UPS  Diversification Business Model

The diversification strategy model has been the best approach which has enabled the UPS Corporation to diversify into different fields of investment in various countries. It started as a small messenger and delivery company but it has grown to become one of the greatest recognized transportation and a multi-billion dollar company in the world (John, 2012). The corporation has committed to improvement of commerce throughout the globe through the use of the modern technology and other resources. The diversification model, the company has managed to acquire more than forty companies and has improved its customer services in order to support the customers who end up using its products and services.

The company is proud of being the leading provider of the electronic services, ocean ground and air while at the same time charging lower prices. The diversification strategy has enabled the UPS Corporation to offer similar services conveniently throughout the world despite the fact that they are locally operated and owned (John, 2012). Through the assistance of the diversification strategy the company has also managed to come up with an optimistic tone which has made it to be a leader in the transportation sector in the globe. The model is of great help to the company because it would enable it to expand globally to the countries which it has not yet been in position to offer the services. The company would also be in a better position to take advantage of the modern technology, be closer to the customers’ needs, create an efficient supply chain and create value to the products and services it offers in the global market.

The diversification model has also assisted the company to offer various products and services in the global market such as: customs brokerage, international trade services, finance, retail shipping, air freight and trucking. The company has been at a better position to manage the movement of funds, information and goods throughout its stores across the globe. The strategy has created a competitive edge over its competitors such as the FedEx which also offer similar services in the United States (John, 2012).  It is therefore product to comment that UPS has been successful in the United States economy and the globe through the use of the diversification model.  Since its initiation the company has remained stable and beneficial.

Reference

John, E. (2012). The Walt Disney : Its Diversification strategy. University of South Alabama press.

Euthanasia is also referred to as mercy killing or assisted physician suicide. In general it is the painless killing of a patient suffering from painful or incurable diseases. The process is usually considered to be illegal in some countries while other has legalized it. The countries against the euthanasia believe that the processes usually infringes an individual’s the right to life, Security and liberty. Nevertheless, there are those countries such as Colombia and now Canada which supports euthanasia on constitutional grounds. In the case of Carter V. Attorney General, where a woman suffering from Amytrophic Lateral Sclorosis together with Carter’s son in law and daughter, British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, Gloria Taylor and a family physician had launched a claim that euthanasia should be allowed give the health situation of the patient where they first succeed but the ruling was later overturned by the supreme court (Rodriquez, 2014). The work will give reasons for prohibition of euthanasia and why it should be criminally prohibited or decriminalized.

Euthanasia usually infringes the right to security, liberty and life of the person killed which are guaranteed by the constitution under section seven of the Charter of rights and freedoms. The mercy killing usually infringes the rights life to the individual killed because it has the impact of forcing the individuals to take away their lives prematurely because they will feel that they will not be in better position to do so when they will be weak and disabled. Moreover, the euthanasia would be a process of infringing on the right to liberty of an individual. The process usually deprives the suffering individual the right and opportunity to make his or her own medical decisions especially those concerned with the body integrity. In addition, mercy killing will also infringe of the suffering individual the right to security because the physical forces the individual to endure intolerable suffering. It should be understood that the role of the law is to protect the weak in the society especially the suffering individuals. Therefore, the law should never allow the physicians to commit suicide (Rodriquez, 2014). The doctors and the medical physicians should understand the bioethics which calls them to use their knowledge and experience to protect life at all the time. Euthanasia process might occur in different forms which might include: the physician giving the suffering patient information that enable her or him to end the life or the physician might inject certain kind of medicine to the suffering patient or us acts which will eventually end the life of the suffering patient. Decriminalization of euthanasia brings together the two acts of suicide as they are both illegal and should always be prohibited. Both the physician and the suffering individual should understand that life is holy and no one has the right or authority to take his or her own life or the life of the other individual at any course.

Immanuel Kant’s moral theory believes that an individual has the right to life. It suggests that the euthanasia should be decriminalized and that the physicians should always be guided by the bioethics which calls them to protect life at all the time. The physician has a moral duty to use his or her knowledge and experience to ensure that the patient receives the appropriate medication and care despite the health condition the patient might be. Immanuel Kant’s moral theory also believes that euthanasia shall not only be used on the terminally ill individuals but on other individuals.  Allowing euthanasia shall be one way of eliminating terminally ill individuals in order to overcome the treatment bill and will encourage more suicide in the society (Rodriquez, 2014). Hence, both the physician and the terminally ill individual should understand that by allowing euthanasia it will be one way of rejecting the advantages of human life value.  The theory of utilitarianism is a theory is a theory of ethics which believes that the best morals and actions should result into maximization of utility. Therefore, euthanasia should never be allowed according to utilitarianism because the physician moral action does not respect the value of human life.

The decisions in the Carter v. Canada which supports the decriminalization of euthanasia is the federal criminal code which prohibits the physician assisted killing. The judge found that through mercy killing the physician would have infringed on the Canadian Charter rights to security, liberty and life. In addition, the B.C Court of Appeal over turned the ruling of the trial judge and stated that the ruling in support of euthanasia was unconstitutional because it never put into consideration the suffering individual’s right to liberty, life and security (Rodriquez, 2014). It also never put into consideration that allowing euthanasia would have some impact on the future in regard to individuals with acute diseases as they would be forced to terminate their life before their time of death comes. The court also failed to put into consideration that the physicians have the role of protecting life through the use of their knowledge and experience.

 The major criticisms and objections against decriminalization of euthanasia believe that the terminally ill individual should be allowed to reduce pain. Given that the patient was terminally ill the process does not shorten life of the patient by conducting euthanasia, most people across the globe supports it, is of great economic importance because less health costs shall be required, it will improve the quality of life as people would no longer fear death and it would not target the weak (Rodriquez, 2014). It would eventually reveal whether the doctors follow the Hippocratic Oath or infringes it. Nevertheless, euthanasia should never be allowed at any course.

 

References

Rodriquez, D. (2014). The Supreme Court of Canada Ruling in Carter v. Canada: A New Era of End-of-Life Care for Canadians. Oxford University press.

 

Robert Zemeckis is the playwright of the film “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” while Charles Dickens is the screenwriter of the film. The play script in the film as presented by the Playwright Robert Zemeckis has directed and adapted the much loved Dicken’s much loved motion capture animation that has been made available in either 2D or 3D. The playwright is concerned with the preservation of the Christmassy brand in extensive and detailed manner. The play creates a digital imagery which is established from the life performance of the performers (Peter, 11). The actors in the film re-established a physical existence which are currently in existence and are impeccably part of the imagined universe.  The work will evaluate or review the CSUF adaptation of the film “Disney’s A Christmas Carol”.

According to playwright Dickens, the play is all about the true spirits which have been cheerfully been exaggerated. The play begins with the presentation of the courageous heroines and heroes who are surrounded by a gallery of cartoons and characters. The protagonists of the play include: Ebenezer Scrooge. The screenplay Jim Carrey is presented somewhere beneath the capture animation performance where the viewer can recognize his expressive mouth (Peter, 18). Nevertheless, the characters presented by Zemeckis do not resemble the original characters in the film. At the first presentation of the film in writing one would come across such characters like Tom Hanks but later the presentation of the characters ended up changing and included such characters like: Gary Oldman, Robin Wright, Bob Hoskins and Tim Roth.

The stage setting of the film “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” is believed to be in London. Zemeckis, places the characters in this play setting in order to stretch and twist the film to reflect a ghoulish mood. In the film, the playwright makes comparison of the environment with the individuals’ characters. For instance, Zemeckis considers Scrooge’s living room to be tall and narrow just like Scrooge (Peter, 19). In addition, he suggests that Fred’s living room is warm and wide just like the personality of Fred. Zemeckis believes that through the use of animation, both the screenwriter and playwright possess the freedom to present everything they think or believe to be worth in the film.

The film adaptation is based on the three starring ghosts who are believed and seems to be spectacular. The first ghost is about a dainty figure with a constantly burning head and a hat that is shaped in the form of a candle-snuffer. The second ghost is referred to as the ahem and flies out of the window  where Scrooge sees the whole street having been filled with spectral figures which are floating and each of them chained together in a heavy rock. The film “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” is too flexible that both the playwright and the screenwriter manage to discuss the voices of all the three Christmas ghosts. The film does not only represent the movies future but it also illustrates its 3-D traits. Unlike other film directors, Zemeckis manages to use the 3-D technique throughout the film instead of being manipulated by it. The final ghost is the Alan Silvestri which is sneaked with the traditional Charismas carols. The distinctive rhythm transforms the sinister during the dangerous flight to London (Peter, 21). Previous, the “Disney’s A Christmas Carol” would have scared many people but today it is one of the quality film which parents all over the world would hope their children to watch. In addition, it was previously meant to be watched by the kids but it is currently an entertainment for the adults. In conclusion, the California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) should go ahead and adapt the cinematic and literature skills as presented in the “Disney’s A Christmas Carol.”

Work cited

Peter, B. Robert Zemeckis gives the Polar Express treatment to the seasonal perennial.2014. Oxford University Press.

Previously, people used to rely on the free software community but it was later changed to open source software as a means of elaborating what their functions. The open source software became associated with different philosophies, values, criteria and approaches for which the licenses were acceptable. Currently, the open source movement and the free software movement work on different platforms with different goals and views despite the fact that one can work on both platforms (Kailash, 12). The major difference between open source and free source software is the way of looking at the world and their values. Many software users believe that free software tends to be a social movement while open source software tends to be a development strategy.  The work will discuss the idea and philosophy of openness in software and creative commons. It will mainly focus on the comparison between the packaged and open source software and explain how open source development proposes new business models of software production and distribution.

The major open source software current under use include: Artistic License 2.0, Berkeley database license, modified BSD license, Boost software license, CeCILL, creative commons Zero, Cyptix general license, educational community license, GNU general public License v3, Intel Open source license, ISC license and Mozilla public license. The packaged software normally fit into different huge of categories. The software can be one size package that can be installed in a desktop with a lot of ease. An example of packaged software might be the Microsoft word (Krishnamurthy,9). It is configurable software that can be rolled across the organizations with ease, can be configured according to an individual’s needs. It is costless and might be supported by the vendor organizations. In contrast, the open source software is normally marketed, developed and distributed to the community. Unlike the application software which the user cannot manage to access the source code, in open source software, the source code can easily be viewed, download and modified by a computer technical expertise.  In open source software the community is the key in understanding how the source code of the software is created, organized and distributed.

The main feature which makes both open source and application software to be similar is based on their: hardware cost, feature set, implementation complexity, and training and support expenses. Both application and open software usually provide accessible ways of assisting the users to tap into the data and products of the organization in an extended and appropriate ways (Christine, 17). In order to determine the strength of the open source software one must put into consideration the size of the community under use of the software, how frequently it is put to use, how advanced is the community and whether the community support it use. The advantages of an organization choosing the use of application software is because of its: mature ease of use, accountability, documentation and ease of getting started.

In the modern times, there has been great development as far as the Open Source Software is related. The open source software has transformed the previous perception of the software to new fundamental business model. The open source software has become an interest for the modern economies and industries. The software is considered as the producer of the high quality services in relation to the free and the proprietary development software (Jane, 11). Most computer users prefer open source software in comparison to the free and proprietary software programs because open source software consists of both object code and source code. The source code is normally written in the computer programming language which means they can only be understood and read by trained computer programming personnel. In order to appropriately use the source code in a computer, it has to be changed into object code. Hence, access into the open source software is a fundamental aspect while drafting the software licenses. Based on this argument, the accessibility between the source codes is the actual difference between proprietary software and the open source software.

By the fact that open source software usually make the source code to be available freely, many people in the world can manage to work on the product. The establishment of the open source software has resulted into n open source development which proposes new business models of software production and distribution. The models have been sustainable despite the fact that open source software is free of charge because it has lead to the famous operating system which has emerged plausible software in the business world. The open source software is normally considered to be a cooperative strategy towards product development and a technological model.  Basically, many business organizations around the globe are believed to be formed around the principles and foundations of the open source software platforms. From the consumers’ perspectives, open source software ad products are considered to be attractive based on their comparable performance and reduced costs (Kailash, 24). It us unbelievable that even the government departments across the globe have started to adopted open source software in their efforts to reduce their expenditure. The producers of the open source software and products have a diverse shared passion for the products. The General Public License under GNU is the most famous license while LINUX is the famous software being distributed through it.

In my opinion, the adaptation of the open source software is a powerful way of determining how it determines the impact of construction of the business models. Despite the fact that open source software is a free of charge business model it remain sustainable because the organizations and individuals may be in position to use it with ease, modified and rectified according to the organizations’ needs and desires. Nevertheless, the needs of the community, costs and desires might demand the integration and coexistence of both proprietary and open source software.

Work cited

Krishnamurthy, L. An Analysis of Open Source Business Models.2014. Oxford University press.

Christine, J. Comparison between Open Source and Commercial Software. 2010. New York Publishers.

Jane, H. Why “Free Software” is better than “Open Source.” 2013. Retrieved from: https://journal.media-culture.org.au/0406/02_Coleman-Hill.php

Kailash, B. Open Source Software Vs. Proprietary Software: A Shift From Proprietary Software To Open Source Software. Connecting knowledge and people journal. Vol.2 (1), Pp.22-27

Introduction

Information technology has been in existence for thousands of years ago because even in the olden days people used to communicate through the technology. The history of information technology can be divided into four main ages which include: pre-mechanical, mechanical, electro-mechanical and electronic. The pre-mechanical age is one of the oldest ages in the history of information technology. During this age human being were starting to communicate through the use of drawings and language (Hayley, 2011). Communication was through writings on the walls, stones and clay. Given that people were writing information on temporally location they needed permanent information to store this information. The desire to have permanent storage led to the discovery of the first libraries and books. The mechanical age is where the connection between the ancestors and the current technology started to be revealed. Most of the technology that we experience today was discovered during this era.  Electro-mechanical age is regarded as the beginning of the telecommunication and computer era because the first computers started to be used during this age. The electronic age is the current era of communication where digital electronics and computers are passing on communication within the shortest time possible. The research presents the history of the information technology and indicates how communication has evolved in the field of information technology over the years.

The way communication has evolved in the field of information technology over the years

Over the years, development of information technology and communication has transformed consistently. The modern discovery of the mobile devices and the internet has resulted into communication advancement to a new level. As a matter of fact, human communication has transformed with the transformation of the information technology. The transformation of the information technology has brought great revolutions in the field of communication that it has never been expected before. The invention of the pictures in the olden days became the first written communication of the ancient times (Francis, 2010). The fact that these communications were immobile the humans were motivated to discover mobile communications. The invention of the wax, papers and papyrus paved way for the print press which made it possible for communication to be transferred from one location to another. The invention also allowed the uniformity of different languages over the long distances. The modern revolution is characterized with the widespread use of electronic technology where information can be spread from one location to another within the shortest time possible over the Web or the internet.

The significant part of information technology on communication is the spread of the internet and the possibility of people chatting and emailing each other at any time or location. In the past, the document was required to be typed and retyped before a final version was obtained. In order to communicate any information to another person in a long distance once was required to visit the post office and buy stamps. The telegram medium which was regarded to be fast has numerous limitations and costly (Nayab, 2014). The invention of the internet and the computers has made creation of documents and editing natural and easier. The availability of the emails makes sending of documents cheaper and easier as compared to the use of the telegrams. Therefore, the use of the internet has increased the speed of communication and dropped the cost of communication drastically.

The huge amount of information obtained from the internet through the use of the computers has assisted in improving the quality of communication in the modern time. It has become possible for individuals to translate information from unfamiliar language to a familiar language which they can understand and get meaning of it (Nayab, 2014). The information technology has allowed retrieval and storage of the communicated information with speed and accuracy. The storage of verbal communication which was unheard off during the olden days has become possible and reliable. It has also become possible to clear and rewind misconceptions rather than making assumptions of the mistakes which can be rectified.

The invention of the mobile phones has made communication easier as people can now exchange information from anywhere around the world. The discovery of the mobile phone has brought about high quality communication at low cost (Margie, 2008). In addition, the invention has resulted to decline in face to face communication and there has been increased reliance on written and verbal communication over the electronic gadgets. The new technology has resulted into change of the style as the traditional grammar rules are no longer adhered to as people can now shorten the words while passing on information to one another. In fact, communication in the modern time has become short and concise as it is full of brevity.

The transformation of the information technology has greatly improved the peoples’ access to information and has significantly dropped the cost of communication (Francis, 2010). The online forums, media related initiatives and live coverage of the news have made it possible for everyone in the world to participate in communication and information sharing. The ease of information has change the business world as there has been competitive advantage. Technology has removed most of the barriers of trade and leveled the business playing ground.

Conclusion

The Interactive and ease of communication such as video conferencing and instant messengers has basically increased communication volume over a given period of time. People can now communicate the ideas within their minds and break them into different communications (Nayab, 2014). Basically the advancement and evolvement of the new communication and technology has brought out new business opportunities and has increased the level of social networking in the globe.

References

Hayley, E. (2011) Communication changes with technology, social media. Retrieved from: http://universe.byu.edu/2013/07/07/1communication-changes-with-technology-social-media/

Nayab, H. (2014). How Communication Has Evolved With New Technologies. New York Publishers.

Francis, L. (2010). The history of information technology: Information communication technology. Oxford University Press.

Margie, D. (2008).A brief history of how information technology has transformed the world of communication. New York Publishers.

Topic

There still remains a problem on the best strategy which needs to be adopted by the United States government in its efforts to curb and counter violent radical Islam. The war on terror caused by the violent radical Islamic groups has become complex for the United States government.  Despite vows from different United States presidential candidates to fight terrorism, Islamic states remain a complex phenomenon in fighting terrorism in the world.  In order for war on terror there is need for the United States to do away with antagonism (Andrew, 11). Despite the United States forces venturing trillions of dollars in their war against terror they efforts have accomplished nothing as terrorism in the world continued to be the greatest soar. Over the years, the United States Government and forces have liberated the oppressed, promoted democracy, conducted nation building, succored the afflicted and eliminated the noxious but the war of terror has continued to a great threat to United States and the world at large.

Evidence

The war in Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Libya is evidence that despite huge investment by the United States government towards its forces in fighting terrorism in these countries their efforts have drastically failed. Nevertheless, the wars between the terrorists and the American forces have made things worse than before. The fight has resulted into increased deaths of the civilians, destruction of the property and wastage of the United States public resources (Andrew, 14).  The mass media especially the newspapers such as the New York Times and the Wall Street continues to criticize the ability of the America government and the forces to bring down terrorism in the Islamic nations. Based on the past readings of the past, the Americans had and still believe that through bombs, raids and more boots, the U.S military will one day manage the war in terror from the Islamic states. The united states military believes that as they continue with their actions of bombing and raiding the Islamic states which supports terrorism they will be in a better position to expect positive results. Given that there is no alternative to the war against terror the American government believes that the only choice that remains is to press on with the war. The military budget in United States is believed to account for about 54 percent ($598.5billion) of the country’s total budget. For the last thirteen years, United States military spending has increased to 114% and remains to be the highest security spending in the world.

Analysis

The needs to promote agents of change, restore stability and self protect are three of the major reason which continue to motivate the United States government and the military to press on with the war against terror (Andrew, 12). As a matter of fact, terrorism poses an immediate danger to America economy and its people. Therefore, there is need to invest on the country’s security in an attempt to keep the country safe and secure.

It has become the responsibility of the united state government and the military to ensure that it restore stability to countries such as: Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran, Libya, Somalia and Israel because the turmoil in this country might be a disaster to America and the world. The American military forces always want to understand the interest that the Islamic states hold in common given the consistent turmoil which occurs every year.  The Islamic states have always remained antagonist to the leadership and martyrdom of the West countries that they are the super powers.  The American government campaign on educational and cultural exchange among the west and the Islamic states has been motive by the need of the American government to promote agents of change (Andrew, 17).  The antagonist nature of the Islamic states is the main reason as to why the war against terror will remain a threat to United States and the world. The author was successful in his discussion because he explained the reasons why the war on terror is unstoppable and the reasons for the Islamic states being antagonist to terrorism. The author convinced me in the war on terror perspective because he pointed out the reasons for American government engaging into war on terror forever.

Work Cited

Andrew, B. The ‘war on terror’ isn’t working. 2016. Los Angeles Times.

Introduction

Ethical issue in financial accounting and reporting is concerned with how the management, the board and the auditors make appropriate moral choices in their process of preparing, disclosing and presenting the financial information to the government, shareholders and other stakeholders. Over the years, a series of financial accounting and reporting scandals have been reported in some of the world best known companies such as WorldCom and Enron from United States and United Kingdom respectively (Freeman, 12). By understanding some of the unethical behaviors related with accounting, corporate governance and financial reporting individuals can be of great help in obtaining some of the actions which might mitigate the business or an organization from becoming bankrupt or failing. The research memorandum will put into consideration the ethical issues associated with financial accounting and reporting.

Ethical issues associated with financial accounting and reporting.

Fraudulent financial accounting and reporting is regarded to be the misstatement of the organization’s financial statements in a given period of time which is basically estimated to be one year (annually). The greatest scandal to be ever hand in the biggest organizations around the world is centered of fraudulent accounting and financial reporting. Fraudulent accounting and financial reporting is normally conducted by the management in order to maintain the price of the company’s shares high in the listed companies and to mislead the investors to invest more capital in the company (Dutra, 17). Although, the impact of misleading the financial accounting and reporting might boost the price of the company’s stock in the short run, it is always dangerous in the long run as the price of the company’s stock drop drastically. The short run exaggeration of the company’s stock price is usually referred to as myopic management.

The most dangerous unethical issue that occurs on individual level in an organization is misappropriation of the organization’s assets. The misappropriation of the organization assets is basically the use of the assets for other purposes rather than the interest of the company in an attempt to make profit or for person interest. The asset misappropriation is also regarded to be embezzlement or theft of the organization assets (George, 19). The misappropriation of the company’s assets might occur at any level of the organization and at any magnitude. Despite the level or the magnitude over which the misappropriation might occur it is still regarded to be unethical behavior in financial accounting and reporting.

Disclosure in financial accounting and reporting is usually regarded to be unethical when errors of omission occur. Despite the fact that errors of omission in accounting might occur, failure of the accounting officer to follow the general acceptable accounting principle during the financial reporting is regarded to be unethical (Wright, 25). In addition, the failure to disclose the relevant accounting information to the investors would lead them to making wrong decision as far as their investment decisions are concerned. Even though the disclosure omission might be on accounting level it might occur even in other levels of the management for the purpose of fraudulent financial practices.

Conclusion

Since the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, penalties related with violation of the accounting ethics in most organizations across the globe has increased greatly (George, 19). The unethical behavior of financial accounting and reporting in terms of information destruction and manipulation of financial records usually calls for legal protection for those regarded to be whistle blowers in an organization. Given this legal protection, individual found to have unethical behavior in financial reporting and accounting are normally held liable. Therefore, ethical behavior in financial and accounting is of essence as far as the success of the organization is concerned.

Work Cited

Freeman, J. What Is an “Ethical Issue” in Financial Accounting?2015. Oxford University Press.

Dutra, A. A more effective board of directors. 2013.  Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2012/11/a-more-effective-board-of-dire

George, K. Medtronic plc Principles of Corporate Governance. 2009. New York publishers.

Wright, A. The corporate governance mosaic and financial reporting quality. 2009. Journal of Accounting Literature, 87-152.

Part A

Competitive advantages

Its traditional aspect appeals to the Kazakhs, who value their country and its values (find refs). Coming out of Soviet domination, Kazakhstan is in the transitional period in which it is redefining itself as a united people, promoting the Kazakh culture and values at every possible opportunity. With that, the values in the university, its Kazakh roots, language, and the history of delivery of education that KSU offers draws the large number of Kazakh students to the university.

On the other hand KSU boasts of cooperation with Germany, America, Britain, and Turkey among other countries (Top universities.com).This comes from the fact that KSU has incorporated models into its traditional model, that are of high enough quality and attractive to international students. It is reasonable to hazard that this other model is based on modern models of learning and teaching. In breaking with Kazakh patriotism, KSU introduced two languages as teaching and learning mediums. English and Russian have today just as much status as Kazakh in KSU (KSU Brochure). In a country poised to participate in international arena, the use of English is a very attractive factor for students who think of building their lives outside Kazakhstan, and for the international students. The presence of a Distance Education means that the University gets the competitive advantage of meeting students in their own spaces of study. It is an indication to move towards a competency-based approach, which maximizes access to education for all.

Approvals and accreditation

The approvals that need to be sought are that KSU has to constantly satisfy the requirements of the “State Education Development Program, the credit system they introduced, and the Quality Management System and the International Accreditation” (KSU brochure, 2015, p. 12). KSU is also in the Bologne Process (TopUniversities, 2015), and is in the process of implementing the agreements and standards set out by this process.

Future expectation

Karaganda State University is committed to maintaining regional leadership in terms of skills, technology advancement and practices. As a result, the university is committed in providing quality education to the student in order for them to be competitive in the economic market. As a future plan the management has planned to open new branches in different location and international in order to be closer to the students. In addition, Karaganda State University plans to differentiate itself by being exemplary university in the region as it plan to charge similar fee for both local and international students. In attempt to meet the demand of skilled labor force in Karaganda region and the world market, the university is committed in providing diverse courses (KSU brochure, 2016, p. 16).  The university plans to maintain a hybrid model by having the modern building and technologies in order to attract and motivate the students during their studies while at the university.

 

Part B

The institution that I reviewed was West Virginia University, and more specifically, the new School of Public Health within the Health Sciences Center. The model that is demonstrated is related to the European model of Humboldtian, where the primary focus is tied to research and promoting the research aspect of the faculty (Sam and van der Sijde, 2014). This is not, however, what is promoted or written in the strategic plan of the School (WVU School of Public Health, 2016). So there is a clear disconnect between the demonstrated behaviors of the faculty and what is promoted as the model that is being followed. The strategic plan on record more resembles a blended Americanized version of the European models (Sam and van der Sijde, 2014) where the mission and vision are tied to and reflect back to the mission and vision of the larger institution. As the School recently (2014) went through its discipline specific accreditation process with CEPH, the Council on Education for Public Health having a strategic plan in place was just one of the required pieces that needed to be put into place in order to receive accreditation (Council on Education for Public Health, 2016). This entire process went through a lot of approvals and legwork before even getting to this point; from conversations and discussions with the state legislators who had to give the ok to proceed with the idea of a School of Public Health and the initial, supporting state allocations for the endeavor to the University leadership and units who had to also be supportive of a new school being created within the University system.

The model demonstrated that of a focus on individual research and interests of faculty, does not make this school competitive for students. On the contrary, now that the entity is a school, it is actually creating the opposite effect. The written policy and strategic plan indicates that students will be considered that the focus of the school is to promote rural health and to meet the mission of West Virginia University (WVU School of Public Health, 2016). Unfortunately, at this point, there has not been a strong message to the community about how the school can use its strengths to improve the health and wellbeing of the state nor a stated plan of how the school will collaborate with other schools and units within the University to meet the needs of the state (Behling, 2014). Again, referring to what is demonstrated versus what is written down, until the discrepancy itself is addressed, the School cannot move forward with any plan of meeting a mission or goals because there has not been clear communication and leadership demonstrated (Behling, 2014) on what that real mission and what the real goals are and what the school should be doing as a school. Too many factions and silos exist within the school and the top leadership has not addressed these issues to be able to make progress on any other issues (Behling, 2014). Once these fundamental structural issues are addressed, the school can move forward with adapting a clear model resembling the University structure and working to address a strategic plan and forward thinking that will help the school work towards meeting the goals of its accreditation as well as the goals and mission of the institution.

As a health based institution, the West Virginia University School of public health must establish a value based system which ensures that the interest of the patients is given the appropriate priority. The system should educate the students on how to be accountable at all the time as health is a sector which demands integrity at all the time. The lessons offered within the school should be based on the structure which has clear communication strategies as treatment of the students demand collaboration, team work and discipline (Mintz, 2015). The management of the West Virginia University to establish a framework that is comprehensive in order to ensure that all the necessary strategic plans and mission of the institution and each student is put into consideration. Being a public health institution research is of great importance to the students as they would be in a better position to gain more skills and competence which they would implement while in the field.

CASE ANALYSIS

FACTS:

During the 2^nd Opium War in 1860, the British and French Troops the summer palace of Emperor Qianlong and Yuan Ming in their retaliation against empire Qing. The looting of the Mona Lisa from Louvre in 1911 raised a passionate issue of artifact repatriation. Among the looted materials included a water clock fountain which consisted of 12 bronze heads of animals in the Chinese Zodiac. The UNESCO convection in 1970 raised the aspect of preventing and prohibited import of illegal artifacts, transfer and export of cultural properties and called for countries to make claims against countries which had acquired ownership of this items illegally (William, 2011). As of 1980, the Chinese government was as at a unique position of both an artifact rich and purchasing country. In 1993, the value of artifact crime was estimated to be between $3 billion and $6 billion a year. Over the years, countries have had varied success in their demand for repatriation of the cultural artifacts. In 1994, the tomb raiders invaded the Hebei Province burial site in China and removed 10 wall paintings and relief sculptures and critically damaged them.  Despite the fact that the looters remained scot-free, in 1999 one of the wall relief looted appeared in Christie catalogue. The auctioning of the looted artifacts raised various ethical issues such as: repatriation of the stolen artifacts which were legally owned, use of artifacts as a political leverage, making artifact auction without the intention to pay and taking the right action when what is regarded to be legal is perceived to be unethical.

ANALYSIS:

Alternative: 1

In order to solve the reputation risk in the global art market, the countries associated with the artifact looting problems should ensure that those making action bid as far as looted artifacts are concerned make it with intention to pay. In 2008, when Yves Saint Laurent died, his business partner Mr. Berge decided to action different items at Christie’s international auction house. Among the items he planned to action were the two historic bronzes from China (William, 2011).  According to the Chinese government the two artifacts had been looted and stolen and were supposed to be repatriated instead of being auctioned. The Chinese government failed in its attempt to block the auction of the two artifacts because the French court approved the auction to be legal. The advantages of this aspect are that it would protect the actual owners of the artifacts; it would ensure that those with intention to purchase the artifacts are ready to pay and looting is avoided. The disadvantages of the policy are that it would encourage illegal trading and auction of the artifacts and it would hinder the process of repatriation of the artifacts.

Alternative: 2

Encourage repatriation of the legally owned artifacts to the original owners.  Despite the fact that the artifacts might be owned legally by one party it would be appropriate that he or she repatriated the artifacts to the real owners (William, 2011). The advantages of this move are that it would avoid the risk of use of artifacts repatriation as a political leverage for some leaders and that the legal action towards illegal ownership of the artifacts would be taken. The disadvantages of this course of action are that it would hinder the legal auctioning of the artifacts and it will make the process of stolen cultural artifacts from China and other countries around the world complex.

RECOMMENDATION AND SOLUTION

It is prudent to recommend the aspect of artifacts repatriation to the legal owners of the artifacts in order to avoid the artifact reputation risks (William, 2011).  The action of encouraging repatriation of the artificial artifacts to the legal owners and preventing auction of these artifacts would eliminate illegal looting of these artifacts for personal or country’s interest.

Reference

William A. (2011). Reputation Risk in the Global Art Market. 5^th Edition. New York Publishers.

Organization overview

Detour Gold Mining Corporation is a Canadian gold producer company that was founded in 2006. The company usually operates large scale open pit and Detour Lake Mine in the northern Ontario. As of today, Detour Lake has the largest gold reserves and is the 2^nd largest producer of gold. The mission of the company is to deliver organic growth initiatives, ensure growth in its cash flows and further it gold exploration discoveries in other areas in the country (Timothy, 2010). The company is devoted to responsible mining in terms of environmental standards, strong commitment to the community and observation of safety. The main customers of the Detour Gold Corporation are the major petroleum companies in Canadian Oil market. The Corporation has been in existence for about 10 years since it was founded in the year 2006.

Problems associated with Detour Gold Mining Corporation

Problem #1:  Financial Questionability

Symptoms:

• Manipulation of the company’s stock prices
• Accounting scandal
• Public opinion
• Mismanagement
• Insider trading

Causes:

• Lack of financial ethics by the management
• Falling stock prices
• Mismanagement of the company
• Errors of omission and commissions which results to loss of the organization’s assets value and money.
• Credit and liquidity issues

 

During the initial stages of the Detour Gold Mining Corporation the company had a strong leadership being led by its CEO Mr. Panneton a geologist. At this period of time, Mr. Panneton enabled the company to identify Gold reserve amounting to 15 million Ounces in Detour Lake. Nevertheless, the drastic fall of the company’s stock prices from $40 in 2011 to $3 this year has forced its founder to voluntary resign. The financial problems are being faced by the company as a result of the CEO allowing the management to exaggerate the financial statements of the company despite the falling prices of the gold in the market (Timothy, 2010).  In addition, despite the falling prices of gold in 2012, the company management decided to issue stock worth $176 to the public in order to obtain cash to continue with its operations of mining.  Amid the financial problems facing the gold market, the Detour Gold Mining Corporation went ahead to borrow a huge loan worth $ 135 million. Based on the circumstances which were surrounding the gold market at the time the company would face a hard time in financial the credit facility in the future. As the management aspects remains a major issue of the company, the liquidity aspects within the company continues to sore.

Alternatives	Advantages	Disadvantages
1)      Financial ethics	-Financial ethics by the management would lead to improved cash flow. -Increase the company’s liquidity. – Reduce external borrowing.	-Increase costs of operation. – expand the management time line. – Demand expertise in management
2)      Accountability	–          Reduce fund misappropriation. –          Increase efficiency in services delivery. –          Proper implementation of the company’s mission and vision.	–          Require extra management time. –          Extra resources are demand to ensure accountability. –          It is costly for the company.
3)      Operation plan	–          Reduce wastage. –          Encourage accountability. –          Increases effectiveness and efficiency in management.	–          It is time based. –          Require more resources. –          Monitoring.

 

Problem# 2: Detour Gold Mining Corporation has low productivity levels

Symptoms:

• As of the year 2014, the company was estimated to have generated a negative cash flow of $48.4 million.
• Bank overdraft of about $6 millions
• Shortage of cash of about $ 156 million
• Shortage of short term investments at the end of third quarter of 2014.
• Loss of market due to low gold prices

Causes:

The Detour Gold Mining Corporation is believed to generate negative cash flow of around $48.4 million as a result of mismanagement and acceptance of insider trading by the company’s CEO. Given that the management had borrowed a loan to service it operation despite the falling prices it had a bank overdraft of around $6 million dollars (Titus, 2011). Since the stock prices in the security exchange company were performing poorly the company was estimated to have a cash shortage of about $ 156 million and shortage of short term investment at the end of the year 2014. Given that the gold market since 2011, the gold from Detour Gold Mining Corporation was also not still performing in the market.

Alternatives	Advantages	Disadvantages
1)      The income generated from the operation and the function of the company must be realist according to the current economic conditions.	–          The stock prices of the company should be correctly priced to build the company’s public image. –          High stock prices will attract new investors. –          The borrowed loan has the potential to boost the cash flows of the company	–          The negative cash flows will hinder rising of the stock prices. –          The negative cashflow will continue to press the price of the stock down. –          The negative cash flow will disappoint the effort of the management in the company recovery.
2)      Appropriate management of the fund borrowed	–          The abandoned functions of the company would be resumed –          The borrowed funds would be used in boosting the company’s cash flow. –          The investors would be encouraged to invest more resources.	–          Borrowing of loans would encourage mismanagement. –          The borrowed loans would lead to inadequate accountability by the management. –          The borrowed funds would kill the mission and the vision of the company
3)Diversify the investment	-Being the second best mining company in Canada it has the potential to mine more gold. – The management must be committed to capturing  a larger market – The management must always be opportunistic.	_ Given the volatility of the gold market, the stock price in the market is unpredictable. -It is always hard to predict the future prices of the company’s stock. -It is hard to predict the future performance of the gold market.

 

Problem# 3:  Inability of the Detour Gold Mining Corporation to control the gold market

Symptoms:

• Detour Gold Mining Corporation relies on high prices of gold in the market in order to operate at full capacity.
• Detour Gold Mining Corporation as well as all other mining companies is influenced by price surges in the gold market.
• Detour Gold Mining Corporation has no power to influence it revenue because it takes the price from the oil market.
• The future operation of the company is unpredictable with the resignation of the founder.
• Given the company depend on one source of gold that is Lake Detour there is possibility of it being affected by price fluctuation from time to time.

Causes:

The price of the gold in the world is being controlled by the world gold body. Therefore, even though the Detour Gold Mining Corporation might be willing to improve the price of its gold in order to improve it cash flow it always becomes a task for the management. Just like any other market, world economic crisis are likely to influence the price of gold (David, 2014). The fact that the price of gold has been falling since 2011, the Detour Gold Mining Corporation management could not have the potential to influence its revenues. Poor management and falling prices of gold in the gold market could be the main cause of resignation of the Detour Gold Mining Corporation founder. Inadequate financial resources and misappropriation of the company’s resources could be the main cause of the company depending on one source of gold rather than diversified gold mining.

Alternatives	Advantages	Disadvantages
1)      Produce  quality gold	–          Build a competitive advantage –          Build a comparative advantage –          Be based upon quality management.	–          Being a poor competitor. –          Mismanagement. –          Inappropriate monitoring and control systems
2)      Internal borrowing	–          The company would reduce the dangers associated with external borrowing. –          There would be the possibility to increase the price of stock of the company. –          The fund borrowed might encourage the management.	–          Lack of self motivation. –          Would encourage insider trading. –          Borrowed funds would promote fraud and money laundering.
3)      Diversified mining	–          The company would be able to reduce mismanagement. –          The company will increase cash flow. –          Stock prices would be stable.	–          Over competition. –          Volatile gold market. –          Require more resources to be invested.

 

Problem# 4: Detour Gold Mining Corporation environmental issues

Symptoms:

• Detour Gold Mining Corporation is committed towards minimizing environmental pollution but the nature of the operation of the company does not allow it to eliminate pollution fully.
• Waste disposal should be a priority of the Detour Gold Mining Corporation. Nevertheless, the gold mining process has increased the waste disposal in the mining areas and Lake Detour surroundings.
• The Detour Gold Mining Corporation is committed towards minimization of harm to the ecosystems and the wildlife but the immerse activities of mining gold has proven the issue difficult.
• The conservation of the environment has turned to be costly for the Detour Gold Mining Corporation.
• In order to improve the public image and opinion in regard to the company operation there is need for the Detour Gold Mining Corporation to invest a lot on the environment.

Causes:

Gold mining is a complex process which demands separation of the gold from water and soil. During the process of separation, environmental pollution usually occurs and this hinders the company’s fulfillment towards environmental conservation (Milstead, 2013).  The fact that there is mismanagement and the cash flow within the company is minimal, waste disposal management has turned out to be a difficult task.  Destruction of the ecosystem is difficult as the company needs to expand it cash flow and be in position to refund its credits. Since, the company is under a new management of the CEO Mr. Martin there is a possibility that it will revive its operations and build a resilience public image and opinion in regard to the environment.

Alternatives	Advantages	Disadvantages
1)      Pollution control systems	–          Reduce pollution control costs –          Increase cash flow. –          Ensure environmental conservation.	–          Increased costs. –          Increased tasks for the management. –          Increased disposal of waste
2)      Improve the management	–          Create more space for waste disposal. –          Avoid dangerous mining areas. –          Inform the public in regard to pollution.	–          Dangerous to the environment. –          Much energy is required. –          It is more time consuming.
3)      Control its operation	–          Build strong public image and opinion –          Conserve the ecosystem. –          Being into act new management.	–          Increases the duties of each management. –          Increases the operational costs. –          Require experts of the environment.

 

Problem# 5:  Inadequate employee compensation

Symptoms:

• Insider trading
• Mismanagement
• Ethical behaviors in financial presentation
• Lack of vision
• Lack of accountability

Causes:

The Detour Gold Mining Corporation management has been borrowing loan to fund the operation of gold mining with the company despite knowing that the company is performing poorly in the market. There has been mismanagement of funds by the management as the fund borrowed should have boosted the financial position of the company. It is always ethical for the management to present the actual financial statements of the company but Detour Gold Mining Corporation management have been exaggerating the financial statements (Koven, 2015). The CEO of the company lacked the necessary vision of the company as he decided to resign at the time the company was falling. Lack of accountability has resulted into drastic fall of the company’s stock prices from $ 40 per share to $3 per share.

References

Koven, P.(2015).Detour Gold founder resigns as miner struggles amid falling gold prices. Canadian financial post.

Milstead, D. (2013). Detour Gold: ‘The ultimate risk-reward name’ in gold miners. New York press.

David, U. (2014). Detour Gold warns former, current employees of data breach. Oxford university press.

Titus, H. (2011). Detour Gold: Straight Shot To Success In 2016. Canadian university publishers.

 Timothy, K. (2010). Why Detour Gold Corporation Is Different From Other Gold.  New York times press.