ShantanuT01/DACTYL-Pretraining huggingface dataset:
Credence goods are special kinds of goods that have qualities that might not be detected by customers subsequent to their purchase thus making it rather intricate to appraise their utility. In other instances, they are usually referred to as expert services. Each of these professional products is based on the universal fact that the supplier does not just offer repair services but similarly operates as a specialist in determining the level of treatment that is deemed essential. This is because the client is foreign to the sophistication and idiosyncrasies of goods that are being questioned. The consumers seem not to be aware of their requirements yet they are in a position to gauge the derived utility. Classical illustrations of credence goods or expert services entail: Medicinal treatment Medical experts perhaps know more of the kind of medical treatment the clients require than the clients themselves. The experts in addition have the monetary stake when making a judgment about the type of treatment that should be offered. This amounts to a credence-goods dilemma given that doctors are required to establish and provide treatment to uninformed consumers. As a result, higher charges might be demanded inadequate services rendered. Services of an auto repair When a car is taken for repairs in a motor vehicle garage, the expert sellers dubbed as the mechanic might deceive the consumer by offering inadequate repairs. For instance, the expert might opt to replace many parts that are considered essential to ensure that the vehicle goes back to the road. In return, higher costs will be levied on the extra materials used in addition to the time taken. On the other hand, the expert might offer fitting repairs while charging the client a higher price than what has been done. Thus, offering auto repair services to clients might lead to problems such as the provision of under treatment although overcharging or overtreatment while overcharging. The clients in both cases are uniform (Alger and Francois 857). Supply of various software programs The attribute of credence goods is that even though clients can detect the derived value from the merchandise ex-post, it is difficult to conclude if the obtained value of such goods is the required ex-ante. Besides, the customers might be ex-post incapable of observing the kind and quality they obtained. The professional vendors of software programs nonetheless are capable of identifying both quality and kind which suits the consumers’ demands through carrying out the diagnosis. At this point, the expert might provide the correct quality of a demanded software program while charging a price for it or consequently decide to utilize the asymmetrical information to defraud the customers (Alger and Francois 857). Testimonials are classified ads that use printed or vocal quotes from prominent persons to praise the probable best traits or quality of a given product. In most cases, goods bearing claims that exceptional manufacturing standards which are unobservable to clients have become a popular promotional strategy. Such str
Introduction Kim is an interesting novel authored by Rudyard Kipling. It was first published in 1901. It is a novel that has attracted a lot of interest and readership due to the content or information contained therein and the lessons provided. It is an adventure story with an extremely stimulating plot that is characterized by war, intrigue, spies and mystery among other aspects. The author leads us through a story of a young person, Kim, and what he encounters all through to maturity. Apart from Kim, an old lama man is also seen with respect to religious development. There is a close relationship between the two. This piece of work will give a review of the novel in regard to what the story is about and the various perspectives that can be derived from the author’s arguments. Discussion There are many issues that can be depicted from the Kim novel. They include the author’s attitude towards the British government, his perception of human nature as well as how different concepts are portrayed for instance what it entails to be an intelligence officer and the requirements involved. The novel is easy to navigate through due to presence of different levels arranged in chapters, which are easy to connect. This makes comprehension and understanding relatively easy. There are also three levels that are distinct in the book. First, we can consider the novel to be a story of adventure as we see the main character going to different places and having a wide range of experiences. In the second level, we see the book as a drama of a little boy who entirely has his own way of life and doing things just to make life worth living. The third level on the other hand is the novel as a mystic unfolding of a behavior pattern as portrayed by the characters and the community of discussion (Kipling 11). The novel describes various events that took place at around the time of the novel’s publications. Its setting is in India while it was still under the British Empire. As earlier mentioned, the story revolved around an orphan Irish boy. Due to his status, he grows up by himself in the streets of India with some support of a woman who is half-caste. Kim realizes that there is a need to become part of the majority community and so he opts to behave as a native by learning various cultural and religious concepts of the different people in India. The author uses Kim to show us the many people and cultures that constitute India’s population. This is after Kim meets a lama man who was in dire need to find a sacred river and he decides to accompany him all over the subcontinent. In his adventurous journeys, Kim comes across the army regiment that his father had belonged to, gains some interest in it, and approaches the Colonel. It is a
Introduction The need for effective negotiation skills is pervasive in virtually every field of human endeavor. Without understanding both parties’ BATNA, having high aspirations, and applying other vital components of effective negotiation, it is impossible to achieve superior bargaining results. Given that an individual’s negotiation skills are often exhibited in multiple ways in a single day, the deployment of such skills is essential in both work and non-work experiences. This paper aims to outline a real-world negotiation experience in which I had to lower my friend’s professional wedding photography bill. Negotiation A friend of mine, Gloria, asked me to help with her wedding set-up. Among other duties, I had to negotiate with a professional photographer and videographer, Kim, to provide Gloria with a discount. I knew that professional-grade wedding photographs are expensive; therefore, not willing to compromise the quality of precious memories I decided to spend a substantial amount of time on planning and preparation. To this end, I studied the photographer’s website to understand how he may approach the negotiation. The information provided on the website revealed that Kim is a competitive person who is open to dialogue. As part of my planning, I also considered the following negotiation concepts: resistance point, aspiration level, BATNA, anchor, and objective rationales. After thorough research on the current state of the wedding photography market, I discovered that the services of professional photographers cost $1, 600 on average. To assess my BATNA, I listed and evaluated my alternatives. Gloria’s fiancé is an active military member; therefore, I knew that if I had to walk away from the negotiation, the couple could count on a 5 percent military discount from some professional wedding photographers. Also, I knew that I had strong leverage in the negotiation because many competitors can provide the couple with similar services. However, Gloria insisted on me securing the best possible price because she liked Kim’s work and wanted him to be her wedding photographer. I realized that this piece of information should not be revealed to him because the man could take advantage of a weak BATNA and push me to my resistance point. As for the resistant point,
The movie called Mr. and Mrs. Smith , on the one hand, represents a romantic story about two contract assassins who fall in love with each other and who have to sacrifice their job for their happy marriage. On the other hand, the main heroes performed by Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie function as contemporary objects of sexual attraction. Their bodies are eroticized on the screen so that the actors are presented as the etalons of the most handsome man and the most beautiful woman. Discussing the movie from the viewpoint of Freudian identification, the main protagonists have been the brightest examples of expressing two opposing instincts, or drives, existing within the human being – those of creativity, sexuality, and construction and those of destruction, compulsion, and aggression. According to Freudian work called Beyond the Pleasure Principles, “…even under the dominance of the pleasure principle, there are ways and means enough of making what is in itself unpleasurable into a subject to be recollected and worked over in the mind” (Freud, 1961, p. 17). About this assumption, the movie postulates that unpleasant experience is indispensable to achieving pleasure and enjoinment. The main protagonists strike balance between life and death, which is congruent with a Freudian vision of sexual instincts called Eros and the death instinct called Thanatos (Freud, 2000). While discussing the protagonists as the object of the female and male gaze, it is purposeful to consider this perception through Freudian theories of sexuality. According to the scholar, “numerous deviations appear in respect of both of these – the sexual object and the sexual aim” (Freud, 2000, p. 98). About this, Freud emphasizes unconscious forces shaping the original disposition of the sexual instinct that contains the germs of perversions. Judging from the event taken place in the movie, the main protagonists’ sources of sexuality and sexual instincts stem from their experiences in life since other sources are not revealed to viewers. The heroes mostly rely on their original instincts and need to disclose the veritable human needs beyond the pleasure principle. In conclusion, it is very useful to highlight the fact that the movie under analysis uncovers Freudian views on sexuality through the representation of the pleasure principles. Also, the movie can be considered through the prism of representing the protagonists as contemporary objects of male and female gaze where both Joie and Pitt are presented as eroticized bodies on the screen. Specifically, both protagonists personify eroticized objects and symbols of sexuality. Their goals are subjected to two pleasure principles connected to sexual and death instincts. In this respect, the movie is focused on the concepts of creativity, sexuality, aggression, and destruction that are closely intertwined. Besides, Mr. and Mrs. Smith is also the representation of sex battles where particular reference should be made to Jolie who personified a sophisticated mixture of both genders.
Introduction Business administrators and scholars often debate about the goals that managers have to achieve. It is often believed that these professionals should be mostly concerned with the wealth of owners and shareholders. Such an assumption can seem quite plausible, because every company will cease to exist provided that it does not bring revenues to its investors. However, it also has to create the value for customers, community and employees. Without it, the very sustainability of this organization can be put under threat. Moreover, a manager who thinks only about financial benefits, can compromise his/her ethical principles. This paper is aimed at showing that maximization of profits can be possible only if the management of a company strives to follow both ethical and legal rules. Their main goal is to create value for customers, employees, and the society in general. They should not focus only on the needs of owners or stockholders. This is the main thesis that should be discussed. The first section of this paper will analyze theoretical origins of the belief that the primary objective of management is to maximize the wealth of owners. In particular, it is necessary to focus on the works of Milton Friedman and the way in which his ideas could be misinterpreted. Moreover, this section will show that long-term profitability of businesses is impossible without ethics and social responsibility. The second section will identify the benefits of creating value for various stakeholders. Finally, the third section will examine the dangers of thinking only about financial performance and profitability. Profits as a core objective of management The idea that wealth maximization should be the top priority for managers has been discussed in the works of many economists. One of them was Milton Friedman who argued that businesses had to concentrate on their profitability (Friedman as cited in Cosans 2009, p. 391). This argument could be very appealing to many corporate executives because by adopting this approach they could resolve or even dismiss many ethical dilemmas and problems. Moreover, many business administrators assumed that a company could do whatever it deemed necessary provided that these actions did not contradict the law (Cosans 2009, p. 392). Therefore, this business philosophy frees an organization and its managers from many restrictions and obligations that can be related to the rules of ethics. This is why it enjoyed popularity for a long time. Even now many business administrators apply this principle, even though they can speak about corporate social responsibility of their companies. Unfortunately, many business administrators and even scholars simplify the ideas of Milton Friedman. In fact, he did not exclude ethics from the functioning of companies. He said that the activities of a profit organization “should be conforming to the basic rules of society” (Friedman as cited Cosans 2009, p. 393). Overall, he placed emphasis on such issues as compliance with the law, u
In “Goodbye to All That,” Joan Didion writes that the “lesson” of her story is that “it is distinctly possible to remain too long at the Fair.” Throughout the story, the author implies that one may have magical places in his or her imagination, but living in a place that he or she imagines as magical or dreamy can turn into a very upsetting experience. The purpose of Didion’s writing was to provide evidence for this idea, and she managed to do it by revealing her understanding of the situation in which she had found herself after eight years spent in New York City, describing her feelings about this understanding, and explaining the consequences of learning this lesson. First of all, the author came to the understanding that it was possible to remain too long at the fair when she analyzed the life she was living. She realized that, despite the idealistic image of New York she had, the place to which she had dedicated eight years of her life was not so splendid after all. An example of this realization is the fact that, in New York, according to Didion, everyone was trying to meet “new faces,” but everyone failed to do so. When going with her friend to a party where she had been promised to meet new faces, Didion was made fun of my friend, as he laughed and revealed that, at the party, they were going to, “he had already slept with five of the women and owed money to all but two of the men.” Over the years, the magical place Didion had been in love with was becoming more and more boring. The author’s feelings about this understanding were primarily associated with being depressed. She says that she “cried until [she] was not even aware when [she] was crying and when [she] was not, [she] cried in elevators and in taxis and in Chinese laundries.” Didion was experiencing the emptiness and meaninglessness of her life in New York, the city that
Introduction Samsung started its business in the year 1938 as a petite trading company in Taegu, Korea. The founding chairman of Samsung was Byung-Chull Lee. Even after facing several hurdles, the Korean War of 1950 and the financial crisis of 1997 being the two major setbacks, Samsung has been able to carve an enviable niche for itself in the world electronics market. According to the vision of Samsung, “Samsung is dedicated to developing innovative technologies and efficient processes that create new markets, enrich people’s lives, and continue to make Samsung a digital leader.” (Samsung). History and Nature of Business The initial name of Samsung group was Samsung Sanghoe when Byung-Chull Lee started it as a trading company based at Taegu city. During the ensuing years, Lee diversified the business in various fields such as sugar refinery, woollen mill, insurance, securities, and retail. In 1960, the Samsung group forayed into the electronics market. New companies were formed such as Samsung Electronics Devices Company, Samsung Electro-Mechanics Company, and Samsung Corning Company. In the year 1980, all the companies related to the electronics business were merged in the parent company Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. The first product launched by Samsung in the electronics sector was a black and white television set. During the ensuing years, Samsung opened facilities for manufacturing electronics in countries such as England, Portugal, United States, Japan, etc. Today, Samsung has stake in various fields such as electronics, construction, chemicals, heavy equipments, life insurance, securities, hotels, etc. Following are the affiliated companies of Samsung that are listed with the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI): S.No.  Name of the Company        S.No.  Name of the Company             01     Samsung Corporation        11     Shilla Hotels and Resorts       02     Samsung Securities         12     Samsung Fine Chemicals          03     Samsung SDI                13     SI Corporation                  04     Samsung Electro-Mechanics  14     Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance 05     Samsung Engineering        15     Samsung Electronics             06     Samsung Techwin            16     Samsung Life Insurance          07     Cheil Industries           17     Samsung Card                    08     Samsung Heavy Industries   18     Cheil Worldwide                 09     Imarket Korea              19     Credu                           10     Ace Digitech                                                       Source website: Wikipedia, Samsung . Scope of Management Information System “Information, a key resource, plays an important role in information society. Treating information as resource itself is a change in information management. Different issues on information management are management of change, systems and services, technology, collection development, personnel management, finance and planning.” (Rao, 19
Describe four types of audit opinions Green and Associates may provide at the conclusion of a corporate financial audit Financial information should be accompanied by an auditor’s report. One of the opinions suggested include the fact that unqualified opinion is made when an auditor indicates that the financial statements of the represented company provide a fair and true view in accordance the financial reporting framework. The auditor issues this report when the financial statements do not include mis-statements and they are fairly presented according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) (Vallabhaneni, 2005, p186). A qualified opinion report is issued by auditors when two situations do not rhyme with the General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Single deviation qualification occurs when one or several areas of the financial statements do not comply with GAAP, however, they do not affect the rest of the financial statement. Limitation of scope qualification is evidenced when a single or more areas of financial statements could not be audited, for instance, failure to test a company’s inventory of goods. Adverse opinion report is evident when the auditor confirms that the financial statements of a company are misstated, hence, they do not conform to GAAP. These statements are regarded as unreliable and inaccurate. In addition, disclaimer of opinion report is issued when an auditor declines to present an opinion regarding the financial statements, and therefore fails to complete the audit for some reason; therefore, does not provide the company with an opinion (Vallabhaneni, 2005, p.186). Determine whether the inventory valuation method used by ABC Corporation was legal and compliant with GAAP ABC Corporation previously used FIFO inventory valuation method before changing to LIFO, with an intention of enhancing the annual tax return. The First In, First Out entails selling the goods bought earliest first, while the newest goods are sold last. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) allows the use of FIFO method; this method yields to highest income especially in times of inflation due to the lowest estimate of cost of goods sold. However, the rational change from one valuation method to another is not ethical, since the company shifted to LIFO with an aim of enhancing annual tax return, hence plans to shift back to FIFO when things get better. Is the client’s refusal to procure an audit of Internal Controls over Financial reporting in violation of Sarbanes-Oxley? Why or why not? ABC refusal to allow the auditors to separate audit of internal controls over financial reporting is a violation of Sarbanes –Oxley Act section 404, which requires an auditor to report on the company’s adequacy of internal control over financial reporting. The internal control report entails the management’s effort in maintain an effective internal control structure. Therefore, the act requires companies to include an assessment of internal controls and the procedure of financial reporting. Effective internal controls allow for th