This program would help strengthen security because it would create identification cards that would allow authorities to keep track of everyone under this program. Simultaneously, the Senate Judiciary Committee has proposed its own measure by Senators John McCain and Edward Kennedy (Toro-Morn & Alicea, 2004). The idea they posses, which is similar to Bush’s, would allow current illegal immigrants to stay in the U.S., pay a fee, and apply for the “guest-worker” program. This plan would allow about 400,000 new “guest-workers” into the country each year and after six years of living and working in America they would be able to apply for U.S. citizenship (Toro-Morn & Alicea, 2004). The proposal that was supported by Bill Frist, the Senate Majority Leader, and the one supported by the House of Representatives would reform the system in a much stricter fashion (Toro-Morn & Alicea, 2004). Their proposal would make illegal immigrants felons, increase the penalties on U.S. employers who hire these illegal immigrants, and would take a huge step at improving border control. The idea is to construct a fence along one-third of the Mexican border in hopes that it will prevent people from easily crossing the border.

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Hedda Gabler Dissertation

Dissertation on Hedda Gabler

Hedda Gabler is one of the most remarkable female characters created by playwrights. Due to her unconventional behaviour and defiance of stereotypical female behaviour patterns, this character received a strong reaction from critics. Some noted that she has almost demonic power and misrepresents real women with her pervert art at manipulation of people. Thus, A Norwegian critic labelled her a “monster created by the author in the form of a woman who has no counterpart in the real world,” and Hjalmer Boyeson named Hedda “a complete perversion of womanhood” (CUNY, 2005). The opposing view was to treat her as a New Woman, in the understanding of the critic Gail Finney, with emphasis on self-fulfilment, belief in equality, openness about her sexuality, good education, career emphasis, and preference of comfortable clothing. Analysis of the play reveals, however, that Hedda fits this ideal only in some aspects, missing many important traits of a New Woman.

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The drive to be independent is clearly visible in Hedda’s behaviour. Many critics have noted that she preserves her maiden name that stands in the title of the play, while conventionally she has to be called Hedda Tesman, not Gabler. He (2001), for instance, believes that the us of the name Gabler “highlights not only Hedda’s aristocratic family background (her father is a general) but also her close association with the upperclass standard of living, both materially and spiritually”. However, it seems possible to use a different explanation for the reversal of names: Hedda maintains independence and autonomy from her husband, keeping the name that stands for what she was since childhood.

Hedda certainly remains intellectually and morally independent of her husband’s influence, partly because he is not a strong enough personality to influence a woman like her and partly because she is totally unable to develop an emotional bond with him or anybody else, for that matter. She certainly does her best to underscore this independence from Tesman. Thus, in Act 3, when Tesman rejoices about their improved prospects since Lovberg drops out of the competition for a professor’s position, she retorts: “Our way? Pray leave me out of the question”. Lack of emotional attachment for her husband makes her indeed see her own living as totally separated from his own; she chooses to be with him as long as it suits her intention of being a mistress of the house entertaining the local jet set; she keeps in mind that “it was part of our compact that we were to go into society--to keep open house” (Act 1). This detachment makes her likely to manipulate her husband as an object, thus she seriously considers if she can one day “get Tesman to go into politics” (Act 1).

Thus, Hedda is indeed independent, but what about self-fulfilment? The matter is that Hedda does not have any stated purpose for self-fulfilment. She not only shuns motherhood; she does not feel any interest in any social or intellectual pursuit that would give her life a meaning. This partly stems from Hedda’s passionate denial of any attachment to anything: “No responsibilities for me!” (Act 2). The big reason is that she is deprived of any passion for anything. In a conversation with Judge Brack, she admits that she can only “bore herself to death” (Act 2). This quality was underscored by F.L.Lucas in his 1962 analysis of the play where he names Hedda “the idle, emancipated woman--and what she is to do with her emancipation, the devil only knows” (CUNY, 2005).

So, Hedda is emancipated indeed, and in this she seemingly fits into the mould of the New Woman. Still, although seeking equality with men and independence, she is not interested in being financially independent and intends to depend on her husband for money. A woman, in Hedda’s conviction, has to sell herself to men at a high price. She reflects this belief when she says to Mrs. Elvsted that the fact that she is not “expensive” is “stupid” is her (Act 1). Besides, apart from this emancipation, she demonstrates few of the qualities desired by Gail Finney in her definition of a New Woman. Throughout the play, it becomes evident that Hedda possesses a brilliant mind allowing her to manipulate Tesman, Mrs. Elvsted and Ejlert with devilish skill.

Education, nevertheless, does not show anywhere. One can deduce that Hedda is probably a woman whose circle of interests is rather narrow. Thus, on her wedding trip with Tesman, she complains that she was extremely bored as she had to “hear of nothing but the history of civilisation, morning, noon, and night” (Act 2). Considering that Tesman, with his dedication to work and enthusiasm was not probably the worst story-teller, this reaction seems overdrawn even for a woman frustrated with her marriage. Anyway, it seems that Hedda does not have any interests that could have appeared to fill her life if she had received a good education. Thus, waiting for guests, she bothers herself with the question: “What in heaven’s name would you have me do with myself?” (Act 2).

As a result, Hedda does not have a job or any other social activity that could fill her days and let her use her potential. Asked by Judge Brack about the possibility to find a vocation in her life, she replies with a pessimistic phrase “Heaven knows what sort of a vocation that could be” (Act 2). Indeed, the only pursuit for Hedda Gabler seems to be sitting in the room and receiving guests, spending her husband’s money. One can suppose that an academician like Tesman would hardly object to a wife engaged in some charitable activity or even taking up a real job – it is just that Hedda is not so much a New Woman to care for any serious occupation.

The play does not really contain any indication that Hedda displays openly her sexuality. One can even suppose that she does not have an intense sexual drive, using men mostly as objects for manipulation. To do this, she can use their sexualities, but seems to be guarding her own. She is also afraid that Judge Brack may use his powers to “to manipulate her sexually” (He 2001). In fact, she is afraid of him being “the only cock in the yard” (Act 3).Thus, she does not seem to demonstrate much openness about her sexual life; instead, she uses the realization of these impulses in men to establish her domination over them.

Speaking of manner of dressing, Hedda is not the one to give up elegant attire in favour of comfortable bulky stuff. Since her life is focused on being a lady of the world and attracting men, she is willing to spend hours in her room changing her dress before the reception (Act 2). At her appearance, her dress is described as “a tasteful, somewhat loose-fitting morning gown” (Act 1).

Thus, Hedda Gabler does not live up to the ideal of a New Woman. She is successful only in one point – she is really independent of men and emotional attachment, unwilling to turn hers into a life of self-sacrifice.

However, she fails to devote her life to self-fulfillment simply because of lack of ideals that she could seek to fulfil. Possessing neither strong intellectual interests that appear with a good education, nor vocation that could give her a job, she is reduced to hopeless attempts to establish herself in her “select” circle. Her crisis is not one of the New Woman who does not fit into a traditional environment, but one of an empty personality who finds little interest in life going on around.

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Ethics in Auditing Dissertation

Abstract

Accounting auditing is at the center of concern about ethical financial reporting. Due to infamous cases of the fraud committed by Enron, Worldcom and other corporations, which is actually seen by some as a major threat to the economy of the United States (Doost & Fishman, 2004), poor ethical practice can lead to investor disaffection and possible desertion of the securities market. From the critical perspective, no profession can long ignore its own ethical standards and expect to avoid problem like the Arthur Andersen-Enron debacle that is why issues of ethics in auditing are particularly important to address, assess and analyze. This dissertation paper aims to discuss major ideas of ethics in auditing, accounting and financial reporting, analyze the basic implication of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), and emphasize the need for development of ethical standards in auditing and financial reporting.

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Introduction: Ethics in Auditing as a part of Business Ethics

Business ethics is all too often trotted out only when needed and never mentioned if not needed, yet ethics is central to the practice of commerce and is certainly nearly as old. It should be pointed out that while ethics is as old as the practice of commerce itself so is the lack of ethics. Economic hardships might be blamed but fraud exists in abundance even during economic boom times. In fact fraud tends to increase during economic boom times as witnessed by the dot-Com boom of the late 1990’s. What drives this phenomenon? Fraud and its antecedents are rooted in values and the family’s role as a socializing force (Birchfield, 2004). Society and its tolerance of unethical behavior is also a factor. It is not simply a matter of poor family values, ineffective socialization or societal ambivalence that fuels fraud, but rather a willingness to allow some “corner-cutting” when it comes to accumulating wealth and position. Few would vigorously condemn the occasional white lie, yet it is this attitude of nonchalance that can lead to greater problems. Enterprise wide ethics is a challenge but it is its own reward, as well. Birchfield (2004) points out that ethics as an endeavor can be promoted, instilled and fully integrated into business practices at all levels. It does not follow that ethics not fully developed as a concept in familial socialization cannot be spawned in the halls of the enterprise.

To be sure some degree of coercion must accompany the installation of ethical practice in the enterprise, but it is still better to codify boundaries of behavior than to foster a laissez-faire corporate culture such as existed at Enron. Auditing ethical standards are not inimical, in this country or abroad, to the process of instilling an ethical enterprise wide environment (Grant, 2004). Good ethical practice can generate sound business process and this should lead to positive growth and profit. The good news is that ethical practice need not be hard to achieve. Ethics can be built into a corporation’s processes and culture provided that senior management is onboard with the goals and the costs that ethical practice entails. If the company’s leadership is uncertain about how to setup an enterprise wide ethical infrastructure, then a Chief Ethical Compliance Officer (CECO) might be in order (Daigneault, 2002). It may be advisable for the enterprise to create the CECO position anyway as a demonstration of overall commitment to ethical practice and to assure that day to day operations are conducted in accordance to an ethical code of conduct. Such a position may be particularly needed in a widely diversified enterprise.

Regardless of the above, one profession in need of an ethics transfusion is the accounting profession. This fact is all the more apparent due to the avalanche of accounting fraud cases in the last five years. 

Accounting is a great profession in need of a revival in thought, purpose, and direction (Bunting, 2005). Only by proactively embracing such a revival can the profession look to future growth and a return to the top echelons of respectability. For a profession that once was the embodiment of the highest ethical and moral standards this statement is a far reaching indictment of all that has and can go wrong. No profession can long ignore its own ethical standards and expect to avoid problem like the Arthur Andersen-Enron debacle. Corporate culture can be significantly influenced by the accounting auditing profession as managers seek guidance from their internal auditor’s on various provisions of Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) and an ethical corporate culture can also greatly reduce financial misreporting (Castellano, Rosenzweig & Roehm, 2004). Certified Public Accountants (CPA) should be in the vanguard of the new era of ethical practice at the enterprise level.

Modern State of Accounting Audit Practice: Ethical Implications
Financial Reporting and Audit under Regulation of Sarbanes-Oxley Act

Accounting auditing is at the center of concern about ethical financial reporting. The problems created by the fraud surrounding Enron, Worldcom and other corporations is seen by some as a major threat to the economy of the United States (Doost & Fishman, 2004). Poor ethical practice can only lead to investor disaffection and possible desertion of the securities market. Only by restoring confidence in financial reporting can investor distrust be alleviated. One way to reduce this threat of investor disaffection is to combine enterprise risk management (ERM) with internal auditing to create ERM-based auditing (Matyjewicz & D’Arcangelo, 2004). ERM-based auditing includes (a) establishing and communicating the enterprise’s objectives, (b) determining the risk appetite of the enterprise, (c) establishing an appropriate risk management framework, (d) identifying risks, (e) assessing the probability of the risk occurring, (f) selecting the most effective way to deal with the risk, and (g) conducting control and response activities (Matyjewicz & D’Arcangelo, 2004). ERM based auditing therefore should help to strengthen internal auditing standards throughout the enterprise. Such an effect on internal auditing would be consistent with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley act (SOX) and the stated objectives of various stock exchanges, such as the New York Stock Exchange, who now require all organizations to have an internal audit function (McElveen, 2002).

The first audit report should establish the areas demanding management action and following review, a follow up process should be set up that assures that required actions are implemented (De La Rosa, 2005). There needs to be a link between the findings of the audit and ERM processes if effective ERM based auditing is to occur. The audit report should include (a) the objectives and scope of the audit, (b) conclusions and scores presented in a tabular format, (c) recommendations, and (d) action plans (De La Rosa). The auditor must take primary responsibility for formulating an audit report that is comprehensive and easy to follow. An ERM map can be used to (a) detail the uncovered weaknesses, (b) their probability of occurrence, (c) severity, and (d) degree of financial impact on the enterprise (De La Rosa). The final audit assessment is critical as it is the foundation of the corrective action plan. The auditor should be careful to document management’s interventions to correct the issues uncovered in the audit for future reference. Success or failure of the audit is directly tied to the partnership forged between the auditor and the senior management of the enterprise.

Auditing controls can exert considerable influence over the enterprise in ways that can substantially improve an understanding of accounting processes. Revenue recognition is one such accounting issue that demands careful scrutiny. SOX focuses on accurate revenue recognition, which is a key element in assuring financial reporting integrity through internal audit controls (Bean & Chambliss, 2003). 

Revenue drivers have traditionally included earnings realizations and accruals versus matching revenues and expenses in the same period in which they occur. Such old school revenue drivers do not fare well in the more complex business climate of today nor do they stand up to the test of viability across multiple industries (Bean & Chambliss, 2003). It is necessary to carefully define revenues consistent with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and to control the reporting of those revenues. Internal auditors should review revenue reporting practices for the enterprise consistent with SOX requirements. These reviews should (a) analyze management’s objective achievement through pre-audit narratives, (b) examine internal control from the top down using questionnaires and interviews, and (c) observe the strategic planning process from multiple perspectives (Bean & Chambliss, 2003). ERM based auditing can substantially affect financial reporting integrity. It is the belief among many that over the next few years that the net effects of SOX will be reliable and accurate financial reporting through improved audit practice. The realization of this desirable goal must encompass strong audit controls.

Not surprisingly the SOX has had an extensive impact on auditing practices. Behavioral changes are rapidly emerging in the wake of SOX. One of these changes includes greater board of director independence and increased audit committees authority (Mullan, 2003). A board of directors independent of management can provide more effective oversight and serve as a natural foil for an irresponsible management team. The audit committee of the board of directors has increased significance under SOX, as well. This committee has increased importance under SOX and plays a central role in overseeing both the internal and external audit practice of the enterprise. Other behavioral changes encompass such areas as the reinvention of ethical business practices (Mullan, 2003). SOX not only encourages ethical business practices but it also demands it by the force of its various sections, not the least of which is section 302 requiring the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to certify the accuracy and completeness of the financial statement.

Internal auditors also see their roles changing with greater emphasis on internal control assessment and financial statement audits (Aldhizer, Cashell & Saylor, 2003). Section 404 of SOX requires management to provide a thorough and honest assessment of the internal control system of the enterprise. An interesting requirement of SOX is section 409, which requires that a current and rapid notice be issued by the enterprise concerning any material change in the financial position of the company. The auditor was never more important or more favorably positioned to affect extensive changes to the enterprise’s financial operations.

In the SOX age the internal auditing function has provided (a) business process analysis, (b) control testing, (c) risk management, (d) and forensic accounting. These valuable services underline how internal auditors have stepped up their services level to the modern enterprise. Auditing and ERM are a good fit for each other. The convergence of ERM and auditing has been brought about largely by the need to comply with SOX. The drive to achieve full SOX compliance has been intense as can be imagined. Some are concerned that the hyper attention given to SOX compliance may have distracted the internal auditor from their primary mission namely operational audits. Some displacement of effort may have taken place due largely to the complexity of SOX compliance activities. However, this shift of attention is not unusual since many new processes require a greater effort at the beginning of the implementation phase. What is of the greatest concern is the long-term effect of the new of SOX. Once the mechanisms of SOX compliance are mastered, internal auditors can offer more services in a broader spectrum such as comprehensive business analysis, risk management, and forensic accounting as mentioned above.

Expanded Role of AICPA

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has facilitated the shift from business as usual to greater emphasis on auditing by prohibiting accounting firms from providing management consulting services to those firms that they also provide audit services (Reinstein, 2005). This provision prevents auditing firms from offering services that might produce conflicts of interest between auditing integrity and the financial relationship of auditor and audited enterprise. This change in position by the AICPA is an example of how the accounting profession is changing and in effect auditing itself. This degree of self policing is necessary to assure that the interests of the public are put above any other consideration. Sound audit practice as required by SOX law and the AICPA rules has also engendered ERM as a means to detect fraud in the public sector (Collins, 2004). These developments have had positive influences on the enterprise and on the accounting profession as a whole. These changes were also needed given the fact that many practitioners and observers of the audit profession feel that auditors had lost their objectively and needed to recapture that objectivity quickly (Shafer, Ketchaud & Morris, 2004). The AICPA act of taking a proactive approach has served to help lead the accounting profession back to a degree of respectability.

To Auditing Ethics through Compliance to SOX

SOX has brought concerns about quality audit practice into the mainstream of total quality management. Financial reporting matters are of increased importance today given the trial of the malefactors from Enron, Skilling and Lay. Obviously there is a greater appetite to pursue and punish corporate fraud wrong doers. Sound and honest internal audit practices coupled with the need for arms-length external auditing practices have finally been recognized as necessary components of total quality management. No enterprise can claim that it is committed to quality management principles without also committing itself to financial integrity. SOX has brought about many changes both intended and unintended. All of these changes have served to redirect the attention of corporate governance onto the topic of audit and enterprise risk management (Yakhou & Dorweiler, 2005). The need for a new system of enterprise governance may have been met with the ideal solution the convergence of ERM and audit practices.

SOX compliance involves in part an evaluation of the enterprise’s ethical environment. However, auditing the ethnical environment creates some unique challenges for the internal auditor (Sinason, 2005). Guidelines for ethical environment auditing include (a) review the written code of ethics, (b) review board of director meeting minutes, (c) review the job description of the chief ethical compliance officer, (d) review the job descriptions of all management positions, (e) review the procedures for reporting ethical violations, (f) review ethical violations reports sent to senior managers, (g) review the code of ethics reinforcement and display strategy (Sinason, 2005). The above may seem an odd set of guidelines for an internal auditor to follow, but there are no specific rules for reviewing ethical practice. Some of the above guidelines, however, are appropriate if the objective is to gauge actual behavior versus stated policy. It is necessary to determine if the managers responsible for ethical compliance are if fact being evaluated on these activities. One way to determine this is to look at the job descriptions of those positions. If the job description does not include statements about ethical guidance, then it is likely the manager may receive good evaluations without meeting this key objective. It should be equally obvious that ethical violation procedures and reports are important activities in an ethical enterprise. A comprehensive internal audit should review all of these areas. However, it would be naive to believe that changes in corporate governance, the emergence of ERM and changes in audit practice brought about by SOX have solved all of the problems inherent in financial reporting. Big four audit accounting practice may not be where it needs to be in order to restore confidence in financial reporting completely.

Recent inspections by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) point to a lack of good communication within the audit departments of the big four firms concerning the need to be extra vigilant in complying with SOX. The audit issues surrounding the big four accounting firms have brought about a departure of 38% of audit clients to middle tier accounting firms (Nixon, 2005). 

Presumably the departure has been precipitated by concerns over SOX auditing requirements. Some of these departures were due in no small part to the increased work load SOX has created. What is needed is a vigorous promotion of enterprise wide values such as honesty, integrity, and devotion to serving the broader interests of the greater enterprise stakeholders. The emergence of responsible values along with ERM and renewed audit rigor has begun to change the enterprise landscape. Not only are accounting and auditor practices affected by SOX but information technology (IT) practices are effected as well. Security of Accounting information systems (AIS) and access controls have become major issues for IT operations as well. This is due to the opening up of the auditing perspective in reaction to SOX and ERM ranging from auditing standards for nonprofits and auditing techniques to improving security of financial management systems at all levels (Floch, 2004). The increased reliance of many enterprises on the Internet and security issues surrounding eCommerce activities and the accounting for such activities will be affected by SOX as well. Concern about fraud in financial reporting as affected IT control systems in far reaching ways. The application of Auditing Standards SAS 99 has forced a closer examination of AIS procedures and controls (Leinicke, Ostrosky, Rexroad, Baker & Beckman, 2005). Virtually every aspect of auditing has changes since SOX was introduced in 2002. These changes have served to bring the practice of auditing out of the back room and into the board room. Information technology (IT) management is also elevated in the era of SOX and ERM convergence (Brown & Nasuti, 2005). Security of IT information is essential for SOX compliance and ERM practice. The necessary security framework should integrate (a) IT structures, (b) IT processes, and (c) communications to create an enabling security focused organization (Brown & Nasuti, 2005).

Conclusion: Ethics in Auditing as a Pillar of Business

Ethics is a critical component of sound economic practice and cannot be relegated to the back seat of strategic thinking. Too many enterprises have relegated ethical thinking to a “use it only when needed” status. By no means is this misplacement of ethics only endemic in “for profit” businesses. All enterprises should consider the long range benefits the full integration of ethics into the strategic thinking process can affect. The question must be asked: By what means can ethical thinking be accomplished? Considering the focus over the last five years on accounting ethics, one way ethical thinking can be achieved, is by teaching accounting from a thoroughly ethical perspective (Esmond-Kiger, 2004). Such an approach includes more than simply teaching the dogma of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or the catechism of moral behavior. What is needed is a humanistic and holistic approach to ethical education. Not humanistic from the stand point of situational ethics, but in the context of realistic human interaction. The prime directive must be do no harm and always place the well being of the investor above personal considerations. Universities must also make ethical education a completely seamless part of accounting school curricula. A major part of this movement toward high ethical standards is to teach Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) about serving the public interest first. It does reflect both the code of professional conduct of the Society of Certified Public Accountants and the tenants of the SOX law.

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Dissertation on Leadership

Today, in our highly-developed, globalized world one needs to be very strong to bear up the hardships and achieve personal goals. What is more important, that in the present day one should not only be strong and bright to achieve success but should also be able to stand out from the crowd. The world nowadays needs leaders who are dissimilar, ground-breaking and charismatic. Thus, it is very important for every person to try to discover the leadership skills hidden in him/her and make a full use of them. In my short paper I would like to discuss how the course on Leadership I have recently taken helped me improve my personality and leadership skills in particular.

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Since early age I have been a leader of the groups I was part of: the kindergarten, the elementary school, junior high, and now high school. I was an active member of councils and societies. I enjoyed taking up responsibilities and fulfilling the tasks. However, I have always felt that it was not enough to just be born with leadership skills, rather it was very important to discover them and purify them with the help of the associates and mentors. Due to this reason I was very eager to take the Leadership Course offered to us and indeed I did find the course very useful.

Throughout the course I have learnt how important it was to become a resonant leader and what the ways to achieve resonance were. I learnt that resonant leaders are emotionally intelligent people who can manage themselves and guide others even in ambiguous circumstances. Resonant leaders engage people's hearts and minds and create an overall sense of purpose and need for achievement. Such leaders influence people to do their best, and to work in collaboration with others. Moreover, they help people enjoy what they do and willing to take up responsibilities. Resonant leaders are not afraid of changes, moreover, they are willing to implement changes in order to achieve good results. Resonant leader, though being bright and charismatic, do not hesitate to turn to associates for advice require feedback from others at all times of working together.

With the knowledge obtained in the course I managed to change the way I was seen by others and improve my position within the peers. I have changed many of my attitudes and communication styles. I realized that the best way one can influence people in is to be known and trusted by them. It is vital to show the people that their interests are my interests and I would do all it takes to achieve what they want. From now on I will always try to create resonance in my relationship with others through positive, kind and trusting relationships. Also, I would try to be open-minded deeply committed to learning about myself and adjusting my behavior to the needs of others.

I find the mentioned above course very useful for my future life and career. I hope that in the future I will be able to implement more from the course in the real life.

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This is a small excerpt from dissertation on Leadership topic. As free dissertation samples and dissertation proposal examples are plagiarized we recommend you not to use it in your own dissertation or thesis paper. Why not to get online dissertation writing help on Leadership from professional dissertation writing company? Top-rated PhD academic writers will write a custom dissertation on any topic and discipline from scratch!

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Dissertation on Change Management

Change Management Dissertation

1. Introduction

People, environment and organizations are experiencing changes on the regular basis. People change their attitudes and beliefs, organizations change their structures, and it is all influenced by the constantly changing environment. Changes are not always for better, but the task of the change management is to see the opportunity in the future inevitable change and to prepare all its participants for it, so that the process went easily and smoothly. Therefore, change management is said to be the process or approach of changing people, groups of people and organizations from present state to the future expected one. Change management process can be as organizational, as well as individual. Both approaches have structured models of behavior.

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Management plays the dominant role in change management. Responsibility of management is to notice trends in the macro-environment and also in the micro-environment so as to be capable of defining changes and initiate future programs. It is also essential to evaluate what affect a change will likely have on behavior patterns of the employee, technological requirements, work processes and motivation. Management must foresee what employee possible reactions can be and formulate a change program that will give assistance as workers go through the adopting change process. The program must then be implemented, distributed among employees, monitored for efficiency, and adapted when necessary. Organizations live within an active environment that is subject to change due to the influence of different change «jump starters”, such as developing technologies. To continue to operate efficiently within this environmental random motion, organizations must be able to change themselves as an answer to internal and external changes.

Nevertheless, change will also influence individuals in the company or organization. Successful change management demands the realization of the possible change affects upon people, and how to manage feasible resistance sources to that change. Change can be said to happen where there is the discrepancy between the present state and the environment.

2. The Problem

When one of the theories of change management is supposed to be implemented on practice, first, of course, comes the problem that positions the obstacle for the present and future successful operations and overall activity. And basically it doesn’t matter what kind of problem hindered the development, as the necessary steps and the order remains the same with the only difference of quality and quantity of resources involved. In my situation the problem was of the following character.

Patients needing PEG (Percutaneous endoscopic Gastrostomy, i.e endoscopic insertion of a plastic tube through the stomach to give food for patients who can not swallow direct through the stomach) in a hospital don’t who have a nutrition team (AS IN MOST DISTRICT GENERAL HOSPITAL)have to wait longer time to be assessed and have access to the procedure.

In our hospital the procedure has to be ordered in a normal endoscopy request form, which is not specific for PEG, but is used to order any other routine endoscopic procedures. Ideally PEG request form should contain more details than a normal endoscopy form, as it is more invasive and entails more risk and high mortality.

Then the form is passed to one of the three Gastro consultants, then when he gets time he goes and assess the patient, if suitable the patient is listed on this named consultant list which could be the next week , although there might be a free slot for other consultants list on the same week.

This would cause delay for patients to have the appropriate procedure within the required time scale, resulting in delaying discharge, increased cost, and high risk of being malnourished resulting in being susceptible to other complication like pneumonia and sepsis, and even poor recovery and less regression of the initial problem (especially the stroke).

The problem was initially highlighted by a senior sister on the stroke ward, and brought to the attention of my consultant, where I offered to look into it.

When the problem is clearly stated, the next step is to find, develop and propose possible solution to it, which would benefit all participants of the future change in the fullest extent.

3. The Change

There are three basic dimensions of the strategic change, which include content (goals and purpose), implementation process that explains how all should be done, and finally context, which would take into account internal and external environment where the change would be implemented.

Pettigrew and Whipp claim that there is the continuous interplay between change dimensions. And the change implementation should also flexible to different circumstances and those who introduce changes should be ready to modify its content in the necessary manner. The change is successful when it is the result of interaction between change purpose and goals, change implementation and organizational context.

In order the change be successful, Pettigrew and Whipp conducted the research and proposed five change factors. The first one is called environmental assessment, which includes monitoring of both internal and external organizational environment on the continuous basis by means of open learning systems. The second factor concerns using human resources as assets and liabilities. As employees should be aware of that they are envisioned as valuable and they should also feel the trust and support of the company or organization. The third factor is linking strategic and operational change. It says that not all changes can be immediate and they are implemented though some time. Rather effective can be bundling of operational activities, which can lead to new strategic changes. The forth factor is leading the change. It involves moving organization ahead and creating new and appropriate climate for future change. It also includes activities coordination, steering, agenda setting not just for the change direction, but also for the appropriate values and vision.

So, we had a meeting with all the gastro consultants, stroke senior nurse, endoscopy senior nurses and manager. And during the meeting I suggested creating a new PEG referral form that contains all the details needed for the PEG to be accepted, and if agreed by any of the gastro consultant it could be done by any one of them and not necessarily that one who accepted it. Also we agreed that there should be at least one free slot for PEG each week.

4. Opposition

Change opposition or resistance is very spread in cases of change management, and therefore individuals and organizations should be ready for it and react adequately. Kotter and Schlesinger (1979) described four primary reasons why people can resist changes. The first reason is parochial self-interest, as there can be some people in the organization that are more self-centered and care primarily for the changes that would bring them personally benefit or profit, as well as care how the future changes would influence their own interests. They are not thinking about success of the organization in general. The second reason is misunderstanding, when people can get inadequate or false information about some facts, or the communication barriers between members can occur. The third reason is low tolerance to change, as some people just fear of change and uncertainties in future, and they prefer live in stability and feel secure, than accept changes. This is what Flanagan (1990) about people having fears and anxieties: “What happens beyond this point, however, is not so desirable. Most people have experienced the discomfort-maybe even embarrassment-of a dry mouth, shaky voice, pounding heart, sweaty hands, or wobbly legs, at some time or another. Everyone knows what it is to be frightened or worried about something; the «something» can be concrete, like a bill or illness, or less tangible, like the anticipation of a future unpleasantness--an exam, interview, or work deadline, for example”. And the final reason is about different assessments of the situation, as some employees can not agree with the reasons for future changes and with positives and negatives of the process of change.

So, in my situation, the difficulty was how to leave an empty slot on the endoscopy list, giving the pressure on the waiting times for routine and outpatient endoscopies and the need to reach national targets.

Also a consultant who does not assess the patient might not feel happy to do the procedure for the patient whose been assessed by somebody else.

Well, when there are obstacles on the way to change, it is essential to evaluate the benefits from the change implementation and inconveniences from change opposition, as in the long run it may occur that they are not so serious and can be easily managed.

Kotter and Schlezinger also proposed six change approaches to deal with change resistance or with obstacles to change. The first approach is education and communication, as when there is information deficiency or inadequate information and analysis. One of the most right ways to over come this problem is to educate and inform people about future changes in advance. And after that communicate with them and educate them so that they realize the logic and necessity in change efforts. This would reduce the level of rumors and incorrect information spread regarding the outcomes of the change results for the organization and its employees.

The second approach is involvement and participation. This approach is effective when those people who initiate changes do not possess all needed information for change design and implementation, and other people have enough power to resist those efforts. And it becomes obvious that when employees are being involve in the process of change and can impact with their own suggestions, they are more likely to desire that change then putting more obstacles on its way.

The third approach is facilitation and support. People usually have adjustment problems, when they resist changes. Management should be supportive to employees in any case and in each situation, and in such a manner it can prevent possible resistance. Support of management assists employees to cope with their anxiety, feeling of uncertainty and fear during the period of transition. It such case effective could be trainings, counseling, informal meetings with employees, etc.

The forth approach is about negotiation and agreement. Some people can lose out because of future change in this situation they can possess significant power to resist that change. Management can start the open fight with such people and tell them about what is good about change and that they should not resist it. This can be effective with some employees, and others can be just proposed to leave the company with some benefits, or retire. If such people do not want to experience change, they are not obliged to, and they are free to make the decision, which would correspond to their views and expectations. So, if it is possible to persuade the person or a group of people, it should be done. This approach can be effective when those who resist change are in the position of power.

The fifth approach is manipulation and co-optation. This approach is used in case when other tactics doesn’t work or on practice appear to be very expensive. Authors suggest another efficient manipulation technique that is to co-opt with those who resist change. This can be fulfilled by giving those people who resist the opportunity to participate actively in the activity of the change group.

Some of them can be even selected as leaders to participate in the decision-making process. Obviously those roles and decision-making power would be more symbolic and they should not pose threat to the general change process. And what is the most important with this approach, it that leaders or those people should not understand that they are being tricked, as if they realize that, they can push their resistance even further and it would be almost impossible to cope with it.

And the final approach concerns explicit and implicit coercion. In this approach speed is crucial factor, and this approach should be used only as the last resort. Management can implicitly and explicitly make employees to accept the coming change, by emphasizing that posing obstacles and resistance to change can result in dismissals, employee transfers, job losses, as well as absence of promotion.

5. Intervention

Well, I designed the form which included all the details needed, after consultation with everybody else a few changes were recommended, then the final version were accepted, and printed.

Then it was introduced to all the departments and colleagues and distributed to the wards, to be used instead of the normal endoscopy referral form.

It was planned to be uploaded to the intranet but it proved to be difficult and they are still working on it.

With my intervention I showed my vision of the change and made first steps towards its implementation. According to Richards Beckhard and Reuben T. Harris (1987) there is a change model or change equation that can give the fast first impression of the opportunities and conditions of change in organization. It was so historically developed that the Change Equation was envisioned as the main milestone for the sphere of Organizational Development. But the subject of Organizational Development is being constantly developed reacting to the needs and wants of employees. Such employees not just want to move their companies forward in terms of business goals, but also in terms of employees’ involvement in the process. And nowadays employers understand better the interconnection between success of the organization and employee involvement. To move employees to be involved in change, it is not necessary to force them, and even more- it will not work.

So, the formula of the change equation looks in the following manner: dissatisfaction multiplied with vision and first steps are greater than resistance to change. Therefore, obviously id any of three indices is zero or near zero, the final product will also be zero and change resistance will dominate.

6. Results

The form has speeded up the referral process, improved a better selection for the suitable patient for the PEG, although the pressure on the waiting lists has not made a creation of an empty slot possible, and still each consultant preferred to do the patient he assessed by himself. At the end more suitable patient and less inappropriate referrals were made.

7. Conclusion

In the conclusion I would like to summarize my practical experience and research findings regarding change management. First of all I must say that changes are undividable part of active business environment, which faces external, as well as internal challenges. Therefore employees and management should be ready not only to face those changes and implement appropriate programs, but also be ready for possible resistance and obstacles.

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Dissertation on Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights, a story that would not usually be read by a person of my interests, definitely has its ways of drawing you away from the book at the same time bringing you deeply in. Pretty ironic I would say, but the perspective very much makes sense. Every story, every movie, every anything has their pros and cons, but my opinion of Wuthering Heights has a strange way of separating those factors. Referring to my first statement, when I say "a person of my interests," I mean to say that a person like me does not get too excited about love stories or any story that takes a long time to get a point across focusing too much on detail rather the reader's attention span. As a matter of fact, that's if this was even a love story. But It must be, besides all the hate, vengeance and cruelty, because all those feelings were because of love, and if this is just some twisted love triangle, Jerry Springer has nothing on it.

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Though talking about the type of person I am may sound irrelevant, there is a connection with this review. How can you accept a review from someone if you don't know what type of person the reviewer is? The reviewer may be nothing like you, so you cannot take his or her opinion into consideration. Saying this, if you are the type of person a reviewer is, read on and take their opinion into consideration and if you are not, you can do two things, either throw away the review or you can just read on anyway out of curiosity for kicks. "This is a strange book.

It is not without evidences of considerable power: but, as a whole, it is wild, confused; disjointed, and improbable; and the people who make up the drama, which is tragic enough in its consequences, are savages ruder than those who live before the days of Homer." (Examiner 285). Great way to start off a review. It gives a big bang and draws me in immediately, but its a shame that I can't take this opinion into consideration. As said, I don't know this examiner, who he/she is, nor have I read any of their reviews on other books that I've read.

This is the first review that I read from them so to take their perspective maybe appealing by the way it started out, it would be blind. To compare it with the movie buff that I am, I always take a review into consideration before I see a movie. Now, I have never met the reviewers of whom I take their word for, but I definitely have heard enough to make my judgment. Their judgments were correct, right on the money, how I felt or thought about a movie was the same as the reviewer I took into consideration so I stay with the same reviewer because I know we think alike and are attracted to similar types of movies. There are a lot of old timer reviewers who bash on movies that I love.

Obviously we don't have the same interests, so why would I even listen to them. One of the big gripes I have with these reviews has to be that they drag just like the novel itself. Reading the reviews left me in question just as the book did after reading it. It's a lot like the reviews in modern day, many of them don't give a straight answer. Again, the "getting to the point" aspect of writing about something is crucial for my types. The majority of a review is talking about the novel and going into detail.

Why do they do this? When reading a review, it should state three things; quick general idea of the story, was it good or bad and why. You can plead your case without dissecting the book. "To all such "Wuthering Heights" must appear a rude and strange production." (Editor's Preface to the New Edition of Wuthering Heights (1850) 313). Must? Where are you going with that. And if it is a rude and strange production, is it a good thing? They start out like this, and then get into detail talking about the novel. This shouldn't be the point of a review. A review should be taken seriously only when you know of the reviewer.

Personally, the best reviewers that I have are friends who see or read something that I haven't yet, and they will give me a great review because they are like me. The other point is that reviews should give a straight answer, not just talking about a story, but giving an honest opinion. Many of the reviews that I have read for Wuthering Heights had similar approaches and similar endings leaving me with a question. So was it a good thing or bad thing? Did you like it or not? That's what I want to know, and that is the reason why I would read a novel. If I take your word for it, then I will read it and figure out what it is all about.

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This is a small excerpt from dissertation on Wuthering Heights topic. As free dissertation samples and dissertation proposal examples are plagiarized we recommend you not to use it in your own dissertation or thesis paper. Why not to get online dissertation writing help on Wuthering Heights from professional dissertation writing company? Top-rated PhD academic writers will write a custom dissertation on any topic and discipline from scratch!

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Dissertation on Coca Cola

The Coca-Cola's New Product

Today the way British people are associated with drinking tea American people are associated with drinking Coca-Cola. However, a correction must be made, not only people from the United States of America drink Coca-Cola but actually people from all over the world do. We read in the news that Coca Cola drinks contain drug participles that lead to addiction – but we still drink Coca-Cola. We hear that with every sip of the bubbly dark-brown Coca-Cola drink our liver bears the damage that later would not be restored, though we go to the next shop around the corner and buy Coca-Cola.

There is just something in this drink or maybe in the brand itself that attracts the customer and has him/her stick with it.

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In my paper I would like to first of all give the reader a brief insight into the history, marketing strategy, major and some other information about the Coca-Cola Company. Then, having introduced the company, I would like to shortly describe the main product of the Company that is Coke (or Cola), that is in fact my favorite. After that, I will suggest a new beverage that, in my opinion, would boost the revenues of the Coca-Cola Company.

Today the Coca-Cola Company is the best known and richest beverage company in the entire world, being mostly popular for its dark-brown carbonated Coca-Cola drink. The formula of the drink was invented by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in 1886. The same year the Company was established as the J. S. Pemberton Medicine Company. This first Company was just a small partnership between Dr. John Stith Pemberton and Dr. Ed Holland. At that time the two doctors could never think that their idea would lead to such overwhelming success. Upon formation the Company launched only three products that were: Pemberton’s French Wine of Cola (that is the Coca-Cola known today), Pemberton’s Indian Queen Hair Dye, and Pemberton’s Globe Flower Cough Syrup (Reed, 1889).In 1889 the formula was bought from the original creator by Asa Candler who opened up a new Corporation in 1892 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Since 1892 the Coca-Cola Company had made a long and thorny way up the stairs of success. Today it offers nearly 400 brands in over 200 countries. The CEO of the Company is Muhtar Kent whose main motto is to make the Coca-Cola products present and bought everywhere. The Corporation operates in the following way: the bottlers around the world hold contracts with the company that are limited territorially. They bottle the finished product that is produced “from the concentrate in combination with filtered water and sweeteners” (Bellis). Then, the Coca-Cola products are sold, merchandised and distributed in the stores, bars, restaurants, and vending machines (Pendergrast, 2008, pp. 3-4). These and other activities help the Coca-Cola Corporation achieve the market capital of $140 billion (Coca-Cola Website, 2008).

In the Coca-Cola Company it is considered that innovation leads to success. As it is stated on the Company’s website, the innovation in the company is in the five main segments that are: Product, Packaging, Equipment, Marketing and Marketplace (Coca Cola Website, 2008). This can be interpreted as follows: the Company constantly comes up with new products; it puts a lot of effort in the eye-catching and ground-breaking design of packages; it invests millions into advertising and makes sure that the products are available everywhere they could be needed (Giebelhaus, 2008). 

The marketing activities of the Company are so impressive that they have to be described in more details. The Coca-Cola Company has been operating for over a century and is flourishing. According to the business reports, it is currently in the renewal level of the post-maturity stage in the business life cycle (Giebelhaus, 2008). The beverages produced by the company are targeted at all the consumers, though there are some brands, which target specific consumers. Such brands are: Coca-Cola’s diet - created mainly for the people of older age, and PowerAde drink that is for people who try to stay fit and need a fresh drink during work outs.

The Coca-Cola Company uses its marketing strategies to distinguish its product from its competitors and gain the competitive advantage. The main source used to increase the awareness is the advertising (Giebelhaus, 2008). The most advertising of the Coca-Cola products is made on TV, this allows the company to reach the responsiveness of a large and diverse audience. People are motivated by the Company’s products with such slogans as “You know you want it” or “If you drink it, you get better of life”. In the Coca-Cola commercials there are always young, healthy, fit and sexually attractive people, who drive expensive cars, attend glamorous parties and drink Coca-Cola together with their attractive friends. Of course, the Company is also constantly involved as a sponsor of world’s notable occasions, like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup (Coca-Cola Website, 2008).

As I have already mentioned, the Coca-Cola offers 400 brands in over 200 countries, besides its Coke beverage. This includes such drinks as: Diet Coke (introduced in 1982), Diet Coke, Caffeine-Free, Cherry Coke (1985), Diet Cherry Coke (1986), Coke with Lemon (2001), Diet Coke with Lemon (2001), Vanilla Coke (2002), Diet Vanilla Coke (2002), Coca-Cola C2 (2004), Coke with Lime (2004), Aquarius Mineral Water (2004), Diet Coke with Lime (2004), Diet Coke Sweetened with Splenda (2005), Coca-Cola Zero (2005), Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla (2006), Diet Coca-Cola Black Cherry Vanilla (2006), Coca-Cola BlāK (2006), Diet Coke Plus (2007), Coca-Cola Orange (2007). Such popular beverages as Fanta and Sprite are also produced by the Company, they were invented in 1943 (Coca-Cola Products and Brands, 2008).

The list of beverages produced by the company mentioned above is impressive. Though, in my opinion, the product that is dominating over all of the mentioned above is the regular Coke. This drink stays popular no matter what other drinks the Coca-Cola Company comes up with. Coke is very carbonated, though tends to be not very sweet in taste. It contains caffeine that charges one with energy that is usually obtained from a cup of coffee. What is interesting is that the formula for creating Coke is kept as a corporate secret and is said to belong only to two people working for the corporation. The largest competitor of Coke is Pepsi. The two drinks are very similar and most people cannot event tell the difference, though Pepsi is sweeter and less carbonated. The two companies have been rivaling for a long time. Nevertheless, for the moment Coke holds a noteworthy advantage over Pepsi as for brand equity (Mallas, 2008).

Now I would like to suggest a new product to the Coca Cola Corporation. This product will be a kind of an ice-tea drinks that are very popular nowadays. The products of the Coca Cola Company are usually considered to be not healthy: they are made with addition of chemicals, they are carbonated as well as they contain dye-stuff. The new ice-tea I would like to propose should not be any of the mentioned above. The name of this drink will be “American Ginseng Tea”. The name itself will already propose that the drink is healthy because everyone knows that ginseng is a very health-giving herb as well as the costumer will see that a drink possesses a patriotic note, having in its name the word “American”.

The new product should be targeted to all the age groups. The emphasis during advertising should be made on the fact that the drink is totally healthy, does not contain chemicals of dye-stuff and could be consumed even by children and infants. In my opinion, a good way to show that the product is healthy and one hundred percent preservatives free is to sell the American Ginseng Tea in the drug stores. There the product should be advertised as the one that leads to the strengthening of the immune system and longevity.

The beverage should be bottled in the same way all the Coca Cola products, thus bottles of sizes 2 liters, 1.25 liters, 600mL and 300mL as well as aluminum cans of 375mL should be available. The price for the product, in my opinion, should be the same as the price of other Coca Cola products. Though, at the early stages of launching the product should be offered to the costumers on “Special Offer” basis, leading them onto an idea to purchase the drink.

At first the regular American Ginseng Tea should be introduced, however, if the launching turns out to be successful, the Coca Cola Company can extend the line by launching such drinks as “American Ginseng Tea Light”, “American Ginseng Tea Sugar Free”, “American Ginseng Tea Cherry Flavor”, or “American Ginseng Tea with Addition of Caffeine”. The later of course will be targeted at the older population who consider coffee products to be too damaging for the health, while may choose the healthy ginseng tea with a small addition of caffeine to boost their energy.

As for the design it is very important that the label on the bottle should be in light pastel colors. The Coca Cola products are usually very bright-labeled and eye-catching. However, the “American Ginseng Tea” varies greatly from the existing products, and the goal of the Coca Cola Company would be to show that it does. Thus, the labels should be mostly green and yellow. These colors usually symbolize health, warmth, and therapy, this is the image needed for the new product. Today more and more schools ban selling or carbonated Coca Cola and Pepsi drinks on the school premises. However, special medical researches must be made in order to prove that “American Ginseng Tea” is a healthy product that not only could, but simply should be consumed by the school-children.

In conclusion I would like to say that even though, the “American Ginseng Tea” product sounds to be too ideal to be created, its creation is possible. I think that a product of a kind should be created and launched. Moreover, if the Coca Cola Corporation undertakes the healthy drink project it has to put all of its efforts into advertising of this specific drink. This will boost the revenues as well as corporate image the company creates upon the public. It is important to say that, the Coca Cola Company is a well established corporation and it has been such for over a century, thus its other product lines would not suffer from the emerging of a new innovative product.

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This is a small excerpt from dissertation on Coca Cola topic. As free dissertation samples and dissertation proposal examples are plagiarized we recommend you not to use it in your own dissertation or thesis paper. Why not to get online dissertation writing help on Coca Cola from professional dissertation writing company? Top-rated PhD academic writers will write a custom dissertation on any topic and discipline from scratch!

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Dissertation on IBM

Traditionally, IBM was one of the leading companies operating in the field of information technologies. Today, the company maintains its leading position in the global market, being one of the major multinational computer technology and consulting corporations in the world. The current position of IBM is, to a significant extent, determined by its long historical development which dates back to the late 19th century (Andrew, 2003). At the same time, the major condition of its current success is the constant implementation of innovations, which reveal the unparalleled ability of the company to adapt ever changing technologies and use them to take an advantageous competitive position in the market.

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First of all, it should be said that the company has a number of advantageous which strengthen its position in the world market. In this respect, it is worth mentioning the popularity of the brand of IBM which contributes to the customers’ loyalty. Obviously, customers prefer IBM because the company has already proved its reliability and its long history contributes to the high confidence of customers in the potential of the company to maintain the high quality of products and services it supplies to its customers. Another strength of the company is the introduction of innovations. In fact, IBM is oriented on the introduction of innovations in the field of computer technologies, while the extent experience of the company allows IBM to take the leading position in the global market (Andrew, 2003). Also, it is necessary to remember about the high qualification of specialists employed by IBM, since the company traditionally employed highly qualified and prospective specialists.

On the other hand, it is necessary to remember about certain weaknesses of IBM. Firstly, the company is sales-oriented that limits the flexibility of the company since high sale rates constitute the major goal of the marketing performance of the company (Stallings, 2000). In such a context, many competitors of IBM tend to use the customer-centered approach which seems more effective because it takes into consideration needs and interests of customers, while sales-oriented approach can decrease the customer satisfaction because the company will unable to meet customers’ needs.

Nevertheless, the company mission is to keep introducing new computing technologies in order to maintain the leading position of IBM in the global market. In such a context, the company aims at the international market expansion, the development of new technologies, and enlargement of services IBM supplies to its customers. To put it more precisely, recently the company has expanded consistently its consulting services.

In such a situation, the company’s strategy is to use innovations and the popularity of its brand to penetrate new markets and increase its market share in order to outpace its major competitors, such as HP (Stallings, 2000). The development of consulting services is strategically important because it implies the formation of customers’ dependence on IBM’s technologies and products.

As a result, the company has to cope with several challenges it is currently facing. Firstly, it is the growing competition, especially from the part of HP. Secondly, it is the necessity to introduce new, more effective approaches instead of sales-oriented approach. Finally, it is necessary to adapt the corporate culture to the multicultural environment in which the company operates.

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Dissertation on Weight Loss

The purpose of this dissertation is to do a review on a weight loss program. I choose Weight Watcher Diet to do the review on. In this paper I will briefly describe the guidelines and philosophy of the program, I will also include the calories, maintenance plan, supplementation, exercise, estimated financial cost for this program, is the program hazardous to the health, and would I recommend this program to anyone.

Jean Nidetch founded weight Watchers in the early 1960s. It has evolved over the years from a food exchange system that gave a set number of calories and food exchanges to follow for each meal and snack. Now Weight Watchers is a points based system whereby points are assigned for each food based on fat, fiber and calorie content and each person is set a points target for each day and they can eat any variety of food that adds up to that total, each person is responsible for meeting their own targets. The Weight Watchers program is conducted in a group support system with weekly meetings. 

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Weight Watchers has a global network of support groups meetings involving over 20 million people. Weight Watchers also offer an online program for those who do not wish to attend weekly weigh-ins. It also offers Weight Watchers Winning Points plan, Weight Watchers Products, Weight Watchers Magazine and Weight Watchers e-Tools (weight watcher.com).

Weight Watchers is a diet program based on a points/incentive system. A membership based program, it combines weight loss and exercise ideas. With groups around the world, Weight Watchers offers special foods, cookbooks, and exercise plans for a fee. Points are awarded for success and the dieter has the support of chapter members from his or her local group. The advantages are that one can lose weight with others, having the support of others who are fighting the same battles ( diet review.com).

This plan does not recommend supplementation, because of its points system. Each individual get 20-37 points a day, all of the food they eat will be calculate into points therefore they do not need any supplement. However, if the participant wants to take supplement, it would be their choice. The first week you join, you receive a 1,000-calorie-a-day food plan consisting of more than 80 foods. Over the next four weeks, new foods are added to the plan until women are up to about 1,200 calories a day. Along the way, you're also given an exercise plan, booklet, a dining out and party guide which helps members permanently change their eating habits and improve their self-image.

Yes, there is a maintenance plan for this program. Any one that joins this program will require losing 10% of their weight; you then have to decide what your final weight loss goal will be. After they reach their goal they will be on the maintenance plan. It is a 6 weeks plan after you reach your goal. This plan consist of participant comes to meeting once a month instead of once a week to weight in. Most of these participants are well train in their eating habit, because through out the program they are taught to eat by using the point system. The maintenance plan for this program would be behavior modification in their eating habit.

This plan does recommend exercise. It suggests their participant to exercise 2-3 times a week, about 30 minutes a day. This exercise can be walking, running, aerobics, or any exercise that will speed up the heart rate. Participant that exercise will earn additional points, which they can use toward extra calories. This program does not show any hazardous to the health; they give you information on healthy eating habits, the give you meal plans and recipes.

This particular plan requires an initial investment for membership and can involve the purchase of specific food products. If the idea of support in a group atmosphere is for you, this could be your plan. The best results come when you are motivated and at ease with a program. One time registration fee of $20 and a weekly fee of $14, weight lose is varying per person. A person can lose 3 pounds in a month, whereas; others can lose 10 pounds in a month. To estimate the cost to lose 20 pounds for the program would be different per person. I'm estimating on an average weight loss for a regular person to lose 20 pounds and it would take them 6 months to lose it. This would cost them $336 for the program(ivillage.co.uk).

This is the weight loss program that I would recommend, because it has group support can be helpful and encouraging, any foods can be eaten, Weight Watcher groups are very wide spread, proven weight loss method with a strong track record, lots of products available, diet is safe and promotes good eating habits.

In conclusion Weight Watchers is a very good method of losing weight especially for the heavier dieter. It has a proven record and its emphasis is on healthy eating and long-term weight management. It is very good for those dieters that enjoy group support and can handle its pressure.

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