The Fraud Act 2006 - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 6 Words: 1814 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Law Essay Did you like this example? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"The Fraud Act 2006 has as a central requirement the concept of Dishonesty. This simple legal concept has made the law clear.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ Critically Discuss. The Fraud Act 2006 was brought in to replace the Theft Act 1978, as offences created under the act after caused difficulty proving in court. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Fraud Act 2006" essay for you Create order In 2002, the Law Commission produced a report on fraud, which led to the creation of the new act, which has been simplified, which allows the defendant to understand the offences with ease and for the Crown Court the changes made it easier to prosecute. Most of the previous act has now been repealed, excluding à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"making off without paymentà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ under section 3, which has not been affected. Certain aspects of the previous Theft Act still remain; common law offences such as, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"conspiracy to defraudà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"conspiracy to cheat the revenueà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. The main change brought to the new act was section 1 of a single offence of fraud, as the act gives a statutory definition of the offence of fraud; separating it into three categories, subsequently meaning that it is a single offence which can be committed in three different ways: Fraud by false representation (section 2) An example of this offence would be Adams, R v (1993) CA; The individual went to hire a car and filled in a car hire form, he was asked if he had any previous motoring convictions and also whether he has been disqualified from driving, he said à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"noà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ to both, however he had been disqualified from driving 4 years previously. The indidual was found guilty as he should have only ticked the boxes if both answers were no, the indivual tried to argue that it was the correct answer to one of the questions, therefore he falsly represented himself. Fraud by failing to disclose information (section 3) An example of this would be for an individual not disclosing important information when applying for life insurance such as they have a life threatening illness. Fraud by abuse of position (section 4) An example of this would be a carer stealing money or goods from their patients, as the carer was in a position of trust, in which the system relies upon honesty on the part of caring for someone who canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t care for themselves. The main focus of the new legislation brought in was to ensure that newly developed technolgically focused crime was included within the provision as previously the complexity under fraud was prosecuted, enabled some defendants to be acquitted as the legilslation failed to keep up with technological advances. This change was brought in to overcome these technicalities, by capturing the elements of fraud, however doing so in a technique which doesnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t specify any specific activity. This broadness allows the reformed legislation to keep up to date with developing technologies, therefore meaning that technology cant out date the legislation like previously. A post legislative assessment of the newly reformed Fraud Act 20 06 was carried out and comments made were that the act simplified cases of fraud, that the simplicity of the law allows investigators to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"take prompt action and avoid further criminalityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. The broader range of offences which are now covered by the act, means that the prosecution no longer have to prove that a person was decieved and also allows the means to prosecute for a wider range of criminal activities including technology focused crime, investment fraud, data theft and charity scams. Offences are now based upon the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"intentionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢of the defendant, rather than the outcome, which has increased the amount of early guily pleas. The overall assessment suggested that the reformly reformed legislation has been successful in acheving its initial objectives, which were to modernisedeception offences, whilst also providing a clear statutory base for fraud offences, whilst also targetting complex and technology focused fraud . There are still offences being prosecuted under the previous legislation due to the implementation date of the Act and the long investigate periods that often occur in complex fraud cases. The principles that are carried out are the same although the legal tests may be differ. The common law offence of conspiracy to defraud must be mentioned, however, as it still exists despite the Fraud Act 2006. The Element of Dishonesty The changes brought in move the focus of the legislation from the concept of deception towards the concept of dishonesty, as defined in R v Ghosh (1982) when dishonesty is an element of the offence, the jury have to make a decision whether or not they feel that what was done dishonest by the ordinary standards of reasonable and honest people? And whether the defendant realised that he/she was doing, by those standards dishonest? After the removal of the concept of deception from the offence of fraud à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"dishonestly obtaining services by de ceptionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ (section 1 of the Theft Act 1968); with à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"obtaining services dishonestlyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢(section 11 of the Fraud Act 2006), this allows a larger scope of crime to be captured through the word à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"dishonestlyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, as it is a word which can easily be related to and understood by laymen. Section 11 of the Act make it a statutory offence to obtain services dishonestly; suggesting that if services which were to be paid for were obtained without payment, under the knowledge of the individual or with intention that no payment would be made, If found guilty the individual would be liable to a fine or imprisonment for up to twelve months on a summary conviction, or a fine or imprisonment for up to five years on conviction on indictment. The decision of whether an action is dishonest remains separate from any moral justifications the act has. For instance if an individual stole from someone wealthy, and he knew that he wa s acting dishonestly, however his argument was that he was morally justified in acting in that particular way, and could only be brought to court by the way of mitigation of sentencing, and would not have affected the inference of dishonesty. The new legislation means that dishonesty is looked at through omission rather than the act, for instance if a creditor were to use trickory to get a debtor to pay a debt which they owed, as the motive was dishonest even though the debtor owed the creditor and by means it was rightfully his money, the creditor could potentially be prosecuted under the new provisions of the act, however under the previous law this would have been lawfull. The broad nature of the statute and reformed language now allows a broader range of offences to be under the provisions of the reformed act; however as the legislation of the act is broad this could potentially lead to problems. As the more complex a system is the harder it is to prosecute under, however if it is broader this creates more room for loop holes to be created. The nature and definition of dishonesty under the Ghosh test, is left under the discretion of the jury to decide whether an act is dishonest and if the act fails to address whether something is dishonest it automatically becomes classified as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"fraudà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. However the argument with this issue falls upon whether or not the jury are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"reasonableà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ with their estimations of dishonesty, different life backgrounds and job roles can influence what an individual sees as a dishonest act. Leister 1974 said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"that it cannot be rational to trust, twelve strangers of unknown qualityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. The act does not in fact provide a definition of fraud, and is general in terms, which could potentially mean that criminal liability is extended. Section 2 of the reformed act is the most broadest in terms, suggesting that if a false representation wa s created within an email, and was intended to be sent, however was caught in the tracks, the individual would still have the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"intentionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, therefore would be guilty of the full offence. Another broadness issue would be for the provision of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"unintentional falsityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, section 2(2), states that a statement would be considered as false if it is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"untrueà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"misleadingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, however if an auction house where to sell an item as an original piece, however later on find out that it is a forged piece and the auction house believed at the time that it was the original, but in their industry was aware of the possibility of these types of happenings, they would be guilty under section 1 under the new legislation. However such cases should be let off due to diligence of the jury, allowing the fact that they believe the auction house were in fact unaware of the dishonesty, wit h the Ghosh test. The Crown Prosecution Service and the Serious Fraud Office have considered that the new changes to the legislation have been beneficial as they have reduced the scope for legal argument and appeals on technicalities. The legal concept of the fraud act being centred with the requirement of dishonest has is some cases made the law clear, in the sense that the term, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"dishonestà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ is easily relatable, and the term incriminates anyone who is to act upon dishonesty. However as there is no set in stone definition of dishonesty, it is left up to the discretion of the jury to decide what is and what is not dishonest. This assessment method suggests that the juryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s opinion will uphold higher in court over morality and the criminal law, which therefore destroys à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"the protection against laws which the ordinary man may regard as harsh and oppressiveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. In terms of making the law clear, it has allow ed the Fraud Act to be more concise and easily understandable; allowing individuals to be more accountable for their actions with language spoken within the law such as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Å"dishonestyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ however it also has its negatives as previously mentioned, the path of the case is in the juryà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s hands, which may not always be decent. Bibliography The Law Commision, The Law Commision Fraud [July 2002] TLCF 1, 5,6,7,8,9 Fraud Act 2006 2006 s 1,2,3,4,5,6,7()() Serious Fraud Office, Abuse of Position (Serious Fraud Office 2014) https://www.sfo.gov.uk/fraud/fraud-in-your-organisation/abuse-of-position.aspx accessed 24th March 2014 CPS, The Fraud Act 2006 (CPS 2014) https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal/d_to_g/fraud_act/ accessed 25th March 2014 Farlex, Dishonesty (The free dictionary 2014) https://www.thefreedictionary.com/dishonesty accessed 26th March 2014 M Johnson, The Fraud Act 2006; The E Crime Prosecutors champion or the creator of new in choate offence? [2007] TFA 1, 1.2.3.4.5.6. L. Shu, F. Gino, M. Bazerman, Dishonest Deed, Clear Conscience: Self Preservation through Moral Disengagement and Motivated Forgetting [2009] DDCD 2, 2,3,4,5,6,78 Willis and Bowring, Fraud and dishonesty offences (Willis and Bowring April 2012) https://www.willisbowring.com.au/newsletters/criminal-law-newsletter-archive/fraud-and-dishonesty-offences.aspx accessed 26th March 2014 University of Hertfordshire Higher Education Corporation, FRAUD AND CORRUPTION ANTI-FRAUD AND ANTI-CORRUPTION POLICY [February 2007] AFAC 1, 1,2 BBC News, What is the Ghosh test for dishonesty? (BBC News September 2009) news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8242050.stm accessed 27th March 2014 Ministry of Justice, Post legislative assessment of the Fraud ACt 2006 [June 2012] PLAFA2006 3, 3,4,5,6,7,8,9 1

Michael Lackey Beyond Good And Evil - 1784 Words

In Michael Lackey’s essay, Beyond Good and Evil: Huckleberry Finn on Human Intimacy, Lackey argues that Mark Twain s novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn seeks to destroy and abolish morality and considers morality socially, psychology, and politically destructive. While I agree with Lackeys points that accepting morality means rejecting friendship and accepting friendship means rejecting morality, in the case of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I don’t believe such an argument adequately addresses the base of morality and human culture. In the course of this essay I will argue that morality isn’t a perfect pinnacle to base all thoughts and ideas off, but it is not a bad tool either. Lackey and Twain argue that morality is evil and as†¦show more content†¦I believe that Aunt Sally or another character, if they knew, would have stepped in and stopped Tom’s antics. I don’t think the way Tom acted reflects the morals per say, of a majority of people in this era, rather a â€Å"game† of a child. With that being said I do think that the view of morality that most people during this time had, allowed them to have and control slaves without feeling guilty. One of Lackeys major points in his essay is that Huck ultimately has to make the choice between friendship and morality. If Huck wants to be moral that means he can’t free Jim, and if Huck want’s to have a friendship with Jim then he will suffer a loss of morality. We witness Huck with this tough decision throughout the novel. When Jim is talking about his family and how he’s going to work his way to free them, and if that doesn’t work, steal them. We see Huck s inner turmoil. What had poor Mrs. Watson done to you, that you could see her nigger go off right under your eyes and never say a single word? What did that poor old woman do to you, that you could treat her so mean? 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Strategic Human Resource Management for Performance- MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theStrategic Human Resource Management for Performance. Answer: Introduction Employee performance is essential in determining organizations productivity level. Given the important role that organizational workers play in driving the various activities towards achieving the stipulated business goals, organizations are keen to monitor as well as evaluate the level of contributions that their employee makes in the firm(Micheli Manzoni, 2010). In the drive to optimize their performance and employee engagement, many organizations often use annual performance reviews which involve formal discussion on the workers' ongoing development as well as performance. The process entails planning the actions to be taken in the next period while reviewing the activities and achievement in the last period (Armstrong Taylor, 2014). However, in the recent past, the popularity of this performance management approach has declined as many business firms are ditching this method in preference to other strategies that are rather informal in nature. Many companies are abandoning annual reviews because they are complicated and expensive in terms of time and resource utilization yet with no significant improvement in performance. It is against this background that the present paper reviews the case study on Accenture and why it is ditching annual performance review to adopt regular feedback. The paper critically explores whether abandoning performance reviews was beneficial or costly to the organization in terms of operational expenses as well as employee performance. In the end, the paper provides some recommendations for other alternative approaches that Accenture could use to monitor and evaluate their workers' performance effectively. Accenture Abandoning the Formal Performance Reviews Noting from the case study, it is quite evident that it is a prudent move for Accenture to abandon the formal performance reviews totally. Formal performance review is regarded to have numerous drawbacks on the overall organization performance as it makes most employees uncomfortable operating under undue pressure. Carrying out a formal performance review is very crucial to the progress of every organization; however, this process is often challenging for many organizations. As noted by (Guest, 2011), a large percentage of employees are often concerned with how the management under which they work, perceive their level of competency. In most instances, workers try to resist and dislike the fact that they are being informed of the errors they have committed or that they are incompetent in certain aspects of the organization (Daley, 2012). This process of formal performance review thus results in mixed reactions in firms which make managers to highly disregard its use and adopt more fluid evaluation systems where workers get frequent reviews from their supervisors to their performance levels. Based on the case study, Accenture has decided to abandon the formal performance review since it did not manage to attain its primary objective which was to promote the performance of the firms staff. It is stated from the Accenture case study that only a minimal percentage (2%) of companies believes that conducting a formal performance review contributes positively to the general performance of the firms(Nankervis, Baird, Coffey, Shields, 2017). A greater percentage of companies thus have the perception that having formal performance reviews on their workers is very ineffective in enhancing performance. In most cases, as noted by Accenture, the process of annual appraisals consumes a lot of the organizations time, money, and effort which could be used to carry out other business operations to enhance profitability. (Wright McMahan, 2011) provide that the process of the annual performance review is highly flawed as an appraisal method and the author sites various possible outcomes of using such a process. This kind of review usually makes the workers in an organization to be nervous, and further, a single annual review meeting does not help build consistent feedback nor help coach the employees in the process so that they could enhance their skills and knowledge (Chuang Liao, 2010). Additionally, it is noted that this process often becomes a data dump in most cases for the inexperienced managers and is also regarded as a subjective act that does not provide an explicit explanation of organizations success, future anticipations and the available growth opportunities (Boselie, 2010). In essence, therefore, it was a good idea for Accenture to abandon the use of formal performance reviews totally. Based on its ineffectiveness in enhancing organization performance and employees, Accenture has decided to conduct a personal evaluation of its employees based on their individual responsibilities and performance levels and not a wholesome appraisal which is done annually. On this basis, therefore, it is recommended that the organization incorporate performance management in their appraisals having a more flexible system. This move is noted to result in limited employee disagreements, limited negative feelings from the workers and higher benefits (Guest, 2011). Possible Problems that could arise from abandoning Performance Management Reviews Emerging evidence suggest that while many business firms are in the run to ditch formal performance management procedures, employee ratings is essential for internal management of its pay and promotion systems. To (Dane Brummel, 2014) performance is simply the value of contribution that each employee brings to an organization over time and therefore, they are paid depending on their value to the business operations. Thus, without proper guidelines on how the workers value is measured against the stipulated standards, the firms overall performance and productivity might be compromised. (Bacal, 2011) observes that whereas informal performance tools such as regularly feedback conversations provide the organizational management the benefits of flexibility and sense of timeliness which enhances employee performance, they lack proper documentation or no paper trail to be referred to on a later date. Therefore, for Accenture which has 330,000 employees relying on personal conversations without having suitable structures and performance management systems, the company might lose track of its performance reviews. In agreement, (Aguinis, Joo, Gottfredson, 2011) notes that regular feedback option is often effective only in a small organization with a minimal number of employees to be managed and thus with a huge number of people like the case of Accenture, the adoption of this performance management methods might lead to a massive financial loss. Besides, without appraisal data which is often useful in determining the progress of an organization especially when the present status or position is viewed vis--vis the previous evaluation, it would be difficult for Accenture to measure its growth or even failure in meeting the business goals. In their paper, (Lengnick-Hall, Beck, Lengnick-Hall, 2011) observe that formal performance reviews offer an organizational management an excellent opportunity to take cognizance and agree upon some of the individuals training and development needs. The assessment of needs is always tied closely to the performance outcomes of the workers and therefore when done properly, the firm stands a chance of rekindling commitment of the staffs in their roles towards achieving the objectives of the company. According to (Boxall Purcell, 2011), formal performance appraisals offer the employees with social recognition of their input in the organization. The power of recognition by the organizational management has long been noted to act as a strong incentive that motivates the workers and even enhances their job satisfaction. Interestingly, (Aguinis, Joo, Gottfredson, 2011) observes that people would prefer to receive negative recognition in preference to getting no recognition at all. By ditch ing annual performance reviews, Accenture in the case study will lose its strongest avenue of motivating its employees, and this will result in a high turnover of the workers. Subsequently, the company will end up using considerably high operational cost in recruiting, training and retaining workers. In response, (Moynihan Lavertu, 2012) recommends that instead of Accenture abandoning the performance management reviews; it should integrate it with other informal approaches such as constant one-on-one feedback. Recommendations for how Accenture could effectively monitor, Assess, and Improve the Performance of their Employees The following are some of the recommended strategies that will see considerable improvement in the organizational performance. Regular goal setting: It is worth mentioning that contrary to the traditional annual performance review, effective assessment of performance may involve regularly setting the target goals. (Yuan Woodman, 2010) recommend that Accenture aligns its workers goals more often to ensure that it improves the employees commitment while at the same time drive the business outcomes. According to (Love Singh, 2011)effective setting of the employees goals and aligning them to match the firms overall strategy is a recipe for business performance. In agreement, (Boxall Purcell, 2011) maintains that proper goal alignment is essential in realizing business success. In his argument, the author contends that regular goals setting allows all the workers in an organization to have a proper glimpse of the general business direction as well as provide them the window of visualizing their specific roles and contributions to the organization in the big picture.' Continuous coaching and feedback: In his article, (Bacal, 2011) observed that providing the employees with constant coaching especially on how to handle specific tasks that are oriented towards achieving organizational goals is vital to improve their commitment and performance. In his view, the adoption of informal and yet regular feedback by Accenture would provide the supervisors the right moment to coach their employees in the right direction and thus strategically shoving them to the direction of organizational success. Besides, through continuous engagement and interaction with the workers, the companys management will be in a god position to closely monitor as well as assess the individual employees input in the organization. In this way, the supervisors will easily be able to identify some of the weakest spots that need training and development in the drive to enhance overall employee performance. Flexible System; Accenture decided to overhaul their formal performance reviews since it failed to fulfill its primary purpose. The flexible system will enable the employees to have frequent opportunities of interactions with their immediate supervisors (Chuang Liao, 2010). The close relationship built between employees and their supervisors will enable the employees to be open and discuss any possible problems they are facing with their supervisors and get feedbacks on arrears of improvement on a frequent basis rather than waiting to be evaluated after they have performed poorly. Open communication system; Accenture aims at continuously supporting their workers all throughout their working experience without having to evaluate them annually on how they have performed. Having an open system enables workers to easily and freely communicate with the management, giving them a feeling of interconnectedness with the organization becoming part of the organization thus making them provide high levels of performance (Daley, 2012). Since the firms always strive at employing the best, this process will give the workers the freedom and authority that they need to innovate and enhance the profitability of the firm without undue pressure. This open system will enable the organizations management to easily monitor and assess the performance of the employees identifying areas that they can improve to enhance their performance levels. Conclusion and Recommendations Research indicate that traditional annual performance review is considerably flawed and is ineffective for proper monitoring, assessment, and improvement of employee performance. Arguably, it a good idea for organizations such as Accenture in the given case study to abandon it in favor of informal performance management approaches. Thus, unlike the formal annual reviews, the informal methods entail close monitoring of the employees by their immediate supervisors, and this brings onto the offing the possibility of improving organizational success. Through this approach, the employees are given regular feedbacks on how they perform their respective responsibilities. Evidently, such informal conversation provides organizational management a good opportunity to assess the personal training needs of each employee as well as ensure that the available skill sets are properly aligned to the organizational goals. However, for this to be successful, the organization must have an open and consi derably interactive communication system where the employees are always in access of their supervisors. Free interaction is vital to bring friendlier workplace environment where regular feedback is not feared but welcomed and considered useful in improving the organizational performance. References Aguinis, H., Joo, H., Gottfredson, R. K. (2011). Why we hate performance managementAnd why we should love it. . Business Horizons, 54(6), 503-507. Armstrong, M., Taylor, S. (2014). Armstrong's handbook of human resource management practice. Kogan Page Publishers. Bacal, R. (2011). Performance Management 2/E. . McGraw Hill Professional. Boselie, P. (2010). Strategic human resource management: A balanced approach. . Tata McGraw-Hill Education. Boxall, P., Purcell, J. (2011). Strategy and human resource management. Palgrave Macmillan. Chuang, C. H., Liao, H. U. (2010). Strategic human resource management in service context: Taking care of business by taking care of employees and customers. . Personnel Psychology, 63(1), 153-196. Daley, D. M. (2012). Strategic human resource management. Public Personnel Management,, 120-125. Dane, E., Brummel, B. J. (2014). Examining workplace mindfulness and its relations to job performance and turnover intention. . Human Relations, 67(1), 105-128. Guest, D. E. (2011). Human resource management and performance: still searching for some answers. Human resource management journal, 21(1), 3-13. Lengnick-Hall, C. A., Beck, T. E., Lengnick-Hall, M. L. (2011). Developing a capacity for organizational resilience through strategic human resource management. . Human Resource Management Review, 21(3), 243-255. Love, L. F., Singh, P. (2011). Workplace branding: Leveraging human resources management practices for competitive advantage through Best Employer surveys. . Journal of Business and Psychology, 26(2), 175-181. Micheli, P., Manzoni, J. F. (2010). Strategic performance measurement: Benefits, limitations and paradoxes. . Long Range Planning, 43(4), 465-476. Moynihan, D. P., Lavertu, S. (2012). Does involvement in performance management routines encourage performance information use? Evaluating GPRA and PART. . Public Administration Review, 72(4), 592-602. Nankervis, Baird, Coffey, Shields. (2017). Human Resource Management: Strategy and Practice (9th ed). South Melbourne, Australia: Cengage Learning Australia. Wright, P. M., McMahan, G. C. (2011). Exploring human capital: putting humanback into strategic human resource management. . Human resource management journal, 21(2), 93-104. Yuan, F., Woodman, R. W. (2010). Innovative behavior in the workplace: The role of performance and image outcome expectations. . Academy of Management Journal, 53(2), 323-342.

Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose Essay Example For Students

Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose Essay Lincoln Electric has been the worlds largest manufacturer of arc welding products for the past thirty years. In addition to its welding products, Lincoln also produces a line of three-phase alternating-current industrial electric motors. Their strategy is simple, reduce costs and pass the savings through to the customer by continuously lowering prices. Lincolns management believed its incentive system and the climate it fostered are responsible for the continual increase in productivity with which their strategy is based on. Under the incentive system, employees are handsomely rewarded for their productivity, high quality, cost reduction ideas, and individual contributions to the company. Lincolns strategy had remained virtually unchanged; it had achieved an enviable record in following this strategy faithfully and therefore felt no need to modify it in the future. Situation AnalysisInformation technology continues to become cheaper and have more practical applications for every type of business. Using databases a company can organize complex data distribution of information on demand at a rapid pace. Lincolns Order department had recently begun computerizing its operations. For the first time a computer will be used in the company with the exception of the engineering and research department. The computer was expected to replace 12 or 13 employees who would be moved to new jobs. Like anything new the computer was not fully endorsed by top management because people were not sure it could produce savings and allow a greater degree of control. The conversion process has gone well, although slower then anticipated because of order pressure being so high. We will write a custom essay on Strategic Profile and Case Analysis Purpose specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Lincolns strategy has encouraged the exit of several major companies (i.e. General Electric) from the industry and caused others to seek more specialized areas. Unlike other companies Lincoln has a compensation policy to reward employees for quick efficient work. Almost all production workers at Lincoln are paid on a straight piecework plan. They have no base salary or hourly wag but are paid a set amount for each item they produce. The second element of the compensation system is a year-end bonus. The bonus is not a gift, but it is the sharing of the results of efficient operation of the basis of contribution of each person to the success of the company for that year. In addition to Lincolns incentive program another important competitive edge for them is their sales force. The sales force is paid a salary plus a bonus. They pride themselves on working more hours than anyone else works. The sales force is known to be the highest paid and hardest working in the industry. Identification of Environmental Opportunities and Threats and Firm Strengths and Weaknesses. The strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (S.W.O.T.) of Lincoln Electrics strategy can be shown to benefit their company and hinder it at other times. The greatest strength in Lincoln Electric is their ability to undercut competitors prices by means of cheaper production costs. Mentioned earlier, they are able to do this because of their incentive program, where they reward employees for speed, quality and innovative ideas. This strategy is the main reason why they are able to avert threat of outside competitors having a lower price with a high rate of quality. It is hard to compete when you cant beat the competitor prices of high quality products. The management at Lincoln learned many key factors about their employees and how they prefer to work. As long as the employees get their job done the management leave them alone. In a sense they are their own boss, they decide on their brakes and lunch times (most work through their brakes) and the harder the m!ore products they produce in a day the more money they make in the end. The employees like this, because they like being responsible for themselves and not depending on others, also they determine their paycheck by how hard they work during a given day. Lincoln Electric has a policy of filling all but entry-level positions by promoting from within the company. Any employee can apply for a position that has opened within the company. Because of the companys sustained growth and policy of hiring from within, anyone has a chance for advancement in the company. The only other way to get a job at Lincoln besides starting on the floor is to enter their training programs in sales or engineering. Lincoln does not provide tuition grants for educational purposes and they do not send its employees to outside management development programs. Strategy FormulationLincolns strategy has been very successful for them over the past thirty years, which constitutes them being the leader in production of arc welding equ ipment. Because of their conservative nature, Lincoln has not looked closely enough at what benefits they will receive by improving their technology through computers. They have been slow to implement their first system in the ordering department even though they project savings of $100,000. Continual education has been a buzzword of corporations for the last decade. Almost every major company around the world has spent large amounts of company profits and hours on workshops and training sessions to ensure their employees are up to date on every new development in their industry. Lincoln Electric has not spent dollar one on training. They do not give grants for educational purposes and has never sent someone to an outside management development program. They feel that hard work and persistence is more important then spending money on management training sessions. Lincoln Electrics employees work hard and very efficiently so they can improve their merit rating Day after day they migh t compromise brakes and cut corners wherever possible to increase their output. In other words working for Lincoln Electric sounds great because you have the possibility of earning a high paycheck, but the level of stress in an environment like that must be tremendous. An employee would fear calling in sick with the flu because that would mean missing a full days productivity and costing a lot of money. Many employees work through their brakes to increase out put; the only time they are away from the production line is thirty minutes for lunch during a full day. Having a big paycheck at the end of the week is always nice but in a high area of stress compromising your health or safety how important is it really? Strategic Alternative ImplementationLincoln Electric understands the basic drive of their employees, the harder you work the more money you make. This strategy has been working well for them and the employees themselves like it because the turnover rate of employees is the lo west in the industry. Their management policies may be different, but you cannot argue that they are not working because they are the industry leaders. Because of this I would not jump into spending lots of money on sending managers to conferences to improve their skills. If I were in an upper level position of management with Lincoln I would look to time and cost saving opportunities within the company. My first evaluation would be to improve Lincolns lack of technology. Since everyone at the company knows little about information technologies and how they can help the company, I would look to bring in an outside technical consulting company. This way the could come in, look at our operation and give a presentation to upper managem!ent about all the time and money we could save by joining the technological age. Another advantage of bringing in outside consultants would be we would have a choice, we could listen to a couple different firms and then decide on the best one to meet our needs. It is time for Lincoln electric to stop fearing change and to use computers outside of the Research and Design (Engineering) departments.

The 9 Best Places to Do Community Service

The 9 Best Places to Do Community Service SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Community service is a great way to help others, as well give you valuable skills and experiences.There are a lot of ways to get involved in community service, and choosing the best place to volunteer your time can be difficult. Our guide gives examples of some of the top places to do community service, as well as steps to help you decide which place is best for you. What Is Community Service and Why Should You Participate in It? Community service is work done by a person or group of people that benefits others. It is often done near the area where you live, so your own community reaps the benefits of your work.You do not get paid to do community service, but you can include your experience on your resume and college applications. There are many benefits to participating in community service; some of the most common are listed below: Gives you an opportunity to help others Helps you gain experience and new skills Helps improve your community Chance to make new friends Can cause personal growth How Can You Decide Where to Do Community Service? There is no community service location or activity that is â€Å"best† for everyone.You should decide where to perform community service based on your interests and skills, as well as your community’s demand for volunteers. Ask yourself the following questions: What Do I EnjoyDoing? Do you like working with kids? You may want to consider volunteering at a school. Are you an animal lover? Maybe a local shelter is the best place for your community service.Doing something you like will make your community service more enjoyable, and make it more likely for you to continue volunteering. What Kind of Career Do I Want? It’s not a requirement, but if your community service helps you get skills needed for future jobs, that’s an added bonus that will give you extra motivation as you volunteer.For example, if you want to be a doctor, you may consider doing community service at a hospital or nursing home. Which Problems Do I Want to Help Solve? Are you concerned about the environment? Animal cruelty? Education standards?Chances are you’ll be able to find a community service project related to an issue you care about. Which Places in My Community Are Important to Me? When I was a teenager, I chose to do community service at my local library because I had spent many afternoons there while growing up. Participating in the library’s summer reading program as a child had led to my love of reading, so when I got older, I felt good about volunteering for the program and helping other kids learn to love books.If there is a particular place in your community that’s important to you, whether it’s a park you played at as a child or the nursing home where your grandfather lives, performing community service there lets you show your gratitude and appreciation. Where Can You Find Ways to Participate in Community Service? Your School If you are a student, see if your school has any clubs for people interested in performing community service; many highs schools have a volunteering organization or something similar. Your Community Center This is wherever your community posts notices and information. It could be at a town hall, community meeting place, or on your town’s website.In addition to other information about your community, people and places looking for volunteers will often post notices here. Places Where You'd Like to Volunteer If you have a specific place where you’d like to perform community service, such as a nursing home or animal shelter, contact them and ask if they take volunteers. Online Sometimes a simple internet search can get you numerous volunteer opportunities. Search â€Å"community service ideas near [your town]† and see what comes up. The 9 Best Places to Do Community Service Below is a list of the most common places to perform community service. Each place has a brief description, examples of work you might perform as a volunteer and suggestions for the types of people who might be most interested in performing community service there. Hospitals Hospitals are often in need of volunteers for a variety of activities, and while you probably won’t start off with a lot of responsibility, if you volunteer at the same hospital for an extended period of time, you will likely be given more duties that you may be able to tailor to your interests. Examples of work:Delivering gifts to patients, interacting and playing with young patients, stocking medical supplies, and transporting patients to different rooms. Good for people who:are considering a career in the medical field, enjoy fast-paced work, and aren’t squeamish around illness. Schools Schools are one of the most popular places to perform community service, and many are in frequent need of volunteers. You can volunteer at your own school, a school you used to attend, or a different school. Examples of work:Tutoring students, chaperoning events, creating school murals, and supervising after-school programs. Good for people who:like working with children or teenagers, are creative, enjoy teaching, or are considering a career in education. Animal Shelters Animal shelters often have small budgets and a large number of animals who need to find homes, requiring many of them to need volunteers so that they can maximize the number of pets they care for. Examples of work:Feeding animals, cleaning cages, providing basic veterinary care, walking dogs, and interviewing potential owners. Good for people who:enjoy spending time with animals or are considering a career in animal care. Nursing Homes Many nursing homes and retirement communities rely on volunteers to keep residents active and organize fun events. Examples of work: Reading to or interacting with residents, hosting events like dances and bingo nights, and assisting residents with daily activities. Good for people who: enjoy spending time with senior citizens, are considering a career in health care, or have an outgoing personality. Food Banks Food banks, also known as soup kitchens or food depositories, are places where people can donate food that is then given to homeless or low-income people. Food banks provide several billion meals a year, and they rely on volunteers to continue their work reducing hunger. Some also grow their own food and serve meals on-site. Examples of work: Sorting food donations, organizing food drives, and delivering meals. Good for people who:enjoy cooking or gardening, don't need a lot of interaction with their beneficiaries or enjoy helping the poor as a social issue. Places of Worship Churches, synagogues, and other places of worship regularly have opportunities for community service. These activities can be related to the religion and spreading its message, but other times they are completely secular. Examples of work: Participating in mission trips, building houses, collecting donations, and teaching a religion class for children. Good for people who:enjoy their place of worship's sense of community or are interested in spreading their religion’s message. Libraries Your local library probably has multiple options for community service. Demand tends to be particularly high in the summer when more families visit and participate in library programs. Examples of work: Helping with a summer reading program, organizing donated books, helping with office work, and greeting and assisting patrons. Good for people who:enjoy reading, like working with children, or are good at organizing things. Museums Museums often need volunteers, and they can be a great place to do community service because you can choose a museum that focuses on your interests, whether that’s art, history, or something else. Examples of work:Cataloging specimens, leading tours, greeting guests, and assisting at special events. Good for people who:enjoy teaching, are interested in the museum’s exhibits, or are considering a career in the museum’s focus, such as natural history or art. Parks or Natural Areas Many natural areas are in need of volunteers as well. These places can range from a famous national park to the small playground down the street. Examples of work: Planting trees, collecting trash, designing gardens, creating new walking paths, and collecting data on wildlife. Good for people who:are interested in the environment or enjoy being outdoors. Note that these ideas are just starting points- definitely think about your own interests, research the options, and then branch out to find a really good fit! What's Next? Thinking about doing community service in a foreign country? Read our guide on whether you should participate in a volunteer abroad program. Do you want to know more about community service in general? Read our guide on what community service is, how it benefits you, and how to start getting involved. Wondering how your community service can help you apply to college? We have a guide that explains how to write about your extracurriculars on college applications.

Find the Beehive Cluster

Find the Beehive Cluster Cancer: Home of the Beehive Cluster Stargazing is part observation and part planning. No matter what time of year it is, you always have something cool to look at or you are planning out your future observations. Amateurs are always plotting their next conquest of a difficult-to-spot nebula or the first view of an old favorite star cluster. Take the Beehive Cluster, for example. Its in the constellation  Cancer, the Crab, which is a zodiac constellation that lies along  the  ecliptic, which is  the apparent path of the  Sun  across the sky throughout the year.  This means that Cancer is  visible for most observers in both the northern and southern hemispheres in the evening sky from late winter from about January through May. Then it disappears in the glare of the Sun for a few months before showing up in the early morning sky beginning in September.   Beehive Specs The Beehive is a little star cluster with the formal Latin name Praesepe, which means the manger. Its just barely a naked-eye object, and looks like a fluffy little cloud. You need a really good dark-sky site and reasonably low humidity to see it without using binoculars. Any good pair of 7Ãâ€"50 or 10Ãâ€"50 binoculars will work, and will show you a dozen or two stars in the cluster. When you look at the Beehive, you see stars that are about 600 light-years away from us.   There are about a thousand stars in the Beehive, some similar to the Sun. Many are red giants and white dwarfs, which are older than the rest of the stars in the cluster. The cluster itself is about 600 million years old. One of the interesting things about the Beehive is that it has very few massive, hot, bright stars. We know that the brightest, hottest and most massive stars usually last anywhere from ten to several hundred million years before they explode as supernovae. Since the stars we DO see in the cluster are older than this, either it lost all its massive members already, or perhaps it didnt start with many (or any). Open Clusters Open clusters are found throughout our galaxy. They usually contain up to a few thousand stars that were all born in the same cloud of gas and dust, which makes most of the stars in a given cluster roughly the same age. The stars in an open cluster are mutually gravitationally attracted to  other when they first form, but as they travel through the galaxy, that attraction can be  disrupted by passing stars and clusters. Eventually, an open clusters stars move so far apart that it  disintegrates and its stars are scattered to the galaxy. There are several known moving associations of stars that used to be open clusters. These stars are moving at roughly the same velocity but are not gravitationally bound in any way. Eventually they, too, will wander on their own paths through  the galaxy. The best examples of other open clusters are the Pleiades and the Hyades, in the constellation Taurus.

My plan & internship 1st week report (B) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

My plan & internship 1st week report (B) - Essay Example My first week will be spent as a teller. This is a front liner job. To impress my supervisor and to do well as a teller, I will come to work early so that I have already familiarized myself with the job before the bank opens. I anticipate that there will be a system that will be used and I have to take time to learn it. Coming in early will help me learn it quickly. The rest of the three week period will be about customer service and this is where my supervisor and co-workers will be helpful. I will listen intently to what they have to teach me and observe them so that I can do customer service well. I will try to be as pleasant as possible to everybody. The internship went well but not without issues. I was however able to overcome the issues presented to me. I was nervous during the first few days because I was not familiar with bank operations. At first, I was hesitant to ask questions first because I was initially intimidated with my colleagues who seemed to be very busy all the time. I took initiative the initiative however to be confident enough to ask questions to my supervisor as well as my co-workers for me to learn about the job. It served me well during my first week as a teller because it was my adjustment period. The succeeding weeks was about customer service. During this time, I have to familiarize myself with the several systems that the bank used such as Phoenix, a system used for handling customer’s account information and lastly, QMATIC which puts order in servicing customers. These systems enable me to facilitate deposit and withdrawals, transfer money from one account to another, cash box at the end of the day as well as put order in the servicing of customers in the bank. Working in bank is not easy because it requires us to work fast without committing any errors. Thus I was told by my supervisor to learn time management to be able to service as many customers as possible

Impact of New Technology in Nursing Research Paper

Impact of New Technology in Nursing - Research Paper Example This technology identifies the mutations of genes that expose a person to the development of chronic illnesses (American Association for Cancer Research, 2012). Genetics also identifies the carrier status, and diagnose certain uteri conditions. The medical professionals encounter patients who visit health facilities requiring treatment with their genetic sequencing and genotyping at hand. The availability of genetic data empowers the patients, and enhances better health care. The challenge that the nursing fraternity face with the introduction of the genetic technology is the education (American Association for Cancer Research, 2012). Most of the nurses in the current nursing practice have little or no knowledge about the genomics and genetics, hence lacking the required competence for delivery of effective counseling and the discharge of knowledge to the relevant patients. Contrary to the above concerns, the technology of genetic sequencing and genotyping continues to improve the interventional medicine by improving the diagnostics of nursing. (American Association for Cancer Research, 2012) The introduction of more accurate but less invasive tools in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases has changed the nursing practice. The emergence of technologies that test the existence of heart disease, monitoring the amount of blood sugar and the use of magnets to treat depression has transformed the outlook of nursing (Kelland, 2012). The use of scanning technology to identify the hard and soft body tissues is extensively important in the elimination of exploratory surgeries that inflict pain on patients in the process of determining the genesis of an illness (Miliard, 2012). These scans also detect the spread of chronic diseases faster than the x ray imaging. Despite the medical advances that come with the more accurate diagnosis tools, the challenge that the nurses face is in the use of the

The Significance of the Character Edward Hyde Essay Example for Free

The Significance of the Character Edward Hyde Essay Explore the Significance of the Character Edward Hyde and the Way he is perceived by Readers in Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde In 1859, when the book was written class and religion was very important to the Victorians. People were given more respect if they were higher class. Hyde represents a very low class and doesnt have a lot of admiration from other people. Hyde has a house in Soho and always uses the back door leading to Dr. Jekylls laboratory because Jekyll is ashamed of him and doesnt want anyone to connect Hyde to himself because he does not want to damage his reputation. The front door symbolises that this is what he wants people to think of him, thats why he does not use it with Hyde because he is seen as a monster. Hyde would be seen by the Victorian audience as evil and devilish, he is described as a gust of devilish fury, and people would be scared of him because of his deformity and the way he looks. Dr. Jekyll is upper class and if anyone found out that he was associated with Mr Hyde, who was the lowest of the lower class then he would lose all his respect he had gained. Jekyll creates Hyde because he wants to fulfil his needs to be wrong and do things that he couldnt do as his normal self. He was fond of things that society didnt approve of and was tired of hiding in his real personality. This suggests that the class system in Victorian was very wide; there were strict rules for upper class and hardly any rules for the lower class. It was immoral for Jekyll to create Hyde for his own enjoyment and to satisfy his curiosity because people arent meant to change the way they are born and bought up. He shouldnt hide the fact that he wants to be different and should either be one or the other, not both. He abuses his scientific knowledge to make this happen, the readers perceive Hyde as a scientific mistake or something that shouldnt have happened. The genre of the novel can vary between everyone because it has many genres. A lot of people view it as a mystery novel because the end is unknown until right at the end of the novel; some people see it as a gothic and dark book because a lot of wrong things that are associated with the dark world are happening throughout the novel. Another genre that could be linked with this novel is suspense because no one knows what is going to happen next because everyone has been shocked from the things that have happened already. The book is also very secretive and no ones knows much about what is happening at other places and times until at the end of the novel. Stevenson uses a lot of techniques to make Hyde seem so evil and repugnant to the readers. A lot of these are use of language such as similes, metaphors and alliteration. An example of alliteration used to describe Hyde is spawn of Satan; this links Hyde to the devil and evil. Stevenson also uses symbolism and pathetic fallacies to make Hyde seem so evil to the readers. The use of fog is used often to symbolise mystery and also is mentioned just before something bad is going to happen, for example just before he runs into the little girl in the street the narrator mentions the foggy weather, the same thing happens just before he murdered Sir Danvers Carew. Hyde shows us that evil can take over someone without them realising it. Hyde picks on weak people as victims and Jekyll has no control over Hyde at the end. He uses his strength in both attacks that we know about on innocent, vulnerable people that stood no chance in defending themselves for example when My Hyde attacked Sir savers Carew the maid described Carew as innocent and old-world kindness disposition this tells us that Carew didnt do anything wrong to deserve it.. At the start Jekyll had full control over Hyde and only wanted to fill a part of himself which wanted to be slightly mischievous, after a while Jekyll could not control what he was doing or when he changed to Hyde, this tells us that evil slowly takes over good and destroys lives. He says after that for two months I led a life of such severity as approving conscience. This tells us that it had got worse towards the end and he started to realise that it had got worse. Victorians would perceive Hyde as evil and not human, a lot of Victorians were very religious and would like to see the good side of him win over the evil side, a lot of them would be disgusted at the things that Hyde did, especially to the young innocent girl he trampled over in the middle of the night. Stevenson gets the audience going by making a huge contrast and difference between the good Dr. Jekyll and the evil Mr Hyde. He makes them chose only one side to be on and lets their imagination create pictures. In the end good prevailed over evil but Dr Jekyll had to kill himself so that Mr Hyde could never return and kill more people or harm others. Victorians might perceive Hyde as an evolutionary throwback because Stevenson uses language that describes him as monkeys and ape like creatures. For example he says that Hyde hits someone with ape-like fury and that Hyde resembles an ape. Victorian readers might have preferred to perceive as not fully human because they do not want to think that someone human could be that evil and sick-minded that Hyde is. Stevenson refers to Darwins theory because it wasnt fully believed in the time the novel was written. The audience would have been shocked for Hyde to have been described that way. As a modern reader I have different views on Hyde and perceive him in a different way to the Victorians. I still see Hyde as an evil person but he doesnt have a very big impact on me because I am used to things like this, unlike the Victorians who had rarely seen or spoken about such things before. I think all of us have evil inside of us but only if we keep it locked up inside of us and do not admit that we have any it starts to get the better of us and takes over, slowly after time it starts making choices that we do not really want to make and we react differently to normal and do things maybe we should not do. Stevenson creates Hyde to show the audience that everyone has evil inside of them but not everyone uses it and keeps it shut away from the world and surroundings.

Gendered Language of War :: Free Essays Online

Gendered Language of War The ways in which we have come to understand, explain and react to the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 are coded by our linguistic system and the meanings it constructs. Words mediate between internal, cognitive responses to war and external, behavioral responses (Beer 9). These words, and the complex system of meaning and power that they constitute, are gendered: "in this symbolic system, human characteristics are dichotomized, divided into polar opposites that are supposedly mutually exclusive†¦[and associated] with a gender" (Cohn 229). In this paper, I will explore how this gendered and dichotomized discourse has unfolded in the dominant discourse of war, shaping and limiting our response to the September 11th attacks both militarily and on the homefront. In this process I will seek to answer several questions: How has the gendered discourse of war been understood historically? What is different about the present conflict and what is being revisited? What are we as a nation saying and not saying in our response to the events on September 11th? How is gender constructed in ideas about war? How are men's and women's experiences of and feelings about war articulated through language? What are women's roles purported to be during wartime? From Vietnam to Desert Storm: Remything American Military Prowess The United States' involvement in the war in Vietnam fundamentally changed our national, historical and political understanding of war. The women's movement and the peace marches that accompanied it left an indelible mark; the "loss" in Vietnam emasculated the American consciousness, and the former mobilizations bore the brunt of the blame. 1980s Cold War politics attempted to reinstate American masculinity and nationalism by combating communism. The U.S. military and national security rhetoric of the eighties "depended on segregating the residual anti-war discourse along often unconscious but deeply culturated associations of gender" (Boose 70). The pacifist, antiviolence ethos of "bleeding heart liberals" and Congressional "doves" that had "lost us the war" was identified with the "feminine." Anti-war consciousness was demonized and Vietnam was reconceived: "the problem was no longer the excessive deployment of militarized values but the failure to deploy them strongly enough" (Boo se 72). George H. W. Bush attempted to see that this would not happen again through the escalation of Desert Storm. Once George H.W. Bush had set a deadline for military action against Iraq for its invasion of Kuwait, discussions about the potential conflict shifted from whether the U.

War on Poverty: Role of the Privileged People †S.C. Aggarwal

War on Poverty: Role of the Privileged People S C Aggarwal Delhi: Shipra Publications, 2007, pp. 135, Rs. 350. 00, ISBN 978-81-7541-378-8 S. C. Aggarwal’s book – War on Poverty: Role of the Privileged People, takes a very informal and straightforward approach in explaining the prevalence and significance of poverty in India. Even though the issue is widely discussed amongst leaders and the normal public alike, there is little change in the conditions of the poor over the past few decades.The author takes a very structured approach in explaining the situation of poverty in India, starting from the very basics, by providing important facts and some frank admissions by well-known government authorities, economists and personalities. Being an IRS officer himself, he goes on to admit that there have been flaws in Government policies in the past and suggests that the misguidance can be corrected if help is received in the future.He presents the reasons for the prevalence of p overty in India and highlights the negligence of ancestral villages by people and the lack of new programmes by economists as the main contributing factors for the same. The author has done a great job in giving various methods to remove poverty in a very simplistic manner, enabling its understanding even by the layman. Pointers to multiple approaches to people from varied professions, asking for their support in the rise of the poor and the eventual growth of the economy are some of the prime take-aways from this book.Appeals to people from all strata in the society have been made, personally requesting each of them for help in improving the conditions of one or two villages, especially their ancestral village. Prominent film makers, editors, interviewers, television programmers, TV channel owners, accountants, teachers, etc. are some of the people that the author has reached out to, suggesting ways in which each of them can contribute towards the removal of poverty. S. C.Aggarwalà ¢â‚¬â„¢s central idea is based on the effort that these intellectuals must strive to deliver in order to remove poverty from their respective native villages. He suggests that only a truly determined effort from their side, irrespective of their occupations, will be sufficient to remove poverty and improve the conditions of more than one third of the impoverished segment of our population. Various schemes and plans have been extensively discussed for each of them, enlightening them on how they may contribute towards this cause.Several queries have been raised to economists and intellectuals, making them realize their responsibilities towards the poor, through a series of questions which are directly related to their line of work. These questions force them to think, and hence take action towards poverty removal. Improving the condition of the schools which made them what they are, providing basic low cost health facilities in order to provide the spread of diseases, educating the pu blic about healthy living are some of the issues addressed to all individuals.For a start, each individual may solve one or two problems of his village, or help improve the conditions of buildings and roads in the village. The discussion on how we may make our village problem-free, with a focus to starting personalised schemes for the welfare of the people, and the resulting benefits of the same provokes a thought in the minds of the reader. In addition to the overly simplistic methods suggested which will help achieve a GDP greater than 7%, the author has also kept in mind the situation encountered in taxing unaccounted income in the book.This issue of black money, which is one of the key reasons for increase in poverty, has been intelligently dealt with, by providing practical solutions that will instigate people to declare the same during taxation. This will not only allow for increased taxes leading to increased income to be directly used in poverty eradication, but will also le ad to lower number of loans and reduction of dishonesty by people when declaring taxes.Also, providing benefits to tax payers or those with no interest payable, to those using their own funds to buy cars/property, alongside introducing added taxes for poverty removal on each individual’s income or purchase/sale of shares, are some of the measures suggested that may help better manage the problem of poverty. These methods will lead to a positive outlook in the minds of the people, encouraging them to contribute more than what they are already contributing towards poverty removal. Another useful tip is the setting up of Poverty eradication banks and poverty eradication funds by the Government and prominent editors respectively.In short, equal participation of people from all walks of life in the fight against poverty is the only way our country will be able to establish itself a global leader. S. C. Aggarwal concludes the book with a humble prayer to all, comparing poverty to v arious metaphors, in order to realize the various ways in which each one of us interprets poverty. People are requested to give a helping hand to their fellow country-men, and to lift them from their dire states in society, to that that will help them procure the basic amenities of life for themselves and their families.One must take up the responsibility of their own villages, by trying to connect to the emotions that each individual has towards the place of his birth, where he/she grew up or where his/her parents resided/ are still residing. The author suggests that their responsibility does not end at removing poverty only from their respective villages. Rather, one must spread this idea to other people, at least three more, so that they may eradicate poverty from their own villages, along with spreading this idea as well.However, the basic problem that may be encountered in order to administer these ideas is that it is dependent of too many people, and hence it may be difficult to track the progress of every individual towards his village. Also, the methods suggested in the book seem a little farfetched, and hence will require patience for their achievement. All in all, the book is a good read for people wanting to do something for their societies by enriching us with the basics that each of us must contribute for its development.

Accounting Education: an international journal Essay

ABSTRACT This study into the perceived importance of oral communication skills in accountancy included the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data from a national survey of New Zealand accountants, followed by a series of semi-structured interviews. Survey and interview data reveal agreement with existing literature: New Zealand accountancy employers find all oral communication skills somewhat important and a number of specific skills extremely important, but employers also report seldom finding the required level of oral communication proficiency in new university graduates. The study produced an inventory of 27 individual oral communication skills that will be useful to similar investigations in different national contexts. Additionally, the findings of this study may be useful to curricular development both in the New Zealand and international contexts. See more: Satirical essay about drugs KEY WORDS: Oral communication, workplace communication, listening, presentation skills, telephone skills 1.Introduction Academics and practitioners do not always concur but, in the case of communication skills in accountancy graduates, these two sets of stakeholders are in firm agreement: both written and oral communication skills are extremely important in the accountancy work- place (Albin and Crockett, 1991; Albrecht and Sack, 2000; Borzi and Mills, 2001; Hock, 1994; Johnson and Johnson, 1995; LaFrancois, 1992; McDonald, 2007; Morgan, 1997). This agreement extends across international boundaries, as a number of studies around the globe have reported the high value placed on communication skills, for example in the UK (Morgan, 1997), USA (Smythe and Nikolai, 2002), and Australia (Tempone and Martin, 2003). In New Zealand, the site of the present study, academic studies into the importance of communication skills in accountancy and the challenges of teaching those skills (Gardner, Milne, Stringer and Whiting, 2005; McLaren, 1990) have multiple corollaries in the workforce. Accountancy job advertisements regularly request both oral and written communication skills; competency in oral communication is emphasised on the website of the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA); and oral communication is an explicit component of the assessment structure of the PCE2 examination, which concludes the second (and final) stage of training towards becoming a Chartered Accountant in New Zealand. However, both formal studies and anecdotal evidence suggest that new accountancy graduates often do not possess communication skills sufficient to meet the demands of the workplace, particularly in the area of oral communication (Adler and Milne, 1994; Courtis and Zaid, 2002; Gray, 2010; McLaren, 1990; Zaid and Abraham, 1994). Students in New Zealand may graduate with a university degree in accountancy after three years of full-time study. (Accountancy may also be studied in less rigorous programs at polytechnics and institutes of technology.) The intensity of the university programs of study, which are accredited by NZICA, means students have a challenging workload of technical study and very limited opportunity to take elective or ‘liberal’ courses. Of course, limited class time and the resultant curricular pressures and inadequate skill mastery are not unique to the New Zealand accountancy classroom (Pittenger, Miller and Mott, 2004; Wardrope and Bayless, 1999). The globally-recognised problem of insufficient oral communication skill in accoun- tancy graduates leads to a series of questions that need practical answers: . How should university educators respond, strategically and pedagogically, to this reported lack of oral communication skills in new graduates?. What approaches and assessments within university courses will best meet the needs of students aspiring to successful accountancy careers? . To what extent is the development of such skills in students the responsibility of the university and what is the role of the workplace in developing oral communication skills? Before university educators can make any meaningful decisions concerning pedagogy or curricula, and appropriately teach the oral communication skills needed for a successful accountancy career, they need concrete information regarding exactly which specific skills are most valued and most needed in accountancy. Thus a research question was formu- lated: to ascertain the value of specific oral communication skills in new graduates, as perceived by New Zealand accountancy employers. It was hoped that answers to this research question would provide educators with specific information with which to consider their optimal pedagogical responses. The research question led to the construction and implementation of this longitudinal study. Initial research objectives were: . To determine how much importance New Zealand accountancy employers place  on oral communication skills in the new graduates they hire. . To determine what specific kinds of oral communication skills are required by New Zealand accountancy employers in new graduates. . To determine the degree to which accountancy employers are finding the required oral communication skills in newly-graduated accountancy students. The study included the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, from a national survey of New Zealand accountants, followed by a series of semi-structured Oral Communication Skills in New Accountancy Graduates 277 interviews. Initial findings from the first-phase survey have been reported elsewhere (Gray, 2010). Overall, survey and interview data revealed that accountancy employers find all oral communication skills somewhat important and a number of specific skills extremely important, but that the required level of overall oral communication skill was seldom found in new graduates. Accountancy employers agreed that the possession of strong oral communication skills improves a graduate’s chance of succeeding in the hiring process and also of progressing in his or her career. The study produced an inven- tory of 27 individual oral communication skills, of which listening skills were most highly valued by accountancy employers, and formal presentation skills were considered least valuable, although there was disagreement on this point. It is hoped the oral communi- cation skill inventory will be useful to similar investigations in different national contexts. Additionally, the findings of this study may be of use both in the New Zealand and inter- national context in the long-term planning of curricular development. 2.Literature Review Studies of communication in accountancy agree broadly on the importance of written and oral communication skills. Many formal and informal studies to this point have tended to use general terms such as ‘communication skills,’ or the even vaguer term ‘generic skills’;1 it is difficult to ascertain the precise meaning of such all-encompassing terms as they apply to chartered accountancy. For example, Zaid and Abraham (1994) studied the problems encountered by accountancy graduates early in their employment careers, and reported a primary area of difficulty to be in ‘communication with others.’ Baker and McGregor (2000) compared the importance perceived in communication skills by a number of accountancy stakeholder groups; this study, too, only uses the broad term ‘communication skills.’ De Lange, Jackling, and Gut (2006) surveyed Australian accoun- tancy graduates and found that students reported themselves to have a significant skill deficiency in the specific areas of ‘interpersonal skills’ and ‘oral expression’; these two broad categories, however, were no more closely examined or defined. Within the smaller number of studies that have examined a particular set of communi- cation skills in accountancy, most have focussed on written communication skill (Albrecht and Sack, 2000; Ashbaugh, Johnstone and Warfield, 2002; English, Bonanno, Ihnatko, Webb and Jon; Ng, Lloyd, Kober and Robinson, 1999; Webb, English and Bonanno, 1995). Very few studies have examined oral communication specifically, or identified individual oral communication skills. Morgan (1997) is an exception: in a study of accountancy professionals in England and Waleses, 1999; Hall, 1998 he identifies 13 individual skill areas within oral communication activities in accountancy. There is no agreement on a classificatory inventory of such skills. One study into oral communi- cation, by Maes, Weldy and Icenogle (1997), surveyed American business employers from a broad array of industries on graduates’ possession of another 13 distinct oral communication skills. Maes et al. (1997) and McLaren (1990) both specifically list ‘listening’ as a desirable communication skill and, more recently, Goby and Lewis (2000) have examined listening as a specific business communication skill. Other research has variously investigated a number of individual oral communication skills across a range of business industries, including conveying expertise through spoken communication and giving intelligible explanations (Smythe and Nikolai, 2002), delivering formal presenta- tions (Wardrope, 2002), and participating in a range of more informal presentations (Crosling and Ward, 2002). The first phase of this study drew together the foci and findings of previous studies in relation to the  production of a comprehensive list of oral communi- cation skills (Gray, 2010). 278F. E. Gray and N. Murray Ascertaining the particular requirements of accountancy employers in regard to specific communication skills should be of assistance to university educators planning the curricu- lar content and assessments of university courses, as academics and practitioners agree that written and oral communication skills are two major areas needing more attention in the university accountancy curriculum (Albrecht and Sack, 2000; Henderson, 2001; Simons and Higgins, 1993). However, the relationship between workplace demand and classroom instruction is not necessarily simple. While a considerable body of scholarship has recommended a variety of curricular improvements for university level accounting education (see, for example, Henderson, 2001; Sin, Jones, and Petocz, 2007; and Usoff and Feldmann, 1998), the literature reflects a significant concern in relation to the transferability of taught communication skills from the university classroom environment to the ‘real-world’ environmen t of the accountancy workplace (Beaufort, 1999; Cooper, 1997; D’Aloisio, 2006; Davies and Birbili, 2000; Kemp and Seagraves, 1995; Thomas, 1995). A number of academics and employers suggest that universities should not bear the entire responsibility for developing ‘workplace-ready’ communication skills in students. They argue that organisations employing new graduates—and graduates themselves— should share the responsibility for developing contextualised and discourse-specific com- munication competencies (Ford, 2009; Hayes and Kuseski, 2001; Muir and Davis, 2004; Triebel and Gurdjian, 2009). Such competencies, after all, are developed by means of a number of contributing factors, including age and maturity, as well as familiarity with and length of exposure to a specific discourse community. University training, however comprehensive, cannot encompass all these variables. Research into accountancy education has also recognised the particular problems faced by English second language (ESL) speakers striving to develop written and oral communi- cation competency as well as the technical proficiencies required in accountancy work- places (Andrews, 2006; McGowan and Potter, 2008; Webb et al., 1995). Several studies in New Zealand and internationally report on the difficulties that ESL accountancy gradu- ates  face in a competitive hiring environment (Birrell, 2007; Jacobs, 2003; James and Otsuka, 2009; Kim, 2004). With regard to the specific question of developing communication skills within univer- sity-level accountancy instruction, scholars have suggested an array of learning and assessment approaches (Adler and Milne, 1997; Milne, 1999; Milne and McConnell, 2001; Tempone and Martin, 2003). This study recognises that developers of curricula must balance data regarding workplace demand with institutional and accreditation- related demands and a number of other pedagogical considerations. Notwithstanding, educational responses to the challenges of developing oral communication skills in students may be usefully informed by empirical data identifying the particular skills most highly valued and most pressingly needed within accountancy, as perceived by employers themselves. This study provides such data. 3.Method The project was conducted in two stages over the course of approximately six months. In phase one, a questionnaire was mailed to all New Zealand chartered accountancy firms, and this was followed in phase two by a series of telephone interviews with accountancy professionals. Prior to data collection, ethics approval was sought from and granted by the Ethics Committee of the authors’ institution. Questionnaire and interview respondents were provided with a written description of the project, were assured of confidentiality, and granted permission before their responses were recorded. Oral Communication Skills in New Accountancy Graduates 279 3.1Questionnaire In the first stage, a questionnaire was sent to all New Zealand chartered accountancy firms, containing a series of questions concerning the quality of oral communication skills pos- sessed by new accountancy graduates, the specific oral communication skills which employers desire, and the role of oral communication skills in the hiring process (Gray, 2010). The majority of the questions were designed to be answered on a five-point  Likert scale, but the questionnaire also included several short-answer questions. The questionnaire instrument was developed through a series of iterations. The findings and design of previous New Zealand and international research studies that had identified specific communication skills were consulted (including Gray, Emerson and MacKay, 2006; Maes et al., 1997; McLaren, 1990; Morgan, 1997; Smythe and Nikolai 2002), and the individual oral communication skills collated. The catalogue of individual skills was further extended through conversations with university colleagues in the communi- cation and accountancy departments, and then the input of New Zealand accounting prac- titioners was solicited from a pilot study. The aim of these iterations was to create the fullest possible inventory of oral communication skills, and to reflect the unique aspects of the New Zealand accountancy context. A foundational study was McLaren’s 1990 investigation into communication skill in New Zealand accountancy. One important construct borrowed from McLaren was the distinction between listening attentiveness and listening responsiveness. Constructs were also adapted from studies conducted by Morgan (1997), Zaid and Abraham (1994), and De Lange et al. (2006). Smythe and Nikolai’s oral communication concerns model (1996, 2002) proved particularly useful in the construction of this questionnaire. This model identifies three categories of concern as a framework for grouping oral com- munication skills: self-concern, task-concern, and impact (or outcome) concern. Smythe and Nikolai postulate that a progression takes place from one category of concern to the next in line with a person’s career progression and his/her growth in experience and confidence in communicating orally in the workplace. Since the target population for this study was a constituency at a mature career stage within chartered accountancy firms, Smythe and Nikolai’s ‘progressive’ divisions were not retained (although a number of their questions were incorporated, particularly in the areas of task concern and impact concern). Instead, divisions between questions were created in relation to different audiences, building on the finding of a related study (Gray et al., 2006) that New Zealand employers report new graduates to significantly lack audience awareness in their communications. After a comprehensive list of specific oral communication skills was generated, the questionnaire draft was piloted on four accountancy professionals, and their feedback enabled  questions to be refined. A number of skills that were initially individually ident- ified were modified and condensed into a smaller number of broader and more inclusive skills: for example, ‘Building audience confidence in recommendations’ and ‘Projecting an image of sincerity and commitment’ (both ‘impact concerns’ from Smythe and Nikolai’s taxonomy) were combined into the one, more inclusive skill category, ‘Convey- ing a knowledgeable and confident demeanour.’ Additionally, feedback from the pilot study led to the second of the two specified listening skills being more fully explicated, thus: ‘Listening responsiveness: (that is, acting appropriately on messages received).’ Again building on feedback from the pilot regarding usability, the questionnaire as a whole was divided into three sections. Section A captured introductory information including the size of the organisation and the qualifications held by new graduates hired in the last three years. Section B listed the full, final inventory of 27 individual oral 280F. E. Gray and N. Murray communication skills, collected into the following audience-related divisions: I. Listening skills; II. Collegial communication skills; III. Client communication skills; IV. Communi- cation skills with management; and V. General Audience Analysis Skills. Respondents were asked to rate the importance of each skill, as well as the frequency with which this skill is found in new accountancy graduates. At the end of Section B respondents were invited to add to the questionnaire any other oral communication skills that they con- sidered important for new accountancy graduates. Section C, Final Questions, asked respondents whether oral communication training was available in or through their organ- isation, whether oral communication training should be included in university accoun- tancy education programmes, and finally to estimate the hours per working week a new accountancy graduate would be engaged in communicating orally. At the close of the questionnaire, respondents were given the option to volunteer for a follow-up interview. 3.1.2 Respondents.The questionnaire was sent to all chartered accountancy firms listed on the New Zealand online business directory, and was addressed to the Practice Manager as the individual most likely to have  in-depth knowledge of the process of hiring new graduates. New Zealand’s professional accountancy body, the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) reports that 40.7% of its members work in the private sector, while the second largest percentage, 27.5%, are employed in Chartered Accountancy practices (2008 annual report). Working on the assumption that CA prac- tices hire a percentage of new graduates proportionate to their sizeable percentage of NZICA members, CA practices were chosen as the focal population for this study as they represent (in contrast to the private sector) a readily identifiable and readily contact- able group of employers.2 While the New Zealand online business directory listed 1,111 chartered accountancy firms as of 1April 2008 , a number of listed organisations had ceased operations or were uncontactable, and the questionnaire was eventually mailed to 760 firms. Of 760 mailings, 146 questionnaires were returned, producing a response rate of 19.2%. While this response rate was higher than the 15% usable response rate reported by McLaren in her 1990 study of New Zealand accountancy professionals, it remains margin- ally lower than the typical response rate for postal-based questionnaires (20 – 40%, as given in Frankfort-Nachmias and Nachmias, 1996). Possible reasons for this relatively low response rate include the fact that time and funding did not permit follow-up mailings, and also the fact that the target population is frequently time-poor and frequently surveyed. While non-response bias is an unavoidable concern when the response rate is less than 100 per cent, a low response rate does not necessarily equate to a non-response bias (Gendall, 2000). A degree of representativeness was observable in the geographical spread of respondents, the positions held by respondents (see below), and the types of businesses responding, suggesting generalisation across a range of accountancy business types is viable. The questionnaire was mailed to separate groups of potential respondents in six post- ings, each approximately 10 days apart. The order in which responses were received generally mirrored the order in which postings were mailed: that is, the first group’s responses were received before the second group’s questionnaires began to be returned, and so on. As a record of receipt for each individual survey was not kept, early versus late response bias cannot be checked. As a single mail-out technique was used for each individual, it  may be argued that differences in respondent type are not as applicable as may be seen in a survey where some participants responded early, whereas others received several reminders and mail -outs before responding. Analyses were undertaken treating the six postings as separate groups to determine any potential differences by respondent type. All groups were similar in claiming that oral communication in general was either ‘essential’ or ‘very important’ in the accountancy profession. Furthermore, oral communication skill was ‘always’ important as a hiring factor for all mail-out groups. When comparing each group on importance and frequency of communication skills using a Kruskall-Wallis test, only one significant difference was found for frequency of listening skills seen in new graduates, x2  ¼ 11.60, P ,0.05. Post- hoc Mann-Whitney U tests subsequently revealed no significant differences in frequency of listening skills seen in new graduates between any of the six groups (using a Bonferroni correction). While the questionnaires were addressed to the Practice Managers of each organis- ation, respondents revealed a degree of variability. The majority of completed question- naires were anonymous, but the respondents who identified themselves ranged from partners in large firms, to senior employees in very small firms, to Human Resources directors. 3.2Interviews The second phase of the study involved employer interviews. Forty-five questionnaire respondents volunteered to be contacted for follow-up interviews, and 19 volunteers could subsequently be contacted by telephone for complete interviews. The interviewee sample size was considered adequate due to its purposive nature and the recent finding that, within such samples, data saturation (including metathemes and subthemes) occurs within the first 12 interviews (Guest, Bunce and Johnson, 2006). It was intended that the qualitative data from interviews would triangulate and extend conclusions arising from analysis of the quantitative data. The interview data incorporated into the study an ethnographic element, ‘thick description, a rich, detailed description of specifics’ (Neuman, 2003, p.  367), which helped produce more robust and credible conclusions. Telephone interviews were conducted between October and December 2008. Intervie- wees ranged from accountancy practice managers to sole practitioners, to partners in large firms. The semi-structured interviews ranged in length from 15 to 45 minutes and sought clarification of a number of issues arising from the questionnaire data, including the impli- cations of globalisation for oral communication in accountancy, the impact of new technologies and the importance of telephone skills, the centrality of listening skills, and the desirability of presentation skills for graduates new to the accountancy workplace. 3.3Data Analysis Once the data from the questionnaires was collated, statistical analysis was performed using SPSS. Mean and median scores were calculated with regard to the importance scores given to each individual oral communication skill, and to the frequency scores (how often each skill is observed in new graduate hires). Each mean was the product of the addition of all the individual importance or frequency scores for each communication skill, divided by the sample size. The standard deviation (SD) of each mean score, as well as the inter-quartile range for the median, was also calculated to indicate the relative spread of responses, with higher figures equating to wider ranges of scores. Owing to a number of missing responses, the denominator of responses to each question shows some variation. As the skill variables violated the assumption of normality (expected given the general level of agreement in employers’ perceptions), non-parametric tests were used. Where relevant, all assumptions of the named tests below were met. 282F. E. Gray and N. Murray As mentioned in 3.1, Section B of the questionnaire invited respondents to write in any further oral communication skills which they felt were important for new accountancy graduates to possess, distinct from the 27 skills listed. Comments identifying additional skills were received from 36 respondents; these comments were recorded and analysed for thematic consistency. Once the interviews were transcribed, themes were also  identified and analysed. Grounded theory was applied to analyse these themes, that is, inductive analysis in which data produce meanings, rather than meanings being applied from exterior theory (Strauss and Corbin, 2000). 4.Findings 4.1Research Objective 1: How Much Importance do New Zealand Accountancy Employers Place on Oral Communication Skills in the New Graduates they Hire? The questionnaire data presented a clear answer to the first research question. Oral communication skill in general was considered to be ‘essential’ in a new graduate by 49.6% (n  ¼ 133) of respondents; a further 41.4% reported it to be ‘very important’. On a rating scale from 1 to 5, where 1 was ‘not important’ and 5 was ‘essential’, the overall mean for oral communication skill in general was 4.39 (Md  ¼ 4.00). A Kruskal- Wallis test found no significant difference in the importance value assigned to oral communication skill depending on the size of the organisation, x2(4)  ¼ 5.48, p . 0.05. During the second phase of the study, interviewees strongly reiterated the perceived importance of oral communication skill: CL called oral communication ‘a career divider,’ meaning it was indispensable to success within accountancy, and EK labelled strong oral communication ‘a distinguishing factor’ setting goo d accountants apart from the mediocre. SWS stated: ‘Being able to communicate is a number one priority .. . [and] it’s going to get more and more important.’ Interview data also supported the signifi- cance of a theme that emerged from written-in comments in the questionnaire: the impor- tance of oral communication skills in accountancy is perceived to be increasing rapidly as a direct result of globalisation, and an increased speaking flexibility and cross-cultural adaptability are considered particularly important in this context. Reporting that they ‘always’ take oral communication skill into account in hiring decisions were 64.1% (n  ¼ 131) of questionnaire respondents (a total of 90.8% reported this to be a hiring factor either ‘always’ or ‘often’). RT stated that strong oral communi- cation skills often proved the decisive factor in a hiring decision: The person who presents well †¦ verbally, if you had to toss a coin between two of them, same grades and all that, the one who can communicate better, you’d give it to that person I think. [.. .] It has to be one of the most powerful strengths or powerful weaknesses that people have. No questionnaire respondents reported ‘never’ taking an applicant’s oral communi- cation skills into account in the hiring process, and several interviewees reported incorpor- ating specific checks of a candidate’s oral competency into their hiring process. For example, TB stated that he telephones all job applicants prior to an in-office interview, in order to gauge their skills in speaking on the telephone. 4.2Research Objective 2: What Specific Kinds of Oral Communication Skills are required by New Zealand Accountancy Employers? Figure 1. Perceived importance of communication skills by perceived frequency of new graduate ability  importance of the individual communication skills against the perceived frequency with which these skills are seen in new graduates. Figure 1 shows that the importance and fre- quency measures follow a similar pattern. This may reflect the influence of the workplace in focussing on developing certain communication competencies in new graduates, or hiring based on those competencies being present to a certain degree. However, there is still an obvious gap between the importance of each skill and the degree to which it is seen in new graduates. 4.2.1Listening skills.On a rating scale from 1 to 5, where 1 was ‘not  important’ and 5 was ‘essential,’ the two skills considered most important were those of listening attentive- ness and listening responsiveness, valued respectively at 4.81 (Md  ¼ 5.00)—82% of respondents ranked listening attentiveness as ‘essential’—and 4.80 (Md  ¼ 5.00)—a further 82% of respondents classifying listening responsiveness as ‘essential’. In sub- sequent interviews, KC described listening to another person as being a more important skill than that of articulating one’s own thoughts: Sometimes, speaking less is better than speaking more. Sometimes you have to have more listening ability. That listening ability will give you the timing of when to say things and when not to say things.. .. A number of interviewees linked listening skill to a related set of competencies concern- ing a speaker’s ability to create rapport and adjust to audiences’ needs. These interviewees spoke of the need for accountancy professionals to communicate with others (clients, colleagues, and managers) ‘in their own language.’ We learn to use sometimes slightly different language in order to be able to communicate to different people and that’s certainly part of our job when we’re in a service industry like 284F. E. Gray and N. Murray  accountancy. We need to talk to people in their language and us[e] words and conduct that they are comfortable with (BR; emphasis added). It’s important to understand your client so that †¦ you’re speaking almost in ‘like language’ so that you know who you are talking to [and] you know they are understanding (SWS; emphasis added). I think it’s a horses for courses [principle], you’ve got to know†¦ your clients or the people you’re dealing with. If you happen to know someone didn’t like a certain style or you could pick from their responses †¦ [then] you reply with like with like (DW; emphasis added). JC mentioned adjusting vocabulary and PW mentioned adjusting message  channel, in relation to the particular needs of the audience. MT emphasised the importance for accountancy graduates to gauge appropriateness of language: They’ve got to realise that when they’re dealing with clients, or senior members of organis- ations, that they’ve got to communicate it appropriately and not in a manner that they may always communicate with their friends or colleagues. Interviewees agreed that this kind of reflective adjustment to an audience’s preferred register is dependent on a speaker’s ability to listen and make appropriate communicative changes. 4.2.2 Vocabulary and slang. Several individual oral communication skills identified in the questionnaire concerned engaging in dialogue and using language and channels preferred by the communication partner. These included ‘explaining or making a topic intelligible’ to colleagues (x  ¼ 4.28, Md  ¼ 4.00, ranked ninth); ‘giving feedback’ to clients: (x  ¼ 4.17, Md  ¼ 4.00, ranked 13th); and ‘using appropriate vocabulary for the audience’, a general audience skill: (x  ¼ 4.21, Md  ¼ 4.00, ranked 10th). Follow-up inter- view questions seeking more information concerning the importance of explanatory and vocabulary skills elicited a number of specific concerns with the use of slang by new accountancy graduates. TO stated: ‘A lot of them have devolved into .. . use of a lot of colloquialisms that may not be acceptable to the older generation.’ According to NM, overly casual language destroys credibility. It’s hard enough for a young person to break in and to be heard, I guess in a business sense when you’re trying to sell to, I guess older people or experienced people. If you come out with schoolyard slang, you don’t stand a chance. Interviews emphasised the desirability in new graduates of a wide-ranging and flexible vocabulary (described by one interviewee as a mental ‘drop-down menu’ of words), oper- ating in tandem with the ability to access the  correct level of spoken formality. After listening attentiveness and listening responsiveness, questionnaire results ident- ified the next five most highly valued individual oral communication skills as being: ‘Con- veying professional attitude of respect and interest in clients’ (x  ¼ 4.68, Md  ¼ 5.00); ‘Asking for clarification or feedback from management’ (x  ¼ 4.57, Md  ¼ 5.00); ‘Speaking on the telephone/making conference calls with clients’ (x  ¼ 4.53, Md  ¼ 5.00); ‘Describ- ing situations accurately and precisely to superior(s)’ (x  ¼ 4.47, Md  ¼ 5.00); and ‘Convey- ing a knowledgeable and confident demeanour to clients’ (x  ¼ 4.45, Md  ¼ 5.00). Please see Table 1 for a complete record of the average and median importance values accorded to each oral communication skill, as well as the reported mean and median frequency with which each skill was found in new accountancy graduates (see also, Gray, 2010).