Legal Aid

â€Å"It is difficult to judge the success of reforms in legal aid provision as we lack agreement on the aims and objectives of a legal aid system†. Discuss. INTRODUCTION Legal aid helps with the costs of legal advice for people who can’t afford it. If anyone needs help with the costs of legal advice, he can apply for legal aid. Whether he   will receive it depends on: the type of legal problem he has; his income (how much he earn) and how much capital (money, property, belongings) he has; whether there is a reasonable chance of winning his case and whether it is worth the time and money needed to win.The legal aid scheme was set up after World War 2 by the  Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949[1]  in UK. The Legal Aid system was mainly introduced to help people who otherwise would not be able to afford it, to gain access the courts. It therefore enabled them to get a fair hearing and resolve legal problems. Legal Aid is central to a society based on social justice. It i s there to help everyone who really needs it. And by reducing discrimination based on a person’s financial standing, it enables fair access for all to the courts.We have to remember that before Legal Aid was introduced, many people could not afford to get the protection of our legal system due to the high costs involved. Thus, the aim of the Legal Services Commission[2]  is to make quality legal aid accessible to everyone thereby ensuring effective delivery of justice and legal advice. The aims and objectives of it are, * help people to resolve their legal problems as soon as possible * make it easier for people to get legal help especially if they belong to a disadvantaged group * help people find alternatives to going to court Provide a high quality legal service. HISTORY OF LEGAL AID SYSTEM Prior to  Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[3]  in UK, legal aid service was based upon demand laid system. The system became increasingly expensive to run while catering for fewer and fewer people. In 1950, 80% of the community was covered by legal aid provision. In 1998, the provision of legal aid had fallen to less than 40%[4]. From the mid 1980s, various Lord Chancellor tried to reform the system. Their task was made acute by the fact that expenditure on legal aid doubled to ? 1. 4 billion over a four year period to 1995.A variety of reforms were attempted. Payment systems were changed, eligibility criteria revised and control shifted from the Law Society to the Legal Aid Board (Legal Aid Act 1998)[5]. In 1997, Labour government suggested that there might be a change in the direction of legal aid policy[6]. A number of the changes have been made by the  Children Act – 1989[7]  and the  Courts and Legal Services Act – 1990[8]. In 1993, two significant changes were made. Standard fees for criminal legal aid in the Magistrates Courts were introduced and the practice of franchising was initiated.However, over the past seven years, the cost of civil and family legal aid had tripled which meant; the taxpayers were paying more and getting less in return. The problem was not simply the rising costs. As fewer people were becoming eligible for legal aid, it would appear that expenditure was not accompanied by an increase in value for money. Therefore, in 1996, Lord Mackay capped the legal aid budget[9]. CHANGES AND ADVANTAGES IN LEGAL AID SYSTEM Following the  Access to Justice (AJA) Act – 1999, there had been many changes in legal aid system in UK.Access to Justice (AJA) Act – 1999  established a Legal Service Commission[10](LSC) to maintain and develop the Community Legal Service[11]  (CLS), replaced of civil legal aid and Criminal Defense Service, replaced of criminal legal aid. Section 5 of Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[12]  provides the budget for the Legal Service Commission (LSC) to maintain the Community Legal Service (CLS) fund. The Legal service Commission (LSC) funds th ese services by entering into contracts with solicitors by way of a franchise. The main aim for introducing the franchise scheme was to secure value for money.Therefore, if solicitors feel that there are few chances of success in a case, they are deterred from expending money given to them by the Legal Service Commission (LSC). Thus, this leads to effective fund management on the part of the solicitors. Those who are ineligible for public funding, have to pay privately for legal services and this can be expensive. For this reason, the Lord Chancellor has developed the Conditional Fee Arrangement (CFA), which is a no win, no fee basis[13]. It was introduced by the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 and was extended recently by the  Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999.However, it does not apply in criminal case, family case etc. Under the  Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999, not only the court can order a losing party to pay the costs and success fee to the winning pa rty, but it is also possible, by virtue of  Section 29, Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[14], to ensure against losing a case, which if won, the court may order the losing party to pay the cost of the insurance premiums. The Criminal Defense Service[15]  (CDS) was established under  Section 12 Access to Justice Act (AJA) – 1999[16]  for the purpose of securing those individuals who are involved in criminal investigations or criminal proceedings.They have access to ‘such advice, assistance and representation as the interests of justice require’. It is funded in a similar way as Community Legal Service (CLS), by the issue of franchise contracts, grants or loans or through the establishing and maintaining of advice and assistance bodies. Moreover, a duty solicitor scheme, which is free, is available to those people who are arrested and held in custody at a police station. LIMITATIONS OF ACCESS TO JUSTICE ACT (AJA) – 1999 However, despite the above, the legal aid service is still not very effective. There are lack of commitment and poor communication from the lawyers.Community centers and Law centers are more effective in providing help and assistance. There are lack of advisers in areas like social security, housing, disability discrimination, employment and immigration. There is a distinct problem of ‘Access to Justice’ in certain where there are no solicitors who do publicly-funded work. Even, those solicitors who do publicly-funded work cut back on the number of cases they take on due to low rates of pay. Beside, the statutory charge may mean that a claimant may have nothing left even though he/she has won the case. CARTER REVIEWIn 2006, Lord Carter, in his review, drew attention to the need to continue reforming legal aid[17]. The review was concerned with the design of an efficient procurement system that also contained quality guarantees. Thus, it was based on the notion of an open and responsive mark et. The review argued that cost increases because of systematic weakness in the way legal aid services are procured and therefore, inefficiencies increases in the way the services are delivered. The Carter review recommended that fees should be paid on a fixed or graduated scale. However, fixed fees will impact negatively on advice, particularly in more complex cases.This will eventually result into work being done by para-legals and less qualified advice workers. Some research available to Carter Review suggested that whereas small firms could provide criminal legal aid in an efficient manner, larger firms were not able to do the same. This would suggest that further research would be required on the impact of reform as it might drive out of the market those very firms that were best suited to provide value for money in provision of legal service. CONCLUSION Implementation of legal aid act in both developed and underdeveloped countries indicates government’s willingness to s erve the poor.However, the government must also ensure that the act is regularly reviewed to address loopholes. The Government should follow a strategy of continuous improvement. In order to judge the success of reforms in legal aid provision, it is necessary to first establish a set of criteria against which it will be evaluated. These criteria should be set by the Government officials, Judges, and Legal Aid experts. Few criteria that could be used to evaluate the system are given below. * Administrative efficiency with focus on the procedural aspects of legal aid applications. Easy access to the courts irrespective of claimant’s or defendant’s financial means. * Initiative to create awareness in rural areas, especially in under-developed countries. * Effect of legal aid on tax payers. It is also essential to have accessible legal aid services beyond the government organizations. An active partnership between and NGO and a government agency can play a very significant role in social service delivery. They compensate for each other’s weaknesses and deficiencies. However, the government has to balance the needs for legal aid with the pressuring needs of other social services such as healthcare and education.

A Study of Cash Flows Statement

I. Introduction The purpose of this paper is to present and explain the statement of cash flows by incorporating the statements No. 95, 102 and 104 that establish standards for cash flows reporting issued by FASB[i]. FASB Statement No. 95 (FAS 95) â€Å"Statement of Cash Flows† supersedes APB Opinion No. 9, Reporting Changes in Financial Position, and requires a statement of cash flows as part of a full set of financial statements for all business enterprises[ii] in place of a statement of changes in financial position and classify cash receipts and payments according to whether they stem from operating, investing, or financing activities and provides definitions of each category. FASB Statement No. 102 (FAS 102) amends FAS 95, to exempt from the requirement to provide a statement of cash flows (a) defined benefit pension plans covered by FASB Statement No. 5, Accounting and Reporting by Defined Benefit Pension Plans[iii] , and certain other employee benefit plans and (b) high ly liquid investment companies that meet specified conditions. This Statement also requires that cash receipts and cash payments resulting from acquisitions and sales of (a) securities and other assets that are acquired specifically for resale and carried at market value in a trading account and (b) loans that are acquired specifically for resale and carried at market value or the lower of cost or market value be classified as operating cash flows in a statement of cash flows. FASB Statement No. 104 (FAS 104) amends FAS 95 to permit banks, savings institutions, and credit unions to report in a statement of cash flows certain net cash receipts and cash payments for (a) deposits placed with other financial institutions and withdrawals of deposits, (b) time deposits accepted and repayments of deposits, and (c) loans made to customers and principal collections of loans. This Statement also amends FAS 95 to permit cash flows resulting from futures contracts, forward contracts, option contracts, or swap contracts that are accounted for as hedges of identifiable transactions or events to be classified in the same category as the cash flows from the items being hedged provided that accounting policy is disclosed. II. Purpose of a Statement of Cash Flows The purpose of a statement of cash flows is: 1. To provide relevant information about the cash receipts and cash payments of an enterprise during a period 2. To help investors, creditors, and others to assess; 2. 1. The enterprise's ability to generate positive future net cash flows 2. 2. The enterprise's ability to meet its obligations, its ability to pay dividends, and its needs for external financing 2. 3. The reasons for differences between net income and associated cash receipts and payments 2. 4. The effects on an enterprise's financial position of both its cash and noncash investing and financing transactions during the period. So the objectives of standards of financial accounting and reporting is to require the presentation of information about the historical changes in cash and cash equivalents of an enterprise by means of the statement of cash flows which classifies cash flows during the period according to operating, investing and financing activities. III. Focus on Cash and Cash Equivalents A statement of cash flows explains the changes in cash[iv] (cash on hand and demand deposits) and cash equivalents during a period. Cash equivalents comprise the short-term, highly liquid investments that are (i) readily convertible to a known amount of cash and (ii) that are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value. Generally an investment normally meets the definition of a cash equivalent when it has a maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition. Equity investments are normally excluded, unless they are in substance a cash equivalent (e. g. preferred shares acquired within three months of their specified redemption date). Bank overdrafts which are repayable on demand and which form an integral part of an enterprise's cash management are also included as a component of cash and cash equivalents. Examples of items commonly considered to be cash equivalents are treasury bills, commercial paper, money market funds, and federal funds sold (for an enterprise with banking operations). Cash purchases and sales of those investments generally are part of the enterprise's cash management activities rather than part of its operating, investing, and financing activities, and details of those transactions need not be reported in a statement of cash flows. An enterprise shall establish a policy concerning which short-term, highly liquid investments that satisfy the said definition of cash equivalents. For example, an enterprise having banking operations might decide that all investments that qualify except for those purchased for its trading account will be treated as cash equivalents, while an enterprise whose operations consist largely of investing in short-term, highly liquid investments might decide that all those items will be treated as investments rather than cash equivalents. An enterprise shall disclose its policy for determining which items are treated as cash equivalents. Any change to that policy is a change in accounting principle that shall be affected by restating financial statements for earlier years presented for comparative purposes. IV. Gross and net cash flows Generally, information about the gross amounts of cash receipts and cash payments during a period is more relevant than information about the net amounts of cash receipts and payments. However, the net amount of related receipts and payments provides sufficient information not only for cash equivalents as noted in section III, but also for certain other classes of cash flows that have quick turnover, large amounts and short maturities. For certain other items such as demand deposits of a bank and customer accounts payable of a broker-dealer, the enterprise is substantively holding or disbursing cash on behalf of its customers. Only the net changes during the period in assets and liabilities with those characteristics need be reported because knowledge of the gross cash receipts and payments related to them may not be necessary to understand the enterprise's operating, investing, and financing activities[v]. Items that qualify for net reporting because their turnover is quick, their amounts are large, and their maturities are short are cash receipts and payments pertaining to (a) investments (other than cash equivalents), (b) loans receivable, and (c) debt, providing that the original maturity of the asset or liability is three months or less[vi]. Banks, savings institutions, and credit unions are not required to report gross amounts of cash receipts and cash payments for (a) deposits placed with other financial institutions and withdrawals of deposits, (b) time deposits accepted and repayments of deposits, and (c) loans made to customers and principal collections of loans. When those enterprises constitute part of a consolidated enterprise, net amounts of cash receipts and cash payments for deposit or lending activities of those enterprises shall be reported separate from gross amounts of cash receipts and cash payments for other investing and financing activities of the consolidated enterprise, including those of a subsidiary of a bank, savings institution, or credit union that is not itself a bank, savings institution, or credit union. V. Classification of Cash Receipts and Cash Payments A statement of cash flows shall classify cash receipts and cash payments as resulting from investing, financing, or operating activities[vii]. |Cash Flows from Investing Activities[viii] | |Cash inflows from receipts including; |Cash outflows for disbursements / payments including; | | | | |1. ollections of loans made by the enterprise |1. making loans by the enterprise | |2. sales of other entities' debt instruments (other than cash |2. acquire debt instruments of other entities (other than cash | |equivalents and certain debt instruments that are acquired |equivalents and certain debt instruments that are acquired | |specifically for resale) that were purchased by the enterprise |specifically | |3. ales of equity instruments of other enterprises (other than |for resale) | |certain equity instruments carried in a trading account) |3. acquire equity instruments of other enterprises (other than | |and from returns of investment in those instruments |certain equity instruments carrie d in a trading account) | |4. sales of property, plant, and equipment and other productive |4. t the time of purchase or soon before or after purchase[ix] to | |assets. |acquire property, plant, and equipment and other productive | | |assets[x]. | | | | | | |Cash Flows from Financing Activities |Cash inflows from; |Cash outflows for; | | | | |1. Proceeds from issuing equity instruments |1. Payments of dividends or other distributions to owners, including | |2. Proceeds from issuing bonds, mortgages, notes, and from |outlays to reacquire the enterprise's equity instruments | |other short- or long-term borrowing. |2. Repayments of amounts borrowed | | |3. Other principal payments to creditors who have extended long-term | | |credit[xi]. | | | |Cash Flows from Operating Activities[xii] | |Cash inflows includes; |Cash outflows includes; | |1. Cash receipts from sales of goods[xiii] or services, |1. Cash payments to acquire materials for manufacture or goods[xiv] | |including receipts from collection or sale of accounts and both |for resale, including principal | |short- and long-term notes receivable from customers arising |payments on accounts and both short- and long-term notes payable to | |from those sales |suppliers for those materials or goods | |2. Cash receipts from returns on loans, other debt instruments |2. Cash payments to other suppliers and employees for other goods or | |of other entities, and equity securities—interest and dividends |services | |3. All other cash receipts that do not stem from transactions |c. Cash payments to governments for taxes, duties, fines, and other | |defined as investing or financing activities, such as amounts |fees or penalties | |received to settle lawsuits; proceeds of nsurance settlements |3. Cash payments to lenders and other creditors for interest | |except for those that are directly related to investing or |4. All other cash payments that do not stem from transactions defined| |financing activities, such as from destruction of a building; |as investing or financing activities, such as payments to settle | |and refunds from suppliers. |lawsuits, cash contributions to charities, and cash refunds to | | |customers. It is notable that certain cash receipts and payments may have aspects of more than one class of cash flows. For example, the ac quisition and sale of equipment to be used by the enterprise or rented to others generally are investing activities. However, equipment sometimes is acquired or produced to be used by the enterprise or rented to others for a short period and then sold. In those circumstances, the acquisition or production and subsequent sale of those assets shall be considered operating activities. Cash flows relating to extraordinary items should be classified as operating, investing or financing as appropriate and should be separately disclosed. The exchange rate used for translation of transactions denominated in a foreign currency and the cash flows of a foreign subsidiary should be the rate in effect at the date of the cash flows. [xv] Cash flows of foreign subsidiaries should be translated at the exchange rates prevailing when the cash flows took place. As regards the cash flows of associates and joint ventures, where the equity method is used, the cash flow statement should report only cash flows between the investor and the investee; where proportionate consolidation is used, the cash flow statement should include the venturer's share of the cash flows of the investee. Financial statements shall not report an amount of cash flow per share. Neither cash flow nor any component of it is an alternative to net income as an indicator of an enterprise's performance, as reporting per share amounts might imply. VI. Content and Form of the Statement of Cash Flows A statement of cash flows for a period shall report net cash provided or used by operating, investing, and financing activities[xvi] and the net effect of those flows on cash and cash equivalents during the period in a manner that reconciles beginning and ending cash and cash equivalents. In reporting cash flows from operating activities, enterprises are encouraged to use Direct Method to shows each major class of gross cash receipts and gross cash payments[xvii]. The operating cash flows section of the cash flow statement under the direct method would appear something like this: |Cash receipts from customers |xx,xxx | |Cash paid to suppliers |xx,xxx | |Cash paid to employees |xx,xxx | |Cash paid for other operating expenses |xx,xxx | |Interest paid |xx,xxx | |Income taxes paid |xx,xxx | |Net cash from operating activities |xx,xxx | Enterprises that do so should, at a minimum, separately report the following classes of operating cash receipts and payments: Enterprises that choose not to provide information about major classes of operating receipts and payments by the direct method shall determine and report the same amount for net cash flow from operating activities indirectly by adjusting net income to reconcile it to net cash flow from operating activities (the indirect or reconciliation method). The Indirect Method adjusts accrual basis net profit or loss for the effects of non-cash transactions. The operating cash flows section of the cash flow statement under the indirect method would appear something like this: |Profit before interest and income taxes |  |xx,xxx | |Add back depreciation |  |xx,xxx | |Add back amortization of goodwill |  |xx,xxx | |Increase in receivables |  |xx,xxx | |Decrease in inventories |  |xx,xxx | |Increase in trade payables |  |xx,xxx | |Interest expense | |xx,xxx | |Less Interest accrued but not yet paid | |  xx,xxx | |Interest paid |  |xx,xxx | |Income taxes paid |  |xx,xxx | |Net cash from operating activities |  |xx,xxx | That requires adjusting net income to remove (a) the effects of all deferrals of past operating cash receipts and payments, such as changes during the period in inventory, deferred income, and the like, and all accruals of expected future operating cash receipts and payments, such as changes during the period in receivables and payables[xviii], and (b) the effects of all items whose cash effects are investing or financing cash flows, such as depreciation, amortization of goodwill, and gains or losses on sales of property, plant, and equipment and discontinued operations (which relate to investing activities), and gains or losses on extinguishment of debt (which is a financing activity). If the direct method of reporting net cash flow from operating activities is used, the reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities shall be provided in a separate schedule. If the indirect method is used, the reconciliation may be either reported within the statement of cas h flows or provided in a separate schedule, with the statement of cash flows reporting only the net cash flow from operating activities. If the reconciliation is presented in the statement of cash flows, all adjustments to net income to determine net cash flow from operating activities shall be clearly identified as reconciling items. Except for items described in section IV paragraphs 2 and 3, both investing/financing cash inflows and outflows shall be reported separately in a statement of cash flows—for example, outlays for acquisitions of property, plant, and equipment shall be reported separately from proceeds from sales of property, plant, and equipment; proceeds of borrowings shall be reported separately from repayments of debt; and proceeds from issuing stock shall be reported separately from outlays to reacquire the enterprise's stock. VII. Information about Noncash Investing and Financing Activities Information about all investing and financing activities of an enterprise during a period that affect recognized assets or liabilities but that do not result in cash receipts or cash payments in the period shall be reported in related disclosures. Examples of noncash investing and financing transactions are converting debt to equity; acquiring assets by assuming directly related liabilities, such as purchasing a building by incurring a mortgage to the seller; obtaining an asset by entering into a capital lease; and exchanging noncash assets or liabilities for other noncash assets or liabilities. Some transactions are part cash and part noncash; only the cash portion shall be reported in the statement of cash flows. VIII. Exemptions from the Requirement to Provide a Statement of Cash Flows A statement of cash flows is not required to be provided by a defined benefit pension plan that presents financial information in accordance with the provisions of Statement 35. Other employee benefit plans that present financial information similar to that required by Statement 35 (including the presentation of plan investments at fair value) also are not required to provide a statement of cash flows. Employee benefit plans are encouraged to include a statement of cash flows with their annual financial statements when that statement would provide relevant information about the ability of the plan to meet future obligations (for example, when the plan invests in assets that are not highly liquid or obtains financing for investments). For an investment enterprise (an investment company, an investment enterprise, a common trust fund, variable annuity account, or similar fund maintained by a bank, insurance company, or other enterprise in its capacity as a trustee, administrator, or guardian for the collective investment and reinvestment of moneys) to be exempt from the requirement to provide a statement of cash flows, all of the following conditions must be met: a. During the period, substantially all of the enterprise's investments were highly liquid (for example, marketable securities, and other assets for which a market is readily available). b. Substantially all of the enterprise's investments are carried at market value[xix]. c. The enterprise had little or no debt, based on the average debt outstanding[xx] during the period, in relation to average total assets. d. The enterprise provides a statement of changes in net assets. IX. Classification of Cash Flows from Acquisitions and Sales of Certain Securities and Other Assets Banks, brokers and dealers in securities, and other enterprises may carry securities and other assets in a trading account[xxi]. Cash receipts and cash payments resulting from purchases and sales of securities and other assets shall be classified as operating cash flows if those assets are acquired specifically for resale and are carried at market value in a trading account. Some loans are similar to securities in a trading account in that they are originated or purchased specifically for resale and are held for short periods of time. Cash receipts and cash payments resulting from acquisitions and sales of loans lso shall be classified as operating cash flows if those loans are acquired specifically for resale and are carried at market value or at the lower of cost or market value[xxii]. Cash receipts resulting from sales of loans that were not specifically acquired for resale shall be cla ssified as investing cash inflows. That is, if loans were acquired as investments, cash receipts from sales of those loans shall be classified as investing cash inflows regardless of a change in the purpose for holding those loans. X. Net Reporting of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments According to FAS No. 95, information about the gross amounts of cash receipts and cash payments during a period generally is more relevant than information about the net amounts of cash receipts and cash payments. However, for certain items, the net amount of cash receipts and cash payments may provide sufficient information. For example, gross cash flows need not be reported for demand deposits of a bank or for investments, loans receivable, and debt of any enterprise if the original maturity of the asset or liability is three months or less. As a result banks, savings institutions, and credit unions are not required to report gross amounts of cash receipts and cash payments for (a) deposits placed with other financial institutions and withdrawals of deposits, (b) time deposits accepted and repayments of deposits, and (c) loans made to customers and principal collections of loans. When those enterprises constitute part of a consolidated enterprise, net amounts of cash receipts and cash payments for deposit or lending activities of those enterprises shall be reported separate from gross amounts of cash receipts and cash payments for other investing and financing activities of the consolidated enterprise. XI. Classification of Cash Flows from Hedging Transactions The Board received requests from various enterprises to reconsider the classification of cash flows from an item that is intended as a hedge of another item. Those requests generally focused on cash flows from a futures contract or forward contract that is accounted for as a hedge of an inventory transaction. FAS 104 modifies FAS 95 to permit cash flows resulting from futures contracts, forward contracts, option contracts, or swap contracts that are accounted for as hedges of identifiable transactions or events (for example, a cash payment from a futures contract that hedges a purchase or sale of inventory), including anticipatory hedges, to be classified in the same category as the cash flows from the items being hedged provided that accounting policy is disclosed. If for any reason hedge accounting for an instrument that hedges an identifiable transaction or event is discontinued, then any cash flows subsequent to the date of discontinuance shall be classified consistent with the nature of the instrument. Endnotes ———————– i]- â€Å"Portions of various FASB Statements, copyright  © by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, 401 Merritt 7, PO Box 5116, Norwalk, CT 06856-5116, USA, are reproduced with permission. Complete copies of these documents are available from the FASB. † [ii]- A statement of cash flows is not required for defined benefit pension plans and certain other employee benefit plans or for certain investment companies as provided by FAS 102, Statement of Cash Flows—Exemption of Certain Enterprises and Classification of Cash Flows from Certain Securities Acquired for Resale. [iii]- The financial reporting requirements of defined benefit pension plans are addressed in Statement 35. Paragraph 6 of that Statement specifies that the annual financial statements of a plan shall include: (a) A statement that includes information regarding the net assets available for benefits as of the end of the plan year (b) A statement that includes information regarding the changes during the year in the net assets available for benefits (c) Information regarding the actuarial present value of accumulated plan benefits as of either the beginning or end of the plan year (d) Information regarding the effects, if significant, of certain factors affecting the year-to-year change in the actuarial present value of accumulated plan benefits. Statement 35 also states that existing generally accepted accounting principles other than those discussed in that Statement may apply to the financial statements of defined benefit pension plans. iv]- Consistent with common usage, cash includes not only currency on hand but demand deposits with banks or other financial institutions. Cash also inclu des other kinds of accounts that have the general characteristics of demand deposits in that the customer may deposit additional funds at any time and also effectively may withdraw funds at any time without prior notice or penalty. All charges and credits to those accounts are cash receipts or payments to both the entity owning the account and the bank holding it. For example, a bank's granting of a loan by crediting the proceeds to a customer's demand deposit account is a cash payment by the bank and a cash receipt of the customer when the entry is made. v]- cash flows from investing and financing activities should be reported gross by major class of cash receipts and major class of cash payments except for the following cases, which may be reported on a net basis: Cash receipts and payments on behalf of customers (for example, receipt and repayment of demand deposits by banks, and receipts collected on behalf of and paid over to the owner of a property). Cash receipts and payments for items in which the turnover is quick, the amounts are large, and the maturities are short, generally less than three months (for example, charges and collections from credit card customers, and purchase and sale of investments). cash receipts and payments relating to fixed maturity deposits. Cash advances and loans made to customers and repayments thereof. Investing and financing transactions which do not require the use of cash should be excluded from the cash flow statement, but they should be separately disclosed elsewhere in the financial statements. vi]- For this purpose, amounts due on demand are considered to have maturities of three months or less. For convenience, credit card receivables of financial services operations–generally, receivables resulting from cardholder charges that may, at the cardholder's option, be paid in full when first billed, usually within one month, without incurring interest charges and that do not stem from the enterprise's sale of good s or services–also are considered to be loans with original maturities of three months or less. [vii]- Generally, each cash receipt or payment is to be classified according to its nature without regard to whether it stems from an item intended as a hedge of another item. For example, the proceeds of a borrowing are a financing cash inflow even though the debt is intended as a hedge of an investment, and the purchase or sale of a futures contract is an investing activity even though the contract is intended as a hedge of a firm commitment to purchase inventory. However, cash flows from futures contracts, forward contracts, option contracts, or swap contracts that are accounted for as hedges of identifiable transactions or events (for example, a cash payment from a futures contract same category as the cash flows from the items being hedged provided that accounting policy is that hedges a purchase or sale of inventory), including anticipatory hedges, may be classified in the disclosed. If for any reason hedge accounting for an instrument that hedges an identifiable transaction or event is discontinued, then any cash flows subsequent to the date of discontinuance shall be classified consistent with the nature of the instrument. [viii]- Investing activities exclude acquiring and disposing of certain loans or other debt or equity instruments that are acquired specifically for resale, as discussed in Statement 102. [ix]- Generally, only advance payments, the down payment, or other amounts paid at the time of purchase or soon before or after purchase of property, plant, and equipment and other productive assets are investing cash outflows. Incurring directly related debt to the seller is a financing transaction, and subsequent payments of principal on that debt thus are financing cash outflows. x]- Payments to acquire productive assets include interest capitalized as part of the cost of those assets. [xi]- Refer to footnote 8 which indicates that most principal payments on seller-financed debt directly related to a purchase of property, plant, and equipment or other productive assets are financing cash outflows. [xii]- Operating activities include all transactions and other events that are not defined as investing or financing activities in paragraphs 15-20. Operating activities generally involve producing and delivering goods and providing services. Cash flows from operating activities are generally the cash effects of transactions and other events that enter into the determination of net income. xiii]- The term goods include certain loans and other debt and equity instruments of other enterprises that are acquired specifically for resale, as discussed in Statement 102. [xiv]- The term goods include certain loans and other debt and equity instruments of other enterprises that are acquired specifically for resale, as discussed in Statement 102. [xv]- Paragraph 12 of FASB Statement No. 52, Foreign Currency Translation, recognizes the general imprac ticality of translating revenues, expenses, gains, and losses at the exchange rates on dates they are recognized and permits an appropriately weighted average exchange rate for the period to be used to translate those elements. This Statement applies that provision to cash receipts and cash payments. xvi]- Separate disclosure of cash flows pertaining to extraordinary items or discontinued operations reflected in those categories is not required. An enterprise that nevertheless chooses to report separately operating cash flows of discontinued operations shall do so consistently for all periods affected, which may include periods long after sale or liquidation of the operation. [xvii]- a. Cash collected from customers, including lessees, licensees, and the like b. Interest and dividends received c. Other operating cash receipts, if any d. Cash paid to employees and other suppliers of goods or services, including suppliers of insurance, advertising, and the like e. Interest paid f. Inc ome taxes paid g. Other operating cash payments, if any. xviii]- Adjustments to net income to determine net cash flow from operating activities shall reflect accruals for interest earned but not received and interest incurred but not paid. Those accruals may be reflected in the statement of financial position in changes in assets and liabilities that relate to investing or financing activities, such as loans or deposits. However, interest credited directly to a deposit account that has the general characteristics described footnote 1, is a cash outflow of the payor and a cash inflow of the payee when the entry is made. [xix]- Securities for which market value is determined using matrix pricing techniques, which are described in the AICPA Audit and Accounting Guide, Audits of Investment Companies, would meet this condition. Other securities for which market value is not readily determinable and for which fair value must be determined in good faith by the board of directors would not. [xx]- For the purpose of determining average debt outstanding, obligations resulting from redemptions of shares by the enterprise from unsettled purchases of securities or similar assets, or from covered options written generally may be excluded. However, any extension of credit by the seller that is not in accordance with standard industry practices for redeeming shares or for settling purchases of investments shall be included in average debt outstanding. [xxi]- Characteristics of trading account activities are described in FASB Statement No. 9, Financial Reporting and Changing Prices, and in the AICPA Industry Audit Guide, Audits of Banks, and Audit and Accounting Guide, Audits of Brokers and Dealers in Securities. [xxii]- Mortgage loans and mortgage-backed securities held for sale are required to be reported at the lowe r of cost or market value in accordance with FASB Statement No. 65, Accounting for Certain Mortgage Banking Activities. References 1. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 95 Statement of Cash Flows November 1987 Financial Accounting Standards Board of the Financial Accounting Foundation 401 MERRITT 7, P. O. BOX 5116, NORWALK, CONNECTICUT 06856-5116 2. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 102 Statement of Cash Flows—Exemption of Certain Enterprises and Classification of Cash Flows from Certain Securities Acquired for Resale an amendment of FASB Statement No. 95 February 1989 Financial Accounting Standards Board of the Financial Accounting Foundation 401 MERRITT 7, P. O. BOX 5116, NORWALK, CONNECTICUT 06856-5116 3. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 104 Statement of Cash Flows—Net Reporting of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments and Classification of Cash Flows from Hedging Transactions an amendment of FASB Statement No. 95 December 1989 Financial Accounting Standards Board of the Financial Accounting Foundation 401 MERRITT 7, P. O. BOX 5116, NORWALK, CONNECTICUT 06856-511

Cultural Leadership

CONTENTS 1. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 2. Culture†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 Definition Dimensions of culture 3. Cultural leadership†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 8 Globalisation Global leadership behavior 4. Conclusions †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 9 5. References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 1. Introduction Cultural leadership is a study in which I sumarry colected some related ideas about culture, leadership and the impact of culture on leadership process. The project is structurared in two chapters, follow by a conclusion and bibliography. The first chapter begins by defining culture and describing the dimensions of culture with specific examples in every aria. Determining the basic dimensions or characteristics of different cultures is the first step in being able to understand the relationships between them. Because it is an abstract term, the word culture it is hard to define, and different people often define it in dissimilar ways. A definition which captured my attention is one which defined culture as the learned beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols, and traditions that are common to a group of people. It is these shared qualities of a group that make them unique. Culture is dynamic and transmitted to others. In short, culture is the way of life, customs, and script of a group of people. (Gudykunst & Ting-Toomey, 1988). Next, in the second chapter, I found it necesarry to talk about how leadership varies across cultures and which specific leadership attributes cultures universally endorse as desirable and undesirable. As individuals we have implicit beliefs and convictions about the attributes and beliefs that distinguish leaders from non-leaders and effective leaders from ineffective leaders. So, from the perspective of this theory, leadership is in the eye of the beholder. Leadership refers to what people see in others when they are exhibiting leadership behaviors. Because of that, I have presented in this chapter six types of leadership accepted worldwide based upon Global Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness –GLOBAL- Research Program. I chose this specific topic, because I am interested in the domains presented, culture and leadership, and I considered this occasion, like being a great opportunity to discover more information or facts regarding them. 2. Culture Definition Anthropologists, scientist, sociologists and many others have debated the meaning of the word culture. Because it is an abstract term, it is hard to define, and different people often define it in dissimilar ways. Below, I have tried to find out some definitions of culture as follows: Kroeber, A. L. , & Kluckhohn (1952). Culture: A critical review of concepts and definitions :† Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i. e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may, on the one hand, be considered as products of action, and on the other as conditioning elements of further action’’. Banks, J. A. & McGee (1989). Multicultural education. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon: â€Å"Most social scientists today view culture as consisting primarily of the symbolic, ideational, and intangible aspects of human societies. The essence of a culture is not its artifacts, tools, or other tangible cultural elements but how the members of the group interpret, use, and perceive them. It is the values, symbols, interpretations, and perspectives that distinguish one people from another in modernized societies; it is not material objects and other tangible aspects of human societies. People within a culture usually interpret the meaning of symbols, artifacts, and behaviors in the same or in similar ways. † Linton, R. (1945, p. 32). The Cultural Background of Personality: â€Å"A culture is a configuration of learned behaviors and results of behavior whose component elements are shared and transmitted by the members of a particular society† From a business view, when leading a multicultural group, it is important to be aware of the norms, beliefs, and values that the participants bring with them to the setting. These norms, beliefs, and values not only shape identity but they also affect perceptions, attitudes and assumptions. These aspects of individuals and groups are typically not visible and yet, they are extremely important to take into consideration during the planning and facilitative processes. Other aspects of culture implies institution, religion, education, language, material culture and life-style. Dimensions of culture Hofstede (1994) identified four dimensions of culture: The first one, individualism versus collectivism, refers to how people define themselves and their relationships with others. In an individualist culture, the interest of the individual prevails over the interests of the group. Ties between individuals are loose. People look after themselves and their immediate families. For example, a student from Colombia may study in the United States and earn a Ph. D. , teach at a distinguished university, and publish important books, but when he returns to visit Colombia, people to whom he is introduced will want to know to whom he is related. Colombians want to know who his family is because that places him in society much more so than any of his accomplishments in the United States. Individualistic cultures like USA and France are more self-centered and emphasize mostly on their individual goals. This kind of cultures tend to think only of themselves as individuals and as â€Å"I† distinctive from other people. They define people by what they have done, their accomplishments, what kind of car they drive. Individualist cultures are more remote and distant. Collectivistic cultures have a great emphasize on groups and think more in terms of â€Å"we†. In China, for example it is out of question to disagree with someone’s opinion in public. You will do that in a more private and personal atmosphere to protect a person from the â€Å"loss of face†. In collectivistic cultures a direct confrontation will be always avoided. The second dimension that the author presents is the one which indicates the extent to which dominant values in a society tend to be assertive and look more interested in things than in concerning for people and the quality of life. â€Å"Masculinity is the opposite of femininity; together, they form one of the dimensions of national cultures. Masculinity stands for a society which social gender roles are dearly distinct: men are supposed to be more modest, tender, and concerned with the quality of life. â€Å"Femininity stands for a society where gender roles overlap: both men and women are supposed to be modest, tender and concerned with the quality of life. † The Masculinity and Femininity dimension describes how cultures differentiate on not between gender roles. Masculine cultures tend to be ambitious and need to excel. Members of these cultures have a tendency to polarize and consider big and fast to be beautiful. In workplaces employees emphasize their work to a great extent (live in order to work) and they admire achievers who accomplished their tasks. Feminine cultures consider quality of life and helping others to be very important. The country which strives the most for maximal distinction between what women and men are expected to do, the culture that place high values on masculine traits stress assertiveness, competition, and material success is Japan, the last country being Sweden. The third dimension is power distance, or the way the culture deals with inequalities. Hofstede (1997,p. 28) defines power distance as â€Å"the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally†. Hofstede believes that power distance is learned early in families. In high power distance cultures, children are expected to be obedient toward parents versus being treated more or less as equals. In high power distance cultures, people are expected to display respect for those of higher status. For example, in countries such as Cambodia and Thailand, people are expected to display respect for monks by greeting and taking leave of monks with ritualistic greetings, removing hats in the presence of a monk, dressing modestly, seating monks at a higher level, and using a vocabulary that shows respect. In a high power distance culture, company bosses are â€Å"kings† and employees â€Å"loyal subjects† who don’t speak out. In the low power distance workplace, subordinates expect to be consulted, and ideal bosses are democratic. In more democratic organizations, leaders are physically more accessible. And finally, the last dimension is about uncertainty avoidance which expresses the deficit that people tolerate ambiguous situations and need formal rules. Uncertainty is â€Å"the extent to which the members of a culture fell threatened by uncertain or unknown situations. One of the dimensions of national cultures (from weak to strong). †. Some cultures need to have a strong uncertainty avoidance like France. In France many strict regulations are used and tasks are heavily centralized in companies and for meetings it is important to consider that. They are very careful with the details or any circumstances which could cause any kind of uncertainty for French business people. Germans and Finns have a less level of uncertainty avoidance and a medium level of power distance have the need for clearly specified competence to avoid uncertainty. They need specific procedures and distributions of tasks, instructions and rules. The co-ordination and control can be achieved through standardization and certification measurers. Americans and Chinese (Hong Kong) have a lower need for uncertainty avoidance and rather avoid too many rules and formalities. They are more likely to stimulate innovations and emphasize new ideas. They are more flexible and more acting than reacting on changes occurring inside and outside of business. In contrast cultures with very strong uncertainty avoidance display their emotions in the way that everything that is different, is dangerous. They resist in changes and worry about their future. 3. Cultural leadership Are leaders made or born? I think this is a question that most of us asked in a moment or another. In my opinion leaders are made but they must have some skills before that process too. If somebody have the desire and willpower, he can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things a leader must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. We can affirm that culture is a long-term, complex phenomenon. Culture represents the shared expectations and self-image of the organization. The mature values that create â€Å"tradition† or the â€Å"way we do things here† because as we should know things are done differently in every organization. The collective vision and common folklore that define the institution are a reflection of culture. Individual leaders, cannot easily create or change culture because culture is a part of the organization. Culture influences the characteristics of the climate by its effect on the actions and thought processes of the leader. But, everything somebody dose as a leader will affect the climate of the organization. For instance, the cultural diversity of employees found in worldwide multinational organizations presents a substantial challenge with respect to the design of multinational organizations and their leadership. In my opinion, given the increased globalization of industrial organizations and increased interdependencies among nations, the need for better understanding of cultural influences on leadership and organizational practices is getting higher. Situations that leaders must face are highly complex, constantly changing, and difficult to interpret. More than ever before, managers of international firms face fierce and rapidly changing international competition. Globalization has also created the need for leaders to become competent in cross-cultural awareness and practice. Adler and Bartholomew (1992, p. 53) contend that global leaders need to develop five cross-cultural competencies. First, leaders need to understand business, political, and cultural environments worldwide. Second, they need to learn the perspectives, tastes, trends, and technologies of many other cultures. Third, they need to be able to work simultaneously with people from many cultures. Fourth, leaders must be able to adapt to living and communicating in other cultures. Fifth, they need to learn to relate to people from other cultures from a position of equality rather than cultural superiority. Additionally, global leaders need to be skilled in creating trans cultural visions. They need to develop communication competencies that will enable them to articulate and implement their vision in a diverse workplace. In sum, today’s leaders need to acquire a challenging set of competencies if they intend to be effective in present-day global societies. GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness) started a research program in order to describe how different cultures view leadership behaviors in others, and they identified six global leadership behaviors: charismatic/ value based, team oriented, participative, humane oriented, autonomous, and self-protective. These global leadership behaviors were defined as follows: Charismatic/value-based leadership reflects the ability to inspire, to motivate, and to expect high performance from others based on strongly held core values. This kind of leadership includes being visionary, inspirational, self-sacrificing, trustworthy, decisive, and performance oriented. Team-oriented leadership emphasizes team building and a common purpose among team members. This kind of leadership includes being collaborative, integrative, diplomatic and administratively competent. Participative leadership reflects the degree to which leaders involve others in making and implementing decisions. It includes being participative and non-autocratic. Humane-oriented leadership emphasizes being supportive, considerate, compassionate, and generous. This type of leadership includes modesty and sensitivity to people. Autonomous leadership refers to independent and individualistic leadership, which includes being autonomous and unique. Self-protective leadership reflects behaviors that ensure the safety and security of the leader and the group. It includes leadership that is self-centered, status conscious, conflict inducing, face saving, and procedural. Below, you have examples with leadership styles in different cultures: The countries from Eastern European have the idea of a leader which is moderately charismatic/value-based team-oriented, and people-oriented yet largely uninterested in involving others in the decision-making process. To sum up, this culture describes a leader as one who is highly autonomous, makes decisions independently, and is to a certain degree inspiring, team-oriented, and attentive to human needs. Quite different from the Eastern European countries, the Latin American countries place the most importance on team-oriented, charismatic/value based, and self-protective leadership and the least importance on autonomous leadership. As a fact ,those leaders tend to be moderately interested in people and their participation in decision making. An ideal example of leadership for the Nordic European countries is leadership that is highly visionary and participative while being somewhat independent and diplomatic. For these countries, it is less important that their leaders be people oriented or protective of their office. Nordic Europeans prefer leaders who are inspiring and involve others in decision making. They do not expect their leaders to be exceedingly compassionate, nor do they expect them to be concerned with status and other self-centered attributes. For countries in Africa, an ideal leader is modest, compassionate, and sensitive to the people. In addition, they believe a leader should be relatively charismatic/value-based, team oriented, participative, and self-protective. Leaders who act independently or act alone are viewed as less effective in these countries. In short, the African profile characterizes effective leadership as caring leadership. Like many other countries, these countries believe leaders should be inspirational, collaborative, and not excessively self-centered. Leaders who act autonomously are seen as ineffective in African countries. The leadership profile for the Middle Eastern countries differs significantly from the profiles of the other regions. Middle Eastern countries find self-attributes such as face saving and status are important characteristics of effective leadership. They also value being independent and familial. However, they find charisma, collaboration, and participative decision making less essential for effective leadership. To sum up, the Middle Eastern profile of leadership emphasizes status and face saving and de-emphasizes charismatic/value-based and group-oriented leadership. As we can see above, the dominant cultural norms endorsed by societal cultures induce global leader behavior patterns and organizational practices that are differentially expected and viewed as legitimate among cultures. Thus, the attributes and behaviors of leaders are, in part, a reflection of the organizational practices, which in turn are a reflection of societal cultures. 4. Conclusions After I have done this paper I realized that culture and leadership are like the two sides of the same coin. I believe that culture have a significant impact on leadership. First of all, culture shapes an individual ‘s self-definition of a leader through fundamental ideas about self and work. Second, the norms, values, beliefs or assumption an individual already learnt in the culture, makes him pass through cultural filters so that he perceive the world of work and leadership development different, meaning we don’t see the world through the same lens. We talked about culture, its definitions from different points of view, dimensions of culture and cultural leadership. Here we touched arias like: globalization, leadership’s styles accepted all over the world with regional examples. After all, the core of this project can be summarized in a couple of phrases, like the ones below. Leaders are immersed in their own societal culture, and they are most likely to enact the global leader behavior patterns that are favored in that culture. Founders influence the behavior of subordinate leaders and subsequent leaders by use of selective management selection criteria, role modeling, and socialization. Further, the dominant cultural norms endorsed by societal cultures induce global leader behavior patterns and organizational practices that are differentially expected and viewed as legitimate among cultures. Thus, the attributes and behaviors of leaders are, in part, a reflection of the organizational practices, which in turn are a reflection of societal cultures. At the present time, there is a greater need for effective international and cross-cultural collaboration, communication and cooperation, not only for the effective practice of leadership, but also for the betterment of the human conditions. As we view in this project, globalization has let its mark on the cultures of the world, which are getting more and more interconnected. As a conclusion, nowadays leaders should be encouraged or take initiative to reflect on their own values, see that multicultural differences exist and work to improve culture for all. 5. References Cultures and Organizations – Intercultural Cooperation and its Importance for Survival† Hofstede, Geert (1994) http://books. google. ro Cross-cultural approaches to leadership development by Clyde Brooklyn Derr http://www. cribd. com/doc/17743776/Nature-of-Culture-Its-Impact-on-Business http://www. via-web. de/conceptualization-of-culture/ http://www. ramergroup. com/pdfs/Concepts-of-Leadership. pdf http://www. online-leadership-tools. com/develop-leadership. html http://www. nwlink. com/~donclark/leader/leadcon. html :Concepts of Leadership http://www. thunderbird. edu/wwwfiles/sites/globe/pdf/process. pdf – Cultural Influences on Lea dership and Organizations: Project GLOBE ——————————————–

Stat assigment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

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How will a governmental shutdown affect the American people Research Proposal

How will a governmental shutdown affect the American people - Research Proposal Example This paper tells that in 2011, the U.S. Congress passed a last-minute compromise bill authorizing the raising of the national debt limit which narrowly escaped a shutdown of the Federal government and its associated agencies. The threat of a U.S. government shutdown has major significance for the international financial markets, the employees of the Federal government, and the people who rely on it for goods, services, and payments. A U.S. government shutdown may be temporary and limited in effect, as it was in 1995 during the Clinton administration when the Congress and White House became deadlocked in a budgetary impasse. The changing economic climate of the 21st Century, following the global meltdown of the financial system in 2008, means that another occurrence of this event could lead to new and unintended consequences. The global economy is weak currently and emerging from a period of recession in the USA and Europe, largely caused by the consequences of years of wasteful gover nment spending and debt. The U.S. national debt now stands at over $14.5 trillion, a total greater than the complete Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the entire country and all of its annual economic activity combined. While Congress and the White House negotiated in 2011 and failed to come to concrete terms on real cuts in spending and debt reduction, the Standard & Poor’s rating agency for the first time downgraded the U.S. credit rating, citing the political impasse as a major reason. (Detrixhe, 2011) Consequently, a U.S. government shutdown in the current political and economic climate could have significantly different or more severe effects in the contemporary milieu than it did in the 1990’s when it last occurred, and these consequences would likely not be contained solely in the United States due to the complex interrelationships present in the global economy. The most immediate and obvious effects of a U.S. government shutdown would be seen for Federal governme nt employees, who would be essentially laid off without payment until the impasse is resolved. The government in this situation makes a determination as to which Federal employees are considered â€Å"essential† to national security and keeping the U.S. Congress running, and which are to be considered â€Å"non-essential† employees, to be suspended from work without payment. As Ewen MacAskill (2011) of the Guardian Newspaper reported, â€Å"The US Congress has begun sending out letters warning staff they will be suspended from this weekend along with hundreds of thousands of other workers as part of a looming federal government shutdown. The letters inform staff whether they are regarded as essential – necessary to maintain security and keep Congress running – or non-essential.† (MacAskill, 2011) MacAskill (2011) and other analysts suggest that approximately 800,000 â€Å"non-essential† employees of the Federal government would lose their jo bs and salaries at least temporarily until the budgetary issues are resolved. (MacAskill, 2011) Yet, this immediate economic effect of placing nearly 1 million people out of work would have an inherently restrictive or contractive effect on the U.S. economy. Dean Praetorius (2011) listed nine possible effects of a U.S. government shutdown that shows the ripple effects of this outcome in the domestic environment and larger global economy: 1. Lost Money: â€Å"The last shutdown cost taxpayers $800 million, including $400 million in wages to federal workers who did not report to

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Succession planning - Essay Example This is because the company was prompted by the varying statistics of the workforce. However, in 1995, the company realized that most women who were successful to attain the vice president level were the white women. Out of these results, the company’s Chairman and CEO who was heading the company at that time used the leaders who were reporting directly to him to develop women of different races in order to be represented in the vice-presidents position. The leaders had big roles to play to develop and monitor workers from the minority groups, especially women from other races apart from the whites. The company ensured that women of other races benefited from all the succession planning process within the company. The structure of succession planning used by the company involved the following: First, it involves making a commitment. Individuals in the top management should be committed to succession planning. They should be prepared mentally to handle abrupt loss in the organization resulting from death, disability, resignation and retirement. Secondly, it involves assessing the current work requirement and competence of individuals. Those involved in decision making in the company should ensure the work to be done and the output requirement is clarified. Thirdly, individual performance should be appraised. A company should eliminate any existing barriers to individual performance and encourage them to do their best. This can be achieved through establishment of performance management systems. Fourthly, it involves assessing future requirements output among individuals. Those involved in the decision making should come up with necessary competences which will enable the organization to be suc cessful. The fifth step involves assessing individual potential. An organization should come up with ways of assessing what individuals are capable of in present and future

1.Critically evaluate if the National Minimum Wage (NMW) have an Essay

1.Critically evaluate if the National Minimum Wage (NMW) have an effect on business performance and increase reward grades - Essay Example They continue to argue that with the introduction of this wage, a great percentage of human labor has been replaced by machinery since the employers attest to the fact that inclusion of the employees in the workplace has become extremely expensive due to the costs that come from reinstatement of wages to the employees. However, other analysts differ with this argument arguing that the wage has increased employee performance in the workplace. In the research carried out by Dickens & Manning (pp.95), the National minimum wage (NMW) has acted as a foundation in which employers can offer proper pay to their employees. This works by virtue of the wage being in a position to manage the increases in wages and controlling all aspects that may lead to cutting down of costs. The National minimum wage (NMW), on the other hand also attempts to be at par with the changes that take place in relation to employees and the wage rates. Nevertheless, other analysts argue that it is extremely tasking for employers to deal with the task of adjusting to the tough economic conditions and dealing with demands of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) as imposed by the government. This essay shall attempt to analyze the National Minimum Wage (NMW) and the effect on business performance and increase reward grades. The major aim of the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is to reduce poverty rates in UK. This is according to research conducted by Dickens & Manning (pp.95), who indicate that with the National Minimum Wage (NMW) the employees have no option but to work in their workplaces or risk being unemployed. In this case, therefore, employees do not want to risk getting into the labor market that does not allow for easy entry into the market; thus, give the best that they can manage whilst in their current jobs. With proper distribution of income in the market, Arrowsmith et al, (pp.435) indicate that there are high chances that individuals will be

Healthy College Cafeteria Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Healthy College Cafeteria - Assignment Example Eating healthy is made more difficult by the lack of available healthier foods in college canteens yet due to the economic restraints and busy lifestyles of students, the college canteen is often the main place that students eat. There is a responsibility from our educational institutions to focus on providing healthy , nutritious , reasonably priced foods that ensure that students have healthy eating options. In the UK, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has become notorious for his scathing attacks on the food served in schools. A ten part TV series released in 2005 based in a school, exposed exactly the type of food that was being served (processed food that is high in sugar and fat) and the negative effects on health. His pioneering work has since continued, urging schools to use natural ingredients, local and organic produce and serve well balanced meals. He has also succeeded in getting councils to sponsor "a ten-year strategic plan and fund a long-term public campaign to get people back on to a proper diet and empower/persuade (and possibly scare, if needed) the public to make better choices." (My Manifesto) Awareness Raising; Any significant change in the food served in the college canteens should also go hand in hand with a college funded awareness raising project. This has taken place in a number of colleges already in the UK and US2 and could provide students with ideas, recipes and information about the nutritional and health values of the food that they eat. Consultation with the students; In making a shift to providing healthier foods for students it is important that they are consulted in order to ascertain what health foods would be popular. By running a consultation information can be gathered to help design the new menus. Skills gap; To provide healthy and nutritious food using natural ingredients can often mean that those working on the cafeteria need proper training in food production. Training should be offered to cafeteria staff and their wages should reflect the potential increase in work hours caused by preparing meals with fresh ingredients. Sourcing Organic Foods; Organic foods can appear to be more expensive but often when they are brought in bulk the price goes down significantly. Maybe joining up with other educational institutions in the area to make joint food orders with or looking for sponsorship for the college's healthy food project could ensure that prices stay affordable yet the quality goes up. Sourcing Local Foods; While the food might not be organic, buying food from local producers assures a number of things. It boosts the local economy, it is often cheaper for the buyer as the 'middle person' ( in this case the food distributor) is cut out. Regular orders and establishing a good relationship mean producers listen to their buyers and could in the future ( for example) reduce use of pesticides and fertilizers Sourcing Fair Trade Products; Fair trade products are often organic and produced by co-operatives therefore ensuring the best price for the farmer. By purchasing these products the college not only supports farmers in the developing world but also indirectly educates students about just and sustainable farming methods and food distribution. Environment; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, As well as looking after our own

Pilgrimage's Role in Development of Buddhism in Japan Essay

Pilgrimage's Role in Development of Buddhism in Japan - Essay Example The Kumano within the Southern Wakayama Prefecture ended up becoming a large center for pilgrims and adherents of Shugendo Sect during Heina Period. Some other significantly important pilgrimages at the time were to Mt. Koya, Hasedera (Kyoto) and Shitenno-ji  (Osaka) (Swanson & Chilson 2006). Between 160 and 1868 AD, during the Edo Period, the number of persons making pilgrimages to Shinto Shrines and Buddhist temples increased rapidly, particularly to the Kotohira Shrine, the Ise Shrine, the 88 Shikoku temples, Zenkoji (Nagano), Mt. Fuji (Shizuoka), and the Kiso Ontake (Nagoya) (Reynolds  2001; Covell 2005). One phenomenon during Edo Era was the special pilgrimage to Ise-Jingu Shrine, known as Okage Mairi. The tradition of Okage Mairi has continued to be unabated even the contemporary Japanese society, with approximately 6 million people paying a visit to Ise Jingu Shrines per annum. Perhaps behind the phenomenon lies some nostalgic past: Resurgent interest in the region and som e desire for a temporary escape from the over-crowded urban settings (Alisal, Ackermann, Dolores 2007). Pilgrimage and Development of Buddhism The history of pilgrimage in Japan could be traced back to the early years, at least by the era of Nara, between 7610-794 AD. The pilgrimages flourished during the initial day, through Heian era (947-1185). At the time, the aristocrats and the imperial family were the most active pilgrims (Kaempfer 1995). During the latter days of the ninth century, the imperial family members took some interest in the religious visits to various shrines in the country and the temples that existed outside Japanese capital of Kyoto. From the late tenth century, the custom became adopted by the aristocrats, to a certain... The development of pilgrimages within Japanese society could greatly be conditioned to geographical, cultural, religious or topographical factors. There were there primary types of pilgrimages among the Japanese: Pilgrimage to the sacred mountains, pilgrimage to the shrines and temples based on the enshrined divinities and pilgrims to the sacred places, which are based on special powers of charismatic persons such as Buddha. The pilgrimages to the sacred mountains were founded on Buddhist notion of jiriki, self power, an idea that made those who are self strong via ascetic practices. Buddhists believed that there was a need of training for one to obtain some special powers, which were acquired through regular visits to the holy mountains. The non-Buddhists specialists like the healers, the ascetics and the shamans as well as the greater public also acquired the special powers. During the Middle Ages (twelfth and eleventh) aristocrats believed in pilgrimages to the sacred mountains to help them experience Pure Land while they were still living. Moreover, it was believed that kami of the mountains were manifestations of the Buddhists divinities; they were merely special ascetics, and would be guided by the aristocrats within the region. By the nineteenth century, there were more that 17,000 senior guides that were familiar with the sacred mountains. Even as the aristocracy and courtship declined during the initial days of Tokugawa era, there was a novel phenomenon emerging in already existing mountain pilgrimage beliefs. There were four major pilgrimage sites that had been recommended by Buddha.

History of computing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History of computing - Essay Example So it is actually and initially surprising to find that he is considered as a progenitor of certain important and highly technical computing principles and that he came to influence many of the developments and developers in computing technology. Piatteli-Palmarani (1980) explained that Chomsky’s academic career began as a student of language â€Å"whose approach was rooted in rigorous philosophical analysis and in formal logical-mathematical methods.† (pxxii) During this period he was a revolutionary, seeking to address the inadequacy of the then extant attempts at explaining the nature of language. His passionate work and genius enabled him to develop revolutionary concerns in linguistics by formulating an agenda for scientific linguistics, which is the identification of â€Å"a set of grammatical rules that would generate syntactic descriptions for all of the permissible and none of the nonpermissible sentences in any given language.† (pxxii) It appears that this early, his penchant for the technical approach to linguistics is already apparent – a variable that would be displayed in further works and applicable to computing problems as well. His thoughts in this area, documented in a series of published materials, explained his position that the human mind is highly sensitive to the abstract linguistic structures. They are supposedly never learned because such recognition, according to Chomsky, is innate in human knowledge system. After this stage in Chomsky’s career, he would take up the cudgels for several and different causes that ranged from politics to psychology. In this latter aspect, for instance, Chomsky had a widely publicized conflict with imminent psychologist Jean Piaget. At one point, adherents of both parties managed to have them meet and debate their arguments, resulting in a demonstration of Chomsky’s aptitude in an

Color of Law Essay Example for Free

Color of Law Essay As a Legal Management Student who will soon be proceeding to Law, I have learn and realized so many things about being a lawyer when I finished reading the Color of Law by Mark Gimenez. When I was still a little child my dream was to become best lawyer so I can help those unfortunate people. I always thought being a lawyer is about helping, defending, and giving justice to my fellow Filipinos. I also thought that when I become a lawyer I can have lots of money to provide my needs and as to my family. I also thought that those lawyers were the best because they gamble their lives every day just to defend the citizens of its country. Then I have realized that it is just all in my imagination because in the real world lawyers do not usually do everything right, sometimes it is all lies in my eyes. â€Å"Scotty, the color of law isn’t black-and-white, it’s green! The rule of law is money—money rules! Money makes the law and the law protects the money! And lawyers protect the people with money!† –Dan Ford With this line it made me realize that for some lawyers they do not put their hearts in protecting the law but their ambition and love for money. It also made me realize that the codes and rules made in black-and-white does not already governs the law and the people but it is the money that makes the world go round. I have also realized that some lawyer’s cheat under the law, they do not even care about giving justice to the unfortunate or to the innocent but they make the wrong right in the eyes of others. Lastly, I have realized that when money is involved justice is not followed by its right purpose. But what I have learned from this statement is that when I become a lawyer in the future I should fight for the right thing and not blind myself with the wrong one for money. I have also learned that we are the future generations and we should not be poisoned by what is happening now but rather should make a change for the better of the society. In the story I have seen that Scott and his other colleague’s works in a best and the most famous Law Firm. I have just realized that they are working in a best and the most famous Law Firm is because they have worked hard in attaining their college degree. I have also realized that they are highly paid by the firm because they belong to the top students of the best university in Dallas. So I have learn that if I want to be employed by the most famous law firm in the Philippines, I have to work hard to be one of the best students in my future law school. I have also learned that for me to be highly paid by my employer in the future I must be one of the bar top-notcher. Though I do not promise to be this in the future but it made me realized that trying can always be the best solution. Third, I have seen in the story that when Scott was appointed to be the lawyer of Shawanda who is a prostitute and a drug addict that he did not truly believe that she is innocent. I have realized that most of the best lawyers are not usually the best when it comes to their jobs as a lawyer because a lawyer must not judge their clients but must always put their clients to be innocent. I have learn that when a lawyer what to prove her client innocent, he must first have faith and belief of her client’s innocence from the crime. It is important because when you as her lawyer do not believe that she is innocent then she might lose her confidence and instead force to tell a lie and may commit a greater mistake. Fourth, I have also seen in the story that when Scott was about to lose everything, he did not care or think about his family or what could happen to his family. Although Scott was just being kind, he just cared for his client and even doing the right thing but for me family is the most important thing in the world. I would not want to give up everything just for my clients but instead I would fight all these circumstances just to defend my family from all of these. I have realized with this that there is no purpose of winning a case if you do not have a real and complete family to celebrate with. I have learned from this that when I become a lawyer in the future I would do everything to defend my client and do the right thing but in a right way. Fifth, I have realized from the story that they portrait or described lawyers as cheaters, dishonest, and immoral. I think that this is not a good example to those young aspiring lawyers to be. I have learned that as of today being a student aspiring to be a lawyer in the future, I would do my best to practice law in a lawful and in a moral way. I would also start to respect the law by putting God first so I would be guided on what is best way to solve without being a distraction to the society. I think that if lawyers do the right thing with good and moral intention then we could have a peaceful society and justice would be given fairly. I have learned that being a lawyer with good moral character is what a lawyer should be proud of and not the multiple numbers of cases he had won because at the end of the day people do not usually care about you but you instead could make yourself proud of what you did. I have seen that Scott did not totally believe in God’s grace on how he would handle with his life. I believe that God is the center of everything so we must put him first in everything that we do. I believe that with every profession when you just trust God, he would help you be the most successful person. I have seen from Scott’s situation that he did not trust God or pray for Shawanda’s life to be reformed but instead he judged her until the end. I have learned from it and I promised myself that when I become a lawyer I would definitely put and trust God first in every case that I would encounter. With this inspiration I would be able to abide and follow the law in a right way. â€Å"VOIR DIRE † is a legal phrase meaning â€Å"to speak the truth.† I really think that these words are the most important thing to be remembered in practicing the law. I have learned from the book that being a lawyer you must first put in mind or practice to speak the truth because as a lawyer you stand to be the leader of the law. I also think that if you speak the truth then the truth would prevail. Also speaking for the truth is a way of respecting the rules of the law and yourself. I also think that if you have this within you then you will also be spoken by the truth by others. I learned that in a court trial people do not usually want to hear the truth and just cared about winning the case but when one speaks of the truth then we would have a peace of mind, heart and a clean conscience. I believe that professors should not only teach about the subject matter but must educate their students to be a lawyer who has dignity to stand for the truth. I also believe that a parent should teach and practice their children to tell the truth because they might turn out to be lawyers in the far future. I am thankful that we were tasked to read this book because it made me realized so much about how lawyers act and deal with different cases that they had encountered. I have now learned how they worked, how they find and gather those evidences about the complainant without complicating things. I have also learned how a case works on a real court, how suspects and the witness is asked about the case. I now know how the lawyers asked each witness facts out of the blue and find out the real suspect. And because of this book I have now learn so much on how to be a better lawyer and not follow the footsteps of those lawyers who are deceitful and dishonest. Now I know how to deal with suspects that are involved in criminal cases by respecting and not judging them with what other people think of them. I have realized that I should be different to make a mark and be known to people and my clients in the future by my good moral character. I have also learned that when I become a lawyer, I would not do something deceitful, fraudulent or immoral just to win a case and make a lot of money but I would do the right thing even though I won’t be remembered from it. After reading the book I have fully made up my mind that I would be taking up law school. I promised myself to study well and make my parents proud of me. I think the book stand as an inspiration to me to become a best and better lawyer than those describe by the book. I want to be different from them because I see their life unhappy and not contented with what they have. I hate how the lawyers wanted to be the best and even more, I think it is childish because when you’re a lawyer you should be proud of what you’re capable of and make the most out of it or you should learn from every mistake you take and be better. But despite the wrong this Scott Fenney had done in the past, I still idolized him and wanted to be liked him in the future because it taught me that his intelligence got him to his dreams. Also I idolized him because he fought for the right and defended her client even if she is known to be a prostitute and a drug addict. I idolized him for turning his mistakes and made it right by leaving his past life from being one of the rich citizens of Dallas. I also idolized him for being a responsible son to his mother because although his mother was dead, he did his best to rich his mother’s dream for him to have and reach everything they had in mind together. And lastly, I want to be liked him because although he was not a very good husband to his wife because he did not stop his wife from leaving him still he was a good and the best father to his daughter Boo. He did a great job taking care of his daughter and making her part of his career by sharing how his job works. He also inspired me because he help and let Pajamae stay at their home despite the fact that she is black and a daughter of a prostitute and a drug addict. â€Å"Brilliant lawyers without rich clients are worthless to large law firms† I think this is true because being in a large law firm you have to maintain the amount of money you contribute. Also in a law firm you have partners who trust you by bringing their firms name but of course you have to pay back. This is why you owe the firm for giving you clients because clients does not directly go and see a personal lawyer but they trust a big law firm where they can be sure not to be disappointed. Also lawyers that are less brilliant and less intelligence with rich clients are still worthless or useless because all though you will still be paid large still clients would not be satisfied by the result and does want to go back. I think that being a good lawyer is better than being a rich lawyer but you suffer with your criminal or fraudulent actions. When I become a lawyer I would first make sure and review my actions before I mixed my career with money. I believe that my reputation and my character is the best thing that I can be proud even without money. I may be poor by this belief or thinking but being a lawyer can be a great value as money is. I also believe that this will find me happiness and peace but money will only buy happiness temporarily. Being a lawyer with a good heart will be permanent to my being. I know that if I would just do what a lawyer should really do I would be blessed by my clients that can see my efforts and pay me good money. With this I know that I have worked hard for that money and not earn a lot of money for something I did not do. I want be paid by my hard worked and efforts that I had invest than being paid and never returned the worth. I have also realized that maybe someday I would enter politics and maybe become one of the senators in the Philippines but that I can sure that when such time comes I would definitely return the favor for putting me in a great position. I would stay in the position as a fair senator who will do everything for the better of the society. I would not be like Senator McCall in the story that buys everything with money and expect to cover up all the bad information’s about him. In real life when we commit mistakes we should not cover it up but instead we ask for forgiveness to those who we had hurt and learn from it. People will understand and eventually forgive you in time because we all know that nobody’s perfect and we all make mistakes. I think the book is good because it made lawyers see what a true lawyer is from lawyers who are just pretending to be the best but they really are foolish. I also like how the book portrayed and describe every detail how the characters are because we learn from their characters. Just like Rebecca who is ambitious and was just after the money that Scott can offer. She does not even make Scott feel loved because she does not allow him to touch her. I did not also liked her character because she did not appreciate how Scott worked hard just to give her what she dreamed of, from a mansion, car, dresses and a great husband who loved her so much. And lastly, her character of leaving his child and husband for a golf boy who does not have anything to offer her and she is not even sure that he really love her or just for money. She was not a good example to her daughter for how she acted in times of worst which might happen and followed by her daughter. She should have said sorry to her daughter for leaving them not saying goodbye because she is better without her, a child would not understand that. Summary Scott Fenney, a successful lawyer who knows how to bend the rules, mastering the creative skills of being a lawyer and a lawyer who makes lots of money from it. He graduated as a top student from SWU. He has a wife Rebecca and a daughter named Boo. They lived happily and peacefully at a mansion at Highland Park and he drives a Ferrari. He works at the Ford Stevens Law firm and earns half and more than a million in a year. The Ford Stevens Law firm is known to be the best law firm in the state. He is a corporate lawyer who represents corporations and never represented an individual person convicted of crime. A case was broadcast to the public news about the murder of Clark McCall who is the son of the Senator Mack McCall in Dallas, Mexico. Clark McCall was found dead in his bedroom shot above his left eye and the murder was suspected to be the prostitute Shawanda Jones who has been with him on the day he died. The case does not involve Scott and his life was perfect until Judge Buford appointed to be the lawyer of Shawanda Jones to defend her from the crime of murder. He visited Shawanda from the jail and he witness that she is a heroin addict. He asked Shawanda about the crime and what happened. Shawanda told her story to Scott that she was picked up by Clark at Harry Hines Boulevard and was promised to be paid a thousand dollars to spend a night with him. They then arrived at Clark’s placed and to his bedroom but then Clark started to slap her that she in return punched him in the eye and kicked him in the balls, that he fell to the floor and she took her thousand dollars and his car keys and drove herself back to Harry Hines and left the car there. Scott asked her why was her weapon used in the crime scene, she then explained that it might have slipped from her purse when she was in a rush from getting away. Scott then asked her why she does she carry a gun in her purse, she then answered that she lives in the project where your life may be in danger anytime. Scott did not believe at that time, he believes that when your gun is the murder weapon of the crime scene then you must have done it. Dan Ford owner of the Ford Stevens Law firm is the personal lawyer of Senator McCall and was told that he should convinced his lawyer to declined or put down the case. Dan then told Scott that it would not be good for the Law Firm’s image to engage in a case of murder because they represent known associates of a corporation. He warned Scott that it would destroy his career to represent a prostitute. Scott also did not want the job appointed to him and wanted to assign another lawyer Bobby as a substitution. Bobby is a criminal defense lawyer but is not a very successful lawyer, he even envy and is jealous of Scott’s successful career because he does earn much as his friend do. He accepted the job offered to him by Scott but when they represented to court and told the judge about the substitution, Shawanda had a choice to choose which lawyer she wants to represent her and she still chose Scott. So Scott had no choice and pursued with the case despite the allegations and warnings about his career. Shawanda is a black woman who has a daughter named Pajamae who was left at their house at the projects. Scott was asked a favour from her to check on Pajamae and to bring her in jail to see her mother. The projects is a wild place in Dallas where black people lives and where troubles usually happen. He took Pajamae to her mother in jail and he was afraid to go back, so he decided to let Pajamae stay with his family in Highland Park where he has a daughter same as her age. His wife Rebecca did not like the idea about it but his daughter Boo did want to have a sister and she got along well with Pajamae. During the months before the trial, they gathered every facts and evidence to defend or prove Shawanda innocent. They investigate Clark’s background and found out that he has a history of alcohol and drug abuse, also some allegations of rape. I was brought to court about the issue then Senator McCall got angry of what Scott turned out to be. So the next following days Scott began to lose his car which was going to be taken away by the bank he owned a loan to. Then he needs to pay his bills but he was running out of cash. He was okay with losing everything because he knows he has clients who pay him half and more millions in a year but when he went to see his client Tom Dibrell, he was shocked that Tom is firing him. He blamed everything to Senator McCall but when he went to see and ask his boss Dan Ford to tell the bank to give him more time to pay his loan but Dan refused and Scott was confused but he then eventually connect the dots that Dan was the one behind all that is happening to him. Dan asked him again to put down the case but Scott refused then he was fired from the firm which was his only resort with his life problems. After losing everything he owned, his wife Rebecca left him because she cannot longer take the humiliation and what people would think. After everything that had happen he thought to himself to do his very best to prove to the public that he is a good lawyer and he can prove that despite Shawanda’s background she is innocent. They gathered name of some girls that Clark may had rape or sexual harassment but only one of the girl responded and wanted to be a witness. Hannah Steele did not file charges and damages when the time she was raped because she was scared and blackmailed by McCall so he kept quiet for a long time. They kept her named until the final trial because she is the only solution to prove that Clark was a rapist and a racist. The month of august was about to arrive but they are still not yet ready for the trial because they got only one witness and no other evidence about Shawanda’s innocent and to prove that Clark is a rapist and a racist. They had a last resort who is Carl an assistant of Bobby where he is investigating Clark’s background to gather other witness. So Scott and Bobby had only one blast who is Hannah Steele who apparently refused to speak on the day of the trial. Then Scott did not know what to do, what to ask the witness of the other side of the case just to defend Shawanda. Then right after he was losing hope on winning the case, Carl arrived at the court and presented an envelope to Scott which has the flights from Washington to Dallas on the day Clark was murdered. The trial go on, Scott asked and listened to witnesses who are police and Fbi who were present on that day. He then realized after listening and seeing all the pictures of Clark’s murdered body that Shawanda was left-handed and that Clark was shot on the upper part of his right eye. So Scott made a realization that the murderer was a right-handed which is not Shawanda. So he gathered and reviewed all the flight documents from that day and found Clark’s flight and a related person to him was on a flight just next to his scheduled flight. The person related to him on the next flight with the same destination as him was Delroy Lund who is a bodyguard of his father Senator McCall. When Delroy was asked on court about his presence on the day Clark died he said he was in Washington with the Senator. Then when Scott presented the documents and asked him why was his name registered with his driver’s license number, he answered and made an alibi that he forgot about that day. Then he accidentally denied killing Clark but called him something foolish and the court suspected that he is the murderer. The court suspected and found him guilty of killing Clark because he really has hatred and jealousy from Clark and he followed him that day because she suspected that Clark was going to do something foolish again.