Alcoholic Anonymous Essay Example for Free

Alcoholic Anonymous Essay Recently, I attended an A.A. meeting, which stands for, alcoholic anonymous. The meeting I went to was located in Penfield, NY at 1601 Jackson Road, area code 14526. It was called the Yellow House. When I walked in, everyone was very welcoming and nice. Many people stared at me intensely as I entered the Yellow House. I think they thought I was a recovering alcoholic, until I explained to them later that I was there to listen and observe for a school project for my drugs and behavior class. The place was very cozy inside, had a number of chairs lined up for everyone to sit down and coffee ready to drink. I sat down in one of the chairs. A lady came up to me and handed me a coin that said â€Å"24 hours recovery†; this was before I had the chance to tell her that I was there to observe for a school project. I guess when you go to an alcoholic anonymous meeting for the first time you get awarded a 24 hour recovery coin to make you feel good and know you’re doing something good to help you recover from your alcoholic addiction. The meeting started promptly at 5:30 P.M. like it said it would. The leaders read out announcements and let everybody know if someone new has showed up. If you’re new joining alcoholics anonymous, you introduce yourself by saying your name and stating you are an alcoholic, and then everyone else in the room say â€Å"hi†¦Ã¢â‚¬  whatever your name is to make you feel welcome. Then the person can either talk more about why they came or stop talking and then another person will randomly say their name and why they are attending and so on. There was a vast majority of adults and older people in their 50s or 60s. There were a couple grandfathers, grandmothers and one or two kids my age. I sat next to a kid who was around the same age as me and I felt shocked that he would be attending this type of meeting at such a young age. As the stories from the crowd of people kept going on, I recognized everyone clapping very deliberately and diligent at everyone’s accomplishments for the most little to no importance scenarios, for instance, a man got up and said he had been sober for 90 days and everyone clapped for a really long time. I also realized everyone laughed at everything that was the least bit funny to make it feel like a warm, comfortable, atmosphere. There are meetings every night at this place in Penfield at 5:30 P.M. Each meeting has a different name every night. The meeting I went to was called a â€Å"First Step† meeting. It was for people attending the yellow house or an alcoholic anonymous meeting somewhere for the first time and admitting they are an alcoholic and that they want to get sober. When you start the program, you commit yourself to following a â€Å"12 step program† and attending 90 days of alcoholics anonymous. The first step states â€Å"We admitted we were powerless over alcohol-that our lives had become unmanageable.† And when you finish the program, you end with the last step, step number twelve, which states: â€Å"Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.† Attending the alcoholics anonymous groups around the world has changed many recovering alcoholics lives and brought stability to their mind body and soul.

the way of confucius Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Confucius is one of the most famous of the ancient Chinese philosophers. Confucius lived from 551 to 479 BC. He believed that Chinese culture had peaked during the height of the Zhou dynasty. During their reign, the Zhou rulers adhered to a set of practices referred to as the â€Å"li†, also called rites or rituals. These rites governed all aspects of Chinese culture. The rites told everything, from the way huge political ceremonies should be conducted, to what is the proper way to respond to the receiving of a gift. During Confucius’ life, the role of the Zhou kings was reduced to mere figureheads and many of the rites had been lost, forgotten, or reduced to a lesser role. Confucius decided that he was to revive the practice of the rites and show others back to the way of the â€Å"dao†, or the â€Å"way of heaven†. In an effort to accomplish this, Confucius would not only strive to strictly follow the rites himself, he would dedicate his life to teaching and spreading them to others as well. The teachings of Confucius cover a wide variety of topics, as they were meant to govern all aspects of one’s life. Some of the most important aspects of the rites taught by Confucius regard family relations, desirable traits of character, proper ways of governing, and aspects of â€Å"ren† or â€Å"true humaneness† or â€Å"humanity†. While some of his teachings are ideas specific to his time and culture, such as the proper colors to be worn by nobility, other teachings such as family relations and virtue of character are just as valuable to today’s society as it was for his own. One of the most important aspects of life for Confucius was family life and relationships. Many of his teachings are therefore related to such topics. The main points of Confucius’ teaching regarding family life have to do with filial obligations and respect among the family. He had become disheartened by the current state of family affairs as can be seen in Book 2.4 where he states â€Å"nowadays, filial is used to refer to anyone who is merely able to provide their parents with nourishment. But even dogs and horses are provided with nourishment. If you do not treat your parents with reverence, wherein lies the difference† (Ivanhoe, 5). Confucius believed that respect and reverence were the foundation of the family bonds and what separated people from the animals. Confucius believed the only cor... ...ims with the proper corresponding actions. Confucius also makes clear the distinction between a gentleman and a petty man. He gives examples such as in Book 4.16 when he states that a gentleman acts a certain way because he understands what the right thing to do is, where as a petty man acts a certain way only because it is to his advantage to do so. In Book 15.2 Confucius states that in times of hardship, such as a shortage of food or water, the gentleman remains firm and levelheaded, while the petty man becomes overwhelmed by the situation and acts improperly. He also states that in terms of everyday affairs, â€Å"the gentleman is relaxed and at ease, while the petty man is anxious and full of worry† (Ivanhoe, 23). As can be seen, Confucius was an extremely wise man. His appreciation for the past spurred the development of his teachings that have stood the test of time. While his work was intended to guide the masses of his day back to the glory that was once the Zhou dynasty, he instead managed to create a set of rites and teachings about the importance of family relations and strength of character that can be applied and appreciated as much today as they were over 2000 years ago.

What Is Cost Management Accounting Reporting Systems

Cost Accounting Reporting System deals with the process of tracking, measuring, recording and classifying the appropriate allocation of expenditure (financial and non-financial) for the determination of the cost of product or service in an organization and for the presentation of suitably arranged data for the purpose of control and guidance of management (Horngren et al, 2010). Costs are measured in terms of Direct Costs, Indirect Costs and Overhead/Absorbed Costs. Managers use cost accounting to support decision making to reduce a company's costs of products and services and improve its profitability. Management Accounting Reporting System is concerned with the process of identification, measurement, accumulation, analysis, preparation, interpretation and communication of financial and non- financial information used by managers to plan, evaluate and control within an entity and to assure appropriate use of and accountability for its resources to managers within organizations, to provide them with the basis in making informed business decisions that would allow them to be better equipped in their management and control functions thereby enhancing both customer and shareholder value (CIMA, 2010). Unlike financial accounting information, management accounting information is used within an organization typically for decision-making in varied areas like product design, production,marketing, and performance management. Management accounting systems also do not have to follow set principles and rules and is usually confidential and its access available only to a select few. Cost Accounting operates within the parameters of Management Accounting. As businesses became more complex and diversified, a more comprehensive reporting system was needed in order to help management make decisions. Modern cost accounting systems take the perspective that collecting cost information is a function of the management decisions being made. Thus it can be safely understood that Management Accounting evolved from Cost Accounting. Hence, the distinction between management accounting and cost accounting is not so well-defined and the terms are used interchangeably (Horngren et al, 2010). Management Accounting principles are also used in other accounting related functions such as Long Term Planning (LTP), budgeting and forecasting revenue and profit planning. Again, cost accounting data is used as an integral part of the process. Management Accounting Reporting Systems: Necessity & Role Value creation is the fundamental focal point for the managers in an organisation across diverse sectors (Smith, 2010). Value creation refers to both customer and shareholders. Creating customer value has been a key concern for the organizations but only in recent years have the managers come to recognize the importance of understanding the customer value – the value that a customer places on particular features of a product and satisfying customers is critical to achieving increased sales and market share and therefore to achieve the shareholder value (Smith, 2010). Shareholder value is also a key focus area for the managers and involves improving the net worth of the business for the shareholders/owners of the company. From a shareholders’/owners’ perspective, parameters like increased profits, share value and dividends are extremely important and management is charged with the responsibility of delivering on all the parameters. To enhance customer or shareholder value, managers need to understand what drives value. They have to make decisions and invest resources in the activities or aspects of their business that lead to improvements in customer and shareholder values. The effective and efficient use of resources is essential to creating value to customers and shareholders; and Management Accounting Reporting System provides the much needed critical information to assist managers to perform this role (Smith, 2010). Management Accounting System supports the organisation’s planning and implementation of strategy. The strategic planning of an organisation specifies the direction (type of businesses and markets to enter and how to compete in the market) that the organisation intends to take over the long-term to meet its objectives. Strategic planning draws on a wide range of management accounting information from costing, budgeting, performance measurement systems, as well as information from analytical studies, both external and internal to the organisation (Smith, 2010). The implementation of the strategy requires management accounting system link the long term plans to the budgeting system, to produce annual budgets that supports the2 organisation’s strategies. Performance Measurement Systems which forms a part of the management accounting system can be used to compare actual outcomes to budgets and other targets that focus on the organisation’s trategic objectives (Smith, 2010). With cut-throat competition in the market-place, well managed organisations focus their objectives and strategies on building and maintaining sources of competitive advantage. Thus Management Accounting Systems contributes to improving the organisation’s competitive advantage in terms of quality, delivery time, flexibility, innovation and cost through modern process improvement and cost management techniques. It also provides information to help manage resources, through systems for planning (e. g. budgets) and control (e. g. performance measures). Furthermore, Management Accounting System also provides estimates of the costs of the organisation’s output – goods and services, to support both the strategic and operational decision needs of managers. Cost Accounting Reporting System on a standalone basis helps the organisation in ascertaining the cost of the product, job or services. The reporting system provides detailed information about the composition of total cost for determining the selling price of the product or service under different conditions. Fully developed cost accounting system provides ready information regarding stock of raw material, work-in-progress and finished goods and also facilitates in the preparation of financial and other statements at such intervals as desired by the management. Cost accounting reporting system also helps in measuring and further increasing the efficiency of the organization (Horngren et al, 2010). This process involves a study of the processes and procedures used in manufacturing or providing goods or services to measure the efficiency of the organisation or departments and devising means of increasing the efficiency. Thus, the cost accounting information becomes the basis of formulating forward-looking operative policies. The Cost accounting information is also used to control and reduce cost and hence increasing the profits thereby increasing the customer and shareholder value (Smith, 2010). The techniques that are used for controlling cost are budgetary control and standard costing methods. The cost accounting information makes possible for the management to distinguish between profitable and unprofitable operations. Concentrating on profitable operations and eliminating non-profitable ones can maximize profit. This information also helps in eliminating wasteful expenditure of resources at various levels and will help the management in forming future course of action. Compared to other supportive reporting systems like Financial Accounting System, which provides information about the financial position and past performance of an organization on an annual or quarterly basis to investors, banks, regulators and other outside parties, Cost and Management Accounting Systems can provide information on a short and long term basis which can be past, present and future oriented and can satisfy the short and long term decision making needs of the management towards fulfilling the organizational goals (Horngren et al, 2010). The factors that contribute towards fulfilling the organizational goal of increasing profits and shareholder wealth like information for planning and controlling operations, estimates of cost of producing goods and services efficiently; and information for measuring performance can also be provided by Management Accounting Systems. Financial Accounting Reports has to follow very strict guidelines and protocol in its compilation and final presentation form. These norms and guidelines are internationally accepted and implemented while Management Accounting reports are for internal use of management for decision making and may not be completely objective and verifiable but is relevant to the issue at hand (Horngren et al, 2010). Moreover, Financial Accounting reports on the business or company in its entirety, i. e. Financial Accounting reports show the overall picture of a businesses financial position for a certain reporting period and are not concerned with any particular department of the organisation while Management Accounting reports’ primary emphasis is on segment reporting (Smith, 2010). It deals with the various segments like product lines, departments or any other categorization of the company’s activities that management finds useful and is not governed by generally accepted accounting principles. Conclusion In a nutshell, there is a tremendous necessity for management and cost accounting reporting systems in an organisation, not only for achieving the predetermined goals and remain profitable, but also to create value to both customers and shareholders. Since the complexities of running an organisation has increased due to complicated market systems and increased competition, there is a need for the management accounting reporting system to be brought under a common control framework for the effective function of the system and helping the organisation to proactively reduce cost and bring profitability.

The Psycho of Wall Street Diagnosing Patrick Bateman in...

Fifty years ago, a person breaking the law would either be called crazy or a criminal. Today, the mental health community has much more specific diagnoses. However, the explanation of certain behaviors may be difficult because there is much overlap among mental conditions. In Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho, the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, is apparently simply a psychopath. However, Bateman can be diagnosed with other mental illnesses such as Asperger’s syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, narcissism, and antisocial personality disorder. In both the book and film adaptation, Bateman’s actions can be understood more accurately when analyzed in light of modern psychology. Asperger’s syndrome is one of the mental†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"In ‘Old Antone’s’ one can catch the zydeco influences that the band has picked up†¦it gives it a Cajun flavor that is utterly unique,† says Bateman speaking about a Huey Lewis song (Ellis 336). He repeats such conversations before killing different victims in his apartment. This recurring routine before his murders is another symptom of Asperger’s syndrome. Also having to do with Bateman’s obsession with some musical albums and their history, the mere fact that Bateman has these obsessions is another symptom of Asperger’s syndrome. â€Å"People with Asperger’s develop intense interests and obsessions in things such as music and history or schedules of sports teams† (What is Aspergers Syndrome? Symptoms, tests, Causes, Treatments. WebMD). Bateman’s interest in some bands and artists is far beyond that of a normal fan. His deep analysis of musicians shows that he has an intense obsession with music history that someone with Asperger’s syndrome would have. Not only do individuals with Asperger’s become obsessed with a certain thing, but they also have a generally limited range of interests. Bateman does not show such interest with anything else as he does with music history and analysis. Aside from routines and rituals, another essential symptom in Asperger’s is poor or nonexistent social skills. People with Asperger’s syndrome have difficulty during conversation and are awkward when starting conversation (What is Aspergers Syndrome?