How To Build Suspense and Scare the Audience Essay

The film Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, was created approximately 30 years ago. It tells the story of a shark which attacks and kills numerous people off the north-east coast of the USA in a small holiday resort called Amity Island. The attacks took place around the 4th of July, which in America, is similar to the British bank holiday. During this time, many Americans and tourists from abroad visit resorts such as Amity Island for a summer vacation. The director of the film, Steven Spielberg builds up fear of the shark using many different techniques. One of these techniques is the use of music. Spielberg uses a non-diegetic piece of music which plays whenever the shark is about to attack, almost like the shark’s very own theme tune. A non-diegetic sound is one which can only be heard by the audience and not by any of the characters in the film. Spielberg uses this particular technique just before the shark attacks Alex, the young boy who is swimming on his lilo. This technique makes the audience fear the shark, as whenever it’s played we expect another gruesome attack which adds a lot of tension to the film. Another technique used to increase our fear of the shark is showing the tremendous damage that it can cause. For example, towards the end of the film, whilst Brody, Hooper and Quint are out at sea attempting to catch the shark, it attacks their boat, resulting in the boat eventually sinking. Spielberg uses this method to give the audience the impression of the shark’s power and to suggest to them that the shark is indestructible, and that it will continue to kill innocent victims. A third technique with which Spielberg builds fear of the shark is the way in which he uses camera angles to show the sheer horror on the characters faces as they witness the attacks unfolding. For example, when Alex, the young boy is attacked, Spielberg uses a zoom, showing a close up of Brody’s face which is overwhelmed by horror and huge panic. By using this technique, Spielberg really gets the point across, from the characters’ perspective, of how terrifying the whole situation really is, which builds even more fear and tension for the audience. The choice and use of the music in the film Jaws also adds to the overall fear and tension experienced by the audience. For example, the music which is played just before the attack was chosen by Spielberg as it can be linked with the shark itself: the music starts quietly with a slow tempo as the shark swims around peacefully. Then, as the shark identifies its prey, the music begins to get both faster and louder. Then it begins to swim faster and close in on its victim, and as this happens, the music is gradually getting faster and louder. Then the shark bites, and the music explodes. Spielberg’s choice of music adds massively to the overall fear and tension in the film, because as soon as the music begins playing, the audience knows that an attack is imminent, they just sit there waiting anxiously. Then, the music explodes, coinciding with the attack, giving the audience a shock. Another way in which Spielberg uses the soundtrack to build tension and fear in the film is thro ugh contrasts of emotion. For example, at the start of the film before any of the attacks, a piece of diegetic music is played. This music creates a relaxed atmosphere so when the audience witness the first attack, it seems to come from nowhere, catching them by surprise. Another example of this is after the first attack on Chrissie, there is silence, and all that the audience can hear is the quiet ripple of the waves as they reach the shore. This makes the audience feel that everything is peaceful and calm, when in fact; they’ve just witnessed a terrifying shark attack. Another technique to provoke contrasting emotions is that of the music used just after Alex is attacked and killed by the shark. As Alex is attacked, everyone on the beach panics and rushes to get out of the water. At the same time, a young toddler is happily playing in the sand and quietly singing to himself. Again, as after the first attack on Chrissie, the audience can’t believe how something so terrible is happening when the mood set by the little boy is so calm and untroubled. This use of music and contrasting emotions builds up tension and fear affecting the audience as it makes them feel confused, as they can’t understand how things can be so pleasant then suddenly so devastating. Spielberg also exploits various camera techniques to build up fear and suspense in the film Jaws. For example, during the second attack on Alex, a lot of different camera techniques and angles are being used. The start of the scene is a tracking shot, showing Alex coming out of the sea and sitting next to his mother on the beach. After some persuasion, his mother lets him have just 10 more minutes in the water. Then a further tracking shot is used, as we follow Alex up the beach as he goes and gets his lilo. The use of this camera angle, which focuses the audience’s attention on Alex, immediately makes them feel more attached to the character. The next part of the scene shows Alex running into the sea on his lilo. The camera technique used for this part is a mediu m shot from a reverse angle, showing him from behind. This camera angle builds up fear as all the audience can see is Alex on his lilo and the bearing sea in front of him with no-one else in sight. This immediately makes the audience realise that Alex is vulnerable and that if something was to go wrong, help was a long way away. The scene then switches to a point of view shot from Brody, the police chief’s perspective. During this scene, a member of the public is talking to Brody, obscuring his and the audience’s view of the water. As Brody desperately tries to keep his eye on the water, the audience notice a young woman relaxing in the water. Then suddenly, she begins to scream and struggle and the audience automatically assumes she is being attacked by the shark, although it turns out that it was just her boyfriend playing around. This camera technique builds up fear as the audience realise that Brody is unable to help if an attack does take place. The next part of the scene involves a group of boys running into the water. The camera technique used for this part is a medium shot from a reverse angle. This camera angle shows the boys all alone in the sea, making the audience realise that they are, like Alex, vulnerable. It also makes us fear for their safety as the audience have just witnessed a false alarm with the young woman, and the potential of a real attack happening is fresh in our minds. Suddenly the shot changes once more to a point of view from the shark’s perspective. This shot shows the boy’s legs dangling under the water as well as Alex’s lilo on the surface. Spielberg’s choice of camera technique for this particular part builds up a lot of tension as the audience knows that an attack is coming, and that it’s almost as if we are just waiting for which boy the shark wants as its prey. Also adding to the tension in this scene is the fact that although the audience know about an attack being imminent, the eventual victim Alex doesn’t. This keeps them o n the edge of their seats as they are left almost shouting at the television screen for Alex to get out of the water! The attack the audience suspect is then confirmed as the shark’s non-diegetic theme tune begins playing and as this happens, the audience see the shark close in on its chosen victim. Immediately, the camera changes to a long shot. In the distance, the audience see the shark grab hold of Alex and hurl him into the air. As this happens, blood begins to spray from his body as he struggles desperately. Spielberg’s choice of camera for this scene makes the audience scared, as they see the whole attack unfolding, as well as for the first time, getting a look at the shark itself and discovering how big and vicious it really is. Instantly, the camera changes again, this time to a technique called a close up. The shot shows Alex under the water, desperately trying to free himself from the shark’s jaws before suddenly; he disappears in a thick cloud of his own blood. This scares the audience purely because of how gruesome it is. Once again, the camera angle changes to a medium shot, showing Alex’s mangled lilo calmly wash up shore in the slightly bloody water. The way in which the camera shows the lilo gently drift up shore, makes the audience feel sor ry and upset for Alex, as they feel they have made a connection with him in earlier parts of the film. The audience also have contrasting emotions, as they wonder how something so gruesome and devastating could have just happened when seconds later; everything was so calm and peaceful. Spielberg also tries to scare the audience by creating a lot of tension in the overall plot and particularly in the ending of the film. For example, he tries to create fear and suspense in the film by showing the first two attacks on both Chrissie and Alex close together at the start of the film. By situating them at the beginning of the film, the audience quickly realise that the first attack wasn’t a one off, and that the shark is almost like a serial killer. Another example of this technique of building tension and fear affecting the audience is the way in which Spielberg decides to add the third attack mid-way through the film, on the 4th of July with police chief Brody’s son involved. By showing the third attack mid-way through the film, the audience feel as if they have got to know t he main character, police chief Brody. So when the audience see the shark closing in on his son Mikey, they care more for his safety as they feel as if they have a connection with the family. By situating the third attack on the 4th of July, the audience see thousands of people flocking the beach at Amity Island, after Brody had desperately attempted to stop them from visiting because of the potential danger in the water. So when the third attack happens the audience are scared and shocked, as they realise that if only the Mayor hadn’t been so greedy for money and had Brody got his way, a third attack wouldn’t have occurred and Brody’s own son wouldn’t have been in danger. The last section of the film is really when Spielberg creates a lot of fear and suspense affecting the audience. One example in which Spielberg creates fear and tension in the film is when the shark attacks the boat whilst the three men, Brody, Hooper and Quint are out at sea. The scene involves the camera using a zoom technique and showing a close up of the wooden hull of the ship. As the shark attacks the boat, it endlessly pounds its head into the side of the ship and the audience can hear the wood beginning to creak under the strain as they watch it flex and bend. This scene builds a lot of tension because the audience think that any second; the shark is going to force a gaping hole in the side of the boat causing it to sink, which as a result would endanger the lives of the three men, who over the course of the film, the audience have bonded to. Another area of the film ending which contained a lot of fear and suspense was when after the damage to the boat had been repaired, Hooper, the shark expert, went down in the cage in an attempt to tranquillise the shark. During this scene of Hooper in the cage, the shark comes into view from nowhere and repeatedly crashes into the cage before eventually getting into it. This part of the film is full of tension because after every time the shark crashes into the cage, the more the metal frame begins to crumble. Then the audience see the shark close up, which scares them as they can see for themselves how fierce it really is. Immediately after, the audience see a shot of Hooper as he comes face to face with the shark for the first time, and his expression is ridden with horror. This reaction of his reflects on the audience as they then realise what it would feel like if they were within touching distance of the man-eating beast. But in my opinion, one of the scenes at the end of film has far more tension and fear than any of the others. This is the scene where Brody is alone in the sea after Quint has been eaten by the shark, and Hooper is under the water trying to hide from it. Brody is leaning on the mast of the sinking ship with a rifle in his hand when we see the shark gradually closing in on him. Brody shoots at the shark, but it continues to head straight for him, so he fires the gun again. Nothing happens, and by now the shark is just 10 metres away and Brody is down to his last bullet. He aims and fires, directly hitting the oxygen cylinder in the shark’s mouth. The tank explodes, blowing the shark into pieces. This part of the film is full of tension in the way that the shark is relentless and keeps gradually getting ever closer to Brody, who by now the audience feel connected to, and they begin to fear for his life. Also, the way in which Brody kills the shark with his last bullet keeps the audience on the edge of their seats. This scene is scary because of how unbelievably gory the shark’s death is. The audience see the shark blown up into shredded chunks of flesh as blood spurts everywhere. My scariest moment in the film is the death of Quint, the shark catcher. I think it’s full of the most fear because of how gruesome, gory and full of tension it is. The scene is full of suspense when Quint loses his grip on Brody, and agonisingly slides down the deck of the boat, straight into the jaws of the shark. Then it gets gruesome, because as the shark plunges its teeth into Quint’s chest, blood begins spewing from his mouth. Then the shark begins violently tossing him from side to side as Quint screams desperately before the audience here a loud crack. Immediately his body stops struggling and the shark calmly drags it under the surface of the water. Overall, in my opinion Steven Spielberg has successfully created a film in which the audience experience a lot of fear and suspense. He has effectively used many different techniques to do so, and as a result, more than 30 years on, Jaws is still recognised as one of the best horror films ever made.

Private and Public Culture: Redefining the Borders Essay

Although defining culture into a universal definition that fits every social or academic mold can be a daunting task (Fischer, 2007), it is safe to say that every person in this world belongs to a certain culture. Recent trends in the demographics of America show exactly the possibility of separate cultures interacting, thereby indicating that multiple cultures flourish on that part of the world (Kim, 2001). In a larger sense, each country across the globe is home to a wide variety of cultures. The people who belong to each of these cultures certainly have their own cultural affiliations and the groups of people in each society also have their own as a collective body. As a result, a person, according to Richard Rodriguez, can become someone who is a part of a crowd and someone who is distinct from it. But is there really a distinction between public culture and private culture to begin with? To say the least, the notion of a private culture presumes the existence of a culture that is isolated in nature and is different from other cultures. A private culture, therefore, is one that is exclusive and cannot be easily absorbed by a foreign entity. If there are private cultures—indeed, if there are isolated and exclusive cultures—it is difficult to understand why cultures sometimes overlap with one another, why one culture shares several basic yet significant characteristics with other cultures, or why people have the tendency to absorb other cultures when the necessity and the situation call for it? I think there are no innate differences between public and private cultures simply because the notion of culture, in my opinion, is a state of the mind. Culture is something that is conditioned during the extent of a person’s life. It is something that is taught and passed-on from one generation to the next as a mental idea that seeks to differentiate the self within the group from other groups. In reality, that state of mind is only an excuse for intolerance when there should be no reason to sow hatred or indifference on the basis of cultural distinctions. Such distinctions do not carry actual value that is worth propagating for we live in a world where the only culture that exists is the culture of humanity. That being said, there is a need for college students to search for more than what we have at home simply because the home is not a bottomless source of information. To know the world around and appreciate it in its whole us is to go beyond the limitations imposed by the social institution of family. The task of understanding the rest of humanity requires us to step out of the comfort zones provided by homes and to come face-to-face with people around us. There is the culture called humanity waiting to be explored outside the home. The foundation that our families provide is incomplete in much the same way as that which society and our peers expect of us is similarly partial. There is need to explore both areas because they are two sides of the same coin in a manner of speaking. Initially, we are armed with information provided to us by our families. To develop into more complete human beings, we need to gather more comprehensive information from other sources such as formal learning institutions and social groups. However, breaking away from our families does not mean abandoning them altogether for the sake of living a more rounded life. While it is true that we need to severe ourselves from the clutches of our families at some point in time, it does not necessarily mean that we also have to totally forget them or leave them behind never to return again. What is needed is to learn to remove the limits imposed to us by our families in our attempt to understand the society and the rest of humanity while not failing to remember our so-called â€Å"roots† and tap them whenever the need arises. References Fischer, M. M. J. (2007). Culture and Cultural Analysis as Experimental Systems. Cultural Anthropology, 22(1), 1-65. Kim, E. Y. (2001). The Yin and Yang of American Culture: A Paradox. London: Intercultural Press.

Starbucks vs Tim Hortons

A Comparison of Starbucks and Tim Hortons Starbucks and Tim Horton’s are two companies that specialize in the food and coffee service industries. Information about each company, a comparison of how each markets their brand and their differing distribution methods will be provided. Starbucks is a â€Å"premier roaster, marketer and retailer of specialty coffee† (Marketline 2012). This company is globally recognized because of their vast amount of stores, consisting of more than 17,000 retail stores in over 55 countries.Most retail stores are in highly populated areas, like â€Å"downtown and suburban centers, office buildings, university campuses and in select rural and off-highway locations† (Marketline 2012). Starbucks sells other products in addition to coffee, like teas and fresh food items. It also â€Å"licenses its trademarks through †¦ grocery stores and national food service accounts† (Marketline 2012). Some of the brands, besides Starbucks, a re Tazo Tea, Seattle’s Best Coffee and Starbucks VIA Ready Brew.Products for sale in Starbucks stores include Italian-style espresso beverages, cold and iced shaken drinks, and both breakfast and lunch items such as pastries, salads and sandwiches. Starbucks also sells warm food items, coffee equipment provides free wireless internet within its stores. Tim Hortons is like Starbucks in the sense that they provide similar products like â€Å"premium coffee, flavored cappuccinos, specialty teas, home-style soups, fresh sandwiches, wraps, hot breakfast sandwiches and fresh baked goods† (Marketline 2012). Tim Hortons has 3,750 restaurants in Canada and the United States.Most of these (3,148) are in Canada. â€Å"It also offers home-brew coffee through various lines of distribution in Canada and the US, including certain grocery stores† (Marketline 2012). The way in which both Starbucks and Tim Hortons distributes their products is through the various licensing channe ls. For example, Starbucks directly advertises and sells its products in grocery and warehouse club stores in Canada, the U. K. and countries in Europe. This channel is also known as the CPG Channel, which represents the four business segments: the U. S. , international, global consumer products group and other (Marketline 2012).Many licensees also have license agreements with Starbucks where Starbucks sells its ingredients to make these products that are sold in retail stores. Regarding Starbucks, some of these licensing agreements are with North American Coffee Partnership (joint venture with Pepsi-Cola Company), Arla, Suntory, and Dong Suh Foods. With these license agreements, Starbucks is able to have these other companies â€Å"manufacture and market ready-to-drink beverages† like the Frappuccino and Doubleshot espresso drinks as well as manufacture, market and distribute Starbucks chilled cup coffee beverages in Europe, Japan and South Korea.Super-premium Tazo Tea and i ce cream products in the U. S. with Unilever is another example of how the manufacturing and distribution works with Starbucks. Most of these products discussed are sold to foodservice companies that serve the following industries: businesses, education, healthcare, office coffee distributors, hotels, restaurants, and airlines, among many more. National accounts also receive Starbucks (Seattle’s Best Coffee brand), such as SYSCO Corporation, US Foodservice and others (Marketline 2012).Like Starbucks, Tim Hortons uses warehouses for distribution efforts as well. They also market their goods in restaurants and also have self-serve kiosks that consist of pastries and both hot and cold beverages. What differs from Starbucks is the distribution of paper and dry goods in the â€Å"Canada-based restaurants† as well as the frozen baked goods that are delivered to Ontario-based restaurants. Coffee-roasting plants in areas like Rochester, New York and Hamilton, Ontario are also used as third party distributors, which differs from Starbucks’ methods (Marketline 2012).Tim Hortons doesn’t have as many joint ventures as Starbucks, but still also shares that distribution method, as Tim Hortons operates the Maidstone Bakeries facilitiy, which is a 50-50 joint venture with a subsidiary of IAWS and a subsidiary of Starbucks (Marketline 2012). In comparing both Starbucks and Tim Hortons regarding distribution, Starbucks definitely has more of a wide range of distributors and concentrates mainly on coffee and fresh food distribution. Tim Hortons concentrates on their beverages as well as bread, dry foods and pastries distribution as well.So in this sense, they differ a bit in what they distribute and how, as Starbucks uses a lot of licenses and partnerships while Tim Hortons relies on third party distributors and warehouses. Marketing is another key aspect that both Starbucks and Tim Hortons do differently for their company. Starbucks has intensely use d technology applications such as for the iphone, in which a customer can use their mobile phone to make their purchases and it is also connected to the Loyalty Card that Starbucks has (Baker 2012). Starbucks also uses Facebook and online shopping to market their products.For example, in regards to social media, that area is part of the Marketing team in the UK and Ireland. They include customer care and public relations people, as well. Ian Cranna, Vice President for Marketing, stated that Starbucks believes â€Å"that customers want genuine and authentic interaction with the brands they choose to engage in online† (Lifting the lid on social†¦ 2012). Starbucks hosted a â€Å"Frappuccino Happy Hour† and Cranna also admitted â€Å"most of the best ideas come from their customers† and Facebook is a great way to stay connected. Lifting the lid on social†¦ 2012). Also, regarding the online shopping aspects, the Verismo, recently released in September, is S tarbucks’ first home coffee machine and can be bought on Starbucksstore. co. uk. This is â€Å"the first time the chain has ventured into e-commerce† (Baker 2012). According to Androich and Laird, a managing director, Kris Engskov, stated, â€Å"†Up until today making a Starbucks Latte at home was just not possible. Now customers who have been asking for more convenient ways to enjoy Starbucks need look no further† (2012).Starbucks is aiming to also provide self-serve â€Å"Go machines. † Its aim is to provide â€Å"the quality of Starbucks† anywhere (Baker 2012). Tim Horton also uses technology like social media to attract customers and advertise, just as Starbucks does. Tim Hortons did a Facebook campaign with the â€Å"Rolling up the Rim† promotion, which also included television, radio and both outdoor and in-store promotions. Those who liked the Facebook page could download a free ringtone of the â€Å"Roll Up† ringtone as well as create profile pictures with the theme.Free coffee for a year and gift cards were available to win. This attracted thousands of â€Å"likes† on Facebook and really promoted the Tim Hortons name (Androich and Laird 2012). However, what differs from Starbucks is that Tiim Hortons is especially associated with Canada life, and the few regions it inhabits in the northern United States area, while Starbucks is more of an internationally recognized brand because of its wide spread stores. According to Chris Koentges, a writer in Vancouver, Tim Hortons attracts Canadians.In his article, â€Å"Why we are Tim Hortons and Tim Hortons is us! † was a headline on Canada. com (Koentges 2012). Overall, Tim Hortons and Starbucks differ in their marketing by who they market to – as Tim Hortons is mainly in Canada and Starbucks, although predominantly in the United States, is also all over the world. However, they do market their brands in similar fashions on Facebook or other social media channels and providing chances to â€Å"win† certain prized items. References Androich, A. & Laird, K. (2012).Facebook done right. Marketing Magazine, 117(3), 44-47. Retrieved from EBSO Host on November 11, 2012. Baker, R. (2012). Starbucks launches new caffeine fruit drink. Marketing week (Online Edition), 11. Retrieved from American Psychological Association on November 11, 2012. Koentges, C. (2011). The Pandora’s Box of the new Tim Hortons’. Marketing Magazine, 116 (18), 21. Retrieved from the American Psychological Association on November 11, 2012. Lifting the lid on the social brands. (cover story). (2012).Marketing(00253650), 3-5. Retrieved from the American Psychological Association on November 11, 2012. Starbucks Corporation. (n. d). Retrieved from: on November 11, 2012. Tim Hortons Inc. (n. d). Retrieved from on November 11, 2012.

The Quality of Construction Sector in the Middle East Essay

The Quality of Construction Sector in the Middle East - Essay Example Currently the Gulf alone has at least two trillion worth of active building projects. Leisure oriented construction is taking place as most of the Middle East countries develop a strategy of becoming major holiday destinations for the developed economies. The Middle East construction industry spending is projected to reach five trillion dollars in the next ten years, which translates to an eighty percent growth rate. The huge budgetary allocations and investments done by the United Arab Emirates government in the construction industry is commendable and this results to a huge number of construction jobs in the country. Due to the huge investments in the construction industry, construction companies in the Middle East are adequately preparing to deal with the skills shortage in the industry and thus fill in the positions of structural specialists, environmental consultants, quantity surveyors, cost-engineering supervisors, planning engineers and concrete framework designer among other s (Gorgenlander, 2011). In 2010, the Saudi Arabia government allocated one hundred and forty- seven billion dollars for to the construction sector. Due to such huge budgetary allocations, Saudi Arabia is the largest construction market in the Middle East. Being the largest non-oil economic sector, the construction sector in Saudi Arabia is driven by, new mortgage laws that favor investment, high population growth, an increased demand by the foreign investors, high liquidity and low-interest financing (Iqbal, 2001). The government regulations in Saudi Arabia that ease the process of residential mortgages has ensured progressive development within the Middle East region. The potential for construction projects has been strengthened by the development of finance support to the consumer market. Qatar has committed more than one hundred billion US dollars to be used in the construction industry (Sayed, 1997). Construction professionals around the world have caught the attention of the ic onic structures in the Middle East such as the Burj Arab and the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. The growing population in the Middle East is seeking high quality, cost-effective living and amenities in the region. This rapid growth in the construction sector in the Middle East is echoed by the seventy-three huge construction projects such as Burj Khalifa, Al Reem Island, Dubai Metro, Dubai Mall and Meydan Race Course that Malaysia is undertaking across Middle East (Kazi, 2005). Several countries in the Middle East such as Iran have developed large-scale construction industry. This is attributed to the war that resulted to the destruction of many of the country’s structures and social amenities hence the need for restructuring and rebuilding. The success in the construction sector in the Middle East has been attributed to the privatization of the sector. The construction industry in the Middle East is strengthened by oil rich countries in the region especially in the United Arab Emira tes, the rise in oil income, the growth of non-oil sector, the tax-free environment and attractive salaries especially to the imported work force. However, the restart of Iran’s nuclear weapon program, the continued conflicts in the Gulf Cooperation Council region hence the worsening of security and the worsening of the international financial risks have greatly influenced negatively on the construction industry in the Middle East (Chiang, Raftery, & Anson, 2005). Poor construction

The Use of Social Media by the Sports Organizations Assignment

The Use of Social Media by the Sports Organizations - Assignment Example Professional sports organizations include; need to curb corruption in sports organizations, dispute resolution between league members, and administration of punishment to players whose conduct become detrimental to the integrity of the game or league. The powers of the commissioner to administer punishment to offenders are granted under the â€Å"best interest† authority. There are several factors that are likely to influence organizational change in NFL that include; promising economy, social media, and internal policies. First, according to Sports Xchange (2015, p.6), NFL and its 32 teams recorded a total of $1.07 billion in sponsorship revenue; a 5.7% increase from the year 2012. The economy is expected to continue raising for the period of the next five years. Therefore, the organization of NFL will have to change to increase accountability of all officials in order to assure the sponsors of effective management of the financial resources. Secondly, NFL has been experiencing increasing influence of social media to determine public opinion on various decisions. For instance, fans are allowed to use the Twitter handles @NFL or @NFLCommish to express their feelings about any major decisions made by the League’s officials. This trend is likely to continue for the next five years hence forcing the organization to change how it makes its major d ecisions to avoid negative critics that might damage the reputation of the league. Thirdly, the Leagues internal policies have been changing over time. For instance, the personal-conduct policy has undergone through various changes hence forcing the commissioner to adapt to new ways of making judgments. This trend will force the Leagues organization to change within the next five years in order to accommodate the changing policies. However, the change might be refrained by the internal conflicts that are currently being faced in the League between Roger Goodell and other stakeholders.

Several Medical Record Formats at the Healthy Facility Record Assignment

Several Medical Record Formats at the Healthy Facility Record - Assignment Example For instance, all agencies which are owned by the local government are supposed to keep a defined general retention and disposition schedule. The retention policy should give a guideline on how the records should be retained by all kinds of EMS services. All EMS agencies are supposed to have the policy which shall describe all the procedures which are in compliance with the retention of records required. The policy should also describe the time length needed to document the records. Additionally, the policy should have described well how the document will be stored, procedures for retrieving the stored document and how the records will be protected. The following are the physical/ technical measures which are used to secure HIM department; both internal and external departments should be taught the importance of computer security, one should ensure that all other staffs take seriously security he or she does, ensure that all the information in the system components are catalogued because there are no two medical practices which have the same information, one should be ready for the disaster even before it has struck this means there should be an alternative method of backing up all the information in the system. Lastly, one should ensure that all his or her communications and network safeguards are robust and intact. The following are the both physical and technical measures which should used to secure health records; there should be facility access controls such as alarms and locks, there should be proper policies in the workstation to make sure that there is proper access and use workstations, workstation security measures, such as computer privacy filters and cable locks, there should be a good plan on how to restore lost data. There several areas in HIM those are outsourced. These areas are; contractors and consultants, data technicians, and also programmers.  Ã‚  

Manufacturing & Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Manufacturing & Operations Management - Essay Example Simultaneously, spare parts are manufactured in the batch and stored in the warehouse until required by the final assembly for product 1 and 2. The finished product is stored in the warehouse until delivered to the customer. This report will identify the strategy (i.e. MRP, JIP and Hybrid) to be employed by Promanager PLC to resolve the issue. Also, in the end, the report will provide detailed set of recommendations to improve the overall manufacturing performance of Promanager PLC. Figure 1: Current Manufacturing Process of Promanager PLC Manufacturing Planning and Control Strategy Recommendation and Rationale The manufacturing forms the most significant aspect for a manufacturing company and it forms as its competitive advantage or a reason for failure. Therefore, a strong and effective management tool is required to achieve the required success rate. However, in order to recommend a strategy, the first step is to identify the problems that the existing system is facing. Promanager PLC existing production mechanism is facing the following significant problems: (1) The Master production schedule makes poor forecasts for individual order specifications. (2) The throughput time of the product is more than the standard 3 weeks time. (3) Response time to customers should be 1 week. (4) Discrepancies in data of inventory management system and inventory of materials. (5) High defect rate for finished products. (6) High level of Raw Material, Work-in-Progress and Finished Goods stock due to imbalance between supply and demand time and materials. There are three types of manufacturing planning and control strategies, namely: material requirements planning (MRP), just-in-time (JIT) and hybrid. Benton and Shin (1997) argued that MRP and JIT directs the significant aspects of a material flow in terms of its planning and controlling. Zhao, Zhou, Luo and Dai (2011) and Mahapatra, Pal and Narasimhan (2011) postulated that JIT reduces set up time, improves the flow of goods from warehouse to the shelves, makes efficient use of multi-skilled employees, synchronizes the production schedule and hours worked, improves relationships with supplier and throughout the day supplies comes on a regular basis. The JIT system can be implemented in seven steps that can be customized according to the needs of the production cycle. These are: (1) Design flow process, (2) Total Quality System, (3) Stabilize Schedule, (4) Kanbul Pull System, (5) Work with Vendors, (6) Further reduce inventory in other areas, and (7) Improve product design. On the other hand, MRP is a special mechanism to plan as well as control the production processes. The primary objectives of introducing MRP in a production process is to guarantee availability of materials fro the production and at the same time ensure that finished products are ready to be delivered to customers. Furthermore, it ensures the minimum possible levels of inventory (i.e. material and finished products) to stay in the sto res. MRP also helps in planning the activities of manufacturing, purchasing and manages the delivery schedules. In the case of Promanager PLC, JIT or MRP can not resolve the problems that it is facing independently. As, JITwill help to resolve the problem numbers 2, 4 and 5. Whereas, MRP is a unique management tool that only focuses on the manufacturing material, purchasing and delivery activities. Therefore, it can resolve the proble

Industrial Revolution in Britain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Industrial Revolution in Britain - Essay Example England, having a profuse supply of laborers to mine coal and iron, meaning a good supply of industrial fuel, possessing colonies that serve as her sources of raw materials and as her markets, achieved a head start over its European equals in the phenomenon of Industrial Revolution. Most importantly, England's isolation kept her from wars bombarding other European countries, and allowed her to continue industrializing without disruption (Rempel). Industrial Revolution induced the widespread use of machineries for manufacturing. England went through the phenomenon beginning in18th Century. Soon, more things could be done quicker and labor costs became cheaper. The process changed England from an agrarian, handicraft economy into a machine-dominated manufacturing industry. This bought for England greater economic potentialities and urbanization. Urbanization as an effect of industrializing made England evidenced an increase in population, as well as the emergence of several new social classes (Rempel). An advent of factories in places where palpable resources of coal and other essential materials could be found was set up in the process of rapid industrializing and urbanizing. Concentration of work forces in these locations was then called for. Eventually, these areas were developed to great cities with established political centers. The problem was that these so called "factory" and "mining" towns became so crowded and swamped that no good living conditions were experienced. Sanitary provisions are found lacking, and diseases spread across these swamped areas. "The dreadful living conditions in these new towns can be attributed to lack of good bricks, absences of building codes, and the lack of machinery for public sanitation. Yet the more tenable cause was the fact that factory owners offered little regard to the laborers as they treat them as commodities and not as actually human beings with important needs" (Rempel). These towns then sprouted new categories of British social classes. Factory owners became the new bourgeoisie and the men, women and children became categorized as the new working class. The more alarming incident here was that women and child labor emerged prominently in this period. Yet, more and more people moved to these cities in search of the higher profits that was seem guaranteed in working for these industries. Unfortunately, the industry workers were not to become well-off despite having jobs. This is so because they play second fiddle to the sophisticated machines, and were often degraded to routine process laborers, working long hours yet receiving low compensations under quite inauspicious conditions (Rempel). Longer hours meant reduced leisure time even though their material consumption did not increased. It was apparent that the workers become concentrated on factories and mines, and less on agriculture, where half of the population was in a century earlier. Employment in agriculture as a percentage of the population declined rapidly. By 1850, only one in four British could be said to be working the land and as had been said, employment growth at this point in time took place mostly in traditional manufacturing service industries (Voth, 2003). Therefore, wage increases that would have been expected from

Ethnicity and Nationalism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5500 words

Ethnicity and Nationalism - Assignment Example Instrumentalist views, on the other hand, aim to understand why these ascriptive identities arise among people and how they are attached to different sets of people. They believe that it occurs due to the present nature of the state which is broken up and consists of different groups of people. Primordialists study the claims about determinacy of races by racists whereas instrumentalists study language, tribe, race, religion etc. In the modern nations that have been created today after many nations gaining their independence, it has become imperative for every government to ensure that a homogenous set of people reside there in order to maintain uniformity as well as unity. Because they needed a literate workforce, modern societies preferred consensus among the people. This further helped to bring about peace and harmony among different groups of people by involving understanding. Nationalism refers to a comprehension among various individuals living under the purview of a single nat ion; ethnicity, on the other hand, refers to the race of each human being, and the roots or the land that he and his forefathers originated from. These aspects are as different from each other as is a balloon from a rubber tree. This means that the rubber tree may belong to a particular piece of land or territory, however, the balloon may be manufactured anywhere after extracting the rubber and taking it elsewhere where there are means enough to produce balloons. Primordialists believe that people are born with certain identities and that is how they may be classified for the rest of their life. This belief falls short when it comes to people that migrate or are born in families that may not be subordinate to their culture. Over the years, a human being adapts a number of attributes to himself; he may learn a different language, may reside in a different nation or even marry into a different family from his culture or race altogether. All of this makes a big difference in his life a s he is not the same person from his roots anymore. The generations born after him, bit by bit, catch on to some more tendencies of his, thus leading to the formation of a different ascriptive identity altogether.

Human Resources Management in Business Essay Example for Free

Human Resources Management in Business Essay Human resources department is a part of business that deals with its staff. The department is seen as part of strategic management, in the effort to achieve the goals of the business, and is crucial to the businesss success. Some of the human resources departments responsibilities include recruitment, retention, selection, job enlargement/enrichment, motivation and leadership, job role allocations, training, and payroll appraisals. The departments decisions are influenced by, however, internal issues for workforce planning. One of the issues could be the cost of its operations. The business would want to minimize cost, so any decisions made by Human resources should be cost-effective. Another issue could be the companys business strategy, for example when the company want to expand, the Human resources department would have to recruit more employees; if the company wants to cut costs and increase profit, the department would have to consider reducing the number of staff. It is also responsible for training current employees for any new equipments. There are also external factors that affect how workforce planning is carried out. These external factors include government actions that affect the business environment. For example, the government can impose new minimum wages that would increase the Human resources departments spending on wages payment. The education situation of the country can also affect Human resources, as education is the means that workers gain their skills; without proper education, Human resources wouldnt be able to recruit highly skilled workers without paying large salaries or recruit foreign nationals. An important external factor is the economic situation of the economy. If unemployment rates are high, Human resources would be able to recruit new employees much easier and cheaper than when the economy is in boom, which makes labour more expensive. The age ranges of the labour force can affect Human resources decisions, since they dont want to recruit too old of employees who are going to retire soon. The business often want more young employees who can potentially contribute to the company for a long period of time, and can also be more innovative. Another external factor is technology advancements, as this may result in the introduction of new equipments into the company. The Human resources department would then have to organise training for their current staff to enable them to work with the newly acquired machineries. There are many benefits to Human Resources planning. One of the most important purpose of the Human Resources department is to motivate staff. This can be done by means of promotions, training, and rewards. Another benefit is that Human Resources help import important skills into the business through the process of recruitment. Human Resources would compose a recruitment process that selects the right people for the business. Without a Human Resources department, a firm cannot efficiently recruit employees that they need. Also, the department helps the business plan the right number of workers. They make sure that there are no redundancy or shortages of labour in the company, and if there is any, Human Resources would fix this either by cutting or recruiting staff. Human Resources department also ensures smooth operations in regards to labour management. This means they make sure that employees arrive when they are needed, and are allocated to the right tasks, and that each workers know their role within the business. In addition, they resolve whatever arguments that may arise between the workers and company management, making sure that the employees are clear of company regulations, and that management are clear of their workers conditions. Finally, the Human Resources department ensures that no laws are broken in regards to labour employment. For example, the recruitment process must not violate discrimination laws. All necessary laws are briefed to staff to ensure no illegal activities are conducted within the company. Before selecting staff for any position, key skills needed for that particular job need to be identified, creating a list of criteria for candidate selection. British Sugar is one of the largest provider of sugar products in the UK. Their Human Resources department has been directed to recruit three new production managers, as part of the companys expansion project in China. The Human Resources department has identified the key skills for a potential production manager: Confidence: the manager needs to be confident in handling large responsibilities, whether it be meeting production deadlines, ensuring worker safety etc. They need confidence to be able to make decisive actions, taking the initiative without too much dependence on higher directives. As they direct the production process, confidence is also needed for negotiating with suppliers, making the best deals for the factory. Technical skills: a production manager has to be sufficiently knowledgeable about the production technology of their factory, to be able to understand and resolve technical problems should they arise. Technical knowledge of a manager does not have to be detailed, but must be sufficient to issue correct directives to the factorys engineer force. High technical skills is preferred, as the manager will be more likely to be innovative in improving production methods of the firm. Communication skills: a good production manager is able to communicate to all different divisions of the company. They are quick to absorb information from different levels of the company, whether it be top management or floor workers, and then provide quick and effective feedback. Communication skills are crucial in a manager, as it helps him ensure the coordination between different elements of the company. Problem-solving skills: the production manager should be able to independently deal with problems within their factory. They will be extremely resourceful in coordinating factory or company-level efforts to solve problems. This requires an intelligent person that can improvise upon their resources to damage-control and reverse the problem and put the factory back onto its original course. Motivating staff is an important part of company operation, as it ensure the employees do their best and be productive while working for the company. There is a variety of reasons why employees would want to work harder in their working environment. Such reasons could be money, bonuses, power, working with friends, social aspects of work, the need to provide for family, promotion, team work, and promotion. Frederick Taylor’s theory of motivation simply stated that all workers are worked by money. This means that in order to better motivate employees, the employer simply just has to raise their pay, and this would make them work harder. Taylor introduced the Theory of Scientific Management, which said that workers are naturally lazy and need close supervisions and control. The theory also says that managers should break down work to the simplest tasks to their employees. Workers also need adequate training and equipment to perform their simple tasks as efficiently as possible, then they would be paid according to the amount of products they had produced. The theory is often applied in mass production lines which involves repetitive tasks. Elton Mayo later introduced a new theory of motivation of his own. He believed that money is only part of the worker’s concern, and social needs are more important in motivating workers at their work place. Mayo published the Human Relation school of thought, which encourage managers to focus more on social interactions between workers. Mayo went further in his studies and conducted his own experiment at the Hawthorne factory in Chicago. From these series of experiments, he concluded that although physical conditions worsened, they do not affect the productivity of the Hawthorne workers. Instead, social factors such as better communication between workers and managers, better involvement in employees’ lives from their manager, and team work was what improved productivity levels. In the 1950s, Abraham Maslow introduced the Neo-Human Relation school of thought. This new theory focus on the employee’s psychological needs, which are structured into five different levels of needs. The theory says that once a lower level of needs is satisfied, would then the worker could be motivated by an upper level of needs. These levels of needs in lower to higher order are physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualisation respectively. Managers also need to realise that each worker moves up this ladder at a different pace, and therefore might need different sets of incentives from worker to worker. In financial-related type of motivations, the most common motivation is salaries and wages. Salaries are what permanent employees are paid monthly or annually. Wages, on the other hand, is what is paid to workers per hour they have worked. These can motivate the employees, for the harder they work, the more they would earn. A piece rate system is when an employee is paid a fixed rate for each unit of production; In other words, they are paid by results, which motivate them to achieve better results. Commission and fees are similarly dependent on the results of the workers. Commission is a percentage of the sale revenue, and fees are fixed amounts that are earned after sale. The more the employee sells, the more commission or fees they get, motivating them to sell more. Fringe benefits are any non-wage payment or benefit such as pension plans, profit-sharing programs, vacation pay, and company-paid life, health, and unemployment insurance. Having these extra benefit with their jobs can make the employees feel more secure and work harder. Performance-related pay or pay by performance is money paid relating to how well the employee works. This would motivate them by giving them knowledge that the better they perform in their field, the better their assessment would be and the more they would be paid. Profit sharing is another way of motivating staff, it consists of a plan that gives employees a share in the profit of the company. Each employee receives a percentage of those profit based on the companys earnings. This makes staff work harder, knowing the more their company earns, the more they would get in shared profit. Share ownership is when employees who have worked in the company for a long time are given part of the business as shares. These shares would give the employees power, and they get to take part deciding how the company is run. Other than financial motivations, there are non-financial ones that could boost motivation while costing minimal for the business. Job redesign involves restructuring the elements including tasks, duties and responsibilities of a specific job in order to make it more encouraging and inspiring for the employees. Job enlargement is basically increasing the employees work load, so that they feel more responsible and work harder. Job rotation is when employees are moved between two or more jobs in a planned manner. The purpose of this is to expose the employees to different experiences and wider variety of skills to enhance job satisfaction and to cross-train them. Job enrichment is a variation of job enlargement. Job enrichment adds new sources of job satisfaction by giving the employee additional authority, autonomy, and control over the way the job is accomplished. Team work is a Cooperative effort by the members of a group or team to achieve a common goal. Working in a team may motivate employees to do better to fulfill their part on the team. External link for employees motivating can be found here: http://www. forbes. com/sites/glennllopis/2012/06/04/top-9-things-that-ultimately-motivate-employees-to-achieve/ The fundamental method which British Sugar would use to motivate their staff is to make them feel safe. Feeling safe would clear the employees minds from external worries, helping them to focus more on their tasks and try harder to achieve. This method would include providing their employees with adequate facilities to work in. This means that British Sugars factories and offices would to the most basic safety regulations such as fire safety, electrical safety, and protection from hazardous conditions inside their factories. British Sugar would also make sure that their facilities have appropriate security measures to protect employees and their possessions safe. This method of motivation is one of the most basic levels of Maslows hierarchy of needs. Another method that British Sugar uses is providing extra employee benefits beside their regular salaries and wages. They would give company cars for manager and directors, along with free O2 mobile phones. British Sugar also looks after their employees by providing them with free healthcare in the form of free check-ups with company nurse, eyesight tests and glasses, and subsidised scheme with AXA. Families of employees can also enjoy company benefits with provided child vouchers and team meals for spouses. British Sugar’s factory workers are also provided with free safety work wear. There are numerous other benefits that employees can enjoy working for British Sugar, which includes sports clubs, gym facilities, free parking†¦etc. A popular method of motivation from Taylor’s school of thought is recognition. British Sugar would give out tokens of appreciation and to recognise employees/teams that have made a significant contribution over and above that reasonably expected. Company managers would award their employees with vouchers, meals, bouquet of flowers, or bottles of wine to boost their work morale. Long Service Awards are given to employees with significant length of service. Annual bonuses of ? 400, ? 600, ? 800, and ? 900 are given to employees who have served 20, 30, 40, or 45 years in the company respectively. British Sugar also use chances of promotion to encourage their employees. This is a process known as internal recruitment. When a position is open, employees are often promoted to fill the position instead of recruiting new people externally. This keeps the employees motivated to work harder, knowing there are chances of future promotion. Another method of motivation used by British Sugar is performance management. Performance management is a proactive and continuous process of communicating and clarifying role responsibilities, performance expectations and priorities in order to ensure mutual understanding between managers and employees. To ensure the proper functioning of the business, British Sugar would have to maintain a high level of cooperation and satisfaction in its employees. Making employees cooperate would increase productivity, reduce labour turnover, and make sure that they can maintain the quantity and quality of work they are capable of. One of the methods of doing this is by communication. This method involves staying in touch with the staff to make sure they are updated with company information. When staff have the information that they need for their job, they will be more likely to be oriented towards their tasks, and be able to do it correctly and more efficiently. Communication with employees can be done by many means. It includes emails, which are quick, efficient, and reliable. Face-to-face communication is an important form of communication, often in the form of meetings; however it has time and distance limitations , for example a manager might not have the time to see all of his employees to talk about new policies, while he could just send them all an email. There are other methods such as telephone calls, which can be made easily over long distance or face-time technology that allows employees to communicate despite the long distance. Another way of improving employees cooperation and commitment in the business is making them more involved in it. In British sugar, this is know as the â€Å"quality circle†. British Sugar would engage its employees group discussions, where groups of workers meet and discuss the good and bad side of the issues that they face. The employees would try to resolve their problems together, and discuss ways to improve how they work and how the company works. This method generates a feeling of involvement, employees would feel that they are a contributing part of a team, and therefore view their work more positively and become more inclined to cooperate with other employees as well as the company managers. Clear employment contracts also help boost staff cooperation and commitment. A clear contract would have to explicitly explain the details of the job, such as explaining the roles and duties that the employee is expected to carry out, along with the hours of work required. The business would also need clearly identified procedures such as disciplinary policies or grievance policies. A clear pay structure that explains basic time as well as overtime is essential. All of these will reduce arguments in the company, enabling more efficiency and cooperation within the business. Motivational methods are a way of getting more cooperation from staff. Motivated employees would perform better while feeling better about their prospects than demotivated ones, therefore cooperating more in their work. Similarly, training and charity links should also be used to boost the morale of workers. Training would increase the employees motivation and performance, as well as charitable activities such as helping out the local community. A well-motivated workforce with high morale is more likely to cooperate with the company and to each other. The culture of the business itself will also affect how its employees cooperate. If the company has a culture of cooperation and an atmosphere of teamwork, then the employees are more likely to have more cooperation in their work. Training in a large organisation such as British Sugar is carried out extensively. An example of British Sugars training operation is their Graduate scheme, a scheme in which British Sugar finds apprentice in universities. The company would offer university graduates a period of vocational training, with the assurance of a job at the end of their training, in addition to have year-long job placements for engineering students. British Sugar also organises over 1000 training courses every year involves all levels from senior managers to new apprentices and our seasonal workers. The company encourages its sites to play an active role in local communities through media visits, schools activities, agricultural and environmental events. British Sugar have regular dialogues with leading and local non-government organisations. They also organise sponsorships and charitable funds, allocated to their employee fundraising activities through a Supporting YOU to support others programme. Measuring the workforce can be done by a number of ways. This is generally looking at the key indicators in the business workforce such as labour productivity, health and safety, labour turnover and absenteeism. Labour productivity is how much the workers produce in terms of goods and services per hour worked. In the business, it can be measured by looking at the efficiency of individual or teams. However, this method should be used with cation, because there are factors that could affect labour productivity such as the age of machinery, type of sector that the business is in or whether production is automated or labour-intensive. If machineries are old, they wouldnt be able to produce as much, therefore being the cause of low labour productivity. A business in the secondary sector would be more productive than one in the tertiary sector since manufacturing makes more products than service. Similarly, a business that has automated production will be much more productive than one with labour-intensive production, since machines are able to mass produce more products than individual workers. A business can try to improve labour productivity by using motivational tools such as bonuses. Training can also be used to add productivity to workers, and business plans help staff work more efficiently. The business can also buy new equipments to improve productivity of their workers. Another measurement is health and safety. As it is one of the motivational factor, the quality of health and safety at the workplace can affect the staff. The better the health and safety standard, the better the staff will perform. The business must consider the possible causes of poor health and safety, such as poor equipment, dangerous environment and also the poor training in the matter. Labour turnover can also be used to measure a companys workforce. Labour turnover is the proportion of staff leaving the business over a period of time, usually each year. A company can lose their staff due to de-motivation, retirement, social factors, better opportunity elsewhere ,or that the employee wants to start their won business. Staff leaving can also be involuntarily as their positions become redundant or they are fired due to performance. A high labour turnover is generally not good because it spawns many problems such as the loss of productive capacity, the costs and the time taken to recruit new staff, and the extra training and induction programmes to new employees. However, new staff can bring benefits such as introduction of new ideas to the business, or more efficient workers. Absenteeism is another measurement to the companys workforce, as it tells managers how much their staff go on break from work. This can be a substantial problem for the business, because production output will suffer if employees are absent, projects will run into delays, and the quality of products affected due to the lack of staff. There are many other costs associated with absent staff, such as sick pay, and temporary staff pay, which is often expensive. Absenteeism also cause de-motivation in the business, as other employees will have to take the work load of the absent employees. To lower the level of absenteeism, the business can issue fines to absent staff, improve the safety of the work environment so staff would want to be at work, and improve their motivational methods. British Sugar uses a range of performance indicators to evaluate and improve their performance. SMART targets are a set of criteria that are based on the specific words: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-specific. These criteria are applied in the process of making goals and objectives, to maximise the business chances of obtaining them. Punctuality is the characteristic of being able to complete a required task or fulfill an obligation before or at a previously designated time. Attendance is the frequency with which a person is present. An appraisal system, or performance management, is a proactive and continuous process of communicating and clarifying role responsibilities, performance expectations and priorities in order to ensure mutual understanding between managers and employees. It is very useful as it is both a motivational strategy and a review system where mangers can assess their employees. The appraisal system would fulfill the employees social and recognition needs according Maslow theories, motivating to work harder to achieve more and be more recognised. The system is not without flaws, however. The appraisal system can be very costly, requiring a lot of administrative work, and is time-consuming. It is also exposed to favouritism. Managers can tend to trust and praise some employees more than others, causing distrust discontentment among team members.

Fair Value Reporting Advantages and Disadvantages

Fair Value Reporting Advantages and Disadvantages Discuss the pros and cons of fair value reporting for investors? Why has this trend emerged, and how does asset value volatility seen during and since the Global Financial Crisis effect your views on this? There have been many debates in previous decades amongst the investors, users of the financial statements, on whether fair value accounting is worth being used. According to IFRS 13, fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (ACCA, 2016). Usage of fair value has advantages, however, it has disadvantages as well. This essay will discuss how fair value is more advantageous than disadvantageous and how it is carried out. It will also examine how fair value led Lehman Brothers, an American investment bank, into bankruptcy during the global financial crisis and why the trend of fair value has emerged in the recent decades. As historical cost loses relevance with the passing of time, it is more appropriate to use fair value reporting as it considers current market prices and conditions. This provides investors with the most relevant estimates of the value of business (Gjorgieva-Trajkovska et al., 2016), and timely information which is important for making investing decisions (McEnally, 2007). Penman (2007) states that fair value accounting reports assets and liabilities through an economists view and therefore reports economic income the change in fair value of net assets on the balance sheet. This is of interest to investors as they can make predictions of future earnings based on current information (Marra, 2016). On the other hand, Sundgren (2013) claims that there will also be fluctuations in fair values, leading to uncertainty of future inflows. Although this poses a disadvantage towards certain stakeholders, it is helpful to investors as high fluctuations could indicate high risk, which may rewar d them with high returns. Another advantage of fair value reporting is the reliability and transparency of the method. More transparency means that the investors are able to get an insight into the real value of the company. This allows investors to make more informed decisions that will benefit the business (Bigelow, n.d.). Fair value reporting is reliable as it can be checked in hindsight from available information about current and past market prices (Betakova et al., 2014). This is beneficial for the investors as it means that they can be confident that their decisions are correct and that the finances of the business will not suddenly change. Bubble prices can be an issue for investors as it may mislead them into making poor investing decisions. There is plenty of empirical evidence to show that bubble prices exist (Ryan, 2008). These price bubbles, according to Penman (2007), are introduced into financial statements through the usage of fair value accounting. He goes on to say that this causes bubble gains to reflect on the income statement, and these may, falsely, show the company as being healthy which could lull investors into a false sense of security. These bubbles also result in the investor receiving ineffective financial statements which will impair their decision making. An example of this would be where investors pay prices that far exceed their own valuation (Scheinkman and Xiong, 2003). This would make it tough for investors to earn a reasonable return on their investments. However, the research fails to consider the difficulties locating price bubbles or how investors can prevent themselves from being misled . It also fails to consider that bubble prices show the current trading price, albeit inflated, and therefore show the true value of the investment according to current prices. When there is illiquidity in a market, fair value is called mark to model accounting. Ball (2006) explains that when this occurs, market prices are not accurate as firms try to find an approximate value for the assets. He continues by stating that this can let managers easily manipulate values according to their own preferences affecting the reliability of financial statements. Betakova et al. (2014), argues that measurement procedures of fair value create loopholes and this means that prices can be written as vastly different from what they really are, which again allows manipulation. The fair value of assets and liabilities is derived from the 3 level hierarchy of inputs. According to IFRS 13, the highest priority is given to level 1 inputs the quoted price of assets and liabilities that are traded in the active market. Laux et al. (2010) state that assets or liabilities should be marked to market, which means that the quoted price has to be used to determine its fair value as it is the best approximation of how much an asset would be sold for (Magnan, 2009). IFRS also emphasises that the price to be used has to be those of an orderly transaction to ensure that it is not a forced transaction in order to maintain its representability. An example of level 1 valuation would be listed stocks or bonds. In cases where an asset does not have an active market, level 2 fair value measurement should be used. This is when the valuation inputs are directly or indirectly observable but do not fall under Level 1 (Magnan, 2009). Level 2 inputs, the net replacement cost, includ e quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active or non-active markets, and other relevant market data like the yield curves (Sundgren, 2013). For example, Petrobras issued a bond which is not traded. However, if there is an active market for a Valero Energy bond that is similar, the price of the Valero Energy bond can be used as level 2 input to value the Petrobras bond. Finally, the least priority is given to level 3 inputs, which are unobservable inputs. It is the least accurate as it is based on model assumptions. An example of level 3 measurement is when there is no observable input to value the Petrobras bond, then the value of the bond can be estimated by discounting its future cash flows. As a result, the reliability is reduced due to the subjectivity of the discount rate. Fair value is argued to be more appropriate, compared to historical cost, when level 1 valuation is used as it only allows minimal manipulation. However, during 2008, many companies overvalued t heir assets by using the level 3 measurement, contributing to the global financial crisis. Furthermore, there is an advantage in valuing certain assets using historical cost over fair value, like property, plant and equipment. This is because historical cost results in a more consistent calculation of depreciation. Moreover, under fair value, assets would need to be revalued frequently due to changing market conditions and this would impose additional costs to the organisation (Christensen and Nikolaev, 2013). Fair value was a dominant force in the financial crisis and exacerbated its severity (Cai-xia and Chi, 2010). Huizinga and Laeven (2009) note that fair value is procyclical and therefore intensifies the phases in the economic cycle. They expressed that banks were materially impacted due to the contrast between market and book values. Lehman Brothers was an American investment bank, founded in 1850, and was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States. Its bankruptcy in 2008 was a prominent event in magnifying the repercussion of the financial crisis (Acharya and Richardson, 2009). One of the pivotal reasons for this collapse was due to the high leveraging (Lehner, 2016). Lehman disguised this from stakeholders by utilising fair value accounting and creative accountancy. The incentive behind such manipulations would be the benefit pressurised managers derive by camouflaging vulnerabilities in the organisation. This is proved by the movement of the leveraging ratio from 23.7 :1 in 2003 to 30.7:1 in 2007 (SEC Info, 2007) which signifies a high level of risk to investors. In addition, Azadinamin (2012) mentions that accounting standards, due to their defects, enable management to misrepresent financial information for momentary monetary rewards. He states further that Lehman window dressed the financial statements, using fair value, to present healthy looking balance sheets which assisted in concealing a major complication negative cash flows. Magnan (2009) states that As of November 30, 2007, 75.1% of assets measured at fair value were measured according to level 2 or level 3 inputs. This indicates that Lehman generally did not use the more reliable level 1 values. In addition, the proportion of assets valued using level 2 or 3 increased to 81.7% the following year. This shows the speed at which reliability in the accounting method was reduced. It is backed up by the empirical evidence provided by Magnan which shows that the movement from level 1 to lev els 2 and 3 was done intentionally so that they were able to report assets too highly and hide losses. He goes on to explain that fair value provides beneficial information to investors when assets trade in deep and efficient markets but are less useful when the markets are less liquid. One of the key reasons for the fall was the lack of liquidity caused by banks securing themselves, due to the financial crisis, by asking Lehman to pay off their debts. In addition, even though Lehman had a huge asset base, they lacked assets which could quickly be sold for cash (Brunnermeier, 2009). Apart from the ongoing financial crisis, another aspect that increased the speed of the collapse was the unrealised gains and losses brought about by the usage of fair value accounting (Magnan, 2009). For example, Hughes (2008) mentions that Lehman Brothers showed a $400m gain from fair-valuing its own liabilities. As no other firm wished to buy Lehman, in its state at the time, they declared bankruptcy on the 15th of September 2008 and this was quoted as the largest bankruptcy in the history of the United States (Mamudi, 2008). Therefore, fair value accounting without adequate additional disclosure is neither fair nor a good reflection of the value that is at risk (Magnan, 2009). To summarise, whilst relevance and reliability are the primary qualities of the usefulness of a financial report, there is a constant debate on the trade-off between these qualities when fair value measurement is adopted. Fair value is known to be relevant as it uses the current market price, however, it sacrifices its reliability as level 2 and level 3 inputs are used. The value of relevance and reliability is equally important because relevant information that has no reliability would mean nothing to the investors (Sing and Meng, 2005). In contrast, Hitz (2007) notes that fair value would be reliable if there was an actively traded market but the problem arises when there is not. He also remarks that usage of historical cost is falling whereas fair value accounting is on the rise. The reason for this is because fair value provides more timely and comparable information than amounts that would be reported under other alternative accounting approaches (Laux and Leuz, 2009). Furthermo re, they add to this by saying that fair value accounting recognises losses earlier than other methods of accounting and this makes it much more difficult to hide problems in the corporation which, if left to grow, would make crises more severe. However, we have seen that even through the use of fair value accounting, as in the case of Lehman Brothers, fair value accounting was a significant player behind the crisis of 2008. Wallison (2008) argues that fair value causes instability among financial institutions, although the title of the journal suggests that he would be taking a biased stance towards the topic. Moreover, the usage of fair value accounting causes volatility due to constantly changing prices. This concerned banks during the financial crisis due to the enormous write-downs caused by falling asset prices. However, Enria et al. (2004) argue that volatility provides information to investors regarding the risks of their investment. We believe that solely utilising fair val ue has pitfalls and therefore companies should adopt an integration between historical cost and fair value to eliminate the weaknesses of each. Nonetheless, we conclude that investors still prefer fair value accounting despite the disadvantages and the trade-off because it represents the true economic condition of assets and liabilities. References: ACCA, 2016. A framework for determining fair value? [Online]. Available from: http://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/student/exam-support-resources/professional-exams-study-resources/p2/technical-articles/ifrs13.html [Accessed 08/03/17] Acharya, V.V. and Richardson, M., 2009. Causes of the financial crisis. Critical Review, 21(2-3), pp.195-210. Azadinamin, A., 2012. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers: Causes of Failure recommendations going forward. Swiss Management Center. Ball, R., 2006. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS): pros and cons for investors. Accounting and business research, 36(sup1), pp.5-27. Betakova, J., Hrazdilova-Bockova, K. and Skoda, M., 2014. Fair value usefulness in financial statements. DAAAM International Scientific Book, pp.433-448. Bigelow, L. The Advantages Of Fair Value Vs. The Equity Method. The Finance Base. Available from: http://thefinancebase.com/advantages-fair-value-vs-equity-method-3255.html [Accesses 02/03/2017] Brunnermeier, M.K., 2009. Deciphering the liquidity and credit crunch 2007-2008. The Journal of economic perspectives, 23(1), pp.77-100. Cai-xia, H.E. and Chi, Z.H.A.N.G., 2010. Fair value accounting under financial crisis. Journal of Modern Accounting and Auditing, 6(6), p.59. Christensen, H.B. and Nikolaev, V.V., 2013. Does fair value accounting for non-financial assets pass the market test?. Review of Accounting Studies, 18(3), pp.734-775. Enria, A., Cappiello, L., Dierick, F., Grittini, S., Haralambous, A., Maddaloni, A., Molitor, P.A., Pires, F. and Poloni, P., 2004. Fair value accounting and financial stability. Hitz, J.M., 2007. The decision usefulness of fair value accounting-a theoretical perspective. European Accounting Review, 16(2), pp.323-362. Hughes, J., 2008. Fair value can flatter to deceive on your own debt. Financial Times, 24(07), p.2008. Huizinga, H. and Laeven, L., 2009. Accounting discretion of banks during a financial crisis. Laux, C. and Leuz, C., 2010. Did fair-value accounting contribute to the financial crisis?. The Journal of Economic Perspectives, 24(1), pp.93-118. Lehner, O.M. ed., 2016. Routledge Handbook of Social and Sustainable Finance. Routledge. Magnan, M.L., 2009. Fair value accounting and the financial crisis: messenger or contributor?. Accounting Perspectives, 8(3), pp.189-213.. Mamudi, S. 2008. Lehman folds with record $613 billion debt [Online]. New York: Market Watch. Available from: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/lehman-folds-with-record-613-billion-debt [Accessed 08/03/2017]. Marra, A., 2016. The Pros and Cons of Fair Value Accounting in a Globalized Economy: A Never Ending Debate. Journal of Accounting, Auditing Finance, 31(4), pp.582-591. McEnally, R., 2007. Fair Value Financial Reporting. CFA Magazine, 18(1), pp.25-26. Penman, S.H., 2007. Financial reporting quality: is fair value a plus or a minus?. Accounting and business research, 37(sup1), pp.33-44. Ryan, S.G., 2008. Fair value accounting: Understanding the issues raised by the credit crunch. Council of Institutional Investors, (July, 2008), pp.1-24. Scheinkman, J.A. and Xiong, W., 2003. Overconfidence and speculative bubbles. Journal of political Economy, 111(6), pp.1183-1220. Sing, T.Y. and Meng, S.C., 2005. Fair value accounting-relevance, reliability and progress in Malaysia. University College Sedeya International. Sundgren, S., 2013. Is fair value accounting really fair? A discussion of pros and cons with fair value measurement. The Finnish Journal of Business Economics, 62(3-4), pp.242-250. Trajkovska, O.G., Temjanovski, R. and Koleva, B., 2016. FAIR VALUE ACCOUNTING-PROS AND CONS. Journal of Economics, 1(2). Wallison, P.J., 2008. Fair value accounting: A critique. Financial Services Outlook. LEARNING LOG SUMMARY (maximum 1 page using Aerial 12-point with at least 1cm margins) Suggested content: What did you learn from the assignment both technically and in terms of working together as a group? We learnt about what caused the global financial crisis to occur and the impact it had on various financial institutions We gained a deeper understanding on the faults in fair value accounting which also shows why historical cost was so prevalent We learnt how to allocate work between the members of the group as well as set realistic deadlines What strategy as a group did you follow in tackling the assignment task? Making sure everyone was involved in writing each paragraph so that we received various different viewpoints Having frequent meetings and discussions in order to compare our research and decide on which points we should include within our paragraphs What problems did you face and how did you overcome them? Understanding what was required of the question. We overcame this ask question to the lecturer and finding out, through research, about other topics that could be included in each paragraph What went well? Coordination was good since we kept in touch with each other frequently Everyone kept to their deadlines and provided what was required of them when needed What, in retrospect, would you have done differently, why and how? In the beginning we took time to assign research topics and research took a while as we were all new to it. However, later on we were able to increase the pace as we became more proficient. If, however, we had been able to start off at this pace, the work would have been more evenly distributed over the weeks rather than being skewed towards the deadline Where did you locate most of your sources? Google University of Bath library Google Scholar LOG OF GROUP MEETINGS (complete a maximum of 1 page for each meeting) Meeting 1 Date of Meeting 23 Feb 2017 (Thursday) Attendees Ben Maitland Kylie Siow Gavriella Kafkalia Sidharth Ranjith Name of Absentees Agenda and tasks completed Decide on days of meeting every week (Tentatively Tuesday 1-2pm Friday 12.30-2pm) Talked about the structure of the essay Agreed items Structure of Essay Introduction Pros and Cons of FV 3rd of March How its carried out 10th March Example of FV during Financial Crisis 10th March Conclusion Tasks to be completed by next meeting Find points for pros and cons of fair value Date of next meeting 28 Feb 2017 (Tuesday) Meeting 2 Date of Meeting 28 Feb 2017 (Tuesday) Attendees Ben Maitland Kylie Siow Gavriella Kafkalia Sidharth Ranjith Name of Absentees Agenda, items agreed on and tasks completed Allocation of points for the first paragraph pros and cons of fair value accounting to investors Tasks to be completed by next meeting Full paragraph of pros and cons of fair value Date of next meeting 3 March 2017 (Friday) Meeting 3 Date of Meeting 3 March 2017 (Friday) Attendees Ben Maitland Kylie Siow Gavriella Kafkalia Sidharth Ranjith Name of Absentees Agenda and tasks completed Compiled the first paragraph Talk about the next 2 points Global financial crisis How fair value is carried out Allocate points to each person Tasks to be completed by next meeting Find points for the financial crisis and how fair value is carried out Date of next meeting 7 March 2017 (Tuesday) Meeting 4 Date of Meeting 7 March 2017 (Tuesday) Attendees Ben Maitland Kylie Siow Gavriella Kafkalia Sidharth Ranjith Name of Absentees Agenda and tasks completed Choose which points to write about and discuss how to evaluate it. Tasks to be completed by next meeting Finish the paragraphs how FV is carried out and the example during financial crisis Date of next meeting 10 March 2017 (Friday) Meeting 5 Date of Meeting 9 March 2017 (Thursday) Attendees Ben Maitland Kylie Siow Gavriella Kafkalia Sidharth Ranjith Name of Absentees Agenda and tasks completed Completed all body paragraphs Tasks to be completed by next meeting Introduction and Conclusion Date of next meeting 14 March 2017 (Tuesday) Meeting 6 Date of Meeting 15 March 2017 (Wednesday) Attendees Kylie Siow Gavriella Kafkalia Sidharth Ranjith Name of Absentees Ben Maitland (However did send his share of the work by e-mail) Agenda and tasks completed Completed introduction and draft for conclusion Tasks to be completed by next meeting Complete full paragraph for conclusion and make some changes for body paragraphs Date of next meeting 16 March 2017 (Thursday) Meeting 7 Date of Meeting 16 March 2017 (Thursday) Attendees Kylie Siow Gavriella Kafkalia Sidharth Ranjith Name of Absentees Ben Maitland (However did send his share of the work by e-mail) Agenda and tasks completed Worked on conclusion Date of next meeting 18 March 2017 (Saturday) Meeting 8 Date of Meeting 18 March 2017 (Saturday) Attendees Ben Maitland Kylie Siow Gavriella Kafkalia Sidharth Ranjith Name of Absentees Agenda and tasks completed Made some changes to body paragraphs Finalised the whole essay