Angels Essay -- essays research papers

ANGELS idols holy holy persons carry turn out a variety of tasks and deeds, as well as the angels of Satan. They carry out what the will of heaven is on earth when god Himself wants. Sometimes they appear as normal humans and sometimes with all the radiance of heaven twinkling upon them, and making known that a part of heaven is on earth. What I am going to try to explain is that I gaint speculate that angels have a role. I think that any angel does whatever heavens will wants it to do, when it wants it. In other words, angels do as they atomic number 18 told, not what they want. Im going to review one by one what jobs or roles God has given to the angels.Roles of the AngelsMessengerMost likely the angels principal(prenominal) role that God gave to them was to be a messenger to those that were in need. Many times angels have appe ared to someone just in the nick of time to rejoin an urgent message from God. This is evident in the following stories Abraham is just about to sa crifice his firstborn child before an angel comes and reveals to him why he had to do this. Many times in Acts angels appear to the Minor Prophets to give them important messages ranging from not being afraid for things to come or telling them they must hear out someone. Then there are the angels that are spoken of in Revelations. Sometimes the angels speak directly to John, and sometimes appear in visions of the end of times. The angel at the end of times is to that degree to come, and will proclaim in a loud voice to all the world the glory and majesty of God. there are many other examples of angel revealing a message to Gods people, both in the Old and New Testament. Many of them are very brief, (an angel appeared to John and told him not to enter Samaria), yet still important. We dont know Gods reasoning for sending His angels, yet every message was in Gods plan and could not have been overlooked.GuardianAlthough the Bible does not actually use the term protector angels, it does speak of angels protecting people. God is our protector and cornerstone, and yet He includes in His Word that angels also protect us. Specific instances of this are, for example, two times in sing angels are said to encamp around those that fear Him, and angels will guard you in all your ways. They dont specifically guard one star person in these chapters, ... ...hat stands up for everything that is evil. His role is to corrupt and rapture all of mankind and bring them all into permanent punishment and damnation. As for all his sinful followers, Rev 1214 suggest he might have taken one third of the angelic population with him as it says the dragon that brush 1/3 of the stars away. His fight with Michael is described in Rev 127-12 where again Satan is the dragon and Michael the guardian hurls him down to earth from the sky. After Revelations relate this they have 4 other passages with Satan that all speak of his and all of his and their demise. It says they are thrown into the lake of burning sulpher and condemned to hell forever to be experience eternal pain and suffering.In the end, are angels assigned to roles? Can some only do what they where made to do? I would have to disagree and say they dont have specific roles in heaven. All the unnamed angels, when they visited earth, usually either guarded or gave a message to someone in need. God sends every angel with or for a purpose and Gods purposes are important. Really, the angels only role in heaven and earth is to do what the sea captain requires them to do.

Rap is Crap Essay examples -- essays research papers

Rap is CrapShe aint nuttin but a hoochie mamaSmackin on your lips, put your hands on your hipsShe aint nuttin but a hoochie mamaOh I love those big brown eye and the way you shake your thighs, acting like youre so damn cute... Rap practice of medicine with lyrics like this play on the radio and in plate stereos every day. Rap music pounds messages of sex and violence into the minds of young adults leaving behind their sexist and repetitive influential messages. Music has a very respectable influence on our emotions, moods, and behavior. Rap music influences teenagers negatively by increasing violent attitudes and promoting sexual aggression against women.Very few people would argue the baron of music. Mothers use it to rock their babies to sleep. Patriotic hymns can be used at rallies to evoke strong emotions of nationalism. Ballads have been used to incite rebellion. Some governments have viewed music so powerful that they ban it. In white dominated South Africa, centers of Afr ican music were destroyed and western music was declared forbidden in China during the Cultural Revolution. Is music powerful enough to incite antisocial and violent behavior? According Johnson, Jackson and Gattos study on the evil effects of exposure to rap music, subjects in the violent exposure conditions (rap music) expressed greater acceptance of violence. Subjects in the violent exposure condition also account a higher probability that they would engage in violence (Johnson). Music plays an i...

New Computer Build :: essays research papers

New Gaming and Over Clocking Computer BuildBuilding a new estimator can be quite complicated and time consuming. You should take just as much care in researching each component as you would induction them into your system. It is crucial that the component fit your purpose, provide stability, and work well with the other components you select. For my system, I have chosen components that have been thoroughly tested and approved by respected people in the technology field.The centerpiece of this system is of course the mother carte. I wanted something that was cutting edge but also stable. Ease of role is important, as well as compatibility. I plan to do some over-clock so this feature was also of great importance to me. After sifting through and through many reviews I rested on the ASUS P5AD2 Premium, beca manipulation of its immense offerings and satis brokery reviews. This board supports all of the latest features including SATA, PCI-Express, DDR2, and it accepts the new socket 775 Pentium 4. These features will allow me to use the fastest ironware made for consumers today and hopefully allow this computer to play the latest games for years to come. The board also comes with an impressive list of onboard features. It incorporates 8 channel onboard go which will suit my needs and save me the expense of buying a separate sound card. It also has two onboard gigabit Ethernet ports and, onboard wireless G with an external transmitting aerial which should more than handle anyones networking needs. This motherboard has the most advanced feature set I could find available. ASUS has also made great advancements in over clocking with this board. All you need is the most recent bios and you can now unlock the clock multiplier on the Prescott Pentium 4. Until now this was only achievable through the use of an AMD processor but now offers this option with the newest Pentium family. Because heat has been a problem with the Prescott processors ASUS has also introduced Stack Cool this is simply placing another PCB on the underside of the board to dissipate heat. This helps improve stability and increase the life of components.For the processor I have chosen the Intel LGA775 Pentium 4 550. This 3.4 GHz, 800MHz front side bus processor is a very good choice for over-clocking and even at stock speeds it screams. Although the Prescott processors dont score much higher than the Northwood processors in benchmarking at stock speeds, the over-clocking factor really comes into play here.

Ludwig Van Beethoven :: essays research papers

Education in general and in music Beethoven came from a musical family, and his early musical didactics was under his fathers guidance. His father taught him piano and violin. His general education was not continued beyond the elementary school. He was practically illiterate in math. II. Self program line As a youth of 19, in 1789, Beethoven took legal steps to have himself placed at the head of his family. He petitioned for half his fathers salary to declare his brothers. This act of self-assertion is an indication of his character. III. Studies with Haydn A. The first contact On one of Haydns trips to London, he met the young Beethoven. Beethoven showed Haydn a cantata and he received Haydns commendation. The elector of Bonn paid for Beethovens lessons and expences in to study with Haydn in Vienna. B. The studies Beethoven arrived in Vienna in 1792 and studied with Haydn for about one year. The arrangement proved to be a dissappointment to Beethoven. C. The relationship Outwar dly in public the two were cordial, but there were troubles with the relationship--maybe professional jealousy caused the problems. D. Other teachers Beethoven turned to other teachers when Haydn went to London for the instant time. He studied with Albrechtsberger, famous as a choir director at St. Stephens in Vienna and the best-known counterpoint teacher in Vienna. He then studied Salieri, famous in Mozarts biography. Salieri helped Beethoven in setting Italian words to music. IV. Establishment as pianist and composer His first task in Vienna was to establish himself as pianist and composer. He achieved both rapidly. A. Aristocracy He had worked for a court in Bonn so his first contacts were in downcast circles. He needed financial support from them. B. Public concerts Public concerts were not yet the way of life in Vienna, but Beethoven did begin a series of charity concerts. Later in 1800 he gave his first concert for his own benefit. C. Opus 1 His opus 1, Trios for Piano Viol in and Cello, were designed to shine Viennese society. Each trio is in 4 movements. Beethoven created parity among the instruments in these trios. V. Brothers and Nephew A. Fighting with brothers All three brothers lived in Vienna and they often "came to blows" in the street. B. Fighting for nephew After his brother Carl died in 1815 Beethoven felt responsible for his nephew Karl.

Last Exit to Brooklyn :: essays papers

Last Exit to BrooklynLast Exit to Brooklyn is a very violent film. In fact, the films purpose is to have the audience look at the whole question of forcefulness. The film shows, in a very realistic way, the psychological, communicatory and physical violence that permeates a Brooklyn neighborhood in the midst of a bitter strike during the 1950s. The film is based on the book, Last Exit to Brooklyn, by Hubert Selby, which was banned for its violent and sexually explicit content. Verbal violence is very prevalent in this film. People swear at and verbally abuse iodine another throughout the movie. Everyone seems angry. There are several causes for their anger. First the film takes place during a strike. Many of the characters are unemployed and have little money. They reparation to drinking and drugs that feed into their lodges violent tendencies. In one scenery, the workers who are on strike are screaming obscenities at the scab workers and the boss. merely in virtually every sc ene there is verbal violence. In every scene someone is being threatened, belittled, embarrassed or humiliated. The verbal violence is so punishing because behind it is the possibility of physical violence. Physical violence is also very common behaviour in the movie. For example, the very first scene shows a violent altercation between three soldiers and a gang of local thugs. Physical violence is the funda workforcetal way in which the whole society behaves. The men use it to show that they are macho, so they beat up those who are weaker than they are, especially women. For example, Vinnie, the leader of a street gang, physically and verbally harasses a young prostitute named Tralala. In the most violent, nasty, and horrible scene in the movie, Tralala is gang raped and beaten by over a hundred men in a garbage dump. Many of the men in the film are homophobic and sexually insecure, and they act out their hostility and insecurity by beating up gays. They have problems at work and g o out on strike. But their strike is full of violent incidents they get into fist fights, they impair up trucks, they beat up cops. Whenever they have a problem, they use violence to deal with it.Psychological violence, that is, intimidation or the threat of violence, is also an important broker of this film. Vinnie is a gang leader who uses psychological violence to control and manipulate his gang and other people in the neighborhood.

Last Exit to Brooklyn :: essays papers

Last Exit to BrooklynLast Exit to Brooklyn is a very violent subscribe to. In fact, the films purpose is to have the audience look at the whole question of violence. The film shows, in a very realistic way, the psychological, verbal and bodily violence that permeates a Brooklyn neighborhood in the midst of a bitter strike during the 1950s. The film is based on the book, Last Exit to Brooklyn, by Hubert Selby, which was outlaw for its violent and sexually explicit content. Verbal violence is very prevalent in this film. People swear at and verbally abuse one some other throughout the movie. Everyone seems angry. There are several causes for their anger. First the film takes place during a strike. Many of the characters are unemployed and have little money. They resort to alcohol addiction and drugs that feed into their societys violent tendencies. In one scene, the workers who are on strike are screaming obscenities at the scab workers and the boss. But in virtually every scene t here is verbal violence. In every scene someone is being threatened, belittled, embarrassed or humiliated. The verbal violence is so punishing because behind it is the possibility of physical violence. Physical violence is also very common behaviour in the movie. For example, the very first scene shows a violent altercation between three soldiers and a gang of local thugs. Physical violence is the fundawork forcetal way in which the whole society behaves. The men use it to show that they are macho, so they beat up those who are weaker than they are, especially women. For example, Vinnie, the leader of a street gang, physically and verbally harasses a spring chicken prostitute named Tralala. In the most violent, nasty, and horrible scene in the movie, Tralala is gang raped and beaten by over a hundred men in a garbage dump. Many of the men in the film are homophobic and sexually insecure, and they act out their hostility and insecurity by trounce up gays. They have problems at work and go out on strike. But their strike is full of violent incidents they get into fist fights, they blow up trucks, they beat up cops. Whenever they have a problem, they use violence to deal with it.Psychological violence, that is, intimidation or the threat of violence, is also an important element of this film. Vinnie is a gang leader who uses psychological violence to control and manipulate his gang and other people in the neighborhood.

Reaction between Valine and Serine

A DNA (deoxyribonucleic astringent) is composed of 4 different bases axerophthol (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and tetraiodothyronine (T). Applying these 4 bases it may contain thousands of sequences within a one strand. Each of these bases makes a specific pairing with a like base whereby the double spiral structure is synthesised. This interaction is called base-paring and the complementary base pairs ar T pairs only with A and C only with G. Through this mere(a) coding language, the DNA carries and represents its colossal genetic in organic law.Through a deal called transcription, the genetic information of DNA is copied to form an intermediary molecule termed ribonucleic acid (RNA/messenger RNA). This formation is synthesised in the same style as DNA replication. However this process occurs only on one DNA strand called template strand. Thus the template RNA is only a single strand with 4 bases adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and uracil (U). The base-pairing ru les are,DNA informational RNAGC CG TA AUThis will be synthesised through enzyme RNA polymerase and happens in the nucleus of the cell.This transcribed mRNA consist the genetic code, which is used to generate proteins in the following process called translation. This code is comprised of triplets that specifies an amino acid (e.g. AUG for methionine) and named as codon. These codons are recognised by imparting RNA. T-RNA can bind specific amino acid on one side by means of enzymes and has got an anticodon consists of triplets on the other(a) side. Each amino acid has got its admit acceptor RNA. The beginning(a) mRNA codon will be always AUG, the start codon. Once the 2ndamino acid is bound to the 1st one, the 1st tRNA will be released and the 3rd one follows. This process is repeated until the so-called stop-codon in the mRNA terminates the growing protein synthesis. The completed protein is then released and takes its own characteristic shape. This process occurs in the cytoso l of the cell.The four-character language of DNA/mRNA can be converted into 20-character language of protein. However thither are 64 combinations of mRNA codons as on that point are 4 possibilities for the 1st codon and 4 for the 2nd and 4 for the 3rd (4 x 4 x 4 = 64). Certainly there are many codons for many amino acids however some are not, for instant stop-/start codons.Reaction between Valine and SerineA DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is composed of 4 different bases adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and thymine (T). Applying these 4 bases it may contain thousands of sequences within a single strand. Each of these bases makes a specific pairing with a corresponding base whereby the double helix structure is synthesised. This interaction is called base-paring and the complementary base pairs are T pairs only with A and C only with G. Through this simple coding language, the DNA carries and represents its vast genetic information.Through a process called transcription, the gene tic information of DNA is copied to form an intermediary molecule termed ribonucleic acid (RNA/messenger RNA). This formation is synthesised in the same way as DNA replication. However this process occurs only on one DNA strand called template strand. Thus the mRNA is only a single strand with 4 bases adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C) and uracil (U). The base-pairing rules are,DNAmRNAGC CG TA AUThis will be synthesised through enzyme RNA polymerase and happens in the nucleus of the cell.This transcribed mRNA consist the genetic code, which is used to generate proteins in the following process called translation. This code is comprised of triplets that specifies an amino acid (e.g. AUG for methionine) and named as codon. These codons are recognised by transfer RNA. T-RNA can bind specific amino acid on one side by means of enzymes and has got an anticodon consists of triplets on the other side.Each amino acid has got its own tRNA. The 1st mRNA codon will be always AUG, the start codon. Once the 2ndamino acid is bound to the 1st one, the 1st tRNA will be released and the 3rd one follows. This process is repeated until the so-called stop-codon in the mRNA terminates the growing protein synthesis. The completed protein is then released and takes its own characteristic shape. This process occurs in the cytosol of the cell.The four-character language of DNA/mRNA can be converted into 20-character language of protein. However there are 64 combinations of mRNA codons as there are 4 possibilities for the 1st codon and 4 for the 2nd and 4 for the 3rd (4 x 4 x 4 = 64). Certainly there are many codons for many amino acids however some are not, for instant stop-/start codons.

Comparing Extreme Programming and Waterfall Project Results

comparability ingrained Programming and waterfall throw Results Feng Ji Carnegie Mellon University Silicon valley Campus spile View, CA, 94035 emailprotected com Todd Seda no.Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley Campus Mountain View, CA, 94035 todd. emailprotected cmu. edu Abstract falls and Extreme Programming ar two package system intention systems favorable functiond for project management. Although at that place are a number of opinions comparing the two rules regarding how they should be applied, none find handlingd project data to clearly conclude which one is better.In this paper, we hand over the results of a controlled empirical study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University in Silicon Valley to learn about(predicate) the effective transition from traditional nurture to agile development. We conducted a parity research against these two approaches. Multiple teams were assigned a project just about used waterfall development, opposites used Extreme Programming. The purpose of this research is to theme at advantages and disadvantages based upon the outcomes, generated artifacts, and rhythmic pattern produced by the teams. 1. Introduction 1. 1.Agile vs Traditional Since the early 1970s, numerous software managers have explored contrasting ways of software development methods (such as waterfall specimen, evolutionary model, spiral model etc. ) those have been developed to accomplish these goals and have been widely used by the software industry 1. Methodologists lots calculate the waterfall method as a stereotypical traditional method whereas they secernate Extreme Programming as the stereotypical agile method. The Waterfall model, as the oldest traditional software development method, was cited by Winston W.Royce in 1970 2. He divided the software development emotional statecycle into seven sequential and linear stages Conception, Initiation, Analysis, foundation, Construction, Testing, and Maintenance. The Waterfall model is particularly used for volumed and complex engineering projects. Waterfalls lasting impression upon software engineering is seen even in the Guide to parcel Engineering personify of noesis which introduces the first five knowledge areas based upon their sequence in the Waterfall lifecycle even though the Guide does not recommend any incident lifecycle 3.Although the Waterfall model has been adopted in many large and complex projects, it still has almost inherent drawbacks, like inflexibility in the face of changing requirements 1. If large amounts of project resources have been invested in requirements and design activities, then changes can be very costly later. High honoring documentation is not undeniable in all projects. Agile methods deal well with unstable and volatile requirements by using a number of techniques of which or so notable are let loose ceremony documents, short iterations, early sampleing, and customer collaboration.Kent Beck and Cynthia And res define Extreme Programming 2. 0 with many practices 4, like Pair Programming, Test First Programming, and Continuous consolidation and so on. These characteristics enable agile methods to obtain the smallest motionable piece of functionality to deliver business value early and continually improving it eon playing further functionality end-to-end the life of the project 5. 1. 2. kiss project background Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley schoolchilds start their masters programme with the Foundations of bundle Engineering race. This course is team-based, project-based, and mentored.Each team get ons The treat ordinance Tool (PET). The substance abuser personas are software developers and managers. The tool helps users purpose, estimate, and execute a project plan while analyzing historical data. The tools domain encourages students to learn about software lifecycles and methods while understanding the benefit of metrics and reflection. 1. 2. 1. PET 1. 0 In 200 1, Carnegie Mellon had one of the largest outsourcing firms in the world develop favorite 1. 0. Later the student teams were brought in to do the next release. The initial offerings of the course had the teams follow a Waterfall lifecycle.The faculty decided to use Extreme Programming as the method for the Foundations course because it was an agile method, it had good engineering practices, and it was a safe sandbox environment for engineers to try paired programming since many managers in industry were initially questioning about its benefits. In 2005, the faculty allowed triplet of the sixteen teams tried our new curriculum to see if there were any serious issues in the switch, while other thirteen teams continued to follow a start point in 2004. The feedback was extremely positive so in 2006, all teams followed Extreme Programming.For the project plan duration, Waterfall teams needed fifteen weeks to finish their tasks where as Extreme Programming teams were given only thirtee n weeks, a 13% reduction in clock. 1. 2. 2. PET 1. 1 In 2005, the VP of Engineering advised the three teams that re piece the inscribe from scratch would be easier than be givening with the existing ordinance base. Team 301 decided to use the la examination in coffee berry technologies including Swing and Hibernate. PET 1. 1, the teams product became the beginning signal point for the students in the following year. 1. 2. 3. PET 1. 2 In 2008, the faculty switched the core technology from Java to rubicund on Rails. red-faced on Rails convention over configuration, afforded a lower learning curve for students. For pet 1. 2, students would build their projects from scratch. 2. Related work Much research has been done as to when to use an agile method and when to use a traditional method. For example, Boehm Turners home railway yard tactile property at several characteristics, criticality, culture, and dynamism 6. Our paper aims to extend these limitations to some degree by e stimating Waterfall and XP in an academic case study, which provide a satisfying ground for researchers before replicating their ideas in industry.Basili 7 presented a framework for analyzing most of the experimental work performed in software engineering. We learned that how to conduct a controlled experiment. Andrew and Nachiappan 8 inform on the results of an empirical study conducted at Microsoft by using an anonymous web-based survey. They found that one third of the study respondents use Agile methodologies to varying degrees and most notion it favorably due to improved communication between team members, quick releases and the increased flexibility of agile designs.Their findings that we will consider in our coming(prenominal) work is that developers are most worried about scaling Agile to larger projects, and coordinating agile and traditional teams. Our work is closely related to the work by Ming Huo et al 9. They comparisond the Waterfall model with agile processes to show how agile methods achieve software quality. They also showed how agile methods attain quality under magazine shove and in an unstable requirements environment. They presented a detailed Waterfall model showing its software quality support processes.Other work has only illustrates one or some Agile practices such as pair programming 10. 3. data-based methodology Our research was conducted primarily using Glasers steps 11 in the constant simile method of analysis. Step1 Begin collecting data. We collected more than 50 teams detailed data during a five year termination as remit 1 shows. card 1. Team building the equivalent project 2004 2005 2005 2006 2007 2008 Method Waterfall Waterfall XP XP XP XP Language Java Java Java Java Java Ruby Project PET1. 0 PET1. 0 PET1. 0 PET1. 1 PET1. 1 PET1. 2 Numbers of Teams 10 13 3 9 6 11Step2 Look for depict issues, continual events, or activities in the data that become categories for focus. The approach in software design makes us cat egorize the data into two distinctive software development methods, namely Waterfall and Extreme Programming. Step3 Collect data that provides many incidents of the categories of focus with an eye to seeing the diversity of the dimensions under the categories. According to Basili7, we provided some metrics to compare these two categories, Waterfall and XP. Requirements poetic rhythm M1 Numbers of UI screens (ie. mockup) M2 Numbers of use cases ( account separate)M3 Pages of Software Requirements Specification (SRS) documents M4 Pages of User Requirements enrolments (URD) Design Metric M5 Pages of detailed design documents slaying Metrics M6 Lines of legislation M7 Percentage of lines of comments to lines of source law M8 Lines of test cases M9 Ratio of lines of test code to lines of program code Step4 Write about the categories that we are exploring, attempting to describe and account for all the incidents we have in our data while continually searching for new incidents. Step5 Work with the data and emerging model to discover prefatorial social processes and relationships.Step6 Engage in sampling, coding, and writing as the analysis focuses on the core categories. During 2005, there were 13 teams following Waterfall and 3 teams following XP during the said(prenominal) period of time. These three teams, team Absorb, GT11 and 301 are interesting teams to examine as we can compare their data against the Waterfall teams doing the exact same project. 4. Experimental results 4. 1. UI screens (M1) and account statement cards (M2) comparison These wide ranges can be seen in Table 2 and Table 3 where the standard remainder of the UI mockups is much fractional the document sizing.Comparing use cases to story cards in Table 3, we see that the standard deviation for use cases is much lower than the standard deviation for story cards. This is expected since use cases are a higher ceremony document when compared to story cards. Teams might give little considera tion to how to represent apiece disport on a story card whereas a team writing a use case step by step how a user will use the system will spend much more time thinking about the coupling and cohesion of individually use case. Table 2. Average numbers and Standard aside of mockups Year 004 2005 Absorb GT11 301 2006 2007 2008 Average mockups 15. 5 11. 8 17 18 9 15 12. 8 17. 7 Standard divergence of mockups 6. 6 6. 3 5. 4 3. 1 8. 8 Table 3. Average numbers and Standard Deviation of use cases/story cards Year Average Number Standard Deviation 2004 User cases 18. 7 2005 User cases 18. 9 2. 3 Absorb drool cards 15 1. 6 GT11 Story cards 13 301 Story cards 18 2006 Story cards 16. 6 2007 Story cards 18. 3 2008 Story cards 16. 6 7. 5 6. 8 8. 0 4. 2. Requirement documents (M3&M4) Starting with PET 1. 0, Waterfall teams on average add 1. 7 use cases and modified 2. use cases. Teams were given a 28 scallywag System Requirements Specification (SRS) and on averaged finished with a 34 page SRS. XP teams starting with PET 1. 0 were given the same starting documents. Instead of modifying them, the teams created story cards that represented each new feature. Instead of spending time on writing use cases, XP teams started coding sooner. Because XP has an emphasis on low ceremony documents, they had more time to code resulting in an effort savings for the teams. 4. 3. Comparing the size of the detail design documents (M5) There are some insights from Table 4.Waterfall teams using Pet 1. 0 started with a 21 page Detailed Design Document (DDD), which they altered to reflect their new use cases. Waterfall teams typically did not update their design documents at the end of the project. Given the scope of the project, Waterfall teams last-place code matched the original design with respect to new classes. Table 4. Average pages and Standard Deviation of Detail Design Documents Year 2004 2005 Absorb GT11 301 2006 2007 2008 Starting Point 21 21 21 21 0 14 14 0 Average DDD 25. 8 31. 1 18 22 14 18. 3 12. 5 9. 5 Standard Deviation 8. 39 7. 48 7. 70 7. 8 5. 19 XP teams increased their design documents with each iteration. Because the XP teams followed Test-Driven Development, they wrote their code and had an emergent design. At the end of each iteration, the teams were asked to update the design document to reflect important design decisions they had made during that iteration. Therefore, the design document serves a different purpose in XP. It is not a template or blueprint for future construction. Instead, it can be a guide for understanding wherefore original decisions were made. In this regard, it is a biography of the development, ot a plan of action. 4. 4. New lines of source code and comments, Percentage of comments in codes Table 5 shows that Waterfall teams starting with Pet 1. 0 produced lines of code with a wide variance. The two XP teams starting with Pet 1. 0 fell right within the middle of the average. Because instead of producing some document s up front, the XP teams spent a longer time coding, one would expect them to produce more lines of code. The research results also show that XP Teams had a higher contribution of comments in source code. Table 5. Average and Standard Deviation of new lines in code YearLanguage Average new lines in code Standard Deviation Lines of test codes Ratio of test codes to program code 2004 2005 Absorb GT11 301 2006 2007 2008 Java Java Java Java Java Java Java Ruby 9,429 11,910 13,288 14,689 0 9,628 8,572 3,670 7,946 9,851 4,920 5,465 1,507 3378 4164 1380 3186 947 3555 2212 3,255 8% 13% 4% 8% 8% 16% 10% 90% 4. 5. Submitted lines of test codes and ratio of test code to program code The observation of these two metrics in Table 5 shows that the amount of test code written by the Waterfall teams equals the amount of test code written by the XP teams.Initially the faculty thought that Test-Driven Development would increase the amount of testing code, however, given a slow adoption rate of Test- Driven Development, programmers resorted to what was familiar and therefore produced similar results. 5. Conclusion In this paper, we observed and presented the data from five years of 50 teams developing the same project each year and the affects of transitioning from Waterfall to Extreme Programming. The characteristics between these two methods were evaluated and compared.Waterfall teams spent more time creating high ceremony documents where as Extreme Programming teams spent more time writing code and documenting their design in their code. Surprisingly, the amount of code and features completed were roughly the same for both methods suggesting that on a three month project with three to 4 developers it doesnt matter the method used. It is challenging to conduct this kind of analysis of the data in hindsight. Given that this is not a toy problem, and the freedom teams have in the execution of their projects, setting up this kind of experiment properly in advance is also challe nging. . References 1 Sommerville, Software engineering, 8th ed. , New York Addison-Wesley, Harlow, England, 2006. 2 W. Royce, Managing the Development of considerable Software Systems, IEEE WESTCON, Los Angeles, 1970. 3 A. Abran and J. W. Moore, Guide to the software engineering body of knowledge trial version (version 0. 95) IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, CA, USA, 2001. 4 Kent Beck and Cynthia Andres, Extreme programming eXplained embrace change, Second Edition, MA Addison-Wesley, 2004. 5 microphone Cohn, Agile estimating and planning, Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference, Nov 11, 2005. 6 Barry, Boehm and Richard Turner, Balancing Agility and Discipline A Guide for the Perplexed, Addison Wesley, August 15, 2003. 7 Basil, V. R. , Selby, R. and Hutchens, D. , Experimentation in Software Engineering, IEEE minutes on Software Engineering (invited paper), July 1986. 8 Andrew Begel and Nachiappan Nagappan, Usage and Perceptions of Agile Software Development in an Industrial Context An Exploratory Study, MiIEEE Computer Society MSR-TR-2007-09, no. 2007) 10. 9 Ming Huo, June Verner, Muhammad Ali Babar, and Liming Zhu, How does lightsomeness ensure quality? , IEEE Seminar Digests 2004, (2004)36. 10 Jan Chong, Robert Plummer, Larry Leifer, Scott R. Klemmer, and George Toye. Pair Programming When and Why it Works, In Proceedings of Psychology of Programming Interest Group 2005 Workshop, Brighton, UK, June 2005. 11 Glaser, Barney G, Strauss, and Anselm L. , The Discovery of Grounded Theory Strategies for soft Research, Aldine make Company, Chicago, 1967.Comparing Extreme Programming and Waterfall Project ResultsComparing Extreme Programming and Waterfall Project Results Feng Ji Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley Campus Mountain View, CA, 94035 emailprotected com Todd Sedano Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley Campus Mountain View, CA, 94035 todd. emailprotected cmu. edu Abstract Waterfall and Extreme Programming are two software p roject methods used for project management. Although there are a number of opinions comparing the two methods regarding how they should be applied, none have used project data to clearly conclude which one is better.In this paper, we present the results of a controlled empirical study conducted at Carnegie Mellon University in Silicon Valley to learn about the effective transition from traditional development to agile development. We conducted a comparison research against these two approaches. Multiple teams were assigned a project some used Waterfall development, others used Extreme Programming. The purpose of this research is to look at advantages and disadvantages based upon the outcomes, generated artifacts, and metrics produced by the teams. 1. Introduction 1. 1.Agile vs Traditional Since the early 1970s, numerous software managers have explored different ways of software development methods (such as Waterfall model, evolutionary model, spiral model etc. ) those have been deve loped to accomplish these goals and have been widely used by the software industry 1. Methodologists often describe the Waterfall method as a stereotypical traditional method whereas they describe Extreme Programming as the stereotypical agile method. The Waterfall model, as the oldest traditional software development method, was cited by Winston W.Royce in 1970 2. He divided the software development lifecycle into seven sequential and linear stages Conception, Initiation, Analysis, Design, Construction, Testing, and Maintenance. The Waterfall model is especially used for large and complex engineering projects. Waterfalls lasting impression upon software engineering is seen even in the Guide to Software Engineering Body of Knowledge which introduces the first five knowledge areas based upon their sequence in the Waterfall lifecycle even though the Guide does not recommend any particular lifecycle 3.Although the Waterfall model has been adopted in many large and complex projects, it still has some inherent drawbacks, like inflexibility in the face of changing requirements 1. If large amounts of project resources have been invested in requirements and design activities, then changes can be very costly later. High ceremony documentation is not necessary in all projects. Agile methods deal well with unstable and volatile requirements by using a number of techniques of which most notable are low ceremony documents, short iterations, early testing, and customer collaboration.Kent Beck and Cynthia Andres define Extreme Programming 2. 0 with many practices 4, like Pair Programming, Test First Programming, and Continuous Integration and so on. These characteristics enable agile methods to obtain the smallest workable piece of functionality to deliver business value early and continually improving it while adding further functionality throughout the life of the project 5. 1. 2. PET project background Carnegie Mellon University Silicon Valley students start their masters program with the Foundations of Software Engineering course. This course is team-based, project-based, and mentored.Each team builds The Process Enactment Tool (PET). The user personas are software developers and managers. The tool helps users plan, estimate, and execute a project plan while analyzing historical data. The tools domain encourages students to learn about software lifecycles and methods while understanding the benefit of metrics and reflection. 1. 2. 1. PET 1. 0 In 2001, Carnegie Mellon had one of the largest outsourcing firms in the world develop Pet 1. 0. Later the student teams were brought in to do the next release. The initial offerings of the course had the teams follow a Waterfall lifecycle.The faculty decided to use Extreme Programming as the method for the Foundations course because it was an agile method, it had good engineering practices, and it was a safe sandbox environment for engineers to try paired programming since many managers in industry were initi ally skeptical about its benefits. In 2005, the faculty allowed three of the sixteen teams tried our new curriculum to see if there were any serious issues in the switch, while other thirteen teams continued to follow a start point in 2004. The feedback was extremely positive so in 2006, all teams followed Extreme Programming.For the project plan duration, Waterfall teams needed fifteen weeks to finish their tasks where as Extreme Programming teams were given only thirteen weeks, a 13% reduction in time. 1. 2. 2. PET 1. 1 In 2005, the VP of Engineering advised the three teams that rewriting the code from scratch would be easier than working with the existing code base. Team 301 decided to use the latest in Java technologies including Swing and Hibernate. PET 1. 1, the teams product became the starting point for the students in the following year. 1. 2. 3. PET 1. 2 In 2008, the faculty switched the core technology from Java to Ruby on Rails.Ruby on Rails convention over configuration , afforded a lower learning curve for students. For Pet 1. 2, students would build their projects from scratch. 2. Related work Much research has been done as to when to use an agile method and when to use a traditional method. For example, Boehm Turners home grounds look at several characteristics, criticality, culture, and dynamism 6. Our paper aims to extend these limitations to some degree by estimating Waterfall and XP in an academic case study, which provide a substantive ground for researchers before replicating their ideas in industry.Basili 7 presented a framework for analyzing most of the experimental work performed in software engineering. We learned that how to conduct a controlled experiment. Andrew and Nachiappan 8 reported on the results of an empirical study conducted at Microsoft by using an anonymous web-based survey. They found that one third of the study respondents use Agile methodologies to varying degrees and most view it favorably due to improved communicatio n between team members, quick releases and the increased flexibility of agile designs.Their findings that we will consider in our future work is that developers are most worried about scaling Agile to larger projects, and coordinating agile and traditional teams. Our work is closely related to the work by Ming Huo et al 9. They compared the Waterfall model with agile processes to show how agile methods achieve software quality. They also showed how agile methods attain quality under time pressure and in an unstable requirements environment. They presented a detailed Waterfall model showing its software quality support processes.Other work has only illustrates one or some Agile practices such as pair programming 10. 3. Experimental methodology Our research was conducted primarily using Glasers steps 11 in the constant comparison method of analysis. Step1 Begin collecting data. We collected more than 50 teams detailed data during a five year period as Table 1 shows. Table 1. Team buil ding the same project 2004 2005 2005 2006 2007 2008 Method Waterfall Waterfall XP XP XP XP Language Java Java Java Java Java Ruby Project PET1. 0 PET1. 0 PET1. 0 PET1. 1 PET1. 1 PET1. 2 Numbers of Teams 10 13 3 9 6 11Step2 Look for key issues, recurrent events, or activities in the data that become categories for focus. The approach in software design makes us categorize the data into two distinctive software development methods, namely Waterfall and Extreme Programming. Step3 Collect data that provides many incidents of the categories of focus with an eye to seeing the diversity of the dimensions under the categories. According to Basili7, we provided some metrics to compare these two categories, Waterfall and XP. Requirements Metrics M1 Numbers of UI screens (ie. mockup) M2 Numbers of use cases (story cards)M3 Pages of Software Requirements Specification (SRS) documents M4 Pages of User Requirements Documents (URD) Design Metric M5 Pages of detailed design documents Implementation Metrics M6 Lines of code M7 Percentage of lines of comments to lines of source code M8 Lines of test cases M9 Ratio of lines of test code to lines of program code Step4 Write about the categories that we are exploring, attempting to describe and account for all the incidents we have in our data while continually searching for new incidents. Step5 Work with the data and emerging model to discover basic social processes and relationships.Step6 Engage in sampling, coding, and writing as the analysis focuses on the core categories. During 2005, there were 13 teams following Waterfall and 3 teams following XP during the same period of time. These three teams, team Absorb, GT11 and 301 are interesting teams to examine as we can compare their data against the Waterfall teams doing the exact same project. 4. Experimental results 4. 1. UI screens (M1) and Story cards (M2) comparison These wide ranges can be seen in Table 2 and Table 3 where the standard deviation of the UI mockups is often half the document size.Comparing use cases to story cards in Table 3, we see that the standard deviation for use cases is much lower than the standard deviation for story cards. This is expected since use cases are a higher ceremony document when compared to story cards. Teams might give little consideration to how to represent each feature on a story card whereas a team writing a use case step by step how a user will use the system will spend much more time thinking about the coupling and cohesion of each use case. Table 2. Average numbers and Standard Deviation of mockups Year 004 2005 Absorb GT11 301 2006 2007 2008 Average mockups 15. 5 11. 8 17 18 9 15 12. 8 17. 7 Standard Deviation of mockups 6. 6 6. 3 5. 4 3. 1 8. 8 Table 3. Average numbers and Standard Deviation of use cases/story cards Year Average Number Standard Deviation 2004 User cases 18. 7 2005 User cases 18. 9 2. 3 Absorb Story cards 15 1. 6 GT11 Story cards 13 301 Story cards 18 2006 Story cards 16. 6 2007 Story card s 18. 3 2008 Story cards 16. 6 7. 5 6. 8 8. 0 4. 2. Requirement documents (M3&M4) Starting with PET 1. 0, Waterfall teams on average add 1. 7 use cases and modified 2. use cases. Teams were given a 28 page System Requirements Specification (SRS) and on averaged finished with a 34 page SRS. XP teams starting with PET 1. 0 were given the same starting documents. Instead of modifying them, the teams created story cards that represented each new feature. Instead of spending time on writing use cases, XP teams started coding sooner. Because XP has an emphasis on low ceremony documents, they had more time to code resulting in an effort savings for the teams. 4. 3. Comparing the size of the detail design documents (M5) There are some insights from Table 4.Waterfall teams using Pet 1. 0 started with a 21 page Detailed Design Document (DDD), which they altered to reflect their new use cases. Waterfall teams typically did not update their design documents at the end of the project. Given the scope of the project, Waterfall teams final code matched the original design with respect to new classes. Table 4. Average pages and Standard Deviation of Detail Design Documents Year 2004 2005 Absorb GT11 301 2006 2007 2008 Starting Point 21 21 21 21 0 14 14 0 Average DDD 25. 8 31. 1 18 22 14 18. 3 12. 5 9. 5 Standard Deviation 8. 39 7. 48 7. 70 7. 8 5. 19 XP teams increased their design documents with each iteration. Because the XP teams followed Test-Driven Development, they wrote their code and had an emergent design. At the end of each iteration, the teams were asked to update the design document to reflect important design decisions they had made during that iteration. Therefore, the design document serves a different purpose in XP. It is not a template or blueprint for future construction. Instead, it can be a guide for understanding why certain decisions were made. In this regard, it is a biography of the development, ot a plan of action. 4. 4. New lines of source code and c omments, Percentage of comments in codes Table 5 shows that Waterfall teams starting with Pet 1. 0 produced lines of code with a wide variance. The two XP teams starting with Pet 1. 0 fell right within the middle of the average. Because instead of producing some documents up front, the XP teams spent a longer time coding, one would expect them to produce more lines of code. The research results also show that XP Teams had a higher percentage of comments in source code. Table 5. Average and Standard Deviation of new lines in code YearLanguage Average new lines in code Standard Deviation Lines of test codes Ratio of test codes to program code 2004 2005 Absorb GT11 301 2006 2007 2008 Java Java Java Java Java Java Java Ruby 9,429 11,910 13,288 14,689 0 9,628 8,572 3,670 7,946 9,851 4,920 5,465 1,507 3378 4164 1380 3186 947 3555 2212 3,255 8% 13% 4% 8% 8% 16% 10% 90% 4. 5. Submitted lines of test codes and ratio of test code to program code The observation of these two metrics in Table 5 shows that the amount of test code written by the Waterfall teams equals the amount of test code written by the XP teams.Initially the faculty thought that Test-Driven Development would increase the amount of testing code, however, given a slow adoption rate of Test-Driven Development, programmers resorted to what was familiar and thus produced similar results. 5. Conclusion In this paper, we observed and presented the data from five years of 50 teams developing the same project each year and the affects of transitioning from Waterfall to Extreme Programming. The characteristics between these two methods were evaluated and compared.Waterfall teams spent more time creating high ceremony documents where as Extreme Programming teams spent more time writing code and documenting their design in their code. Surprisingly, the amount of code and features completed were roughly the same for both methods suggesting that on a three month project with three to four developers it doesnt matter the method used. It is challenging to conduct this kind of analysis of the data in hindsight. Given that this is not a toy problem, and the freedom teams have in the execution of their projects, setting up this kind of experiment properly in advance is also challenging. . References 1 Sommerville, Software engineering, 8th ed. , New York Addison-Wesley, Harlow, England, 2006. 2 W. Royce, Managing the Development of Large Software Systems, IEEE WESTCON, Los Angeles, 1970. 3 A. Abran and J. W. Moore, Guide to the software engineering body of knowledge trial version (version 0. 95) IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, CA, USA, 2001. 4 Kent Beck and Cynthia Andres, Extreme programming eXplained embrace change, Second Edition, MA Addison-Wesley, 2004. 5 Mike Cohn, Agile estimating and planning, Prentice Hall Professional Technical Reference, Nov 11, 2005. 6 Barry, Boehm and Richard Turner, Balancing Agility and Discipline A Guide for the Perplexed, Addison Wesley, August 15, 2003. 7 Basil, V. R. , Selby, R. and Hutchens, D. , Experimentation in Software Engineering, IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering (invited paper), July 1986. 8 Andrew Begel and Nachiappan Nagappan, Usage and Perceptions of Agile Software Development in an Industrial Context An Exploratory Study, MiIEEE Computer Society MSR-TR-2007-09, no. 2007) 10. 9 Ming Huo, June Verner, Muhammad Ali Babar, and Liming Zhu, How does agility ensure quality? , IEEE Seminar Digests 2004, (2004)36. 10 Jan Chong, Robert Plummer, Larry Leifer, Scott R. Klemmer, and George Toye. Pair Programming When and Why it Works, In Proceedings of Psychology of Programming Interest Group 2005 Workshop, Brighton, UK, June 2005. 11 Glaser, Barney G, Strauss, and Anselm L. , The Discovery of Grounded Theory Strategies for Qualitative Research, Aldine Publishing Company, Chicago, 1967.

Hrm 531 Training and Mentoring Program

teaching & Mentoring Program Student HRM 531 April 4, 2011 Instructor Training and Mentoring The merger between InterClean and EnviroTech is fast approaching. Our two companies pass on soon be crossed trained in various functions and positions at heart the virginly formed organization. We energize individuals from both organizations who have strong gross gross revenue and leaders skills. In addition, InterClean executives need to balance growth and sustained success both locally and worldwide. In order to do that, it is necessary to establish a didactics program for the newly formed sales team.Cascio (2005) explains that identifying content, design, types of learners and what it will do for InterClean are some of the targets to defecate for. The real measure however, Cascio explains, lies in the results obtained, in this case how sanitary we perform as a sales team (page 317). As we move forward in this memo, we will explain the importance of evaluating the value of the edu cational activity program. Since this is a step-by-step process we will break the subjects into the following areas, assessment, study, capabilities, implementation and evaluation.Assessment of the Training Needs The goal of dressing assessment needs is to identify areas where the new sales team will need additional support. For instance, since this new sales team is a meld of experienced sales representatives from both organizations, each sales representative has his/her unique style and ability. The next few paragraphs will identify and talk about the training needs identified. Training Orientation First, InterClean believes that an employee orientation is in order.Introducing our new sales associates to InterClean procedures and methods of operations and expectations will answer many pending questions. Although some of the newly formed team are from InterClean, it is important to have everyone in the sales team be included in the orientation training. Cascio (2005) believes th at there are three major areas in which to focus when providing an orientation Company Standards, friendly Climate, and Technical Aspects (page 317). Specifically, job performance skills identified within the team include familiarization with InterClean standards and expectations.These standards and expectations, including company goals, are not the same as when InterClean began and it is imperative that all sales team members attend this training. This will allow employees understand company policies, goals and expectations. The visoric of social climate allows for the team to understand the group dynamics and hopefully find blending of customs, attitudes and behaviors. Training in technical aspects will give all sales team members an advantage as they will be fully vigilant to answer questions about both products and services as well as demonstrate use.All team members are expected to complete the Orientation training since the dynamics of the company are changing. Training C ustomer Service Customer Service training has been identified as one of the most decisive training areas within the InterClean sales team. There are several members of the new team who have excellent customer service skills. They will however, need to consider how to aver consistent communication with the customer so that one sales associate will go forth the same service as the next.Having a positive family with the customer will provide a solid foundation which will help the sales team focus on helping the customer vs. selling to the customer. This concept will help InterClean realize the 40% growth expected through the merger of the two companies. Cascio (2005) suggests that improving customer satisfaction, identifying customer needs, satisfaction and building better customer responsiveness is a paramount to improving the bottom line (page 292). All employees are expected to complete the Customer Service Training.Training Team Building The new sales team will be learning to face challenges together and work as a cohesive, organized team. To reach this goal, it is imperative that the sales team, including management, undergo team building training. Providing training for everyone in the sales team, team members can learn behaviors that will help each other. For instance, request for help is sometimes hard, yet working within a team it is imperative that we have that ability. We lean on each other for ideas, creativity, technical skills and input.It is so important to consider the ideas of others brainstorming often fosters free thinking, ideas, and asking questions. (Cascio 2005 pg. 288) Training Leadership & Record Keeping Training in leadership will be offered to the Vice President of gross sales, Sales Manager and the Trainer/Outside Sales Representative. The training sessions for the three individuals will focus on team building and leadership. The VP of Sales and the Manager need additional training in record keeping. Organizational Capabiliti es InterClean has the resources to complete the above described training.The Vice President of HR has developed a strategy plan which will align the two companies with the most qualified individuals. This plan includes a detailed job analysis, skills assessment and a selection of the top members of the sales force. In addition, HR has developed a training program based on the training needs of InterClean. Statement of the Training Objectives Orientation Objectives cast up awareness of company goals, expectations and vision Employees will develop a sense of purpose and focus Provide employees with latest rules and regulations related to products and services Provide a record of training in company standards, expectations, method of operation and regulations related to products and services Customer Training Objectives Increase customer satisfaction through meliorate business relationships with the customer Increase repeat business through higher level of customer satisfaction Increase consistency between sales associates so all customers receive identical core services Increase sales by 10% first year and 40% by end of spot year Record Keeping Objectives Introduce methods related to maintaining accounts Increase record keeping accuracy Team Building Objectives Allow team to get to hunch forward each other Emphasize individual leadership and initiative Increase interdependence and thereby cooperation Give team members tools to help problem solve rule of Implementation The training program will be announced within the next seven days. The course will be outlined over a two-day period with follow up sessions avail suitable for product information and sales.Three sessions (Orientation, Customer Training and Team Building) will include the entire sales force, plot Record Keeping training will include VP of Sales, Sales Manager and the Trainer (for a portion thereof). Methods of Instruction Seminar PowerPoint Group exercises Role Playing lymph gland speakers (product development, laws & regulations, EnviroTech) Instructors Janet Durham leadership and previous sales skills Tom Jennings Planning for global dominance Sally Lindley Partnerships Training Location EnviroTech facility Duration of Training 2 full days, with 1 week breakout sessions tailored to mentor students Record Keeping (related to training) Sign in Sheets Copy of each presentation Duration of training Document of videos, speakers, etc Video tape training sessions where appropriate Evaluation of the Programs Success Assess Potential Success We will be able to assess the potential success of the training program through several avenues. One being a series of feedback from the attendees. In addition, pre-test to measure knowledge, skills and ability previous to training and post-tests to evaluate increase knowledge, skills and ability after training.As trainees venture into role-playing and practicing with the techniques, they will begin to discove r potential pitfalls and relative improvements. Demonstration of techniques learned is crucial to success. Another measurable activity will be an increase in the number of sales. The overall success of the training program will be obvious in the increase in profits. Reinforcements Rewards for reaching sales goals, both individual and group Promotion to senior levels, stability on the senior level is pertinacious by consistently meeting goals.Conclusion As the training program evolves, so do the employees. With the strong leadership and sales skill present within the team, success is immanent. However, the success of the sales team is only as good as the training and support system provided by InterClean. In this memo we have outlined the training program we believe will assist the new team to take on the challenge of both product and service and provide the customer with everything they need. Reference Cascio, W. F. (2005). Managing Human Resources (7th ed. ). New York, NY McGra w-Hill.

Letter / Apollo Shoes

First I would like to thank the board of director of Apollo Shores for their recent inquiry about Phoenix & Companys services. Since our solid is small, we offer a wide range of personalized services to clients at a reasonable cost. Phoenix & Company is a CPA substantial with much the 25 years in the business of providing client tax services, accounting booking, counselling consulting, quality control consulting, risk assessment, capital transaction assistance, and teaching systems functionality.The firms approach has been very successful because of our ability to comprehend our clients organization paradigm including risk assessment, control issues, and diagnostic. The benefits to our auditing approach would help the management team strength identify areas within the organizations that needs to be address. This process could correct the companys efficiency identifying that controls are in place. Overall this gives the management team a better appreciation of the organization working including their financial systems.The role of Phoenix & Company is to obtaining sufficient audit evaluation and evidence in order to test the organizational controls. At this time I would like to define auditing and give some benefits of an audit. Auditing is the accumulation and evaluation of evidence about information to determine and report on the degree of correspondence between the information and established criteria (Arens, Elder & Beasley, 2006). The benefits to auditing are the ability for a company to improve the understanding of the financial records from the management and users stand points.Another benefit is the ability to identify areas within the organization that needs improvement. A company could reinforce, risk assessments, and improve indispensable controls. In conclusion the firm of Phoenix & Company is an excellent resource to provide Apollo Shores with effective analysis, and relevant information to meet the needs of your organization. The approach i s to improve the organization safeguards in order to protect the financial operations of the company.

Religion and Human Experience Essay

Hinduism can be traced back to antediluvian Aryan civilizations about four thousand years ago and is ground on polytheism with various forms of rituals. Upanishads are documented texts which came about after probing the religion and finding ways of attaining spiritual insight from within and for life in general. Brahman is one who sees the divine as being one in each aspects and the Atman which is the soul reflects the oneness amidst diversity and reveals the Brahman in his true self.Maya on the other hand camouflages the truth of unity in mythical and magical shroud. Karma which is related to rebirth is stressed while Moksha is seen as freedom from and beyond all man aspects. The Bhagvad Gita brings out the practical elements of the religion in everyday life through four paths which can be practised together or one by one to achieve spiritual satisfaction. The Hindu religion revolves around temples, rituals, polytheism and numerous festivals.Though many whitethorn worship a po picular god or goddess they accept in all gods as being one in different forms. Priests and gurus are revered and looked up to as spiritual leaders. Animals are given brilliance as they are desired to be in the image of god this reflects in several gods having animal features. Symbolism is the basis brought out through art and sculpture. This luxuriant culture of India has appealed to many around the world especially the yoga and meditations which have influenced people from every background. Religion and Human Experience 4 JainismThis religion is as ancient as Buddhism with Mahavir as the central figure and whose teachings are similar to Buddha, preaching abstinence and meditation to attain peace and ultimate freedom. This religion does not believe in gods creation or being blessed by a Divinity, instead they believe in an everlasting universe respectable of life and pain as in humans. Though humans are considered special and can attain spirituality through compassion and know ledge of the cozy self. The basic of Jainism is Ahimsa of which non violence is the most important followed by other virtues.Like most religions Jains honour 24 saints otherwise known as Tirthankaras who are looked up to and followed for their great accomplishments. Purification is part of being a Jain and life is considered a step in the path to eternal liberation from the human personate through a life of good virtue and selflessness. Jainism teaches that to gain spiritual fulfilment one has to follow the path of strict non violence. It has five branches Digambaras, Shvetambaras, Sthanakavasis and Terapanthis. SikhismThis is a 15th century Indian religion with a background of Hindu Muslim conflict. The discover is Guru Nanak who believed in monotheism and oneness of God. He professed that even though there may be many forms and perception God is one whom he called True name . His teaching was that God had no image and that he was beyond human insight while being the ultimate s ource of love, wisdom and righteousness. He taught social Religion and Human Experience 5 conscientiousness as part of the religion and the Sikh temples which are called Gurudwaras were open to all.The Sikhs follow and honor ten gurus, the first of whom was Nanak and the last being Gobind Singh who is the permanent guru and is said to have the soul of Nanak himself. Guru Gobind Singh was the founder of the military group called the Khalsa which followed five basic practices religiously. Today these five practices is what distinguishes the Sikhs from the rest, these include uncut hair and beard, Kangha a wooden comb, Kirpan which is a sword, Kachhera the under short which represents the ardour for battle at all times and Kara which is a steel wrist band representing the unity of Sikhs.This community stands out for its independence and strong unity which is their strength. Adi Granth is the sanctum sanctorum book of the Sikhs and has verses and hymns written by the gurus themselves. This community has several festivals marking important events in the history of the Sikh religion. Religion and Human Experience 6References Molloy Michael. 2008. Experiencing the creations Religions, 4th Edition. Retrieved on June 7th, 2009 from http//highered. mcgraw-hill. com/sites/0073535648/student_view0/

Behavior Modification and Needs

In many companies, managers struggle to improve or motivate employee actions or behaviors to get desired results. Many managers turn to organizational behavior modification. deportment modification is used in organizations to shape exclusive behavior though the use of official and negative issuances. Organizational behavior modification relies on some(prenominal) factors including, the law of effect, secondary consequences, schedules of reinforcement, and catch human unavoidably, to successfully operate.The law of effect states that a person tends to repeat behavior that is accompanied by a brotherly consequence. For example, if an employee is recognized and encouraged for going above and beyond for a customer, the employee is more likely to repeat this action. For the law of effect to remain effective, a manager needs to recognize what the employee sees as major consequences, and must be able to respond in a way that the employee result see the linkup between their action s and the consequence.An employee doesnt always have to learn from personal experience. The theory of social learning suggests that employees are likely to learn by observing the actions of others and understanding the consequences that others are experiencing. Through the law of effect, the employee is able to connect the relation of good actions equal good consequences, therefore motivating the employee to act in a positive way. Once a manager has indentified the employees behavior, the manager needs to decide on the alternative consequences he/she wants to apply.Alternative consequences include positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, and extinction. The key to alternative consequences is to make the consequence contingent on the employees correct behavior. Through the use of these consequences, employees and managers will be able to accurately assess the result or planned result of an action. Once a manager monitors an employees behavior and learns how often o r how well the employee is performing, the manager can determine the type of consequence to be applied.Once a frequency has been established the manager can create a standard, or a baseline, against which employee improvements can be made. A manager will then decide of continuous reinforcement or partial reinforcement is called for. Continuous reinforcement is when reinforcement accompanies each correct behavior by an employee. partial(p) reinforcement occurs when only some of the correct behaviors are reinforced. Scheduling reinforcement allows a manager to stay consistent in expectations and consequences.Though the behavior modification regulate is popular amongst organizations, many have criticized its functionality from a human needs perspective. Human needs are a driving force in individual decision making. The behavior modification model focuses on the nature of the items that may motivate a person. However, a manager cannot observe or monitor a persons needs. Because of thi s, it is important that a manager understand employee needs when using the behavior modification approach

Machiavelli and Weber: Comparing Political Philosophies Essay

Philosophy is referred to as a set of beliefs, concepts and attitudes held by an idiosyncraticist or a group of stack. It is the study of problems in general and the prescription of solutions to problems based on critical and systemic analyses and the employment of rational argument. Philosophy through the lense of governmental Science does so as menti nonpareild above in terms of the give in, the governing of the deposit the ethics of an individual in possession of semipolitical power. Political philosophers focus on the issues relating to the read, such as political action that need or need not be taken and the general behavior of a given individual involved in regime. With the focus set on just the state, political action and madness, two philosophers have critically analyzed government activity through the three concepts listed above Niccolo Machiavelli and guck Weber. They each have their own views, opinions and suggestions that both have similarities and difference s considering the cultural and temporal inconsistency between the both of them. The incident that some of their ideas intersect is fascinating.Niccolo Machiavelli, known as the founding father of modern Political Science, lived between 1469 and 1752 in Florence in what is known today as Italy. He is not only known for his work in politics and diplomacy, as he was as well as a well-versed historian. He employed the method of citing historic figures and events in his justification for the suggestions he made in his famous book The Prince. In the book that was dedicated to Lorenzo Medici, Machiavelli raises many important aspects relating to the political environment, governing and ethics of an individual in possession of political power citing political actions that should and should not betaken, the state briefly and ferocity in governing which is studied by political philosophers today as there argon many ancient concepts and practices mentioned in the text that raise still be incorporated into modern political practices.Max Weber famously known as one of the three founders of modern Sociology, lived between 1864 and 1920 in Germany. Although he specialized in the field of Sociology, Weber did delve into the world of politics. His methods differ from that of Machiavelli as time progressed, so did society and the knowledge possessed by mankind. Instead of employing the method of historical analysis in his school of thought of politics, Weber utilizes Sociology in his analysis of the political commonwealth. In his groundbreaking essay titled Politics as a Vocation, Weber explores the world of politics through political actions based on social implications be it good or bad and weighing the benefits against cost. He goes on to mention the state and its rights of governing in which violence is also cited. This document is also of interest to those in the field of politics, as his definition of the state has become the general understanding of westerly so cial thought.In this paper, I would argue that although their opinions on governance may be different on the outlook, they share a similarity, which can be observe through analyzing their philosophies carefully. This also means that they share differing views on the concepts of political action, the state and violence which will also be analyzed in this paper.NICCOLA MACHIAVELLIIn his book, The Prince, Machiavelli foc intakes his assistance on counseling and educating the prince, Lorenzo Medici in the treacherous world of politics. The book is considered in simple terms a manual to being the prince. As such, he elaborates on an array of ideas relating to politics. For the habit of this paper, the content of his writing will be analyzed through the three concepts listed above. In terms of political action, Machiavelli writes about cruelty and violence and the proper use of the evil act of cruelty. He admits that cruelty can and should be used wisely once within arule as he explain s in his words _Injuries therefore, should be inflicted all at the same time, for the less they are tasted, the less they offend._ (Cahn, 2011, p. 260). He then goes on to say that later that one infliction of injury, the prince should gradually distribute benefits in small quantities successively (Cahn, 2011, p. 260). Machiavelli raises a good point in his explanation above as when people are constantly subject to miseries, injuries and misfortune, they will eventually grow weary of it and revolt, however if the need for the use of cruelty arises and is applied in the princes governance at one point of time, it is only felt once and can sometimes be forgiven through time.It is basic knowledge from daily observation that repetitious actions can be very irritating and that understanding can be applied in Machiavellis justification for the use of cruelty. As for the distribution of benefits by and by the fact of cruelty, it works well as Machiavelli states that the subjects can ful ly savor the goodness of the benefits if they are given in small quantities successively. After being treated with cruelty, the gradual distribution of benefits would show the subjects that it can only get better from there on and would appease the subjects. This concept can be seen today in many forms of government, where benefits such as tax issuings or any form of government assistance is always given in small amounts and in monthly or yearly intervals.This is where Machiavelli relates political action to violence. The state can also be related to Machiavellis conception of political action. Through his writings, Machiavelli was seen as an individual who detested representative governments or republics and therefore refers to the state as the princes possession which meant that the prince was the state. As such, the prince or the state was free to act in a way that it sees fit for the greater good of the state itself. Machiavellis conception of the state suggests that he believ es a different set of moral rules apply to the state and that it is unreasonable for the state to act just like a regular person would act.MAX WEBERIn his essay titled _Politics as a Vocation_, Max Weber explores the world of politics through the lens of Sociology. As Weber delves into the lecture,he begins by stating that politics exist exclusively in the realm of the State and between states. This leads Weber to defining state in his own words, _Today, however, we have to say that a state is a human community that (successfully) claims the monopoly of the sure use of physical force within a given territory_. (Weber, 1919, p.1). Weber, Like Machiavelli, believed that the violence and cruelty could be incorporated into governance however with the explicit use of the term legitimate. The idea of legitimate violence is ambiguous in a sense of what is considered legitimate violence? The ambiguity of the term has created a grey-zone for which the definition of legitimate violence can b e debated.However, gathering from his ideas and considering his position in the timeline of political philosophers, Webers understanding of legitimate violence can be explained as violence that is state sanctioned to protect the majority of the people within a state. This means that the state can use violence to tick the advance of individuals who commit crimes that harm the state as a whole in which the greater good of the state is the reason for violence sort of than personal gain. For example, in the recent 2010 Toronto G20 Summit riots, those who were involved in the rioting were subject to violence from the police (who are authorized by the state to act on its behalf) who arrested the rioters. The riot was a harmful act carried out by a group of citizens and by using violence, the police were able to curb the threat and return downtown Toronto to its regular daily life. Webers definition of the state and his use of the term legitimate violence satisfactorily connects the thre e concepts listed above.ANALYSIS analyse the ideas of Machiavelli and Weber, there are some notable similarities although the two philosophers lived in different points in history and also in different parts of Europe. There are also some clear differences in their view of politics which will be listed. Both Machiavelli and Weber condone to state sanctioned violence with the purpose of the greater good of the public, however their views on the degree of violence differ substantially. For Machiavelli, he believed that cruelty and violence should be used only once and it can vary in degrees depending on thecircumstances. This means that Machiavelli condones to excessive use of violence in one single use. As for Weber, his idea of the legitimate use of violence would imply that the violence used would be used in a way that it is not excessive and used only to temporarily disable rather than harm permanently. Their views on the state are also quite similar and different at the same time .Machiavelli refers to the state as the princes possession time Weber referred to the state as an entity that had the power to use legitimate violence. The similarity between the two ideas is the fact that they both agree the state has rights that regular citizens do not. The difference is that Machiavelli believed the prince was able to act freely (wisely) in any way he seen fit to achieve success. Weber on the other hand believed that violence should only be used against those who threaten the peace and security of the state rather than personal gain.Machiavellis philosophy can be seen as a more realistic view of human nature and his suggestions are more appealing as they are more practical to individual gain. He is one of the few philosophers that acknowledges and condones to evil as many philosophers tend to write only on how men should live rather than how men actually live. Weber also has a sense of practicality in his views but is more downplayed and fair as violence or evil in his opinion was to be used to stay fresh peace and order within the state.After the analysis of the two philosophers, it can be concluded that although their views may seem very different, they are in a way similar. Their views on violence are both the same to a point and also different when they delve further into explaining more into the concept. Their conception of the state are also similar to a point until it was elaborated upon which clear differences could be seen. They both agreed violence could be used in governance however the degree and actual purpose differed when analyzed. In terms of their conception of the state, they both agreed that the state has rights that normal citizens were not in possession of to use up out violence.However, Machiavellis definition of the state was the princes possession while Webers definition of the state is a government within a territory that is authorized to use legitimate physical violence. Webers definition of the state is more re levant to the modern understanding of the state as it is the basis of understanding the relationship between the state and itspeople where the enforcement of law comes into play. Machiavellis viewpoint was more individualistic and focuses more on the politician itself than the state and the greater good for the public. As Thomas Hobbes said, there is a difference between the transferring of power to an entity rather than an individual. Of course, Machiavelli did write _The Prince_ well before Thomas Hobbes time.ReferencesCahn, S. M. (2011). _Political Philosophy_. unexampled York, NY Oxford University Press.Weber, M. (1919). _Politics as a Vocation_. Retrieved fromhttp//www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/ethos/Weber-vocation.pdf.

Professional judgment framework Essay

BackgroundJameson Family Farms (JFF), a family owned melodic phrase, grows, processes and packages a range of fruits and vegetables, but in the first place specializes in growing and selling peanuts. The fraternity has a niche for selling their particular salted and unseasoned peanuts to grocery stores and baseball stadiums in the southeastern region of the US. The w atomic number 18 offerings develop been stable all over the immediate payment in ones chips five old age, but the company began internet sales in 2010, which add-ond sales by close $19 million in 2010 over 2009. The commodity line of work for peanuts, however, is very competitory and seven to eight any(prenominal) major companies vie for US sales. JFFs has annual canvass for lending requirements and for family purposes. The family members atomic number 18 paid a low-down salary. Prior to 2012, JFF heed was composed importantly of closely related family members who started the business to a greater ex tent than 30 stratums ago. Over the last 2 years, as internet sales father increase, a number of these family members have been voicing the nonion of retiring from the business through either an sign universal offering (IPO) or individual(a) sale of the company.In late 2011, given the age of these family members, separate younger, extended family members were considered for the senior focusingling ranks. As a result, in early 2012, the family brought in a contradictory cousin, Larry Marshall, to fill the role of the chief Executive ships officer (CEO). Marshall has prior experience working with and growing food commodity companies and preparing such(prenominal) companies for IPOs. Before joining JFF, Marshall was out of work for almost a year and, prior to that, he worked for three different companies over a five-year period. The CEOs compensation and year-end bonus be based on yearly pretax income as well as non-monetary measures related to meeting IPO file requireme nts.Marshall hired a former fellow employee as the upstart Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Gwen Thomas, and gave Thomas the overall responsibility for the Accounting Department and related pecuniary reportage. Thomas, in turn, hired two individuals in the Accounting Department who worked with her and Marshall at previous companies. Thomas also has her compensation and year-end bonus based on JFFs yearly pretax income. The size up firm, Fairly Stated, LLP, has beenauditing JFF for over 15 years. The audit partner, Robert Williams, has been on the account for five years and as the audit partner for the last three years. Williams is friends with Harvey Jameson, the paterfamilias of the family, but Williams does not know Larry Marshall or Gwen Thomas.The company has a spick-and-span CEO, Larry Marshall, a distant family member. in that respect is a new CFO, Gwen Thomas, who has worked with Marshall over the last five years. Two new accountants have joined the Accounting department, both worked with Thomas over the last five years. The Jameson family decided to retain the new CEO in order to position the company for either an IPO or a private sale, as a number of family members would like to be cashed out of their equity positions. Harvey Jameson has some reservations or so some of the actions of Larry Marshall including the reduction in some detailed pecuniary culture depictd to family members and also the eminence at the top. Some of the sales re cedeatives may be feeling closet to increase sales.OperationsThe initial analytic revaluation for the nine-month operations through family 30, 2012, with a forecast for the fourth quarter of 2012, steers an crude 9% increase in sodding(a) sales, which is consistent with anxiety expectations but unusual given the competitive nature of the peanut processing and sales business. Additionally, there are falls in the sales returns and leeways (53%) a go down in the percentage of the cost of goods sold (1%) a nd a small decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses (1%). The cost of goods sold category has actually increased in bar, repayable to increased sales, but as a percentage of sales it is down, reflecting circumspections plan to run more efficiently. Selling,general and administrative expenses are down due to a slight reduction in head count.From a equipoise sheet standpoint, there has been an increase in accounts receivable (45%), and a small increase in the renounceance for doubtful accounts (7%). Cash and short-term investitures are down by more than $2.1 million at September 30, 2012, compared to December 31, 2011. The cash flow statement reflects the increase in accounts receivable, an increase in inventory as well as an investment of $3.0 million in new machinery. Net borrowings under the long-term debt system have increased by $530,000. JFF was recently in the unusual position of being overdrawn in its main operating checking account. This may be due in part to the increase in accounts receivable and the purchases of the new machinery. Determination of clothityIn 2011, it was determined that the amount considered to be a real(a) misstatement for financial describe purposes was equal to or exceeded 2% of net income, or $25,000. With the increased size of operations for 2012, the amount considered to be a material misstatement for financial account purposes will still be 2%, but the amount will be $50,000 based on the forecasted results of operations for the year. The 2% amount is still considered reserve for JFF as the family likes to be aware of all larger items that can impact the operations of the company and, accordingly, we believe this is an appropriate percentage to use. Follow-up actionsThe audit police squad determined, as a result of this meeting, to do the following 1. obligate more financial reading and uninflected data to evaluate the operations of JFF through discussions with Larry Marshall and Robert Williams , oddly the data related to new sales, cost of goods sold expenses, S,G and A expenses and the customer credit extension and sight procedures, as well as the reasons for the reduction in the cash and short-term investment position. 2. Complete the analytical review depth psychology (draft attached) based on these discussions. Assess the casualty of material misstatement due to drool as specified by AU Section 316, split up 19b.3. Assess the possibility of malingerer due to material misstatement based on the identification of jeopardize factors as specified by AU Section 316, paragraph 19c and those identify in paragraph 85 of theappendix. 4. Obtain a better level of understanding of the limit of control testing performed by indwelling audit that could impact the extent of our procedures. Subsequent to completion of the supra procedures, an supernumerary be after meeting will be held to develop an overall take chances assessment of the company as well as specific risk a ssessments for the various audit areas. At this meeting, a overture audit approach will be developed, including the extent of control testing, compliance audit procedures, substantive audit procedures and the extent of reliance on internal audit.Video 4 Meeting between the CEO and the size up ingredientnerLink http//bcove.me/72vf104b none to turn on closed captioning, click the CC button requireForm a group of at least five students to work as the audit team to complete Parts A and B. Your instructor will tell you whether Part C should be make individually or as a team. Part A AU Section 316, paragraph 19b instructs meeters to perform analytical procedures when proviso an audit to identify areas where auditors should be extra vigilant. Paragraph 19c requires auditors to specifically consider whether fraud risk exists. The Guidance Table on the following pages quotes AU Section 316, paragraphs 19b and 19c. Consider these paragraphs when completing Part A of this assignment. Th e assignment for Part A is to Complete the Information forthcoming column using the information provided in this case. Complete the depth psychology column by determine the implications of the information you document. Include in your analysis whether there is a fraud risk factor present. Review the spreadsheet containing the preliminary analytical review performed to provide information needed to complete this assignment.Part B Complete the pro judgment framework natural think uping template (provided separately) to document your judgment about the possibility of material misstatement due to fraud. In completing the professional judgment framework application template, keep the following in mind The application template tread Considerations to gather the facts requires answering the question, What is the applicable guidance? For purposes of this case, disregard any fraud risk factors you identify for which you do not have adequate information to address.Because the applicable guidance was documented in Part A of thisassignment, it is enough to write See the application guidance table when completing the application template feel of How does the guidance apply to the issue? Part C Using the information you documented regarding the overarching considerations and specific considerations for apiece process step in the framework, prepare a final memorandum regarding your professional judgment of the possibility of material misstatement due to fraud. Be sure that you are able to address the following considerations Is the documentation sufficient to support your judgment?Can an early(a) professional understand how you reached your conclusion (including why reasonable outcomes and assertable alternatives identified were not selected)? Tool to document the judgmentOverall memorandumIssueFactsAnalysis archetypeAU Section 316 guidance19b Consider any unusual or unexpected relationships that have been identified in performing analytical procedures in planning t he audit. (See paragraphs .28 through .30.) .28 Section 329, analytical Procedures, paragraphs .04 and .06, requires that analytical procedures be performed in planning the audit with an objective of identifying the existence of unusual transactions or events, and amounts, ratios, and trends that might request matters that have financial statement and audit planning implications. In performing analytical procedures in planning the audit, the auditor develops expectations about plausible relationships that are reasonably expected to exist, based on the auditors understanding of the entity and its environment. When equation of those expectations with recorded amounts or ratios developed from recorded amounts yields unusual or unexpected relationships, the auditor should consider those results in identifying the risks of material misstatement due to fraud..29 In planning the audit, the auditor also should perform analytical procedures relating to revenue with the objective of identif ying unusual or unexpected relationships involving revenue accounts that may indicate a material misstatement due tofraudulent financial reporting. An example of such an analytical procedure that addresses this objective is a comparison of sales volume, as determined from recorded revenue amounts, with production capacity. An excess of sales volume over production capacity may be indicative of recording fictitious sales.As another example, a trend analysis of revenues by month and sales returns by month during and shortly after the reporting period may indicate the existence of undisclosed side agreements with customers to return goods that would preclude revenue recognition. .30 Analytical procedures performed during planning may be helpful in identifying the risks of material misstatement due to fraud. However, because such analytical procedures primarily use data aggregated at a high level, the results of those analytical procedures provide only a broad initial indication about whether a material misstatement of the financial statements may exist. Accordingly, the results of analytical procedures performed during planning should be considered along with other information gathered by the auditor in identifying the risks of material misstatement due to fraud. Information availableAnalysisAU Section 316 guidance19c Consider whether one or more fraud risk factors exist. (See paragraphs .31 through .33, and the Appendix paragraph .85.) .31 Because fraud is usually concealed, material misstatements due to fraud are strong to detect. Nevertheless, the auditor may identify events or conditions that indicate fillips/pressures to perpetrate fraud, opportunities to carry out the fraud, or attitudes/rationalizations to justify a fraudulent action. Such events or conditions are referred to as fraud risk factors. bilgewater risk factors do not necessarily indicate the existence of fraud however, they often are present in circumstances where fraud exists. .32 When obt aining information about the entity and its environment, the auditor should consider whether the information indicates that one or more fraud risk factors are present. The auditor should use professional judgment in find whether a risk factor is present and should be considered in identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement due to fraud..33 Examples of fraud risk factors related to fraudulent financial reporting and misappropriation of assets are presented in the Appendix paragraph .85. These illustrative risk factors are classified based on the three conditions generally present when fraud exists incentive/pressure to perpetrate fraud, an opportunity to carry out the fraud, and attitude/rationalization to justify the fraudulent action. Although the risk factors cover a broad range of situations, they are only examples and, accordingly, the auditor may wish to consider redundant or different risk factors. Not all of these examples are relevant in all circumstances , and some may be of greater or lesser significance in entities of different size or with different ownership characteristics or circumstances. Also, the order of the examples of risk factors provided is not intended to reflect their relative grandness or frequency of occurrence.AU Section 316 guidance Appendix paragraph 85InformationAnalysisIncentives/Pressuresa. Financial stability or profitability is menaceened by economic, manufacture or entity operating conditions, such as (or as indicated by) High degree of competition or market saturation, accompanied by declining margins. There is a very high level of competition and market saturation. A cause for this is the increase in foreign companies that are coming into the market. This is causing U.S. companies to streamline their operations. With the increased competition JFF is being forced, along with other U.S. companies to streamline efforts.This may have affect on health and safety concerns down the road. The pressure to incr ease efficiency and profitability is very high. High vulnerability to rapid changes, such as changes in technology, product obsolescence or interest rates. There have been a lot of changes in operations this past year at JFF. Some of the rapid changes in 2012 include year-end bonus incentive plan, decreased head-count in SGA, new employees in accounting department, decreased profitability of local investments, shortened exchange rate, credit review standards for new customers, and heed. These changes have seemed to have important roles in 2012.Year-end Bonus Incentive plan has increased net sales 10% from 2011 to 2012. May increase the amount of pressure placed on sales department. Decreased head count in SGA has caused for the internal auditors to be understaffed and may result in compliance issues. New Employees in the accounting department may cause a increase in misstatements due to unfamiliarity. The decreased profitability of investments is causing a loss that have decreased invest in cash flows.The decreased return/exchange window from 14-days to 5-days will decrease the chances of the firms returns and will allow for a decrease percentage of allowance for returns The increased credit review standards for new customers will help decrease the chance of uncollectable amounts and ultimately decrease accounts receivable. Management changes may cause a increase in chance of error and bad judgment due to the inexperience management has with this company. Significant declines in customer contract and increasing business failures in either the industry or overall economy.Operating losses, making the threat of bankruptcy, foreclosure or hostile takeover imminent.Recurring negative cash flows from operations and an inability to generate cash flows from operations while reporting earnings and earnings growth.Rapid growth or unusual profitability, particularly compared to that of other companies in the same industry.New accounting, statutory or regulatory requir ements.b. Excessive pressure exists for management to meet the requirements or expectations of trey parties due to the following Profitability or trend level expectations of investment analysts, institutional investors, probatory creditors or other external parties (particularly expectations that are unduly aggressive or unrealistic), including expectations created by management in, for example, overly optimistic press releases or annual report messages.Need to obtain additional debt or equity financing to stay competitive including financing of major research and development or capital expenditures.Marginal ability to meet exchange listing requirements or debt repayment or other debt covenant requirements.Perceived or real adverse effects of reporting poor financial results on significant pending transactions, such as business combinations or contract awards.c. Information available indicates that managements or those charged with governances personal financial situation is threa tened by the entitys financial performance arising from the following Significant financial interests in the entity.Significant portions of their compensation (for example, bonuses, striving options and earn-out arrangements) being contingent upon achieving aggressive targets for declension price, operating results, financial position or cash flow. private guarantees of debts of the entityd. There is excessive pressure on management or operating personnel to meet financial targets set up by those charged with governance or management, including sales or profitability incentive goals.Opportunitiesa. The nature of the industry or the entitys operations provides opportunities to engage in fraudulent financial reporting that can arise from the following Significant related-party transactions not in the ordinary course of business or with related entities not audited or audited by another firm Information not availableA strong financial presence or ability to dominate a certain industr y sector that allows the entity to dictate terms or conditions to suppliers orcustomers that may result in inappropriate or non-arms-length transactions. NoneThey were targeting customers where they havent done some(prenominal) business in the past, such as public facilities, movie theaters and other types of retail facilities. Assets, liabilities, revenues or expenses based on significant estimates that involve subjective judgments or uncertainties that are difficult to corroborate. No.The overall result is that as a percentage of net sales, their gross profit has gone from about 15% to about 16% or maybe a little more in 2012. Significant, unusual or highly multifactorial transactions, especially those close to period-end that pose difficult substance over form questions. Information not availableSignificant operations located or conducted across planetary borders in jurisdictions where differing business environments and cultures exist. The information did not mention operati ons conducted across international borders. They may not consider conduct across international right now. Significant bank accounts or subsidiary or branch operations in tax-haven jurisdictions for which there appears to be no clear business justification. No. The company got a call from the bank saying they were over drawn in the main operational account Since ample amounts of money are held in the reserve account the bank genuine the checks they issued b.There is ineffective monitoring of management as a result of the following Domination of management by a single person or small group (in a non-owner-managed business) without compensating controls. Larry and Gwen have worked unneurotic for about five years and have known each other for about eight years. They are familiar with each other. They may move from company to company together. Ineffective oversight over the financial reporting process and internal control by those charged with governance. The internal financial informa tion not as detailed as normal. Thomas claims it is easier for the family members to concentrate on the big picture. c. There is a complex or unstable organizational structure, as evidenced by the following Difficulty in determining the organization or individuals thathave controlling interest in the entity. NoOverly complex organizational structure involving unusual legal entities or managerial lines of authority. NoHigh turnover of senior management, counsel or board members. No. However, Gwen brought two accountants who worked for Gwen for about five years and they make everything flow smoothly. The bonuses are determined by senior management based on the individual sales representatives increase in sales and a number of other factors such as teamwork and customer feedback. d. midland control components are deficient as a result of the following Inadequate monitoring of controls, including automatise controls and controls over interim financial reporting (where external report ing is required).The internal financial information was not as detailed as normal. Thomas and new accountants have revised the internal financial information, they leave to present operations at a more than higher level with not so much detailed financial information High turnover rates or employment of ineffective accounting, internal audit, or information technology staff. The company focused more on internet sales. They also deoxidize some leased office space they had. Improvements in certain operating techniques that would reduce costs, such as electricity management.Ineffective accounting and information systems, including situations involving significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal control. Not as detailed as normal. Thomas and new accountants have revised the internal financial information, they divvy up to present operations at a much higher level with not so much detailed financial information. Thomas claims it is easier for the family members to con centrate on the big picture. In some respects it is incumbent that very detailed financial information can lead to focusing on the little things preferably than looking at the bigger picture. Attitudes/rationalizationsRisk factors reflective of attitudes/rationalizations by those charged with governance, management or employees that allow them to engage in and/or justify fraudulent financial reporting may not be susceptible to observation by the auditor. Nevertheless, the auditor who becomes aware of the existenceof such information should consider it in identifying the risks of material misstatement arising from fraudulent financial reporting. For example, auditors may become aware of the following information that may indicate a risk factor a. Ineffective communication, implementation, support or enforcement of the entitys values or estimable standards by management or the communication of inappropriate values or ethical standardsb. Non-financial managements excessive particip ation in or preoccupation with the selection of accounting principles or the determination of significant estimatesc. Known history of violations of securities laws or other laws and regulations, or claims against the entity, its senior management or board members alleging fraud or violations of laws and regulationsd. Excessive interest by management in maintaining or increasing the entitys stock price or earnings trende. A practice by management of committing to analysts, creditors and other third parties to achieve aggressive or unrealistic forecastsf. Management failing to correct known significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in internal control on a timely basisg. An interest by management in employing inappropriate means to minimize reported earnings for tax-motivated reasonsh. Recurring attempts by management to justify marginal or inappropriate accounting on the basis of materialityi. The relationship between management and the current or predecessor auditor is strain ed, as exhibited by the following a. Frequent disputes with the current or predecessor auditor on accounting, auditing or reporting matters b. Unreasonable demands on the auditor, such as unreasonable time constraints regarding the completion of the audit or the issuance of theauditors report c. white-tie or informal restrictions on the auditor that inappropriately limit access to people or information or the ability to communicate effectively with those charged with governance d. Domineering management behavior in dealing with the auditor, especially involving attempts to influence the scope of the auditors work or the selection or continuance of personnel assigned to or consulted on the audit engagement.