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Grammar Essay

Grammar Essay   Q1: a) Prescriptive grammar is a book of rules governing the socially correct usage of the English language. It can be categorized as an ‘applied’ grammar since it is very much grammar in everyday use. However, despite its common use and application in everyday language, many educationalists and linguists see prescriptive grammar, including its cult of correctness, as problematic. Problematic in the sense that is has been criticized for not taking account of language change and stylistic variation, and for imposing the norms of some groups on all users of a language (1998), particularly the use of the English language. In addition, educationalists and linguists questioned whether isolated instruction in the rules of language use and the names of the parts of language transfer into an ability to write clearly and fluently. It has been discussed by linguists as exemplifying specific attitudes to language and usage (1998). Somehow, the classic trivium of grammar, rhetoric, and logic has lost much of its power. In addition, problems can be encountered in terms of pronunciation and grammar. The underlying rationale is that some people speak the ‘correct version’ of the language, and that other people speak a dialect, such as of diglossia, or the division of a language in ‘high’ and ‘low’ forms to be used by people of high and low status respectively. As it is taught in the classroom, an emphasis on accuracy in the fluency of language instruction is first achieved. In other words, the students are encouraged to speak first to develop confidence, and then to examine errors later. This has often been accompanied by a perception that standards of written and spoken language are falling since measurements of language performance is often done in relation to accuracy rather than fluency or creativity in language use (2007).   b) Both prescriptive and descriptive types of grammar, among other types, are used in discourse. As mentioned earlier, prescriptive grammar is the grammar applied in everyday use. It establishes a ‘correct’ way to speak or write, and is based on an appeal to ‘logical principles’ and Latin grammar in the guise of English. In addition, prescriptive approach is easier to teach, as it there is always one right answer ( 1993), thus, is explicitly taught in schools. It has been reported that this type of grammar is an account of a language that sets out rules or prescriptions for how it should be used and for what should not be used, based on norms derived from a particular model of grammar (1998). This approach insists that however many variables might be found, there are better and worse choices, and it will specify at least which is most appropriate, more likely which is acceptable, or, in its most rigorous application, which is correct ( 1993). On the other hand, in comparison to prescriptive grammar, descriptive grammar is also an applied grammar, which represents an approach that describes the grammatical constructions that are used in a language, without making any evaluative judgments about their ‘correctness’ or otherwise. It attempts to precisely describe the linguistic processes a particular user employs, and does not tell the user how to speak or understand. In descriptive grammars, there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ ways to speak or write. This type of approach may offer several possible answers, each appropriate in one or another context. Even in spelling and pronunciation, where prescription may seem less problematic, description may sometimes be more nearly accurate. Prescription says judgment is the correct spelling, but description accurately points out that even Edited English considers judgement correct too ( 1993). Another example or application of this difference can be observed in the use of the Microsoft Word program of computers. The Microsoft Word program automatically marks and/or corrects the typewritten word, phrase, or sentence, which it believes not to comply with the English standard. In this regard, the type of grammar being used in the Microsoft Word program is the prescriptive grammar, thus, if a descriptive grammar or approach would be used, then it will be marked or automatically changed by the program itself.   Q2: It has been reported that register is an important term in stylistic analysis, as it refers to a distinctive style of utterance that is related to the context of that utterance. In stylistics and sociolinguistics, it refers to a variety of language defined according to its use in social situations. In  grammar, the term is seen as specifically opposed to varieties of language defined according to the characteristics of the user. In this regard, it can be understood that register in this sense also refers to the style of language a user employs in order to express a certain message (2007). As such, a number of factors must be taken note off in order to be able to convey and express a certain message. Such factors influence a particular writer or speaker, as these factors serve to motivate, hinder, limit, encourage, and feed the amount and type of information or style one is supposed to be using in expressing a message. These factors are primarily social factors, for social factors emphasizes the fact that human beings are social beings, thus, speaking and listening cannot solely be done individually. This stresses the fact that users of any language need a listener, to which the message is intended to be conveyed.             Social factors include the receiver of the message or the person a user is talking to, the origin, ethnicity or the nationality of the speaker and the listener or receiver, the topic of the conversation, the purpose of the discussion or conversation, and the location from where the speaker and the listener is. Such social factors are important in determining the choice of language or style/register one would be using. Anyhow, one can switch from one language code or style to the other depending on the estimation of how effective a particular code or style will serve a particular purpose. For example, such choose of register or style is important in the use of a particular language in Hong Kong, particularly in terms of linguistic repertoire, or the notion that all language users have a variety of ways of expressing themselves in speech or in writing. Each of these ways of using language is associated with a particular social context or social meaning. In Hong Kong, since there are many bilingual and trilingual language users, there are many interesting and characteristic ways in which Hong Kong people use different languages, and often in the same conversation. In societies like Hong Kong where multilingualism is the norm, different languages acquire different social meanings, and switching between them is an important communicative strategy. In terms of the user and the receiver of the language or message, the style or language to be used depends upon the comfortable language used by both speaker and listener. If the speaker knows how to speak two languages or more, he or she must use the style or language that must be understood by the receiver or listener. In terms of the origin or ethnicity of both the speaker and the listener, one has the option to speak his or her ‘mother tongue’ in expressing or conveying a particular message. The language and style to be used is also dependent upon the purpose and the topic of the discussion, thus, becoming important social factors in terms of using a particular style or language. Equally important is the location from where the speaker and the listener are. For example, one might speak Cantonese socially, use English and Mandarin at work, and sometimes use Malay in telephone calls to friends in Singapore. This is important in the relevant existence of the speech community, which is defined by the common patterns of language use in a particular community. Cantonese speakers in Hong Kong form a large and influential local speech community, but the existence of a number of speech communities in Hong Kong makes it a multilingual community. In addition, interlanguage or pidgin language also exists in Hong Kong, which is neither a standard form of the mother tongue nor a standard form of the target language to be learned. The pidgin language develops between people who do not have a common language, but it is not a learner’s language. It has no native speakers and has a narrow range of functions, usually in trade. ‘Chinglish’ or the mixture of Chinese and English used by early traders in Hong Kong is an example (2007).   Q3: It has been reported that if there is cohesion and coherence in a written text, then the sentences display some kind of mutual dependence. Words, phrases, and sentences do not occur at random, thus, eliciting the expression or conveying the message effectively and efficiently. Coherence is achieved by the information structure in a text. It refers to the way the ideas and concepts in a text are similarly connected together, and thus, is related to the concept of cohesion, which refers to techniques and devices that an author or speaker uses to ‘glue’ a text together (2007). In this regard, the concept of coherence is determined as the ‘glueness’ or sticking together of the texts in order to convey a particular meaning. On the other hand, the concept of cohesion is determined as the different means in order for texts to be connected to one another. In addition, the way in which an author develops the topic or topics in a text is also an important part of the information structure of the text. Topic development is often revealed by the use of linking words such as, ‘first’, ‘next’, and ‘finally’. In between paragraphs, topic development is an important feature of text cohesion. As such, it can be perceived that good cohesion is evident when the interpretation of one feature is clearly dependent upon another elsewhere in the sequence (2007).             In relation to such concepts, two linguists, namely,  have written extensively about cohesion in texts in 1989, and have identified several types of cohesive devices, which can be used in order to observe and analyze the cohesion and coherence in a sentence. These cohesive devices include conjunctive relations, coreference, substitution, ellipsis, repeated forms, lexical relationships, and comparison, and would be discussed in detail. Conjunctive relations is a type of cohesion device, which determines that what is about to be said is explicitly related to what has been said before, through such notions as contrast, result and time. Conjunctive elements are not devices for reaching out into the preceding or following text like reference, ellipsis or substitution. Rather, they are cohesive by virtue of their specific meanings. In a specific grammar book of Mandarin Chinese, the function of conjunction is called ‘sentence linking’, with two kinds, namely, forward-linking and backward-linking. The positions of the linking elements in Chinese can be unpredictable (2004). In this sense, it can be perceived that the conjunctive linking in the English and the Chinese languages are not similar. Using conjunctive devices in the English language would produce a different meaning in the Chinese language. Another cohesion device is coreference, which refers to features that cannot be semantically interpreted without referring to some other feature in the text. Anaphoric or backward interpretation and cataphoric or forward interpretation must be recognized in order to produce the right meaning. This emphasizes the relationship between two items in which both refer to the same person or thing and one stands as a linguistic antecedent of the other. The third cohesion device is substitution, which replaces a previous expression with another. Ellipsis on the other hand is a piece of structure that is omitted, and can be recovered only from the preceding discourse. It is very common in both spoken and written English. Repeated forms are expressions repeated in whole or in part. This is used in order to repeatedly refer to the topic or subject talked about in the sentence or conversation. Lexical relationships establish semantic, through synonymy, paraphrase and collocation, and pragmatic or presupposition connectedness, in which it operates over larger stretches of text since it establishes chains of related references. In this regard, one lexical item enters into a structural relationship with another. The last form of cohesion device is comparison, in which a compared expression is presupposed in the previous discourse (2007).             From the model of cohesion and its underlying devices, it can be understood and perceived that this model is an important aspect in the analysis of sentences and texts. This is because through this model, one would be able to realize and examine the cohesion and coherence of words, phrases, and sentences that would be essential in providing meaning and relevance to the speaker and listener. In addition, this model would serve to be an excellent guide, which would serve to provide information and knowledge on any human being, willing to learn and understand a specific language. In today’s generation, communication and interrelationship are one of the most important aspects in terms of improvement and development, thus, the model of cohesion would be an edge for any individual, who aims to communicate effectively. Another importance of knowing this model is the appreciation that would follow if a particular individual knows how to interpret, translate, and understand texts. As such, new knowledge and skills are gained, which can be used in one’s advantage.

Grammar Essay

Grammar Essay Q1: a) Prescriptive grammar is a book of rules governing the socially correct usage of the English language. It can...

Contemporary Issues in Marketing

IntroductionThe idea of marketing is thought of as just selling and advertising because we are bombarded with people, posters and ads selling and promoting products and services. However, both functions are only part of the elaborate concept of marketing and they are often not the most important ones but they are, obviously, the most tangible factors. Marketing supersedes any business function because it deals with the understanding, creating and communicating with the consumer. There are many definitions for marketing. Kotler & Armstrong (2001) defined marketing as “a social and managerial process whereby individuals and groups obtain what they need and want through creating and exchanging products and value with others.” This definition requires a discussion of terms such as needs, wants, demands, products, services, value, satisfaction and quality to be able to integrate the concept of marketing in our daily life.The world today has created many needs and wants for a person that’s why demands emerge to satisfy these elements. Needs are necessary while wants come from human needs which are influenced by society and culture. Demands, on the other hand, are wants which have the support of buying power. Marketing plays a big role in satisfying these needs, wants and demands and placing products and services effectively to create a niche in whatever category that will give maximum profit.  DiscussionsIn business and marketing, the concepts of customer value and satisfaction are important. These are two different terms because customer value refers to the difference of the benefits of buying a product/service to the cost while customer satisfaction is “the extent to which a product’s perceived performance matches a buyer’s expectations” (Kotler & Armstrong, 2001). These are the elements which directly affect consumer behaviour patterns. But in today’s business behaviour, the so-called Technology becomes a buzz-word in the advances when it comes to marketing and business progress.  As for today, consumers are currently relying and looking for products and services that are enhanced by new technologies.  In response to this, business organisations are now creating ways to become technology-based businesses and most them are currently using the new technologies as part of their marketing approaches including their marketing researches.Marketing research as defined by Kotler & Armstrong (2001) is the “systematic design, collection, analysis and reporting of data relevant to a specific marketing situation” (p. 138) of the organisation. Clearly, marketing research is engaged in various activities from market potential to market share studies as well as customer satisfaction and product improvement. The information which results from the marketing research is pivotal to the formation of effective strategic marketing plans of the company because acquiring the right information can lead to successfully addressing the needs of organisation. Many companies have invested in employing information technology in their market researches as it has considerably organised data efficiently. According to Gillenson, Sherrell & Chen (1999), information technology has enabled companies to optimise its marketing research functions because it has given them unprecedented access to consumers all over the world along with their preferences and several other factors which can be used by the companies in their marketing efforts. There is a trend today of developing a database of consumers of the company and it has yielded good results for companies like Amazon.com which has effectively used the information filed by their clients regarding preferences in marketing their other products (Kraemer & Dedrick, 2001). Another company which was able to develop its consumer database with success is Netflix and they have developed a sophisticated database which recommends other movie titles to consumers according to past rentals and filed preferences. Maddox (2005) added that the recommendation system has considerably increased the sales of the company. Moreover, the improvement in data storage and other technologies provide the companies with the means to file information which can be restored should there arise a need for it. This saves time and financial resources for the company. Another effect of information technology on marketing is embodied in the online databases and Internet Data Resources which offers secondary data sources, usually free, to the consumers. Almost every industry; government agency and other publications offer free information which can be used in market researches (Kotler & Armstrong, 2001). The prevalence of employing IT in marketing encourages the practice of one-to-one marketing or the ability of the company to sell targeted goods to an individual consumer using information gathered about either known or perceived needs (Gillenson, Sherrell & Chen, 1999). This is different from segment markets which focus on groups of people with similar interests. The personalised touch of one-to-one marketing is actively pursued by some companies after recent successes reported by other firms such as Amazon.com and Netflix. Some of the methods used aside from database management systems are e-mail which helps to facilitate better communication between the company and the client; computer graphics; which are used to personalise the shopping experience and finally, the recommendation system which presents to the consumer several suggestions of what he/she could buy based on indicated preferences and other data categories (Gillenson, Sherrell & Chen, 1999). ConclusionThere is no existing relevant literature focused on the effect of technology/information technology as a marketing tool that is specific for the business industry. The general discussion conducted above is deemed applicable to the business industry as well. However, a discussion on one sub-sector in the vast business industry can also be applied to give an overview of possible effects of IT as a marketing tool in the said sector. The sub-sector discussed is the packaged foods and beverages sold at supermarkets. Little (1994) claims that the main information technology activity concerning packaged goods is to use the abundant information easily accessible to the company in being able to gauge market response towards the product. This has already been discussed in the preceding section about marketing research as consumer perception and response as well as consumer behaviour are among the various topics being studied. Studying the impact of information technology on marketing is a very broad topic indeed. The overview on marketing has provided a background on the essential principles on this important business function whereas the overview on information technology has concentrated on the emergence of the Internet as a major technological innovation which has affected almost every aspect of life including business. The analysis of the demographics of current Internet users presents the attractiveness of said group of people so that many companies have considered it a good market which needs to be developed. Further evidence to the effects of IT on marketing was shown in the integrated discussion of the changes brought on by the employment of information technology in marketing. It was necessary to analyse some effects of information technology in terms of marketing mix because the latter represents the important components considered by companies in forming their strategic marketing plans. Each component showed specific changes which have resulted to new marketing techniques and other trends employed by companies nowadays. Although there is little research on the effects of IT as a marketing tool from the manufacturing industry’s perspective, the general discussion of the effects can be applied to manufacturing companies as well.       References:Gillenson, ML, Sherrell, DL & Chen, LD 1999, ‘Information technology as the enabler of one-to-one marketing’, Communications for Association for Information Systems, vol. 2, no. 18, viewed 16 July, 2010, <http://cais.isworld.org/articles/2-18>. Kotler, P & Armstrong, G 2001, Principles of Marketing, 9th edn, Prentice Hall, London.  Kraemer, KL & Dedrick, J 2001, ‘Dell Computer: using e-commerce to support the virtual company’, Center for Research for Information Technology and Organizations, PhD thesis, University of California.  Little, JDC 1994, ‘Information technology in marketing’, In TJ Allen & MS Scott Morton (eds.), Information technology and the corporation of the 1990s, Oxford University Press, New York. <span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Maddox, B 2005, ‘Netflix’, In AA Thompson, AJ Strickland & J Gamble (eds.), Crafting and executing strategy, (14th edn.), McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. C-3

Contemporary Issues in Marketing

Introduction The idea of marketing is thought of as just selling and advertising because we are bombarded with people, posters and ads selli...

Maths/Statistic Assignment

Quantitative Methods for Business   1)      George & Jim were brothers who were each left a will inheritance of $20,000.  George invested his money in an account for 5 years at an annual interest rate of 6.0% compounded quarterly.  Jim invested his money for 5 years at an annual simple interest rate of 6.75%.  At the end of that time they agreed to poor their accumulated principals into one account for a further 5 years with an annual interest rate of 5.0% compounded monthly.   a)            How much accumulated principal did George and Jim each have after 5 years?  Hence, determine how much money they had to pool.   Answers:   To determine the accumulated principal did George and Jim each have after 5 years, we will use the simple interest formula and compound interest formula.   i.e. for George we have, Where F is the final amount or the sum due at the end of the transaction; P is the original principal; r is the interest rate in one period of time; and t is the time in which the number of period during which the principal is used expressed in years. Then we have On the other hand, we have to use the compound interest formula for Jim’s investment for 5 years at an annual simple interest rate of 6.75% to determine his final amount. Then we have, Where F is the final amount or the sum due at the end of the transaction; P, is the original interest rate per period; and n, the number of conversion periods within the entire length of the transaction. The compound interest rate j is usually expressed as the rate per year and the interest is understood to be converted once a year if the frequency of conversion is not specified.  The frequency of conversion m is the number of times interest compounded in year. The interest rate per period is expressed as: From this we have,                         Thus the amount of money they have to pool is $26,000 + $27, 949.97 = $53,949.97.   b)            What was the accumulated principal of their money at the end of the 10-year period? Answer:   Using the formula  we have,   c)            In exercise (b), when George and Jim received their inheritance, the executor of the will suggested that they pool their resources immediately for 10 years and invest in an account that paid an annual interest rate of 6.75% compounded monthly.  In view of your answer (b), should they have taken this advice? Explain.   Answer:               With respect to the answer in (b), let’s try to compare the final amount to be accumulated in years using 6.75% of interest compounded monthly of the principal $40,000. Then we have,                         From these values George and Jim should take the advice of the executor since the amount of money to be accumulated at the end of the 10th year is much bigger than their preferred investment. Actually, the suggested investment preference of the executor is $9,175.7 bigger compared to preference of George and Jim at the end of 10th year.   2)      A cricket team decide to purchase a house where they can hold their functions near their oval.  They take out a mortgage of $120,000 from the Ruptcy Bank, which charges on annual interest rate of 5%, compounded semi-annually over 10 years.   a)            What payments will the team have to make every 6 months on this loan?   Answers:                         Let       I = ?                 P= $120,000                t=10                 j = 5%              m = 2         i = 0.025              n = 20   Then we have,     $196,633.97/20 = $9,831.6985   The team have to pay $9,831.6985 every 6 months on this loan.   b)            What is the total amount of interest they will pay?   Answers:           3)      In Exercise 2, the rival Fleece Finance offers the cricket team a loan for which it will charge on annual interest rate of 4.8% compounded monthly over 10 years.   a)            What payments will the team have to make every month on this loan?   Answers:                         Let       I = ?                 P= $120,000                t=10                 j = 4.8%                       m = 12         i = 0.004              n = 120   Then we have,     $193,743.34/120 = $1,614.53   The team have to pay $1,614.53 every month on this loan.   b)            What is the total amount of interest they will pay?   Answers:             4)      In view of your answers to Exercise 2 and 3, from which lending institution should the cricketers take their loan?   From the previous answers, Fleece Finance should be considered by the cricket team for this load since the interest is much lower compared to Ruptcy Bank.   5)      Scott, Anne and Jane form a partnership in which Scott invests $60,000.  Anne invests $30,000 and Jane invests $80,000.   a) Scott and Jane are each to receive a salary of $25,000 out of the profit, while the remaining profit is to be divided between the three in the ratio of their investments.  Find out how much each partner will receive in total if the profit is $120,000.   Answers:               From the given amount of investment (i.e. $170,000), Scott actually invested 35% of their total investment, 18% for Anne and 47% for Jane.   Thus, their shares in the profit of $120,000 are:   Scott:  120,000 x 0.35 = 42,000 Anne:  120,000 x 0.18 = 21,600 Jane:  120,000 x 0.47 = 56,400   Since Scott and Jane also receive a salary of $25,000 each out of the profit, then they will have:   Scott:  120,000 x 0.35 = 42,000 + 25,000 = $67,000 Anne:  120,000 x 0.18 = $21,600 Jane:  120,000 x 0.47 = 56,400 + 25,000 = $81,400           <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph; text-indent: -.25in; text-autospace: none; line-height: 200%; margin-left: .25in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 6.0pt; margin-bottom: 6.0pt"> 6)      Next week you have to travel around parts of the country on business and have decided to hire a car from a car-hire company. You have contacted two companies which offer different services. The first company will rent you a car for $125 per day. The second company will charge $80 per day, but with an additional charge of 50 cents per kilometre travelled. You know you will require the car for four days but are unsure of the number of kilometres that you will cover.   (a) Determine mathematically what distance you need to cover to make the second company’s charge cheaper.   Answer:             Let us consider that the car will be used in 4 days.  Consider the following breakdown per company.   Company A ($125/day) = $ 500 in 4 days Company B ($80/day+.50/per km.) = $320 in 4 days.               With these values, there is $180 discrepancy between Company A and B regardless of the per km charges of company B.  Meaning to say, I only need to travel (i.e. 180/0.5) 360km to make the total charges of Company B become $500. Thus, I only need to cover 359km. to make the second company’s charge cheaper.                     (b) Confirm this using Excel graphs.   Answer:     (c) Both companies now realise that they will need to add 10% GST to the charge for the daily car hire, but not to the charge for the kilometres covered. How will this affect your decision? Justify your answer with both the calculations and Excel graphs.   Answer:               Let us consider that the car will be used in 4 days.  Consider the following breakdown per company in accordance to 10% additional GST. Company A ($125/day +10%GST) = $ 550 in 4 days Company B ($80/day+10%GST +.50/per km.) = $352 in 4 days.               With these values, there are now $198 discrepancy between Company A and B regardless of the per km charges of company B.  Meaning to say, I only need to travel (i.e. 198/0.5) 396 km to make the total charges of Company B become $550. Thus, I only need to cover 395 km. to make the second company’s charge cheaper.   7) You are the manager of a toy company. Your company manufactures a variety of soft toys and you are trying to improve the efficiency of your operations. You wish to adhere to an annual operating budget and to develop operating plans using quantitative methods wherever possible. The overall budget for the year for production of two different soft toys is $500,000. The soft toys are koalas and kangaroos. The budget is intended to pay for labour and materials. Processing requirements for the two toys, on a per unit basis, are shown in the table.   Product Grey cloth White cloth Stuffing Labour Koala 1.5 metres 0.5 metres 350gms 1.75 hours Kangaroo 1.0 metres 1.0 metres 400gms 1.50 hours   The production costs for the toys are:   Material Cost Labour/hour $9.50 Grey material/metre $5.50 White material/metre $8.50 Stuffing/100gms $0.35   The company has a contractual agreement to produce a minimum of 3,000 toys per year. There must be at least 200 of each toy produced. The company can only get a maximum of 5,000 metres of each material. You wish to minimize the number of labour hours required to meet your contractual obligation.   Use Excel Solver to obtain a solution to this problem. Your submission should include: ·         your mathematical set-up of the objective function and constraints ·         your Excel spreadsheet ·         the sensitivity report ·         the answer report   Use your Excel output to answer the following questions: <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt"> What is the amount of labour hours required to meet the contractual agreement?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt"> What are the optimal quantities of each toy?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3.0pt; margin-bottom: 12.0pt"> If you only wish to employ staff for a maximum of 5 hours per day. How many staff should you employ if there are 48 working weeks in the year? How many hours per week would each staff member work?</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 3.0pt; margin-bottom: 3.0pt"> As the manager you realize that labour per unit is actually the same for koalas as it is for kangaroos (1.50 hours). Does this change the optimum number of toys of each kind to be produced? Does the optimum number of labour hours change?</li>

Maths/Statistic Assignment

Quantitative Methods for Business 1) George & Jim were brothers who were each left a will inheritance of $20,000. George ...

A Sample Case Study on Multi-Electronique et Cie

The paper is all about the case study on Multi-Electronique et Cie. It discusses the strategy chosen by Multi-Electronique et Cie to pursue in its operations. To further analyze its chosen strategy, the Ansoff Matrix is used, with the aid of the SWOT Analysis. The other options available for the Multi-Electronique et Cie is also discussed to evaluate which among the different options available for them is the most advantageous on their part. To end the discussion, the writer gives his personal view about the company’s chosen strategy and presents his personal choice regarding the best-suited strategy among the choices. A brief introduction about the company and the Ansoff Matrix is also discussed to give a background for the reader.    The Multi-Electronique et Cie             In these recent times where stricter competition exists in the business environment, it is a prerequisite for most firms to grow at a certain stage in order to survive in the business world. Therefore, a well-defined scope and growth direction is needed for firms to realize growth. The Multi-Electronique et Cie (ME) is the European market leader in terms of manufacturing high quality aircraft connectors. However, due to the major cutbacks in purchases of the military sector, ME was now suffering from low sales and profits. The worldwide recession, as well as the reductions on the defence program seems to be the foreseeable reason behind this situation. Due to this situation, a thorough evaluation of their present strategy, together with a clearer growth direction is considered necessary for ME’s achievement of its goal of fifteen percent growth yearly.    The Ansoff Matrix             Among the popular matrices used in the identification of the basic alternative strategies for a firm, the Ansoff Matrix is one of them. It provides strategy options for firms who want continued growth. It reduces complexity and provides the company a better knowledge of their product behaviour and market dynamics.             The Ansoff Matrix is a planning aid useful in describing the four possible combinations for products and markets. They are also called the four categories of marketing objectives. They are market penetration (selling of existing products to existing markets/segments), market development (extension of existing products to new markets/segments), product development (development of new products for existing markets/segments), and diversification (development of new products for new markets/segments). The Pursued Strategy according to the Ansoff Matrix             In order to achieve their goal of fifteen percent growth annually, ME entered into the commercial and industrial sector, regardless of their lack of experience in the said division. In this way, they can boost up their total sales volume. Their strategy is to solve a different need of a totally different customer, and this is the commercial and the industrial market.             By definition, ME had pursued the strategy of diversification, that is achieving their objectives through its entrance into a new market and the introduction of new products. Due to the fact that their objectives are no longer met within their existing product market scope, they have launched a new and totally different set of connectors for the industrial and commercial market.             The connectors used in the commercial and industrial sector seem to be technically the same with the ones used for aircrafts that is why they have chosen to serve these markets. This is called concentric diversification, which is defined as the introduction of new products that is closely related to their current product in the new market. In addition, they also pursued the strategy of technology related concentric diversification. In short, the connectors sold in the commercial and industrial sector is closely related to the ones sold in the aviation market, and there exists a certain kind of similarity between the technologies used in the production of all these three types of connectors.             The term ‘new products’ infers a certain degree of technical innovation, while ‘new market’, on the other hand, presupposes the existence of the element of unfamiliarity in the market situation. The newness factor of the product/market combination, therefore, imposes a certain level of risk for the company that needs to be managed. ME has chosen this alternative despite the fact that this is the riskiest among the said alternatives. This is due to the fact that the synergies such as the production process, and inherent skills within the organization such as the skillful sales force, could be obtained due to the nature of the similarity in the technology used in the production of both types of connectors.                 Different signs of the implementation of the diversification strategy is manifested on the actions undertaken by the ME company. First is the change in the company structure. It was first done in the engineering section. New types of projects and design engineers, knowledgeable in commercial connectors, are taken. A new building was also constructed afterwards, to house the new manufacturing plant for all commercial connectors. Next is the division of the sales team into two. This was due to the fact that the task of selling in the commercial sector is a lot different from selling in the aviation sector. Market research is also extended to further improve the forecasting. This is necessary due to the highly cyclical demand pattern of the new connectors in the new market. Finally, price lists for now are maintained to be up-to-date, particularly for the new connectors. This is due to the constantly changing and unique requirements of the customers from the new market, as compared to those in the aviation sector.     The SWOT Analysis             To give us a more comprehensive background about the status and the standing of the company in its market, it is also important for us to examine the company’s internal and external environment. It will assist us in making effective recommendations about marketing strategy, which can be beneficial to certain companies. A SWOT Analysis draws together the external, as well as the internal factors, and provides a basis for the formulation of business strategies. It can be in the matching of the ME’s resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates. (see appendix A for the ME’s SWOT Analysis) Other Options according to the Ansoff Matrix             Base on the Ansoff Matrix, with the aid of the SWOT analysis, diversification is only one among the alternatives for ME. The other options for them to consider is the market penetration, market development, and product development. Market Penetration             This is to increase the sales volume of aviation connectors in the existing market. In market penetration, pricing and promotion for the existing product in the existing market needs to be very competitive. However, due to the fewer unknowns, this strategy is less risky compared to the other options.             There are four possible ways for market penetration. First is to increase the number of users of the aviation connectors, through the attraction of competitor-users or conversion of non-users into users. However, the demand saturation and the fierce competition make it impossible to happen. Second is the increase of purchasing frequency of present users. Again, this is impossible since the frequency of purchases depends on the customers’ true demand, in which ME has no control. Third is the increase in average quantity purchased per transaction. Like the second one, this depends on the customers’ purchasing power in which ME has no control, therefore making it impossible to pursue. Lastly, increase lifetime value to achieve retention of customers. This option is useful for ME, only if it would improve its customer service through the development of the full range use of marketing mix such as aggressive promotions and on time door-to-door delivery. Product Development             This involves the modification of existing products as a way of improving its quality, style or any characteristics valued by the customers. Due to the possibility of failure for the new products and the element of the unknown associated with this type of strategy, it is considered as slight risky. However, this was feasible for ME, since the company has technological skills and competencies to follow an ‘increasing technological newness’ path.             For ME, this can be done through the extension of their product range or through the introduction of new electrical components to the aviation sector. For example, they can carry out further research on the development of new components for their existing customers such as aircraft actuators and engine fan blades, to increase the overall sales volume. Market Development             Finding new users in new markets for the connectors for aviation-use is the one used in this strategy. This can be done in two ways. First is the increase in the number of users in the new market segments in present geographic markets. There are numerous market segments that ME can develop. An example is the military applications. In addition, improved market research enables them to solve customer satisfaction issues in their current area of operation. Second is the increase in the number of users in the new market segment. This is possible through the geographical expansion into other domestic or export market. Conclusion             To have an assumption that potential customers have satisfied their needs to a greater or lesser extent, is logical, as well as the idea that entrance into new markets poses you to significant risks due to the high costs of investments and dealing of the unknown. However, despite these facts, market development is the best approach suitable for the growth needs of the ME company.             As summarized in the SWOT Analysis, market development gives better chances for developing the competitive advantage of ME. Due to the long well established reputation of ME for high quality connectors (in aviation and military segments), it is already expected that this connectors will soon be accepted in the new market segments (regional, national, or even global). Aside from that, market development is better for them since the sales staffs are reluctant to sell the new product. They are also more technically knowledgeable regarding this product, therefore making them more motivated to sell this compared to the new ones. Furthermore, the synergies obtained from the shared resources and transferable skills are beneficial for them.             Compared to their choice of diversification, market development is less risky and produces higher rates of expected returns. Therefore, market development is considered the most appropriate strategy for ME, based on the other factors on the previous SWOT Analysis.

A Sample Case Study on Multi-Electronique et Cie

The paper is all about the case study on Multi-Electronique et Cie. It discusses the strategy chosen by Multi-E...

Investigative Techniques: Use of Technology in Forensic Accounting Investigation

Investigative Techniques Use of Technology in Forensic Accounting Investigation               Forensic accounting, rather than being lenient with answering questions of interest to a legal system, could be described simply as an accounting analysis that is suitable to the court and which will form as the basis for discussion, debate and ultimately dispute resolution. Also known as forensic investigation or forensic auditing, forensic accounting encompasses both litigation support and investigative accounting. On the other end of the spectrum, technological capabilities are increasingly becoming significant for financial capacity and output and for the purpose of determining the soundness of financial decisions. The use of technology, however, is not confined with financial developments within a company or organization. Information technology (IT) is also used to evaluate the financial reality of a certain situation hence technology is integrated in accounting, auditing and investigative schemes of forensic accounting. In this paper, how technology plays a role – either constructive or destructive – in forensic accounting will be discussed. Forensic accounting and technology             According to Hinders (2009), forensic accounting is a field that combines accounting with IT. One of the reasons is because forensic accountants, as the practitioners in the field, make use of sophisticated computer programs to analyze financial data and find evidence which would be legally valid during a court proceeding. Notably, objective verification is the primary goal of forensic accounting and is also the reason why forensic accountants are asked to testify in court cases as expert witnesses. Working on both civil and criminal court case, forensic accounting professionals may be asked to calculate economic damages or to present evidence of offenses. Informations need to be accurate because these are used to distinguish about how much something is worth. Today, information are mostly stored in the computers especially that businesses make use of IT at some level thus it is a duty of forensic accountants to understand and explain how IT plays a role in offenses and likewise how IT could pinpoint what particular components of information gathered plays a role in accumulating the offense.             One of the key areas that IT can definitely support forensic accounting is database knowledge and an understanding of how the database system works (Parizo, 2009). As such, forensic accountants may understand all the informations but not all the systems involved with these informations. Looking at an offense scenario from a fraud-awareness perspective, forensic data analysis would be simply with the aid of IT and, at times, IT experts in examining organizational data in order that patterns of fraud profile could be identified. These data/informations could be logical and/or numerical and statistical. Neural-net and other data mining technologies, for instance, could be utilized for the purpose of developing models of fraud detection, prediction and prevention where known fraud patterns are lacking or obscure. Developing an offense scenario, translating this scenario into an offense profile and applying appropriate investigative techniques to corporate databases would be convenient using different technologies.      Technological products for forensic accountants             Computer hardware and software could be both use in committing an offense but software manipulation proved to be more apparent. Operating systems software consists of programs which keep computers running as automatically as possible whereas applications software consists of computer programs that apply the computer to the user’s needs through carrying out a task the user wants performed, both of which present challenges for forensic accountants to uncover fraud and other offenses. These software tools require forensic accountants to use state-of-the-art facilities and software tools to equal the capacity of the two (Nunn et al, 2006). Iwata (2003) related that most of the criminals behind offenses use sophisticated technology and accounting tricks.             For the forensic accountants, there is the necessity then to dig deeper into a company’s computer system. Bigler (2001) assert that without the proper equipment such a process could be difficult for forensic accountants. Forensic accountants can use specialized software and computer hardware to facilitate the preservation, collection, analysis and documentation of evidence. There are many new technologies that aid and allow investigators to recover deleted files, crack encryption or codes and extract and sort data. One among the newly developed software program is that of KPMG Forensic Accounting which helps in determining how fraud was penetrated. This is through the preparation of TRACE or Transactional Representation of Assets and Court Evidence diagram. TRACE diagram provides a computer-generated graphical and concise summary of a series of transactions. This diagram also presents informations on events or structures in an easy-read format for the purpose of mapping the flow of funds through the penetrator’s private companies/accounts while also identifying the parties involved. Sing (1999) also stressed that the diagram is useful in providing litigation support to the civil and criminal proceedings.   Another software program is called Gargoyle which can detect steganography, a process by which data can be hidden within other files. With the use of steganography stolen data could be hidden and would not be detectable until Gargoyle. Gargoyle software was released by WetStone Technologies in May 2003 and was developed to work with the National Software Reference Library (NSRL). NSRL housed a collection of digital file signatures known as hashes that are developed from thousands of common software programs. Such hashes allow investigators to check if any alterations have occurred. Piazza (2003) emphasized that in addition to steganography Gargoyle is also equipped with 550 Trojan horse toolkits, 94 wireless war driving software tools, 455 encryption programs and hundreds of key-logging and password-cracking applications. Satov (2003) mention that a Houston-based company named ChurchStreet Technology also introduced a software which could be useful for forensic accountants and other crime-fighting agencies. The software developed enables the reconstructuring of shredded documents electronically, offering a speedier alternative to the laborious task of searching, matching and pasting strips manually. Such process uses proprietary digitizing techniques to scan shredded paper and then matches them with specialized software. This software can also reconstruct documents that have been cross-shred or cut into two directions into tiny pieces.       Advantages and pitfalls of computerized forensic investigation             According to Golden et al (2006, p. 387), the utilization of software applications and understanding their capabilities from basic to advanced can bring rapid and powerful results to the successive phases of an investigation. To tap its efficiency, users must know how and why to employ such tools, making it difficult to assess whether forensic accountants – experienced or otherwise – are skilled users of these software as investigative tools. Forensic accountants must thereby understand that being aware of advanced software tools could bring added value and quality to the investigation itself. One of the benefits to forensic accountants of computerized investigation is that they will be able to analyze a large number of transactions, identifying trends, spotting documents that need further review and gaining initial insights while drawing away from the constraints of time and cost as the process does not require the accountant to wait for the cumbersome process of collecting documents by traditional means and therefore devote the time to more important things like analysis.             Further, data mining proves to be cost-effective as well aside from being a more comprehensive approach than the hard-copy document review. Murphy (2009) notes that data mining is an art of analyzing large amounts of data in a manner that detects obscure facts, trends or inconsistencies in a complete and efficient manner utilizing intelligent computer applications. Data mining therefore benefits forensic accountant to proactively detect frauds and other offenses at the same time. In cases where hardcopy of documents may be incomplete, computerized information can assist in providing reasonableness of findings (Golden et al, 2006). Computerized information enables forensic accountants to investigate the entity of the offense be it corporate disputes, fraud, business economic losses and professional negligence among others by depending on computer records. Electronic data on its financial transactions are immense that is why forensic accountants are not limited to discreet number of records to base their findings from. With this, it would be also convenient for forensic accountants to present data in courts accurately and with supporting evidences.             On the other hand, forensic accountants must also understand the pitfalls inherent with computerized information. Manning (2005, p. 194) state that for one, data mining is just a component of the investigation process where computer and the amount of accounting-related information available could not be treated as a substitute for rational judgment and experience. Computerized information cannot replace document reviews, interviews and follow-up steps. Inherent to computerized information also is the risk of compromising data due to the fact that these are subjected to human manipulation. Likewise, these informations require double checking for accuracy and completeness. The rationale behind this is that an incorrect and incomplete data may contribute to premature and incorrect conclusions and findings. Carmichael and Graham (2009, p. 298) asset that limitations of software tools could also impede with the development of the investigation since there are certain data mining tools which may not be appropriate to certain tasks. The complexity of the tools used should be commensurate with the size and complexity of what it is being observed.             Computerized investigation could breed an atmosphere of complacency because the tendency is for forensic accountants to rely too much on the tool itself. So that the operational and financial benefits of data mining could be maintained, forensic accountants must bear in mind that skilled technical use of the tools must be combined with sound analysis and judgment. Forensic accountants must be also careful when it comes to copying a computer file because certain elements can be altered if not executed correctly (Singleton et al, 2006, p. 159). Proper computer forensic techniques should be used to avoid inadvertently altering evidence. Compliance with legal entities should be also considered particularly because not all environments are the same. Mohay et al (2003, p. 175) also commented that before commencing data collection, planned procedures must be allowed from a legal perspective and that any evidence gathered maybe used for legal purposes if required. Nonetheless, forensic accountant must be also aware of specific regulations applied to export of data/information and privacy regulations attached to it. Proper legal advice must be sought in this case.     Computerized forensic analysis as evidence             Mohay et al (2003p. 122) contend that a unique feature of computer forensics is the requirement that the application of the technology must be carried out with due regard to the requirements of the law. Failure to comply can result in digital evidence being ruled as inadmissible or as tainted. The court recognizes that the forensics technology and the evidences produced through such must embrace the legal requirements including admissible, authentic, complete, reliable and believable. Computer evidences to be successful in court must conform to certain legal rules before it can be put to a jury, must be possible to positively tie evidentiary material to the incident, must tell the whole story and not a just a particular perspective, must be nothing about how the evidence was collected and subsequently handled which causes doubt about its authenticity and veracity and must be readily available and understandable to members of a jury.               Amongst the mentioned legal requirements, admissibility is the most important as this relates with the conformity with common law and legislative rules. Vacca (2005, pp. 20-21) added that another requirement of the jury is that computer evidences should be free from interference and contamination to be regarded as real or testimonial evidence. A forensic accountant is obliged to determine whether computer evidences are of acceptable levels as a result of forensic investigation and other post-event handling (Solomon et al, 2004, p. 2). Certain elements must be present with computer evidences to be admissible before the jury which include well-defined procedures, an anticipation of likely criticism, the possibility of repeat test to be carried out, checklist to support methods used, anticipation of any problems in formal legal tests of admissibility and acceptance that any methods now described would almost certainly be subject to later modification.   Future of computerized forensic evidence             In the very near future, the computerized forensic or forensic technology will demand the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach for the purpose of further legitimizing evidences (Rogers and Seigfried, 2004). Because computer evidences pass through a process of identifying, preserving, analyzing and presenting in a fashion acceptable in a legal proceeding, the jury could require the collaboration with legitimate IT specialists other roles involve like computer technicians as expert witnesses as well as auditors, legal counsels and legal representatives among others. Computerized evidences also requires that forensic accountants of comprehensive understanding of laws affecting these evidences. Locating the desired evidence could also mean that forensic accountants to determine the vulnerability to data fishing or dredging. Acquisition and protection of computerized evidences could also give birth to new legal requirements of preserving or destruction of such.             References Bigler, M 2001, ‘Computer Forensics Gear,’ The Internal Auditor, August, p 27. Carmichael, D R & Graham, L 2009, Accountant’s Handbook 2009, John Wiley and Sons, New York. Golden, T W, Skalak, S L & Clayton, M M 2006, A guide to forensic accounting investigation, John Wiley and Sons, New York. Hinders, D 2009, ‘What is Forensic Accounting?’ retrieved on 4 June 2009, from http://www.wisegeek.com. Iwata, E 2003, ‘Accounting Detectives in Demand,’ USA Today, 27 February. Manning, G A 2005, Financial investigation and forensic accounting, CRC Press. Mohay, G M, Anderson, A, Collie, B, de Vel, O & McKemmish, R 2003, Computer and intrusion forensics, Artech House, London, UK. Murphy, R 2009, ‘The DNA of a forensic accountant,’ PricewaterhouseCoopers, retrieved on 4 June 2009, from http://www.pwc.com. Nunn, L, McGuire, B L, Whitcomb, C & Jost, E 2006, ‘Forensic Accountants: Financial Investigations,’ Journal of Business & Economic Research, vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 1-6. Pariso, E B 2009, ‘Forensic accounting success depends on information security support,’ SearchFinancialSecurity.com, retrieved on 4 June 2009, from http://searchfinancialsecurity.techtarget.com. Piazza, P 2003, ‘Now You See It,’ Security Management, December 2003, p 26. Rogers, M K & Seigfried, K 2004, ‘The future of computer forensics: a needs analysis survey,’ Computers & Security, vol. 23, pp. 12-16. Satov, T 2003, ‘Back from the Shred,’ CA Magazine, November, p 10. Sing, A 1992, ‘Forensic Accounting: Looking for Clues.’  Australian CPA, March, p 42. Singleton, T, Singleton, A, Bologna, J & Lindquist, R J 2006, Fraud auditing and forensic accounting, John Wiley and Sons, New York. Solomon, M G, Barrett, D & Broom, N 2004, Computer forensics jumpstart, John Wiley and Sons, New York. Vacca, J R 2005, Computer forensics: computer crime scene investigation, Cengage Learning.

Investigative Techniques: Use of Technology in Forensic Accounting Investigation

Investigative Techniques Use of Technology in Forensic Accounting Investigation Forensic accounting, rather than ...