Student Success Courses Essay Example for Free

Student Success Courses Essay College failure has been more common than not in recent years, many students just go off to school unprepared and unaware of what to even expect. Often in High School the teacher say they are preparing you for college, but in many cases it is nowhere near what college is really like. In High School you were forced to attend, your teacher held your hand along the way and you were required to take classes you may have not wanted to take or interested in. In the article, â€Å"Do Student Success Courses Actually Help Community College Students Succeed?† written by authors from the community college research center (CCRC), they explain that studies have shown college success classes to highly improve the success rates of college students. Many community colleges offer success courses, and some even require them. These courses help prepare students what to expect in the near upcoming years. They teach students about different resources around campus to utilize for success, studying habits, time management, how to set clear goals and even how to navigate the many different websites and online class programs. This article describes that these courses have been very affective, which is proved by lots of research. Some research was done in Schools of Florida, where students taking â€Å"student life skills† or â€Å"SLS† were more likely to earn a community college credential, transfer to a state university, or remain in college after five years. The study shows that students not taking the SLS course were usually rated with higher failure rates. Many college success courses have specialized textbooks for their school, like we do here at TCC for example and they help the students specifically here at TCC and helping us be successful. The books can teach you about resources on campus, support groups, and how to succeed at your college. This article concludes that many students come to community colleges with very limited understanding of the opportunities and demands of college life and lack the skills and orientation needed to thrive in college. Student Success coursed more often than not contribute to positive outcomes by helping students early in college by developing goals, becoming aware of resources, and have an overall clear idea of what it takes to succeed in college. Works Cited Zeidenberg, Mark; Jenkins, Davis; Calcagno, Juan Carlos. â€Å"Do Student Success Courses Actually Help Community Colleges Succeed?† Community College Research Center: CCRC BRIEF. (June 2007): Volume 36. Web. 10 October 2013.

Four Functions of Business: Case Study of Asda and Kwik-Fit

Four Functions of Business: Case Study of Asda and Kwik-Fit Functional areas of business operation Introduction This paper studies four distinct functions of business and how they interrelate. The chosen areas are human resources, distribution, marketing and customer services. Human Resources The function of human resources is to provide a focus and strategy for the efficient management of business employees. Employee management is a primary task of modern corporations. If not dealt with appropriately, employees can have an adverse effect upon the success of the business (Alan Price 2003). Employee satisfaction affects all areas of the business. For example, if an employee is happy at work it will show in the customer service they provide. It also helps promote the business, justify the marketing and promotion message and ensure the smooth running of the distribution function. Distribution Distribution is the function by which the product or service is moved from the manufacturer to the end user (P. Kolter 1991), ultimately the consumer. This can be represented by physical methods, such as transportation and storage or, in a service industry, the method by which that service is packaged and delivered. A breakdown in the distribution process affects customer services, as the business may not be able to deliver the product or service required. The marketing function would be undermined, as promises made cannot be kept. Ultimately, this situation would de-motivate employees, as they are the ones receiving consumer complaints. Marketing Effective marketing and promotion is essential as a method of ensuring the message regarding products or services attracts the attention of the consumer. (George Belch 2004). The marketing function is to deliver a message that is seen, believed and remembered. A successful marketing campaign is heavily reliant upon the efficiency of other business functions. If the business cannot deliver the goods, customers will stop listening to the promotional message. Similarly, if the employees have not received training in customer care, a marketing campaign suggesting consumer care is paramount will not be believed. Customer Services Delivery of customer services is probably the most crucial function. The consumer adds value to the success of the business by purchasing their product or service (Sean Kelly 2005). Therefore, every business has to build and maintain a close relationship with consumers. They have to deliver what the customer needs at a quality and price that meets their requirements. In a competitive marketplace, the correct level of customer service is essential if a business is to achieve a growth in market share. Two organisations, Asda Plc., and Kwik-Fit Insurance Services have been chosen to demonstrate how these functions work in practice. Asda The Asda supermarket chain is a subsidiary of the American Wal-Mart retailer, one of the UK’s leading supermarket chains, with over 150,000 employees. Human Resources Asda’s HR strategy is built on the basis that every employee (All about Asda, 2006) â€Å"plays a part in making the business a success.† To achieve employee satisfaction, retention and succession, Asda runs a programme that provides training covering every area of the business, including in-store and external processes, as well as company policy and customer care. The business is committed to achieving in house succession and to promote this aim, it includes management training as part of its HR programme (See Asda Website Training page). Understanding the need for employees to feel an affinity with the business, Asda encourages staff to take an active part in work meetings, which take place in-store, regionally and nationally, where views can be expressed and discussed. The core of its HR function is to gain the best from employees by encouraging involvement with the business at all levels. Distribution Asda works closely with suppliers to maintain efficient distribution services. This ensures levels of goods required are fed through warehousing centres and to individual stores in a manner that maintains consistent product availability for customers. To allow for regional variances, the business delegates an element of the distribution decision-making process to local store management. Marketing Faced with changing consumer demands (Sean Kelly 2005), Asda now focuses its marketing and promotion on the dual aspect of quality at the right price. This has enabled the business to achieve second position within the grocery industry. Customer Services Asda has consistently sought to improve its customer services. In addition to staff customer care training Asda has expanded the product range throughout its stores. Internet shopping and expansion of till services, including self-service options, are other areas of the business where customer service improvements have been introduced. Kwik-Fit Insurance Services KFIS is an insurance call centre based in Glasgow. Although it was founded with the view to concentrating on the motor industry insurance, the business has expanded into more general areas of insurance. Human Resources To compete with other local call-centre operations, KFIS had to completely revise its HR strategy. This was partially achieved through improving the working environment. Like Asda it introduced training programmes to improve employee standards and encourage involvement. In addition, KFIS operates a â€Å"guardian angel† scheme (Jill Boulton, 2004), where existing staff act as mentors to new recruits. It also appointed a â€Å"minister of fun,† to organise staff social activities. The success of these measures has been reflected in business results. Distribution Unlike Asda, KFIS does not have a need for a physical distribution function. The distribution element here is to ensure the insurance products offered are designed to match consumer requirements. As the service KFIS offers is distributed through call centre operators, the importance of staff and producer knowledge levels is essential in distributing the correct range of products to the end user. Marketing Whilst much of its marketing is directed through Kwik-Fit auto centres, and dependent upon the quality of their service, a significant proportion of promotion is undertaken through advertising and the call centre operators. For example, when engaging with a customer an operator may attract them to other insurance products. In this business the interaction between employee and customer is an integral part of the marketing process (George Belch 2004). Customer Services The customer service aspect of KFIS is more directly linked to the reaction of the employee than with Asda. In a call centre situation consumers instantly judge the services they are receiving by their perception of the operator. The operator’s reaction, explanation and provision of the most appropriate product, and efficiency of service, will determine whether the customer is satisfied and will remain loyal to the business. HR director (Keren Edwards 2006) believes that the strategy in place in the business is contributing to the success in terms of customer retention. Conclusion From the information within this paper it is clear that every function described is dependent upon, and influenced either positively or adversely by the others. If one function, for instance, customer services, does not perform at its most efficient, the result will affect the other functions. Customers will stop believing the marketing, resulting in fewer products sold, parts of the distribution function becoming redundant and a reduction in employee moral and efficiency. References All about Asda (2006). Asda People. Asda Plc. Retreived 19 January from http://asdacares.gpalm.co.uk/people/people_load.html Armstrong, Michael (2006). A Handbook of Human Resource Management Practice. Kogan Page. UK. Price, Alan (2003). Human Resource Management in a Business Context. Thomson Learning, UK. Kotler, P. (1991). Marketing Management. FT Prentice Hall, 7th Ed. UK Belch, George. E (2004) Advertising and Promotion: An Integrated Marketing Communications Perspective. McGraw-Hill Inc. U.S. Kelly, Sean. (2005) Customer intelligence From Data to Dialogue. John Wiley Sons Ltd., UK Boulton, Jill (2004). Kwik-Fit hires fun guy to keep staff smiling. The Scotsman, Friday 21 May 2004. Edwards, Keren (2006). Keep Fit Scheme. People Management Scheme. UK. 6th April 2006. Caffà ¨ Nero: Strategy and Balanced Scorecard Caffà ¨ Nero: Strategy and Balanced Scorecard Introduction The aim of this essay is to design a strategy and two balanced scorecards for a coffee shop company called Caffà © Nero to compliment their mission statement. This will be done after conducting extensive secondary research to gain a clear insight into what a balanced scorecard involves as well as looking into how Caffà © Nero operates. This will hopefully provide knowledge of potential benefits and difficulties to consider when attempting to successfully implement scorecards for both Headquarter and Store Levels for Caffà © Nero. In addition to this, for each scorecard, a strategy map is used to demonstrate how each key performance indicator (KPI) contributes to the overall vision of the company. Finally both levels are then assessed on its contributions to Cafà © Neros strategy and a conclusion is drawn on the main points outlined throughout the essay. What is the Balanced Scorecard? Kaplan introduced the balanced scorecard in 1992 with the aim to translate strategy into action, he stated, The balanced scorecard translates an organisations mission into a comprehensive set of performance measures that provides the framework for implementing its strategy. (Kaplan Norton, 1996: p88). Having understood an organisations vision and strategy, the balanced scorecard aids to develop creative objectives to help measure performance. These objectives can be split into four main perspectives: Financial, Customer, Internal Business Process and Learning and Growth all of which link together to form a strategy map. Implementation of the Balanced Scorecard Benefits and difficulties Bourne Bourne (2007) presents reasons to why once implemented the balanced scorecard can fail. It is beneficial for Caffà © Nero to be conscious of potential problems that may arise in the near future when implementing their balanced scorecards. Looking at the difficulties and problems portrayed by theorists and other organisations experiences should present Caffà © Nero with a competitive advantage. The opportunity of being able to use other organisations failures and theorists advice to overcome the issues presented is valuable. It is particularly important as large amounts of time and money from the company are being invested into this performance management tool. One potential problem is the complexity of the system, resulting in unachieved objectives which will affect the overall vision and strategy of Caffà © Nero. Organisations are faced with de-motivated staff as they steer away from the main objectives that are originally assigned. Although, this is a common problem for the majority of companies when introducing the scorecards, Caffà © Nero is aware of this problem and can therefore take this into consideration throughout the design stage. In particular consideration would be beneficial, in terms of the strategy map when linking the objectives together, so that they are easy to follow and comprehensive for the whole company. As for overcoming the complexity issue, Caffà © Nero can focus on their employees with training, conferences, group and one to one meetings to ensure that every employee within the organisation fully understands what a balanced scorecard is. Their objectives and how they are being measured as well as how each pers pective interlinks in achieving Caffà © Neros strategy. Drury (2004) suggests another difficulty with the scorecard, he identifies that the assumptions of the cause and effect relationships are being excessively vague as well as lacking empirical support. Further research has concluded that is it difficult to link non financial data with future financial performance if at all. Caffà © Nero needs to consider this, as their main objective is to achieve future revenue growth both within the UK and internationally. So perhaps with measures and objectives that are assigned, should be more focused around revenue and financial aspects where possible. An additional difficulty concerning the perspectives shown within the management tool is that it does not factor in other aspects of the business to incorporate customers, employees, suppliers and other environment perspectives. Although Caffà © Nero is not restricted to adding additional perspectives, it could complicate the scorecard further making it difficult to achieve all objectives assigned and some may overlap with existing objectives. Traditionally, when implementing a scorecard the assumption is, the decisions sit with the senior management throughout the design stage as they fully understand the ins and outs of the organisation. Although this may be the case, it is not always in the best interest of the organisation to design a scorecard that only looks at all levels of the business from a top heavy approach. To overcome this Caffà © Nero can be smart and ensure that all functional representatives of their hierarchy from store-level to headquarter level are included within the design. This in turn will show teamwork in working together to understand where each individual fits in to the overall strategy in order to meet the companys objectives. Although the scorecard demonstrates various difficulties that Caffà © Nero should be aware of. Not all is bad; the on-going popularity of the balanced scorecard from other organisations makes it extremely hard to not notice some of the benefits of this management tool. One important trait of the scorecard is its use of effectively combining all the separate elements of the company into one simple model, with help from the strategy map. The tool is also able to help employees and the company to understand how everything interlinks and contributes to the overall strategy. For example, looking at how employees from Caffà © Nero store-level are able to contribute and work with headquarters objectives by improving customer service at store-level in aid to reduce customer complaints for headquarter level at the other end. This management tool is also enabling managers to consider all objectives and measures together as a whole by looking at the bigger picture. Therefore Caffà © Nero can take advantage of these benefits and make necessary improvements to the costs of the company with cost reductions at headquarter level. Lynch (2009) comments that the real benefit of the scorecard is the linkage between strategy and implementation. Most theorists argue that the main goal of the majority of organisations is a form of shareholder value added. Caffà © Nero should consider this when implementing both scorecards. By looking into both quantitative and qualitative measures within the strategy, they should hopefully determine the expectations of their shareholders within performance measures in their strategy and scorecards to achieve growth in shareholder value. Caffà © Nero Strategy Grant (2008) outlines various strategies an organisation can adopt when trying to achieve growth. Having viewed this, Caffà © Nero is more geared towards a business strategy, as it concerns the company with competing within a particular coffee shop market. To prosper within this market it is important to concentrate on establishing a competitive advantage over rivals. To support this Caffà © Nero should base their strategy around product differentiation, by providing customers with quality ranges of espresso that is exclusive to Caffà © Nero stores, will only contribute to concreting a competitive advantage for the company. It also works on shielding Caffà © Nero from their prices being levelled down to the bottom part of the price spectrum, due to potential competitive price wars of the same product between their competitors. This is an important strategy to implement as due to the increase of popularity of coffee shops it is likely for these price wars to occur. As a result, Caffà © Nero can look to improve further, with the quality of their products as well as launching new products in the future as part of their strategy. This can be achieved with product innovation to cater to larger consumer base within the market, hopefully contributing to the growth in both revenue and size within the UK and internationally. Cafà © Nero is well known for its acquisition of Aroma which increased the amount of sites they owned to 106 by 2002; this made them the largest independent owned coffee shop. The company now has 400 stores operating in various locations within the UK, Turkey and the Middle East. Caffà © Nero should now look towards the future of the company, by expanding the number of sites owned. Therefore it is important that part of the strategy should reflect in achieving expansion both internationally and UK based. Caffà © Nero will incorporate this in the scorecard within the financial perspective at headquarter level, as Kaplan and Norton (1996) states that the designing of the strategy of the company is combined with the process of the balanced scorecard. However Caffà © Nero may be faced with great difficulty with trying to implement their strategy due to the diversity of locations they operate in. As it is harder to standardise a scorecard for all site levels throughout the business internationally, as culture and expectations of customers and employees may be different throughout locations. This can be said the same about different locations within the UK. For example Londons objectives may incorporate a faster pace of service to compliment their busy, on the go customers in comparison to another site in a quieter location that may prefer much more of a mellow approach, at a slower pace and friendlier atmosphere where everyone is a community. Caffà © Nero tries to incorporate all of these elements within the overall strategy. Balanced Scorecard Strategy Map The following models demonstrate Caffà © Neros scorecards for both headquarter level and store-level. As well as strategy maps to illustrate how each objective will link together. It is important to note that although the scorecards produced are for the same company, they may differ in objectives for each level, to incorporate all personnel throughout the company. Objectives of headquarter level will focus more on the overall performance of the company, in terms of how they can grow in revenue, size and customers. The model will also focus on innovating products and retention rates of employees and customers. Where as, with the store-level objectives will be more centred around individual stores in terms of customer service, delivery times and empowering and motivating staff with training and incentive programmes. Once the following scorecards have been implemented for Caffà © Nero, it is then important to ensure that everyone throughout the company understands the balanced scoreca rd and where they are contributing to achieving Caffà © Neros vision. As well as considering how all of the objectives from each level will interlink between the two scorecards. This can be done through training centres, conferences and meetings. Scorecard Evaluation Having designed both scorecards (Figure 1 and 2) an evaluation will be conducted to explore both the similarities and differences presented within each models. Additional to this, supporting evidence will add weight to justify reasons for selecting objectives and indicator to contribute to Caffà © Neros overall strategy. Financial Perspective The first objective shown in the financial perspective (figure 1 2) is revenue growth this relates to achieving an increase in growth in some form or another. To drive revenue growth Caffà © Nero objectives concentrate on diversifying into new markets internationally and within UK. As well as branching out into new customer markets and increasing the number of stores owned by Caffà © Nero. Each of these objectives chosen all tie in with Caffà © Neros overall strategy of expansion of the business in the near future. The key performance indicators incorporated into this perspective help to measure each objective for the company. The main similar measure here is (F1 F4) percentage of increase in revenue growth in the overall company and individual store-level (F5). To achieve these objectives they would have to be based upon implementing bonus and incentive schemes for employees so that they are motivated to achieve targets set. They would also need to target larger segments of new customer markets by advertising in new locations such as near to universities to appeal to students or offices to appeal to the working customers. However a drawback of this measure is due to the population suffering from the effects of the recession and the economy resulting to a decrease in disposal income. Meaning growth in revenue for Caffà © Nero will be delicate as new potential customers may not be as opened to trying new coffee shops then their norm as well as lifestyle changes that will affect the amount of r evenue that each store generates. This is why a mark up % was not included in aid to limit other problems such as the affect on shareholder value, as incorporating percentages would put further pressure on the company in case they were unable to achieve resulting to shareholders expectations to decline. Another important objective within the financial section is (F6) improve operational efficiency, which is reducing wastage costs for the business. It is important to achieve this objective as it saves the company money and better for the environment. This can be done by providing more awareness of how to reduce wastage i.e. not leaving taps of water on just for the convenience element for coffee shops. Being aware of waste problems presents benefits as in turn this will maintain the companies overall brand image, which links in will the customer perspective (C3 figure 1) of maintaining brand image. Customer Perspective It is important to measure this objective (C3), as it involves the public with collating feedback and results in reference to how the general public perceive Caffà © Nero as a company. This objective also gives the company an opportunity with participating in charity and environmental work that will help several organisations as well as portraying a better image for the company. This is with the intention to increase in revenue and customer satisfaction, as customers like to be involved in supporting good causes. This is why it was important to incorporate this within the headquarter scorecard. Figure 2 also looks at customer retention (C5), customer satisfaction (C6) and customer profitability (C4) as main objectives to achieve. Each of these objectives link with each other, for example if the customers are satisfied with the service and products offered by staff then they are likely to come back time after time. Creating customer loyal will result in increasing customer retention rates hopefully leading to customer profitability. Therefore ensuring customers are provided with great customer service and high standards of quality products will cement this relationship with customers and employees. Where the employees are concerned this is incorporated into the internal process and learning and growth perspectives. It is significant to note that both levels differ in objectives as the store-level is more involved with direct customer improvement as they adopt a more personal approach with more of a face to face relationship. Therefore objectives will be focused around the service element. In comparison to the headquarters that will look more to indirectly improving service by site quality, reducing complaints and activities involving improving brand image. However one similarity between them is that they are measured by customer feedback in one form or another. Internal Business Processes Perspective The first objective presented in figure 1 is (IP1) innovating products involved, this objective is important for businesses to maintain as their strategy and brand image pride themselves on producing unique high quality products in espresso and food. Therefore it is important for Caffà © Nero to innovate new products in order to compete within such a popular market. To measure this objective Caffà © Nero will look at increase in sales from new products in order to measure if they are successful or not. For that reason employee should be aware of the new products that are available by offering them at pay out areas in order to advertise new products, which links into objective (IP4) developing internal product knowledge. This will be achieved by daily staff meeting and work booklets to test staffs knowledge. Again, this perspective demonstrates some similarities between figures 1 2. Objectives are set to improve on delivery times for customers (IP2 IP5), this is aid of achieving h igh quality of service to link to customer satisfaction (C6), retention (IP3) and profitability (C4). If customers are dissatisfied they will go elsewhere which will affect growth in revenue (F1). To measure delivery times, focus as obtain comparing where Caffà © Nero are in terms of the market, as customers will have a certain level of expectations. However if Caffà © Nero are able to excel over this, it will create customer satisfaction which in theory will lead to more business from that customer. Also by ensuring there is a balanced customer to employee ratio in each site helps to improve delivery and customer service for customers as waiting times will decrease. Learning and Growth Perspective This area focuses on employees in terms of creating objectives to maintain training, in aid of retaining employee loyalty (LG1), improving both job and employee satisfaction (LG2), increasing employees capabilities in skills (LG4) as well as motivating and empowering employees (LG5). In theory these objectives should participate to maintaining a customer centric focus (LG3). Within this perspective, there are many differences between the scorecards as store-level focus on individual needs of employees to drive employee satisfaction. In comparison to headquarters which looks at overall achieving programmes to assist employee satisfaction, presenting a common objective in both scorecards. To measure these objectives appraisal and one to one meetings are used to assess their performance and how to improve in growth in revenue for the business. Each level is assessed by individual employees at store-level and individuals stores for headquarter level. Olve (2003) looked into how incentive and reward programmes can be aligned with scorecards in order to promote realization of intended strategy. This has been incorporated into the learning and growth stage of the scorecards. In aid to attract employees attention, to perform well at store level, contributing to the overall objective of increasing revenue growth for the company. Although there are many differences between the models as each scorecard targets a different audience, it is important to note that they both interlink to together to achieve Cafà © Neros objectives. As store-level focuses on direct customer service it is important that they get it right to achieve sales, retention as well as maintain a happy working environment for staff as getting these objective help to achieve objectives set for headquarter level. In terms of employee retention, training programmes, customer profitability and satisfaction as well as product innovation Conclusion To summarise the main points of this essay, it is essential to consider the information available in order to successfully design and implement a scorecard for a company. As statics show that 70% of balanced scorecards fail due to lack of research within their own individual company and the scorecard. The second point was to fully understand what Caffà © Nero wanted to achieve in regards to their strategy, as it is vital to not incorporate everything as this will only present more problems then benefits. Thirdly, when designing the scorecards for Caffà © Nero, it was crucial to ensure that they were easy to follow for all members of the organisation, as every objective interlinks and filters up the model in a form of a chain. If one objective is not met then this will affect the rest of the model creating a cause and affect relationship throughout the scorecard. For example consequences may lead to losing customers due to bad customer service, lack of high quality products and product knowledge due to limited training. As to measurements within the scorecards Caffà © Nero tried to be realistic so that they are able achieve their strategy as unrealistic measurements can disadvantage a business, as the costs of implementing balanced scorecards is a large investment to make as large amounts of money and time is needed. It is also important that Caffà © Nero adopted a trial and error approach so they could keep reviewing their scorecards to ensure they were aligned with their strategy. Overall a balanced scorecard is an affective management tool to translate strategy into a vision. Word Count: 3299

Food Policy in Malaysia

Food Policy in Malaysia Introduction Malaysia is a multilingual and multicultural society. The original culture of Malaysia is come from the indigenous tribes that is been staying in the peninsular and east of Malaysia since century ago. Not long after, the Malays were moved to Malaysia from Indonesia and followed by the Chinese and Indian due to the substantial influence. Dating back to old days Malaysia used to be a colonization of British. Due to that, Peninsular Malaysia has become a foreign trading port for the British and cultural influences start to gather. The culture include Persian, Arabic and British and etc. Due to being part of the ancient spice route in Asia and becoming a foreign trading port for the British, Malaysia’s cuisine reflects on the multi-ethnic makeup of its population. Besides that, the cuisine also is greatly influenced within itself or by the surrounding countries. For example the influences are from the Malays, Chinese, Indian, Thai and etc. In addition, it is very common to find a similar versions of the dish within Singapore or across Malaysia regardless of place of origin because Singapore used to be part of Malaysia. What is Food Policy? According to Wikipedia, food policy are the area of publics concerning how the food is produced, processed, distributed and what kind of chemical ingredient are used when processing the food. Food policies system is designed to guide producer in operating of food and agriculture related product. This commonly include in decision-making of production and processing techniques of food, marketing of food, utilizing and consuming of food in the interest of meeting or furthering social objectives. Food policies can be develop in any level, such as from local to global, by government agency, business cooperation or food related organization. Makers of food policy are often engage in activities such as setting regulation related to food industries and establishing food standards for assistance programs for the poor and ensuring safety of food supplies, food labeling and even the qualification of a specific product to be considered as organic or not. Most of the food pol icy is initiated at the domestic level for the purpose of ensuring a safe and satisfactory level of food supply to the citizenry. Food Policy in Malaysia Malaysia is a multilingual and multicultural society country that mainly consists of the Malays, which is the biggest community group in Malaysia and followed by the Chinese, Indian, and the indigenous tribe. Even though Malaysia has many different cultures and races, it is consider as a Muslim Country due to the Parliament is govern by mainly the Malays followed by the Chinese and Indian. Due to this, Malaysia is very strict when comes to thing such as laws and etc. Food policy is one of it, for example the food that found within the country is mainly Halal even though there is consumers who are Non-Muslim. In Malaysia, Food policy decision and food related law is made between the Ministry of Health Department Malaysia and Ministry of Agriculture Malaysia. Both of the departments worked closely together for public health safety and to provide awareness of what kind of food the consumer are eating. The Ministry of Health Department is the one who has a higher authority when comes to food related because the areas that they involved in are wider such as nutrition assistance, food safety, dietary guidance, and labeling of consumable product. As for Agriculture side such as plantation of corn and etc are govern by the Ministry of Agriculture Malaysia. Most of the food policies are increasingly developing and changed due to the needs of citizens, political climates and circumstances changes. Halal According to Halal Malaysia, Halal are define as a lawful, permitted, pure, wholesome and recommended under Islamic Law. As in food service terms, Halal will affect the quality and hygiene policy in food manufacturing practices as well as food services in restaurant. With the growing of population around the world, the production, food safety, trade and consumption in food chained restaurant are increasingly demanding for Halal Food. Due to this, Halal food in Malaysia is coming from both Muslim and Non-Muslims country or producer because the local Halal food manufacturer did not have the ability to follow up the increasing of local community anymore. Based on Islamic Dietary Laws in the Trade Description Order 1975 of Malaysia, there are three main food categories for Muslims which are Halal, Haram, and Syubba. Halal is a word used for describing food that is lawful for Muslims to consume according to the Al-Quran. As for Haram, it is a term used to describe a subject that is unlawful and prohibited for the Muslims to do or consume. For example, Muslims are not allowed to consume pork and alcohol. The third and the last one is Syubba, it means the ingredient or the process of the food is made are questionable and therefore should be avoided for the Muslims if it is possible. In addition, The Al-Quran stresses that Muslims must eat food that is pure and clean as stated in the Islamic Dietary laws. The trust that is build-in among Muslim customers on Halal Certification is potentially increasing when it comes to deciding to visit an eating premise or a specific product. Malaysia Halal Certification Since the 1970s, JAKIM also known as the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia, has been emphasizing its structures to ensure the Halal certification process in Malaysia provide Muslims Community with quality assurance of the products and services which is purchased or used by them.(JAKIM,2010). On the other hand, Malaysia Halal Certification also remarked as â€Å"a total quality health and sanitary system that involve in adopting the procedure for killing, processing and other related operations as drafted by Islamic rules†. Besides that, JAKIM also certifies raw materials, ingredients and products based on the quality of the product, hygiene perspectives and consideration of consumption safety of a specific product. (JAKIM,2008) There are few agencies that develop the standard of Halal food in Malaysia which as JAKIM is one of them and followed by Department of Standards Malaysia, Malaysia Institute of Industrial Research and standard which also known as SIRIM, and Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia. As a result, the four departments developed a comprehensive guideline in Halal food standard called MS1500 in 2004. The general guideline of Malaysian Standard MS1500 is focus on the production, preparation, handling and storing of Halal food. MS1500 also act as a manual for the food industry on preparing and handling halal food. In the other hand, it served as a basic food trade in Malaysia. (Mohd Daud,2004) The practice of Halal system should apply to all processing stages which from farm to table. Halal certification provide consumer a greater confidence and informed choice on what they have purchased (Wan Hassan Hall,2003). According to the Muslim Council of Britain, a statistic of up to 90% of meat and poultry that are sold in the United Kingdom as Halal are illegally sold to consumer and it is not slaughtered based on Shariah Law. In addition, this proved that Halal certification is clearly a potentially useful marketing and branding tools to attract customer to dine in a restaurant or to buy a product. This is an important examples for the Malaysian government to strengthen the Halal Certification in order to prevent the malpractice in the supply of meat to consumers and restaurant. The Demand of Halal Food In Malaysia Based on the research done by Muhammad in 2007, the needs for Halal foods and product within the countries itself and around the world has remarkable increasing. Majority of the Muslim Countries in the world which include Malaysia used to get their Halal product with the local suppliers or imported from other Muslim Countries. Due to the increasing of population and standard of living, it has drives the Muslim Countries to import Halal food from Non-Muslims countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Singapore. These countries with comparatively small or even don’t have Muslim Population has became a valid contributors to the world Halal Trade. (Trade Mart,2006) According to Wan Omar, Muhammad, Che Omar (2008), the world has a total of 1.8billion of estimated Muslim Population and the market for Halal product is worth over US$560 billion annually. With the increasing interested in Halal food, this shows that there is a very huge market segment for food manufacturer. On the other hand, due to the increasing of international trade, cultural globalization and tourism, the â€Å"Halal† label has progressively recognized by non-Muslim and countries such as Europe and America also in demand for it which they don’t really needed it at old times. It also initiate further pressure on emphasizing importance of goods certification and has become the core in food industry. (Al-harrn Low, 2008). Based on Riaz Chaudry(2004), Malaysia was the leader in implementing Halal Laws in the early 1980s and remains in force globally when comes to Halal Certification circumstances. On the other hand, according to Chang(2006), Muslim population of 60% in Malaysia has increased their interest for Halal foods and products over the years. Due to this, Halal standard in food related goods has been widen from meat item to item such as confectionery, bakery and dairy goods. Chang also said that Halal Certification is become known as a standard criteria for food quality, safety and hygiene. It also helped to increase the market value of the product that has Halal label on it. Restaurant In Malaysia Based on the research done by Chang,2006, Malaysia is consider as one of the most advance nations in Southeast Asia after Singapore. As a result, Malaysian lifestyle has been dramatically evolving due to increasing of income and education levels. Besides that, majority of the restaurant that is located within the country have a clear halal logo in front of the restaurant entrance. With the logo sticked at the restaurant, it proves that the restaurant not only the food is halal but also the entire process of processing food is halal. In addition to that, the halal restaurant in Malaysia is not allowed to sell pork and alcohol related product. Based on the survey that made by Shamsudin Selamat 2005, they found that Malaysians are regarded as adventurous espeiclally the young peers in their consuming manner. Malaysian whose median age of 22 years old love to explore new eating places as suggested by friends and relatives because eating out in nowadays is very common and is somewhat not expensive compare to other country in the world. Based on Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia in 2008, Malaysian students who came back after staying abroad also devote to the demand for various food styles as well as eating in a restaurant. According to research done by Chang,2006, Malaysian regularly choose to dine in an open air dining area or street stalls. In addition to that, International cuisines such as Japanese and Korean cuisine were exceptionally demanding awfully over the years. Research done by Shamsudin and Selamat(2005), 172,252 food service matters including stalls and restaurants exited in Malaysia in 2001. In overall, the food service industry in Malaysia can be divided into five main section which is dine-in restaurant (including hotel coffee houses), coffee shops, hawker centers, fast food stalls, food courts and roadside stalls. As for Kueh and Voon(2007), they give a bit different categories and said that foodservice premises in Malaysia consists of Pubs/bars , street hawkers, and dine-in restaurant. According to undertaken by Josiam, Sohail and Monteiro(2007) on curry cuisine and perceptions of Indian Restaurnt in Malaysia, they found that restaurant in Malaysia serve standard and actual food that suit the local customers and tourists taste bud. They also proposed that consumers are keen in term of accepting new foods and explore new tastes. The findings that done by them also shows that general hygiene such as cleanliness of restaurant and restroom and the quality of foods will determine the restaurant weather is value for money or not. The main interest of foods for Malaysian are spiciness of the food, appearance of the food, the taste of the food and last by not least the availability of vegetarian choices and followed by the food with Halal Certification. Conclusion Food served as one of the basic needs for humans needs in the hierarchy of Mashlow. It just that some people religions view and beliefs in regarding food consumption and has dietary constraint. As an example, the most familiar one is the Muslims with Halal, Hindus and a minority of Chinese population constraint themselves from eating beef and some of them being as a vegetarian, and lastly the Jews people with Kosher restriction. As a conclusion, Halal food in Malaysia is not just constraint to the surrounding of the way the animal is killed, it goes deeper than that. It started from the first steps of preparing to handling, distributing, storing, displaying, packaging, labeling, preparation and serving it. In another words, the whole food supply chain must follow the Islamic dietary laws in order it to be Halal. The practice of Islamic dietary laws in Malaysia has educated Muslim and non-Muslims community to eat food that is pure and good based on the Quran and Haditb. As a addition to it, Halal certification that is provided by Malaysia organization is seen as a source of potential to create trust among the Muslims that the foods with the certification are safe to be consume or used. Bibliography (Jakim), T. M. G. a. t. D. o. I. D. M., 2011. Halal Malaysia. [Online] Available at: http://www.halal.gov.my/v3/index.php/en/about-halal-certification/halal-definition [Accessed 1 November 2014]. Abdul Latif, M., 2006. afmaasia Malaysia. [Online] Available at: http://www.afmaasia.org/malaysia_2006/Annex-4.pdf [Accessed 5 11 2014]. Abdul Manaf Bohari, C. W. H. N. F., 2014. The competitiveness of Halal food industry in Malaysia: A SWOT ICT Analysis. Malaysia Journal of Society and Space, 9(1), pp. 1-8. Abdul Talib, H. M. A. K. . J., 2008. Quality assurance in halal food manufacturing in Malaysia. Johor Bahru, Malaysia: ICME. Anon., 2004. Agriculture and Consumer Protection Department. [Online] Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/MEETING/006/AD698E.HTM [Accessed 20 November 2014]. Anon., 2013. A Food Labelling Guide. [Online] Available at: http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/GuidanceRegulation/UCM265446.pdf [Accessed 19 November 2014]. Bonne, K. . V., 2008. Religious values informing halal meat production and the control and delivery of halal credence quality. Agriculture and Human Values, Volume 25, pp. 35-47. Chang, 2008. Malaysia Exporter guide annual 2006. USDA Foreign Agricultural Service. JAKIM, 2010. Pengurusan pensijilan halal Malaysia [The management of Malaysia halal certification]. Putrajaya: JAKIM. Josiam, B. S. S. . M., 2007. Curry cuisine: Perceptions of Indian restaurants in Malaysia. Tourismos:An International Multidisciplinary Journal Of Tourism, 2(2), pp. 25-37. Loong, C., 2013. Information on Food Labelling in Malaysia. [Online] Available at: http://www.mfca.org.my/articles/Information on Food Labeling Requirements in Malaysia.pdf [Accessed 19 November 2014]. Malaysia, D. o. S., 2008. [Online] Available at: http://www.statistics.gov.my/portal/index.php?option=com_contentview=articleid=54:population-updated-31072009catid=35:key-statisticsItemid=53lang=en [Accessed 2 November 2014]. Malaysia, M. o. H. E., 2008. Statiscs of Malaysian students studying abroad. [Online] Available at: http://www.mohe.gov.my/web_statistik/statistik_pdf_2008_05/msd_5-1.pdf [Accessed 30 October 2014]. Mart, T., 2006. Export opportunities: Processed food beverages. 2006 ed. Kuala Lumpur: Trade mart. Muhammad, R., 2007. Re-Branding halal. The Halal Journal, pp. 32-34. Riaz, M. . C. M., 2004. Halal food production. Florida, CRC Press. Saeed, M. ,. J. B. . I., 2000. Marketing Malaysia to International Tourists. Journal of International Business and Entrepreneurship, Issue 8(1), pp. 41-61. Sharifah Zannierah Syed Marzuki, M. H. P. W., 2012. Restaurant Manager and Halal Certificate, Malaysia: academia.edu. Toh, P. F. ., 2008. Hawker food industry. Food safety Public health strategies in Malaysia, Issue 38(1), pp. 41-51. Voon, K. K. ., 2007. Culture and service quality expectations: Evidence from generation Y consumers in Malaysia. Managing Service Quality, Issue 17(6), pp. 656-680. 1

General Will Essay -- Philosophy, Rousseau

â€Å"The problem is to find a norm of association which will defend and protect with the whole common force the person and goods of each associate, and in which each, while uniting himself with all, may still obey himself alone, and remain as free as before.† Rousseau (1762)a, ll. 5–7b Thus Jean-Jacques Rousseau sets out his aim, and quite a formidable aim it is. He hopes to establish an appropriate â€Å"norm of association† (i.e. relationship between individual and state) in which all individuals and their possessions are protected, to the greatest extent possible, by the state (or body politic); each individual gives himself wholly to the general cause of the state; and all individuals act freely and of their own volition. It should be noted here that the state, in Rousseau's picture of things, is constituted wholly and exclusively of the individuals subject to these criteria. There is no separate institutional government whose members have a materially different relationship to the whole, and so the people are simultaneously the holders of power and the legal subjects in the body politic. In the former capacity they are referred to by Rousseau as citizens, and the active group made up by them is called the sovereign, a â€Å"public person, [formed] by the union of all other persons† (l. 41). Rousseau sums up the terms of his solution succinctly thus: â€Å"the total alienation of each associate, together with all his rights, to the whole community† (ll. 17–18). This is not intended to be as unilateral as it may sound. The key concept that brings together Rousseau's social contract theory is the bifurcation of each state member's resolve into the general will and the individual will; the distinction being most importantly that the g... ...es with Rousseauist hallmarks have historically existed does not swing the debate, since these societies generally confirm rather than alleviate my doubts. Those groups that existed before Rousseau's time were invariably small to very small, this being the only environment in which I find his propositions at all practicable. In those larger scale political systems influenced by Rousseau, such as Marxist communismf and the totalitarianism of Adolf Hitler's Nazi partyg, there is evidence of some of the flaws mentioned above coming to the fore — the propagandist Nuremberg Rallies, for example, could be seen as broad manipulation of the general will — and little vindication of the claim that each member of such societies â€Å"[obeys] himself alone, and [remains] as free as before.† At least, not free in the way that we would understand the term in the twentyfirst century.

Design Trends In Architecture Essay -- essays papers

Design Trends In Architecture The more things change, the more they stay the same. While art has always been an ever changing form, it has deep roots in traditionalism; whether an artist or designer looks at the art that came before him and is inspired to follow that form, is inspired to do something completely opposite, or sees the flaws which, if corrected, could make that work of art perfect, he is ultimately quite influenced by what came before him. Nowhere is this more evident than in the design styles found not only in art, but in architecture and interior design. The twentieth century has been a time of great innovation, and yet, very few eras have seen so many stylistic revivals. The popularity of these classical styles has often superceded that of the more experimental, modern ideas, reinforcing the idea that aesthetic beauty is absolutely timeless. The early 20th century saw a great deal of influence in terms of classical design. A classical revival had brought a return of emphasis on Palladian architectural motifs, which could be seen in large cities throughout the world, but especially in New York and Boston. In terms of interior design, Edith Wharton and Ogden Codman advocated a similar classical revival, which gave a sense of classical order to ornate interiors. (Severens, 85) Interior design at the turn of the century was very much concerned with aesthetics over simplicity, yet managed to maintain a sense of order and balance. Designers created interiors with a heavy reliance on French and Italian forms of furniture, floors, and panelling. This style, which was hugely successful, could be found in the work of interior designers over the next fifty years, and is the basis for much that is known as "traditional decorating" today. (Severens,88) One of the most successful revivals is the revival of the Gothic style, which is still quite apparent in architecture and interior design today. During the eighteenth and nineteenth century, England began to realize the importance of the Middle Ages. "The Gothic past offered an acceptable, if inferior, option for study by educated gentlemen; and Gothic began to be an acceptable alternative for country houses" (Girouard, 180). This was the Gothic Architecture Revival. As Gothic architecture became more popular, the style came up against stiff competition from Chinese architecture. In the en... ...: London. 1991. Keller,Diane. The American Modernists. Simon and Schuster: New York, 1998. Kidson, Peter. The Medieval World. McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York. 1967. Lane, Mills. Architecture of the Old South. Abbeville Press: New York. 1993. Loth, Calder and Julius Trousdale Sadler, Jr. The Only Proper Style: Gothic Architecture in America. New York Graphic Society: New York. 1975. Mahoney, Kathleen. Gothic Style: Architecture and Interiors from the Eighteenth Century to the Present. Harry N. Abrams, Inc.: New York. 1995. McDonald, Jane Anne. The Legacy Of William Morris. Rizzoli: New York, 1986. Newcomb, Rexford. Old Kentucky Architecture: Colonial, Federal, Greek Revival, and Gothic. Bonanza Books: New York. Robertson, John A. A Survey Of American Architecture After 1950. McGraw-Hill Book Company: New York, 1994. Rutman, Darrett B. The Morning of America, 1603-1789. Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston. 1970. Severens, Kenneth. Southern Architecture: 350 Years of Distinctive American Buildings. E.P. Dutton: New York. 1981. Wilson, Christopher. The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church 1130-1530. Thames and Hudson: London. 1990.

Battered Woman Syndrome

The phrase â€Å"battered woman syndrome† was first coined by Walker to provide a clear picture about the recurrent events of violence occurring in a relationship. In this concept, some psychological structures are defined such as learned helplessness. This terminology will aid in the discussion of the reasons behind why certain women, who experience violence and assault, still remain and cling to the batterer and their relationship.Battered woman syndrome has become the subject of court cases in the past years, ranging from the prosecution of the batterers up to the testimonies of the battered woman. It is also traditionally applied as a reason for self-defense of a woman, who is believed to be in an imminent danger at the time she killed the batterer (McCann, Shindler and Hammond, 2004). However, issues conjure in response to this traditionally accepted claim of the victim. One of which is that battered women are masochists.Fulero and Wrightsman (2009) tackled issues about t he battered woman syndrome. They also compiled myths about the battered woman syndrome and one of which is the masochism of battered women. Since it is a myth, there are insufficient proof that the said issue is true and factual. Englander (2007) further added that theories about masochism as being normal for women have no scientific foundation and empirical data to support these theories. It is also not necessary that a woman experiencing battered woman syndrome is a masochist.Different angles of the issue must be viewed first. Consider the social status of the person because having an inferior social status does not necessarily mean that one is masochistic. Consider also her behavior. Although she behaves masochistically, it does not necessarily mean that she is suffering from masochism. Her act of masochism may be due to the fact that she needs to increase her chances of surviving or to eliminate the tension building inside her. A woman may not be able to leave her husband becaus e of the benefit she gains from him (e. g., her children has father) or she cannot find any other man to satisfy her emotional needs (Rancour-Laferriere, 1995). Other factors to consider would include the following: social or financial dependence on spouse, insufficient marketing skills, limited independence and mobility due to continuous childbearing, uncertainty about the severity of the problem, fear of becoming single, poor and alone, and knowledge deficit about other options that may help her (Englander, 2007). If a woman is a masochist, then she enjoys the suffering or the pain inflicted to her.However, Okun (1986) noted that masochism enlisted here does not imply enjoyment of suffering. Instead the suffering is endured because of the woman's low self-esteem and failure to understand her role in their relationship. Battered women are then suggested to be suffering from a subtype of anxiety related disorder. It is said to be under the subclassification of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since the cyclical act of violence has become a serious threat to the health of the victim and her life.The battered woman often reports flashbacks, nightmares, emotional detachment, numbness, sleep problems, disrupted concentration, hypervigilance, startled response, guilt, and fears of experiencing recurrent violence. Other symptoms would include depression, indecisiveness, low self-esteem, self-blame, passiveness, social isolation, and unwillingness to seek help from others (Keltner, Schwecke and Bostrom, 2007). In conclusion, one must first consider several factors before making assumptions about battered women.They may have some psychiatric disorders that render them incapable of leaving their abusive partner. They may have deeper reasons why they chose to experience physical rather than emotional pain. Knowing that some of these women are mothers, their love for their children may be the only bond that ties her to an abusive partner. References Englander, E. K. (2007). Understanding Violence (3rd ed. ). USA: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Fulero, S. M. & Wrightsman, L. S. (2009). Forensic Psychology (3rd ed. ). USA: Wadsworth. Keltner, N. L. , Schwecke, L.H. & Bostrom, C. L. (2007). Psychiatric Nursing (5th ed. ). USA: Elsevier. McCann, J. T. , Shindler, K. L. , & Hammond, T. R. (2004). The Science and Pseudoscience of Ecpert Testimony. In S. O. Lilienfeld, S. J. Lynn, J. M. Lohr, & C. Tavris. (Ed. ) Science and Pseudoscience of Clinical Psychology. USA: The Guilford Press. Okun, L. (1986). Woman Abuse: Facts Replacing Myths. USA: State University New York Press Rancour-Laferriere, D. (1995). The Slave Soul of Russia: Moral Masochism and the Cult of Suffering. USA: New York University Press.

It Auditing Outline

ACC 624 Information Technology Auditing Spring, 2013 Ram Engira Office: BENT Hall 364 Hours: By appointment ONLY Telephone: Cell (917)597-9523 e-Mail: Currently [email  protected] edu or [email  protected] com The Course: This course provides an overview of controls relating to IT governance, databases and their structures, networks, client servers systems, IT service delivery, business continuity, disaster recovery, IS security, cryptography, firewalls, IDS, IPS, backups, recovery, and distributed systems. Text: Required: ISACA, CISA Review Manual- 2013, ISACA publication, Code# CRM11- RequiredNote: You can buy any edition of the aforementioned text. 2008,2009, 2010, and 2011 editions are all good, and are much cheaper from various sources â€Å"CISA Q/A CD-ROM in English†- 2011- Recommended not Required, Code # CDB11 CISA Review Questions, Answers, and Explanations- 2011 Recommended not Required, Code # CDB11W CISA Review Questions (Supplement) – 2011 Recommended not Required, Code # QAE11ES (Note: If you buy CDB11, you don’t have to buy CDB11W and QAE11ES) Grading: Mid-Term †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦. 35% Term Paper †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 20% Final Exam †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ .. 35% Class Participation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. †¦10% Please note †¢ With the exception of documented medical emergencies, there will be no make-ups for any test. â⠂¬ ¢ More than three (3) non-excused absences are considered as an automatic withdrawal from the course. (Please let me know, IN ADVANCE, if you cannot attend a class because of a legitimate emergency). Note: Power Point Slides and Class Handouts will be available on professor’s disk (STJ’s S: Drive). There is no off campus access to this drive, therefore, you should copy these files into a diskette for your own use at home.Professor may also decide to use other electronic means to send the handouts to the students. Ranges for Grades: A = 93. 1 to 100 A- = 90. 1 to 93. 0 B+ = 87. 1 to 90. 0 B = 84. 1 to 87. 0 B- = 80. 1 to 84. 0 C+ = 77. 1 to 80. 0 C = 74. 1 to 77. 0 C- = 70. 1 to 74. 0 D+ = 67. 1 to 70. 0 (Undergrads only) D = 64. 1 to 67. 0 (Undergrads only) D- = 60. 1 to 64. 0 (Undergrads only) F = below 60. 0 WEEKLY CLASS SCHEDULES: Note: There is a strong possibility that sequence of coverage of chapters might change. Week |CHAPTER |DESCRIPTION | |1,2 |Instructor Handouts (PP |Financial Auditing, Operational Auditing, IT Auditing, Forensics auditing, role of IIA, ISACA, | | |decks) |certifications of CIA and CISA | | | |IT technical refresher | | | |Introduction to IT Auditing | | | |Theory and Practice of â€Å"Controls† | |3 |CRM Domain 1 |IS Audit Process | |4 |CRM Domain 1 |IS Audit Process | |5 |CRM Domain 2 |IT Governance | |6 |CRM Domain 2 |IT Governance | |7 |CRM Domain 3 |System and Infrastructure Lifecycle Management (mid-term) | |8 |CRM Domain 3 |System and Infrastructure Lifecycle Management | |9 |CRM Domain 4 |IT Service Delivery and Support | |10 |CRM Domain 4 |IT Service Delivery and Support | |11 |CRM Domain 5 |IS Asset protection- security | |12 |CRM Domain 3 |IS Asset protection- security | |13 |Rain/Snow Day Contingency |Business Continuity and Disaster recovery | |14 |Finals |Finals (Cumulative from ALL domains) (35 points) | Course Outline for ACC 624 Domain 1- The IS Audit Process: IS Auditing Standards a nd Guidelines, Performing an IS Audit, Control Self Assessment, Emerging changes in IS Audit Process.Domain 2- IT Governance: Policies and Procedures, Risk Management, Information Systems Management Practices (Personnel Management, Sourcing Practices, Organizational Change Management), Organizational Structure and Responsibilities (IS Roles and Responsibilities, Segregation of Duties, Auditing IT Governance Structure and Implementation. Domain 3-Systems and Infrastructure Life Cycle Management: Project management structure and Practices, Business Application Development (Traditional SDLC phases, alternate Application Development Approaches), Infrastructure Development / Acquisition in Practices, Information Systems Maintenance Practices, System Development Tools and Productivity Aids, Application Controls, Auditing Application Controls, Auditing System Development, Acquisition and Maintenance, Business Application Systems: E-Commerce, EDI, POS, Electronic Systems, EFT, ATM, Image Pr ocessing etc.Domain 4- IT Service Delivery and Support: IS Operations, IS Hardware, IS Architecture and Software, IS Network Infrastructure (OSI model, LAN-WAN, wireless, N/W Administration and Controls), Auditing Infrastructure and Operations. Domain 5- Protection of Information Assets: Information Security Management, Logical Access Exposures and Controls, N/W Infrastructure Security, Auditing Information Security Framework, Environmental Exposures and Controls, Physical Access Exposures and Controls. Domain 6- Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery: BC and DR Planning (BCP process, BCP incidence management, recovery strategies, developing a BCP, organization and assignment of responsibilities, components of BCP, Plan Testing, Backup and Restoration,   Auditing DR and BC Plan. [pic]