Consumers Markets and Culture Essay Example for Free

Consumers Markets and Culture Essay Compare and contrast the changing experiences of consumers from the year 1900 until present day. How do the theories of Marx, Durkheim and Weber help to explain the changing consumer experience and the emergence of contemporary consumer society? â€Å"Until the eighteenth century the word consumption meant waste† (Williams, 1976) As consumers our experience of consumption today is exponentially different from that at the turn of the twentieth century in the recently urbanised and industrialised modern nation. Consumer culture is traditionally described in terms of the arrival of mass consumption as a counterpart to mass production as a result of the Fordist system (Miles, S). Choice is one of the biggest factors of the changing experience for consumers, during the 1950’s after the austerity years the now aging baby boomers were part of large scale changes to consumption patterns. For example as women began to enter the work place leaving less time to run the home, products were being developed to ease the burden of housework, washing machines, fridges and vacuum cleaners were among these products; the ever-growing use of hire purchase to enable consumers to afford these luxury products, combined with Fordist methods of mass production reducing the manufacturing cost of the products allowed the economy to grow strong once again. As television grew in popularity advertising was increasingly utilised by businesses to sell their products creating a far more impersonal environment while shopping for products. From this time the standard of living has been increasing up until present day (The Economist, 2008) with the aspirations of society increasing further still. Marx presents his theories as a materialist understanding of society, explaining capitalism as an unequal system based on the exploitation of the lower class (Abercrombie N et al, 2006), a system based on surplus value being extracted, the capitalist’s entire aim is to maximise the gap between value produced and value paid for (Slater D, 1997). Which a hundred years  ago meant using Fordist methods of production to bring down costs and reducing the skill required of workers which in turn reduced the compensation needed for workers. The Fordist method of production first seen around 1911 (Cohen and Kennedy, 2007), Alienated workers from the act of production. In his theory of Alienation Marx describes human essence as being realised through labour (Abercrombie et al, 2006) and working as an alien activity that offers no intrinsic satisfaction as the worker has no control over what is produced; this loss of ownership and loss of control over the workers own life due to managem ent organising and enforcing the labour. Where during the early twentieth our working classes were exploited and Alienated, now capitalists in the quest towards decreasing wages and widening the gap between value produced and value paid for are increasing looking to less economically developed countries where costs of production, epically workers are much lower. The counties known as BRIC economic group (Brazil, Russia, India and China). By indiscriminately consuming as a society, this encourages the expansion of exploitation of foreign working classes. Bauman proposes post-industrial societies are governed by ‘aesthetics of consumption’ rather than ‘ethics of production’ (Cohen Kennedy, 2007). Organisations such as Apple, Nike and similarly Primark are guilty of this system, the former two retailing premium priced products produced at the lowest cost possible cost, by attaching symbolic meaning to the products. Primark produces clothes at the lowest cost possible which are retailed for the lowest cost possible; consumers buy into this system with no feelings of guilt, as these products allow consumers to display possessions acting as social glue possibly due in part to the increasing Alienation of workers as society is increasingly detached from production with the service based economy we ‘enjoy’ today. Durkheim’s concept of Anomie is similar to Alienation, discussing Anomic suicide due to people no knowing how they fit in with society where possessions are used as social glue allowing consumers to display their beliefs and social groups. It is harder to relate Marx’s definitions of the class system as the proximity to production is becoming increasingly distant for most of society. â€Å"Every capitalist is trying to decrease the wages and consumption of their own workers and entice everyone else’s workers to consume to their limit and  beyond.† (Slater, D 1997) Marxism, as other modern economic theories believe, that the production and consumption of products is intrinsically connected, in the sense that incomes from production and consumer buying power are two sides of the same coin.’ (Slater, D 1997). This theory is particularly relevant now due to the current economic climate. As the recession began in 2008 many workers lost their jobs or suffered significant cuts in wages this resulted in a widespread reduction in consumer spending as a result society ended up a cycle of ever decreasing demand where the government had to intervene to stimulate spending. Of the stimulus the VAT reduction had an impact by reducing the cost of products, to reduce ever growing back up of cars as they still needed to be produced to keep the workers in employment the car scrapage scheme was introduced temporarily (Lloyds, 2009). In this scheme two thousand pounds was offered if a old car was scrapped in exchange for a new car. Capitalists driven to mass production, not by greed but conditions of capitalism (Edwards T, 2000), if not competing, competitors will capture markets through lower prices. This practice discussed by Marx leads to situations like the above were supply far exceeds demand. A good example of over production can be found by searching for any random product on a supplier listings website, Alibaba.com have over 64,979 different belt buckles available. Durkheim predicted that modern industrial societies would over-emphasise the importance of individuality which would erode social stability and solidarity (Schmidt, R 2010), consumers are sold their own individuality through advertising campaigns a few examples are: Dell’s ‘Yours is here’, My Yahoo. Products are increasingly customisable, mobile phone cases are a hugely popular consumer item. ‘Durkheim argues that people can only be happy when their wants are proportionate to their means. Left to themselves, human desires are boundless together with necessarily limited recourses, creates great unhappiness or ultimately suicide’ (Abercrombie et al 2006). Society controls the problem of unattainable goals by restricting desires through values aimed at permitting only goals which have some chance of attainment. The X-Factor is currently the most popular television program (Plunkett, J 2010) as dreams of mostly unattainable goals are being realised for a lucky number of consumers. This  is a stark contrast to the 1940’s where society was based around family values, working together to repair Britain where jobs were expected for life. Anomie describes the situation when this framework breaks down, goals again outrun means and suicide rate rises (Abercrombie et al 2006). Weber predicted that society would experience unprecedented inner loneliness of the single individual (Cohen Kennedy, 2007), this is a very accurate description of the contemporary experien ce, more than ever consumers are looking to the symbolic meaning of products to identify with their desired social groups and status. Social media is an interesting way to examine the inner loneliness experienced, taking facebook where consumers might have several hundred ‘friends’ who are merely acquaintances, with few solid friendships, while there is pressure to appear to have acquired huge numbers of ‘friends’ on social networks. To explore further into the loneliness of individuals, one in three households now have just one member compared with one in five in the 1970’s (BBC, 2004) this is known as the ‘meal for one’ society, more than half the meals eaten in the UK are now eaten alone. Traditional family unit is also becoming less common, with predictions indicating that in 2011 more than sixty percent of marriages will end in divorce (BBC, 2004). Weber discuses formal rationalisation of society as it becomes more industrialised and that this rationality is inevitable, the greater calculability required for rationalisation has affected greatly the consumer experie nce (Cohen Kennedy, 2007), consumers save for the wealthy classes, have an impersonal consumption experience. Self service check outs are a perfect example of this, once a shop keeper in the local store, would ring through and bag up your products now in the national and often multinational store, consumers ring through and bag up their own shopping. The systematic measured approach to contemporary life has created a predictable almost emotionless society, the consumption of university is a relevant example to the author, students are recognised by their identification number only, few if any university staff will know student’s names, no individuality between the students leaving students to display their personality and attachments through the conspicuous consumption of goods with symbolic meaning. Whereas the baby boomers will remember university involving debates with friendly tutors, with little care about appearances. This system creates greater efficiency, economic growth and  control of nature, the ‘iron cage’ describes this situation. However it does lead society towards the theories of Anomie and Alienation by Durkheim and Marx respectively. Calculability becomes an organising principle in the overall personality where ever more of our behaviour is informed by consistent logical expectations of human beings and of the environment. Spontaneity and surprise are experienced less and less in society, with calculability everything becomes increasingly predictable, unexpected events are planned for and avoided through policies and rules. The commoditisation of adventure is a good example of the disenchantment of society, Disneyland and all it represents takes the excitement out of spontaneity due to the ‘iron cage’ of functionalism and rationality. Weber sees class defined by income, (Cohen Kennedy, 2007) explaining that classes form around market positions, amongst people who share similar life chances which is relevant to the differences seen in society today from that at 1900, social mobility much more fluid with government actively perusing policies pulling people up the class system. The theories of Marx, Durkheim and Weber are relevant to society today; Weber the youngest of the theorists has accurate concepts relating to the bureaucracy experienced in the post-industrial age which explain well the changing experiences of consumers. Durkheim’s theories on Anomie in relation to individualism and the breakdown of society while religions stability isn’t the answer are partially interesting in explaining how society consumes conspicuously, using products as social glue to find a place in society. Marx’s idea on Alienation of workers, as Anomie explains aspects of the consumer mindset today. The globalisation of business taking the class struggle Marx discuses around the world. The current economic climate demonstrates that capitalism has failings even if the least of these is disconnecting individuals from a more intrinsic and meaningful existences within society. â€Å"Capitalism simultaneously produces more goods and less effective demand to pay for them.† (Slater, D 1997) References Abercrombie, N (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 235| Abercrombie, N (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 360| Abercrombie, N et al (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 14| Abercrombie, N et al (2006) Penguin Reference: Dictionary of Sociology. 5th Ed Pengin, London. P 18| Alibaba.com (2010) Search for Belt Buckles [Accessed on 19/11/2010] Available at: http://www.alibaba.com/Belt-Buckles_pid3391301| BBC News (2004) Portrait of the ‘meal for one’ society [Accessed on: 25/11/10] Available at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/3445091.stm| Buttler, C (2007) The Industrial Revolution. Flow of History.com [Accessed on: 22/11/10] Available at: http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/eme/17/FC0121| Cohen, R and Kennedy, P (2007) Global Sociology 2nd Ed. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire. P 300| Cohen, R and Kennedy, P (2007) Global Sociology 2nd Ed. Palgrave Macmill an, Hampshire. P 81| Cohen, R and Kennedy, P (2007) Global Sociology 2nd Ed. Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire. P 94| Desmond, J (2003) Consuming Behaviour. Palgrave, Hampshire| Edwards, T (2000) Contradictions of Consumption: Concepts, practices and politics in consumer society. Open University Press, Buckingham| Lloyds.com (2009) Unsold cars face storage exposures [Accessed on: s19/11/2010] Available at: http://www.lloyds.com/News-and-Insight/News-and-Features/Market-news/Specialist-2009/Unsold_cars_face_storage_exposures| Miles, S (1998) Consumerism – as a way of life. London, Sage.| Plunkett, J (2010) Gardian.co.uk: X Factor steals the show with 13.6m viewers. [Accessed on 29/11/2010] Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2010/nov/29/x-factor-tv-ratings| Schmidt, R (2010) Functionalism and Consumption Lecture Notes. I know sorry, I just really liked the sentence.| Sekora, J (1977) Luxuary: The concept in western though. Eden to Smollet, Balimore. As quoted by Slater, D (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge, Polity Press. P 176| Slater, D (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge, Polity Press. P 175| Slater, D (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge, Polity Press. P 176| Slater, D (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge, Polity Press. P 181| Slater, D (1997) Consumer Culture and Modernity. Cambridge,

Wernher Von Braun :: essays research papers

Wernher Von Braun was the second of three sons born to Baron Magnus von Braun and Baroness Emmy von Quistorp. He was born on March 23, 1912 in Wirsitz, Posen. Wernher was always a visionary, and when he was ten years old he decided his goal in life would be to "help turn the wheel of time." His interests led him to do many things in his early life including composing several pieces of music and recycling old automobile parts to build a new car. Because of spending so much of his time building a car, he flunked in mathematics and physics. However, it was his decision to explore rocketry that led to his great impact on history. Von Braun, at the age of 16, organized an observatory construction team. His volunteers built a complete observatory in their spare time, working as diggers, bricklayers, and carpenters. In 1930, when he was 20, he enrolled at the Berlin Institute of Technology. He received his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, and was offered a grant to conduct and develop scientific investigations on liquid-fueled rocket engines. A few years later Wernher received his PhD in physics from the University of Berlin. In the mid 1930's, rocket clubs sprang up all over Germany. One of these clubs, the Verein fur Raumschiffarht had engineer Wernher von Braun as a member. By 1934 von Braun had a team of 80 engineers building rockets in Kummersdorf. With the launch of two rockets, Max and Moritz, in 1934, von Braun's proposal to work on a jet-assisted take-off device for heavy bombers and all-rocket fighters was granted, But Kummersdorf was too small for the work he needed to do, so a new facility had to be built. Peenemunde, on the Baltic coast, was picked as the new site. Peenemunde was large enough to launch and monitor rockets over ranges up to about 200 miles, with observing instruments, with no risk of harming people and property. He was then arrested by the SS and the Gestapo for crimes against the state because he kept on talking about building rockets which would go into orbit around the Earth and perhaps go to the Moon. His crime was indulging in frivolous dreams when he should have been concentrating on building bigger rocket bombs for the Nazi war machine. After arriving back, von Braun immediately assembled his planning staff and asked the m to decide how and to who they should surrender to.

Accent Discrimination on the Job Essay

The topic scenario that I chose was on accent discrimination. In this scenario an employee named Maria has had her job threatened due to tardiness, attendance, and language problems. Specifically her rapid speech patterns and heavy accent had lead to communication issues within her workplace. This topic is important for the study of cultural diversity because many people who move to the United States have accents. I would like to discover whether language issues such as having an accent are sufficient grounds for termination. To me this would seem to be an act of discrimination that conflicts with the Civil Rights Act (L.A. NOW, 2012). Therefore I would need to check the language of the bill to see if Maria’s case applies. I plan to research the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (2002; EEOC Press Release, 2011) as well as publications on workplace fairness and discrimination from government websites. Pertinent cases to explore would be other language discrimination suits, especially any filed against Employers for wrongful termination due to an accent. However situations could exist where the ability to be understood in plain English would be imperative to one’s employment, depending on the necessary responsibilities of a particular job. Any other cases where a precedent has already been set would be helpful to establish discrimination in Maria’s situation or possible wrongful termination (Workplace Fairness, 2009). References EEOC Press Release. (2011). Employees Fired For Speaking Spanish On The Job, Saying ‘Good Morning’ in Native Language. Retrieved from www.eeoc.gov. L.A. NOW. (2012). State Senate approves bill banning language discrimination. Retrieved from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/04/english-only.html The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. (2002). Language uses: Accent discrimination. Retrieved from http://www.eeoc.gov/policy/docs/national-origin.html Workplace Fairness. (2009). Language discrimination. Retrieved from http://www.workplacefairness.org/language

Harwoods Poetry - a Valediction, Father and Child and the...

What meaning have you derived from Harwood’s poetry? Refer to 3 poems and include theoretical readings. The very essence of postmodernism states that meaning is provisional. The meaning that Gwen Harwood imbued in her poems may not necessarily be the meaning that we as responders ‘draw out’ from the poem. Harwood’s poetry is a product of her own historical, social, cultural and personal context and any subsequent reading is done by responders with their own unique set of circumstances. These new set of circumstances will invariably be different and hence multiple readings of a text can be taken and each reader will take their own meaning from a text. What is important here is the notion of textual integrity. Whatever meaning is perceived†¦show more content†¦From here on in the persona is unable to return to the ‘child who believed death clean and final, not this obscene.’ This can be interpreted as paralleling the exile from Eden and is consistent with the idea that with age you inevitably lose your childlike innocence and cannot return to it. Further Biblical allusions can be drawn from the relationship between the father and how the child was able to resist his power and take the gun. The way the father was ‘robbed of power, by sleep’ relates to Sampson whose wife cut off his hair in his sleep rendering him powerless. In this account Sampson’s eyes were also gauged out by the Philistines. The motif of eyes and blindness here strengthens the intertextual connection. A spiritual reading can be applied in that ironically out of loss of power and pain and blindness comes greater insight and renewed spiritual awareness and strength. Father and Child also raises the issue of humanities obsession with power. A psychoanalytic reading can provide meaning to the text when the child takes the gun. It is significant that Freud identified the gun as a symbol for power. Consistent with this reading the child’s motive to kill the owl is purely to satisfy its desire for power and control and to play ‘judge’ over it. The child after seeing the effects of its actions immediately regrets what it has done when he sees the owl’s eyes, ‘mirror my cruelty.’ Harwood makes the

Strength Based Power Training For The Vertical Jump

Strength Based Power Training For The Vertical Jump By Neal J Putt | Submitted On February 05, 2012 Recommend Article Article Comments Print Article Share this article on Facebook Share this article on Twitter Share this article on Google+ Share this article on Linkedin Share this article on StumbleUpon Share this article on Delicious Share this article on Digg Share this article on Reddit Share this article on Pinterest Expert Author Neal J Putt Power training involves applying a force at the greatest speed possible (Power = force x velocity). Jumping is a powerful movement and it must be trained using exercises which require a high power output. In a previous article, I had described the importance of strength in vertical jump training development. A well-developed strength program supplies the necessary force application in the power equation. Now it is time to discuss how to apply velocity to the power equation. Performing movements at a high velocity is the goal when designing power based exercises along with a second goal of focusing on maximum effort with each repetition. There are two major types of power exercises, those which involve more than body weight resistance and those utilizing only body weight. This article will discuss the application of performing power exercises which incorporate an added resistance through weight training. Power resistance exercises can fall into several categories: 1) weightlifting exercises with a low to moderate percentageShow MoreRelatedThe Benefits Of A Redesigned Volleyball Training Program1192 Words   |  5 PagesVolleyball Research Essay Training is the first step towards achieving any type of fitness goal, and training programs need to be specific, to achieve specific results. The following essay will compare and evaluate the effectiveness of a redesigned volleyball training program to evaluate how specific it is in regards to the players fitness requirements. The redesigned training program was specifically based on the players fitness test results, and what is required to be improved to achieve optimalRead MoreEssay on Exercise Program1620 Words   |  7 Pages Ø I go swimming every fortnight once in a week for up to 1-2 hours Ø I participated in the school netball team for the last 4 years. Ø During these 4 years I trained for 1-2 hour a week,  ½ hour for skill sessions and  ½ hour game based. Ø I do a lot of dancing, which are practices for a performance, this lasts a minimum of 1 hour of intense dance with 5-10 minutes break and 15 to 30 minutes practice everyday which is not intense, light exercise. Ø On SaturdaysRead MoreA Report On Training Program995 Words   |  4 Pagesplyometric training; she will start at a low intensity and gradually increase it to improve her vertical jumps. The resistance training program consist of three days a week, allowing Tonya recover between workouts. Aerobic training involves two days to improve her cardiorespiratory endurance. Her program involves more anaerobic exercises because basketball consist of short burst of intense activity. The phosphagen and the glycolysis are the dominant energy systems in basketball. Conditioning training willRead MoreThe Effect Of Foam Rolling On Decreasing Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness And Recovery Of Dynamic Performance Measures Performed By Pearcey Et998 Words   |  4 Pagesrepeated measure design method to test the effectiveness of foam rolling the muscles of the lower extremities. The study tested the following variables, pressure-pain threshold of the quads, thirty-meter sprint speed, broad jump distance, change of direction speed, and dynamic strength-endurance after preforming the DOMS protocol. The DOMS protocol consist of 10x10 squats. All participants in the study were both the experimental and control groups. The sessions were separated by four weeks; the sessionsRead MorePower Plus Strength And Conditioning System1265 Words   |  6 PagesPower Plus Strength and Conditioning System Hello, I m Brian McGinty trainer/owner of PowerPlus. I want to inform you of our new and innovative training system. Our system is catered around biomechanics. In the last three years, we ve had staggering results in our sports training. Within a couple of months, we dropped 100-meter times 8/10 of a second and increased bat speeds four to seven miles. We increased vertical jumps up to seven inches in multiple athletes. In aRead MoreA Brief Note On Kate Is A 94 Year Old Lady Essay1930 Words   |  8 Pageslong distances as she feels restricted. She sees the general practitioner every 3 months to get repeat blood pressure prescriptions, and is on a number of medications. Kate enjoys participating in rowing and has won a gold medal in a competition. Based on the current information given to us the main impairments, activity limitations, participation restrictions and environmental factors are listed below. Impairments Breathlessness – Restricts her from walking long distances, it started in 2007 changingRead MoreResearch design Experimental design Sample population Recreational male soccer players Sample1600 Words   |  7 PagesExperimental design Sample population Recreational male soccer players Sample size A total of forty subjects (n=40) were recruited. Sample size was calculated on the basis of previous researches by G power 3.1.5 software. Level of significance was kept 0.05, effect size of the study was 0.94 , with 80% power (1- á µ ). Sampling method Total numbers of recreational male soccer players were recruited by convenience sampling method for our study. Sources of subjects Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi Methods ofRead MoreThe muscle, joints, movement components involved in the soccer bicycle kick, including physcial test suggestions and biomechanial principles involved3066 Words   |  13 Pagesrequiring strength, agility and flexibility. 1.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Identify and describe the major muscles, joints and actions of the joints used to perform this movement skill and how they influence the way the body moves. In order to achieve a thorough analysis of all the major muscles, joints and actions of the joints used to perform the bicycle kick, the movement is divided into its three phases and the individual movements performed in order to bring about each phase of the skill. THE JUMP- In whichRead MorePlyometric Training vs. Weight Training and the Effect on Participants One-Hundred Meter Dash Time2421 Words   |  10 Pagescontrol group will undergo the traditional weight training regimen, and the experimental group will undergo the plyometric training regimen. Also we will provide a greater breakdown by logging the statistical information of each ethnic group involved. Measures: The first independent variable is a plyometric training regimen. The plyometric training regimen will last for six weeks which allows for adequate time to see change in the athlete’s athletic power, or sprint time in the one hundred meter dashRead MoreAthlete Training For Muscle Endurance2643 Words   |  11 Pagesdifferently due to the different physical demands of their sports. Soccer players have to train more footwork and leg muscles than basketball players. Basketball players need to focus more on vertical jump than soccer players. The significance of number of sets, reps, rest intervals, weights used, and frequency of training, should be discussed to help establish a line of thinking as to why and how the programs were designed. Sets: The collective number of reps one does in a movement. The number of sets

New Standards on Audit Reporting for Company- myassignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theNew Standards on Audit Reporting for Public Company. Answer: Key changes in the reporting requirements of the audit report Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is the regulatory body which is in existence to regularise the auditors of public companies. PCAOB adopts the new auditing standards on time to time basis as per the requirements of the changing market environment. It has announced the new auditing standards recently in order to widen the scope of audit reporting done by the auditors as a part of their audit engagement. The new standard aims at enhancing the quality of audit reports and making the reports more informative so as to raise the authenticity of the audit report in the eyes of intended users. Along with the previous reporting requirements PCAOB has directed the auditors of public companies to provide the additional information relating to the critical audit matters of the entity. Critical audit matters are those matters in which auditor has to apply subjective professional judgements during the audit engagement and requires communication of such matters to the audit committee (Chri stensen, Glover Wolfe, 2014). Also, the auditors conducting the audit under the standards prescribed by the PCAOB are required to disclose in the audit report, their audit tenure i.e. the date from which they have started giving professional services to the company on a consistent basis. PCAOB has introduced a new format to report and the changed format demands the auditors to state the fact that auditors are independent parties and hence their opinion is not influenced by any external factors (Ning Chiu, 2017). Auditors are also required to incorporate a new phrase in the audit report starting with the words as whether due to frauds and errors while describing their responsibilities in relation to provision of reasonable assurance about the true and fair view of financial statements. While reporting the critical audit matters auditors are also subjected to describe the considerations that enabled them to identify the matters as critical and the manner in which such critical matter s are dealt with. Similarity and Differences between the IAASB PCAOBs audit reporting approaches The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) Public company accounting oversight board (PCAOB) pursues almost similar approaches to enhance the reporting requirement for the auditors as both the regulatory bodies are aimed to promote greater level of transparency in the financial reports of the company. The auditors are required to report on the key audit matters and the critical audit matters of only current financial year as per both the boards. Key audit matters are defined by IAASB as the matters holding high significance in the overall audit and are necessary to be reported to the investors to draw their attention. These matters requires communication with those charged with governance about the key concern. Whereas the critical audit matters are defined by the PCAOB. Even after the having the similar objectives in relation to auditing practices, the approaches followed by both the boards varies in terms of documentation requirements and other areas (IAASB, 2017). IAASB requires the auditors to document the matters which had seek auditors attention and the logical reasons for the determination as to whether a particular matter arising of audit is key audit matter or not. However, PCAOB sets out the requirement of identifying and reporting all the matters that were communicated to the companys audit committee no matter whether they were determined as critical audit matters or not. Further, PCAOB restricts the auditors to communicate to the critical audit matters in the cases where adverse opinion is being expressed (PCAOB, 2017). On the other hand, IAASB permits the auditors to communicate the key audit matters even when the auditor expresses adverse opinion. But in case where disclaimer of opinion is being provided by the auditors both IAASB and PCAOB restricts the reporting of the key and critical audit matters (Gramling, Krishnan Zhang, 2011) Reasons for the changes in the audit report and the analysis whether these changes are likely to achieve the aims The main objective behind the adaptation of new audit reporting standards is to promote more transparency in the audit reports so as to protect the interests of the shareholders and investors of the company. With the growing complexities of businesses of public companies and their audit procedures, the investors of the companies are constantly demanding the additional information by the means of audit report so that they can be acknowledged about the true financial position of the company. Moreover, due to the increasing complexities it was difficult for the intended users of the audit reports to understand the audit opinion of the auditors. Adaptation of such standards will be in the interest of company and all its stakeholders in terms of transparency. The compliance with the new standards will not only contribute to company and auditors good image in the eyes of investors and shareholders Hence these changes will bring the positive change in the audit reporting practices. Therefor e it can be said the changes brought through the introduction of new auditing standards will achieve their core purposes. Impact of changed audit reporting requirements on the audit practices The new audit reporting standards requires the auditors of the companies to apply extensive audit procedures in the areas where auditor finds the need of applying more complex and subjective auditors professional judgement. The investors demand for more informative and accurate audit reports will ultimately enhance the overall quality of audit practices conducted by the auditors as they will have to remain more focused towards their assurance services in order to earn investors trust (Christensen, 2016). The basic principle of auditors independence will gain more value in the new reporting framework as it is aiming at the protection of investors interest. Identification and reporting of critical audit matters will foster the communication between the auditors and audit committees of the company thereby enabling the auditors to understand the audit matters more precisely. References Christensen, B.E., Glover, S.M. and Wolfe, C.J., 2014. Do critical audit matter paragraphs in the audit report change nonprofessional investors' decision to invest?.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,33(4), pp.71-93 Christensen, B.E., Glover, S.M., Omer, T.C. and Shelley, M.K., 2016. Understanding audit quality: Insights from audit professionals and investors.Contemporary Accounting Research,33(4), pp.1648-1684. Gramling, A.A., Krishnan, J. and Zhang, Y., 2011. Are PCAOB-identified audit deficiencies associated with a change in reporting decisions of triennially inspected audit firms?.Auditing: A Journal of Practice Theory,30(3), pp.59-79. Gunny, K.A. and Zhang, T.C., 2013. PCAOB inspection reports and audit quality.Journal of Accounting and Public Policy,32(2), pp.136-160. International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, 2017, The New Auditors Report: A COMPARISON BETWEEN THE IAASB AND THE US PCAOB STANDARDS, Available at: https://www.ifac.org/system/files/publications/files/Auditor-Reporting-Comparison-between-IAASB-Standards-and-PCAOB-Standard.pdf (assessed on 28.09.2017). Ning chiu 2017, Briefing: Governance PCAOB Adopts Requirement to Disclose Critical Audit Matters in Auditor Reports,Available at: https://www.briefinggovernance.com/2017/06/pcaob-adopts-requirement-to-disclose-critical-audit-matters-in-auditor-reports/ (assessed on 28.09.2017). Public company accounting oversight board, 2017, PCAOB Adopts New Standard to Enhance the Relevance and Usefulness of the Auditor's Report with Additional Information for Investors, Available at: https://pcaobus.org/News/Releases/Pages/auditors-report-standard-adoption-6-1-17.aspx (assessed on 28.09.2017). Public company accounting oversight board, 2017, The Auditor's Report On An Audit Of Financial Statements When The Auditor Expresses An Unqualified Opinion And Related Amendments to PCAOB Standards, Available at: https://pcaobus.org/Rulemaking/Docket034/2017-001-auditors-report-final-rule.pdf (assessed on 28.09.2017).

Counseling Ethics Decision Making Process

Question: Discuss about the Counseling Ethics Decision Making Process. Answer: Introduction: A moral or ethical dilemma arises when an individual encounters confusion in choosing between two options, each of which seems to have equally strong grounds to be chosen, and yet the person cannot choose both or more than a single alternative. The healthcare experts often encounter serious ethical moral dilemmas in situations which involve offering an ineffective life-sustaining therapy to a terminally ill person, or applying Euthanasia to a dying patient. However, the case of Susan Lee was indeed an exception. The 57 year old Singaporean surgeon had been making headlines in the newspapers since 2011, as she was accused of having charged an exorbitantly high amount of money while treating the sister of the Brunei Queen. The moral dilemma arising here is that should a doctor charge a hefty amount of $24.8 million simply because she was treating a member of the royal family, or should she charge the exactly same fee for each patient, irrespective of the economic or social differences (Christensen et al., 2014). On the one hand, it can be argued that even if Susan had charged an exorbitant amount of money from the royal family, they had been easily able to afford the huge sum of money, and hence one should not make a big story out of it. On the other hand, the counter-argument here is that a doctor should have an ethical obligation of curing and nursing her patient instead of trying to form a transactional relationship with her. However, the purpose of the essay is to resolve the inherent ethical dilemma that Susan Lim is confronting, and helping her resolve her dilemma with the help of the 8-step ethical decision model (Heyler et al., 2016). Discussion: The 8-step ethical decision model is a special model that helps one to resolve any dilemma by breaking down a problem by each step, examining the consequences, assessing the gravity of each consequence on the people involved, and thereby ultimately choosing the most befitting solution. The first step that needs to be concerned in this model is the identification of the problem. As far as the Susan Lim case is concerned, it has been observed that Susan Lim, the Singaporean surgeon is encountering a dilemma between two potential alternatives. On the one hand she deems it perfect to overcharge a patient who belongs to an affluent family, and can pay a lump sum amount of money in lieu of the high quality treatment she will deliver. However, on the other hand, she is aware that as a doctor her primary obligation lies in restoring health to a patient, regardless of the monetary benefits she is likely to receive through the same. Consequently, developing such transactional relation with a p atient might not only land Susan in trouble, but she would also have to violate the ethical codes of conduct of her profession. The next step here is the identification of the potential issues involved. The major ethical issue involved in this case is that despite being a healthcare expert who is entrusted with the duty of protecting the life of a patient, Susan is inclined to focus more on the materialistic benefits of her profession, rather than the professional obligation. She believes in overcharging the medical fee from a royal family that is unacceptable. On the other hand, there is no rigid rule as to how much a practitioner can charge from his patient, if he is treating him on a personal basis (Grant-Kel et al., 2016). Hence, the other issue here is who is going to determine the ethicality of the situation, as there is no strict ethical guideline in the healthcare industry as to how much can a physician charge his client for, in lieu of the service he is providing (Anderson Anderson, 2014). While the professional virtue is an important issue here, the business consideration is equally an important is sue. For Susan, offering healthcare service is her vocation, and she makes her living out of that. Hence, the other argument here is that if a business man can charge huge amount of money for the ordinary goods sold by him, is it unethical for Susan to charge huge amount of money from a patient who is capable of paying the same? The third step here is reviewing the ethical guidelines. As far as the ethical guidelines are concerned, there are little or no guideline is being formulated that can eliminate the commerciality of the health practitioners. Although the Singaporean High Court has twice announced that each health practitioner has a primary obligation towards the well-being of the patient, and thus he should refrain from overcharging a patient, there are no strict laws about the same. The ethical guidelines of the healthcare industry state that a health practitioner will always have a higher ethical duty towards the well-being of his patient, which should always triumph over his materialistic considerations (Jonsen, 2015). The next step to consider here is that it is necessary to know the relevant laws and regulations concerned here. Although there is no strict law against overcharging, and it is assumed that a patient would charge minimal amount of out his own accord, if a physician is being continually accused of overcharging the fee, he would be sued for professional misconduct and end up paying a huge amount of money as part of the penalty. The next step involved in this model, is that consultation has to be obtained from other experts about the ethicality of the decision to be taken (Doval et al., 2015). The Court as well as the Medical Council Board of Singapore has clearly stated that a doctor can never charge a fee higher than the market rate. Even if the patient agrees to the higher medical cost involved, the High Court of Singapore makes it a mandate that the ethical obligations of a patient should under any circumstance get an upper hand over any contractual obligations. In the next stage, it is important to consider the possible course of action, and act accordingly. Here, Susan is left with two alternatives- either she can consider the option of overcharging the patient, driven by her desire to achieve greater profit in her profession, or she can respect the ethical codes of conduct of her vocation, and charge the market fee, overlooking that the patient belongs to an affluent family. The seventh step to consider here is to weigh and assess the consequence of each possible course of action. As far as the first course of action is concerned, it is being observed that the patients family can accuse Susan of having overcharged the medical fee, and that is likely to ruin the reputation of the doctor, and can also mar the public attitude towards the ethical integrity of the doctors. Besides, the first alternative has a high probability of landing him amidst legal troubles as well (Chattopadhyay, 2015). On the other hand, if the second alternative is to be chosen, that is if Susan is prevented from choosing the option of overcharging her patient, the patients family would not accuse her or her family of anything wrong, and she would not have to encounter any legal penalty for having breached the moral codes of medical ethics. She would be able to remain true to her professional obligations as well. After considering and assessing the possible consequences of each action, it has been observed that Susan has two possible alternatives to act on, and given the choice to choose the right one, she should always choose the second alternative. The reason behind choosing the second alternative lies in the fact that Susan would face undesirable legal issues on overcharging a patient. The Singaporean government has mandated that a doctor should only charge fair and reasonable fees from his patients, and he should not prioritize his commercial benefits over ethical responsibility towards a patient. Although there is no ethical limit, as to what fee should be charged, if the patients family accuses the doctor of overcharging, she might end up paying $10000 in the form of penalty. Besides, if Susan would be legally sued, this might have a negative impact on her career prospects as well. Considering this, she should choose not to overcharge her patient, and even if she intends to charge high considering her expertise, the amount should be moderately high (Weaver, 2016). Susan Lims action of overcharging a patient, violating her ethical obligations towards a patient cannot be justified to be ethically a right alternative at all. However, if one has to defend her action, and comprehend the reason why she chose the option, the theory of Moral Subjectivism should be chosen. According to the theory of Moral Subjectivism, an action can be regarded to be morally right or wrong in accordance with what the subject, or the perpetrator of the action considers to be right or wrong. Thus, no action, according to this theory is intrinsically right or wrong, and if the subject deems his action to be ethically right, the action is right, regardless of what the social norms claim. As far as Susan Lim is concerned, she overcharges the medical fee, that is considered to be wrong as it is violating the ethical codes of conduct a medical expert is expected to follow. Susan Lim herself was well-aware that she was not charging an exorbitant amount of money from an impover ished or financially insolvent person, but rather she was charging a hefty amount from a member of the Royal family. The patient or her family, according to Susan, were financially powerful enough to afford the medical bill, without any difficulty (Barker, 2013). Another majo reason as to why Susan might have done this, or undergone the moral dilemma is that the dctor was one of the most recognized surgeons of Singapore, and hence she deemed it perfectly right to charge high, considering her higher skills and more acknowledged expertise. Susan herself might argue as well that despite being involved in a vocation that serves the welfare of the public, she just like any other person intends to earn penny through her profession. Thus, while a private tutor might sell his service at a higher fee, or a business man might sell his cookies at a higher price, she also wanted to sell her service in lieu of a higher amount. The theory of moral subjectivism claims that the rightness of an acti on solely depends on the thoughts and opinions of the perpetrator. Consequently, if one looks at Susan, one can find that Susans argument can well justify her position and the reason of her action. According to this moral theory, it is vain to criticize and judge the actions of other people, sa not only every one acts in their own interests, but each man works in accordance with what he feels to be a right action. Susan herself thought that her medical profession was the only source of income for her, and resultantly she chose to hike her fee, considering the expertise nad recognition she has earned over the years. Although in this way, with the help of the above theory, one may easily justify the moral position of Susan Lim, it is important to have a look at the limitations of this theory as well. As far as the theory is concerned, the rightness of an action is determined I terms of what the subject deemed to be right. Hwever, the major limitation of the theory lies in the fact that to each perpetrator of an action, his own perspective is right. Very few people suffer from a sense of repentence and accept that his action was wrong. Now, if one has to consider the rightness of an action in terms of the perspective of the doer, almost every action, including the wrong ones, have to be deemed to be right. Each action as such would have to be considered to be just. The thief stealing someone elses property must be justified if one has to consider that his perspective was right, as he wanted to bring money to his home at the expense of the hard work of other people (Tan, 2016). Hence in justifying the case of Susan Lim with the help of this theory lies in the fact that Susan Lim was wrong in her choice, and yet she thought that her action was right according to her perspectives. However, it is important to use ones own judgment and discretion, and object to an action, that is considered to be morally objectionable, regardless of what the subject thinks. Conclusion: To conclude, it should be noted that overcharging a patient is not legally or ethically acceptable. It should be noted that Susan or doctors like her often face an ethical dilemma, as they want to charge high and yet understand that the same is not an ethical option. However, it is important to resolve the ethical dilemma, and Susan should remember that she should comply by the ethical obligations of her profession, or else she might face penalty or imprisonment of 3 years. Considering this, Susan is being advised to refrain from overcharging the patient. Reference List: Anderson, M., Anderson, S. L. (2014, July). GenEth: A General Ethical Dilemma Analyzer. InAAAI(pp. 253-261). Barker, K. (2013). The Island Has Its Reasons: Moral Subjectivism in Fiction. Chattopadhyay, S. (2015). Corruption in Healthcare and medicine.Indian Journal of Medical Ethics,10(3), 153-189. Christensen, J. F., Flexas, A., Calabrese, M., Gut, N. K., Gomila, A. (2014). Moral judgment reloaded: a moral dilemma validation study.Frontiers in psychology,5, 607. Doval, H. C., Tajer, C. D., Borracci, R. A., Nuez, C., Samarelli, M., Tamini, S. (2015). Survey on Ethical Conduct Thresholds in Cardiologal Medical Practice in Argentina.Developing world bioethics,15(2), 68-75. Grant-Kels, J. M., Kim, A., Graff, J. (2016). Billing and up coding: Whatsa doctor-patient to do?.International Journal of Women's Dermatology,2(4), 149-150. Heyler, S. G., Armenakis, A. A., Walker, A. G., Collier, D. Y. (2016). A qualitative study investigating the ethical decision making process: A proposed model.The Leadership Quarterly,27(5), 788-801. Jonsen, A. R., Siegler, M., Winslade, W. J. (2015).Clinical Ethics: A Practical Approach to Ethical Decisions in Clinical Medicine, 8E. McGraw Hill Professional. Lim, J., Lee, D. (2013). Re-making Singapore healthcare. InSingapore Perspectives 2012: Singapore Inclusive: Bridging Divides(pp. 61-79). Tan, S. H. (2016). The Problems with Moral Subjectivism. Weaver, C. A., Ball, M. J., Kim, G. R., Kiel, J. M. (2016). Healthcare information management systems.Cham: Springer International Publishing.