Holistic nursing practice encouraging active communication

Holistic nursing practice encouraging active communication Introduction Diversity of the worlds population has reached a point where it is vital to address and more importantly to understand, the ever-growing challenge that transcultural nursing poses to the nursing profession. Addressing this issue avoids discrimination and promotes equality within holistic nursing practice in order to meet patients needs. Health care professionals should be qualified to deliver, on a daily basis, proficient care and sensitive skilled communication to culturally different individuals (Maier-Lorentz, 2008). To exercise professional nursing in a conceptual way holistic nursing care focuses on physical, emotional, social, environmental and spiritual aspects as well as on the idea that any individual involved in treatment care should be treated as a whole and with dignity (Dossey Guzzetta, 2005). One of the areas to be discussed is Transcultural Nursing and Leiningers Transcultural Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality and its research enablers: the Sunrise Enabler and the Ethnonursing Method. Another area will be Holistic Nursing Practice and Nightingales Nursing Theory of Environmental Adaptation as well as the liaison between Transcultural Nursing and Holistic Nursing Practice. Nightingales theory has been chosen over others because she was the first to acknowledge nurses work in a theoretical framework and because she was considered to be the mother of nursing practices (Ellis, 2008). The development of culture care theory introduced health care professionals into a new nursing dimension formed by issues such as culture background, spirituality, environment and others that demonstrated how culture and health care are linked (Leininger, 2002a). Holistic Nursing Practice encourages active communication and reciprocal understanding, underlines the exercise of physiological and psychosocial awareness, it is based on logical thinking and supports values such as autonomy and patient wishes and tendencies (MacKinnon, 2010). Transcultural Nursing Transcultural nursing may be defined as a method to contrast and observe how individuals view health care, biased by their culture background. The principles of practising transcultural nursing are to provide complete nursing care to individuals or groups by treating them with respect and taking into account their cultural factors. It is all about nursing practice applied to cultural values and limitations (Leininger, 1991). Definitions of transcultural nursing incorporate many factors that shape the individuals cultural orientation. These include are age, sexual orientation and financial aspects. It has been suggested that by ignoring these culture background factors, health care professionals do not achieve enough cultural experience to be incorporated in holistic nursing practice (Barnes et al. 2000). This absence might lead to unsafe nursing care and both dissatisfied patients and professionals (Curren, 2006 cited in Leininger McFarland, 2006, pp.159-160). To promote transcultural nursing care, Narayan (2001) felt that there are four crucial attitudes to assume caring, empathy, openness and flexibility. This shows the patients a cultural understanding, appreciation, consideration and willingness from health care professionals that are based on individual care. Cultural education and the creation of culturally competent care professionals are one of the biggest challenges yet to tackle worldwide. For instance, in America, as the migrant population increases notably so it does the need for reducing inequalities and barriers such as language. Maier-Lorentz (2008) firmly understood that such a need could be met by the targeting of bilingual health care professionals coming from different backgrounds. Moreover, she suggested that in order to provide culturally competent nursing care, some knowledge of non-vocal communication signs could be of great value, as it is in eye contact, touch, silence, space and distance, and health care habits. Green-Hernandez (2004) recommended that as a step towards multicultural competency, professionals that need to deal with farmers should familiarize themselves with their specific customs such as using animal medication for their own conditions as a consequence of living far away from the care institutions. With the purpose of understanding culture, Andrews Boyle (1997) gave out diverse illustrations. For example, they suggested that by understanding a peoples proverbs, professionals may grasp knowledge of the cultural values shared by that population. The authors also stressed the importance of culture knowledge when coming across two different ways to view stealing. For one culture it may not be acceptable whereas for another one, e.g. gipsy people, it may be ok, as long as it is coming from a better-off person. Furthermore, they also found, through researchers, that different cultures may think that by being a demanding patient, the treatment they receive may improve. Riley (2004) reported that a foremost test for nurses in an ethnically different society is communication. Not just words but also tone and volume form spoken communication which in diverse cultures differs greatly. For example, Thai people are regarded as not talking too much as they believe it is a sign of idiocy whereas Cuban people are happy with talking vociferously. He also pointed out that Europeans are not afraid of talking about emotions whereas Asians are hesitant to do so. With regards to communication without words Riley (2004) explained that eye contact is not always expected. For instances, in Native America and Asian cultures it is offensive and among Muslim Arab women it is allowed only to their husbands. Therefore, he identified the importance for healthcare professionals to be culturally aware. Phillimore (2011) explored the challenge of provision of diversity needs in the UK-based on studies done on health care service provision to new migrants, during 2007/08 in Birmingham. She stated that with political forces wanting to reduce welfare support for new migrants, such provision becomes quite a challenge. She also believed that, in the long run, this disregarding of health care needs will lead to further issues for the health care system that otherwise could be avoided by just providing what is needed now: cultural and language services and health support. It was also suggested that in todays political climate offering of ethnically specific provision by the community and for the community, results in the local needs not being met, as the existing GP systems are already overstretched. She concluded that a number of migrants are condemned to an unwelcoming future since UK seems to embrace a tendency of anti-migrant sentiment and a move to community institution instead of multicultural provision (Phillimore, 2011). The Culture Care Diversity and Universality Theory by Madeleine Leininger In the 1950s Madeleine Leininger, a nurse-anthropologist, realised that nursing practice was requiring a theory to allow people to transform nursing into a more advanced and beneficial discipline that challenges nurses to open up to cultural variety and universality (Leininger, 2006). This was developed as a response to the demand for multicultural care which was immense and yet incomplete as many healthcare systems did not consider the need for bringing together culture and nursing care (Giger Davidhizar, 2008). The culture care diversity and universality theory developed by Leininger in 1991 (Leininger, 2002a) is unique in that it focuses on competent care, can be used upon any culture and is based not only on individuals but groups and families too. The theory addresses the importance of a consistent cultural competence instrument to acquire cultural awareness through a constant learning attitude and approval towards human differences and rights by health care professionals (Burford, 2001, cited in Baxter, 2001, pp. 202-203). Leininger (2002a) insisted on the importance of transcultural knowledge as a tool to avoid human acts such as the event of September 11, 2001. She then proposed the culture care theory as the most holistic approach to gradually transform the health system. This much-needed transformation requires an understanding of individuals in ways that identify and respect their cultural background and will lead us to understand such transcultural dismay. The theory was used in a study among Hispanic home care patients in the US, 2007, in order to identify cultural needs. As a result, care delivery improved in some areas and there was a suggestion describing the use of the model as a tool to reduce costs in the health care system (Woerner et al. 2009). Leiningers theory applies not only to races from different backgrounds but also to todays controversial groups such as transgendered people, disabled people , the youth, poverty and the homeless that may pose a certain degree of difficulty of understanding to healthcare professionals. There is also an agreement that, thanks to Leiningers culture care theory, the nursing profession today knows how to allow for culture when looking after individuals and has a widely spread caring philosophy in hospitals (Clarke et al. 2009). For this model to assist the health care professional to understand factors as important as management and policies, as well as being able to reflect on their decisions and actions, Leininger designed two tool assessments, The Sunrise Enabler and the Ethno Nursing research method, which are based on monitoring treatment care on a daily basis (Hubbert, 2006, cited in Leininger McFarland, 2006, pp. 354-356). The sunrise enabler focuses mainly on total life ways and caring factors influencing health and well-being, disabilities and death. It also identifies features influenced by the patients cultural background whereas ethnonursing finds ways in which multicultural care could be better. In doing so, the reflected culture becomes part of the holistic nursing practice (Leininger, 2006). The Sunrise Enabler The Sunrise Enabler is used as an assessment tool to enable multidisciplinary teams to deliver suitable and competent cultural assessments that impede intolerance and stereotype behaviour. This is to supply the healthcare system with a guide to cultural vicinities ranging from religious beliefs to economic factors (Giger Davidhizar, 2008). Wherever a healthcare professional starts the model either from the top or from the bottom, the most important feature is to listen to the individuals, trying to grasp ideas and concepts rather than enforcing them (Leininger, 2002a). Healthcare professionals struggled to understand the meaning of factors influencing the care practice so crucial when applying the culture care theory. Such factors as culture beliefs, environment and religion were to be included in the nursing care, therefore Leininger (1997) built the Sunrise Enabler to illustrate such aspects. The Ethno-nursing Method This method was developed to fit the purposes of qualitative research methods. It is a systematic method for studying multiple cultures and care factors within a familiar environment of people and to focus on the interrelationships of care and culture to arrive at the goal of culturally congruent care. Ethnonursing is a particular research method developed by Leininger to inspect the theory. It was developed to allow health care professionals to discover new ways of helping different cultural groups distinguish features of nursing care (Leininger, 2006). Leininger (2006, p.6) stated that the ethnonursing method à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦was new and unknown in nursing and was different from other qualitative methods including ethnography. Holistic Nursing Practice The exercise of modern nursing is based on the view of holism that underlines the individuals wholeness. Healing viewed as an indication of nursing practice that treats people as whole, developed in the late 20th and early 21st century into a popular subject in nursing in order to clarify the meaning of wholeness and holism. As a result, alternative therapies surfaced as approaches of practice in holistic nursing (Locsin, 2002). The definition of holistic came into effect in the 20th century. Then the word holism included the physical, emotional, mental, social, cultural, and spiritual view. This view of holism was envisioned by Florence Nightingale who is seen today as an example to follow, although many of her studies are not used in todays nursing practice (Beck, 2010). Holistic nursing care embraces the mind, body and spirit of the patient, in a culture that supports a therapeutic nurse/patient relationship, resulting in wholeness, harmony and healing. Holistic care is patient led and patient focused in order to provide individualised care, thereby, caring for the patient as a whole person rather than in fragmented parts (McEvoy Duffy, 2008, Vol.8, p. 418). Furthermore, it addressed the expansion of multidisciplinary and collaborative teams as a way to applying holistic care into practice and asserted that the practice of holistic care by health professionals should avoid intrusion and, when really needed, as it is the case of unconscious patients, should use skills that include aspects such as consideration, disciplined criticism and liability in order to exercise nursing in a holistic approach (McEvoy Duffy, 2008). Since individuals from different culture backgrounds may appreciate holistic nursing practice and care choices in different ways so is the healthcare provided in different ways (Locsin, 2001). It may also be the case that some individuals may feel embarrassed to mention alternative remedies used in the past, therefore the assessment should be supportive rather than disapproving (Maddalena, 2009). Pearcey (2007) ran a study on clinical practices amongst student nurses to draw on a few key points related to holistic nursing practice. It was found that the notion of holistic care was not clear within nursing practice. Some students claimed not to know the right meaning of holistic nursing practice and claimed that tasks and routines are what nursing is all about. The study showed an evident lack of professionalism and knowledge amongst care professionals as well as a huge gap between what is taught and what is really applied at work. The author concluded that there is a real risk of inconsistency within the profession. Within the practice of holistic care there has been lately a huge influence of alternative or complementary medicine which care experts have tried to professionalise by setting certain values to be met. A study amongst nurses and midwives accomplished in England, 2008, revealed this but also the lack of initiative from the NHS to incorporate such practices, even though it was demonstrated that a huge variety of them were successfully applied on patients where biomedicine seemed not to work. Such practices included reflexology, aromatherapy, acupuncture and massage that actually underlined biomedicine rather than substituted (Cant et al. 2011). Whilst carrying out an interview on medical students in the UK, a student suggested that it is actually a catch-22-situation when looking after patients from diverse races as they have diverse predominance of whatever conditions that eventually will require different treatment, a world apart from what is being taught in medical schools with regards to treating everyone in the same way (Roberts et al. 2008). A quick look to Harrison (2008) for a concluding comment on multicultural nursing in relation to holistic care, offers us this brief view: a Western health care organism that has not managed to treat minority communities in a holistic manner is a system that claims to care for one and all identically. The Theory of Environmental Adaptation by Florence Nightingale According to Nightingales Theory of Environmental Adaptation, an individuals health is improved by looking after the surrounding environment. It goes further than this and asks for the environment to be operated by the health care professionals as an approach to healing (Howett et al. 2010). Florence Nightingale defined nursing as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the act of utilising the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery (Funnell et al. 2009). She determined that the deficiency of factors such as uncontaminated air, clean water, sanitation, hygiene and sunlight is unhealthy to the human being. Furthermore, she reasoned that temperature, environment and nutrition affect the patient (Kozier, et al. 2008). This theory of nursing includes inspection, recognition of environment changes and their execution and supporting the patient health care by allowing the environment to benefit the patient (Neils, 2010). Selanders (2010) reviewed and compared this theorys aspects with modern-day practice and reported that Nightingales concept, such as air, light, noise and cleanliness is equal to todays concept of physical environment; health recommendations to psychological environment; food to nutritional status and observation to nursing management. The author also estimated that the theory has been used in several qualitative works and some studies on the childbirth process. Transcultural Nursing vs. Holistic Nursing Practice According to Leininger (2002b) patients are not provided full holistic care by health professionals. Factors such as kinship, religion, environment and culture are largely missing. For that reason, care professionals should avoid being judgmental when delivering holistic care and rather provide an all-inclusive care that respects the individuals cultural background (Maddalena, 2009). As a student nurse, it is vital to value the development of cultural awareness and competency within the profession in order to encourage and address all stages of holistic nursing practice as it is meaningful to todays multicultural society. Leininger (1997) also claimed that essential practice is needed to create a regulation of multicultural nursing that could be of use to much ignored cultures. For example, acute medical treatment, medication, and patient fulfilment can be improved by understanding care beliefs when bringing in nursing care which, in turn, could save the health care system financially and have a desired positive outcome on patients (Woerner et al. 2009). Individuals or groups may clash with health professionals if they are not showing respect for each others cultural beliefs resulting in poor treatment and patients losing hope in the health care system. Hogg (2010a) also underpinned this understanding as crucial to delivering accurate holistic nursing practice. However, not only patients may lose faith in the system. Hogg (2010b) also affirmed that nurses from black and minority ethnic have suffered, at some point, racial harassment as well as lack of opportunities according to their numbers in the nursing profession. As holistic nursing practice centres on recognition of patients rights and choices (Potter, 2005 cited in Dossey et al. 2005, p.347), it is subsequently supporting the meaning behind multicultural care. The association of both precepts confirms an ongoing engagement to pursue equality and diversity as promoted by the Nursing Midwifery Council (2008). Inherent in nursing is respect for human rights, including cultural rights, the right to life and choice, to dignity and to be treated with respect. Nursing care is respectful of and unrestricted by considerations of age, colour, creed, culture, disability or illness, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, politics, race or social status (The International Council for Nurses, 2005). When assessing, planning, implementing and evaluating a patients needs as to medication, health professionals should take into account cultures physiologic traits, as it can seriously impact the treatment. For instances, due to genetics, for one patient a normal given dose may develop a reaction whereas for another it may not work at all (Anon, 2005). Conclusion It is obvious that cultural competency is a must when performing holistic nursing practice, in order to deliver a responsive and high quality care system. It is therefore recommended that specific cultural training should be given to all health care professionals so as to not overlook the great multi-cultural society we all are in. As society becomes more diverse, health care professionals should expand guiding principles that sponsor cultural skills as a way to deliver enhanced holistic healthcare. By carrying out this essay, the author realises the significance of treating people in a holistic way and not making assumptions just because they are from different cultures. This is something that seems yet not to be well implemented in my workplace (NHS since 2007). The author will, from now on, be more aware of his practice when caring for individuals from different culture backgrounds. It can be considered that nursing as a profession is also an example of human culture so indispensable for a in peak condition community, as seen looking through the theories of nursing and its tools presented in this paper, which if not recognized may affect the execution of holistic practice and its results, i.e. it is a profession whose culture needs to be elastic if it is to fulfil its function.

Introduction To Financial Management

Define the terms finance and financial management, and identify the major sub-areas of finance. Finance is the study of applying specific value to things individuals own to include services used and decisions determined [Finance by Cornett, M. M., Adair, T. A., & Nofsinger J. (2014). M: Finance (2nd ed.)]. In simple words, finance is how much value is attributable to goods and services and the basis of such attribution. Financial management may be defined as the management of the finances of a business or an organization in order to achieve the financial objectives. It includes creation, effective utilization of funds to ensure the smooth functioning of the business. It encompasses planning, administration and controlling. The various sub areas of finance are:1.Investments – deals with deciding on what kinds of securities/bonds the company can buy.2.Financial management – management of finances to ensure that the financial objectives are reached 3.Financial institutions and markets – these two sub areas facilitate the raising of capital funds by the company.â€Å"What are the three basic forms of business ownership? What are the advantages and disadvantages to each† (Cornett, Adair, &Nofsinger, 2014, p. 21)? The three basic forms of business ownership are sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation. A sole proprietorship is where the business is run by a single person. The advantages of this form of ownership are as follows: †¢This is the easiest form of business to start†¢This is affected least by regulations †¢There is no question of share of profits. The owner gets to retain the full share †¢The profits are taxed only once as business income. The disadvantages of this form of ownership is as follows:†¢The life of the company is limited to the life of the owner. There will be no continuity once the owner dies. †¢The capital invested in the business is limited to the resources available with the ow ner. The scope of raising external finance is limited †¢The owner undertakes the entire risk of the business†¢The liability of the owner is unlimited and may extend to his personal assets also A partnership is that form of business ownership where more than one person work together based on an agreement to share the profits and losses.The advantages are as follows: †¢More than one owner is there in business and hence the risk is shared †¢Each partner will contribute capital and hence more capital will be available †¢This is also relatively easier to start compared to a corporation †¢The income from this type of ownership is taxed once as personal income The disadvantages of a partnership is as follows:†¢The profits are shared between the partners. Hence, when compared to a sole proprietorship there is lesser profits †¢Generally, the liability of the partners is unlimited (except in the case of a limited liability) †¢ It is difficult to tr ansfer ownershipA corporation is a separate legal entity whose transactions and conduct of the business is separate from its owners. Corporations can borrow money, sue and be sued in its own name. The advantages of a corporation are as follows: †¢The liability is limited to the amount paid on stock by the investor †¢The corporation has an unlimited life†¢There is separation of ownership and management as the corporation is a separate legal entity †¢Transfer of ownership is easy †¢As a corporation, it is easier to raise capital from equity and debt marketThe disadvantages are:†¢The agency problem arises as there is separation of management and ownership †¢There is double taxation – the business income is taxed in the hands of the corporate and the dividends is taxed in the hands of the shareholders as dividend incomeDefine the terms agency relationship and agency problem, and list the three approaches to minimize the conflict of interest resu lting from the agency problem. An agency relationship is where a principal hires another person (called an agent) to carry out the work of the principal in a fiduciary capacity. In case of a corporation, the board of directors who constitute  the top management are the agents elected by the principals (stockholders) to carry on the business. An agency problem is where there is a conflict between the agent and principal in terms of functioning and in terms of interest. There are many ways to minimize the conflict of interest. However the three most important are as follows:1.Ignore the challenge on hand:This is the least preferred way of resolving the problem. The stakeholders may resolve to ignore the problem on hand. The disadvantage is that the problem continues to remain a problem and is never solved. In this case, the problem may go out of control. 2.Monitor manager’s action:The shareholders may monitor the management’s action closely to ensure that the situation is not going out of control. 3.Make manager’s take ownershipBy giving the managers a portion in the capital of the company in the form of say ESOP, the manager will also have a moral responsibility imposed on him to make decisions and act in the best interests of the company.â€Å"Why is ethical behavior so important in the field of finance† (Cornett, Adair, &Nofsinger, 2014, p. 21)? A corporation is a type of ownership where the management is separated from the ownership. The shareholders are the owners who have invested their money in the form of equity capital. It is the management’s responsibility to spend the money judiciously. Since the management is handling other people’s money, ethical behavior plays a very important role in the field of finance. Some of the many famous financial scandals are: (accounting-degree, 2013) †¢Waste management scandal: This is a Houston based company which reported $1.7 billion fake earnings.†¢Enron: This wa s a Houston based commodities, energy and service corporation where the shareholders lost $74 billion dollars. †¢Worldcom scandal: A telecommunications company inflated the assets by as much as $11 billion. †¢Tyco: New Jersey based swiss security company where the CEO and CFO stole $150 million and inflated company income by $500 million †¢Satyam scandal: Indian IT services company falsely boosted revenue by $1.5 billion â€Å"Does the goal of shareholder wealth maximization conflict with behaving ethically? Explain† (Cornett, Adair, &Nofsinger, 2014, p. 21). The most important goal of management is to ensure that there is maximization of shareholder’s  wealth. This means that over a long period of time, the value of the stock has to increase steadily so as to ensure maximum profits to the shareholders. However, there is always a question on whether the maximization goal conflicts with ethics.While the goal of wealth maximization is very important, it should not be done in an unethical way. The affairs of the company has to be conducted in such a way that it adheres to all government regulations, accounting principles and ethical standards. Examples of unethical ways to increase the wealth is window dressing, violating regulations, etc. All these cannot be cited as an excuse to ensure that the goal of maximization is reached. Introduction To Financial Management Define the terms finance and financial management, and identify the major sub-areas of finance. Finance is the study of applying specific value to things individuals own to include services used and decisions determined [Finance by Cornett, M. M., Adair, T. A., & Nofsinger J. (2014). M: Finance (2nd ed.)]. In simple words, finance is how much value is attributable to goods and services and the basis of such attribution. Financial management may be defined as the management of the finances of a business or an organization in order to achieve the financial objectives. It includes creation, effective utilization of funds to ensure the smooth functioning of the business. It encompasses planning, administration and controlling. The various sub areas of finance are:1.Investments – deals with deciding on what kinds of securities/bonds the company can buy. 2.Financial management – management of finances to ensure that the financial objectives are reached 3.Financial institution s and markets – these two sub areas facilitate the raising of capital funds by the company.â€Å"What are the three basic forms of business ownership? What are the advantages and disadvantages to each† (Cornett, Adair, &Nofsinger, 2014, p. 21)? The three basic forms of business ownership are sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation. A sole proprietorship is where the business is run by a single person. The advantages of this form of ownership are as follows:†¢This is the easiest form of business to start †¢This is affected least by regulations †¢There is no question of share of profits. The owner gets to retain the full share †¢The profits are taxed only once as business income. The disadvantages of this form of ownership is as follows: †¢The life of the company is limited to the life of the owner. There will be no continuity once the owner dies. †¢The capital invested in the business is limited to the resources available with the owner. The scope of raising external finance is limited †¢The owner undertakes the entire risk of the business†¢The liability of the owner is unlimited and may extend to his personal assets also A partnership is that form of business ownership where more than one person work together based on an agreement to share the profits and losses. The advantages are as follows: †¢More than one owner is there in business and hence the risk is shared †¢Each partner will contribute capital and hence more capital will be available †¢This is also relatively easier to start compared to a corporation †¢The income from this type of ownership is taxed once as personal income The disadvantages of a partnership is as follows:†¢The profits are shared between the partners. Hence, when compared to a sole proprietorship there is lesser profits †¢Generally, the liability of the partners is unlimited (except in the case of a limited liability) †¢ It is difficult to transfer ownershipA corporation is a separate legal entity whose transactions and conduct of the business is separate from its owners. Corporations can borrow money, sue and be sued in its own name. The advantages of a corporation are as follows: †¢The liability is limited to the amount paid on stock by the investor †¢The corporation has an unlimited life†¢There is separation of ownership and management as the corporation is a separate legal entity †¢Transfer of ownership is easy †¢As a corporation, it is easier to raise capital from equity and debt market The disadvantages are: †¢The agency problem arises as there is separation of management and ownership †¢There is double taxation – the business income is taxed in the hands of the corporate and the dividends is taxed in the hands of the shareholders as dividend incomeDefine the terms agency relationship and agency problem, and list the three approaches to minimize the conflict of interest resulting from the agency problem. An agency relationship is where a principal hires another person (called an agent) to carry out the work of the principal in a fiduciary capacity.In case of a corporation, the board of directors who constitute  the top management are the agents elected by the principals (stockholders) to carry on the business. An agency problem is where there is a conflict between the agent and principal in terms of functioning and in terms of interest. There are many ways to minimize the conflict of interest. However the three most important are as follows: 1.Ignore the challenge on hand:This is the least preferred way of resolving the problem. The stakeholders may resolve to ignore the problem on hand. The disadvantage is that the problem continues to remain a problem and is never solved. In this case, the problem may go out of control. 2.Monitor manager’s action:The shareholders may monitor the management’s action closely to ensure that the situ ation is not going out of control. 3.Make manager’s take ownershipBy giving the managers a portion in the capital of the company in the form of say ESOP, the manager will also have a moral responsibility imposed on him to make decisions and act in the best interests of the company.â€Å"Why is ethical behavior so important in the field of finance† (Cornett, Adair, &Nofsinger, 2014, p. 21)? A corporation is a type of ownership where the management is separated from the ownership. The shareholders are the owners who have invested their money in the form of equity capital. It is the management’s responsibility to spend the money judiciously. Since the management is handling other people’s money, ethical behavior plays a very important role in the field of finance. Some of the many famous financial scandals are: (accounting-degree, 2013) †¢Waste management scandal:This is a Houston based company which reported $1.7 billion fake earnings. †¢Enron: Th is was a Houston based commodities, energy and service corporation where the shareholders lost $74 billion dollars. †¢Worldcom scandal: A telecommunications company inflated the assets by as much as $11 billion. †¢Tyco: New Jersey based swiss security company where the CEO and CFO stole $150 million and inflated company income by $500 million †¢Satyam scandal: Indian IT services company falsely boosted revenue by $1.5 billion â€Å"Does the goal of shareholder wealth maximization conflict with behaving ethically? Explain† (Cornett, Adair, &Nofsinger, 2014, p. 21). The most important goal of management is to ensure that there is maximization of shareholder’s  wealth.This means that over a long period of time, the value of the stock has to increase steadily so as to ensure maximum profits to the shareholders. However, there is always a question on whether the maximization goal conflicts with ethics. While the goal of wealth maximization is very important , it should not be done in an unethical way. The affairs of the company has to be conducted in such a way that it adheres to all government regulations, accounting principles and ethical standards. Examples of unethical ways to increase the wealth is window dressing, violating regulations, etc. All these cannot be cited as an excuse to ensure that the goal of maximization is reached.

Forest Hills Case Study Essay

According to the case materials, Forest Hill Paper Company is classified as a small manufacturer, and one that is â€Å"closely-held.† This could lead one to believe that it is possibly a family-owned business, or at least managed very actively by a few people. Ownership must be very hands on and aware of the business from a micro and macro level. Therefore, we would classify the company as a small business and ownership is probably structured by one or a few people who are very involved. FHPC could be even be an S-corp, depending on further information. Forest Hill operates in a very cyclical industry, with upswings every three to four years, according to the case. This is due to customers buying a lot of paper during good economic times. Customers overbuy and are left with inventories of paper, and therefore don’t buy for a while until another economic boom occurs. Therefore, the industry is very much affected by the overall macro economy. The industry is also being affected in terms of a loss of market share, because there is a trend toward plastic and the use of more environmentally friendly grades of recycled paperboard. One could argue that the industry and market is mature, and even declining. Another aspect to consider about this industry is that it is one that has barriers to entry. The costs of starting a manufacturing company are high. It is not an industry with small capital outlay. Also, there are regulations in manufacturing which could keep competition from arising. We read in the case that Forest Hills is a small company competing against bigger companies in a commodity market. Therefore, FHPC has taken the strategy of differentiation. They have tried to offer a comprehensive amount of products and services, but are trying to stand out from the crowd by offering exceptional service and rapid responses to customer needs. Unlike the bigger companies, FHPC could develop more of a relationship with each  customer, and take more time to listen to their needs and meet customer needs more efficiently. The strategy of differentiation shows their desire to create a niche based, not so much focused on innovation, but on customer service. Hopefully customers will appreciate the service, and want to continue business with FHPC as opposed to the bigger companies. There are many examples of complexities that drive overhead costs for FHPC. One of the complexities is that the company offers a variety of products, with some different processing for each product. We read that the company tries to manufacture products in an order that decreases costs, such as keeping similar processes together. Even so, the changes in process and equipment needed drive overhead costs up with so much variety in products and steps in the manufacturing process. Each time another product is added, or even changed slightly, costs are incurred and will drive overhead in terms of increased material costs or manufacturing costs. If Forest Hills is serious about meeting their customers individual needs, they also need to understand that each customer differential comes with greater overhead costs. The specifics of each customer desire causes complexity. We would also argue that another complexity of overhead costs is due to the cyclical nature of the business. There are times of large quantity of output, while other times production would be down as the demand decreases. This makes it difficult to predict and measure overhead costs, as the output of production varies. The management must truly try to understand their fixed and variable costs and how to balance times of boom and retraction appropriately and efficiently. Capturing Manufacturing Costs The current cost system allocates manufacturing overhead based on the amount of raw materials consumed in the production process. It applies the aforementioned overhead at a rate of $1.05, per $1.00 of raw materials consumed. Given the actual data gathered in exhibit 2, the rate appears to adequately account for the sum of overheads generated, as evidenced by the table below: Cost of a Grade Change FHPC produces 20 different grades of paperboard. Each grade is unique and the amount varies so some batches maybe very large and some quite small. The company practices lean manufacturing so successive batches of similar grades are grouped together in order to reduce waste. The cost of a grade change includes the following: depreciation, labor, energy, other and lost chemicals. Assume 4 grade changes in total from the information provided. Cost to Slit a Reel of Paperboard A parent roll of paperboard is 12 feet long. Food processors require widths of 18 inches. This means that three slits must be made to produce 3 – 18† rolls. Approximately 6 inches of waste is produced by creating 3 – 18† rolls. Only grade A and grade C are slit. A total of 85 reels are produced  each reel requiring 3 slits. A total of 255 slits are made. The overhead for slitting is $195,000 for slitting. The overhead rate per slit is $764.71. Assuming 3 slits per reel the total cost for slitting a reel is $2,294.12. Summary listed below. New Volume-based Overhead Rate If Forest Hill removes the overheads traceable to grade changes and slitting from total overhead, the application rate needs to be adjusted. An appropriate application rate for the remaining OH can be calculated by dividing the aforementioned OH by the sum of RM costs: Activity Based Costs – Grades A-D If an activity based cost system were to be implemented, the parent reel costs (for the same level of activity indicated in exhibit 1) could be estimated as follows: Activity Based Costs and Volume Cost Percent Change Prepare a table that illustrates the percentage change in costs between the volume-based system and the strategic activity-based system. Conclusions and Recommendations What conclusions can you draw from your analysis? As a consultant to Forest Hill, what actions would you recommend? 12. The analysis above shows the concerns of management were accurate. The costs of A and C were understated because the costs related to the slitting operation were unfairly being allocated to other grades. Grades B and D do not consume any of the slitting department resources, thus should not be responsible for the absorption of said departments’ overhead costs. In addition, the economies of scale being generated by high volume sales were being unfairly distributed to low volume grades. This is evident in the  cost of grade B, which was previously only being allocated $140 of total grade change costs (grade change as a percentage of total OH, multiplied by total overhead allocated to grade B). Given that grade changes are only incurred if a grade is run, it makes more sense to allocate costs based on the actual number of a production runs, as opposed to how much material was consumed in a run, which has no bearing on the number of set-ups required.

Disguise And Shakespeare s The Merchant Of Venice And...

The concept of disguise has been known and used since the beginnings of drama, but this concept was most famously known for being used in plays written by the biggest playwrights of the Elizabethan era— especially for being used in William Shakespeare’s plays. What do we mean by disguise? In broad terms, it would mean pretending to be something that one is not. The concept of disguise can mean changing behavior, or hiding intentions, the most frequent form of disguise is the change of ones personal appearance, usually through the changing of clothes, to mask ones true self. Shakespeare used disguises in various ways in his plays; As You Like It, Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night were all plays in which Shakespeare used the concept of disguise as a device to further the plot, it was sometimes even used for comic relief. Disguises can be used both maliciously and/ or morally, depending on its use and its influence on the characters. In both Me rchant of Venice and Measure for Measure, both Portia and Duke Vincentio donned a disguise to pursue justice how they saw morally fit, but ultimately their deception was only for selfish gain; Portia disguises herself to save a friend, and Vincentio disguises himself to know the true feelings of his subjects, both manipulate the law in the name of justice while in their disguises. In The Merchant of Venice, the concept of disguise was briefly used by Jessica, Shylocks daughter, to escape her fathers home toShow MoreRelatedGender Roles And Roles Of William Shakespeare s The Merchant Of Venice 1837 Words   |  8 Pagesreflected in Shakespeare. What sets Shakespeare apart is the fact that he also challenges, and at times even breaks down those stereotypes especially in his comedies. 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