Using Teams in Production and Operations Management Essay Example for Free

Using Teams in Production and Operations Management Essay 1. Determine the most important five (5) skills that a forensic accountant needs to possess and evaluate the need for each skill. Be sure to include discussion regarding the relationship between the skill and its application to business operations. Forensic accounting is science of examining the organizations, people and money and their relationship. In other terms, applying specialized knowledge and investigative skills to collect, analyze, and evaluate a financial situation, then communicate those findings in a courtroom, boardroom, or other venue. Forensic accountants are experienced auditors, accountants and investigators of legal and financial documents that are hired to look into possible suspicions of fraudulent activity within a company; or are hired by a company who may just want to prevent fraudulent activities from occurring. They also provide services in areas such as accounting, antitrust, damages, analysis, valuation, and general consulting. Forensic accountants have also been used in divorces, bankruptcy, insurance claims, personal injury claims, fraudulent claims, construction, royalty audits, and tracking terrorism by investigating financial records. Many forensic accountants work closely with law enforcement personnel and lawyers during investigations and often appear as expert witnesses during trials. (Forensic Accountant, 2009). We can say that the forensic accountant is an independent witness and does not advocate for his or her client. Massive accounting scandals at Enron, WorldCom, and many others, as well as the collapse of one of the â€Å"Big Five† accounting firms have increased the  public’s awareness of fraud and fraudulent financial reporting. This increased awareness of fraud, along with recent financial catastrophes including the collapse of investment banks and major turmoil on Wall Street has made the need for forensic accountants even greater in recent months (Solnik, 2008). In the globalizing economy, every organization needs tranquilizing effects of a consultant to refrain execiveness in business life. It is obligatory to benefit from forensic accountant and audit service from opening to closing period of a company. In that case, the characteristics and traits of experts that provide forensic accounting and audit service have importance. Forensic accountants have to evaluate, analyze, translate, summarize and communicate technical financial information in a clear manner that is supported by facts. They should have an understanding of legal practices. Also, they should possess the skills to recognize substantial evidence beyond just surface evidence when working with a situation According to survey conducted by DavisFarrellSuzanne 60% or more of the forensic accountant ranked being analytical, detailed-oriented and ethical as essential traits and characteristics. All respondent groups agreed that being analytical was the most essential characteristic for the forensic accountant to possess. This finding suggests that, from a marketplace perspective, whether you are a traditional accountant or a forensic accountant, there are at least three traits and characteristics that are shared by and essential to both professions (2009). Today ´s cases are so implicated that they require to be approached analytically and systematically. Complementing the analytical characteristic is the â€Å"inquisitive† characteristic and the â€Å"persistent† characteristic. These highly ranked traits suggest the need for the forensic accountant to seek out all relevant information for an engagement, as well as be able to process it and solve the problem at hand (DavisFarrellSuzanne, 2009). Forensic accounting requires an inquisitive mind, tenacity and attention to detail, excellent  communication skills both written and oral, and an ability to deal with a large amount of documentary evidence whilst working to a tight deadline, knowledge of relevant law and experience of court procedures. 2. Describe the role of a forensic accountant within a courtroom environment. The term â€Å"forensic accounting† refers to financial fraud investigation which includes the analysis of accounting records to prove or disprove financial fraud and serving as an expert witness in court to prove or disprove the same. Thus, basically, the forensic accounting is the use of accounting for legal purposes. A forensic accountant is involved in the investigating and analyzing financial evidence, development computerized application to assist in the analysis and presentation of financial evidence communicating their finding in the firm of reports exhibits and collection of document and assisting in legal proceedings, including testifying in court as all expert witness and preparing visual aids to support trial evidence. The job of a forensic accountant including in a courtroom environment often includes: †¢ Assessing losses and potential damage awards †¢ Applying tax law knowledge †¢ Applying knowledge of financial accounting practices †¢ Research †¢ Report writing †¢ Providing courtroom testimony †¢ Conducting and assisting in external investigations †¢ Working closely with law enforcement officers and agencies †¢ Working independently †¢ Auditing internal and external financial documents †¢ Conducting and assisting with internal investigations (Owojori, A.A, T. O. Asaolu, pg.184, 2009). In conclusion, it can be said that mostly providing courtroom testimony and expert witness are the main roles of a forensic accountant within a courtroom environment. 3. Analyze the legal responsibility a forensic accountant has while providing service to a business. As an independent expert, there is no duty of loyalty to either you or your client. The forensic accountant may advocate only for his opinion or position and nothing else. (Forensic Accounting Overview, 2011). He uses his accounting, auditing and investigative skills to assist in legal matters. And his duties involve investigating and analyzing financial evidence, producing reports and testifying in court as an expert witness. Legal responsibilities a forensic accountant while providing service to a business are; †¢ Whistle blowing: Whistle blowing is reporting of frauds or suspected frauds. As an accountant employed to fit into the position of forensic personnel, it is the duty of forensic accountants to always look for signs of fraud and blow whistle to help uncover the fraud. †¢ Fraud detection, deterrence and prevention: Forensic accountants apply internal control techniques, auditing and information systems. The institution of reasonably sound internal control is the surest way to detect, deter and prevent frauds and financial crimes. Therefore, forensic accountants should endeavor to set up internal control system and monitor it to ensure proper implementation. †¢ Support for investigation: This duty can be cooperating with a lawyer or consulting a company. 4. Research two (2) cases where forensics accountants have provided vital evidence in a case. Summarize the cases and the importance of the forensic accountants’ role during each case. Case 1: Fraud has been a threat in business since business began. Enron scandal was one of the big threats that business world encountered. It can be said that the Enron scandal helped the birth of the modern forensic accounting. In the Enron case the abilities of forensic accountants were tested, and is still used today as a learning example to forensic accounting students across the nation. As a result of Enron, hundreds of other companies underwent similar audits. Not only did it help to expose other companies with similar fraudulent accounting practices, it created a series of systems for yearly audits to ensure the safety of stockholders. As such it also widened the field for accountants who specialize in forensic accounting. Forensic accounting also protects the public interests and financial security by guarding against dramatic stock drops, such as what was seen in the Enron scandal. It also increases public confidence in the stock market, and encourages people to invest in the markets with a greater sense of security. Though forensic accounting acts as a prevention of tax fraud within businesses such as Enron, its not necessarily the solution. The solution is vigilant record keeping and ethics training within businesses. There will always be employees of companies with less than perfect ethical and moral values. However, if those around them are trained in ethical behavior, and the company has plans in place to protect themselves against fraud, forensic accounting will not be necessary. Enron case had a wake-up call effect to track the fraud and contributed to developing forensic accounting acts. Case-2: In 1997, Sunbeam, a company that manufactures small tools. Sunbeam sold huge amounts of its products to other companies at a discount, but kept the items in warehouses. On paper, the company appeared to have had high sales; however, Sunbeams warehouses were full of unsold product. This practice was uncovered by a financial analyst at investment firm Paine Webber, who downgraded the value of Sunbeams stock (How Forensic Accounting Works, 2012) Bill and hold that Sunbeam used isnt illegal, but Sunbeams shareholders felt deceived and filed lawsuits. Sunbeams accounting firm, Arthur Andersen performed an audit and reported that Sunbeams books were accurate and in accordance with federal guidelines. However, the board was unsatisfied and hired Deloitte Touche to review Arthur Andersens audit. This follow-up uncovered proof that the numbers had been manipulated. The Securities and Exchange Commission investigated Sunbeam, and its CEO, Alfred Dunlap, was fired and forced to pay millions of dollars to settle investment lawsuits. He paid $500,000 in fines and was banned from serving as an officer in a public company.

Reality and Illusion in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Essay

Reality and Illusion in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman In Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, a major theme and source of conflict is the Loman family’s inability to distinguish between reality and illusion.   This is particularly evident in the father, Willy Loman.   Willy has created a fantasy world of himself and his family.   In this world, he and his sons are men of greatness that â€Å"have what it takes† to make it in the business environment.   In reality, none of them can achieve this greatness until they confront and deal with this illusion.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willy is convinced that being well liked is the key to success, exclaiming â€Å"Be liked and you will never want...†Ã‚   (Klotz, A 1998).   It is unclear whether Willy’s â€Å"flashbacks† of past business relationships are remembering when he was once well liked or simply imagining he was.   However, simply the fact that it is no longer true reflects upon his inability to distinguish between reality and fantasy.   This eventually brings about Willy’s death.   He has imagined that he is worth more dead than alive and the insurance money from his death will be the catalyst for Biff’s success.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Willy has also blinded himself regarding the success, or lack of success, of his sons.   He believes Hap to be an â€Å"assistant to the director† at his job, but Hap’s position is barely influential, if at all.   He has elevated Biff’s past employment experience with Oliver to that of a leading salesman, when in reality he was simply a shipping clerk.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another significant theme that occurs throughout the play is that it is ok to be dishonest when it suits their purposes.   Willy continues to send his sons mixed signals on this issue.   This began with Willy finding ... ...he old stockings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The woods and jungle constantly referred to by Willy and Ben seem to represent the struggle of life.   The â€Å"diamond† in the jungle is the reward at the end of the struggle, which would be the materialistic success for which Willy is constantly striving.   However, Linda makes the last house payment on the day Willy’s funeral, which represents the futility of that struggle.   Willy’s final act of suicide is symbolic as well but it is not known whether his suicide is an act of cowardice or a last sacrifice on the altar of the American dream. References Klotz, A. , with Richardson.  Ã‚   Arthur Miller â€Å"Death of a Salesman†.   Literature, seventh.   St. Martin’s Press.   (1998).   pp. 746 - 822. Klotz, A. , with Richardson.   (1998).   W. H. Auden â€Å"The Unknown Citizen†.   Literature, seventh.   St. Martin’s Press.   pp. 448 - 449.      

Cuba and China Essay

Democracy, or the power of people, is rather old form of rule. While the word â€Å"democracy† originated in the Ancient Greece in 5th century BC, this form of rule had existed even before this, found in ancient India republics before 6th century BC. However, it was the city-state of Athens in the Ancient Greece that presented this word in the sense which resembles, in some features, the modern vision of democracy. In Athens, people had the right to vote, to take the most important decisions, influencing the political situation of their state. Of course, not all the population could vote – women and children could not vote as well as disabled people. In fact, only one forth or one sixth of the citizens of Athens could vote and participate in a political life of their state. However, it was the first form of democracy and it had many aspects in common with today’s notion of democracy. For example, all the citizens of Athens, poor or rich, powerful or powerless, had the right to vote, they were equal in this right. The democracy, in the form in which it existed in Athens and in the Ancient Greece, was not preserved until our time. Moreover, great changes took place in Europe in 18-19th centuries, in the form of revolutions. The right to vote and to participate in the political life of a state directly is not the main factor characterizing democracy in the modern world. Democracy in the modern sense includes such basic postulates as the basic freedoms: of speech, of expression, of the press, of association et cetera. The democracy in the western world is much more associated with the notion of free market and free trade. However, these preconditions are not exactly true for some countries, for example for China, where free market and free trade can coexist with the lack of democracy, where there are no basic freedoms (for example, the freedom of association – the assembly of Falun Gong in China was violently dispersed by police and banished for practicing in China). Cuba which has made some steps toward the free market economy, opening some part of its economy for the US dollars, does allow the internationally recognized organization of the Red Cross to its prisons, where political prisoners are kept in big numbers. The rule of Communist Party as the only party in the country is observed both in Cuba and in China. And this excludes another characteristic feature of democracy – pluralism, the possibility of many political parties to take part in the political life of the state. Before we proceed to explain the lack of democracy in Cuba and China, it is necessary to understand what democracy means and why China and Cuba should become democratic. In the twentieth century, democracy has gained such popularity that most world rulers describe their rule as democratic. However, most countries were not democratic, and some even became totalitarian. Generally speaking, the term â€Å"democracy† is misused in two ways. First, democracy is expanded into a laundry list that contains almost all kinds of good things. Second, democracy is modified by adding an adjective to the term. Since Western bourgeois democracy is the prototype of modern democracy, modifications are made along two lines. Either rulers characterize their systems not as bourgeois democracies, but as â€Å"people’s democracies,† â€Å"proletarian democracies,† or â€Å"socialist democracies,† or they emphasize local characteristics of their system, such as â€Å"Burmese type of democracy† or â€Å"African type of democracy. † What is democracy? Etymologically, the term means rule by the people. Democracy originated in Athens more than 2,500 years ago, when Cleisthenes allowed all citizens of Attica to preside over the affairs of the city. Athenian democracy took the form of direct democracy. Citizens, which excluded women, slaves, and resident aliens, participated directly in making laws. Moreover, regardless of their properties and talents, rulers were selected not by ballot but by lot. Not surprisingly, virtually all famous Greek scholars were no fans of democracy, regarding tyranny, oligarchy, and democracy as corrupt forms of government. Democracy includes two forms: popular sovereignty and individual liberty. This paper defines democracy in terms of political freedom, which involves both positive and negative aspects. Positive freedom refers to a situation in which people have the ability to participate in government; negative freedom means a situation in which people are free from arbitrary interference from government. Modern democracy adheres to the dual principles of popular sovereignty and individual liberty, but has its own distinctive features. Ideal as the principle of popular sovereignty may be, it is technically impossible to let the people in a nation-state decide everything. As a result, modern democracies are representative, not participatory (or direct). The principle of popular sovereignty in modern times hinges on two major mechanisms: the separation of powers and the competitive election. While the ruled choose their rulers during an election, rulers are mutually checked and balanced before and after the election. In determining the nature of a particular political system, the competitive election is more important than the separation of powers. A division of labor is employed in any government, particularly a modern one. Despite the importance of liberalism for modern democracy, popular sovereignty precedes individual liberty. Popular sovereignty talks about the purpose of government; individual liberty comprises the notion of government. The term that means â€Å"people† has undergone great changes in terms of class, education, gender, race, and age. Besides, individual liberty is historically and culturally specific. In the twentieth century, democracy and totalitarianism are regarded as two ends of the political spectrum. To put it in terms of ideal types, a government respecting both popular sovereignty and individual liberty is democratic; a government violating them is totalitarian. Falling somewhere in between, most systems are neither democratic nor totalitarian in the strictest sense of the terms. Some may respect popular sovereignty but violate individual liberty; others may violate popular sovereignty but respect individual liberty. Today’s Islamic Republic of Iran and eighteenth-century Britain are cited as respective examples of these two types. Throughout human history, not many regimes have ever been totalitarian and most have been authoritarian. Compared with totalitarian regimes, authoritarian regimes are less willing and less able to damage people’s rights and interests. The United States of America when compared to China or Cuba, presents the example of â€Å"democratic† democracy towards which China or Cuba should strive. Because now, when we took a closer look at the notion of democracy in the modern world, we are going to analyze the kind of democratic situation and democratic changes that took place in two of the most controversial countries in the world: China and Cuba. To reach conclusions as to the qualitative aspects of Cuban politics in the post-transition era, we will examine aspects of political culture as they relate to the formation and practices of civil society in democracy. From this angle one can interpret some key dimensions of politics in particular settings. Transition to democracy (and its consolidation) depends on a multiplicity of factors, including elite decisions, institutional arrangements, pacts between competing social actors, a constitution and organizations typical of liberal democracies, a favorable moment in world history, supportive international structures, and a measure of good luck. Political and economic factors also impinge on the likelihood of democratic transitions and survival. But political and economic factors determine neither transition to democracy nor democratic stability. The impact of the economy on democracy is not automatic, unidirectional, or necessarily predictable. According to Mattiace and Camp (1996), democracy is the product of multiple causes working together. In contexts where the system confronts unresolved foundational issues and consensus is elusive – on such matters as how the political community is defined, who has authority, what the rules of the game are – political questions become an affair of the heart, lending themselves less to compromise and pragmatism. As a result, democracy tends to be endangered, particularly in places where institutional democratic norms are weak and personalism is high. This is likely to occur in Cuba after Fidel Castro (as it has before and during the socialist years). Though democracy will be established in Cuba sometime in the future, Cuban democracy will not conform to normative models of liberal democracy. Democracy in the way it is in Cuba will be characterized by features of incivility in civil society. The democracy that is most likely to emerge on the island will be far from perfect, will share striking continuities with the past, and will dash the hopes of many who dream of democracy. The cynicism about democracy also has a long genealogy in Cuban intellectual history. As far back as the nineteenth century cultural pessimists on the island have remarked on the frustration that has followed modern projects of independence, nationalism, republicanism, and democracy. Democratic aspirations have a long history on the island, as long as the trajectory of their frustration. The notion is not as alien to Cuban soil as many believe (Dealy, 1996)

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