McDonaldization of Society Essay

The book of George Ritzer, has taken certain elements from Weber’s work and presented a critical analysis of the impact that is felt by the social structural change on human interaction and identity. According to the book, Ritzer claims that the fast food business and its structure is responsible for the present organizational force and this process or rationalization has disseminated into the everyday lives of the individuals and their interaction levels. As has been defined by Ritzer himself: †¦Mcdonaldalization,†¦. is the process y which the principles of the fast food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American society as well as the world. (ritzer,1993:1) If one was to perceive the growth of this franchise, the fact that it has thousands of outlets worldwide and is located in the suburbs, military bases, malls. And even the highway exchanges present the extent to which our lives have been taken over by this process. It is not only the fast food chains which represent this issue but even the other chains such as those connected to Toys, Bookstores, newspapers and child care amongst several others. There have been instances-increasing in number-that the newer areas of business expertise are making use of this process. Everything is handled and managed in a way to control the perceptions and mindset of people. There have been five dominant themes which were outlined by Ritzer in his book which center on the idea of efficiency, calculability, predictability, increased control, and the replacement of human by non-human technology. The first one deals with the notion of efficiency and it is basically translated as the use of means in order to reach a goal or aim with the least amount of time and effort. The idea of efficiency can be seen by the way the people in different business or industries perceive it to be as it can differ for different business structures. This is viewed as a benefit and advantage to the customer in all respects and forms. The different ways that this is achieved can be seen through the use of the ATM machine, voice mail, and drive-up window services salad bars etc which all cater to reducing the time required for that business purpose. The customer might not be aware of this but in this process; he actually conducts various sorts of services and pays for them as well which were available to him before on demand. It might seem as a noteworthy service but in reality it is just a way of cutting time and costs for the firm and increasing the cost for the customer. It requires learning the usage of these newer services, and in order to apply and make use of them the customer has to bear the extra costs for these value- added services. Another theme which comes across is the idea and notion of calculability. In order to define this notion, the words of Ritzer would be put to effective use: â€Å" this involves an emphasis on things that can be calculated, counted , quantified. Quantification refers to a tendency to emphasize quantity rather than quality. This leads to a sense that quality is equal to certain, usually (but not always) large quantities of things†. (Ritzer, 1994:142). There are several examples which can be used to explain the idea of making use of quantity- some of the fast food offerings such as the Big Mac, Big Whopper, Wnedy’s Biggie meals etc which all point to the fact that quality has been effectively replaced by quantity. Another pertinent area which comes to the notice of the reader is the fact that time-saving plays an integral role in this process as well. There are newer and improved recipes which allow for the food to be made in much shorter time and the microwave food products cater to the need of such time conservative individuals. Another theme which is presented effectively is predictability. It is in reference to the attempt that is played by the attempts that are made in order to structure our environment and hence, surprise cannot have any effect on our sensible nature. Those who act sensibly and use their logic will always have an upper hand as they would be well prepared in advance for any problems and issues that might come their way. The customer of this sort would expect the same taste, quality and requirements that he got from one area product to be applied elsewhere. The example of the entertainment industry can be used in this regard as the audience is made to water movies upon movies either regarding the same theme, sequels or even series regarding the same issue. Therefore, a sense of predictability has become a prominent feature of all our lives and we operate by it. Whether it is going to the office from 9 to 5, going for some sort of entertainment on the weekends-we do follow a course which more or less is decided and is hence, predictable. The human race is being doctrine by the idea of predictability and any deviation has become a source of risk. The other theme which was taken on by the author of this book was the idea of control through the substitution of nonhuman for human technology. In Ritzer’s own words: â€Å"these two elements are closely linked. Specifically, replacement of human by nonhuman often oriented towards greater control. The great source of uncertainty and unpredictability in a rationalizing system are people –either the people who work within those systems or the people who are served by them. †(Ritzer 1994:148) For the human per see, everything is planned and done for him before hand and he operates as a mere obedient automation machine which operates as ordered by machine with no thinking on his behalf being carried out. If one was to look at the different areas of one’s life, it could be seen that from the kitchen to the living room, all of us make effective use of technology in one way or another. The machines do the tasks for us and us being treated as mere handlers of them. As per the claim of Ritzer: â€Å"the next step in this development is to have the customer do the scanning† Ritzer (1994: 150) This comment clearly indicates the fact that the humans have over time allowed the machines to overtake them in this case of managing and carrying out the work. The computer and machines have been accepted as the measurement criteria by which we assess ourselves and our skills. What is being seen as a development is that the human skills and capabilities are being rapidly eroded in the fact of development and the humans are merely being used in order to facilitate the processes of the machinery. The last theme which was analyzed and discussed by the book would be that of the irrationality of rationality. This theme mocks the rationality of these systems which are a source of the pride of the owners of these product companies. This book represents a view that if analyzed properly it could be seen that under these rational systems or so called-there lies an edge of irrationality. In Ritzer’s own words: â€Å" most specifically, irrationality means that rational systems are unreasonable systems. By that I mean that they deny their basic humanity, the human resource, of the people who work within are served by them. (Ritzer, 1994:154) All of us have been victims at different points at time when we have had to wait quite long for the food, groceries which make us question the rationality of the fact that though more is being paid for the efficient -ness and effectiveness of these systems, yet at the end those very systems are being undermined by the essence of rationality. We make use of the products and services which are aimed at providing us with better services and results only to provide us with less than desired results. The dependency increases of all on these very systems and in effect, it becomes a mere trap as the humans rely heavily on these for their different purposes and aims. However, this same vicious cycle creates an even worse effect as the environment which is sued for the basic purposes of breathing is polluted and affected in a number of detrimental ways. In Ritzer’s book: â€Å"the communal meal is our primary ritual for encouraging the family to gather together every day. If it is lost to us, we shall have to invent new ways to be a family. It is worth considering whether the shared joy that food can provide is worth giving up. (Visser, 1989:42, in Ritzer, 1994:156). The easy availability of readymade meals etc have made things much more easier for the present generation and hence, a number of important elements which were present initial have seen to be fading. The world is becoming heavily dependent on manmade objects and services which in effect is making it lose its own individuality. The above part of the paper effectively discussed the elements of the book and the following paper would critically analyze these themes and ideas. The author of this book has presented some quite simple views and understanding of the various themes. The author presents an understanding that the human values are an unnecessary area which does not require exploration and what actually requires attention are those systems which are endangering the humans’ ability to think. Through his analysis, Ritzer is able to apply his principles to a wide range of phenomenon which includes the economic and social aspects as well. What comes across is a failure in order to explore the cultural dimensions and though his analysis is a social analysis-it yet fails in a number of ways. what is clearly required is a cultural perspective and in order to add to the normative stance of Ritzer, certain important areas such as the strategies of resistance and critical perspectives need to be focused on as well. One of the weaknesses which are inherent in this book is the fact that by representing McDonald as the paradigm of McDonaldization the actual progress is negated and undermined in a lot of ways. There comes across an excessive dependence on the Weber theory and that what can be used to overcome the problems is the multiperspectivist approach. The rationale of the book clearly comes as a method of presenting the sociological theory of Weber to rationalize the theory with a number of empirical data usages. He adds to the analysis of Weber which was further carried out by this book as he tries to restructure a vast array of areas which extend from the general social dynamics and the larger structure of the social organizational structure. What comes across as a strong concept throughout the book is the concept of consumption and the area of production which plays an important area in the McDonaldization process is actually ignored. The concept of profit is touched upon is certain cases ( Ritzer 1996:44,62F)although it could have been better handled if the author had aimed it at through the rationalization process of production and consumption. Being part of a rationalization process, McDonaldization is a phenomenon through which the world markets are being rationalized and reorganized in order to maximize the capital accumulation. The cultural dimension and aspect of the McDonaldization process which the corporate word makes effective use of in order to create the family values and attract the attention of the viewers and readers. Therefore, the company and franchise McDonald’s is not merely selling services and products but in fact is selling certain cultural values and inculcating them as well. The process of purchase etc is merely a small part of the actual value chain. Therefore, McDonaldization is in fact part of a social phenomenon which has its own cultural values and codes which have been largely ignored by the book and its author. The US is actually a race which consists of the values such as family etc which are catered to by these franchises as they promote these national values and validate them to the entire nation. Therefore, the author undermines the different aspects and methods of McDonald’s which is an ideological and cultural phenomenon as well as being an economic one. The cultural dimension is largely overlooked and ignored by the author in the pursuit of portraying the economic process. The theory of homogenization is also presented in a highly generalized manner and the standard of the process of McDonaldization is portrayed throughout the book and what is ignored is the fact is the variety and diversity of the consumer practices in the different areas and regions of the world. Each different region and area has its product offerings which differ to a large extent and that has been largely ignored by the author of this book. The social rationalization and the different phenomena which is experienced by the various races and creeds are not presented at all which presents a major flaw and weakness of this book and the author effectively. The subjective process of the process are ignored in the pursuit of the theory of rationalization and the presentation of Ritzer’s ideas are clearly too objective and fail to highlight the various subjective and cultural values of McDonaldization. Ritzer argues that the concept of Modernization (Ritzer, 1994:148f) is what McDonaldization is perceived as but one has to analyze that whether it truly is that or is the reality actually different. There are aspects of this process which are clearly interlinked with the traditional values and the claims of the author of the McDonaldization process being the cause of the modernists is undermining this important area and aspect of the McDonaldization process. While the rationalization process of production and consumption are areas and aspect of the McDonaldization process, they clearly do not overtake the entire meaning and existence of the entire process. In fact, the reality of the process is the fact that the McDonaldization process does not only relate to Weber’s theory of rationalization and Marx’s theory of commodification but there are other postmodern elements which are connected to it. Ritzer’s attempts to distance the analysis of post modernity from the McDonaldization process are in connection to his failure to bring out the connections between the cultural dimension and the McDonaldization process. An important area of the postmodern theory is the cultural aspect which has been linked with the transactional culture that is enacted upon this McDonaldization process and created even further. The connection that is created between this process on a global and local scale might have been analyzed by this book but what has been ignored is the social functions, different meanings and experiences that are generated by the McDonald’s in a number of regions. This paper has not only represented the themes but also represented the flaws and weaknesses inherent in this book and what could have been done in order to improve the understanding of the process. References The McDonaldization of Society by George Ritzer (ISBN 0-7619-8812-2) McDonaldization: The Reader by George Ritzer (ISBN 0-7619-8767-3) The McDonaldization Thesis: Explorations and Extensions by George Ritzer (ISBN 0-7619-5540-2) McDonaldization of America’s Police, Courts, and Corrections by Matthew B. Robinson McCitizens by Bryan Turner Resisting McDonaldization, ed. Barry Smart Golden Arches East: McDonald’s in East Asia by James L. Watson Sociology of Consumption: Fast Food, Credit Cards and Casinos, ed. George Ritzer The McDonaldization of Higher Education, ed. Dennis Hayes & Robert Wynyard Enchanting a Disenchanted World by George Ritzer Ritzer, George (2008). The McDonaldization of Society. Los Angeles: Pine Forge Press. ISBN 0-7619-8812-2. McDonald’s UK. â€Å"Questions Answered†. Make up your own mind. . Retrieved on 2007-09-15. â€Å"Due to the global scale of the McDonald’s business, many commentators seek to use its brand and international presence to support various positions and theories that they wish to put forward. † Sociological Beginnings: On the Origins of Key Ideas in Sociology, McGraw-Hill, 1994. The McDonaldization of Society, Pine Forge Press, 1993. The quote from Margaret Vissner, taken from Ritzer’s presentation is found in: â€Å"A Meditation on the Microwave,† Psychology Today, December 1989, pp. 38ff. Alfino, Mark, Caputo, John S. , and Wynyard, Robin, McDonaldization Revisited: Critical Essays on Consumer Culture, Westport: Praeger, 1998 Emerson, Robert L. , ,Fast Food: The Endless Shakeout, NY: Lebhar-Friedman Books, 1979 Halberstam, David, The Fifties, NY: Fawcett Columbine, 1993 Hogan, David Gerard, Selling ’em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food, NY: New York University Press, 1997 Kroc, Ray, Grinding It Out, Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1977 Luxenberg, Stan, Roadside Empires: How the Chains Franchised America, NY: Viking, 1985 Ritzer, George, The McDonaldization of Society, Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press, 1996 Ritzer, George, The McDonaldization Thesis, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 1998 Reiter, Ester, Making Fast Food: From the Frying Pan into the Fryer, 2nd ed. , Buffalo: McGill-Queen’s University Press, 1996 Severini Kowinski, William, The Malling of America, NY: William Morrow and Company, Inc, 1985 Fletcher, Liz. (1993, February). Is there a chance for a standardised user interface? The Electronic Library, 11 (1):29-32. Manley, W. (1981, June). Facing the public. Wilson Library Bulletin, 55 (10): 762-763,798. Martin, Marilyn J. (1991, May). Academic libraries as information consumers: Implications for policy making. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 17 (2): 93-98. McManus, N. (1995, November). The browser wars: Netscape and Microsoft battle to control World Wide Web formatting standards. Digital Media, 5 (6):11. Ritzer, G. (1996). The McDonaldization of Society. Revised ed. Thousand Oaks, Calif. : Pine Forge. 265p. Schlack, M. (1996, October). Wanted: New software. Byte, p. 14. Tibbets, J. & Berstein, Barbara. (1995, July). Microsoft monopoly? Never! Information Week, 538: 112. Thorner, Marvin Edward, Convenience and Fast Food Handbook, Westport; The Avi Publishing Company, Inc. , 1973 Wasson, Chester R. , Consumer Behavior: A Managerial Viewpoint, Austin, TX: Austin Press, 1975

Justice and the role of accounting - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 29 Words: 8601 Downloads: 4 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? Justice and the role of accounting What is Justice? Justice means different things to different people. It is very much a culturally determined concept that requires an innate understanding of a particular person or group of people. For the purpose of this research paper justice is defined as the judgment and process involved with making something that is wrong or bad, right and good. Justice helps us as a society distinguish wrong from right and corrects what is wrong by making it right. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Justice and the role of accounting" essay for you Create order But what is right and what is wrong? What is fair and what is just? If something is wrong or unfair, how should society make it right? Such questions have been asked since the beginnings of human interaction. Perhaps under a monarchy justice, for right or wrong, is more easily determined as it is simply what the supreme ruler (or monarch) feels is just or fair. Under a monarchy or aristocratic rule, there is only one ruler and what that individual feels is right, just, or fair, simply is and often cannot be questioned. However, within the realm of more contemporary political systems such as democracy, the ideology of justice, while arguably more fair, can be much more difficult to establish and understand. Democracy, at least in theory, grants the power to the people and therefore places the burden of justice or defining what is fair or equal upon the masses. Since different people have different belief systems they are often in disagreement on what is right or what is fair and have differences of opinion when it comes to justice. Without the aristocracy, justice becomes a very argumentative and ambiguous concept. Philosophy, the Various Schools of Thought, and their Influence on the Ideology of Justice Disagreements over what is fair (or just) have been around since the beginning of time, almost certainly since the very first of human interactions. At first glance we probably think we have a fairly uniform understanding of what justice might or should be. For example if someone commits premeditated first degree murder, most would probably agree the individual should be jailed and, depending on your belief system, either face a life sentence in jail or the death penalty. If someone embezzles money from their company, most would insist the individual should be forced to make restitution and face additional criminal or civil penalty. But even in the seemingly straightforward examples above, and within the realm of a relatively homogenous audience (those reading this paper), one can already start to see how complicated the ideology of justice can be. For example, some have very strong feelings about the death penalty and insist that no crime, even murder, would justify ending another persons life. Additionally, some feel that crimes such as embezzlement are a form of victimless crime and would never warrant a punishment as severe as jail time since no one individual had been harmed. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 527) Within the relatively straightforward scenarios above, one can already begin to imagine the diversity of opinions as to what is just and fair. Should the murder be murdered? Should the embezzler be jailed? What if he only stole the money to pay for chemotherapy for his dying wife? Luckily, numerous philosophers and historians have provided us with rich literature that helps us decipher the complex ideology of justice. In fact, it is only after studying and critically evaluating several of these philosophers, their different schools of ethical and moral thought, and the way they define justice that one can start to understand the differences in perceptions of justice around the world. The next sections provide brief introductions into several of the various schools of ethical and moral thought and provide some insight into the individual philosophers that have undoubtedly helped to shape ours and others understanding of justice. It is only after considering the various schools of thought that we can start to understand the differences in the perception of justice that exist around the world. Utilitarianism Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) was a utilitarian and insisted that justice is doing what will produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people. (Justice a Reader pg. 9) The utilitarian school of thought considers the principle of utility as the basis of moral law. Bentham defines utility as whatever promotes pleasure or prevents pain. (Justice A Reader pg. 9) The major criticism / objection to Benthams utilitarian principals come from the perspective that maximum utility, or collective happiness, may come at the expense of violating individual rights. (Justice A Reader pg. 9) In order to refute some of the criticisms of Benthams utilitarianism, John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) argued that the idea of justice rests ultimately on utilitarian considerations but also requires a respect for individual rights. (Justice A Reader pg. 9) But even with Mills approach to justice, it becomes extremely difficult to choose and/or decipher between individual rights and the majority or maximum utility. This often leaves us with questions of where to draw the line between the greatest good for the majority and the protection of individual rights. Libertarianism Milton Friedman and other libertarian thinkers were advocates of free markets and critics of government regulation. (Justice A Reader pg. 49) Underlying their (libertarians) laissez-faire stance is the idea that each of us has a fundamental right to liberty à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" a right to do whatever we want with the things we own, provided we do not violate other peoples rights to do the same. (Justice A Reader pg. 49) Contrary to utilitarian thought, libertarians would never sacrifice individual rights for maximum utility or the benefit of the majority. According to the Libertarians, only a minimal government is necessary. In essence the government should only be put in place such that it enforces contracts, protects private property, and keeps the peace. (Justice A Reader pg. 49) Justice would ensure that we own ourselves and the fruits of our labor, and therefore, as the proprietors of our own person, each of us has the right to decide what to do with our bodies and our labor, with the money we earn, and the goods we possess. (Justice A Reader pg. 49) Justice would be the protection of those rights as well as the individual rights of others. The biggest challenges to libertarian policy usually come in the form of paternalist and/or redistributive laws. Paternalist and redistributive laws typically are enacted such that a society can tax the rich to help the poor. While utilitarian principles strongly favor such laws, Libertarians typically argue that such laws are a form of coerced charity that makes every person the property (perhaps even the slave) of the majority. (Justice A Reader pg. 49) Pure Libertarianism teaches that welfare is a violation of individual rights. Liberationists believe that while the poor should have every right to better themselves, that right should not come at the expense of anyones individual right to what they own or produce. Egalitarian A third school of thought that attempts to define the role of justice in society is egalitarianism. John Rawls (1921-2002) was often described as an egalitarian liberal (Justice A Reader pg. 263) and defined justice as fairness. Rawls believed that justice is a social contract in which people come together to choose the basic principles that will govern their society and proposed that the way to think about justice is to ask what principles would be chosen by people who came together behind a veil of ignorance that temporarily deprived them of any knowledge about where they would wind up in society. (Justice A Reader pg. 203) Accordingly, Rawls moral reasoning requires us to be abstract from the particular circumstances in which we find ourselves (Justice A Reader pg. 203), and justice is the first virtue of social institutions, as truth is of systems of thought. (Justice A Reader pg. 203) Rawls rejected utilitarianism and believed that certain individual rights are so fundamental that utilitarian considerations should not override them. (Justice A Reader pg. 203) However, contrary to Freidman and the libertarians, Rawls did not believe that the results of a free market are necessarily fair and was not opposed to the taxation of the privileged to help the poor. In Rawls opinion it would be acceptable, under certain circumstances, to take from the privileged as long as it were helping the underprivileged. Accounting and Justice Regardless of how you define justice or what school of thought you most closely relate to, it is clear the accountant plays a significant role in the establishment and preservation of justice for society. Accounting is the language of business (Bloomfield, 2008) and without it justice cannot exist. Since the beginnings of specialization, when humans stopped being self sufficient and started specializing, bartering, and trading, accounting has become a critical part of human interaction. In todays society accountants serve in many roles critical to the defense and preservation of justice. For example, in the U.S., IRS accountants ensure that citizens pay the appropriate amount of tax, forensic accountants provide investigative services for criminal and civil proceedings, and many of the FBIs anti-terrorist agents use their accounting backgrounds to trace terrorist funding. History of the Spanish Empire One only has to look back a few hundred years to see a perfect example of how the role of an accountant can protect and help preserve, or fail to protect and preserve, an entire civilization. In his book For Good and Evil à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" The Impact of Taxes on the Course of Civilization, Charles Adams describes how tax fraud lead to the demise of one of the largest and most wealthy empires found in modern times à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å" Imperial Spain. Around the time Christopher Columbus discovered the new world (the 14th and 15th centuries), the Spanish Empire was the strongest empire in the world which has never been equaled in terms of size or money. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 529) It controlled significant portions of Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia, and Oceania (Australia and the Pacific Islands), and at its peak Spains conquered overseas empire was the largest the world has ever known. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 529) However, in the 17th century the vast empire started to disintegrate. Contrary to conventional wisdom, it was not the English fleet defeating the Spanish Armada that brought down the Empire, rather it was tax evasion and revolt by the masses against the patronage system that ultimately lead to the bankruptcy of the empire. After several revolts from within the empire, and long civil war, the Spanish Empire was forced to increase taxes to pay soldiers to put down the various rebellions. As a result, many of the people in the colonies engineered what was probably the best system of fraud and evasion that history has ever known. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 530) When the Spanish authorities tried to tax goods that passed through the major ports, the Spanish businessmen created complicated schemes to have silver and gold shipped to alternate ports away from the customs officials, even laundering it through foreign countries. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 530) In order to avoid the Royal Fifth à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å " a 20% customs tax and a 35% convoy tax on good from the colonies, the Spanish businessmen transformed commerce into one massive smuggling operation by avoiding the authorities and therefore the taxes. (Hanlin 2004, pp. 530) The Empire tried to stop the smuggling and division of money and goods away from the taxing authorities but simply did not have the means to control and stop the smuggling and tax evasion. As a result, the overseas empire could not defend itself and stealing the colonies of Spain became an international sport as most of the colonies were lost to the British, Dutch, and eventually the United States. Contemporary Accounting and Justice Given its role as the language of business, accountings integral role in society continues to grow as global economies grow and become increasingly interconnected. World GDP has grown from $1.34 trillion in 1960 to $60.6 trillion in 2008. (The World Bank, 2009). The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners estimates that in the U.S. 7% of total GPD is lost to fraud and injustice. (ACFE, 2008) When applied to a global GPD of $60.6 trillion loses resulting from fraud and injustices are estimated to have been $994 billion in 2008. $994 billion is a staggering number but in fact may be understated as many developing countries face an even higher percentage of fraud due to the lack of infrastructure and the ability to combat fraud. According the Corruption Perception Index (CPI), the U.S. ranks 19th (with 1st indicating the least amount of corruption) out of 182 countries surveyed for the amount of perceived corruption within a particular country indicating that, on a global scale, losses probably well exceed the trillion dollar mark annually. So who is best equipped to protect and defend the innocent from the injustices of fraud? The answer is simple, the accountants around the world. Accountants understand the language of business better than anyone and therefore are best suited to be the defenders of justice and fight the injustices that exist across the globe. Just or unjust, they may have even been able to preserve the Spanish Empire. Distributive Justice Another manner in which accountants play an integral role in society is through distributive justice. Utilitarian principles have led to many governments and societal systems that incorporate and rely upon paternalist or redistributive laws. For example, the U.S. and many other countries tax their wealthy citizens and use the funds to run social support programs for the poor such as welfare, unemployment, section 8 housing, etc. Such programs are a form of distributed justice. Robert Nozick describes distributive justice as follows: In contemporary political theory, distributive justice is primarily about the allocation of income, wealth, and opportunity. (Justice A Reader pg. 263) If distributive justice does represent the allocation of income and wealth, than who other than that accountant, who understands the language of business and taxation, would be best equipped to establish and preserve distributed justice? Another example of distributive justice and the role that an accountant plays is the concept of price gauging. Michael Sandel uses a great example in his teachings at Harvard when discussing the events that often transpire in the aftermath of a hurricane. Often, in the days following a major hurricane, for example Hurricane Charley in 2004 and Hurricane Katrina in 2005, local retailers charge prices for common goods such as bags of ice and gas powered generators in excess of 1000% of their normal price. (Justice, 2009) Should such practices be considered simply the effects of supply and demand or is it injustice on the part of the retailer in the form of price gauging? Regardless of your opinion on price gauging laws, it is evident the accountant is best equipped to understand and determine whether or not price gauging exists and how to best allocate monies. Who other than the accountant would understand all the transactions taking place between retailers and consumers? In both cases above, the enforcement of paternalistic laws and analysis of price gauging activities, accountants are the ones that ensure monies are appropriately being collected and allocated, thereby defending justice as a society sees fit. Justice and the Role of the Accountant Globally Increasingly, corporations and businesses are taking on the global environment. This requires that accountants and auditors be able to identify the different risks associated with international interconnectedness and be able counteract these risks with the necessary precautions. The global environment adds additional complications for the role of the accountant and actually increases the responsibilities as the defender of justice. In a global spectrum, there are many different laws and regulations and thus, the role of the accountant changes depending on the environment in which the rules are generated. Culture is a huge influence on accounting regulation. Additionally, culture is intertwined within the market and political forces that help to shape the resulting accounting system. The different interaction of these forces in an environment helps to determine the place of the accountant in the economic system, which has a direct effect on the accountants role as the defender of just ice. Justice can only prevail in a society that embraces it. Perceived levels of corruption can be indicative of the state of the economy of a particular country which can help to define or determine the role of the accountant. If there are very few cases of fraud, but high levels of corruption perception it can be an indication that the appropriate level of justice is not being achieved. If enforcement of laws and regulation is inconsistent then a tougher approach may be needed to combat corruption. Transparency International states that in order to minimize corruption there needs to be strong oversight by governments, law enforcement, media, and the society. If a country is lacking oversight, corruption can continue to get worse. As a result, the role of the accountant in these environments would be limited since rules, laws, and regulations are not embraced and enforced. Regulation is only part of the battle. Change will only be effective if it comes from a commitment that is made by businesses and governments of all sizes. Stronger institutional oversight is needed across the world. There needs to be strict legal frameworks and more alert regulation by enforcement agencies in addition to accountants and auditors that ensure lower levels of corruption. As noted in an article issues by Transparency International, persistently high corruption in low-income countries amounts to an ongoing humanitarian disaster. According to the CPI index, China has improved over last year showing that their efforts to reduce corruption by enacting reforms, the implementation of forceful investigation, and intense sentencing have created less perceptions of corruption than before, but still remains a very serious problem. Norways score indicates that as a result of some serious scandals that have emerged over the last few years there is a significant problem in the private and public sectors. However, a growing number of cases being investigated and prosecuted demonstrates that they are at least trying to make headway. Italy is declining in the corruption index because of severe fraud and corruption that exist in the public health system and because of the recent arrests of politicians and public officials in the Abruzzo region. France also has also seen several cases of public officials that were connected to corrupt activities surface recently. Somalia, having the lowest CPI score highlights that there is a link between economic and political collapse. Additionally, Iraqs score of 1.3 shows the importance of establishing solid and functioning institutions capable of preventing corruption and implementing the rule of law. In all cases, the examples provide insight and indicate a need for regulation and an increased role for accountants because justice is not being found. Accounting Regulation Globally Accounting rules can indicate a lot about a country. Accounting rules are created in such a way that they fit the environment that they exist in, which varies across countries and cultures. If society wishes to protect the investor, the accounting system will have disclosure rules that enable investors to gain information and protect themselves. While some countries are developing regulations that contain investor protection improvements, in many cases much more work needs to be done. The manner in which markets function and the way politics are conducted greatly affect accounting systems and often lead to drastic differences across countries. The role of the accountant and, furthermore, the way that justice is enforced will also vary greatly amongst countries. Common law countries differ from codified law countries because common law countries have an independent body to interpret the law. Accounting rules in common law countries are determined by the private sector and require lengthy disclosure since there are no close relationships with corporations. However, code law countries require that corporations be heavily involved the government. The government often includes banks, labor unions, and major suppliers in rule-making decisions. As a result, transactions in these countries tend to be focused more on private information. There are institutional differences between all countries. Institutional differences enable economic and accounting systems to differ, thus the role of the accountant and the justice that results will differ amongst these countries. Accounting regulation in Germany allows more discretion on the accountant because it is written in more general terms. However, in France the regulation is more rigid, enables less discretion, and thus provides less wiggle room on the part of corporations. In Switzerland there are very few disclosure requirements, which can facilitate the reporting of smooth earnings through the usage of hidden reserves. Further, some accounting systems are difficult to compare because they do not fit within any particular mold. For example, the accounting system in Finland was created specifically for use by the foresting industry. By looking at international comparisons of accounting systems, it is evident there is no single way of performing accounting. As a result, the accounting rules are different and change to become an integral part of the markets and politics of each country and culture. Market demand affects the financial statements because the corporations must pay to prepare them. The political environment is important because the government has the ability to control regulators and possibly interfere with regulation. In order to perform and understand the different accounting processes, accountants must be aware of the different forces that exist in a particular country. By being aware of the different forces, accountants will be able to more aptly ensure that justice prevails in the country they operate. As evidenced above, accounting regulations vary across countries, time, and cultures which causes significant variations in the role of the accountant. While countries have been extending efforts to strengthen accounting rules and oversight, this alone cannot and will not prevent future fraud. (Leuz, 2002). But there are many benefits to implement strong laws and enforcement in order to protect shareholders rights. U.S. firms are not the only ones experiencing problems, as many firms globally are suffering from accounting irregularities. Some countries experience self-dealings and misappropriations of profits because of weaker legal measures. Weak legal measures create a greater incentive to manipulate the financial statements to conceal poor business performance. Manipulation is less apparent in places where outside investors have legal rights to vote out corrupt managers. However, manipulation is predominant in places like Austria, Italy, Germany, Southeast Asia, South Korea and Ta iwan, because they do not have investor protection. East Asian Perspective The East Asian countries, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand can help accountants see the way that accounting standards interact with the incentives of managers and auditors. (Ball, Ashok, et al, Incentives versus standards) The accounting standards in these countries come from a common law environment. Common law countries generally create high quality financial reporting. However, in these countries the preparers incentives generate low quality financial statements. The preparer incentives again, depend on the market and political forces and how these forces interact with one another. Market forces are dependent on the demand for high-quality financial reporting. The political forces depend on the government involvement in the creation and enforcement of the regulation. The interaction of these forces with the accounting system can drastically change the role of the accountant in these countries. The standards themselves are viewed as high-quality, but the institutional s tructure creates incentives for preparers incentives to issue low-quality financial reports. Financial reporting in East Asia generally exists with an incentive structure that is similar to a code-law model. However, the East Asian countries do not follow that model. Their governments have code-law reporting incentive features, but also have indications that the environment reduces the financial reporting quality. The large amount of family-owned businesses and enterprises is a cause for the low need of quality financial statements. One family generally owns investments that are inter-related. These networks are commonly referred to guanxi networks. These networks attempt to take away the demand of required disclosures and timely loss recognition and it also reduces the communication required with stakeholders. The extent of government involvement in the standard setting and the financial reporting practice differs across these countries. Political factors can create an incentive to hide large profits and losses. The political environments in these East Asian countries have a tendency to want companies to succeed, so they recommend companies hide losses. They also are afraid of other countries becoming involved in their practices because they do not want to be held accountable for any misstatements. The companies are also expected to report smooth earnings, which reinforces the desire to report, cover, and hide losses. Litigation is minimal in these countries since there is a large incentive to hide earnings, which the government reinforces. There have been very few cases of judicial actions in these countries. Audit quality in these countries is poor primarily due to lack of auditor independence. The influence and independence of the accounting profession is an indicator of ineffective enf orcement of accounting standards. Considering the financial incentives for managers and auditors there is a greater incentive for reduced timeliness and conservatism in accounting earnings. Fraud is continuing to go undetected in Hong Kong. Although there is a 22% incidence of fraud, much more is expected to be going on given the different forces that are currently having an effect on the country. As a result, currently more scrutiny is being given to the monitoring of financial transactions and corporations are beginning to make it a priority. There are currently programs that are offered for certification in forensic accounting, which is having an impact on fraud detection. Most of the fraud cases that exist in Hong Kong are internet banking fraud, computer fraud, misuse of corporations credit card, and electronic funds transfer fund. There is a need for more forensic accountants in Singapore in order to ensure sufficient justice as many significant fraud cases are going undetected. Two important fraud cases involved Fibrechem Technologies and Oriental Century. In the Fibrechem Technologies audit, Ernst Young Singapore were not certain of the cash and trade debtor balance. KPMG had the same problem with Oriental Century. Another notable case is one in which a Singapore monk, who was in charge of Singapores well-known charities, received 10 months in prison for committing fraud. In Malaysia, the role of accounting in the fight for justice is very small. Crimes are beginning to become more and more complicated and controlled but forensic accounting is viewed as a service that only larger companies can afford. This makes catching fraud more difficult. Cases that are investigated are generally handled by the Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Division. This group was able to catch a large fraud that involved the CEO and two others of Transmile Group Bhd for publishing misleading financial statements and has often been called Malaysias Enron. Fraud and forensic accounting is a relatively new topic in Thailand. According to an Ernst Youngs global survey, more than half of the companies in Thailand have suffered significant fraud. The management of the corporations was responsible for over half while employees ranked second, responsible for 45% of the fraud incidents reported. Asset misappropriation was the biggest concern. (MPA Program: Forensic accounting project) The commercial crimes in Thailand are becoming more and more complicated and organized. Forensic accounting is used to combat this to an extent, but is only utilized in the public sector. It is also noted in Thailand that there remains an enormous amount of well documented corruption related to the government amounting to billions of US dollars. There are many cases where Thailands auditor general, Jaruvan Maintaka, was able to bring about cases against members of the government but there are even more cases linked to the military involving loans from politicia ns. Chinese Perspective This accounting profession is still at the early stage of development in China, and a lack of skilled professionals creates problems for regulators. To a large extent the accounting standards and practices in China lack conservatism Doupnik and Perera note in their International Accounting textbook. There are also no sound interpretations of the relevant requirements that need to be implemented to have an effective accounting system. The theory of true and fair presentation and transparency may not be clearly understood by Chinese accountants. Until the 1980s, those who carried out accounting work were not held in high regard which had a very negative effect on the development of the accounting profession in China. Unlike in other countries, accounting and auditing have taken different paths in their development as rival disciplines with the support of different government agencies. However, there has been some growth in the accounting profession due to the recent economic reform pro gram and the demand for financial information from investors has increased. There are many fraud cases evident in China. One high-profile case that deserves mentioning was with Zhu Xiaohua who was the chairman of state-owned company, Everbright Group. Zhu was convicted to 15 years in prison for taking $500,000 in bribes. These bribes were taken between 1997 and 1999. The bribes were for the purchase of shares in a company that resulted in large losses. Another example of fraud in China was when a business woman, Du Yimin, was sentenced to death for running a Ponzi scheme that cheated investors out of YUAN700m ($102 million). (Lin, 2009) According to Lin, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security has been stepping up such prosecutions and says there are now 1,416 similar cases open, involving YUAN10bn ($1.5 billion) in investors money. In China it is still possible to receive the death penalty for fund-raising fraud, however, if a Chinese person is charged with collecting money illegally from private investors, the maximum sentence is 10 years in prison. In Chi na is evident that ethics are not being followed across the board. Japanese Perspective Japan also differs from other cultures and has a different role of the accountant and effectively different need for justice. The Japanese attitudes towards external auditors and the audit function are different from others. This is due to the cultural value orientation of not trusting someone from outside the group. Companies are not under pressure from their main providers of finance to disclose information publicly and companies are reluctant to provide information voluntarily. As a result, the accounting profession is not strong in Japan and it has only played a minor role in regulating accounting and financial reporting as Doupnik and Perera state. Japan does not have a strong demand for accountants and accounting is viewed as a relatively low social status. However, the financial reporting standards by Japanese companies have been criticized for their failure to produce information in a transparent manner. In the mid-1990s, the Japanese government initiated a program of financi al reform, which included a series of major changes aimed at aligning Japanese financial reporting regulations. It can be said that Japan is a country with significant fraud and there have been financial deceptions comparable to the Bernie Madoff fraud. Most frauds that are found today took about two to three years to create. A large number of frauds started during the time that there was a lot of foreign investment in Japan with little research or due diligence. One notable scandal in Japan was one in which the Marubeni Corporation was involved in a fraud with other high-ranked political and business men, including the Minister of Finance Eisaku Sato and the chief of staff for the Japanese Air Self Defense Force, Minoru Genda. Another notable scandal that started in 1957 and was discovered on February 6, 1976 indicated that Lockheed had paid approximately $3 million in bribes to Kakuei Tanaka who was the Japanese Prime Minister. Tanaka was found guilty not of bribery, but for violations of foreign exchange control laws. He was sentenced to four years in jail, but was able to appeal. AN Empirical Analysis of Cultures Impact on Global Accountings Systems As previously discussed, the interpretation of justice is highly dependent upon culture. Along these lines, the role the accountant will play in maintaining justice will also depend upon culture. When analyzing an accounting system and its ability to maintain justice, it becomes evident that the highly affective cultural component may inherently foster corruption. To consider the amount of corruption that may lie within the cultural system of the accountant acting as a defender of justice, one will want to first take a global look at the relationship between culture and corruption. If there are certain cultural characteristics that drive corruption, then one could see how those characteristics mold accounting systems and interpretations of justice. This investigation could derive a profile of what accounting systems and perceptions of justice will in fact foster corruption, and thus, which cultures are more prone to corruption as a result of their accounting systems and concepts of justice. To analyze the relationship between culture and corruption, one would begin by compiling cultural measures. A widely used measure of cultural values is Geert Hofstedes Cultural Dimensions Framework. (https://www.geert-hofstede.com) Hofstede used five cultural dimensions to portray a country; Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Long-Term Orientation. Data was taken from 68 different countries and regions. Each dimension is measured on a 100 point scale with each side of the scale representing extremes. The Individualism dimension, for example, would represent a completely individualistic region with a score of 100 while a score of zero would represent a completely collectivist region. After a compilation of cultural values, one would then need to find reliable measures of corruption. For the purpose of this study Transparency Internationals CPI was used as the primary measure of corruption, with use of fraud per capita as a complementary measure to determine if the relationship between Hofstedes Dimensions and CPI was reasonable. The CPI is an annual report that demonstrates the perception of corruption found in the public sector of over 180 countries, and is determined via surveys and experts. The CPI measure, as discussed earlier in the paper, can be highly indicative of how corrupt a country is. The CPI is a 10 point scale where the highest scores are given to the least corrupt (New Zealand at 9.4) and the lowest scores to the most corrupt (Somalia at 1.1). (https://www.transparency.org/) The complementary resource of fraud per capita is a measure of the amount of frauds that occurred in a country per 1000 people. This data came from the Seventh United Nations Survey of Crime Trends and Operations of Criminal Justice Systems. (https://www.unodc.org/pdf/crime/seventh_survey/7sv.pdf). As stated before this measure was used to reinforce the relationships found between the comparison of Hofstedes dimensions and the CPI. A data table was compiled containing the 68 regions and countries with their respective scores on Hofstedes cultural dimensions and the corruption perception index, in addition to the amount of fraud per capita found in that region. To determine whether there was a correlation between the cultural values and corruption, an ordinary least-squares regression was performed using each cultural value as an independent variable (X-value) and the CPI score as the dependent variable (Y-value). The primary outputs of interest from the regression were the R2 value, T-statistic, and the P-Value. General definitions and guidelines for these values are given below: * The R2 Value represents the coefficient of determination. This value tells you what fraction of variation can be explained by a model. In other words, how well one variable (X) can predict another variable (Y). The size of significance depends on the circumstances. * Value of the t-statistic tells you how many estimated standard errors of the mean separate the mean of your sample from what the mean of the population would be, if the null hypothesis were true. (myweb.liu.edu/~nfrye/psy53/ch9.ppt) Basically the T-statistic tells you how different the relationships between variables are from a normal distribution, meaning the greater the value the greater the likelihood of accuracy in the correlation. A higher t-statistic implies strong coefficient accuracy, and a higher likelihood of correlation. * The p-value represents statistical significance, which describes how confident one can be that there is a correlation between each independent variable (X) and dependent variable (Y). More technically speaking the p-value is the measure of evidence against the null hypothesis (there is change or effect in the dependent variable resulting from the independent variable), meaning the lower the p-value the more confident one can be in the correlation. Typically, and for this analysis p-values less than .05 are deemed significant. In summary, these three values, the R2, t-statistic, and p-value, give the analysts ability to determine the accuracy and confidence of the correlation between variables, thus in our case the correlation between Hofstedes cultural values and level of perceived corruption. Hofstedes Dimensions Regressed Against the CPI Power Distance Hofstedes power distance represents the extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. (https://www.geert-hofstede.com/) The higher a country/region ranks on this scale the more likely they are to respect the power hierarchy of superiors. A regression of the regions power distance score against their respective CPI ranking revealed the following statistics: R2 Value: 45% (0.449257452) T-Statistic: 7.34 (7.337452412) P-Value: 4.05E-10 (.00000000040557) The R2 Value demonstrates that around 45% of the time power distance can predict the CPI score. This is a fairly significant percent and would indicate that the power distance dimension could be a good predictor of corruption. The t-statistic of 7.34 indicates that there is reasonable evidence that the correlation is accurate as it is above the 2.0 t-statistic threshold. The p-value of .000000004 is much less than the .05 p-value threshold which provides strong confidence in the correlation. The regression plot seen in Figure 1.1 below shows the distribution of plot points and the trend line. This trend line indicates the direction of the correlation. Individualism Hofstedes individualism dimension represents the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. On the individualist side we find societies in which the ties between individuals are loose: everyone is expected to look after him/herself and his/her immediate family. On the collectivist side, we find societies in which people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups, often extended families (with uncles, aunts, and grandparents) which continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. (https://www.geert-hofstede.com/) The higher a country/region ranks on this scale the more individualistic they are. The lower a country ranks the more collectivist they are. A regression of the regions individualism dimension against their respective CPI ranking revealed the following statistics: R2 Value: 44% (0.438768910732183) T-Statistic: 7.18 (7.18321774352694) P-Value: 7.64E-10 (.000000000764284158685651) The R2 value demonstrates that around 44% of the time the individualism dimension can predict the CPI. This is a fairly significant percent and would indicate that the individualism dimension, to a similar extent of the power distance dimension, could be a good predictor of corruption. The t-statistic of 7.18 indicates that there is reasonable evidence that the correlation is accurate as it is above the 2.0 t-statistic threshold. The p-value of .000000008 is much less than the .05 p-value threshold which provides strong confidence in the correlation. The regression plot seen in Figure 1.2 below shows the distribution of plot points and the trend line. This trend line indicates the direction of the correlation. Masculinity Hofstedes masculinity dimension refers to the distribution of roles between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found. (https://www.geert-hofstede.com/) The higher a country/region ranks on this scale the more masculine they are, meaning they are more assertive and materialistic. The lower a country ranks the more feminine they are, indicating a more modest and caring attitude. A regression of the regions masculinity dimension against their respective CPI ranking revealed the following statistics: R2 Value: 2% (0.0209165330555311) T-Statistic: 1.19 (1.18742710960879) P-Value: 0.24 (0.239315245832292) The R2 value indicates that around 2% of the time the masculinity dimension can predict the CPI. This is not a significant percentage and would indicate that masculinity is not a good predictor of corruption. The t-statistic of 1.19 indicates that there is a lack of evidence that the correlation is accurate as it is below the 2.0 t-statistic threshold. The p-value of 0.24 is also larger than the 0.05 p-value threshold which provides very little confidence in the correlation. The regression plot seen in Figure 1.3 below shows the distribution of plot points and the trend line. This trend line indicates the direction of the correlation. Uncertainty Avoidance Index Hofstedes uncertainty avoidance index deals with a societys tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to mans search for truth. It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. (https://www.geert-hofstede.com) The higher a country/region ranks on this scale the more risk adverse they are, demonstrating they prefer structure and specificity such as rules and regulations and are more emotion driven. The lower a country ranks the more comfortable they are with unstructured situations and have a higher risk appetite. They are not as concerned with the ambiguities of life. A regression of the regions uncertainty avoidance dimension against their respective CPI ranking revealed the following statistics: R2 Value: 6.8% (0.0677077506253647) T-Statistic: 2.19 (2.18934963896892) P-Value: 0.032 (0.0321126251698556) The R2 value indicates that around 6% of the time uncertainty avoidance can predict the CPI. While this is superior to the masculinity dimension, it is not a significant percentage and would indicate that one would not want to rely on uncertainty avoidance to predict corruption. The t-statistic of 2.19 indicates that there is some evidence that the correlation is accurate as it is slightly above the 2.0 t-statistic threshold. The p-value of 0.032 is less than the 0.05 p-value threshold which provides some confidence in the correlation. The regression plot seen in Figure 1.4 below shows the distribution of plot points and the trend line. This trend line indicates the direction of the correlation. Figure 1.4 represents the fact that there is some correlation between the uncertainty avoidance and corruption. The t-stat and p-value portray the accuracy of the correlation and the confidence one can place in it, however the correlation itself is not strong or significant enough to gain much merit. However, if one had to make a judgment from the graph they may lean slightly toward the idea that the more avoidant a country is of uncertainty the more prone they are to corruption. Long-Term Orientation Hofstedes fifth and most recent dimension is long-term orientation which basically indicates whether or not a cultures tendency to focus on the future or on the now. During analysis, regression was performed on this value, however only 23 countrys were assigned a value for this dimension making the sample significantly smaller as compared to the previous. While none of the regression statistics were significant (R2 = 2.2%, T-Stat = .76, P-Value = .46), one may feel uncomfortable theorizing on how this cultural dimension impacts corruption. The statistics will be included in following analyses; however, they will hold little weight in the final assumptions made on the impact of culture on accounting systems and the perceptions of justice. Fraud per Capita Analysis Fraud per capita was available for 38 of the regions covered by Hofstedes cultural dimensions. As mentioned above, fraud per capita was utilized as a comparative tool to see if the cultural dimensions that correlated with CPI would also correlate with fraud per capita in a relatively similar manner. The Table 1 below shows each of Hofstedes cultural dimensions and their respective CPI and fraud per capita values. Table 1 R2 (CPI) R2 (FPC) T-Stat (CPI) T-Stat (FPC) P-Value (CPI) P-Value (CPI) Power Index 0.449 0.189 7.337 2.853 0.000 0.007 Individuality 0.439 0.218 7.183 3.123 0.000 0.004 Masculinity 0.021 0.001 1.187 0.220 0.239 0.827 Uncertainty Avoidance 0.068 0.020 2.189 0.837 0.032 0.408 Long-Term Orientation 0.022 0.166 0.757 1.669 0.456 0.117 Table 1 demonstrates in bold the statistics that would be deemed significant in relation to commonly held thresholds discussed in the Analysis as follows: R2 15-40% (Case to case basis) T-Stat 2.0 P-Value 0.05 Cultural Impact on Corruption: Conclusion As mentioned in the analysis it would appear that the two cultural dimensions that most drive and or impact corruption would be Hofstedes power distance and individualism. Based on this and the relationship directions indicated in the linear trend graphs, one could reach the following conclusions: * The greater the inequality, and furthermore the greater the acceptance and respect of that inequality, the greater the chance for corruption * The larger the focus on the organization (the group), and the less concern for individual goals, the greater the chance for corruption To ensure that these assumptions are not completely independent from each other in their impact, a multivariable regression was run with these two cultural dimensions against CPI. The regression results were as follows: R2 Value: 55% (0.551249967178789) T-Statistic: 3.84 (3.84360352599126) P-Value: 0.00028 (0.000278186657268688) The R2 value of 55% is greater than either of the individual R2 values found in the single variable regressions. The t-stat and the p-value are also significant, indicating that these two values together, will be the best predictor of corruption in a culture. Corrupt Accounting Systems Using the power distance dimension coupled with the individualism dimension, one could profile an accounting system that would be vulnerable to corruption. First one can look at the characteristics of an accounting system resulting from a cultures high power distance. Accounting systems will be developed to reflect a highly rule based system as opposed to a principle based system. The accounting system will also reflect a strong hierarchy where lower level employees will have little or no say in the development or management of the accounting system. The reporting will be primarily be for use by the higher-ups, and lower level employees will not oppose their superiors even if problems arise, thus authority may be required at various levels within the system. Next, one must look at the impact a high collectivist culture will have on the accounting system. The system will be integrated to serve the whole society, and thus will be highly impacted by the beliefs and the views of the soc iety within which it operates. Thus if there is a national religion or deeply seeded traditions they will govern the development and operation of the accounting system. Loyalty to the societys value (religion, government, tradition, etc) will always supersede personal objectives and each employee will accept and respect other employees and superiors. Why Do these Accounting Systems Enable Corruption? With the knowledge of what cultural dimensions impact corruption, and more so how these dimensions affect accounting systems and what these impacts are, one could delve deeper to get an understanding of why these factors foster corruption. The high power structure allows the important decisions to be made from the top. These decisions will not be opposed as employees will do as they are told even if it may seem wrong. The collectivist dimension only furthers this sentiment as they will follow their superiors orders in order to do what is best for the whole (be it the organization or the society). Arab countries for example have these two dimension values (high power distance and low individuality) as they answer to their highest authority, Allah and the Quran. The Arab countries may perform accounting practices that the U.S. deems corrupt; however they may feel as if their actions are ethical and or moral because they serve a higher power. The collectivist culture also provides shel ter for corrupt activities as employees will save face and protect one another as they work together for the whole. Collusion makes corruption significantly harder to detect. In addition, if corruption is detected, high power/collectivist societies will be more prone to cover up corruption in order to preserve the corporations status or relationship with higher authority. This can be seen by looking at specific countries, such as Malaysias low likelihood to report on corruption (discussed earlier) as a result of their high power distance and collectivist nature. Examples of which countries are most prone to fraudulent accounting are shown below in Figure 3.1. This figure contains the 10 countries that fit the high power distance, low individuality criteria. Some of the countries found in Figure 3.1 were, along with their corruption transgressions, described in detail already in this paper. The findings mirror each other, lending credibility to the fact that cultural impacts on accounting systems can adversely affect the ability of an accountant to act as the defender of justice. Conclusion To understand the relationship between the accountant and the concept of justice, one must consider many diverse dimensions. The extent of consideration needed will encompass the understanding of culture, regulatory environments, economic markets, political forces, and the schools of thought that make up the context in which the relationship is cultivated and maintained. By assessing these factors, it becomes easier to understand what kind of accounting systems exists and how they impact the ability of the accountant to function as a defender of justice. These impacts will include the way justice is interpreted and how and to what extent it is enforced. When analyzing the aspects of each dimension, one can perceive what drives adversities of justice and subsequently understand why and how these drivers allow injustice to arise. Thus, the ability of an accountant to act as a defender of justice will rely not only upon his or her skill set, but more importantly the framework in which s aid skills are applied. 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Singapore 2007 Crime and Safety Report, Singapore https://www.osac.gov/Reports/report.cfm?contentID=63288 Singapore monk gets 10 months for fraud, https://www.chinapost.com.tw/asia/singapore/2009/11/22/233787/Singapore-monk.html Transparency International, Persistently high corruption in low-income countries amounts to an ongoing humanitarian disaster https://www.transparency.org/news_room/latest_news/press_releases/2008/2008_09_23_cpi_2008_en

An Overview of Chinas Traffic Troubles

China hasn’t always had a problem with traffic, but over the past couple of decades, as China rapidly urbanizes, the country’s urban denizens have had to adapt their lives to a new phenomenon: gridlock. How Bad Is China’s Traffic Problem? It’s really bad. You may have heard about the China National Highway 10 traffic jam on the news back in 2010; it was 100 kilometers long and lasted ten days, involving thousands of cars. But outside of the mega-jams, most cities are plagued with daily traffic that rivals the worst gridlock in Western cities. And thats despite a plethora of affordable public transportation options and anti-traffic legislation in many cities that mandates (for example) that cars with even and odd-numbered license plates must drive on alternating days, so only half of the city’s cars can legally take to the road at any given time. Of course, China’s urban traffic jams are also a major factor in its pollution problems. Why Is Traffic in China so Bad? There are a number of reasons for China’s traffic congestion woes: Like most older cities around the world, many of Chinas cities were not designed for cars. They were also not designed to support the massive populations they now boast (Beijing, for example, has more than 20 million people). As a result, in many cities, the roads are simply not big enough.Cars are considered a status symbol. In China, buying a car often isn’t as much about convenience as it is about showing that you can buy a car because you’re enjoying a successful career. Lots of white-collar workers in Chinese cities who might otherwise be satisfied with public transportation buy cars in the name of keeping up with (and impressing) the Joneses, and once they’ve got the cars, they feel obliged to use them.China’s roads are full of new drivers. Even a decade ago, cars were far less common than they are now, and if you go back in time twenty years. China didn’t break the two million vehicle mark until around the year 2000, but a decade later it had more than five million. That means that at any time, a significant percentage of the people driving on China’s roads only have a few years of experience. Sometimes, that leads to questionable driving decisions, and that can cause gridlock when those decisions lead to blocked roads for one reason or another.China’s driver education is not great. Driver education schools often only teach driving on closed courses, so new graduates are literally taking to the roads for the first time when they get behind the wheel. And because of corruption in the system, some new drivers haven’t taken any classes at all. As a result, China has a lot of accidents: its traffic fatality rate per 100,000 cars is 36, which is more than double the United States, and several times more than European countries like the UK, France, Germany, and Spain (which all have rates under 10).There are just too many people. Even with great driver education, wider roads, and fewer people buying cars, traffic jams would still be likely in a city like Beijing, which is host to more than twenty million people. What Does the Chinese Government Do About Traffic? The government has worked hard to create public transportation infrastructure that takes pressure off cities roads. Nearly every major city in China is building or expanding a subway system, and the prices of these systems are often subsidized to make them extremely enticing. Beijing’s subway, for example, costs as little as 3 RMB ($0.45 as of March 2019). Chinese cities also generally have extensive bus networks, and there are buses going virtually everywhere you could imagine. The government has also worked to improve long-distance travel, building new airports and rolling out a massive network of high-speed trains designed to get people where they’re going faster and keep them off the highways. Finally, city governments have also taken restrictive measures to limit the number of cars on the road, like Beijing’s even-odd rule, which stipulates that only cars with even- or odd-numbered license plates can be on the road on any given day (it alternates). What Do Regular People Do About Traffic? They avoid it as best they can. People who want to get where they’re going quickly and reliably generally take public transportation if they’re traveling in a city around rush hour. Biking is also a common way of avoiding the gridlock if you’re headed somewhere nearby. People also tend to be accommodating when it comes to the realities of rush-hour traffic in China; taxis, for example, often pick up more than one passenger at a time during busy hours to ensure they’re not spending hours sitting in traffic with a single fare. And Chinese subways get jam-packed with passengers during rush hour. It’s uncomfortable, but people have put it with it. Spending 30 minutes getting home in an uncomfortable subway car beats spending 3 hours in a slightly-more-comfortable regular car, at least for most people.

The Evil Empire - 1318 Words

Courtney Professor English 1302 20 September 2013 An Analysis of Ronald Reagan’s â€Å"The Evil Empire.† Ronald Reagan gave a speech in Orlando, Florida on March 8, 1983 called, â€Å"The Evil Empire.† This speech was intended for the ears of all Americans and is one of the best known presidential speeches ever given. In his speech, Reagan uses multiple rhetorical strategies such as; metaphors, allusions, rhetorical questions, tone, pathos, and uses references from the bible. He talks about all the main points of abortion, teenage sex, drugs, the Soviet Union, and the practice of praying and God in our public schools. His speech was very well written, moving, and extremely influential. This speech shows the president’s belief that the†¦show more content†¦The first use of metaphors in this speech is, â€Å"Yes, let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream† (Reagan 5). The use of this metaphor is referring to everlasting justice and righteousness in what Reaga n believes as the spiritual awakening that is about to initiate in the United States of America. Reagan also uses a simile in â€Å"The Evil Empire† speech. The simile he uses is, â€Å"We know that living in this world means dealing with what philosophers would call the phenomenology of evil or, as theologians would put it, the doctrine of sin† (Reagan 5). The use of this simile in this speech is stated to show that no matter what we do or what happens we will never be able to fully rid the world of evil. It is inevitable. Human kind will always have to face evil. It is just up to us to battle evil the best way that we can. The final two rhetorical strategies I found in â€Å"The Evil Empire† speech given by Ronald Reagan was the usage of pathos and logos. An example of pathos in this speech is when Reagan refers to the abortion matter that was taking place in this time period. He states that, â€Å"Unless and until it can be proven that the unborn child is no t a living entity, then its right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness must be protected† (Reagan 4). The use of this sentence is to appeal to the audience’s emotions and get the audience to start thinking about what abortion really is. Reagan wants the American people to realize whatShow MoreRelatedIs The Evil Empire `` Speech Propaganda?952 Words   |  4 PagesCameron Schwartz 5/6/15 Literature Final Paper Is the â€Å"Evil Empire† Speech Propaganda There are many different definitions of propaganda that people use. Propaganda is politicians deceiving the public into what the politicians want them to know or believe (Altschull). This definition is used to show how politicians can use propaganda. There are many ways to use propaganda. They are used to convince people to buy a certain product, to convince people to not buy a certain product, to convince a certainRead MoreEssay on Was the British Empire a force for good or for evil?1438 Words   |  6 PagesThe British Empire is the largest empire ever seen on the face of this planet. The empire was divided into two. The first part of the empire revolved around the British colonies in America that were popularly known as the thirteen colonies. These gained independence from Britain in 1783. The second part of the empire, which developed from the first empire, came later. It started during the Napoleonic wars and survived throughout the nineteenth century and the first half of th e twentieth century.Read MoreDescriptive And Values Of The People1525 Words   |  7 Pagesadhered to this religion were the Persians of the Persian Empire that dated from 550 - 330 B.C. and was located from Anatolia and Egypt across western Asia to northern India and Central Asia. The Persian society was patriarchal but the women were seen as very valuable in society and experienced much more equality than any other women of different empires. The economy was mostly based on trade which brought the provinces and the entire empire together and more integrated. Urbanized Zoroastrians governedRead MoreThe Evil Of Imperialism In George Orwells Shooting An Elephant1023 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Shooting An Elephant,† Orwell recreates his experience as a soldier trying to end imperialism in the country of Burma by shooting an elephant. George Orwell recreates this experience of imperialism being evil through the use of literary devices. Orwell opens his essay by reflecting upon the evil of British imperialism before shooting the elephant. Orwell’s hatred for imperialism is exemplified when he mentions â€Å"was hated by large numbers of people,† revealing that the British were outnumbered byRead MoreThe Evil of Armenian Genocide Essay836 Words   |  4 Pagesyears ago the horrific Genocide of the Armenians took place. Turkey has shown a classic example of the evil that can result by human beings. Millions of Armenians were slaughtered and murdered in front of their family members. The destruction that constantly plays out throughout the world is cuased by human beings. Hsun Tzu would have also agreed that the young Turks were in face by nature extremely evil. April 24th is the day of grief for many Armenians. Almost every Armenian reminisces on their lovedRead MoreComparing Revelation On The Relationship Of Church And State1215 Words   |  5 PagesEusebius on the Relationship of Church and State After reading chapters twelve through thirteen and seventeen through nineteen from the book of Revelation, I have attained knowledge that allows me to see how the author of Revelation perceives the Roman Empire. From the beginning of chapter twelve it is clearly portrayed that the woman who is in the sky, about to give birth, is meant to symbolize Mary the mother of Jesus, or even Israel, the birthplace of Jesus. The Dragon of course, represents Satan. Read MoreStar Wars : Return Of The Jedi1205 Words   |  5 PagesJedi is final chapter in an epic story of good versus evil. The script was written by George Lucas and was released in theatres on May 25, 1983 (IMDb.com). It was the third film released in the Star Wars saga, following Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope and Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (IMDb.com). At the time, Episode VI concluded the story of Luke Skywalker and his Rebel friends fighting against Darth Vader and the evil Empire. The entire plot of Return of the Jedi is the conclusionRead MoreAnalysis Of George Orwell s Shooting An Elephant 1232 Words   |  5 Pagesmajor strides toward mitigating his guilt regarding the incident that occurred many years earlier when he was a young man. In addition, Orwell is able to use his traumatic experience to address the evils of a much greater villain, imperialism. Orwell uses his confession of culpability to demonstrate the evils of imperialism by using the lesson he learned in slaying the elephant and attempting to educate the world the same lesson in an attempt to benefit mankind. By taking a troubling incident that occurredRead MoreRonald Reagans Positive Influences1149 Words   |  5 Pagesto defend the United States from any nuclear weapon missile threat from other countries. This was proposed mainly to protect the U.S. from its extent threat, which was the Soviet Union at the time. Reagan wrote down in his diary addressing his Evil Empire Speech, â€Å"I did the bulk of the speech on why our arms build up was necessary and then finished with a call to the Science community to join me in research starting now to develop a defensive weapon that would render nuclear missiles obsolete,† (TheRead MoreThe Periods of Success and Decline in the Dynastic Cycle1121 Words   |  5 Pagesculture. In The Analects, he preached how to be a go od man through living a life of filial piety, being a gentleman, and the way a ruler should govern his empire. The Han Synthesis used many of Confucius’ ideas to be the guiding force in China’s political ideology which contributed to the Dynastic Cycle of an empire, which stated that empires go through periods of success and decline. All of these highlight the cyclical nature of history in China, and its importance in the development of the state

Act like a girl Free Essays

I wanted to Interview a male who has experienced similar experiences with not being accepted because he was not the stereotypical â€Å"man. † In our Interview the other day, I asked you If you agreed or disagreed with this statement: â€Å"Every child, boy or girl, should have the right to his or her own self image, and should not have to live by some gender roles† (Freeman 36). You answered yes in agreement! I asked you why you said yes so quickly. We will write a custom essay sample on Act like a girl or any similar topic only for you Order Now Your answer was because growing up you faced situations when you wished you could simply be yourself thou the Judgment of others. You shared your thoughts of what the stereotype of a man Is to you. Some common Images of a man Is to be athletic, masculine, muscular, insensitive, and tough. I’m sure you could have gone on with this list of characteristics expected of a â€Å"manly man. † Women are expected to be a particular way, also. Some of us Just don’t fall under those expected traits. Still, most people tend to hold common stereotypes of certain people in mind. We both went to the same high school and cheered on our Varsity cheer squad for 2 years together. I was glad that you decided to share this part of your life with me, I know It was hard to talk about. In high school you didn’t dress Like all the other boys, and you didn’t talk like all the other boys. You were a male cheerleader. You were the only male cheerleader. You expressed the hardship and ridicule our peers put you through. I felt a deep sorrow when you told me that our peers would tease you. Teasing is for elementary school, not high school. I could see the pain in your eyes when you would state the comments the students would make towards you. It Is definitely a common assumption for people to make that because a male Is a cheerleader, then he must be gay. You do not consider yourself to fit the gender role of a typical male, because you are very much the opposite. I felt it was necessary to ask you about your childhood. I wanted to know how you grew up and if there was any influences in your life pertaining to the topic of gender stereotypes. Growing up you said that you didn’t play with car toys, or ride motorcycle bikes, and wasn’t into sports. In Freeman’s essay he TLD play with parable dolls, or play tea party with the other little girls, and she loved playing basketball. When I asked you if you had played sports, you said no but you would play catch in the park with your dad. I am sorry to have heard that your father passed away when you were very young. I was surprised to hear that you do not think that your father passing away influenced you to be more in touch with your feelings. You have always been more in touch with your feelings even before that incident. Most people think that a boys father passing away will greatly Influence the During our interview, your brother, Corey came in to greet me. That was polite of him! I asked you how your relationship was with your brother, since you two are very opposite of each other. Your brother seems to fit the mold of our society’s â€Å"man. † I was devastated to hear that your relationship with your brother has been strained for years. It started when you became a cheerleader, because he doesn’t accept the fact that that is who you are and that is what makes you happy. Freeman and her mother’s relationship was also uneasy because of her mother’s lack of support. On the contrary, your relationship with your mother is beautiful, and stable. You expressed your thankfulness and appreciation for her in our interview. She has not turned her back on you, or Judged you. Your mother accepts you for who you are. You are her son and she loves you no matter what happens. I enjoyed our interview. Thank you for taking the time to sit down with me and discuss the questions I had for you. I am happy that you are absolutely content with yourself. We have been friends for a couple of years now, and I wouldn’t change you for anything. How to cite Act like a girl, Papers

Investment Management

Question: Describe about the Alternative Investment Classes and their Role in Investment Portfolios with examples, a selection of seven (7) alternative investments which are generally available on capital and other markets, the expected / realized returns and risks of each, and to consider how they are used in constructing and hedging investment portfolios. Answer: Introduction In the present scenario investment management plays an important role in the entire economy, investment management is the professional management of different securities such as bonds, shares and other securities or other assets. The main aim of the investment management is to protect the interest of the investors (Bhala et al 2016). Alternative investment provides a wider investment opportunity for the investors, which includes private equity, venture capital, real assets, mutual fund, hedge fund, private placement debt, direct investments, etc. Every investor invests in different ventures to gain profits, but there also involves risk in such investments function by maintaining low correlation with the bonds and stocks, which makes them difficult to be valued and in compared to the traditional investments alternative investments are more liquid (TheStreet 2015). The main aim of this assignment is to highlight the different alternative investments which are available on capital and other markets. This assignment will also highlight the expected returns and risk associated with such investments and also studies how they are used in constructing and hedging investment portfolios. Discussion Seven alternative investments (a) Private equity: In the present scenario, there are more numbers of private organisations than the public organisations and most of these private firm functions with the capital of the investors. Private equity is a wider concept that encircles the whole investment cycle of the private money markets, and various private equity business specialised in different investment strategies. Private equity organisations collect funds and take financial support from both institutional and non-institutional investors. Then the fund is used to invest in new up-coming private firms (Harris et al 2014). Private equity is also known as the equity securities that are not traded publicly. Private equity funds, which are expert in private equity investment has made this class of assets assessable for the different market participants and the institutional investors. This asset class has witnessed a rapid growth due to the early successes of some big private equity funds. Private equity includes investments in venture capital, start-ups and provides financial support to a firm during its growth phase. One example of private equity firm is Blackstone group, which is the world's largest private equity organisation (Harris et al 2014). In the case of private equity, the expected return is high, so that higher risk associated with private equity can be compensated. The higher value of Beta which is inherent in most of the private equity investments gives rise to extra return and extra risk (Caselli et al 2013). Private equity investments are used to minimise the risk in the investment portfolios. (b)Venture capital: The investment of capital in the promising companies and start-ups is known as venture capital investments. The investor or the venture capitalist in return for the investment made in the firm gets the ownership interest. There are many examples of firms that have many investments which are made by different venture capitalists. Facebook, Google, Intel, Apple, Compaq are few such firms (Lerner et al 2012). The venture capitalist by investing in the company is allowed to be closely related to the functioning of the firm. The capitalist can also provide assistance and ideas with planning and can also receive calls during the meeting. The venture capitalist not only invests money but also invest their time and skills in the company (TheStreet 2015). But at the end of the day, the core objective of the venture capital investment is to earn a profit by investing capital in the upcoming companies that have potential to grow and earns a profit for them (TheStreet 2015). The risk and expected return associated with investment in such companies are high because these investments are capitals that are invested in the firms that have a high component of risk related to them. These risks are related to cash flows, benefits, etc. usually, the venture capitalist invest in equity or shares which generate higher return because the risk associated with such investment is higher (Korteweg et al 2013). Venture capital investments are used to minimise risk in investment portfolios. (c)Real assets investments: The tangible or physical assets that have elemental value, they include oil, real estate, agricultural land and precious metal. Goods such as luxury and collectable goods also come under this category. Jewellery, art, rare coins wine and baseball cards are also included under this category. An investor can directly buy real assets or they can invest in a fund that is specialised in real assets (Campello et al 2013). Investors can potentially broaden their portfolio diversification; can also increase the possibility to attain a constant return that goes together with the inflation and also increase the possible long-term returns with the help of global trend. In the recent years the demand for real assets have increased considerably but for all investors, it is not considered suitable. The risk involved in real assets investments is unique, for example, the company that are related to infrastructure are more volatile to government regulations, adverse economic, declining the value of real estate, financial instability, etc. There is no doubt that there involves a certain amount of risk in every investment. The real assets do not grow with constant rate and they may also witness negative growth (Campello et al 2013). Real assets help the investor to widen his portfolio diversification and also help them increase the possibility to attain a constant return that goes together with the inflation and also increase the possible long-term returns with the help of global trend. (d)Hedge fund investments: Hedge funds collect capital from investors and invest them in securities and different types of investments with the aim to earn positive returns. Hedge funds are not supervised strictly as in the case of mutual funds and are more lenient than the mutual fund investments to undertake investment. Hedge fund investments are not suitable for all the investors because investment in hedge fund involves high fees and a greater risk of loss. The managers of the hedge fund raise capital and invest them in different financial instruments and different styles (Investor.gov 2016). The risk associated with hedge fund investments is higher because the hedge fund investments are not regulated strictly, so it exposes the investor to a greater risk of loss of investment. And all the investors invest in hedge funds with a motive to earn greater returns. Hedge funds are suitable for wealthier investors because the risk and the fee of hedge fund investment are higher (Bali et al 2014). (e)Mutual fund investments: Whenever an investor decides to invest, he comes across different investment options, which may include bonds, stocks, shares and money market securities and every investment options has its set of advantages and disadvantages. In the case of mutual fund investments, it gives the investor the opportunity to pool their capital and invest them in complex securities, which are managed by a fund manager. A mutual fund also offers creative products such as exchange-traded funds, funds of funds, Fixed Maturity Plans, etc. Investors get many benefits from a mutual fund; the benefits may be financial profit or convenience (The Times of India 2016). An investor can achieve greater inflation-adjusted returns with the help of mutual fund investments and they do not need to invest a lot of time and energy in it. The investors who are more inclined towards saving time and convenience should go for mutual fund investments. Mutual fund investments also offer its investor with low investment cost in comparison with direct investment in money markets. It also provides an excellent opportunity for investment to the investors with low investment capital. The returns generated from mutual funds are higher because it provides the investor with a wide range of companies and sectors to invest. (f)Private placement debt: Investment of capital in debt is also a great market. Just like the equity private placement debt investments are not mad available to public for trading purpose and they are also not rated by the rating agency. The private firms are financed with the help of mezzanine debt and promissory note, which provides the investors with a constant flow of cash (The Times of India, 2016). Only a few investors have the access to private placement bonds because these bonds are not registered and are offered privately. De Nederlandse is the largest investor in private bonds in Netherlands. In private bonds, the access to the primary market is restricted because of the nature of the private placement market. The cost offered by the private placement debt is lower liquid than the other investments. The private bonds are best for the medium to long term investment because private bonds are not traded publicly and have lower liquidity. They are also considered as buy-and hold investments. No doubt that private bond is less liquid but they compensate these by generating higher returns and also help the investor in widening their diversification. (g)Direct investment: Direct investments are the type of investments, where the investors directly invest in private companies and start-ups. These investments are also known as angel investing, the main aim of the investor is to earn a profit. They invest in the firms that have a high potential for growth and the returns generated from such investments are high. But there also involves greater risk. Private companies will find investors with the help of private placement which is based on some assured valuation. The investors of the retail can also contribute to this by exempting the registration for the private companies because they highly depend on the registration. The company keeps looking for investment throughout their entire life cycle. So the private companies look for the companies that are already well established (TheStreet 2015). The risk associated with such investment is higher because many start-ups end up shutting down their business. And direct investment also generates higher returns as the risk involved in such investment is higher. Direct investment helps the investor to diversify his investment portfolio and minimise the risk of investment. Conclusion So the above discussion clearly highlights seven alternative investments which are available on capital and other markets, and also highlights the expected/realised returns and risks of each, and also discuss how they are used in constructing and hedging investment portfolios. References Alquist, R., Mukherjee, R. and Tesar, L., 2014. Liquidity-driven foreign direct investment. Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies WP, (17). Bali, T.G., Brown, S.J. and Caglayan, M.O., 2014. Macroeconomic risk and hedge fund returns. Journal of Financial Economics, 114(1), pp.1-19. Baumol, W., Goldfeld, S.M., Gordon, L.A. and Koehn, F.M., 2012. The economics of mutual fund markets: Competition versus regulation (Vol. 7). Springer Science Business Media. Bhala, K.T., Yeh, W. and Bhala, R., 2016. International Investment Management: Theory, Ethics and Practice. Routledge. Busse, J.A., Chordia, T., Jiang, L. and Tang, Y., 2016. Mutual Fund Transaction Costs. Campello, M. and Giambona, E., 2013. Real assets and capital structure. Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, 48(05), pp.1333-1370. Caselli, S., Garcia-Appendini, E. and Ippolito, F., 2013. Contracts and returns in private equity investments. Journal of Financial Intermediation, 22(2), pp.201-217. Harris, R.S., Jenkinson, T. and Kaplan, S.N., 2014. Private equity performance: What do we know?. The Journal of Finance, 69(5), pp.1851-1882. Investor.gov. (2016). Hedge Funds | Investor.gov. Korteweg, A. and Nagel, S., 2013. Risk-adjusting the returns to venture capital (No. w19347). National Bureau of Economic Research. Lerner, J., Hardymon, F. and Leamon, A., 2012. Venture capital private equity: A casebook. Mathur, A. and Singh, K., 2013. Foreign direct investment, corruption and democracy. Applied Economics, 45(8), pp.991-1002. The Times of India. (2016). Why Should You Invest in Mutual Funds?. TheStreet. (2015). 7 Common Alternative Investments That All Investors Should Know.