Coping with Corruption in Trading with China

CASE 2-5 Coping with Corruption in Trading with China Corruption is on the rise in China, where the country’s press frequently has detailed cases of corruption and of campaigns to crack down on it. The articles primarily have focused on domestic economic crimes among Chinese citizens, and on local of? cials who have been ? red or assessed other penalties. Indeed, China has been rated by Transparency International as number 59 of the 102 countries the German organization rates on its â€Å"Corruption Perception Index. †1 Finland is rated the least corrupt at number 1, the United States at 16, and Bangladesh the most corrupt at number 102.Corruption’s long arm now is reaching out to touch China’s foreign business community. Traders, trade consultants, and analysts have said that foreign ? rms are vulnerable to a variety of corrupt practices. Although some of these ? rms said they had no experience with corruption in the People’s Republic of China (PRC ), the majority said they increasingly were asked to make payments to improve business, engage in black-market trade of import and export licenses, bribe of? cials to push goods through customs or the Commodity Inspection Bureau, or engage in collusion to beat the system.The Hong Kong Independent Commission Against Corruption reports that outright bribes as well as gifts or payment to establish guanxi, or â€Å"connections,† average 3 to 5 percent of operating costs in the PRC, or $3 billion to $5 billion of the $100 billion of foreign investments that have been made there. The most common corrupt practices confronting foreign companies in China are examined here. ANGLING FOR CASH MNCs also are asked sometimes to sponsor overseas education for children of trading of? cials. One person told a Chinese source that an MNC paid for that individual’s U.S. $1,500-a-month apartment, as well as a car, university education, and expenses. Firms ? nd direct requests for cash payme nts—undeniably illegal—the most dif? cult. One well-placed source said that a major trader, eager for buyers in the face of an international market glut, had fallen into regularly paying large kickbacks into the Honduran, U. S. , and Swiss accounts of of? cials at a PRC foreign trade corporation. Refusing to make payments may not only hurt sales, it can also be terrifying. A U. S. ?rm was one of several bidders for a large sale; a Chinese of? ial demanded the MNC pay a 3 percent kickback. When the company representative refused, the of? cial threatened: â€Å"You had better not say anything about this. You still have to do business in China, and stay in hotels here. † Not surprisingly, the U. S. company lost the deal. Traders of certain commodities may be tempted to purchase on the black market those import and export licenses that are dif? cult to obtain legally. A fairly disorganized underground market, for instance, exists for licenses to export China-made ga rments to the United States.Some branches of the Commodity Inspection Bureau (CIB) also have posed problems for some traders. Abuses have emerged in the CIB since it started inspecting imports in 1987. A Japanese company, for instance, informed CIB of? cials of its intention to bring heavy industrial items into China—items that had met Japanese and U. S. standards. The of? cials responded that they planned to dismantle the products on arrival for inspection purposes. The problem was resolved only after the ? rm invited the of? cials to visit Japan. Some traders get around such problems by purchasing inspection certi? ates on the black market. According to press accounts, these forms, complete with signatures and seals, can be bought for roughly U. S. $200. Some claim that, for the appropriate compensation, customs of? cials in a southern province are very willing to reduce the dutiable value of imports as much as 50 percent. Because the savings can far exceed transport costs, some imports that would logically enter China through a northern port are redirected through the southern province. PAYING TO IMPROVE BUSINESS Foreign traders make several types of payments to facilitate sales in China.The most common methods used are trips abroad. Chinese of? cials, who rarely have a chance to visit overseas, often prefer foreign travel to cash or gifts. (This was especially true when few PRC of? cials had been abroad. ) As a result, traders report that dangling foreign trips in front of their PRC clients has become a regular part of negotiating large trade deals that involve products with a technological component. â€Å"Foreign travel is always the ? rst inducement we offer,† said an executive involved in machinery trade. In most cases, traders built these costs into the product’s sale price.Some trips are â€Å"reasonable and bona ? de expenditures directly related to the promotion, demonstration, or explanation of products and services, or the e xecution of a contract with a foreign government agency. † But other trips, when of? cials on foreign junkets are offered large per diems and aren’t invited speci? cally to gain technical knowledge, may be another matter. Foreign travel isn’t always an inducement—it also can be extorted. In one case, a PRC bank branch refused to issue a letter of credit for a machinery import deal. The Chinese customer suggested that the foreign trader invite the bank of? ial on an overseas inspection tour. Once the invitation was extended, the bank issued the letter of credit. QUESTIONS 1. List all the different types of bribes, payments, or favors represented in this case and say why each is either legal or illegal. 2. For those practices that you say are illegal, classify each as lubrication, extortion, or subornation, and tell why. 3. Which of the payments, favors, or bribes are illegal under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA)? 4. Assuming that the FCPA did not e xist, what is the ethical response to each of the payments, favors, or bribes you have See www. transparency. org for more details about their 2002 index. 572 Cases 2 The Cultural Environment of Global Markets you think bribery will become less prevalent in markets like China? 573 identi? ed? Read the section titled â€Å"Ethically and Socially Responsible Decisions† in Chapter 3 as a guide to assist you in your decision. 5. Now that the OECD has approved an FCPA-like treaty to ban commercial bribery by ? rms in member countries, do 6. List alternatives to paying bribes in international markets and discuss the pluses and minuses of each.

Kunta Kinte and Gustavus Vassa

Among the most haunting features of the early American history was the debate on the issue of slavery. Slavery was indeed the major cause of the American Civil War that almost divided the whole United States (Polchin). The Black and White conflict persisted to exist until both sides had finally accepted a reconciliation that ended the long years of struggle to unify the whole America and consolidate its people (Anderson). As how others have always said, there is really no winner in any war but only victims. The hostilities that slavery inflicted in the American history would not be disregarded for it would always remind the government and the people about the importance of unity and acceptance notwithstanding the differences the people may have. On the other hand, no matter how people would assert that all participants of the American Civil War were victims, surely there was a party who absorbed much of the war’s consequences. Between the Blacks and Whites, it was the Blacks who suffered and endured much of the implications of slavery. This was primarily due to the fact that the Blacks were the very ones who were discriminated, marginalized, tortured, demoralized and persecuted; the Whites were hailed as the superior ones (Anderson). The Blacks had centuries of affliction and resistance against the by-products of slavery. They were not given the rights to decide for themselves. They were employed as mere properties that can be sold or traded by their masters (Polchin). They were flogged, brutally and cruelly mistreated. For the Blacks, slavery was a disease or much worse a curse – a curse that would continue to deteriorate their bloodline if they were not going to find a way to cure it. Certainly, there were many attempts to obliterate slavery, of course, led by the Blacks. They did everything that they perceive to be effective in order to eradicate discrimination against their race and abolish laws that reinforced the evils of slavery. Analysis between Lives of Kinte and Vassa Obviously, the two protagonists were Blacks. The only difference was that Kinte was a character portrayed in a story while Vassa, whose real name was Olaudah Equiano was not a character drawn from a story or novel. They have the same roots (being Blacks) and same situation (where slavery was dominant). Both of them experienced being harshly discriminated. Kinte was held captured by White men and was roughly dejected (Haley). The same thing happened to Vassa. They were physically injured. But what really wounded them was the fact that they cannot do anything but to endure their sufferings because there was no way that they can claim to alter what was happening in their lives –such as rights. Thrashing, flogging, and battering were only the initial maltreatment and abuse that Kinte and Vassa experienced. What hurt them was the truth that anything can be taken away from them, even their lives and identities. Their names were changed upon they were sold or traded. Kinte’s name was changed to Toby (Haley) while the name Gustavus Vassa replaced Olaudah Equiano (Equiano). They served and do everything that their masters told them to do so. They lived their lives the slave way. Nonetheless, Kinte and Vassa had attempted to free themselves from slavery. Though Kinte was never really became successful in overcoming or liberating himself from the objects of slavery, he made sure that his daughter Kizzy (Keisha) would not forget their origins and their authentic identities. Hence, when Kinte died, her daughter was so proud of his father and became determined to follow his father’s ideologies (which was directed against slavery).   The scene wherein Kizzy erased the slave name of his father (as Toby) and replaced it with his real name which was Kunta Kinte symbolized that even though Kinte did not really accomplished his political purpose, he was still become successful because he was able to make her daughter value his ultimate goal in life (Haley). On the other hand, Vassa was more fortunate than Kinte because he was able to express his political ideologies against slavery. His writings narrated what slavery brought upon the Blacks and how it divided the United States. He used his works to enlighten the government and the people about the inequalities that the former America had been patronizing. As an abolitionist, he strongly advocated for the abolition of the slavery, which was considered legal and was believed to be a right of the Whites (Equiano). Though his writings became effective tools in empowering America about the evils of slavery, he failed to see the dawn of the fall of slavery – just like how he failed to complete his journey back to his homeland. Conclusion To sum up, Kinte and Vassa were both Black slaves. They had the same experiences and the same sentiments concerning the issue of slavery. Their ways in overcoming such slavery were somewhat performed in different ways but had the same impact. Their political stand against slavery was fundamentally directed towards the equality between the Whites and the Blacks. Both believe that every one regardless of their color must be given equal rights and opportunities. To end, though Kinte and Vassa died without really being able to see the products of their endeavors, their legacy would remain in the hearts of their families and fellow people who were inspired by their remarkable examples. Works Cited Anderson, Claud. Black Labor, White Wealth: The Search for Power and Economic Justice.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Powernomics Corporation of America, 1994. Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Vass, the African. NuVision Publications, 2007. Haley, Alex. Roots: The Saga of an American Family. Vanguard Press, 2007. Polchin, Peter. American Slavery: 1619-1877. Hill and Wang, 2003.                           

An exegesis of matthew

An exegesis of matthew An Exegesis of Matthew 5:1-12 Matthew 5:1-12, commonly known as the Beatitudes, has been loved by every generation since first pronounced by Christ two thousand years ago. Matthew writes this record of the life, ministry and teaching of Jesus, and he places this message soon after Jesus’ baptism and calling of the disciples. The Beatitudes are the opening section of the Sermon on the Mount, the longest recorded teaching during Christ’s lifetime. We will begin by looking at this section as it lays within the book of Matthew and then go to a more in-depth exegetical study. Literary Context The most popular approach to Matthew’s structure is the presentation of five major discourses, each ending with a formula statement that is foreign to other Biblical discourses, placed in a framework of narrative[1] (Talbert 15). In fact, â€Å"the five discourses are so clearly marked, from a literary point of view, that it is well-nigh impossible to believe that Matthew did n ot plan them† (Carson 63). Each of these discourses brings forth a topic of central importance for both the gospel rendition of the historical Jesus and the later experience of the church (Batdorf 26). The narrative section leading to the first discourse, from Matthew 3:1 to 4:25, chronicles not simply the biography of a man preparing for ministry, but the establishment of Messianic history and authority. We come to an understanding of Matthew’s first and foremost discourse, the Sermon on the Mount, only on the basis of chapters 1-4 (Batdorf 24). This sermon, which immediately follows the choosing of the twelve, marks the beginning of Jesus’ training of His disciples and a change in His method of teaching. It is His first systematic delineation of the kind of people and the conduct expected of them under the standards of God’s kingdom (Russell 8). Batdorf outlines the apex at which the Beatitudes stand: â€Å"If Jesus is the Messiah and his life on earth really does set the pattern that his disciples should match, then his [Matthew’s] words here and in all the following discourses make sense. If this is not so, then the bottom drops out of Matthew’s whole argument. In this light the Beatitudes become the hinge upon which the whole of Matthew’s structure turns† (Batdorf 28). At the forefront of Matthew’s first discourse are the Beatitudes, a collection of eight imperative statements of blessing. The term ‘beatitude’ derives from the Latin word beatitudo and is designated by many scholars as its own literary genre. As such, it is a literary form found in a wider spectrum of wisdom literature not limited to Jewish or Christian writing. Some scholars have even proposed Egyptian wisdom literature as a conceivable origin (Betz 92). Poetic parallelism can be found in the Beatitudes as a carryover from the poetry of the Old Testament. The arrangement in quatrains of parallel lines containing pa rallel or corresponding ideas is very common and Psalms 8 is a prime example (Russell 15). Matthew’s eight beatitudes are composed of two quatrains, each ending with the word ‘righteousness.’ The terminology generally used for this is an â€Å"envelope figure† and Matthew uses it again in Matt. 7:16-20. Although scholars often attribute this arrangement to the composer of the Logia, Russell points out that it is â€Å"highly probable that so poetic a spirit as Jesus, brought up as he was in the Hebrew tradition and accustomed from childhood to the poetry of the Psalms and other Old Testament literature, would use parallelism for his words of gnomic wisdom as well as for his utterances of exalted imagination and lofty feeling† (Russell 16).

Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes Mellitus Case Study

Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes Mellitus - Case Study Example In early diabetes mellitus, it has been stated that the ability of muscles to take up and utilize glucose are decreased by more than 50 percent. A major effect of glucagon occurs next in the pathology when it stimulates the release of excessive glucose from the live. Also, it is known that fat tissues in the body are resistant to the effects of insulin and they release free fatty acids which are a major contributor in the development of insulin resistant (Byrne, 2011). The release of free fatty acids from dysfunctional fat cells leads to increased insulin resistance. Adipocytes also release certain chemical mediator which act on the pancreatic beta cells and deteriorate their function. On the other hand it is a well-known fact that insulin has a lipolytic effect i.e. it causes breakdown of additional fatty tissues in the body and avoids accumulation of fat in the body. In type 2 diabetes mellitus patients who are already obese, insulin resistance develops over time and leads to deterioration of the function of beta cells of pancreas. Free fatty acids produced by adipocytes are transferred to the liver where they act on liver cells and inhibit the formation of glycogen from glucose. This results in the release of high levels of glucose from the liver. Early stages of the disease see high levels of insulin and high levels of blood glucose at the same time however the with decreased functional capacity of beta cells and their destruction in the course of the disease, blood levels of insulin decrease. This decrease in the levels of insulin leads to the accumulation of fat in the body and causes abdominal obesity (Byrne, 2011). Microvascular changes are of profound importance in type 2 diabetes mellitus since they can lead to fatal consequences. One of the major causes behind these microvascular changes is continuous hypertension in type 2 diabetes. Hypertension is caused by loss of the ability of

Character Archetypes in For Whom the Bell Tolls Essay

Character Archetypes in For Whom the Bell Tolls - Essay Example To begin with, Maria’s story essentially begins when the enchanting American professor, Robert Jordan, enters her life. Before that, she was a rebel, a broken character all but destroyed by the civil war. However, Maria is a survivor. Her very character is symbolic of the war effort in that she has endured the loss of her family, who were brutally murdered by a fascist group, was gang raped by the fascists herself, and then spent time as a prisoner of the fascists, during which time her hair was cut short to symbolize her forced renouncement of the Republican cause. She was an utterly broken woman. Stripped of her family, her dignity, and her inherent power as a woman, Maria was on the verge of giving up—and would have—if not for the shining light that Pilar represented and the sexual redemption found within Robert’s arms. Maria is an inherently sexual heroine. She and Robert make love three times over the course of the novel’s three days and their relationship is fast-forming. Almost instantly, despite the civil war erupting around them, they discover a deep and transcendent love for one another. She is able to, at least outwardly, overcome the monstrous act upon her body; though, psychologically it appears as though she is taking up a sexual relationship with Robert because she is seeking a parallel comfort to her agony. In being sexually hurt, she seeks sexual redemption in the arms of the strong male lead. As a character, Maria is stereotypical and does not experience much evolution during the course of For Whom the Bell Tolls. She is nineteen, and while many women grow to be stronger characters during times of crisis, she maintains a youthful mindset, unable to fully escape from the horrors of her past. It is only when she finds herself safely in the arms of Robert that she attains some semblance of peace. What her character does represent, however, is the archetypal fire of rebellion in the hearts of the rebels during the war. Like the rebels, her heart, while damaged, fought for freedom, seeking solace in the darkness, finding peace in redemption. Ultimately, Maria’s sexual search for self is a direct correlation to the passion of the rebellion and demonstrates that a person can find true peace—an almost transcendent immortality—when the fires of rebellion burn hot within them. On the other hand, Pilar is a diverse and challenging character. She claims she is à ¢â‚¬Å"so simple [she is] complicated† (Hemingway 156). She is tough, almost more so than the male leads of For Whom a Bell Tolls, and, more importantly, she serves as an archetypal symbol for the strength of the Republican cause during the Spanish Civil War. She is a woman unafraid of conflict, and will challenge any of the men for their character flaws, cowardice, and mistakes. Perhaps the most endearing quality to Pilar—and that which makes her more accessible a character than Maria—is that she is nearing fifty and no longer knows the love of a man. She becomes almost instantly jealous of Maria and Robert’s relationship and makes a point of telling Maria so, explaining that â€Å"I love thee and he can have thee, I am no tortillera but a woman made for men†

Unit 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Unit 1 - Essay Example The research is based on S-O-R framework where it is assumed that response is generated when virtual stimuli impacts organismic experience in virtual world. The research objective was to show as to how the spatial dynamics influence purchase behavior in virtual world. The questionnaires are filled by inhabitants of virtual world, called Second Life through links posted on various web site or forums of virtual world. Sun (2009) asserts that mixed methods are more efficient as businesses are complex. But at the same time, it is equally important to understand the basic purpose of the study: whether it is intended to address particular issue/ area for specific organization; or the research is required to address the problem of the industry in general. The study illustrates the fact that research criteria and methodologies in virtual worlds are also driven by the same research imperatives. The only difference is that validity of research elements could not be ascertained. Though study lacked cohesive design that could integrate the abstract concepts with the observable values, the inductive logic and scientific methods proved be hugely facilitating mechanism to identify trend and behavioral pattern. Research problems have to be specific as they help in focusing on the core research need in the chosen area of research. Identifying and understanding research problems also provide one with the implicit and explicit knowledge to integrate requisite theories and evolve effective research epistemology of research. Brainstorming the research topic helps to refine the questions and explore key potential areas of core problems that would help in the research. Most importantly, they help to raise critical aspects of research imperatives that could have significant impact on the academia. Brause (2000:47) says that ‘you do not start by writing your dissertation. You start by identifying

Final Exam on Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Final Exam on Strategic Management - Essay Example Based on the information provided in this case, you are required to prepare and submit a report outlining the following in your application: Statistics of the revenue generated by various online movie rental organizations prove that the evolution of the industry has moved extremely high since the time DVDs were introduced in 1997 and phasing out of VHS. Most organizations in the business of DVD/rental of DVD's have witnessed predominant growth - eg. Netflix 74%, DVD sales 34%, apart from companies such as Blockbuster video, Wal-Mart, Movie Gallery, Walt Disney's movies on demand, have reported a highly positive trend of revenue, which confirms that the market size of the movie entertainment is rapidly growing, and expected to grow further at an international market level, however with positive technology advancements. It is predicted by Analysts that the market of online movie/video game rental is expected to grow more than $30 billion by 2006. a) The geographical areas of online movie rental companies are with a spread world wide, either with direct outlets, franchises, sales of DVDs, DVD recorders, or download from the internet, thereby resulting in global competition. i. b) Number of rivals: The rental of movies are available are through: Online rentals. Physical retail stores and stand alone outlets. Physical retail store rental outlets. Websites PC downloads Piracy of DVDs Sales of DVD recorders. c) Size of Competitors and services: The introduction of consumer electronic product being sales of the Digital Video disc, where movies are available through wide range of channels, following are the various size of competitors: i. Netflix one of the world's largest online movie rental service provider, founded in 1997 and successfully achieved a base of 1 million subscriber over a span of 3 years being half the time span achieved by AOL which is another online service provider. Netflix offers a choice of 15000 movies to its customers, with leading 15 distribution outlets, where DVDs reach more than 90 percent of its subscribers with generally one business-day delivery. It also offers personalized movie recommendations to its members, and also allows members to share and recommend movies to one another. It has reported a business growth of 74%. ii. Blockbuster video - an organization in business of video cassettes, DVD and video games, with most of its revenue from United States, with their innovative program of "pay-per-view" co-branded with DIRECTV. Blockbuster reported $5.5 billion in 2002 and grown to 8500 franchised stores. They offered 44 movie selection a day to subscribers. iii. Wal-Mart - One of the largest retailer, reported an income of $244.5 billion, established itself largely in the United States with 3200 facilities and 1100 facilities abroad, with 7 distribution centres. iv. Movie Gallery: An organization that had grown after acquiring "Mom-and-pop" video stores and with further

The Age of New Media Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Age of New Media - Essay Example But, the flip side to all such developments is that the technology is also being used by some anti-social groups to carry out some destructive activities. For example, the terror network of groups like Al-Qaida etc. has been quite active in making use of networking, satellite communication etc. to shape up the nasty designs and thus causing tension in the society. Well, such groups have their own versions of truth, which they claim to be the motivation behind such acts. Therefore the governments of the world are supposed to come out with measures which can detect such designs and take corrective steps. The business world today has become quite competitive. With shrinking profit margins and high levels of competition, the corporate world has been trying to minimise the costs associated with the production and manufacturing of goods and services. Minimising the pilferage happens to be another key motive during the production and transportation of goods and services. Therefore the company management tries out ways and means to take effective control of such happenings and plan out strategies to counter them. Similarly, the retail industry is known to have a number of items on display in such a manner that customers can have a reassuring look at the items and if they feel convinced, they can purchase those products. But there are occasions when some unscrupulous elements try to lift the items without the knowledge of the sales person. To avoid such shop-lifting attempts, retail stores are supposed to put in place a mechanism so that they can keep an eye on suspicious elements. All such developments point out to one common phenomenon known as surveillance. If we take a look at the history of surveillance, the image of a burly spy in trench-coat standing on the roadside corner in the rain keeping an eye on the movement of the general public immediately comes to our mind. But the system of surveillance has graduated from this scenario and today the spy is not required to sweat out in the hot summer or drench himself in the rain, he can gather all the information on his desktop, laptop, palmtop, mobile or other handy gadgets, at the press of a button, thanks to the information gathering network. Though the modus operandi defers depending upon the importance and strategic nature of the surveillance, but one factor common in all such acts is the monitoring of our actions in different measure. While on the one hand we have biometrics machines on airports, railway stations, bus station, important offices etc. the RF tagging is used to keep an eye on goods as well as the movement of the workforce at many companies. A report brought out by the surveillance society in the year 2006 pointed out that the heightened concerns in view of the levels of intrusion in citizen's lives2. There are of course the incidents like the 9/11 attacks, the London bombing, the Mumbai shootout, the Pakistani bomb blasts, the Afghanistan war etc. which require intelligence inputs so that the terror elements are not in a position to work out similar incidents, but at

10 C's for Writing Effectively Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

10 C's for Writing Effectively - Research Paper Example It is therefore highly due of the organization to pay him back in a modest way and send him off with the most deserving manner that he deserves. It is therefore decided that a formal farewell will be organized which will be held in the evening hours of the working. All the members are cordially invited to and requested to join the farewell party and make their presence felt and pay back the honorable officer Mr. Joe Banyon as a tribute to his contributions. The departments are requested to organize and arrange for activities in the form of small skits, performances, tribute or any other effort that may make the respected Mr. Joe Banyon well received and warmly treated before his retirement. The farewell party is still six days away, and the following email ids and phone numbers are attached through which the members can get in touch and coordinate or consult for any kind of suggestions, information or ideas that they may feel appropriate for the event for which gathering and entire event is being organized. These Cs include, communication, Correctness and Coherence. All of these variables were either partially touched upon or were missing in the initially written mail and letter. Adding these have made it possible to address the entire unit. The addition of email address, and adding formal touch to the letter has also added one more C of formal letter writing. This C is added in the form of Connection between the different elements of the letter. The connection point allows for a clearly written paper establishing a link between the different terminals and points of

The narrator’s jealousy of Rebecca Essay Example for Free

The narrator’s jealousy of Rebecca Essay The narrator’s jealousy of Rebecca permeates the majority of the novel. Because of her youth and insecurity, the narrator is unable to understand why Maxim chooses to marry her. As she learns more and more about Rebecca, she begins to compare herself to Maxim’s first wife, who seemed to be far more beautiful, elegant, and sophisticated than she could ever hope to be. The narrator’s preoccupation with Rebecca develops to the point that she concludes that Maxim is still in love with her. With this revelation, the conflict between the narrator and the memory of Rebecca becomes a competition for Maxim’s love. Yet, with her desperate love for Maxim and jealousy of Rebecca, the narrator has no recourse until Maxim tells her the truth about Rebecca. Only then can the narrator overcome her jealousy and approach her marriage as the sole Mrs. de Winter. Jealousy also appears on Maxim’s side of the narrative, specifically in his relationship with Rebecca and her many lovers. Maxim confronts Rebecca in the boathouse and ultimately kills her because she manipulates his jealousy into a tool for her own destruction. In both cases, jealousy is a destructive force that has the ability to destroy both Maxim and the narrator if they let it. Escaping the past One of the main conflicts of Rebecca revolves around Maxim and the narrator’s efforts to escape the past. From his first entrance in the novel, Maxim is tormented by the memory of his marriage to Rebecca and his eventual murder of her. Even though the narrator never knew Rebecca, she is equally haunted by her presence at Manderley through her physical representative, Mrs. Danvers. The characters are only able to move forward with their marriage after each one has come to terms with the past in their individual ways. For the narrator, Maxim must reveal that he never loved Rebecca in order for her to assume her position as mistress of Manderley. Maxim, on the other hand, must own up to the consequences of his actions and stop running from the memory of what he has done. In the end, Maxim and the narrator triumph over the memory of Rebecca but only after Manderley, with all of its memories of her, is destroyed. Good versus evil. Du Maurier plays with the dichotomy between good and evil in the way that she  presents the main characters. From a general perspective, it is clear that the narrator and Maxim are on the â€Å"good† side, while Rebecca and Mrs. Danvers are on the â€Å"bad† side. Yet, Du Maurier adds complexity to each character so that all sense of good and evil becomes purely subjective. For example, Maxim is the primary male character and the narrator’s love interest and thus, is presented as the hero of the novel. At the same time, however, Maxim is a murderer who shot Rebecca in a fit of rage, an act that is hardly appropriate for a hero. Similarly, while Mrs. Danvers is presented as the antagonist of the novel who actively strives to undermine the narrator, she is also an individual who is overwhelmed with grief at the lost of her friend and mistress. By blending the concepts of good and evil, Du Maurier creates a set of characters that are truly human in their complexit y and motivations. Love vs. hate Love and hate serve as crucial motivational tools for the primary characters in Rebecca. In most cases, characters exhibit both emotions—sometimes even a blend of the two—and use their love or hate to justify their actions in the novel. For the majority of the text, Maxim is motivated by his love for the narrator and Manderley, as well as his hatred for Rebecca and her memory. Mrs. Danvers and Jack Favell, as the seeming â€Å"villains† of the piece, are both prompted by their love for Rebecca and hatred for those who seem to have forgotten her. In Mrs. Danvers’ case, Rebecca is the object of an obsessive love that Mrs. Danvers uses to justify her hatred of the narrator and her attempt to undermine Maxim’s second marriage. Jack Favell, on the other hand, had hoped to marry Rebecca, and he uses his disappointed love to justify blackmailing Maxim. As the object of both love and hate, Rebecca is the only character who seems to be motivated purely by se lf-love in her behavior. As a result, she manipulated the emotions of those around her to her own advantage and maintained power over Manderley both in life and in death. Identity One of the major themes of the novel is the narrator’s search to establish her own identity. Du Maurier establishes this theme from the very beginning by maintaining the narrator’s anonymity, as only Maxim learns the narrator’s â€Å"lovely and unusual† name. When she marries Maxim, the narrator is  automatically given a new identity as Mrs. de Winter, but she does not feel comfortable or suited to the role. The narrator’s uncertain identity worsens during her time at Manderley because the constant reminder of Rebecca, the â€Å"real† Mrs. de Winter. The narrator is quickly overwhelmed by the strength of Rebecca’s presence and even considers given up all claims to an identity as Maxim’s wife. The climax of the narrator’s identity crisis is at the Manderley costume ball when even her physical appearance is overshadowed by the memory of Rebecca in the same costume. In the end, the narrator must learn the truth about Rebec ca’s nature before she can feel assured of Maxim’s love and her identity as Mrs. de Winter.

The Decline In Tourism Of Pakistan

The Decline In Tourism Of Pakistan The title of this research paper, as it entails, is Decline in Tourism of Pakistan. The main purpose of this project is to determine the real causes of downfall in Pakistans Tourism. In order to further elaborate the purpose, the objectives of study are to obtain the rating and ranking of various issues which are considered to be the likely causes of decline in tourism; examine and investigate the role of Government of Pakistan (Ministry of Tourism, PTDC, TDCP) in running the tourism industry; determining how far the public sector of Pakistan is responsible for the downfall of tourism and determining how far the private sector of Pakistan has its role to play in the decline of tourism. Multiple sources were used to collect secondary data such as periodicals, government sources, regional publications, media sources and commercial sources. A hybrid research methodology is used which consists of questionnaire survey research, a personal interview and a focus group interview. Through the multi-dimensional research, it was observed that out of the ten issues which posed as likely causes for tourism downfall, nine proved to be real causes which are constantly decaying the tourism industry of Pakistan. Except the terrorism factor, which acts as both an internal and external force, all issues are consequences of governments incompetence and corruption. Nevertheless, the Pakistani media, being a key stakeholder is not helping to portray the soft image of Pakistan to the world and within. In order for curbing these issues, the it is primarily the responsibility of Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab(TDCP), Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation(PTDC) and all provincial tourism ministries to foster infrastructural development related to tourist services and facilities; establish cohesion and coordination amongst state departments in order to smoothly carry out tourism development projects. Public-Private Sector partnership is the need of the hour and if the govern ment sincerely works on establishing productive partnerships with private sector enterprise then it will be an all-win situation not only for the tourism industry but for the economy of Pakistan as a whole. The Media of Pakistan should emphasize more on the national interest and curb the continuous and over-emphasized broadcasting of news related to disasters, violence and terrorist attacks as it results in portrayal of negative image of the country in the world. As for terrorism, since now it has become more deep rooted in Pakistani society, the current government and the governments to come would have to be equipped with a package considering the national interest- of radical social, economic and educational reforms which should be planned and implemented in order to stop the development of provocative and extreme mindsets in the society which further lead to conflicts in the name of religion, castes and socio-economic classes. This research project brings a deteriorating industry of Pakistan into limelight which is continuously underperforming for the past 5 years. Pakistan is a home of approximately 180 million people and most of the population is earning less than US$ 1 per day (Fakhar, 2008). Pakistan just like any other beautiful European country is a big market for tourism because it offers not only beauty of nature but also variety and diversity in cultures (Fakhar, 2008). In fact tourism is the most profitable and entrepreneurial business (Fakhar, 2008), especially for people living in the mountain areas as it creates new job opportunities and reduces the unemployment level for them (Fakhar, 2008). But unfortunately, tourists visit to Pakistan is decreasing tremendously with ups and downs each year (Fakhar, A.H, 2008).  [1]   Therefore the title of my research project is Decline in tourism of Pakistan. BACKGROUND Pakistan, after its independence from British India appeared as a modern nation on 14 august 1947(Fakhar, 2008). All four provinces of Pakistan are gifted with heritage and culture and one of the fertile and unique collection of majestic and lush fields, rivers, rugged mountains, lakes, deserts, landscapes and seashores enriched with friendly and hospitable people thus making it a heavenly destination for tourists with different tastes (Fakhar, 2008). Pakistan is known in the world of tourism because of the Karakoram, mountainous regions of the north, the Great Himalaya and the Hindukush who form the densest concentration of one of the worlds highest peaks. Pakistans Kalam (Swat valley) is known as the Switzerland of Asia (Fakhar, 2008).The hunza and chitral valleys in pakistan were the home to a small Pre-Islamic animist Kalasha community who claim descent from the army of Alexander the Great (Fakhar, 2008). The historical and archaeological sites of the Gandhara and Indus Valley ci vilizations, Taxila, the Mughal Empire and Mohenjo-Daro are the examples of oldest civilizations in Pakistan (Fakhar, 2008). This multicultural nature of the country also contributes to the tourism industry in the way that it offers various traditions, customs and festivals for the tourists to explore and enjoy (Fakhar, 2008).  [2]  Tourism in Pakistan has been stated by the Lonely Planet magazine as being the tourism industrys next big thing (Wikipedia, 2012). Pakistans tourism industry was in its heyday during the 1970s when the country received unprecedented amounts of foreign tourists, thanks to the Hippie Trail (Wikipedia, 2012). The main destinations of choice for these tourists were the Khyber Pass, Swat, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi (Wikipedia, 2012). In 2009, The World Economic Forums Travel Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked Pakistan as one of the top 25% tourist destinations for its World Heritage sites ranging from mangroves in the South, to Mohenjo-D aro and Harappa of the 5,000-year-old cities of the Indus Valley Civilization (Wikipedia, 2012). One year after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake i.e. October 2006, British Newspaper The Guardian released a piece of information what it described as The top five tourist sites in Pakistan in order to help the countrys tourism industry (Wikipedia, 2012). The five sites included Lahore, Taxila, Karimabad, The Karakoram Highway, and Lake Saiful Muluk. In order to promote Pakistans unique and various cultural heritage, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz launched the Visit Pakistan marketing campaign in 2007 (Wikipedia, 2012). This campaign involved various events throughout the year including fairs and religious festivals, regional sporting events, various arts and craft shows, folk festivals and several openings of historical museums (Wikipedia, 2012).  [3]   Based on the above Information, It seems like Pakistan is a perfect place to be visited by the tourists but still the tourists arrival is decreasing day by day(Fakhar, 2008) especially if the timeframe from 2007 to 2011 is considered. LITERATURE REVIEW Various international and national think tanks, renowned authors and scholars have highlighted the main causes of decline in tourism of Pakistan over the years. Seemingly, some of these causes are so grave and deep rooted in nature that it might take the Government of Pakistan decades to eliminate them provided it carry out the process of elimination with utmost dedication, coordination among other departments, effectiveness and efficiency. Due to adverse publicity in negative travel advisories, continued terrorism international media and deteriorated state of law and order in the country, the prospects for revival of inbound foreign tourism are very poor in near future. But still the scope for growth in domestic tourism does exist  [4]  . Lack of coordination among different government bodies, poor infrastructure, less attention paid on improving the image of the country by national campaigns are just some of the reasons for the decline of the sector in the present years. Terror ism and lack of security has also caused a severe blow to Pakistans tourism industry and can be listed as the major reason for its poor performance.  [5]  According to the tourists the biggest problem they are facing while travelling is security issues which include the current insurgency in Pakistan (Fakhar, 2008). Even the domestic tourists dont feel like travelling in their own country. Furthermore, the negative image of Pakistan portrayed by media to the outside world (Fakhar, 2008). Lack of infrastructure; ineffective promotional policies; inadequate tourists services and facilities; lack of initiative by concerned government departments; inadequate knowledge and training of personnel in tourism sector; law and order situation especially in the high tourist attraction areas; inadequate infrastructure facilities; lack of incentives in the tourist sector; failure to show and project the positive image of the country via media to the outside world; low allocation of annual tou rist budget; lack of development and facilities in the mountain regions; lack of understanding to the tourist needs; the overtaking and change of governments and administration within the country(army rule); high inflation rate are the key points which have altogether made tourism an unsuccessful industry in Pakistan (Fakhar, 2008)  [6]  . There was 0.8 percent and 3 percent decline in the number of foreign and domestic tourists, respectively (Correspondent, 2012, March 27). Official data revealed that the Taxila Museum was visted by 2,434 foreign tourists with various other archeological sites especially Sirkap and Dharmarajika Stupa located in the valley as compared to 2010 when it was recorded 2,474(Correspondent, 2012, March 27). 87,173 domestic tourists visited the sites last year as compared to 92,660 in 2010 (Correspondent, 2012, March 27).  [7]   How far terrorism affected tourism? The way terrorism, whether international or national, undoubtedly eroded the economy of Pakistan has also plagued the tourism of the country with the same gravity and notoriousness. The countries or regions that depend heavily on tourism have been found to suffer significant economic losses due to the persistence of terrorism (Ali, 2011). Gilgit-Baltistan and the NWFP are important destinations in Pakistan and people living there depend on tourism (Ali, 2011). For example, Swat was an important tourist destination in Pakistan which attracted people from across the world not only to its natural beauty but also to see its rich civilization and history. Swat supports all sorts of tourism, i.e., spiritual tourism, culture/heritage tourism, eco-tourism, adventure tourism, sports and commercial tourism  [8]  . There are over 855 hotels, which include 405 restaurants, in the valley and around 40,000 people are directly and indirectly associated with these hotels (Ali, 2011). But they ha ve mostly remained closed during the past three years due to militancy and the subsequent military operation (Ali, 2011). According to governments own estimates, the hotel industry in Swat valley suffered a loss of Rs. 60 billion from 2007 to 2009 (Ali, 2011). The workers associated with the hotel industry also lost their jobs due to the ongoing incidents of terrorism. Moreover, the transport industry faced a severe blow and both the national and international transport services either closed down or decreased their services from Peshawar, Islamabad and Lahore (Ali, 2011). Therefore, the hotel association offered a very cheap package of 10-day free stay in hotels in the valley Swat starting with the New Year 2010 (Ali, 2011). Consequently, in the financial year 2008-2009, the overall real GDP growth fell to 2 percent  [9]  (Ali, 2011). Pakistan ranked 113 out of 130 countries in 2009 as a tourist destination. The low ranking attributes to incidents of terrorism and the lack of a tourism regulatory framework in Pakistan (Ali, 2011). Sources said that many motels in the countrys restive northwest were closed down as tourists were banned from those areas and the staff had migrated to other cities for work  [10]  (Ali, 2011).According to Travel Tourism Competitiveness Report 2011  [11]  , Out of 139 countries, Pakistan has further dropped to the 125 mark as a tourist destination. The Role of Ministry Of Tourism, PTDC, TDCP and other Tourism Development Organisations of Pakistan Government intervention may be necessary to enhance the contribution of tourism to socio-economic development and poverty reduction. Of all governments principal roles, one is to set policy and legislative frameworks for tourism. The reasons why governments should formulate tourism development strategy are firstly the tourist industry has many negative externalities, particularly negative environmental and social impacts that need to be regulated and managed at national or local levels. Secondly, tourism can offer substantial opportunities for local economic development, which can augment the positive effects of tourism on local socio-economic development and poverty reduction. the Planning Commission of India has already identified tourism as one of the major vehicles for generating employment and promoting sustainable livelihoods (UNESCAP, 2007, pp. 84-85).  [12]  A 2007 UNESCAP report highlighted the importance and functioning of public sector in the development of a countrys tourism. As tourism moves up the national agenda, the departments of government dealing with tourism may need to be upgraded and strengthened. To achieve sustainable management of tourism, tourism ministry staff needs networking, support of colleagues and coordination and in other ministries and in a range of sub national administrations. Such needs emerge because the administration and governance of tourism takes places in localities where tourists and host communities interact, while incentives and regulations aare applied within a framework laid down at the national level. The tourism ministries have to be watchful to the impact of institutional fragmentation on the governance of tourism. Major decisions about management of cultural and natural assets, planning, labour regulations, environmental impact assessments, taxation policy and financial incentives are often the responsibility of other ministries, where there might not be adequate awareness about the impact on tourism plan s and policies. The functions of tourism ministries should go beyond marketing and promotion, regulating tourism businesses and include wider consultation and coordination. For example, the air transport has changed considerably in recent years due in part to policy initiatives, such as adding a substantial number of new routes, deregulation of air services and allowing operations by low-cost carriers; all of which would aim to increase the number of tourists. Since the economic benefits of tourism are now explicitly evaluated in aviation policy in countries such as Singapore, tourism ministries have to consider the implications for tourism plans, strategies and policies. Tourism ministries can provide the government and its agencies with systematic and a good quality data, particularly about the effects of different types of tourism on local socio-economic development. The provision of such data can help to substantiate the contribution of tourism and convince policy makers (UNESCA P, 2007, p. 85).  [13]  In 2010, the Punjab Resource Management Program with collaboration of A.F Ferguson Co. prepared a recommendations report to reform the TDCP (Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab). The above mentioned consultant firm aided in developing tourism models for various developed and developing countries including Thailand, India, Malaysia, USA, Switzerland and Australia. In all the cases, it was concluded that the public sector of any country is the main driving force for the tourism industry. As mentioned in this report, the functions and duties of Ministry of Tourism were as follows: Development Promotion of Tourism in Pakistan. Establishment of Pakistan National Tourism Council. Establishment and publicity of tourists centers in Pakistan and abroad. Development of tourism information centers for the service and guidance of domestic and foreign tourists in Pakistan. Establishment of tourist facilities in tourist potential areas where private sector is reluctant to invest. Regulation and Control of tourist industries and associated service. Establishment of International organizations and agreements relating to tourism. Controlling Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation. Promoting Facilitation of travel in Pakistan for tourists. Development of Tourism and Hotel training institutes. Encouraging training and research in tourism in Pakistan and abroad.  [14]  (A.F Ferguson Co. 2010) However the Ministry has been abolished on June 30th,2011 after the 18th amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan ensuring transfer of tourism ministries to the provinces. A.F Ferguson Co. recognized the importance of TDCP in running the tourism industry of Pakistan. The consultants proposed the following roles and functions of TDCP which the organization should adopt: Encouraging the tourism activities and industry in the province Performing the planning and development of tourism sites Offering one window service to facilitate the tourists Offering assistance to the Tourism and Resort Development Department Facilitating the organization and promotion of tourism events and activities Creating an environment which ensures capacity building in tourism industry Encouraging and facilitating public-private partnerships.  [15]  (A.F Ferguson Co. 2010) As per an analysis of tourism management of Pakistan, the stated objectives of PTDC are as follows: To establish and develop tourism infrastructure on an all Pakistan basis To act as an instrument on behalf of the Federal Government for the production of tourist literature and publicity for tourism both in terms of domestic and international. To act as a catalyst to encourage the private sector to play an active role in tourism development. To undertake tour operations and facilitate ground handling facilities for group tours. PTDC has an administrative structure which is responsible to control and operate all its involvement in the tourism sector. These are: Planning and Development Wing/Engineering Department; undertakes identification and implementation of projects concerned with tourism infrastructure such as recreation units, motels, resorts etc. Publicity and Promotion/Marketing Department; undertakes the production and publication of tourist literature in foreign and domestic tourist markets. PTDC Motels Ltd; carry out the management of all hospitality units operated by PTDC in various tourist destinations in Pakistan. Pakistan Tours Ltd; facilitates ground handling and transport facilities for international and domestic tourist groups and also acts as an inbound tour operator.  [16]  (Pakistan Research Repository, 2009) The provincial governments of other provinces have not adequately realized the importance of tourism for which the federal government is partially responsible. As far as only the realization is concerned, after assessing the performance of TDCP and realizing the fact that most of the tourist assets are situated in jurisdiction of NWFP or Khyber Pakhtunkhwaa(KPK), The provincial government of KPK established Sarhad Tourism Corporation (STC) in 1991. The aims and objectives of STC are as follows: To motivate the private sector to step forward and support tourism development in the form of tour operations and accommodation facilities at potentially attractive regions; Provide long-term, leases to private sector for development of properties through Joint ventures with STC; Serve as a spring board for fruitful interaction between the private sector and Government, PTDC for proper development of tourism industry; Cooperate with private sector in developing, distributing and sale of quality information and publicity materials.  [17]  (Pakistan Research Repository, 2009) The 2007 UNESCAP report also suggested ways how governments can channelize the progress of tourism of a country. Real progress can be facilitated by using a wide range of instruments. Many of these have been identified by the World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme and are categorized into measurement instruments which include sustainability indicators and monitoring; identification of limits, command and control instruments which include legislation, regulation, rules and licensing; land use planning and development control, voluntary instruments (guidelines and codes of conduct, reporting and auditing, and voluntary certification), supporting instruments (infrastructure provision and management, capacity-building, and marketing and information services) and economic instruments (pricing, charges and taxation; property rights and trading; financial incentives; and voluntary contributions). The right mix of policies and instruments will vary depending on the situation, objectives and government structures (UNESCAP, 2007, p.84).  [18]   The analysis on tourism management sheds light on the fact that over the years, the Ministry of Tourism remained unsuccessful in gaining the respect or confidence of the private sector. Nevertheless, the ministry was not fully empowered to handle the problems faced by tourists since most of the related responsibilities were assigned to other ministries/divisions, hence the focus on the problem solving lacked altogether. Furthermore, lack of funding had serious implications (Pakistan Research Repository, 2009) regarding the effective management of the tourism sector (Pakistan Research Repository, 2009). The Ministry of tourism never proved itself to be a source of effective and meaningful data, hence no comprehensive survey on tourism on its credit (Pakistan Research Repository, 2009). As far as PTDC is concerned, serious problems relating to recruitment, training, management style and finances are prevalent. The ministry is not fully responsible for recruiting the personnel. All the staff is not hired directly by the ministry Therefore a problem of dual management persists as half of the employees (Pakistan Research Repository, 2009) hired by the ministry are generalists whereas half of them hired directly by PTDC acquire inadequate experience. As a result, internal cooperation and coordination lacks among departments hence reporting procedure is also affected. The personnel hired, either by PTDC or Ministry of Tourism are not well trained and sufficiently qualified. Ironically over the years a major chunk of funding received from government (Baloch, 2007) has been spent in administration and staff costs. However, considering the training of personnel in the tourism industry, the Government of Pakistan back in December 1960 established a training institute which was initially a cooking school known as Pakistan Institute of Tourism Hotel Management (PITHM). A 2009 HEC Analysis stated the main function and activity of the Institute is to impart knowledge by training manpower for the Travel and Tourism Indu stry and Hospitality in Pakistan. This is done by seminars, workshops, regular courses and on the job training etc. It cooperates with PIAs training center in Karachi and provides courses for the Pakistan Navy. Furthermore, it offers consultancy services when and where required (Pakistan Research Repository, 2009).  [19]  The analysis also remarked on the condition and the performance of this institution: Since its foundation the Institute has been located in rented buildings, which could not cater for the demands of a professional education institute. Hence this has been a major constraint on its effectiveness and its ability to train students to the standards indicated in its aims and objectives. Lately the institute has moved to a newly ill-constructed building lacking numerous important facilities and equipment and has yet to resolve many problems to enable it to provide better training and facilities and environment for students and staff. For the last decade, the institution has had no official Director and the current Acting Director has inadequate management or training skills and is not compatible with the requirements of the hospitality industry. The existing staff is de-motivated and unqualified as instructors are entrenched in outdated syllabuses and teaching methods. Resultantly, the image of the school throughout the industry is very negative, chiefly due to lack of knowledge as to the industry needs and what the school can provide. The incapability of the school is further compounded by government controls and establishment employment scales where it is not possible to attract national or international qualified trainers at suitable private sector levels.  [20]  (Pakistan Research Repository, 2009) In June 2011, The National Assembly of Pakistan passed the 18th amendment according to which the Ministry of Tourism was devolved into the provinces. In response to this development UNESCO published a report to examine the post-devolution situation in the culture and tourism sector of Pakistan. According to the findings of this report, a number of stakeholders remarked that culture policies are an instrument for the promotion of creativity and must therefore recognize and incorporate heritage, tradition, crafts, classical and the performing arts. The majority of stakeholders both from the public and private sector supported devolution as they felt it would give empowerment to the provincial identities and pride and ownership at grass root level, which was the main purpose of the 18th amendment. The other side of the coin reflects the critical point of view on devolutionary process attributed to the 18th amendment. The stakeholders who hold the particular point of view also include th ose in the Senate Standing Committee on Tourism and Culture. Critiques of the devolutionary process, including those in the Senate Standing Committee on Tourism and Culture, as well as those emerging from stakeholder consultations pointed out that the provinces will not be able to harmonize a cohesive cultural heritage; instead this will lead to its fragmentation, and increase divisiveness within the country. Similarly some senior government representatives in Islamabad also did not support devolution, pointing out that the provinces lack capacity, resources and funds to completely manage cultural departments. Devolution was feared to not cause inter-provincial disharmony, but make communication with key donors more difficult, and cause delays in securing technical assistance. It was thus argued that the Ministry of Culture should remain the focal point and coordinate with the provinces.  [21]   The Role of Private Sector The tourism sector investments in the country are dominated by private sector with the role of public sector mainly as a facilitator. Nearly the entire restaurant, hotel, travel agency and tour operator business is in the private sector. Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) is also operating a limited number of hotels and roadside facilities in areas where the private sector has been reluctant. The Department of Tourist Services (DTS) is responsible for maintaining the standard and categorization of hotel industry. A 2012 report by Planning Commission of Pakistan remarked on the tourism development of Pakistan. The Ministry of Tourism looks after the entire public sector interventions including formulation of policies and overseeing the legal and regulatory framework.  [22]  The hotel and transport business is in the hands of the private sector, which has not contributed much to meeting the development costs. However the Planning Commission of Pakistan has envisaged to strengthen and regulate the private sector institutions operating in the hotel management and training sector in the 2011-2014 MTDF (Medium Term Development Framework) period. The hotel management and training institutes in the country are not delivering the desired results due to lack of management, regulation and teaching staff. Similarly, the host of private sector institutions providing ticketing and travel courses are not regulated which results in variable standards in the sector. As against the annual training needs of the tourism industry of about 3000 skilled staff, the total output of the existing training institutes is only about 500. (Planning Commission, 2012) The Hotel Industry of Pakistan Ali, et al., (2012) highlighted the importance of hospitality industry in South Asia and the current state of hospitality industry in Pakistan: The Hotel industry is among the top three constituents of the world economy after oil and autos and is growing faster than the petroleum and arms. Its larger than agriculture in the U.S.A, automobile industry in Japan and banking in Switzerland. Developing economies of South Asia are in rapid transit towards becoming service economies and therefore competitiveness of hospitality industry is emerging as a crucial factor influencing the overall competitiveness of a country, and Pakistan is no exception to this, where the share of services is increasing. It is unfortunate that instead of growing with international trend, the hospitality industry in Pakistan, co

Prejudice and Racism in Conrads Heart of Darkness :: Heart Darkness essays

Racism in Heart of Darkness   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚      Joseph Conrad develops themes of personal power, individual responsibility, and social justice in his book Heart of Darkness. His book contains all the trappings of the conventional adventure tale: mystery, exotic setting, escape, suspense, and unexpected attack. Chinua Achebe concluded, "Conrad, on the other hand, is undoubtedly one of the great stylists of modern fiction and a good story-teller into the bargain" (Achebe 252). Yet, despite Conrad's great story telling, he has also been viewed as a racist by some of his critics. Achebe, Singh, and Sarvan, although their criticisms differ, are a few to name. Normally, readers are good at detecting racism in a book. Achebe acknowledges Conrad camouflaged racism remarks, saying, "†¦ Conrad chose his subject well - one which was guaranteed not to put him in conflict with psychological pre-disposition..." (Achebe, 253). ***CAN YOU TELL US SPECIFICALLY WHAT THIS MEANS? THE READER DOES NOT KNOW WHAT PSYCHOLOGICAL PRE-DISPOSITION IS*** Having gone back and rereading Heart of Darkness, this time reading between the lines, I discovered some racism Conrad felt toward the natives that I had not discovered the first time I read the book. Racism is portrayed in Conrad's book, but one must acknowledge that in the eighteen hundreds society conformed to it. Conrad probably would have been criticized as being soft hearted rather than a racist in his time. Conrad constantly referred to the natives, in his book, as black savages, niggers, brutes, and "them", displaying ignorance toward the African history and racism towards the African people. Conrad wrote, " Black figures strolled out listlessly... the beaten nigger groaned somewhere" (Conrad 28). "They passed me with six inches, without a glance, with the complete, deathlike indifference of unhappy savages" (Conrad 19). Achebe also detected Conrad's frequent use of unorthodox name calling, "Certainly Conrad had a problem with niggers. His inordinate love of that word itself should be of interest to psychoanalysts" (Achebe 258). Conrad uses Marlow, the main character in the book, as a narrator so he himself can enter the story and tell it through his own philosophical mind. Conrad used "double speak" throughout his book. Upon arriving at the first station, Marlow commented what he observed. "They were dying slowly - it was very clear. They were not enemies, they were not criminals, they were nothing earthly now, nothing but black shadows of disease and starvation lying confusedly in the greenish gloom" (Conrad 20).

Life’s Moral Character Essay -- Philosophy, Nicomachean Ethics

Life’s Moral Character Virtue is a state that decides consisting in a mean, which is relative to us; it is a mean between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency. In the book, Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle uses his collection of lecture notes to establish the best way to live and acquire happiness. According to Aristotle, to live a happy life, you must obtain these to become morally good. Defining virtue and choice with the â€Å"doctrine of the mean† will guide our choices and build up moral character. When we follow this guide of choices can a series of good choices change a vicious character? Aristotle states that the human function is the life activity of the part of the soul that has reason and I will try to explain those reasons. This is the key part of Aristotle’s teachings, being able to take your pleasures and recognition and reflect and glean from them. The magnanimous person is very complex and displays the proper virtues at the proper time, in a proper way. This means you are genuinely inclined to act virtuously for the appropriate reasons. The great-souled man accommodates to his surroundings where he is honorable but not boastful in his actions. Aristotle argues the character of a person is acquired through habits an individual develops when he or she imitate his or her environment. He further believes it is only possible to attain happiness within a political organization because happiness represents living well without being concerned with others; they solely live for the truth and not approval. In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle’s view of the great-souled man is of an individual that represents happiness and obtains the five virtues: wisdom, justice, bravery, self-control, and the overall goodness wit... ...tional elements of the person. Aristotle tries to explain what this harmony consists in by exploring the psychological foundations of moral character. A person is good if he has virtues and lacks vices. A series of good choices can change a vicious character if he becomes virtuous by performing virtuous acts. Aristotle says, "We become just by performing just acts, and temperate by performing temperate acts" (N.E.18-19). In order to perform virtuous acts virtuously â€Å"the agent also must be in a certain condition when he does them; in the first place he must have knowledge, secondly he must choose the acts, and choose them for their own sakes, and thirdly his actions must proceed from a firm and unchangeable character" (N.E.30-33). Teaching also provides knowledge of why certain acts are virtuous to people with the right habits, the well-brought-up (N.E. 2-17).

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Discuss how Kaupapa MÄ ori Theory and Critical Theory are similar to one another and yet differ from Deficit Theory. Use examples and references to support your claims. Remember your examples should relate to an educational setting. For many eons the roots of kaupapa MÄ ori theory have grown in Aotearoa by virtue of being the MÄ ori ideology: a philosophical doctrine, incorporating the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values of MÄ ori society; whereas critical theory was developed in the â€Å"Frankfurt School â€Å"in Europe, in the 1930s. But apart from those thousands of miles and years, they have surprising similarities to each other (Pihama, 2001). Nonetheless: kaupapa MÄ ori theory is defined by MÄ ori for MÄ ori (Pihama, 2001). With a similar process, but not in a MÄ ori context, critical thinking analytically questions what is normally recognised as the unquestionable truth and evaluates it before reconstructing it (Elder, 2007). One vital aspect in the relevance to education of critical theory and kaupapa MÄ ori theory is the importance of teachers creating positive learning environments (Ministry of Education, 2010). Contrasting this, an example as defined in the Te Kotahitanga report , is the deficit theory, where mainstream teachers blame the lack of MÄ ori educational achievement on the students themselves, or their families or cultural background (Ministry of Education, 2010). The consequence of this deficit theorising is probable failure of pupils in the school system. Discussed in this essay will be the deficit theory and why education needs to look towards the more positive models of the kaupapa MÄ ori theory and critical theory with their similarities and successes. As prevention is better than cure, especially as the cure com... ...parents have used conscientisation, when they have not complied with the status quo of English medium schools, by moving their children, their whanau, their support and allegiance into the MÄ ori medium schools. Tragically, this has been because of deficit theorising, as MÄ ori have been under represented in educational successes, with teachers feeling there is little they can do to bring about change. Thankfully, for the greater percentage of MÄ ori children who still remain in English medium schools, with professional development models such as Te Kotahitanga, and Ka hikatia, with their MÄ ori education strategy initiatives, educators can create learning contexts that will provide students with those tools that are vital for the future, the tools of creative, critically reflective thinking citizens in a culturally inclusive environment that will benefit all pupils.

Facebook Privacy Restrictions Essay

It is alarming how fast technology is improving. Nowadays, it seems like having a Facebook account is a daily necessity or even a trend. According to a research done by TIMES magazine, more than one in four people who browse the Internet not only have a Facebook account but have returned to the site in the past thirty days. It is truly alarming how much Facebook has expanded. â€Å"Sometime in the next few weeks, Facebook will officially log its 500 millionth active citizen. † (Fletcher, 2010, TIMES, p. 6) Fletcher (2010) also stated that Facebook would be the world’s third largest country by population, which is two- thirds larger than America, if it were granted terra firma. With such a high popularity, an increasing number of Facebook users had raised the issue on privacy – limiting what others can say about you and who can say it. I believe that everyone does have the right to privacy. However, when it comes to sharing information on such a virtual yet convenient media, the Internet, can privacy restrictions really be achieved that easily and securely? In addition, will Facebook take that chance to make a major loss in its business? Devils are in the details. The Facebook’s Terms of Use may not be as fair and protective on their users’ privacy disclosure. As argued by Yoder in his website article â€Å"Top Ten Reasons You Should Quit Facebook†, Facebook not only compels its users to keep updating by threatening to terminate their accounts, it also states that it owns your data. Some may argue that these terms may only be set to defend the interests of Facebook. However, who can protect the interests of the many Facebook users? Being such a broadly used media, is it not the least reasonable to review the ethics policy and start readjusting the privacy settings? On the other hand, Facebook is not the only one to take the blame. The account users may have most likely overlooked the Terms of Use and simply jumped to click on the â€Å"I Agree† button just to start using Facebook as soon as possible. When these users found out that things are not going as they had expected, they start pointing their fingers to others and maybe neglecting their own responsibilities on the faults. Readjusting the privacy settings seems to be the only solution. However, who really has the persistence to fight for the change? How many people are really willing to give up the most widely- used socializing network just to defend a right that may take a considerable time to be protected? This shows successfulness of Facebook’s tactic – allowing a channel for emotional investments of its users and creating a cultural shift, making the public more accustomed to openness. The research done by TIMES magazine founded that over seventy percent of current Facebook users expressed negative feelings when asked how life would be like without Facebook. This may be attributed to Facebook’s development of a formula for the precise number of aha! moments a user must have before he or she is hooked, reported from an interview with the CEO (Fletcher, 2010, TIMES, p. 19). If the users leave Facebook, they might get the oh-no! moment in which they find out how much social updates they had missed. Facebook had been so successful in making itself indispensible. Who would really want to lose the connection? Some may have tried to remove their accounts. However, Yoder (2010) revealed that it is difficult to genuinely delete your account. Facebook will only deactivate your account but you will still be spammed by Facebook. Facebook is not really worried about losing its users because of the uproar on privacy control on its site. Similar protest had been demonstrated before such as the default settings of news feeds on the website which allows the action of a user to be published on the social update wall of their friends. Now, it seems silly to protest against news feeds. Though the nature of the two incidents are not at most similar, Facebook has so little to worry about as it is still operating within the restrictions set by the law. It is a frustrating matter to define the suitable extent of restriction on privacy for data disclosure on the Internet. Protection is undeniably necessary. However, when it comes to security on such a virtual ground, it seems the only one who can protect you is yourself.

KS Maniam Removal In Pasir Panjang Essay

As the first-generation descendant of indentured Indian labourers brought in to service the rubber plantations of British colonial Malaya, Maniam knows too well the trauma and losses attendant on that position of cultural, linguistic, geographic and temporal displacement. Early stories such as â€Å"Ratnamuni†, and â€Å"The Third Child† and â€Å"Removal in Pasir Panjang† capture the nuances and particular texture of diasporic Indian life, replete with its fears, failures and feelings of betrayal as its members cling desperately to familiar, long-ago rituals that are fast losing their currency in the new cultural location. Themes: Tradition vs Changes – perspectives on striking changes which have taken place in modern Malaysia and Singapore societies. Power relation – human relationship in different strata and racial aspects. Conflicts Setting Physical Penang in post independence time Small town – Pasir Panjang (refer to the text how the writer describes the town – the shop, the school, the buildings etc) The road – its significance impact to the town people Social setting Multi-racial community Nathan, Ramasamy representing the Indian, Ah Seng and CRC the Chinese community, the students etc The housing development on the other side of the river – representing changes The CRC (Chinese Recreation Club) – representing the tradition Plots (themes) A subtly paced contrast of this life with the more rapid changes brought about by urban development. There is a comic strand running throughout the story, the better because it is played by seriousness, concerning Nathan (protagonist) the school teacher’s resignation from CRC. Nathan sent in his resignation from the CRC The reaction of CRC concerning his decision CRC bent their rules to admit him, and send successive deputations to urge him to rejoin. The building of the road – Leng Leng’s death and other children who were also killed on the same road after its completion brings in the irony of the story (changes come with a price!) This highway/road causes upheaval in the slow-paced town Ironically yet tragic is the case of Leng Leng the orphan boy which in turn a comic in the case of Ah Seng the shop keeper, who fears he will lose his customers (being superstitious) Nathan’s impatience with Li Hwa (one of his students) show his desire to be out of the small town and join the development on the other side of town Nathan made his frequent visit to the jetty, watching the development on the other side of the river. As readers, we see from his observation, how the development springing but again development is partly shown in the darker side of betterment (e.g. prostitution, gangster elements etc) Nathan met Yahaya a stranger on the jetty, who warned him about interfering with the across river development. They both became friends and together contemplate the invasion of the new with a peculiar mixture of interest and dismay. There is the case alienation when Nathan who s beaten up by newer gangster elements who came with development. Cheng the school clerk came to nurse his wound Then a visit by Hock Guan, a CRC member together with Li Hwa, lightens up his misery. Li Hwa showed her charitable and respect for Nathan by giving him fruits The story ends with both Li Hwa and Nathan said sorry to one another – a pang of irony as they both did not like each other initially. Important points to look at: Language and style: 3rd person narrative – but we see the atmosphere and environment through the main protagonist, Nathan It indirectly brings us to dive into his emotion and conflict with the surrounding and himself. Irony and comic elements implanted – the portrayal of the old laterite road in contrast o the new road, the old slow-paced morbid town and the rapid development of the other  side of town (across the jetty where Nathan stood almost every evening), Ah Seng fear of losing business when the new road claimed its victim mostly children. The use of multi racial background accentuates the theme of power relation, how each character deals with their conflicts. Characters Their role and characteristics Nathan The protagonist A school teacher – he showed lack of patience at times but committed himself to his work He bit of a loner and indifferent especially with his students He desired changes and wanted to be transferred out of the town to a bigger town An ex member of CRC (he was admitted to the club on special condition – on the basis of a kind Catch 22 clause) He mixed well with other races though his efforts in mixing around looks superficial (except with Yahaya) Leng Leng An orphan mute boy who got his name from â€Å"his frenzied activity† â€Å"Street boys†, â€Å"not a pest† etc (read pg 154 for vivid description of him) Very fond of Nathan an d he will try to impress others through his comical antics He was killed at the opening of the new road by a speeding car. His short-lived character represent innocence and naivety (naà ¯ve) who was caught between tradition and changes) Ah Seng A member of CRC He owns a shop in town Superstitious Friendly to Nathan A symbol of tradition – he showed mix-feeling about the progression of the road Always trying to advise Nathan Li Hwa Curious Sensitive Strong will Forgiven self Naà ¯ve Yahaya A stranger that Nathan met A mysterious person Probably a gardener Like Nathan, he went to the jetty to see the other side of the world Friendly and smoking companion with Nathan He knew about the sleazy underworld where he constantly reminded Nathan to stay away from the development at the other side of town Ramasamy He bought lands – the developer Big mouth Ramasamy He brought changes into town

Control risk Essay

The auditor obtains an understanding of the design and implementation of internal Control to make a preliminary assessment of control risk as part of the auditor’s overall Assessment of the risk of material misstatements. The auditor uses this preliminary assessment of control risk to plan the audit for each material class of transactions. However, in some instances the auditor may learn that the control deficiencies are significant such that the client’s financial statements may not be auditable. So, before making a preliminary assessment of control risk for each material class of transactions, the auditor must first decide whether the entity is auditable. Two primary factors determine auditability: the integrity of management and the ade – quacy of accounting records. If management lacks integrity, most auditors will not accept the engagement. The accounting records are an important source of audit evidence for most audit objectives. If the accounting records a re deficient, necessary audit evidence may not be available. For example, if the client has not kept duplicate sales invoices and vendors’ invoices, it is usually impractical to do an audit. In complex IT environments, much of the transaction information is available only in electronic form without generating a visible audit trail of documents and records. In that case, the company is usually still auditable; however, auditors must assess whether they have the necessary skills to gather evidence that is in electronic form and can assign personnel with adequate IT training and experience. After obtaining an understanding of internal control, the auditor makes a preliminary assessment of control risk as part of the auditor’s overall assessment of the risk of material misstatement. This assessment is a measure of the auditor’s expectation that internal controls will prevent material misstatements from occurring or detect and correct them if they have occurred. The starting point for most auditors is the assessment of entity-level controls. By nature, entity-level controls, such as many of the elements contained in the control environment, risk assessment, and monitoring components, have an overarching impact on most major types of transactions in each transaction cycle. For example, an ineffective board of directors or management’s failure to have any process to identify, assess, or manage key risks, has the potential to undermine controls for most of the transaction-related audit objectives. Thus,  auditors generally assess entity-level controls before assessing transaction specific controls. Once auditors determine that entity-level controls are designed and placed in operation, they next make a preliminary assessment for each transaction-related audit objective for each major type of transaction in each transaction cycle. For example, in the sales and collection cycle, the types of transactions usually involve sales, sales returns and allowances, cash receipts, and the provision for and write-off of uncollectible accounts. The auditor also makes the preliminary assessment for controls affecting audit objectives for balance sheet accounts and presentations Many auditors use a control risk matrix to assist in the control risk assessment process at the transaction level. The purpose is to provide a convenient way to organize assessing control risk for each audit objective. the control risk matrix for transaction-related audit objectives, auditors use a similar control risk matrix format to assess control risk for balance-related and presentation and disclosure-related audit objectives. Identify Audit Objectives The first step in the assessment is to identify the audit objectives for classes of transactions, account balances, and presentation and dis closure to which the assessment applies. For example, this is done for classes of transactions by applying the specific transaction-related audit objectives introduced earlier, which were stated in general form, to each major type of transaction for the entity. For example, the auditor makes an assessment of the occurrence objective for sales and a separate assessment of the completeness objective. Identify Existing Controls Next, the auditor uses the information discussed in the previous section on obtaining and documenting an understanding of internal control to identify the controls that contribute to accomplishing transaction-related audit objectives. One way for the auditor to do this is to identify controls to satisfy each objective. For example, the auditor can use knowledge of the client’s system to identify controls that are likely to prevent errors or fraud in the occurrence transaction-related audit objective. The same thing can be done for all other objectives. It is also helpful for the auditor to use the five control activities (separation of duties, proper authorization,  Adequate documents and records, physical control over assets and records, and Independent checks on performance) as reminders of controls. For example: Is there adequate separation of duties and how is it achieved? Are transactions properly authorized? Are pre-numbered documents properly accounted for? Are key master files properly restricted from unauthorized access? The auditor should identify and include only those controls that are expected to have the greatest effect on meeting the transaction-related audit objectives. These are often called key controls. The reason for including only key controls is that they will be sufficient to achieve the transaction-related audit objectives and also provide audit efficiency. Associate Controls with Related Audit Objectives Each control satisfies one or more related audit objectives. This can be seen for transaction-relatedaudit objectives. The body of the matrix is used to show how each control contributes To the accomplishment of one or more transaction-related audit objectives. In this , a C was entered in each cell where a control partially or fully satisfied an bjective. A similar control risk matrix would be completed for balance-related and presentation and disclosure-related audit objectives. For example, the mailing of statements to customers satisfies three objectives in the audit of Hillsburg Hardware, which is indicated by the placement of each C on the row . Identify and Evaluate Control Deficiencies, Significant Deficiencies, and Material Weaknesses Auditors must evaluate whether key controls are absent in the design of internal control over financial reporting as a part of evaluating control risk and the likelihood of financial statement misstatements. Auditing standards define three levels of the absence of internal controls: 1. Control deficiency. A control deficiency exists if the design or operation of controls does not permit company personnel to prevent or detect mis-statements on a timely basis in the normal course of performing theirassigned functions. A design deficiency exists if a necessary control is missing or not properly designed. An operation deficiency exists if a well-designed control does not operate as designed or if the person performing the control is insufficiently qualified or authorized. 2. Significant deficiency. A significant deficiency exists if one or more control deficiencies exist that is less severe than a material weakness (defined below), but important enough to merit attention by those responsible for oversight of the company’s financial reporting. 3. Material weakness. A material weakness exists if a significant deficiency, by itself, or in combination with other significant deficiencies, results in a reason – able possibility that internal control will not prevent or detect material financial statement misstatements on a timely basis. To determine if a significant internal control deficiency or deficiencies are a material weakness, they must be evaluated along two dimensions: likelihood and significance. If there is more than a reasonable possibility (likelihood) that a material misstatement (significance) could result from the significant deficiency or deficiencies, then it is considered a material weakness. A five-step approach can be used to identify deficiencies, significant deficiencies, and Material weaknesses. 1. Identify existing controls. Because deficiencies and material weaknesses are the absence of adequate controls, the auditor must first know which controls exist. The methods for identifying controls have already been discussed. 2. Identify the absence of key controls. Internal control questionnaires, flow charts, and walkthroughs are useful tools to identify where controls are lacking and the likelihood of misstatement is therefore increased. It is also useful to examine the control risk matrix, such as to look for objectives where there are no or only a few controls to prevent or detect misstatements. 3. Consider the possibility of compensating controls. A compensating control is one Elsewhere in the system that offsets the absence of a key control. A common example in a small business is the active involvement of the owner. When a compensating control exists, there is no longer a significant deficiency or material weakness. 4. Decide whether there is a significant deficiency or material weakness. The likelihood of misstatements and their materiality are used to evaluate if there are significant deficiencies or material weaknesses. 5. Determine potential misstatements that could result. This step is intended to identify specific misstatements that are likely to result because of the significant deficiency or material weakness. The importance of a significant deficiency  or material weakness is directly related to the likelihood and materiality of potential misstatements. Associate Significant Deficiencies and Material Weaknesses with Related Audit Objectives The same as for controls, each significant deficiency or material weakness can apply to one or more related audit objectives. In the case of Hillsburg, there are two significant deficiencies, and each applies to only one transaction-related objective. The significant deficiencies are shown in the body of the figure by a D in the appropriate objecti ve column. Assess Control Risk for Each Related Audit Objective After controls, significant deficiencies, and material weaknesses are identified and associated with transaction-related audit objectives, the auditor can assess control risk for transaction related audit objectives. This is the critical decision in the evaluation of internal control. The auditor uses all of the information discussed previously to make a subjective control risk assessment for each objective. There are different ways to express this assessment. Some auditors use a subjective expression such as high, moderate, or low. Others use numerical probabilities such as 1.0, 0.6, or 0.2. Again, the control risk matrix is a useful tool for making the assessment. This assessment is not the final one. Before making the final assessment at the end of the integrated audit, the auditor will test controls and perform substantive tests. These Procedures can either support the preliminary assessment or cause the auditor to make changes. In some cases, management can correct deficiencies and material weaknesses before the auditor does significant testing, which may permit a reduction in control risk. After a preliminary assessment of control risk is made for sales and cash receipts, the auditor can complete the three control risk rows of the evidence-planning worksheet . If tests of controls results do not support the preliminary assessment of control risk, the auditor must modify the worksheet later. Alternatively, the auditor can wait until tests of controls are done to complete the three control risk rows of the worksheet. As part of understanding internal control and assessing control risk, the auditor is required to communicate certain matters to those charged with governance. This Information and other recommendations about controls are also often communicated to management. Communications to Those  Charged With Governance The auditor must communicate significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in writing to those charged with governance as soon as the auditor becomes aware of their existence. The communication is usually addressed to the audit committee and to management. Timely communications may provide management an opportunity to address control deficiencies before management’s report on internal control must be issued. In some instances, deficiencies can be corrected sufficiently early such that both management and the auditor can conclude that controls are operating effectively as of the balance sheet date. Regardless, these communications must be made no later than 60 days following the audit report release. Management Letters In addition to these matters, auditors often identify less significant internal control-related issues, as well as opportunities for the client to make operational improvements. These should also be communicated to the client. The form of communication is often a separate letter for that purpose, called a management letter. Although management letters are not required by auditing standards, auditors generally prepare them as a value-added service of the audit. Test of controls We’ve examined how auditors link controls, significant deficiencies, and material Weaknesses in internal control to related audit objectives to assess control risk for each objective. Now we’ll address how auditors test those controls that are used to support a control risk assessment. For example, each key control that the auditor intends to rely on to support a control risk of medium or low must be supported by sufficient tests of controls. We will deal with tests of controls for both audits of internal control for financial reporting and audits of financial statements. Assessing control risk requires the auditor to consider both the design and operation of controls to evaluate whether they will likely be effective in meeting related audit objectives. During the understanding phase, the auditor will have already gathered some evidence in support of both the design of the controls and their implementation by using procedures to obtain an understanding . In most cases, the auditor will not have gathered  enough evidence to reduce assessed control risk to a sufficiently low level. The auditor must therefore obtain additional evidence about the operating effectiveness of controls throughout all, or at least most, of the period under audit. The procedures to test effectiveness of controls in support of a reduced assessed control risk are called tests of controls. If the results of tests of controls support the design and operation of controls as expected, the auditor uses the same assessed control risk as the preliminary assessment. If, however, the tests of controls indicate that the controls did not operate effectively, the assessed control risk must be reconsidered. For example, the tests may indicate that the application of a control was curtailed midway through the year or that the person applying it made frequent misstatements. In such situations, the auditor uses a higher assessed control risk, unless compensating controls for the same related audit objectives are identified and found to be effective. Of course, the auditor must also consider the impact of those controls that are not operating effectively on the auditor’s Report on internal control. Procedures for Tests of Controls The auditor is likely to use four types of procedures to support the operating effectiveness of internal controls. Management’s testing of internal control will likely include the same types of procedures. The four types of procedures are as follows: 1. Make inquiries of appropriate client personnel. Although inquiry is not a highly reliable source of evidence about the effective operation of controls, it is still appropriate. For example, to determine that unauthorized personnel are denied access to computer files, the auditor may make inquiries of the person who controls the computer library and of the person who controls online access security password assignments. 2. Examine documents, records, and reports. Many controls leave a clear trail of documentary evidence that can be used to test controls. Suppose, for example, that when a customer order is received, it is used to create a customer sales order, which is approved for credit. Then the customer order is attached to the sales order as authorization for further processing. The auditor can test the control by examining the documents to make sure that they are complete and properly matched and that required signatures or initials are present. 3. Observe control-related  activities. Some controls do not leave an evidence trail, which means that it is not possible to examine evidence that the control was executed at a later date. For example, separation of duties relies on specific persons performing specific tasks, and there is typically no documentation of the separate performance. For controls that leave no documentary evidence, the auditor generally observes them being applied at various points during the year. 4. Reperform client procedures. There are also control-related activities for which there are related documents and records, but their content is insufficient for the auditor’s purpose of assessing whether controls are operating effectively. For example, assume that prices on sales invoices are obtained from the master price list, but no indication of the control is documented on the sales invoices. In these cases, it is common for the auditor to reperform the control activity to see whether the proper results were obtained. For this example, the auditor can re perform the procedure by tracing the sales prices to the authorized price list in effect at the date of the transaction. If no misstatements are found, the auditor can conclude that the procedure . Extent of Procedures The extent to which tests of controls are applied depends on the preliminary assessed control risk. If the auditor wants a lower assessed control risk, more extensive tests of controls are applied, both in terms of the number of controls tested and the extent of the tests for each control. For example, if the auditor wants to use a low assessed control risk, a larger sample size for documentation, observation, and re performance procedures should be applied. The extent of testing also depends on the frequency of the operation of the controls, and whether it is manual or automated. Reliance on Evidence from the Prior Year’s Audit When auditors plan to use evidence about the operating effectiveness of internal control obtained in prior audits, auditing standards require tests of the controls’ effectiveness at least every third year. If auditors determine that a key control has been changed since it was last tested, they should test it in the current year. When there are a number of controls tested in prior audits that have not been changed, auditing standards  require auditors to test some of those controls each year to ensure there is a rotation of controls testing throughout the three year period. Testing of Controls Related to Significant Risks Significant risks are those risks that the auditor believes require special audit consideration. When the auditor’s risk assessment procedures identify significant risks, the auditor is required to test the operating effectiveness of controls that mitigate these risks in the current year audit, if the auditor plans to rely on those controls to support a control risk assessment below 100%. The greater the risk, the more audit evidence the auditor should obtain that controls are operating effectively. Testing Less Than the Entire Audit Period Recall that management’s report on internal control deals with the effectiveness of internal controls as of the end of the fiscal year. PCAOB Standard 5 requires the auditor to perform tests of controls that are adequate to determine whether controls are operating effectively at year-end. The timing of the auditor’s tests of controls will therefore depend on the nature of the controls and when the company uses them. For controls that are applied throughout the accounting period, it is usually practical to test them at an interim date. The auditor will then determine later if changes in controls occurred in the period not tested and decide the implication of any change. Controls dealing with financial statement preparation occur only quarterly or at year-end and must therefore also be tested at quarter and year-end. Relationship between Tests of Controls and Procedures to Obtaining Understanding There is a significant overlap between tests of controls and procedures to obtain an understanding. Both include inquiry, documentation, and observation. There are two primary differences in the application of these common procedures. 1. In obtaining an understanding of internal control, the procedures to obtain an understanding are applied to all controls identified during that phase. Tests of controls, on the other hand, are applied only when the assessed control risk has not been satisfied by the procedures to obtain an understanding. 2. Procedures to obtain an  understanding are performed only on one or a few transactions or, in the case of observations, at a single point in time. Tests of controls are performed on larger samples of transactions (perhaps 20 to 100), and often, observations are made at more than one point in time. For key controls, tests of controls other than re performance are essentially an Extension of procedures to obtain an understanding. Therefore, assuming the auditors plan to obtain a low assessed control risk from the beginning of the integrated audit, they will likely combine both types of procedures and perform them simultaneously. One option is to perform the audit procedures separately, where minimum procedures to obtain an understanding of design and operation are performed, followed by additional tests of controls. An alternative is to combine both columns and do them simultaneously. The same amount of evidence is accumulated in the second approach, but more efficiently. The determination of the appropriate sample size for tests of controls is an important audit decisions. Detection risk and the design of substantive tests We’ve focused on how auditors assess control risk for each related audit objective and support control risk assessments with tests of controls. The completion of these activities is sufficient for the audit of internal control over financial reporting, even though the report will not be finalized until the auditor completes the audit of financial statements. The auditor uses the control risk assessment and results of tests of controls to determine planned detection risk and related substantive tests for the audit of financial statements. The auditor does this by linking the control risk assessments to the balance related audit objectives for the accounts affected by the major transaction types and to the four presentations and disclosure audit objectives. The appropriate level of detection risk for each balance-related audit objective is then decided using the audit risk model. The relationship of transaction-related audit objectives to balance-related audit objectives and the selection and design of audit procedures for substantive tests of financial statement. Types of test In developing an overall audit plan, auditors use five types of tests to determine whether financial statements are fairly stated. Auditors use risk  assessment procedures to assess the risk of material misstatement, represented by the combination of inherent risk and control risk. The other four types of tests represent further audit procedures performed in response to the risks identified. Each audit procedure falls into one, and sometimes more than one, of these five categories. Figure 13-1 shows the relationship of the four types of further audit procedures to the audit risk model. As Figure 13-1 illustrates, tests of controls are performed to support a reduced assessment of control risk, while auditors use analytical procedures and tests of details of balances to satisfy planned detection risk. Substantive tests of transactions affect both control risk and planned detection risk, because they test the effectiveness of internal controls and the dollar amounts of transactions. Risk Assessment Procedures TThe second standard of fieldwork requires the auditor to obtain an understanding of the entity and its environment, including its internal control, to assess the risk of material misstatement in the client’s financial statements. Risk assessment procedures are performed to assess the risk of material misstatement in the financial statements. The auditor performs tests of controls, substantive tests of transactions, analytical procedures, and tests of details of balances in response to the auditor’s assessment of the risk of material misstatements. The combination of these our types of further audit procedures provides the basis for the auditor’s opinion, as illustrated by Figure 13-1. A major part of the auditor’s risk assessment procedures are done to obtain an Understanding of internal control. Procedures to obtain an understanding of internal control were studied and focus on both the design and implementation of internal control and are used to assess control risk for each transaction-related audit objectively Tests of Controls EThe auditor’s understanding of internal control is used to assess control risk for each transaction-related audit objective. Examples are assessing the accuracy objective for sales transactions as low and the occurrence objective as moderate. When control policies and procedures are believed to be effectively designed, the auditor assesses control risk at a level that reflects the relative effectiveness of those controls. To obtain sufficient  appropriate evidence to support that assessment, the auditor performs tests of controls.S Tests of controls, either manual or automated, may include the following types of evidence. (Note that the first three procedures are the same as those used to obtain an understanding of internal control.) †¢ Make inquiries of appropriate client personnel †¢ Examine documents, records, and reports †¢ Observe control-related activities †¢ Reperform client procedures Auditors perform a system walkthrough as part of procedures to obtain an under – standing to help them determine whether controls are in place. The walkthrough is normally applied to one or a few transactions and follows that transaction through the entire process. For example, the auditor may select one sales transaction for a system walk through of the credit approval process, then follow the credit approval process from initiation of the sales transaction through the granting of credit. Tests of controls are also used to determine whether these controls are effective and usually involve testing a sample of transactions. As a test of the operating effectiveness of the credit approval process, for example, the auditor might examine a sample of 50 sales transactions from throughout the year to determine whether credit was granted before the shipment of goods. Procedures to obtain an understanding of internal control generally do not provide sufficient appropriate evidence that a control is operating effectively. An exception may apply for automated controls because of their consistent performance. The auditor’s procedures to determine whether the automated control has been implemented may also serve as the test of that control, if the auditor determines there is minimal risk that the automated control has been changed since the understanding was obtained. Then, no additional tests of controls would be required. The amount of additional evidence required for tests of controls depends on two things: 1. The extent of evidence obtained in gaining the understanding of internal control 2. The planned reduction in control risk Figure 13-2 (p. 406) shows the role of tests of controls in the audit of the sales and collection cycle relative to other tests performed to provide  sufficient appropriate evidence for the auditor’s opinion. Note the un shaded circles with the words â€Å"Audited by TOC.† For simplicity, we make two assumptions: Only sales and cash receipts trans – actions and three general ledger balances make up the sales and collection cycle and the beginning balances in cash and accounts receivable were audited in the previous year and are considered correct. If auditors verify that sales and cash receipts transactions are correctly recorded in the accounting records and posted to the general ledger, they can conclude that the ending balances in accounts receivable and sales are correct. (Cash disbursements transactions will OF have to be audited before the auditor can reach a conclusion about the ending balance in the cash account.) One way the auditor can verify recording of transactions is to perform tests of controls. If controls are in place over sales and cash receipts transactions, the auditor can perform tests of controls to determine whether the six transaction-related audit objectives are being met for that cycle. Substantive tests of transactions, which we will examine in the next section, also affect audit assurance for sales and cash receipts transactions. Substantive Tests of TransactionsSTS Substantive tests are procedures designed to test for dollar misstatements (often called monetary misstatements) that directly affect the correctness of financial statement balances. Auditors rely on three types of substantive tests: substantive tests of transactions, substantive analytical procedures, and tests of details of balances. Substantive tests of transactions are used to determine whether all six transactions related audit objectives have been satisfied for each class of transactions. Two of those objectives for sales transactions are recorded sales transactions exist (occurrence objective) and existing sales transactions are recorded (completeness objective for the six transaction-related audit objectives. When auditors are confident that all transactions were correctly recorded in the journals and correctly posted, considering all six transaction-related audit objectives, they can be confident that general ledger totals are correct. Figure 13-2 illustrates the role of substantive tests of transactions in the audit of the sales and collection cycle by lightly shaded circles with the words â€Å"Audited by STOT.† Observe that both tests of controls and substantive tests of transactions are performed for transactions in the cycle, not on the ending account  balances. The auditor verifies the recording and summarizing of sales and cash receipts transactions by performing substantive tests of transactions. Figure 13-2 shows one set of tests for sales and another for cash receipts. Analytical Procedures analytical procedures involve comparisons of recorded amounts to expectations developed by the auditor. Auditing standards require that they be done during planning and completing the audit. Although not required, analytical procedures may also be performed to audit an account balance. The two most important purposes of analytical procedures in the audit of account balances are to: 1. Indicate possible misstatements in the financial statements 2. Provide substantive evidence Analytical procedures done during planning typically differ from those done in the testing phase. Even if, for example, auditors calculate the gross margin during planning, they probably do it using interim data. Later, during the tests of the ending balances, they will recalculate the ratio using full-year data. If auditors believe that analytical procedures indicate a reasonable possibility of misstatement, they may perform additional analytical procedures or decide to modify tests of details of balances. When the auditor develops expectations using analytical procedures and concludes that the client’s ending balances in certain accounts appear reasonable, certain tests of details of balances may be eliminated or sample sizes reduced. Auditing standards state that analytical procedures are a type of substantive test (referred to as substantive analytical procedures), when they are performed to provide evidence about an account balance. The Extent to which auditors may be willing to rely on substantive analytical procedures in support of an account balance depends on several factors, including the precision of the expectation developed by the auditor, materiality, and the risk of material misstatement. Figure 13-2 illustrates the role of substantive analytical procedures in the audit of the sales and collection cycle by the dark shaded circles with the words â€Å"Audited by AP.† Observe that the auditor performs substantive analytical procedures on sales and Cash receipts transactions, as well as on the ending balances of the accounts in the cycle. Tests of Details of Balances Tests of details of balances focus on the ending general ledger balances for both balance sheet and income statement accounts. The primary emphasis in most tests of details of balances is on the balance sheet. Examples include confirmation of customer balances for accounts receivable, physical examination of inventory, and examination of vendors’ statements for accounts payable. Tests of ending balances are essential because the evidence is usually obtained from a source independent of the client, which is considered highly reliable. Much like for transactions, the auditor’s tests of details of balances must satisfy all balance-related audit objectives for each significant balance sheet account. Figure 13-2 illustrates the role of tests of details of balances by the circles with half dark and half light shading and the words â€Å"Audited by TDB.† Auditors perform detailed tests of the ending balances for sales and accounts receivable, including procedures such as confirmation of account receivable balances and sales cutoff tests. The extent of these tests depends on the results of tests of controls, substantive tests of transactions, and substantive analytical procedures for these accounts. Tests of details of balances help establish the monetary correctness of the accounts they relate to and therefore are substantive tests. For example, confirmations test for monetary misstatements in accounts receivable and are therefore substantive tests. Similarly, counts of inventory and cash on hand are also substantive tests. OSelect the appropriate types of audit tests Typically, auditors use all five types of tests when performing an audit of the financial statements, but certain types may be emphasized, depending on the circumstances. Recall that risk assessment procedures are required in all audits to assess the risk of material misstatement while the other four types of tests are performed in response to the risks identified to provide the basis for the auditor’s opinion. Note also that only risk assessment procedures, especially procedures to obtain an understanding of controls, and tests of controls are performed in an audit of internal control over financial reporting. Several factors influence the auditor’s choice of the types of tests to select, including the availability of the eight types of evidence, the relative costs of each type of test, the effectiveness of  internal controls, and inherent risks. Only the first two are discussed further because the last two were discussed in earlier chapters. Availability of Types of Evidence for Further Audit Procedures OEach of the four types of further audit procedures involves only certain types of evidence (confirmation, documentation, and so forth. †¢ More types of evidence, six in total, are used for tests of details of balances than for any other type of test. †¢ Only tests of details of balances involve physical examination and confirmation. †¢ Inquiries of the client are made for every type of test. †¢ Documentation is used in every type of test except analytical procedures. †¢ Re performance is used in every type of test except analytical procedures. Auditors may re perform a control as part of a transaction walkthrough or to test a control that is not supported by sufficient documentary evidence. †¢ Recalculation is used to verify the mathematical accuracy of transactions when per forming substantive test of transactions and account balances when per – forming tests of details of balances. Relative Costs When auditors must decide which type of test to select for obtaining sufficient appropriate evidence, the cost of the evidence is an important consideration. The types of tests are listed below in order of increasing cost: †¢ Analytical procedures †¢ Risk assessment procedures, including procedures to obtain an understanding of internal control †¢ Tests of controls †¢ Substantive tests of transactions †¢ Tests of details of balances Analytical procedures are the least costly because of the relative ease of making calculations and comparisons. Often, considerable information about potential misstatements can be obtained by simply comparing two or three numbers. Risk assessment procedures, including procedures to obtain an understanding of internal control, are not as costly as other audit tests because auditors can easily make inquiries and observations and perform planning analytical procedures. Also, examining such things as documents  summarizing the client’s business operations and processes and management and governance structure are relatively cheaper than other audit tests. Because tests of controls also involve inquiry, observation, and inspection, their relative costs are also low compared to substantive tests. However, tests of controls are more costly relative to the auditor’s risk assessment procedures due to a greater extent of testing required to obtain evidence that a control is operating effectively, especially when those tests of controls involve re performance. Often, auditors can perform a large number of tests of controls quickly using audit software. Such software can test controls in clients’ computerized accounting systems, such as in computerized accounts receivable systems that automatically authorize sales to existing customers by comparing the proposed sales amount and existing accounts receivable balance with the customer’s credit limit. Substantive tests of transactions cost more than tests of controls that do not include re performance because the former often require recalculations and tracings. In a computerized environment, however, the auditor can often perform substantive tests of transactions quickly for a large sample of transactions. Tests of details of balances almost always cost considerably more than any of the Other types of procedures because of the cost of procedures such as sending confirmations and counting inventories. Because of the high cost of tests of details of balances, auditors usually try to plan the audit to minimize their use. Naturally, the cost of each type of evidence varies in different situations. For example, the cost of an auditor’s test-counting inventory (a substantive test of the details of the inventory balance) often depends on the type and dollar value of the Inventory, its location, and the number of different items. Relationship between Tests of Controls and Substantive Tests To better understand tests of controls and substantive tests, let’s examine how they differ. An exception in a test of control only indicates the likelihood of misstatements affecting the dollar value of the financial statements, whereas an exception in a substantive test of transactions or a test of details of balances is a financial statement misstatement. Exceptions in tests of controls are called control test deviations. From the three levels of control deficiencies: deficiencies, significant deficiencies, and  material weaknesses. Auditors are most likely to believe material dollar misstatements exist in the financial statements when control test deviations are considered to be significant deficiencies or material weaknesses. Auditors should then perform substantive tests of transactions or tests of details of balances to determine whether material dollar misstatements have actually occurred. Assume that the client’s controls require an independent clerk to verify the quantity, price, and extension of each sales invoice, after which the clerk must initial the duplicate invoice to indicate performance. A test of control audit procedure is to inspect a sample of duplicate sales invoices for the initials of the person who verified the information. If a significant number of documents lack initials, the auditor should consider implications for the audit of internal control over financial reporting and follow up with substantive tests for the financial statement audit. This can be done by extending tests of duplicate sales invoices to include verifying prices, extensions, and footings (substantive tests of transactions) or by increasing the sample size for the confirmation of accounts receivable (substantive test of details of balances). Even though the control is not operating effectively, the invoices may still be correct, especially if the person originally preparing On the other hand, if no documents or only a few of them are missing initials, the control will be considered effective and the auditor can therefore reduce substantive tests of transactions and tests of details of balances. However, some re performance and recalculation substantive tests are still necessary to provide the auditor assurance that the clerk did not initial documents without actually performing the control procedure or performed it carelessly. Because of the need to complete some re performance and recalculation tests, many auditors perform them as a part of the original tests of controls. Others wait until they know the results of the tests of controls and then determine the total sample size needed. Relationship between Analytical Procedures and Substantive Tests Like tests of controls, analytical procedures only indicate the likelihood of misstatements affecting the dollar value of the financial statements. Unusual fluctuations in the relationships of an account to other accounts, or to nonfinancial information, may indicate an increased likelihood that material misstatements exist without necessarily providing direct evidence of a  material misstatement. When analytical procedures identify unusual fluctuations, auditors should perform substantive tests of transactions or tests of details of balances to determine whether dollar misstatements have actually occurred. If the auditor performs substantive analytical procedures and believes that the likelihood of material misstatement is low, other substantive tests can be reduced. For accounts with small balances and only minimal potential for material misstatements, such as many supplies and prepaid expense accounts, auditors often limit their tests to substantive analytical procedures if they conclude the accounts are reasonably stated. Trade-Off between Tests of Controls and Substantive Tests There is a trade-off between tests of controls and substantive tests. During planning, auditors decide whether to assess control risk below the maximum. When they do, they must then perform tests of controls to determine whether the assessed level of control risk is supported. (They must always perform test of controls in an audit of internal control over financial reporting.) If tests of controls support the control risk assessment, planned detection risk in the audit risk model is increased, and planned substantive tests can therefore be reduced. Figure 13-3 shows the relationship between substantive tests and control risk assessment (including tests of controls) at differing levels of internal control effectiveness Impact of information technology on audit testing Auditing standards provide guidance for auditors of entities that transmit process, maintain, or access significant information electronically. Examples of electronic evidence include records of electronic fund transfers and purchase orders transmitted through electronic data interchange (EDI). Evidence of the performance of automated controls, such as the computer’s comparison of proposed sales orders to customer credit limits, may also only be in electronic form. The standards recognize that when a significant amount of audit evidence exists in electronic form, it may not be practical or possible to reduce detection risk to an acceptable level by performing only substantive tests. For example, the potential for improper initiation or alteration of information may be greater if information is maintained only in electronic form. In these circumstances, the auditor should perform  tests of controls to gather evidence in support of an assessed level of control risk below maximum for the affected financial statement assertions. Although some substantive tests are still required, the auditor can significantly reduce substantive tests if the results of tests of controls support the effectiveness of controls. In the audit of a larger public company, computer-performed controls (these are called automated controls) must be tested if the auditor considers them to be key controls for reducing the likelihood of material misstatements in the financial statements. Because of the inherent consistency of IT processing, however, the auditor may be able to reduce the extent of testing of an automated control. For example, software based control is almost certain to function consistently unless the program is changed. Once auditors determine an automated control is functioning properly, they can focus subsequent tests on assessing whether any changes have occurred that will limit the effectiveness of the control. Such tests might include determining whether any changes have occurred to the program and whether these changes were properly authorized and tested prior to implementation. This approach leads to significant audit efficiencies when the auditor determines that automated controls tested in the prior year’s audit have not been changed and continue to be subject to effective general controls. To test automated controls or data, the auditor may need to use computer-assisted audit techniques or use reports produced by IT to test the operating effectiveness of IT general controls, such as program change controls and access controls. In many cases, testing of automated controls may be performed by IT audit specialists. When auditors test manual controls that rely on IT-generated reports, they must consider both the Effectiveness of management’s review and automated controls over the accuracy of Information in the report.