Understanding Management accounting and Financial Management Essay

Understanding Management accounting and Financial Management - Essay Example Understanding Management accounting and Financial Management Considering the cash budget of Mowtown store, the management should be credited for the limited amount that is being paid as payroll as a wage. On the other hand, they have been getting the efficient services from the employees of the store. Another main factor that needs to be considered by the management is that they should look for the same policy reforms that affected their profit to rise with the highest percentage, i.e. the ending balance of February and May will indicate that. The managers must also look for reducing the costs such as shipping costs and maintenance costs. Budgeting and better management decision making and management control: An effective budgeting system will facilitate the management to make an effective decision making, which lead to the results that are expected by the management in the end of a period. Without a proper budgeting and forecasting system, the management cannot predict or decide what steps must be taken to expand or at least maintain the busi ness, what measures should be taken to reduce the overall costs, and how this framework must be established. An improper budgeting system will lead to a frustrated decision making process which might not be in favor of the management or a particular business.Budgets are prepared by the company operatives at various departmental levels; whereas the ‘master budget’ actually highlights the comprehensive financial plan for a particular period. The main objectives of preparing a budget which can also be termed as the advantages can be explained as follows: The budget must be prepared in order to direct the attention of the management to the future trends of the business, based on the results of the present trends and transactions. The budget actually affects the decision making process of the management and helps the system to reform the strategies and policies of the company. It allows the company management to critically analyze the activities running on in the business. T he proper budget allows the management to predict the problems and issues as well as key opportunities that can be controlled or covered in the coming period. The budgeting enables the managers to achieve their objectives as well as important goals of the company more efficiently. A budget will remind the management about what objectives they have set and how they have to carry out those. An effective budget also helps the management in terms of performance evaluation. A budget leads to the management making authorized actions. As mentioned above, an effective budget helps the management process. In terms of this process, the first thing that needs to be considered is the planning period, which should be future-oriented. The proper planning is totally dependent upon the statistics of business, i.e. current financial situation, and most authorized proof for that is given by the budget to the management officials. An effective budgeting will also state the condition regarding the goal s that have been set by the management in the beginning of the financial period, and whether the processes to meet these goals are being undertaken properly or not. This is

Impact of different variables on the economic growth of Sweden Dissertation

Impact of different variables on the economic growth of Sweden - Dissertation Example This paper has conducted a comprehensive research on finding out the effects of tax policies, employment and wages on the level of economic growth of Sweden. Using empirical data, it has been found that economic growth of Sweden does not depend on tax policy, employment status and wages. I. INTRODUCTION Sweden is a very economically significant country in the world. Although it is a very small country, it experiences significant economic growth. A very interesting thing to note about Swedish economy is the dispute over the character of the economic system of Sweden. Its economic system can not be characterized as a complete socialism or pure capitalism. In Sweden private sector dominates in all production areas. In fact, around ninety percent of total production in this country is produced in private sector. Looking at the dominance of private sector, it seems that there prevails full corporatism in Sweden. But the interesting thing is that majority of production in private sector, a round fifty percent, is exposed to state controls. Looking at this nature of Swedish economy, it is some times characterized as a system of welfare state socialism. Some, however, like to view this system as welfare state corporatism. ... Government undertakes various policies relating to tax, employment and wages. Tax accounts for a major place in fiscal policies. While in one hand, tax is an important source of revenue to the government, on the other hand it also reduces consumer purchasing power by reducing disposable income. Hence, changes in tax policy will definitely have effect on consumer purchasing behavior, and therefore, on aggregate demand of the economy and consequently on GDP of the country. Employment and economic growth has a strong association as well. In fact, there is a cyclical relationship between employment and economic growth where both are dependent on one another. While the level of employment of a country is dependent to a large extent on the level of economic growth, economic growth is also affected by various employment policies. Economic growth of a country is also related to wage level. While some think that a path of low wage can lead to economic growth, some others feel that a high wage economy is more efficient in achieving higher growth. Hence the level of growth of an economy is also dependent on wage policies taken by the government. In Sweden government has a significant role to play in controlling various economic operations. Hence, economic growth of Sweden can well be expected to be dependent on various economic policies undertaken by the government of the country. Hence, it can be assumed that governmental policies in the areas of taxes, employment and wages, produce some impact on economic growth. Aim and objectives It would be, therefore, quite interesting, to find out how tax policies, employment and wages affect economic growth of Sweden. Since the economy of Sweden can not be characterized as a nation which is fully controlled

Asset Management Discussion Post 6 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Asset Management Discussion Post 6 - Coursework Example For purposes of recording keeping, a broker may inquire about the customer’s name, address, and date of birth, driver’s license, employment status, annual income, and net worth. This information helps to verify identification of the client and check whether the client appears in any known or suspected terrorists groups or agencies. Other questions would be whether a brokerage firm and their annual income employ them. Details of telephone number and account investment objectives are also crucial questions. This information must be obtained in good faith but if the customer neglects to provide such information then a broker can break the rule of good faith in obtaining such information. As a broker, questions asked must be periodically repeated to check accuracy over a certain period. According to the SECs, rules every brokerage firm is required to send information obtained from a client periodically for verification (Markham, 2014). There are certain characteristics that a client must possess for the investment to make sense. The main characteristic of the client is the suitability for investments. The broker might inquire about the income of the client and their net worth. The broker may inquire about security holdings, risk tolerance, and investment objectives of the client. All this is contents that must be there for one to be deemed suitable to create a portfolio in any

Case 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Case 3 - Essay Example The fact that they are stressed means that they cannot perform as required. Stress comes from various factors, and may affect employees directly or indirectly. In this case, the organization has put its employees under a lot of unnecessary pressure to perform by ignoring their plight (Robbins and Judge 558). This is evident in the number of employees complaining about the conditions in the company and airing their opinions about the best way to deal with the situation. Considering the industry the organization is involved – healthcare – the organization needs to pay more attention to employees’ needs because the industry is very sensitive. Deaths or serious complications could result from poor performances from employees if they are under stress. However, the company has done well to stem these concerns by developing a new approach to dealing with the situation at hand. In terms of fear, signs of change may spark feelings of uncertainty with regards to the ability to contribute to the change process and the security of their jobs. Pessimism, anxiety and different personal and professional ambitions are also a major factor in the spread of change-resistant fear. For example, an employee may feel afraid to take part in the change process because it will affect his professional development or inhibit personal growth. Employees may feel that they are capable of working with the organization to make proposed changes. Once employees start feeling that they their jobs are insecure and are threatened by proposed changes, they will withdraw their support to try and make the proposed changes fail (Robbins and Judge 561). However much employees feel afraid of changes, Parkway can mitigate these fears by managing them. Managing fear involves assuring employees of the security of their jobs and approaching them directly. Parkway can also provide employees with clear plans for proposed changes so that they can understand proposed changes and cooperate with

Discussion# 11 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion# 11 - Assignment Example These functions help the hospital in the inclusion of the collected data. The data can be incorporated in every task and assembled for future reference. Patient records can be saved in a diary via IVRS. This makes consultations with the doctors highly effective (Leiner, Gaus & Haux, 2003). The IVRS system allows for the integration of data about the doctors and surgeons present and on duty in the hospital. This consecutively implies that patients are capable of accessing this data via an IVRS pre-recorded message through a phone call. The apparatus used in the hospital processes can be registered with an allocated numeric distinctiveness. This assists the staff to recognize the available drugs in the hospital. IVRS helps in the documentation of data, making it available to all (Leiner, Gaus & Haux, 2003). The data developed from this process is catalogued in an IVRS using the data outline reports. In conclusion, data storage is automatic in a computerized worksheet through the encoding of IVRS. The IVRS makes the input and organization of data in the hospital unproblematic, fault free and cannot be tampered with

The City of London Essay Example for Free

The City of London Essay London is the capital city of United kingdom and it is considered as the chief city of British Commonwealth. It is considered one of the greatest and oldest centers of finance, industry and culture in the world. The city is also one of the largest in the world (How stuff works, par 1). It is preparing to host 2016 World Cup and for that matter, it is crucial to know what is behind the magnificent city of London. This essay seeks to explore on aspects that characterize the city right from its geography, history, culture and political jurisdiction. London is located at latitude 51.30’ north and longitude 0. 70 west. It is situated in Lambeth; south East of England in United Kingdom (Maplandia, par 1). The city is 2. 6 square kilometers (Easy expert, par 2). It also lies on the Thames river about 40 miles from the North Sea (How stuff works, par 2). Roughly, the river divides the city into two equal parts and it is on two hills on the bank north of Thames (How stuff works, par 2-3) . The river’s embankments are in central London. Along the great bend of the river, is the Victoria embankment. Other embankments include the Albert and Chelsea which are further upstream. This river is characterized by great bridges for example, Tower, London, Westminster and waterloo bridges (How stuff works 1, par 7). Geographical Features London has so many natural areas throughout the city. For example Meadows such as Kellaly; forests such as Meadow lily woods and Medway valley heritage forest; Wetlands like Westminster ponds among others. Moreover, it also harbors 22 kilometers paved paths for bikes along the Thames River (Tourism London All, par 1). Political jurisdiction The corporation of London is the one that administers the city headed by the Lord Mayor. The Greater London has 33 boroughs with the inner one having 14 and the outer London having 19 boroughs. The greater London has an elected mayor with an assembly and it is also the administrative entity in England (Britannica Encyclopedia, par 2). The city is governed following feudal system of government. The body that is involved with decision making is the court of common council which has 100 members who are elected directly from 25 wards in the city. This council meets every four weeks but committees meet more regularly. They have committees concerned with finance, education, policy and resources, planning and transportation. Some committees have members who have no voting rights in the corporation and are members because of their specialist expertise. The overall leader is the historic Lord mayor but the policy and resources committee’s chairman represents the body to the media (Stevens, par 6-7). The representatives of the boroughs form the assembly of the great London which boasts of its own constitution (Easy expert, par. 2). For one to be eligible for elections, he or she must be a free man in the city. Elections are not based on political parties. There is also the court of Aldermen where each ward elects one Alderman adding up to 25 Aldermen. The office of the Aldermen has diminished significance and today, they just discharge judicial function as magistrates and are also allowed to sit in the court of common council’s committees with no allowances (Stevens, par 10). Origins of This Great City The origin of London can be dated back to 43 AD. Before Romans invaded the land, no permanent settlement existed but only River Thames flowing surrounded by small islands of gravel and sand. When comparing the population of mosquitoes and people, the former were many (Britain express, par 1). London has been inhabited for more than 5000 years but it was only characterized by marshes and forests instead of a city. The city itself was started by Romans about 2000 yeas ago but originally, they called it Londinium. During the invasion, they landed in Kent and passed through River Thames sailing upwards. They knew the strategic importance of the river in controlling the crossing point at the river. So, they built on the north bank, a settlement. They carefully chose two spots in two hills, which were small and where the river was narrowing, and built a bridge. This is the London Bridge that is known today. They brought up buildings, a port and streets and they named the settlement Londinium which became the capital city of the Roman Britain (Barrow, par 2-3). The original London could only last for several years, little more than 10, and the ships could reach there making the city to become a trading center (museum of London, par 4-5). The bridge was very significant as it was the center for the road networks that sprung up from the crossing place, and thus it allowed the movement of the troops to be fast (Britain Express, par 4). The city later grew into a great trading center and by the second century AD, in the middle, the city had the largest town hall, a temple, and a governor’s palace among others. The Romans built a wall around 200 AD, surrounding the city and this defined the shape and size of London over a millennium. The area which was surrounded by the wall, is the one that is called ‘The city† (Britain Express, par 7-9). Urban And Street Patterns Prior to World War 2, London was characterized by very few buildings which were more that 6 stories high but today, the buildings with 20 stories and above can be found, for example, the towers of Barbican are 40 stories and above. The tower of Canary Wharf rising 80 stories and an office building, east of central London in the dockyards is the longest structure in Britain rising 800 feet high. The square of Trafalgar is in the west of the city, near the Thames River. Two large fountains can be found in the square and Admiral Lord Nelson’s statue; this square has been used mostly for celebrations in the city (How stuff works 1, par 7-9). The London streets follow bends and twists of the river and the Roman walls which have long disappeared. The current through ways came originally from the village lanes that existed there before. Strangers get confused most of the time because, these streets may have their names put in different places. One name may be found on one side of a street inter-section or a square and the other one will be found on other side. Contrary to streets in America, London roads have no numbering system which is logical and this makes it difficult to navigate through the streets. To learn the routes will take sometime (Geographers A-Z Map Company, par 1). When it comes to transportation system, it mainly consists of bus lines, surface and underground railways. The main railway stations include: Charing Cross, Waterloo, Paddington and Victoria lines. Two fifths of the city’s railway system covering 250 miles, is made up of London subways. The underground system is made of brick tunnels below the surface. The First line was made in the year 1863 but later, so many of them developed, built in deep tunnels lined with metals which are often called tubes. London boasts of three international airports and these include: Heathrow and Gatwick which is adjacent to the main railway line from London to Brighton. The third one is Stansted which is in the north east of the city (How stuff works, par 1-3). The London’s tower is a complex of buildings sitting on an 18-acre land. The walls and the grounds are on the Thames River, east side of the city. Mostly, the crown jewels are usually on display here. Yeomen warders in uniforms dating back to 16th century are usually used to guide visitors around the complex. Next to it is the mansion house which has been in existence since the 16th century and this is the place where the Lord Mayor of the city resides. North of this house stands Guildhall which was put up in the 15th century (How stuff works 5). South west London, rises a cathedral called St. Paul’s which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. This church is among the largest in the world. The duke of Wellington and Lord Nelson are buried there. On the west side of the cathedral, there is a street called Fleet Street which was once, the center of newspaper publishing in Britain (How stuff works 4, par 2-5). Just next to it is the knights’ templar medieval headquarters which also harbors the courts’ inns, law schools and legal associations. The Fleet Street merges forming a strand which leads to the west and Westminster. Buckingham palace is situated in this place and it hosts the London sovereigns. Westminster Abbey is also found there and this is where the monarchs are crowned. 8 acres of land around this place is covered with the parliament building and one thing that distinguishes it from other buildings it is its famous clock tower, the clock having a bell called â€Å"the Big Ben†. The Lambeth place is just across Thames from the parliament and this is where the Arch bishop of Canterbury resides (How stuff works 4, par 2-5). White Wall is found between the parliament and the square of Trafalgar . White Wall is a street which is bordered by government buildings. Another one is called Number 10 Downing Street found in the west of the White Wall and it is the prime minister’s home. The district of West end theatre is also found there between Piccadilly Circus and Trafalgar square and it is London’s world renowned theatre district which harbors more than a 100 theatres. Soho is also found in the North and it is known for its famous foreign restaurants and entertainment sites. Mayfair is found in the west characterized by residential areas, hotels, department stores and embassies, which include the US embassy that is found on the Grosvenor square (How stuff works, 5). West end hosts London largest parks. Regents Park can be sighted there and it is on 472 acres of land. It has a lake, open air theatre, a rose garden and the London zoo. Another park, Hyde Park is also found there. It sits on a piece of land of 360 acres which includes a lake called Serpentine. Marble Arch and bridle path which is called Rotten Row . The speakers’ corner is also found there. Kensington gardens with 275 acres of land adjoin Hyde Park on the west and this is where Kensington palace can be sighted which also hosts the Albert memorial and Peter pan’s statue. Short distance towards west of central London, botanic gardens of the royalty can also be found especially in Kew (How stuff works 5). Major Buildings And Landmarks In London The first major building in city is the tower of London, a prominent building for over 900 years and attracting tourists from all over the globe. The tower serves the royalties as a palace and a fortress. Ironically, it is also a place where executions take place and jailing of law defaulters. Royal mint, arsenal, menagerie and jewel house are also found here (Barrow, par 1). One of the oldest buildings and the most important centers for religion is the Westminster Abbey. This palace has been used to burry so many queens and kings and there commemoration ceremonies are usually done there. It was founded by Edward the confessor who was later made a saint. Parliament houses are also found in the palace of Westminster. Buckingham palace has 600 rooms and it is surrounded by a 40-acre garden with 40,000 tulips (Barrow, par 6-10). The Canary Wharf is the tallest building and it is part of the dock lands in London. The Canary is estimated to be 244 meters high and stainless steel has been used o cover it. Another major building is St Paul Cathedral which was built 604 AD but it was later re-built twice after being burnt down twice. The current one was built in 1675 and 1711 . The other monument is the O2 millennium dome which is the largest one in the world covering 180 acres with 320m diameter and the height of 50 m. It also has support towers of about 100 m high. It was built to commemorate the new millennium and it sits on the Greenwich meridian, longitude 0 degrees. Another one is the London eye. It is one of the London’s modern landmarks, made up of the biggest ferries wheel in the world and it can carry passengers of about 800 in number at a time. Its highest point is about 450 feet and it provides a view that goes covers 25 miles (Barrow, par 10-18). In addition, 30 St Mary Axe was opened in 2004 and it was known as Gherkin because of its oval shape. It is very visible especially when traveling from different places into London. The outside of the building is made of 24,000 m square glass whish has been arranged in panes that are diamond shaped. Other monuments include the monument of Trafalgar square which was put up in commemoration of the great fire of London which happened in 1666; the tower is 62 meters high. It is just next to Pudding lane where the fire began in the bakers shop. It is also characterized by 311 stairs to the top and one can use it to view London (Barrow, par 18-24). Other buildings include: One Canada square, Tower 42, Millban tower, St. Paul’s cathedral, Tate modern, St. Pancras chambers, Royal courts of justice, St. Brides church, BT tower, Wembley stadium, Centre point, the Lloyd’s building, Westminster cathedral, the Ark and Christ Church Spitalfields (Emporis Corporation, par 1). London Industries London’s industries form the crucial part of the economy. The industries come in form of manufacturing, aircraft, ship building, and food processing including the chemical industries, offering employment to so many people. These industries comprise of both small and large scale industries and mostly, different business communities are involved in boosting the growth of these industries though the manufacturing one is the largest sector of London’s economy (Maps of world, par. 1-2). Of all the laborers in London, 16% are found in the manufacturing industry. The leading industries in London include: chemical, electronics, cable manufacture, food processing, vehicle manufacture, and ship and aircraft building. The names associated with aircraft industry include Sopwith Aviation Company, Fairey aviation, Handley Page, Green Engine Co. and Lucas Rotax among others (Maps of World, par 3-4). Vehicle industry is one of the most recognized industries in London and it is associated with companies such as Ford of Britain, Dagenham, Park ward, Power Drives among others. Those companies that deal with cable manufacturing include: British Insulated Callender’s cables, Siemens, North and Woolwich among others. Food processing is associated with companies such as Pura Foods, Park Royal, The Smith’s Snack Food company and the list is endless (Maps of World, par. 4-7). When it comes to ship building, the companies include; Woolwich Dock Yard, Samuda Brothers, Scott Russell and so on. Companies associated with chemical manufacturing are; Hackney Wick, Liford photo, Sir William Henry Parking etc. Lastly, is the electronics industry which is associated with companies such as Ferguson Electronics Racal, Plessey, Bush Radio and so on (Maps of World, par. 7-10). These companies vary in the number of the workers employed by each. This is given below in percentages: Manufacturing 16. 2%, trade 14. 7%, educational services 9. 7%, health care and social assistance 13. 5%. Accommodation and food services 5. 8%, finance and insurance, real estate and leasing 7. 3%, agriculture 1. 8%, transport and ware housing 3. 8%. Public administration 3. 0%, construction 4. 7%, business building 4. 8%, information, culture and recreation 4. 2 % and lastly, professional, scientific and technical services 5. 7%. Other industries which are not included amount to 4. 0%. All these companies are under the administration of London chamber of commerce and industries (Maps of World, par. 12). Tourism sector The Londoners benefit mostly from tourism especially in regards to economy and social aspects. It boosts employment rates generating huge income. The businesses have also benefited so much. 10% gross value in London is from the sector and it also employs 13 % of all the workers in London. The city has a record of getting tourists from other parts of the world more than New York, Las Vegas and Sydney. It also attracts these tourists more than any European state (Government Office for London, par 3, 4). Tourism sector generates 2 billion pounds yearly in West London; 14. 7 million tourists who make daily trips to the same region and 5. 4 million tourists visit attraction sites in East London yearly (London’s Councils, par 1). Cultural geographical aspects of London London is a diverse cultural centre and an international one for that matter. It harbors so many museums, theatres and art galleries, cinemas which offer entertainment of first class level to 300 nationalities and above. The architecture of this city offers the diversity and the historical buildings. Six of London cultural landmarks include: the tower of London, St . Margaret church, Palace of Westminster and the Westminster Abbey and last but not list, the Maritime Greenwich (Europe Cities, par 1-2). When it comes to language, London is considered a multi lingual city. It has 300 different languages within its boundaries which are often spoken. The city has proven that, compared to Europe and New York, it is the most cosmopolitan city with its internationalism (Buncombe and Mac Arthur, par 2). The most common languages spoken are:English,Bengali,Panjabi,Gujerati,Hindu,Turkish,Arabic,Yorubu,Somali,Cantonese,Greek,Portuguese, French, Spanish, Italian, Vietnamese and the list is endless (Woodlands Junior Academy, par 1). London is characterized by so many events and celebrations each year. Carnaval del pueblo is a Latin American festival which is usually the largest in UK. It is usually held in August. The other one is City of London festival usually held in June and July and it involves celebration of Music, film, architecture and art. Another one is the London Art fair which is usually held every year in the month of January (First for London, par. 1-3). London boat show is also a major event every January. Others include London Marathon, parade, Lords mayor’s show ,Notting hill Carnival , Rise festival, South West Fest, Spitafields Festival, St. Patrick’s Day, Streatham festival, The Great River Race, and the Mayor’s Thames festival (First for London, par. 4-16). In London, the largest religious group is Christianity according to the census that took place in the year 2001. This group consists of 58. 2% of all the religions in London. The city is characterized by three Anglican churches which are: St. Paul’s and Southward cathedrals and also Westminster Abbey which usually hosts the crowning of the king and queen of England (Barrow, par 1). The population of the Jews is concentrated in the city of about 56 % of all the Jews in Great Britain. 52% of all Hindus in Great Britain are found in London and they have built magnificent places of worship which include temples. 38% of all Great Britain’s Muslims also live in London from Bangladesh and Pakistan. 31 % of Sikhs and 36 % Buddhists that are found in country reside in London (Barrow, par 4-7). In conclusion, the factor that makes the city unique is its marvelous architecture which has a historical background. Not so many cites in the world are rich in history and culture as compared to London. Almost all the monuments and buildings have some history behind them and this makes them to be world treasures. More to that, these landmarks have a quality touch on them in that, they are unique in their own way. Right from the foundation of the city to its current state, the history is actually represented in the design and pattern of the city. Work Cited Amazon. Com . A-Z London, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. amazon. com/Z-London-Londons-Selling-Street/dp/0850397529. Barrow, Mandy. Buildings and Landmarks in London. Woodlands, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. woodlands-junior. kent. sch. uk/customs/questions/london/buildings. htm. Barrow, Mandy. The History of London. Woodlands, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. woodlands-junior. kent. sch. uk/customs/questions/london/history. htm. Barrow, Mandy. Religious Groups in London. Woodlands, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. woodlands-junior. kent. sch. uk/customs/questions/london/religion. htm. Britain express. Roman London. Britain Express. Web. May 16, 2010, http://www. britainexpress. com/London/roman-london. htm. Britannica Encyclopedia. Learn More about London. 2010. Web. May 16, 2010, http://www. britannica. com/EBchecked/topic/346821/London. Buncombe, A. and MacArthur, Tessa. London: Multilingual Capital of the World. 29 March, 1999. Web. 16 May, 2010. http://www. phon. ucl. ac. uk/home/estuary/multiling. htm. Easy expert. Geography. Easy Expert, 10 April, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. easyexpat. com/en/london/overview/geography. htm. Emporis Corporation. Famous Buildings of London. 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. emporis. com/en/wm/ci/bu/mf/? id=100637. Europe Cities. Culture of London, 2009. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. europe-cities. com/en/600/uk_england/london/culture/. First 4 London. Events. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. first4london. com/directory/Events/. Government Office for London. Tourism. UK Government, 2009. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://www. gos. gov. uk/gol/Culture_leisure/Tourism/ tourism. How stuff works. General Plan and Description, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://geography. howstuffworks. com/europe/geography-of-london1. htm. How Stuff Works. Geography of London: Education and culture, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://geography. howstuffworks. com/europe/geography-of-london5. htm. How stuff Works. Introduction to Geography, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://geography. howstuffworks. com/europe/geography-of-london. htm. How stuff works. Landmarks and Place of Interest, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010, http://geography. howstuffworks. com/europe/geography-of-london4. htm. How stuff works. Transportation, 2010. Web. 16 May, 2010,

Going Green Eco Friendly Practises Politics Essay

Going Green Eco Friendly Practises Politics Essay Going green has become a part of everyday speech. People converse with each other about their own eco-friendly practices, the media portrays new pro-environmental techniques, and the government is promoting going green as well. It seems that with the abundance of information about being eco-friendly, more people would participate. However, many people are reticent to joining the green revolution because of both cultural and psycho-social characteristics including; type of society they live in, location, race, socioeconomic group, gender, and age. In this essay, I will explore each of these factors and relate them to the bigger issues of pollution, global warming, and reduction of the ozone layer, as they affect a world that is far from being as green as it could be. These factors will also assist to provide a framework for a society that has the potential to develop eco-friendly habits. The technology for implementing environmentally sound practices is all around us. However,  ¿Ã‚ ½the biggest challenge is not inventing new technology but persuading more people to adopt technology and practices that already exist ¿Ã‚ ½ (Charles 804). Therefore, it could have been assumed that people did not engage in pro-environmental activities because of their ignorance; specifically, ignorance of the rewards, pleasures, and benefits of being eco-friendly. Some researchers suggest that one way to combat this is by forcing changes upon people. That way, they have no choice but to partake in pro-environmental activities. For example, In Juneau, Alaska, a transmission line for power was cut off and the civilians had to adjust their style of living to not waste the precious electricity they had left until the line was fixed. After the line was fixed, the eco-friendly practices the people had adopted did not disappear but were still used and consequently the city now saves electric al power every year (Charles 805). However, every city is not like Juneau, Alaska, and therefore people in other parts of the country may need to be motivated differently. Some researchers believe that incentives, mainly in the form of money, need to be produced in order to motivate the public. What motivates an individual according to Yeonshin Kim is what he calls Perceived Consumer Effectiveness, or PCE, which refers to  ¿Ã‚ ½the extent to which individuals believe that their actions will make a difference in solving a problem ¿Ã‚ ½ (Ellen, Weiner, and Cobb-Walgren 1991). If an individual has the desire to get involved in pro-environmental action to benefit society, they are more likely to undertake that task rather than put it off. The desire to be green is developed over time and it is based on individual ¿Ã‚ ½s experiences. Different experiences vary based on the type of societal view that an individual inhabits. There are two basic types of societal views that impact eco-friendly initiatives; individualistic and collectivistic. Both Yeonshin Kim and Sejung M. Choi, authors of  ¿Ã‚ ½Antecedents of Green Purchase Behavior: An Example of Collectivism, Environmental Concern, and PCE, ¿Ã‚ ½ as well as Gary Baverstock, an author who writes about sustainable energy at the national level, agree that eco-friendly activity is typically smaller in individualistic societies than in collectivistic societies. This is because individuals in individualistic societies, such as Canada and the United Kingdom, typically focus on themselves while other parts of the society focus on its own problems. Individualistic societies are also typically richer than average. Collectivistic societies, like many Latin American countries, on the other hand, combine the efforts of the individual with those of the community, the government, and the nation as a whole, and are typically on the poorer end of the spectrum. Ther efore all pro-environmental activities are directed at one goal either through education, self-interest, or mass movements. These positive actions are the result of a greater number of individuals that practice self efficacy in collectivistic societies. When individuals have confidence in what they do as well as confidence in that it will have a positive effect on others, it is easier to promote pro-environmental actions through them. Irene Tilikidou, author of  ¿Ã‚ ½Types and Influential Factors of Consumers Non-Purchasing Ecological Behaviors, ¿Ã‚ ½ proposes that to encourage such action in collectivistic societies, the government and the community must educate the individual instead of the other way around. This way, people can learn the values of going green and then combine their efforts with others. Collectivistic and individualistic societies can be found all around the world and one key determinant of whether a society is collectivistic or individualistic is location. Location, therefore, also has a profound effect on the possibility for societies to adopt eco-friendly practices. The Tilikidou survey, which earlier discussed pro-government action to promote eco-friendly actions, was conducted in Greece. One of the key causes of pollution in Greece is caused by their well known traffic problems ( ). However, they are a collectivistic society in which people come to the aid of others in times of need. If the government directs its efforts at educating the populous on the benefits of public transit, it is possible for Greece to start working its way into its own green revolution. Tilikidou also describes how people must have a desire to change. If they are not inclined to become eco-friendly in the first place, it will be much more difficult for them to adopt such practices. Luck ily, Greece is a collectivistic country. In other words it can be assumed that more citizens will be inclined to attempt almost any pro-environmental practice that the community educates them on. Australia is another example of a country trying to educate its population on green practices. It is not completely clear as to whether Australia is a collectivistic or individualistic society. However, based on the article , ¿Ã‚ ½A Case for Establishing a Nationally Based Program for Sustainable Energy and Water Use in the Built Environment: An Investigation Into: Establishing a Vibrant R, D  ¿Ã‚ ½ D Collaborative Centre for Energy Efficient Lifestyles, Developmental Patterns, Building Technologies and Building Design Strategies, ¿Ã‚ ½ by Gary Baverstock, I assumed it was another example of a collectivistic country. I base this assumption on the fact that Baverstock writes about the new establishment called the Research Institute for Sustainable Energy, RISE, which promotes the education of citizens on pro-environmental behaviors through a holistic approach. A country whose universities are actively involved in educating the populous falls under the category of a collectivisti c society. This, however, does not mean that those who do not attend universities are left behind. The government, communities, and lower level schools are also a key factors in educating all parts of any country on eco-friendly developments. RISE promotes the development of a Cooperative Research Centre, or CRC, in which universities across the country will educate their students and the public on eco-friendly behaviors. RISE proposes that the  ¿Ã‚ ½[CRC] needs to be a holistic entity, part of a learning system that includes the community, industry and governance ¿Ã‚ ½ (Baverstock et al 160). However, Australia actually ranks among the top countries in the world for individualism. After seeing this, it makes sense that a program such as RISE be put into place. Among the other highly ranked individualistic countries overall are Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America, all countries that are considered rich. Latin American countries typically are more collectivistic but generally poverty stricken. Poverty stricken areas in the United States are usually populated by minorities, which brings me to my next point of emphasis, race. It is generally concluded in the United States that higher educated people, specifically white males with high income, are more likely to take on eco-friendly initiatives. However, there is now research proving that high levels of pro-environmental action are being proposed by minority groups. In Eugene Uyeki ¿Ã‚ ½s article,  ¿Ã‚ ½Diffusion of pro-environment Attitudes, ¿Ã‚ ½ he claims that minority groups are more likely to be pro-environmental since they are constantly being exposed to the least desirable living areas in the world. These places are typically located near waste plants and i ndustry, which are very highly polluted areas. He then concludes that since they are exposed to so much pollution, they are more inclined to take action against it ( ). The highly educated, white male typically lives in the suburbs, a place where there is most likely no effluence of pollution, and therefore he does not see the full effects of pollution. If he cannot see the problematic effects that occur, then cannot have any desire to fix them. However, minority groups might be more inclined to take on pro-environmental behaviors, but they do not always have the resources to do so. The highly educated white populous can actually take on pro-environmental activities because they have the money and the resources to do so. Still, this does not mean that said action is taken. Irene Tilikidou, who has written many articles on recycling and pro-environmental behavior, used a survey to attempt to collect data on people ¿Ã‚ ½s own opinions of their recycling habits. Some conclusions she drew from the survey include that individuals with positive attitudes towards recycling are more likely to participate in it because they are either swayed by self motivation or they think it is their social responsibility, people who are already involved in the going green revolution are more likely to engage in other pro-environmental activities, and that all nations must recognize the benefit of motivation when it comes to consumer attitudes on going green. However the most important conclusion she drew was that highly educated people are more likely to engage in eco-friendly initiatives. This caught my attention not only because it is contradictory to my point that minority and poverty groups are more likely to engage in eco-friendly initiatives, but also that this was based off of conclusion drawn from a survey. Since surveys have a high potential to being exposed to bias, this survey is no different. The highly educated people who participated in the survey could have answered how they thought society expected them to answer rather than giving the true answer. This reiterates how people are sometimes only claiming to be eco-friendly when they are actually not doing much if anything to participate in pro-environmental activities. This shouldn ¿Ã‚ ½t be surprising in the least bit because most people in the present day have been informed of the environmental problems the world is struggling with since childhood. Many children would construct or design posters with pictures of either a sick earth, a slogan promoting pro-environmental behaviors, or anything along those lines. However, what did those children actually do to help the environment after creating these posters or what could they even do to take the actions they promoted? The answer is usually nothing and with  ¿Ã‚ ½nothing ¿Ã‚ ½ could have come a mentality to promote action for or against something without the desire to take truly take action. In The Psychology of Environmental Problems, Deborah Du Nann Winter claims pro-environmental attitudes are more established in children and younger people because they are less likely to bring in family income so it is less complicated for them to vocalize their attitudes (Du Nann 61). Donna Lee King, in her book Doing Their Share to Save the Planet, describes exactly what children are doing to promote eco-friendly activities, but doing nothing about it, as well as why children are led to believe they must promote these activities. Children endorse pro-environmental behaviors mostly through their own illustrations of how to help the earth, what the future of the earth was doomed to become if no action was taken, and how they helped to keep the earth clean, but many had no method of carrying out their claims on a broader scale, no knowledge of the true effect of their claims, nor any inclination to fulfill their claims other than to broadcast them. Her logic for this is that children are led to believe they must advocate going green due through their schooling and the government, and are therefore filled with misinformation ( ). A key aspect of her research was the fact that she divided her observations into subgroups that include location, race, and gender. What she found was that, in the United States, the north was more pro-environmental than the south, girls are more pro-environmental than boys, and poor, black children are more pro-environmental than any other race or socio-economic group (King 67). The first result came as a slight surprise since the northern United States is typically thought of as individualistic and the southern states as collectivistic. My guess is that this is related to the civil war era when the northern states were all about small businesses and working alone to support their families while the south was focused around plantations and working together to support their family and friends. There is not much research to support this assumption however. The two basic conclusions that King drew in that minority groups are more pro-environmental than other socioeconomic groups and that women are more likely to promote going green than men did coincide with my previous research. The most important conclusion, nonetheless, is that support for going green is developed at an early age in the present day but taking steps to perform the actions necessary to complete what children are promoting is lacking. Much of this knowledge of environmental problems but lack of understanding what to do about it can be related to psychology, especially behavioral psychology, which focuses on how the environment plays a major role on how people ¿Ã‚ ½s behaviors develop (Du Nann 88). Behaviorism explains through operant conditioning how behaviors can be developed and modified. Operant conditioning involves taking a behavior and reinforcing it either positively or negatively. Positive reinforcement is used when a certain behavior is desired or should be constructive and can be conditioned through rewards for completing beneficial activities. Incentive recycling is an example of this, where the recycling company offers and incentive such as payment or rewards to those who participate in recycling. Negative actions are operations that need to be done away with through a process called negative punishment. This involves the removal of certain activities in order to promote the action of other activitie s. Some examples of this include the electric company making electric bills go up so people use learn to use electricity more sparingly, gas stations raising the prices of gasoline causing people to think of using alternative travel measures such as hybrid cars, car-pooling, or public transit ( ). It is through operant conditioning that we can educate the present and future generations on how to bring about positive change to the environmental problems surrounding us. Positive reinforcement should be applied to those who are actively participating in going green as well as those who are not so that everyone has an incentive to take pro-environmental action. Negative reinforcement should be applied to those who promote without taking action, such as giving them the resources they need in order to practice what they preach. According to Deborah Du Nann Winter, negative reinforcement should be carried out through three types of discriminative stimuli; prompts, information, and modeling (Du Nann Winter 97). Prompts are signals that communicate what actions are appropriate, including self-reminders to take out the recycle at the appropriate time (Du Nann Winter 97). Information refers to explaining procedures are providing examples of eco-friendly acts such as commercials promoting use of geothermal energy or riding a bicycle instead of driving a car. Modeling involves actions done in public that are then mimicked by others who saw the action take place. This can be as small as picking up a piece of litter in the park. Modeling in behaviorism relates largely to social psychology, the study of how society influences an individual ¿Ã‚ ½s decisions (Du Nann Winter 56). Society has always been a factor in manufacturing individual ¿Ã‚ ½s decisions. It influences career choices, relationships, and especially eco-friendly activities. Many pro-environmental decisions are made because sometime society causes people to feel uncomfortable in such a way that individuals believe they must get rid of that feeling, also known as cognitive dissonance (Du Nann Winter 57). The main way of doing this is by the individual doing what they think society will be most acceptable of. Take the example of the person who picks up a piece of litter in the park. Many of those who watched this person while they were picking up the litter will be influenced in some way. They will either mimic the action taking place at another point in time because they feel that society will accept them for it, or they feel that society will not scrutinize them if they do not do the same, and example of S.H. Schwartz ¿Ã‚ ½s norm activation theory in Rama Mohana R. Turaga ¿Ã‚ ½s article  ¿Ã‚ ½Pro-environmental Behavior: Rational Choice Meets Moral Motivation. ¿Ã‚ ½ Norm activation theory is composed of two aspects,  ¿Ã‚ ½awareness of consequences ¿Ã‚ ½ and  ¿Ã‚ ½ascription of responsibility. ¿Ã‚ ½ Awareness of consequences is described such as an individual must heed the consequences of their actions as it affects the welfare of others, such as not smoking in public, while ascription of responsibility is the drive that compels an individual to take on those actions, such as an incentive for recycling. Another example of cognitive dissonance at work is the survey conducted by Irene Tilikidou that was previously discussed. Those highly educated individuals who answered that they are very eco-friendly could have been acting under the influence of cognitive dissonance in order to stay humbled in the public e ye. The main factors that contribute to cognitive dissonance are social norms. A norm is  ¿Ã‚ ½and implicit rule, an expectation about what kind of behavior is appropriate in a given situation ¿Ã‚ ½ (Du Nann Winter 67). Environmental social norms are typically positive, in which the public expects others to participate in activities that are environmentally sound. However, not all actions are based on social norms. According to Freudian theory, people act of instincts and unconscious drives. Yes these instincts are sometimes socially acceptable because they follow the social norm, but this is not always the case. Some people ¿Ã‚ ½s instincts allow them to act differently than society expects them to. These unconscious drives have no motive other than an inner force compelling individuals to act instinctively or give themselves untrue rationales for their actions. . For example, someone throws an item that could be recycled into the trash based on the untrue rationale that their one item is insignificant and will have no major consequence upon the earth. They however forget that many people think like this because we all have similar human instincts. This could mean that in one day, if half of the people in the United States threw away one item that could have been recycled, over 150,000 pieces of recycle would have been added to the huge garbage dumps each day. Garbage dumps are a one of the biggest problems in America today and it continues to be a global problem (Bacard 43). This is only one aspect of pollution as a whole which is an ever increasing commodity around the world as well. Pollution is further exponentially increased by deforestation to build industry, oil dumping by not only large corporations but individuals as well, and increased use of individual transit instead of public transit. People who operate landfills claim that people will throw away almost anything which in turn causes there to be increasing amounts of damage. This carelessness could be attributed to the fact that people in individualistic countries throw away items without considering the benefits another person might have from it. Collectivistic countries, typically poor countries, need to use all the resources they have and share what they don ¿Ã‚ ½t use to maintain a steady and beneficial way of life. Location also affects pollution. For example, if a perso n lives in the slums, they are constantly exposed to pollution in the streets, at their job, and possibly even at their home. This kind of an environment might allow a person to think they are following the social norms of their society when they contribute to this litter. Also, they might be so overwhelmed and over-exposed to this pollution that they begin to advocate against it. Each of these outcomes can be determined by whether the society they live in is individualistic or collectivistic, as well as whether the person is male or female.