How green are electric car batteries Research Paper

How green are electric car batteries - Research Paper Example However, this trend is yet to be noticed as most of the vehicles in this 21st century are still powered by traditional fuels; electric cars are yet to become popular among the masses. The Electric Battery An electric car along with all its accessories is powered by its battery. The electric battery drives a controller which is used to run the main electric motor of the car. Cars driven by gasoline and diesel also have batteries, but they are mainly used to start the engine of the vehicle and also power some of its accessories like the radio, television or the air-conditioner. Just like fuel-driven cars need to be reloaded, once they are exhausted of their fuel reserves, the electric car batteries are required to be recharged when they are depleted of their initial power. Therefore, electric batteries need to be strong and enduring in terms of their power and longevity. Till recently, battery manufacturers were yet to invent dependable electric batteries that could bring electric vehicles at par with the fuel-driven cars. However, the production of electric cars have become more affordable in recent times and the main automobile manufacturers are expected to produce such electric cars on a large scale (Lampton, 2011). First Automobile powered by a Battery In 1873, R. Davidson of Edinburgh showed that a road vehicle could be driven by an electric battery. He experimented by driving a four-wheeler truck powered by a primary battery made of iron/zinc. After this, in 1881, G. Trouve of France constructed a tricyle, weighing 160 kilograms (350 pounds), which became the first vehicle to be driven with the help of a â€Å"secondary Plante battery†. Trouve utilized two customized Siemens motors to drive a huge propelling wheel with the help of two chains which in turn drove the tricycle. The Plante battery helped the motors to develop the strength of 1/10 horsepower which enabled the tricycle to move at a speed of 12 kilometres per hour (7 miles per hour). Later, Trouve demonstrated that electric batteries could be used to drive other forms of vehicles too. During the same year, he experimented by operating a motor boat on the river Sienne which was powered by electric batteries. In the following year (1882), Professors William Ayrton and John Perry of England, also demonstrated the utility of electric batteries in driving transport vehicles. They had also developed a tricycle powered by an electric battery which had a capacity of 1 ? kilowatt hour. This battery consisted of ten Plante type battery cells made up of lead/acid. Apart from this, the tricycle had a direct current (DC) motor having the strength of ? horsepower, which was fitted under the driver’s seat. The electric battery supplied a current of 20 volts to the DC motor which in turn propelled the vehicle. The tricycle could travel at a speed between 16 and 40 kilometers per hour (between 10 and 25 miles an hour), the speed varying according to the type of land terrain traversed. This speed could be regulated by switching the batteries sequentially in series (Westbrook, 2001, pp.9-10). How Electric Car Batteries are Made In the present-day world, the two most popular forms of electric car batteries are the â€Å"advanced nickel metal hybride ba ttery (NiMH)† and the â€Å"advanced automotive lithium ion (Li-ion) battery†. Majority of these two types of batteries are produced by firms in China,

African American Studies-Introduction to the Art of Africa Essay

African American Studies-Introduction to the Art of Africa - Essay Example Adult men in African wear most masks. Nevertheless, there are there is one mask that is not worn by men. The main purpose of this paper is to describe which mask is not worn by men. In addition, there will be an analysis of when the mask is worn as well as who wear the masks. Majority of masks are worn by men as they are the only people in the society who are permitted to conduct ritual activities. Most masks are worn in ceremonial dances, initiation ceremonies, during the war as a sign of being brave among other occasions. On the contrary, the Mende mask is worn exclusively by women (Foster 1). The Mende mask is worn by the Sande societies who are geographically located in the sub-Saharan Africa. To be precise, the Sande society is situated in Sierra Leone and Liberia. The Mende people are approximated to be around two million, and their primary economic activity is farming. In the Sande society, women used to perform rituals that required the appearance of the masked figure of the Mende helmet mask. Although there were many variations in carving styles and local practices due to their large population, their significance in performing the rituals was still felt by the Sande society (Schulze 1). In the Sande society, when women reached puberty, the initiation process begun. The goal of the initiation process was to teach young women some of the responsibilities of an adult Mende woman. These Mende girls are taught to be modest in behavior as well as being hardworking. During initiation ceremonies, The Mende women used to wear masks as a show of courage and determination. This was also to demonstrate to the young girls that they are entirely welcome into adulthood. The already initiated girl is then given a unique mask just for her that is carved from a section of a trunk of a tree. In most cases, the carving was made from cotton tree. Before the mask is carved, the woodcarver is let wait until he hears a scream from the girl as she undergoes

The Declaration of Independence Essay Example for Free

The Declaration of Independence Essay The Declaration of Independence maintained that the purpose of government is to protect their â€Å"unalienable rights,† chief among them being â€Å"life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. † As such, government is merely an institution crafted by the people, whose existence is entirely contingent upon the people it is designed to serve towards these ends. Therefore it is the responsibility of citizens to be ever vigilant of this government because the Declaration explicitly states that its authority comes from â€Å"the consent of the governed. † Should this government prove to be dysfunctional with regards to the functions it was created for, it becomes the right of these ‘governed’ to abolish the government and institute a new one in its place that fulfills the abovementioned mandate of protecting those rights. It is this fundamental conception of the function of government that maintains relevance in the 21st century moreso, as has been said ad infinitum ad nauseum, in the wake of 9/11. In an attempt to address the security of the nation-space, the government has taken measures that have effectively diminished personal liberties if not curtailed them entirely. As such, the functions of the government have increasingly turned towards protection of the state for its own sake, at the expense of the inalienable rights of citizens. In effect, the government leans towards self-preservation, towards a rigid but abstract notion of patriotism and nationalism and away from empowering those institutions under its jurisdiction whose primary aim is the self-fulfillment of its citizens. More of the budget is geared away from citizen welfare and more towards the military and state controls. This is not to suggest that the government must be abolished with the sheer force of tumultuous revolt, but rather that citizens recognize this disheartening trend and take action to reorient it back towards the purposes it was designed for in the first place. It is through re-awakening interactions that make for a healthy democracy, including the ballot box and beyond it in critical discourse.

The Purpose and Objectives of Annual Reports

The Purpose and Objectives of Annual Reports The literature review section talks about the background of research being undertaken. It provides an illustration about the importance of the different sections of the annual reports and the qualitative characteristics of information that make it useful for users of accounting information. Hence, it outlines on the previous research done on the study of annual reports and the importance of annual reports to users who have a reasonable knowledge in business, economics and accounting. The main purpose of annual reports The purpose of the annual report is to inform shareholders as to the financial status of a company. Coy and Pratt (1998) conclude that the annual report serve as a communication tool and determines the reality of the organization in the public mind. However for this reality to be recognized, it depends on the quality of information provided in the annual reports. Annual reports are extremely significant sources of company information (Stanga,1976). Furthermore studies by Chang and Most (1985) and Hawkins and Hawkins (1985) concluded that even though individual investors do not find the annual report useful in decision making and do not meet their information needs, still the annual report is the document used as reference for investors and managers. Though annual report is not the only source of information for a company, as in New Zealand newspapers and magazines were also found as a source of information, nevertheless the annual report is considered to be an important resource due to its large reporting and availability. Therefore the fundamental aims of preparing financial reports are for decision making and accountability. Accountability Annual reports are considered as the main accountability mechanism. In 1975, the American Accounting Association (AAA) defined the purpose of accounting as to provide information for making useful economic decisions and which, if provided will increase social welfare. Thus annual report can be one tool for communicating economic information to allow update decisions and judgements by users. According to Stanton and Stanton (2002) the annual report uses the tools of management, marketing and communication theory to construct a picture of the organization. Thus, annual report is a tool for a firm to classify its accountability for managing and controlling business activities. Moreover, a number of researchers (Winfield, 1978; Chang and Most, 1985; Boyne and Law, 1991), have noted the importance of annual reports as a vehicle releasing accountability. Furthermore accountability is involved in the monitoring, evaluation and control of organizational agents to make sure that they perform in the welfare of shareholders and other stakeholders (Keasey and wright,1993). It can be classified as a requirement for one party to another party for its performance over certain time. In short, accountability is simply a must to report upon as it gives an extent to which an entity has met its responsibilities towards its owners and to fulfill this role, financial reports should reflect the nature and extent of performance that are related to the entity. Moreover accountability requires broadening the capacity of disclosure beyond the financial focus to ensure that adequate and meaningful qualitative information is also contained in the annual report. Besides, the owners of the companies, the shareholders, have a right to know what actions and what developments are taking place within the organization. Thus, the organizations are accountable to its shareholders and the annual report plays a great role in conveying the firms performances to them. Decision making As per IAS 1, the financial statements objective is to offer and inform the performance and the evolution of the financial situation, that could be helpful to a wide range of potential users for evaluating and making economic decisions .It is further claimed that, when the general purpose of financial reports meet this objective, they will also enable entities to discharge accountability. Consequently the first aim of the Trueblood Report is the provision of information for economic decision making is being interpreted as being the primary function of financial statements. Hence financial reports should seek to satisfy the information needs of users. In 1989, the Solomons Report, commissioned by the ICAEW (1989) reaffirmed that decision usefulness is the fundamental aim of financial reporting. Financial reports should provide information that will be accommodating to several users who have interest in financial performance and making decisions about investing and lending. Gray (1994, pp9), have proved that accounting literature is presently dominated by the idea of decision usefulness which mean that financial reporting will have to be maintained in order to meet the need of all users of accounting information. It is seen that nowadays there has been a rise in the users of accounting information for decision making hence objectives of annual reports are regarded as the major means by which companies distribute information to the external users (Firth, 1979). OBJECTIVES OF ANNUAL REPORTS According to FASB the main goals of annual reports can be classified in three parts: Objectives for making potential economic decisions; Objective of providing information about the financial position, performance and changes in financial position of an entity; Objectives for presenting and disclosing of information. Hence it is the attributes of the qualitative characteristics that make accounting information to be useful in annual reports. Characteristics of accounting information The quality of the information provided in annual reports determines the usefulness of those reports to users. FASB and the IASB propose that if Financial Statement setters study the standards and qualitative features in the process of preparation of financial statements only then the financial station would give the true and fair view. Many researchers like (Alford et al. 1993, Amir et al. 1993, Banyopadhyay et al. 1994, Harris et al. 1994, Joos and Lang 1994, Barth and Clinch 1996, Joos 1997, Lewitt 1998 and Pope and Walker 1999) had conduct studies with the aim to identify higher quality as it is related to the ability of financial statements to pass useful information to the users. Hendriksen and Van Breda (1992, P.123), has described qualitative characteristics as components of accounting information which lean to improve its usefulness. The Corporate Report of the Accounting Standards Steering Committee, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), (1975) has identified seven qualitative characteristics viewed as desirable to make the annual reports useful: relevance; understandability; reliability; completeness; objectivity; comparability; timeliness. Relevance Relevance refers to the capacity of information to influence the decision making process of users. The Solomons Report (1989) has emphasized on this point: Relevance must come first, for if information is irrelevant, it does not matter what other qualities it has. FASB Concepts Statement 2,says in paragraph 27, to be relevant accounting information must be able to make a difference in a decision by facilitating users to form predictions about the result of past, present and future events. It also proposed that there is a trade-off between relevance and reliability that is accounting information should be both relevant and reliable. A number of research by Stanga (1980), and Mores and Duncan (1988) have already been conducted to deal with the issue of relevance and reliability and that optimistic association exists between the two, with minimum levels of reliability necessary to achieve relevance. UNDERSTANDABILITY Understandability is viewed as a user-specific property in the FASB model. Information cannot be useful to decision makers who cannot understand it, even though it may otherwise be relevant to a decision and be reliable. Information is understandable when users will be able to reasonably grasp its meaning. Thus useful information should be capable of being understood by users with reasonable knowledge of business and accounting and the way information is presented in annual reports. In addition, researchers like Subramanian, Insley, and Blackwell (1993), had evaluated the relationship between the performance of companies and the readability of their annual reports, concluding that the annual reports of companies that done well were easier to read than those of companies that did not perform well. RELIABILITY Reliability involves the completeness of information. Information is reliable when it is free from material error and bias and can be depended upon by users to signify faithfully. FASB has also concluded that verifiability is a major factor of reliability. Verifiability is the ability through consensus among measurers to guarantee that information represents what it purports to represent. It also focuses on whether a particular basis of measurement is properly pertained, rather than on whether it is appropriate. While Lev and Thiagarajan (1991) , got proof that the market does not retort to certain balance sheet information results of other studies suggested that it may wait until the balance sheet information shows up in future earnings which make accounting information more verifiable and reliable. COMPLETENESS Good Accounting information is complete when it provides all its potential users with all the required information that are vital to fulfill their needs and requirements. Moreover reported information in annual reports should provide a complete image of the activities of the organization. Completeness is also when all transactions and events that should have been recorded have been recorded and classified properly. It also assumed that there will be no error of omission in the information. Thus information in the financial reports must be complete within the bounds of materiality and cost is a vital element of faithful representation. OBJECTIVITY According to Hines (1991), it is in the benefit of accounting profession to publicly produce information that is objective. Financial information being objective means it should be free from bias in accounting decisions and shall be a measurement of having supporting proof. In other words together with objectivity, information should be both reliable and uniform. COMPARABILITY Comparability is the quality of information that allows users to identify similarities in and differences between two sets of economic phenomena. Moreover compliance with accounting standards helps to attain comparability. Thus, information about an entity gains more importance if it can be contrasted with similar information about other entities and with similar information about the same entity for some other period or some other point in time. Comparability is different from consistency because comparability is the goal while consistency is a means to achieve that goal. Users must be informed of the accounting policies used in the preparation of financial statements, any changes in those policies and the effects of those changes. However it is argued that any consideration of comparability must come after relevance and faithful representation. As noted by Sterling, Robert, R (1985), Comparability alone cannot make information relevant. TIMELINESS Timeliness is considered an ancillary aspect of relevance. Timeliness is about having relevant information available sooner before it loses capacity to influence decisions. Kross and Schroeder, (1984), indicated that the timeliness of annual reports is relative to the abnormal return around the release date of reports, corporations that released their annual reports earlier held higher cumulative abnormal returns than that of later releases. Researchers like Dyer Iv, and McHugh (1975),Whittred (1980) and Dwyer, and Wilson (1989), found that timeliness is affected by factors reporting lag such as auditing opinion, profitability and company size. Therefore the use of technology may enhance position of all users and improve regularity of timeliness with which information is received. In addition to the qualitative characteristics mentioned above, there is two more qualities proposed in the accounting literature which is essential; they are faithful representation and materiality. FAITHFUL REPRESENTATION Faithful representation is attained when information is representing faithfully the transactions and other actions it either claims to represent or could reasonably be expected to represent. However faithful representation does not mean total freedom from error in the representation of an economic phenomenon because economic phenomenon presented in financial reports is normally evaluated under conditions of uncertainty. Thus, to attain a faithful representation, it sometimes may be essential to clearly disclose the degree of uncertainty in the reported financial information. MATERIALITY Materiality does not involve only relevance but also faithful representation. Information is material if it could persuade users decisions taken on the basis of the annual reports. Materiality depends on the nature and amount of the item in case of omission or misstatement. It forms the threshold for recognition of information and only material information is contained in the annual reports. According to SEC (1999), is a symmetric in emphasizing that small misstatements may be material for qualitative reasons but SAB 99 is silent on whether, and when, a quantitatively large error could be immaterial, (Taub 2007). Thus, many registrants and practitioners consider that this guidance prevents judging quantitatively large misstatements to be immaterial. COMPONENTS OF ANNUAL REPORTS The annual report encloses a huge amount of information about a company. As formal communication documents the annual reports also contains quantitative information, narratives, photographs and graphs. There have been several survey-based studies in accounting conducted that the annual reports is useful source of information (e.g., Briggs, 1975; Lee and Tweedie, 1975, 1976,1981; Anderson and Epstein, 1995; Abu Baker and Naser 2000; Ho and Wong 2004). Ho and Wong (2004) conducted a research in Hong Kong and concluded that annual reports are consisted of high value of information in comparison to other sources, even though the respondents are not fully satisfied with the amount of information disclosed. Thus in Mauritius, the section 221 of the CA 01 specifies the contents of an annual report. Hence it includes the following: Chairmans Report Lee and Tweedie (1975), Barlett and Chander, 1997, p.246 found that the most common read sections of the annual reports is the chairmans statement .This was attributed to the simplicity of the chairmans report, which clarifies the more technical information, contained in other parts of the report. On the other hand, Wilton and Tabb(1978) surveyed about 300 shareholders and concluded that the chairmans report was the most widely read followed by the income statement. However, Barlett and Chander have also disclosed that the majority of respondents in their sample desired less information in the form of a summary report rather than the annual report itself. Directors Report The Directors report supply useful information to investors about the activities of the company, the dividend policy and information about the decision makers of the company. Anderson (1998) spot out that despite majority of investors found the basic financial statements to be most valuable, the most thoroughly items read in the annual report are the directors report. Lee and Tweedie (1975) found that the executives report was of great to less importance, over one-third of the respondents believed the directors report to be of no value. Corporate Governance Report Corporate governance (CG) has been a foremost policy issue in developed market economies for more than a decade. Hashim (2009) defines CG as a combination of processes and structures conducted by the board of directors to authorize, direct and oversee management towards the achievement of the organizations objectives. The Report on Corporate Governance for Mauritius, states that companies that are listed on the Stock Exchange of Mauritius shall abide to all provision of the code and there should be a separate corporate governance section in the annual report. Dividend policy, Directors profile and going concern of the corporate governance report might be useful to user of accounts. Shareholders will attain valuable information about the amount and timing for payment of dividends declared by the company. On the other hand the disclosure of the qualifications and experience of the board members is useful to investors as such information specify that people with required experience, qualifications and integrity are managing the company hence it boost up the confidence of shareholders. Cohen, Krishnamoorthy and Wright (2004) recommend that CG can be one of the main functions in ensuring the quality of financial reporting. Auditors Report The auditors are required to report to the shareholders of the company as to whether in their opinion the financial statements have been prepared accordingly with the accounting standards and whether they give a true and fair view of the transactions of the company. The fundamental aspects of an Auditors report are set by ISA 700-The Auditors Report on Financial Statements. This ISA gives guidance on the type and content of the auditors report as a result of an audit carry out. The auditors report was the most understandable section of the annual report while the balance sheet was the forth (Nasser and Rutherfords 1996). Hence it is useful to users of accounts as it offers assurance that the users are making economic decisions based on reliable information. However, Bartlett and Chandler (1997) found that the auditors report was read the least by individual shareholders. Corporate social responsibilities (CSR) CSR can be described as the process of communicating the social and environmental effects of organisations economic actions to particular interest groups within society (Gray et al 1996 p.3). Corporate social disclosure is referred as the provision of financial and non financial information that intend to discharge social accountability of an organisation (Gray et al 1987).Gelb and Strawser (2001) states that CSR disclosure is a form of socially responsible behaviour, thus by providing more information to the public will help companies to meet their responsibilities towards their stakeholders in a better manner. However research studies have shown that most users use the information of financial statements for financially based decisions. IAS 1, of IASB, 2004: (para.7) states that the objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, financial performance and cash flows of an entity that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions. So the financial statements are made as follows: Statement of financial position Statement of comprehensive income Statement of changes in equity Statement of cash flow Notes to the accounts Statement of financial position This statement provides a snapshot summary of what a business owns or is owed-assets-and what it owes-liabilities-at a particular date thus it is referred as a statement of net worth. It shows how solvent a business is, how liquids its assets are and how much capital is being spent. It also consists of non-current assets, current assets, capital and reserves, non-current liabilities and current liabilities. The non-current can be classified as assets that are not quickly and easily realizable, and current assets are assets that can be readily convertible into cash within a short time. Furthermore share capital represents amount receives in respect of shares issued by a particular company, non-current liabilities and current liabilities are obligations that are not aimed to be liquidated within a year and one that are expected to be settled within one year respectively. Statement of comprehensive income The main purpose of the comprehensive income statement is to report a companys earnings over some pointing period of time. This statement reflects the companys revenues, expenses and earnings; it gives information about the financial performance of a company. Users of accounts who are concerned about the profitability can obtain relevant information in the comprehensive income statement and they can make use of ratios to take out information they need therein. Statement of changes in equity IAS 1 requires that companies should prepare a statement of changes in equity to be presented with the same value as the other primary statements. According to Barry and Jamie Elliot this statement is vital because a quantity of gains and losses are required by law or accounting standards to be managed through directly with reserves, so as to prevent the financial statement from being incomplete. The shareholders acquire more information about any changes made to share capital, retained earnings, revaluation reserves, share premium other reserves and to proposed dividends. Sometimes gains and losses may be easily traced by reserve accounting, which permits items to bypass the income statement. Hence the statement of changes in equity provides more transparency in reporting these gains or losses. Statement of cash flow Section 217 of the CA 01 requires all companies to include in their annual report a statement of cash flow and the latter should be prepared in accordance with IAS 7. The purpose of IAS 7 is to include the provision of information about the historical changes in cash and cash equivalents of a company by means of a statement of cash flow. Cash flow statement has become useful sources of information for users (Day (1986) and Yap (1997)). Thus cash flows are classifies during a period from: operating activities-the cash effects of transactions concerning trading activities; investing activities-cash flows from the purchase and sales of non-current assets and short term investments; financing activities-involve receipts from or refund to external providers of finance in respect of the primary amount. Notes to the accounts Notes to the accounts can be refers as explanatory notes that accompany the financial statements. These are intended to give further detail of the items appearing in the financial statements, to provide surplus information, to represent attention of related party transactions and to give existence of interest to stakeholders, other than the shareholders. It includes the IAS, concepts, depreciation policies and methods of valuation that an entity has used. Furthermore studies conducted by Anderson (1981), found that the most readable sections of the annual report were seen to be the balance sheet, profit and loss account, notes to the accounts, and the chairmans statement respectively. The comprehensive income statement, however, was seen to be more essential than the balance sheet. However this author failed to carry out any test whether there are major differences between the users usage of annual reports sections and on the other hand observed its importance of those sections. Epstein and Pava (1993) has developed on the work of Epstein (1975) and found that there has been an increased in the importance of annual report as a source of information. Furthermore, they found that the importance of the balance sheet had extended, and that over the same period the perceived usefulness of the income statement had declined. Anderson and Epstein (1995) argued that in Australia they found that the comprehensive income is more useful in making an investment decision rather than the directors report. In this respect the respondents had also demand for simplification and more explanation of the balance sheet, statement of cash flow, and the income statement. In another study by, Abdelsalam (1990ÂÂ ­) it was highlighted that the comprehensive income and information about the future of the company as well as information about directors was seen to be important part of the annual report. Ba-owaidan (1994) also found the profit and loss account to be the most influential part of the annual report followed by the balance sheet but has also concludes that some respondents faced some problems in understanding the contents of the annual reports. The Kruskal Wallis test revealed that the cash flow section was the only section of the annual report that the user groups have significant differences regarding its value. This is not surprising as the findings reported by Lee and Tweedie (1975), Wilton and Tabb (1978) and Yap (1997) for developed countries disclosed that individual and institutional investors have little interest in the cash flow statement and may not rely upon, as they are not a sophisticated group. In New Zealand, Chang and Most (1985), disclosed that newspapers and magazines were the preferred source of information and the comprehensive income statement was found as the main statement in the annual report for decision making. Moreover, Anderson (1979) and Courtis (1982) also found that the balance sheet and the profit and loss statement were regarded as the two most essential statements for decision-making. In addition, Anderson and Epsteins (1997) study revealed that in Australia, New Zealand and US, the comprehensive income and financial position statement were ranked as the most essential items but the cash flow was less important to New Zealand and Australian investors than to US respondents. Moreover, Stephen L.Buzby carried a research in 1974 on the usefulness of annual reports and his aim was to find the perceptions of professional financial analyst on selected items in the annual reports. To summarize Daniels and Daniels (1991) found that information present in financial statements is important and very useful but not sufficient enough to evaluate the financial condition of a company. USERS OF ACCOUNTS According to IASB, financial information is prepared for users, presuming that they have a reasonable knowledge of business and economic activities and accounting and a willingness to study the information with reasonable diligence. The different users and their needs are identified below: Investors Investors need information to decide whether they should continue to invest in an entity, to assess whether that particular organization will be able to pay out dividends as well as how the enterprise has been managed. The investors require information about profitability, volumes, sales, amounts invested, assets owned, share price and information about competitors. Epstein and Pava (1993) document that individual investors demand for more financial and non financial information in the annual reports. Shareholders Shareholders are the owners of the company. Thus, they have the right to receive dividends from the companys profit. Information in annual reports is very important to shareholders as profit acts as an indicator of the amount of dividends they ought to obtain. According to Cook and Sutton (1995), companies should prepare summary annual reports based on information requirements of shareholders in order to satisfy their needs. Thus, companies should disclose essential piece of information in a clear and understandable format that will enhance the relevance and value of annual reports in communicating company information to shareholders. Lenders and Financial institutions Lenders such as insurance companies, pension funds use FS information to decide the loan amount, the interest rate and security needed for business loan and they should also make sure whether the company would be able to repay back both the principal amounts and the interests payments. The key accounting information for lenders is therefore: Cash flow Investment requirements in business Thus such information required by lenders is available in the annual report. Employees Employees demand annual report for the stability and profitability of the business. They are interested in information about employment prospects, security of their jobs and retirement benefits. Furthermore, Clark and Craig (1991) conclude that relevant information for investors is also relevant for employees. Government The government group makes use of an annual report for tax purposes. The tax authorities such as the Inland Revenue needs information on the profitability of an entity to levy corporation tax and custom and excise make use of information to check VAT returns. Hence tax authorities use FS information as a source for enhancing social welfare by establishing tax policies. Public The public are usually considered as stakeholders and businesses form part of society at large and as a result create much public interest. Marston and Shrives (1991, pp196), found annual report as the main document available for the public thus is being regarded as the main disclosure vehicle. Moreover despite some improvements has taken place in reporting in recent years, the users groups of annual reports wish to have more information than is currently provided (Abu-Nassar and Rutherford, 1996; Hatif and Al-Zubaidi, 2000; Naser and Nuseibeh, 2003). On the other hand, Dye and Bowsher (1987) concluded that most users seek an annual report to include other information that will enhance their understanding. Hay and Antonio (1990) found that users demand for highly detailed disclosures in annual reports. In addition users want information on future prospects, company products, publication of quarterly reports and management audit reports (Anderson 1981). Furthermore Benston (1976) reported that annual report were the least important source of information compared to financial press and newspaper reports. In summary, results from preceding studies shows that users believed that annual reports is the main sources of information; though each section was not considered as of equal significance. The results also disclose a necessity to establish some changes to the annual reporting that allow the information to be more understandable and sufficient for potential users.

Capital vs. Labor Essay -- Economy, Stock Market

Chapter 19 of Liberty, Equality, and Power, asks what the most significant ways in which the ongoing struggle between capital and labor reshaped American society during the late 19th century (Murrin, 523). In response, one of the most important contributions was the introduction of new technologies utilized primarily in factories. This in turn lead to the revolutionizing of production lines, and corporations. This domino effect continued on to spur the birth of unions in the United States, who organized rebellions against corporate power still used today. Finally during this time women underwent a transformation of their civil rights, as well as their role in society. The introduction of new technologies was a double-edged sword in forming society. On one note, inventions like the phonograph, or the electric dynamo brought entertainment and commonplace items to the middle class, as well as household appliance to today's society. Another benefit, included the shift from steam engines to that of internal combustion, seen in automobiles (500). On another side, factories became more efficient by means such as the open-hearth process used in steel mills, leading to lower wages, and longer hours for workers (500). Although the first example has provided today’s society with modern appliances, the latter was more significant during the early 19th century. Now that production lines were more prominent, workers no longer needed to be skilled in multiple jobs, and in turn they were easily replaced by those willing to work for the lowest price. As factory operators pushed their employees to work longer and harder in order to increase profits, unions were formed. An example of this would be the fraternal organizat... ...found that the book gave perspective to each of the individual classes, rather than covering only the bourgeois or the proletariat. Today you will scarcely find a job or institution were women are not allowed, had I not read this chapter it would have been very difficult for me to understand what women at this time went through. Understanding how the people of this time period lived allows me to relate this information to today’s society. This will aid me for the exam by allowing me to connect with these events, in a very personal manner. However I believe that if there were more potential questions at the end of the chapters it would provide more food for thought, and better help one learn the material. Furthermore being able to use more outside material for this assignment, would have led to a more diversified view, as well as more supported arguments.

Ancient Sculpture And Architecture :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ziggurats were used in ancient times for purposes of worship and to fulfill spiritual needs. One example, The Pyramid of the Magician, has a legend attached to it depicting the god Itzamna who had single-handedly built it in one night. The Pyramid of the Magician is, by 100 feet, the tallest architectural structure in the city of Uxmal on the Yucatan peninsula. Interestingly enough, the pyramid has a stairwell that faces the setting sun on summer solstice. Also of note, the whole city is perfectly aligned to mimic how the planets were thought to lie in the solar system at the time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the top of most Ziggurats, there were sanctuaries that were dedicated to the protective gods and/or goddesses of that particular city. The buildings were normally magnificent in size and the stairways leading up to the sanctuaries normally consisted of a very long series of steps. Experts feel that this symbolism represents how various peoples wished to unite the heavens and the earth.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As ancient as Ziggurats may seem, they can easily be compared to modern day churches and place of worship. Modern day churches are used presently as places where people can worship their god, who is felt to protect and watch over them; highly comparable to the purpose of the ancient Ziggurats. Not only are their purposes analogous, but their appearances can also be similar. For instance, most modern day places of worship have some sort of symbolic representation of their god near or at the very top of the building. This may seem commonplace to most, but perhaps the origin of the influence comes from the ancient architects. The long and high stairways of most Ziggurats can be compared to the symbolism that we, today, use near the top of churches.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Along the same lines of thought, modern day churches also normally possess some sort of symmetry, whether it is to the surroundings or within the structure itself. This can be paralleled to the Pyramid of the Magician in that that structure was symmetrical to the solar system. Most modern day facilities, however, have symmetrical attributes to their outer appearance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Church architecture could be researched in depth, but the purpose here is to express some similarities between the ancient centers of worship and modern day facilities. One such example could be the prevalent grand expanse. Perhaps this attribute is to accommodate for the large amount of worshippers, which does not seem to fluctuate in accordance with history.

Are Leaders Born or Made Essay

People have debated whether leaders are born or made for centuries. However, I am absolutely convinced that good leaders are made than born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. â€Å"Good leaders can develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training and experience† (Jago, 1982). To inspire workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things a leader must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their laurels. Definition of Leadership Before we get started, let’s define and understand about leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. In the field of organizational learning, leadership entered the discussion as a proxy for the organization. Initial concepts of leadership in organizational learning were based on the notion of the dominant coalition. Organizational learning theorists had suggested that the senior management team, or dominant coalition, was in fact the organization level of organizational learning. Moreover, leadership has been described as the â€Å"process of social influence in which one person enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. According to Ken â€Å"SKC† Ogbonnia, â€Å"effective leadership is the ability to successfully integrate and maximize available resources within the internal and external environment for the attainment of organizational or society goal. Charismatic Leaders are made but not born. However, there are many well-educated and motivated people who lack of the knowledge to lead others. So they don’t assume leadership positions, or if they do, they don’t do very well in them. Thus, to become a made leader, we need to know about the characteristic of a leader for us to learn and explore from there. Having charisma is an important quality to any successful leader, that’s all highly successful people must develop to maximize their success in leadership roles, as well as use it to gain a great advantage over their competition. Charisma can be explained as an indefinable personal magnetism that helps draw people to you, and makes them want to cooperate and work with you to accomplish your dreams. To increase your own level of charisma, you must first be confidence in your own vision. If you have a clear vision of what you want to accomplish, then you need to focus on setting goal for yourself, and make plan to achieve them without delay. The clearer you are about your purpose, and how you are planning to achieve it, will naturally to attract others to help and support you in any way they can. However, some say charismatic is born but not made. Yes, it’s. But without the born charisma, you can also increase the level of you charisma by talking and interaction with other, certain interactions and rewards increase starting relationships, such as a Celebrity using a Charming Introduction will instantly have a new friend. Charisma skill-building requires friends and relationships to progress. Personality and Physical Build Besides, the personality is also an important element to become a made leader, great leaders must have the ability to project themselves, to communicate with subordinates in order to accomplish a task by teamwork. The dictionary definition of personality is the collection of emotional and behavioural traits that characterize a person. That is, your personality is how you present yourself to the world. It is how others see you. Is that important for leadership effectiveness? I think so. Your public persona is the catalyst for enrolling followers. For example, you might be typically dominant, or perhaps you’re always a friendly person, or even someone who takes very few risks. These examples are personality traits. You may also simply improve your personality by your appearance such as dress up and make up well as the appearance oneself always the first impression they given to other. Aside of personality, physical build is also a trait of characteristic for being a leader, this can be made and improved by one self. For example, the children now are mostly taller and stronger than their parents because of the better knowledegement care. Talent, skills and knowledge Beyond the personal traits of a leader, leadership talent, skills and knowledge someone must master if they want to be a leader. Leadership talent is those innate traits that a person is born with but which they need to work on to develop their potentiality, Leadership skills are learned behaviours that a person practices and hones over time. And leadership knowledge is acquired learning about the methods, strategies, successes and failures of other leaders in business and in different walks of life. The traits include intelligence, creativity, diplomacy, persuasiveness, and organizational ability. The difference of the three is an intrinsic character of the leader and the latter two are learned. And an effective leader combines all three: harnessing mixture of their natural characteristic, their learned replicable behaviors, and their mental data and learning into their own unique way to expressing themselves as a leader. Knowing well of the managerial function Besides, knowing well of the managerial function is also a must for a made leader. From day-to-day operating, they should be able to learn about planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling in order to lead their subordinates in an effective way. Planning refers to anticipate the opportunity, problems and conditions and choosing from among the alternative of future courses or actions. That includes forecasting, programming, scheduling and etc. The organization functions consist of developing the organization, delegating authority and establishing relations. Staffing is about planning the organization with suitable personnel constitutes the staffing function. Direction function involves managing people and work through the means of motivation, proper leadership, effective communication and coordination. Controlling function enables management to ensure the achievement is in accordance with the established plans. Communication skill Moreover, to be a made leader, we should train ourselves to make effective communication thru experience. The communication skill can definitely be improved if you have the desire to do it, a smart leader must always the â€Å"30 seconds message† which transmitting the most important message within the shortest time. Effective communication is more than just being able to speak and write. A leader’s communication must move people to work toward the goal the leader has chosen. Besides that, a leader has to be able to motivate everyone to contribute. Each of us have different â€Å"button†, a great leader should knows how to push to right button on everyone to make them really want to do their best to achieve the leader’s goal. This is definitely not born because leader could press the right buttons on everyone through understanding their personality. Honesty and Integrity, Forward looking, Independence and Innovation. In addition, the characteristic of a leader is also consisted by honesty and integrity, forward looking, independence and innovation. Once should not even be considered to become a leader without having demonstrated the honesty, integrity and trustworthiness to have and maintain a position of public trust. At all levels, individuals with integrity and honesty show moral courage by doing the right thing even when it is not popular or by expressing dissent when actions or pending decisions would violate organizational and/or constitutional values, laws, and regulations. In addition, they confront unethical behavior in others. Furthermore, the honestly and integrity is about following rules and regulation, this is made as we have no choice but have to follow the rules and regulation of the organization. As a great leader, we always need to be forward-looking toward any issue or problem. When people do not consider their leader forward-looking, that leader is usually suffering from one of two possible problems which are the leader doesn’t have a forward-looking vision and the leader is unwilling or scared to share the vision with others. The forward-looking attitude can be influenced by those people who are surrounding us with positive-minded, this can be made but not born. Last but not least, a great leader is also an innovator. Innovation is about making new tools, products and process, bring forth something â€Å"new† which allows human being to accomplish something they were not able to accomplish previously. We can be innovation through study, research, discuss and deliberated from past experience. Leaders must be tough enough to fight, tender enough to cry, human enough to make mistakes, humble enough to admit them, strong enough to absorb the pain, and resilient enough to bounce back and keep on moving. Leaders must be tough enough to fight, tender enough to cry, human enough to make mistakes, humble enough to admit them, strong enough to absorb the pain, and resilient enough to bounce back and keep on moving. Leader is made because a person becomes a leader through life and work experiences, through mentors and personal reflection. Leader takes time to develop and they were made just like anything else, through hard work. If you are given a chance, you practice, you can also be a leader.