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Dissertation on Spirituality in Mental Health Care

Abstract The mental health profession had acknowledged the role played by religion and spirituality in identifying and addressing mental health needs in their patients. This article showed that spirituality and religion while distinct from each other plays a significant role in the treatment of mental health patients. It concluded that spiritual assessment and therapy should be integrated in mental health care strategies. Recommendations on the mental health profession included the integration of spirituality training among mental health workers and the use of this type of therapy in the profession in different societies.   Introduction Because of the importance of attitudes toward recovery and spirituality among future mental health professionals in the medical field, and the strong orientation toward spirituality in the recovery movement, both in the lay movement, the focus of this article is to evaluate the role of religious and spiritual orientations and the patients’ perceptions of the importance of spirituality in their health and medical treatment. The meanings of religion and spirituality appear to be evolving. Religion is moving from a broadband construct--one that includes both the institutional and the individual, and the good and the bad--to a narrowband institutional construct that restricts and inhibits human potential(Pargament, 1999). Spirituality, on the other hand, is becoming differentiated from religion as an individual expression that speaks to the greatest of human capacities (Pargament, 1999). The differences between religion and spirituality need to be distinguished. Although some individuals express their spirituality through their religious faith, others do not (Burke, Flowers, Furr, and Graham, 2001). Religion generally refers to an integrated set of beliefs and activities (Corbett, 1990) whereas spirituality is seen as the meaning gained from life experiences (May, 1982), which may or may not be theistic in nature (Richards & Bergin, 1997). A belief in God can be integrated with meaningful life experiences, but individuals without a belief in God or a higher power can also have spiritual and meaningful experiences in life (Stoll, 1989). A sense of spirituality embodies a broader construct definition than a sense of religion. Conceptualizations of "spirituality" in colloquial usage embody a "sensitivity or attachment to religious values and things of the spirit rather than material or worldly interests" whereas religion refers to "the service and worship of God or the supernatural" and an "institutionalized system" of attitudes, beliefs, and practices (Webster Dictionary, 1981). In current substance abuse literature, spirituality has been described in terms of one's relationship with the universe, with other people, and with one's self (Corrington, 1989). Spirituality has also been described as referring to people who are concerned with metaphysical issues as well as their day-to-day lives. Significantly, such definitions of spirituality note that a belief in God is not required in order to be spiritual (Gorsuch, 1993). Religion is a search for significance in ways related to the sacred (Pargament, 1997). This definition bridges both functional and substantive traditions in the psychology of religion. Functionally, religion is a search for significance. By search, Pargament (1999) clarified that it is an efforts not only to find significance but to conserve significance once found or transform significance when necessary. Spirituality is the heart and soul of religion. The search for the sacred is the most central religious function. Pargament (1997, 1999) defined spirituality as a search for the sacred. It is, the most central function of religion. It has to do with however people think, feel, act, or interrelate in their efforts to find, conserve, and if necessary, transform the sacred in their lives. The sacred encompasses concepts of God, the divine, and the transcendent, but it is not limited to notions of higher powers. It also includes objects, attributes, or qualities that become sanctified by virtue of their association with or representation of the holy (Pargament, Mahoney, & Swank, in press). The mental health-care delivery system is composed of resources and organization components that affect utilization. The resource components include labor and capital for health care. The organization components are the entry for gaining access to the system and the structure for the delivery of services that are delivered. The service population components that impact utilization are delineated into predisposing, enabling, and need factors. Predisposing factors include demographic, social structural, and attitudinal-belief characteristics. Enabling factors are conditions that make health-care services available to an individual. The need factors are the perceptions that the individual has about the necessity to use the health-care delivery system to remedy actual or potential health problems. Spirituality and Spiritual Care In the past, mental health professionals and ministers have seen science and religion as separate, and attempts to connect them have been dismissed as disruptive and unhealthy (Fallot, 2001). Over the years, however, there have been attempts by noted therapists such as Jung and others to integrate these two aspects of spirituality and mental health. In the last 20 years, a growing number of voices have joined in the discussion (Fallot, 2001). Many therapists now are beginning to consider the healing opportunities available when incorporating a more holistic view of mind, body, and spirit. Even the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has begun to consider the role of religion and spirituality in psychiatry (APA, 1994). Such a dramatic shift in thinking is easy to understand when looking at the growing sense of isolation and alienation present in the patient population, which the mental health community can no longer ignore. With families eroding and communities no longer available to provide support, there is a growing sense of confusion and conflict about values, standards, and priorities (Aponte, 1996). People who come into therapy today are looking for something more. As Nicholas (1994) states, "Patients not only are coming into therapy with confusion about their own individual morality but are seeking to compensate for the lack of reliable and humane guideposts that are available in society as a whole" (p. 5). In this atmosphere, therapists are looked to for support as clients struggle with a loss of meaning and a sense of emptiness. A therapist who focuses on traditional therapies can provide only transitory relief for the emptiness and is limited because the process speaks primarily to individual pathology rather than the wider aspect of humankind (Karasu, 1999). With such a lack of training and support, therapists do not have an easy task to incorporate spiritual or religious issues. Whether they acknowledge them or not, their attitudes and beliefs, experience with religion, and view of the world come with us when we enter a therapeutic session. For therapists to ignore that or not recognize it as important is to "leave unknown, unattended and unspoken, the values, morals and worldview that frame the therapy of the clinician" (Aponte, 1996, p. 97). Much better to recognize the importance of these beliefs, decide how the therapy will or will not reflect them, and establish a system that can integrate spirituality into the therapy. To accomplish this task requires a willingness by mental health professionals need to self-reflect on the role their own belief systems play in their work, as well as a desire to have a dialogue with clients on spiritual and religious issues. This open attitude allows clients to explore their own spiritual views and develop ways to translate their beliefs into moral guides that can bring strength and inspiration. For many clients, religion and spirituality are deep sources of identity and compose a central theme in understanding motivation and meaning. Being open to this aspect adds a fuller dimension to the therapy and may consolidate and sustain recovery (Fallot, 2001).                Incorporating an awareness of spiritual and religious issues into the mental health setting requires a certain level of insight and preparation before a session. This preparation requires an assessment of feelings and attitudes about the world, how we live, and what we think of as important in life (Bolletino, 2001). In this view of wholeness, mental health professionals takes on the task of helping clients self-realize, to search for meaning and the best way of being that uses the most of themselves (LeShan, 1999). Rather than exploring past causes for current problems or how clients got that way, therapists should emphasize what clients are trying to accomplish or become, what their dreams are (Bolletino, 2001). With this focus, the client is encouraged to make inner changes that can create a better way of life, with the past becoming relevant "only insofar as it blocks the way to the future" (Bolletino, p. 97).   Effects of Spiritual Assessment on Mental Health Care Management Assessment is critical to the incorporation of strengths into the therapeutic milieu. Without a reliable means for finding consumers' strengths, workers tend to revert to practice models that are based on the identification of problems and deficits (Ronnau & Poertner, 1993). In addition to identification, strengths must be organized into a conceptual framework that suggests particular interventions. Gathering data is not an assessment in itself; the information must be interpreted, organized, integrated with theory, and made meaningful (Rauch, 1993). Accordingly, assessment is defined as the process of gathering, analyzing, and synthesizing salient data into a multidimensional formulation that provides the basis for action decisions (Rauch, 1993). As Mattaini and Kirk (1991) observed, assessment is an underdeveloped area in mental health work. Nowhere is the lack of maturation more evident than in the area of spiritual assessment (Sherwood, 1998). Although there have been numerous calls for the reintegration of spirituality into the therapeutic dialogue (Poole, 1998), multidimensional instruments that assess spirituality in a therapeutically constructive fashion are conspicuously absent. Surveys have shown repeatedly that mental health have received little training in issues related to spirituality or spiritual assessment (Hodge, 2001). Furman and Chandy (1994) found that more than three-quarters of practitioners received little or no training in spirituality during their graduate education, despite the central role it plays in the lives of many consumers. An additional factor stimulating interest in assessing spirituality is the profession’s growing acceptance of the strengths perspective, which posits clients' personal and environmental strengths as central to the helping process. With growing use of clients' capabilities in the clinical dialogue to ameliorate problems, interest in how to identify clients' strengths, such as spirituality, has increased (Hwang & Cowger, 1998). Spiritual and Cross Cultural Care Certainly the evolving meanings of religiousness and spirituality may reflect large-scale sociodemographic changes. As boundaries between countries and cultures have become more open, we have seen a proliferation of Eastern religions and alternative religious beliefs in the United States and Europe. They have brought with them alternative religious groups and practices. Alternative quasi-religious movements in the United States and Europe have also prompted changes in labels and meanings of these constructs. Disparities in mental health status continue to exist across cultural care. These disparities of poor health, in part, are attributed to decreased access to health-care services (Jewell and Russell, 1992). However, culture plays a key role in health-care utilization patterns. The predominate barriers include inability to pay for services, lack of transportation and child care, decreased understanding of treatment plans, and inability to incorporate prescribed health plans into daily living patterns. According to Murdock (1972), culture is a combination of habitually performed behaviors, intelligence for problem solving, communication through language, and the existence of social life or a society. Differences in health behaviors will vary among people of various cultures. Health-care service utilization is directly related to factors within the healthcare delivery system and to the population targeted for services (Jewell and Rusell, 1992). Utilization of services is characterized by the type of care received, the site of delivered care, the purpose of the health encounter, the number of visits made, and the time period for rendered care. Utilization patterns will vary for preventive, illness-related and maintenance care. Conclusion Mental health professionals must acknowledge the growing benefits that spirituality and religion plays in mental health treatment. In this regard, their training must also incorporate spirituality as an alternative therapy. Furthermore, the church can be used as a mechanism for increasing health-care utilization. The social networks within the church have a positive impact on health promotion, early detection of disease, and health maintenance. With the assistance of the clergy and church lay leaders, these beliefs should be incorporated into training programs for mental health workers.                Consequently, although all areas of community needs in addition to those pertaining to health (e.g., needs related to education, employment, and political activism) should be assessed, the mental health can provide input into the development of community needs assessment tools and the analysis of data that address the health component. Health providers should recognize that immediate needs and community plans for interventions may not pertain to potential or existing health problems.   Recommendations Mental health professionals and hospitals must assess individual's and families' beliefs about potential and existing health problems and subsequent treatments. Spiritual assessment data must be integrated into a comprehensive plan of care. Assessment information should be obtained about uses of informal lay health networks before and throughout the course of illness and during wellness. Health promotion practices should be identified, evaluated for their efficacy, and integrated into wellness plans. Communication between spirituality scholars and other mental health-care providers should be promoted as a necessary component for care of clients. This should hold true in across cultural mental health care- accepting the differences within the culture, assessing individual health beliefs and practices, and integrating these beliefs and practices into plans of care, intercultural communication with mental health clients and families can be enhanced. References American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.   Aponte, H. (1996, Fall). Political bias, moral values, and spirituality in the training of psychotherapists. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 60, 88-502.   Bolletino, R. (2001). A model of spirituality for psychotherapy and other fields of mind-body medicine. Advances in Mind-Body Medicine, 17(2), 90-107.   Burke, MT, Flowers, C., Furr, S. and Graham, S. (2001) Religion and Spirituality in Coping With Stress. Counseling and Values, Vol. 46.   Corbett, J. M. (1990). Religion in America. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.   Corrington, J. E., (1989) Spirituality and recovery: Relationships between levels of spirituality. contentment and stress during recovery from alcoholism in AA, Alcoholism Treatment Q. 6:151-165.   Fallot, R. (2001). The place of spirituality and religion in mental health services. New Directions for Mental Health Services, 91, 79-88.   Furman, L. D., & Chandy, J. M. (1994). Religion and spirituality: A long-neglected cultural component of rural social work practice. Human Services in the Rural Environment, 17(3/4), 21--26.   Gorsuch, R. L. (1993) Assessing spiritual variables in Alcoholics Anonymous research, in Research on Alcoholics Anonymous (B. S. McCrady and W. R. Miller, Eds.), Rutgers Center for Alcohol Study, New Brunswick, New Jersey, pp. 301-318.   Hwang, S.-C., & Cowger, C. D. (1998). Utilizing strengths in assessment. Families in Society, 79, 25--31. Jewell, N. and Russell, K. (1992) Cultural Impact of Health-Care Access: Challenges for Improving the Health of African Americans. Journal of Community Health Nursing, Vol. 9. Karusu, T.B. (1999). Spiritual psychotherapy. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 53, 143-161.   LeShan, L. (1999). Cancer as a turning point. New York: Plume.   Mattaini, M. A., & Kirk, S. A. (1991). Assessing assessment in social work. Social Work, 36, 260--266. May, G. G. (1982). Will and spirit: A contemplative psychology. San Francisco: Harper & Row.   Nicholas, M. (1994). The mystery of goodness. New York: Norton.   Pargament, K. (1999) The Psychology of Religion and Spirituality? Yes and No. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, Vol. 9.   Pargament, K. I. ( 1997 ). The psychology of religion and coping: Theory, research, practice. New York: Guilford.   Pargament, K. I., Mahoney, A., & Swank, A. (in press). The sanctification of the family. In T. Brubaker (Ed.), Religion and the family. Palo Alto, CA: Sage.   Rauch, J. B. (1993). Assessment: A sourcebook for social work practice. Milwaukee: Families International.   Richards, P. S., & Bergin, A. E. (1997). A spiritual strategy for counseling and psychotherapy. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.   Ronnau, J., & Poertner, J. (1993). Identification and use of strengths: A family system approach. Children Today, 22(2), 20--23.   Stoll, R. I. (1989). The essence of spirituality. In V. B. Carson (Ed.), Spiritual dimensions of nursing practice (pp. 4-23). Philadelphia: Saunders.   Webster's Third New International Dictionary. (1981). Merriam-Webster, Boston, Massachusetts.

Dissertation on Spirituality in Mental Health Care

Abstract The mental health profession had acknowledged the role played by religion and spirituality in identifying and addressing mental...

Risk-Based Approach to Financial Statement Audit

Risk-Based Approach to Financial Statement Audit             In the late 1990s, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) began to evolve as an approach for companies to manage risks on a holistic, company-wide basis. Audit departments employing a risk-based audit approach are probably already focusing on the same key risks that management focuses on as part of the ERM process. However, there are other characteristics of the ERM that a risk-based audit approach does not comprehensively address. Therefore, a fourth generation of auditing, risk management-based auditing, is necessary to optimize in an ERM environment. Risk management-based auditing embodies many of the characteristics of risk-based auditing with an expanded focus on key business objectives, management’s tolerance to risk, key risk measurements or performance indicators, and risk management capabilities. Additionally, risk-based auditing primarily focuses on mitigating risks to an acceptable level. Risk-based audits have the following characteristics: 1. Objective – Determine the primary business objectives, risks, measurements, and tolerances, and evaluate how effectively the risk management activities are supporting the objectives by managing the risks to an acceptable level 2. Approach – Focus on the following <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Understanding management’s strategic, operational and 	value objectives</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Identifying and evaluating the key business risks that 	are barriers to achieving those objectives</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Understanding management’s tolerance relative to risk 	occurrence</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Understanding how management monitors and measures  and 	how successfully they are managing those risks</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Determining the risk management activities deployed to 	manage the risks to an acceptable level</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Assessing how effectively the risk management activities 	manage those risks to an acceptable level</li> </ul> 3. Focus – Identify gaps between the current and desired level of risk management effectiveness. 4. Testing Approach – Typically, a combination of substantive and compliance testing is utilized, depending on how effectively the risk management activities are designed. 5. Recommendations – Relate gaps in risk management effectiveness to the underlying risks and key business objectives (Sobel 2005).             Risk-based auditing centers on the efficient review of the key elements of the financial statements. Essentially, this involved the concentration of audit resources on the material areas of the financial statements. This approach entails: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	A systematic approach to planning where the auditors 	related audit task to audit risk by reducing the time spent on low-risk 	situations and concentrated on the coverage of high-risk situations</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	The evaluation of the internal control systems of the 	auditee</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	The use of analytical procedures to form an opinion that 	is within the desired level of assurance (Wanna and Ng 2001)</li> </ul>             At the planning stage, the main consideration for determining a level for audit risk is the extent to which external users rely on the financial statements. Accordingly, questions such as who the potential users are, their purpose for using information and the total effect of using materially misstated information for their purpose are considered by the auditor. Apart from the audit risk, auditors also assess a risk that is related to the organization itself – inherent risk. The higher the inherent risk, the more audit effort required. This approach is currently evolving in practice and is referred to as the ‘business risk’ approach. Central to this audit methodology is an understanding of the auditee's business, how it is organized, and how transactions are controlled and recorded. The methodology focuses the financial statement audit on those activities that could give rise to a risk of a material misstatement in the financial statements. A SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, environmental opportunities and threats) analysis is carried out for the assessment of business, operational, financial, management, computerized information systems and control risks. Consideration of a client's business risks requires the auditor to know and understand the client's business strategy and how it plans to respond to changes in its environment. An emphasis on the client's business risks will lead to a more strategic and systematic approach to auditing. The auditor can use this knowledge of the client's business and industry to develop a more efficient and effective audit. The auditor will then place less emphasis on routine transactions that are likely to be tightly controlled through the client's internal control structure and concentrate on identifying non-routine transactions, accounting estimates and valuation issues that are much more likely to lead to misstatements in the financial statements.   Forensic Accounting Investigation vs. Statutory Audit             Forensic accounting investigation involves litigation. In such circumstances, accountants may be called on to provide expert investigations and evidence. Forensic accounting according to Crumbley et al (2005) is the use of accounting for legal purposes. It is the use of intelligence-gathering techniques and accounting/business skills to develop information and opinion for use by attorneys involved in civil litigation and give trial testimony if called upon. Forensic accounting in the action of identifying, recording, setting, extracting, sorting, reporting, and verifying past financial data or other accounting activities for settling current or prospective legal disputes or using such past financial data for projecting future financial data to settle legal disputes.             Statutory audit is an audit of a company as required by the Companies Act (1985), subject to small company exemptions. The auditors are required to report to the company’s member on all accounts of the company, copies of which are laid before the company in general meeting.               A forensic audit is different from statutory audit (typical financial audit) a financial audit is generally a sampling activity that does not look at every transaction. Thus, the system can be exploited by someone, such as an executive who knows the ins and outs of the company’s finances. A forensic audit looks at every detail of a specific aspect of the records, trying to determine why everything does not or should not add up. Thus a forensic audit is much more time consuming and can be significantly more expensive than a statutory audit (Crumbley et al 2005). Forensic accounting is a science dealing with the application of accounting facts gathered through auditing methods and procedures to resolve legal problems. Forensic accounting is much different from traditional auditing. The main purpose of a traditional audit id to examine the financial statements of an organization and express an opinion on the fairness of the financial statements. In other words, auditors give an opinion whether the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Auditors employ limited procedures and use extensive testing and sampling techniques. Audits are performed by independent accountants and are not conducted with a view to present the evidence in a judicial forum. An audit is not an investigation; its main objective is not to uncover fraud. Forensic accounting, on the other hand, is for investigation of an allegation with the assumption that the forensic accountant will have to present the evidence in a judicial forum. A forensic accountant often employs specialists in other areas as part of a team to gather evidence. In order to present the evidence in court, there must be absolute assurance; thus, testing and sampling methods are usually not employed as part of the evidence-gathering procedures. The scope of the investigation is limited because it is determined by the client (Siegel and Shim 2006).   Auditor’s Roles and Responsibilities             While both management and the auditor address some of the same issues, their roles are vastly different. There has been some confusion on this point, especially within the general public, which tends to attribute to the auditor certain responsibilities that actually rest with management. The professional standards of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) have long made clear that the financial statements and the decisions shaping the financials are the responsibility of management. The financial statements are management’s responsibility. The auditor’s responsibility is to express an opinion on the financial statements (Golden et al 2006).               There are three most common audit deficiencies that auditors commit. One is the auditor’s failure to gather sufficient evidence. In some instances, this failure was pervasive throughout the engagement; in other instances, the allegations were more specific. For example, many cases involved inadequate evidence in the areas of: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Asset Valuation – the auditor did not obtain evidence to 	support key assumptions.</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Asset Ownership – the auditor did not obtain evidence to 	indicate the company owed certain assets.</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Management Representations – the auditor did not 	corroborate management responses to inquiries.</li> </ul> Some cases involved the auditor's failure to examine relevant supporting documents (for example, examining a draft, instead of a final, sales contract) or failure to perform steps listed in the audit program. Overall, this failure contributed to management's success in overstating assets, the most common fraud technique.             Another common problem relates to audit program design. Planning the audit engagement is crucial to its success. Deficiencies in audit planning are very common. Specifically the auditor fails to: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Properly assess inherent risk and adjust the audit 	program accordingly</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Recognize the heightened risk associated with non-routine 	transactions</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Prepare an audit program</li> </ul>             Still one of the most common deficiencies in auditing is failure in confirming accounts receivable. These deficiencies include: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Failure to confirm enough receivables</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Failure to perform alternative procedures when 	confirmations were not returned or were returned with material exceptions 	</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Problems with sending and receiving confirmation requests</li> </ul>             Another common problem is the auditor's failure to recognize or disclose transactions with related parties. The auditor is either unaware of the related party or appears to cooperate in the client's decision to conceal a transaction with this party. Such transactions often resulted in inflated asset values (Beasly et al 2001).               Fraud symptoms--the specific, observable signs that fraud might be present--may be of the actual fraud or of the cover-up attempt. The easiest symptoms to spot involve cash and inventory shortages. But even there, clever thieves find ways to obscure the symptoms. For example, it's hard to tell immediately whether missing original documentation may be due to filing errors or because someone destroyed the documents to cover up a theft. Here is a short list of some fraud symptoms: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Multiple endorsements on commercial checks. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	The use of common or repetitive names for refunds--such 	as Smith or Jones or a commercial name that is very similar to one in your 	industry but is spelled slightly differently. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Line items in standard reconciliations that do not go 	away. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Customer complaints about having paid invoices for which 	they are being dunned. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Adjustments to either inventory records and customer 	accounts. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	The addresses of vendors that are the same as employee 	addresses. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	No proceeds from the disposition of used assets (Hall 	1996). </li> </ul>               When one of these symptoms appears, use caution. Often there are reasonable explanations and they usually do not lead to a thief--just an error or an ill-designed process.               Risk factors pertaining to management’s characteristics and influence over the control environment are aimed at identifying pressure or an incentive to engage in financial statement fraud and perceived opportunity to commit such fraud. The risk factors involving management’s motivations to engage in financial statement fraud are the following: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	A considerable portion of management’s compensation, 	represented by bonuses, stock options, or other incentives that pressure 	management to achieve unduly aggressive targets for operating results, 	financial position or cash flow.</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Commitments to analysts or creditors of unduly aggressive 	unrealistic forecasts</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Undue pressure on management and/or interest by 	management in maintaining or increasing the company’s stock price or 	earnings trend through the use of unusually aggressive accounting practices</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	The use of inappropriate means to minimize earnings for 	tax-motivated purposes</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Domination of management by a single person or small 	group without effective monitoring oversight by the board of directors 	and/or the audit committee</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Ineffective communication and support of entity values 	and ethics</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Management failure to correct known reportable conditions</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Management disregard for regulatory authorities</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Management setting unduly aggressive financial targets 	and expectations for operating personnel</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	High turnover of senior management, counsel, or board 	members</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Management continuing to employ ineffective and 	incompetent accounting, information technology, or internal audit staff</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Unreasonable demands for auditor completion of the audit 	report issuance </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Formal or informal restrictions on auditor access to 	people or information</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Domineering management behavior or attempts to influence 	audit scope</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Known history of securities law violations or fraud or 	allegations of financial statement fraud (Rezaee 2002)</li> </ul>     Benefits and Limitations of Risk-Based Approach             Risk-Based Auditing is an auditing technique that responds to the risk factors in an audit by assessing the levels of risk attached to different areas of an organization’s system and using the results to devise audit tests. The purpose is to focus the audit in the areas of highest risk in order to improve the chances of detecting errors (Hussey 1999).             In recent years, many auditors have expanded their focus to explicitly include the client's strategy and business processes. A number of recent studies examine whether a business process focus affects auditors' effectiveness in identifying risks. Bell et al. (1997) describe how this approach moves auditors from a balance sheet orientation to a broader focus on the overall organization, its environment, and its key processes. Lemon et al. (2000) describe the extent to which firms are adopting this focus in their audit methodology, and Eilifsen et al. (2001) describe how this approach is applied to an individual audit. The approach involves: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="circle"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Understanding and developing a mental model of the 	client's strategic environment, </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Understanding the key processes for executing that 	strategy, including the related risks and controls, and </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Relating these factors to financial statement assertions. 	</li> </ul>   Understanding the client's business processes aids in understanding key performance indicators and in developing expectations for financial statement accounts. Several studies examine the advantages of the business process approach. Organizing information about controls around business processes produces stronger category knowledge during auditor training and improves internal control evaluation performance compared to organizing information around traditional control objectives (Kopp and O'Donnell 2005). Using such an approach also increases the extent to which auditors integrate assessments of strategic business risks (O'Donnell et al. 2005). Auditors using strategic business risk analysis document more client business risks, and they assess the strength of the control environment and inherent risk differently (i.e., they perceive a stronger link between the strength of the control environment and the risk of material misstatement, and between inherent risk and the risk of material misstatement) (Kotchetova 2005). Additionally, auditors' assessments of client business risk and the analysis and documentation of business processes influence their business process-level risk assessments (Kotchetova et al. 2005). When auditors analyze and document business processes, their process-level risk assessments are related to their previous assessments of entity-level business risk, indicating that documenting the process analysis creates linkages between risks at different levels. Finally, using software adapted to a business risk approach allows auditors to identify more risks (O'Donnell and Schultz 2003). Two recent studies, however, document potential disadvantages of the business risk approach. First, Ballou et al. (2004) find that when the strategic analysis of a client indicates that it is typical of its industry, auditors may underweight small problems within business processes. Second, O'Donnell and Schultz (2005) find evidence of a "halo effect" when auditors use strategic risk assessment. Specifically, auditors performing such strategic assessments with favorable results are less likely to adjust their risk assessments at the account level when they uncover unusual fluctuations. Thus, both studies suggest that auditors getting positive news from the strategic-level risk assessment may be less attuned to specific risks noted subsequently. Most firms have developed decision aids to help identify client business risks, particularly on first-time audits (e.g., see Bell et al. 2002). Moreover, many have developed software that facilitates the use of the business risk approach discussed above (O'Donnell and Schultz 2003). However, practitioners should be aware that the orientation of a decision aid (i.e., a negative focus emphasizing risks and their consequences versus a positive focus) can affect auditors' judgments (Bedard and Graham 2002). Investigating auditors' responses relative to their actual (as opposed to hypothetical) clients, Bedard and Graham (2002) find that auditors who use a negatively focused decision aid identify more risk factors than auditors using a positively focused decision aid, and auditors who use a negatively focused decision aid link substantive tests to the risk factors. Auditors also can use analytical procedures that use a business risk approach and are adapted to clients' key processes (Ballou and Heitger 2004).

Risk-Based Approach to Financial Statement Audit

Risk-Based Approach to Financial Statement Audit In the late 1990s, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) began to evolve as an a...

Sample Essay Dissertation of Safety Management Strategy and Understanding on How Construction Safety Management Policies Enable Hongkong to Compete Effectively and Profitably

OBJECTIVES As a person with knowledge of safety management in construction, the author has always brought up to his superiors the viability of strategy formation regarding safety management and at times fails to understand the reasons or logic behind certain strategic implementations imposed on it. By delving into this project paper, the author intends to have better insights into how construction safety legislation policies are thought up, formulated and then imparted down into the key stakeholders. The author hopes to have an in-depth understanding as to how the construction safety management policies enables Hong Kong to compete effectively and profitably in this era of internationalization where competition is extremely intense. In order to reinforce the learning objectives, two key focal issues were focused upon, i.e. innovation and diversity. Innovation was discussed with regards to construction safety management within Hong Kong where it was renowned for its developmental capabilities to constantly innovate. Diversity came under strategic thinking and formation as the author considered the diverse culture, political climate, economic surroundings, social environment, technological settings, government policies and legal systems in order to have a better understanding of the Code of Practices for Site Safety Supervision in Hong Kong.   EXECUTIVE BRIEF     This essay utilized the Code of Practices for Site Safety Supervision in Hong Kong as the model legislative policy to review its present construction site safety management and how it dealt with critical situations. From the analysis, key trends in its construction site safety management were identified, how it worked and its effectiveness in dealing with critical situations was ascertained. The paper then moved on to assess its component construction site safety management strategies with regard to its suitability to critical situations, during which the internal capabilities of these safety management strategies in relation to the strategy being followed by most construction firms in Hong Kong was determined also. An overall analysis of the performance and effectiveness of the Code of Practices for Site Safety Supervision in Hong Kong was also conducted to assess and compare the capabilities of its construction site safety management strategies with those of others. Gaps in its construction site safety management capabilities were then identified. Finally, several choices of strategies to improve the construction site safety management of most Hong Kong construction firms as effective means in critical situations were recommended and evaluated in terms of appropriateness to the issues reviewed, feasibility in carrying out the options and acceptability within the key stakeholders and decision makers. Several key implementation issues related to managing strategic change were also addressed as well.   INTRODUCTION Construction site safety management can be defined as the efficient and effective implementation of the policies and tasks necessary to satisfy the safety of a construction firm's employees and management. Construction safety management focuses on the careful management of the processes involved in the production and distribution of products and services within construction sites (Bernold et al. 1993). More often than not, small companies don't really have the capabilities to implement construction site safety management. Instead, these companies engage in activities that various schools of management typically associate with construction safety management. These activities include the inspection of construction sites, construction materials assessment, production and distribution. However, construction site safety management deals with all operations done within construction firms and organizations. Activities such as the management of purchases, the control of inventories, logistics and evaluations are often related with construction site safety management. A great deal of emphasis lies on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes. Therefore, construction site safety management includes the analysis and management of internal processes (Blackmon et al. 1995). The Code of Practices for Site Safety Supervision of Hong Kong will be the model legislative policy that will be used in this research based on its good background in construction safety management. Elements of the Code of Practice for Site Safety Supervision Safety Management Structure and Responsibilities of Relevant Personnel A. Technically Competent Persons (TCPs) Technically Competent Persons (TCPs) identified in the Code include four (4) different individuals: the Authorized Signatory (AS), the Authorized Person (AP), the Registered Structural Engineer (RSE) and the Registered Geotechnical Engineer (RGE). They have responsibilities in communications, recordkeeping as well as construction safety operations scheduling. The Code of Hong Kong empowers these personnel to apply their technical knowledge in their respective fields of expertise for the safety of the construction sites. By doing so, the government of Hong Kong maintains a high level of standard regarding the safety and security of all construction sites within Hong Kong. However, certain criteria for qualifications in accordance with the Code of Hong Kong will have to be followed so as to make sure that the best and only the highly qualified ones are selected. This process will also allow the process of training to be unified, which will significantly bring down training costs.   It is interesting to know the basic innate characteristics of the TCPs involved in construction site safety management which contribute towards the development of their effective image. ·        Mental Stability Mental stability is crucial especially in the pursuit of the correct decision as well as in the construction site safety management and development of the processes accompanying it. It is important for the TCPs to remain updated with the latest developments in the construction sites to be able to stay aware and knowledgeable in all safety management issues. ·         Performance and Credibility The production of their best construction site safety management outputs comes as a result of well-funded construction site safety management and development activities. The strong performance of their safety and security measures in the construction sites could also be linked to the effective strategic planning and human resource mobilization of the TCPs. Thus, the TCPs’ credibility increases as their performance becomes better.     ·        Construction Site Safety Planning and Strategy Formation Capabilities Construction site safety management planning and strategy formation nowadays has created the need for TCPs to become aggressive especially in the area of marketing themselves. This is because the access to strong distribution channels is critical for their continued existence. ·        Decision-making abilities. Upon arriving at the correct decision or choice, the TCPs now gains confidence in their ability to make critical construction site safety decisions or choices especially when their integrity is on the line. Thus, the TCPs will now search for even more challenges and opportunities where they could further enhance their decision-making abilities regarding construction site safety management issues. ·        Holistic Mindset of Construction Site Safety Management Issues Through the exposure to various puzzling construction site safety management issues, the TCPs along the process are able to develop a holistic mindset regarding the construction site safety management issues surrounding them. The TCPs now become a keen observer of the truths and lies surrounding the issue being tackled, instead of relying on mere hearsays. The continuous pursuit of the truth behind the puzzling construction site safety management issues enables the TCPs to consistently practice and enhance a healthy and holistic mindset which makes it difficult for detractors to give influence. Because of this holistic approach, the TCPs are able to effectively select the right choice and continue to maximize this potential for future use. The four (4) TCPs are the following: The Authorized Signatory (AS) refers to the individual designated by the registered contractor to perform his / her duties and functions for the purposes of the Buildings Ordinance, and given power by the contractor to act on his behalf to gain total control of the contractor’s construction site safety management structure for the project. The Authorized Personnel (AP) refers to the individual designated by the Code to routinely inspect and satisfy, in accordance with the supervision plan, that the contractor’s construction site safety management system is congruent with the part of the supervision plan prepared by the Authorized Signatory. The Registered Structural Engineer (RSE) refers to the individual empowered by the Code to perform construction site structural engineering data assessment, evaluations and design calculations, concrete and steel structure design, confirmation of construction site frameworks, and even construction site cost evaluations. They will also perform the revising of construction site drawings, preparation of analyzed calculations as well as report preparation, technical reports and other documents. They will sometimes become the leader of individual construction site teams, where they will be tasked to mobilize their project staff. Together with other TCPs, they conduct ocular construction site inspection and observation. The Registered Geotechnical Engineer (RGE) refers to the individual tasked by the Code to do the routine task of applying geotechnical engineering techniques, procedures & principles on a wide variety of construction site safety management projects. This TCP typically has an excellent background in construction site mechanics, shallow and deep construction site foundations, earth structures, construction site materials calibration, construction site monitoring and evaluation. B. Purchasing and Buying of Safe and High Quality Construction Materials  Buyers and purchasing agents are tasked to evaluate construction material suppliers on the basis of price, quality and service support. They review catalogs as well as the construction industry and company publications in order to help them in their search for the right construction material suppliers. Fortunately for them, a majority of this information can be easily accessed in the Internet. They also do some researching about the reputation and background of the construction material suppliers and may also do some advertisements regarding the foreseen purchase actions in the hope of soliciting bids. At meetings and conferences, they perform the examination of construction material products as a safety precaution, the evaluation of the productive and distributive capabilities of the construction material suppliers, and the discussion of business considerations that have the possibility of influencing the construction material purchasing decision. As soon as all valuable information about the construction material suppliers is gathered, the placement of construction material orders and contracts are started to be awarded to those construction material suppliers who are able to meet the needs of the purchasers. The typical contracts range for several years and may even have the stipulations of the range of construction material prices, which would allow the purchasers to reorder whenever necessary (Dulaimi et al. 1999). In the Code of Hong Kong, however, there is a clear distinction between the work of a buyer and that of a purchasing manager. Purchasing agents and buyers focus mainly on the daily purchasing tasks. They specialize in construction materials. Purchasing agents perform the tracking of the conditions of the construction materials for safety, trends in their prices, as well as the future of the markets. Purchasing managers, on the other hand, are in charge of the more complex and critical construction material purchases and handles a team of purchasing agents. C. Production Safety Planning Production safety planning is a necessary function indicated in the Code. In most construction companies this process is often very difficult because of the fast rate of change and the occurrences of unplanned events. Most companies also use several methodologies depending on what the situation demands and the price of the construction materials. Nevertheless, the objectives of the production safety planning do not change: efficiency, effectiveness and safety (Everett, 1999). Production safety planning is being implemented by the Code in order for its activities and resources to be coordinated over time. This enables the construction firm to achieve overall safety in all of its operations with minimal resource utilization. Production safety planning also enables the construction firm to monitor the progress of their safety plans at regular intervals and maintain their control over operations. Production safety planning according to the Code involves four elements: scheduling, labor safety planning, equipment safety planning, and cost planning. <ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Scheduling involves the specification of 	the beginning, the length or the duration, and end of the planned activities 	geared towards achieving overall safety within the construction site.</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Labor safety planning involves allocating 	the necessary personnel and delegation of responsibilities and resources to 	ensure the overall safety of all construction workforces.</li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Equipment safety planning involves 	identifying the types and needs in terms of safety of the equipments being 	used in the construction site. </li> 	<li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> 	Cost planning involves determining the 	costs and the possibility of their occurrence in terms of achieving the 	overall safety within the construction site.</li> </ul> D. Construction Site Safety Analysis The occurrence of construction site safety analysis within the construction sites of Hong Kong reflects the growing difficulty in the management of most Hong Kong construction firms that require the safe use of valuable construction resources such as money, materials, equipments, and people. This is perhaps the reason why construction site safety analysis is being emphasized in the Code in order to determine the most effective ways to coordinate these resources through the application of analytical methods derived from fields of studies such as mathematics, science, and engineering in order to create the safest construction site possible. Through this process, safety concerns and problems within construction sites are solved in different ways and alternative solutions are then relayed to the construction firm’s management concerned. The management then selects the appropriate course of action in line with their goals. More often than not, construction site safety analysis is concerned with complicated issues such as top-level construction safety strategy, construction safety resource allocation, and designing of production facilities and systems for construction site safety (Gans, 1981). Construction site safety analysis actually may vary according to the structures and philosophy of the construction firm. But according to the Code, it centralizes construction site safety analysis in one department. Construction site safety analysis may also have the possibility of working closely with top level construction site managers in order to identify and solve a variety of safety problems. No matter what the type or structure of the construction company is, construction site safety analysis operates under similar sets of methodologies in order to carry out the analysis to support the construction company’s goal to improve the overall safety of its construction sites. The process is started by the description of the symptoms of a construction safety problem, followed by the formal definition of the problem. For example, a construction site safety analyst might be questioned regarding the most effective safety precaution for every needed part on a production line. Also, the analyst might be asked to determine the optimal number of emergency tools needed to be kept in inventory (Garza et al. 1998). E. Construction Site Engineering The Engineering Department of the construction site determines the best ways to utilize its basic factors of production in the safest ways possible. These resources include the construction site’s people, materials, information, and energy needed in the production. Engineering is the bridge that links the goals of management and safe operational performance. They are concerned with the increase in productivity through the proper management of people and choosing the appropriate methods of construction site organization while maintaining a high level of safety (Hammer, 1989). According to the Code, the construction site’s engineers perform the careful analysis of the construction site’s materials and their requirements as a safety precaution. In this process, they make use of various mathematical methods in its operations research to meet the requirements. They also develop systems of management control in order to aid in the planning of safety precautions and measures in cases of emergency situations. These systems are eventually subjected to improvements for the effective implementation of the safety plans of the construction site. The construction site’s engineers perform the tedious task of selecting which among the various construction site locations have the best combination of raw construction materials availability and safe environment. This time, engineers make use of computers for simulations and robots for controlling various activities and devices. They also are in charge of the development of systems and programs for safety. Critical Construction Site Safety Management Improvement Factors For Hong Kong construction sites to become effectively safe, the following construction site safety management improvement factors are critical: ·        Financial Stability Financial stability is crucial especially in the pursuit of construction site safety management and development activities. In the construction industry, it is important to remain updated with the latest construction site safety management developments to be able to stay competitive in the market. ·        Construction Materials Performance and Price The safety of the construction sites is dependent on well-funded construction safety management and development activities. The safety of the construction sites could also be linked to their cost-effectiveness. However, the construction firm has to be aware of the positioning in terms of process so as to maintain satisfactory profits margin and remain competitive in the market. ·        Safety Strategy and Implementation High construction site safety awareness among the clients has created the need for aggressive lobbying of safety policies, and access to strong distribution channels is critical for the introduction of new safety precautions. Benefits of Efficient Construction Site Safety Management ·        Economies of Scale and Scope in manufacturing and construction site management and development. ·        Unique Quality Construction Sites owing to heavy emphasis on Construction Site Safety Management A construction company’s commitment to construction site safety management & development activities has always been one of the top strategies to remain competitive in the construction market (Hinze et al. 1995)       ·        Differentiated Construction Site Safety Strategies Through the production and establishment of different safety strategies originating from the construction site safety management and development activities, the construction company is able to create its own firm-specific advantages. The continuous pursuit of construction site management and development processes enables the company to produce a steady stream of originally different construction site safety strategies which makes it difficult for competitors to find substitutes. Because of this differentiated approach, the construction company is able to strengthen their construction sites, which enables them in turn to maximize the returns on construction site safety management and development expenditures.     SYNTHESIS Deriving from the analysis between the Code of Practices for Site Safety Supervision in Hong Kong, operations management and capabilities of the winery involved, many strategic options would become imperative. It is therefore essential to evaluate these strategic options as to whether they are appropriate to the issues addressed, whether they are feasible enough to be implemented and their acceptability to key stakeholders. There is definitely a need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in capabilities of the Code of Practices for Site Safety Supervision of Hong Kong. While the code’s construction site safety management involves focusing on its core competencies with construction site position following its resource base, the construction firms of Hong Kong that will follow this will be put into a disadvantageous position should they choose to neglect both the macro as well as the construction environment. Therefore, construction firms in Hong Kong have to be aware of the latest construction site safety management changes, as well as changes in political, economic, legal and even demographic trends in order to develop the outside-in capabilities, such as market sensing, customer linking, channel bonding and technology monitoring (Kartman, 1997). The advantages enjoyed by most Hong Kong construction firms may come in the form of increased revenues. Knowing what the market demands and the latest construction site safety trends could help these construction firms fully exploit their research and development capabilities to come out with construction site safety strategies and measures which are not only cost-effective but also high in quality. The strategic option can even be used as marketing tool where the focus is on staying close to the construction firm’s clients and listening to their feedbacks. On the flip side of the coin, there will be huge mobilization of resources involved, and the associated risks bestowed on the construction firms of Hong Kong. Nevertheless, the mentioned strategic option seems the most practical in the wake of globalization, since there is a sudden shift towards a more integrated and independent construction industry in Hong Kong. The key stakeholders too should not have any objections so long as the construction firm’s core business and construction site safety strategies are not threatened. By virtue of most Hong Kong construction firms’ centralized control of their construction site safety strategies, it is being expected that major barriers should not exist in carrying out such an option except additional time may be required given the scope and span of the construction firm’s operations. Understanding the strategic importance of the Code of Practices for Site Safety Supervision of Hong Kong is something that all construction firms have to be familiar with. Construction firms in Hong Kong normally practice a centralized and globally scaled configuration of construction site safety operations and capabilities. This allows information dissemination to be retained.     RECOMMENDATIONS A tie-up or merger with various local construction firms in Hong Kong offers tremendous benefits in terms of access to their construction site safety management policies, infrastructure and even their resources. However, every independent construction firm must not lose sight of their core competencies while pursuing these tie-ups. Otherwise, the image of every construction firm in Hong Kong might be put in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the collaboration of construction firms in Hong Kong with their major competitors can be seen as a ridiculous move at first.  However, upon close examination, this move could pave the way for Hong Kong construction firms to improve even more their construction site safety management policies and strategies. The bottom line is both sides would be able significantly gain in such an alliance. Hong Kong construction firms’ strengths in construction site development combined with the construction site safety management capabilities of their competitors can transform them suddenly into an unbeatable force to reckon with. One possible setback, however, is the differences in the cultures of the construction firms involved. Another possible setback could be whether any of Hong Kong construction firm’s competitors has the need to form alliances. The third option also focuses on alliances, but this time with either one of the leading organizations specializing in construction site safety management. The benefits of these alliances should outweigh the costs in the long run. In terms of appropriateness, all three options are able to directly address the current issues mentioned. However, the question remains whether construction firms in Hong Kong could be able to implement any of these options, and whether these options can be acceptable to the key stakeholders. Any merger or alliances may also involve the sharing of expertise. Hong Kong construction firms have traditionally relied on the inside-out approach. It is important to note that any merger transactions would have many implications on the construction firm’s values and culture as well as the resources. The key stakeholders definitely would be concerned with such options and need to be convinced of the positive aspects. Somehow, Hong Kong construction firms will be able to overcome this barrier in managing strategic changes in the process of implementing any of the above mentioned strategic options. CONCLUSION The results of the analysis carried out on the Code of Practices for Site Safety Supervision in Hong Kong indicated very significant effects, even amidst the threats of unrest. Therefore, we could conclude that this Code could still be expected to improve faster than average. The review of the Code’s construction site safety management capabilities and resources revealed very little inconsistencies regarding the strategies of most Hong Kong construction firms. This is coherent with their traditional inside-out approach. However, the need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in approaches becomes imperative now for these construction firms. The analysis among the Hong Kong construction industry environment as well as the construction site safety management and capabilities of their construction firms revealed certain gaps, most of which are biased towards the environment. However, these gaps paved the way towards determining a number of recommended strategic options to secure the competitiveness of these construction firms. Also, the construction firms of Hong Kong have to find a balance between adherence to internal forces within the management and to the changing forces of the environment in order to implement such strategic construction site safety options.

Sample Essay Dissertation of Safety Management Strategy and Understanding on How Construction Safety Management Policies Enable Hongkong to Compete Effectively and Profitably

OBJECTIVES As a person with knowledge of safety management in construction, the author has always brought up to his superiors the vi...

Communication, Rhetoric and Reasoning

Communication, Rhetoric and Reasoning               Aristotle defines rhetoric as "The faculty of discovering the available means of persuasion." Discovering, in his definition, implies an interaction between three situational components: the speaker, topic, and audience. The rhetorician seeks a balance among these three components, seeking a particular result which is to persuade the listener to act ( 1932). According to Aristotle's analysis, rhetorical persuasion involves three principal means or modes: ethos, which appeal to the character and credibility of the speaker, pathos, which appeal to the emotions of the audience, and logos which proves through argument the truth or apparent truth of the propositions presented ( 1977).              Over the centuries rhetoric has been used to train the leaders of countless generations in how to persuade people. In Rome, young men studied how to be good citizens by taking the responsibility of debating public issues. In the middle ages, rhetoric became the specialized study of how to preach the Gospel. In the eighteenth century, it became the cornerstone of training for the leaders of society who developed the foundations for democracy in the modern world.                 Today's use of rhetoric has changed drastically from the stump speakers of yesterday. It is no just in the art of speaking anymore. It can be applied to almost every aspect of communication. Many people may not even realize that they are using rhetoric on a day to day basis. It has become a part of our every day lives. One of the biggest places it is now used is writing.             According to (1969), the dimensions of argument is tied in a theory to a conception of what the arguer believes that the audience will accept. The conventions for conducting arguments also grow out of practices and norms mutually accepted by interlocutors who participate together in a common culture for  (1969) believed that in practical reasoning, inferential moves are made possible rhetorically.             Rhetoric has blend well into the nature of communication. It has been used almost in all aspects of communication today. It has been used in court-room argument, public speaking, advertising, marketing, and publicity. Rhetorical communication is goal oriented. The main purpose of rhetoric communication is to persuade your audience to act as what you want to act. Rhetoric has been a way of developing speech and means of effective writing.

Communication, Rhetoric and Reasoning

Communication, Rhetoric and Reasoning Aristotle defines rhetoric as "The faculty of discovering the available m...