Apply structural andinstitutional explanationsof the behaviorof Essay

Apply structural andinstitutional explanationsof the behaviorof AustriaHungary until 1914 - Essay Example Austria was a quasi-independent state in the Middle Ages within the Holy Roman Empire. The Habsburgs inherited the crown of Hungary with part of the Kingdom preserved from the Ottomans. The Ottomans were driven out of Hungary in 1669. Austria and Hungary were a personal union from1526 to 1848 under the Habsburgs (Fromkin, pp.11-16). Taking into consideration the status of the Hungarian Kingdom before the revolution, it can be seen that the kingdom was formally part of the Empire of Austria. Based on the Article of the year nineteen seventy, it was stipulated that the regnum independence with a separate Monarchy. The Empire of Austria had never lawfully included the Kingdom of Hungary. The policy was consistent with both public and constitutional law as discussed. The government of the Hungary Kingdom could be in a position of preserving a separate and independent budget since the begging of the personal union from 1527.The Hungarian budget was after the revolution of 1848 to 1849. The budget was independent too. Despite all these, the Kingdom of Hungary maintained its customs borders. The borders separated the Hungarian Kingdom from the other parts of the Habsburg ruled territories. The union had made a consent/agreement customs union between the Austrian and Hungarian where they were to negotiate in every ten years. The contracts were also renewed and signed by Budapest and Vienna at the end of every ten years since both countries hoped to get mutual economic benefit from their relationship (Fromkin, pp.11-16). Austria-Hungary also declared war on Serbia on July twenty-eight in the year 1914. Austria-Hungary made a step further to mobilize for plan B against Belgrade. There was the need for the warring governments to defend and explain their decision, with the Germans publishing a first set of diplomatic papers in early August. The propaganda machinery of the government supported the decisions that

Discussion questions 1-6 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Discussion questions 1-6 - Assignment Example They both involve finding the minimum or maximum in a set of unfamiliar real variables. A good example is how petroleum products are usually transported, that is transportation from production point to the end user involves a wide range of modes of transport which include tank ships, rail tankers and pipelines. Each mode of transport here has disadvantages but are nonetheless each used in the transportation of petroleum products from the source to the end user. I do agree with Dustin in that a vector is a collection of data of the same type. Vectors help in that the minimize repetition and coding if there is a wide range of data of the same type. Vectors are good I that; they remove or add elements; it access character elements by their location indices and they iterate elements through any order. Vectors perform almost the same way as arrays but also give room for expanding. However they take up more memory space than arrays. This is to allow for future growth. This is also true. A vector is indeed a compilation of data of the same type. However, vectors are also implemented as dynamic arrays meaning that their elements can also be accessed using offsets pointers to the elements. Generally, vectors are generally the fastest when it comes to adding, removing and accessing elements from the end sequence. However, in some situations they don’t perform well. These situations include when removing and adding elements in other positions other than the sequence end This is true, an array should also be declared before being implemented. You should feed the compiler what type of array being defined. Arrays take up less space than vectors hence limiting their efficiency. However, arrays are best used when the data is minimal and when removing and adding elements that are not at the end of the sequence. This is true. Arrays are referred to low level abstraction because they cannot be defined and the code

U.S. GAAP vs. IFRS Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

U.S. GAAP vs. IFRS - Research Paper Example This allows matching of the accounting contract costs, as well as revenue with the accounting periods in which the construction work takes place (Bohusova, 2009). Another factor is that the accounting of fixed price construction contracts is done using percentage of the completion technique. According to Intermediate Accounting (2008), under such as case, the completed contract method is not permitted; there is no specific guidance on software revenue recognition and the guidance on sales of real estate is limited† (p.102). On the other hand, U.S. GAAP is based on rules; thus, it lacks an extensive guidance regarding revenue recognition specific to the type of contract or industry. Its revenue recognition is divided into two levels with the first part being the guidance in concepts statements. In the second level is the guidance for revenue recognition in particular industries, as well as transactions that are economically different. Revenue recognition in this case depends on two criteria that must be met as defined in the FASB Concepts Statement No.5, which notes that revenue must be realizable, as well as earned (Bohusova, 2009). Another point of difference is that in this case, the accounting for the construction contracts uses the percentage-of-completion method only on condition that certain criteria are met; if not the completed contract method is applied. Finally, GAAP unlike IFRS provides for a detailed on the recognition of software revenue, as well as on accounting for real estate sales (Int ermediate Accounting, 2008). In IFRS financial statement, the net income is exclusive of the interest expenses and interest revenues. IFRS reports on interest income with regard to financing activities only happens when the future economic benefits are put in place. On the other hand, GAAP performs report of its income under investing

WheelWorks Business Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

WheelWorks Business Case Study - Essay Example Therefore, employee needs are used to motivate employees across organizations universally. Maslow’s need hierarchy can be explained as below: This is the basic need of every individual. It is concerned with satisfying the primary needs such as food. Until these needs are satisfied, no individual would look forward to satisfy his/her other needs. A famous saying ‘man can live on bread alone if there is no bread’ suggests that human beings first try to acquire necessities for their survival. At Wheel Works, for example, the employees are being given highest possible wages along with bonus and sick pay. Once primary needs are satisfied to a reasonable degree (which is mostly subjective), the second level of needs comes. This need is concerned with the safety of an individual from danger or self-preservation. It is to be noticed that human beings will think of safety of their lives only when their need for food is met. In an organization, safety needs can be met by establishing safety system that ensures employees are free from danger and accidents. In the Wheel Works factory, for example, employees are assured sick pay, health plans. These needs in the ladder of Maslow’s need theory represent the desire for belongingness, which is concerned with human desire to be accepted and appreciated by others. When it becomes dominant, individuals try to create meaningful relationship with others. In an organizational context, where employee supervision and control are stringent, informal groups may be formed to interact among one another in the group. For example, the sales force has the freedom to do the correct job. The esteem needs are concerned with self-respect, self-confidence, a feeling of personal worth and feeling of being unique and recognition. In the context of Wheel Works, employees are given the freedom to work and excel in their work. It is the need to maximize one’s potential, whatever it may be. This is

Employment-At-Will Doctrine Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Employment-At-Will Doctrine - Essay Example Similarly, the Employment-At-Will Doctrine provides that an employee can leave his/her job without any reason, cause or warning (Stone, 2007). Thus, when employees feel that they do not wish to continue working for the current employer, they can just leave their work station without any explanation whatsoever. This doctrine has emerged as controversial, considering that the proponents of the doctrine observes that it is a balanced contractual policy, where both the employer and the employee are given absolute freedom to determine whether they should continue with an employment contract or not. However, those opposing this doctrine observe that it serves to create more injustice, considering that the bargaining powers between the employer and the employee are not equal (Stone, 2007). The employer always have an upper hand, and thus those opposed to the doctrine finds it inappropriate, since it allows the employer to dismiss employees anyhow, while the employees are left without any re medy or cause of action, when such an action is taken. Therefore, the bottom-line of the Employment-At-Will Doctrine is that there exists no law that protects the employee or the employer against any action that any of the party to the employment contract may take, whether on the basis of good reason, bad one or no reasons at all (Stone, 2007). Evaluating each of the eight (8) scenarios and assessing whether one can legally fire the employee The action taken by John is not within his rights under the employment-at-will doctrine, which grants an employee the right to strike, quit freely or cease to work (Stone, 2007). The doctrine does not provide the freedom for an employee to take any action that can harm the employer, other than quitting at will or striking for any reason. Therefore, the action taken by John warrants his sacking, since he is destroying the relationship between the employer and its clientele. The action taken by Jim to send an email to the rest of the employees, pr otesting a change in commission schedules and bonuses is within his rights under the employment-at-will doctrine, since it entails protesting against wrongful discrimination, which is an exception under employment-at-will doctrine, within the protected actions (Stone, 2007). Therefore, it will not be right to fire him, since he is protesting against discriminatory change in commission schedules and bonuses. Similarly, Ellen has taken an action that is within her rights under the employment-at-will doctrine, through criticizing the employer on the blog, on the basis of what she believes to be wrongful discrimination in CEO’s bonus, which only favors director, leaving out the rest of the employees. This action is provided for under the exceptions to employment-at-will doctrine, where the employee should not be fired for protesting against protected actions, such as wrongful discrimination (Stone, 2007). Bill, on the other hand has taken an action that is against his rights, thr ough using the company’s assets to run his side venture. This is not a right guaranteed to him by the employment-at-will doctrine, and thus warrants the employer to fire him. Joe is another employee that lacks any legal basis for suing the employer under the employment-at-will doctrine. Joe threatens to sue the company for invasion of privacy after being disciplined for

A Stakeholder Framework for Analyzing and Evaluating Corporate Social Essay

A Stakeholder Framework for Analyzing and Evaluating Corporate Social Performance - Essay Example It launched its slogan in the year 2010; â€Å"Tiles for Everyone.† Topps Tiles PLC have 25 percent share in the ceramic tile industry (Topps Tiles, 2012, p. 3). The annual report of the company revealed that in 2010, Topps Tiles PLC has gained 2 percent more marker share that the last year. This company has three segments: a) Topps Tiles PLC retail operations in UK, b) Tile Clearing House (TCH), and c) Topps Tiles floor store business in Holland. So Topps Tiles PLC has 37 TCH and 275 outlets now. Topps Tiles Holdings is a subsidiary of Topps Tiles PLC, UK, which deals in ceramic tiles and wooden floorings. The company has about 1660 employees. Topps Tiles PLC claims to be the number one ceramic tile supplier or retailer. The mission of the company is to offer value and excellent quality products to its customers. The revenue generated in 2011 was ?175.5 million (MarketLine, 2012b, p. 3-4; The Financial Times Ltd, 2012). Products Topps Tiles PLC offers a wide range of flooring options to its customers. Apart from flooring, products for outdoor paving, tools and accessories for setting the tiles or other flooring options are also sold. They also offer online advice services for assisting customers in a better way. Tiles such as ceramic, porcelain, prestige stone, mosaic, etc are sold for not only floors but also for walls, especially in the bathrooms and kitchens. Specific range of kitchen tiles are there to give an energetic feel to the kitchen, so that cooking no more remains a boring job. Apart from the polished tiles, natural stones are also available for flooring to give an old and rustic look to the house. Special styling products like splash backs are also available. Services like designing, styling, and advice for cleaning and maintaining these floorings are also given by special advisors. Geographical Scopes Topps Tiles stores are located mainly in London and the other cities of UK. Though the company is listed and is counted among the top tile b rands, but geography wise Topps Tiles PLC is confined to UK and its neighbouring areas only. Business Model Topps Tiles PLC follows a hybrid business model as it follows both business to business and business to customer form of dealing. Flooring tiles and stones are sold to real estate and construction companies and also to end users or customers who buy for their homes. It is also sold to very small retail companies who conduct business on a small scale basis. Topps Tiles PLC is a company which follows the sole objective of offering the best quality flooring tiles whether the customer is a business house or an individual, who is purchasing small quantity of products. The motto is to offer value for money. STRATEGIC ANALYSIS The functional analytical tools that are utilized to make strategic judgment in order to estimate the attractiveness of the market are: a) PESTLE Analysis, b) Porter’s Five Force Model, c) SWOT Analysis, d) Strategic Group Mapping, d) Stakeholders Analys is, and e) Risk Analysis. Each of these strategic tools or theories has been discussed and their implications with respect to Topps Tiles Plc are explained below: PESTLE Analysis PESTLE ANALYSIS Factors Analysis Political UK being one of the most powerful and flourishing country in the world has a significant role to play in the international business

Education of the Middle Ages Essay Example for Free

Education of the Middle Ages Essay Education, as we know it today, did not exist in the Middle Ages. Illiteracy was dominant among the population. Scribes were the exception to the rule. Churches were the main source of knowledge and schooling. Real interest in learning grew along with the development of towns. The towns officials needed to be educated. At the same time a need for legal institutions was created and so started the university phenomenon. Modern education was on its way. There were few schools in the Middle ages, so everyone had limited education. Even the Lord of the Manor was often unable to read or write. Some of the first schools were Cathedral schools. As well as Parish, Monastic, and Palace schools. Here people learned a particular role in society. Naturally the primary job was training the clergy in their professional duties as priests of the Christian people. The bishop was the head of the complex and he had a staff of priest to help him with the several of the diocese. These skills that were taught here were reading, singing of hymns, church law, writing of documents and the performing of Church duties and sacraments. An example of educating for a specific role in life were the Knights who had learn how to fight with various weapons so that they could fight for their king. The common people, however, had no way of being educated other than going a monastic school. However, if they did this, they had to donate their property to the church. The people who went to this school later become monks or nuns. They had to follow three important laws: chastity, obedience, and the law or the lord if not followed they would be thrown out of the monastery. Most monasteries had a rule of silence: monks could not talk which other except for a short period of time. During meals one monk might read passages from the bible while the others mediated. Even though monks lives seem to be so hard it was the best place to go for a good education for anybody from a king to a beggar (Monasteries 488-499). Women took part in monastic life by living in a convent under a direction of an abbess. Known as nuns, they wore simple clothes and wrapped a white cloth called a wimple around their face and neck. They alternated prayer with spinning, weaving, and embroiling items such as tapestries and banners. They also taught needlework and the medicinal use of herbs to daughters of nobles (Couglin A6). Although monks and nuns lived apart from society, they were not completely isolated. Indeed, they played a crucial role in medieval intellectual and social life. Since few people could read or write, the regular clergy preserved ancient and the classical writings. Scribes copied all the books by hand working in a small drafty room with one candle or a small window for light. Illuminated manuscripts decorated with rich colors and intricate pictures indicate that, although the task was done with hard work, it was also lovingly done (Monastaries 499-501). Monasteries and convents provided not only schools for young people, but hospitals for the sick, food for the needy, and a home for travelers who need a place to stay (Monasteries 499-501). Cathedral schools were there to train higher-member of the Church in their professional duties as ministers of the Christian people. The bishop in whose Cathedral complex the school was located needed a group of trained priests to administer the various needs dioceses. The Cathedral school largely emphasized practical skills, effective reading, singing, and knowledge of Church Law, public speaking and the administration of the holy sacraments (Corbishely 28). At first the university was not so much a place as it was a group of scholars organized like a guild for the purpose of learning. Classes were held in rented rooms or churches even in the open air. Books were scarce. In most classes teacher read the text and discussed it, while students took notes on slates or memorized as much information as possible. Classes did, however meet regularly schedule. University rules established the obligations of the students and the teachers toward each other. To qualify as a teacher students had to pass an exam leading to a degree, or a certificate of completion (Cantor 58). By the end of the 1200s universities had spread throughout Europe. Most southern European universities were modeled after the law school at Bologna, Italy, and specialized in law and medicine. Universities in Northern Europe on the contrary, specialized in liberal arts in Theology. These were generally modeled after the University of Paris (Bailey 89). At medieval universities, scholars studied Latin classics and Roman law in depth. They also acquired knowledge from the works of the Greek philosopher Aristotle and from the Islamic scholarship in the sciences. This interest in the physical world eventually led a rise of western science (Schools 291-292). Many church leaders opposed the study of Aristotles works, fearing that his ideas feared the Christian teachings. In contrast some scholars thought that new knowledge could be used ideas. The applied Aristotle philosophy to theological questions and developed a system of thought called scholasticism. This new type of learning emphasized reason as well as the faith in the interpretations of Christian doctrine. Scholastic sought to bring back classical philosophy along side with the teachings of the Church. They believed that knowledge could be integrated into a coherent whole (Schools 295). One scholastic teacher, Peter Aberlard taught theology in Paris during the early 1100s. In his book Sic et Non, he collected statements from the bible writings of early Christian leaders that showed both sides of controversial questions. Abearld then had his students reconcile the difference though logic. In the 1200s the most important scholastic thinker was Thomas Aquinas a brilliant theologian and philosopher who taught philosophy in Naples and France. In his work Summa Theolgica Aquinas claimed that reason was a gift from god that could provide answers to basic philosophical questions. The catholic later accepted and promoted Aquinass way of teaching and thinking (Schools 310). The education of a knight proceeded in a way similar to that of many medieval occupations. At an early age the prospective knight was apprenticed to serve as a page, or attendant, in a knights household. In his teens the page graduated to the status of a squire and received more responsibilities. As a squire the boy tended his knights horses and armor, but he also gained his first battle experience. Several squires were usually apprenticed to a knight at the same time and on the battlefield they might fight as a small band of infantry around their master. Here they acquired the many skills in arms necessary for their profession. To graduate to the status of a knight, a squire usually performed some heroic deed in battle. The squire was welcomed into the order of knights by being dubbed with a sword or slapped in the face by his lord. Afterwards the new knight would receive his fief, or gift of land. As the cult of chivalry developed in the 12th and 13th centuries, knighting ceremonies became more involved. Often they occurred at court, and a knights dubbing might be preceded by a religious vigil in which the knight vowed to uphold Christian and chivalric principles (Davies 12-13). Finally the Renaissance, or rebirth of learning, began in Europe in the 14th century and reached its height in the 15th century. Scholars became more interested in the humanist features that is, the secular or worldly rather than the religious aspects of the Greek and Latin classics. Humanist educators found their models of literary style in the classics. The Renaissance was a particularly powerful force in Italy, most notably in art, literature, and architecture. In literature, the works of such Italian writers as Dante Aleghieri, Petrarch, and Giovanni Boccaccio became especially important (Renaissance 228-229). Humanist educators designed teaching methods to prepare well-rounded, liberally educated persons. Dutch humanist Desiderius Erasmus was particularly influential. Erasmus believed that understanding and conversing about the meaning of literature was more important than memorizing it, as had been required at many of the medieval religious schools. He advised teachers to study such fields as archeology, astronomy, mythology, history, and Scripture (Renaissance 220). The invention of the printing press in the mid-15th century made books more widely available and increased literacy rates. But school attendance did not increase greatly during the Renaissance. Elementary schools educated middle-class children while lower-class children received little, if any, formal schooling. Children of the nobility and upper classes attended humanist secondary schools (Bailey 112). Educational opportunities for women improved slightly during the Renaissance, especially for the upper classes. Some girls from wealthy families attended schools of the royal court or received private lessons at home. The curriculum studied by young women was still based on the belief that only certain subjects, such as art, music, needlework, dancing, and poetry, were suited for females. For working-class girls, especially rural peasants, education was still limited to training in household duties such as cooking and sewing (Couglin, A8). As it shows education the Middle Ages seems to be so diverse and a starting point for modern education. But the reader must always keep in mind only about five percent of the whole population did all of these educational activities.