The Mammoth Task Of Completing Any Serious Evaluative...

The mammoth task of completing any serious evaluative process requires teamwork, determination, and a sense of urgency. The hours of analyzing, reading, studying documents, collaborating, and meetings can drain the most ardent staff. In the case of DSU’s 2013 Year One Evaluation, a 28-person committee, two peer evaluators, the President, and clerical staff labored many hours to complete the necessary reports. The comprehensive evaluation involved many more persons. Notable Similarities between the Two Evaluations The Comprehensive Evaluation of 2012 and the Year One Evaluation of 2013 bore many similarities. For one, the same ALO and ISAAC conducted both evaluations. The ISAAC is appointed and serves for a two-year period and, thus, was the same group in 2013 as it was in 2013. In fact, Bryant and Brown still serve as 2015-2016 co-chairs (â€Å"ISAAC Membership,† 2015, p. 1). The ALO serves an indeterminate length and, as of November 2015, was still Debra Bryant. The tone of both evaluations and their attendant reports are overwhelmingly positive and one is left with a positive view of DSU from them. One of the reasons that 2013 offers such a bright outlook is the fact that the administration, staff, faculty, and students of the university made a determined effort to address the concerns of the 2012 committee. This course of action meant that the 2013 report reflected a considerable effort on the stakeholders’ part to ensure that the university received a positiveShow More RelatedDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 PagesSaddle River, New Jersey 07458. All rights reserved. Manufactured in the United States of America. This publication is protected by Copyright, and permission should be obtained from the publisher prior to any prohibited reproduction, storage in a retrieval system, or transmission in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or likewise. To obtain permission(s) to use material from this work, please submit a written request to Pearson Education, Inc., Permissions DepartmentRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pagesprinted on acid-free paper. Copyright  © 2009, 2006, 2004, 2001, 1998, 1995, 1992, 1989, 1986, 1981, 1976 John Wiley Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization

Contact Zones of Education Free Essays

In 1885, Bishop John Ireland turned his dream into a reality when he founded Saint Thomas Academy. The mission of the all-male, college preparatory institution read as follows: â€Å"to help young men build a solid foundation of responsible leadership within themselves, the Academy, the Catholic Church, and the community† (Ireland). His vision has turned into one of the oldest high schools in the state of Minnesota. We will write a custom essay sample on Contact Zones of Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now This idea has both of Pratt’s elements heterogeneous and homogeneous folded into one simple Academy. Having the opportunity to be educated in this somewhat unconventional style, I was introduced to a community and contact zone through my many different experiences throughout my career there. One of the most obvious attempts to create a homogeneous atmosphere associated with Saint Thomas Academy (STA), is the all male aspect forced onto the students. This style of education provides individuals with the ability to be themselves without the pressure of impressing a female or the self-consciousness many teenage males experience throughout their education. In other words, the all-male experience created, what Pratt refers to as a â€Å"safe house† or more specifically a â€Å"social and intellectual space(s) where groups can constitute themselves as horizontal, homogeneous, sovereign communities with high degrees of trust, shared understandings, temporary protection from legacies of oppression† (511). The level of trust created here is unrivaled compared to anything else I have ever experienced. The community acted as a family rather than a student body. This idea became more evident in smaller communities such as the athletic and extra circular activities. These teams were often very successful because of this unique bond created. The idea of an all-male student body did not always favor an ‘imagined community’- the term Benedict Anderson uses to describe the existence of safe houses within the academy. He expands this idea by saying â€Å"Languages were seen as living in ‘speech communities,’ and these tended to be theorized as discrete, self-defined, coherent entities, held together by homogenous competence or grammar shared identically and equally among all members† (Pratt, 507). As one might expect, students of STA carried themselves in a very different manner at school than they did on the weekends when they were interacting with females. They would change the way they dressed, talked, and even the way they would act. Similarly, students adapted to the all male environment in a similar fashion. The first couple of weeks of school for new students at STA set the foundation of the atmosphere the all-male aspect created for them to form a fraternal bond with one another. This was usually the first experience students ever encountered in their education, resulting in more of a ‘contact zone’ initially. Any new student undergoes a certain level of anxiety and self-doubt, but adding a completely new element, such as a same-sex community, elevates ones anxiety. Since this is one of the only high schools in the more broad community such as the city or even state in this case, the students of STA were often open for criticism by the more ‘traditional’ co-ed schools. Students were forced to learn how to block out distraction at an early age which is a benefit of this contact zone. Pratt addresses a similar benefit of contact zones in the classroom as: â€Å"the most exciting teaching we had ever done, and also the hardest. We were struck, for example, at how anomalous the formal lecture became in a contact zone† (Pratt, 510). This experience and my experience as a student at a school that was more vulnerable to criticism parallel wachother in many ways. Indeed it was difficult dealing with more distractions in high school than most students do, yet it taught be valuable lessons that I can use today. We were typically put into a completely different category than students of surrounding schools, and for that we learned to conduct ourselves in the appropriate manner. I experience this same stereotype being a member of a fraternity here on campus. We often get judged and have a negative label put on us also. I have been able to use the skills I was taught in high school to portray myself, as well as all members of our fraternity in the most positive way possible- just as we were forced to do at STA. Finally, the comfort gained from the lack of female pressure is lost upon graduation- turning this imagined community into a very dangerous contact zone. Since STA is a college preparatory academy, it is expected that students continue their education at a further level. Pratt speaks of this idea in her lecture also. She says â€Å"along with the rage, incomprehension, and pain, there were exhilarating moments of wonder and revelation, mutual understanding, and new wisdom- the joys of the contact zone† (Pratt, 511). I would say this is exactly how I would describe my experience when I began college. I was put back into a co-ed atmosphere, and forced to adapt to the expectations of a new, unfamiliar, community. Through the early months here I underwent many different incidents where I had similar feelings of Pratt’s students in the classroom- yet another comparable benefit of the ‘contact zone’ I share with Pratt. Another portion of STA’s mission includes teaching students catholic values as well as providing him with â€Å"military style† leadership skills. In some ways this reflects an imagined community in the sense that all students are taught catholic values. This provides a uniform foundation for them to develop into a successful individual. It also brings a sense of spirituality to this community- which is another element that cultivates the growth and cohesiveness between each student. Not only do students understand similar religious beliefs, they are put through a method of leadership training which includes a major military element. It parallels military training by holding all individuals to an appearance standard and teaches students effective communication skills. This sense of belonging and higher level of expectation describes an imagined community as students face challenges together and can learn from each other. This can simultaneously create a contact zone too or as Pratt might call ‘transculturation’. For instance, the students who believe in a religion other than Catholicism feel excluded and this can create a feeling of disconnect between members. At the same time these students could use this experience to learn how to express differences and effectively convey their ideas and belief’s. Students who are more timid and do not excel in leadership can often feel like they are missing out on something a majority of their classmates experience. Both examples make for great classroom discussion and for students on either end of the spectrum to perceive a situation from a new point of view. Pratt says this is necessary for continued development too. She says this while speaking of Poma’s text: â€Å"Such a text is heterogeneous on the reception end as well as the production end: it will read very differently to people in different positions in the contact zone† (506). She is supporting the underlying benefits of individuals or communities disagreeing with one another, which is the ultimate goal of a contact zone. Finally, the social groups that exist in STA prove to create an unexpected contact zone. Since it is such a unique school, many students from different backgrounds chose to attend. Because of the variety of students STA attracts, it is impossible to avoid different social groups that exist within the homogeneous community. These social groups cause a disconnect between students and at times can have a very negative impact on the student body. These impacts can lead to a variety of actions that do not reflect the values STA hopes to instill on its students and can impact the school in a very negative way. Pratt supports the idea of a contact zone in education, but not to the extent of creating extreme conflict between students. In a way it is necessary of the imagined community to exist. For STA this means that the entire student body be held to the same standard and expectations. When too much one two groups inside this community clash too much, it creates a contact zone that has no positive impact. She describes this in her lecture by saying: â€Å"Despite whatever conflicts or systematic social differences might be in play, it is assumed that all participants are engaged in the same game and that the game is the same for all players† (Pratt, 508). Her message here is similar to what STA intends to instill on its students, that is, when conflict occurs in the right environment- it can be positive and provide opportunity for growth. Through my experience at this unconventional school, I have encountered contact zones existing in or with an imagined community. When practiced in a specific manner, these two ideas have the ability to coexist and positively impact a situation. When a contact zone becomes unmanageable, the result is mostly negative and can hinder the growth of a group of people or an individual. How to cite Contact Zones of Education, Papers

Management Accounting Investors and Traders

Question: Discuss about the case study Management Accounting for Investors and Traders. Answer: Introduction: Share market can be defined as a marketplace where investors and traders invest their money in various organizations, which in turn allows the corresponding organizations to utilize the funds to increase their business. The investors or traders invest their money in the share market in order to yield profits from the variations in the price of the stocks of the organizations listed in the share market (Basu, 2014). The transactions in the share market can be categorized into buy and sell transactions. Each stock of the companies listed in the share market are assigned with a monetary value or price and the buy/sell transactions in the share market occur on the basis of the price of these stocks. The investors and traders are allowed to buy the stocks of ASX-listed companies through the licensed brokers and by paying the equivalent amount of money for the total amount of stocks being bought (He, 2014). The investors and traders are then allowed to sell those stocks at a different pric e which is either higher or lower than the buy price. If the sell price is less than the buy price, the investor incurs a loss and if the sell price is more than the buy price, the investor yields some profit. The broker is an entity which facilitates these buy and sell transactions to the investors for some fee, which is called brokerage. So the role of the broker is to take the buy and sell orders from the investors and actually executing them on the share market in exchange of some brokerage (Smales, 2014). The current top 20 shares by the dollar value traded in ASX are mentioned below along with the traded value. ASX code Company name $ value traded CBA Commonwealth Bank of Australia 159,275,995.61 BHP BHP Billiton limited 136,098,663.40 ANZ Australia and New Zealand banking group limited 126,406,627.97 WBC Westpac Banking Corporation 111,994,471.79 NAB National Australia Bank limited 104,355,578.64 FMG Fortescue Metals Group Ltd 101,460,820.53 TLS Telstra Corporation limited 101,305,468.23 NCM Newcrest Mining limited 78,376,553.52 RIO Rio Tinto limited 76,148,542.95 WES Wesfarmers limited 63,989,726.39 CSL CSL limited 63,803,654.49 MQG Macquarie Group limited 57,548,047.44 AMC AMCOR limited 54,599,995.22 WPL Woodside Petroleum Limited 52,766,473.27 WOW Woolworths limited 52,352,809.73 CTX Caltex Australia Limited 39,828,138.26 SCG Scentre Group 38,389,292.66 BXB Brambles limited 35,287,582.04 S32 South32 limited 33,568,228.92 RMD Resmed Inc. 33,408,036.22 The number of listed entities on 30th June, 2008 in ASX was 2226. There are 2189 entities currently listed in ASX, which is 1.02% less than that of 2008. Both financial and management accounting play significant roles in the decision making process of the board of directors of an organization. They are different in terms of the type of information they provide to the board of directors. Financial accounting provides the financial information and health of the organization, which in turn defines the performance of the organization in a particular time period (Leauby, 2012). So financial accounting provides accurate figures to the board of directors to take effective business decisions based on the current business processes and performance of the organization. Whereas management accounting provides the information regarding the day-to-day business and operations to the board of directors. The information provided by management accounting includes the accurate information like costs of the business processes along with estimates like the current and future trends (Quattrone, 2016). This type of information allows the board of directors to analyze the current business operations in terms of their costs and profits, which in turn allows them to take effective business decisions in the market of operation. The combination of both the types of information provided by management and financial accounting allows the board of directors to take the most effective business decisions based on the past performance and current trends of the organization (Collis, 2012). Incorporation of a business allows the owners to protect their personal assets. The incorporation of a business allows the business to exist even after the owners leave the business, whereas in case of proprietary or partnership businesses, the business ceases to exist if the owners die or leave the business. The incorporation of a business allows it to have more credibility i.e. the name of the business with Inc. or LLC after it, is considered to be more credible in the market and the external entities feel safe to interact with the business. The incorporation of a business also protects the corporate name of the business i.e. the corporate name of the business cant be used by any other organization (Liu, 2014). The incorporation of a business allows the owners to avoid the taxation on both the individual and corporation level, which in turn allows the taxation to be applied only on the corporation level. The incorporation of a business also provides various tax benefits to the orga nization, which are not provided to the proprietary or partnership businesses. The incorporation of a business also allows the income of the owners to be defined after the deduction of the normal expenses like salaries (Choudhury, 2016). The organization is being tendered a job worth millions of dollars and I own a significant share in one of the companies tendering. All the three options mentioned in the question involve certain ethical issues and different consequences, which are mentioned here. 1. Declaring my interest to the CEO and stepping out of the decision making process will involve an ethical issue of not being neutral in a process of recommending a course of action. The personal interest or profit involved in the process of accepting the offer might affect the suggestion, which will be unprofessional and could lead to disciplinary actions, if revealed later. 2. Declaring my interest and staying in the decision making process will expose the recommendation and decision making process to the personal bias. This can affect the decision making process to be bent towards the achievement of the personal benefits instead of the organizational benefits. This in turn may lead to the negative consequences for the performance of the organization, for which Ill be responsible. 3. Not declaring my interest and continuing in the decision making process will be highly unprofessional and unethical in terms of not disclosing significant information regarding the tender, which can alter the decision of accepting the tender. This in turn could lead to negative impressions and perceptions on me, if the information is revealed later in the decision making process (Ferrell, 2015). The course of action of declaring my interests and stepping out of the decision making process seems to be the best. The declaration of the personal interests allows me to avoid the unethical action of hiding the information from the organization and allows me to be free of any guilt. Stepping out of the decision making process, saves me from the trouble of explaining or persuading others regarding the absence of any personal bias in the decision taken at the end of the process. This in turn allows me to avoid any kind of disciplinary actions from the organization and allows me to avoid affecting the business decision due to my personal interests (Hoffman, 2014). References Basu, A. K., Forbes, B. (2014). Does fundamental indexation lead to better riskà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ adjusted returns? New evidence from Australian Securities Exchange. Accounting Finance, 54(3), 699-728. Choudhury, B. (2016). Spinning Straw into Gold: Incorporating the Business and Human Rights Agenda into International Investment Agreements. University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law, Forthcoming. Collis, J., Holt, A., Hussey, R. (2012). Business accounting: an introduction to financial and management accounting. Palgrave Macmillan. Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J. (2015). Business ethics: Ethical decision making cases. Nelson Education. He, W. P., Lepone, A. (2014). Determinants of liquidity and execution probability in exchange operated dark pool: Evidence from the Australian Securities Exchange. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 30, 1-16. Hoffman, W. M., Frederick, R. E., Schwartz, M. S. (Eds.). (2014). Business ethics: Readings and cases in corporate morality. John Wiley Sons. Leauby, B. A., Wentzel, K. (2012). Linking Management Accounting and Finance: Assessing Student Perceptions. Strategic Finance, 93(11). Liu, L. (2014). Income taxation and business incorporation: Evidence from the early twentieth century. National Tax Journal, 67(2), 387-418. Quattrone, P. (2016). Management accounting goes digital: Will the move make it wiser?. Management Accounting Research, 31, 118-122. Smales, L. A. (2014). Non-scheduled news arrival and high-frequency stock market dynamics: Evidence from the Australian Securities Exchange. Research in International Business and Finance, 32, 122-138.