Thursday, October 31, 2019

Business Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 2

Business Management - Essay Example These new people in the organization always bring in something that they give to the organization as well as learning from the organization at the same time. In today’s modern world technical skills have gained more importance and so has the need for the understanding of the behavior of these people (Kreitner, 2009). A study of organizations which encompasses different viewpoints and is based on multiple levels of analysis is termed as Organizational Behavior. The study involves the behavior of the people in the working environment (Schein, 2004). The importance of organizational behavior is seen in an organizations development. Organizational behavior is used to increase the performance of an organization wholly and individually. The role of organizational behavior is very important these days, many different types of people with varied ethnic backgrounds and cultures work together and hence its importance and popularity is increasing in the business community (Harris, 2001). It covers other fields like sociology, psychology, management and effective communication. Moreover organizational Behavior helps in the improvement of how the company can elevate its performance as well as the individuals that are working in it. Organizational Behavior covers topics like diversity of cultures, team intera ctions, and design of organization, influence, leadership and power. Organizational Behavior is all about the ability to manage as well as lead thereby increasing the output of the organization (Kreitner, 2009). The purpose of Organizational Behavior is to find out the factors that affect the company’s performance and the individuals that work in an organization are studied so as to find out the shortfalls in them that lead to the company’s downfall. The study is used to find out the factors that will increase organizations effectiveness

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Exploring Human Eyes Conversion of Visible Light Into Neural Activity Essay

Exploring Human Eyes Conversion of Visible Light Into Neural Activity and Conveying of Visual Information into Visual Cortex - Essay Example Light rays first come in contact with cornea which helps in maintaining the anterior chamber of the eye. The light rays travel via small hole known as a pupil , it contains iris muscles in its surrounding which later pass on to the lens, it aids in converging the beam of light to focus the object depending on the distance. (SK277 Course Team, 2004, p.63) This phenomenon is also known as accommodation reflex. Human eye comprises of two chambers namely the anterior chamber and posterior chamber. ... The diameter of the aperture is enhanced by the activity of radial muscle, whereas as the diameter is decreased when circular muscles act. The image is finally produced on the retina which is made up of several distinct layers, it also possesses receptors for light known as photoreceptors. (SK277 Course Team, 2004, p.63) Before the formation of the image, the light has to pass through the several layers and receptors present in the retina. These photoreceptors can be categorized as rods and cones. Both rods and cons have a distinct function. Data gathered from the rods play a vital role in night vision.These receptors are highly sensitive to the low level of light and are unable to give the details of the object at night. Due to this fact, we can see objects more clearly during daytime as compared to the night. Whereas, cons are responsible for viewing the object during the daytime. The photopigment that is present within rods and cons are capable of absorbing light in them. These pi gments are 125 million in numbers and are made up of a protein known as opsin; they also carry a chemical named as retinene (SK277 Course Team, 2004, p.64) The role of this photoreceptor is to convert the energy generated from the light into biochemical signals via electrical activity which in the end reaches retinal ganglion cells. These cells take the information to the brain for final processing. Now axons present in retinal ganglion cells leads to the production of the optic nerve and optic chiasm, it has overlapping fibers forming optic tract, they end up as a lateral geniculate nucleus in the area of the thalamus. (SK277 Course Team, 2004, p.68) Later, the signals are transferred to the primary visual cortex and secondary visual area. The processing of visual

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Finite Element Analysis Of A Load Cell Engineering Essay

Finite Element Analysis Of A Load Cell Engineering Essay In recent years, the various mechanical weighing machines have been replaced by electromechanical industrial and commercial table-top versions. In modern types of weighing machines, an electrical signal that is directly proportional to the weight is provided for further processing by a microprocessor. The conversion from the mechanical quantity of mass or weight into an electrical signal is carried out by the piece of art termed the load cell (Karaus and Paul, 1992). The load cell is a force sensor that is used in weighing equipment. Most conventional load cells, for loads of 1000 kg or more, contain a spring element made from steel, which deforms under the load that is measured by sensor element, as shown in Figure 1.1. Usually, the sensor element consists of number of resistive strain gauges that are glued to the spring element. However, the accuracy of load cells is limited by the hysteresis and creep and to minimise these effects, expensive high-grade steels are required (Wiegeri nk et al., 2000) Figure 1.1 Load cell concept of operation Load cells are used in several industrial weighing applications. As the signal processing and control systems cannot operate correctly if they receive inaccurate input data, compensation of the imperfections of sensor response is one of the most important problems in sensor research. Influence of unwanted signals, non-ideal frequency response, parameter drift, nonlinearity, and cross sensitivity are the major defects in the primary sensors (Karaus and Paul, 1992; Piskorowski and Barcinski, 2008). Load cells have an oscillatory response which always needs time to settle down. Dynamic measurement refers to the ascertainment of the final value of a sensor signal while its output is still in oscillation. It is, therefore, necessary to determine the value of the measure and in the fastest time possible to speed up the process of measurement, which is of particular importance in some applications. One example of processing to the sensor output signal is filtering to achieve response correc tion (Piskorowski and Barcinski, 2008). In this study, Finite Element Analysis (FEA) is conducted on a typical load cell. The stress and displacement of the load cell were modeled using the FE package. Moreover, manual calculations were performed and the results are compared with the model predictions. 2. Idealisation The geometry of the load cell is relatively complex. It is therefore, was simplified to ease the construction and utilisation of the modelling techniques. The first phase in idealisation is to implement symmetry in modeling. Also, the upper and lower surfaces of the load cell are assumed horizontal and totally flat to ease modelling process. For the boundary conditions, the load cell is contacting fixed surface through its bottom surface i.e. the seating face. Therefore, the boundary conditions at this contact face are: no allowed any translation motion in x-direction and also in y-direction. Details of idealisation will be discussed in the latter sections. 2.1 Approximate stress calculation As it is known, the Hook s law can be expressed as: (2.1) Thus, the normal stress under tension or compression is directly proportional to the relative elongation or shortening of the bar. The proportionally factor , which links the normal stress with the relative elongation, is called the modulus of elasticity of the material under tension (compression). The greater the modulus of elasticity of a material, the less the bar is stretched or compressed provided all other conditions remain unchanged. It should be borne in mind that Hook s law has been represented by a formula which sums up the experimental data only approximately; it cannot therefore be considered an accurate relation (Quek and Liu, 2003). In order to manually evaluate the stress values, the positions of the neutral axis were firstly evaluated. For any rectangular cross sections, it is found that the neutral axis is to pass at the sections mid point. Therefore, it is considered that the mid section of the tested load cell takes the form of cantilever beam, which is subjected to normal force and accordingly a bending moment as shown in Figure 2.1. It was also considered as an assumption that the left hand side of the mid section of the load cell is restrained in all the degrees of freedom. It was also assumed that the normal force and the bending moment are acting on the right hand side of the simulated load cell s section. Figure 2.1 representation of the section as cantilever beam As the load is acted the result will be the bending moment which can be evaluated using the following expression. (2.2) The action of the bending moment is the expected deformation that will take place. For the clockwise affecting moments, the cross-sections located above the neutral axis will be subjected to tensile stresses whereas the cross-sections at the other side will experience compressive stresses. The area of the cross section can be evaluated from: (2.3) Given that b and h are the width and the height of the beam, the second inertial moment for the cell s cross section (i.e. rectangular shape) can be evaluated from: (2.4) The stress values at the area where the strain gauge is mounted are evaluated for the sections above the neutral axis (+ sign) and below the neutral axis (? sign) as follows: (2.5) Therefore, the stresses for the section above the neutral axis are evaluated at: N/m2 2.2 Approximate displacement calculation By using equation (2.1, the strain can be evaluated as: Given that the Poisson s ratio is expressed as the ratio of the transverse to axial elongations, therefore: (2.6) Therefore: Same procedures can also be applied to evaluate the elongation in the z-direction, as similar value of the strain will be obtained in this direction. 3. Finite Element Model 3.1 Model justification The geometry of the load cell is illustrated in Figure 3.1 and the dimensions are listed in Table 3.1. Three dimensional proper FE model has been created using the commercial SolidWorks package. The load cell has a simple construction with a uniform thickness throughout. The load can be applied via rods screwed into the M10 threads through two holes at the two ends so that the load can be either tensile or compressive. Figure 3.1 (a) 2-D projection of load cell model and (b) basic geometry Table 3.1 Dimensions and properties of the load cell Dimension (mm) Modulus (GN/m2) Ratio (mm) Wherever there is symmetry in the problem it should be made use. By doing so, lot of memory requirement is reduced or in other words more elements can be used with the use of a refined mesh for the same processing time. When symmetry is to be used, it is worth to note that at the right angles to the line of symmetry the displacement is zero (Belyaev, 1979; Rao, 2010). For the load cell simulation in this study, planar symmetry is used, see Figure 3.2. Figure 3.2 Views of planar symmetry as applied to the load cell In the FEA, stiffness matrix of size 1000 1000 or even more is not uncommon. Hence, memory requirement for storing stiffness matrix would be very high. If the user tries to implement the Gaussian elimination straight, he will end up with the problem of memory shortage. So, to reduce memory requirement, according to Belyaev (1979) and Rao (2010), the following techniques are used to store the stiffness matrices: * Use of symmetry and banded nature * Partitioning of matrix (frontal solution). * Skyline storage. 3.3 Stress rising effect In the development of the basic stress equations for tension, compression, bending, and torsion, it was assumed that no geometric irregularities occurred in the member under consideration. But it is quite difficult to design a machine without permitting some changes in the cross sections of the members. Rotating shafts must have shoulders designed on them so that the bearings can be properly seated and so that they will take thrust loads; and the shafts must have key slots machined into them for securing pulleys and gears. A bolt has a head on one end and screw threads on the other end, both of which account for abrupt changes in the cross section. Other parts require holes, oil grooves, and notches of various kinds. Any discontinuity in a machine part alters the stress distribution in the neighborhood of the discontinuity so that the elementary stress equations no longer describe the stress state in the part at these locations. Such discontinuities are called stress raisers, and the regions in which they occur are called areas of stress concentration. The distribution of elastic stress across a section of a member may be uniform as in a bar in tension, linear as a beam in bending, or even rapid and curvaceous as in a sharply curved beam. Stress concentrations can arise from some irregularity not inherent in the member, such as tool marks, holes, notches, grooves, or threads. The nominal stress is said to exist if the member is free of the stress raiser. This definition is not always honored, so check the definition on the stress-concentration chart or table you are using. A theoretical, or geometric, stress-concentration factor or is used to relate the actual maximum stress at the discontinuity to the nominal stress. The factors are defined by Belyaev (1979) as: where is used for normal stresses and for shear stresses. The nominal stress or is more difficult to define. Generally, it is the stress calculated by using the elementary stress equations and the net area, or net cross section. But sometimes the gross cross section is used instead, and so it is always wise to double check your source of or before calculating the maximum stress. The subscript in means that this stress-concentration factor depends on the geometry of the part, see Figure 3.3. So, the material has no effect on and this is the reason it is called theoretical stress-concentration factor. Figure 3.3 Stress concentration factor versus dimensions The analysis of geometric shapes to determine stress-concentration factors is a difficult problem, and not many solutions can be found. Most stress-concentration factors are found by using experimental techniques. Though the finite-element method has been used, the fact that the elements are indeed finite prevents finding the true maximum stress. Experimental approaches generally used include photo-elasticity, grid methods, brittle-coating methods, and electrical strain-gauge methods. Of course, the grid and strain-gauge methods both suffer from the same drawback as the finite-element method (Budynas and Nisbett, 2007). In this study and for the load cell, the simulation demonstrated that the stress is concentrated at two main regions represented at A and B. Stresses are aso concentrated at the threaded holes, as demonstrated in Figure 3.4. As shown, there is a considerably sharp rise of the stress at these locations because the strain gauges at situated at the middle section. Also, this section is of considerably small area compared with the other load cell s cross sections. Figure 3.4 Areas of concern for stress concentration in the load cell 3.4 Restraints justification With the aim of calculating the stress and strain in the middle section of the load cell, the appropriate restraint is used. As we know, the line of action of the applied load, at the upper seat hole, is through a M10 screw. Meanwhile, screw of same size is used to fix the load cell at its bottom base. Accordingly, for the idealisation purposes, it can be said that all the degrees of freedoms (DOFs) are restrained at the location of the hole at the bottom surface, see Figure 3.5. Figure 3.5 Schematics of the first problem Idealisation step In the second step of the problem idealisation, it was assumed that by tightening the screw in the bottom face hole of the load cell will cause all the degrees of freedom to be restrained. Accordingly, this condition can cause decreased simulation lead time and enhance the results, see Figure 3.6. Figure 3.6 Schematics of the second problem Idealisation step As it is clear, different restraint conditions produce variants of boundary conditions. Finally, in the third idealisation, it is assumed that the load cell can rotate about its y-axis to bring the results as close as possible to reality, see Figure 3.7. Figure 3.7 Schematics of the third problem Idealisation step 3.5 Load justification In this section, justifying the applied load is considered throughout the hole of the upper seat. In the first step of the idealisation process, it was assumed that the load is to be applied to affect on the edges of the hole. Therefore, the tension stress transfer to the middle section of load cell where the measurement of stresses and strains are needed, see Figure 3.8. Figure 3.8 First idealisation step required for the load justification The applied force transfers to whole the upper section, there, this points that considering a uniform distributed load in upper section might be a proper assumption. Therefore, to apply the consequent idealisation, uniformly distributed load was allowed to takes an affect directly on the upper section. In the first idealisation, the magnitude of point load was assumed to be 300 N. Therefore, the magnitude of the uniformly distributed load (UDL) is found to be 2.3 N/m2, which is equal to the magnitude of point load, see figure 3.9. Figure 3.9 Application of the uniformly distributed load In the third idealisation, the applied load is assumed to act by means of the M10 screw and throughout the whole upper hole, see Figure 3.10. This assumption is very close to reality and may present very good results which are in good agreement with the hand calculation of stress and strain. Figure 3.10 Applied load act by M10 screw throughout the upper hole 3.6 Element type The largest commercial finite element packages, which have facilities to solve stress and a variety of field problems, might easily have more than one hundred different finite element available for the user. The selection of which element to use by given problem is not as difficult it might first appear, first, the type of problem to be analysis, secondly, the chosen dimensionality of the module restricts range .Before choosing the element type; the engineer should try to predict what is taking place in the problem to be examined. Figure 3.11 shows a typical range of element. Figure 3.11 Typical ranges of elements 4. Discussion of Results 4.1 Aspect ratio The finest accuracy values can be guaranteed with the use of elements meshed using uniform perfect tetrahedral as solid mesh, which has equal length edges. For a general geometry, it is impossible to create a mesh of perfect tetrahedral elements. Due to small edges, curved geometry, thin features, and sharp corners, some of the generated elements can have some of their edges much longer than others. When the edges of an element become much different in length, the accuracy of the results deteriorates. It should be noted that the shape of mesh is critical to analysis as higher density improves solution at the cost of increased computational time. The simple geometry require fewer elements, more complexity requires increased density and the mesh shape is related to the loads and the boundary conditions. The aspect ratio of a perfect tetrahedral element is used as the basis for calculating aspect ratios of other elements. The aspect ratio of an element is defined as the ratio between the longest edge and the shortest normal dropped from a vertex to the opposite face normalized with respect to a perfect tetrahedral (Belyaev, 1979; Rao, 2010). By definition, the aspect ratio of a perfect tetrahedral element is 1.0. The aspect ratio check assumes straight edges connecting the four corner nodes. The aspect ratio check, see Figure 4.1 is automatically used by the program to check the quality of the mesh. Figure 4.1 Aspect ratio checks 4.2 Jacobian check The elements with the parabolic nature can be effectively used with the curved geometry shapes. It is therefore expected to result in more accurate predictions compared with the linear elements even if they are of similar size. In this case, the elemental nodes (on the middle side) of the boundary corners can be situated on the model s real geometry. However, these placements of nodes can cause distorted elements with crossing by edges, in boundaries of very sharp curvature. Accordingly, the Jacobian of such distorted element would be of negative values, which can cause cancelled software operation of analysis. Selected points situated within each model element can be used to perform the Jacobian checks. The software package allows the user to select the Jacobian check limits i.e. using 4, 16, or 29 nodal Gaussian points. The Jacobian ratio of a parabolic tetrahedral element, with all mid-side nodes located exactly at the middle of the straight edges, is 1.0. This ratio increases with the curvatures of the edges. At a point inside the element, this ratio provides a measure of the degree of local elemental distortion. The software calculates the Jacobian ratio at the selected number of Gaussian points for each tetrahedral element, see Figure 4.2. Based on stochastic studies, it is generally seen that a Jacobian ratio of forty or less is acceptable. The software adjusts the locations of the mid-side nodes of distorted elements automatically to make sure that all elements pass the Jacobian check (Belyaev, 1979; Rao, 2010). Figure 4.2 Jacobian ratio checks 4.3 Connectivity of elements and mesh grading To achieve an accurate result we need to check the connectivity of all elements so precisely. Any discontinuity may result in large error in stress or strain or displacement calculation in purposed area. With the aim of this, after checking all the area of the load cell, no dis-connectivity was observed. Also mesh grading illustrated in Figure 4.3. Figure 4.3 Mesh grading checks In areas of the model where there are high stress gradients it is normally necessary to use more elements to obtain a high quality solution. Often this will happen automatically when an automatic mesh generator is used. This is because the mesh generator uses the segments (e.g. arcs, straight lines, surfaces) of the solid model as a starting point for the mesh. Since the high stress gradients will be around geometry that changes within a short distance, these seeding features will be small. However, it may be necessary to control mesh quality either to force smaller elements where they have not been automatically generated or to allow larger elements where the analysis does not need to be accurate. 4.4 Displacement and stress discontinuity The plot representing displacement variations can be utilised for displacement discontinuity checks (Barrans, 2010). This can solely takes place at the elements connected incorrectly. It also takes place for the improperly defined geometries so slivers and small gaps can exist as a blackboard. Checking the displacement of load cell visually shows that there is no displacement discontinuity, see Figure 4.4. Figure 4.4 Displacement discontinuity checks After the nodal displacements evaluation, the code continued to evaluate, for each element, the strain and stress values, separately. The stress was evaluated at specific element points, which are intentionally placed to enable having accurate outcomes and they are termed Gaussian or quadrature. After calculating the stresses at these points, the code calculated the nodal stresses for each element by extrapolation. For an exact solution, all elements should give identical stress values at their common nodes. While the displacement field obtained by FEA was continuous, stress field was discontinuous from an element to another. Different elements give stress values that are generally different at a common node. The code calculated the nodal stress, see Figure 4.5, at common node by averaging the values at the contributing elements (Belyaev, 1979; Rao, 2010). Figure 4.5 Nodal stresses evaluation 4.5 Sensible displaced shape Figure 4.6 shows, and as predicted, the most sensible displaced section is the middle section of the load cell. Figure 4.6 most sensible displaced section 4.6 Approximate stress and displacement As shown in Figures 4.7 through 4.9, the results of the simulation are in good agreement with the hand calculation of stress and strain. Figure 4.7 Manually evaluated stresses are as the marked value (4.92 x107N/m2) Figure 4.8 Manually evaluated strain values are about the marked value (1.46 x10-4) Figure 4.9Justification of stresses matching 4.7 Stress discontinuity In order to evaluate the stress discontinuity, three values are requires for the principle stress, which are the maximum, mid and the minimum value. The dark spots represent the places at which there is stress discontinuity, see Figure 4.10. Figure 4.10 Discontinuity in the values of stresses in the adjacent elements. Stress discontinuity evaluation The values of the principle stresses at different shown in figure 4.11 were evaluated and then used to calculate the stress discontinuity. The stress values and displacement are also shown. Figure 4.11 Values of the stresses in the adjacent elements The stress discontinuity at each node is evaluated from: Stress discontinuity (%) = = Stress discontinuity (%) = 17.12 % It should be noted that the nearly zero displacements at the two nodes used in the calculations proved the right choice of constrains of the complete fixation of the seating face. 4.8 Convergence study displacement and stress Figures 4.12 and 4.13 show the stress and displacement convergence diagrams. These figures demonstrated the convergence with continue solution using the software as plotted against the loop numbers. Figure 4.12 Stress convergence diagram Figure 4.13 Displacement convergence diagram Moreover, Table 4.1 shows the convergence results for Von-Mises stress values at different nodes. Also the presentation of these stresses against the number of elements is given in Figure 4.14. Table 4.1 Stress convergence at different nodes Node Figure 4.14 Von Mises stress versus elemental number Also, Table 4.2 shows the convergence results for the displacement values at different nodes. Also the presentation of these displacement values versus the number of elements is given in Figure 4.15. Table 4.2 Displacement convergence at different nodes Node4 Figure 4.15 Displacement stress versus elemental number 5. Conclusion Load cell unit has been modeled using the finite element software. As well, hand calculations were performed to evaluate the values of the stresses and displacement. The load cell was first idealised so as to ease the modelling processing. The model was built and the predicted results showed that the displacement was higher at the mid sections of the load cell. The predicted results when compared with the manual calculations showed good agreement for the stress and displacement.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Age Of Reason :: essays research papers

The Eighteenth Century in America was period of time labeled by the works of enlightened writers, thinkers, and scientists. Focus on reason over faith by many during the Age of Reason was spurred by the work of Sir Issac Newton and Galileo, scientists of the seventeenth century. In America, politics dominated the writings because of the Revolution: â€Å"By the time of the War of Independence, nearly fifty newspapers had been established in coastal cities†(95). Due to the enormous amount of political writing, many influential names, such as James Otis, the French writer Voltaire, and the French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau emerged and their explosive works reflected the rationalism of the period. James Otis defended colonist rights during the time of taxation proclaiming: â€Å"Taxation without representation is tyranny†(96), causing many Americans to rally to his cause. As a result, many thinkers, like Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry, of the Age of Reason issued pleas for independence, raised various ideas, and contributed greatly which led to the birth of the United States. Known as the greatest propagandist of the American Revolution, Thomas Paine was a powerful spellbinder who also stood for independence and like Otis, Paine sought to arouse men’s emotions and in January of 1776, he published his pamphlet Common Sense which immediately sold 100,000 copies. Due to its electrifying message, George Washington praised its â€Å"Sound doctrine and unanswerable reasoning†(96). When writing Common Sense, Paine bases his works on sound doctrine, reasons, and openness and observed, â€Å"†¦ I offer nothing more than simple facts, plain arguments, and common sense; and have no other preliminaries to settle with the reader than that he will divest himself of prejudice†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (handout). Although in America only a few years, Paine persuaded great numbers of men by letting them know the time had come for separation from Great Britain. To rally the faltering he wrote: "Freedom has been hunted around the globe. Asia and Africa have expe lled her...and England has given her warning to depart. O, receive the fugitive and prepare in time an asylum for mankind!"(Compton’s Encyclopedia Online 1). Colonists up and down the seaboard read this stirring call to action and George Washington himself said it turned doubt into decision for independence. Patrick Henry was another fearless, eloquent spellbinder who became the spokesman of the southern colonies during the stirring period that led to the Revolution. His words, which expressed the feelings and hopes of the patriots, helped inspire them to make their dreams a reality.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Ac555 Week 7 You Decide

Week 7 You Decide Course Project Keller Graduate School of Management Question 1 The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would only have influence over Smackey Dog Foods, Inc. if they are a publicly listed company or if they register to become a publicly traded company. The SEC assists investors by providing reliable information to investors so they can make informed investment decisions. If Smackey Dog Foods, Inc. ecomes a public company, they would need to provide financial statements along with an opinion about the financial statements by an independent public accountant along with the registration statement and subsequent financial reports (Arens, Elder, and Beasley, 2010). Question 2 There are four things involved in the initial planning of an audit. According to Arens, Elder, and Beasley, 2010, they are: 1. â€Å"The auditor decided whether to accept a new client or continue serving an existing one, 2.The auditor identifies why the client wants or needs an audit, 3. To av oid misunderstandings, the auditor obtains an understanding with the client about the terms of the engagement, and 4. The auditor develops an overall strategy for the audit, including engagement staffing and any required audit specialists. † In relation to Smackey, Keller CPA’s need to make the decision as to whether or not they want to take Smackey on as a new client. Once that decision has been made, Keller needs to understand why Smackey wants or needs the audit.Smackey needs the audit in order for the bank to grant a new loan for expansion. Keller will now need to meet with Smackey’s managers to discuss and document what services they are going to be providing. Once that is determined, Keller will need to plan the audit strategy and determine if they are going to need to hire additional staff or any specialty staffing. Since they have no experience auditing a dog food company, Keller may need to bring in an auditor who has experience in this type of manufactu rer.Question 3 According to Ayers, et al, 2010 the four phases of the audit are â€Å"plan and design an audit approach, perform tests of controls and substantive tests of transactions, perform analytical procedures and tests of details of balances, and complete the audit and issue an audit report. † In the plan and design stage of the audit, the auditor needs to understand the business and its environment, understand internal controls and asses control risks and risk of material misstatement (Ayers, et al, 2010).The second stage of the audit is where the test of controls and substantive tests of transactions are completed. In the third stage, analytical procedures and tests of details of balances are accomplished. In the fourth and final stage, the audit has been completed and the auditor comes to an overall conclusion and issues the audit report (Ayers, et al, 2010). In the first phase of the audit, Keller is going to have to gain an understanding of Smackey.They can do thi s by researching dog food manufacturing businesses and the industry as a whole. If necessary, they can hire an auditor who has experience in the industry to assist with the audit. One of the internal controls Keller needs to look at is the adequate separation of duties. In the warehouse, one person monitors production and shipment of their regular line of dog foods and is also responsible for preparing and approving all inventory records. Another control that needs to be examined is independent checks on performance.Since the sales manager is afraid to fly and can’t really drive, there is nobody checking on the performance of the sales people. With no monitoring of the sales people and their commission being paid in advance based on projections, close monitoring of sales should be accomplished. In performing a test of controls, the physical control over assets and records will need to be done. How the waste and returned dog food is being handled should be reviewed. Seeing the employees taking bags of dog food that have been thrown away is a red flag for fraud by the employees.Examining documents related to the inventory will need to be done as all inventory records are prepared and approved by one person with little inventory left in the warehouse but a lot of returns left on the shipping dock. This can lead to an understatement of inventory, understatement of sales returns, and overstatement of accounts receivable which is the proposed collateral for the new loan. Analytical procedures should be applied to the determination of commission that is being paid to Smackey salespeople.The commissions on the average are off by 11 percent showing that they may not be reasonable. The auditors also need to perform the analytical procedures for inventory to determine if the inventory is being misstated. This would be a concern due to the amount of waste and returns. The test of details of balances will need to be done on the accounts receivables to determine if t hey are properly stated. Question 4 Keller needs to discuss the weaknesses in Smackey’s internal controls with Sarah as the president and manager of operations.The internal control issues that need to be pointed out are the lack of separation of duties in the inventory production and records, the improper classification of accounts receivables, and improper checks on performance of the sales personnel. As soon as Keller became aware of the significant deficiencies in the internal controls of Smackey, they are required to notify in writing to the governing bodies of Smackey. A management letter should also be written giving suggestions for ways to make improvements in the internal controls (Arens, et al, 2010).Question 5 There are several types of confirmation Keller can use to verify Smackey’s accounts receivables. They are positive confirmation which is some type of communication sent to the account holder requesting they directly confirm whether the balance on the re quest is correct or incorrect (Arens, et al, 2010). There are two types of positive confirmation, a blank confirmation form where the recipient is asked to fill in the balance of the account or an invoice confirmation which is where an individual invoice is confirmed instead of the entire account.There is also a negative confirmation where the recipient is only requested to respond if the balance is incorrect (Arens, et al, 2010). Due to the fact that Smackey’s accounts receivable is a large part of the assets and they aren’t writing off any bad debt, Keller should use the blank confirmation form to determine if the balances of the accounts are correct. Question 6 The major factors that affect the sample size for confirming accounts receivable are the weakness in internal controls within the sales department, and the improper statement of accounts receivable.With no control over the sales department, there is a higher risk of fraud by collusion between the salespeople and the companies that owe money to Smackey. With almost 20 percent of the receivables classified as 90 days or older, there is a higher risk of accounts receivable being overstated by uncollectable accounts leading to a possible material misstatement in the financial statements. Question 7 The concern about the possibility of legal encumbrances on verifying the ending balance in property, plant, and equipment comes from the lawsuit filed by the employee who was fired for not owning a dog.In order to determine the likelihood of the employee winning the suit, Keller will need to send a confirmation request to the lawyer handling the lawsuit for Smackey. The request will need to ask what is the probability of the ex employee winning the lawsuit. If there is a high probability, then the confirmation needs to include the possible amount of the award against Smackey. Question 8 With controls over inventory being deficient, Keller will be present at the year-end inventory. The auditors wi ll physically observe the counting of the inventory that is in the warehouse and on the shipping dock.The auditor will also observe to ensure the waste isn’t included in the physical inventory count. If the sales returns aren’t able to be resold, then the auditor needs to ensure they aren’t counted in the inventory. The observation is necessary to ensure the inventory isn’t overstated with what has been wasted or understated by not counting the sales returns that can be resold. Question 9 Inventory control weaknesses that exist in the inventory and warehousing cycle include controls over the physical count of inventory and pricing and compilation controls. Smackey should have documents that show the reporting f the inventory that is waste and the sales returns. There should also be a review of the inventory documentation but with Kim being busy with the Best Boy Gourmet line, she hasn’t been focusing on the regular product line. There should be doc umentation to show the sales returns being returned to inventory and there should be confirmation of the inventory documentation by Kim. Henry shouldn’t prepare and approve the documentation one of those functions should be done by someone else. Question 10 Pete is breaking Rule 301 Confidential Client Information by discussing some of the details of the audit with Alan over beer.Rule 301 states, â€Å"A member in public practice shall not disclose any confidential client information without the specific consent of the client (Arens, et al, 2010). † Smackey didn’t give Pete consent to discuss the audit with his friend who also happens to be working for the bank Smackey is trying to get the loan from. Because Pete isn’t aware of Alan’s relationship with the bank, he isn’t violating Rule 101 – Independence. If none of the auditors obtain adequate understanding of the industry or business, they will be in violation of Rule 201 – G eneral Standards, A. Professional Competence.Question 11 If Keller makes an intentional mistake, they can be held liable to Smackey or to the bank. If the intentional mistake results in Smackey not receiving the loan, they could sue Keller for negligence. The type of mistake would determine the degree of negligence. In an unintentional mistake, Keller could still be liable but could possibly defend themselves based on nonnegligent performance. Legal liability concerns regarding the Professional Rule violations are if the auditor doesn’t maintain independence, follow the requirements for technical standards, and doesn’t maintain confidentiality.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Cultures: Theoretical Models

Cultures: Theoretical Models Walden University Cross-Cultural psychology examines human activities in various cultural settings, by engaging several approaches. Some of these approaches were self evident from the course video dealing with the Thailand women cultural wear of brass neck shackles. Evolutionary Perspective The culture of wearing brass neck shackles by the Thailand women is described by the relative evolutionary factors affecting human behavior. Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection postulates that organism evolve with the pursuit of the biological traits that will promote longevity and survival. Such traits—aggressiveness, initiative, curiosity, obedience, intelligence, etc. , are so selected to reproduce offspring that will permeate and advance same competitive, advantageous genes to unending generations. These desired or preferred genetic—biological inheritance, elicited or interpreted in the form of beauty, reproductive behavior, proportional body size, bodily hormones, etc. form the bases for the cultural persuasion, (Shiraev & Levy, 2010). The sexes utilize these endowments as a measure of selection or discrimination for or against opposite sexes. Applicably, in the case of the Thailand women, the evolutionary perspective will continue to maintain and uphold this culture of elongating the neck by wearing the brass-neck shackles, because the culture promotes the selection of mates with long neck as a desired gene and shows altruism in a woman; the women, on the other hand, display the feature of a long neck as an attraction for the right mate. By right mate, the woman, who, by nature, longs for stability and security, targets material support in a partner. Sociological Approach Sociological Approach is a â€Å"general view of human behavior that focuses on broad social structures that influence society as a whole, and subsequently its individuals;† (Shiraev & Levy, 2010). Society as an entity creates social structures that are purposefully designed to assure its stability and conformity among its citizens. By creating these social norms, the society then imposes acceptance and subordination on the people. By default, the citizens of the society are nurtured and naturalized by the prescribed ethics and values. Consequently, these cultural norms and values are upheld in high esteem as a regulator of its citizen ideals, moral behaviors, ethics and expectations. Resultantly, the citizens pass on these cultural values or traditions from generation to generation, (Shiraev & Levy, 2010). Upon the above premises, the traditional Thailand custom—women wear of neck shackles to elongate the neck, reinforces the societal expectations by subjectively promoting the act as a required and desirable form of beauty; the transference of the norm to posterity. Ecocultural Approach Using the ecocultural approach, explain how the woman’s interaction with the environment supports the actions she takes. The above approach coincides with the principle that entities are the product of their environment. In essence, individuals interact with the domain environmental factors; have the ability to transform it and to be transformed by it. These environmental factors relate to ecological context—the economic activity of the population in reference to austerity of food, quality of nutrition, homeostasis, as well as, the density of the population. All these exert a considerable impact on individual. Another factor is the sociopolitical context—relates to the degree of the people’s involvement in both global and local decisions. Inclusive in this context are the presence or absence of political freedoms, ideological values and organization of government, (Shiraev & Levy, 2010). Thus, economically hostile environment creates cross-cultural differences, hence, the less privileged will be concerned or consumed with fending for daily scour; as a result, retain a culture of their own environment. As well, in politically unstable environments, long term customs are affected adversely. In the case of the action of the woman in the video, fleeing her country of origin to Thailand, to preserve her custom of wearing brass neck shackles intended to stretch the neck, was prompted by political instability and hostile environment, when in 1962, the Military Government decided to modernize the society and get rid of all primitive and tribal customs. All three approaches of examining human activities in human cultural settings—evolutionary, sociological and ecocultural approaches share similarities, among which are: They human organisms in a given setting maintain a defining culture or custom that governs their ways of life. These customs uphold their value system and detect their moral and ethical behaviors. Secondly, all three approaches show that these traditions, customs or culture are die-hard; and they are passed on from generation to generation. Nonetheless, certain differences exist among them. Firstly, while evolutionary approach observes culture or custom development from a natural selective—biological, principle and its outcome or foundation remains solid, the sociological approach deals with the development of culture through the impart of large social groups or institutions. The customs from the preceding setup are prone to undergo changes or reformations that produce societal disorder, economic disenfranchisement and dual-social order. Evidently, every society is regulated by one form of culture or the other. Such culture can be denoted with modernization, traditional or both. The clearer understanding of the custom of wearing brass neck shackles—for neck elongation, as shown on the video, was provided evolutionary approach. This is because of theory of natural selection; in which a desired trait is preserved and showcased. Such that, in the case of the Thailand women, the custom is the means of being selected by and attracted to the well-off men for economic security. Reference: Shiraev, E. , & Levy, D. (2010). Cross-cultural psychology: Critical thinking and contemporary applications (4th ed. ). Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Pearson Education, Inc.