Aristotle and John Wesley: On Being Truly Human :: Essays Papers

Aristotle and John Wesley: On Being Truly Human Many ideas presented by John Wesley are similar to those presented by Aristotle. These similarities become apparent in various areas, especially in the idea that each person has potential that can be actualized. Because these similarities are apparent, the thoughts of Aristotle can easily be employed to assist in understanding many of Wesley's thoughts. Specifically, the discussion of virtue presented in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics can assist one in understanding Wesley's ideas of affections and tempers, the process of Christian perfection, means of grace, and the importance of community. Aristotle Before moving on to discuss the similarities between the thought of John Wesley and of Aristotle, it is essential to understand many basic Aristotelian concepts. Prevalent in many of his works, Aristotle discusses how objects can change. In the Metaphysics and On the Soul, Aristotle presents his idea of the four causes, including material cause, formal cause, efficient cause, and final cause (Robinson: 15-22). Employing the illustration of a potter molding a clay mug, the material cause is the clay, the basic matter that is the subject of the change. As the clay undergoes the process of being molded, it is being made into a specific shape that has specific functions. This shape and function is called the form or formal cause of the object. In this case, the clay is changing into the form of a mug that is purposed to hold liquids. It should be noted that material is never without form. Before the clay was changed into the form of a mug, it was in the form of a lump of clay tha t has its own specified function. Each time matter undergoes change there is an agent responsible for the process. The agent is the efficient cause. In this case, the potter is responsible for transforming the clay matter into the mug form. The final cause, or the end, occurs when the matter is made into a particular form. Although every object has many intermediate ends, all these ends lead to a single ultimate end. The mug, for instance, can be used as a paperweight or as a decoration, but the ultimate end that is suitable for the mug form is to be an object that holds liquid. The process of an object functioning appropriately to its form, which is the actualization of its potential, is aimed at attaining this ultimate end. Aristotle and John Wesley: On Being Truly Human :: Essays Papers Aristotle and John Wesley: On Being Truly Human Many ideas presented by John Wesley are similar to those presented by Aristotle. These similarities become apparent in various areas, especially in the idea that each person has potential that can be actualized. Because these similarities are apparent, the thoughts of Aristotle can easily be employed to assist in understanding many of Wesley's thoughts. Specifically, the discussion of virtue presented in Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics can assist one in understanding Wesley's ideas of affections and tempers, the process of Christian perfection, means of grace, and the importance of community. Aristotle Before moving on to discuss the similarities between the thought of John Wesley and of Aristotle, it is essential to understand many basic Aristotelian concepts. Prevalent in many of his works, Aristotle discusses how objects can change. In the Metaphysics and On the Soul, Aristotle presents his idea of the four causes, including material cause, formal cause, efficient cause, and final cause (Robinson: 15-22). Employing the illustration of a potter molding a clay mug, the material cause is the clay, the basic matter that is the subject of the change. As the clay undergoes the process of being molded, it is being made into a specific shape that has specific functions. This shape and function is called the form or formal cause of the object. In this case, the clay is changing into the form of a mug that is purposed to hold liquids. It should be noted that material is never without form. Before the clay was changed into the form of a mug, it was in the form of a lump of clay tha t has its own specified function. Each time matter undergoes change there is an agent responsible for the process. The agent is the efficient cause. In this case, the potter is responsible for transforming the clay matter into the mug form. The final cause, or the end, occurs when the matter is made into a particular form. Although every object has many intermediate ends, all these ends lead to a single ultimate end. The mug, for instance, can be used as a paperweight or as a decoration, but the ultimate end that is suitable for the mug form is to be an object that holds liquid. The process of an object functioning appropriately to its form, which is the actualization of its potential, is aimed at attaining this ultimate end.

education reform Essay -- essays research papers fc

Education Reform  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Education reform means to make education better by removing faults and defects. True educators are always thinking of more effective ways to enhance and democratize the way children learn. With the continuous change of growing population, economics, culture, family, and global communication, there has to be continuous educational reforms to keep the society abreast with these changes. One of education’s early reformers is John Dewey. Dewey operated and experimental school where he wanted â€Å"to discover in administration, selection of subject matter, methods of learning teaching, and discipline, how a school could become a cooperative community while developing in individuals their own capacities and identifying their own needs.† (Dewey’s Laboratory School page XII) another education, Harold Howe II in his book â€Å"Thinking about Our Kids,† reiterates that families and communities are as important as schools in the education of our children. He also ta lks about the need for new approaches to financing schools, more attention to changing classroom routine in particular, and for better understanding of, and respect for the many races and cultures that make up our society. Regardless of the era in which education reform is thought of, the number one priority is the children. Although Dewey’s’ experiment was done over a century ago, the lessons learned then can apply in today’s world. Children are the same, they go through the same stages of development and must learn how to solve some kind of problems if they are to live in the world of today. The country is bursting at its seams with the population growth. With the growth comes a very diverse group of people. People migrate with their culture. Language has become one of the many barriers in the prevention of literacy. When our mentors wrote or planned school reform, the rate of population growth was not as rapid it is now. Migrants then tried to learn the languages spoken in their new land. Today we have programs to foster children who do not have English as their first language, but are these programs successful?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Many of the students are taught in their first language (usually Spanish) but then have to sit the standardized state examination in the English langua ge. This situation could be termed as â€Å"unexpected difficulties an... ...pport Act of 1988† but this too is plague by limited finding. If education reform is to be successful, these programs must be viable. If is of paramount importance that education reform is need especially in this era. We are in a changing world and we must improve our educational standards to compete on the world market. The United States of America is a wealthy nation therefore it must spend more on educating its young. Politics and politician should be removed from planning and governing the education system. This should be in the hands of educators. It is unforgivable that our leaders has allowed United States of America to have one third of its population illiterate and spends less on education than other nations that are not as wealthy. Classroom teachers should be able to be more flexible in adjusting the standards to fulfill the needs of the students, instead of teaching (drilling) the children to past standardized examinations. Bibliography Howe Harold II 1993 Thinking About Ours Kids. An Agenda for American Education. Kozol Jonathan 1985 Illiterate America Tanner Laurel N. 1997 Dewey’s Laboratory School Lessons for Today

‘the Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson

‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson is a short story that uses plot. characterisation and suspense to develop several themes. In doing so Jackson deepens our understanding of people and the nature of society. The story begins in a growing village which holds an annual lottery, but instead of being rewarded the person who receives the marked paper gets stoned to death. This itself demonstrates one of the main themes of man’s inhumanity to man. Jackson also shows this by telling the reader that it is a small community that murders one of its own members which shows the shocking and cruel nature achieved by humans. We can see this by looking at the start of the story when a group of boys play at the lake: â€Å"Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example† This shows inhumanity in an unclear way because the reader doesn’t know why they are doing collecting stones but soon realise at the end that it was so they could throw them at the person who was about to get stoned. Another aspect which shows that the civilisation is inhumane is that the village barely conceal the savagery of killing a member of its own community. Jackson shows this by telling us that the killings are done by ‘decent’ people who are show themselves to be kind generous people, but a family realises that it is no their family they proceed with an unsympathetic disinterest for the family that does receive the marked paper. Also, the village does not attempt to hide their actions from other villages, which tells us that they think that their actions are the right actions to take. This story also makes the reader question: â€Å"Is life expandable? It may make us think of this because good innocent people still suffer, and that it was all down to chance that decides what happens to whom. Characterisation adds something to our understanding of nature and society because the author does not focus on one character alone or tell anything about them; instead Jackson focuses on a group of people united by a common objective, which is to avoid receiving the marked paper which will conclude in the person being stoned to death . When looking at the characterisation of the characters, it is important to know that Jackson does not give any detail about any of the characters. We can see this when Tessie Hutchison first arrives at the lottery ceremony: â€Å"Mrs Hutchison came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place. † This proves that Jackson doesn’t go into any detail when it comes to the characters, because when we first see Mrs Hutchison, it tells us that she has a jumper over her shoulders, yet does not tell us what she looks like or what else she is wearing. This does not happen to just one character but all characters throughout the story. `Although all the characters aren’t given in any detail, there are a few characters that stand out through the story. The main person who stands out is the character who gets stoned to death, which happens to be Tessie Hutchison who was also late for the lottery ceremony. When it was Mrs Hutchison who received the marked paper and was chosen to be stoned to death she exclaims: â€Å"â€Å"It isn’t fair, it isn’t right! † Mrs Hutchison screamed, and then they were upon her. This shows Tessie’s selfish nature because she hasn’t objected to any of the stoning’s before, even though it is wrong and cruel. In this context ‘fair’ and ‘right’ mean the same thing to Tessie because it was her who received the marked paper and not someone else, and if it was someone else she would’ve took part in the stoning. This also reflects th e cruel nature of the whole community because they are happy to murder one of their own members as long as it is not themselves that gets stoned. Another character which stands out is Mr Summers, the organiser of the lottery. Mr Summers is perceived as a cold hearted person near the end of the story even though at the start he is saw as a person who â€Å"had time and energy to devote to civic activities† which tells us that he is saw as a nice kind person. We can see that he is actually a cold hearted person after Tessie receives the marked paper. â€Å"â€Å"That was done pretty fast, now we’ve got to be hurrying a little more to get done I time. †Ã¢â‚¬  This shows that he is cold hearted because he says that sentence as if he has better things to do. It also tells us that he is a very organised person because he talks like he is sticking to a specific timetable. Another important group of characters are at the very beginning of the story. They are the children. The children are important because they create suspense in the beginning of the story and also show how the savagery of the parents is transferred onto the children and they will then grow up believing in the same things as their parents. It also shows that the nature of people and society are cruel because they are only children and no one thinks that children playing by a lake are evil. We can see that the children are related to the savagery of man towards man when we look at the children by the lake. â€Å"Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example† This shows the barbaric nature of the village because it is only the start of the story and already children are preparing for the stoning of a person in their village. The Lottery’ is quite different from other short stories, because short stories are usually made up of three main things: * A normal beginning * Some sort of adventure occurs and the main character gets dragged into the plot * And some sort of twist at the end. ‘The Lottery’ is not like most short stories because it has the same story line all the way throughout, and doesn’t involve any action or adventure. However there is a twist at the end because the reader doesn’t suspect that the person is going to be stoned to death, and it is only until we re-read the story that we realise that everything was connected to each other in some way. For example the boys picking up the stones at the beginning and then throwing them at Tessie at the end. Jackson also creates suspense to add something to our understanding of people and the nature of society. Jackson creates suspense by giving full details of the preparation of the lottery to stall for a while before actually talking about the lottery. She also creates suspense by creating lots of conversations among the villagers, which also shows the barbarity of the village because they all talk to each other like normal neighbours would, and makes the reader unaware of what is about to happen. In conclusion, Shirley Jackson has made me aware that people may think that they are civilised, but we also have the potential to be barbaric savages who all follow one leader. It has also made me aware that society can turn against you if people think it is for the right reasons. ‘the Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson is a short story that uses plot. characterisation and suspense to develop several themes. In doing so Jackson deepens our understanding of people and the nature of society. The story begins in a growing village which holds an annual lottery, but instead of being rewarded the person who receives the marked paper gets stoned to death. This itself demonstrates one of the main themes of man’s inhumanity to man. Jackson also shows this by telling the reader that it is a small community that murders one of its own members which shows the shocking and cruel nature achieved by humans. We can see this by looking at the start of the story when a group of boys play at the lake: â€Å"Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example† This shows inhumanity in an unclear way because the reader doesn’t know why they are doing collecting stones but soon realise at the end that it was so they could throw them at the person who was about to get stoned. Another aspect which shows that the civilisation is inhumane is that the village barely conceal the savagery of killing a member of its own community. Jackson shows this by telling us that the killings are done by ‘decent’ people who are show themselves to be kind generous people, but a family realises that it is no their family they proceed with an unsympathetic disinterest for the family that does receive the marked paper. Also, the village does not attempt to hide their actions from other villages, which tells us that they think that their actions are the right actions to take. This story also makes the reader question: â€Å"Is life expandable? It may make us think of this because good innocent people still suffer, and that it was all down to chance that decides what happens to whom. Characterisation adds something to our understanding of nature and society because the author does not focus on one character alone or tell anything about them; instead Jackson focuses on a group of people united by a common objective, which is to avoid receiving the marked paper which will conclude in the person being stoned to death . When looking at the characterisation of the characters, it is important to know that Jackson does not give any detail about any of the characters. We can see this when Tessie Hutchison first arrives at the lottery ceremony: â€Å"Mrs Hutchison came hurriedly along the path to the square, her sweater thrown over her shoulders, and slid into place. † This proves that Jackson doesn’t go into any detail when it comes to the characters, because when we first see Mrs Hutchison, it tells us that she has a jumper over her shoulders, yet does not tell us what she looks like or what else she is wearing. This does not happen to just one character but all characters throughout the story. `Although all the characters aren’t given in any detail, there are a few characters that stand out through the story. The main person who stands out is the character who gets stoned to death, which happens to be Tessie Hutchison who was also late for the lottery ceremony. When it was Mrs Hutchison who received the marked paper and was chosen to be stoned to death she exclaims: â€Å"â€Å"It isn’t fair, it isn’t right! † Mrs Hutchison screamed, and then they were upon her. This shows Tessie’s selfish nature because she hasn’t objected to any of the stoning’s before, even though it is wrong and cruel. In this context ‘fair’ and ‘right’ mean the same thing to Tessie because it was her who received the marked paper and not someone else, and if it was someone else she would’ve took part in the stoning. This also reflects th e cruel nature of the whole community because they are happy to murder one of their own members as long as it is not themselves that gets stoned. Another character which stands out is Mr Summers, the organiser of the lottery. Mr Summers is perceived as a cold hearted person near the end of the story even though at the start he is saw as a person who â€Å"had time and energy to devote to civic activities† which tells us that he is saw as a nice kind person. We can see that he is actually a cold hearted person after Tessie receives the marked paper. â€Å"â€Å"That was done pretty fast, now we’ve got to be hurrying a little more to get done I time. †Ã¢â‚¬  This shows that he is cold hearted because he says that sentence as if he has better things to do. It also tells us that he is a very organised person because he talks like he is sticking to a specific timetable. Another important group of characters are at the very beginning of the story. They are the children. The children are important because they create suspense in the beginning of the story and also show how the savagery of the parents is transferred onto the children and they will then grow up believing in the same things as their parents. It also shows that the nature of people and society are cruel because they are only children and no one thinks that children playing by a lake are evil. We can see that the children are related to the savagery of man towards man when we look at the children by the lake. â€Å"Bobby Martin had already stuffed his pockets full of stones, and the other boys soon followed his example† This shows the barbaric nature of the village because it is only the start of the story and already children are preparing for the stoning of a person in their village. The Lottery’ is quite different from other short stories, because short stories are usually made up of three main things: * A normal beginning * Some sort of adventure occurs and the main character gets dragged into the plot * And some sort of twist at the end. ‘The Lottery’ is not like most short stories because it has the same story line all the way throughout, and doesn’t involve any action or adventure. However there is a twist at the end because the reader doesn’t suspect that the person is going to be stoned to death, and it is only until we re-read the story that we realise that everything was connected to each other in some way. For example the boys picking up the stones at the beginning and then throwing them at Tessie at the end. Jackson also creates suspense to add something to our understanding of people and the nature of society. Jackson creates suspense by giving full details of the preparation of the lottery to stall for a while before actually talking about the lottery. She also creates suspense by creating lots of conversations among the villagers, which also shows the barbarity of the village because they all talk to each other like normal neighbours would, and makes the reader unaware of what is about to happen. In conclusion, Shirley Jackson has made me aware that people may think that they are civilised, but we also have the potential to be barbaric savages who all follow one leader. It has also made me aware that society can turn against you if people think it is for the right reasons.

Education and Students Essay

With advancements in technology, some students have chosen to complete their schoolwork through the Internet, rather than in traditional classrooms. Those who support a traditional classroom approach to learning argue that it provides more of an opportunity for students to interact with the teacher and other students. Those who feel that learning over the Internet is better argue that it allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Do you feel education is better provided in traditional classrooms or when offered over the Internet? Write an essay to be read by a classroom teacher in which you persuade the reader that either traditional classroom education or Internet-based learning is better. With advancements in technology, some students have chosen to complete their schoolwork through the Internet, rather than in traditional classrooms. Those who support a traditional classroom approach to learning argue that it provides more of an opportunity for students to interact with the teacher and other students. Those who feel that learning over the Internet is better argue that it allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Do you feel education is better provided in traditional classrooms or when offered over the Internet? Write an essay to be read by a classroom teacher in which you persuade the reader that either traditional classroom education or Internet-based learning is better. With advancements in technology, some students have chosen to complete their schoolwork through the Internet, rather than in traditional classrooms. Those who support a traditional classroom approach to learning argue that it provides more of an opportunity for students to interact with the teacher and other students. Those who feel that learning over the Internet is better argue that it allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Do you feel education is better provided in traditional classrooms or when offered over the Internet? Write an essay to be read by a classroom teacher in which you persuade the reader that either traditional classroom education or Internet-based learning is better. With advancements in technology, some students have chosen to complete their schoolwork through the Internet, rather than in traditional classrooms. Those who support a traditional classroom approach to learning argue that it provides more of an opportunity for students to interact with the teacher and other students. Those who feel that learning over the Internet is better argue that it allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Do you feel education is better provided in traditional classrooms or when offered over the Internet? Write an essay to be read by a classroom teacher in which you persuade the reader that either traditional classroom education or Internet-based learning is better. With advancements in technology, some students have chosen to complete their schoolwork through the Internet, rather than in traditional classrooms. Those who support a traditional classroom approach to learning argue that it provides more of an opportunity for students to interact with the teacher and other students. Those who feel that learning over the Internet is better argue that it allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Do you feel education is better provided in traditional classrooms or when offered over the Internet? Write an essay to be read by a classroom teacher in which you persuade the reader that either traditional classroom education or Internet-based learning is better. With advancements in technology, some students have chosen to complete their schoolwork through the Internet, rather than in traditional classrooms. Those who support a traditional classroom approach to learning argue that it provides more of an opportunity for students to interact with the teacher and other students. Those who feel that learning over the Internet is better argue that it allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Do you feel education is better provided in traditional classrooms or when offered over the Internet? Write an essay to be read by a classroom teacher in which you persuade the reader that either traditional classroom education or Internet-based learning is better. With advancements in technology, some students have chosen to complete their schoolwork through the Internet, rather than in traditional classrooms. Those who support a traditional classroom approach to learning argue that it provides more of an opportunity for students to interact with the teacher and other students. Those who feel that learning over the Internet is better argue that it allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Do you feel education is better provided in traditional classrooms or when offered over the Internet? Write an essay to be read by a classroom teacher in which you persuade the reader that either traditional classroom education or Internet-based learning is better. With advancements in technology, some students have chosen to complete their schoolwork through the Internet, rather than in traditional classrooms. Those who support a traditional classroom approach to learning argue that it provides more of an opportunity for students to interact with the teacher and other students. Those who feel that learning over the Internet is better argue that it allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Do you feel education is better provided in traditional classrooms or when offered over the Internet? Write an essay to be read by a classroom teacher in which you persuade the reader that either traditional classroom education or Internet-based learning is better. With advancements in technology, some students have chosen to complete their schoolwork through the Internet, rather than in traditional classrooms. Those who support a traditional classroom approach to learning argue that it provides more of an opportunity for students to interact with the teacher and other students. Those who feel that learning over the Internet is better argue that it allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Do you feel education is better provided in traditional classrooms or when offered over the Internet? Write an essay to be read by a classroom teacher in which you persuade the reader that either traditional classroom education or Internet-based learning is better. With advancements in technology, some students have chosen to complete their schoolwork through the Internet, rather than in traditional classrooms. Those who support a traditional classroom approach to learning argue that it provides more of an opportunity for students to interact with the teacher and other students. Those who feel that learning over the Internet is better argue that it allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Do you feel education is better provided in traditional classrooms or when offered over the Internet? Write an essay to be read by a classroom teacher in which you persuade the reader that either traditional classroom education or Internet-based learning is better. With advancements in technology, some students have chosen to complete their schoolwork through the Internet, rather than in traditional classrooms. Those who support a traditional classroom approach to learning argue that it provides more of an opportunity for students to interact with the teacher and other students. Those who feel that learning over the Internet is better argue that it allows students to learn anytime and anywhere they choose. Do you feel education is better provided in traditional classrooms or when offered over the Internet? Write an essay to be read by a classroom teacher in which you persuade the reader that either traditional classroom education or Internet-based learning is better.

Critical Thinking Reflection Essay

Select one of the following questions and answer it in 200 to 300 words using the principles of critical thinking you learned in this course. How can we reduce poverty in the United States?  Will receiving a college degree improve your career opportunities? Has the United States peaked as a world power? Will receiving a college degree improve your career opportunities? Once I choice this question immediately my enculturation barrier surfaced, because as soon as I read the question I said to myself well yes it does, and I believe I said that to myself because that what we have all been taught by our parents, teachers, and media, so that’s what I know to be true. After realizing that I allowed my barrier to surface I stopped and started to ask myself questions that might help me figure out what the answer really is on my own. I asked myself things like, where is there proof of this? Are there facts that will support what I currently believe? After going through the series of question in my head I started doing some research. After I completed my research I found information that did support my original thought, but there was also information that I found to be informative but didn’t really go with my thought process. I found things like, â€Å"College grads also tend to make more, which many view as a benefit. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, over a lifetime of work, the typical college graduate earns $650,000 more than the typical high school graduate. (The study also found that college graduates have more stable employment.† (â€Å"Finding the Value in a College Degree,† 2014, para.). Which shows that having a college degree can benefit you. The other information I found that was informative was that â€Å"A college degree doesn’t guarantee high earnings. This benefit will depend on your intended major and school.† (â€Å"Finding the Value in a College Degree,† 2014, para.). This tells me that just because someone has a degree it doesn’t mean that they will make more money, they have to have a degree that applies to that job. After asking myself questions and doing some research I am going to say that having a college degree will improve career opportunities. Citation Finding the Value in a College Degree. (2014, September). The Student Loan  Ranger, (), . Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/education/blogs/student-loan-ranger/2012/09/12/finding-the-value-in-a-college-degree Write, once you have answered the above question, a reflection of the process of critical thinking you used in forming your response. Include the following in your reflection: How does the process of critical thinking you used relate to or differ from the process you used to find content for your answer? How can you use critical thinking in other areas? What steps can you take to ensure that you continue to use critical thinking in the future? Reflection The process of critical thinking that I used to answer my question relates because in critical thinking you have to be willing to think differently and not just go with what you think you already know. You also have to ask yourself question and be able to understand the answers. I believe that I can use critical thinking in other areas by making sure that I am always open minded and be willing to listen and learn form others. The steps that I can take to ensure that I continue to use critical thinking in the future are to be able to acknowledge when I’m letting barriers get in the way, and make sure that I try to avoid them in the future. Other steps that I can take are to make sure that I question almost everything, don’t always go with what someone wants me to believe. I will always ask questions and try my hardest to make sure that I understand the answer. I will also continue practicing and learning about critical thinking as much as a can so I can strive to become an advanced critical thinker.

Assignment Internal Cash Control Essay

The weaknesses in the internal control over cash disbursements are, there should be only one person in charge of writing the checks for each task, and there should be numbered checks for both people so that the funds spend can be tracked easier, the cabinets were the checks are stored should be two locked cabinets, one for each person who writes the checks. Memo: I would recommend that to have a better control over money paid and items purchased, that you start having numbered checks in two separate accounts, one account for the treasurer and one account for the purchasing agent. This method will make it easier for moth parties to avoid mistakes, and it will also be easier to verify money spent and received. P4-1A The internal control principles implemented by the Guard Dog Company are, numbered checks so that the company has a number trail to monitor cash dispersment. Each check must have approval from Jane Bell, and Dennis Kurt before a check can be issued, this is an establishment of responsibility to ensure that not just anyone ion the company can write checks. Checks must be signed by either Tom Kimball, the treasurer, or Karen Thews, the assistant treasurer. Before signing a check, the signer is expected to compare the amounts of the check with the amounts on the invoice, this is also a form of establishment of responsibility and both of these procedures are a use of documentation procedures. After signing a check, the signer stamps the invoice â€Å"paid† and inserts within the stamp, the date, check number, and amount of the check. The â€Å"paid† invoice is then sent to the accounting department for recording. By doing this it is a way of verifying company cash dispersment and documentation control. Blank checks are stored in a safe in the treasurer’s office. The combination to the safe is known by only the treasurer and assistant treasurer. By locking the checks in a safe it establishes responsibility for the checks, and uses a Physical, mechanical, and electronic controls to narrow down any check problems to one source. Each month the bank statement is reconciled with the bank balance per books by the assistant chief accountant. By doing this it establishes document control, this way any discrepancies in the amount paid can be verified. Indicate the weaknesses in internal accounting control in the handling of collections. The weaknesses in the handling of collections are the way the money is deposited, the way the checks are made out and the way the money is verified and deposited. P4-2A List the improvements in internal control procedures that you plan to make at the next meeting of the audit team for (1) the ushers, (2) the head usher, (3) the financial secretary, and (4) the finance committee. The improvements the ushers need to make is that after each offering they should individually count their own collected baskets and log there amount in an offering log book, so that there is less room for error in the next step. By handing all the baskets to the head usher without counting the money themselves, the head usher can offer any amount on his final deposit. The improvements the head usher needs to make is to make sure that each usher counts their baskets, and that the head usher counts all the baskets and checks for discrepancies to make sure that no one is pocketing any money. The head usher should also check the amount given to him/her against what is written in the offering log. Have a book to log the amount of money that is put into the safe so that it is logged in a way that can be verified by the committee, a note is not a safe method because it can be thrown out, by logging in a book it is easier to find were the discrepancies came from. The improvements the financial secretary should make is that he/she should have a list of what needs to be paid and make a log of the amounts that need paid and to make sure the receipts are logged along with whatever bills or services that needed to be paid that week. The financial secretary should also verify the amount of money in the safe against the log that is kept by the ushers. The financial committee should show a more detailed list of what expenditures are needed each month so that the financial secretary knows what is needed for payment that month. They should also be involved in verifying the churches income. To improve internal control the church should have a log for money received during offerings, they should tell the congregation to make the checks payable to the church or to the account holder that the checks are deposited into, because anyone can cash a check made out to â€Å"cash†. The church should also verify that any money not deposited from the offering was spent properly and not used for personal things. Include how a company could use the five basic principles of cash management to increase accuracy for a business. A company can increase the collection of receivables by offering incentives for quick payment from their customers. A company can delay the payment of liabilities and bills to close to the due date of the liability or bill, so that if any expenditure is needed before the due date they will not have spent the money too early. A company can keep inventory low on the merchandise that does not sell quickly, so that the company has money for the merchandise that is popular and selling fast. A company that wish to expand should wait until they have excess money in a slow season so that they can expand their business and have new locations open in time for their busy season. A company should invest money that is sitting idle into low risk companies’, the most common form of liquid investments is interest-paying U. S. government securities.

Mercury Athletic Footwear Essay

1. Active Gear is a relatively small athletic and casual footwear company $470.3 million of revenue and $60.4 million of EBIT compared to typical competitors that sold well over a $1.0 billion annually Company executives felt its small size was becoming more of a disadvantage due to consolidation among Chinese contract manufacturers. Specialty athletic footwear that evolved from high performance to athletic fashion wear with a â€Å"classic† appeal. Casual/recreational footwear for walking, hiking, boating, etc.. Affluent urban & suburbanites in the 25-45 age range (i.e. â€Å"Yuppies†). Brands are associated with upwardly mobile lifestyle. Department & specialty stores – no big box retailers. 2. Company strengths: By focusing on a portfolio of classic brands, Active Gear has been able to lengthen its product lifecycle. In turn, this has led to less operating volatility and better supply chain management as well as lower DSI 3. Company weaknesses: By avoiding the chase for the latest fashion trend and avoiding big box retailers, the company has had very low growth 4. Mercury was a subsidiary of a large apparel company As a result of a strategic realignment, the division was considered to be non-core. 2006 revenue and EBITDA were $431.1 million and $51.8 million respectively Under the egis of WCF, Mercury’s performance was mixed. WCF was able to expand sales of footwear, but was never able to establish the hoped for apparel line 5. Products, Customers and Distribution: Men’s and women’s athletic and casual footwear. Most products were priced in the mid-range. More contemporary fashion orientation Typical customers were in the 15-25 age range. Primarily associated with X-games enthusiasts and youth culture Products were sold primarily through a wide range of retail, department, and specialty stores – including discount retailers 6. Company strengths: Established brand and identity within a well-defined niche market that seems to be growing. Strong top-line growth resulting from inroads with major  retailers. Products were less complex; and therefore, cheaper to produce 7. Company weaknesses: Increased sales came as a result of pricing concessions to large retailers. Proliferation of brands led to decreased operating efficiency and a longer DSI. Women’s casual footwear was a disaster Central Question: What Are the Likely Rationales for a Combination of Active Gear and Mercury? How do the acquirer and target fit together? What are the potential sources of value? How would any potential sources of value be realized? Potential sources of value creation: Operating synergies coming from economies of scale with respect to contract manufacturers Perhaps some economies of scope with respect to distribution – extending the distribution network Possible combination of the women’s casual lines Counter arguments to value creation: Poor strategic fit – Mercury’s focus is on a totally different market demographic Likewise, Mercury’s niche maybe significantly more prone to fashion fads Continued growth of extreme sports category may make Mercury’s business vulnerable to the large athletic shoe companies Firm Value & Cash Flows: 1. As a starting point, let’s start with a basic valuation paradigm Note that the sole determinant of value is the generation of cash flow Further the only relevant factors are the amounts, timing and risks of the cash flows FCF is assumed to be the mean of an a random distribution Determination of FCF To begin, the preceding equation led to a value of the entire enterprise, meaning V = D + E Thus, we are interested in what the total business is worth irrespective of who gets the cash or how it’s financed In turn, this means we are interested in the un-levered FCF Un-Levered FCF = EBIT(1-t) + Depr’ – ∆WC – Cap-x Determination of FCF In case Exhibit 6, Liedtke provides a set of projections for each of the operating segments – Thus, Multiplying EBIT by (1-t) yields the first term in the FCF equation Question: Are taxes being overstated? It is true that interest expense creates a tax shield However, the value of the tax shield is acknowledged in the WACC or in a separate calculation when using APV