Gun Violence Problems And Solutions - 1215 Words

Caitlyn Curran Mrs.Gallos English 3 Honors 2 May 2016 Gun Violence The Problems and Solutions Gun violence has been around for centuries and there have been many mass shootings, homicides and suicides. There is always the argument on â€Å"do guns kill people† or â€Å"do people kill people†? What people really need to be looking at is the problem which is people stocking up on guns and not knowing how to properly handle them and all the mass shootings that are taking place. As a country, people need to be coming up with solutions instead of doing nothing. Gun violence has been on the rise for many years and there seems to be no solution. People feel more protected with guns in their home, but actually this increases their risk to be in harm’s way of being hurt or killed because of the gun. The majority of gun ownership is owned by civilians â€Å"75 percent of the world’s 875 million guns are civilian controlled†(Gun Violence). People also feel more protected when they carry a gun on their person but this also increases their risk of being harmed â€Å"Philadelphia study found that the odds of an assault victim being shot were 4.5 times greater if he carried a gun and that his odds of being killed were 4.2 times greater when armed†(Gun Violence). If people knew that it increases their risk of being killed then not very many people will carry a gun around. Mass shootings have been occurring more and more over the past few years †steadily declined between 1994 and 2007, rising betweenShow MoreRelatedWha t We Don t Know About Guns1317 Words   |  6 PagesAcademic Summary: In the article, â€Å"What We Don’t Know About Guns,† by Ted Alcorn discusses the common denominator in most gun related accidents. Last year at least 278 children accidently fired a gun and injured or killed someone. We found that the main problem for this is irresponsible gun storage. According to surveys about 15% of gun owning households with children store their guns unlocked and loaded. It is tracked that about two-thirds of all the unintentional child shootings came from the thoseRead MoreI.(Grabber) Guns Kill About 33.000 People Per Year In The1208 Words   |  5 PagesI. (grabber) Guns kill about 33.000 people per year in the United States, and 22,000 deaths are suicides while 11,000 are homicides. Guns also cause indiscriminate murders, mass shootings and other gun deaths related to America. While the Congress has imposed regulations to counter assault weapons, they have not properly prohibited individuals from getting guns. It remains clearly that despite th e efforts to close the loopholes of gun control, handguns still are highly responsible for most killingsRead MoreThe Issue Of Gun Violence953 Words   |  4 Pages Gun Violence Guns have been is society for centuries. They have been used for hunting, war, and even safety. However, in the past several years they have begun to take the lives of many innocent victims, often young children. In response to the killings in Newtown, Conn., it has been noted, â€Å"If this were a country, the number of children killed by gun violence would violate international law.† (Browne-Marshall) F.B.I. data shows in 2011,Read MoreArgumentative Essay On Gun Control1321 Words   |  6 Pagesof their beloved ones. Politicians start debating on gun policy, again, arriving at no solution. This has been America’s reality for the past decades. The problem in which lobbyists and a dominant minority stop any attempt to find a solution. Dan Gross, as president of the Brady Campaign, is seeking to promote sensible gun control in the United States. Mr. Gross advocates for gun control and for laws that put a stop to the gun violence problem (Ted Talk). Another article by Tom McCarthy in The GuardianRead MoreGun Control Is A Topic That Has Created Many Discussions949 Words   |  4 PagesGun control is a topic that has created many discussions in the story to those who can carry them or not since the US is one of the countries where access to all individuals is allowed without the due restrictions. Because of this, every day is more devastating when we hear about a massacre. Unfortunately, America has become in a little time in the country that leads the list of countries where more violent success occurred due to what is happening to our society. America s gun problem is completelyRead MoreGun Control Laws And Better Education On The United States1376 Words   |  6 PagesDemand a Plan† have pop out against gun violence ; nearly one million Americans have signed on to the coalition s. The incidence of homicides committed with guns in the U.S. is greater than other developed countries. Every day of the year, an average of 33 Americans are killed with guns. The gun violence is violence which committed with use of a gun to committee illegal activities such as homicides or drugs trade . This phenomenon is not only affects guns dealers, but also the security andRead MoreThe Problem Of Gun Control1014 Words   |  5 Pageslargest issues being discussed today is how can we effectively control guns and limit, or eliminate, gun violence. There is a very large amount of solutions out there, some that are good and some that are not so good. The solutions I have found and will discuss in this paper have been proposed by Todd Miller of Huffington Post, Evan DeFilipps of Washington Post, and Matthew DesChamps of Stamford Advocate. The solutions these authors have proposed just do not solve this issue in the right wayRead MoreThe Problem Of The Gun Violence Problem1577 Words   |  7 PagesThe Gun Violence Problem There have been 46 school shootings so far this year, with an average of about one a week. This is an absolutely mind blowing statistic., Nno other countries in the world have such a major problem. (Carissimo). I aimed to pursue this broad problem, and to discover why the U.S. has such a problem with mass shootings. and I wondered if there a way to fix this permeating issue or will it continue to eat away at America. How many more lives will be lost until, we as a countryRead MoreArgumentative Essay On Gun Violence759 Words   |  4 Pages Upon reading the article, â€Å"What If We Treated Gun Violence Like A Public Health Crisis?† and watching the news every now and then, there are many major tragedies surrounding around us. It is absolutely scary, and only seems to be getting worse. The article starts off with the statement that, â€Å"More than 30,000 people a year are killed by gun violence,† making it clear just how serious the situation pertaining gun violence is (Kodjak, 2017, p. 1). Yet, this statistic does not even take into considerationRead MoreEssay on Gun Violence: Should We or Shouldnt We1207 Words   |  5 PagesGun Violence: Should We or Shouldn’t We? The issue of gun control has been a very important topic following the Sandy Hook Elementary School and Aurora, Colorado movie theater shootings just last year. We all feel compassionate for the families of these Americans whose lives were taken in the most horrifying way. We are all too familiar with the saying â€Å"guns don’t kill people, people kill people,† my goal is to find some validity to this statement. The most prevalent question is whether the problem

Principles of Auditing and Assurance

Question: Explain why an understanding of the governance of an audit client is important in assessing the clients business risk.Explain why the auditors understanding of business risk is relevant to public expectations of the audit process.Identify the three potential audit risk areas and evaluate the implications of your analysis on the year-end audit testing. Identify the accounts likely to be affected, the impact of the affect and the assertion that is at risk.Give examples of at least 3 types of transactions that would occur at Fitness for Life.Explain what could go wrong with these transactions if the system of internal controls could not meet any of the seven generally accepted objectives of internal controls.Generate a list of possible audit procedures that could be used by the audit team to test the controls in the clients sales software application. Answer: Principles and recommendations Corporate governance has set some principles. These principles are made after making recommendations. Companies that were listed on the Australian stock exchange and which were on the way to get listed on the stock exchange gave their view, feedback and recommendations. After considering the views of al such companies the Board made certain rules and regulations which were to be compulsorily followed by all the companies that want to be listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. These recommendations were made after considering the recommendations of the investors also. The company has to compulsorily disclose the following The members present in the Board Duties, responsibilities and authority of each member The powers, functions and other matters that delegated to other managers Principles and Recommendations the if not, why not approach It is the overall responsibility of the Board that to select the principles from the list of corporate governances framed by the Board. The directors are free to select any of them and implement the same. But this is the most relevant and significant concern for the members of the Board. The Board holds a fiduciary position. They are the trustees of the assets of the company so they should use the resources and their powers are diligent manner as it is in overall benefit of the company. It us the duty of the Board to conduct the business of the company in a fair manner by utilizing the resources of the company in optimum manner As per the Principles and Recommendations, when the board of directors came to know that the company and its council recommendation is not proper for the above circumstances which are shown in the company and they recommend that not to adopt such policy. If the company is adopting that than it has to give the reason that why it has not accepted the recommendation which was provided to them by using the approach of if not, why not. All the stakeholders like creditors, shareholders, debenture holders, government, etc. must communicate with the management of the company over the matters of governance. Based on the above principles the investor can decide their vote regarding in the favor or against of a particular resolution The basic decision can be taken by the investor of future investors regarding whether to invest in the company or not Hence the if not, why not method is vital to the operation of the Principles and Recommendations. There are certain rules to be followed for getting the company to be listed over the Australian Stock Exchange. The company has to include the corporate governance principles that it follows in its annual reports and the same should be verified by the auditor. In many cases the Board of corporate governance made some recommendations to the company regarding following certain principles and not certain others, the company should state in the annual report the extent to which it agrees and implement not only the recommendations but also other principles. The company further has to show in the annual report the reasons that it feel for not accepting the recommendations of the Board ASA 260 Communication with those charged with Governance This auditing standard is made and issued by ASA. This imposes certain mandatory duties over the auditor by assigning him or her responsibility to compulsorily communicate with Those Charged With Governance which conducting an audit of financial statements of such company. This auditing standard focuses mainly on the communication between two persons. One is the auditor and the other is Those Charged With Governance (TCWG). Certain recommendations are as follows Both the parties should be involved in conducting the audit of financial statement for a particular year. This requires an auditor to be independent while conducting the audit and he should follow integrity principles while conducting the audit It is the duty of Those Charged With Governance (TCWG) to provide required information to the auditor that will helps him to conduct the audit in a timely manner Provide the auditor with a platform where he can identify the errors or fraud conducted by the management of a company and can report to Those Charged With Governance (TCWG). It is left at the discretion of the auditor to select the person with whom he will communicate while conducting the audit. The auditor will communicate the findings to such person. He will also communicate the weaknesses in the internal control system with the auditor. The person may be head of the audit committee or any independent director. They both will determine what aspects to be communicated with the other members and what not. In some cases where the business is small and the owner is himself involved in all the activities then the standard requires communication with such person Such matter is been noted in paragraph 16(c) of this Standard of auditing. ASA 315 Identifying and Assessing the Risk of Material Misstatement through understanding the entity and its environment. This standard compulsorily requires the auditor to conduct a risk assessment in order to satisfy himself that the financial statements of the company are free from frauds or any other material misstatements and such should be conducted at all levels of audit. These procedures are as follows Analysis to satisfy the auditor that the financial statements are free from material misstatements Analytical procedures. (Para. A14-A17) Observation and inspection. (Para. A18) In large businesses the company has a separate audit department which regularly performs audit functions and does the risk analysis. This department is in direct touch with the Board of Directors. This department ensures that the reporting is transparent, the internal controls are effective and the committee is independent. Audit Risk The auditor faces certain limitations while conducting an audit of an organization. These are Lack of time to conduct 100% audit He has to depend on sample which may be such that does not represent total population Crucially made frauds and misstatements cannot be discovered by the auditor There is a huge time gap between the recording of a transaction and auditing the same Auditor is not a blood hound. He is just a watch dog All these limitations posses risk of giving incorrect opinion on the financial statements based on which the shareholders take decision to invest or not. This is called audit risk. There are certain tools which will help the auditor to reduce the risk up to an acceptable level. The level after which the risk cannot be reduced is called residual risk. The audit risk ha two parts Incorrect evaluation of financial statements. Placing over reliance on some aspects and under reliance on other aspects Risk of affirmations which was created due to evaluation of financial documents. The very basic purpose of the audit is to check out any material inconsistency termed as misstatement and to communicate the same to the stakeholders in the form of audit report. Audit report is the tool through which the auditor communicates with the stakeholders. There are various types of audit risk. The major ones are as follows Inherent Risk: It assumes that there are no internal controls in the entitys environment. This will help the auditor to know those material areas which are prone to misstatements Control Risk: This assumes that in spite of having strong control the misstatement would be such that it will not be controlled by the entitys internal controls. It may be detected but will not be controlled Detection risk: This means the misstatement may not be detected by the internal controls of the company After conducting an analysis of the ratios provided in the question, the potential risk that prevails in the current structure of the company is as follows: Net Profit Ratio: it is a ratio of net profit to sales. We can see that in the year 2013, the company earned profit. Profit was less i.e. 3% of sales but in the current year we see that the company has incurred loss. This is 1% of sales. Normally we see a positive relationship between the advertising expenditure and the turnover of a company. As the advertising expenditure increases the turnover also increases as the product becomes more popular. But in the case of this company we see that the ratio has fallen down in spite of a rise in the expenditure on advertising. Each product has its life cycle. The product of the company may at declining stage because only at this stage we notice that even though after incurring huge expenditure on advertising the company is still incurring losses. Or it might be so that a new competitor has entered the market. Whatsoever may be the reason, it is posing a big risk to the company. D/E ratio (Debt Equity Ratio) Having leverage in the capital structure is advantageous to the company. The interest that it pays to the lenders provides benefit in the form of tax savings. So a levered firm is better than an unlevered firm. But the company should ensure that it has a liquidity ratio of more than 2 because payment of interest is revenue expenditure so the company has to regularly pay interest on monies borrowed. In our case the current ratio is more than 2 so it is good for the company. But what we have noticed is that the D/E ratio has increased from 3.25 times to 5 times. The company has to pay huge interest to the money lenders. Though there is a tax saving but there wont be anything left for the shareholders or for transferring into reserves. So there is a risk that as the company will pay less dividends the market price of shares may fall. The company is incurring loss so it may happen that in the coming years it wont be able to pay interest or any principal installment. This may reduce the c redit worthiness of the company Return on Assets This has fallen down from 0.04% to -0.10%. The resources of the company like fixed assets, etc. are over utilized or underutilized. This represent opportunity loss to the company Findings and recommendations The management in order to comply with corporate governance requirements must establish procedures for year-end and the ensure controls over the commitments, payables and the financial reporting. The identification and the accuracy of the PAYEs and the internal communication of the new spending would also further strengthen the practices of financial management. Audit Area Audit Assessment Payables at the Year-End (PAYEs) Criteria Mostly Met Commitments and Year-End Budget Management Criteria Mostly Met Financial Information Reporting Criteria Met Internal controls help the entity in laying down the procedure of preventing and detecting any fraud or error. The very purpose of internal control is segregation of duty. It ensures that the work done by one person is checked by other. The following are some transactions that would occur at the Fitness for Life Company Payment and receipt of cash: This area is the most critical area. Cash is the area which more prone to fraud. Especially the payment part is prone to fraud. In big companies the petty expenses are overlooked by the managers which are loopholes for conducting fraud. The cashier can embezzle cash unless and until proper internal controls are not there for authorizing the payment of cash Since, the entire responsibility of recruiting the staff for the company and allocating the salary to them is delegated by the top management to the branch manager, it may be possible that the claims may be wrongly made for the salary not to be payable to the particular staff on occasion of certain leave taken by him during the month. The manager can use his position in an unfair manner. For example in many cases the relative of a manager is provided more privileges than the normal customers. Especially in cases of gyms, the manager may allow his relatives to use the facilities of gym free of cost The question deals with testing the internal controls at the clients sales software application. Let us first understand where it is compulsory on the part of the auditor to perform tests After knowing the business and the industry in which it operates the auditor has included in the audit plan to conduct the test of controls as it will be necessary to know the effectiveness of the same Analytical procedures and test of Balance Sheet items are themselves not well enough to make an opinion regarding the assessment of financial statements Tests are conducted for two main reasons Whether the internal controls present in the entitys organization are effective i.e. they are doing what they are required to do and they are not doing what they should not. This shall mean that investigation shall be conducted on the entities operations and design. Obtain the direct evidence, additional about the amounts that are disclosed in the Financial Statements. This evidence can be obtained by utilizing the substantive testing procedures. Consider the amount of receivables in the SOFP. There are many ways in which the same can be manipulated. There are certain customers who are very irregular in paying the debts owed to the company. Such can be easily manipulated by the companys employees like cashier, etc The controls that can be used to prevent such fraud Segregation of duties and ensuring that work done by one person is checked by the other Not to allow any one single person to complete the full transaction Rotate the job position of employees, this will not give time to the employees to make a group and then commit fraud Take up the references of credit on the new customers. Establish a limit of credit. Developing the analyses for aged receivables. The follow up of the amounts which are not paid timely. References Accounting Web, ND Test of Controls Open tuition, 2015 Test of Controls Western Economic Diversification Canada, 2011, Year End Audit Procedures . Enel, ND, Principles of Corporate Governance University of Tasmania, 2014, Audit and Risk Committee HM Revenue and Customs, ND, Audit and Risk Committee Thrivent Financial, 2014, Year End Audit ProceduresMonica Zorn, 2014, Year End Audit Procedures Proformative, 2014, Year End Audit Procedures Accounting Tools, 2015, Test of Controls Cram.com, 2015, Test of Controls Accounting Concern, ND, Test of Controls PCAOB, 2015, Identifying and Assessing risk of material misstatement"

Government Spending & Budget Essays (2786 words) - Fiscal Policy

Government Spending & Budget As many Federal departments and agencies lurch into an era of running without funds, the leaders of both parties of Congress are spending less and less time searching for a compromise to balance the budget, and more and more time deciding how to use it to their advantage on the campaign trail. Meanwhile money is easily borrowed to pay for government overhead. In an attempt to change this, on June 29, Congress voted in favor of HConRes67 that called for a 7 year plan to balance the Federal Budget by the year 2002 (Hager 1899). This would be done by incorporating $894 billion in spending cuts by 2002, with a projected 7 year tax cut of $245 billion. If this plan were implemented, in the year 2002, the U.S. Government would have the first balanced budget since 1969. There is doubt by citizens that a balanced budget will become reality. A recent Gallop Poll from January, 1996 showed the budget as the #1 concern among taxpayers, but 4/5 of those interviewed said they doubt the GOP will do the job (Holding 14). Meanwhile, an ABC poll from November reported that over 70% of those polled disapprove of the current performance by Congress, and most blamed politicians for failure to take action (Cloud 3709). These accusations of failure to follow through come with historical proof that Congress and Clinton have failed to compromise and resolve the issue. After all, current budget plans are dependent on somewhat unrealistic predictions of avoiding such catastrophes as recession, national disasters, etc., and include minor loopholes. History has shown that every budget agreement that has failed was too lax. One might remember the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings bill that attempted to balance the budget, but left too many exemptions, and was finally abandoned in 1990 (Weinberger 33). So after a pain-staking trial for GOP Republicans to create, promote, and pass their budget, as promised on campaign trail 94, Clinton rejected the very bill he demanded. This essentially brought the federal budget back to square one. Clinton thought such a demand on Republicans to produce a budget would produce inner-party quarrels and cause the GOP to implode. Instead, they produced a fiscal budget that passed both houses of Congress, only to be stalemated by a stubborn Democratic President Clinton. Meanwhile, Clinton bounced back with a CBO scored plan with lighter, less risky cuts to politically sensitive areas like entitlements. Clinton's plan also saved dollars for education and did not include a tax increase, but most cuts would not take effect until he is out of office, in the year 2001. Although Clinton is sometimes criticized for producing a stalemate in budget talks, the White House points out that the debt has gone down since Clinton took office, with unemployment also falling. Republicans are quick to state that Clinton originally increased taxes in 1993 and cut defense programs, but his overall plan was for an increasing budget without deficit reduction. Startling Facts about the budget: As of 1996, the national debt was at an all time high of $5 trillion dollars, with interest running at a whopping $250 billion per year (Rau M-1). This equals out to an individual responsibility of more than $50,000 per taxpayer. Nearly 90% of that debt has accumulated since 1970, and between 1980 and 1995, the debt grew by 500%. Currently, the debt grows by more than $10,000 per second (Rau M-l), and at current rates, a baby born in 1992 will pay 71% of his or her income in net taxes. At current rates, our government is about to reach its breaking point. If that's not enough to scare a taxpayer, by 2002, 60% of government spending will be for entitlements, and by 2012, these programs are projected to take up all government revenue (Dentzer 32). Not only economic development, but also family income is hurt by debt. With the cost of living going up, it becomes harder to find a job. According to the Concord Coalition, real wages peaked in 1973 and have gone down ever since. If the economy grew as fast as it did in 1950, without a debt, the median family income would be $50,000, compared to the present median

Mining in Canada essays

Mining in Canada essays The importance of mining is definitely significant to Canada. Mining, is an important industry, and Canadians are very advanced in their mining technology, but during the mining process, there is certain level of pollution produced. The Canadian government and the mining companies have very good plans and controls toward this problem, while ensuring the smooth running of the industries, and also helping to create strong economy and The world of today could not exist without mineral products. Canada produces about 60 minerals and ranks first among producing countries1. As well, Canada is the largest exporter of minerals, with more than 20 per cent of production shipped to world markets2. In a typical year, the mining industry is responsible for almost 20 per cent of Canada's total export earnings3 (See Appendix A). As for the employment rate, over 70 per cent of the mines are owned by Canadians and approximately 108,000 Canadians are directly employed in the mining industry4. Mining is very important in Canadian life. Not only do the products power the family car and heat the family home, the manufacturing sector, the high tech industries and even the better known resource industries are all dependent, in some way, on the mining industry. The mining industry will continue to be an important Mining is taking full advantage of the quick expansion of computers and microelectronics. These technologies are found in nearly every aspect of mineral development activity - from exploration methods, through production, mineral processing and even marketing. Computers and related equipment now have a lot of different applications in geophysical logging, geochemistry, geological mapping and surface contouring5. At the mine planning stage, the job of designing a mine is now greatly simplified by automation. Through the use of advanced software, geological models can be produced ...

Laptop issuance to sales persons and return on investment Research Paper

Laptop issuance to sales persons and return on investment - Research Paper Example The study conducted by Atrostic and Nguyen (2006) categorically declared that â€Å"the prevalence of informational technology (IT) means that just investing in IT no longer confers a competitive advantage† (p. 1).After all, business use of computers dates back to about 50 years ago. Could it really be possible that man has outgrown the need for the good old computer? However, what Atrostic and Nguyen (2006) actually meant was that the manner in which businesses use IT does matter. Hence, competitive advantage may be achieved depending on how businesses harness the power the computer. Research Question and Justification Hoskins (2011) maintained that the â€Å"laptop is tailor-made for business† (para. 1). Coincidentally, I overhead two neatly attired gentleman seated on the next table talking about their accomplishments for the day. The two appear to be sales people and were using information from their high-end laptops every now and then, either to support their asser tion or to clarify their point. It is common knowledge that most companies issue laptops to their salespeople, presumably to facilitate presentation to prospective clients. But would the issuance of laptops to employees in charge of sales or marketing produce a corresponding return on investment? This paper was conceived to gather research-based evidence of the aforementioned quandary. Specifically, the study would address two research problems: (1) What are the advantages of using laptops for people engaged in sales? and (2) Is there a relationship between use of laptops by salespeople and increase in accumulated sales? The study will also test the null hypothesis that â€Å"there is no significant relationship between use of laptops by salespeople and an increase in their accumulated sales† based on a non-directional or two-tailed analysis and a 0.05 level of significance (0.05). The justification for this study rests on the premise that although empirical studies have alre ady demonstrated the link between productivity and use of computers and IT, results have been generalized for the manufacturing industry, not strictly on the sales aspect. If a direct and significant relationship is confirmed between use of laptops as an aid to sales talk and presentations and corresponding increase in accumulated sales, it is highly possible that issuance of laptops to salespeople by the companies they represent does, indeed, produce a return on investment. Hence, this paper will serve as an exploratory study to pave the way for further investigation of the association between issuance of laptops to salespeople and return on investment. This study adopted a descriptive – exploratory methodology using a researcher-constructed survey questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument. The research instrument consists of three parts (respondent profile, advantages of using laptop for salespeople, and relationship between use of laptop increase in accumulat ed sales) and 10 items. Respondents of the study were salespeople selected using purposive sampling. It is a non-probability sampling technique wherein the sample is chosen on the basis of the researchers’ judgment about some appropriate characteristics of the sample, and is alternatively called judgment sampling (Zikmund & Babin, 2010). A small sample of 25 respondents served as resources for the study. Profile data were presented as frequency and percentage distributions in the form of a pie chart. Advantages of using laptop for sales people were shown as horizontal graphs. Methodology for examining the relationship between use of laptops and increase in accumulated sales is discussed in the results section of this paper. Review of Related Literature and Studies Jenkins (1999) outlined several advantages of using a laptop computer in sales in terms of: (1) professional image; (2) resource and time management; (3) information dissemination; and (4) customer interaction. In a customers’ perspective, the use of technology such as laptops

Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 155

Assignment Example However, if the research on nuclear weapons may help thwart those the actions of those who have ill intensions to make or use this weapons, then the scientists can be allowed to continue developing these weapons because in such a situation it would be for the advantage of the many. Employees are obliged to be productive because that is why they are employed. However, the employer must also understand that the employees are humans and may from time to time face difficult situations that may affect their productivity. In many cases, a closer look at unproductive employee reveals that they may be having issues in their personal lives. In the spirit of doing to other people as you would want them to do to you, it would be necessary to try and understand whether this is the case with employees, because that is what the manager would want to be done to them if they were the employee. The unproductive employee also has a duty to the employer, and maybe even to other stakeholders of the business that employs them. He must consider this and find ways to secure his financial life and then retire because that would be beneficial to other people. John Locke was a believer in social contract which is a philosophical outlook that sees everyone as having a social contract towards these people they deal with. This is like the philosophy of ding the he neighbor as one would want them to do to you. In such a situation as the unproductive employee’s case, he would want both sides analysis their obligations to each other and then do what they are supposed to do. Regina seems to be using the utilitarian philosophy which argues that the end justifies the means. Such donations are supposed to come from a point of personal desire to help, as opposed to the selfish desire to outshine the others. Instead of taking advantage of people’s advantage to show off, Regina’s and the team should have found a way to take advantage of the primal desire to help others, which is

Marxist Analyses And Motivation Theories Management Essay

Marxist Analyses And Motivation Theories Management Essay Motivation defined as: The set of processes that arouse, direct, and maintain human behaviour towards attaining some goal. Motivation is the inner drive that pushes individuals to act or perform. Employees motivation in a company or a firm is a very crucial management practice which should not be underestimated since its implications are very much pronounced. Motivated employees have greater concentration and are less likely to make mistakes, cause accidents or be involved in conflict. They are also likely to show greater loyalty to the company and have less absenteeism. Some authors argue that there is no problem of worker motivation in capitalist economics, as managers can rely on job insecurity to ensure compliance. Other have identified the characteristics of capitalism is that production of commodity occupies a dominant position and production of surplus value. The conflict of interests between owners and employees will be caused the problem of worker motivation in capitalist organizations (Knights and Willmott, 2007). Because of the owners interest is not making work more satisfying for employees but exploit them. The purpose of this essay was to explore is there a problem of worker motivation in capitalist economies. The following presents the literature reviews about motivation theories and Marxist analysis of the nature of capitalist economies. Secondly, the case of Wal-Mart that used illustrates the problem of worker motivation in capitalism. And also some critical arguments will be presented. Finally, make a conclusion that is based on the justified argument. Literature review: Marxist Analyses and Motivation Theories 2.1 Marxist Analyses Capitalism is a mode of production based on private ownership of the means of production (Heilbroner, 2008). Capitalists produce commodities for the exchange market and to stay competitive must extract as much labor from the workers as possible at the lowest possible cost. The economic interest of the capitalist is to pay the worker as little as possible, in fact just enough to keep him alive and productive (Isaac, 2008). In capitalism, the worker, who is alienated from the products he creates, is also estranged from the process of production, which he regards only as a means of survival. Estranged from the production process, the worker is therefore also estranged from his or her own humanity, since the transformation of nature into useful objects is one of the fundamental facets of the human condition (Pinder, 2008). The worker is thus alienated from his or her species being-from what it is to be human. Finally, the capitalist mode of production alienates human beings from other human beings (Harder, 2008). Deprived of the satisfaction that comes with owning the product of ones labor, the worker regards the capitalist as external and hostile (Carter, 1995). 2.2 Motivation Theories In this increasing competitive world where satisfaction of workers needs is the centre of attention for both private and public organizations. Not all people are motivated by the same thing and over time their motivations might changes (Hutchens, 1989). Therefore, Motivation theory can help us to consider the different investments which can be made in people. A motivated and qualified workforce is crucial to increase productivity and the quality of the organizational services in order to achieve organizational objectives (Isaac, 2008). The most popular needs classification is the one developed by Abraham Maslows. Maslow Hierarchy of Needs put forward a theory that there are five levels of human needs which employees need to have fulfilled at work. At the most basic level, an employee is motivated to work in order to satisfy basic physiological needs for survival, such as air, water, food, sex and sleep. Following the achievement of physiological needs, ones attention shifts to safety and security needs in order to overcome the threat of physical and emotional difficulties. The next three levels in Maslows theory relate to intellectual and psycho-emotional needs: love and belonging, esteem and finally the highest order need, self-actualization. He believes at this point individuals have the desire to achieve their full potential and skills (Anonymous, 2009). All of the needs are structured into a hierarchy and only once a lower level of need has been fully met, would a worker be motivated by the opportunity of havin g the next need up in the hierarchy satisfied (Pinder, 2008). For example a person who is dying of hunger will be motivated to achieve a basic wage in order to buy food before worrying about having a secure job contract or the respect of others (Locke Letham, 2004). Herzberg (1966) proposed a two factor (motivation-hygiene) motivation theory. The satisfier/motivators include achievement, recognition; work itself, responsibility, advancement and growth, while the hygiene factors include company policy and administration, relationship with supervisor, working conditions, personal life, salary, and relationship with subordinates, status, and security. Motivators are the factors that fulfill individuals needs for meaning and personal growth; hygiene factors create dissatisfaction when they are mishandled. Worker motivation problem in Wal-Mart In 2001, Wal-Mart became the worlds biggest company in terms of sales revenues and 2.1 million employees (Fortune, 2002). However, in order to minimize operating costs and maintain low prices, Wal-Mart pays relatively low wages, provides minimal benefits to its employees, and also Wal-Marts Punitive Policies Drive Employees to Work Sick. A deli section worker said: Everyone comes to work sick, including employees handling food. In the deli section, most of girls come coughing their brains out, but cant go home because of points coughing too loudly switch you to another department. Since you cant take days off. Her cough worsened, and she ended up hospitalized with pneumonia (Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, 2009). Being sick, deli section work was hard because its a hot area, requiring in and out visits to a freezer to get meat. Everyone is sweating and your hair is all wet, but we cant use fans because of the dust (Greenhouse, 2002). Another Wal-Mart worker told: Wal-M arts (sick) policy has not changed, and no one said anything about this. As a result, one worker said morale is low in their workplace and pretty much everyone hates their jobs, but havent much choice in todays economic climate (Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, 2009). Under Wal-Marts Open Availability policy, management demands everyone be available 24 7. A flood of people would leave the company if they could find other work. Fear and need keep them there. In order to provide low-cost products to customers, they cut staff salaries; reduce full-time employees health insurance fee and also no health insurance fee pay for temporary workers. Overall, Wal-Mart treats employees punitively. Theyre overworked, underpaid, and treated like wage slaves (Kaufman, 2000). Capitalist organization, like War-Mart think that they had managed quite well without to motivate staff, as they still rely on the fact that people need a job. Marx argues that labor is central to a human beings self-conception and sense of well-being. Labor are as much an act of personal creation and a projection of ones identity as it is a means of survival (Harder, 2008). However, Wal-Mart deprives employees of this essential source of self-worth and identity. The employees approaches work only as a means of survival and derive none of the other personal satisfactions of work because the products of his labor do not belong to him (Carter, 1995). Everyone comes to work sick, all of the staff do not have the right to rest when they are sick. Unless you found a new job then you can rest. If you are coughing too loudly that they will switch you to another department. Everyone hate their job but fear and need keep them continue to work. This entire situation is due to these individual rights are expropriated by capitalist company. In addition, the power of the profit motive encourages unscrupulous individuals to act unethically (Burawoy, 1979). Poor treatment of staff and lack of consideration for motivate. According to Maslows model of work motivation based on a hierarchy of needs in which individuals are posited to first seek the satisfaction of physiological needs before pursuing other desires (Ford, 1992). Employee is motivated first and foremost to satisfy physiological needs. Organizations must provide employees with a salary that enable them to afford adequate living conditions. Employees will feel less motivated to do some tasks if they feel their compensation is not appropriate. Paying employees less will lead to dissatisfaction. A dissatisfied employee is an unmotivated employee (Hutchens, 1989). However, wages at capitalist Wal-Mart have always been as little as we could get by with at the time The current wage does not honor Wal-Mart workers personal development and it stifles their participation as individuals in society (USA TODAY, 2012). According to Living Wage Calculator, the per-hour salary necessary to meet the minimal life necessities in Charlotte, North Carolina is approximately $8.73 per hour (Washington monthly, 2006). The current wage of many Wal-Mart employees falls well below this benchmark. From a more macroeconomic vantage point, economists estimate that the aggregate annual income of a full-time Wal-Mart employee is approximately $17,600 a year. Moreover, the annual income of an individual compensated by a living wage comes in at $18,152.40, well above Wal-Marts average figure. Even more disturbing, using very conservative estimates as approximations, a newly hired Wal-Mart employee can expect to earn approximately $14,560 annually. Not only does this figure fall far below the recommended living wage value, but it also only marginally clears the abject poverty standard for an individual of $11,201 (Anthony, 2006). In Wal-Mart, Employees money need does not satisfy. The company pay minimum wages but in getting in more out of them. Their minimum wages only enable workers to survival, let alone to meet other needs. These salary figures ha ve direct bearing on a Wal-Mart employees ability to purchase health care. Some authors said that it happens because the capitalists monopolize one thing: surplus value of labour belongs to them (Braverman, 1974). Another researcher said that capitalism has its drawbacks. Profit is a motivator who lacks morals. It is focused only on a single outcome of business actions ignoring all other outcomes (Cater, 1995). Company pays lower wages to gain higher profits. Wal-Mart cannot meet staff needs it will led them lack of motivation, that they tend to resort to anti-work behaviours such as absenteeism, late-coming, failure to meet deadlines, display of open frustration and all these factors work negative to the performance and credibility of an organization. As a result, with most the recent staff cynicism and resign, shoppers are waiting longer for service and getting upset (Institute for Global Labour and Human Rights, 2009). It can be observed that Herzberg (1990) ranked hygiene and motivator factors as the most important motivational theory when uncertainty exists, problems can arise. If an employee is concerned that her job is not secure, she/he may be unmotivated to produce a full effort. Without safety, an employee can be unmotivated. If the motivational factors are met, the employee becomes motivated and work performs higher (Ford, 1992). In Wal-Mart, the working environment is bad that deli section workers working in a hot area, where everyone is sweating, but they cant use fans because of the dust. For above situation, Wal-Mart does not do anything and do not make any changes to meet employees needs. As well as, Open Availability policy also let staff feel that they become Wal-Wart Androids. For reducing the costs, Wal-Mart cut employees health insurance fee, and no insurance fee paid for part-time workers. Capitalist organizations think that they had quite well without theories of motivation; managers can rely on the fact that people need a job as a powerful force for motivation (Knights and Willmott, 2007). Their interests is not making work more satisfying for employees but in getting in more out of them. As a result of lack of employees motivation, most of employees began to hate their jobs, give a negative emotional attachment to their jobs, and being dissatisfied with its role in the work environment. Further, a recent study shown that; employee motivation is directly proportional to organizational performance and profitability (Fortune, 2002). With all these negative and unappealing characteristics of being a Wal-Mart employee, why do people inevitably find themselves working at this dreadful modern day sweatshop passed off as a nationwide superstore? Wal-Mart has left their employees in a dilemma that produces the mindset that no other stores will provide a job opportunity in this difficult economy but in return employees receive extremely poor treatment and considerably low wages (Nlcnet, 2001). Conclusion The problem of worker motivation is inevitable under capitalism because the workers are an exploited class. The lower their wages are, the higher the owners profits. The owners take the products, services and infrastructure created by the workers, sell them on the market, and pay the workers as little as possible. The Maslow need theories maintain that an individual is motivated to do something if he or she experiences a specific need that may be fulfilled directly or indirectly by performing that action. The lower order needs have to be satisfied in order to pursue higher level motivators along the lines of self fulfillment. In addition, Herzberg said that in order to motivate people an organization needs to first have the baseline that is the hygiene factors in place and then the motivators will be used to motivate and in absence of the base line motivation is not possible to achieve. It is indicative of the above discussion that most of the employees need to motivate. However, in the case of Wal-Mart, they paying staff lower wages, cut their self-control, and also the sick policy regulates everyone comes to work when they sick. Under those circumstances, most of the employees began to hate their jobs, and being dissatisfied with its role in the work environment. All of this is due to compan y wants to profit maximization. In sum, the long-term survival of any organisation depends largely on the motivation of its employees be it financial or non-financial. Therefore organisations should be willing to continuously and on regular basis, undertake employees surveys such as this one in order to understand what their employees expects from their current job. The result of such exercises could prove useful for the organisation, because knowing what their employees wants and efforts in meeting these needs facilitate a mutual working environment for both the employees and its management. Using the power to motivate workers will cause worker motivation problem.