Government price analysis of direct and indirect costs Essay

Government price analysis of direct and indirect costs - Essay Example This may be affected by a number of barriers such as their identification. Many accounting analysts and auditors claim that, in particular, indirect costs cannot be identified in a direct manner. This may affect the analysis of indirect costs within the scope of sales of service or product (Ballard, 2007). Another underlying problem with the analysis of direct and indirect costs by government for pricing and taxation is the cross-sectional relationship of salaries and overheads. The relationship cannot be estimated easily until or unless financial outlook is immersed with analytical elements. These include identification of pools of rate development, weaknesses that might be identified and capital costs associated with the cost rates (Ballard, 2007). Thus, it will not be incorrect to state that every element as noted above needs to be considered during the analysis of indirect and directs costs. Considering the barriers of identification of indirect costs, it makes it complicated to estimate the cross-sectional relationship between the salaries and

A Joint Venture Agreement and Central Park Medical Group Essay

A Joint Venture Agreement and Central Park Medical Group - Essay Example This is essentially what I am being asked to do; I am being asked to pay "monthly bonuses" to the Central Park Medical Group in order to form a business arrangement in which patients of the Central Park Medical Group are sent to my establishment, Sundown Community Hospital. In addition, it seems that the board, as well as myself, are fully aware of the fact that 60% of the Central Park Medical Group patients are covered by government health coverage. This is obviously why the board is eager to seal this deal with the medical group. The fact that this is a joint venture agreement makes some of the facts a bit subject to interpretation as the Board of Medical Directors has implemented certain rules depending on the state. Anti-kickback statutes specifically state that income that may surface from joint venture activities must be compensation for services rendered. The "bonuses" given to physicians in the joint venture agreement between my organization and the medical group in question is very clearly not for any purpose but a referral incentive. The Medicare and Medicaid Protection Act of 1987 clearly states that the type of actions described by the board to me as the administrator would qualify as a federal offense punishable with fines of up to $25,000 as well as other possible sentencing. I absolutely would make this clear to the board, that the terms under which they would like to issue the joint venture agreement are not only unethical but also illegal and could result in criminal prosecutions of not only board members but the members of the Central Park Medical group and myself. My suggestions would follow a more legal and ethical approach. I would suggest to the board that first of all, each and every board member refresh their reading on anti-kickback statutes and laws. I would remind the board that although certain allowances are made in these statutes, the terms which they have decided on regarding the medical group in question are specifically why the statutes are in place, to begin with. I would resubmit to the board a legal revision of the arrangement. It would include the merger between the Central Park Medical Group and the Sundown Community Hospital as one that promoted a helpful liaison to the patients, regardless of their insurance type. This would under no circumstances include any type of monetary gain from Sundown to the medical group, in the form of bonuses or perks. By definition of a joint venture agreement, the compensation received by the medical group would be limited to shared profit as well as losses. This is simply the only legal and ethical way to enter into such an agreement under these circumstances. I would also stress to everyone involved that since we are dealing with a medical group that has made us aware of their 60% Medicare patients, that we as the Sundown Community Health Center should be that much more concerned for the how the legality of this union appears. There should be careful measures taken to ensure that no one is receiving any type of kickback of any sort. I would also emphasize that since we are indeed a community center, we should be focused on the needs and best interest of the community and not our personal gains from the members of that community. In addition, I would remind everyone involved of the case of Feldstein M.D. vs Nash Community Health Services Inc.  

Commodity Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Commodity Paper - Essay Example The Chinese used hand fans as coolant since time immemorial. In the 1800, American engineers made an attempt to create air conditioners as they had money and resources for doing this. The 20th century saw major development in this area majorly contributed by the discovery of electricity. Willis Carrier a 25 year old American invented the first model of air conditioning which was not designed for human comfort but was made to reduce humidity at his printing plant. It was made of mechanical unit that cooled air through circulating it in cooled water coils. He later added a centrifugal cooler to this unit greatly reducing its size. By 1930s, air conditioners were been used in offices, department and cars and this increased the workers productivity during the hot summer periods. This was a major development for Carrier Corporation which grew incredibly during these years. At some point the use of Air conditioning in the workplace was seen as an unnecessary luxury. However, evidence from several researches conducted showed that the use of air conditioning during the hot summers came with increased productivity. Organization therefore started getting the air conditioners for their offices in order to leap off benefits (Street et al 629). The air conditioners were not very common in homes with only 10% of the American homesteads using air conditioning. The rest of Europe and eastern countries slowly stated using the air conditioning mostly in the workplace. Outside work people still use the traditional methods of staying cool like dipping their underwear in iceboxes. Some of the popular air conditioning companies include Carrier Corps, Daikin Industries, LG and Samsung and lastly Haier, Midea and Gree. Carrier Corporation is the biggest layer in the market. This can be as a result of the fact that it was the pioneer in this industry and has therefore has the competitive advantage over the others that mushroomed after it was established. The company has established its operations in almost every part of the globe. It engages in the production of a wide varied range of products including indoor units, outdoor units, heaters of all kinds and HVAC equipment. It has several established brands such as the weathermaster, weathermaker, centurion, Byrant and Payne among others. Daikin Industries is based in Japan which is responsible for the creation of the Variable Refrigerator Flow HVAC systems. This is a special kind of system that is used to supply cooling or heating to a room depending on the demand. It can also provide cooling and heating simultaneously in different parts of a building. In order to get to its current position, the company has wielded to the wind of globalization. For instance in the year 2006, it acquired the OYL group company based in Malaysia. This expanded its scope and also increased the company’s brand giving it a stronghold in the market. Some of the brands associated with this company include the J& E hall and AAl (Am een, 72). Acquisition has made Daikin the second largest company in the production of air condition equipments after Carrier Corporation. There are other players in this industry in Japan and they include Sanyo, Toshiba, Mitsubishi and Panasonic. LG and Samsung are the third largest companies in this industry both based in South Korea. In a united effort to have a large market share in the globe,

Middle-Class Homelessness in America Essay Example for Free

Middle-Class Homelessness in America Essay Can you imagine yourself standing in line in hope for a cot at a shelter to share with your family, or waiting for a warm meal in a soup kitchen? This is what many middle-class American citizens have succumbed to. Has the American dream been lost, has the middle-class lost its position in the American economy, and has the inequality of income cause the demise of the middle-class? By focusing on the health care reform and record low unemployment rate we overlook the underlying problem; the dwindling middle-class, the backbone of our country. Many studies have been conducted to define middle-class without much success. It has been attempted to relate it to annual income. One study states that yearly incomes between $32,900 and $64,000, another between $50,800 and $122,000, and the U. S. census bureau middle 60% of incomes is the largest range of all lies between$ 20600, and $102,000 as what defines middle-class. Dan Horn notes in the Cincinnati Enquirer â€Å"Psychologist Ken Eisold, a contributor to Psychology today, said, though, that the way people describe their social status has more to do with what’s going on in their heads than their wallets. † Eisold goes on to say that â€Å"it’s really more about identity†. Horn adds that Julie Heath, director of the University of Cincinnati’s Economics Center agrees with Eisold that saying, â€Å"We’re a middle-class family has more than a financial connotations to it, it has a salt-of the earth to it. That’s the bed rock. Essentially this shows that Americans do not base their social status on their income alone, but also on their personal accomplishments and views of where they have come from and where they are going. That being said, the bed rock of the middle-class comes from one of the most common descriptions what living in America is all about; the great American Dream. History tells us that this emotion connected with being middle-class started showing up in the 1830’s. In these times people came to America hoping for the best, and they clung to ideas of how they would make it. They believed that if those ideas and values were kept, that they were middle-class, even if they were not financially. This is how the idea of the Leave it to Beaver life style came into being. In the 1950’s men took white collar jobs while women stayed home and maintained their house and families. They bought homes in the suburbs, nice family cars, and made safe investments. This provided them a sense of stability and many believed this is what the American dream is all about. Today, in pursuit of the dream, to maintain their middle-class status many Americans have higher incomes than their parents did but both parents are working. Yet while doing the best that they that they can possibly do, many are watching their dreams shatter. Erin Currier, director of the Pew Economic Mobility Project, said â€Å"stability is one of the biggest threats to the middle class today. † She goes on to say, â€Å"Though born into middle-class, many fall out by adulthood. † This is due to inflation of basic needs such as health care, day care, college funding, and the rise of the inequality of income. One term often referred to when relating to the middle-class crisis is Income Gap. As defined on the internet by investapedia. om, the income gap is the unequal distribution of household and individual income across the various participants in an economy. A sociology and political science professor at the University of Arizona who studies income inequality and poverty, says that over the past three decades â€Å"is slow income growth compared to general economic growth†¦ a bigger and bigger portion of economic growth has occurred to the wealthiest 1 %, whether the measure is basic wages or total compensation,† says Lane Kenworthy. (CQ researcher 3) There is political risk involved with this shift that is greater than economics and family finances. A large middle class, especially one that is politically active, tends to be a kind of anchor that keeps our country from swinging back and forth. There are typical values that middle-class families acquire and pass on to their children and those values tend to be good for democracy,† states Teresa Sullivan, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at the University of Michigan, and the co-author of The Fragile Middle Class: Americans in Debt. (CQ Researche r 2) The new millennium looked very hopeful for the war on poverty in America. The federal poverty rate was the lowest it had been since 1974 according to CQ Researcher. The next 4 years even better with Housing prices doubling in many cities and increase in home equity loans that brought the Home-ownership rate up to an all time high of 69 percent. In 2008 we would not only see the sand shift out from the false growth of the economy led by the banks and lending companies but our government bail the banks out with $700 billion rescue bill, They did not however bail out the borrower and many lost their homes. Leading to the current middle class crisis. These issues, the rise of the inequality of income and the shattering of the American dream, have led us to the downfall of the middle class. In more recent years the middle-class are finding themselves not only having a decrease in their income due to layoffs and downsizing, but while not able to maintain their dream are losing their homes due to foreclosures. They are now finding themselves sleeping in their cars, if fortunate to still have one. They are waiting in lines for food and shelter, and bathing in gas station rest rooms, standing on street corners and highway exit’s begging for money or work. I have a personal interest in this research because I consider myself a middleclass American who lived through these years of the housing crisis and recession, I have lost a business, I am dealing with the short sale of my home and a threat of foreclosure, I have suffered through divorce and currently I am a struggling single mother. In conclusion the decline of the middle-class has hit very close to home. Although the hope of the American dream dies a slow death in my own heart, because of the continual economic status and burden of the cost of living rising, many like me are losing hope.

Personal Communication as Assessment

Personal Communication as Assessment Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee and just as hard to sleep after, Anne Morrow Lindbergh. When I read this quote I was so much fascinated by the great effect personal communication in classrooms. Although, the question is: How can I best use my direct personal communication with my students during teaching to afford a feed back about their achievement? How can I use assessments based on personal communication to tap information and understanding, as well as evaluating critical thinking and application skills? In fact, personal communication as assessment can be fulfilled through many forms such as instructional questions and answers, class discussions, oral exams, student journals, diaries, conferences and interviews, and learning logs. Instructional questions and answers: Throughout my explanations of different scientific topics in my classes, I watch the expressions on my students faces. Besides, the various questions that the students ask tell me whether they are learning the material or not. But on the other hand, I always pose questions that help me figure out how well are they really learning and, perhaps more significantly, what can I do to improve their learning? Afterwards, data on student learning are analyzed and consequently the results inform me how instruction should most effectively proceed. Therefore, throughout my lesson plan the suggested questions must be designed to serve the diverse objectives of the lesson carefully such as analysis, comparisons, classification, etc. The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question, Peter Drucker. Whereas, I as a teacher need to broaden my listening so that I dont listen only to correct answers that I want to hear but also push further to listen to reasoning behind the answer. Moreover, sometimes correct answers mask confusions therefore I have to probe students answers to pick up misconceptions. Instructional questions and answers have much strength such as providing me with an ongoing feedback about my students achievement, probe reasoning and deepen their understanding and serves to give me insights into how my students think. On the other hand, instructional questions and answers have some weakness as it is time consuming and also it needs an experienced teacher as unclear and prolonged questions can hinder students focus on a relatively narrow range of acceptable responses. Conferences and interviews: Despite of the fact that our subject area science is not a healthy media that enrich the use of this form of personal communication, sometimes I do ask my students to perform interviews. For example, I asked them to make an interview with the school doctor or any other doctors as an application on the digestive system. I together with my students plan the questions in advance where, I guide them to ask questions that help connect what we have studied to real life applications. For example, I didnt include in the list of questions what are the parts of the digestive system or what are the functions of each on the other hand, I direct them to questions such as what is the suggested menu for a diabetic, hepatic or pregnant woman? If we have an athletic person, what do you advice him to do regarding his meals and nutritional habits? Of course from the strengthens of conferences and interviews in classrooms is that it helps teachers to show friendship, trusts, and interest in students and also helps students to perform additional work and enjoy the class as it motivate both the teacher and the students. The main weakness of conferences and interviews is that it consumes great amount of time that is why I always perform these types of communication assessment during the activity classes. Another drawback in such way of assessment is that the teacher cant help being biased to the interview points that appeals more to her interest. Class discussions: As cited in chapter 8 in Stiggins (2008): class discussions have the simultaneous effect of promoting both student learning and their ability to use what they know. Throughout my experience, I discovered that for classroom discussions to be effective, the teacher must act like a maestro that guide and lead an orchestra. In other words, the teacher has first to illuminate the purpose of the discussion, lead the students speech, identify the roles and prepare them for the discussion with questions, which they have to share in their preparation, and assignments. Second, the teacher has to clarify for the students the criteria or the rubric with which she is going to evaluate the discussion as this will minimize as much as possible the weakness of classroom discussions as a form of personal communication which are the difficulty in grading, avoiding being biased to one way of the conversation and students competing with one another rather than cooperate on learning tasks, as emphasized b y Stiggins (2008) Be sure the students are aware of your focus in evaluating their contribution. Are you judging the content of students contribution or the form of their contribution? On the other hand from the main strengths of class discussions are: opening a way of testing and exploring new ideas, students acquire information and insight from diverse points of view, they recognize and investigate their assumptions and consequently these conversations provide practice with problems and concepts. A teacher who is attempting to teach, without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn, is hammering on a cold iron, Horace Mann (1796) Oral examinations: Despite of the precious and valuable academic and social skills that are gained by the students in practicing oral examination, not all find oral exams as easy, as to write. Some find it harder to express themselves. I believe that it is the teachers role to train the students on this type of personal communication assessment because both the pressures and time factor can cloud the mind with stress, and it is only with practice that the mind will relax and be able to think clearly. I think this can be achieved by starting with easy questions that act as ice breaking and afterwards I as a teacher can smoothly go deeper into the subject. As cited in Stiggins (2008) Clearly, the major argument against this assessment format is the amount of time it takes to administer oral exams. However, within my classes I overcome this problem by informing my students since the beginning of the school year that I am going to start each lesson by choosing four to five students to be asked oral questio ns on the previous lesson and the graded mark represent one of the three quizzes that I have to do every month. As the time passes and through the relaxing learning atmosphere the students acquire the hidden strengths behind oral examinations such as, the practice in structuring answers and organizing the material and the understanding of it. Journals and logs: As cited in Stiggins (2008) written records accumulate over time, you can use them to help students reflect on their improvement as achievers- the heart of assessment FOR learning. In spite of the great importance of reflective journals and logs in education, I as a science teacher cannot make use of it as a helping tool in assessment as ca do the English teachers. Whereas, I do ask my students to reflect in a very different and unique way that are related to our subject area for example, I always ask them to write down their observations, conclusions and their suggestion in various scientific topics that we go through in the lab. Putting hands on activities and reflecting on these experiences, highlights the strengths of this type of communication assessment such as: summarizing ideas, experience and opinions besides, viewing the academic and personal growth by reading past entries. On the other hand I cant see any weak points in writing journals except that I feel jealous of the En glish teachers because they can make perfect usage of this assessment tool. Throughout my own experience one of the merits of the AUC course is that it gives me the opportunity to go into the habit of writing reflective journals. Ways in which a teacher can maintain quality control when using personal communication as assessment in the classroom Using personal communication in combination with other methods can deepen our perceptive of student learning. By exposing our students to assessments that depend on personal communication, we can set them up for dynamic and successful education. Together with other methods, assessment based on personal communication is a victim to avoidable sources of bias that can misrepresent results if we are not careful. To circumvent the challenges of personal communication and ensure validity and reliability of the assessment, the questions must be on the spot to cover the decided achievement targets, and choose appropriate measures of evaluating answers which are clear for both the teacher and the students. There are three problems that represent limiting factors against the usage of personal communication as assessment which are: first the problem of forgetting, second the problem of filters and third the challenge of sampling. As emphasized by Stiggins (2008) in chapter 8 (Personal Communication as Assessment), to defeat the first problem the first reason for caution is that we must remain mindful of the fallibility of the human mind as a recording device. I trust that the only way to overcome this problem is to keep a written record for each student that reflects his achievement in a register form. Regarding the second problem, I was really impressed by Stiggins (2008) as he said if we establis hed norms of student performance according to gender, ethnic heritage, cultural backgrounds, physical appearance, linguistic experience, our knowledge of the students prior achievement, or any of a variety of other forms of prejudice all potentially unrelated to actual achievement we allow bias to creep into assessment, resulting in unreliable scores. I think that the best way to avoid these bias problems is to set a rubric for every single detail that we are going to assess. As for the last point which is the challenge of sampling, to overcome it and ensure the reliability of personal assessments, we have to set the targets clear and create the warmth atmosphere of the classroom in which we ask clear sufficient number of questions that enhance the students the opportunity to express their thoughts and ideas in a fair way.

Nazis View of Marriage :: Marriage Germany History Essays

Nazi's View of Marriage The National Socialist Party quickly turned heads in July 14th, 1933 through the Law Concerning the Formation of New Parties, by declaring itself the only political party that was "allowed to exist in the Third Reich" (156.HCCR). Soon thereafter, the political perception the Nazis were likely to enforce would transform the whole view of German culture, economy, race, and especially, the way German individuals emotionally and physically interacted with one another. One relationship in the German state that stood out in my mind was the Nazi’s view of marriage, its purpose, its use and its representation in the German state. The Nazi’s perceived marriage as a processing factory, where each partner had certain roles and purposes to fulfill. Through the creation of speeches, art and laws, the relationship that would stand to the occasion in representing the Third Reich was the relation between man and woman...marriage. Thesis Statement: Marriage defined the Volksgemeinschaft, or â€Å"community of people,† of Germany because it was the basis relationship that connected the small world of the household to the larger German community. Also, marriage made it rightfully possible to produce "pure blood" German children with the genetically correct German parents. Marriage was so vital to the Nazis because it was the true basis of their socio-political perspectives. In effect, see if you agree with my thesis students...In order to define Volksgemeinschaft, the Nazis constructed marriage by associating the relationship with modeled public male and private female roles, and with the assumption of procreating â€Å"pure blood† Aryan children. The Nazis used marriage to define their Volksgemeinschaft because it enforced the vertical relationship in marriage into the Nazi based society and it would help increase the capacity and population of the Aryan race. How the Nazi’s constructed marriage: Part one Nazis constructed marriage to define their â€Å"community of people† by associating the relationship with modeled public male and private female roles. In the Nazis perspective, marriage was no longer a physical or emotional attraction between a man and a woman, yet it became a small system within a larger system that would sustain both the German households and the German society. Marriage soon became defined as a modeled system when Hitler depicted the Nazi‘s preferences in a speech to the National Socialist Women‘s section on September 8th, 1934.

Articles of Confederation Essay

With intentions of creating a united nation, colonial leaders developed the Articles of Confederation. Although the Articles of Confederation helped lead the United States to the creation of the Constitution, it did not provide for an effective government from 1781 to 1787, do to its lack of power to control commerce and impose taxes, the failure to amalgamate its people as a country, and its inability to enforce laws. Though its overall ineffectiveness, the Articles of Confederation (the Articles) had several positive results. One positive effect was that kept the states united during the war. This helped greatly in successfully dealing with western lands. The Land Ordinance of 1785 distributed land in an organized manner among the states. Another purpose for this was to create land for education. The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 led to western expansion, forbid slavery north of the Ohio River. Although there were disputes about the distributions, the land was generally divided fairly. (Doc E) The Articles of Confederation preserved sovereignty and the republican ideology held on to by the Real Whigs of the colonial era. This would allow for the equality of the thirteen states having the right to vote on different aspects of the Articles. One of the major issues that was not incorporated in the Articles of Confederation was their power to control a monetary system. This included imposing taxes on the states and regulating commerce. This flaw allowed various states to create different laws concerning taxes that would conflict with each other. A growing problem at the time was that every state had their own money system which created troubles when using money from state to state. With each state having their own money, and having no value from state to state, the market value of United States Exports declined sharply from 1775 when exports were booming, to 1787. (Doc B) Another major factor in this was the increase in cheap British imports. In addition to the fact that the Articles did not give the central government the power to have a central monetary structure and force taxes on the states, the pre-war debt rose. Money owed to soldiers for service was unable to be paid largely due to their inability to maintain a stable income that would come through taxes. Doc. C) Congress had hoped that each state would comply with the tax quota they had â€Å"requested† from each state. From that, they would receive about one-fourth of these requests. Along with the monetary imperfection under the Articles of Confederation, the states failure to unify led it to be ineffective for the United States government. For example, when dealing with western land, the government did not have much authority and states we continuously gaining and loosing land. (Doc E) This threatened the accord of the states. An example of being unable to come together would be Rhode Island when they declined to attend the Constitutional Convention because they believed that oust their state power and would lead to the creation of a stronger central government. They also disagreed with Congress in that they were able to propose an impost on imported goods. This was mainly applied to the commercial states, Rhode Island being one of them. (Doc A) One of the major reasons why the Articles proved to be ineffective was the lack of a strong central government. One power the government was entitled to but never implemented heavily on the states as they should have was the authority to sign treaties with other countries. In some cases they failed to even do this. For example, the southern portion of the Mississippi River was being controlled by Spain and although the government attempted to fix this issue, they were unable to do so and rolled over. (Doc F) Along with Spain, Britain still held forts in western land and in lower parts of Canada that influenced the United States greatly by disrupting trade. This became an issue because of the debt held on to by the US and the money owed to the British merchants by the American merchants. (Doc D) This issue came into perspective because of the abused rights given in the Treaty of Paris. (Doc D) Out of the Articles of Confederation, many great things were brought to the attention of the United States government that was able to be put forth toward the establishment of the Constitution. But in doing so provided the United States with an ineffective government from 1781 to 1787. Their incapability to regulate commerce and enforce taxes on the states was a major factor in the unsuccessful government under the Articles. Also, the lack of unification amongst states and people influenced this. The powers granted within the Articles of Confederation to the government regarding foreign affairs were established but then were not deeply enforced, showing a weak command. Despite the Articles of Confederations ineffectiveness on the United States government, it proved to help in the creation of the Constitution in a positive way.