Advanced Management Accounting Assignment Essays

Advanced Management Accounting Assignment Essays Advanced Management Accounting Assignment Essay Advanced Management Accounting Assignment Essay A budget according to Dry (2008) can be defined as a financial plan for implementing the various decisions that management has made or a quantitative expression of planned activities. In addition, a budget is an estimate of costs, revenues, and resources over a specified period, reflecting a reading of future financial conditions and goals. It an organization, it is one of the most important administrative tools, as it serves as a plan of action for achieving quantified objectives and is a device for coping with foreseeable adverse situations. Budgeting is important in an organization because it helps in setting standards of performance, it plays a critical role in strategic planning and it provides a tool to measure organization results. Budgets usually represent a detailed analysis Of how a company expects to spend money in future time periods. Many companies create budgets on an annual basis so they can carefully outline the expected needs of each department in the business. Losing an annual budget process also limits the amount of time companies spend creating and managing capital resources. On the other hand, there may be a general fear and countermanding about the purpose of the budgetary process and control, as it often regarded as time-consuming, unproductive, ineffective and meaningless rather than it being recognized as a tool for management, in all levels in an organization structure. Managers should be engaged in a detailed planned campaign on education and understanding the importance of budgeting as well as to encourage change from what has become an acceptable culture of imprudence towards budget preparation and suggest ways to make the budgetary process and the information become efficient, effective and meaningful. Total involvement of all managerial levels in budgeting is very important. It is even more necessary to get the participation in budgeting especially at the lowest or supervisory level. Thus, budgeting is no longer seen as the sole responsibility of the chief executive officer, budget officer or as that of the top executive in the company. Rather, all levels of the company will participate in the budgeting process and make commitments to achieving the goals set by the budget. The principal advantage which may accrue from full participation arises mainly from a higher level of motivation. Allowing a person to take an active part in planning and control should result in better co-operation. According to Horseman et al (1999), there are three major benefits of budgeting that states that budgeting compels managers to think ahead by formalizing their responsibilities for planning. It will also provides definite expectations that are the best framework for judging subsequent performance and budgeting aids managers in coordinating their efforts, so that the objectives if the organization as a whole match the objectives. It will also clearly defines areas of responsibility which will require managers of edged centers to take responsibility to achieve the budget target for the operations under their personal control and it should provide a basis of performance appraisal. Budgeting has long been recognized as the accepted procedure for profit planning and many of the most successful companies have applied this procedure. However, the budget practice has been labeled fragmented, conservative, wasteful and ineffective by critics of the budgeting process. Some view holds that budgets are primarily concerned with the allocation of cash to specific activities, and the expected outcome of business orientations and that they do not deal with more subjective issues, such as the quality of products or services provided to customers. These other issues can be stated as part of the budget, but this is not typically done. Also, when a company creates an annual budget, the senior management team may decide that the focus of the organization for the next year will be entirely on meeting the targets outlined in the budget. This can be a problem if the market shifts in a different direction sometime during the budget year. In this case, the company should shift along with the market, rather than adhering to the budget. Furthermore, an experienced manager may attempt to introduce budgetary slack, which involves deliberately reducing revenue estimates and increasing expense estimates, so that he can easily achieve favorable variances against the budget. This can be a serious problem, and requires considerable oversight to spot and eliminate. This concept and critic of budgeting has cast serious doubts on the need for a detailed and rigorously-enforced budgeting system, especially one that integrates the budget model with bonus plans. Nonetheless, the decision to install a budget is up to the management of the company. Management may opt to include a budget justification which is a narrative explanation Of each of the components of the budget, which justifies the cost in terms of the Budgeting has long been recognized as the accepted procedure for profit planning and many of the most successful companies have applied this procedure. However, the budget practice has been labeled fragmented, conservative, wasteful and ineffective by critics of the budgeting process. Some view holds that budgets are primarily concerned with the allocation of cash to specific activities, and the expected outcome of business transactions and that they o not deal with more subjective issues, such as the quality of products or services provided to customers. These other issues can be stated as part of the budget, but this is not typically done. Also, when a company creates an annual budget, the senior management team may decide that the focus of the organization for the next year will be entirely on meeting the targets outlined in the budget. This can be a problem if the market shifts in a different direction sometime during the budget year. In this case, the company should shift along with the market, rather than adhering to the budget. Furthermore, an experienced manager may attempt to introduce budgetary slack, which involves deliberately reducing revenue estimates and increasing expense estimates, so that he can easily achieve favorable variances against the budget. This can be a serious problem, and objectifications which is a narrative explanation of each of the components of the budget, which justifies the cost in terms of the proposed work. The explanations should focus on how each budget item is required to achieve the aims of the project and how the estimated costs in the budget is submitted, all items in the budget should be justified. Reposed work. The explanations should focus on how each budget item is required to achieve the aims of the project and how the estimated costs in the budget is submitted, all items in the budget should be justified. However, even though budgeting will be beneficial to the organization, it also has limitations in its preparation. The budget can be seen as pressure devices imposed by management resulting in bad labor relations and inaccurate accounting record keeping. There may be existence of departmental conflicts that may arise due to the allocation of resources and various department may be lamed when the target set have not be achieved. The company will have difficult to reconcile against the companys goals and individual goals and managers may overestimate costs so that they will not be blamed in the future should they overspend on the expenses and revenues. In most large organizations they will ensure that various type of budget are prepared to keep track of all expenses and incomes for the businesses. It will also help managers and account for a construct their annual report. The ability to budget effectively is an important element in order for an organization becoming successful. There are several types of budgets used in the business may take any of these names; master budget, an operational budget , general cash flow budget, capital budget , and financial budget which will be defined below (Hormone et al 1999). Master Budget: This type of budget is comprehensive estimation on how management expects to conduct all aspects of business that will cover the budgetary period for a period of one year. It will summarize the estimated activity by cash budget, budgeted income statement and balance sheet. It includes interrelated budgets from various departments which managers will use as a subset budget to plan and et performance objectives. This type of budget will used in large organization to ensure managers are kept on the same level. Operational Budget: An operational budget is the most common type of budget used. It forecasts and tries to closely predict yearly revenue and expense for the business. The budget can be updated with actual figures on a monthly basis and then you can revise your figures for the year, if needed. Cash Plow Budget: A cash flow budget details the amount of cash that will be collect and pay out. This is generally tallied on a monthly basis, but some businesses tabulate this weekly. In this budget, you track your sales and other receivables from income sources and contrast those against how much you will pay to suppliers and expenses. When there is a positive cash flow, it indicates that the business is growing. Capital Budget: The capital budget helps you to figure out how much money you will need to put in place for new equipment or procedures to launch new products or increase production or services. This budget estimates the value of capita purchases you need for your business to grow and increases revenues. Financial Budget: The financial budget will explain how the business will receives and spend the money achieved on a corporate scale from their capital expenditure. They will need to manage their assets which will have significant effect of the financial health on the company. However, managers will use this budget to help with leverage financing and value the company for mergers and public offering Of stocks. Budgets serve a variety of functions which includes planning, evaluating performance, coordinating activities, communicating, motivating and authorizing actions. A properly used budget can provide a benchmark or comparison point that alerts management to the first indication that their financial goals are unattainable. Four elements must be present in order for a budget to provide this type of information and control. Firstly the budget must be well envisioned, and prepared or approved by management, whilst secondly the budget must be broken down into periods corresponding to that periods financial statements. Thirdly throughout the year the financial statements must be prepared on a timely basis and a comparison made to the budget and fourthly management must be prepared to take action where ever the comparison with the budget indicates a significant deviation. The budget process plays an important role in the planning, decision-making ND controls within the organization. Therefore, it is essential for the company to improve the budgeting process in order to have a better understanding of the strategic goals, garner more coordinated support for those goals, and to improve the ability of the company to respond quickly to competition. There are several ways to improve the budget process. These are as follows: Link budget developments to corporate strategy Design procedures that allocate resources strategically. Tie incentives to performance measures other than meeting budget targets. Link cost management efforts to budgeting. Reduce budget complexity and cycle time Develop budgets that accommodate change The budget expresses how resources will be allocated and what measures will be used to evaluate progress, the budget development is more effective when linked to overall corporate strategy. Linking the two gives all managers and employees a clearer understanding of strategic goals. This understanding in turn, leads to greater support for goals, better coordination of tactics, and, ultimately, to stronger accompanied performance. To create this link, companies must communication their strategies to employees. Top management must take the lead in developing and communicating strategic goals. However, to develop those goals, top management needs information about customers, competitors, economic and technological change information that must come from customer-contact and support units. Companies that establish effective channels for communication find it easier to set challenging yet achievable strategic goals. Setting goals before budgeting begins makes it easier for budget developers at all levels. When this happens, budget developers create from the start budgets that support strategic goals and that, therefore, need fewer revisions. Budget development then becomes not only faster and less costly but also far less frustrating. Many companies still evaluate managers primarily on how closely they hit budget targets. While this may seem logical, in reality this type of one- dimensional evaluation tempts managers to win by playing games with budget targets. Such game playing isnt always in the companys best interest. For many companies, meeting budget targets is secondary to other performance measures. Such companies use a balanced set of performance measures to chart progress toward strategic goals, and use the same assure in their incentive programs. This reinforces the importance of key strategies and communicates what results will be rewarded. At many companies, business unit managers are involved in identifying the measures that are most relevant for their operations. Typically, some measures are financial, while others track progress in other efforts. For example, an appropriate nonofficial measure for one business unit may be product defect rate; for another, speed to market for new products. Once the measures are identified, higher-level management clarifies what targets each manager is expected to meet. Managers and employees receive training on the companys incentive program so that they understand the reason behind the rewards. By linking cost management efforts to budgeting, companies improve the quality of information available for managers to use in developing their budgets. Accurate cost information is fundamental to budgeting. Companies that use accurate cost management techniques and provide budget developers with ready access to cost information improve both the accuracy and the speed of their budget process. Companies strive to reduce budget complexity and streamline budgeting procedures. Such streamlining allows management to collect budget information, make allocation decisions, and communicate final targets in less time, at lower cost, and with less disruption to the companys core activities. By controlling the number of budgets that are needed and by standardizing budgeting methods, companies take important steps toward streamlining budgeting. Another key step is to minimize the amount of detail included in the reports used to develop budgets. Also, in their effort to streamline budgeting, leading companies use information technology to automate budgeting and facilitate workflow. These companies make sure that budget developers are thoroughly trained in new technologies. This training, together with ongoing monitoring of information needs accompanied, helps best practice companies deliver the right information to managers, on time and at the right cost. By developing budgets that accommodate change, companies can respond to competitive threats or opportunities more quickly and with greater precision. They can use resources efficiently to take advantage of the most promising opportunities. Furthermore, knowing that budgets have some flexibility frees budget developers from the need to pad budgets to over a wide variety of possible developments. This leads to leaner, more realistic budgets. Companies typically review budgets quarterly, monthly, or even weekly. By including in these reviews reports on changes in business conditions, companies alert managers that new tactics may be called for, if they are to meet their targets for the year. While it is important that budgets not be revised to cover up for poor performance or poor planning, best practice companies choose to revise budgets rather than adhere to budgets that do not reflect current conditions. Some companies rely on rolling or continuous forecasts rather than on traditional annual budgets. The chief difference between such forecasts and traditional budgets is that the forecast is updated with actual results as the company moves through the year. Figures for three or more subsequent quarters are projected in decreasing degree of detail. One way in which companies build flexibility into budgets is to prioritize according to strategic importance action plans that were rejected due to resource limitations. By doing this, they can act swiftly and decisively if additional resources become available. Another way in which companies evolve budgets that accommodate change is to require managers to create scenarios based on a variety of assumptions about business conditions. The affordability of powerful information technology allows for the creation of many what if scenarios. This practice makes it possible for companies to respond more quickly and effectively if actual conditions follow the pattern of a particular scenario. Companies also build flexibility into budgets by setting aside funds at the business-unit level to take advantage of competitive opportunities. Some companies even establish separate subsidiaries to look onto promising products or technologies. It is imperative that the budget be viewed as an essential tool to help companies to formulate better strategies for achieving its goals and objectives. The strategic planning is the long term plan of an organization and the budget is the short-term plan that contains more detail regarding the business operations. The budget is viewed as the blueprint or plan for the entire business which is prepared for the future period which it is designed by estimating and forecasting future trends in the market. The budget is used to evaluate the actual performance of a company r a section of the company with desirable performance which is based on a budget. It also provides information to the shareholders or investors so they may determine whether the business is a potential investment. Therefore, an excellent budget process should have the ability to convert objectives and desirable goods or future estimated outcomes into data. The budget should also be viewed as one way of positively influencing the behavior of managers within the organization as there are very few, if any decision and actions that managers can take which do not have some financial effect and which will nor abstinently be reflected in a comparison between budgeted and actual result. The nature of budgets is probably the most important advantage that a budgeting process has over most other systems in a typical organization. The ability to budget effectively is a very important part of being successful organization. This will been done through the exercise of preparing a budget which enables managers to promote planning, obtain directions, to make reasonable forecasts which will be serve as a monitoring tool which will predict financial support, promote communication and coordination, titivates and serves as a tool for evaluation and performance and ultimately determine how well the groups mission statement will be accomplished. In piloting the affairs of the organization a budget can be an extremely important and effective tool for management. However, to prepare a meaningful budget the organization must know where it is heading, its goals and objectives. As priorities change people should be involved in the budget preparation and approval process to ensure the resulting budget is fully supported as a budget is a tool of management, not a substitute for management.

Use Modal Verbs With Care

Use Modal Verbs With Care Use Modal Verbs With Care Use Modal Verbs With Care By Maeve Maddox English, like other Germanic languages, makes use of a special class of verbs called modals: can, dare, may, must , need, ought, shall, will. Modals serve useful functions in expressing various tenses, moods, and conditions, but they can have an insidious effect on ones writing. The topics I write about mostEnglish usage and educationare modal minefields. Its difficult to express opinions about these topics without falling prey to words like must, should, need, and ought. Ex. Politicians must do this. Teachers ought to do that. Speakers should say this. Modals tend to cut off discussion. They close the subject. They create resentment and hostility. Consciously or unconsciously the reader wonders, Why must I? Why should I? Why ought I? Few people enjoy being told what to do in an imperious manner. Modals leap onto the page when we feel strongly about a subject. The challenge to the writer is to find words that will convey the importance of an idea without hitting the reader over the head with modals. Instead of telling your readers what they ought to do, look for words that lead them to embrace the ideas you are presenting. Conclusion: Writers should avoid modal verbs in their writing. OOPS! Writers achieve greater clarity and offend fewer readers by avoiding modal verbs in their writing. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Rhetorical Devices for Rational Writing40 Synonyms for â€Å"Different†Wood vs. Wooden

Human Motivation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Motivation - Essay Example Psychological distress is common in patients with all forms of cancer and furthermore, the symptoms of depression overlap with the cancer symptoms which hinder further diagnosis and treatment efficacy. Several years ago Klubler/Ross identified the grief stages everyone goes through when we experience a traumatic loss. First is denial, "this really can't be happening". Next is anger, "why is this happening". This gives rise to anger, outrage and blame. Blame also shifts to guilt as helplessness takes over. Then comes bargaining, an attempt to make deals with the situation.. It's begging, wishing, praying for the pain to cease. It is wishing for things to be normal like they were before the intruding loss. Finally depression sets in, overwhelming feelings of hopelessness, frustration, bitterness, and self pity over the loss. As an individual works through these emotions, finally acceptance becomes the new reality. There is a difference between resignation and acceptance. The individual has to accept the loss, not just try to bear it quietly. A patient of post surgery stoma is highly dependant on the hospital and health care staff as well as family members. Maslow has depicted the hierarchy of needs as a five level pyramid. The four lower levels are grouped together as deficiency needs which comprise mostly of physiological needs and the apex represents growth needs which refer to psychology needs.

BOOK SUMMARY ANALYSES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

BOOK SUMMARY ANALYSES - Essay Example Form creates expectations within the viewer because it presents a picture of an entire whole into which the various elements fit comfortably; as a result when a work of art is incomplete in some aspect for instance, it appears unbalanced. Viewer’s perception of form in a work of art arises from within the work and from prior experiences . Emotions represented in film also fall within the category of form because they determine how a viewer is likely to respond to the depiction of emotion in the work. A spectator’s emotional response is also elated to form, because it will enhance or detract from the viewer’s perception of the meaning of the work of art. Meaning is a vital element of form and is important for the experience of the entire work. Every work of art is attributed a deeper meaning or significance based upon the overall context within which the work of art occurs; for example the form in the film Wizard of Oz is attributed on the basis of the meaning of transition into adulthood itself. Overall form has the following components: (a) function, i.e, the role of the element in the overall system (b) similarity and repetition of individual motifs in the film (c) differences and variations of elements in the film (d) the development and/or progression of elements and (e) the unity or disunity among the elements. As a result, form may be summarized as the specific pattern of relationships which is perceived within an artwork. According to Beardwell and Thompson, narrative is the way that human beings make sense of the world. The narrative form of filmmaking tells a story and it is the most common kind of film narration format that is used. In essence, a narrative may be said to be a chain of events occurring in a cause-effect type of relationship over a period of time. The narrative form has three basic elements – causality, time and space. The narrative film format is like telling a story – it could be focused upon one

Journal 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Journal 2 - Essay Example Human Resource Development can be defined as the process of preparing or enhancing competencies, skills, attitudes and the knowledge of the employees in an organization. The employees can qualify to be called human resources when they become useful components in the organization by acquiring the ability to play their roles efficiently (Kuchinke, 2010). Human Resource Development ensure that the staffs are able to work efficiently. Therefore, this process aims at producing knowledgeable, competent and skilled employees that will be able to work optimally toward realizing the organization goals and objectives. Human Resource Development is conducted through various ways such as career planning, organization development, training, and development, which help in imparting appropriate skills and knowledge onto the employees. Human Resource Development is a continuous process that takes a proactive approach in order to capacitate employees in their different roles and ensuring that they ac hieve their full potential. This process also helps to better the lives of the employees, as it concentrates on all-around development of the human resources (Poell, 2011). In conclusion, Human Resource Development is a crucial process that focuses on the development of the employees both at the workplace and in other aspects of their lives. It is done through training and development, whereby suitable knowledge and skills are imparted on the employees, thus making them competent and knowledgeable (Kuchinke,

Analysis of Hipster Subcultures

Analysis of Hipster Subcultures Nowadays we often come across the terms hipster or hipsterism in different newspapers and magazines as well as watching TV programs. Some people in our society even cannot imagine the meaning of this word. However, the term hipster is a well-known term for any sociologist, especially if he or she is interested in different contemporary subcultures of our society. A great deal of articles concerning the hipsters lifestyle and culture have already been written. Among them are the articles which were written by the specialists in the field of sociology. For example, Mark Griefs article The Hipster in the Mirror which was published in New York Times on December, 11 in 2010 touches upon some important issues concerning this interesting theme from the experienced sociologists point of view. My goal in this paper is not only to develop the theme of this contemporary subculture but also to make head or tale of how it is that the term hipster can simultaneously be so ambiguous and yet so meaningful to certain people in our society. Ill try to analyze Griefs discussion in his article The Hipsters in the Mirror, and Ill give my own thoughts regarding this theme. To achieve this goal, I have organized my paper into three main sections, one of which has some sub-sections. In the first section, Ill give the main characteristics of hipsters. Moreover, Ill match each of three hipster sub groups which were identified by Mark Grief in his article. In the second section of my essay, Ill touch upon the Marxist idea concerning the culture as a form of power, and Durkheims ideas concerning the reflection of our mental representations in particular social groups, and find out Bourdieus conception on these issues. In the third section of my paper, Ill discuss Griefs argument that terms like hipster do not make very good sociological concepts and Ill give my own point of view concerning this issue. In conclusion, Ill summarize the main points of my essay and express my opinion. Now I am going to turn to the first section of my paper. HIPSTERS IN OUR SOCIETY. THE MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF THIS SOCIAL GROUP The term hipster is a slang term which stands for a young man or a girl who adhere to non-mainstream fashion and created their own culture. It is not difficult to recognize a hipster in the crowd of people because the representatives of this group are usually dressed according to their certain rules and aesthetic norms. Hipsters usually wear skinny jeans and big eyeglasses. (Greif) It is known that this term hipster appeared in 1940th and initially stood for a representative of a special subculture and the admires of jazz music. Nowadays this word has a little bit another meaning. It describes the young well-to-do people who usually live in big cities and who are interested in fashion, culture, modern music, indie rock, popular magazines such as Vice and Clash, arthouse films and modern literature and so on. (Haddow) Mark Griefs Ideas Concerning Hipsters and the Role of Taste. Mark Grief, a writer, professor at New School University in New York and editor/co-creator of literary magazine n+1, a person of wide interests, a Harvard graduate, who got PhD from Yale, studied literature at Oxford gives some interesting ideas about hipster. (Rawlings Sundin) Mark Grief insists on the fact that nobody thinks of himself as a hipster in our society, nevertheless, most of the present day young people belong to this social group. Not only the clothes they wear give them out to be hipsters. Although this fact is also very important in this issue. Their way of life, their world concept, their special interests unite them together. In his article The Hipster in the Mirror, Mark Grief turns to the work of a famous French sociologist Pierre Bourdie Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste which is considered to be one of the most important sociological books of the 20th century. The author of this book makes investigations and gives the ideas how different social groups define aesthetic concepts such as taste. (Bourdie) His investigation gives such results that the tastes which are considered to be personal, unique, justified only by sensibility depend on the social class including your profession, your highest degree and your fath ers profession. (Grief) Moreover, he identifies three main groups hipster sub-groups which have absolutely different tastes, interests and philosophy. Mark Griefs Division of Hipsters into three Main Groups and Difference between them. In order to explain the above mentioned statement, I should use Mark Griefs words: Taste is not stable and peaceful but a means of strategy and competition. What does it mean? It means that all the representatives of hipterism can be divided into several classes according to their financial standing. Those superior in wealth young people who are at the top of this diagram use taste to show that they are superior in spirit. The other sub-group of hipsters includes the young people of upper-middle class who move to cities after college in order to find work in the creative professions. (Grief) Of course, they are ignored by the urban hierarchy but have some skills to make a superior body of cultural cool. The third sub-group of hipsters is represented by couch-surfing, old-clothes-wearing young people who belong to the lower-middle class fraction. Mark Grief calls them the most authentic and the most s ocially precarious. However, they have no any financial support from their parents. They work as servitorial staff in bars, shops and so on. Their cool clothes can easily make them superiors among all the hipsters in spite of the fact that they practically have no extra money. The struggle among these three groups is based on superiority. To be the best, to know more about lifestyle and culture, to wear the most cool clothes are the main aspects of this struggle. The representatives of each group of hipsters consider themselves to be the best possessors of taste. The main purpose of representing hipsterism is to prove that the tastes of this or that social group depend on the economic, social and cultural aspects. BOURDIEUS IDEAS REGARDING TWO PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURE BY MARX AND DURKHEIM, THE EARLY THEORISTS OF THE SOCIOLOGY OF CULTURE It is known that such researchers as Marx and Durkheim made a great contribution to the development of cultural sociology. According to Marxs ideas concerning culture, the most powerful members of our society are those who belong to the upper class. They set up culture of the society in their own way, according to their rules and concepts. Moreover, he states that the economic status plays an important role in the formation of values and ideologies of society. The other perspective on culture which was used by Bourdieu in his work relates to another famous sociologist Emile Durkheim who has his own opinion on culture. According to his opinion, culture has many relationships to society including logical, functional and historical ones. The first ones state that power depends on some cultural categories and beliefs, e.g. God. The second ones state that certain ceremonies and myths build social order. The historical relationships to society state that the origins of culture lie in socie ty. Lets relate the ideas of Bourdieu described by Mark Grief in his article The Hipsters in the Mirror to these perspectives on culture. Speaking about Bourdieus ideas regarding the freedom of our mental representations, Id say that he appropriates some claims of the famous French sociologist Emile Durkheim who is known also for the establishment of the academic discipline and social science. As a matter of fact, Emile Durkheim asserts that our mental representations are not freely and randomly chosen but really represent our membership in particular social group. It means that the representatives of this or that sub-group of hipsters cannot change themselves due to their mental representations. For example, Bourdieu and his researchers held an opinion poll of 1200 people among which were the representatives of all the social classes. The questions which were included into his public opinion poll touched upon the aspects of French domestic life. Among them was such a question: Which of the given subjects could be the most appropriate to make a good photo? There were three variants given by the researchers to choose: a beautiful sunset, a pretty girl with a cat and a terrible car crash. It is interesting to know that the representatives of such professions as college teachers and artists began to look conditioned to the variant of a car crash. Of course, much depends on the social status of a person.(Grief) If we are going to speak about the representatives of the upper class who are well-to-do people and who feel a great power over the other social groups, their culture will really represent a form of power. Everything they do will be considered the best, everything they say will be highly appreciated. They are those who always take center stage. Of course, as a result of it, they ignore other young people and even make fun of them. Mark Grief touches upon the Bourdieus discussions based on the Marxist idea that culture can operate as a form of power. He says that the philistine wealthy, who have money but have no idea of what culture is, convert real capital into cultural capital. They create their own subculture as if it were ready to wear. (Grief) At the same time Bourdieus approach criticizes the Marxist perspective in a way and Mark Grief states this fact in his article. He says that the habits of hatred and accusation are rather typical for hipsters of all the sub-groups. The main reason of this fact is that they feel the weakness of everyones position including their own. (Grief) They feel their own weakness. So, as a result of this emotional state, young people who not long ago had a great power over the other representatives of hipsters and considered themselves to be the best in lifestyle, culture and fashion, feel low and insignificant in the presents of the other hipsters. In this situation we canno t say that culture can operate as a form of power. SOCIOLOGICAL CONCEPTS OF THE TERM HIPSTER IN OUR SOCIETY It is very important to notice the fact that Griefs argument that terms like hipster do not make very good sociological concepts cannot be used for describing the social world in scientific terms. If we try to analyze the meaning of this word having read a great deal of articles regarding the lifestyle, behavior, fashion and culture of hipsters, well be able to give a certain characteristics to the term hipster. May be, it will be something with negative meaning but, nevertheless, it will represent the main true features of this word. So, hipsters are young people, the representatives of a certain social group or class and subculture which do not aim for anything, which do not dream of anything, which do not exclaim against anything or rebel, which do not invent or change anything. The response to the term hipster is striking. People do not hate hipsters. It is an obvious exaggeration. Anyway, people refer to this phenomenon as if it is the main source of culture fall because hipster s can easily change one thing into another. Id like to represent the results of a survey which will help us to see if this term can be used to describe the social world in scientific terms. People of different professions and social status took part in this survey on the question of hipsters. Among them were students, designers, journalists, workers, businessmen. Here are some examples of their answers. Question: Does the word hipster have a positive or a negative meaning? Student: Hipsters represent our modern youth and its quite normal. Journalist: If a hipster is a one person in the crowd, its positive, but if there are hundreds of them gathered in one place, it irritates a lot. Designer: I think if a person wants to distinguish himself from the crowd, its a good idea! I cannot say anything negative about hipsters. Worker: I dont know what are you talking about. Businessman: Its not interesting for me. Photographer: I am sure that hipsters make our life bright and merry. Their clothes, their glasses, everything is Okay. These are only several answers. However, we can easily prove the fact that the public opinion concerning hipsters is positive in most answers. So, I think that the term hipster can be used to describe the social group in scientific terms. Although there are many articles which prove the contrary. For example, Douglas Haddows article Hipster: The Dead End of Western Civilization considers hipsters to be the representatives of narcissism and spiritual shallowness which may lead to the end of civilization. He says that we came to the point in our civilization where counterculture has mutated into a self-obsessed aesthetic vacuum. (Haddow) At the same time another article Are Hipsters Really the End of Western Civilization written by Joseph Mohan calls down this opinion. The author of this article is sure that hipsters are simply kids in a phase theyll eventually grow out of it, just like the Gen-Hers, punks, hippies, beatniks, and flappers before them. (Mohan) CONCLUSION In conclusion, I should say that the issue discussed in my paper is a topical one. It is clear that different people have different opinions concerning hipsters in our society. The proverb says: So many heads, so many opinions. That is true. Mark Grief used the work of Pierre Bourdieu to discuss this issue. Having analyzed some aspects in his article and some other articles which also touch upon the question of hipsters, I can agree that the term hipster can at the same time be so ambiguous and so meaningful to certain people of our society. Of course, this phenomenon is not dangerous for our civilization. Not all the people of our society can be hipsters. Nevertheless, we can easily use this term to denote a certain social group in our society. I think that its a very interesting question for any sociologist to carry out researches and have public surveys, to learn new things and study social science. Such people as hipsters help us to explore our society and draw corresponding conc lusions.

England rural life Essay

â€Å"Out, Out†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ is about childhood in rural New England. It shows how children had to work in the late 1800s and early 1900s when Robert Frost was a young boy. The poem illustrates a negative image of growing up in the rural life of New England. It demonstrates how quickly and unexpectedly death can happen, but, also, the harsh fact that life has to go on.  The title of the poem ‘†Out, Out†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ is a quotation from William Shakespeare’s play ‘Macbeth’. It is taken from Macbeth’s soliloquy after his wife (Lady Macbeth) kills herself, and he reflects on the brevity and pointlessness of life:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœOut, out, brief candle!’ It is significant to this poem because Frost is also reflecting on the futility and shortness of life through the loss and the innocence of the child, which is illustrated through the emergency and alarm in the boy’s pointless plea:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœDon’t let him cut my hand off-‘  The poem is written in blank verse, using the iambic pentameter of ten syllables per line to imitate in the natural rhythm of speech.  At the beginning of the poem Frost uses personification of the buzz saw to create an effective opening, which is furthered by the unpleasant sounds of the onomatopoeic snarling and rattling – giving the buzz saw a frightening image, and creating a vivid negative representation of rural life in New England. Frost contrasts this first impression with the imagery of ‘sweet scented stuff’ that is blown by the breeze, and his ironic statement that ‘nothing happened’, which effectively leaves the reader unprepared for the followin g events. Frost dramatically shows how dangerous life working in rural New England can be when the boy has his hand cut of by the saw, which is sinister on its own, but the sombreness of the situation is heightened by the saw being personified even more:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœÃ¢â‚¬ ¦ the saw,  As if to prove saws knew that supper meant,  Leaped out at the boy’s hand’  When the boy’s hand is lost, Frost uses repetition of ‘hand’ to emphasis the hardship of how young children were expected to work from such a young age. This point of working children is further pointed out when the boy’s work is compared to a man’s:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœDoing a man’s work, though a child at heart-‘  From this the reader can see how hard life was to grow up in rural New England. As the poem ends, it appears more sinister as Frost reflects on the young boy dying and the pointlessness of life through the illustration of sinister words such as ‘the dark of either’. The dashes create effective pauses as the boy takes his last breath, helping to highlight the hardness of rural life to the reader. ‘Little-less-nothing!-and that ended it.’  The tone of the poem is relaxed and casual in the beginning, but changes after the boy’s sister tells them ‘†Supper.†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ The tone becomes tenser and appears to be insensitive due to Frost’s bluntness about death.  Ã¢â‚¬ËœAnd they, since they  Were not the one dead, turned to their affairs.’  However, Frost is stating the harsh fact of life – that it has to go on for people to survive, even after a terrible grievance. I think this fact is particularly true for rural life in New England at this time. This is because farms still had to be looked after to ensure the farmer got money to support himself and his family, therefore, they could not afford to stop everything – it was not that they did not care about the death of the young boy. The sinister tone of this poem is contrasted to the more light-hearted poem, ‘Birches’. Through ‘Birches’, Frost is reminiscence about his childhood and is thinking about a simpler and easier time in his life. The poem outlines the innocence of being a child and illustrates how harsh life can be as an adult.  Ã¢â‚¬ËœBirches’, like ‘†Out, Out†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ, is written in blank verse, using the iambic pentameter of ten syllables per line to imitate in the natural rhythm of speech.  In comparison to the previous poem (‘†Out, Out†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ) ‘Birches’ shows the more positive yet still some negative aspects of life in rural New England. It positively represents a fairly straightforward time for Frost, a time when he was able to conquer the trees:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœAnd not one but hung limp, not one was left’  The repetition of ‘not one’ in this quotation emphasises his success in climbing the birch trees. His use of alliteration on the ‘k’ sound helps describe the skill needed to conqu er the trees in this way. Climbing carefully  with the same pains you use to fill a cup ‘  In the poem Frost shows how rural life in New England can be lonely for a young boy, which shows a negative aspect to rural life in New England.  Ã¢â‚¬ËœSome boy too far from town to learn baseball  Whose only play was what he found himself’  Furthermore, this vividly shows how rural children were more independent and able to amuse themselves, but it does show how they were very isolated from other children with no-one to play in the birch trees with.  For Frost, the birch trees are a way to escape the pressures of being grown up. The poem shows how he is yearning to climb the birch trees once again and metaphorically escape from the earth. ‘I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree’  The poem has a casual tone, just as ‘†Out, Out†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ but ‘Birches’ maintains this casual and relaxed tone throughout unlike ‘†Out, Out†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ which changes to a more sinister tone. The tone of ‘Birches’ does become more when Frost personifies fate to misunderstand him:  Ã¢â‚¬ËœMay no fate wilfully misunderstand me’  Although the tone of ‘Birches’ becomes more philosophical it still maintains a casual tone. The casual tone in ‘Birches’ of the poem is captured by the colloquial language that is used. ‘But I was going to say . . .’  After reading and studying both ‘†Out, Out†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ and ‘Birches’ I prefer ‘Birches’ as I feel it makes rural life in New England more vivid. I think ‘†Out, Out†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ is a more sinister and negative approach to look upon rural life. But, Frost illustrates a more vivid image through the use of alliteration throughout ‘Birches’ which creates a more real and vivid representation than ‘†Out, Out†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ.

Hero vs. Tragic Hero

The Difference between a Hero and a Tragic Hero The tragic hero is one of the most interesting characters within a Greek or Roman play. They depict many emotions and often their lives end in a horrible disaster. When we think of a hero, what automatically comes to mind? To some it may be someone legendary. Others might think of a hero as someone of great strength or ability. Perhaps someone admired for their achievements and great qualities.To me, it once meant someone that showed great courage and responsibility . A real hero is someone who faces everyday challenges bravely and lives with a smile despite problems and shortcomings and sometimes even having supernatural powers of some sort. Before these two â€Å"heroes† can be compared and contrasted, it is imperative to know what a tragic hero must possess in order to be called a â€Å"tragic hero. A tragic hero must contain the following features; a tragic hero always had characteristics like greatness and a noble stature, they must have a fatal flaw, that in most cases lead them to be partly responsible for their own demise, usually their punishment outweighs their crime, and then, of course, sometime during where the tragedy takes place there should be some sort of self-realization for that character. This is where they realize their mistake.One prominent characteristic of a tragic hero is portrayed specifically in the play ‘Macbeth' by Shakespeare, the tragic hero Macbeth was a victim of his doubt and insecurity. Thus, the hero's downfall is due to his own errors and actions. A tragic hero has to suffer because of his own mistakes. He is doomed from the start; he bears no responsibility for possessing his flaw, but bears responsibility for his actions.He is usually a king, a leader of men and his fate affects not only his but the lives of a whole nation or number of people. Tragic heroes are without a doubt one of the most intriguing of characters. A Traditional hero is a person of â€Å"dis tinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. A hero is â€Å"any person who has heroic qualities or has performed heroic acts and is regarded as a model or ideal to follow†¦ † He represents a positive image of a human being, physically, mentally, and emotionally.He is loved by all and cherished for his noble deeds. He always takes up distinctive tasks which no one else ever dares to and may come across much adversity that which he fights with his endurance and valor and eventually reaches victory with a confident heart. He has qualities like courage, honesty and willingness to sacrifice. But most of all, he stands for everything we love to see ourselves as. That is why they are so popularly favored by many.

COLLEGE PAPER WRITING SERVICE

COLLEGE PAPER WRITING SERVICE A perfect application essay requires many requirements for the applicant to be aware of. On the other hand professional college paper writing service is able to help the clients who are willing to enter the educational establishments like college or universities by writing custom application essays for them. While it may seem to be hard to write a perfect application essay there are several simple rules that should be followed. As the personal statement must be made strong, the entire purpose of this type of writing is to show the personality uniqueness. The personal talents must simply shine and the whole application essay must have profound and well-written structure. The best college application essay format also does imply showing how the person will benefit from the educational process. Your essay must be all about how different you are from another people. Showing your unique goals in life and career will definitely make your application essay stand out. If you require help from professional writer, simply order the essay from us and we will do the best writing job for you.

Luther Burbank essays

Luther Burbank essays Luther Burbank Luther Burbank was born the thirteenth of 15 children in Lancaster, Massachusetts on March 7, 1849. He was a sensitive, shy boy with a curiosity about the outdoors. His cousin, Professor Levi Burbank, took him on long walks in the woods to study plant life and discuss his interests in biology. He completed his formal education at Lancaster Academy, where he studied biology, chemistry and physics, but he didnt decide upon a career. He wanted to study medicine but there was so many children in his family and so little money, he was forced to go to work. He got a job in a near-by factory as a wood turner and pattern maker for fifty cents a day. He didnt like this work because it was indoors, so he decided to become a truck gardener. It was at this time that Luther first read Charles Darwins Animals and Plants Under Domestication. He decided then and there to make plant breeding his lifes work. Although he had no real scientific education, he did have an intense curiosity about plants and a love of nature. He began simple experiments, and, through trial and error, improved growing methods. These he tested in further experiments as he tried to develop new and sturdier vegetables. One of his first experiments was with sweet corn. In order to get corn on the market earlier, he forced the kernels to grow inside the warm house two weeks before the ground was ready. Then when it was warm enough outside, he planted the seeds which had already sprouted. This way he already gained two weeks on the other gardeners, and the sweet corn was ready to sell two weeks earlier. This method of growth created many advantages for gardeners since they could reap the benefit of their crops at an earlier date. One day Burbank discovered among his potato plants a seed ball on the leafy part of the plant. He collected it carefully and plan ...

Letter from Birmingham Jail Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Letter from Birmingham Jail - Essay Example King wrote a letter in response to criticisms he had received while in prison. He was responding to the critics of nonviolence means and injustices before the law. He addressed his letter to his fellow clergymen who termed his actions as unwise. He said that he was trying to answer their criticisms in realistic terms. His response begins by expressing the reasons for his presence in Birmingham. He added that his presence in Birmingham is because he is invited for organizational ties. He refutes the accusations of his fellows who had argued that he is an outsider in Birmingham. King says that his desire to end injustice like the eighteenth century prophets drove him to Birmingham. King accuses the leaders of criticizing his acts of peaceful demonstrations, yet they could not address the conditions that fuelled the demonstrations.King says that, any nonviolent campaign involves four steps; assembling of facts on the existing injustices, meditation, self- purification and real action. F acts about the situation must be established, and brutality identified. Campaigns require facts, not guesswork and are meant to change the existing conditions of injustice and not personal gain. He argues that Birmingham is the most segregated city in the United States, leading in brutality and unjust treatment of Negroes. He added that the Negro fathers had tried to negotiate with the city leaders who refused to listen to them. The promises made to the clergy leaders by the city fathers were unfulfilled.

Case Analysis of Starbucks Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Case Analysis of Starbucks - Research Paper Example The company’s management acted promptly, under the leaderships of the CEO Schultz, to resolve internal weaknesses and to adapt to the changing external market environment to ensure the survival of the organization in this industry. The survival of the company in tough market environment can be associated with the ability of the leader to work together with the company to satisfy all the shareholders of the organization. This essay presents an analysis of the Starbucks Corporation and the basic strategies that the company has deployed to win the coffee market. First, the paper will present the background of the company, covering its environment, the industry and the major players in the coffee industry. Next will be a critical analysis of the company’s strategies and the various emerging market conditions that underpins the organizational performance. This will provide a good ground to provide alternative approaches that Starbucks would have used to support its development strategy. Starbucks is a company that started back in 1987 in Seattle, Washington by Baldwin, Siegel and Bowker. The company started with nine stores in the domestic market, and the main products include whole beans and coffee products. Schultz became the CEO of Starbucks in 1987, after acquiring the company and receiving a majority vote from the company directors. During this stage company ventured in the domestic market and Schultz helped the company to focus on the customer value model. This left Starbucks as a dominant market stakeholder in the marketing strategy. The company opened more stores in US to take advantage of the growing demand of coffee in the domestic market (Buchanan and Simmons 517). The companys vision was to satisfy the customers through unique coffee products that they had not tasted before. The company focused on diversifying its products when after a long debate they introduced the non-fat