The Danger of a Single Story According to Adichie Essay Example for Free

The Danger of a Single Story According to Adichie Essay 1. According to Adichie, how is Africa often described? According to her, Africa is often described as a place of beautiful landscapes and animals with incomprehensible people fighting senseless wars, dying of poverty and aids. It is a continent of catastrophes where people are pitiful illiterate aborigines who have no possibility of being human equals. They are unable to speak for themselves and are waiting for foreigners to save them. All in all, Africa is a lowly continent with nothing more but scenic places with starving people. 2. Did it affect Africa? How? Yes, it affected Africa so much because it only showed all the negative sides of Africa and did not illustrate the beauty of the continent. It shows that Africa is a poor continent with even poorer people who does nothing to improve their lives. It does not indicate all the magnificence of the continent and the attributes of the people in it. Africa is degraded because of these inadequate and unfitting descriptions. 3. What is a single story? What is the power of single story? A single story is a view of something, somewhere or of someone that only shows one side of the coin. It is incomplete. It may have different versions but they all have the same view. For example, what if I tell you that Boracay is a dirty place where people have no regard for nature? The beach is filled with moss and there are plastics everywhere? What if all the things you have heard about Boracay is something like this? It doesn’t sound inviting, does it? But what if I tell you that those who disregard nature are punished and that they clean up all the rubbish they find. That Boracay is a paradise? Now that is a pleasing sight isn’t it? That is an example of what a single story is. It shows only one point of view. And from that point of view builds another story and so on that will not convey the whole truth about the topic. A single story can be very powerful indeed because it blinds people from a great deal of things. It shows things, places or people as one thing only and emphasizes on the differences and not the similarities. It can not only make a story but it can also make it the only story of that particular topic.

Ornament and Crime by Adolf Loos | Analysis

Ornament and Crime by Adolf Loos | Analysis The art of argumentation is not an easy skill to acquireà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ It is easy to name call, easy to ignore the point of view or research of others, and extremely easy to accept ones own opinion as gospel.1 The 1908 essay Ornament and Crime by Adolf Loos is a collection of contradictory, hysterical, ill-conceived rants that were fomented by a sullen elitist. Loos implores the reader to cast off the wicked ways of the old and take up the fight for a new modern and more civilized era-an era that pictures the human race at its zenith with no ornamentation whatsoever. Although he was there to ride the wave of the Modernist Movement his essay decrying the ornament of the past can best be described as a reflection of a troubled man. Instead of putting forth new ideas he directs the reader to look with derision on other ones. Ornament and Crime has no continuity and is, in large part, simply opinions with little, no or bizarre base in facts. Loose writes of a civilization where, Men had gone far enough for ornament no longer to arouse feelings of pleasure in them, of a place where if there were no ornament at allà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦man would only have to work four hours instead of eight, and of a place where people say, Thank God,' when theres a fire, now there will be work for people to do again.' Loos could not have been more wrong about the future of art, architecture and human civilization. Ornamentation is not needless expression and is indeed an integral part of modern civilization that cannot be eliminated. Ornament and Crime begins with Loos describing an overly simplistic and narrow view of humans early development that shows his relativistic and class-based thinking. The human embryo goes through the whole history of animal evolution in its mothers womb, and a newborn child has the sensory impressions of a puppy. His childhood takes him through the stages of human progress; at the age of two he is a Papuan savage, at four he has caught up with the Teutonic tribesman. At six he is level with Socrates, and at eight with Voltaire. For at this age he learns to distinguish violet, the colour that the eighteenth century first discovered before that violets were blue and tyrian was red. Physicists can already point to colours they have named, but that only later generations will be able to distinguish. Loose breaks no ground with his observation that the senses of newborns are feeble; this is the very definition of what it means to be newborn. But the comparison between humans and dogs is ludicrous; might one not also consider the inherit potential that lies inside a newborn dog on one hand, and a newborn human on the other? At age two human is like a Papuan, a dark-skinned person from what is now Papua New Guinea, an evolutionary link just above a dog. Just able to walk on two legs and form rudimentary words but apparently unable to achieve full human status. Although racism was and still is all too common, science had fully blossomed by 1908 and such concepts as the theory of evolution had already been around for over 50 years. When attempting to write a forward-thinking essay it is tragic that Loos found it necessary and thought it acceptable to use such backward examples as part of a logical argument. Papuans had developed agricultural based societies some 6,000 to 9,000 years ago. Given better resources with which to work with Papuans may have well have been the ones to put Europeans in zoos.2 At age four, Loos writes, people are like the barbarians from the north that ancient Rome fought nearly two millennia ago-heathen savages. Then, quite unexpectedly there is a great leap in learning; a six-year-old is able to philosophize on the level of Socrates. Loos then takes one of many fantastic swerves from logic and declares that at the age of Voltaire a child is finally able to distinguish subtleties in the color wheel. It is unclear why Loos would choose Voltaire, a philosopher and writer, to use as an example of the developmental level when a person can distinguish a specific color, or its relevance. It is amazing to think that Loos knew children of eight years of age that had the wit of someone as legendary as Voltaire, not to mention the six-year-old Socrates. Perhaps most amazing though, is Loos complete and total lack of evidence that any of what he writes in his opening paragraph can be substantiated. His introductory observations continue and Mr. Loos writes of amoral children, murder, cannibalism, tattoos and morality. When a tattooed man dies at liberty, it is only that he died a few years before he committed a murder. This is his tie to the argument that ornament is a criminal act? This is why no school should have a statue at its front entry; no lapel should be adorned with a pin? Will these wanton decorations lead to mass murder? According to a 2004 survey by the American Academy of Dermatology, 24% of the respondents had a tattoo.3 By Loos standard we are all in deep trouble. Is it possible that he overstates himself? Mariners commonly had tattoos during his time and while they might have been a rough bunch as a whole, to state that their death is the only thing preventing them from committing murder is truly odd to any steady thinker. There is also no escaping the fact that the civilization that Loos felt was nearly at the point of building Zion, the holy city, the capital of heaven, was already in the midst of a period of slaughter and genocide such as the world had never seen. Not by savages and tattooed marauders but by politicians and titans of industry.4 After Loos interprets the amoral human embryo and the tattooed man, he launches into the origins of art and ornament. All art is erotic. Loos states. The first artistic act was performed to rid oneself of surplus energy. He compares the horizontal dash with a reclining woman and the vertical dash with a man penetrating her, concluding that the first ornament to be born was the cross, which was erotic in origin. Though ancient cross symbols have been seen as phallic symbols the fact that he sees only eroticism in the simple lines is bizarre in a truly Freudian way. Loos also neglects to elaborate on the other, probably older symbol, the circle. This reflects on his view of the profane, which is his main point, apparently, in the first section of the essay. He seems incapable of thinking that images of reproduction were not eroticism but merely represented life. His next argument for ornament as a crime is by using bathroom graffiti and the drawings of young children as examples of art. As to the former, One can measure the culture of a country by the degree to which its lavatory walls are daubed. To the latter, [a childs] first artistic expression is to scrawl on the walls erotic symbols. Loos is quite obviously deeply haunted by perverse thoughts and was himself in need of an outlet for his own surplus energy. To claim that young children are scribbling erotica on the walls is troubling. In a modern setting if a child were to actually do this, an investigation into criminal acts of pedophilia would take place. Again, with nothing to back up his claim, no correlative story, one has to wonder how he came to these conclusions. In order to bring any cohesion to Ornament and Crime and Loos thesis, The evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornament from utilitarian objects, it is necessary to take a look at the experiences Loos had and the context in which he lived. Loos traveled to America in 1893. During that year he attended the Worlds Fair in Chicago and was impressed by much of the current architecture, particularly of American architect Louis Sullivan. Sullivan is famous for his saying, form ever follows function, which would later be shortened to form follows function.5 Sullivan and fellow-minded American architect Frank Lloyd Wright had the idea that buildings themselves could become ornament. They should fit into their surroundings and become part of the landscape. They were not however, opponents of ornament. Towards the end of his career in fact, Sullivan designed a number of buildings that were highlighted by ornament and are called his Jewel Boxes.6 Frank Lloyd Wright, in additio n to being an architect, was an art collector and dealer. He also designed the furniture for many of his buildings. Though the American architects had new visions for ornament it certainly was not left out of their design work. Loos remained in America for three years and while there, he was forced to labor at menial jobs such as floor layer, brick layer and even dish washer until late in 1894 when he found a position as an architectural draftsman in New York. He returned to Vienna a changed man. Back in Vienna, Loos was confronted with a floundering empire that dwelled on old architectural styles that promoted flourishes and grand faà §ades. He responded by designing the Cafà © Museum in 1899. It was well designed yet very simple. It had arched windows looking into an arched room. The light fixtures left the light bulbs exposed and he did a novel thing by making the electrical connections to the chandeliers out of brass strips banding the ceiling. Cafà © Museum was stark for the time but by no means free of ornament-the ornament had just become more streamlined. The response to this functional design was not complimentary, Loos created this simple Viennese coffee house during the peak of the Art Nouveau period. The cafà © was nicknamed Cafà © Nihilism7 and Loos was incensed that the privileged classes of Austria werent as forward thinking as the people in America and Britain. He called his critics, hob goblins and blamed them for smothering a society he saw only evolving without ornament, Humanity is still to groan under the slavery of ornament. Loos blames the stagnant attitudes, the ornament disease on the state, which was the centuries old Austro-Hungarian Empire. Ornament does not heighten my joy in life or the joy in life of any cultivated person. So on one hand Loos decries the fact that a carpenters bench wouldnt be preserved for the ages as worthy of notice and on the other he preaches that the love of something unadorned is something only the cultivated can understand. He blames the slow speed of cultural-revolution on stragglers and gives as examples his neighbors that are stuck in the years 1900 or 1880, the peasants of Kals (a secluded mountain town in Austria) are living in the twelfth century, and the man of the fifteenth century [who] wont understand me. These very people who are stuck in the past and are keeping society from moving forward also seem to be the focus of a contradiction Loos is unable to explain away, try as he might. And somehow, through this narcissistic attitude of preaching to the aristocrat, Loos seems to have stumbled upon a rational argument and an undeveloped reasoning behind his thesis. Ornament is a crime against the national economy that it should result in the waste of human labour, money and material. Loos recognizes, however briefly, that people naturally tire of objects before their use is done, and if gone unchecked, the need to consume could become problematic. As an example of this wastefulness, Loos points to a mans suite or a ladys ball gown but he then irrationally compares them to a desk. But woe if a desk has to be changed as quickly as a ball gown because the old form has become intolerable. Loos inability to give the credit of common sense to his audience is only exasperated by his next argument. If all objects would last aesthetically as long as they do physically, the consumer could pay a price for them that would enable the worker to earn more money and work shorter hours. Loos does however scrape the surface and begin to relate how craftspeople are paid poorly and how changing tastes are causing some items that are completely unadorned to be priced the same as items with a high degree of ornament. He points out that productivity can increase with an end to frills and filagree. What economic paradigm was he using that would allow greater compensation for more productivity in less time? I will grant that I have one hundred years of economic history to look on that Loos wasnt privy to, but thinking that workers would benefit from working less defies logic. In addition, didnt Loos argue that the birth of ornament sprang from mankinds surplus energy? His point then becomes ridiculous-remove ornamentation from all utilitarian objects in order to save time and money thus providing mankind with the surplus energy necessary to ornament. This is where Loos argument completely falls apart. It is ironic and a pity that what seems to keep Loos from realizing that he is against consumerism and greed and not necessarily ornamentation seems to be his own fear to take a stand for what he believes in instead of what he is against. But he then compares a Chinese carver working for sixteen hours to an American worker, a product of the Industrial Revolution, working just eight hours. Of course the workers will make more money due to increased productivity. Yet, with this seemingly benevolent view of the working class he reminds us of his true thoughts, Loos touches on this when he recognizes that, people on a lower footing [are] easier to rule. Is it that the mason is too closely aligned with the working class and so is worthy of derision? So even with a plausible argument, that wasteful design is criminal, Adolf Loos goes off track and gets wrapped up in outlandish statements like, set fire to the empire and everyone will be swimming in money and prosperity and ornamented objects are tolerable only when they are of the most miserable quality. In his misdirected logic, Loos takes on some of the biggest names of the day, artist Otto Eckman and architect and designer Henry van de Velde, but he only weaves himself into further contradictions and confusion regarding ornament and crime. Loos claims that their works are not only a waste but that they fall out of fashion so quickly that furniture, clothing, entire households must be thrown out to make way for the new designs but he then goes on to say that the time is incapable of producing new ornament. You cant have it both ways, incapable of producing and producing too much. His entire argument that mankind was beyond ornament disregards the vibrant atmosphere around him; Art Nouveau, Arts and Crafts, Deutscher Werkbund, The Secession even the advent of Modernism. Although some of the buildings he designed had some redeeming points to them his obsession with a purity of design resulted in his writings getting more attention than the buildings he designed. White and boxy with no aesthetic would be one way to describe the later Loos style. His low point probably came when he designed the Rufer House in 1922. Loos tried very hard to make a point but when his buildings are taken as point of reference I find it difficult to believe he made one. In the end is Queen Capitalism to be our sovereign? Is the capitalist a more advanced human than the artisan? How dare an architect refuse to acknowledge the suffering of his companions, his peers. That one can draw an interesting collection of boxes and with the other can carve beautiful scrollwork into marble, are they both not working to create a more visually distinctive and enjoyable world? Indeed, Loos himself admits that ornaments produce joy-only not for him. When he concedes that he is not above wearing ornament for the sake of others he is truly exposed as a fraud. As far as making a point in debate however, it is quite skillful of Loos to infer that any who oppose his view are simply lower forms of life, possibly even sub-human. If in discussion, someone dared disagree, Mr. Loos could simply fall back on the intellectually fraudulent, You obviously dont understand or Maybe the concept is beyond you. These tactics are well known to debaters but they are hollow in that they accept a theorem without a firm foundation of facts, and Ornament and Crime is fraught with ideological foundation issues. Had he said, How can so much wealth and effort go into a theatre when people are starving? That is an argument for ornament being a crime. Woman giving birth to children on the street and not being cared for at the expense of some filigree, that could be argued to be criminal. The people with plenty spend their time shirking their duty to their fellow human beings; that could be considered criminal. It sounds like this son of a stonemason was trying too hard to impress his friends. In the end he has been remembered, not so much for his building designs but for this argument. Bringing aesthetic value to something is a gift, not a crime. To make an object that is already useful, graceful and a delight to the senses enhances the value of that object. The true crime is to deny or suppress the human desire to create, beautify, fashion into something that can only be seen in the mind. Of the question Is Ornament a Crime? I will retort by asking my own questions. Is a flower ostentatious? Is the plant much more pleasing before it has bloomed? I would boldly state that flowering plants are indeed not cultivated for their leaves and stalks. Is a bird, bright with plumage, blight on the horizon? Does water flow in such an objectionable way as to create eddies and whirlpools to offend the senses? I must answer no to these questions and simply say that ornamentation is the flower of humankind, a necessary expression for all civilizations that cannot and will not be eliminated while there is still a creative spark in us. -A note about the lack of accompanied imagery- There are a multitude of images that could be displayed as examples of ornament that could be viewed as good or bad. Humanity has created a myriad of expressions since self-realization happened. The expression itself is not the point, it could be any expression at any point in the history of mankind. The fact that humans should not be inhibited to create is what is at issue whether it be in architecture, dance, art, song; therefore I felt it would be superfluous to include snippets of creativity that could never encompass what all peoples have created in the last. 20,000 years.

Importance of Maximising Shareholder Value

Importance of Maximising Shareholder Value Introduction Firms may have different objectives to achieve. However in theory, a firm should set its objectives to increase its value for its owners. Shareholders are the owners of a firm. Therefore according to theory maximising shareholders wealth is the fundamental objective of a firm. (Watson Head -Corporate Finance principles and practice 2007) Investors generally expect to earn satisfactory returns on their investments as they require increasing the value of their investments as much as possible. This is usually determined by dividend payout and or capital gains by increasing the market value of the share price. The managers of the company act on behalf of the investors, such as operating day to day activities and making decisions within the business. In another way they do have the control of the business entity. However, firms may have other objectives to achieve such as maximising of profits, growth and increasing its markets share. When achieving these objectives of a firm, conflicts may arise as a result of ownership and control. Managers may make their decisions on their own interests rather than achieving investors wealth. Discussing the investor related goals as described earlier, in theory behaviour of management should be consistent towards maximising shareholders wealth, enhancing the value of the business (Basely Brigham- Essentials of Managerial Finance).Value of the business is measured by valuing firms price of shares. Its essential to consider maximising of stock prices, and its impact to the investors and the economy as a whole simultaneously. Maximising profits is also an objective of a firm. It is determined by maximising the firms net profits. It is also can be described as a short term objective whilst maximising the value of the company is a long term objective for a firm (Financial Management -Kaplan Publishers 2009). Therefore it is not necessary, maximising profits as maximising shareholders wealth because there are number of potential problems can be occurred adapting to an objective of profit maximisation. It will be discussed in the latter part of the report. Earnings per share (EPS) is one of the main indicators of the firms profitability and it is a broadly used method measuring firms success, as it is determined return to equity in theory (Financial Management Kaplan Publishers 2009).However, EPS doesnt expose the firms wealth since it is determined by using firms net profits. Therefore EPS is also exist the same criticism as profit maximisation above which will be discussing in the later part of the report. During the past ten years have seen a much greater emphasis on investor related goals. The conflict of ownership and control can be recognised as one of the significant causes which were affected investors and the world economy in the past ten years. The corporate scandals such as Enron, Maxwell and World com which occurred recent past had been lost investors confidence towards capital markets. Therefore its essential to consider the ethical behaviour and social responsibilities towards shareholder wealth maximisation simultaneously. It can also be said the institutional investors such as insurance companies and pension funds had also made a significant influence on investor related goals in the recent past. Review of Literature OBJECTIVES OF PROFIT MAXIMISATION According to Watson and Head 2007, whilst individuals manage their own cash flows, the financial manager involves in managing cash flows on behalf of the company, and its owners. In a firm financial management is concerned with taking decisions in three key areas which are financing, investing and dividend policy. Watson and Head also mentioned, shareholders wealth maximisation as the primary objective of the firm and at the same time the existence of other stakeholder groups such as creditors, employees, customers and community are also affected when adapting to a corporate goal. However the firm may adopt one or several objectives in short term whilst its pursued the objective of shareholders wealth maximisation in long term(Basely and Brigham; Essentials of Managerial Finance). Therefore it is essential to be considered the other possible objectives in short term as well as long term simultaneously. Reviewing one of the main objectives of profit maximisation, a classic article of Milton Friedman in the New York Times magazine 1970The social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its profits (Poitras, Geoffrey 1994). Considering classical views of Friedman (1970), Grant (1991), and Danley(1991), Geoffrey analysed the connection between shareholders wealth maximisation and profit maximisation, as an foundation for establishing an ethical analysis for shareholders wealth maximisation. However, Friedman had a moderate view later relating to the concept of profit maximisation towards social responsibilities. (Pradip N Khandwalla, Management paradigms beyond profit maximisation 2004) While there were similarities between these two objectives, Solomon; 1963, chp.2 highlighted the inconsistencies in his classic article (Poitras, Geoffrey 1994). Considering the above views from different authors, Geoffreys suggestion was Even though there are significant consistencies between these two goals, the goal of profit maximisation has designed for the traditional microeconomic environment and for the firms which do not have the conflict of ownership and control. It is also assumed that its applied for the environment where there was no uncertainty and no stock issues( Poitras, Geoffrey, 1994). According to Keown, Martin and Petty, 2008; Lasher 2008; Ross Westerfield, and Jordan; 2008, Managers are encouraged to maximise its current stock prices by the shareholder theory, therefore the criticisms are understandable. This approach determines the existence of agency problem towards incentive schemes, as incentives are rewarded with the continuous growth of share price and leads to an unethical behaviour of managers, towards manipulating the firms current stock prices (Daniel, Heck Shaffer). CONFLICT OF OWNERSHIP AND CONTROL The conflict of ownership and control was first identified by Adam Smith (RBS Review 1937) and he suggested that the Director cannot protect the other peoples money with the same way that he protects his money (Tony Howell; Shareholder ship model versus Stakeholder ship model). Its also mentioned in Tony and Howells article, that the separation of ownership and control make a significant influence for corporate behaviour and its deeply discussed by Berle and Means (1932). But La Porta et al. (1999) argued against Berle and Means, and he suggested its different from the large corporations, because the shareholders of large corporations involved in corporate governance actively where managers are unaccountable (Tony and Howell; shareholder ship model versus Stakeholder ship model). Winch (1971) suggested the goal of profit maximisation is consistent with the ethical theory of utilitarianism whilst allocating resources under different circumstances. (Poitras, Geoffrey 1994). Having considered Winchs suggestion related to the utilitarian theory and profit maximisation, Geoffreys (1994) view was that, inter temporal behaviour is important for firms and efficient investment has a significant affect towards maximising of profits as a result of uncertain future cash flows. It is also discussed the potential conflict of ownership and control. Therefore Geoffrey (1994) suggested the separation of ownership, the decision makers (managers) and owners (shareholders) are involved to the corporate structure. SHAREHOLDERS Vs STAKEHOLDERS Even though most of the economists and authors acknowledge the theory of shareholder wealth maximisation (Berle and Means, 1932; Friedman, 1962), other authors argued the criticisms of shareholder wealth maximisation. They argued that Shareholder Theory encourages the managers to make short term decisions and behave unethically as a result of the influence of the other stakeholders. According to Smith (2003) believed Shareholder theory is prepared to maximise short term objectives at the expense of long term goals (Daniel, Heck Shaffer; Journal of Applied Finance; winter 2008). However Daniel, Heck and Shaffer analysed the reasons for the criticism and the misguidance of the shareholders theory in their article about shareholder theory, How Opponents and Proponents Both Get it Wrong? The misguidance has been occurred as a result of pursuing a long term objective in shareholder theory. Managers should maximise the future cash flows and its important to consider the stakeholders accor dingly (Jensen, 2002; Sundaram and Inkpen, 2004a). According to Freeman (1984) a firm should consider both shareholders and stakeholders when making their business decisions. However Daniel, Heck and Shaffer describes that the stakeholder theory determines the same criticism as short term behaviour but the shareholder theory has got the protection for both shareholders and stakeholders in the long run. Therefore stakeholder theory is not predominant to shareholder theory. Daniel, Heck and Shaffer suggested the expected future cash flows to analyse the above scenario and they argued that its essential to undertake all the positive NPV projects to maximise shareholders wealth analysing towards maximising current stock price. If there was a goal of increasing of current share price, managers who are rewarded by incentives may attempt to boost the stock price of the firm. However Jenson (2005) and Danielson and press (2006) argued the effort to increase or maintain the stock prices by m anagement could be destroyed the long term values of the firm by manipulation, unethical behaviour, delaying NPV positive projects, reducing or not spending on research and development. Jenson has taken Enron as an example for explaining the above scenario. The management of Enron had hidden their debts through off balance sheet activities and by manipulating the company accounts (Daniel, Heck and Shaffer). Therefore Daniel, Heck and Shaffer suggested that its essential to design strategies which are consistent with the objective of increasing future cash flows rather than adopting an objective of increasing of current stock price to maximise the wealth of shareholders. Freeman, Wicks and Parmar (2004) argued that all the recent business scandals are oriented toward ever increasing shareholder value at the expense of other stakeholders (Poitras, Jefforey; 1994) After a number of high profile firms collapsed i:e: Enron, WorldCom and Arthur Anderson in US and Maxwell, Polly Peck, BCCI, Barings bank in UK, its been determined the requirement of a good Corporate Governance (Tony Howell; the shareholder ship model versus stakeholder ship model). According to Tony Howell, Corporate Governance has been growing for the past 25 years and the foundation for Corporate Governance was placed, after the introduction of Cadbury report in 1992 (UK). Omran et. al.2002; Mills, 1998; Fera, 1997 suggested the importance of Corporate Governance as a result of the new entrance of Institutional Investors to Capital markets, Globalisation of Capital markets, increase of Stakeholder and Shareholder expectations(Tony and Howell). Analysis According to financial management theory, its assumed that the fundamental objective for a firm is to maximise shareholders wealth (Watson Head 2007). Analysing the suggestions and arguments towards fundamental objective, it can be seen that not only in theory but also in the real world it is essential to maximise the wealth of shareholder. Analysing the objective of profit maximisation, overriding the classical economics views by Hayek (1960) and Friedman (1970), other authors, Solomon (1963) and Geoffrey (1970) argued about the criticisms associated with the objective of maximisation of profits. The conflict of short term goal of profit maximisation and long term objective of shareholder wealth maximisation can be identified as the main conflict. If a firm adapts to an objective of profit maximisation and the managers are rewarded incentives for achieving it, the agency problem could be arise. Therefore in such a situation managers may take decisions towards their own selfish interests, rather than on shareholders. Achieving their self interest managers may reduce costs by cutting research and development costs, reducing quality control measurements, reduce advertising, using lower quality materials. At the same time the NPV positive projects could also be postponed to reduce their costs to determine more profits in s hort term. Producing low quality products, losing market share, losing customer trust on their products and finally reducing financial performance could be resulted as a result of using low cost strategies. It may lead the business towards insecure stock prices in long run. The other criticism is profit maximisation does not appraise the associated risks. Therefore managers may undertake higher NPV projects to determine higher returns. However higher the required returns, higher the risk (Peter Atrill; Financial Management for Decision Makers, 2008). Investing on risky projects will result future cash flow problems. However, shareholders are assumed as rational investors who provide finance for firms to invest in future projects. As rational investors they require a reasonable return for their investments. Therefore it can be suggested that objective of profit maximising is different from the wealth maximising. Even though shareholder wealth maximisation is the fundamental, firms are not being able to reject the profit perspective goals, because there are stakeholder groups who is interesting about financial activities in a firm. In addition to shareholders, Managers, Employees, Customers, Suppliers, finance providers and the community at large are included in the typical stakeholder group. Therefore its essential to take account of profit maximisation within the firm. As a result of these multiple objectives managers can easily pursue their own interest. In real world, financial statements are used to assess firms performance. However, profits are defined as profit before interest and tax, profit after interest and so on. Therefore the ratio of Earnings per Share is often used instead of profit which is calculated using the net profits and the number of shares issued. Investors usually use EPS as a measurement of valuing stock. EPS is mostly used as it contains of net income of the firm, and it is also used as an indicator measuring firms future cash flows. Although the disadvantage is EPS does not determine shareholders wealth. However, firms value should be determined by the future cash flows and the risk also need to be considered which is associated to the cash flow. However as mentioned earlier, profits does not take account of risks. I:e:Reported profit figures such as Biotechnological companies and other new economy ventures have insignificant relationship on its stock prices (Financial Management -Kaplan Publishers, 2009). Th erefore, in the short term theres an inconsistence between profit maximisation and increase in stock prices in a firm. According to Smith (1937), Berle and Means (1932) and Geoffrey (1994) the separation of ownership is involved the corporate structure. The conflict was mostly seen during the recent past, following the corporate scandals. According to Maria and William in the article of Privatisation and the Rise of Global Capital Markets (Financial Management; winter, 2000) The past years there was significant growth in capital markets valuation, growth in security issuance as a result of the privatisation programmes. The impacts of share issue privatisation are increasing market liquidity, pattern of share ownership (i:e: Individual and institutional investors such as Pension funds and Insurance Companies), and increasing of number of shareholders in many countries. However, globalisation was also affected on firms activities simultaneously. Therefore the firms (i:e: Enron Maxwell), which had poor Corporate Governance had the possibility to involving in unethical activities such as creative accounting and off balance sheet finance(Financial Management, Kaplan Publishers; 2009). At the same time Directors involved in high level of corporate takeover activities, achieving their personal interest such as empire buildi ng, large remuneration packages (Financial Management, Kaplan publishers; 2009). Further analysis of Stakeholder theory and Shareholder theory by different authors, Jenson 2005) and Daniel and Press (2006) argued the criticism of stakeholder theory, whilst Daniel, Heck and Shaffer (2008) and Freeman (1984) argued the importance of both shareholder and stakeholder theory. However, it can be suggested that the stakeholders play a significant role towards increasing shareholders value. As an example to motivate employees of the firm, they should be treated in a good manner by rewarding increments, bonuses and so on. Long term employee satisfaction could drive the firm towards higher performance and the development of the business by increasing higher productivity and better quality of products. Simultaneously, building up a trust among customers and acquire and maintain the industry leadership. At the same time shareholders provide finance for firms for its working capital management and noncurrent assets for its future projects. Therefore it can be seen an inter relationship and importance of shareholders and the other stakeholders. According to Peter Atrill, (Financial Management for Decision makers , 2008)In the early years financial management theory was mainly developed as part of accounting and the suggestions and arguments were based on casual observations rather than theoretical frame work. But after the number of high profile firms collapsed, the requirement of corporate governance occurred. Number of committees met and discussed to improve the Corporate Governance and the main concern was the conflict between shareholders interest and managers. Enron was the seventh largest listed company in US when its collapsed in 2001 as a result of manipulation of financial statements. Its affected to shareholders, more than 20000 employees worldwide, creditors and customers (Janis Sarra; St Johns Law Review ; Enrons Repercussion in Canada). The 11 titled Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002 CONLUSION By analysing the review of literature, it can be suggested that its essential to maximise shareholder value rather than maximising profits alone. However maximising profit is also can be defined as a performance measurement of a healthy business. Extremes of profit maximisation can also be caused unethical behaviour of management towards its shareholders and stakeholders. Although, Earnings per Share inconsistent with the long term value of shareholder, its still can be used as a performance measurement, since its got firms net profit. As a result of recent corporate scandals such as Enron, WorldCom and Arthur Anderson, shareholders and other stakeholder groups had given much emphasis on corporate behaviour. The unethical and illegal behaviour of those high profiled firms were lost investor confidence of capital markets. They identified the importance of Corporate Governance which provides the road map for managers to follow, pursuing different objectives towards the firm (Basley Brigham). At the same time the arrival of Sarbanes Oxley Act 2002 provided investors a much more confidence and strength towards capital markets. However, stakeholders are also important for firms. They are also treated well for the to maintain a Even there are conflicts between stakeholder theory and Shareholder theory, its necessary to balance these two theories. According to Cathy Haywards article (Black hole sums; Financial Management May 2003), during the period of May 2003 the pension funds in US and UK were in a bad condition. According to the assessment of National Association of Pension Funds, there was a drop in UK pension funds by more than 250 million in 2002. Its being told that there were many reasons for the crisis but, the huge drop in stock market during the economic down turn 2000-2003 has mainly been affected. The pensions funds are heavily depend on the dividend payments and the stability of the equity markets, as a result of the drop in share prices the pensions funds struggled to meet their obligations. References Besley Brigham Essentials of Managerial Finance Daniel, Heck Shaffer Journal of Applied Finance; Fall Winter 2008 Shareholder theory, How Opponents and Proponents Both Get it Wrong? Denzil Watson Antony Head Corporate Finance (electronic resource): principles and practice 2007 Management paradigms beyond profit maximisation Colloquium a debate by S K Chakraboty, Verghese Kurien, Jittu Singh, Mrityunjay Athreya, Arun Maira, Anu Aga, and Anil K Gupta. Maria K. Boutchkova William L. Megginson Privatisation and Rise of Global Capital Markets , Financial Management; Winter, 2000, p31-76 Peter Atrill Financial Management for Decision Makers 5th Edition 2008 (electronic resource) Poitras, Geoffrey Share Holder wealth Maximisation, Business ethics and social responsibility, Journal of Business Ethics; feb 1994;13,2;ABI/INFORM Global pg125 Rebecca Stratling The Legitamacy of Corporate Social Responsibility ; Corporate Ownership and Control; Volume 4; Issue 4, Summer 2007 Tony Ike Nwanji, Kerry E. Howell; A review of the two main competing models of Corporate Governance: The Shareholder ship model versus the Stakeholder ship model; Corporate Ownership and Control, Volume 5, Issue 1, Fall 2007

Herman Melvilles Wall Street Essay examples -- essays research papers

The Lawyer embraces life and does everything in his power to help his fellow man. This is what I see in this individual. Herman Melville's short story " Bartleby the Scrivener, A Story of Wall Street" is one in which the main character is virtuous by nature. The Lawyer is so tolerant of Turkey and Nipper's unusual behaviors that he showers them with kindness. His kind nature is tested even further by Bartleby's behavior. It seems perfectly obvious that the Lawyer goes out of his way to be sensitive to Bartleby's needs. The Lawyer at first allows Bartleby to hold off performing certain duties and then from all duties. Soon the Lawyer allows his office to become Bartleby's sleeping quarters and then even invites Bartleby to live with him at his own house. The Lawyer tries to be a true Christian throughout the story and is very understanding and compassionate to those around him. Here is a man whose goal is the well being of his friends in the office. Turkey at sunrise would be calm and hard working. It is in the afternoon that he is reckless when handling the Lawyer's papers. The Lawyer describes him, "In the morning, one might say, his face was of a fine florid hue, but after twelve o'clock, meridian-his dinner hour-it blaze like a grate full of Christmas coals" (Melville 452). So as not to cause any problems, the Lawyer decides not to give his "important papers" to him in the afternoon ...

Sex and Chance: Strange Bedfellows? :: Philosophy Essays

Sex and Chance: Strange Bedfellows? History was sex, French was sex, art was sex, the Bible... everything was sex except biology which was obviously sex but not really sex, not the one that was secret and ecstatic and wicked and a sacrament and all the things it was supposed to be but couldn't be at one and the same time-- I got that in the boiler room and it turned out to be biology after all. (Stoppard, 218) I'll admit it. I'm fascinated by sex. After all, it is the reason that we are all here, isn't it? And not just thanks to our parents: for years and years and years, sex has been the motor driving the evolutionary process. I don't think people give sex enough credit for its role in the evolutionary process. Call evolution "survival of the fittest", call it random chance, call it whatever you want-- in the end, whoever's left alive is just searching for another body in which to find comfort. I have not always been fascinated by sex. An infamous family story records my disgust when I first learned about "the birds and the bees". Apparently, I turned around in the car seat to look at my baby brother: "You mean you did it twice??" Part of my growing fascination has been a result of the evolving story I have been told/am telling myself about sex. In class, Professor Grobstein taught us about "lateral transfer", and Elizabeth dubbed sex "the transfer of genetic material". I don't like to think about sex in purely clinical terms, however. It's not just my status as a "hopeless romantic", it's also my belief that sex is bigger than the box of words it is often put into. Sex is a growing, changing thing that is going through its own evolution. Not that the process itself has changed much; it's human interpretation and response to sex that continues to evolve. Also , if sex is allowed leeway to expand beyond the clinical level, it gains greater implications (not that birth isn't a great implication by any means). As Stoppard puts it: "Einstein- relativity and sex. Chippendale- sex and furniture. Galileo- 'Did the earth move?'" (Stoppard, 90). In this sense, everything we do is linked inextricably to sex. (Upon writing this previous sentence, I realized that I have picked a topic which is quite beyond the scope of this paper, and would require many many years of research.

Extracurricular activity

But today some universities are applying for the student participating in extracurricular activities after classes at school to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning. So some study is done to show the benefits of extracurricular activities. At the beginning of the twenty-first century, many colleges and universities have a broad educational mission to develop the â€Å"whole student. † On college campuses, extracurricular involvement is a key tool in this personal development. For the ajority of college and university students, involvement in extracurricular activities plays an integral role in the collegiate experience.Students become involved in extracurricular activities not only for entertainment, social, and enjoyment purposes, but most important, to gain and improve skills. Youth problem behaviors, such as truancy, violence, and substance use, are alarming to parents, teachers and youth alike. These behaviors disrupt the learning environment and lead to seri ous social and economic problems. Some experts have argued that rather than trying to prevent individual problem behaviors, parents, chools and communities should work towards building a youth's ability to resist the lure of problem behaviors (Dryfoos, 1990; Werner ; Smith, 1992).As youth develop, they need positive settings that offer the opportunity to build these important internal resources (Hawkins ; Weiss, 1985). Researchers and teachers have long suggested that extracurricular activity participation can be an important source of positive influence in the lives of youth (Holland ; Andre, 1987). This Fact Sheet will explore how youth participation in extracurricular activities can encourage positive youth development. . 2. Objective The importance of extracurricular activities on college campuses is well established.The primary goals of extracurricular activities focus on the individual student level, the institutional level, and the broader community level. These activities ex ist to complement the university's academic curriculum and to augment the student's educational experience. According to a 1993 article by Alexander Astin, almost any type of student involvement in college positively affects student learning and development. Extracurricular activities provide a setting to become involved and o interact with other students, thus leading to increased learning and enhanced development.Specifically, a student's peer group is the most important source of influence on a student's academic and personal development. By identifying with a peer group, that group may influence a student's affective and cognitive development As the development of the well-rounded individual is a principal goal of extracurricular activities on college and university campuses, the numerous experiences these activities afford positively impact students' emotional, intellectual, ocial, and inter-personal development. By working together with other individuals, students learn to neg otiate, communicate, manage conflict, and lead others.Taking part in these out-of-the-classroom activities helps students to understand the importance of critical thinking skills, time management, and academic and intellectual competence. Involvement in activities helps students mature socially by providing a setting for student interaction, relationship formation, and discussion. Working outside of the classroom with diverse groups of individuals allows for tudents to gain more self-confidence, autonomy, and appreciation for others' differences and similarities. Students also develop skills specific to their career path and imperative for future job success.Students have opportunities to improve their leadership and interpersonal skills while also increasing their self-confidence. Extracurricular involvement allows students to link academic knowledge with practical experience, thereby leading to a better understanding of their own abilities, talents, and career goals. Future employ ers seek individuals with these increased skill levels, making hese involved students more viable in the Job market. Specifically, participation in extracurricular activities and leadership roles in these activities are positively linked to attainment of one's first Job and to managerial potential.Student involvement in extracurricular activities also positively impacts educational attainment. Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini's 1991 research indicates that extracurricular involvement has a positive impact on attaining a bachelor's degree and on educational aspirations. Students who are actively engaged re more likely to have higher educational ambitions than uninvolved students. Finally, extracurricular activities focus on institutional goals, such as building and sustaining community on campus as well as student retention.As campuses become more diverse, students desire an environment in which they feel connected to others and to the university. Extracurricular activit ies provide a place for students to come together, discuss pertinent ideas and issues, and accomplish common goals. Within this community, where students feel comfortable with one another, learning and evelopment are enhanced and student retention is positively impacted. According to Vincent Tinto's 1987 research, students will be more likely to persist in college if they feel they have had rewarding encounters with a college's social and academic systems.Through extracurricular participation, students frequently interact with peers who have similar interests, providing social integration into the college environment. As a result, involved students view their college years as a positive experience and feel they are a vital part of the university, resulting in higher retention rates. 1. 3. Organization Chapter 1 of this study introduced the problem statement and described the specific problem addressed in the study as well as design components. problem addressed in this study.Chapter 3 presents the methodology and procedures used for data collection and analysis. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW This chapter will provide discussion some of the positive effects in student development based on participating in extracurricular activities. In addition, this chapter will also describe how extracurricular activities can effect personal, social and academic development in a positive manner. 2. . Introduction 2. 1 . 1. Definition: â€Å"Extracurricular activities are those that fall outside the realm of the normal curriculum of school or university education, performed by students† (Wikipedia).Extracurricular activities are opportunities to engage in extensions of academic activities and/or non-academic activities under school auspices. In special circumstances, for example, when there are budget or scheduling constraints, extracurricular activities may provide experiences that would otherwise be offered within the school day. (wiseGEEK. org) Extracurricular can be valuable experience. If you have a career or study interest that you can pursue outside the classroom, take advantage. Think you might be interested in medicine? Try volunteering at a local hospital.Are you destined to be a writer? Join your school's newspaper or literary magazine. These activities can help give you a strong foundation should you decide to pursue them further, academically or professionally. (The Princeton Review) 2. 1. 2. Extracurricular types: These activities are generally voluntary as opposed to mandatory, non-paying, social, philanthropic as opposed to scholastic, and often involve others of the same age. Students often organize and direct these activities under faculty sponsorship, although student-led initiatives, such as independent newspapers, are common.There are many types of extracurricular activities: Athletics, Clubs, and Competitions†¦ 2. 2. Benefits of Extracurricular Activities: There are many schools today that provide a lot of extracurricular activit ies. Some occur before school, some after school, and a few may even take place on the weekends. While some people are a bit dubious about participating in extracurricular activities, these activities actually bring with students many benefits. Allowing tudents to get involved in extracurricular activities at school is a wise choice, and it can be very important in helping them to develop many working skills, people skills, and more.Here is a closer look at some of the benefits of extracurricular activities for students in university 1) Learning Time Management and Prioritizing Esteem One great benefit of students being involved in extracurricular activities is that need to learn how to control a variety of different tasks in school & life as well, and getting involved in these activities can give them some practice at it. 2) Getting Involved in Diverse Interests Getting involved in extracurricular activities also allows students to get involved in diverse interests. It is important for students to be very diverse in their interests.These activities allow them to explore various interests that they may have. 3) Learning About Long Term Commitments This is another excellent benefit. Students learn about long term commitments when the Join one of the activities or clubs. They commit themselves to that activity for a period of time. If they have some troubles which they must try to solve for keeping up to their end of the deal, they will learn how to overcome difficult in any ase. If not, no doubt they'll hear about it from their peers and perhaps even teachers when they give up. ) Making a Contribution Extracurricular activities allow students to make a contribution in some way. It shows that they are getting away from Just thinking about themselves and contributing to something else. They will be taught about receive ; giving. 5) Raises Self-Esteem There are many students that feel worthless or that there is nothing they are good at. Everyone wants to find some thing that they are really good at, and extracurricular activities provide them with a way that they can get involved in omething and really shine, giving their self-esteem a boost. ) Building Solid Relationship Skills Students need to get involved in social activities and learn how to appropriate act in social situations and these activities give them a chance outside of school to do this, while they are still being supervised by adults. 7) Looks Great on Jobs Applications Another benefit of Joining extracurricular activities is that it looks great on Job applications. Most employers not only look at grades, but they take a look at extracurricular activities that students are involved in while they are in university.They want to see that students are getting out there and doing more than Just book work. The activities that teens are involved in reveal a lot about them, and definitely will say something to your boss in future. THE PROPOSED METHODOLOGY Objective: Giving benefits that extracurricular activities bring to students and teachers. Helping students and teachers understand the positive impact of the extra- curricular activities in teaching. 2. 3. Research design This study is designed to research about Benefits of Extracurricular Activities in Teaching by: *Exploratory in questions with students and interview with teacher.Explanatory and analysis reaction of students ; teacher with extracurricular activities This study is following a mixed research design between a qualitative about rate 2. 4. Data sources: Many data sources will be used in this study but main data sources is narratives, transcript of interviews and survey data. 2. 5. Data collection techniques: Narratives: we will ask some students to talk about extracurricular activities which they had. Transcript of interviews: we'll invite some teacher for interview about effective of extracurricular activities and reaction of students in their department.Interviews will e tape-recorded. Survey dat a: we'll create a survey online with yes/no questions and send to student as much as we can via social network, email, instant messenger. Google Drive will be used as a tool to create a survey online and data will be saved and summarized. A personal data sheet requested demographic data in addition to the responses to the ten survey questions. The survey instruments were distributed to the students enrolled at Department of International Relationship. The students returned the completed surveys on the internet throughout two week. 2. 6. Issues of reliability and validityInterviews will be tape-recorded. Survey online will get information as name, email of students who do the survey. Data of survey online will be accuracy rate each questions, each answer on graph by Google. We will try to get pictures as evidence for the story about extracurricular activities which are narrated. Interviewing teacher, maybe some teachers didn't organize an extracurricular activities. Survey online may be some students don't like do any survey or theyre not finish the survey, we will delete unfinished survey to get accuracy rate from Google. 2. 7. Sampling techniquesWe will use yes/no questions in questionnaire of survey online for students and open question is used to interviews teachers. 2. 8. Definitions of key terms, concepts and variables â€Å"Google Drive is a file storage and synchronization service provided by Google, which enables user cloud storage, file sharing and collaborative editing. Google Drive is the home of Google Docs, a suite of productivity applications that offer collaborative editing on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and more†. (Wikipedia, Google Drive) â€Å"Google Forms is a tool that allows collecting information from users via a ersonalized survey or quiz.The information is then collected and automatically connected to a spreadsheet with the same name. The spreadsheet is populated with the survey and quiz responses. † (Wikipedia, Google Docs) LIST OF SOURCES – This document is using Template for a Master's proposal of vwwv. unisa. ac. za Questionnaires for take survey from students: Purpose: about reaction of student after activities, which benefits did they get? Please complete the following by ticking the appropriate box or writing a comment: 1. Does your course have any outdoor activities in studying? Yes No Don't know 3 2.Do you like those activities in course? Yes 3. How did you feel when you study in extracurricular activities? Best Normal Not Bad Bad 4 5 4. How much percent of lessons did you get from extracurricular activities? 5. Do you want to study more extracurricular activities in your course? Yes 6. Who will control in your extracurricular activities? You, the student or the teacher? Student Teacher Don't Know 7. Who will work more than other? The student or the teacher? 8. Can you compare between the way which you study indoor & outdoor? ln- class After-class 9.Do you see any preparati on of your teacher for the extracurricular activities? Is it too much things to do? Yes 10. Where are important factors to have extracurricular activities more interesting, attractive†¦? Student Collaboration Script to interviews teachers: Interviewer: Hello Teacher, I'm really thank you for spending a little time enjoy in our research. Our conversation will be tape-recorded, Are you agree with that? Teacher: † Interviewer: So can I know what your full names and where you teach? Teacher: Interviewer: Did you make any extracurricular activities for your students? *Yes 0 Interviewer:So what is it? How did you prepare for those activities? Do you think that activities help your students in study ; experience? Can you share with us about your students' reaction with your extracurricular activities? Can you compare between extracurricular activities and teaching in class? Which one more effective? 0 Interviewer: Did you think about make any extracurricular activities for your student? *Yes 0 So you thought about that but why don't you make any *No 0 So I think maybe you catch some weakness of extracurricular activities to decide not make any activities in your teaching, didn't you?

Mgt 4045

Explain the rationale for the global harmonization of financial reporting and disclosure requirements. -Make the financial statement more comparable across the global market so investors can invest their capital in more efficient comparable. 2. Identify two groups that are exerting pressure for pursuing global harmonization. How do these two groups stand to benefit from harmonization? -Investors are concerned with the reliability and comparability of sinacial statement in countries other than theirs.They favor this because it will help lower cost of investing in countries aboard and enhance the effectiveness of investment decisions. Multinational companies want global harmonization because of the increase in international diversity of manufacturing and sales. The fact that all accounting practices are not compatible means that they devote more resources to prepare and consolidate there financial statements. 3. What are the main obstacles to global accounting harmonization? In your op inion, are these obstacles likely to be overcome in the near future? The main obstacles are due to economics and politics. I think it will be a very slow and hard process to invoke in the near future because of everyone sensitivity and pride of there own countries.The polices would have to come from a super national organization and combine principals of many different countries. 4. What is the role of each of the following supra-national organizations? a. International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) -Developed as a parent entity of the IASB, it is an independent standards setter that assumes accounting standards setting responsibilities from IASC. . International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) -Organizational accounting organization that represents accountants employed in public practices, and the primary activity is to serve public interests and to facilitate cooperation among members. c. International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) -Known as the international standard setters for securities market, it promote high standards of regulation for sounds markets, and establishes standard and effective surveillance of international securities to name a few objectives. d.Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) -â€Å"Rich mans club†, comprised of 30 countries that produce 2/3 of the worlds goods and services in were all countries are committed to a market economy and pluralistic democracy, that provided governments with a setting to discuss, develop, and perfect economic an d social policies. 5. The FASB has described their proposal to transition to IFRS as an â€Å"improve and adopt† approach. What are the two parts of this â€Å"improve and adopt† proposal? Why does the FASB support this approach? First, the â€Å"improve and adopt† plan will require a joint effort by FASB and IASB to develop and improve standards in the areas that will benefit financial statements users universally. Secondly, a gradual approach transition to IFRS will reduce the disruptions that might occur from an abrupt switch. -Third, this approach allows other infrastructures elements to improve and converge while IFRS and improved and mandated. Finally, this approach avoids the added cost and complexity of dealing with two accounting systems. 6.What is the current plan for joint projects between the FASB and IASB? What is your assessment of the reasonableness of this plan? -The current plan between the joint projects is on a modified strategy and a delayed timeline for several of their convergence project extended till the end of 2011. Even thought that are delayed it is said that it will not negatively impact the SEC’s timeline. I think it is a good idea to have a longer period of time to implement these joint projects because it gives the stakeholders more time to express there input. 7.The PWC article identifies eleven (11) joint projects currently underway (i. e. , financial instruments, revenue recognition, leases, etc. ). Select three of these joint projects to consider in depth. For the three projects you have selected: -Financial Instruments- The issues with the financial instruments used to cause an inconsistent way of reporting value, revenue and other forms of financial information’s that could misleading investors. The joint project it to bring off these financial instruments together to make it easier to understand.To bring convergence there is a need for multiple new a more useful approaches like, recognizing losses earlier and recognizing credit impairments when not thought to collect. -Revenue recognition- Revenue recognition currently recognizes revenue when the customer signs into an agreement and values the price of fulfillment as being a fixed value. The new joint project would require the recognition of a contract come after the contract is fulfilled and not be able to keep the value as fixed.Another important aspect of the proposal is to est ablish principles to promote comparability among similar contracts. -Leases- -Consolidation- Under the ne joint projects, many of the companies will still be able to consider certain investment companies under the U. S. GAAP are likely to continue to meet qualifications under the new definition, but some may not. The one major change will be defining if the company has control over the investment company and how that will be determined. a. Provide a brief overview of the issue. b. Explain why it is important. c.Describe what needs to be done to bring about convergence. 8. The authors of the last article, Paul Miller and Paul Bahnson, are not proponents of international uniformity of accounting standards. Identify three reasons they are against it (they provide more than three). Do you agree? -He believes that uniformity is not comparable, it kills innovation, and doesn’t believe IFRS is uniformed. I do agree with him in some aspects because uniformity across a global market, while a very noble goal, is almost impossible to achieve and could result in so many problems.