Strategies for Implementing Accounting Software Systems in Small to Essay

Strategies for Implementing Accounting Software Systems in Small to Medium Enterprises - Essay Example However, formulating and executing implementation strategies for accounting software are important in maximizing the accounting efficiency of an SME. Problem to be Solved and Worth - In this highly developed economy, there is an influx of accounting software packages tailored to the needs of various customers. This wide array of choices leads to the dilemma of picking out the 'right' software system for small to medium business operations which in turn, brings the more difficult issue of crafting implementation strategies for the accounting software. This problem requires intensive research as it provides better understanding of the relationship between accounting efficiency and strategies of software implementation. Idea for Action and Data Outline - First, the researcher will conduct interviews with 10 to 15 SMEs to gather the required data for the study. The interview is expected to generate a list of implementation strategies employed by these companies. Then, the effectiveness of strategies will be evaluated and compared by measuring the SMEs' accounting efficiency based on the data gathered in the interview. For that purpose, the researcher will devise a measuring system with the help of secondary data gathered in the review of literature. ... The result of analysis will be utilized in the final report to recommend implementation strategies which should be executed and should be eliminated in the accounting processes of the SMEs. Context: Setting, Background and Scope The proposed project will be based in the analysis of the accounting efficiency of SMEs contacted for the research. SMEs to be interviewed will come from various industries in the economy. Although time constraints will not allow contacting a large number of SMEs for the research to come up with a more statistically accurate result, the project will be able to identify the most general trends in accounting software strategies. These trends will be processed and analyzed as factors influencing the accounting performance of SMEs, i.e. by looking on their effectiveness. The measuring system developed in this project will particularly reveal the differences in accounting efficiency as a result of the execution of different implementation strategies. Project Strategic IT Value and Intention The result of the proposed research will be presented in the form of a report which analyzes the software strategies employed by SMEs including the recommendations developed during the research. This set of recommendations will be a useful contribution to the general theory of software implementation strategies as it will aid SMEs to develop strategic approaches in choosing suitable accounting software and devising implementation strategies to enhance accounting efficiency. It can be noted that theoretical frameworks have been mainly concentrating in the general benefits of strategic approach to software implementation. For example, Jones (2005) advises small

Marketing plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Marketing plan - Essay Example With the introduction of smart phones in the market, Nokia continues to take the lead, taking about 56.4% share of the 70.9 million units shipped in Europe in 2006. Nokia sold 40 million smart phones in 2006, reaffirming the fact that the success of the brand remains unscathed (Nokia leading phone market 2007). In fact, it has taken the brand to another level by making its phones highly competitive with the introduction of the Nokia N Series, a collection of smart phones that cater mainly to consumers who have requirements for a full-featured mobile phone with personal computer-like functionalities. These smart phones offer complete phone functionalities while alternately serving as personal data assistants. This â€Å"elite† group of high-end phones has created a stir in the market that the units instantly grew in popularity within a few months after being launched early 2005. The launch of the Nokia N series in 2005 created such a huge impact that sales of these products increased significantly since its launch. As of 2006, Nokia is recognized to be the worlds’ leader in smart phones sales, contributing to 42% market share (Smart phone sales are soaring 2006). This just goes to prove that Nokia has maintained its good relationship with the market as it has continuously managed to cater to the consumers’ needs despite the existence of other Personal Data Assistant (PDA) brands such as Palm and OS, and the emergence of new ones. Nokia is still the top choice in the UK market when it comes to smart phones. Its 3G (third generation) phones continue to fly with its up-to-date features. However, with the emergence of other brands that are determined to give Nokia fierce competition brand-wise, it is a challenge for this company to come up with even more effective ways to hold the market’s attention and sustain its stature in the market.

Intrinsic Properties and Abortion Debate Essay Example for Free

Intrinsic Properties and Abortion Debate Essay The philosophy of intrinsic property rights has created many problems for those who can justify abortion but believe that new born infant has to be treated as a human being. The intrinsic property philosophy also makes it difficult to justify killing animals but not humans. This soul searching debate is the subject of this essay. An intrinsic property is a property within the object or organism. Mass of a body is an intrinsic property, while weight of the body would depend on its location and its gravity and is an extrinsic property. The debate regarding protecting moral and legal rights of a living being when applied to fetuses creates a new set of problems for the pro-abortionists. Is a fetus entitled to the same rights and privileges as a new born? Can we regard a fetus with the same rights and privileges as a living human? It is morally and legally wrong to kill innocent human beings. The fetus is capable of developing within itself, meeting its needs with the ability it has within itself to appropriate nourishment and grow. These intrinsic properties qualify the fetuses as living organism and if we consider this living organism as an innocent human being, the conclusion would be that it is morally as wrong to abort (or kill) a fetus as it is morally wrong to kill an infant. The pro-abortionists argue that the fetus cannot be given the same importance as a newly born infant [McNeil, 2000]. Many feminist philosophers argue [Warren, 1973] that this approach to morality is based on abstract rules and conflict of rights and is inappropriate. Some feminist philosophers have declared that the concept of moral right may be inconsistent with the social nature of persons [Wolgast, cited in Warren, 1973] The philosophical views on the right of fetuses have debated various aspects of the morality or otherwise of abortion. The acknowledgment of intrinsic property rights means that an individual has certain moral rights. The presence or absence of a single determining factor of that intrinsic property which entitles an individual to these moral rights has been open to interpretation. This single criterion [Warren, 1973] which distinguishes between those who have intrinsic property rights and those who do not is in itself a dilemma. Accepting the intrinsic property argument makes the right of the woman carrying the fetus as irrelevant as the moral right of the fetus demands that its right be protected and it is allowed to develop as a separate entity. The single criterion and intrinsic property right taken together give a new born baby the same rights as a nearly mature fetus, if we accept this argument than late abortion tantamount to infanticide. [Summer, 1983] argues that sentience (ability to sense) should be used as the criteria for permissible abortion. Summer uses the sentience argument to limit abortion to first trimester. The problem with the intrinsic property and single criterion becomes more complicated when we find that philosophers like Tooley argue that both infants and nearly mature fetuses are incapable of desiring their own existence as they have no concept or experience of being a person. The conclusion drawn by him are rather shocking as he shows that infanticide in past history was not treated at par with other murders. [Warren, 1973] rightly points out that sentience alone, cannot be considered a criterion for comparing moral equality of the fetus and of an infant, as if we were to give equality on the basis of sentience mice and other animals which have much higher recognizable sentience are not treated as such. Sentience argument unlike fetus viability however draws an identifiable boundary as fetus viability can change with time and place. In developing countries with poor medical resources even a nearly mature fetus cannot be kept in an incubator and have the required life support to survive. In developed countries with excellent health care facilities nearly half term fetuses already have a reasonable chance of survival. Treating infants and fetuses at par as necessary under to doctrine of intrinsic property would subject the women undergoing a miscarriage to investigation for murder. [Warren, 1973] cites an actual example when an irresponsible pregnant woman was charged for negligent homicide as she failed to observe the precautions and suffered a miscarriage. It is clear that an infant and an unborn fetus cannot be treated as equal in terms of intrinsic property rights. Warren rightly concludes that birth marks an important point of distinction of rights for the infant, the fetus and for the woman. An infant can have a life of its own, in mothers care or even with foster organization/parents. Even if the infant is still dependent on others for survival the birth marks the beginning of a socially responsible individual or person. Pregnancy whether in advance term or at the beginning does not award the right of parenthood, the birth is the clear difference between the fetus and infant and while fetuses in advance state of development need to be protected as indeed they are, they cannot be considered equal to infants in their rights. In brief Warrens philosophy is to give people the rights of a moral community and have moral rights. She defines personhood as meeting five important criteria; ability to recognize internal and external objects, ability to feel pain, ability to reason, self motivated activity, capacity to communicate and self awareness [McNeil, 2000] Peter Singers is an advocate of utilitarianism. His views, although though provoking cannot be described as mainstream, he appears to believe in sentience theory but without a species distinction. He believes that species-ism is a kind of racism or gender based discrimination. [Singer, 1999] also refuses to acknowledge that human lives are more precious because of humans are more intelligent. He argues that if intelligence were to be the criterion we would permit medical experiment on mentally retarded! He appears to be less concerned about infanticide or abortion and his theory is that of great moral good. Singer presents very thought provoking debates but several of his arguments would create serious social right issues. He considers experimentation on animals as immoral but the possible benefit to millions by the sacrifice of a few is permitted in Singers logic. This type of logic can be used to justify slavery, genocide of a minority and create many more similar dilemmas. Warrens philosophical views on the moral and legal status of abortion on the other hand are a serious and practicable discussion and presents logical views. Singer defends a quality-of-life view in ethics and has little regard for sanctity-of-life view. Bibliography McNeil, M. A. , (2000), The Real Problem with Abortion, [Online] retrieved from Internet on May 05, 2007, http://www. abortionessay. com/files/realproblem. html Singer, P. , (1999), Practical Ethics, Cambridge University Press 2nd Edition, ISBN-10: 052143971X Tooley, M. (1983), Abortion and Infanticide, Oxford: Oxford University Press, Cited in [Warren, 1973] Warren, M. A. , (1973), On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion, The Monist, LaSalle, Illinois, Vol. 53. Also published in James Rachels’, The Right Thing to Do: Basic Readings in Moral Philosophy (2nd Ed. , McGraw-Hill College, 1999)

Mother Daughter Relationships - Learning from Mother in Amy Tans The J

Learning from Mother in The Joy Luck Club      Ã‚   "I have already experienced the worst. After this, there is no worst possible thing" (Amy Tan 121). Throughout The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan tells stories of how mothers use the misfortunes in their lives, to try to teach their daughters about life. Many of the mothers had bad experiences in their pasts and do not want to see their daughters live through the same types of problems. They try to make their daughters' lives as easy and problem free as possible. However, the daughters do not see this as an act of love, but rather as an act of control. In the end, the daughters realize that their mothers tried to use their experiences to teach them not to give up hope, and to look at the good of an experience rather than the bad.    Amy Tan starts The Joy Luck Club with the daughter, Jing-mei, and mother, Suyuan Woo. Suyuan lived through a hard life in Kweilin during the war and teaches her daughter to keep her head up and have faith, even though things may seem hard at the time. When Suyuan lived in Kweilin, she had many things that could depress her, "but to despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable" (11). Suyuan's wishful thinking reveals that she did not want to think of all the bad things happening around her. Rather, she wanted to focus on the fact that she "had luxuries few people could afford" (10). The ability to find the good when others see only bad helped Suyuan center her attention on the superior things that she had, such as the Joy Luck Club and her friends. Later, when Jing-mei goes to meet her sisters in China, she becomes "so nervous [she] can't even feel [her] feet"(331). The uneasy emo... ...to keep trying. Although Rose believes that she has "no hope," inside she has a nengkan as powerful as her mothers, which makes her wish her marriage would last, just as her mother wishes Bing would still be alive.    Overall, each mother in The Joy Luck Club went through something emotionally exhausting and saddening in her life. The mothers use their experiences to try to direct the course of their daughters' lives, to make them simpler and more carefree. Initially, however, the daughters only see that their mothers want to make decisions for them, not to help them. Ultimately, the daughters realize their mothers' intentions, but not all accept them. The important thing, however, is that each daughter learns a valuable lesson and comes to peace with her mother.    Work Cited Tan, Amy. The Joy Luck Club. New York: Ivy Books, 1989.   

Mothers Without Men, Donor Insemination

I think it's very wrong and exposing that the child doesn't has the opportunity at all to get the child-father relationship which Is very important In life. Caroline Webb actually makes the decision on purpose that the child will have a missing whole in the childhood and trough the raising. That is disturbing. It concludes that she values her needs and ego higher than the baby. Besides, when parents choose to leave their family, it's often not a quite easy situation concerning economics, surplus, safety and mental/social balance.Although it's common It's tough and not very healthy to the family. A single parent could easy suffer under some of the same conditions for example economical problems, while there normally only is one income. I could imagine it also would be ruff to raise a child all by yourself, without a partner to guide or help you. On the other side the parent/Caroline Webb wants the baby really bad, compared to some relationship where the baby happens to be an ;accident . † I could therefore imagine the mother would be more carrying and supportive to the baby, simply because the child is more wanted.Of course It's also Important that the potential parent has the financial and psychic qualities that require raising a child, which Caroline claims to has when her position is Hospital Chef. Caroline Webb also sticks to the fact that â€Å"there'd be no upset in the home and my child would benefit from my happiness. † She's saying that about the comparing to runaway parents. She hasn't thought the situation trough at all. She doesn't mention all the problems and questions the child will be filled up with trough solicitation, when she's minor and through the teenage. The child will soon figure out that everybody except her have two parents.That issue could fast develop to a major problem and maybe hating to Caroline from her daughter. Maybe her happiness and love can't solve all problems although she really wants it to. In the end it's all a bout ethics and morale. It's very different what individuals attitude to this problem are, depending on what kind of personality and opinions you have. Mothers Without Men, Donor Insemination By rollback Men†Amanda Riley-Jones I don't think that donor insemination should be available as soonest has the opportunity at all to get the child-father relationship which is very important in life.Caroline Webb actually makes the decision on purpose that the it's common it's tough and not very healthy to the family. A single parent could easy some relationship where the baby happens to be an â€Å"accident. † I could therefore because the child is more wanted. Of course it's also important that the potential thought the situation trough at all. She doesn't mention all the problems and through the teenage. The child will soon figure out that everybody except her have

Marco Polo, the outsider; Ibn Battuta, the insider Essay

Nowadays the wide array of transportation means and infrastructures at our disposal has made it relatively easy for us to travel from one country to another; even when those countries are thousands of miles away from each other. However, during the 13th and 14th centuries, travelling was not that easy. Yet, two men, the Italian tradesman Marco Polo and the Moroccan Jurist Ibn Battuta became famous for having managed to perform extremely long distance journeys away from their home country. At the end of their long travels, both men shared their experiences with the world via the books, The Travels of Marco Polo and The Travels of Ibn Battuta. An analysis of those two texts reveals two things. On one hand, Marco Polo remained a cultural†¦show more content†¦In 1271, Marco Polo’s father and uncle, both merchants from Europe, were requested to return to China for the second time by the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan. The purpose of the request made by the Great Khan (Kublai) was to bring back to the Mongol court some holy oil from Jerusalem and â€Å"a hundred men of learning, thoroughly acquainted with the principles of the Christian religion† (Polo 7) to convince the Mongols to convert to Christianity. Marco Polo joined his father and uncle for this second journey to the East. As part of this journey, Polo traveled throughout regions of the Middle East and Central Asia before reaching the final destination. Further, while working for Kublai Khan in China, he was sent on many inspection tours which allowed him to explore most of the provinces of China. In all the regions that were visited along the way, and more so in the case of the Mongol Empire, there was a distinct disparity in the culture as compared to Polo’s native land. Moreover, Marco Polo’s religious disposition towards Christianity set him apart from the people of the region –the Tartars—who , according to the Kublai Khan, where worshippers of â€Å"evil spirits† (Polo 7). These factors placed Marco Polo in the position of an â€Å"outsider† as defined by Hage, i.e. â€Å"someone who does not experience either socio-cultural or political belonging. It is someone whose mental and bodily dispositions have evolved somewhere else and thus feels culturally ‘out of place’.

What Is a Controlled Experiment

A controlled experiment is one in which everything is held constant except for one variable. Usually, a set of data is taken to be a control group, which is commonly the normal or usual state, and one or more other groups are examined where all conditions are identical to the control group and to each other except for one variable. Sometimes its necessary to change more than one variable, but all of the other experimental conditions will be controlled so that only the variables being examined change. And what is measured is the variables amount or the way in which they change. Controlled Experiment A controlled experiment is simply an experiment in which all factors are held constant except for one: the independent variable.A common type of controlled experiment compares a control group against an experimental group. All variables are identical between the two groups except for the factor being tested.The advantage of a controlled experiment is that it is easier to eliminate uncertainty about the significance of the results. Example of a Controlled Experiment Lets say you want to know if the type of soil affects how long it takes a seed to germinate, and you decide to set up a controlled experiment to answer the question. You might take five identical pots, fill each with a different type of soil, plant identical bean seeds in each pot, place the pots in a sunny window, water them equally, and measure how long it takes for the seeds in each pot to sprout. This is a controlled experiment because your goal is to keep every variable constant except the type of soil you use. You control these features. Why Controlled Experiments Are Important The big advantage of a controlled experiment is that you can eliminate much of the uncertainty about your results. If you couldnt control each variable, you might end up with a confusing outcome. For example, if you planted different types of seeds in each of the pots, trying to determine if soil type affected germination, you might find some types of seeds germinate faster than others. You wouldnt be able to say, with any degree of certainty, that the rate of germination was due to the type of soil. It might as well have been due to the type of seeds. Or, if you had placed some pots in a sunny window and some in the shade or watered some pots more than others, you could get mixed results. The value of a controlled experiment is that it yields a high degree of confidence in the outcome. You know which variable caused or did not cause a change. Are All Experiments Controlled? No, they are not. Its still possible to obtain useful data from uncontrolled experiments, but its harder to draw conclusions based on the data. An example of an area where controlled experiments are difficult is human testing. Say you want to know if a new diet pill helps with weight loss. You can collect a sample of people, give each of them the pill, and measure their weight. You can try to control as many variables as possible, such as how much exercise they get or how many calories they eat. However, you will have several uncontrolled variables, which may include age, gender, genetic predisposition toward a high or low metabolism, how overweight they were before starting the test, whether they inadvertently eat something that interacts with the drug, etc. Scientists try to record as much data as possible when conducting uncontrolled experiments, so they can see additional factors that may be affecting their results. Although it is harder to draw conclusions from uncontrolled experiments, new patterns often emerge that would not have been observable in a controlled experiment. For example, you may notice the diet drug seems to work for female subjects, but not for male subjects, and this may lead to further experimentation and a possible breakthrough. If you had only been able to perform a controlled experiment, perhaps on male clones alone, you would have missed this connection. Sources Box, George E. P., et al.  Statistics for Experimenters: Design, Innovation, and Discovery. Wiley-Interscience, a John Wiley Soncs, Inc., Publication, 2005.  Creswell, John W.  Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2008.Pronzato, L. Optimal experimental design and some related control problems. Automatica. 2008.Robbins, H. Some Aspects of the Sequential Design of Experiments. Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society. 1952.