Financial Accounting Corporate Social Responsibility

Question: Discuss about the case study Financial Accounting for Corporate Social Responsibility. Answer: Introduction: Financial statements are made to provide efficiency to users in making economic decisions in business. The objectives of financial statements are to provide details about the financial performance, financial position, cash flow statements, and changes in financial position of a business or enterprise, profitability and growth prospects etc. This information is used by a variety of users like stakeholders, investors, managers, employees, government etc in making economic decisions for enhancing the effectiveness of the management. Financial statements help in assessing the operational efficiency of the companys management. This information can be provided by the profit and loss account or an income statement of an enterprise. The actual financial performance can be obtained through the financial statements and can also be compared with standards set earlier to ascertain the managements efficiency (Brealey et.al, 2011). Information about the financial position can be obtained by the Balance Sheet that aims in depicting the current position of an enterprise in terms of types of assets owned and various liabilities due. Hence, the financial position where the business stands on a particular date can be ascertained by financial statements. Moreover, it assists in providing information about how the cash moves in and out of the business and allocation of cash throughout the business (Horngren, 2013). When it comes to prediction of growth prospects and profitability financial statements aim to predict the growth prospects in earnings that can further be used by investors while comparing investment alternatives. This prediction can be done by the preparation and forecasting of budgets (Brealey et.al, 2011). Financial statements also aim to provide details about the changes in financial position of a business during a period through a separate statement. Financial statements accommodate several supplementary schedules and notes like the uncertainties and risks affecting the business, resources that cannot be identified through Balance Sheet etc. All these additional information can be obtained through financial statements and can prove to be very beneficial in decision-making (Kruger, 2015). When it comes to comparative analysis and adoption of appropriate policy financial statements of one enterprise can be compared with other enterprises to determine which enterprise is functionin g more effectively. This can be done by making a comparative study of the profitability of both enterprises and with the help of this intra firm comparison, financial statements aims to help the management in adopting a sound business policy (Brealey et.al, 2011). Other objectives of financial statements include the evaluation of efficiency of various department or parts of business, evaluation of the long-term liquidity of the business fund, evaluation of outcomes of stewardship of management or managements accountability for resources that are entrusted to it and evaluation of the exact meaning and outcome of financial information (Choi Meek, 2011). Prospective investors need these financial statements because it helps them in assessing the viability of investing funds in a company or business. They may also need financial statements in predicting future dividends on the basis of profits that are disclosed in them. Furthermore, there are various risks and uncertainties associated with an investment and investors can gauge those risks and uncertainties with the help of financial statements (Kruger, 2015). For example, it is a well-known fact that fluctuating profits point out higher uncertainties and risk. Hence, financial statements can be used as a basis for the investment decisions of these prospective investors. Investors and shareholders are generally the first group of external users of financial statements whose main motive is to assess the value of a business so as to decide whether it is worth selling or buying or holding their stock (Nzuve, 2011). In UK, there exists a functioning of Director of fair trading who is responsible to oversee the behavior of companies. Investigation can be initiated against those companies who have deviated from their goals and objectives. The maximum amount of market shares that a company in UK can hold is not more than 25% of the total market. If these limits get surpassed, then the Director of fair trading takes necessary steps to bring the limit to a normal range by informing the Competition Commission of UK. The Competition Commission is bound to initiate an investigation on those companies who have not followed the prescribed norms or against whom Director of fair trading has made comments (Ballot et.al, 2006). Furthermore, firms of UK are prohibited to collude because in this way competition can be restricted by setting the prices. As there are several companies operating all around UK and worldwide, other organizations have to be made that can keep a check on the strategies of these compani es. The regulatory system of UK made three (tripartite) authorities The financial Services Authority (FSA), Bank of England and Treasury. These were collectively bound to maintain the financial stability of UK but these failed because of the accommodation of several weak spots and hence these were reformed. A new Financial Policy Committee was formed in the Bank of England with a sole motive of maintaining financial stability. This was a necessary reform by the government of UK because macro-prudential action was required to be globally coordinated (Mulbert, 2010). Thus, FPC worked globally with authorities like European Systematic Risk Board etc to co-ordinate macro-prudential action. For macro-prudential regulation of firms, government transferred operational responsibility from FSA to a newly formed subsidiary of Bank of England that is PRA (Prudential Regulation Authority). PRA is responsible for the supervision and regulation of individual firms and it represents UK on the new supervisory authorities of Europe for insurance and banking so that UKs voice can be promoted. For regulation of markets and protection of consumers, the UK government created CPMA (Consumer Protection and Markets Authority) which was entrusted with a responsibility of promoting confidence in the financial markets and services. By this regulation system, two objectives can be satisfied that is protection of consumers by a powerful consumer division and promotion of confidence in the financial markets of UK for better efficiency and integrity (Ballou et. al, 2006). The introduction of these regimes has been very effective taking into consideration the potential for intense implications for the financial institutions of UK. Gaps in regulatory details have been closed by this regulatory system of UK that has also enhanced expectations from political areas (Bence Nadine, 2012). There are several areas that are policed by other bodies of UK like the Environmental Agency, CQC, Informati on Commissioners Office and Scottish Environment Protection Agency etc. Compliance issues for every small and large organization consist of Data Protection Act 1998 and Freedom of Information Act 2000 for the public sector. The corporate governance code of UK issued by FRC (Financial Reporting Council) sets out standards associated with remuneration, board effectiveness and leadership, relationships with shareholders etc. Companies of UK that possess a premium listing of equity shares are bound to report under the Listing Rules on the process they have adopted in their annual reports or accounts. Global financial reporting requirements are that effective structures which involves third parties to have an access to the environmental impact of an entity. These guidelines face a lot of speculation but still it is followed by several countries like United Kingdom etc because with the assistance of this reporting, several ethical features of a company can be informed to the public, investors etc. With the help of GRI guidelines, an organization can achieve better business operations that will in turn contribute towards its growth (Mark, 2010). Adoption of GRI have also assisted in decentralization and gaining target audience that proves that it is a successful attribute for the future. Inspite of several effectiveness, GRI or global financial reporting requirements has a lack of integrity in its aggregate structure but there exists various options that can be obtained through sustainability reports (Ballot et.al, 2006). For the purpose of this assignment, the two companies of UK t hat are selected are BP Plc and Volkswagen UK. BP Plc adopts international reporting guidelines from IPIECA and GRI so that it can report its sustainability performance and remains a signatory to UNs Global Impact. BP adopts Global Reporting Initiative G3.1 guidelines in its reporting together with a comprehensive pair of indicators that covers the entire dimensions of sustainable development. GRI helps in providing a framework against which every organization can report and track their environmental, social and economic performance. With this standardized method, greater accountability and transparency can be achieved together with benchmarking against the previous years performance. These guidelines also assist in recognition of stakeholders and the dominance of such reporting in various areas. With the help of global financial reporting requirements, BP Plc has managed to obtain an A plus in its reporting and it can be proved from the fact that every disclosure that are important are being disclosed and reasons are provided for the ones which are unimportant and not disclosed (BP Plc, 2014). For example, in the year 2015, when BP faced a huge quarterly loss of around 403 billion dollars, share price was decreased but the voluntary disclosure regarding the negative outcomes of BPs activity and greenhouse gas emission with a further disclosure of solutions to reduce the outcomes and comparative analysis of prior years with minimizing tendency, will surely pay off. Due to this voluntary disclosure, stock of BP improved from 417.55 GBP to 451 GBP. Even according to the legitimacy theory, disclosure regarding the oil spill surely made people realizes the outcome of any negligence towards any safety standards on environment (BP Plc, 2014). The impact of this global financial reporting requirement is that BP has become more efficient in collecting the data method and presenting the data in a more enhanced way so that the principles of UN Global Compact can be achi eved. Furthermore, this guidance assures that BP Plc identifies every issue that is significant to oil and gas companies and replies to industry problems through this reporting (Albuquerque et. al, 2013). Hence, on a whole, global financial reporting requirements prove to be very effective in case of BP Plc as the company effectively reports its material issues and by observing the value provided by various reporting elements, companies can tailor their reporting to their own situations. When it comes to Volkswagen (UK), Global reporting financial requirements are much better placed here than in BP Plc. It follows the G4 reporting index and fulfills various requirements that are essential in achieving the stage of completion and perfection. Thus, the functioning of Volkswagen is in such a manner so that it can socially meet every requirements and needs for the benefit of the society and the environment (Volkswagen, 2014). The Board of Managing Directors of Volkswagen is liable for a ccurately preparing the sustainability report based on the criterias set in the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines of the (GRI) Global Reporting Initiative. This includes the application and selection of proper procedures to prepare the Sustainability Report and the adoption of estimates and assumptions for sustainability disclosures of an individual that are very reasonable in the circumstances. The reason for preparing the Sustainable reports by the company is pretty obvious and that is the active participation of businesses that in turn provides support to the companies, business and the society (Fernando, 2009). These reforms are expected to bridge the gap between government and businesses so that the level of transparency can be increased (Sustainability reporting, 2012). There are several companies which are reporting GRI indicators at the end of their annual report and Volkswagen being one of them, communicates which GRI information have been disclosed and the reasons for no t communicating specific disclosures. A statement of the GRI Application Level Check is present in the sustainability report of Volkswagen Group which states that all the material disclosures have been communicated and it can be proved by the fact that Volkswagen received an A plus in its application in the Sustainability Report (Bertel, 2013). An example of voluntary disclosure of Volkswagen is that under International Financial Reporting Standards, the disclosure of expenses related to R D is not specified but big companies like Volkswagen are revealing more than specified details voluntarily so as to ensure maximum transparency among the investors, public etc. Volkswagen presents a breakdown of the R D expenses which is identified in its income statement portraying the amortization of development expenses separately from non-capitalized development expenses and research (Bertel, 2013). Even according to the legitimacy theory, Volkswagen discloses the emission tests where the le vel of nitrous oxide gets enhanced when vehicles run on the road. Although these emissions are unauthorized, Volkswagen takes steps to inform the public about this so that trust in the company cannot be lost. It can be concluded from the above details that financial statements play a very major role in enhancing the trust and goodwill of the organization. Therefore, the financial statements must adhere to the regulation to have a strong level of transparency. This helps in better presentation and enhances the level of goodwill. Moreover, it leads to compliance that projects a better scenario for the company. The regulatory system of UK have proven to be very effective for the public as it mainly aims in promoting the UK financial markets that will in turn provide benefit to several others (Nzuve, 2011). The scope of global reporting have further accelerated the system a provided a major opportunities to the firms. Especially the GRI guidelines have been the prime highlight in portraying the scope of companies. Even though these guidelines faces a lack of integrity, it is still followed everywhere in the world by most of the companies. In businesses, the most precise information can be pro vided by the Sustainability reports of a company that can collectively serve as rightful actions for future with the Global Financial Reporting Requirements. There are several experts who consider that Global Financial Reporting Requirements and sustainability reports were important in the past and not in the present but it must be noted that markets are diminishing internationally and taking into consideration the future prospects if such reporting systems are not aligned with the market conditions, then severe difficulties can arise (Goergen, 2012). It can also be observed from this study that companies like Volkswagen do not hesitate in disclosing the unspecified information in their reports and the reason is that these companies want to maximize their transparency with the investors, public etc so that during uncertain circumstances, it does not suffer more (Volkswagen, 2014). From their annual report, we can get a clear picture of the level of disclosure and their functioning. For instance in the case of BP Plc, whose stock improved after voluntary disclosing the negative activities and outcomes of the company. The difference between the regulatory system of UK and the impact of global financial reporting requirements is critically evaluated taking into account these two companies. Moreover, it has been ascertained that the level of disclosures provides a strong balance to the company because the stakeholders are always in search of information. Concealing of information leads to unfair practice and is contradictory to the et hical practice (Lubatkin, 2009). Hence, viewing this it can be commented that companies must adhere to the global reporting and should disclose the matter on a voluntary basis that leads to better practice and raising the level of standard. References Albuquerque, R., Durnev, A., Koskinen, Y 2013, Corporate social responsibility and firm risk: theory and empirical evidence, Boston University. Ballot, B., Heitger, D. L. Landes, C. E. 2006, The future of corporate sustainability reporting: A rapidly growing assurance opportunity, Journal of Accountancy, vol. 20, pp. 65-74 Ballou, B., Heitger, D. L. Landes, C. E. 2006, The future of corporate sustainability reporting: A rapidly growing assurance opportunity, Journal of Accountancy, vol. 20, pp. 65-74 Bence, D Nadine, F 2012, The International Accounting Standards Boards Search for a General Purpose Accounting Model, viewed 4 July 2016, https://business.curtin.edu.au/files/bence-fry.pdf. Bertel, S, 2013, Volkswagen Can Be Worlds Largest Automaker In 2013 As Unlikely As It May Be. GM In Danger Of Dropping To Third., viewed 4 July 2016, https://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/. BP Plc 2014, BP Plc: Annual report and accounts 2014, viewed 3 July 2016, https://www.bp.com/content/dam/bpcountry/de_de/PDFs/brochures/BP_Annual_Report_and_Form_20F_2014.pdf Brealey, R., Myers, S. and Allen, F 2011, Principles of corporate finance, New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin. Choi, R.D. Meek, G.K 2011, International accounting, Pearson. Fernando, A C 2009, Corporate Governance Policies and Principles, Oxford University Press Goergen , M 2012, International Corporate Governance, Prentice Hall. Horngren, C 2013, Financial accounting, Frenchs Forest, N.S.W: Pearson Australia Group. Kruger, P 2015, Corporate goodness and shareholder wealth, Journal of Financial economics, pp. 304-329 Lubatkin, M.H 2009, One more time: What is a realistic theory of corporate governance?, Journal of Organizational Behaviour, vol.28, pp. 59-67 Mark, J.R 2010, Political Determinants of Corporate Governance - Political Context, Corporate Impact, Oxford University Press. Mulbert P.O 2010, Corporate Governance of Banks after the Financial Crisis Theory, Evidence and Reforms, European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI), pp. 1-40 Nzuve. S, 2011, Some Thoughts of How to Allocate Indirect Costs in a Corporate Environment, School of Business, University of Nairobi. Sustainability reporting 2012, Using sustainability to drive business innovation and growth 2012, viewed 4 July 2016, https://www.deloitte.com/view/en_IN/in/index.htm. Volkswagen 2014, Volkswagen: Annual report and accounts 2014, viewed 4 July 2016, https://www.volkswagenag.com/content/vwcorp/content/en/misc/pdf dummies.bin.html/downloadfilelist/downloadfile/downloadfile_30/file/Y_2014_e.pdf.

The Giants Revolt Essays - Titans, Greek Mythology, Giants, Gigantes

The Giants Revolt The Giants' Revolt Enraged because Zeus had confined their brothers, the Titans, in Tartarus, certain tall and terrible giants plotted an assault on Heaven. They had been born from Mother Earth at Thracian Phlegra, twenty-four in number. Without warning, they seized rocks and fire-brands and hurled them upwards from their mountain tops, so that the Olympians were hard pressed. Hera prophesied that the giants could never be killed by any god, but only by a single, lion-skinned mortal; and that even he could do nothing unless the enemy were anticipated in their search for a certain herb of invulnerability, which grew in a secret place on earth. Zeus at once took counsel with Athene; sent her off to warn Heracles, the lion-skinned mortal; and forbade Eos, Selene, and Helius to shine for a while. Under the light of the stars, Zeus groped about, found the herb, and brought it safely to Heaven. The Olympians could now join battle with the giants. Heracles let loose his first arrow against Aclyoneus, the enemy's leader. He fell, but sprang up again revived, because this was his native soil of Phlegra. 'Quick!' cried Athene. 'Drag him away to another country!' Heracles caught Aclyoneus and dragged him over the Tracian border, where he despatched him with a club. Then Prophyrion l

Finding the Right MBA Goal Essay Sample

Finding the Right MBA Goal Essay SampleFor those who are getting ready to write their MBA goal essay, the average is probably going to be that you are going to come up with just about the same essay on your own as you would have if you had gone to school. But, there are also a few elements that you may want to consider taking into consideration when you are writing your goal essay.In your goal essay you will be dealing with both the personal and professional, so you are going to need to include this into your essay. Whether you want to create a larger statement or you are simply going to use a singular statement, it is important to communicate what is important to you. Writing an essay for a company is not hard, but it can get a little bit more difficult if you don't have the proper tools.The first thing you want to do is look at some of the sample essays that have been written. Of course, if you go to your favorite book store or the library you can find a wide variety of these. You may find that your opinion of an example is exactly the same as mine.Tip number one is that you should learn how to analyze an essay before you write it. That's right. You should take a moment to make a list of every situation in your mind. And you want to see whether each of these situations are included in your particular situation.There are three common reasons that people give when they begin to develop their essay. Number one is, 'I'm just a traditional writer.' I'm not going to say that traditional writers have an advantage over non-traditional writers, but you are going to find that you do have some things to work on when you are writing an essay for an employer. That includes making sure that the written work flows well.To help you start, consider looking through a sample of MBA goal essays. You can get some of these from the university or they can be found on the Internet. In addition, you can find some from individuals who are already in the business, although these will v ary.When you do find a sample of MBA goal essays, it's important to read over the sample carefully. Make a list of everything that is included. This includes where you want to include your statement, what types of statements you are going to be looking for, what the major points of the essay are, and a whole lot more.This is just one way to help you make your essay stand out from others, but it will make sure that you understand how to properly present the information, including those who are actually involved in the company's goals. If you're still unsure about what type of essay you should write, you should definitely check out a sample that other MBA students have written.

Dewey essays

Dewey essays The correlate in thinking of facts, data, knowledge, already acquired, is suggestions, inferences, conjectured meanings, suppositions, tentative explanations:ideas, in short. Out of the authors that I have read this year, Alfred North Whitehead and John Dewey are the two that I have found the greatest commonality with in the subject of obtaining and gaining information. Whitehead speaks on education relating back to Life. It seems to be the only way to become a person that can understand the world around him/her is to be a person who learned using life as the main force in education. There is a proverb about the difficulty of seeing the wood because of the tress...The problem of education is to make the pupil see the wood by means of the trees. I think that he and I touch base with the idea of life being the driving force in education. Whitehead continues with distaste for formulated subjects and views Life as the only subject matter for education. Dewey seems to feel as though life should be the main subject matter for education. Dewey expresses an interest very similar to Whiteheads in the three stages in which education travels. Whitehead felt that romance was the first stage of education. Dewey stated that the pupil must first have a genuine situation of experience-that there be a continuous activity in which he is interested for its own sake. He continues with the methods that would best help the pupil to formulate their own conclusions. Secondly, that a genuine problem develop within this situation as a stimulus to thought; third, that he process the information and make the observations needed to deal with it; fourth, that suggested solutions occur to him which he shall be responsible for developing in an orderly way; fifth, that he have opportunity and occasion to test his ideas by application, to make their meaning clear and to discov ...

A Study Of Russias Political Ideologies And Vladimir Putins Administration

A Study Of Russia's Political Ideologies And Vladimir Putin's Administration The symbiotic relationship between politics and the economy benefits society as a whole, and this carefully constructed, mutually beneficial connection can easily turn sour should one side negatively impact the other. To further expand upon this claim, it is hardly a revolutionary idea to say that economic theories have changed depending on who has political control, and individual politicians can usurp power depending on the state of the economy. A further fragmented political state evolves when regional government carries most of a national economic burden. This give and take association is exemplified in Russia following Putin’s return to power combined with the Russian financial collapse during the latter portion of 2014. The political ideologies of Russia under Putin aggravated pre-existing financial instabilities within regional economies, and the sharp decline of the price of oil as well as international economic sanctions imposed on Russia that led to the collapse of t he Russian ruble. As the name Vladimir Putin echoes in every corner of the world, the leader of the world’s largest nation is known for being quite a controversial figure. Putin maintains a pseudo democracy that could be labeled as potentially more dangerous than the pure autocracy Russians suffered for decades. Even for centuries, Russia has experienced a tumultuous political climate; specifically, â€Å"Nearly two decades after the fall of communism, Russia is not a democracy. But neither is it an absolute autocracy in the mold of, say, Cuba or North Korea. That is to say, Russia pretends to be democratic† (Shevtsova). Pretending to be democratic, however, comes from years of chaos and uncertainty. With help from Western governments, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, Russia underwent the largest and fastest privatization in history in order to establish a fully nationalized Soviet economy. But, seven years after the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia suffered the 1998 financial crisis, and at the time, it’s regional governments shouldered most of Russia’s economic burden. During the course of those seven years, Russia entered a deep depression, thus the 1998 financial crisis worsened an already dire situation. Boris Yeltsin weathered Russia through their economic troubles to the best of his ability, and the economy only really recovered once demand for oil rose. However, hours before the first day of the year 2000, Yeltsin announced his resignation, leaving the government in the hands of Vladimir Putin, a former KGB official and the head of the FSB. Putin’s action during both his previous and current terms in office reflect the scarily obvious link between the political climate within a country and its economic state. For Putin in his first term, he rebuilt an impoverished Russia with the help of the Russian oligarchs, or the wealthy businessmen who were former Soviet Union officials. Putin’s association with former So viet Union officials came with little to no surprise for anyone when he described the collapse of the Soviet Union as, â€Å" the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the Twentieth Century,† (BBC). His hopeful Soviet Union ideals continue to drive Russia into a divided political state, and further antagonizes existing economic troubles. Given its vast size, Russia reaps an abundant amount of natural resources, which they use for economic purposes. Similar to the 1998 financial crisis, the root of the 2014 economic struggles revolve around oil prices, the principal resource of their economy. Or in other words, â€Å"Russia gets around half of its budget revenue from taxes on oil and natural gas, and as long as the price of oil is plummeting, its economy is likely to continue sinking.† (McLaughlin). The collapse of the ruble in 2014 was not directly linked to just oil though. Russia’s economy was also deeply affected by an unbalanced pension system, inflation, and severe US and European sanctions. Other than oil, the most noteworthy cause for this period of economic instability would be the international sanctions made against Russia during the Ukrainian crisis. Addressing the Crimean crisis and the shortly followed annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, several governments and international org anizations, led by the United States and European Union, imposed sanctions on Russian individuals and businesses. On October 3, 2014, Joe Biden even commented, â€Å"We don’t want Russia to collapse. We want Russia to succeed. But Putin has to make a choice. These asymmetrical advances on another country cannot be tolerated. The international system will collapse if they are.† (Biden). Russia continues to push the boundaries of the political spectrum, despite already suffering from issues such as inflation. Inflation has a direct connection to issues such as unemployment, which in turn affects political policies. Russia’s annual inflation for 2014 was 11.4%, the highest level of inflation since 2008, and combining that very high percentage with the falling ruble, consumer prices, especially food, began to skyrocket. The various factors causing economic instabilities beginning in 2014, which can still be seen today, have had definite political effects. In 2012, Putin reclaimed presidential power, but the international community called into question the logistics of his election. Specifically, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe observed blatant fraud, â€Å"including the brazen stuffing of ballot boxes.† (Schwirtz). The legality of this election spurred protests throughout the streets of Russia with people asking for Russia without Putin, but Putin quickly squashed any opposition against him through means of violence, intimidation, and coercion. His reassertion into power laid a shaky political foundation that was aggravated by the collapse of the Russian ruble in 2014. For Russia, their primary political concern in 2014 occurred when Russia seized Crimea, exponentially affecting tensions between the East and the West, and in the latter portion of 2014, the ruble began to devalue. In 2015, Russia launches military support for their ally President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, and â€Å"oil and gas accounted for 43 percent of the government’s revenue. The World Bank predicted the poverty [in Russia] rate will reach 14.2 percent in 2016,† (Lee). Now, currently in 2017, the United States has launched an investigation into Russia’s role with the Trump administration. The correlation between the economic state of Russia and political climate within this vast state is that both sides need each other to be successful. However, a declining economic state led to a more tense political atmosphere, because the ruble was suffering due to rising U.S. interest rates as well as economic sanctions. But, the ruble drastically dropped because of a series of controversial political decisions by the Putin and other Russian leaders. Since the national government is slowly unraveling, the regional governments throughout Russia are capitalizing on their lack of assertiveness. With its immense size, the regions of Russia vastly differ. For most people, they do not see that: â€Å"the difference across Russian regions, although they may not be enormous by EU standards, are nonetheless striking: from highly urbanized to predominantly agrarian, from Mediterranean climatic conditions to extremely cold, from rich to natural resources to poor in natural resources, from gateway or commercial hub regions to regions facing high transport costs,† (Dimitros). Under the Russian constitution, the regional and local government received numerous powers such as imposing regional taxes, and they fully exercised their enumerated powers to alleviate their economic burdens. Russia currently has nine established districts which include Central, Far East, Northwest, Siberia, Southern, Urals, Volga, and Northern Caucasus. The ninth district was established in 2014 following Russia’s annexation of Crimea. In comparison to the federal government, these nine districts lack adequate tax revenue to pay their teachers, police officers, or other public officials, and they are overburdened by pensions. Although these regions face similar economic burdens: â€Å"The resource-rich areas, the financial capitals and the maritime regions would benefit from the liberalization of the economy and from free trade. These regions, relying on the export of mineral resources, on geographic location, or on financial capital, are more inclined to back the more liberal foreign trade oriented policy,† (Dimitros). As the resource-rich regions of Russia lean towards more liberal policies, the traditional industrial areas suffer from an inability to make structural adjustments. Whereas, the less industrialized regions are more likely to endorse domestic trade rather than international. The simple difference of regional economies can not be emphasized enough in Russia, because it exposes fragmented political ideologies. During their long term structural economic decline, Moscow has slowly started to crumble and in turn Putin is losing control of his country. In other words, the domestic problems that the Kremlin is facing threatens the centralized authority that Putin has worked so hard to build. Last year, â€Å"even the Russian Ministry of Economic Development admitted that [acceptable] living standards are unlikely until 2035,† (Jarmas). Thus given that the overall conditions of Russia’s federal government are declining rapidly, many regional governments are trying to maintain their minimal portions of the federal budget. The regional economies within Russia are preemptively preparing to ford their people through yet another tragic financial collapse, although they thought they would receive assistance from Putin. In 2012, for this third term Putin ran on the platform that he would increase wages in the public sector, but now in 2017, Putin is yet to make good on his promises. The f ederal budget has provided little funding for regional governments, who ultimately would be responsible for the higher wages. Putin has entrapped regional governments within a vicious cycle, where they are mandated to provide costly welfare programs by the central government which provides little to none federal funding. However, the Kremlin requires that regional governments carry most of their economic burden so they can focus on larger political conflicts. The relationship between politics and the economy highlights the effect of political ideologies on both regional and national economies. Political ideologies can alter depending on the economic state of a country, and that economic state can be drastically affected by a country’s political regime. The ramifications of Russia’s financial collapse that began in 2014 are seen today, and protest over unpaid wages continue to rise across Russia. With the 2018 World Cup around the corner for Russia, protesters have begun to link Kremlin’s megaprojects, such as a new soccer stadium, to worsening economic conditions in various regions throughout Russia. Russia has also been in numerous headlines, for their ties to the Trump administration, and their continual involvement in American politics mounts growing international concerns. Russia’s eagerness to venture into foreign affairs reflects a nation desperate for a new form of economic stability, a concept that may elude them for years to come and will continue to do so until many of the nation’s systemic issues are resolved.

Ticketmaster Merges with Live Nation Case Study

Ticketmaster Merges with Live Nation - Case Study Example Ten years ago, the record labels saw a way to increase sales by getting involved with the internet. The goal was to spread the word about music faster than ever before and generate a new outlet for income. This whole idea was based on the customer buying music downloads from the online stores. In order to do that there would have to be encrypted legally authorized music. It was soon to be found out that this was almost an impossible task. It would take many people in full time jobs to manage this, but the damage had already been done. There were then many side businesses built on digital downloads which eroded not only the internet but previous business as well (Waddell, 2009). The idea, then, became consolidation. It was determined that if they consolidated more of the companies it would help them gain in the competition for customers. They were now faced with plunging record and music sales of all kinds. Merging these companies meant becoming more diversified and taking on more than the sale of music. They began to diversify and include management, merchandising, agencies and promotion and all were driven by the economy and the sales of music as the time. However, the decline in music sales continued and many of the large companies as well as some of the mergers were eliminated from the business. Some of those eliminated were companies like Tower Records and Circuit City. Consolidation also became p... Live Nation was picking up merchandise firm signatures and music e-commerce companies like Musictoday. When merchandising was added to Live Nations menu of ticketing, promotion and sponsorship services it was able to strike multirights contracts with such artists as Madonna and Jay-Z (Peoples, 2009). In the beginning of the decade, you could go down to the store and buy a ticket to a venue and you were sold a paper ticket. While you can still buy a ticket this way, chances are when you get there the tickets will be sold out. The day when you can pick up a local ticket for a Sunday evening concert are gone, especially if you want to see some of the hot acts. Tickets are now only made available to the public after VIP tickets are sold to fan clubs etc. This created a online secondary market which has been in great demand by the customer who wants to buy tickets in his own time and does not mind paying for the convenience. Tickets Now has held a large piece of the business of selling tickets after tickets were sold out. Ticketmaster and Live Nation Just about a month before Ticketmaster and Live Nation announced their plans to merge, Live Nation had started its own ticketing company. The reason that Live Nation had decided to control its own ticketing was so it could then control some of the fan club profit available. This opportunity, because of the information it provides, allows for targeting of populations for ticketing sales, even before the tickets are available. This gave them a larger piece of the market. Ticketmaster too has evolving to become a full service company selling tickets and boosting sales of other products. Pricing of tickets has become even more strategic at this point (Waddell, 2009). Live Nation

Principles and Articles of the United States Essay

Principles and Articles of the United States - Essay Example The principle of checks and balances monitors all the branches of the government to ensure that each of the branches balances the government so that no one is powerful and supreme than the other. For instance, the judiciary interprets the policy or law, the executive implements the law and the legislature formulates the law. The U.S constitution was drafted in a unique manner of checks and balances to protect people’s liberty and rights against combination of government authority. It made legislature, judiciary and executive completely separate and autonomous as to work but coordinated for proper function with security to block usurpation of authority or power. When people talk about checks and balances in government, it is significant to understand the composition of the three branches of government that can act or amend another branch of the government to prevent it from possessing too much authority over the other branches (Hollitz, 2010). This system has proved to be effective in the U.S. For a long time, the U.S constitution has been analyzed, interpreted, and amended to conform and adapt to transforming circumstances, and the authority exercised by the federal or central government have transformed with it. For example, since the Federal or Central government can affect the States, it has t he right to hold back federal money from the States that do not desire to conform to the plans of the federal government. The constitution grants these powers to the federal government, which it has to exercise in moderation and not excessively (Hollitz, 2010). The system of checks and balances have functioned very well for a long time in America despite the fact that some clashes have occurred, when vetoes of certain branches of government have been overtaken or appointees declined, these cases are rare. The system has managed to keep the judiciary, executive and the legislature in balance, which has seen these branches attain a