Common Attributes of Peter Carey’s Short Stories Essay

An analysis of several of the stories in The Collected Stories of Peter Carey reveals numerous common attributes, leading to the aspects of entrapment and isolation appearing as common aspects of the stories. These come across in both the physical and mental form. Often the entire experience of entrapment and isolation is the result of the interaction of both forms. The quality of entrapment seen throughout Crabs, Peeling and A Fat Man in History relies on lies. In Crabs, the main character and his girlfriend become â€Å"stranded† at the drive in after their car parts have been stolen and the manager of the drive in tells them there is no way that they can leave, in effect lying to them. The same form of lying is adopted by Florence Nightingale in A Fat Man in History, as she makes them believe that they really can’t do anything to escape their place as the hated fat people in society except rebel against the government, suggesting all sorts of odd methods to do so such as ‘eating the statue’. The lying is slightly different in Peeling. The narrator has fallen into a trap of self-deception, unwilling to accept the harsh truth, preferring to take ‘slow pleasure’ in ‘superficial things’. This allows him a more pleasant state of mind, but at the same time entraps him in a world of lies which will undoubtedly cause some distress once he is forced to see the truth. For entrapment to be further entwined in these three Peter Carey stories, the use of blind acceptance is also employed. This means the characters need to believe that they are physically trapped. Those in Crabs are told they can’t get out of the drive in but aren’t physically trapped at first, yet they don’t try to rebel against the government by walking out of the drive in or attempting to escape in any way unless they have a functioning car. At some point they do become physically trapped as the government fence them in. The gang in A Fat Man in History just accept that they are obese and are hated by society, which may be true but they don’t want to do anything sensible to change this. Instead, they stay inside the house unless working or involved in some scheme to steal or gather supplies for a highly irrational rebellion. Finally, in Peeling the man is not physically trapped in his room, yet due to his unemployment he rarely leaves the house. The thick fog of the London day feeds the idea of the physical side of entrapment. The frame of mind shown by the narrator due to this feeling is one that might be adopted by a person with a terminal illness or a criminal on death row; it’s the attitude of someone who knows their life will be over soon. This mindset is one of everything must be superficial and savoured, that life shouldn’t be rushed and moments of seriousness can be left to rot. Love and inter-character relationships cause the characters of each story to become both isolated and entrapped within themselves. Peeling shows the reader the effect of love on the narrator, as he knows exactly what Nile is doing by listening only to her footprints, although they are both physically isolated the majority of the time. He isolates himself from her in his entrapped mindset, not wishing to discuss such deep, serious things as feelings for abortion babies and their souls, yet loves her, or at least lusts after her, enough to know her schedule, talk with her about the mundane going on in life and tell what she’d doing when she’s rearranging the dolls on the floor above. It’s only when the narrator is freed of his self-deception, which was causing his entrapment, by Nile’s babbling about abortion babies and their souls does he integrate himself with her. He is once again isolated by her transformations from woman to man to woman to doll. The fat men in A Fat Man in History all lust after â€Å"Florence Nightingale†. The simple fact they call her that despite her name being Nancy Bowlby suggests this much, with more evidence found when they all crowd into the room with expectation the night the rent is due and clamour to get her attention when she arrives. Furthermore, Finch admits to fantasising about her in one of her â€Å"secret visits† to his room, and the-man-who-won’t-give-his-name obviously feels something towards her as he sleeps with her. This love and adoration of Florence leads to a divide between all members of the gang, isolating them mentally. It also allows Florence to trap them as part of her social experiment. In Crabs, the main character borrows the car from his friend Frank. He is then targeted by the Karboys who steal parts of the loaned car, leaving Crabs unable to get himself and his girlfriend home. This incident, combined with the fact the car was loaned, leads to Crabs’ entrapment in the drive in, as he is determined to return the car with the right parts. It also isolates him as he waits for the correct car to come to steal the parts from, and he becomes more irritated and edgy as time goes by. The relationship between him and Frank is what causes his isolation from his girlfriend and others in the story. In all three Peter Carey stories studied from The Collected Works of Peter Carey, entrapment and isolation are common attributes of the characters. This comes across in many forms, both physical and mental, with these two features relating closely to each other. Entrapment and isolation closely linked as a character who feels trapped consequently feels isolated. The stories of Peter Carey are written using surrealism which has the ability to give the reader the impression that the characters are more isolated than they really are as their lives are not streamlined with reality. Carey uses these ideas to highlight their place in today’s society, suggesting that all humans feel entrapment and isolation regularly, however it is fully controllable through our state of minds and ideals, yet at the same time is unavoidable, as everyone has relationships with others that cause them to feel certain ways, whether it be a relationship of love or of respect.

Beano?S Cafe

OMPANyCaSe Beano's Cale: n Egyptian Flavor COMPANY ~car†lO'S BACKGROUND Cafe, one of the most successful and popular cafe chains in =~ypt. has branches throughout the country, including locations in ::† ro. Alexandria, and Giza. At Beano's, customers can enjoy excele- quality coffees, soft drinks, shakes, and infusion drinks, as † as a wide variety of sandwiches, hot meals, and desserts. Beano's Cafes aim is to offer its customers a convenient, relax-9 place where they can purchase food and beverages of a high :uality at an affordable price.The cates have a distinctive layout ,,†Ã¢â‚¬Ëœd style which is achieved through a combination of contempo? ry design and warm colors that give them a pleasant atmosphere. –e cafes environment is characterized by simplicity, elegance, : eanliness, and a modern design. It is known as a place where ung people can gather and where people can enjoy an afford::0 e outing, listen to the latest musie, and use wireless Intern et. Cafe, and from other smali, local cafes. Despite these concerns in 2000, Beano's opened its first cafe in Egypt, introducing new coffee products such as cappuccino and espresso to the Arabie market.Beano's wanted to increase its market share and target a new segment-senior citizens-along wit h maintaining and/or increasing its appeal to the youth segment, which represents the majority of its customers. The senior citizens represented the higher socio-economic class; however, Beano's discovered that young clients represented up to 70 percent of their daily clients. Beano's Cafes higher management wanted to retain its satisfied clients while also increasing its share of the customer base. They therefore put together a new marketing strategy.REVISING THE MARKETING STRATEGY EY MARKET –e creators of the Beano's Cafe Group had wanted to open a -ew coffee shop in Egypt for a long time but they saw problems .. ,entering the Egyptian market. They believed that the Egyptian oopulat ion would not be keen on coffee made from unfamiliar, -ew ingredients. The Egyptian market was locally driven toward ::Jr ental cates, Turkish coffee, and shisha (water pipe); thus, 3eano's' marketing strategy was to introduce the Egyptian consurner to a new cafe experience.There was also fierce competi: on from other coffee shops, including Cilantro Cafe and Costa Beano's Cafe's management team knew through customer surveys carried out in their chains that 60 percent of their customers keep coming back because of staff friendliness, 20 percent because of the quality of the service, and 20 percent because of the overall atmosphere at Beano's Cafe. The cafs's new marketing strategy was divided into three parts: The first was 13 percent value (offering more for the same price). he second part was 17 percent quality (offering an affordable, quality cate experience, and improving the taste of the coffee), and the final part was 67 percent service (improving the face-to-face interaction with customers inside the cafe). Beano's placed the greatest emphasis on improving the level of customer service in its cafes. The company did this in a number of ways. First, management decided to speed up the serving process by allocating one minute for taking orders, seven minutes to make the order, and a final one minute 244 Part Three IDesigning a Customer-Driven Strategy and Mix modern cates were established in the Egyptian market; the focus was more on the local â€Å"kahwa† (Turkish/Arabic coffee), tea, and shisha. Beano's Cafe positioned itself as an affordable, modern cafe with a lively, entertaining environment. Beano's Cafe's targeting approach became youth oriented. The cafe was representing a new approach to coffee, selling cappuccino and java solo drinks like espresso. Thus, the segmentation approach started to focus more on the youth differentiated segmentation market approach.As mentioned, the use of a kitchen provided the company with differentiation over th e competition, however, Beano's also has a new advantage: It offers a creative art foam that is placed on top of the cappuccino. The consumer's name or birth date can be written on a cappuccino cup or any picture can be drawn with the because the mafoam. Consumers can even do it themselves chines are manually operated. This level of personalization, allowed Beano's to differentiate itself from its competitors by offering its customers what they want and exceeding their expectations.By satisfying customers' desires, Beano's sawa growth of the company and an increase in sales of its coffee products. III to give the table the bill. Therefore, the whole process took a very fast nine minutes. Beano's also improved its communication with customers by greeting them and paying attention to their needs. Beano's has an ultimate advantage that none of its competitors have-the kitchen. Having a kitchen allows Beano's to offer a larger menu selection. Customers can also ask for items not include d in the menu or can modify their chosen item.These options are not available in most cates in the region and impress consumers. Having the advantage of a kitchen allowed Beano's to discontinue using ready-made food and instead making every meal to order, thereby differentiating itself from its closest competitor, Cilantro Cafe. This enabled customers to modify their orders. It also permitted customers to create new, customized products. Beano's is now able to forecast real quantities and therefore store essential, everyday ingredients, getting rid of unnecessary stock of less in demand products. This method turned out to be very efficient in their storage management.Becausecustomer service is such a high priority in the company's new marketing strategy, the marketing department conducted a new survey designed to improve customer service. It was executed through the cafes' branch managers and administrated by a smali team from the research department. One of the most effective quest ions concerned what customers liked and disliked about Beano's Cafe. The survey revealed that customers liked the cafe's service, atmosphere, and quick response; they did not like the company allowing some private celebrations to be held, nor did they always like the type of musie played in the cafes or the furniture.Beano's bega n to consider how to react to ali of these reported dislikes from its consumers, especially as the competition was rising with both Cilantro Cate and Costa Cafe, In addition, other new cates, such as On The Run Cafe in the Mobil Petroi Station, were improving their quality and pricing to an affordable level. Despite making these advances, Beano's had weaknesses to overcome. The cafes were not located in the main, central business streets in Egypt. These untapped areas of business opportunities prevented the company from increasing its market share.Cilantro, a competing cafe, employed successful promotional tools to spread its brand image in Egypt, including high-profile commercials. Beano's could not match the level of advertising in terms of budget and instead focused more on customer relationship management (CRM) and relationship marketing (RM) To this end, Beano's introduced a customer loyalty and smart card program that enabled customers to collect points for each separate order. The customer could then redeem the points and receive free products. Beano's also targeted ali customer segments by introducing a promotional Beano's points card.Customers pay for the cards, starting at 50 to 200 LE and use them whenever they wish. The cards turned out to be very effective for customers who are entertaining friends and for family outings. Another area that Beano's needs to improve upon involves making the cate more family friendly-an area where Cilantro is excelling. Cilantro Cafe provides coloring books and crayons for children, encouraging families to spend more time in the cafes and thus increasing business from this particular market segment. OELlVERING ON CUSTOMER SERVICE As customer service featured 50 prominantly in their marketing strategy,Beano's had to ensure that once a high level of service was achieved it was also maintained. One strategy put in place aimed at achieving this was mystery shoppers, who visited different branches to monitor and evaluate the service they receive ano the quality of the cafe's products. Among other things, they note how fast and responsive the staff members are and whether the deliver on time. The mystery shopper, a regular customer chose by the branch manager, also evaluates the quality of the coffee served, the food, the environment, the speed and care of sta and the cleanliness of the facility, including the bathrooms.RESPONOING TO THE CUSTOMER As previously mentioned, market research carried out by the company indicated that customers did not like waiting in some of the Beano's Cafe chains and did not like its prices. Its response to the problems was to put more tables in the crowded location: and to reduce prices for some popular, existing products, wh E increasing prices for newly introduced products. Customers ais disliked the musie, which did not change over the course o~ the day, and at the various locations, some said the cafcs playec the â€Å"same musie for each branch in every vi sit. Manaqemec: responded by introducing new musie every couple of hours in Ci chains. To improve the brand image of Beano's, the company also OEcided to redesign the cafe's logo, making it more attractive to c 5tomers. More money is also being spent on advertising for ne and existing products. Most of the advertising appears in prin ec materials to be displayed in cate branches to motivate COnSUrT'E' purchase of the newly launched products. BEANO'S CAFE'S MARKETING MIX SEGMENTATION In the beginning, Beano's Cafe focused on appealing to the whole Egyptian market, especially young people.The first focus for the company was to create brand awareness, as people did n ot understand the word † Beano's. † So,the cafe owners added the word cafealittle modification that solved the issue. At that time, not a lot of Beano's Cafe's marketing mix begins by developing new produ _ by studying consumers' needs, and then developing and crea ~~ a strong brand. Beano's Cafe's distinctive design and pleasan c-mosphere are the first components in its unique dining experien ~ Market research indicates that the brand's most distinguishing E::ture is the company's use of the vibrant orange color for all ad E'tising.The company also stands out because it is the only local cc== Chapter 7 I Customer-Driven Marketing Strategy: Creating Value for Target Customers Smart pricing, reviewed from a consumer perspective . Updated produet lists wit h new menu offerings. 245 â€Å"†¦ :~ers desserts, which are prepared by La Poire. According to 3†³e's market research, 21 percent of customers indicated that =-:e-: was the most prominent feature of the cafe. ‘:==110'5is putting great efforts in establishing new branches : :cpping newareas, bot h local and international.The new 10=†Eas are Sharm El Sheikh, Hurghada El Gouna Resorts, and, =~ationally, Paris, France. –e company advertises its existing products, but in only a few =:=5: FM radio, on the October Industria I City bridge, and in 2;azines. For the Cafe's new products, it relies only on banners nt of the chain. The focus of Beano's Cafe's advertising and _+otion is primarily on the youth segment (ages 18 to 25). The -:-::>any is collaborating with the advertising agency Adhoc, – ::n is spearheading the marketing campaign. The agency has 3~ed out market esearch and has also designed and imple-=-~ed promotions. The company also collaborates with White ::_0 o, a full-service design studio that offers creative, profes_-al graphic designs and development services in order to deliver –= oest image of the brand to customers. White Studio designed -= com pany's brochures, logos, ads, and flyers. -or its principal advertising campaign, Beano's used Nugoom – , 104. 2 FM), and Nile FM (100. 6 FM), presenting creative ads –a: would catch listeners' attention because of their humor, :-unds, and clever use of musie.The company made extensive use ::-= orint media resources, including magazines (Teen Stuff, Sayyedaty, – =oer alnugum, Laha) and newspapers (Alahram, Alahbar, Almasr :: oum, Almussauar). Ali were very effective media in building . set and usage imagery. Beano's created its advertising in a simple . ay by featuring its logo and photos of its cafes to build brand s. vareness and invite ali potential customers in for a visit. The -::'Uthful, non-intrusive ads generated a positive response from the :c'get audience and collectively helped to expand the cafe's brand age in the market.The ads also give customers an opportunity :0 receive unique offers, making them memorable and meaningz: . II. Each month, the cafe introduces a new special offer; for example, in December 2009, it offered a special on American coffee  ·. th chocolate fudge, and at the beginning of 2010, caramel â€Å"‘1acchiato with a muffin. Those offers are the unique invention of 3eano's Cafe and are not offered in other cafes in Egypt. The of†er of the month is always supported with printed brochures, oosters. nd other ads that allow customers to get familiar with tne latest promotions. .z; Better hiring and training programs to ensure a capable staff who deliver more than what is expected. Better quality coffee: People are happy to go to Beano's but respond negatively to the quality of coffee. By offering better coffee, the company will be able to compete wit h the 10cal, classie Arabicffurkish coffee shops. By offering new, modern European flavors, Beano's will also be able to compete with the international chains (such as Starbucks) entering the market.According to Beano's Cafe's previously mentioned mark et research, the main source of the information about the brand was Beano's itself, and then the information obtained from its customers. Research indicates that there is still a performance gap in advertising activities that the company should explore and take advantage of in the future. Its future marketing approaches should also concentrate on e-marketing via YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, MSN, Google, online radio, digital radio, e-mail marketing, mobile phone advertising, Yahoo online display banners, satellite TV channels, PRand sponsorship of cultural events and musical concerts. Questions for Oiscussion 1. Based on the segmentation variabies, how is Beano's Cafe now segmenting and targeting the coffee market? 2. Discuss how Beano's positioned itself in the Egyptian local market. Also explain how Beano's differentiated itself from the competition. 3. What changed first, the Beano's customer or the Beano's Cafe experience? Explain your response by discussing principles of market targeting. 4. Briefly outline a marketing campaign targeting a new segment for Beano's Cafe.Sources: Adapted fram Haddad, The Marketing Excellence Handbook, BUE British University Egypt, Dar El Fekr El Arabi Publications (2008); Kotler, P. , & Armstrong, G. (2010), Ptlnciples of Marketing, 13th edition, Pearson/Prentice Hall; Grewal & Levy (2010), Marketing, 2nd Edition, McGraw Hill; William Pride, & O. C. Ferrell (2010), Marketing, Cengage Learning; Adcock, D. , Halborg, A. , & Ross, c. (2000), Marketing Princip/es and Practice, 4th edition, FT/Prentice Hall; Blythe, J. (2005) Essentia/s of Marketing, 3rd edition, Prentice Hall/FT; Brassington, F. & Pettit, 5. (2005), Princip/es of Marketing, Prentice Hall/FT; Dibb, 5, Simkin. L. , Pride, W. and Ferrell, O. C. (2001), Marketing: Concepts and Strategies, 4th edition, Houghton Mifflin. FUTURE STRATEGIES As Beano's develops and looks to the future, it has identified areas where it needs to improve to continue and build upon its succes s: o Continued development in terms of the cafes atmosphere, pricing, produet, and staff. Increased investment in the branches and the equipment to enhance the atmosphere.

Alternative management accounting (AMAR)

Alternative management accounting (AMAR) In this paper, the emergence of alternative management accounting (AMAR) will be discussed followed by the contributions it has brought to the field of knowledge. After which, reasons why alternative management accounting research s tools and techniques has not successfully displaced the use of traditional accounting research s and techniques in organizations will be discussed. The importance of addressing this issue is to justify if this alternative direction is right within management accounting academia, and whether it should be continued. The emergence of alternative management accounting research occurred in the late 1980s partly due to the shortfalls of the traditional management accounting approaches. Traditional management accounting research (TMAR) is objectivist-orientated, with a focus upon unifying characteristics. These assumptions have limitations and hence are unable to provide broader insights into the nature of management accounting. TMAR makes no distinctions between the perspective of the organization and its managers (Puxty, 1993). In general, this approach encouraged a financial accounting mentality and also encouraged a focus on external financial reporting requirements (Johnson Kaplan, 1987). It was widely believed that all management accounting research existed to inform rational decisions to achieve organizational goals which essentially refers to achieving shareholder wealth maximisation. TMAR also has an implied assumption that the manager is isolated from other decision makers when making decisions (Scapens, 1991). Group decision makings were either ignored or considered to be non-existent in TMAR. Traditional approaches are problem motivated and are aimed towards bettering and refining tools and techniques to inform rational decisions in order to achieve given organizational goals (Covaleski, Dirsmith Samuel, 1996). As a result, it provides narrow insights as focus was not brought into the broad er social, political and economic settings (Macintosh, 1985). Traditional management accounting thoughts was greatly influence by neoclassical economic analysis (Scapens, 1994). According to Otley (1984), though management accounting centres on the provision of information, the core theoretical approach derives from economics in which the rational model dominates. The utilization of power, group considerations, choices and purposes are disregarded or excluded from neoclassical analysis. Such factors are assumed to minimally impact individuals (Spechler, 1990).Individuals live and interact within society, but are not altered or affected by these social interactions (Ulman, 1998). Neoclassical economics has no intention to explain behaviours if managers within the organization (Scapens, 1994) and hence cannot adequately study social phenomena since it does not consider the political, social and organizational factors that affect individuals. Ryan and Scapens (2002) state that management accounting research based upon positivist theories; may be useful for predicting general trends, but they will not be helpful in explaining individual behaviour; nor are they likely to be useful as guides to individual managers or firms about their own economic behaviour . Traditional management accounting researches offers a narrow insight to the world, which limits individuals abilities to create and analyze interesting propositions and develop meaningful stories about MA in its social, organizational and behavioural contexts (Hopper, Storey Willmott, 1987). Rational designs also limit one s abilities to develop critical positions and impends the ability of MA research community to carry out significant scientific conversation and achieve progress. The limitedness recognised in the rational designs approach of traditional management accounting has ignited the interest of a core group of alternative management accounting researchers from Europe who had strong sense and beliefs that management accounting was much more beyond the very simplistic positivist technical view. They believed that there was a lot of new and important insights that AMAR could bring to the field of knowledge and began to emphasise the need to study management accounting in the contemporary world from a broader political, cultural and social perspective (Baxter Chua, 2003). Critique of Means-Ends reasoning Traditional MA tools and techniques are developed from rational design theories (Hewege, 2012) but it was never questioned if the tools and techniques are practical or useful for the organization. They might be unintended and unrelated to achieving unclear organizational goals. Even when organizational goals are not achieved, managers choose to learn from the failures and improve on the tools and techniques used. Therefore AMAR promotes rethinking and restructuring traditional practices. The organization should question if better finances automatically denote benefits for the company and consider if the reputation or social responsibilities might have greater impacts on a companies long-term growth. Critique of the real Information can be easily manipulated which means that information presented might not portray an objective view. Hence, the importance of MA tools and techniques are subject to the reader s interpretation due to differing reactions that people have towards the information they have. Every organization is different which means tried-and-tested concepts is not adequate to capture the performance of the whole organization. It is crucial for managers to accept the fact that there is no one ideal solution. Mouritsen s study (1999) suggests that due to the current technological advancements, non-human actant can be relied on to aid in the interpretation of information. Management accountants can have more time to focus on other important things such as improving the performance of the company from social, or cultural aspects. Critique of accounting s impotence The apolitical imagery of TMAR is challenged by AMAR. AMAR enables us to understand the ability of management accounting practices to achieve or bring about a certain result. Baxter and Chua draws an example of this from the politicised budgetary process of a Swedish local government (Jonsson, 1982). Although technologies such as budgeting systems were thought to be useful in influencing important decisions, it might in fact be detrimental for the organization if they are invented for use by the personally motivated. They may mobilise political power to set policies and rules and as a result, influence management accounting practices which might not contribute to achieving organizational goals. AMAR states that it is these technologies that contribute to the overt clashes of interests in organizations and society, and the oppression of others (Chua, 1995). Critique of accounting change The rational designs approach provides sparse empirical evidence that an enlightened, well-engineered and progressive path characterises the development of management accounting technologies (Baxter Chua, 2003). Some researchers demonstrated the roadblocks that particular organizations faced in attaining a fit between management accounting control systems and appropriately modifying environments contexts when using the rational design approach (Ezzamel Bourn, 1990). AMAR has increased understanding of accounting change by conveying distinct insights. For example, attributing changing of sociocultural, political and economic conditions to a plethora of changes within MAP in the 20th Century including the emergence of value-added accounting (Burchell, Clubb Hopwood, 1985). AMAR recognises that accounting changes are not predictable, not controllable, exclusively technical or well-behaved. Memorably, many of these perspective would not be covered in the mainstream approach. Critique of bodiless forms of MA practice. Baxter Chua (2003), discussed the ways in which management accounting is both inhibited and assisted by the inherent attitudes of its proponents. This alternative research highlighted the importance of interactions between the management and the organizational participants. Management accounting is not just about the techniques that inform, maximise, and optimise decisions- it also focuses on the people who uses them, and who continually interact to understand their needs and habits. For example, emphasising the need to motivate companies employees. This is supported by Preston s (1986) research, which set an anchor between an organization s processes and an individuals involvement within them. So what practical contributions has AMAR made? Alternative management accounting researchers have been challenged to face important contemporary topics which includes but not limited to globalisation, hybridity and the network society (Baxter Chua, 2003). Globalisation brings about high exposure of information, increasing trade and competition. And in these contexts, it is not enough for companies to remain competitive just by using financial measure. As testified to by Kaplan and Norton, who stated that financial measures tell stories of historical events, which are appropriate for industrial age companies whereby customer relationships and long term investment capabilities were not critical for success. However, these financial measures are inadequate for guiding and evaluating the journey that information age companies must make to create future value through investment in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology, and innovation.† Globalisation causes the global dissemination of technology, popular culture, workers, financial capital, knowledge, and goods and services. Though globalisation uproots MA practices from their context and diffuses it to other remote locations, knowledge of how technologies travel and the issues that result from it are very limited (Vaivio, 2008). AMAR sees management accounting as a set of practices implicated within complex processes of societal and organizational interpenetration which requires implementation of expert systems that interconnects time and spaces. AMAR has helped developed tools and techniques like Economic Value Added (EVA) and the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) to help companies gain competitive advantage in this environment. The balanced scorecard is a tactical planning and management system that is used in business and industry, government, and non-profit organizations worldwide. The purpose of the BSC is to improve internal and external communications, align business activities to the stratagem and vision of the organization, and monitor organization performance against planned goals. It is a performance measurement framework that considers both strategic non-financial performance measures and financial metrics to give managers a more holistic view of the performance of the organization (Kaplan Norton, 1996). Hybridity suggests the examination of the functioning of management accounting in conditions with both traditional and new elements such as the local and the global, private and public. For example, the university in which Baxter and Chua worked in an educational institution that was widely viewed to be a public institution. However, reducing government funds and increasing fee paying students dominated the budget of the faculty. Hence the university is in a way, no longer considered to be a public institution but is not a private one either. This creates contradictions, but accounting inscriptions are central to the ongoing function of this hybridity by conveying economic differences between public and private entities and traversing this differences to enable the university to function. AMAR contribute insights to the hybrid roles of management accountants. Instead of their traditional score keeping controller role, their new accounting role is focused on consulting and helping the organizational participants implement and adapt to the new accounting change. This is supported in Pharmaceutical, which is a UK Based manufacturing branch of an international pharmaceutical product producer, where hybrid accountants assist day managers with day to day decisions as well as advising performance measurement product stream leaders on strategic issues (Hopper, Northcott Scapens, 2007). A change in the image of accountants was observed by looking at how they were portrayed in software advertisements. It was seen that the image of accountants has changed from being dependable and logical to a more self-indulgent person from the 1970s to the 1990s (Baldvinsdottir, Burns, Noreklit Scapens, 2009).This reflects changes in wider social practice from a modern way of thinking to a h yper modern way of thinking. Finally, it has been suggested by Baxter and Chua (2003) that we are living in the network society. This basically meant a digitized, technologically advanced surveillance society, where management accounting can cause any type of action to become visible. Through qualitative analysis, we can ask whether management accounting is taken on-board in the creation of a super panopticon, an open space where personal privacy is exposed (Baxter and Chua, 2003). Latourian researchers are known to be the most suitable out of the other approaches to take on such modern-day alternative research, in view of the close attention this point of view lends to the interaction between networks of individuals and non-human objects, such as computers (Baxter Chua, 2003). AMAR has brought insights to show how management accountants have been influenced by external factors. It was identified in a study that social advertisement has encouraged management accountants to hand over control to systems which are able to do everything while the accountants themselves should follow instructions (Baldvinsdottir, Burns, NÃÆ' ¸rreklit Scapens, 2010). AMAR has also contributed to the growth of new management accounting techniques including technology road mapping to help organization fit in the new technological advanced environment. Technology roadmapping is a flexible technique prevalent within industries to balance long-term strategic issues alongside short-term financial performance. The approach provides an organized way to explore and communicate relationships between evolving and developing markets, products and technologies over time. It is suggested that the roadmapping technique can boost companies chances in stormy environments by providing them a focus during environment scans, and a means of tracking the performance of individual, including potentially counterproductive, technologies (Phaal, Farrukh Probert, 2004). Whilst Miller and O Leary recorded widespread use of technology roadmaps in their case study of Intel corporation, its use in capital decision making practice is still in its infancy. Also, despite its recognised potential for supporting strategic investment decision-making, this strategic analysis tool has yet to make its way into mainstream capital investment academic materials. (Hopper, Northcott Scapens, 2007) Despite the advances of knowledge through AMAR over the last 30 years, AMAR has not completely displaced the traditional approaches. Organizations outside Europe still uses the traditional approaches to determine the performance of the company. This is because changes are often time-consuming and expensive, considerably impacting an organization s overall success. Another reason on why organizations refuse to change is due to a form of mimetic isomorphism (Baxter Chua, 2003). This is with a mind-set that since other organizations are still going on well using the traditional, rational approaches, so must we. Also, according to the theory of structural inertia, organizations are hesitant towards change because they are reluctant to take unnecessary risk. They prefer replicable behaviours as constancy is rewarded. Change not only disrupts current business but also can lead to disaster. As a result, organizations continue with past procedures, even when it seems irrational to do so (Hansen, 2012). Though TMAR have their own limitations, they should not be replaced by AMAR. A blend of usage of tools and techniques developed from the two areas of research should be considered by organizations. For example, using TMAR techniques to influence financial measures and using AMAR techniques to focus on non-financial measures which help organizations grow substantially and maintain sustainability in both short-term and long-term aspects. In conclusion, AMAR emerged mainly due to limitations identified in the traditional rational approach and increased interests. AMAR has contributed significantly in helping organizations operate and gain competitive advantage in the contemporary environment. The direction to explore into AMAR is right because in doing so, regression will not occur within the MA academia (Lukka Mouritsen, 2002). However it is important for AMAR to not lose sight of its public responsibility, and for it to persist in providing insights that protect individuals against impersonal, entrenched forces that are not in their interests. Qualitative research needs to investigate the social, societal and political facets of management accounting, and remind us of the larger picture containing the beliefs and motivations that lie beneath the surface of modern practice.

The Lumber Brothers- First Films Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Lumber Brothers- First Films - Essay Example Every film has an objective and reflects the tendency of Lumiere brothers to gauge the natural environment and convey meaning through them. The video starts with a 50 second movie shot in one camera setup showing the employees leaving the Lumiere Company. I think the clip is an important work of art as it not only gives a clear idea of a factory culture, environment of the closing time of a company in 1895 but also gives a clear view of how people accepted camera. People in all the clips are not at all shy, resilient or inquisitive to the new machine. All of them accepted it as something normal and casual which shows the confidence of the people of that time and also their tendency to accept technological advancements (Jay 174). The Arrival of the train at Ciatot Station portrays the train moving towards the camera at a sharp diagonal which endorses the God gifted abilities of the Lumiere brothers to think critically and innovatively. They not only invented a device but also gave its complete specification and usage to the viewers. â€Å"A Baby’s Meal† and â€Å"A Sprinkler Sprinkled† are short scenes taken from the daily life to nurture the early cinema by adding humor to routine life and making it interesting for the viewers. 2. GERTIE THE DINOSAUR (WINSOR MCCAY) Gertie the Dinosaur featured the first cartoon character in a feature length animated film. It was the first ever film which used key frame animation to create characters. The film is an attempt to blend nature with imitation. The film includes more than ten thousand animated drawings of individuals, background trees, rocks and water (Silver, 79). The film makes the drawings to live, speak and walk. An animated dinosaur walks to the foreground from the background through projected film. All the movements of the cartoon are very clearly represented by the careful and timely succession of card sheets on which the drawings are made. McCay talk and commands Gertie and she act upon th em. Gertie raised her left leg, move it forward, lay down on floor and sometime roll over on it too. She gulps down a tree stump and diverts her attention towards a sea serpent. A passing elephant was thrown by the Gertie into the lake. The film also depicted the emotions very well; Gertie cried childishly when she was scolded. She howled when McCay threw the pumpkin on her. Movements when Gertie breathes swaying forward and backward and dust particles falling from the trees along with the vibrating background keep the audience connected. Gertie was a playful character with charming personality and affable nature. Gertie marked a milestone in the history of animated films and brighten a new and undiscovered side of the film industry. Gertie is the pioneer of later animated characters like Blakton, Cohl and other popular cartoons of Walt Disney. Gertie outshined the prior animated films, embarking a wider and innovative scope for others to set their career in the industry of animated films. 3. UN CHIEN ANDALOU With the release of Un Chien Andalou, Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali marked the dawn of Surrealism in the history of silent short films. It is an outstanding potrait of surprise, superstition, myth, artificial and unexpected events. The deceptive name, which means â€Å"An Andalusian Dog† kept the audience inquisitive from the beginning of the movie till the last shot. Though the movie has nothing to do with a dog and totally revolves around dreams and subconcious activities. The movie is

Why do you think different administrations differ so greatly on this Essay

Why do you think different administrations differ so greatly on this point - Essay Example The American expansion was a strategy to show the right and anyone who opposed the Americans was considered to be wrong. Roosevelt saw that there was no chance for the white man to eliminate the dark race, hence opted to have them under control and tried to change their culture like in China and India. He was confident that other people could not overpower the whites in their own country in the temperate zone. He felt that the Chinese will push the Western European out of indo-China. At the time, many advocates of racism didn’t see the people as primitive, but regarded them as inferior. For having yellow skin, one was considered inferior. The racial differences had become greater and there was no hope of modernizing China. He also believed that Africans would become civilized or become a danger to the white race. Nevertheless, the Americans believed that the Negroes, Filipinos and Chinese could develop like the white man. Roosevelt believed that an individual member of a particular race could attain qualities superior to those of other members of the backward society. He also firmly believed and stated that the spread of English-speaking people meant an achievement to the world’s peace and the spread of civilization. This belief controlled his views on foreign policy. He stated that peace can’t be achieved until the nations are civilized. This meant that co-operation of the civilized people shaped the earth. Roosevelt associated superior civilization with the English-speaking people. He advocated for many virtues and power to defend ones effectiveness, and he spread the ability to ensure that there is an orderly and democratic government. Many viewed England as a civilized nation and one that should have overthrown the Mahdists in Sudan. England rule in India and Egypt had benefited it, as well as India and Egypt as they acquired civilization (Beale 45). Roosevelt stated that the English speaking race should control South Africa and that the

Direct Digital Synthesis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Direct Digital Synthesis - Research Paper Example Direct digital synthesis is about storing waveform data points in digital format, and then recreating them with the use of digital to analog converters from the stored data. Essentially, the speed with which the synthesizer is able to regenerate the waveform is correlated with the waveform frequency. Digital techniques for mapping waveform data point into digital formats for storage and retrieval and are at the heart of DDS systems. In essence the basic components of a DDS system are the phase accumulator, the waveform map, the digital to analog converter or DAC, and the low pass filter, which sums up the DDS process from the mapping of the waveform signal into digital data, to the recreation of the analog waveform via the use of a DAC and a low pass filter to perfect the waveform. The illustration below details this simplified DDS system [1]: An even more simplified version of the DDS architecture shrinks it into two essential components, the phase generator/accumulator, which is time discrete, and the phase-to-waveform converter, for recreating the appropriate output signal of the DDS [2]: In the image above, the low pass filters and the waveform map that is part of the previous diagram are assumed to be present in the background, as peripheral components [1] [2]. On the other extreme is a more detailed diagram representing the basic functions of a DDS system, that expands on the first diagram above, and includes the waveform map and low pass filter [3]: The idea behind DDS is that waveforms of various kinds are easily implementable and can be easily recreated from digitally stored waveform data, and the freedom that this gives to designers includes that whereas in the past, more and more complex analog components were needed to recreate more and more complex waveforms, in the case of DDS systems all that is needed is stored digital data.  

GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 67 Essay

GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 67 - Essay Example Similarly, not having a good distribution infrastructure would cause difficulty in the product reaching the consumer and thus result in a decline in demand for the product. Also, demand for expensive goods in a poor country is very low. Black practices also affect the demand for products adversely. 2. First, Kodak aimed at making the Russian citizens aware of its products and for that it communicated with them through various forms of media; television, radio, print, etc. Promotional campaigns and sponsored events were carried out for this purpose. 1 All the marketing tactics that Kodak implemented were the right measures to take in order to encourage demand in a country that posed numerous challenges otherwise. The measures taken proved to be favorable for both Russia and Kodak and hence were the right tactics to employ. 3. Adjusting its marketing mix for digital photography in Russia should be thought of at a later stage. Since the concept of photography on the whole is new to the nation, it may be a long time before digital photography can be introduced in the market. Kodak needs to first research on whether or not the market for traditional film photography is saturated. Once it has reached the maturity stage in the product lifecycle, it will be a favorable time for change. It is only then that Kodak's digital photography can be launched in Russia. 1.

Buried bedrock valleys filled with glacial deposits Essay

Buried bedrock valleys filled with glacial deposits - Essay Example As long as there is sufficient water to maintain saturation, the water will descend until it is stopped by some impervious layer, such as rock or highly impervious clay. The water can then flow laterally through the voids or rock crevices above the barrier. If there are significant differences in surface elevation, the water may flow out along the impervious layer at some lower point called a spring. If a hole is made vertically down into the saturated layer, water will flow into the hole. If the saturated layer has sufficient interconnected voids, water will flow through it relatively rapidly. When the saturated layer yields water in economic quantities, it is called an aquifer and the hole made into it could be developed into a well. The lack of resistance to flow through porous material is called permeability. In general, fine grained material such as clay or silt is low in permeability; sand is of medium permeability, and gravel is most permeable. Fractured rock varies in permeab ility depending on the degree and pattern of fracture. The quantity of water which can be stored in an aquifer is equal to the total volume of voids between the solid particles. The fraction of the total volume of an aquifer made up of voids is called porosity. If the voids are interconnected, aquifers of high porosity also tend to have high permeability. Sometimes groundwater is trapped under an impervious layer. An aquifer thus located is called a confined aquifer. If the inflow area to a confined aquifer is higher than the confining layer where a well penetrates it, the water will be under pressure and will rise in the well to some level above the confining layer. Such a well is referred to as artesian. If the water rises to the top of the well a "flowing well" results. Obviously some locations offer better chances for successful wells than others. Clues which can be helpful in selecting well locations are (i) locations and depth to water of existing wells; (ii) existence of springs and/or streams; (iii) relative locations of infiltration areas and rock outcroppings which might constitute an impervious layer; and (iv) existence of known phreatophytes (plants requiring abundant water, whose roots frequently extend to the water table). In some areas of uniform geology, such as certain alluvial deposits in valleys, wells can be constructed anywhere with equal success. In the absence of any clues or data, a test boring can be carried out by one of the methods described under small diameter wells. Such a boring can be carried out relatively quickly and cheaply and can save considerable time, money and frustration in the long run. When a well is pumped, the water in it drops to some level below the static level (Figure 2). The water surface in the aquifer then forms a "cone of depression" as it slopes from the static level at some fairly large radius, R, to the well whose radius is r. If the well completely penetrates the aquifer with the static height of water being H and the height of water during pumping, h, then

The theory of wound care fro Podiatry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The theory of wound care fro Podiatry - Essay Example They may be chronic or acute, and open or closed. The patient presented with a full thickness ulcer measuring 8 mms in diameter of approximately 6 months duration and the tissues around the ulcer are acutely inflamed. Patients with rheumatoid arthritis may develop leg and foot ulcers of varied aetiologies, including venous disease, infection and inflammation. The foot ulcers in rheumatoid arthritis patients may involve several of these aetiological factors and are often difficult to heal (Sunita). Both the ulcers and the treatments are often painful, and these ulcers may be present for years. Chronic wounds plague more than 10 million people in the world today. But even more troubling is the fact that these wounds may persist for months and even years without any healing or sign of improvement (Morgan 25). The problem is usually, if not always, not the wound itself; and therefore treating the wound will not, in chronic cases, resolve the issue. Chronic wounds have underlying causes t hat must be addressed in order for the wound to heal properly. Because normal skin and wound care is not enough to heal these wounds they usually remain for extended periods of time. As a rule, only 50% of leg ulcers heal within 4 months of appearing, 20% remain open at 2 years and 8% remain open at 5 years (World Wide Wounds). So we see that to effectively treat a chronic wound you must treat the cause and not simply treat the symptom. There are several factors that affect wound healing. These include the age of the patient, hydration status, presence of infection, presence of underlying conditions, medications, obesity, oxygenation and tissue perfusion, personal hygiene and nutrition (Bowler 499). In the case of Mrs. Freeman, these factors can be very well correlated. The physiological changes that occur with ageing place older patients at higher risk of poor wound healing. The age of the patient places her in a relative state of immune deficiency. The immune system also declines with age making older patients more susceptible to infection. Older people can also present with other chronic diseases, which affect their circulation and oxygenation to the wound bed. Dehydration leads to an electrolyte imbalance and impaired cellular function. The presence of infection can significantly alter the rate of wound healing. Infection has been defined as the deposition and multiplication of organisms in tissue with an associ ated host reaction (Dealy 56). In the given case, infection is rather evident in the patient's ulcer. The presence of unhealthy granulation, thick, bloody, and malodorous exudates indicate the presence of infection. Wound infection is a problem because, at the most fundamental level, infection stops a wound from healing by prolonging the inflammatory phase, disrupting the normal clotting mechanisms and promoting disordered leukocyte function and ultimately preventing the development of new blood vessels and formation of granulation tissue. Chronic diseases like diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, and lupus can delay the process of healing. The patient has been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis of 10 years duration and this has markedly affected wound healing in her case. She also has secondary hypertension and iron deficiency anemia. The presence of chronic diseases weakens the immune system, dampening its ability to counteract the pathogens attacking the

American Ethnic Literature Essay Example for Free

American Ethnic Literature Essay American Literature has been an important part of American people for centuries. What makes this type of literature great is that the authors vision is objective and not one sided. Several of the American authors are still considered to be great writers. The books that were written by these authors are still read by people of all ages around the United States. These books are now considered classic literature. American literature is considered American because it was written by American people. Overall, â€Å"editors appear to use an inconsistent combination of citizenship, geographical location, language, and subject matter (that is, the subject of America and the United States) (Hames- Garcia, p. 1, 2003). Most of the American literature was written by white men. In order to be considered American literature it has to be about the United States. There have been many great authors that write about science fiction, but because it is unreal their literature is not considered American literature. Politics also played an important role in literature. It was of great importance to portray the American character as an â€Å"exceptional entity† (Hames-Garcia, p. 1, 2003). In the early twentieth century, writers who were not American white men were not allowed to publish their works. Women writers as well as Black, Latino, American Indian, and immigrant writers were left out altogether. This happened because other ethnic groups were considered to be inferior. It was until the 1970s that feminist began to speak out and rebel against the oppression they were faced with. It is thanks to this reform that the American literature holds diversity. It allows for men and women to have the same opportunity to express their feelings without having to worry about their race or sex. Another type of literature is ethnic literature. This type of literature is often read as an autobiography, even when making no such claims. This is written on a first person point of view. The author’s point of view is specific to their personal beliefs and life stories. It is difficult for this type of author to provide an objectionable story. They are blinded by anger because of what they had to live. The topics these authors write about covers racism and suppression. The definitions and topics will vary depending on the life experiences that each author or their families experienced. The storyline will also vary because each author lived different time periods, and of course things change over time. Ethnic Literature is great because it now holds different point of views. Every person has a different perspective on what happens around them. What allows for this to be great is that each person is entitled not only to have their own belief, but they are able to express their feelings with freedom. No person is afraid of what repercussion might come because they decided to write from their heart. The truth allows readers to realize that life has been harder for some people more than others. It is easy to forget what our ancestors had to experience in order for each individual to encounter freedom. It is now easy for men and women of all races to walk freely around their city. This however came at a price, and this type of literature allows human beings to read and experience in some small way what it was like to live in a world were the color of your skin as well as your sex had a lot to do with the quality of life you lived. American Literature will continue to play an important role in American people. The only way to enjoy this type of literature is to introduce our younger generations to it. This is the perfect material needed to give to young readers so that they can value the lifestyle they are allowed to live today. It is up to us to keep this tradition alive so that our future generation can enjoy it as well. Reference Michael Hames-Garcia. (2003). Which America is ours? Martis Truth and the foundations of American literature. Modern Fiction Studies, 49(1), 19-53. Retrieved October 25, 2009, from Research Library. (Document ID: 328665241). Yonjae Jung. (2004). The New Americanist Intervention into the Canon. American Studies International, 42(2/3), 213-225. Retrieved October 26, 2009, from Research Library. (Document ID: 676208971).

Evaluation Methods in Empirical Economics

Evaluation Methods in Empirical Economics Evaluation methods in empirical economics fall into five broad categories; each provides an alternative approach for constructing the counterfactual. Alternative evaluation methods depend on several criteria like; a) nature of the program i.e. whether the program/policy is local or national, small scale or global, b) nature of questions to be answered, and c) nature of data available (Blundell and Dias 2000). Heckman et.al (1997, 1998a,b) showed that data quality is also a crucial ingredient for the determination of the appropriate estimation strategy. Both in the case of large scale and small scale impact evaluation work, randomized assignment is often used. It is a fair allocation rule. Because the program manager ensures that, every eligible person or unit has the same chance of receiving the program. When the observation will be very large, any characteristic (either observed or unobserved) will flow through treatment and comparison group; if they are created through randomised assignment. An evaluation is internally valid; if it uses a valid comparison group; and when the impact estimated in the evaluation sample can be generalised to the total population, that evaluation will be called externally valid. Randomized assignment is used, when there exists excess demand for a program and when a program needs to be phased until it covers the entire population. (Gertler et.al 2011). In the Progresa program, where cash was transferred to poor mothers in rural Mexico for their children’s enrolment in school; Schultz (2004) based on the randomized assignment found that, educational grants to rural poor mothers had an effect on the enrolment.. In the paper â€Å"Expanding credit access: using Randomized Decisions to estimate the Impacts’, (Karlan and Zinman 2008), the authors concluded that, marginal loans produced significant net benefits for borrowers over a wide range of outcome by using randomized experiment. In assessing the effect of performance based payment on the use and quality of maternal and child health services provided by health-cares in Rwanda, Basinga et.al (2011) concluded that, financial performance incentives (i.e. payment for performance) could improve the use and quality of maternal and child health services. Vermeersch by using randomised technique examined that, school participation was 30% greater in twenty five Kenyan schools where a free breakfast was introduced than in twenty five comparison schools( Vermeersch 2002). Kremer et.al (2002) evaluated a program where a nongovernmental organisation provided uniforms, textbooks, and classroom construction to seven schools that were randomly chosen from fourteen poorly performing schools in Kenya and found that, dropout rates was considerably low in treatment schools. In evaluating a twice-yearly school based mass treatment program in Kenya, where inexpensive de-worming drugs were provided ( as intestinal worm among children was highly prevalent) in seventy five schools which were randomly selected, Miguel and Kremer (2003a) found that, the absenteeism rate in treatment schools lowered down by 25%. From randomized evaluation , it was found that, provision of textbooks in schools in Kenya increased the test scores by about 0.2 standard deviation, but there was an increase in test score of those students who had scored well (top 20-40%) in the pre-test exam before the intervention of the program. They also found that, text book provision didn’t affect the test scores of bottom 60% students (Glewwe et.al 2002). Seva mandir, an Indian NGO, runs in Indian villages, introduced a program, where a second teacher (preferably woman) was randomly assigned to twenty one out of forty two schools in non formal education centres. Banerjeee et.al(2002) evaluated this program by monitoring the attendance of both teachers and children and found that, the number of closing days reduced after the introduction of the program (i.e. 44% in one- teacher and 39% in two- teacher). They also found the participation of girls also increased. Banerjee et.al (2003) evaluated the impact of a remedial education program introduced by Pratham, an Indian NGO, where young women were hired from the communities and were providing remedial education to children in Government school. On an average, after two years of the program, they found that, the test scores of the students increased by 0.39 standard deviation. Moreover, the bottom level children gained the largest out of this program. They also concluded that, hiring remedial education teachers from community is 10 times more cost effective than hiring new teachers. Glewwe et.al (2003) evaluated a program where parent school committees were providing gifts to teachers whose students were performing well and concluded that, the test scores f the students who were a part of the program initially increased but later on fell back to the level of comparison group at the end of the program. In the evaluation of a Colombian program for extending the coverage of secondary school ( Programa de Amlplication de cobertura de la Education Secundaris), where vouchers for private schools were allocated by lottery due to the limitation of program’s budget, Angrist et.al (2002) took the advantage of randomly assigned treatment and found that, lottery winners were 15-20% more likely to attend private schools, 10% more likely to complete the 8th grade and scored on an average 0.2 standard deviation higher on standardised tests. Randmised promotion method is similar to that of the randomised offerings. Under this method, we randomly select the units to whom we promote the treatment; instead of randomly selecting units to whom we offer the treatment. By doing so, we leave the program open for every unit. There are three types of units under randomised promotion method:1) Always- always they want to enrol in the program, 2) Enroll- If- Promoted- they will enrol only when additional promotion is provided, 3)Never- they will never enrol in the program; whether the promotion is offered or not ( Gertler 2011). Both Gertler et.al (2008)[1] and Newman et.al (2002)[2] used the randomised promotion technique as an impact evaluation tool. In impact evaluation, Regression discontinuity design method will e used for a program that have a continuous eligibility index with a clearly defined cut-off score to determine the eligibility of the participants (Gertler 2011). In assessing the effect of social assistance program, which was funded through the Canadian Assistance plan, in Quebec, Canadain in labor market outcome, Lemieux and Milligan (2005) by using regression discontinuity design method by limiting the sample to men found that, access to greater social assistance benefits reduced employment by about 4.5 percent for men. To study the impact of school fee reduction program on school enrolment in the city of Bogota, Colombia, Barrera-Osario et.al (2007) used regression discontinuity design method and found a positive impact on school enrolment rates. Regression discontinuity design method was also used t evaluate a social safety net initiative in Jamaica. In 2001, the Government of Jamaica initiated a program namely, Program of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH), where grants was given to children in eligible poor households on the condition of regular attendance and health visits. Levy and Ohis (2007) by using regression discontinuity design found that, PATH program increased school attendance for children ages 6 to 17 by an average of 0.5 days per month. Likewise, Matinez(2004)[3] and Filmer and Schady (2009)[4] also used regression discontinuity design method to study the impact of a program. Propensity score matching method pairs each program participants with a single nonparticipant, where pairing is done on the basis of the degree of similarity in the estimated probability of participating in the program (Smith and Todd 2001). In measuring the impact of training program on trainee’s earning, Lalonde (1986) by comparing both experimental and non experimental results concluded that, non experimental methods are subjected to specification errors and also suggested to be aware while implementing these methods. Dehejia and Wahba (1998,1999) by using NSW data concluded that, matching approaches are generally more reliable thangeneral econometric estimators as they found that, matching estimators were able to produce a result which was a replicate of experimental NSW result. Smith and Todd (2005a) argued that, PSM does not solve the selection problem which was studied by Lalonde. [1] Gertler et.al (2008) evaluated the impact of a maternal and child health insurance program in Argentina. [2] Newman et.al (2002) evaluated a program where social investment fund was provided for small scale investments in education, health and water infrastructure in Bolivia. [3] Matinez(2004) studied the effect of old age pension program on consumption. [4] Filmer and Schady(2009) studied the impact of scholarship in school enrolment and testscores of poor students in Colombia.