The Sicilian Mafia

For some people, the mere mention of the name â€Å"Mafia† paints a portrait in the subconscious of burly or corpulent, thuggish-looking men, with peppered or jet black hair, a scar somewhere on their face, dressed in black or gray pinstriped suits garnished with a flower in their lapel, a fedora cocked angularly over their brow, their necks and fingers decorated in gold jewelry, and carrying a briefcase or any means of transportation for weapons or money. This image is typically cliche of the average early 20th century gangster found in big cities such as New York City and Chicago, and of those individuals found in classic films such as â€Å"The Godfather† and â€Å"Scarface†. So then, what is, or who are, the â€Å"Mafia? † From where did they come? What did they do? Where are they now? To truly understand what the Mafia is and represents, one must travel back in time, centuries ago, where the word, and the people associated, are rooted from an area known widely for its bountiful history of arts, war, and honor – Sicily, Italy. A thorough understanding of what the Mafia consists of would not be complete without an understanding of the Sicilian concepts of â€Å"vendetta† and â€Å"omerta. † The Italian word vendetta is rooted in the Latin vindicta meaning â€Å"revenge. † A more modern equivalent would be violent and vengeful â€Å"pay back†. The vendetta was often a prolonged series of retaliatory, hostile acts in exchange for previous violent acts, such as an â€Å"eye for an eye† concept or otherwise known as lex taliones. In ancient times, when enforcement of law by reliable authorities was virtually unknown, families would often take matters in their own hands, and exact â€Å"payment† or revenge for a wrong-doing by another by means of vendetta, often by employing violence, to include murder, to redress their grievance and restore honor to the injured group or family. Equally important in understanding what Mafia is about, is the Italian concept of â€Å"omerta. In its present day usage, omerta is simply a â€Å"code of silence,† much like the Blue Curtain of Secrecy employed by law enforcement or omissions of knowledge that friends will utilize if a comrade is accused of a crime. Historically, however, the root meaning of this Italian word is â€Å"manliness,† not unlike the Spanish concept of â€Å"machismo,† which is considered an integral part, if not the very core value, behind the â€Å"code of honor. † It was in 13th century Sicily that such â€Å"men of honor† organized themselves to drive out foreign invaders, and were willing to kill, if necessary. Protecting the identities of their brothers in the event of capture, these â€Å"men of honor† invoked omerta, a code of silence, by refusing to provide governing authorities any information. The concept of omerta, then, served to provide a modicum of protection for the remaining body of those â€Å"men of honor. † No one is certain of the enigmatic origins of the name given to groups of organized criminals from Italy, and the word itself had been long debated. One theory takes place during the time in the middle ages when the island of Sicily was plagued by foreign invaders, particularly by the French Angevins, who imposed unfair taxes upon the Sicilians. Rising up against their oppressors, several numbers of male citizens, who later came to be called â€Å"men of honor,† banded together to overthrow the French, while shouting, â€Å"Morte alla Francia Italia anelia! † Translated, the phrase means: â€Å"Death to the French is Italy’s cry! † Taking the first letter from each word in this Italian phrase, the word â€Å"M-a-F-I-a! † was created. Another theory thought to be true is that the word â€Å"Mafia† was created in 1282 when an enraged group of Sicilian â€Å"men of honor† struck back against a French soldier, killing him in retaliation for raping a Palermo girl on her wedding day. Taking away a young woman’s virginity before it is given to her spouse is a heinous crime, and during this era, was punishable by death. As news of this revolt spread from one town to the next, other Sicilians rose up against their French occupiers, killing literally thousands, thus running them off the island, while crying out, â€Å"Ma fia! Ma fia! † Literally meaning, â€Å"My daughter! My daughter! Although neither theory has been proven, it is apparent that the basis of the name Mafia comes from some root of honor. The structure of the Mafia is originally based on a close-knit famiglia or family structure, where the eldest male, such as a grandfather who is wise in the ways of family operations based on heritage and traditions, is the capofamiglia, otherwise known as the head of the family or the boss – such as the â€Å"godfather†. His second in command or right-hand man who acts as a â€Å"pseudo-boss† when the capofamilglia is away, is the sotto capo, or underboss, and could have originally been a brother or first born son. The capofamiglia may have one or more advisors, made up of close friends, brothers, or cousins, who aid him in any decision making regarding la famiglia, known as consigliere. Following the sotto capo are crews of â€Å"soldiers†, or capodecina, commanded by the sotto capo. The capodecina, literally meaning â€Å"head of ten† is selected by the capofamiglia, and usually coordinates units of soldiers made up of about ten people. Lastly are associates, who have no familial ties with the famiglia, through blood or initiation, but aid the famiglia through legal and illegal means. Associates usually consist of corrupt officials, such as police officers, judges, or religious heads, who help la famiglia by providing any important information. An associate, to la famiglia, is seen as nothing more than a tool, and may be discarded of easily if their services are not needed anymore. The only way to join the famiglia in the past was to be born or married into the family. As time went on, family of friends, as well as friends of friends, were admitted, but only after partaking in an initiation ceremony and swearing their allegiance to la famiglia, or else face the consequences of horrific mutilation or death. Initiation ceremonies included a variety of oaths and pledges, where potential members would carry out various acts to show their loyalty. Some acts included, but were not limited to, killing their own family members due to an unpaid debt to the famiglia, finding a â€Å"rat† within the famiglia and sending him a warning, such as mutilation or terrorizing their home life, or other heinous and illegal acts that would show devotion. Other means of initiation were ceremonies where a blood oath was implemented. In a testimony from the police interrogation of Leo Pellegrino, from the village of Sciacca, Agrigento province, 15 March 1876, Leo proceeded to explain the ceremony he was involved in: â€Å"Marsala tied my index finger of my right hand tightly with a string. He pricked the finger with a pin. The blood dripped on the image of a female saint. He burned the image, divided it into two portions and gave me one. We ground up our portions in our hands and then threw the result into the air. As part of the ceremony I swore that I would remain a member of the Societa that has as its capo Don Vito Vita, and its aim is to commit crimes against persons and property. I was told that the Societa has affiliates in other towns, each town with its own capo, and if an affiliate does not carry out his assigned duties he would be judged by the Societa and condemned to death. Then they taught me the mode of recognizing other affiliates. † Prior to Benito Mussolini becoming Italy’s dictator during the Fascist movement, the Mafia was the one of the ways of providing protection and justice throughout Sicily without involving law enforcement and government officials. The Mafia would rid neighborhoods of vandals and criminals, while collecting fees for their services. What work they provided for the people would be repaid in money, goods, or by marrying into families so they would profit from farming lands. By the time Mussolini came to Sicily, the Mafia had acquired a great deal of power and respect from the citizens they protected and profited from. In 1924, when Mussolini visited Sicily, he was angered by the reception he received. The capofamiglias treated him as nothing more than a mere guest to their land, and told Mussolini that he was under their protection. Enraged by this notion, fearing opposition to his regime, the dictator avowed to suppress the Mafia by means of violence and honor. Mussolini names Ceaser Mori as Prefect, and ordered him to crack down with â€Å"steel and fire† against the Mafia. Because the Mafia’s power was equal to that of the State, an invasion of western Sicily took place, and during 1926-1928, 11,000 suspects in the Mafia were arrested. Ceaser Mori felt that the Mafia and Sicilian people were not one in the same. Rather, that the island had been suffering under the reign of terror known as the Mafia because the State was absent. Poor governing had created the menace known as Mafia, and that by eliminating that power, encouraged the people of Sicily to break away from unlawful oppression. He wanted the Mafia to appreciate that the State was stronger and wanted the â€Å"men of respect and honor† to be brought to their knees and be humble for their vanity and arrogance. During Mori’s suppressive action of rounding up any individual, proven or otherwise, under suspicion of â€Å"association for criminal purposes,† hundreds fled Sicily to other countries – as many as five hundred entered the United States, some illegally with help from family currently residing in the Unites States. Those arrested and unable to flee were found guilty and imprisoned. They were tortured in order to gain confessions, whether true or not, and violence towards individuals was common. Communities would be rounded up to ensure that those guilty would not flee the country. Innocent people would be caught up in the violence and tyranny with no ounce of concern from the State or other government officials. With Mussolini in control, Sicily faced a reign of terror. After capturing Don Vito Cascio Ferro, the â€Å"greatest capo the Mafia ever had,† Mori attempted to extract a confession from Don Vito, that he was, indeed, the capofamiglia of the Sicilian Mafia. Don Vito denied any accusation, regardless of the countless beatings Mori and his police committed. Finally, after having his legs clamped between a block of wood, Don Vito confessed to his involvement, and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Mussolini announced to the nation shortly after that the Mafia was no more and no force would ever be able to revive it. Following the Fascist movement and World War II, the crime rate in Sicily soared in amongst the upheaval and chaos. Many criminals escaped from prison and bandits roamed the streets, wreaking havoc where ever they came. As Fascist members were disposed of, replacements were appointed, many of which turned out to be part of the Mafiosi, such as Calogero Vizzini and Giuseppe Genco Russo. They would present themselves as political dissidents and would become further desirable with their anti-communist position. The Minister of Agriculture, a communist, pushed for reforms where peasants would receive larger shares of produce and own land that was forced to be sold by owners of large estates. The Mafia had connections to many landowners and murdered several social reformists; however, they were unable to stop the process, and many landowners chose to sell their land to the Mafiosi, who offered more money than the government. After the war, the government poured money into rebuilding Sicily, where two Mafia connected officials took control of Palermo’s Office of Public Works. They gave out building permits to just five people, who were probably Mafia front men. Any construction companies unconnected with the Mafia were forced to pay protection fees, and many illegally constructed buildings were put up before the city’s planning was finalized. This was the re-birth of the Sicilian Mafia. During the early 1960s, the first high-profile Mafia conflict occurred in post-war Italy. The Sicilian Mafia has always had a long history of violent rivalries, but this was the first to involve many lives, some of which were innocents. In December of 1962, a heroin shipment to America turned up missing, and when the Sicilian Mafia Commission could not decide who to blame, the La Barbera clan, one clan involved, took matters into their own hands. They murdered a Mafioso, or member, of the Greco clan whom they had suspicion of stealing heroin. Therein, triggering a war where many would lose their lives. In April 1963, several non-mafiosi were wounded during a shootout in Palermo. Two months later, six military officers and a policeman in Ciaculli were killed while trying to dispose of a car bomb. Because the conflict spread beyond Sicily and claimed several innocent lives, a crackdown commenced in which nearly two thousand arrests were made. Mafia activity fell as a result as clans disbanded and many Mafiosi went into hiding. The Commission was dissolved and would not reform until the late 1960s and early 1970s. During the 1970s, the Mafia in Sicily resumed its normal illicit business, and Corleonesi, the mafia family from the town of Corleone, slowly began growing in power and prestige under the brutal and ambitious leadership of Luciano Leggio. Luciano Leggio became the boss through simply shooting the previous boss, Michele Navarra. Corleonsi’s primary rivals were the bosses of various powerful Palermo Mafia Families. The Sicilian Mafia Commission was re-established in 1970, with Luciano Leggio as one of the three leaders, although his underboss, Salvatore Riina, represented him as he was in hiding in mainland Italy for various crimes committed. After Leggio was captured and murdered in 1974, Riina took over as boss and began winning over allies amongst other Mafia families. In 1978, Riina arranged the murders of Bontade and Inserillo’s allies, the Reisi and Catania clans’ bosses. This caused the bosses of Palermo and their men to become isolated. After the murder of Stefano Bontade, another member of the commission, the Second Mafia War began. Hundreds of enemy Mafiosi and relatives were killed by each other, and even some of those who were traitorous in their own clans. In the end, the Corleonesi faction won, and Riina became widely known as the â€Å"boss of bosses. † By the early 1980s, the magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino began a campaign against the Sicilian Mafia. With the arrest of Tommaso Buscetta, a mafioso turned informant, Falcone and Borsellino compiled their testimonies and organized the Maxi Trial, which lasted twenty-eight months. Four hundred seventy-four mafiosi were put on trial, of which 342 were convicted. By 1992, the Italian Supreme Court confirmed these convictions. The Mafia retaliated violently, and in 1988, they murdered a Palermo judge and his son, a prosecutor and an anti-mafia businessman. Four years later, Falcone and Borsellino were killed by car bombs, and this led to a public outcry, along with a massive government crackdown, resulting in the arrest of Riina in 1993. Following Riina’s arrest, the Mafia began a campaign of terror on mainland Italy. Tourist spots were attacked, such as places in Florence, Milan, and Rome, leaving ten dead and 93 injured, two churches bombed, and an anti-mafia priest shot dead. Leadership of the Mafia was held for a short time by Leoluca Bagarella, and then was passed to Bernardo Provenzano after Bagarella was captured in 1995. Provenzano ceased the violent campaign and replaced it with pax mafiosi, the quiet mafia, where it allowed the Mafia to slowly regain the power it once held. Provenzano halted the murders of state officials and informants. He felt that by not killing them and their families, it would encourage informants to retract their statements and testimonies and return to the famiglia. After eleven years of leadership, Provenzano was arrested in 2006.

In Cold Blood Analysis

Mandeep Kaur Analysis 3B The film Capote is based on the novel In Cold Blood about the murder of the Clutter family. The novel does in the depth about the charters and the plot but the movie leaves out many important details to leave the viewer’s wondering why something happened. Capote focuses on the text and characterization In Cold Blood, as the film Capote challenges the characterization of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock. Perry Smith was described in the novel with crucial details as in the film they skip the introductory details.Perry grew up under difficult circumstances as stated in the book â€Å"six of us riding in an old truck, sleeping in it, too, sometimes, and living off of mush and Hershey kisses and condensed milk. † (131) The film doesn’t’ tell Perry’s upbringing but instead skips to after the murder and his struggle to be free. Being abandoned by his family he went through many traumatic experiences and suffered severe abuse, â€Å"t here was this one nurse†¦ she'd fill a tub with ice-cold water, put me in it, and hold me under till I was blue.Nearly drowned. † (128) Smith later develops a lifelong aversion to which is written in the novel but in the film is not acted out which leaves the audience to wonder why he acts the way he does. The novel portrays Perry’s reoccurring dream about a large bird that saves him from bullies and abusers, â€Å"felt all breath and light leaving me,' he said, in a subsequent description of his sensations. â€Å"The walls of the cell fell away, the sky came down, and I saw the big yellow bird. †(257).While in jail the film shows Perry having a hard time sleeping but ne He is described as a small, muscular man whose body is unique and unproportional â€Å"†¦who could never find trousers to fit his truncated lower half, who wore blue jeans rolled up at the bottom and a leather windbreaker. † (32). Perry never passed the third grade but as an adu lt he has an incredible thirst for knowledge, vocabulary, and literature. His desire to be educated is well portray in the film when Capote gives him laws books to read ad he starts to learn that he may be able to escape death.In the book the author only hints around to his innovation to learn. This characters leaves a first impression that he is calm and gentle, but we later come to know that he is the more brutal of the two murders as we read in the novel, â€Å"'But a nigger,' said Perry. ‘That's different. ‘† (105) When Perry is quoted saying the killed a person for no apparent reason, he is portrayed as a cold hearted killer. The film focuses on only the Clutter murder and not the pervious murder that Smith has committed as we have read in the novel.Dick Hickock, motivated by carnal impulses such as lust, greed, and vanity, was the other murder of the Clutter family. He was described as the master mind and instigator of the murders in the novel. One of his pr ison friends had told him about the Clutter ranch and immediately Dick was drawn to what he called a â€Å"big score†, this was stated in the novel and not in the film Being told that there was a teenage girl living at the Clutter residence names, Nancy, he was further motivated by that fact as well, â€Å"Before I ever went to their house I knew there would be a girl there.I think the main reason I went there was not to rob them but to rape the girl. Because I thought a lot about it. That is one reason why I never wanted to turn back when we started to. † (270) In the film while interviewing with Capote, Perry admits that Dick was intending to rape Nancy. While reading the novel, the author hints around the idea of Dick having sexual desires for the innocent teenager. After the murders had happened Dick shows no remorse or interest in discussing the crime, he remains focused on finding a place to live, stealing, getting money and women.Once the murder had taken place Dick goes back home and acts like nothing ever happened, â€Å"Dick was consuming a Sunday dinner. The others at the table†¦ where not conscious of anything uncommon in his manner† (72) The film never gave background information on what Dick did or felt like when he killed the Clutter family. As described in the novel Dick is educated very street smart, athletic and charming, â€Å"Basketball! Baseball! Football! Dick was always the star player. A pretty good student, too, with A marks in several subjects. (158) The books goes into depth of his education and his sports career but the film leaves it out to give a sense the Hickock was uneducated and a slum. As stated in the book he is able to con shop owners and vulnerable women out of money and property. By conning shop owners is how the two murders were caught. In the film the show the capture of the two, but doesn’t show how or when. Challenging the characterization of Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, the film Cap ote leaves out many descriptive details of the characters and the plot, while the novel In Cold Blood goes above and beyond to explain the characters.

Inequality of Gender in Sports, Is it warranted Research Paper

Inequality of Gender in Sports, Is it warranted - Research Paper Example Rugby has a legacy of being a violent game, and feminine identities are thought to either subvert this notion (Fields, 2005) or use the violence as a mechanism of enhancing the femininity of the players (Gill, 2007). There are several reasons given within the literature for women enjoying playing such a traditionally masculine sport; one being subverting the traditional notions of femininity, another being that the participants enjoy being part of a game which requires extreme physical strengths. Further reasons include that it gives the women that participate a sense of empowerment and self-confidence. Further interviews suggest that these women simply enjoy the game of rugby and feel it appropriate to play a sport for which they have this affection, gender-roles ignored (Chu et al, 2003). Women participate in rugby for a number of reasons, and the growing interest in the sport helps to suggest that women do not have to resist traditional notions of femininity to be recognized as tr ue rugby players. The history of women’s rugby helps to give some idea of why the sport has developed such controversy. Firstly, the early evolution of the female game is shrouded in mystery, making it hard to define a ‘first female rugby team’ or any other definitive moments (Chandler & Nauright, 1999). Early female rugby players faced challenges about their desires to play such a violent and masculine game (Fields, 2005). One of the most major discrepancies between the female and male games of rugby are the salaries. Not only are there far fewer professional and semi-professional female rugby teams, but the players get paid a significantly lower amount (Chandler & Nauright, 1999). Whilst some female rugby players have suggested that they play simply for a love of the game (Chu et al, 2003), it has been suggested that females should

Society during the teenage years Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Society during the teenage years - Essay Example Documentary Sources: This research was conducted by me by interviewing two of my close relatives including my grandfather and one of my mother’s cousin’s mothers-in-law. The purpose of selecting these two sources included, to acquire first-hand information, my easy access to interview them and their experience and knowledge about the difficulties they had to face at their teenage. Summary: According to two of my relatives who were born in the year 1960s, young generation today is much more developed as compared to the ones born in grandparent’s generation. The major difference between the two generations is the expression of speech. Today, youngsters have comparatively more freedom to express their ideas as more information and knowledge is available to them. This is because in today’s society we are competing on the international level which why being informative and knowledgeable is essential. They further stated that, during their teenage years it was t he period where they did not have the right or courage to openly put up their thoughts because of the fear of getting unemployed, getting into the prison and at times even of the fear of being murdered. Therefore, in order to remain protected and safe they preferred choosing the politically acceptable path. However, today youngsters are much more open to express their ideas through articles, internet and editorials internationally. It is due to the easy exchange of ideas that we are experiencing positive transformation and change in our current society. Youth today has the opportunity to attain the best possible education as the quality of education has improved drastically. There are unlimited amount of universities functioning throughout the world providing you the option to select the best for yourself. In addition to the advantages, they believe that there are also several shortcomings that are currently prevailing in the society including the existence of corruption in every ty pe of field and profession, less confidence in achieving their goals successfully in future, fading traditions, lacking patriotism and national values. It has been seen that corruption exists in almost every profession whether it be teaching or police force. All respected professions too are involved in corruption and bribery. However, in our grandparent’s era corruption was very rare because people believed in the saying, â€Å"honesty is the best policy.† Therefore, every individual who was deserving and intelligent had the chance to be successful. Furthermore, they also believe that youth today do not have the confidence of being successful in future as competition has increased and people are unaware and confused about what they actually want to achieve. On the other hand, people in olden days were well-aware of their goals and studied accordingly to achieve them. The added advantage our grandparents had in their teenage was less amount of competition. Past traditi ons are gradually diminishing due to which majority older population today are jobless and are treated as an unwanted burden

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Ethics - Essay Example In my view, the 1st Commandment which says that â€Å"Thou shalt not use a computer to harm people† is a reasonable one. Harming someone is generally disallowed either morally or legally, whether one uses a computer to do it or not. Harming someone is wrong under almost all ethical frameworks in almost all situations. Possible exceptions would be in the case of self defense. However, unlike in the real world, the gravity of the consequences in the context of the use of computers is unlikely to be as dire. As such, the exceptions provided in, say, the Penal laws of the various States which specify the criminal liability of a person would not apply in the same way in the context of the computer. Given the above, I agree with this 1st Commandment. I equally agree with the 4th Commandment which says that â€Å"Thou shalt not use the computer to steal†. The rationale behind my support of this Commandment is largely the same as that set out above in relation to the 1st Comman dment. Stealing, like harming, is already something prohibited both legally and morally. This Commandment as such merely reinforces the code of general ethics and the law already prevailing in relation to this same area. Stealing, just like harming, is wrong no matter how one does it or what one uses to do it. Stealing cannot and should not be less wrong just because it is done through a computer. Just as the various record companies in their advertisements against privacy emphasize, we would not steal a video from the video store†¦we shouldn’t steal that contents of that same video by illegally downloading it. The difference is that it feels less wrong because of the way it is done – usually at your own private place, using your own computer and no one seeming to get hurt. But the result is the same†¦it is stealing. I am in agreement with this 4th Commandment as it goes to emphasize this point†¦stealing through the use of computers is equally wrong as s tealing using your hands. The 9th Commandment is another one that I agree with. Thinking about the consequences of your actions is something that one must always do. The problem in the context of writing computer programs is that one gets absorbed into the codes and numbers and specifics without thinking about the real life impact of those codes and numbers. The fact that this Commandment serves to remind programmers that what they are doing has a real impact to real people, although it seems far removed at the time the programmer is writing the code, is important. I have agreed with the aforesaid Commandments because they merely reflect ethical principles already prevailing. However some of the other Commandments, while doing the same, fail to recognize that in the context of computers and the internet, they cannot hold absolute. For example, the 2nd and 3rd Commandments provide that one should not interfere with other peoples’ work or snoop in their files. In the context of computers and especially the internet, sometimes the whole purpose is to snoop and interfere. The various social networks, blogs, forums et.c are all based on people getting into each other’s business. The whole concept is based on snooping so to speak. In addition, in the context of the enforcement of the rest of the Commandments, just like the use of police powers in the real world to uphold the laws of a State, authorities must snoop and interfe

Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 124

Discussion - Essay Example The website explains how an entrepreneur can maximize the profitability of his or her business. According to the site, cost control is very essential if an entrepreneur needs to maximize profits. The site also analyzes a number of benefits for the business such as ways of improving productivity and growing with confidence as retrieved from http://www.accpac.com. This information is very substantial to all entrepreneurs since it is highlighting some paramount aspects in the business world (ACCPAC, 2015). Choose to save is another website that I reviewed. The site analyzes an efficient way to save as indicated in http://www.choosetosave.org/asec/. This is very essential information to every person who is cautious about the future hence an important site for knowledge purposes (ASEC, 2014). The Ex-Im Bank of USA is another website that was put into consideration. It is not only educative but also interesting after analyzing how it operates. After going through it, as an American entrepreneur one can get essential information that will help him or her to understand how he can obtain assistance from the Ex-Im bank which will in turn improve his or her business as retrieved from http://www.exim.gov/index.cfm. The discussion, therefore, shows how these sites possess essential information. The sites are also dated 2015, showing that they have been recently updated thus the information is up to

Building and constructions Communication systems Essay

Building and constructions Communication systems - Essay Example In the building, over 550 fibre optic data cables are running from the MDF which provides the ability to virtually access any room in the building. The fibre optic cable used in the building is half lucent laser-speed multimode fibre and half lucent single-mode fibre. In the building more than 45,000 meters of fibre optic cable used. This cabling enables each computer to have a 10,000 megabit per second (10Gigabit) connection speed. In the building, there are approximately 450 telephone lines that end into the MDF telephone cubes, with about 60 kilometres of lucent Giga-speed cables.Telstra, the main telephone service provider in Australia also handles the telephone services for the interpro building and the VOIP is not implemented yet. The computer network in the interpro building is based on 540 desktop computers. The network also gives wireless access to interpro network via three wireless routers distributed in each floor of the building. These wireless routers give access to more than 800 wireless devices such as PDAs, laptops or cell phones. Computers are originally in the network but they can also be unplugged if necessary. Wireless routers have an adapter which allows a cable from the LAN to be plugged in. There are also several output ports for cables which can be connected to the rest of the LAN. Each of these wireless routers support 255 wireless devices and has a unique security setting to prevent the damage to the whole building network if a hacker entered the LAN through a wireless router. All access points are equipped with firewall software that controls the flow of data. There is also a monitoring system that shows the status of the network for each floor. The interpro company's building has three floors and each floor uses a separate LAN for security issues. These LANS are connected to each other and they form a small WAN. The whole network is based on cable LAN and wireless LAN. The building has three servers which all the data for each floor is passed by. There are 400 hub-switch provided links in the LANs and as stated before, there are three wireless routers which provide the wireless access for wireless devices both to the building network and the Internet. At the first floor, there is a main server room which has a cavity for cable runs. Each floor at the company has a star topology and all the devices are connected to the main server. Each server on each floor has a bus topology to access two other servers at other floors and the main DSL cable which enters to the building connects to the bus network after the data enters through a firewall. References Interpro, company overview, viewed on November 22, 2007.

Are U.S. CEOs overpaid Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Are U.S. CEOs overpaid - Research Paper Example Even if they did not occupy such positions, people with a firm educational background and effective leadership skills should be paid much more than the rest of the population. The public’s outcry is not entirely misguided; nonetheless, there are facts supporting the high earnings entitled to the CEOs and it remains unclear whether capping CEO salaries will contribute to business success. This paper explores whether US CEOs are overpaid. Statistics According to Kaplan, US CEOs are arguably overpaid (6). According to Walsh, some of the potential triggers of the ‘excessive’ salaries of CEOs include; too much influence, negligent boards of directors, weak compensation consultants, and formulation of salary scales through stock options among others (73). According to Kay and Van Putten, in 1970, the average Chief Executive Officer earned about $700,000 (189). The amount was 25 times the earning of an average production employee. Three decades later, CEO salaries had ri sen to almost $2.2 million, 90 times more than the salary of an average worker (Kay, and Van Putten, 190). Kaplan argues that with an increase in the value of stocks and other allowance, the average CEO currently earns between 250-500 times the average employee’s salaries (7). ... Any employee in the technology industry is aware this average salary would hardly hire a well-educated administrative staff in technology-intensive sectors in the United States. According to Thomas and Hill, current CEOs serve shorter terms compared to CEOs of the late twentieth century, hence the sharp rise in the earnings (19). The high rise in CEO salaries may be attributed to the fact that the officers are uncertain about what would happen next. Capitalism seems to have entered the corporate sector to the level that CEO may see it better to earn as much as they can when in such positions (Kay, and Van Putten 191). According to Walsh, today’s CEOs are virtually carrying out the same duties as their predecessors who earned a much less, but this is not the case with line workers (75). Whereas, the salary gap between a top executive and the average employee calls for a review of the rules to narrow it, Kaplan argues that rectifying the discrepancy may not be achieved (6). Owin g to the fact that CEO salaries top the list of salary scales in most organizations, theirs tend to be fodder to the media. Less widely covered is the substantial salary disparity between employees and junior executive remunerations. It differs by sector, but in most firms, the salary discrepancy becomes clear at the immediate CEO subordinates. At this point the analysts move into a lower pay level, but significant disparities in salary still subsist between a senior executive and a CEO (Kay, and Van Putten 122-127). Relating the average worker pay to CEOs For easier understanding of the salary scale of the average employee in the US, it would be appropriate to analyze all aspects of their salary; wage, shift gap,

Bussiness memo Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Bussiness memo - Assignment Example In spite of the fact that the essentials of satellite correspondences are reasonably clear, there is a colossal financing needed in building the satellite and propelling it into space (Verma et al ). All things considered numerous correspondences satellites exist in circle around the globe and they are generally utilized for an assortment of requisitions from giving satellite telecommunications connections to guide television and the utilization of satellite telephone and singular satellite correspondence joins. However, satellite correspondences frameworks give huge levels of adaptability and versatility give the open doors to numerous satellite interchanges frameworks (Macy et al ). In spite of the fact that the beginning base expenses are high, frequently new remote stations could be included moderately economically as new lines dont have to be introduced to give correspondence to the new remote station, not at all like wire based telecommunications frameworks or numerous physical remote connections were repeater stations may be required. Here the satellite empowers correspondences to be created over substantial separations - well past the viewable pathway. Correspondences satellites may be utilized for some requisitions including transferring phone calls, giving interchanges to remote territories of the Earth, giving satellite interchanges to ships, flying machine and other portable vehicles, and there are a lot of people more courses in which interchanges satellites could be utilized (Helfers 415). Verma, Ajeet Singh, et al. "Measurement of reliability and availability of satellite communication links: Progress and challenges."Â  Intelligent Systems and Signal Processing (ISSP), 2013 International Conference on. IEEE,

The Work of one Christian Relief Agency Essay Example for Free

The Work of one Christian Relief Agency Essay Christian Aid is an organisation that supplies aid to those in need. It is generally considered to have been the first missionary agency to support indigenous mission boards in countries all over the world. It all began in 1945 when Bob Finley was asked to speak at a rally of Youth for Christ in a Chicago stadium. His testimony was so fresh, unique and powerful that the 25,000 people in the stadium interrupted him several times with spontaneous applause. His words were broadcasted all over the continent and he was sent to speak at rallies throughout the U. S. and Canada. Along with his close friend, Billy Graham, they were enlisted as field evangelists with the Youth for Christ and spoke at youth rallies, churches, public schools, seminaries, colleges and Bible institutes. Between 1948 and 1950 Bob Finley traveled the East China, Korea and Asia preaching the word and lead Korea in the spiritual awakening that took place there in early 1950. Bob Finley returned to America determined to arouse the churches about the need for reform in foreign missions. He said the best way to plant a Christian witness in closed countries was to reach people who were away from home. Then when they would go back to serve Christ in their homelands; get behind them with financial assistance. Following the presentation of his honorary doctors degree, in 1953 he started International Students, Inc. to reach foreign students all over the U.S. and Canada. In 1972 the headquarters of ISI was moved to Colorado Springs, while the AID (Assisting Indigenous Developments) division was spun off as Christian Aid and remained in Washington D.C. with Bob Finley as the President. A competent staff was assembled to travel all over the world searching out indigenous ministries in every country, especially those that were closed to missionaries from America. Christian Aid grew and grew, with a number of new buildings built in co-ordination with the agency. They had a new headquarters with a conference center and more offices. It continued making contact with indigenous missionary groups in closed countries all over the world. Bob Finleys goal was to have a part in planting a witness for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ among every unreached people group on earth. Christian Aid is governed and staffed by evangelistic, Bible believing, born again Christians who uphold the fundamental doctrines of historic evangelical Christianity. The work of Christian Aid is felt in over 60 countries where they try to fulfill its aims of helping people in the long-term. This is achieved in various ways. The first is to raise money that is needed in order to help these people. They gain an income of around 48 Million Pounds a year, which they can use. This is done throughout the whole year where churches may hold collections or some sort of fund raising events where donations go to charity. A considerable amount of this money is collected during one particular week, annually. This is called Christian Aid Week. In 1995, 8.6 Million Pounds was raised in this one-week. Christian Aid has two main policies of donations. They give Emergency Aid and Long Term Aid. Emergency Aid 10% to 15% of their money is when people are in need of some sort of aid, straight away. For example, if there has been a natural disaster, or an influx of refugees to a country then they are in need of emergency aid in order for them to survive. We can see the work of Christian Aid in the Caribbean Sea islands where a 140mile-per-hour Hurricane battered the islands, leaving 20 dead and numerous others in desperate need of attention and shelter. Christian Aid went to the islands to help the suffering people get their lives back on track. Long Term Aid is when Christian Aid helps to set up funds in communities to help them in the future. This is done through churches and community centers. We can see this in place in Bangladesh where Christian Aid workers have been living there to help administer drugs to the people in need of it. They get their money to do this by Christian Aid and have helped many hundreds of people. Bob Finley has now completed 53 years of ministry as an evangelist, pastor, missionary, Bible teacher and Christian statesman. During these years he has traveled over four million miles and preached face to face to more than 20 million people. Additional millions have heard his message through radio, TV, films and videos. His published articles have touched thousands of lives and played a major role in changing the methodology and direction of Christian missions throughout the world. His influence and financial support has been used of God to further the cause of Christ among more than 2000 tongues, tribes and nations. Christian Aid continues to reach out to those who are in the remotest countries and have not heard of our Lord Jesus Christ. They continue to help other struggling ministries to preach the word of our Lord.

Robert Frost: Analysis of Symbolism

Robert Frost: Analysis of Symbolism Robert Frosts poems take the minds of his readers through journeys of every experience imaginable. Frost, whose background was heavily influenced by New England, uses his former experiences to weave delicate threads of poetry. In his poems he uses subtle forms of symbolism to convey a deeper underlying meaning to his initial words. In addition, his sense of rustic, pastoral themes lets nearly every reader with any type of background relate to his words. In two of Robert Frosts poems, Desert Places, and I Stopped by the Woods on a Snowy Evening, he demonstrates these uses of pastoral and symbolism. Though both of the poems are set in the winter, they express very different tones and themes. One has a feeling of disheartening isolation while the other has a feeling of welcome seclusion. Although different, they show that the same setting can have completely different impacts on the speaker depending on their specific mindset at the moment. Although these seemingly simple poems are cons tructed of short, straightforward stanzas and verbiage, they are anything but. In Robert Frosts poem, Desert Places, the speaker is a man who is roaming through the countryside on an ideal winter evening. He is entirely surrounded with thoughts of loneliness. The speaker spectates a snow covered field as a forsaken, uninhabited place. A blanker whiteness of benighted snow, with no expression, nothing to express (Robert Frost). Whiteness and snow are two important symbols in this poem. The whiteness symbolizes open and empty spaces without boundaries to restrain. The snow is a white blanket that covers up what was left behind making people forget about what may have happened. As the snow continues to come down on, burying everything, eliminating all distinction, the field becomes a lifeless, deceased idea, unmarked and unreflective of anyone or anything. This is the very thing which gave it its negative identity as a desolate field (Kolchak). The snow has effectively removed the signs of mans connection to whatever may have been there. This annihilation is portr ayed as death, an ultimatum of which in cosmic and spiritual approach overwhelms and over powers all life, leaving the speaker alone in a motionless universe, himself touched by the metaphorical death of which he speaks. In Desert Places The poems speaker seems to be envious of the woods. The woods around it have itit is theirs. The woods represent two different worlds of isolation versus society (Kolchak). Both have something that belongs to the speaker, something he wants to become a part of. The isolation and loneliness he speaks of is one that he wishes to have. He wishes to be alone in order to contemplate his ideas without the distractions of the outside world. Yet, while he wishes for the isolation, the way in which he phrases his words shows that he also wishes for company. In the line, The loneliness includes me unawares, The speaker has shown a lost passion for life. He cannot express his feelings easily because of this feeling of numbness. The speaker is well aware of his situation, that he is alone in the world (Ogilvie). He is going through a stage where he just does not care about his earthly ties and feels extremely paranoid. They cannot scare me with their empty space (Robert Frost). He believes that no one cares how he may or may not feel, he does not need anyone else. I have in me so much nearer home, to scare myself with my own desert places. The speaker is now beginning to realize that he was in this situation because he had shut himself off to the world. He acknowledged that this winter wonderland represented his life. He had let misery and solitude sneak into his life and completely take over just as the snow had crept upon the woods and noiselessly consumed it. He realizes that if he lets these feelings run his life, ultimately it would d ie out much like the snow did to environment around him. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening conveys a happier, more positive meaning than the previous poem. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is about slowing down and trying to enjoy life. The speaker wishes he had done this more often and wants to try and relive the times that he had skipped by. This poem, like Desert Places, forces the speaker to choose between worlds of isolation and society. The quote, But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, shows that he chooses the latter, a world of society. The speaker of the poem was shown to be an extremely busy man who always had commitments to honor and places to be. A sensation of disappointment and regret is nearby throughout the poem. The speaker seems concerned about what the rest of society would think about him just stopping in the middle of nowhere for no apparent reason. His horse represents society. My little horse must think it queer, to stop without a farmhouse near. He admits that just stopping does seem odd. He is also somewhat concerned about the man who owns the woods. The man almost feels guilty for looking so lovingly at this other mans woods. He will not see me stopping here, to watch his woods fill up with snow. I think that the speakers life may be a little better off since he stopped to take a deep breath and enjoy all that really matters, the simple things. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is the opposite of Desert Places. The settings were exactly the same; calm, dark wintery evenings, but they express totally different feelings. Desert Places is a very depressing poem with a dark tone. The other is very happy and it makes you wish that winter was already here. These two poems are very different but they are also the same in some ways. They show two extremes of the same emotion. Being alone can be positive or negative it just depends on the state of the mind. Loneliness can be very depressing or it can be a time to collect your thoughts without the pressures of the outside world crashing down. Winter is the perfect season to reflect upon when expressing solitude. Winter can make everything seem dead. It can be a very depressing time of year. Snow covers everything living and the cold seems to chill to the very soul at times. Winter can also be very uplifting. It can wipe the slate clean with its pureness and it can be a time of starting over. Snows whiteness can, in a way, blind you with its beauty and make you forget about your troubles. Winter for me is a time of silent reflection. I could sit for hours and gaze at the blowing snow. Robert Frost creates two winter scenes with different outcomes. The first, Desert Places is a sad poem about loneliness and lost enthusiasm. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening is a rather uplifting poem about enjoying simple things in life. Frost seems to draw upon his experiences from living in rural New England and converts those experiences into beautiful rustic, pastoral poetry. http://www.dreamessays.com/customessays/Robert%20Frost/3320.htm

PLO - Palestine Liberation Organization :: essays research papers fc

History Palestinian Liberation Organization 1. Can the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) justifiably claim to be 'the sole, legitimate representative of the Palestinian people.'? The PLO was set up in 1964 by an Arab League decision in response to growing signs of Palestinian unrest. The Palestinians desired to reclaim the lands occupied by Israel, which they felt belonged to them, as said in the Bible. In 1964 the Arab states created the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). While it was supposed to represent the Palestinians, in reality it represented the views of President Nasser of Egypt, who guided the formation of the PLO. Its first leader made wild and irresponsible threats to drive Israelis into the sea, and had little support among Palestinians for he was seen as a puppet of the Egyptians. In the 1960s Palestinian students began to form their own organizations independent of control by Arab governments (although the Syrians, Libyans, and Iraqis continued to fund and control particular groups). Yasser Arafat founded an independent Palestinian-run party called Fatah. He is said to have the backing, for most of the recent past, of about 80% of the Palestinian people. The position of the Arab governments was that a PLO under Arab League supervision would be the best way of satisfying the demands made by an emerging Palestinian national consciousness. Also, it was felt that through such an organization Arab governments could control Palestinian political activities. Ten years after its founding, the PLO was raised to the status of government. And in 1988, the PLO's status was to be raised again, this time to a state in exile. After several negotiations, Arafat became a Terrorist leader and administrator of self-rule in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. In the 1967 Six Day War, the Arab armies did very badly against Israel, losing 67,000 square kilometres of land. Palestinians came to believe that if they were ever to have their land, they would have to do it themselves. After the 1967 war, the situation changed drastically. The resistance activities of various guerrilla organizations, in particular the Al-Fatah and the PFLP, gained the increasing support of the Palestinians. With Arafat at the helm from 1969 and a resistance-oriented leadership, the PLO was more effective and played a central role in mobilizing the Palestinians and in expanding its basis of support both at the local and international level. The PLO became an umbrella organization for the various guerrilla groups. This increase in support was made possible because of the Al-Fatah's ability to access to the growing numbers of volunteers from refugee camps which were freshly swollen due to the 1967 war.

My Suicide :: personal narrative

Everyone hates me for what I am. They all think I am strange. They stare as if i were the main attraction at a freak show. I hate myself for what i am not: social, outgoing and happy. No one would miss me if I died. I cannot take the torment of living in this world anymore. I would be better off dead! I sit on bed in my candle-lit room, the black velvet curtains drawn shut. The smoke from the burning incescents swirls throughout the room the in the pale flickering light. The melancholy sounds of Nine-Inch-Nails softly echoes in the corners. Depressed, I wonder what is wrong with me? Why does everyone make fun of me? Why do I not any friends? How come no one cares about me? I need an escape from the insanity of my own mind? Death, it is most people's worst fear; however, it is the only thing that will liberate me from this hell on earth. In my hand I hold the key to my freedom, a razor blade. In awe I analyze the razor: it's sterile, machine precise metal, cutting edge. It is more beautiful than anything nature could produce. Holding it with my right index finger and thumb, I place it's razor edge upon my left wrist. It glistens in the candles' flames. I stare as the shadows of the razor dance like ghosts on my forearm. I apply pressure down on the blade until the skin depresses under the metallic edge. Slowly I apply more pressure. My skin separates beneath the razor edge and the blade sinks into my flesh. Fascinated I raise my arm to my eyes. There is no blood, despite the fact that there is a piece of metal embedded in my wrist. I lower my arm back down and again grasp the razor blade with my right hand. I slide the razor's edge along my arm, away from my wrist, and then remove the blade from out of my arm. The razor had left a clean three and a half inch surgical incision, starting a couple of centimeters back from the bottom of my palm. Throughout all of this I did not feel a thing. Finally, blood slowly beads up along the slit. Instantaneously the cut splits open into a deep crevice. Blood gushes out from the wound, pouring onto my satin bed sheets. My Suicide :: personal narrative Everyone hates me for what I am. They all think I am strange. They stare as if i were the main attraction at a freak show. I hate myself for what i am not: social, outgoing and happy. No one would miss me if I died. I cannot take the torment of living in this world anymore. I would be better off dead! I sit on bed in my candle-lit room, the black velvet curtains drawn shut. The smoke from the burning incescents swirls throughout the room the in the pale flickering light. The melancholy sounds of Nine-Inch-Nails softly echoes in the corners. Depressed, I wonder what is wrong with me? Why does everyone make fun of me? Why do I not any friends? How come no one cares about me? I need an escape from the insanity of my own mind? Death, it is most people's worst fear; however, it is the only thing that will liberate me from this hell on earth. In my hand I hold the key to my freedom, a razor blade. In awe I analyze the razor: it's sterile, machine precise metal, cutting edge. It is more beautiful than anything nature could produce. Holding it with my right index finger and thumb, I place it's razor edge upon my left wrist. It glistens in the candles' flames. I stare as the shadows of the razor dance like ghosts on my forearm. I apply pressure down on the blade until the skin depresses under the metallic edge. Slowly I apply more pressure. My skin separates beneath the razor edge and the blade sinks into my flesh. Fascinated I raise my arm to my eyes. There is no blood, despite the fact that there is a piece of metal embedded in my wrist. I lower my arm back down and again grasp the razor blade with my right hand. I slide the razor's edge along my arm, away from my wrist, and then remove the blade from out of my arm. The razor had left a clean three and a half inch surgical incision, starting a couple of centimeters back from the bottom of my palm. Throughout all of this I did not feel a thing. Finally, blood slowly beads up along the slit. Instantaneously the cut splits open into a deep crevice. Blood gushes out from the wound, pouring onto my satin bed sheets.

A History of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden :: Essays Papers

A History of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Growing from its humble beginnings as an ash dump in the late 1800's, the Brooklyn Botanic Garden has come to represent today the very best in urban gardening and horticultural display. The Brooklyn Botanical Garden blooms in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world. Each year more than 750,000 people visit the well-manicured formal and informal gardens that are a testament to nature's vitality amidst urban brick and concrete. More than 12,000 kinds of plants from around the globe are displayed on 52 acres and in the acclaimed Steinhardt Conservatory. There's always something new to see. The Brooklyn Botanic Garden offers a variety of public programs all year long. Tours, concerts, dance performances and symposia are always on the roster, as well as special one-time events that feature elements of the Garden at their peak. Each spring the Brooklyn Botanic Garden celebrates the flowering of the Japanese Cherry Trees with our annual Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom Festi val), and each fall is spiced up with our multicultural Chili Pepper FiestaA few of the "Many Gardens within a Garden" include the Children's Garden, tended each year by about 450 kids, ages 3 through 18; The Cranford Rose Garden, exhibiting more than 5,000 bushes of nearly 1,200 varieties; The Herb Garden, with more than 300 varieties -- "herbing" is apparently taking the country by storm as people rediscover medicinal, culinary, and other uses; and The Japanese Hill-and-Pond Garden, a beautiful creation featuring a Viewing Pavilion, Waiting House, Torri, shrines, bridges, stone lanterns, waterfalls, pond, and miniaturized landscape. About half of the BBG's 52 acres is devoted to the Systematic Collections: trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants arranged to show their evolutionary progression. Visitors will also enjoy the Conifer Collection, Daffodil Hill, Oriental Flowering Cherries, and other special collections. The Steinhardt Conservatory The Steinhardt Conservatory is a $25 million complex holding BBG's extensive indoor collection in realistic environments that simulate a range of global habitats. The Tropical Pavilion, 65 feet high, re-creates a rain forest complete with a waterfall and streams. Flora from the Amazon Basin, African Rain Forest, and tropical eastern Asia thrive here. The Helen Mattin Warm Temperate Pavilion houses plants from central China, the Mediterranean, Australasia, southern Africa, and the western U.

Oil and Gas Accounting Essay

If operation is conducted under Lease or concession agreement, it is unlikely that the contract would contain provisions that would permit cost recovery of these costs If the operation is conducted under a psc or risk service agreement, the contractor may be permitted to recover G&G related expenditures incurred after license acquisition and possibly G&G costs incurred before license acquisition Support equipment and facilities Cost of acquiring support equipment and facilities should be capitalized Any related depreciation or operating costs become an exploration, development or production cost, as appropriate. Entries: Db G&G expense –depreciation Cr Accumulated Depreciation Db G&G expense-operating costs Cr Cash Reprocessing Seismic How to account for cost of re-evaluation or reprocessing of the data? If the reprocessing relates to the search for oil then it should be accounted for according to SE provisions regarding prospecting and nondrilling exploration costs. If the purpose is to determine how best to develop the reserves in the field, then they should be capitalized as development costs. License acquisition costs Costs of evaluating business environment, signature bonus, negotiating, etc should be capitalized Entry: Db Intangible assets-unproved property Cr Cash Development and production bonuses If the payment is actually a deferred signing bonus, the appropriate accounting treatment is to capitalize the development bonus as a license acquisition cost. Accrue once the operations are apparently proceeding to the development phase. Entries: To record signature bonus: Db Intangible Assets – unproved property Cr Cash To transfer unproved property costs to proved due to commercial discovery: Db Proved property Cr unproved property To record accrual of production bonus: Proved property Cr production bonus payable To record payment of production bonus: Db Production bonus payable Cr Cash Internal costs relating to acquisition Can allocate capitalized costs to individual licenses acquired, on an acreage basis or an a potential licenses basis Costs of carrying and retaining unproved properties Costs relating to maintaining unproved properties be charged to expense as incurred Ex: delay rentals paid on lease mineral properties until specified work is commenced, property taxes, accounting costs, legal costs Impairment of unproved property Impairment has occurred if there is some indication that the capitalized cost of an unproved property is greater than the future economic benefits expected to be derived from the property. Under SE, loss should be realized. Negative G&G data and dry holes would typically suggest that part of the property’s historical cost has expired and impairment should be recognized Db Impairment expense Cr Allowance for impairment FASB permits impairment of individually insignificant properties on a group basis. Apply the impairment percentage to the total cost of the group of individually insignificant unproved properties. This determines the desired balance in the allowance for impairment account. Next the difference between the current balance and the desired balance is recognized as impairment expense. Entry: Impairment Expense Cr Allowance for impairment, group basis Abandonment of unproved property Full abandonment: When an individually significant license area is abandoned, its net capitalized acquisition costs should be charged to surrender and abandonment expense Ex: Db Surrender and abandonment expense (equal to acquisition cost) Db Allowance for impairment (balance) Cr unproved property Partial Abandonment or Relinquishments If the partial abandonment reflects a diminishment in the company’s assessment of the future economic benefit of the property, then the entire  property should be assessed for additional impairment. Unproved property classification An unproved property should be reclassified to a proved property status if and when commercial reserves are discovered on the property. Ex: Db Tangible Assets- proved property (acquisition costs) Db Impairment Allowance (balance) Cr In tangible assets- unproved property Sales of unproved property If the property was individually significant, a gain or loss should be recognized on the sale. Ex: Db Cash (sale price) Db allowance for impairment (balance) Db/Cr(gain or loss) Cr unproved property If the property was individually insignificant, a gain should be recognized only if the selling price exceeds the original cost of the property. Loss recognition is not allowed. CHAPTER 5 Accounting for Exploratory Drilling and Appraisal Costs Under SE, general nondrilling exploratory costs are to be charged to expense as incurred; exploratory drilling type costs are initially capitalized. Exploratory Well- well drilled to find and produce oil or gas in an unproved area to find a new reservoir in a another reservoir or to extend a known reservoir. Stratigraphic test well- drilling effort to obtain information pertaining to a specific geological condition. â€Å"Exploratory type† if drilled in a proved area, â€Å"development type† if drilled in a proved area. Exploration well- well drilled to discover whether oil or gas exists in a previously unproved geological structure Appraisal well- well drill to determine the size, characteristics, and commercial potential of a reservoir by digging an exploratory well. Classifying Drilling costs Separate intangible drilling costs (IDC) from equipment costs. IDC deducted in year incurred for US tax law. Equipment costs may be depreciated over 7-10 years. Besides tax purposes, distinction has no significance Targeted Depth When evaluating after drilling : if commercial reserves have been discovered, the drilling in progress account balances are transferred to another type of  asset account that will be subject to depreciation The first successful exploratory well’s cost will be reclassified from an unproved to a proved property account If well is unsuccessful, plug and abandon hole and charges these costs to dry hole expense, net any equipment salvaged from well. If the license area is also relinquished, the net carrying value must be written off. Capitalized G&G SE- G&G costs are to be charged to expense as incurred. Current methods may capitalize 3D and 4D seismic methods used to determine drill sites. Time Limit on exploration and evaluation or appraisal costs In order for cost to be capitalized in SE, there must be identifiable future benefit. IF an exploratory wwell has found oil reserves in an area requiring major capital expenditure to be classified as proved. In this case, the cost of drilling the exploratory well shall continue to be carried as an asset as long as 1. The well has found a sufficient quantity of reserves to justify its completion and 2. Drilling of the additional wells is under way or planned for the near future All other wells, sshall not be carried as an asset for more than one year following completion of drilling Post-balance Sheet Period GAAP provisions that relate to information about conditions that existed at the balance sheet date or that became known after the end of the period but before the financial statements are issued. If well is determined dry, capitalized costs are written off to dry hole expense If commercial reserves are found, the capitalized drilling costs are transferred to the wells and equipment accounts All the capitalized costs of an exploratory well are typically reclassified as dry hole expense or as wells and related equipment Cost approval, budget and monitoring AFE- Authorization for expenditure CHAPTER 6 Drilling And Development Costs- US SE Development costs- costs incurred to obtain access to proved reserves and to  provide facilities for extracting, treating, gathering and storing the oil and gas. More specifically, development costs, including depreciation and applicable operating costs of support equipment and facilities and other costs incurred to: Gain access to and prepare well locations for drilling, including surveying, draining, road building, etc Drill and equip developmental wells, including costs of platforms Acquire, construct and install production facilities such as lease flow lines, separators, etc Provide improved recovery systems Development well- well drilled within the proved area of an oil or gas reservoir to the depth of a stratigraphic horizon known to be productive Service well- completed for the purpose of supporting production in an existing field. Development type stratigraphic well- stratigraphic test well drilled in a proved area Capitalization of Development-Related G&G Exploration Costs Requires capitalization of G&G in development activities. Unless it is performed on a development land area but to an unknown structure- expensed. If 3d seismic is being used to study the reservoir and perhaps where addition development wells should be drilled, theoretically the cost should be capitalized to the field as development cost. Overhead As a general rule, all G&A is expensed, however where the company has a defined method for allocation is permitted to capitalize these costs as part of development Capitalization of Depreciation of Equip and Facilities Depending on nature, costs can be expensed or capitalized Capitalization of Financing Costs â€Å"Capitalization of Interest† requires that a portion of interest costs incurred during the construction phase of assets should be capitalized as a part of the cost of the self-constructed asset. Interest capitalization only applies to qualifying assets: 1. Assets that are constructed or otherwise produced for an enterprise’s own use 2. Assets intended for sale or lease that are constructed or otherwise produced as discrete projects (ships or real estate developments) Amount to interest to capitalize- the portion of  interest costs incurred during the period when the asset is being constructed that could have been avoided if the spending on the asset had not been made. Capitalization period shall begin when 3 conditions are met: Expenditures for asset have been made Activities that are necessary to get the asset ready for its intended use are in progress Interest cost is being incurred Once production begins- depreciate capitalized costs Sole Risk or Carried Interests If an asset requires a period of time in which to carry out the activities necessary to bring it to that condition and location, the interest cost incurred during that period as a result of expenditures for the asset is a part of the historical cost of acquiring the asset. â€Å" CHAPTER 9 Production Costs Costs of labor to operate the wells and related equipment and facilities Repairs and maintenance Materials, supplies, and fuel consumed and services utilized in operating the wells and related equipment and facilities Property taxes and insurance applicable to proved properties and wells and related equipment and facilities Severance taxes Depreciation, depletion and amortization Accounting for Production Costs All costs relating to production activities, including workover costs incurred solely to maintain or increase levels of production from an existing completion interval, shall be charged to expense as incurred. An expenditure that enhances original performance of the well should be capitalized Materials and supplies- capitalize if used in drilling or development. If used in repair or maintenance, they should be expensed. Recompletions- typically involve entering an existing well and deepening or plugging back in order to achieve production in a new formation or a zone in an existing formation. In a currently or previously producing formation or zone should be treated as an expense since the purpose is to restore  production without an increase in commercial reserves If the objective is to develop reserves in a new formation or find new reserves, the activity would be new drilling. (drilling costs could be exploratory or development rather than production) Costs should then be capita lized or expensed depending on SE or FC and on outcome of drilling Taxes (severance or production) should be expensed as production costs Crude Oil Production 1 Barrel = 42 gallons of oil at 60 degrees F API gravity (measure of density) of oil = the higher, the lighter the oil All crude contains BS&W- basic sediments and water Disposition: outright sales, direct supply, indirect supply, exchanges, fraccers, or oil used in operations Gas measurement Measurement in mcf is affected by temperature., pressure, compressibility, gravity etc Standard pressure is 14.73 pounds per square inch at 60 degrees Fahrenheit Pre Acquisition Acquisition Exploratory Development Production List the four Oil & Gas Agreements used on a worldwide basis and describe each one. 1. US Domestic lease agreement- an oil and gas lease grants to the oil and gas company the right and obligation to operate a property. This includes the right to explore for, develop and produce oil and gas from the property and also obligates the company to pay all costs. (Company is a working interest owner). All costs, all risk. Payment of a signature bonus to mineral rights owner or a royalty. 2. Concession agreement- encountered in operations outside the united states where the mineral rights owner is the local government. Sometimes the government is involved with a joint working interest. Payment of a bonus by the oil company to the government at the time the contract is signed. Payment of a royalty to the government. Responsible for paying all of the costs incurred in developing. 3. Risk service agreement- oil companies erform workovers aimed at restoring or stimulating production including application of current technology to currently producing fields. Bonus to national government at contract signing. Government retains ownership of reserve. Oil company incurs all costs and risks. Operating and capital costs incurred are recovered through payment of operating and capital fees. Government may participate in  operations as a working interest owner. 4. Production Sharing contracts- companies obtain the rights from the government to explore for, develop and produce oil and gas. Company pays bonus to national government at contract date. Pays royalties to government. Government maintains ownership of reserves. Companies incur all risk and costs. Company required to spend a predetermined amount of money, which is recoverable from future production. 2.) Describe the life cycle (Phases) of an Oil & Gas Project. Include the Accounting Treatment (ie. Successful Efforts or Full Cost Pool) for each phase. 1. Pre-license prospecting- geological evaluation of relatively large areas before acquisition of petroleum rights. Analyzing G&G data. Successful Efforts (SE) Method The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued FASB Statement No. 19 dealing with the successful efforts method. Under the SE method, costs incurred in searching for, acquiring, and developing oil and gas reserves are capitalized if they directly result in producing reserves. Costs which are attributable to activities that do not result in finding, acquiring, or developing specific reserves are charged to expense. The cost center for the SE method is a lease, field, or reservoir. The various types of costs are treated under the SE method as follows: 1. Acquisition Costs: They are capitalized to unproven property until proved reserves are found or until the property is abandoned or impaired (a partial abandonment). If adequate reserves are discovered, the property is reclassified from unproven property to proven property. For tax purposes, acquisition costs are handled the same way except the cost cannot be partially written off as an impairment expense. The property must be abandoned before any cost may be written off. 2. Exploration Costs: They are recorded in two different ways, depending upon the type of costs incurred. a. Nondrilling Costs: Examples of these type of costs are geological and geophysical (G & G) costs, costs of carrying and retaining undeveloped properties, and dry hole and bottom hole contributions. These types of costs  are expensed as they are incurred. For tax purposes, nondrilling costs are capitalized to the applicable property. b. Drilling Costs: They are treated differently depending on whether the well drilled is classified as an exploratory well or a developmental well. An exploratory well is a well drilled in an unproven area. A developmental well is a well drilled to produce from a proven reservoir. 1) If an exploratory well is a dry hole, the costs incurred in drilling the well are expensed. If the exploratory well is successful, the costs incurred in drilling the well are capitalized to wells and related equipment and facilities. 2) The costs incurred in drilling developmental wells are capitalized to related equipment and facilities even if a dry hole is drilled. The costs associated with tangible well equipment and facilities are capitalized, regardless of the type of well drilled. For tax purposes, certain costs associated with such equipment are eligible for treatment as deductible IDC. Tax depreciation methods usually allow for a more accelerated rate of depreciation than book or financial depreciation. Also, book depreciation will be computed on 1-10the developmental dry holes and IDC which are capitalized for book purposes but expensed for tax purposes. Therefore, an M-1 adjustment will be required on the difference between the amount of book and tax depreciation. 3. Production Costs: These costs are expensed as incurred, which is the same treatment used for tax purposes. It should be noted, however, that many taxpayers erroneously expense overhead attributable to either acquisition or exploration activities as production costs. Overhead attributable to acquisition and exploration costs must be capitalized. 4. Depletion: This usually requires an M-1 adjustment. Although the cost depletion formula is the same for book and tax purposes, the amount for the basis used in the computation of cost depletion will vary due to the difference in capitalization. In addition, many taxpayers will be allowed to use a larger  percentage depletion deduction Full Cost Method Under the FC method, all costs incurred in exploring, acquiring, and developing oil and gas reserves in a cost center are capitalized. Geological and geophysical (G & G) studies, successful and unsuccessful, are capitalized for book and financial purposes. For tax purposes, successful G & G costs are capitalized and unsuccessful G & G costs are expensed. An M-1 adjustment is required for the amount of unsuccessful G & G costs expensed. Delay rental costs are capitalized for book and financial purposes. Exploratory dry hole costs are capitalized for book and financial purposes. For tax purposes, all dry hole costs (exploratory or developmental) are capitalized unless the taxpayer elects to expense them. Since most taxpayers expense these costs for tax purposes, an M-1 adjustment is required. Impaired or abandoned property costs remain capitalized in the cost center for book and financial purposes. For tax purposes, no deduction is allowed unless a property is totally worthless. An M-1 adjustment is required only when an abandonment is claimed for tax purposes. General and administrative costs which are not associated with acquisition, exploration, and development activities are expensed. However, overhead that can be associated with acquisition, exploration, and development activities is capitalized. The costs are handled the same way for tax purposes. Depletion usually will require an M-1 adjustment. In many instances, taxpayers may be able to claim a larger percentage depletion deduction in lieu of cost depletion. Even where cost depletion is claimed for book and financial purposes because of the different capitalization rules, the amount of cost depletion allowable will vary.

Research Real Estate Data Set Essay

Abstract In this paper the team analyzed three scholarly articles relating to our study. Furthermore, the team also analyzed additional data sets to include more variables like bedrooms and bathrooms in our investigation to test our hypothesis which shows that the results are consistent with the hypothesis. The population size, primary and secondary data, using unbiased information and applying ethics are also discussed in detail. Real Estate Data Set II As we begin the final stages of our project it is important to understand the process of applied research and how one or more variable have an impact on the dependable variable. It is important to understand why research is necessary and how we apply research to get answers to issues. The team analyzed thirty date sets to research homes with or without a pool, with or without a garage, and on the proximity of the house to the city, and how those factors affected the selling prices of homes. Furthermore, the team also analyzed more data sets to include more variables like bedrooms and bathrooms. Six bedrooms, three bath houses will sell for more than a one bedroom, one bath houses, regardless of whether it has a pool or garage. As we go forward with this assignment and analyze more data collection sets, it seems that the hypothesis that we proposed is the right one. Our hypothesis is based around the concept of human prioritization and its role in home selection. Additionally, the team researched three scholarly articles that are pertinent to our study to help us understand why the research is important and necessary. The first article uses analysis to discuss the connection between the selling price of a home and â€Å"Time on the Market† (TOM) (Sirmans, et al, 2010). It states that the longer the house is on the market the lower the selling price of the house. The study uses data sets to examine single family homes and whether the TOM co-efficient is susceptible to location, income of families, wealth and time. The results proved that the TOM co-efficient is sensitive to the variables and there is a significant relationship between TOM and the selling prices (Sirmans et al, 2010). It also states that selling prices and TOM is a very complicated because ellers / buyers want to maximize the price, while sellers want to sell at the top price buyers want to purchase at the lowest price. The second article discusses the study of how technology of real estate is changing and how important technology is key to gather important data from private and public sources for the real estate industry. Many studies have been published about the impact of the information on the real estate industry, on market size and efficiency, and market innovation. These studi es have proven that email and the use of internet are used as a positive marketing tool. Survey questions were developed to gather information about real estate agents and their attitude about using information technology as marketing their services. The results were positive and all that were surveyed viewed that information technology was key in some areas. Internet usage got a high score along with online research but personal webpage’s indicated a lower score (Acharya et al, 2010). The third article examined that in real estate development there is a need for risk assessment techniques to assess the impact of the project. The article is based on an exploratory survey which data was collected through interviews and a questionnaire. The study was conducted in the Thailand area using Thai real estate development companies. The study revealed that there are no systematic techniques to deal with the concerns of economic and political risks (Khumpaisal et al, 2010). All three articles focus on real estate research and how information is collected and used in different studies. All three article discuss how data, the collection of the data and the usage of the data play an important part while conducting research. When conducting research it is often difficult, or impractical to test the entire population. Many issues can arise, such as time consumption, cost, and redundant information. Often it is possible for researchers to draw conclusions based on population samples. This is when we test a small portion of the population and draw conclusions on the entire population based on the sample results. For our research the sample of thirty homes came from a larger sample of one hundred six homes. These homes were a sample of homes in one state, across five townships. For our research we decided to limit the sample to around thirty homes of similar qualities (outside of the variables we are testing). The reason we do this is to be sure there isn’t an outside, unknown variable affecting the experiment. Therefore we chose homes that are between two and three bedrooms, with two bathrooms. This gave us a sample of thirty-one homes. For this particular research, it is possible to see the affects of different variables on home prices. Also, with more than thirty samples it is also possible to eliminate outliers that may skew averages. For example, if we only tested three homes and two of them were priced outrageously, we wouldn’t be able to draw valid conclusions. However, by testing thirty-one homes, we can eliminate outliers. There are many possible sources of bias and error when testing a hypothesis with only sample of the population. In our case, we could simply omit homes that disprove our hypothesis. One reason for this is if we were working for a real estate company and they want to see which homes can make them the most money, and we know there are a lot of homes near the city center for sale. If we omit homes far away from the city that are selling for more, our bias has caused us to give false findings. Not all omissions are intentional. Sometimes errors are simply made in the research process. For example, with our research we could have included homes with any number of bedrooms. This would have resulted in data that may not have been practical for our research. For example, the complete data set included homes with up to eight bedrooms. If we were to compare that to a home with only two bedrooms the fact that either had a pool, or garage, or was close to the city would have been negligible. Again, we chose to only test similar homes in respect to number of bedrooms and bathrooms in order to prevent this error. It is necessary to collect primary data when a researcher cannot find the data needed in secondary sources. Some methods of primary research would include observation, postal surveys, telephone interviews, online surveys, face to face surveys, focus groups, and test marketing. Observation works well in retail markets. Observing consumer behavior provides many insights, although can sometimes leave unanswered questions. Postal surveys are great because they are relatively cheap with the ability to cover a wide geographical area. However, response rates are minimal and can take quite some time before any of the surveys are returned. Telephone interviews allow quicker feedback than a postal survey but any potential customers are usually hesitant on giving anything but short answers. Increasingly popular and at relatively low cost, surveys online are widely used by growing businesses as a way of gathering the views of potential and existing customers. Face to face surveys are sometimes costly, but a great way to get individual detailed insight, while focus groups are a good way of getting detailed information about customer preferences and tastes. Test marketing involves picking a small section of the market and selling a new product in order to assess customer reaction. This primary research can be a great predictor of how a new product or service will be received by the larger market. Primary research is the preferred research and conducted all of the time. National polls and surveys collect the population’s thoughts about proposals or particular political figures, journalists use it as their primary means of reporting events as well as news, and organizations collect data on their market trends and consumer base. When conducting research in professional or academic settings, the researcher needs to be aware of the ethics behind the research activity Ethical issues arise throughout any piece of all research. These issues often turn into political ones, and there are also close connections between issues around participation and ethical concerns. Ethical issues also have a tendency to turn into questions of trust. The researcher is the research instrument therefore the reader and/or user of qualitative research must be able to trust the researcher to have followed the proper procedures. There are quite a few key phrases which describe the system of ethical protections that medical research and the contemporary social establishments have created such as, voluntary participation, informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity, and rights to service, to better protect the research participant’s rights. When conducting research it is important to understand all stages of the research and apply good practices such as using unbiased sources and clear and ethical standards. Even when clear ethical standards and principles are in place, there will be times when the rights of potential participants runs up against the need to do accurate research. No set of standards can possibly anticipate every ethical circumstance. Furthermore, there needs to be a procedure that assures that researchers will consider all relevant ethical issues in formulating research plans.

Present Complex Internal Business Information Essay

Present complex internal business information using three different methods appropriate to the user’s needs In this assignment I will present internal business information using three different types of communication methods which are appropriate to the user’s needs. The three types of methods I have chosen are written, on screen multimedia presentation and verbal presentations. I have chosen ASDA to do my research upon. ASDA is a global supermarket which sells groceries, electrical equipment, general domestic equipment, toys and clothing. It is now subsidiary of the American store Wal-Mart. Today they are the UK’s second-largest chain by market share. Written- written communication involves any type of interaction that makes us use the form of a written word. It is one of the main types of communication used. Written communication is used a lot in a business as written communication involves reports, letter, instruction, agreements, memos and policies. Written communication is the most appropriate when detailed instructions are required, when something needs to be documented, or when the person is too far away to easily speak with over the phone or in person. ASDA uses this type of communication to communicate without different people in the hierarchy system or to one of their customers. It is appropriate to the user’s needs because written communication is precise and explicit. It also allows the manager to get in contact with someone easily without hassle. On-screen multimedia presentation- on screen presentation means any sort of information that is presented on the screen. It can be written so the user can read it. It can be in the form of a video clip with sound and images aswell. This can be used by the board of directors and managers when showing key information about the business. It is appropriate to the user’s needs because it allows you to show information and has a variety in ways which you can do so. The data can be in any form. Verbal communication- verbal communication has more to do with listening then speaking as you are always dealing with an audience. Verbal communication is best when you need to discuss something in detail. There are two types of verbal communication. One is through an electrical device and the second is face-to-face. With verbal communication it allows quick response. Asda uses verbal communication because you can say precisely what you mean without any confusion. It allows passage of accurate information. Verbal information is used everywhere in ASDA.

Workplace ethics

Workplace ethics Conduct Internet research on a selected business topic. Take notes on Internet research. For this project, you will conduct Internet research on a productive business skills topic of your choice from the following list: teamwork and collaboration; time management; conflict resolution; workplace ethics; professional dress and grooming; effective speaking and presentation skills.Each of the following parts of this project will help you use the skills you have learned in this unit to complete a well-written report on the business skill you have selected. Part 1: For this section of the project, you will select your topic and begin to conduct Internet research related to this topic. You should review a minimum of three sources for this project. Take notes on each source using the following points as a guide: Source (title and URL) Summary of the information How do you know this source is credible?Part 2: Using your notes, write a five-paragraph (minimum) essay about your selected business skills topic. You must incorporate references from the research you did (remember to cite your sources). Be sure to organize your ideas logically and equentially, including a compelling introduction and a summarizing conclusion. Part 3: You will read and review one of your classmate's reports and give constructive feedback on their report.You should identify what they have done well as well as give suggestions for improvement. Remember the components of effective feedback you learned in Chapter 2. Question #1 Essay Download g_bcsl au01 p14d. rtf Upload Answer File Max File Size : IOMB Accepted File Type : [csv, doc, docx, pdf, xls, xlsx, txt, rtf, ppt, pptx, odf, odt, ods, odp, mdb, accdb, pub, Jpg, Jpeg] File Actions NO File workplace ethics By Jinksauce300

Can you make up a topic for me Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Can you make up a topic for me - Essay Example times still carries out illicit affairs but they are done secretly and the wife may never be aware of what is happening and when a discovery is made, it completely shatters the marriage. In this type of marriage just like in a polygamous one, the woman is still the one to suffer and do it alone as she is expected to remain faithful. Engels does not see anything wrong with such an arrangement which I also disagree with as it is not only unreasonable but it disregards the woman’s sexuality as well downplaying it to no importance at all. The question heavy in my mind is whether monogamous marriages are really worth it if the men are still picking up the polygamous culture but doing it secretly (Engels 2004). I agree with the explanations Yuval-Davis provides about how women and their decision making ability even on their own reproduction is denied to them. They are made to listen to the policies being made and follow the directives given to them but not to complain. Women are not given a choice when it comes to their reproductive system as they are forced to have babies to continue the bloodline, fill a nation or even for social status. In cases where Malthusian theory is being practiced, the female children born or unborn are killed and only the male survive and this is decided by the man and not the woman. Women simply have no powers whether it is productive or reproductive roles and they are simply like automatons controlled by the men and made to do what the men want and this is absolutely unfair (Yuval-Davis 1997). I agree that the society has continually put pressure on women to agree with them about each and everything concerning their lives and have even moved to their reproductive life. Reproduction is the one thing that is and should remain private in a woman’s life and she should therefore hold all the reins when it comes to decisions about her reproductive health. She should be the one to make decisions about whether she wants a child or not and

Southwest Airlines Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Southwest Airlines - Case Study Example In 1992, 10% of stocks of the company were owned by employees. It encourages union membership with management having good relationship with the labor union, thereby avoiding any loss of mandays through strike or lockups. The organizational culture of company thrives on excellent teamwork that promotes collective decision making and shared learning. Being part of profit sharing encourages concept of ‘big family’ significantly forges personal bond with the company that reflects in their committed work and improved productive outcome. Continuous improvement and innovation in customer service is the hallmark of the airlines. The employees and staff are empowered to make decisions regarding the welfare of the customer on and off the flight. The company’s strategy was to increase the number of customer service agents so that the passengers could get improved personal service and emotional support and security at the time of crisis. Grant (2007) says that analysis and identification of the changing preferences of the customer are important ingredients to gain leverage against their rivals (Grant, 2007). Southwest has been focused in its customer service and makes continuous efforts to update its products line with that of the changing public requirements. Company’s stock ticker symbol is fittingly chosen as ‘LUV’! Indeed, the company has been innovative in its new plans and features to meet the challenges of time. While the management follows stringent regulations and strict time schedules, it has, at the same time, empowered its workforce to make decisions based on informed choices. Southwest prefers destination to destination flights which is preferred by customers and therefore is more popular. Its low cost strategy has been successful because of its exemplary customer service, security features and specialized short haul flights. The high

Marketing Manager Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Manager - Assignment Example Typically, marketing managers oversee all marketing, advertising and promotional staff and activities. They formulate appropriate marketing strategies to meet objectives, evaluate market research, and implement marketing plans (Halvorsen 2006). The job of a marketing manager requires both professional qualifications and individual skills. Professional qualifications usually include academic qualification, strong understanding of management and marketing, industry and product/service experience, and a network of contacts (Microsoft 2008, HSN 2008). Individual skills usually required include excellent communication skills, interpersonal skills, leadership skills, project and people management skills (HSN 2008, Catholic Answers 2008, Infinity Ward 2008). A review of most want advertisements for marketing management shows three main skill requirements: excellent communication skills, interpersonal skills and leadership skills in terms of people and project management. Excellent Communication Skills The job of a marketing manager requires excellent communication skills because the function involves interaction with customers, subordinates, professional peers, higher-level managers, suppliers, other business partners, and other individuals involved in the marketing process. Since communication is a two-way process, effective communication involves conveying messages to others clearly and unambiguously, as well as receiving and understanding information sent by others. In a survey conducted by the University of Pittsburgh, communication skills were cited as the single most important decision factor in the hiring of managers. Excellent communication skills denote high levels of proficiency in both verbal and written communication. For the marketing manager, these skills are applied in various interaction with the different audiences in the marketing process, in listening; delivering presentations; facilitating meetings and discussions; giving and receiving feedback; making value p ropositions; dealing with criticisms, customer complaints or other objections; communication during crisis situations; and cross-cultural communications (Mind Tools 2008). Interpersonal Skills Another highly-required skill for a marketing manager is interpersonal skills. Interpersonal skills include the habits, attitudes, manners, appearance, and behaviors that one uses around other people which affect how one gets along with other people (Hill 1999). According to the American Management Association (2008), success depends upon the