Marriage and Muslim Law

Marriage and Muslim Law The researcher has adopted a doctrinal form of research to do his project. The project entails the researcher to analyzes the concept of marriage under muslim law. Various sources both primary and secondary sources have been consulted for the same. No part of this project is plagiarized and the project is the original work of the researcher. Introduction To what extent is sharia a fixed set of norms that apply to all Muslims? Many assume that sharia rules can simply be found either by reading the Quran, or by listening to the opinion of any Muslim priest. They also assume that all Muslims are bound by the same rules, and that sharia rules can thusbe enforced across national borders to all Muslims equally, in the MiddleEast, Africa, Asia, and Europe. But is this correct? And if not, what then is the correct understanding of sharia? When people refer to the sharia, they are, in fact, referring to their sharia in the name of the eternal will of the Almighty God. The variety of meanings of sharia has given rise to a flexible, multi-interpretable discourse about sharia and law which moves smoothly from one meaning of sharia to another. Marriage or Nikah in Islamic law is a contract pure and simple needing no writing and no scared rites. All that is necessary is offer and acceptance made in the presence and hearing of two male or female witnesses and recording the factum of marriage in the Nikah Register maintained in every mosque signed by the parties and attested by witnesses. It is payable to the wife on the dissolution of marriage or death or divorce. In India, there is no need to register the Muslim marriage, as there is no law requiring registration. I am grateful to Dr.Vijender Kumar to give me this valuable opportunity to do a project on The Concept of Marriage under Muslim Law. We have seen, it is the family law that has always represented the very heart of the Sharia, for it is this part of the law that is regarded by the Muslims as entering into the very warp and woof of their religion. Generally speaking, in the law of the family alone that the Sharia is still applied to some four hundred million Muslims, for it is virtually only in the Arabian Peninsula, Afghanistan, Northern Nigeria that the Sharia is applied today, as such, outside the sphere of family relations and personal status. It is precisely in regards to the law of marriage and divorce that the battle is joined today between the forces of conservatism and and progress in the Muslim world, and the vicissitudes of that battle provide, as we have seen, a gauge of social progress, a mirror of the advance of modernism in Islam, and an illustration of how a nominally immutable law can be changed in practice. Let us start then with a summary statement of Islamic law in these matters. A Muslim woman is bound to monogamy, while a Muslim man may have as many as four wives at once, but no more. In addition, the Ithna Ashari branch of the Shia, alone , allows him to have any number temporary marriages, or marriage of enjoyment, while all schools allow a man to indulge rights of concubinage with his own female slaves. Any sexual intercourse outside these limits  [1]  constitute zina, or illicit sex relations, for which the punishment is death by stoning in the case of an offender who has ever consummated a lawful marriage, and one hundred lashes in the case of others. But these penalties can seldom be properly imposed because of the exceedingly exacting standard of proof required, and the principle that such punishments are averted by any circumstance of doubt-besides the fact that Islamic criminal law has today only a very limited application. In addition a Muslim husband may repudiate his wife or wives at any time and at his unilateral discretion. So much for a very general summary. It is essential, however, first to consider this against its historical background and then elaborate it in greater detail. Marriages in Islam Islam, unlike other religions is a strong advocate of marriage. There is no place for celibacy like, for example the Roman Catholic priests and nuns. The prophet (pbuh) has said there is no celibacy in Islam. Marriage is a religious duty and is consequently a moral safeguard as well as a social necessity. Islam does not equal celibacy with high taqwa / Iman. The prophet has also said, Marriage is my tradition who so ever keeps away there from is not from amongst me. Marriage acts as an outlet for sexual needs and regulate it so one does not become a slave to his/ her desires. It is a social necessity because through marriage, families are established and the family is the fundamental unit of our society. Furthermore, marriage is the only legitimate or halal way to indulge in intimacy between a man and a woman. Islam takes a middle of the road position to sexual relations , it neither condemns it like certain religions, nor does it allow it freely. Islam urges us to control and regulate our desires, whatever they may be so that we remain dignified and not become like animals. Historical Background In pre-Islamic Arabia, it seems, there were several types of marriage, ranging probably from the patrilineal and including the so-called marriage of temporary enjoyment. The most respectable form, however, was a patrilineal marriage in which the groom paid a dower for, or to, his bride. This has developed no doubt, out of the widespread custom of paying bride-wealth to the tribe or the family of the bride for the loss of her reproductive capacity and as a stabilization both of the union and of the relation between two families; but it would seem that even before the the advent of Islam the dower had come to be regarded in Arabia as properly belonging to the bride herself. In any case this is a characteristic of the Islamic law of marriage, however much it is still disregarded in practice in some quarters. Muslim jurists often in fact employ the simile of sale, and regard the dower as consideration for marital rights-a consideration that constitutes an essential element in every Muslim marriage. Nor is this dower repayable on divorce, in Islamic law, once the marriage has been consummated, even where the wife is primarily at fault, except by her own voluntary agreement. Hanafis, on the other hand, consider that an adult woman may contract herself in marriage provided she chooses a husband who is her equal in respect of family, trade, religion, and so forth; that only minors may be given in marriage without their consent; and that even minors have an option of repudiating such a marriage when they reach majority I all cases in which the guardian who acted for them was other than father or grandfather.  [2]  The other Sunni schools exclude marriage by compulsion by any except the father or fathers father (or, in the case of the Malikis, the father or father or his executor); but they extend such compulsion, in respect of virgins daughters, far beyond majority. In addition, a man is prohibited from being married, at one and the same time, to two women who would be debarred, were one of them a male, from marrying each other;  [3]   An Overview of Concept of Marriage in Muslim Law Islam, unlike other religions is a strong advocate of marriage. There is no place of celibacy in Islam like the Roman Catholic priests nuns. The Prophet has said There is no Celibacy in Islam. Marriage acts as an outlet for sexual needs regulates it so one doesnt become slave to his/her desires. It is a social need because through marriage, families are established and the families are the fundamental entity of our society. Furthermore marriage is the only legitimate or halal way to indulge in intimacy between a man and woman. Islamic marriage although permits polygamy but it completely prohibits polyandry. Polygamy though permitted was guarded by several conditions by Prophet but these conditions are not obeyed by the Muslims in toto. Marriage:-Pre Islamic Position Before the birth of Islam there were several traditions in Arab. These traditions were having several unethical processes like:- (i) Buying of girl from parents by paying a sum of money. (ii) Temporary marriages. (iii) Marriage with two real sisters simultaneously. (iv) Freeness of giving up and again accepting women. These unethical traditions of the society needed to be abolished; Islam did it and brought a drastic change in the concept of marriage. Marriage Defined It is quiet relevant to know whether the Muslim marriage is a sacrament like the Hindu marriage, for this let us get acquainted with some of the definitions of Muslim marriage. (a)  Hedaya  [4]  : Marriage is a legal process by which the several process and procreation and legitimation of children between man and women is perfectly lawful and valid. (b)  Bailies Digest  [5]  :- A Nikah in Arabic means Union of the series and carries a civil contract for the purposes of legalizing sexual intercourse and legitimate procreation of children. (c)  Ameer Ali  Ã‚  [6]  :- Marriage is an organization for the protection of the society. This is made to protect the society from foulness and unchestity. (d)  Abdur Rahim  [7]  :- The Mahomedan priests regard the institution of marriage as par taking both the nature of Ibadat or devotional arts and Muamlat or dealings among men. (e)  Mahmood J.  [8]  :- Marriage according to the Mahomedan law is not a sacrament but a civil contract. (f) Under Section 2 of Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act, 1986 Marriage or Nikah among Muslims is a Solemn Pact or Mithaq-e-ghalid between a man a woman soliciting each others life companionship, which in law takes the form of a contract or aqd. Its a matter of query still existing whether Muslim marriage is only a civil contract or an Ibadat Muamlat. While unleashing the various definitions its quite a big problem to say which one is the most appropriate, in my opinion although the essentials of a contract is fulfilled yet marriage can never be said to be a contract because marriage always creates a bondage between the emotions and thinking of two person. .J Sarsah Sulaiman  [9]  has said In Islam , marriage is not only a civil contract but also a sacrament. Muslim marriage can also be differentiated from a civil contract on the basis of following points:- (a) It cannot be done on the basis of future happenings unlike the contingent contracts. (b) Unlike the civil contract it cannot be done for a fixed period of time. (Muta Marriage being an exception.) Purpose of Marriage The word Zawj is used in the Quran to mean a pair or a mate. The general purpose of marriage is that the sexes can provide company to one another, procreate legitimate children live in peace tranquility to the commandments of Allah. Marriage serves as a mean to emotional sexual gratification and as a mean of tension reduction. Marriage compulsory or not ? According to Imams Abu Hanifa, Ahmad ibn Hanbal Malik ibn Anas, marriage in Islam is recommendatory, however in certain individuals it becomes Wajib or obligatory. Imam Shafi considers it to Nafl or Mubah (preferable). The general opinion is that if a person , male or female fears that if he/she does not marry they will commit fornication, then marriage becomes Wajib. However, one should not marry if he does not possess the means to maintain a wife and future family or if he has no sex drive or if dislikes children, or if he feels marriage will seriously affect his religious obligations. Prophet said:- When a man marries he has fulfilled half of his religion, so let him fear Allah regarding the remaining half. This very wording of Prophet marks the importance of marriage, thus it could be well concluded that marriage in Islam is must. Capacity for Marriage The general essentials for marriage under Islam are as follows:- (i) Every Mahomedan of sound mind and having attained puberty can marry. Where there is no proof or evidence of puberty the age of puberty is fifteen years. (ii) A minor and insane (lunatic) who have not attained puberty can be validly contracted in marriage by their respective guardians. (iii) Consent of party is must. A marriage of a Mahomedan who is of sound mind and has attained puberty, is void, if there is no consent. Requirements of Muslim Nikah The solemnization of a Muslim marriage requires adherence to certain forms and formulas. They are called the essentials of a valid marriage. If any of these requirements is not fulfilled the marriage becomes either void or irregular, as the case may be. The essentials are as follows: Proposal and Acceptance Competent Parties No legal Disability Absolute Prohibition There is absolute prohibition of marriage in case or relationship of consanguinity which means the relationship of the person through his/her father or mother on the ascending side, or through his or her own on the descending side. Marriage among the persons related by affinity, ie, through the wife is not permitted. Marriage with foster mother and other related through such foster mother is also void. Relative Prohibitions : Unlawful conjunction Marrying a fifth wife Marrying a woman undergoing iddat Marrying non-Muslim Absence of proper witnesses Woman contracting a second marriage during the subsistence of the first marriage. The following marriages are also prohibited: Marrying pregnant women Marrying own divorced wife Marrying during pilgrimage Essentials of Marriage The essentials of a valid marriage are as follows:- (i) There should be a proposal made by or on behalf of one of the parties to the marriage, and an acceptance of the proposal by or on behalf of the other party. (ii) The proposal and acceptance must both be expressed at once meeting. (iii) The parties must be competent. (iv) There must be two male or one male two female witnesses, who must be sane and adult Mahomedan present hearing during the marriage proposal and acceptance. (Not needed in Shia Law) (v) Neither writing nor any religious ceremony is needed. Essentials Explored (i) A Muslim marriage requires proposal Ijab from one party and acceptance Qubul from the other side. This must be done in one sitting. (ii) The acceptance must be corresponding to what is being offered. (iii) The marriage must be effectively immediate. If the Wali says I will marry her to you after two months, there is no marriage. (iv) The two parties must be legally competent; i.e. they must be sane and adult. (v) The women must not be from the forbidden class. (vi) The consent given must be free consent,. It must not be an outcome of compulsion, duess, coercion or undue influence. Kinds of Marriage Under Muslim generally two types of marriage is recognized   (i) Regular Marriage (essentials discussed earlier) (ii) Muta marriage Muta Marriage: Muta marriage is a temporary marriage. Muta marriage is recognized in Shia only. Sunni law doesnt recognize it. (Baillie, 18). A Shia of the male sex may contract a Muta marriage with a woman professing the Mahomedan, Christian or Jewish religion, or even with a woman who is a fire worshipper but not with any woman following any other religion. But a Shia woman cannot contract a Muta marriage with a non muslim. The essentials of Muta marriage are:- (1) The period of cohabitation should be fixed. (2) Dower should be fixed. (3) If dower specified, term not specified, it could amount to permanent or regular marriage. (4) If term fixed dower not specified, it amounts to void marriage. Aspects of Marriage (i) Valid or Sahih (ii) Irregular or Fasid (iii) Void or Batil (i) Valid or Sahih Marriage: -  Under the Muslim law, a valid marriage is that which has been constituted in accordance with the essential conditioned prescribed earlier. It confers upon the wife; the right of dower, maintenance and residence, imposes on her obligation to be faithful and obedient to her husband, admit sexual intercourse with him observe Iddat. (ii) Irregular or Fasid Marriage:   Those marriages which are outcome of failures on part of parties in non fulfillment of prerequisites but then also are marriages; to be terminated by one of he party is termed to be Irregular marriages. They are outcome of- (a) A marriage without witness (Not under Shia Law) (b) Marriage with fifth wife. (c) Marriage with a women undergoing Iddat. (d) Marriage with a fire-worshipper. (e) Marriage outcome of bar of unlawful conjunction. An irregular marriage has no legal effect before consummation but when consummated give rise to several rights obligations. (iii) Void or Batil Marriage:- A marriage which is unlawful from its beginning. It does not create any civil rights or obligations between the parties. The offspring of a void marriage is illegitimate. They are outcome of- (a) Marriage through forced consent. (b) Plurality of husband. (c) Marriage prohibited on the ground of consanguinity. (d) Marriage prohibited on the ground of affinity. (e) Marriage prohibited on the ground of fosterage. Effect of Marriage (Sahih) The lawful obligations which arise after marriage are as follows- (i) Mutual intercourse legalized and the children so born are legitimate. (ii) The wife gets power to get Mahr (iii) The wife entitles to get maintenance. (iv) The husband gets right to guide and prohibit the wifes movement(for valid reasons only) (v) Right of succession develops. (vi) Prohibition of marriage due to affinity. (vii) Women bound to complete Iddat period not to marry during Iddat period; after divorce or death of husband. The ob ligations and rights set between the two parties during and after the marriage are to be enforced till legality. On the basis of a marriage husband and wife do not get the right on one anothers property. THE MARRIAGE CEREMONY: 1. Engagement or Mangni: Does not qualify the future spouses to go out together, even if the parents consent. Man and woman become permissible for each other only after the performance of Nikah. 2. Dowry: The unislamic system of demanding and accepting dowry must be avoided at all costs. Shariah does not make any expense incumbent on the bride/brides parents. Even the marriage expenses, it is recommended to be borne by the bridegroom. However, the bride can bring whatever she wants of her free will, and it will always belong to her. 3. Other Unislamic Customs: Many other unislamic customs have crept into the marriage ceremony of some Muslims. These customs are either borrowed from non-Muslim cultures or continue because they are established in past generations. One must avoid them if they are against the Shariah, even if some people are displeased. Other customs like the breaking of coconut etc. also do not feature among the Islamic rituals. All actions, customs etc., which show disrespect to Islam or weaken the importance of Islam, have to be avoided. 4. Haraam Acts: Some of the rituals in marriage ceremonies are absolutely Haraam like the playing of music. It is also Haraam for ladies to go for mixed gatherings without proper Hijab. Such things invite divine wrath and take away the blessings of this auspicious occasion. In the Islamic Law, marriage is an Aqd, a contract. The components of this contract are as follows: A. Proposal: In Islam the process of proposal by a man to a woman for her hand in marriage, or for that matter, to her family, is encouraged. Islam considers this natural, and recommends it as an act of respectability and dignity for women. B. Mahr: And the intending husband is asked to offer a Mahr to the bride. Holy Quran says, And give women their Mahr as a free gift, but if they of themselves be pleased to give up to you a portion of it, then eat it with enjoyment and with wholesome result. (Surah Nisa 4:4) The following points are worthy of consideration: a) Mahr must be agreed upon by the marrying partners themselves, not by parents. b) Mahr is her right, to which her husband remains indebted. c) It is a free gift and not her price. The Mahr may be cash, kind or non-material (like training or teaching something). It can be paid up front or can be in form of promise to pay upon demands decided prior to the solemnization of marriage. Moajjal (immediate), Muwajjal and Indat-talab (on demand). However, it is much recommended to pay it before or at the time of Nikah itself. C. The Nikah Ceremony: According to Shariah, the wife-to-be says, An Kahtu nafsaka alal mahril maloom. (I have given away myself in Nikah to you, on the agreed Mahr.).Immediately, the man (bridegroom) says, Qabiltun Nikaha. (I have accepted the Nikah.).With these pronouncements, they become husband and wife. If the marrying partners are not able to recite the formula in Arabic, one or two persons or priests are appointed and authorized to officiate. One who represents the bride would first seek her explicit consent to officiate on her behalf, and so would the other who acts on behalf of the groom. Naturally, there would be a slight variation in the pronouncements, because the persons reciting them are appointees. A person who represents the bride would initiate by saying, Ankahtu muwakkilati muwakkilaka alal mahril maloom. (I give away in Nikah the woman who has thus appointed and authorized me, to the man who has authorized you, on an agreed Mahr.) The grooms representative would respond, Qabiltunnikaaha limuwakkili alal mahril maloom. (I accept the Nikah on behalf of the one who has appointed me, on the agreed Mahr.) It is mustahab to recite a brief discourse or Khutba before the Nikah formula is enunciated. In this Khutba, Allah is praised for His Wisdom in regulating the lawful process of procreation, and then the traditions from Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) are also recited. D. Time of Marriage Ceremony: Though basically marriage is allowed at all times, there are some days on which marriage is not recommended; some of these are based on ahadith and some on cultural, historical reasons.Generally, we can categorize these days into three: (a) There are some ahadith which say that it is makruh (not recommended) to have a marriage ceremony on the days when the moon is in the constellation of Scorpio (this is known as al-qamar fil aqrab or qamar dar aqrab), during the last two or three days of the lunar months, and on Wednesdays. (b) There are certain days of the Islamic calendar, which have become associated with the early events of the Islamic history; for example, the 10th of Muharram is the day of mourning for the massacre at Karbala or the day of Holy Prophet Muhammads (s.a.w.) death in Safar, etc. Since such days are commemorated by the Muslims as days of mourning, it is socially and, to some extent, religiously not recommended to have a marriage ceremo ny on such days. Shia Ithna Ashari (Twelver Shias), especially in India and Pakistan, rarely perform marriage ceremony between the 1st of Muharram and the 8th of Rabi al-Awwal as this period includes the mourning days of Muharram culminating in the martyrdom of Imam Askari (a.s.). The 9th Rabi al-Awwal is celebrated as Eid-e-Zahra..If there is a need, however, Nikah, can be performed at any time. E. Permission of the Bride-to-be/Father: The girls consent is necessary and has to be taken by her representative, directly. In case of a virgin/spinster the fathers or the grandfathers permission is also necessary. However if the permission is unreasonably withheld under some conditions or the girl has no father/paternal grandfather it is not necessary. However, a woman who is not a virgin, does not require any permission in case of remarriage. Conclusion Marriage is a religious duty of every Muslim and it is considered to be a moral safeguard and a social need. The Prophet has also said Marriage is my tradition whosoever keeps away there from is not from amongst me. Holy Quran says: And marry those among you who are single and those who are fit among your male slaves and your female slaves; if they are needy, Allah will make them free from want out of His grace; and Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing. (Surah Nur 24:32).The above ayat begins with the words Wa Ankehoo (And marry ) The imperative form of the word nikah implies that either it is obligatory or highly recommended. According to scholars, though marriage is a highly recommended act, it becomes obligatory when there is a chance of falling into sin.Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) says, No house has been built in Islam more beloved in the sight of Allah than through marriage. On another occasion Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) said: The best people of my nation (Ummat) are those who get married and have chosen their wives, and the worst people of my nation are those who have kept away from marriage and are passing their lives as bachelors.Imam Ali (a.s.) exhorts, Marry, because marriage is the tradition of Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.). Holy Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) also said, Whosoever likes to follow my tradition, then he should know that marriage is from my tradition. Unlike Hindu where the marriage is a sacrament, marriages in Muslims have a nature of civil contract. Marriage is necessary for the legitimization of a child. When the marriage is done in accordance to the prescribed norms it creates various rights and obligations on both the parties.

Financial Fraud Case Study: Stephen Richards

Financial Fraud Case Study: Stephen Richards Table of Contents Executive summary Problem Statement Company overview Case Analysis Questions A letter from prison Executive summary This case study is about the former global head of sales Stephen Richards at the Computer Associates, Inc. (CA), who is serving a seven year prison sentence for financial fraud. In addition to this, Stephen Richards responds to the number of the questions asked by the Eurenge Soltes about the responsibilities of the managers as well as the handling of the financial activities in a letter written to a graduate student. Moreover, Stephen Richards joined the Computer Associates, Inc. (CA) in the year 1988 immediately after graduating. He has achieved continuous promotions in the company throughout his time period in the Computer Associates. As, Stephen Richards gets prompted within two years’ time period after his joining to operate New Zealand’s and then promoted to the Australian site of the company. Stephen Richards becomes the vice president of the Pacific region and is a leading regional figure for the Computer Associates, Inc. (CA). The company has acquired various competitors as well as firms that are producing complementary software products during the time duration between 1980s and 1990s.In addition to this, the company has around 18,000 employees and subsidiaries in approximately in 100 countries in the late 1990s. The company recorded its NPVof the licensing contract in the quarter when the revenue recognition criteria are met in accordance with the GAAP regulations. Problem Statement Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA) is currently facing the problems related to the financial fraud allegations against the company.As, the company finds it more difficult to accurately forecast the revenues as well as earrings for each quarter of their sales targets. Company overview Computer Associates International, Inc. (CA) is founded by the Charles Wang in the year 1976 in order to meet the growing needs of the mainframe computing software for IBM computers. Moreover, the company offers a variety of products that include database, application and financial management software in order to meet the computing necessities of the businesses. The most of the software products are sold by the sales team of the Computer Associates to the clients who buy a license to use the product for a period between three to ten years. Additionally, Computer Associates provides the software updates and technical support to its clients during the period of licensing. The fee of the licensing charged by the Computer Associates to the clients increases with the length of the contract as well as each additional licensing year was priced lower as compared to the previous year in order to reflect software oldness. The amount of the fee that is charged by the company to its clients could be amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars. The Computer Associates distributes the revenues to licensing fees as well as to usage and maintenance fees once the contract of the license between the company and the client is finalized. Mostly the 80% of the revenue is allocated to the licensing fee. The significant part of the company revenue is normally booked during the final week of the quarter. During each quarter the management sets internal sales targets for the sales team with the sales incentives are given to the immune pressure to meet these sales targets. The company showed huge growth during the 1990s, even with the challenges and pressures. Case Analysis The case analyzes the overall situation of the Computer Associates International Inc. (CA) related to the allegation about the financial fraud within the company by a few executives of the Computer Associates. The management of the company found it hard to forecast accurate results for the revenues and earnings for each quarter in the year. As, before the end of the quarter, the management of the company found it incompetent to warn the specialists about the unexpected shortfalls in the revenue. Additionally, the various larger contracts resulted in the shortfall in the revenue of the company’s products as these contracts are those that are close on the final day of the quarter. Due to the decrease in the revenue of the Computer Associates affected the stock price of the company that reduced the Computer Associates stock by 42%. There is an allegation about the company that is published in an article in the New York Times, and according to this, Computer Associates have excessively implemented the approach of aggressive accounting practices in order to boost the earnings. But there are several evidence that proves that all the accounting practices of the company are according to the generally accepted accounting principles. This allegation also gets the attention of the federal investigators who showed dissatisfaction with the internal investigation of the company. Due to this allegation the company has faced much criticism that greatly impact the standing of the Computer Associates (CA) and requires other ways to make investigation done efficiently so, the company hire the prestigious law firm in order to investigate more aggressively. It is determined from the investigation that the few employees of the Computer Associates (CA) had backdated the some of the contracts as well as it also appeared that the revenues related to such contracts had been recognized after the end of the quarter. While, the revenues linked with these software contracts must be recognized in the in the quarter in which the contract has been signed. Therefore, the three executives of the company are forced to give the resignations due to this improper revenue recognition. In addition to this, six executives along with the Richard are caught to be involved in the financial fraud due to which Richard the SEC filed a formal complaint against the Richards and at the same time he resigned from the Computer Associates International Inc. Questions: How serious were Stephen Richards’ actions? Why? Stephen Richards’s actions were extremely serious; Richard in his letter writes that his self and the CEO exerted significant pressures on their team to meet the goals that they had set for themselves; also Richard mentions that performance was measured by internal goals Stephen Richard’s actions are notably serious because he had knowledge of the wrongdoings and he was in a position to report it, but he chose not to. Richards’ action together with other CA’s executives seriously victimized the shareholders as they suffered enormous losses once the practices were revealed. Therefore, â€Å"Richard was ordered to pay $29 million in restitution.† (Weidlich)  manipulating Computer Associates’ quarter end cutoff to align CA’s reported financial results with market expectations by violating the generally accepted accounting principles and their financial reporting responsibilities. According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Richards with other CA executives extended CA’s fi scal quarter, â€Å" instructed and allowed subordinates to negotiate and obtain contracts after quarter end while knowing, or recklessly disregarding the fact that, CA would improperly recognize the revenue from those contracts, and failed to alert CA’s Finance or Sales Accounting Department that CA salespersons that reported to Richards were obtaining contracts with backdated signatures dates after quarter end.† (Release) in accordance with the expectation set by outside parties, analyst community, specifically to meet Wall Street quarterly per-share earnings estimates, â€Å"a key to keeping a company’s stock price rising.Richards with the CEO allegedly met routinely and conferred with each other and with (CFO) during the week following the end of fiscal periods, including during the â€Å"flash period†, the three business days after the end of fiscal quarter, to determine whether CA had generated sufficient revenue to meet the quarterly projections, and closed CA’s books only after they determined that CA had generated enough revenue to meet the quarterly projections, this practice, which was sometimes referred to within CA as the â€Å"35-day month† or the â€Å"three-day window†, violated GAAP and resulted in the filing of materially false financial statements. The goal of the 35-day month was to permit CA to report that it met or exceed its projected quarterly revenue and earnings when, in truth, it had not. (DOJ) Referring to the Scheme to Defraud, Richard instructed CA sales managers and salespeople to negotiate and finalize additional license agreements, which were backdated to cover the fact that the agreements had been finalized after the end of the fiscal quarter. At the end, these actions led to â€Å"overly aggressive accounting practices† to boost CA’s reported earnings and the managerial use of discretion to greatly influence reported earnings was not only used by Richards’, but it had become a company-wide practice. As Mark Director of the SEC’s Northeast Regional Office, said about CA’s fraud â€Å"Like a team that plays on after the final whistle has blown, Computer Associates kept scoring until it had all points needed to make every quarter look like a win.† (Wharton) As the result, CA fraudulently recorded and reported in the earlier quarter revenue associated with the backdated agreements. Stephen Richard’s actions are notably serious because he had knowledge of the wrongdoings and he was in a position to report it, but he chose not to. Richards’ action together with other CA’s executives seriously victimized the shareholders as they suffered enormous losses once the practices were revealed. Therefore, â€Å"Richard was ordered to pay $29 million in restitution.† (Weidlich) 2. If Computer Associates achieved the same financial results through GAAP flexibility, does your answer to question 1 change? No, with the flexibility of GAAP the risk of manipulation was that CA could have more likely made reporting mistake that would lead to legal problems and enormous losses. As long as the CA’s executives including Richards had the intention of wrongdoing actions they would cause massive losses to the shareholders of the company and to the SEC. Though such manipulations and fraud resulted CA to payback â€Å"$225 million for the purposes of compensating shareholders for losses arising out of the company’s criminal conduct.† (DOJ) Seeing that, the evidence and investigation on Computer Associates shows that the CA didn’t make false transaction and actual transaction and business deal had happened, but the problem of fraud was that CA’s executives were backdating the agreements in order to prematurely recognize revenue from contracts that had not yet been executed by both CA and its customers in violation of GAAP. Under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), four conditions were required to be met in order for revenue associated with a software license agreement to be recognized: 1- persuasive evidence of an arrangement was required to have existed, 2- delivery of the licensed products was required to have occurred, 3- the license fee was required to have been fixed or determinable, 4- the collectability of the license fee was required to have been probable. 3. Suppose you were placed in Stephen Richards’ position at computer Associates and were under pressure to extend the fiscal quarter. How would you handle the situation differently? What would be the expected consequences? I would not have extended the fiscal quarters of knowingly or encourage the backdating of agreements, regardless of the overwhelming pressures by the Wall Street estimates which Richard points to analyst community in his letter. CA regularly issued public predications at the outset of each fiscal quarter of the revenue and earnings it expected to earn during that quarter. Based on these predictions, professional stock analyst estimated what they believed would be CA’s total revenue during the period and predicted the earnings per share of CA stock. CA’s executives including Richards understood that CA’s failure to meet or exceed the consensus estimate for a quarter would likely result in a substantial decrease in the company’s stock price. (NY) I think too much emphasis was placed on the achieving financial gains improperly, for Richards and other members of management, without planning the proper ethical and legal strategy necessary to achieve CA’s goals for success. Performance measurement was a key level of concern in this case which alerted the key ingredients for financial statement fraud and fraud triangle. The sales managers and salespeople were used as enablers to negotiate and finalize additional license agreement while keeping the accounting books open after the end of the fiscal quarter. Richard also emphasizes on the â€Å"compensation is important, but the recognition of your performance is sometimes even more important. Actually, according to Richard in his email he writes that â€Å"we have created a performance driven culture without the necessary control framework for people to operate within† this shows that there was no real structure as far as milestones for growth. That is how CA pushed as much as to reach its goal of estimated earnings regardless of considering any rule or regulation type of culture attitude, which led CA to tragic results relating from poor decision making and lack of organizational structure and control. Instead CA could have placed better accounting controls to recognize and issued realistic and accurate public predications at the outset of each fiscal quarter of the revenue and earnings it expected to earn during that quarter, this way they would have not faced the legal troubles that they led themselves to. Even in such a situation for a healthy company to minimize the risk of this downward slide is encouraging and protecting whistleblowers. That way, problems ar e addressed internally- well before they become big enough to drag the entire company over the cliff.

Constructivism Theory Essay -- Education, Teachers, Wireless Computin

Theoretical Framework Dewey (1916/1997), Papert (1993/2000), Piaget (1932/1997), Bruner and Vygotsky‘s (1978/1981) social constructivism (SC) theory will support this study. The theory of SC places teachers as facilitators in an active learning setting. An active social learning setting creates opportunities to facilitate learners with actively constructing knowledge using past experiences to connect to introduced concepts and tasks (Ryu et al., 2009). This can also be applied when teachers instill the value of the learning content through connecting the subject to past experiences and real-world situations (Specht, 2009). Teachers will need to be trained to create learning activities that contain only the information they want their students to process (Johnson et al., 2009). Dewey’s (1916/1997) SC theory emphasized that teachers use the information processing approach to observe their students during the teaching-learning process. Dewey’s information processing approach also requires teachers to alter their instructional practice (Bebell & Kay, 2010). For example, Dewey’s information processing approach suggests teachers use the independent and self-regulatory design to prepare their learners for future educational endeavors. This design can facilitate a network of lifelong social learners. The past years emphasized ways societal changed from passive information consumers to producers of information and consumer who have become social content prosumers (Specht, 2009). Therefore, training to integrate one-to-one computing will focus on employing social content, enriching activities, pedagogical approaches and innovative technology knowledge with the existing curricular. On... ...man prospective to advance through constructive use of communication resources (Johnson et al., 2009). Technophobia: computer phobia, anxiety, unfavorable global attitudes, societal impact, specific negative cognitions or self-critical personal dialogues during actual computer usage or when considering future computer use (Ursavas & Karal, 2009). Wireless Computing: devices that use electromagnetic waves rather than land-based wires to carry a communication signal; examples are laptops, clickers, cell phones, iPods, and other such mobile devices, including printers and desktop that operate through wireless signals, rather than hardware technology (Skevakis, 2010). Wireless Technology: output tools such as laptops, clickers, cell phones, iPods, and other such mobile devices, including printers and desktop that operate through wireless forms (Skevakis, 2010).

Essay --

How Practitioners in Multi-Cultural College Environments Might promote the Changes Associated with College Attendance. There are a number of ways for practitioners in multicultural environments to promote changes associated with college attendance. It is very important to recruit minorities in our predominantly white institutions as it is crucial to present an inclusive and welcoming environment. Accommodating a diverse student body is also essential. Implementing programs to retain minority students is also imperative when it comes to promoting college attendance as it is important to retain the students that have been recruited. However, there are additional ways to promote changes associated with college attendance which involves: Implementing a culturally diverse curriculum to include a mandatory course in which students from diverse backgrounds meet and exchange ideas and information; creating a signature bridge program for underrepresented minorities who are becoming freshmen; creating a diversity symposium to get the institute leadership team behind the concept of promoting the changes associated with college attendance. Implement a culturally diverse curriculum to include a mandatory course in which students from diverse backgrounds meet and exchange ideas and information. The implementation of a course to accommodate students of diverse backgrounds will foster communication amongst the varying ethnicities and encourage or increase attendance amongst minority students. The racial and ethnic diversity that symbolizes the interpersonal environment provided by close peers clearly affects students in a distinctive manner. Compared to aspects of a student's interpersonal environment defined by academic ability, values, ... ... ethnic diversity. There are additional diversity related efforts to include the development of cultural awareness and racial understanding (such as taking ethnic and women's studies courses, participating in ethnic student organizations, and attending cultural awareness workshops), these interracial interactions are informal and relevant to all students on a diverse campus, not just those few who choose to participate in formal courses or workshops. The potential for student body diversity to positively affect cross-cultural knowledge and understanding, through the mediating interpersonal context of best friends, appears to be a promising effect of college within the reach of all students. Retaining minorities who are already students at these predominantly white institutions is very important and programs and initiatives should be implemented to make this happen.

Benefits of strategic management Essay -- essays research papers fc

â€Å"Research has revealed that organisations that engage in strategic management generally out-perform those that do not† The connotation of the ancient Greek word â€Å"strategos†, in its various grammatical forms, implies meaning of skilful manoeuvouring leading to achieving a highly crucial position or attaining a desired end. Commonly associated with the military operations, strategies aim at methodical out-performance of adversaries. Analogically, application of deliberate strategies in the business management context suggests combination of activities directed at becoming superior to business opponents. Hence, it can be assumed that engaging in these activities will produce better business results than not doing so. This essay attempts to provide evidence to support the opening statement. It firstly reviews the purpose of managerial activities from the historic perspective. It, then discusses the impact of strategic management process components on organisational performance and finally describes benefits of strategic thinking and strategic integration. The analysis concentrates on matching the theoretical principles of strategic management with the pragmatic business examples. For the purpose of this discussion, out-performance has been defined as surviving on the existing or successful entering the new market. Although definitions of management range from very simple statements, like the one of Frederick Taylor – â€Å"knowing exactly what you want people to do and then seeing that they do it in the best and cheapest way† (Taylor, 1903, p. 21) to complex postulates listing managerial activities and objectives (Davidson & Griffin, 2003, p. 5), their common denominator points to a set of deliberate actions to achieve organisational efficiency – â€Å"using resources wisely† (Davidson & Griffin, 2003, p. 7) and effectiveness – â€Å"making the right decisions† (Davidson & Griffin, 2003, p. 7). Accompanied by a large volume of the theoretical work, management practice, can therefore be broadly described as a constant search for the optimal performance methodologies. Thus, from the historical point of view, it can be proposed that strategic management is a twentieth century form of the management discipline that emerged as a result of the evolution process necessitated by the changes in the organisational internal and external environment. The environmental chang... ...siness Policy†, Prentice & Hall, New Jersey. Wooldridge, A. (1999), â€Å"The world in your pocket†, The Economist, 353, 8140, supplement 1-26. In Davidson, P. & Griffin, R. W. (2003), â€Å"Management: An Australasian Perspective†, John Wiley & Sons Australia, LTD, Milton. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bartol, K.,Martin, D., Tein, M. & Matthews, G. (1998), â€Å"Management: A Pacific Rim Focus†, The McGraw-Hill Australia, Roseville. Connor, T. (2002), â€Å"The resource-based view of strategy and its value to practising managers†, Strategic Change, Sep-Oct, pp. 307 – 316. Davidson, P. & Griffin, R. W. (2003), â€Å"Management: An Australasian Perspective†, John Wiley & Sons Australia, LTD, Milton. Graetz, F., Rimmer, M., Lawrence, A. & Smith, A. (2002), â€Å"Managing organisational change†, John Wiley & Sons, Milton. Hubbard, G. (2000), â€Å"Strategic Management: Thinking, Analysis and Action†, Prentice Hall, Frenchs Forest. Powell, T. C. (2001), â€Å"Competitive Advantage: Logical and Philosophical Considerations†, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 22, pp. 875 – 888. Wheelen, T. L. & Hunger, D. J. (2004), â€Å"Strategic Management and Business Policy†, Prentice & Hall, New Jersey.

Identify Different Reasons People Communicate?

People communicate to achieve specific goals in their life. People want to make emotional or behaviour change in others, want to change theirs behaviour , their feelings. We communicate to express our thoughts, feelings, opinions Effective communication are skill of observation, listening, and talking. Communication is about almost all our social life, our interaction with friends, teachers, parents, others professionals and everybody around us. Humans are social creatures for whom communication and cooperation skill are vital for survival. Explain how communication affects relationship in work settings? Clear and correct communication in work place are very important especially in care settings. Correct communication with patients build good relation with them. Effective communication with other professionals and/or parents are very important as it build our relationship in a Team and professional picture of our work place. Communication also instills a sense of friendship between people. Describe the factors to consider when promoting effective communication? Opisac czynniki, ktore nalezy uwzglednic przy promowaniu skutecznej komunikacji? (PL) Effective communication in more than 90% are non verbal communication. The factors important in communication are: Eye Contact . By eye contact we could recognize emotion of the person we communicate with. We could show our interest in person situation. Eyes give the information of joy, excitement, fear and uncertainty Face expression – give us complex information and it's very easy to read. Face could show wide range of emotion from happy, optimistic, joyful to aggressive, anxious, sad and negative. Voice tone – can bring person to calm or build anger or even aggression. This is very important to know how our voice tone can work and influence other part. Body movements – indicate we are tired, bored, sad or happy. Posture – during conversation can show our interest, bored, or relaxed. Muscle Tension, speed of breath – could show what is person emotion. Tense person might breath quickly and become hot. Gesture – are hand and arm movement that can help us to understand what person are saying. Touch – Touching another adult can send message of care, power over them, or sexual interest. Personal Space. The space sometimes show how friendly or intimate conversation is. Different cultures have different assumption about how close people should be. Explain how people from different backgrounds may use and /or interpret communication methods in different ways? Communication can be slightly different when using it with other people from different backgrounds. Communication can be differently interpreted by people from different background. There could be language barrier, education level, age level. Influence have even our environment and people from around us. Children and young people used to use language and slang they used to in their neighbourhood. School and parents/cares language have huge influence on communication skills of young people. Difference in communication are caused by different religious and different language background. People from different countries have difficulties in communication due to lack of language skills. Sensory Impairment – is physical condition which has big influence on communication. Loss or reduction of ability to hear cause major difference in how young people communicate. A visual impairment A speech or language impairment Illness or disability – Illness can cause difficulties in understanding both sides of communication. There could be more on body language than verbally expressions. Learning Disability- A learning disability mean that young person has a level of understanding which can affect communication. The level of understanding can vary depending on the extent of the learning disability. Explain how to access extra support or services to enable individuals to communicate effectively There are a few different ways in which individuals may be able to communicate more effectively. Extra support for communication may entail the use of a mediator, such as a trained therapist, a communications specialist, or a counsellor. Often times, businesses will employ individuals who specialize in mediating conferences for effective communication. Individuals may also take classes in communication, which teach communication skills. Explain the meaning of the term confidentiality. Confidentiality is a set of rules or a promise that limits access or places restrictions on certain types of information (wikipedia) Confidentiality involves keeping information safe and only passing it on were there is right to it and a clear need to do so. Describe the potential tension between maintaining and individual's confidentiality and disclosing concerns. Children and young people have a right to confidentiality, but there are some exception in which information have to be passed further. Information need to be passed to manager in following situations: A child discloses to you that they have/are being abused A young person tells you about a crime they are going to commit/have with their gang. A child or young person tells you that they are being bullied/are bullying others at school. You or your family have been threatened by a young person you are working with. A child or young person tells you that they intend to harm themselves. The safety and welfare of a young person is your firs consideration here. Were there is consern that the child may be suffering or is at risk of suffering significant harm, the child's safety and welfare must be what guides your actions.

Ore-Best Farms

Our mission at Ore-Best Farms is to offer our customers a very nutritious, healthful, and tasteful rabbit meat, at an affordable price for everyone. Vision Our vision is to be the leader in the marketing of rabbit meat in the U. S. and Latin America, considerably improving the quality of life of our customers. Objectives The three main objectives of the company for the next five years are doubling the company's profitability, obtaining a market share between 10 and 15 percent of the U. S. market, and to expand the business to Latin America. Target Market According to Oni(2007), rabbit meat is high quality, high digestibility, with 21. % protein; 3 -5% fat, highly nutritious, and low cholesterol. Therefore, the main target market would be children, sick people, elderly, and health-conscious consumers. According to a study by Lloyd-ones(2009), in the United States almost 700,000 people die from cardiovascular diseases every year, becoming the leading cause of death in U. S. In 2006, the study estimated that heart diseases would cost Americans more than 258,000 million dollars. The study also revealed that the risk of cardiovascular disease can be reduced making changes in habits, playing an important role the low consume of cholesterol. All data presented shows that in the United States there is an urgent need to eat healthful and nutritious food, mainly low-cholesterol. Thus, the company will launch a marketing strategy to encourage the consumption of rabbit meat in the U. S. , which offers customers a combination hard to find, high protein, low in fat and cholesterol, as well as unbeatable prices. To implement the strategy the company will invest in educational commercials, using radio, internet, and television. The educational commercials will show a celebrity explaining the large nutritional value of rabbit meat, as well as its low price. This celebrity must be a person well known in the United States, and with an athletic body. The main objective of the campaign will raise awareness among consumers of the dangers of poor food, and show consumers that rabbit meat is an excellent alternative for healthy eating. Another market with great potential is hospitals. Rabbit meat would be a big business for hospitals, as it offers patients an excellent nutritive meat, saving hospitals a great deal of money. Finally, the company will take the appropriate steps to do business in Latin American countries, which would benefit from the quality and low prices of the rabbit meat. Marketing Mix The company will use a new package design. The new design will have on the label a new slogan, â€Å"Rabbit meat improves your health and your palate. † The packages will be transparent, with nutritional information labels. The package also will be designed with a green label, which will have recorded the following words on it: â€Å"Meat recommended by nutritionists and dietitians† The aim of this new design will be attract the largest number of customers interested in their health care and the health of their family. Furthermore, the company will use a low-price strategy in order to get market share quickly. Once the company achieves a larger market, then the price would increase from 5 to 8%. On the other hand, the company will launch a major advertising campaign to educate consumers about the benefits of eating healthy. The company will supply meat to several supermarkets located in different parts of the country, such as Wal- Mart, Publix, and Sweetbay; thus, rabbit meat will be available to a larger number of people.