The representation of Gender roles Essay Example for Free

The representation of Gender roles Essay The representation of Gender roles is an issue expressed in The Penguin best Australian Short stories collection. The issues of gender are expressed through gender inequality, stereotypical gender roles, the economic basis of marriage, and the expectations of women. These beliefs and their changes as the stories became more modern are presented through the stories, Monsieur Caloche, The Lottery and A Gentlemans Agreement. The representation of gender inequality is expressed in the story Monsieur Caloche (1889) through a satirical point of view. This story represents the workplace and throughout most of the story the readers notice that there was a deficiency of female characters. The irony is that at the end of the stories the readers find out that the main character Monsieur Caloche is in fact a young girl, who had lost her beauty after suffering from smallpox, and resorted to looking for a job as a boy. Hiding the loss which had deprived her of all the glory of her sex. Beauty is more than skin deep, however Monsieur Caloche had not known it. This is an example of gender inequality in Australia during the 19th century. The story The Lottery (1943) represents the stereotypes of the gender roles through the view of Ted, the husband. Ted had strong opinion about what men and women were supposed to act and about what a good husband and a good wife did. All she had to do was stay at home and look after the children. he had a vision of his washed cream trousers, the childrens neatness, the tidy house. That was being a good wifeand he has always been a good husband, always brought his money home, never looked at another woman. This shows that the genders were stereotyped in Australia in the 1940s. Another gender issue brought up in the story The Lottery is the economic basis of marriage. The man was the economic base of the family and everyone in the story assumes that a wifes money is her husbands to dispose of. He could do almost anything he could think of with five thousand pounds. This shows that Ted was already assuming the money was his, as does his neighbour who had money problems. Ted says confidently to him I wont see you stuck, old man. The Lottery also brings up an issue of expectations and changes of the women in the 1940s. Ted had expected Grace to call him to tell him the news of the Lottery and to tell him about everything she does. The readers notice that he was more critical of Grace than affectionate. He was more concerned about where Grace got the money to buy the Lottery ticket. It seems that she had no right to spend his money on something other than the basic needs of the family. He mustve been paying her too much for housekeeping. This shows that there were high expectations of Australian women during that period of time from their husbands. The women were expected to do as if the husband owned them and their sole role was to look after the family. At end of the Lottery we learn that Grace as a woman was able to take a stand for what she wanted and to go against her husband, which shows that the gender roles were changing. The gender roles in the Australian short stories seem to shift as they become more recent. In the later story, A Gentlemans Agreement (1974) , there were no strong male characters at all. The mother was able to look after the family and was able to outsmart a man in order to do so. She tricks the buyer of the farm into a Gentlemans Agreement and when questioned by her children she says confidently, Well he can come on his land at any time, there is nothing in the gentlemans agreement that says he cant. This shows dramatic change of the female role in comparison to the earlier story Monsieur Caloche which presents women as the oppressed. The mother in the Gentlemans Agreement was dominant. However she still followed the expectations of looking after her family, yet she was also able to support her family economically. The Variation of gender roles over time can be seen to the representations of women in the stories, Monsieur Caloche, the lottery and A gentlemans Agreement. These variations can be seen through the presentation of gender inequality, stereotypical gender roles, the economic basis of a family and the expectations of women. The change in female characters from the oppressed in Monsieur Caloche to the more dominant in A gentlemans agreement explains that there was a variation of gender roles for the  characters, especially female characters, who not only fulfil their own roles but the roles of a stereotypical male as the stories became more modern.

The Development Of Accounting In Malaysia Accounting Essay

The Development Of Accounting In Malaysia Accounting Essay A tendency towards adopting the style of accounting institutions and practices of western developed countries that colonized the developing countries has been dominated in the latter countries (Ali, Lee West, 2008). Apparently, the Malaysian accounting development is strongly influenced by the accounting framework that the United Kingdom (UK) applied. The British colonial presence can be considered as a key phrase that brought about the noteworthy influences and changes on the Malaysias history. Such influences and changes can be traced back to the 1785, the time that the approval of occupying island of Penang and building fort in there is granted to the Francis Light, a former British naval officer and private trader, from the sultan of Kedah. In 1786, Light established the settlement of George Town on the island of Penang. The contribution of turning Penang Island into a state with free-trade policy that Light made helps the Malacca to be the premier trader center in the Malay Peninsula. Presence of British colonial is continuously expanded by the official of British East India Company, Thomas Stanford Raffles, and Tengku Hussein, a contender for the throne of Malacca, on the Malay Peninsula in 1819. An agreement of consenting the British settles and establishes trading port in Singapore is reached between Stanford Raffles and H ussein in exchange for the formal recognition of Hussein as the sultan of Malacca. The advantageous geographic location and free-trade policy that Singapore possesses assist in attaining the astonished financial success. In 1945, British resumed its control for the purpose of establishing themselves as a durable administrative power. Because of the ethnic tensions often influence political arrangements, therefore, British proposed and implemented the Malayan Union plan in 1946. However, the problem of ethnic tensions still exists even though the British has taken action to promote the national unity among different ethnic groups. An Alliance partnership is established and which comprises United Malays National Organization (UMNO), Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) and Malayan Indian Congress (MIC) from 1952 to 1955. In fact, the Alliance won the municipal, local and the federal elections and thus emerged as an agent for unified Malayan interests. Malaya gained independence from Br itish in 1957 (Library of Congress, 2006). The independence of Malayan State since 1957 has transformed the Malayan economy into a new era of development. History of accounting system in Malaysia marks its opening of the use of accounting standards and practices after the pullout of Britain with subsequent accounting development significantly influenced by the after-effect of British colonization. The Malaysian Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA) has became the first accounting bodies to be established in the Malayan State in 1958 with the aim of advancing accounting professions in all aspects and to educate the appropriate accounting practices and standards to businesses in Malaysia. Subsequent efforts have also been made in line with the British colonial effect as the government has passed the Companies Act 1965 and Accounting Act 1967 that are both based on the laws and regulations developed in the UK during the 1960s. Apart from this, compromise of the non-Malay rights could not be hindered by prejudicial legislation or governmental intervention is reached because of the British colonization. As a member of the Commonwealth, it is almost inevitable that Malaysia is highly influenced by any changes in the legal, economy, culture and politics environment of UK. This is especially true as the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) constantly reviews and updates the Malaysian accounting standards if the accounting standards in UK have made any amendments. The cultural-based theory of the Hofstede-Gray framework is applied for the aim of explaining the differences or deficiencies in accounting practices. In fact, the Hofstede-Gray theory is widely used by a number researcher as the accounting values and the cultural dimension is associated with the theory. Based on the surveys that the researchers conducted, it is noted that the Grays approach is probably the most well-known exponent of the cultural approach to understand the nature of accounting practices, while the Hofstedes approach is just one of a number of ways to study culture. The use of the Hofstede-Gray theory helps the researchers to understand the way the national accounting practices are formed (Parera, 1989) (Gerhardy, 1990) and to determine normatively whether the accounting techniques are appropriate to the particular countries (Baydoun Willet, 1995). According to Figure 1, it can be seen that the Hofstede-Gray theory is a combination of, Grays accounting values which include professionalism, uniformity, conservatism and secrecy with the Hofstedes cultural values which comprise power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism and masculinity. Basically, there are two different perspectives to determine the culture and classification, to be precise, one from the Gray perspective and another from Hofstede. From the perspective of Gray, Malaysia is a country with high statutory control and uniformity in terms of authority and enforcement. While from the view of measurement and disclosure, Malaysia is a state with high secrecy and conservatism and which can be evidenced from Figure 2 and Figure 3 respectively. However, Malaysia scored high on the power distance and masculinity, yet scored low on the uncertainty avoidance and individualism on the Hofstedes standpoint. According to the survey conducted by Itim (2012), Malaysia scored 104 on the dimension of power distance. It can be explained that hierarchical order is acceptable for the Malaysian and hence inherent inequalities as well as centralization are possible to be reflected, but leadership and gaps of authority are challenging if there is hierarchy in the organization. Furthermore, with a score of 50, Malaysia can be considered as a masculine society, a highly success-oriented and driven. Generally, equity, competition and performance are the main concern in the masculine society. For instance, attitude of ferocious and no holds barred battles might happen between candidates during the election. Moreover, Malaysia is a low preference for uncertainty avoidance as it scored only 36. In such dimension, there is no any ambiguous or unknown situations exist due to the culture of relaxed attitude permeates. Besides, a mark of 26 is scored and it means that Malaysia is a collectivistic society. T herefore, a low degree of interdependence manifests that there is a close long-term commitment among members and the culture of loyalty is the uppermost concern and overrides most of the societal rules and regulations. Regulatory framework of accounting is established for the purpose of providing high quality and reliable information to satisfy the needs of external users. In fact, it plays a major role to ensure that the financial statements are prepared by the organizations in accordance with the rules and regulations (Collis Hussey, 2007). In Malaysia, existing companies are required to comply with the rules and regulations such as Companies Act 1965, Financial Reporting Act 1997, Accounting Standards, Income Tax Act 1967, the Securities Commission Guidelines 1995, Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) Listing Requirement and Bank Negara Malaysia Guidelines, etc during the process of preparing and presenting financial statements. Thus, it is obvious that regulatory framework is developed in the field of accounting profession, company law, auditing, taxation as well as stock exchange and implementation is taken in order to provide a true and fair view. It is known that there are four professional accounting bodies in Malaysia, namely, Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA), The Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) and Financial Reporting Foundation (FRF). Fundamentally, MIA is a statutory accounting profession which is established according to the Accountants Act 1967. The establishment of such accounting body is to regulate and develop the accountancy profession in Malaysia. Hence, MIA is responsible to meet and maintain the education, quality assurance as well as enforcement for the aim of ensuring that credibility of the profession is maintained and the public interest is continuously upheld. In addition, MIA also has the ability of monitoring the international and local accounting trends and developments as well as consulting regularly with the government and regulatory bodies. According to the MIA Official Website, it is noted that MIA not only plays a signi ficant role in the Malaysia, but also international and regional arena. Evidence of the involvement in ASEAN Federation of Accountants (AFA) and International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to develop and advance the global accounting professional bodies can be proved. Furthermore, such involvement also enables MIA to work for the betterment by bringing home to the latest developments in the overseas. Indeed, there is a requirement provided under the provisions of the Act and stated that the person who is registered as a member of MIA only can be recognized as an accountant. Because of being as a member of International Auditing Practices Committee (IAPC), therefore, MIA is responsible to support the IFRCs work and also determine International Accounting Standards (IAS) as the basis of approved standards in the auditing field of Malaysia (MIA Official Website). On the other hand, MICPA is the accounting profession who is established in 1958 according to the Companies Ordinances and is formally called as The Malayan Association of Certified Public Accountants; while MASB is established as an independent authority according to the Financial Reporting Act 1997. The MASB and the FRF make up the new framework of financial reporting in Malaysia. Basically, FRF has no direct influence on standard setting as such duty is solely rest on MASB. Therefore, FRF is responsible for the oversight of, such as MASBs performance and initial source of view for proposed standards. Moreover, there is also a professional body for company secretary and administration, that is, Malaysian Association of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries Administrators (MAICSA). Besides, the Malaysian Association of Accounting Administrators is the profession who is formed to recognize the two-tiered of professional accountant and is sponsored by MIA. Companies Act 1965 (CA 1965) is published by the Commissioner of Law Revision yet the Company Commission of Malaysia enforces and administers it. Basically, it is the principle legislation developed to govern the formation and procedure of companies existing in Malaysia. The CA 1965 not only provides formal rules on accounting such as presenting financial statements in a true and fair view, but also enacts a provision to protect the rights and interests of shareholders and investors. For example, according to the section 167 of CA 1965, all of the Malaysian existing companies are required to keep and maintain proper accounting records so as to have the ability to explain companies transactions and financial position sufficiently and subsequently enables the true and fair view from all of the accounting information. Apart from this, the requirement of preparing accounts and reports based on the Approved Accounting Standards (AAP) that MASB issued as well as complying with the disclosu re requirements of the Ninth Schedule of CA 1965 are developed for every company for the purpose of delivering the companies affairs with a true and fair view. According to the CA Malaysia, there is a need for the appointment of approved auditors to audit the companies accounts and present true and fair view as well as stress on the auditors independence for companies that are operating in Malaysia and registered under the Companies Commissioner of Malaysia. A standard setting body with the ability of functionally independent is established by MIA and which is operating under the assistance of the latter accounting profession and is called the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB). AASB plays an important role in the development of accounting and auditing field in Malaysia. It can be evidenced from the need of promoting and ensuring high quality professional standards to be adhered and subsequently lead to the international convergence of standards. In addition, AASB also has the responsibility of the consideration for the new or revised International Auditing and Assurance Standards that International Auditing and Assurance Standar ds Board (IAASB) issued for Malaysia to adopt. Furthermore, AASB is required to review and deliberate any issues and developments that are derived from other jurisdictions that is relating to auditing practices in Malaysia. Moreover, the Audit Act 1957 also states that there is a close link between accounting and auditing, for instance, auditors are responsible to audit accounts that are prepared by professional bodies. It is generally known that types of tax in Malaysia include personal and corporate income tax, goods and service tax (GST) real property gains tax (RPGT), etc. In fact, Malaysia is a self-assessment tax regime (SAS) as it is shown in the Year of Assessment 2010 (YA 2010) that different classes of people is subject to different percentage of tax rate. Basically, the establishment of Income Tax Act 1967 (ITA 1967) is to determine the chargeable income and the tax payable and ascertain whether it is reasonable to the tax payers. The imputation system is used by companies to compute the tax. In fact, taxes paid by the companies on its profits are used to frank dividends paid to shareholders. In Malaysia, the RPGT is re-introduced and which is stated in the Real Property Gains Tax (Exemption) (No. 2) Order 2007, only for the disposal of real property held for five years or below is subjected to the RPGT of 5% and it is only applicable to the capital land transaction In terms of the GST, i t is the indirect tax or value added tax (VAT) that imposed on both local and imported goods and services. It is proposed by government for the purpose of replacing sales and service tax, but implementation has not been taken. It is noted that taxation is considered as parts of the business expenditure. Thus, it is important for the companies to comply with the ITA 1967 during the process of preparing and presenting the financial statements as well as the statement of computation of chargeable income. Companies are required to prepare both statements due to the double deduction, non-taxable, non-deductible and deductible issues. KLSE is the stock exchange holding company in Malaysia and is developed in accordance with the section 15 of the Capital Markets and Service Act 2007. In 2004, it is renamed and is currently called as Bursa Malaysia Berhad. The establishment of Bursa Malaysia Berhad is to allow the activity of trading of shares can be provided in the market and subsequently assists in enhancing competitive position as well as responding to global trends. There is no authority and legal power for the Bursa Malaysia Berhad to execute compliance. Hence, penalty of reprimanding, suspending and de-listing in the stock exchange would be imposed to the errant companies. For example, listing companies have to follow the rules and regulations of the clause 335 of the listing manual during the process of preparing and presenting companies annual audited accounts and making sure that all of the companies accounts are prepared based on the CA 1965 as well as the AAS. The listing requirements are set by the Bursa Malaysia Berhad in order to regulate the public limited companies (PLC) in terms of the submission of reports and additional disclosure. Apart from this, there is also another requirements which established by the Bursa Malaysia Berhad for the purpose of enhancing the disclosure of information on corporate governance via the promotion of greater transparency and accountability. In 19th November 2011, MASB established the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRS) for the purpose of bringing the Malaysian accounting standards to be fully International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) compliant. Basically, MFRS framework make up of the existing as well as the new and revised accounting standards that are issued by International Accounting Standard Board (IASB). The primary objective of such convergence is to reduce the gap between Financial Reporting Standards (FRS) between the IFRS and subsequently facilitate the transparency and the comparability of the companies financial statements. However, there is several inconsistency exist such as IAS 41 Agriculture and IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and hence are not adopted by the MASN during the process of narrowing the gap between FRS and IFRS. In terms of the presentation of financial statements, MFRS 101 or FRS 101 stated that PLC that operating in Malaysia is required to prepare and disclose the financial statements including, statement of financial position, statement of comprehensive income, statement of changes in equity, statement of cash flows and the notes to account. In fact, the MFRS 101 or FRS 101 is the same with the IAS 1, which is the presentation of financial statements. Basically, MFRS 127 or FRS 127 is established for the purpose of enhancing the relevance, reliability and comparability of the information in the parents separate financial statements as well as the groups consolidated financial statements. In Malaysia, a requirement of using uniform accounting policies for reporting is set for the group to follow. Furthermore, there is a need for entity to follow the IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement if it is required to present separate financial statements or investments in subsidiaries by the local regulations. The MFRS 127 or FRS 127 is consistent with the IAS 27, Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements. In 1974, Malaysias top 80 firms in the KLSE have half of it shares owned by foreigners while the other half is mostly controlled the Malaysian Chinese. However, government has gradually transformed these firms into stated owned enterprises which have almost 40% of the Malaysias market shares owned by the government. Major changes came in during the 1990s where most of these state owned companies have went into privatization. Till now, companies have been developed into several forms mainly the sole proprietor that business is solely owned by an individual, partnership where two or more persons jointly owned the business with unlimited liability, private limited company that must at least have 2 and maximum of 50 members, public limited company that is able to be listed in KLSE to offer subscription of shares to public. Foreign currency translation has been one of the uprising factors that companies in Malaysia are needed to take note of because of the increase and extensiveness of globalization in the business context. Foreign currency translation can be defined as the conversion of currency accounting figures from one country to another due to differences financial reporting requirements. This means that different countries would have different functional currency and multinational companies are required to translate its foreign operations or transactions that use functional currency into the required presentation currency for its financial statement. Malaysia needs to pay extra attention to the accounting development in relation to the aspect because Malaysia is one of the largest palm oil and crude oil producer which both are mainly transacted in USD around the world. Most of these companies would use USD as their functional currency which induces translation risk when it is converted into the p resentation currency. Thus, the accounting standard of foreign currency translation which is MFRS 121 will take into account the effect of the currency translation changes or risk that the companies faced with the use of appropriate recognition and measurement method developed by IFRS. It is a known fact that the accounting development in Malaysia over the last 15 years has been based on the accounting principles that MASB adopted while recent accounting practices has seen accounting profession exercising its responsibilities that are comply with MFRS. MFRS is nevertheless the latest accounting principles that Malaysia accounting is accounted for which equivalents with IFRS and apply in any accounting period from or after 1 January 2012. This marks the first time adoption of MFRS for annual periods in Malaysia and is an effort by MASB to implement Malaysias accounting policy to be in line with the convergence project initiated and developed by IASB and FASB. The previous FRS is then replaced by MFRS to place full convergence on Malaysia accounting standard in order to cope with globalisation and to ensure Malaysias business is on the same field at international level. Some major elements of MFRS have been listed below. MFRS 8 is adopted from IFRS 8 that has replaced IAS 14 of Segment Reporting. The main change made is on its requirement of segment identification and the measurement and disclosure of operating segment information. Any company in Malaysia that adopted MFRS 8 will automatically be considered as adopting the international accounting standard of IFRS 8. This particular standard has provide the definition of an operating segment that qualifies in the financial statement and its identification is required to be based on the company internal report that assessed and reviewed the allocation of resources and performance of that segment as according to the latest changes. Besides, the standard also provides the measurement purpose of the amount of operating segment recorded which is for resources allocation and performance measurement purposes of the operating segment. Lastly, the disclosure of operating segment information must be based on the core principles that requires information disclo sed to enable users to make informed decision on the nature and financial effect and its economic environment that the company is operating in order to aid Malaysian companies with operating segments operating in different locations or management. MFRS 118 Revenue is one of the major elements that MASB has included by the adoption of IAS 18 that the IASB has issued and amended but is still under the development of the convergence project. Companies in Malaysia are considered adopting the international accounting standard of IAS 18 if MRS 118 is applied in its financial statement. The MFRS 118 mainly adopted from IAS 18 has included important guidance on accounting practices for revenue by stating the objectives, scope and definition of revenue. These are described in relation to the definition of income in the Framework of Preparation and Presentation of Financial Statements that stated revenue as an income that is in the ordinary course of business activities. The measurement and identification of revenue is also included while different type of revenue from sales of goods, rendering a service, royalties, interests and dividends are also provided with guidance and disclosure requirements where Malaysian companies mostly posse ssed of. The MFRS 120 Accounting for Government Grant and Disclosure of Government Assistance is developed to aid business in Malaysia that needs to account for its grant or assistance provided by Government. It is equivalent to IAS 20 with the issuance and amendments made by IASB and Malaysian companies that adopt MFRS 120 will simultaneously comply with IAS 20. Basically, this standard provides guidance on the definition of government grant and government assistance and its disclosure on the presentation of grants that is relating to asset or income as well as its repayment method. The approaches and reasons for accounting of government grant using income approach or capital approach are also given in order for users to clearly identify the government intention on providing grant or assistance to any Malaysian companies. However, this standard does not apply to government grants covered by MFRS 141 Agriculture and other exceptions such as the participation of government in the ownership of business. The MFRS 141 Agriculture apply on its own as evidenced in MFRS 120 that excludes this sector because agriculture is consider an essential sector for the Malaysia economy and accounting must placed its emphasis on it. MFRS 141 is adopted from IAS 41 and will be simultaneously applied to any Malaysia companies that adopt MFRS 141. This standard mainly prescribe how should the agriculture activities and biological assets should be accounted for, measured, presented, and disclosed by the management of the company. The measurement for biological assets is complicated and required specific guidance provided by the standards such as the initial recognition that requires the use of reliably measured fair value and any changes in fair value less costs to sell is included in profit and loss. Nevertheless, agricultural activities land is not covered under this standard but in IAS 16 while government grant for biological activities is included. MFRS 121 is adopted from IAS 21 has that has made changes to replace SIC-11, SIC-19 and SIC-30 that mainly focuses on the definition and changes of reporting currency, functional currency and presentation currency. The adoption of MFRS 121 by any Malaysian companies would also means it is adopting IAS 21 in accordance to international standards. This is an important standard especially for companies that operates internationally or have dealings in different currency. Mainly, the standard applies its accounting treatment on any transaction and balances of foreign currencies but not derivative transaction and the translation of foreign operation into reporting currency or consolidation purposes. The method of reporting and disclosing the changes of foreign exchange transaction, balances or operations is also included. The MFRS 123 is an equivalent standard to IAS 23 issued by the IASB while any Malaysian company that applies MFRS 123 is also considered as adopting the IAS 23. This standard has its scope limited mainly to borrowing costs that is relating to capital expenditure such as the acquisition, construction and production of an asset to expand business that is considered part of the cost to obtain the relevant assets. The standard has prescribed the definition of a qualifying assets and the eligibility of borrowing costs as capitalisation. The recognition and measurement for borrowing costs is also provided as well as the disclosure requirement relates to the borrowing costs amount and its capitalisation rate. This relevant standard that relates to investment property is of importance to the Malaysia accounting practices due to the booming of property house prices that induces substantial increase in property for investment. MFRS 140 is developed in accordance to IAS 40 and many changes have been made to IAS 40 such as lease related property, the measurement approach of investment property and its disclosure requirement. Nevertheless, MFRS 140 provides guidance on the treatment for accounting of investment property in Malaysia and its disclosure method excluding accounting for lease property. Definition to include property as investment nature has been provided while measurement method of fair value model or cost model for investment property is prescribed clearly with distinction between initial recognition and post recognition. The MFRS 112 is developed by the MASB based on IAS 12 with several revisions made on the recognition and disclosure of income taxes especially deferred tax assets and liabilities. Any Malaysian company that adopts MFRS 112 is equivalent to adopting IAS 12. The income tax in Malaysia is important especially in its treatment for tax consequences as tax evasion is considerably high while tax law is not stringently enforced. The standard provides guidance for accounting treatment of income taxes in Malaysia by prescribing the definition, recognition and measurement for current tax expenses, assets and liabilities with emphasis on future settlement of deferred tax assets and liabilities. Examples of income taxes accounting treatment has been provided in detail to assist users in understanding the complexity of income taxes while presentation and disclosure requirements are also included. MFRS 124 mainly relates to the disclosure requirement of party that is related to the ordinary course of business which is adopted from IAS 24 that is issued and revised by IASB. Revisions has been made in 2009 to simplify the definitions and meanings of related party and allowed certain exceptions of related parties for disclosure especially when it is government-related. Basically, the standard requires the disclosure of transaction between the company and any related parties or any transaction between parents and subsidiaries. Most importantly, this would enable user to pay attention on the financial effect of related party transaction on the companys financial position and profitability. The accounting development in Malaysia has never been lacking of frauds and embezzlements due to related party and this standard would provide enhanced transparency to prevent related party unauthorised transactions. The MFRS 119 is an adoption of IAS 19 that is issued by IASB and Companies in Malaysia that uses MFRS 119 would automatically be considered to adopt the international standard of IAS 19. The purpose of MFRS 119 is to provide guidance for entity to be able to recognise appropriately the liability and expenses in relation to employee benefits provided by the entity. The accounting treatment provided by this standard encompasses recognition and measurement of short term and long term employee benefits, termination benefits and post employment benefits that includes defined contribution plan and defined benefits plan. Example illustrating accounting treatment has been provided clearly and the difference of recognition and measurement for the post employment benefits is also clearly stated. Undeniably, it is important to the Malaysia economy as the culture of Malaysia is considers to be emphasizing on the employee benefits that the company is able to provide recently. It is undeniably that the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997 not only introduces the importance of CG but also exposes the weaknesses of Malaysian CG practice to the public attention. Since then, Malaysia has taken initiative to implement schemes such as High Level Finance Committee on CG (HLFC) which have published the Report on Corporate Governance that provides definition of CG in the Malaysia context and laid the basis for the establishment of Code of Corporate Governance in 2000. Although the code itself is not mandatory, it further became a consequence of the listing requirement in Malaysia to include statement of corporate governance to attract more foreign investment due to globalisation and enhance the Malaysia economic growth. Basically, the code has enacted a series of principles and best practices of CG to improve the regulatory framework of the CG in Malaysia. Nevertheless, the reforms of corporate governance in Malaysia still exist to enhance shareholders value and protect the interests of all stakeholders especially the minorities by improving the corporate ethics and accountability. The Security Commission Malaysia has launched a five year CG Blueprint to provide a platform for CG in Malaysia to be enhanced through market and self discipline of company while promoting the standard of CG by instilling the essence of CG into the culture of company rather than a mere compliance requirement. AS a result, the Malaysian Code of Corporate Governance 2012 is developed with further recommendation on duties and responsibilities of board of directors, the management of shareholder expectation

A Look At Don Bosco Religion Essay

A Look At Don Bosco Religion Essay St John Bosco, also known as Don Bosco, is the subject of this paper and, as all saints of the Church, he has mediated in this world the presence of Christ to a multitude of people during his lifetime and most particularly to the youth of his area in Italy. For my part, I did not grow up Catholic and so was not afforded the opportunity to be exposed to and explore the long list of saints in the Church. This deficiency is being filled as I become more and more aware, through my encounters with people in various ministries since becoming Catholic, of the many saints influencing and encouraging peoples lives. This particular saint, with his focus on youth, might have been helpful in providing an appealing framework focusing on education and spiritual growth especially due to the fact that it was coming from an adult who seemed to understand the needs and desires of young people. During my search for a saint to write on for this paper, John Boscos name was presented to me as someone whos e situation in life speaks to the needs of people today, especially to the needs of youth who are the future of the Church. During his lifetime, St John Bosco also had to deal with many intrusions of anti-Catholicism. He lived during at time within Italy that was not conducive to publicly confirming the Catholic faith. The public State was not only wary of the activities of the Church but also actively worked against the Church by promulgating anti-Catholic laws and promoting dissent of the magisterium of the Church. The many vicissitudes he had to contend with and overcome can be seen, to various degrees, in todays world. His methods and approaches in confronting the anti-Catholicism of his day are also very prescient to the concerns and troubles of our world today. At the time of the birth of St John Bosco in 1815, Italy was not yet unified and consisted of ten different regional states. The Italian peninsula had always been made up of several independent kingdoms and the Papal States cut across the Northern half. During the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte, the pope had been imprisoned and the Papal States were under control of the Napoleon Regime. The Congress of Vienna in 1815 marked the end of this regime and the Papal States were returned to Pope Pius VII. The pre-Napoleon boundaries of the other Italian kingdoms were also given back to their former rulers (prelates, 82-83). This time period also gave rise to the notion of unification of the Italian States and this was cultivated and influenced by the French Revolution and American Revolution. With this notion, the monarchical form of government came under fire as more and more of the populace was filled with the enthusiasm of thinking authority came from themselves and not God. With traditiona l forms of government wanting to be ended, the Holy Sees temporal authority was also targeted. This encouraged the anti-clericalism that was rampant during the time of John Bosco and it was this environment that promoted the unique and diverse methods he employed in his ministry. John Bosco faced a multitude of opposition from the revolutionaries as they saw him as clergy. As clergy, he was a representative of the Church who was headed on earth by the Pope. The Pope ruled over the Papal States and the unwillingness of him to relinquish them was a barrier to unification. This barrier made John Bosco an enemy. John did not start out wrangling with revolutionaries. His humble and impoverished beginnings lie in a small village called Becchi just outside of Turin, the capital of the Piedmont region in Northern Italy, in 1815. The death of his father when he was two years of age left him in the hands of his mother, Margaret, who would have a great influence in his young life as well as helping him in his ministry later in his life. As a single mother taking care of three boys, John being the youngest, and an elderly mother-in-law on a small farm, she nurtured and guided John in his vocation to the priesthood and in his mission to serve the radically poor. She was his model in early life, watching her generously share what little the family had with the poorer neighbors and transients, giving not only food and shelter, but kind words to salve their souls. The Dream When John was nine years of age, he had a dream that would recur many times over his life and that he would later recognize as the vision and course of his future vocation. In this dream, he found himself surrounded by a bunch of boys. Some were laughing, singling and playing, but others were fighting and using foul language. Losing his temper, he tries to stop the boys from fighting with his own fists, but this makes the situation worse. Then in the middle of the group fighting, a noble looking man appeared and they all stopped to stare at him. The man told John that the only way to win over these boys is with the heart and not the fist. The man then told John that he was the son of the mother whom Johns mother taught him to salute three times a day. The man said he would the woman to him and John will be able to do everything easily. The man disappeared and the boys surrounding John turned into wolves and other wild animals. With fear, he turned and found a glorious and gracious la dy at his side. The woman told John to look at the vision of his future work. She said that what John must do for these animals, he must do for all her children. In order to succeed, she said, he must be humble and strong. With this, the wild animals turned into sheep and lambs cavorting about him. The woman then assured John that she would be with him and she would give him guidance and support in his life.

Nuclear Waste Essay -- Environment Pollution Papers

Nuclear Waste Australia is a major player in the grand scheme of the world’s energy needs. Its large land mass and geologic history has provided it with an extensive list of mineral resources. Australia, therefore, since the initial gold rushes of the 1850’s, has come to depend heavily on the mining industry. In particular, the discovery in the 1950’s of uranium and new coal deposits created a wave of mining that to present has proven to be quite profitable for the country’s economy.[1] Australia is unique in that it is the world’s second largest producer and exporter of uranium,[2] and â€Å"the world’s largest coal exporter.†[3] It comes as no surprise, therefore, that current energy issues regarding waste products hits close to home for Australia. However, Australia’s contributions to and use of fossil fuel and nuclear energy are all very different. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 has enabled Australia to assume a role that not only contributes to the efforts of emissions reductions, but also allows it to continue its economic benefits of coal mining. Solutions to and decisions about nuclear waste management, on the other hand, are much more difficult to come to. While Australia’s future in the coal industry will depend greatly on the results of the Kyoto Protocol, the future of nuclear waste management may eventually greatly depend on Australia. History of Mining and Nuclear Policy Due to its large production of coal, Australia has come to rely heavily on fossil fuels as its primary source of energy.[4] While it might seem appropriate that nuclear energy be another significant source, since uranium is a significant component of the fuel used to run nuclear reactors, this is not actually the case. Au... ... Zwaan, op cit. [20] Langer, â€Å"Nuclear waste management and the earth sciences† [21] â€Å"Nuclear Electricity, Sixth Edition, August 2000† [22] Ibid. [23] Holland, op cit. [24] Ibid. [25] Nuclear Waste Storage (Prohibition) Act 1999, in Holland, op cit. [26] Parliamentary Debates, Senate 26 August 1999 in Holland, op cit. [27] Prime Minister Howard in Holland, op cit. [28] Holland, op cit. [29] van der Zwaan, op cit. [30] â€Å"Nuclear Electricity, Sixth Edition, August 2000† [31] Holland, op cit. [32] â€Å"Nuclear Electricity, Sixth Edition, August 2000† [33] Langer, op cit. [34] Holland, op cit. [35] â€Å"Nuclear Electricity, Sixth Edition, August 2000† [36] Holland, op cit. [37] Ibid. [38] Senator Minchin in Holland, op cit. [39] van der Zwaan, op cit. [40] Ibid. [41] ENST 309 Lecture Notes. [42] Beardow, op cit.

The Consequences of Peoples Obsession with Physical Appearances Essay

In this essay, I will compare people that are obsessed with physical appearance and appearances. It is not strange for individuals to worry about physical appearance. In fact, we could argue that we are living in a culture that weighs the most up-to-date trends or newest fashions more heavily than more pressing issues that affects society. As a result, many people become obsessed with their physical appearance in order to keep up with trends and fashions. People pay too much attention to appearance, it is important in some situations and the general population seems to put more of their focus on how good someone looks or what the newest trends are, instead of concentrating on greater issues at hand, which are often not discussed. For instance, there are problems with our health care system but many people have a greater knowledge of what is going on with the death of Michael Jackson. In our society where image and presentation is everything, it is impossible not to care about our appearance. We find ways to beautify ourselves, such as not eating properly which leads to anor...

Toni Morrison’s Beloved: The Modern Gothic Novel

The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept that Toni Morrison’s Beloved is a modern Gothic novel. It can be argued that Morrison uses many techniques derived from the Gothic period to master her story of Sethe, a former slave haunted by the ghost of her murdered daughter, Beloved. It is the many interwoven techniques of storytelling that make this novel a challenge to analyze but also so integral to the telling of America’s collective past. The novel encompasses trauma, making the reader uncomfortable with its subject matter.Morrison tells a story not told before while weaving the spectacular into a very real situation. This novel makes the reader question, not only the content but how it is being conveyed, while masterfully, also complex in nature. Part of what makes Beloved and other modern Gothic novels so enthralling is its ability to convey mystery, darkness; the unknown as a realism to the reader. It parts its characters in situations that seem completely interesting, gives them a past that is tragic, maybe somewhat scandalous and puts the characters in a limbo of an unfamiliar place, where mystical events happen.The modern Gothic novel builds from a varied thematic past where such techniques in conveying story seemed romantic in flavor but also horrific and fantastic. Prime examples of the Gothic novel come from the Bronte sisters. Both of them take a faraway location usually shrouded fog and create a mysterious romantic leading man whose behavior borders on villainous. They make the female overcome with lust for this anti-hero, painting the picture of a female character in distress, needing the strength of their man and his love. In this respect, the Gothic novel creates an atmosphere of suspense as strange events happen to the main character.This notion of Magical Realism is not a new storytelling technique, but a forgotten one in need of evolution. The paragraph below examines in greater detail Gothic novel themes as a means of comparison for the modern Gothic novel, the Magical Realism used more and more today. Gothic Elements When many readers think of the Gothic novel, they think of horror, fantasy stories but what they do not think of is the beauty, the humanity conveyed in earlier works by the Bronte sisters. When considering the Gothic tradition, modern readers think of Anne Rice’s Vampire series and classic horror like Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stroker’s Dracula.Not many think of the tradition has its roots in Wuthering Heights. The paragraphs below will touch on this foundation and discuss how modern authors like Morrison, Rice and even the King of Horror Stephen King find their writer’s wisdom in the true Gothic style. It is interesting to see how many such as King deviate from the style at times to write a more gory tale while Morrison relies on more thematic techniques of storytelling which require exploration of the character’s psyche. Another good example of realism incorporating suspense with a fantastic element is Henry James’ Turn of the Screw:I stopped short on emerging from one of the plantation and coming into view of the house. What arrested me on the spot—and with shock much greater than any vision had allowed for—was the sense that my imagination had, in a flash, turned real. (25-6) The Gothic tradition is based in extremes. Traditionalists from the cannon like Stephen Dailly claim the Gothic novel â€Å"get its names from the barbarous Goths that invaded England during the medieval period† (1). Still many Gothic elements are founded in the mysterious and exotic (Dailly 1).Characteristics are founded in the following elements: (1) morbid setting, (2) extreme characters: woman in distress and a villainess romantic hero, (3) mystical themes bordering on horror such as ghosts and strange visions or dreams, and (4) death and rampant dysfunctional sexuality. Not all elements are present but the majorit y is in novels like Beloved, Wuthering Heights and Interview with a Vampire. These elements make such reading, while uncomfortable, delicious in breaking some set rules. Gothic novels create a taboo, the reader recognizes as a guilty pleasure.The first unsettling effect Gothic displays is the dark disturbing setting of a foreign place sometimes a castle. This is meant to dull the senses, throw the situation off guard (Berenbaum 23). Part of what makes the setting so eerie is the pretense that the main character usually female is not supposed to be there but is put into the situation because of a family member’s sudden death and her loss of social status. She is often painted as the innocent victim; pure and angelic (Devendra 19) but generally conflicted by her past tragedy or lustful thoughts for her foil; the romantic anti-hero.While this may shock the reader, while the anti-hero like Heathcliff or Lestat should be generally hated because of his past indiscretions; she canno t help but see his humanity and beauty. It is the societal struggle that makes him interesting and creates the romantic dream for the female in distress. It gives her something to hold on to during the tough times she faces. This is also creates great conflict for both the reader and characters which is the ultimate element of Gothic â€Å"cannot exist without pain† and here in lies the paradox â€Å"that pleasure is found in pain† (Berenbaum 30).While the argument can be made that Beloved displays many modern traits like Magical Realism, one can also argue that these were stolen from the Gothic tradition. The entire novel is shrouded in mystery, in gloom based from trauma. It is this trauma born out of post-Reconstructionism and the former slave experience that becomes the taboo. It is the guilty pleasure for many readers as they strive to understand the novel’s true meaning. Much of the mystery or confusion is created by Morrison’s storytelling techniqu e of flashback.What makes the novel uncomfortable is Morrison’s structure for a non-linear storyline. At times the reader does not know they are in the middle of a flashback and this adds to the building of emotion. Valerie Smith argues this flashback technique or method of telling the story in circles makes waves as it feeds off itself over and over while remaining unconvoluted; it still â€Å"limits hegemonic authoritarian systems of knowledge† (346). Much of what we believe about the story is based on what Morrison is educating the reader about.This explains not only the setting of the story but the historical context and Sethe’s inability to assimilate into her own present time to tell her account. The flashbacks continue in circles acting as symbolic technique to explain how life works. It is the historical taboo of post-slavery that influences the reader’s reasoning because there is nothing that can be done to intervene. There is nothing that the re ader can do to make Sethe’s present condition better except continue reading but this acts as a motivation to keep the reader glued (Spargo 118).This can be seen in other post-traumatic accounts found in modern literature such as Sophie’s Choice. This type of historical influence creates taboo, the shock but it is not applicable to just the African American experience but to the human experience. Gothic Setting and the Far Away Location Much of the novel happens in the setting of memory, the continued revisiting of one moment in time and how the decision for a mother to murder her own child impacts her present.The setting of Beloved uses flashback to create gloominess but it is the feeling of Sethe and other residents of the house traveling not only in physical distance but also the passage of time that creates a haunting quality. While she is stuck in the past, she is also stuck in her new home in Ohio on 124 Bluestone Road. Part of what makes the setting gloomy is no t just the historical context of recovering from human bondage but it is the collective notion and ideology of the passage of time. Not even time can heal the wounds.The Underground Railroad while found in many undisclosed physical locations is really a state of mind but so is that period of history called Reconstructionism. For the novel, setting is more about time and characterization but as Margaret Atwood discusses â€Å"the setting is similarly divided: the countryside near Cincinnati, where the central characters have ended up, and a slave-hold plantation in Kentucky† (par 2). But the setting is also defined by people who believe in magic, folklore but also influenced by a broken society where they are themselves ghosts; shells of people.While there is the memory of physical removal from Africa, there is also the notion of that: Slaves are motherless, fatherless, deprived of their mates, their children, their kin. It is a world in which people suddenly vanish and are ne ver seen again†¦as a matter of everyday legal policy† (Atwood par 7). Sethe: Female in Distress, Exploring the Unknown, and Horror/Terror Elements Sethe is the female in distress but not in the traditionalist view of Gothic female character. She is a feminist. She is defined by her past, conflicted by her past decisions and not blinded by lust for an anti-hero.Much of her is defined by her sexuality as a powerful tool. While her decision to murder her daughter made her powerful as she gave her child freedom in death that she still cannot attain in life; it takes on a shocking quality for the reader and can be seen in sexual symbolism later in the novel. In a time when slaves are seen as property, worth less than a cow or a dog to the white man, she pulls above this lack of humanity and uses her sexuality as a tool to facilitate her survival. This does not make her actions right on moral grounds but makes her a strong female role model in literature.Throughout the canon, t he female sex is seen as taboo, symbolic in fruit and nature. Beloved has sexual overtones because of Sethe’s ability to bear fruit. This is a common symbol found in literature; motherhood; the bearing of fruit and nourishing the child with milk. What makes Beloved different in expressing these overtones is when they happen. These sexual symbols present themselves as Beloved’s ghost materializes. Sethe begins to lactate when Beloved appears, â€Å"Just like the day she arrived at 124—sure enough, she had milk enough for all† (106). Is the ghost manifesting in Sethe or is this past of post-trauma?Or is it Sethe’s decent into insanity? Later she continues to use this tool as a means of acquiring proper burial for her daughter. While many readers would be appalled by such an action, others would see how because of slavery, Sethe does not see herself of any value. Rape is not something brutal to her but the notion of not giving her offspring a proper b urial is. She believes that without this burial the soul cannot return home to God, but how does this explain Beloved showing up later. Because Sethe is still struggling with the past, so does the ghost?It is from the setting and the past that the horror element; the impending doom that the flashbacks carry emotionally; the unknown is born out of her being trapped in the house and her belief in the supernatural. It could be the ghost is just a figment of her imagination as a post-trauma sufferer. Atwood writes, â€Å"the day had gone blue without its sun, but she could still make out the black silhouettes of trees in the meadow beyond† (par 16). The past is constantly impacting her present. The doom and gloom of the past is surrounding her, trapping her in that house.This only intensifies the haunting that the ghost represents. It is the element of the ghost that furthers the notion of the unknown for the reader and allows one to analyze Sethe’s character. It is the ha unting that brings her story to the forefront of attention, acting as a catalyst for her to grow and deal with the circumstances of the past. Before she can make a better life for herself, she must descend into madness. It is the pure physicality of the haunting that remains true to the Gothic tradition and not necessarily the horror. Today’s reader associates horror with gore thanks to the blood and guts of Hollywood.True Gothic does not rely on blood but the suspense built from the unknown. It is the fear of the unknown, the life without love that makes the story so compelling. â€Å"And, for some reason she could not immediately account for, the moment she got close enough to see the face, Sethe’s bladder filled to capacity† (Morrison 54). While the house is physically haunted by Beloved’s ghost, it is also haunted by the collective experience of all its residents. The story is told not only in flashback but also from different points of view. This add s to the suspense but building eeriness.While the ghost is grown up, it has the mentality of a toddler while her sister Denver’s attitude is that typical of a boy crazy teenager. As it seems the trauma acts as a haunting embodied by the ghost, as the trauma becomes more real; it comes to the surface of Sethe’s reality; the more terror-ridden Beloved can be felt to Sethe and the others. As Sethe starts to deal with the past, Beloved starts to slip away. â€Å"She feels her thickness thinning, dissolving into nothing† (Morrison 129). Still by using varying points of view allows for differing tones of morality.While no one can blame Sethe for her actions, in a way not only does Paul D lack compassion for her situation because her inability to share her story, while this fact distresses her a lot, she is punishing herself by allowing the trauma to continue. It is in her need to identify herself by a man that weakens her ability to learn from the ghost. It builds the suspense of the unknown further. By allowing the unknown to takeover, she is riddled with fear of Paul D leaving, and taking her esteem with him. She is afraid of anything changing and possibly surrendering to her guilt.Morrison works to create the doubt that Beloved’s ghost is even real. Is she just a by product of Sethe’s trauma? A real ghost, a lost soul trying to get to Heaven? Is she a coping mechanism created by the folklore of post-slavery life? Is she a combination of things, a means for explaining the unexplainable? Or just a literary device? Maybe she is just part of the journey into the unknown that Sethe must take in order to heal from her experiences. In many ways, the ghost leaving is part of Sethe’s growth process and redemption.By making the ghost a real person, physical to everyone, it is allowing Sethe to acknowledge Beloved’s existence. This in itself has a powerful cleansing influence upon her character. She starts acting differently, stronger and less defined by her setting and the people around her. First of all, she leaves the house to go to a picnic in which Sethe stands up to the white man. In this way, she now defined by her self-esteem and her own humanity and not the past. No longer is she a shell of a woman but someone who can function in reality.The scene in which the ghost leaves is a pivotal moment for Sethe but also the other women of her new community. By unloading the baggage of Beloved’s death, she is about to have a future. The picnic acts a coming together of strong women with knowledge of who they are. While they are defined by their collective past, they are also looking to the future for the first time. It is only in the realization that Sethe is not alone that she rediscovers her strength as a person (272). She allows herself a taste of humanity. This story works to capture the essence of slavery’s aftermath for its characters.It tells a truth created in flashback and ghost st ory. It aims to create mysticism only memory can illustrate. â€Å"The novel is meant to give grief a body, to make it palpable† (Gates 29). The characters are trapped in the present because they are imprisoned by the horrors of slavery. They are literally held hostage in their home, isolated from the outside world. In many ways Beloved represents a geographically realistic neo-slave narrative by presenting in flashback the experiences of Sethe. This story also has the fantastic element of a ghost who later becomes flesh and bone.The paragraphs below explore the characters memories and the magical realism of a ghost. Memory affects the character of Sethe in a way that illustrates the pain and grief of her past enslavement. Sethe is living with the memory of killing her two old year daughter to save her from the horror of slavery while she herself was struggling to attain freedom. As a result of this action, she is unable to forgive herself and lives trapped in this memory. As much as this is a very private pain, it dominates her and comes to life in her house.The memory affects the other occupants of the house and even drives her sons to leave. Sethe believes that nothing can destroy a memory, not even destroying the physical evidence. The following quote exhibits this idea: It's so hard for me to believe in [time]. Some things go. Pass on. Some things just stay. I used to think it was my rememory. . . . But it's not. Places, places are still there. If a house burns down, it's gone, but the place-the picture of it-stays, and not just in my rememory, but out there, in the world. (Morrison 36)In essence, this means that the soul takes every experience with it. I believe her relationship with this memory only deepens over time and does not change for the better. Even the attempt to leave her happy with her new marriage leaves the reader feeling that she is still coping. Morrison writes, â€Å"the future was a matter of keeping the past at bay. The ‘ better life' she believed she and Denver were living was simply not that other one† (42). This signifies that her memories leave her static in the present. It is almost as if nothing new can happen to her until she lets the past go.Still this is likely as Morrison writes â€Å"but her brain was not interested in the future. Loaded with the past and hungry for more, it left her no room to imagine, let alone plan for, the next day† (70). It is through the flashback images the reader learns of slavery and Sethe’s experience escaping but it also through Morrison’s description of the present that reader begins to understand the environment of Reconstruction. These are people still being defined by their enslavement. â€Å"The future was sunset; the past something to leave behind.And if it didn't stay behind, well, you might have to stomp it out. Slave life; freed life-every day was a test and a trial. Nothing could be counted on in a world where even when you were a solution you were a problem† (256). This theme is never so evident than with Morrison’s use of magical realism in the form of Beloved the ghost. â€Å"This awkward spirit shakes the furniture, puts tiny handprints on the cakes, shatters mirrors, Sethe and Denver live stolidly in the chaos, emotionally frozen† (Gates 28). The physical ghost acts as an embodiment of Sethe’s sorrow and guilt.The consequence of Beloved’s actions only feed Sethe’s inability to function in the present. Whether or not the ghost is an embodiment of Sethe’s guilt, insanity, folklore, an actual real ghost, the symbolic representation of the house’s negative feelings due to historical context, or the collective sadness and unknown of the residents’ terror; remains to be seen. This is an unknown; a mystery Morrison leaves for the reader to decide. Conclusion In conclusion, Beloved connected with the reader on many levels. In times of war and t ragedy, such themes are not uncommon.One is reminded of Sophie’s Choice where the heroine had to make a similar yet devastating decision about her children. Still Morrison used a ghost to exhibit just how much the past has followed Sethe. Such technique can be found in other modern novels by Isabelle Allende and Gabriel Garcia-Marquez where the fantastic take on realistic qualities. The purpose of this paper was to explore the concept that Toni Morrison’s Beloved is a modern Gothic novel. It can be argued that Morrison used many techniques derived from the Gothic period to master her story of Sethe, a former slave haunted by the ghost of her murdered daughter, Beloved.The novel has many interwoven techniques of storytelling that make reading a challenge to analyze but also so integral to the telling of America’s collective past. As a collective, our history has pain that can be found beautiful. The novel encompassed trauma, making the reader uncomfortable with i ts subject matter, mainly Sethe’s sexuality as a powerful, feministic tool. Morrison tells a story not told before while weaving the spectacular into a very real situation and therefore created a much different storytelling style furthering the evolution of the modern novel.This novel made the reader question, not only the content but how it was being conveyed, while masterfully, also complex in nature. While it is considered a modern novel, it redefined many Gothic elements. Part of what made Beloved and other modern Gothic novels so enthralling was its ability to convey mystery, darkness; the unknown as a realism to the reader. It put its characters in situations that seemed completely interesting, gave them a past that was tragic, maybe somewhat scandalous and put the characters in a limbo of an unfamiliar place, where mystical events happened.Works Cited Atwood, Margaret. â€Å"Jaunted By Their Nightmares. † New York Times 13 Sept. 1987, natl. ed. : Arts and Entert ainment section. Atwood explains Morrison’s story of grief and death of Sethe’s little girl touching on Slavery’s influence on modern society. She looks at Gothic techniques used to tell a modern story while discussing Sethe’s insanity and humanity. Berenbaum, Linda. The Gothic Imagination. East Brunswick, New Jersey: Associated University Press, Ltd. , 1948. This author analyzes Wuthering Heights from the thematic view point of Gothic novel stylings.She looks to Bronte’s writing as a means of justifying the non-horror of Gothic novels but the humanity involved. In doing this, she paints the novel as being very Gothic and also scary. In this respect, the argument backfires but also legitimizes the Gothic novel as a genre. Dailly, Stephen. â€Å"The Gothic Novel. † Online. Internet. Available FTP: http://www. btinternet. com/Stephen. dailly/writing/resources/gothic. htm Devendra, Varma, The Gothic Flame. London: Arthur Baker Ltd. , and Morris on and Gibb Ltd. , 1957.Author looks to traditional thematic elements of Gothic novel to argue that Gothic novels display two worlds. He also looks to history to back up this point. Gates, Henry Louis and Appiah, K. A. , ed. Toni Morrison: Critical Perspectives Past and Present. New York: Amistad Press, Inc. , 1993. Editors analyze Toni Morrison’s writing, specifically Beloved in order to argue that the novel does not reflect the negative victimism of slavery but uses storytelling as a means to entertain such a serious subject. They argue that Beloved can also be seen as ghost story.James, Henry. Turn of the Screw. New York: Pocket Books, 1941 James’ tale of suspense and woman haunting the man who done her wrong and is one of the first times in literature a ghost seems realistic. Morrison, Toni. Beloved. New York: Penguin Books, 1987. Morrison’s groundbreaking story of one woman’s life after slavery and ghosts that remain in the present. This story by usi ng flashbacks tells the story of a woman murdering her baby daughter so that that daughter does not have to live in slavery. This novel displays how one’s action’s continues to live on inside of them and later materialize as a ghost.It also conveys how even in American modern society, the collective history still remains in shadows and needs to be addressed, no matter how uncomfortable. Smith, Valerie. â€Å"Circling the Subject: History and Narrative in Beloved. † Toni Morrison: Critical Perspectives Past and Present. Ed. Henry Louis Gates Jr. and K. A. Appiah. New York: Amistad, 1993. 342-55. Smith analyzes Morrison’s use of flashback as a cyclical technique not used before in literature. Spargo, R. Clifton. â€Å"Trauma and the spectres of enslavement in Morrison’s Beloved. † Mosaic 35. 1 (2002): 113-130. Spargo discusses history as a grounds for telling fictional stories.

Organizational Culture Essay

It is extensively acknowledge that organizational culture plays an increasingly essential role in a successful company. However, in the meanwhile whether organizational culture should be changed constitutes a controversial issue. Many managers assert that organizational culture must be changed while few others argue that organizational culture needs not to be changed. As far as I am concerned, I am in favor of the former view. In this essay, firstly, I will talk about what is organizational culture and what do organizational cultures do. In the second place, I will discuss why organizational culture should be changed. Thirdly, I will analyze the risks of organizational culture change. Finally, I will expatiate how to prevent risks of organizational culture change. What is organizational culture? A number of years back, I watched an American reality television The Apprentice, and I remember a player was asked what he thought organizational culture mean by Doanld Trump. He said: â€Å"I can’t express it, however,I get it when I see it. † Most people cannot define organizational culture accurately by concise word. However there seems to be widely recognized that organizational culture indicates a system of shared meaning held by members that distinguishes the organization from other organizations. (Becker, 1982, pp. 513-27; and Schein 1985 p. 168) This shared system meaning is, on further investigation, a series of important features that the organization values. The investigation advises that there are seven main features that, gather up the threads, constitute the essence of an organizational culture. (Reilly III, Chatman, Jehn, 1991, pp. 487-516; and Chatman, Jehn, 1994, pp. 522-553; Ashkanasy, Wilderom, Peterson, 2000) 1. Innovation and adventure: the extent to which employees are encouraged to be make innovations and adventure. 2. Detail oriented: the extent to which employees are anticipated to exhibit meticulous, analysis and detail oriented. 3. Attention to outcome: the extent to which management attach importance to results or outcomes rather than on the skills and processes used to achieve those outcomes. Attention to people: the extent to which management decision take into regard the influence of results on people within the organization. 5. Attention to team: the extent to which job activities are organized around teams rather than individuals. . Aggressiveness: the extent to which people are aggressive and competitive rather than easygoing 7. Stability: the extent to which organizational activities stress keeping the status quo by comparison to growth and development. There is no denying that organizational culture is just a descriptive concept, because of organizational culture is paid attention to how employees perceive the features of their organization’s culture, not with whether or not they like it. Furthermore, it is obvious that a company cannot have only one organizational culture. As we know, there are many employees who have different background or at different levels in a company, so they must have different perspective with organizational culture. In the mean time, there are two different cultures in one company, dominant culture and subculture. Dominant culture describes the core values that are shared by a most of the employees, when we talk about an organizational culture, we are referring to its dominant culture; In general, subculture develop in a big company to reflex conjunct problems, situations or experiences that staff meet. What do cultures do? Culture has a variety of functions in an organization. First, it creates distinctions between one organization and others. Second, it expresses a sense of identity for employees. Third, it precipitates employees not only care one’s individual self-interest, but also care whole organizational interest. Fourth, it improves the stability of the organization. Finally, culture serves as a sense- making and control mechanism that guides and shapes the attitudes and behavior of employees. (Reilly, Chatman, Staw, Cummings, 1996). Why organizational culture should be changed? Compelling arguments can be made that organizational culture should be changed, immediately. The first point with respect to this is that our society is advancing at an amazing speed in this day and age, more and more organizations face a dynamic and changing environment. As a consequence, all organizations must adapt to the changeable society. ‘Change or die! ’ is the rallying cry among today’s manager worldwide. In the second place, with the development of technology and science, the sense of distance between people getting closer, our world became a multicultural environment. Therefore, many companies have to do adjustment to adapt environment. More precisely, many companies must spend large amount of money and much energy on training to improve skills of employees. Last but not least, in this world, competition is a part of our lives, never disappear. Especially in the business society, the weaks are the prey of the strongs, increasing competition makes it inevitable for builded organizations to defend themselves against both traditional competitors who develop new products and services, and small entrepreneurial firms with innovative offerings. This makes sense in that a good organization will be the ones that can change according to the competition. They followed the steps of the times, able to develop new products quickly and put them on the market. They accelerate production operations, shortened product cycle and constantly produce new products that can adapt to radically-changing environment. The risks of organizational culture On the other hand, colorable arguments can be made that organizational culture should not to be changed. This argument has considerable merit in that every little change can bring huge risks, especially for a business organization. For example, a change is scheduled and employees as soon as possible respond by voicing complaints, demotivation, even threatening go on strike and so on. In general, risk can be divided two big parts, individual risks and organizational risks. Individual sources of risk belong to primary human characteristics such as consciousness, characteristics and requirements. There are five different risks in individual resources. Custom (Habit): Do you go to school or work always through same route every day? Most people’s answer: â€Å"Yes! † Our lives are so complicated, we have to make hundreds of decisions. Therefore, face to life’s complexities, we lean upon habits or programmed responses. However, when faced with change, this tendency to respond in our usual ways becomes a source of risk. For instance, when your department moves to another new building, it means you have to change your habits: get up earlier ten minutes; pass a new street go to work; look for a new parking; adapt to new office’s overall arrangement and so on. . Security: People with a high need for security are likely to resist change because it threatens their feelings of safety. For example, when Sony&Ericsson announced to lay off 17000 employees or Ford will introduce new robots, these employees feel their job unsafe. 3. Economic: Changes in work tasks or job specification can lead to economic fears if people are cared that they would not be able to adapt to new tasks or standards, especially when reward is closely related to productivity. 4. Fear of the unknown: Change replaces vagueness and indetermination for the unknown. When we graduated from high school ready enter university was a wonderful example. In high school, we understood that what things need to do, you maybe dislike high school life, but at least, you know this system. We faced a fresh and uncertainty system in university, you have to sacrifice your know to exchange unknown, it was associated with uncertainty fears. 5. Selective information processing: Individuals are sinful of selective processing information in the cause of maintain their whole consciousness. They hear what they want to hear and they ignore information that challenges the world they have created. Organization is conservative for its essentially, it resist change energetically. (Hall, 1987) This phenomenon can be seen everywhere, for example, governmental agencies want to continue devote oneself to their work, no matter what the market need to change; The organized religion has ineradicable history, changing religious doctrine need great perseverance and patience; Many business companies also think change can bring many risks. There are six organizational sources of risk. (Katz, Kahn, 1978) 1. Structural inertia: Organizations keep their stability by inner mechanism, like their selection processes that choose employees in or out very systematically; Training and other socialize technology strengthen requests and skills for every concrete role; Organizational normalization provides job specifications, rules and regulations to employees. After selection, the satisfactory employees can enter organization, then, organization will model and guide their behaviors by kind of way. When an organization is meted with change, this structural inertia act as risk (even counterbalance) to maintain stability. 2. Limited Change attention: Organizations are made up of a quantity of interdependent subsystems. One cannot be changed without influencing the others. More exactly, in the meantime, organizations just change technological process, and not change organizational structure for match it, so technological change cannot adapt to. It seems that limited change in subsystems tend to be nullified by the lager system. 3. Group inertness: Even though individuals want to change their behavior, group criterion may act as a force of constraint. For instance, an unionist maybe accept job change from capital, but if union regulation provide that resist any change by capital unilaterally change, therefore risk will appear. 4. Threat to professional knowledge: Changes in organizational model may threaten the expertise of specialized groups. In 1980s, the process of adopting distributed personal computer was a good example. This computer can let user direct got information from host computer of company, but it encountered many information departments’ counterview. Why, because the use distributed computers can bring risks for special technology of information departments. 5. Threat to established power relationships: Any reapportionment of decision-making power can threaten long-established power relationships within organization. Participative decision and self-management work team are belong to this change, it used to be threaten by low-level managers. 6. Threat to established resource distributions: Groups in the organization that control considerable resources see change as a risk. They tend to be gratify with the way things are. For instance, whether change means their budget or members decreasing? Those groups which can get much benefit from existing resource allocations used to be threaten by future allocations. How to prevent risks of organizational culture change? Although Organizational change brings many risks, in some ways, this is positive. It regulates a degree of stability and predictability to behavior. If there were not some risks, organizational behavior would take on the representatives of chaotic randomness. According to these risks, there were six tactics have been suggested for use by change planners in dealing with preventing risks. (Kotter, Schlesinger, 1979) 1. Education and Communication: Risk can be reduced through communicating with employees to help them understand the logic of a change. The fundamental assumption of this strategy is the reason of producing risks that fights the effects of misinformation and miscommunication; if employees see all facts and eliminate entire misread, risks should disappear. Our communication could through talk personally, group discussion, memorandum, report and so on. Indeed, research shows that the way the need for change is sold matters-change is more likely when the necessity of changing is packaged properly. (Dutton, Ashford, O’Neill, Lawrence, 2001) By the way, when the risk of change definitely from miscommunication and labor relations character by mutual trust, this tactic does work; if these conditions cannot be have, it does not work. 2. Participation: It is difficult for individuals to hit back a change decision in which they participated. Before changing, those opposed can be brought into the decision process. Presuming that the participants have the professional knowledge to make a meaningful contribution, their participation can reduce risk, obtain promise, and improve the quality of change decision. However, this tactic has two disadvantages. First, it maybe has potential poor decision; second, it would take much time. 3. Support and Promotion: Change planners can provide a range of supportive measures to reduce risk. When employees feel fear and worried, the company should offer recommendation and counseling psychology, new-technologies training or a short paid leave of holiday may promote adjustment. Research on middle managers has shown that when managers or employees have low emotional commitment to change, they favor the status quo and resist it. (Huy, 2002, pp. 31-69) 4. Negotiation: Another way for the change planner to cope with potential risk to change is to exchange something valuable for waken risk. For example, if the risk is concentrated in some powerful individuals, a detailed payment scheme can be negotiated that will satisfy their individual needs. Negotiation as a tactic may be necessary when risk comes from a powerful provenience. But, planner cannot ignore its potentially high costs. On the side, if change planner negotiates with one party to avoid risk, he or she is open to the possibility of being extorted by other individuals which have power. 5. Control and Cooptation: Manipulation deal with concealed influence attempts. Some illustration of this are twisting and misinterpretation facts to make them more attractive, blocking undesirable information, and creating rumors to get employees to accept change. If managers threatens to closed down a extraordinary manufacturing plant if that plant’s employees do not accept an across-the-board pay cut, and if the threat is actually untrue, managers is using manipulation. Cooptation, on the other side, is a mode of both manipulation and participation. It try to find ‘buy off’ the leaders of against group by giving them an important role in the change decision. The leader’s suggestion is explored, not to seek a good decision, but to get their authorization. Both manipulation and cooptation are comparatively low-cost and easy ways to enhance the support of opponents, but the tactics can backfire if the targets become conscious that they are being tricked or used. If by any chance detected, the change planner’s reputation may drop to zero. It used by change planners in dealing with opponents to change; that is, the application of direct thrusts or force on the opponents. The color is quite mandatory, if the company management indicated to in the previous discussion really is determined to shut down if employees do not agree with a pay cut. Other examples of coercion are threats of transfer, loss of promotions, negative performance appraisal and so on. The advantages and disadvantages coercion are similar to the benefits and drawbacks of manipulation and cooptation. For my part, after considering the arguments above, I would concede that organizational change can bring many risk, the members of conservative not support change. Nevertheless, despite that I think the organizations should be changed, every day is different, anything would be changed as time goes on. Overall, I am convinced that with development of society, managers will discover many effective change plans to adapt to market competition.