Discussion and Participation Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Discussion and Participation Questions - Essay Example 1). Concurrently, it is worth mentioning that there are five identified elements that are crucial in any internal control system to ensure effective and efficient implementation: control environment, risk assessment, control activities, information and communication, and monitoring (Kansas State University par. 4). Given these theoretical frameworks, organizations that experience significant changes in terms of growth through diversification, expansion (in products or markets) or acquisition need considerable and appropriate changes in internal control systems that would cater to the transformations made. For example, in a small rural bank which started with only one branch, the internal control system set in place should conform to the amount and quality of resources and corporate information that need to be safeguarded. A limited amount of â€Å"physical control measures are introduced such as locked key-card access and locks so that there is no theft of valuables. Several organiz ations have policies which require supervision of any person who enters a bank vault† (Bhattacharyya par. 7). ... In this regard, the internal control system of an expanding bank should be adjusted and adapted to the needs of its expansion by addressing more clientele, more resources, and therefore, more safeguards are necessary to prevent theft, fraud, negligence, and wastage, as intended. In some examples provided by the Federal Bank of San Francisco, some components of a sound internal control framework include the following guidelines: â€Å"(1) safeguard access to physical and electronic assets and records; (2) ensure adequate segregation and rotation of duties; (3) identify, monitor and minimize conflicts of interest; (4) establish and enforce authority and risk limits; (5) maintain appropriate staffing levels and expertise; and (5) conducting ongoing monitoring† (Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco 2-3). Large commercial banks therefore require more intricate and complicated but comprehensive internal control systems that would ensure safeguarding the resources of the banks and t hose of their growing number of clientele on an ongoing process. Works Cited Bhattacharyya, Madhurjya. Objectives of Internal Control. 8 July 2010. 15 December 2011 . Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. "Intternall Conttrols and Operational Risk Remain on Our Radar Screen." On the Radar Screen November 2004: 2-3. Kansas State University. Internal Controls. 30 June 2003. 15 December 2011 . Discussion Question 2 Describe a common fraud scheme for investments. Explain the controls that may be put in place to prevent the fraud. A common fraud scheme for investment was disclosed in the official website of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that circulated in

Global Strategy at General Motors Essay Example for Free

Global Strategy at General Motors Essay Company, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908 and its annual revenue in 2000 of $185 billion. The company sells 8 million vehicles per years, 3. 2 million of which are produced and market outside of its North America. GM caught 27 percent share of the North America and 9 percent share of the market in the rest of the world as well as GM captured 12 percent share in the Western Europe in 2000 which is second only to that of ford. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 140 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 34 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM’s OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. General Motors Company acquired operations from General Motors Corporation on July 10, 2009, and references to prior periods in this and other press materials refer operations of the old General Motors Corporation. Though GM had a long presence in developing countries, until recently sales there accounted for only a little fraction of the company’s total international business. Traditionally GM used the developing countries as a dumping ground for the obsolete technology and outdated models and earned huge money from this aging investment. This strategy has seen as lack of commitment from top management and GM offered very low quality, made of old product. All decision, plan and marketing decision were centralized by Detroit headquarter and they acted as a market context. GM kept in its mind about the poverty, crime, geographical situation and politics and communism in the developing countries. On the other hand, GM Detroit headquarters kept away GM European operation from other part of the world. And because of this arm’s-length-basis, company had failure to share all the valuable technology, skill and practice among the subsidiaries. But it had appealing market, and high profit opportunities in the Europe. So, GM did tailor the specific market needs because it had worried about blowing off from market if it didn’t tailor the specific market. So, while the GM tight controlled over its operation in the developing country but in the some time GM was too lax in Europe and felt lack of overall strategic coherence. Since 1997, GM has been trying to switch a philosophy that centre of excellence may reside any where in the global operation. An embodiment of this is to set up new four plants in the developing countries with investing $2. billion. And the four plants are identical and they can able to imitate Toyota. At the Eisenach plant, GM leant lean production from Toyota and implemented this. So the plant which productivity rate is at least twice that of most North American assembly operations is most efficient in Europe operation and the best in GM. Although they reach the more scale economics, more efficiency , more synergy, and ability to match local preference, but this strategy are not working because GM still suffers from high costs, low perceive quality. Finally, GM thinks that the push toward global cars is misconceived. At the Opel’s Russelsheim design facility, the German based engineering has uttered concerns that distinctively European engineering features may be left by the wayside in the drive to devise what they see as blander â€Å"global† cars. Question-1: How would you characterize the strategy pursued by GM in the (a) developing world and (b) Europe before 1997? Answer: The question asked to characterize the strategy pursued by GM in the developing world and in Europe before 1997. So, first of all it is very important to notice that in this question we have two important information for discussion: First information: there are two main market areas for GM’s international operations: Europe and the developing world which is made up of Latin America, Asia and eastern Europe and the strategy pursued in these two markets are totally different. Second information is that there’s a key date in GM’s history which is 1997. This date is an important turnaround for GM. Strategy in developing countries before 1997 The fact: †¢Outdated low cost products were selected for developing countries. †¢All the strategic decision, marketing and manufacturing plans were centralized by Detroit headquarter †¢Low commitment policy was there since GM select developing countries as a dumping ground for obsolete technology and outdated models The context: †¢The main context in the developing countries is the political and economical instability. †¢Low expanse capability of the developing countries as they are poor. †¢Low growth perspectives. The strategy: Decision to produce and sell low cost models that were considered outdated developed world. Added benefit of extending the return on investment of previous decade’s investments. †¢This allowed generating a continuous cash flow to be invested in more appealing markets like Europe. †¢Probably willingness is not to share valuable technologies and skills in countries with low patent protection. The Result: market sha re less than 8. 9% The strategy pursued in the developing markets before 1997 was a very low commitment from the top management towards the developing markets. This means that the product offer was very low quality, made of old products that would have not been sellable in a competitive, developed market like the US or western Europe. From the case we also noticed that all the strategic, planning and marketing decisions were centralized in the Detroit headquarter. So, this means that the top management didn’t consider important to have a direct contact with those markets and didn’t want â€Å"trust† local subsidiaries to manage on their own. They thought they could manage the developing market from their desks in Detroit. Lack of initiative or just plain Yankee arrogance weren’t the main reasons. We think the GM management acted accordingly to the market context. In fact to understand their strategy, we must keep in mind that the geopolitical situation before the nineties in South America had instability both in politics and economy, poverty, crime and sometimes civil wars. In Eastern Europe and Asia: communism was also known as not favorable to American capitalists. The choice of a low profile strategy was the only chance at these conditions and there were low risk, low investment, low commitment but also low return. The market share of GM’s vehicles in these markets was very little but, considering the amount of resources invested, it’s not bad at all. After all, this low-cost strategy allowed GM to extend the life of obsolete products without risking to loose valuable resources in risky states. And most important, generating some cash to be invested in more appealing markets like Europe. Strategy in Europe before 1997 The context: †¢Strong local competitors †¢Strong cultural identity †¢Differences in preferences compared to US †¢Tight urban space The pursued strategy: †¢Need to totally design, produce and sell different models( compared to US) †¢Huge investment. Allowed to produce state of the art vehicles featuring the ultimate technology and design tailored to the local customers. †¢Loose control by Detroit headquarter and wide freedom to regional and national subsidiaries( strategy planning, designing of cars and facilities were managed on their own) The Result: †¢11. 3% market share second only to Ford †¢Lack of an overall strategic coherence. Inability to leverage synergies And here we go with the second part of the question: strategy in Europe before 1997. Here everything is different. We have an appealing market, high profit opportunities, demanding customers and strong competitors. In Europe you can’t even imagine to sell the same cars you sell in America. First of all because there’s not enough space: streets are smaller, plain and simple. Second, because people have very different preferences compared to US and third because if you don’t tailor the cars to the specific market needs, local competitors will blow you off in a minute. And you’ll be out of the game. So here’s how GM managed the European operations: They gave local subsidiaries freedom to design, produce and sell new models. Impact of pre 1997 strategy In developing countries: †¢Inability to respond to market needs †¢Mediocre from a competitive point of view but decent from a financial point of view In Europe: †¢Good response to market needs †¢High costs †¢Good from a competitive point of view but very expensive and not much efficient To summarize Pressure for cost reduction was high in developing countries not because of competitors but mainly because of poverty. In Europe, compared to developing countries, customers have a high expenditure capability so if a pressure for cost reduction exists, it’s due to competition but still it’s not comparable to that in the developing world. That’s why we’ve put it in the lower end of the axis. Question-3: How would you characterize the strategy that GM has been pursuing since 1997? How should this strategy affect GM’s ability to create value in the global automobile market?

The February 1917 Revolution

The February 1917 Revolution The two revolutions of 1905 and 1917 were both different in their own ways. The 1905 revolution was ultimately crushed but it was crucial and necessary in succeeding to overthrow the Tsar in the February revolution of 1917. Key factors that played a part in the 1905 revolution were exploited by Bolshevik leaders such as Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin in the 1917 revolution. These Bolsheviks who were exiled learned from the 1905 revolution and capitalized on this in the 1917 revolution. The 1905 revolution was caused by a numerous amount of reasons. Discontentment with living conditions in Russia amongst the people was the main instigator of the revolution. While Russias labor force grew, the living conditions of the workers diminished. This saw a need for a better way of life for the workers. The Russo Japanese War between 1904 1905 caused even more discontent between the workers and peasants because of the inflation the war had caused. The workers who just had enough to eat before the war now starved. On January 9 1905, Priest Father Gabon led a unarmed and peaceful march to the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg to present a petition to the Tsar demanding the end of the war, industrial reform, a constituent assembly and more civil liberties for the Russian masses. The petition does not blame the Tsar for all the problems that have been caused rather than blaming those who come between the Tsar and his people. According to Nelson this petition reflects continuing confidence in the Tsar as the source of initiative and change in the system.  [1]  However, the Russian guard unprovoked opened fire on the people killing and injuring many of them. This dramatic event ultimately lead to the erosion of the popular image of the Tsar and the major sustaining myth of the Tsarist structure.  [2]   These two events were the ultimate reasons for revolution in 1905. However, we must examine as to why the 1905 revolution failed to overthrow Tsar. The political parties that were involved in the 1905 revolution shared the same goal of overthrowing the Tsar but they were divided rather than united. Each of the political parties had their own way of tackling Tsardom. Because of this it allowed the monarchy to crush any form of resistance against Tsardom. The political parties also had discontent amongst themselves: the Mensheviks disagreed with the Bolsheviks and also the moderate Socialist Revolutionaries disagreed with the radical Socialist revolutionaries. This also lead to the internal structure of the parties being weak and struggling to overthrow the monarchy. The propaganda programs led by the political parties failed to secure the support from the masses. Their ideas did not represent the wishes of the masses for social and economic reforms. The social democrats promoted the creation of a Socialist State through a class struggle. However, many of the workers failed to understand the revolutionaries ideas and only wanted an improved economic livelihood. The Socialist revolutionaries campaigned for the government takeover of land , even though the peasants wanted just the land to be divided amongst themselves. The 1905 revolution was momentous as it was the first time in Russia millions of people took part in a revolutionary movement. In and around Russia, Soviets were formed and acted as a somewhat government and ordered the workers not to pay taxes and to go on strikes. The peasants also formed a peasant union which was replicated along with the Soviets in the 1917 revolution. According to Lenin, the 1905 revolution was the Great dress rehearsal for the February revolution of 1917.  [3]  These new forms of worker organizations would later be the centerpiece of the successful revolution of 1917. After Tsar Nicholas II signed the October Manifesto in 1905, it seemed as though the needs of the workers and peasants were met. This manifesto gave the people certain civil rights, introduced the Duma and turned Russia into a constitutional monarchy. Even though Tsar Nicholas II promised certain civil rights and the Duma in the October Manifesto, he abused it shortly after the 1905 revolution. This infringement of the October Manifesto also led to the beginning of the February revolution. World War I impacted the February revolution the same way the Russo Japanese War had impacted in 1905. Defeat and causalities in the war disheartened the Russian population and wanted the Tsar to withdraw from the war. Following on in March 1917, workers in Petrograd went on strike demanding food: whereas in 1905 the workers were striking for civil rights. The war had inflated the price of bread and the Russians were unable to afford it. In spite of the strikes, Tsar Nicholas II ordered the army to take care of the strikers but unlike in 1905 on Bloody Sunday were the troops opened fire, this time they teamed up with the people. Unlike what happened in the 1905 revolution, this saw the Duma set up a provisional government to rule the country and consequently the workers and troops followed setting up their own branches of Soviets. The provisional governments ruled as long as it obeyed by the wishes of the Soviets. At this stage in Russia, it created the opportunity for a political party to form and take control of Russia. Lenin who had been in exile, along with Trotsky comprised the Bolshevik party and began to win the support of the masses. Their main slogans were Peace, Land and bread and All power to the Soviets. This attracted the masses which promised them a sustainable way of life: unlike in 1905 were this was not seen. The Mensheviks and the Socialist Revolutionary party lost the support of the people as decided to continue fighting in World War I. Lenin, backed by the Red Guard soon took control over Petrograd and by October the Bolsheviks had complete control of Russia. The revolutions of 1905 and 1917 differed in their own individual way. In 1905, the workers and peasants revolted on their own and even though political parties had tried to seize control of Russia, they failed in each respect to have the organization and support to do so. However, as we see in 1917, the Bolshevik party was far more organized and structured which lead to them taking complete control. While Lenin and other leaders were in exile, they had learned from the 1905 revolution and this knowledge proved invaluable in how to gain support of the masses and the importance of propaganda. Propaganda had made a significant difference from both revolutions. In 1905, the political parties did not promise anything to the people. However, as we see in the 1917 revolution, slogans such as Peace, Land and bread proved pivotal and unquestionably made the revolution successful.

The Scottsboro Trials Essay -- Racial Relations, Segregation

March 25, 1931, nine men hopped on to a freight train of no return (Uschan 10). Unjust, prejudice, and racist the Scottsboro Trials, were definitely not just another ordinary case. The Scottsboro Trials changed how America viewed segregation. The nine young men, who hopped onto that train that day, were innocent and harmless. The Scottsboro Trials revealed the unjust treatment that African Americans faced outside of the Harlem Renaissance and changed views on segregation. Boarding the train from Chattanooga to Memphis seems like an innocent thing to do (â€Å"UMKC† par. 2). For the Scottsboro boys, boarding that train was one of the worst things they could have done. Two dozen whites and black road the train that day, and within the first 2 hours a fist fight broke out between the two races. The blacks won the fight, and the white men were thrown off the train and ran to the station master and reported that they had been assaulted by a gang of blacks on the train. Alabama stopped the train and dozens of men showed up and surrounded the train with guns in their hands. They took the nine African Americans aboard the train and put them into the Scottsboro jail (UMKC par. 2-5). Two other people were on the train at that time too. Victoria Price and Ruby Bates were found on the train unexpectedly while the search men were looking for any more black citizens. The women identified themselves and then Ruby Bates told the search men â€Å"We’ve been raped. All those colored boys raped us.†(Uschan 14).This caused an uproar throughout America not because rape was a horrible crime, but because back then a white woman having sexual relations with a black man was considered one of the worst things a person could do. The act was considered so terr... ... thing of the past. Racism is a very harsh and dangerous thing to participate in. Being racist can cause a person’s life to be in danger and it can ruin their life too. Helping African Americans understand that these racist people are sick and will be punished is just one way we can help the fight against racism. And so, the Scottsboro Trials ended up being victorious. It changed how America felt about discrimination and segregation and opened up many opportunities for blacks. America has changed as a whole because of the Scottsboro Trials and racism is slowly fading away. Segregation has caused many hardships throughout history and finally, it ended partially because of the Scottsboro Trials. Soon, America will be a place where it is as if seclusion against African Americans never existed. African Americans are one of us and together we are America.

Was Egyptian Medicine a Huge Leap Forward?

Medicine in Prehistoric times and medicine in Egyptian times have shown similarities. For example trephining was still used as a treatment, even though it was not really very helpful. There was still the belief in supernatural forces being the cause for someone being unwell, despite the fact that it was not true. They both also used charms which have no effect, yet they believed it would have effect towards the supernatural forces. There was also the fact that during these two time periods there never were any anatomies to gain insight on how the whole human body works. They both used herbs which do work if used correctly. However there were also quite a few steps forward of development in Egyptian medicine as they did have the embalming process which involved somewhat dissecting the body if only to remove the organs and not a full scale anatomy however they were closer to the truth with the ‘channel theory’ as we do have veins, arteries and capillaries that have similar qualities to channels. They also were more developed in civilisation as they believed in a hierarchy where doctors existed, meaning that there were people specifically trained in medicine with medical books; they would pass knowledge through writing which would preserve over time to help new doctors and they would also comment on the effectiveness of the treatment itself, helping the doctor to decide the best treatment for their patient. They were also more developed as they had trade which would mean resources unavailable in Egypt could be brought from other countries to their own if they were in need of certain herbs for medicine. They could also exchange knowledge and treatments with other countries to gain more insight into effective medicine and ineffective medicine. Despite a few similarities in Egyptian and Prehistoric medicine I do believe that the Egyptian’s did provide an important step forward in the development of medicine as they had not only come up with a fairly accurate theory for how the human body worked which would lead away from supernatural causes to some extent as it offered more logical reasons why. This was discovered during mummification which was a process that was closer to the anatomy we still do today which does teach a lot about the body and how it works. Their preservation techniques for medicine were also really important as they would serve as guides and mean that any tested and proven theories and recipes could then be used by others as education and treatments, which is similar to today also.

Cask of Amontillado

However, in any situation, it would be more beneficial to let the anger go, instead of plotting a huge revenge plan. And what can be scary, is the intellectual people who know what they want and how to achieve that. It's very hard to escape an intelligent persons plan for revenge against you, especially when they are 100% set on seeking their revenge. In Edgar Allan Pope's short story, an idea is conveyed that cunning and sly people, when wronged by others, will use their intelligence to pursue the goal of revenge.! While this story is an entertaining piece of work, it also includes symbols to keep he reader engaged throughout the story.Poe writes with the idea that pride could lead us to do unthinkable things, which can also lead us into becoming too naive and blind toward our own actions. Mentors approaches Fortunate during the carnival. And the carnival can be seen as a symbol for the madness going through Mentor's head. Mentors claims that Fortunate inflicted a â€Å"thousand in juries† on him, and we never really find out what these Injuries were. Perhaps Fortunate TLD even mean to Insult Mentors, but Mentors Just takes Fortune's loopy Ignorance for Insults.Or maybe Fortunate has In fact been inflicting injury on Mentors since days of childhood, and the carnival symbolizes that Mentors has literally gone mad, and he wants to use his knowledge about his previous revenge plots to kill Fortunate. Poe also uses Fortune's clothing as a symbol â€Å"he had on a tight-fitting party-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells,† a court Jester or clowns outfit to symbolize that Mentors is to make a fool out of Fortunate and humiliate him to death, and low him to think about his actions as he dies a long, slow death.This Just goes to show how evil and cunning Mentors and his thoughts can be.! To start, in the title including the word â€Å"cask† in it. A cask is a wine barrel, but cask is also a short form for casket, which is a coffin. Therefore, cask figuratively represents Fortune's casket. Fortune's name is also related to irony, because it means â€Å"fortunate† in Italian. This means that he is one of good fortune and luck, however, he about to face his slow and inhumane death.Dramatic irony is occurring when the deader becomes painfully aware of what will become of Fortunate even though the character continues his descent into the catacombs in pursuit of the Amontillado. There are also numerous examples of verbal irony within Mentor's sentences. Mentors expresses concern about Fortune's health, and several times he suggests that they should turn back for fear that Fortune's cough will worsen as a result of the cold and dampness of the catacombs (this is also Mentors using reverse psychology to keep Fortunate wanting to emerge deeper into the catacombs).One of the most memorable lines of the story is given by Mentors in response to Fortunate saying, â€Å"l will not die of a cough. † Mentors says, â€Å"True, true†¦. † Other examples can be seen when Mentors toasts Fortune's long life as well as when he says that he is a mason, but not in the sense that Fortunate means. â€Å"In pace requisites! † (â€Å"Rest in peace! â€Å") is the last bit of irony in the tale. â€Å"In pace† also refers to a very secure monastic prison. Poe uses irony to reveal how Mentors is only masking his true intentions and covers it with sugar-coated-kindness to keepFortunate thinking the two are good friends.! The use of imagery is great in this story, because it helps create multiple tones and moods throughout Mentors and Fortune's walk into the catacombs. When the story is first set in a carnival, the mood is bright and happy with all the flashing lights and smiling people around having a good time. And as the two â€Å"friends† reach farther into the catacombs, it starts to get more dark and musky, setting a more horrid and dark mood. The piles of skeletons represent the death and decline of the noble family over the years.The Motto said meeting about how no one could insult the family and live; these both give a clue both to the history of family pride and insanity, and to hint at the fact that the protagonist is imagining his â€Å"thousand injuries†. It is also thought that the setting of the story represents Mentor's soul, where he appears to be bright and happy on the In conclusion, this story reminds us that when we stop to think about our actions, as Mentors did not, we would realize that violence is never the right answer to solve our problems. Poe uses great literally devices in his story to put more emphasis on the theme of revenge.The type of revenge Mentors sets out is evil and should not have been the way to achieve vengeance, nobody deserves to die because of something they did. It's weird though, how at the end of the story, I felt a sense of accomplishment for Mentors. And I felt k with Fortuna te dying, perhaps this is because of how Fortunate insulted Mentors and it seemed like Mentors had to get revenge to feel that sensation. This makes it even more clear that Mentors uses his sly personality and intellectual behavior to accomplish his plot of revenge on his use to be friend, by burying him alive.