Research Methodology Essay

This research work is an action research investigating into the issues of illiteracy in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). An action research is a type of qualitative research of cyclical nature which is used to improve practice (Parsons and Brown, 2002). In other words, the work is meant to aid in executing an action program that will help reduce illiteracy in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. It is meant to be cyclical in nature in that it is also intended to improve the provision of adult literacy with time by providing a means by which the program can be adequately implemented and improved upon with time. The results of this work identified the specific areas that call for attention in the provision of education for Abu Dhabi adults that are forty years old and over. It also suggested ways of assessing progress and improving upon the program with time. At the end, the research work became a useful resource for Abu Dhabi’s Western Region Development Council (WRDC) and other organizations who are stakeholders in improving adult learning in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. This chapter describes the stages and processes that were involved in carrying out the research work. It presented the data gathering processes, describing also, the target research participants, the research locations, involvements of the main stakeholder organization, other stakeholders’ roles, and action plan towards the adoption, implementation, evaluation, and review of the research results. Research Design and Procedure The research approach involved data gathering activities aimed at obtaining all the relevant information about illiteracy in the target region for this research. Multiple sources and research instruments were used for the data gathering process. These includes, previous socio-economic studies in the Western Region, the statistics of adult students in the literacy classes as obtained from the Family Development Foundation and Abu Dhabi Education Council, surveys and interviews with illiterate adults (forty years and over), and so on. The research made use of research samples of adults who are forty years and above in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. The samples of necessity consisted mostly of illiterates within the region. In addition, other sources were employed in gathering information and these shall be discussed further in the sections following. The data were thereafter analyzed to draw out workable solutions for the adult literacy program in the Western Region. Interviews with a Sample of Illiterate Adults Aged Forty Years and Over. The interviews were conducted shortly after establishing initial contacts and discussing with parties that are of interest in the illiteracy issue. The interviews aim at establishing the attitudes of the old illiterates in the Western Region (40 years and over) towards the remedial measures being taken to reduce illiteracy and how they have come to accept the current adult literacy program arranged by WRDC. Though the interviews were not formal or structured, questions were set to serve as guidelines during the interviews. A sample of the set of questions that were asked is as presented in Appendix A. For a proper geographical representation, the interviewees were picked from across the cities within the Western Region of Abu Dhabi and not just located from one city. The six cities from which the interviewees were drawn are Madinat Zayed, Al Mirfa, Ghayathi, Sila, Dalma, and Peda Al Mutawa. There was no strict pattern for the selection of the sample. Rather, convenience sample approach was used. The interviews spanned over a period of two months. In order to make it more flexible, the interviews were conducted through different means. This included personal face-to-face interviews, informal chatting during family and social gatherings, informal or semi formal phone chatting, and so on. The general strategy for the interviews was to start with broad questions and then follow up on the interviewee’s responses. Efforts were made to gain a full understanding of how each of the respondents captured the meaning of each question. This helped to avoid imposing meanings on the interviewee. Rather, it helped the interview process to achieve its target of obtaining information purely as reflected by the adult illiterates. In addition, the interviews were done in a language that each interviewee understood rather than conducting exclusively in English or other unfamiliar languages. Most especially, the approach of adopting a mixture of languages was employed to ensure that each interviewee feels at home in responding to the questions. This is necessary in order to obtain a feedback that is not influenced by any adverse or embarrassing conditions during the interview and this includes the effects that language barrier may have on the respondents if unfamiliar languages were used. Survey to Investigate the Reasons Behind Illiteracy for Adults Forty Years Old and Above. This is another research instrument that was used in addition to the interview. This is also more like the interview but is more formal in nature and administration. The intention of this was to obtain information from the illiterate adults as regards the reasons behind their illiteracy. In other words, it intends to establish the reasons for the occurrence of high illiteracy rates in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. While the interviews responses will establish that there are indeed illiterate adults in this region and provide clues as regards the attitudes of the illiterates towards adult literacy, the survey results will explain the reasons behind the occurrence of high illiteracy rate. As it was for the interview, the survey was conducted using a research sample of adult illiterates (forty years and over) obtained across the cities of the Western Region. The sample was drawn from Madinat Zayed, Al Mirfa, Ghayathi, Sila, and Dalma. In addition, the language was such that the respondents understood the questions being asked except in cases where this was a measure of the illiteracy levels of the respondents. The sample of the survey questions are as presented in appendix B below. Need Assessment Survey – to know the learning needs of adult learners at the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. The ultimate objectives of this work are to ensure that the reasons behind high illiteracy rates are unearthed in the Western Region, and to enhance a high rate of patronage of the adult literacy classes. Thus, it will be necessary to gain insight into the learning needs of these illiterate adults so that the program may not continue to disappoint their expectations. In other words, there is a need to make the program all encompassing, meeting the expectations and the learning needs of the adults for who the program has been established. Moreover, the program should also be able to meet the needs of anticipating learners. In this light, a survey was also conducted to assess the learning needs of the illiterate adults at the Western Region. The sample of the survey instrument for this assessment is as included in appendix C. The survey sample at this time cut across the cities in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi. However, the age range of the survey sample was deliberately chosen to be below 40 years. This is due to the fact it is not exclusively those above 40 years of age that has learning needs and it will be advantageous to set up a program that will be all encompassing, taking care of the needs of learners from age grades lower than 40 years. The sample age range was fixed between 20 and 70 years. It is to be noted that the assessment was not limited only to adults who have been enrolled in the program and are still part of the training. The sample also included those who were enrolled but could not continue as well as those who did not enroll at any time. Again, the language of the survey was that which the respondents understand well and did not influence their responses in any way. Equipments Need Assessment. After obtaining the results of the three earlier mentioned surveys, an assessment of the equipments need for the present adult learning centers in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi was carried out. Precisely, the five Family Development Foundation (FDF) female adult learning centers in the Western Region’s cities (one each in five cities of Abu Dhabi Western Region – Madinat Zayed, Al Mirfa, Ghayathi, Sila, and Dalma) were assessed. This was carried out in conjunction with the FDF to give weight to the exercise and ensure detailed responses. A formal letter was sent to each of the centers asking them to identify and state their needs in terms of the facilities, resources and other materials for their adult education classes, as it is peculiar to each center. These responses could also be used to infer what the needs of the corresponding evening male classes are to an appreciable degree of accuracy. The male classes are also five (one in each of the five cities earlier mentioned). In addition, in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) a survey of the current enrollment in each of these male and female centers was taken. This provided a baseline for comparison with the current situation in adult literacy efforts across other cities and regions of Abu Dhabi. Adoption and Implementation of Research Results This research work was carried out to establish practical solutions for illiterate people in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi especially those who are not interesting in the current official adult education program. The results of this work is to aid the main stakeholder organization, (WRDC) establish flexible adult learning program for adults who are 40 years or older but are not interested in the mainstream adult education options. In addition, the program would adopt lifelong learning approach towards literacy. On the long run, the outcome of the program, through the facilitation of the research, will improve on the social, health and economic conditions of the beneficiaries. After the fieldwork, the data were analyzed and the results obtained. Thereafter, in conjunction with WRDC and based on the results of the analysis, a strategic proposal/plan was drawn to provide a more workable and lasting solution in handling the peculiarities of adult learning in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region. This was then presented for discussions with other stakeholders whose support had been enlisted in the research work. The stakeholders are the Family Development Foundation (FDF) and Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC). At the end of the stakeholders’ discussions, the proposal was reviewed and modified with the specific roles of each of the partners in the proposal clearly defined. The discussions also involved the program cost breakdown and budget. The funding for the program was then shared among the three parties involved in the program. Thereafter, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was drafted and signed by the three parties. The Roles of the Partners in Program Planning and Execution. The WRDC was to conduct needs assessment for Western Region’s illiterate participants. Information to be gathered include their age, gender, willingness to participate in the program and for how many days or hours per week, preferred period of the day for lectures (wither morning or evening), preferred program duration (how many months or year), preferred location for lectures (whether in a Family Development Foundation’s learning center, a nearby school or other preferred locations), transportation needs, preferred subjects, how they want to learn, and so on. This has been carried out earlier in the fieldwork as described in the previous sections. ADEC’s role was to identify needed learning materials (e. g. extbooks, copybooks, teacher guidebook, hand outs, etc) in addition to other similar roles. In addition, FDF has the role of clarifying learning environment characteristics and needs. These needs are mainly related to the equipments and furniture needs at the learning centers. These roles had been carried out as described earlier as well. ADEC and FDF also specified manpower plan and provided human recourses for the program. These include program managers and teachers (qualified and well trained from both sexes), class cleaners and so on. Moreover, ADEC worked on the provision of the program instructional design and development. This role involves specification of the program goals and objectives, analysis of task components of the program goals and purposes, identification of learners characteristics that will influence instructional design, drawing up of program curriculum and subjects contents, alignment of subjects contents within each instructional unit for logical learning, design of instructional strategies (putting in mind the needs of learners), selection of resources to achieve the instructional objectives, and the development of evaluation instruments to measure the achievement of objectives. WRDC carried out the program awareness campaigns. The WRDC designed the promotional materials, displayed posters, signs and similar campaign materials talking about the adult learning program at designated areas, arranged and coordinated public lectures with illiterate adults (the target audience), and produced articles for newsletter campaigns. FDF handles the execution and management of the program. That is, the foundation was saddled with the responsibility of running the program. This includes registration and admission into classes, appointment of teachers, delivery and management of lectures and so on. The main subjects taught are basic reading and writing, the Holy Quran and mathematics. The Roles of the Partners in Program Evaluation and Monitoring. ADEC conducted formative written and verbal tests for the participants in each stream of lectures and WRDC conducted learners’ satisfaction survey asking them to rate the adult learning program schedule, learning materials, the classes and the quality of learning facilities. Then, the three parties met again to review the program and seek for ways of modifying it to be more result achieving. The results of tests and surveys were useful in informing on the necessary modifications. The modes and strategies for implementing the recommended changes were further discussed. Thus, this set the stage for the implementation of the refined program. Furthermore, semi-annual meetings were arranged to discuss further periodic reviews of the program. The results of the fieldwork and the progress made in the course of implementation and evaluation shall be discussion in the next chapter.

User Manual Critique

I used the following criteria to critique this manual, audience recognition, components of instructions, safety instructions, instructional steps and anally graphics and videos. The first criteria I used is audience recognition. This manual is written for landscape professionals who have some experience using this type of machinery in the past. The terminology that is used throughout the manual suggests that the user knows what the overall operation of the machine is for.This is a good idea because if the machine Is not used properly it could have the potential to be dangerous, causing injury or even death. This Is also a problem because If someone is not familiar with the machine and attempts to use It the manual could confuse them, and they may to assemble the machine correctly, and not follow all the safety warnings that are In the manual. This could also be a dangerous situation since the chemicals that are used in conjunction with the machine could be hazardous.The second criter ia I chose is the components and instructions of the manual. The first page shows a general overview of the sprayer with pictures of specific parts of the machine. One problem with the main page is that it said that there was a search option but I never found that option in any part of the manual. The introduction page gives a brief overview of the manual and points out potential hazards associated with the machine and identifies signal words throughout the manual such as danger, warning, caution and important and their context in the manual.It Is laid out with a table of contents and each header in the table has sub- headings that are all hyperlinked to the correct page of the manual and navigation Is fairly easy throughout the sections. The table of contents Is also presented In a logical order, starting with the introduction all the way through setting up and operating the machine, and finally ending with warranty and contact information. The third criteria I chose is safety inst ructions. This piece of machinery deals with the spraying of chemicals and therefore if not used properly can cause harm to the user or people around the area.The safety section of the manual goes over all the precautions that need to be followed when dealing with chemicals, such as wearing the proper safety gear when using the machine. Each sub-section has clearly laid out the steps required to prepare, use, and maintain the sprayer in a safe manner. One thing I noticed Is there are no links to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) website which could have even more detailed safety Information for the use of chemicals. The fourth criteria I chose was Instructional steps.The manual has detailed instructions on how to setup the sprayer for use. It goes through step-by-step and sprayer. Each section has written instructions as well as pictures and videos on the installation and use of the sprayer. It goes through starting up the sprayer and how to drive it, and shut ting it down. It is a very complicated machine to use, and the writer did a good Job of trying to instruct the user on how to use it. There are some minor issues I noticed with the instructions however.The manual can be over- complicated sometimes and may lose the reader. The is a wealth of information and could have been condensed down and incorporated into smaller groups of information. Without a working search function, the reader has to go through multiple areas to find what they are looking for. The final criteria I chose is the manuals incorporation of graphics and videos. The Ritter did a great Job of having photos of each part of the machine that was being described in that section, and also includes a good amount of videos as well.The thumbnails can be clicked on and a larger image comes up, but they are still a little on the smaller side so it can be difficult on some pictures to see all the components being described. There are illustrations that when clicked on, show a d emo of what the task is, which can be very helpful to the user. The videos are useful for describing what needs to be done, and the narrator speaks in a clear tone that is easy to understand.The main issue with the videos however is they are not high quality so when they are made full screen the image is not clear and can be difficult to follow. If they had used higher resolution video they would have been that much more helpful. Overall the writer did a great Job when creating this manual and the user should not have many problems following it, as long as they are familiar with the equipment to begin with. A novice user will need more help using the machine then the manual gives, but when buying such a machine, they should be competent with using this type of sprayer.

External Analysis of the Telecommunication Industry Essay

Economic †¢ Market analysis by Insight Research predicts that telecommunications-industry revenue will reach $1.2 trillion by the end of next year, and grow by a compounded rate of 5.9 percent to $1.6 trillion by 2010. †¢ Telecommunication remains an important part of the world economy and the telecommunication industry’s revenue has been placed at just under 3% of the gross world product. †¢ Mobile phones have had a significant impact on telephone networks. Mobile phone subscriptions now outnumber fixed-line subscriptions in many markets. Sales of mobile phones in 2005 totaled 816.6 million with that figure being almost equally shared amongst the markets of Asia/Pacific (204 m), Western Europe (164 m), CEMEA (Central Europe, the Middle East and Africa) (153.5 m), North America (148 m) and Latin America (102 m) †¢ In terms of new subscriptions over the five years from 1999, Africa has outpaced other markets with 58.2% growth †¢ Size matters in telecom. It is an expensive business; contenders need to be large enough and produce sufficient cash flow to absorb the costs of expanding networks and services that become obsolete seemingly overnight. Transmission systems need to be replaced as frequently as every two years. Big companies that own extensive networks – especially local networks that stretch directly into customers’ homes and businesses – are less reliant on interconnecting with other companies to get calls and data to their final destinations. By contrast, smaller players must pay for interconnect more often to finish the job. For little operators hoping to grow big some day, the financial challenges of keeping up with rapid technological change and depreciation can be monumental. †¢ During the late 1990s, the telecommunications industry experienced very rapid growth and massive investment in transmission capacity. Eventually this caused supply to significantly exceed demand, resulting in much lower prices for transmission capacity. The excess capacity and additional competition led to either declining revenues or slowing revenue growth, which has led to consolidation within the industry, as many companies merged or left the industry. Socio-Cultural †¢ Telecommunication is an important part of many modern societies. Good telecommunication infrastructure is widely acknowledged as important for economic success in the modern world on micro- and macroeconomic scale. †¢ On the microeconomic scale, companies have used telecommunication to help build global empires, this is self-evident in the business of online retailer Amazon.com but even the conventional retailer Wal-Mart has benefited from superior telecommunication infrastructure compared to its competitors. In modern Western society, home owners often use their telephone to organize many home services ranging from pizza deliveries to electricians. Even relatively poor communities have been noted to use telecommunication to their advantage. In Bangladesh’s Narshingdi district, isolated villagers use cell phones to speak directly to wholesalers and arrange a better price for their goods. In Cote d’Ivoire coffee growers share mobile phones to follow hourly v ariations in coffee prices and sell at the best price. †¢ On the macroeconomic scale, in 2001, Lars-Hendrik Rà ¶ller and Leonard Waverman suggested a causal link between good telecommunication infrastructure and economic growth. Few dispute the existence of a correlation although some argue it is wrong to view the relationship as causal. †¢ However from any perspective the economic benefits of good telecommunication infrastructure are undeniable and, for this reason, there is increasing worry about the digital divide. A 2003 survey by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed that roughly one-third of countries have less than 1 mobile subscription for every 20 people and one-third of countries have less than 1 fixed line subscription for every 20 people. In terms of Internet access, roughly half of countries have less than 1 in 20 people with Internet access. †¢ The September 11 attack reinforces the need for robust, interconnected networks that have a high probability of survival in the event of natural or man-made disaster. That argues for a consolidated base of carriers operating with agreed-upon disaster protocols Technological †¢ The largest sector of the telecommunications industry continues to be made up of wired telecommunications carriers. Establishments in this sector mainly provide telephone service via wires and cables that connect customers’ premises to central offices maintained by telecommunications companies. The central offices contain switching equipment that routes content to its final destination or to another switching center that determines the most efficient route for the content to take. While voice used to be the main type of data transmitted over the wires, wired telecommunications service now includes the transmission of all types of graphic, video, and electronic data mainly over the Internet. †¢ These new services have been made possible through the use of digital technologies that provide much more efficient use of the telecommunications networks. One major technology breaks digital signals into packets during transmission. Networks of computerized switching equipment, called packet switched networks, route the packets. Packets may take separate paths to their destination and may share the paths with packets from other users. At the destination, the packets are reassembled, and the transmission is complete. Because packet switching considers alternate routes, and allows multiple transmissions to share the same route, it results in a more efficient use of telecommunications capacity as packets are routed along less congested routes. †¢ One way wired carriers are expanding their bandwidth is by replacing copper wires with fiber optic cable. Fiber optic cable, which transmits light signals along glass strands, permits faster, higher capacity transmissions than tra ditional copper wire lines. In some areas, carriers are extending fiber optic cable to residential customers, enabling them to offer cable television, video-on-demand, high-speed Internet, and conventional telephone communications over a single line. However, the high cost of extending fiber to homes has slowed deployment. In most areas, wired carriers are instead leveraging existing copper lines that connect most residential customers with a central office, to provide digital subscriber lines (DSL) Internet service. Technologies in development will further boost the speeds available through a DSL connection. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers, many of which are subsidiaries of the wired carriers, transmit voice, graphics, data, and Internet access through the transmission of signals over networks of radio towers. The signal is transmitted through an antenna into the wire line network. Other wireless services include beeper and paging services. Because wireless devices require no wire line connection, they are popular with customers who need to communicate as they travel residents of areas with inadequate wire line service, and those who simply desire the convenience of portable communications. Increasing numbers of con sumers are choosing to replace their home landlines with wireless phones. †¢ Wireless telecommunications carriers are deploying several new technologies to allow faster data transmission and better Internet access that should make them competitive with wire line carriers. One technology is called third generation (3G) wireless access. With this technology, wireless carriers plan to sell music, videos, and other exclusive content that can be downloaded and played on phones designed for 3G technologies. Wireless carriers are developing the next generation of technologies that will surpass 3G with even faster data transmission. Another technology is called â€Å"fixed wireless service,† which involves connecting the telephone and/or Internet wiring system in a home or business to an antenna, instead of a telephone line. The replacement of landlines with cellular service should become increasingly common because advances in wireless systems will provide data transmission speeds comparable to broadband landline systems. †¢ Changes in technology and regulation now allow cable television providers to compete directly with telephone companies. An important change has been the rapid increase in two-way communications capacity. Conventional pay television services provided communications only from the distributor to the customer. These services could not provide effective communications from the customer back to other points in the system, due to signal interference and the limited capacity of conventional cable systems. As cable operators implement new technologies to reduce signal interference and increase the capacity of their distribution systems by installing fiber optic cables and improved data compression, some pay television systems now offer two-way telecommunications services, such as video-on-demand and high-speed Internet access. Cable companies are also increasing their share of the telephone communications market both through their network of conventional phone lines in some areas and their growing ability to use high-speed Internet access to provide VoIP (voice over Internet protocol). †¢ VoIP is sometimes called Internet telephony, because it uses the Internet to transmit phone calls. While conventional phone networks use packet switching to break up a call onto multiple shared lines between central offices, VoIP extends this process to the phone. A VoIP phone will break the conversation into digital packets and transmit those packets over a high-speed Internet connection. Cable companies are using the technology to offer phone services without building a conventional phone network. Wireline providers’ high-speed Internet connections also can be used for VoIP and cellular phones are being developed that use VoIP to make calls using local wireless Internet connections. All of the major sectors of the telecommunications industry are or will increasingly use VoIP. Demographic †¢ The telecommunications industry offers steady, year-round employment. Overtime sometimes is required, especially during emergencies such as floods or hurricanes when employees may need to report to work with little notice. †¢ Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations account for 1 in 4 telecommunications jobs. Telecommunications line installers and repairers, one of the largest occupations, work in a variety of places, both indoors and outdoors, and in all kinds of weather. Their work involves lifting, climbing, reaching, stooping, crouching, and crawling. They must work in high places such as rooftops and telephone poles, or below ground when working with buried lines. Their jobs bring them into proximity with electrical wires and circuits, so they must take precautions to avoid shocks. These workers must wear safety equipment when entering manholes, and test for the presence of gas before going underground. Telecommunications equipment installers and repairers, except line installers, generally work indoors—most often in a telecommunication company’s central office or a customer’s place of business. They may have to stand for long periods; climb ladders; and do some reaching, stooping, and light lifting. Adherence to safety precautions is essential to guard against work injuries such as minor burns and electrical shock. †¢ Most communications equipment operators, such as telephone operators, work at video display terminals in pleasant, well-lighted, air-conditioned surroundings. If the worksite is not well designed, however, operators may experience eye strain and back discomfort. The rapid pace of the job and close supervision may cause stress. Some workplaces have introduced innovative practices among their operators to reduce job-related stress. †¢ The number of disabling injuries in telephone communications, the principal sector of the telecommunications industry, has been well below the average for all industries in past years. †¢ The telecommunications industry offers employment in jobs requiring a variety of skills and training. Many jobs require at least a high school diploma or an associate degree in addition to on-the-job training. Other jobs require particular skills that may take several years of experience to learn completely. For some managerial and professional jobs, employers require a college education. †¢ Due to the rapid introduction of new technologies and services, the telecommunications industry is among the most rapidly changing in the economy. This means workers must keep their job skills up to date. From managers to communications equipment operators, increased knowledge of both computer hardware and software is of paramount importance. Several major companies and the telecommunications unions have created a Web site that provides free training for employees, enabling them to keep their knowledge current and helping them to advance. Telecommunications industry employers now look for workers with knowledge of and skills in computer programming and software design; voice telephone technology, known as telephony; laser and fiber optic technology; wireless technology; and data compression. Political/Legal †¢ Telecommunications Act: Enacted by the U.S. Congress on February 1, 1996, and signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996, the law’s main purpose was to stimulate competition in the United States telecom sector. †¢ FCC controls the wireless spectrum allocations among the various broadcasters and service providers. This allocation is through a competitive auction at high cost to service providers, which result in an increase of debt burden of these companies, eventually trickling down to consumers. †¢ FCC as a watchdog regulates that there be no monopoly of a single player in the telecom market. Mergers and consolidation among companies is closely watched and evaluated before being allowed Porter’s 5 Forces Analysis 1. Threat of New Entrants – No surprise, in the capital-intensive telecom industry the biggest barrier-to-entry is access to finance. To cover high fixed costs, serious contenders typically require a lot of cash. When capital markets are generous, the threat of competitive entrants escalates. When financing opportunities are less readily available, the pace of entry slows. Meanwhile, ownership of a telecom license can represent a huge barrier to entry. In the US, for instance, fledgling telecom operators must still apply to the Federal Communications Commission to receive regulatory approval and licensing. There is also a finite amount of â€Å"good† radio spectrum that lends itself to mobile voice and data applications. In addition, it is important to remember that solid operating skills and management experience is fairly scarce, making entry even more difficult. 2. Power of Suppliers – At first glance, it might look like telecom equipment suppliers have considerable bargaining power over telecom operators. Indeed, without high-tech broadband switching equipment, fiber-optic cables, mobile handsets and billing software, telecom operators would not be able to do the job of transmitting voice and data from place to place. But there are actually a large number of large equipment makers around. Nortel, Lucent, Cisco, Nokia, Alcatel, Ericsson, Tellabs are just a few of the supplier names. There are enough vendors, arguably, to dilute bargaining power. The limited pool of talented managers and engineers, especially those well versed in the latest technologies, places companies in a weak position in terms of hiring and salaries. 3. Power of Buyers – With increased choice of telecom products and services, the bargaining power of buyers is rising. Let’s face it; telephone and data services do not much vary regardless of which companies are selling them. For the most part, basic services are treated as a commodity. This translates into customers seeking low prices from companies that offer reliable service. At the same time, buyer power can vary somewhat among market segments. Customers can be as small as individual residential users like you or me, or be as big as an ISP like America Online or a large university. While switching costs are relatively low for residential telecom customers, they can get higher for larger business customers, especially those that rely more on customized products and services. 4. Availability of Substitutes – Products and services from non-traditional telecom industries pose serious substitution threats. Cable TV and satellite operators now compete for buyers. The cable guys, with their own direct lines into homes, offer broadband Internet services, and satellite links can substitute for high-speed business networking needs. Railways and energy utility companies are laying miles of high-capacity telecom network alongside their own track and pipeline assets. Just as worrying for telecom operators is the Internet: it is becoming a viable vehicle for cut-rate voice calls. Delivered by ISPs – not telecom operators – â€Å"Internet telephony† could take a big bite out of telecom companies’ core voice revenues. 5. Competitive Rivalry – Competition is â€Å"cut throat†. The wave of industry de-regulation together with the receptive capital markets of the late 1990s paved the way for a rush of new entrants. New technology is prompting a raft of substitute services. Nearly everybody already pays for phone services, so all competitors now must lure customers with lower prices and more exciting services. This tends to drive industry profitability down. In addition to low profits, the telecom industry suffers from high exit barriers, mainly due to its specialized equipment. Networks and billing systems cannot really be used for much else, and their swift obsolescence makes liquidation pretty difficult.

Business and Sustainability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business and Sustainability - Essay Example Also, Wal-Mart's presence in 13 international markets including the UK, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Brazil and China, it also allows Asda to foray easily into new markets. (Barnes 2004) The Wal-Mart umbrella not only provides Asda with a strong brand image but also fuels the company's top line growth. Asda's George apparel line started as a small unknown brand in 100 ASDA stores. It is now the second largest clothing retailer in the UK by volume selling in more than 250 stores in the UK. Furthermore, George now has a presence in five other countries including Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Japan and the US. George products are available for men, women, and children and include apparel, shoes, handbags and even eyeglass frames in select stores. (DesJardins 2006) The George brand, known for style and quality, continues to grow in popularity as a favorite fashion choice across the globe. Strong brand image f George allows the group to extend the brand into other product lines. Asda is the second largest chain f supermarkets in UK with a market share f 16.8% as f February 2007. Furthermore, the company outperformed the rest f the retail sector for the first time in three years in terms f growth rate. The overall growth rate f the company was recorded at 9% for the fiscal 2007. Asda's competitors on other hand recorded a low growth rate during the same period. (Thomas 2003) For instance, Sainsbury recorded a growth rate f 7.8%, Tesco (7.2%), Morrisons (3.9%) and Somerfield (-3.8%). This was primarily due to attracting one million new customers through its checkouts and re-evaluation f its customer offer and pricing strategy. Asda can leverage this growth to further enhance its revenues and profitability. (DesJardins 2006) Evaluation f ASDA's non-financial reporting practices Asda has recalled many products in the last year. In August 2007, Asda recalled 115,000 Chinese-made children's bottles in response to a customer complaint regarding the breaking f caps f the bottle. The yellow, pink and orange colored reusable bottles are aimed at children aged three upwards. The recalled bottles were initially priced at 1.25 each then reduced to 63p. Earlier in February 2007, Asda recalled its George kid's snow boot as due to a problem with the toggle that tightened it. Additionally, Asda recalled all batches f its own-brand 500g packs f Simply Porridge due to possible cross contamination with nuts in November 2006. The affected packs contained nuts, which makes this product unsafe for individuals who are allergic to nuts. Product recalls such as these would adversely affect the corporate image and investor confidence. Online shopping has steadily grown in popularity in the UK. It has been estimated that by 2012 online sales will increase by 320%, to 60 billion per annum and would account approximately 20% f all retail sales in the UK. Although the company provides online services, it has a significantly lesser market share than its peers. For instance, the company's biggest competitor, Tesco has 66% f the K's online shopping market. The company's weak presence in this stream f business denies it he opportunity to gain market share in this rapidly growing sector. (Fisher

Critically discuss the use of covert human information sources within Essay - 1

Critically discuss the use of covert human information sources within an investigation - Essay Example lance† and the technology involves the deployment of cameras by public authorities for detecting and preventing criminal activities in designated areas (Carli, 2008). These cameras are connected to TV monitors where the people manning the surveillance can monitor the activities. Besides, the images can also be â€Å"recorded in a control room† for later viewing (Carli, 2008). Such recordings can also be admitted as evidence in a court of law for the purpose of prosecuting the offenders. The system is also being used by private parties such as organizational entities as well as individuals for monitoring their premises. The use of CCTV enables the authorities as well as private parties to monitor and exercise surveillance on the activities within and around their premises and other sensitive areas that are vulnerable to the threat of attack by criminals. The equipment is easy to operate and is comparatively cost effective. Thus, evidence suggests that the use of CCTV for the purpose of crime detection and prevention has â€Å"greatly increased over the last decade† and estimates show that â€Å"4.2 million† units are currently in use (Woodhouse, 2010). The installation of CCTVs in specific settings can dissuade prospective criminals from committing a crime for fear of detection and prosecution. Thus, it transpires that the use of CCTV not only prevents crime but also is a valuable tool in the prosecution of criminals. The concept of video surveillance came into being with an intention to detect and prevent criminal activities such as â€Å"burglary, assault and car theft† and subsequently its use was extended to monitor antisocial behaviour like â€Å"littering, urinating in public, traffic violations† etc (Isnard, 2001). This system, unlike human resources, has the ability to facilitate break free surveillance at all times and the recordings of such surveillance can become irrefutable evidence in the court of law. Therefore, law enforcement authorities have been

Data Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Data Managment - Essay Example If the data held by an organization is to be of any use to the organization, it has not only to be stored but has to be readily available for use by staff within the organization, in a manageable format and in a timely manner (Holloway 1989). Many organizations have found their data to be rich but information as poor (Davis 2001). The reason for this is that a large amount of data is available but it cannot be accessed properly and easily and it is not filtered in ways, which can make the data useful (Zeleny 2000). The effective management of data should be a concern for every organization. The ease with which, data can be captured to computer storage and the relative cheapness of that storage means that the amount of data, which organizations can store is very large indeed (Frees 1996). However, not only must the data be stored but it must be accessed quickly and flexibly, by managers who increasing see new and innovative ways to use the computerized storage of data to enhance their analytical capabilities and decision-making potential (Schauer 2004). Data management software programs are used by the organizations to manage the data of the organizations. These software programs are active and supportive and help the organization in data integration, data integrity, data independence, data retrieval and data security (Martin 1982). Data management deals with the gathering and retention of process metrics (Zeleny 2000). This requires standardized data definitions, data management facilities and a staff to ensure that data is promptly obtained, properly checked, accurately entered in the database and effectively managed (Frees 1996). Therefore, it is quite clear that data management is very significant concern for the organizations all over the world. Without data management, the organizations cannot manage their business activities. For data management, the organizations make use of different software programs

America's Post-Civil War Growing Pains Research Paper - 1

America's Post-Civil War Growing Pains - Research Paper Example Lincoln gave out his plan of giving out amnesty to all the southerners who will support slave’s emancipation and then later proclaim loyalty to the union this was because he wanted to drain the support of the confederacy and shorten the war. Presidential reconstruction started in the year 1965 whereby Johnson became the president after the death of Lincoln. He then unveiled his master plan of Reconstruction which was to create loyalty oath that should be taken in the southern so that they could receive a pardon for their rebellion participation, and doing away with the â€Å"40 acres and a mule plan† that had been suggested in the charter of the Freedmen’s Bureau. At this time, many of the southern states brought back confederate leaders to political power and then later created the â€Å"black codes† that had been modelled on the slave codes that was in existence due to the civil war. Johnson did not do anything to prevent the south from imposing these co nditions to the black population. This saw the beginning of the Radical Republican party which was made up of the northerners because the southerners were still in the congress (Colains & Marler, 2008). The Racial Republican then took the initiative of passing important Civil Rights Acts that counteracted the new black codes of the south. In 1865-1915, there was the second historical event which was named industrial Revolution. At this time, US tried to evolve from a low economic backwater to be the most powerful economic country in the world. The nation’s main energy source which was mainly powered by humans and animals changed to mechanical power (Roberts, 2010). The railway industry expanded at this time from 30,000 miles of track to around 250,000 miles. These improvements lead the movement of goods and products to be easy, reliable and cheap. In addition to this; the steel industry was the main contributor of the massive expansion of railroads (Mckenzie, 2007). In case J ohn Wilkes would have not assassinated President Lincoln, many things could have changed, and one of the issues that could have changed drastically is Reconstruction. First, in the case of Lincoln, he could have tried to be more diplomatic to the south this was not the case with President Johnson because his main interest was to punish the southerners. Lincoln was more guided in favour of diplomacy and compromise (Selden, 2010). Secondly, the Radical Reconstruction could have been different from what happened. Those people who were radical thought that Lincoln was much softer to the south and could have revolutionized the southern institutions, habits and manners; they all wanted the south to be reconstructed according to the new order. They were mainly idealists whereby they were mostly driven by religious views, these Republicans were not for the idea that the blacks were low-grade and consequently, they requested that complete social, political, and civil privileges for slaves to be administered and respected. The Radical Republicans dominated in congress and they clashed with President Johnson often (Mckenzie, 2007). Johnson policies were on how to carry out reconstruction according to Lincoln, but the motives were not the same with those of Lincoln. The industrialization and urbanization revolution of the 19th and 20th centuries generally changed the urban life of many Americans and gave them chance to improve on their living standards.

Persuasion and Leadership Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Persuasion and Leadership - Research Paper Example This names them natural leaders. It is important to note that persuasion does not work in all situations of leadership (Jay, 1998). At times, people need coercion application of authority to do something. The objective of this research paper is to explore the magnitude of the importance of persuasion in leadership practice. Abstract Persuasion is very essential in leadership because human beings are emotional by nature. People who experience positive heightened emotionality can perform complicated tasks within a short period of time as compared to those who experience negative emotionality. Therefore, people need to be persuaded so that they can achieve full control of their emotions. Persuasion is not relevant for all forms and styles of leadership, since there are different principles and procedure in doing something. This paper will cover all categories of persuasion and how they are applied in leadership context. Further it will explore different strategies of persuasion leadersh ip and demonstrate how persuasion works to make leadership a successful exercise. Leadership is highly praised by people. When people talk, they refer to the best leaders who have ever lived at this planet and who left memorable legacy in their hearts. Such leaders include Martin Luther King Junior, Mahatma Gandhi, Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela. Their legacy will live on in the hearts of their supporters long after their death for their good deeds (Kathleen 1998). These leaders were in charge of the groups they were leading; through their inspiration great goals were accomplished. Although these leaders faced plenty of criticisms from their opposers and those who doubted them, they developed a tough skin that could not be penetrated by those critics. They all remained focused on their targets and eventually got the best results. The other key concept in this paper is persuasion which entails altering the minds of individuals to make up-to-the-minute decisions . Leaders essentially communicate their ideas through persuasion. They persuade individuals to toil together, to attain results that are beyond their capacities which seemed impossible to accomplish (Kathleen 1998). This was made possible by making the workers to temporarily suspend their own interests to allow room for the attainment of less personal organizational goals. Research has proved that emotions are fundamental in decision making. People who have their part of the brain that deals with emotions incapacitated cannot make sound decisions. Therefore, emotions make it possible for us to think and decide the best action to take in every situation (Freedman, 1966). Emotions act like code that we use to store our experiences and make it possible to retrieve that information in times of need. Persuasion is the pillar of leadership, decision making and altering minds; therefore, emotional processes are central for the actions of leaders who are successful. In addition, leaders req uire a competent intellectual capacity to be able to deal with emotionally-laden arguments from their followers (Freedman, 1966). It is very essential for a leader to understand their own emotional reactions and tendencies to be in a position to evoke and control emotional responses in other people. Good leaders apply persuasion in their practice of leading others (Mike 2011). To achieve this

Qualifications of arbitrator 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Qualifications of arbitrator 1 - Essay Example But the case may be different in the laws of other countries. The English Arbitration Act 1996 (EAA 1996) is distinctive from most other national arbitration laws, say, in comparison with its predecessor, the former Act 1950. The law does not provide for any general qualifications for an arbitrator. In Saudi Arabia, there is a quite detailed set of qualifications for the arbitrator taking into consideration the elements of the Saudi Arbitration Law 2012 (SAL 2012) and also the Islamic Sharia (Sharia). Under Sharia, the scholars’ views may vary due to the absence of such provision either in Quran or Sunnah (the two main sources of Sharia). Whilst it is seen by some scholars that it is necessary for strict requirements to be stipulated for whom is selected as an arbitrator, all of these requirements are not mandatory according to the view of some contemporary scholars. The essential aim for this section is to analyse and discuss two aspects. First, the qualifications of arbitrat or stipulated by law. Second, the freedom of parties to determine additional qualifications. This will be carried out in the context of the EAA 1996, Sharia, and the SAL 2012. 1. Qualifications of Arbitrator as Stipulated by Law The English Arbitration Act 1996, like many Western arbitration laws, provides a high degree of freedom for arbitration parties3. This is the case as long as the impartiality of the arbitrator is established. Under this Act, the only restriction is if the chosen arbitrator is a judge of the Commercial Court or Technology and Construction Court of England and Wales. In this instance, an additional approval from the Lord Chief Justice is required.4 The prescribed qualifications, hence, are simple and straightforward, which is markedly different from Sharia or the SAL 2012. Sharia prescribes several qualifications that should be met in the chosen arbitrator. This provides for a system that are bound to have different interpretations. Scholars, for instance, hav e different opinions regarding the qualifications that should be met in an arbitrator based on whether the requirements of an arbitrator are those for the judge or not. Most scholars of the four schools (Maliki, Shafi', Hanafi and Hanbali) see that the qualifications for the arbitrator are those required for a judge.5 This view is dominant on account of the fact that the arbitrator carries out the same function as that of a judge, which includes hearing the litigants and issuing the Judgement. 6 78 In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, due to the dominance of Sharia on its laws as it is the constitution of the Kingdom,9 many writers believe that the Saudi courts require the arbitrator to meet the qualifications of a judge as it is the view of the majority doctrine in Sharia.10 This is in addition to the qualifications stated by the SAL 2012.11 On the other hand, some scholars as Ibn Taimiyah12 and Ibn Hazm Aldhaheri 13 maintain the position that the qualifications of a judge are not neces sarily required for an arbitrator. Therefore, they believe any Muslim can be an arbitrator. The differences, hence, becomes problematic especially in the event of a challenge to an arbitration decision or its implementation. The Sharia law in this paper will refer to the Saudi Law for purposes of clarification. As what has

Evolution of Capitalism Essay Example for Free

Evolution of Capitalism Essay Capitalism is an economic process in which the means of production are privately owned; supply, demand and price are generally formed by market forces not by an economic planning; and profit it is distributed to holder of means of production who invest in businesses. Capitalism also refers to the process of capital accumulation. Evolution of Capitalism Economists mostly focused on the degree that government does not have control over markets (laissez faire), and on private property rights, while most of political economists focused on private property, wage labor, class and power relations. It is clear that there is a general statement that capitalism encourages economic growth. The present collapse of the global economy puts a serious question such as: Is current economic arrangement fundamentally sound, needing only slight correctives, or has it reached its restrictions, requiring fundamental rethinking? American economic thinking for the last 35 year has been a hijacking of the evolutionary growth of capitalism that could offer sustainable economics. The word â€Å"economics† comes from two Greek words, oikos or â€Å"house† and nomos, â€Å"one who manages,† so etymologically economics has a wide meaning, incredibly like â€Å"concerned for the household. † The reason of our economy is to be concerned for our ordinary household, what are the principles that should direct our modernism? Sufficient care for the national household must give at a minimum: †¢ A job for everybody who can support a family †¢ Good quality education for each of our children †¢ Sufficient universal health care †¢ Essential safety for old age or in the occasion of unemployment or illness, and †¢ Environmental sustainability. Monopoly Capitalism A large part of capitalism is determined by monopoly. The term monopoly has always been a feature of capitalism and capitalist competition presumes monopoly. This capitalist competition has further led to the centralization and concentration. For Marx: Capital is here directly endowed with the form of social capital (a capital of directly associated individuals), as distinguished from private capital, and its enterprises assume the form of social enterprises as distinguished from individual enterprises. It is the abolition of capital as private property within the boundaries of capitalist production itself. - ( as cited by Mattick, 2010) The monopoly capitalism made a pathway for a Socialist society. Lenin argued The socialist society as a huge factory steered by the state. â€Å"There are surplus of manufactured goods, of labor, and of farm produce: â€Å"always too much, but never too little†. (Baran Sweezy, 1966). One of the discussed solutions was to cutting the production whereas other was in favor of stimulating demand, The price cut for the surplus can result to vanishing of the over production where consumers and manufacturers would benefit. However this would have consequences on the overall viability of the industry (Baran Sweezy, 1966). Banking Capitalism In any world financial system market, banks hold a very important position in money manufacture and speculation. Banks are the only most significant mediator for indirect money across the world. The securities (such as stocks and bonds) market is also another important ubiquitous presence for direct finance. However, usually growths and gains in importance ‘Pari Passu’ with financial growth; in common, the higher the per capita income, banks securities play higher source of the business investment and it also make clear that securities engage greater economic risks than bank loans. If we take a case of America than its economic has became more dependent on securities than on bank for business development. Due to large form of pension, mutual funds American estimated to be shareholders in way or the other. As being a developed country American financial industry development is world most famous and undisputed leader in innovation in certain areas of the securitization and derivative and due to this American market securities rapidly grow and in this respect American capitalism called as securities-market capitalism. If we look on other case like Japans financial industry which is actually remodeled on the American system right after world war II, Japans financial industry dominated American banks that Japanese-style capitalism characterized as bank-loan capitalism, particularly in light of the relatively in corporate bond market. Bank loan have been dangerous in Japans economic growth in the postwar era and paradoxically because of this banking whole Japanese economy was affected. Any continuous deployment of economy needs increased finance. There is two possible solution exist. a) To borrow from overseas by running current- account (CA) and CA is domestic saving CA deficit-based finance. This however makes hot global money. b) To create credit through countrys banking system and with the help of central banks, central bank-based finance [Ozawa 1998]. Central bank-based finance entails the risk of rise if prolonged praise is used for nonproductive reason such as expenditure and speculative investments. It needs direction and judicious management of the banking industry by both the government and the central bank concerned. There are two methods of financing capital configuration for economic growth: (1) Selling equities (stocks) and (2) Borrowing by issuing debt instruments (bonds and other securities). These two alternatives guide for growth of the securities market development. In the early postwar era, initially stock market played very important role as a source of funds for corporate in Japan, but soon after some time Japan overwhelmed by bank loans. This was clearly reflected that Japans high-growth era(1950-1974) for all industries and its declined from 26. 9% in 1950 to 16. 1% in 1970 and manufacturing declined from 31. 4% -19. 95% over the same period [Caves and Uekusa 1976: 479]. Central bank based finance, the bank of Japan (BOJ) pumped funds into Japans city banks, which extended industrial loans to their self groups of corporation and this group known as the bank-let kinyu keiretsu. There are six kinyu keiretsu that competed vigorously in arranging a set of chemical industries and this kinyu keiretsu is also know as the main bank system [Aoki and Patrick 1994]. In addition, Japans postal investments agenda played a very important part in financial intermediation. At the time of high-growth period of 1950-1973, nearly one-third of total private investments were captured by the administration in the form of postal investments financial records. In fact, Japans postal savings system called the worlds largest bank [Brown 1986, 128]. It has more than 20,000 post offices throughout Japan, in that mostly are in rural agricultural regions. It means that â€Å"there are more postal savings windows than in all the branches of Japans city hanks combined [Brown 1986, 128]. Under heavy regulations, Japans banking institutions are also compartmentalized into particular actions and markets (e. g. , division of the lending business from underwriting of, separation of short- and long-term finance; securities and the trust business; and trading in separation of markets by size of customers and banking system of city and local bank). Money Manager Capitalism At the beginning of 2009, the world faces the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. Possibility of depression were talked everywhere. there was a huge loss of jobs in the end of year 2008. Minsky always insisted that there are two essential propositions of his â€Å"financial instability hypothesis† (See Papadimitriou and Wray 1998 for a summary of Minsky’s approach. ). The first is that there are two financing â€Å"regimes†Ã¢â‚¬â€one that is consistent with stability and the other in which the economy is subject to instability. The second proposition is that â€Å"stability is destabilizing,† so that endogenous processes will tend to move a stable system toward fragility. There is small hesitation that the world faces the nastiest economic disaster since the 1930s, with a little economists and policymakers beginning to speak concerning the option of a depression. Keynesian economics references are ordinary, with only committed liberal marketers quarrelling against administration involvement. Still the wizards on Wall Street are begging for re-regulation of fiscal markets. The Obama government has projected present year federal budget deficits at $1. 75 trillion (12% of GDP) and $1. 17 trillion for 2010—although some private forecasters project $1. 9 trillion for 2009, representing 13. 5% GDP and it is clear that it will not fall till next year. If anything, prospects facing the rest of the world are worse. The Federal Government has become the worldwide lender of final resort, providing up to $600 billion in loans of dollar reserves to foreign central banks. The run to relative security in US treasuries has endangered exchange rates, increased risk and spreads around the world. Political and Social unrest is scattering around the periphery nations. Randall Wray considers that the US has at its sufficient policy space to decide its crisis. Mark Thoma has called for international coordinationa good thought, but one that Randall Wray panic has little political hold. Euro-land will not enlarge its economy out of fear that markets will run governments debts. All sorts of explanations preferred for the reason of the crisis: lax regulation and omission, growth of inequality that uplift households to borrow to support spending, greed and illogical enthusiasm, and extreme global liquidity—spurred by easy money policy in the US and by US current account deficits said to overflow the world with lots of dollars. Hyman Minskys work has enjoyed extraordinary interest, with many calling this a Minsky Moment. R. Wray calls it the Minsky half-century in recognition and its seeds of crisis were planted 50 years ago. A paper from the Levy Economics Institute of Bard College confirms that money manager capitalism is the basic cause of current global financial crisis. â€Å"The current stage of capitalism is dominated by highly leveraged funds seeking maximum returns in an environment that systematically under-prices risk. We must return to a more sensible model, with enhanced oversight of financial institutions and with a financial structure that promotes stability rather than speculation ( Randall Wray,2009). † Conclusion As it known economists always focused on the degree and does not like government control over markets (laissez faire), which mean no interference of government in market policy and as well as on private property rights, while on the side most of political economists focused on private property, wage labor , class and power relations. It’s clear that there is a general statement that capitalism encourages economic growth. The recent collapse of the global economy puts before us a serious question such as: Is current economic understanding fundamentally sound, needing only slight correctives, or has it reached its restrictions, requiring fundamental rethinking? American economic thinking for the last 35 year has been a hijacking of the evolutionary growth of capitalism that could offer sustainable economics. If we see large part of capitalism is determined by monopoly. The term monopoly has always been a feature of capitalism and capitalist competition presumes monopoly. This capitalist competition has further led to the centralization and concentration. Even Alexander Gerschenkron [1962] observed that rising countries are tended to became reliant on institutional arrangements rather than a market, especially in finance and industrialization. Japan growth depends on central bank-based finance in which bank play important role in capital formation with keiretsu groups. References:- Baran Sweezy, Monopoly Capital. available at http://skeptically. org/socialism/id13. html, accessed at May 25,2010. Boaz, David. 2005. â€Å"Defining an Ownership Society. † www. cato. org/special/ownership_society/boaz. html, accessed at May 25,2010. Borger, Julian. 2005. â€Å"Hurricane aid used ‘to test out right-wing social policies’†, The Guardian UK, 22 September. , accessed at May 25,2010. Bernanke, Ben S. , â€Å"The Great Moderation†, speech given at the meetings of the Eastern Economics Association, Washington, DC, February 20, 2004; www. federalreserve. gov/Boarddocs/Speeches/2004/20040220/default. htm, accessed at May 25,2010. Black, William. 2005. The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One, Austin Tx: University of Texas at Austin, accessed at May 25,2010. Cassidy, John. â€Å"The Minsky moment†, The New Yorker, Feb 4, 2008, www. newyorker. com, accessed at May 25,2010. McCulley, Paul, Saving Capitalist Banking from Itself,available at www. investorsinsight. com/ /saving-capitalist-banking, accessed at May 25,2010. Mattick, Paul,Chapter 4: On the Concept of State-Monopoly Capitalism,Available at http://libcom. org/library/economics-politics-and-the-age-of-inflation-mattick-four, accessed at May 25,2010. Ozawa, Seiji, The rise and fall of bank-loan capitalism: institutionally driven growth and crisis in Japan Journal of Economic Issues, (June 1999),available at http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_qa5437/is_2_33/ai_n28733724/? tag=content;col1, accessed at May 25,2010. Wray L. R. ,The Death of Money Manager Capitalism? ,(April 15, 2009). Available at tpmcafe. talkingpointsmemo. com/ /the_death_of_money_manager_capitalism, accessed at May 25,2010. Wray L. R. ,Money Manager Capitalism and the Global Financial Crisis (September 2009),available at http://www. levyinstitute. org/pubs/wp_578. pdf, accessed at May 25,2010.

The Differences Between American And British Politics Politics Essay

The Differences Between American And British Politics Politics Essay The special relationship the term used by Winston Churchill to describe the uniquely close connection between the United States and the United Kingdom. The relationship between the United States of America and the United Kingdom goes back almost two hundred years before the United States declared independence from Great Britain. In order to understand American and the British political system, firstly the US constitution, the type of political parties and the presidency system will be conceded. Secondly the British constitution, the type of political parties and the prime minister system will be also considered. Lastly the differences between the political scenes on the two sides of the Atlantic will be also looking at. As define by Adrian Leftwich politics are at the hearth of all collective social activities, formal and informal, public and private, all human groups, institutions and societies.  [2]  This means that politics takes place at every level of social interaction. US constitution is the oldest written constitution and holds a central place in United State law and political culture. The Constitution in 1787 forms the foundations of the United States federal government and created a structure.  [3]  This has remained an active governing force through the changes in US society and a very remarkably stable document the American constitution is the most wonderful work ever struck off at a given time by the brain and purpose of man  [4]  . The Constitution creates the three branches of the national government: a legislature, the bicameral Congress; an executive branch led by the President; and a judicial branch headed by the Supreme Court.  [5]  The Constitution specifies the powers and duties of each branch. The good thing about the US constitution is the underlying acceptance that it could be wrong. If you dont like the laws, its OK to rewrite them, provided you have enough support and the balance of power between the Judicial/Legislative/Executive. US political system is dominated by two political parties, which are the Democratic Party currently positions itself left-of-centre in American politics and supports an American liberalism platform and the Republican Party, which positions itself as a right-of-centre and supports an American conservatism platform.  [6]  The reason beyond these two parties is that the electoral system is first past the post or simple majority which, combined with the large voter size of the constituencies in the House and the Senate, ensures that effectively only two parties can play. The other reason is the influence of money. Money has tremendous influence on the political process and campaign, there more you have their more you can reach out that is why the US can only afford two parties or, to put it another way, candidates of any other party face a formidable financial barrier to entry. US presidency system is often referred to by the media as the White House. The US President is both the head of state and the head of government; He presides over the executive branch of the federal government, and is the commander-in-chief of the United States armed forces. Within the executive branch, the President has broad constitutional powers to manage national affairs and the workings of the federal government and may issue executive orders to affect internal policies. The total electoral vote is 538 so to become a president in the US you need 270 electoral votes  [7]  . The President is elected for a fixed term of four years and may serve a maximum of two terms. The President is not elected directly by the voters but by an Electoral College representing each state on the basis of a combination of the number of members in the Senate two for each state and the number of members in the House of Representatives. Unlike the US the UK has no core constitutional document or unwritten constitution there is no single document that can be classed as Britains constitution. The UK constitution however has traditionally been the doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty, according to which the statutes passed by Parliament are the UKs supreme and final source of law, the Parliament can change the constitution simply by passing new Acts of Parliament.  [8]   UK political parties are an important feature of the British political system. Tree groups dominate party politics in Britain, the conservative, the labour parties and the Liberal Democrat. In addition to these three main parties, there are some much smaller UK parties, most of these parties are transitory but a few have endured sufficient time to merit examination. Some are significant such as the Nationalists in Scotland and Wales, their support has been considerable in particular areas of the United Kingdom.  [9]  Each party have their own institution, it chooses its leader but all involve all the Members of Parliament of the party.  [10]  The leader of the political party with the largest number of members in the House of Commons becomes the Prime Minster. UK does not have a President. Constitutionally the head of state is the monarch who is a hereditary member of the Royal Family. A historic feature of the UK constitution, the Royal Prerogative gives the Crown (the monarch) special powers, including the power to declare war, to make treaties, to pardon criminals, and to dissolve Parliament. Today the role of the monarch in such matters is largely ceremonial, but the Royal Prerogative gives considerable powers to government ministers acting on the Queens behalf.  [11]  So the most important person in the British political system is the Prime Minister. In theory, the Prime Minister simply chooses the ministers who run Government departments and chairs the Cabinet the collection of the most senior of those Ministers. In practice, however, the Prime Minister is a very powerful figure and increasingly has been behaving much like a president in other political systems, especially in the area of foreign policy. The most fundamental difference of UK and US political system is the constitution or the lack of one. The US has a written constitution which is very difficult to change and UK does not have a single document called the constitution but instead its constitutional provisions are scattered over various Acts of Parliament, any of which can be changed by a simple majority in the Parliament. Like Thomas Paine once said Government without a constitution is power without right this means the British government can make the constitution as whatever the wants it to be. There are three major political parties in the British political system: The Labour Party the centre-Left party, The Conservative Party the centre-Right party and the Liberal Democrat the centrist. Where as the US political system is dominated by two political parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The division between the Labour and Conservative in the UK is the same as Democratic Party and the Republican Party in the US. Each country, one political party is characterised as Centre-Left and the other as Centre-Right. The US President holds the position of Head of State as well as Head of Government. The UK Prime Minister, it would appear, has more influence in domestic, able to dominate his part, legislature and executive branch. The US President, on the other hand, appears to have the position of supremacy in domestic politics, He does not hold the same position of power in domestic affairs as the UK Prime Minister, but his position of strength appears to be in the realm of foreign and international matters. In conclusion by referring to the question whether British and American politics are different, we can see that the term special relationship as nothing to do with the way these two countries is lead. In each four areas we see how both countries have diverse ways of viewing politics. Reynolds, D. (1985-1986) International Affairs. Royal Institute of International Affairs 1944. 62(1), PP. 1-20 Heywood, A. P.(2002) Politics Second edition, London: Palgrave Vile, M.J.C. (1999) Politcs in the USA. London:Routledge W.E.Gladstone in McKay, D. (1997) American Politics and Society. Oxford : Blackwell. D. (1997) American Politics and Society. Oxford : Blackwell. Ceaser. W. J (1990) Political Parties. In: King, A the New American Political System. London: MacMillan Education LTD, PP. 87-135. BBC (2008) The US Electoral College. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/us_elections_2008/3736580.stm/ (Accessed:19november2010) BBC(2003) The UK constitution. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2561719.stm ( Accessed: 12 November 2010 ) Moran, C . (1985) Politics and Society in Britain. London: MacMillan Education LTD Moran, C . (1985) Politics and Society in Britain. London: MacMillan Education LTD BBC (2003) The UK constitution. Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/bbc_parliament/2561719.stm( Accessed: 12 November 2010 )

Study On A Paperless System Information Technology Essay

Study On A Paperless System Information Technology Essay Many organizations, in an effort to increase their effectiveness and efficiency in order to develop competitive advantages in their marketplace, are eager to develop information technology on their business systems. The age of information technology provides possibilities for an effective coordination of business process. Different partners and parties transact electronically in the modern commerce environment and this creates a push factor for accounting and auditing systems to convert into paperless forms as well. Over the last decade, climate change became one of the top key concerns for all countries. More and more nations are concerned with the sustainability of the worlds environment and are trying to contribute by various policies such as reducing their carbon footprints, conserving on resources, building greener environments and preserving wildlife habitats. The challenge is to maintain economic growth without threatening the long term survival prospects of mankind. One of the key issues with regards to the environment is deforestation. Food and Agricultural Senior Forestry Officer, Dieter Schoene, said, at a United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change workshop in 2006, that We are working to solve two of the key environmental issues deforestation and global warming at the same time The removal of trees causes many problems including destruction of natural habitat and damage to our atmosphere. One reason for deforestation is the production of paper. Paper pulp is made of wood. Paper production accounts for about a large percentage of felled trees, and thus paper conservation has been a key concern for the world with plenty of researchers, conservation groups, campaigns and initiatives with the aim of reducing paper usage. A typical sale transaction will consist of but not limited to: the quote, the purchase order, the proforma invoice, the delivery note, the sales invoice. This means that one transaction will use at least five pieces of paper and this does not include other documents like the bank payment advice, beneficiary advice and other functions that lead to the sale. In 2007, Singapore had at least 160,000 small medium enterprises. If each business had a conservative average of 20 sale transactions per month, 16 million sheets of paper would have been used which is the equivalent of 32,000 reams of paper. That would mean to the world a lost of at least 1,800 trees every month just because of Singapores SMEs alone. Paperless system is used for automating the accounting information processes. Automation in accounting system means reducing the paper dependency, and it will provide effectiveness. An effective paperless business system will make paper an option rather than a necessity and thus reducing the usage of paper in the corporate world. It is for this reason that paperless systems have also become a need for business processes with many professionals believing that going paperless is no longer an option but a must. Another reason is that paperless systems involve technology which could make the business much more effective. The rapid rise of paperless business solutions and providers around the world goes to show that more and more businesses have identified pursuing a paperless office as a strategy that can help them gain a competitive advantage in their marketplace. It has been observed that internationally (Hannon, Neal 2004) many regions are adopting and shifting towards electronic transactions, electronic business systems and even the development of Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL), a standardized digital language for business financial reporting. The EU for example already has a large and extensive list of directives covering the usage of electronic transmission of financial transactions, customs and trade documents, taxation issues, online privacy and security. Almost all countries in Asia have electronic transaction laws, with the exception of Sri Lanka and Nepal which have pending legislation. In Singapore there are many statutes that govern the administration of documents within organizations. A recent addition is the Electronic Transactions Act 2010 where it is specifically stated that where a rule of law requires any document, record or information to be retained, or provides for certain consequences if it is not, that requirement is satisfied by retaining the document, record or information in the form of an electronic record if conditions are satisfied (Singapore Statutes). The Singapore Standard for Auditing, namely SSA 500, also deals with electronic documentation. It has specified that electronic evidences are accepted as long as they fulfill the requirements. However it has also stated that electronic evidences are not as reliable as original documents. This contradicts the Electronic Transactions Act 2010 where the original documents may actually be in electronic forms. It is in the above context that this study attempts to investigate the awareness of the implementation of the Electronics Transactions Act 2010 in Singapore. It further attempts to examine whether such awareness translates into an intention to adopt paperless accounting systems and if there is no intention to adopt paperless accounting systems then the reasons for companies resisting the intention to pursue a paperless office. For the above purpose, the study will conduct a survey on the awareness of paperless accounting and the Electronic Transactions Act 2010 in Singapore and whether it has impacted the way businesses operate in various industries. It will also survey on the reasons that hamper businesses from adopting electronic transactions as part of their operation models. The study will also attempt to find out what can be possible push factors to help businesses adopt paperless accounting. LITERATURE REVIEW The case for paperless accounting and chasing paperless offices have been researched and discussed by many practitioners and researchers, yielding a lot of literature on this topic both in popular and academic sources 2.1 The Case for Paperless Accounting Paperless accounting is based on electronic transactions where all business transactions are recorded electronically. The literature available on this topic is generally from popular sources with very little scholarly research attempted. The literature on paperless accounting from both popular and academic sources is primarily targeted on the benefits of going paperless, ways to implement a paperless office. They are focused on building the case for businesses to adopt a paperless strategy. Many researchers and practitioners believed that businesses must adopt paperless processes as part of their strategies. As a company grows and the transactions increase it will require a paperless system for its business processes (Webster 2004). James Blaylock (2005) believed that Going paperless is no longer an option, but must for a CPA (Certified Public Accountant). Businesses have to go paperless in order to keep up with their competition. The mentality has changed. For example in 2005, a survey by PCPS/Texas Society of CPAs National Management of Accounting Practice (MAP) showed that 41% of CPA respondents indicated that they would consider going paperless, and 20% already have done it. 25% of the firms are planning to go paperless, but 13% will not consider it. Later in 2008, CCH Incorporated surveyed accountancy practitioners who have implemented paperless system. Of those of were surveyed, 95% would recommend the idea of setting up paperless offices to other users. However some researchers have also challenged the notion that paperless is the way to go. Paper is still the most widely used form of document medium due to its many benefits that is not easy to replace and will still co-exist with electronic documents in the long term (Liu and Stork, 2000) Paper usage cannot be reduced significantly unless work practices are re-organized and the digital alternative to paper has to be improved. Until that happens, offices will still most likely have paper around (Sellen 2003). This view is further re-emphasized by Gragg (2004) where he pointed out that it is difficult to depend solely on electronic documentation due to swift developments in software technology and hard copies will unlikely go away permanently. It is also wrong to assume that there will be no printing costs in a paperless office since a lot of people will carry on to print out the documents that are sent to them electronically, even if huge investments have been made to obtain technol ogy that help to store documents digitally. What Sellen and Gragg observed in 2003 and 2004 respectively still hold true today. The world usage of paper is still increasing. Some businesses still stick to paper. Even those which have invested in technology to automate their business processes still rely heavily on paper documents. For example, it is not uncommon to see executives printing out hard copies of their email correspondences. Logistics and shipping companies still require hardcopies of the bills of lading and certificates on goods. Banks and tax authorities still require hardcopies of hand-signed institutional documents. In such cases, businesses should look at usage of recycled paper which is more environmentally friendly although the ultimate aim should still be at reduction eventually. Therefore the case for paperless offices is very obvious with many benefits that all businesses should strive to achieve. Paperless accounting can bring about increased efficiency while at the same time lowering the costs of accounting (Gullkvist 2002). Brian Steinert, director of specialty software product management at CCH, in a supplement to Accounting Today, said that Because of the amazing efficiencies that result from streamlined, integrated workflows; because of the greater productivity brought about when professionals have anytime/anywhere access to what they need and anywhere/anytime ability to collaborate with their peers; because young professionals expect and embrace paperless processes; because all professionals will spend more time on high-level, high-value work; because money will be saved in the long run simply by buying and storing much less paper. Cost reduction will be the primary objective for many vendors who are considering implement paperless business processes (Davis 2005). Reduction in paper usage will also reduce the damage to the environment. The amount of literature available on paperless accounting suggests that it is a widely known concept around the world. However the lack of literature on the adoption rate of paperless accounting systems even in the United States and Europe, which are considered to be more developed in terms of technology, suggests that the actual awareness of the public is much lesser. A survey on the awareness of paperless accounting in Singapore should yield negative results. 2.2 Electronic Transactions Act in Singapore Many regions around the world are experiencing pressures for legal and regulatory changes due to the growth of paperless offices. The paperless office demands that transactions are documented electronically. Therefore the laws related, for example taxation and contract laws, need to be updated to recognize digital records of transactions as legal documents. As the information technology environment develops over time, nations will also move to improve their laws governing electronic commerce. This can be observed from the United Nations Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts (UN Convention), adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 23rd November 2005 which was based upon the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce issued in 1998. The main driver for the new Convention was the fact that the electronic commerce environment in 2005 was very different from 1998 due to the evolution of the Internet. Singapore, being the first country in 1998 to follow the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce, on 7 July 2010 was the first Asian country to confirm its alignment to the new Convention, which is aimed at minimizing differences between laws in different countries. Therefore Singapore needs to update its Electronic Transactions Act (ETA) 1998 to complement the UN Convention and this resulted in ETA 2010. The ETA 2010, although based on the one in 1998, has introduced many key changes, one of it being Clause 9 which provides that Where a rule of law requires certain documents, records or information to be retained, the requirement is satisfied by retaining them in the form of electronic records subject to certain safeguards. If the rule of law already expressly provides for such retention in electronic records, the clause will not apply. A public agency may impose additional requirements for the retention of electronic records under its jurisdiction. This is the critical change that allows for the feasibility of a paperless office as businesses are no longer required to keep paper records of their business transactions by law. Besides financial reporting purposes, the other reason that companies archive their financial transactions is for audit purposes. In the Singapore Standard on Auditing under SSA 500, A31 states that Audit evidence in documentary form, whether paper, electronic, or other medium, is more reliable than evidence obtained orally (for example, a contemporaneously written record of a meeting is more reliable than a subsequent oral representation of the matters discussed) This is consistent with the ETA 2010 and further enhances the notion that companies no longer have to generate invoices in paper forms. Businesses can choose to issue their invoices in digital formats to their clients. The digital invoice will be recognized in the eyes of the law as a legal document. As the ETA 2010 was passed only in July this year, it is expected that most executives will be unaware of this change in the Act and subsequently, most will not have plans to adopt paperless accounting systems yet. The survey will attempt to determine if this is indeed the case. METHODOLOGY The primary research instrument used in this paper is a questionnaire which is piloted among members of the public working in finance related positions across a wide range of industries. The diversity of the members surveyed was as wide as possible in order to obtain a good mix of responses from members in both IT-savvy industries and non IT-savvy industries. The survey was administered and collected between October-November 2010. In keeping with the topic that is being discussed the questionnaires were sent out either via e-mail as attachments or through transfers via thumb drives and respondents were encouraged to complete and return in the same manner. The questions were structured in order to get feedback of respondents awareness of the Electronic Transactions Act 2010, whether it has impacted the way their businesses operate. If it has no impact yet, the survey will aim to find out why the business has not adopted a paperless transactions as part of its operations and what factors will push the business to adopt paperless systems. Surveys were distributed to 200 possible respondents from through digital survey forms. Although the target members were requested to reply in digital formats with respect to the topic in questions, some respondents replied through their own paper formats of the survey. Instructions and explanations are clearly stated should the respondents face any difficulties in understanding the questions. RESULTS 4.1 Question one After 2 reminders, the surveys were returned by 124 (62 percent respond rate) respondents. The breakdown of the respondents according to their industries is shown in the chart below. Chart 4.1 Breakdown by Industries Although an attempt to survey a wide diversity of respondents was made, 47% of the respondents came from the Banking and Finance and the IT industry. This is highly due to the fact that almost half of the 200 surveys were distributed at 2 commercial buildings physically where the tenants at both buildings consisted mainly of companies providing financial services or IT-related services. In order to obtain a more accurate response rate for different industries, the survey should have been distributed in a fixed number per industry. It must also be mentioned that a larger sample of respondents is needed in order to obtain more accurate results that can be indicative of the total population. 4.2 Question 2 The second question of the survey was to find out whether the respondents were aware of paperless accounting. The results of the survey are shown below. Q1 Q2 Yes No Banking and Finance 32 19 13 Fashion 5 1 4 Food Beverage 13 1 12 IT 26 9 17 Logistics 4 0 4 Manufacturing 11 2 9 Pharmaceutical 1 0 1 Property 1 1 0 Retail 20 1 19 Trade 10 4 6 Government 1 0 1 Total 124 38 86 Table 4.1 Question 2 results Out of the 124 respondents, 69% of the respondents were unaware of what is paperless accounting. This is consistent with what was concluded in the literature review. Although paperless accounting is widely discussed in both popular and academic articles, the adoption and awareness rates are much lower. This is especially the case as shown by the results above, where almost 74% of the respondents who are aware of paperless accounting come from IT-savvy industries. And even within the IT-savvy industries, only 28 out of the 58 respondents (48%) are aware of what is paperless accounting. Clearly, more has to be done in order to increase the awareness. 4.3 Question 3 The third question of the survey asked if respondents are aware of the Electronic Transactions Act 2010. As discussed in the literature review, the awareness level should be low since this Act was only in effect since Jul 2010. The results of the survey are listed below. Q1 Q3 Yes No Banking and Finance 32 6 26 Fashion 5 1 4 Food Beverage 13 0 13 IT 26 6 20 Logistics 4 0 4 Manufacturing 11 0 11 Pharmaceutical 1 0 1 Property 1 0 1 Retail 20 0 20 Trade 10 1 9 Government 1 0 0 Total 124 14 110 Table 4.2 Question 3 Results The results are almost one-sided with 88% of the respondents stating that they are unaware of the Electronic Transactions Act 2010. Most are unaware that invoices no longer need to be in paper form and can be sent via electronic means. This can be considered as a failure on the part of the government when the residents of a country are unaware that the country is the first Asian country to ratify the UN Convention. The government will need to raise awareness through more media coverage, campaigns and gazettes. 4.4 Question 4 The fourth question of the survey tries to find the adoption rate of paperless accounting by businesses in Singapore. The results are tabulated below. Q1 Q4 Yes No Banking and Finance 19 0 19 Fashion 1 0 1 Food Beverage 1 0 1 IT 9 6 3 Logistics 0 0 0 Manufacturing 2 0 2 Pharmaceutical 0 0 0 Property 1 0 1 Retail 1 0 1 Trade 4 1 3 Government 0 0 0 Total 38 7 31 Table 4.3 Question 4 Results Since the results of the previous 2 questions have indicated that there is a lack of awareness of paperless accounting and the Electronic Transactions Act 2010, only 38 respondents answered this question. The rate of adoption of paperless accounting systems cannot be high. Based on these 38 respondents, only 18% of the companies implemented paperless systems. Based on the results of this survey, Singapore is on a long road to becoming a paperless society. It is worthy to note that among the 19 respondents in the Banking and Finance industry who are aware of what paperless systems are; none of them were in companies that implemented such systems. This is highly likely due to the nature of their industry where paper documents are required. 4.5 Question 5 Question 5 asked respondents, whose companies have not implemented paperless systems, the reasons behind their companies decisions. A list of 5 options was offered to the respondents and they were allowed to choose more than one. The following chart shows their responses. Chart 4.2 Reasons for not adopting Paperless Systems Out of the 38 respondents, only 3 felt that paperless systems were costly. A majority of 30 felt that their suppliers and clients required paper documents and thus there was no need for them to adopt paperless systems. This clearly shows that the respondents and their clients/supplier as well are unaware of the new Electronics Transaction Act 2010. Half of the respondents felt that paperless systems are not adopted as it was not a standard procedure in their industry. Thus if their competitors started adopting paperless systems, they will highly likely follow suit as well. 13 respondents felt that there was no need to implement paperless systems since it is not mandatory by law and 7 felt that there were not many incentives to adopt such systems. 4.6 Question 6 Question 6 surveyed all the respondents on the factors that will push their companies to adopt paperless accounting. Again, a list of 5 options was offered and respondents were allowed to choose more than one option. The chart below shows their response. Chart 4.3 Push Factors for Paperless Accounting The biggest push factor for companies to adopt paperless accounting systems is for the government to make is a legal requirement. This is indicated by the response of 66% of those surveyed. 76 of the respondents indicated that they will consider adopting paperless systems if it is one of their industry standards. Half of the respondents felt that there is a need to create more awareness of paperless accounting. It is also worthwhile to note that less than 30% of respondents are looking at incentives and costs of adopting paperless accounting. CONCLUSION This survey, carried out in late 2010, found a low level of awareness and adoption rate of paperless accounting. The results of this study must be interpreted in the light of the response rate of 62%, which were obtained after 2 reminders. The final sample size of 124 respondents is definitely not a good indicator of the total population. The fact that 47% of respondents came from 2 out of at least 8 different industries shows that the distribution of the survey was not conducted wide enough although the time given for the survey to be conducted has to be taken into consideration. Basically this means that more time and resources need to be allowed in order for a similar survey to be conducted on a wider scale. A survey that yields at least 1000 respondents that are equally distributed across different industries will be a better indicator of the total population. The results of the survey indicate low awareness of both paperless accounting and the new Electronic Transactions Act 2010. Survey respondents have indicated that there should be more awareness made about paperless accounting. This indicates that there is a lot of potential in the Singapore market for companies that provide digital document management services. The government can increase the awareness of paperless accounting by setting up a national framework for a paperless society as well. This framework should be aimed at resolving the issues that are creating resistance to paperless accounting and helping Singapore businesses to switch to paperless accounting systems progressively. When businesses adopt paperless accounting systems, there are a few authorities that will have to be involved as well. For example, the Monetary Authority of Singapore will have to look into solutions that can enable banking and financial institutions to adopt paperless business processes without compromising on risks and securities. The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority will have to look into the acceptance of electronic financial statements. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore will have to come up with solutions that enable business to file their taxes electronically. By creating such frameworks and support, businesses can be assured of a smoother and easier transition as they adopt paperless accounting systems. This will greatly reduce the resistance to the adoption of paperless business processes that currently exists. The survey results should be interpreted with caution as they indicate only respondents awareness of paperless accounting and the Electronic Transactions Act 2010. However it does indicate that there is a need for more research to be done regarding actual business adoption rates of paperless systems and the benefits that both companies and the environment enjoy with the reduced usage of paper.