Research Articles Base: Examples Of Literature Reviews

Dissertation Proposal on Online Buying Behaviour: Across Cultural Study Between England and Turkey

Online Buying Behaviour: Across Cultural Study Between England and Turkey 1)    Summary       This research proposal aims to analyse the online buying behaviour between England and Turkey. This paper attempts to determine the factors that influence the buying behaviour of consumers across these countries and the differences of their buying behaviour. In this research proposal, the aim, objective, rationale of the study will be discussed. Literature review and overview of the design and research approach are also provided.   2)    Introduction             Online shopping or buying online has been considered as the newest trend for changing consumer behaviour. Accordingly, the purchasing behaviour of the consumers will depend on the marketing strategies that the online shopping industries will use. Because of the emergence of new information technology, such as the internet, online shopping has fast becoming more popular amongst Internet surfers.  It is said that beliefs, attitudes, and shopping preferences of Internet buyers or customers around the world could depend on important macro and micro-level variables. If this is the case, then Web site content should be attuned according to the type of individual visiting a site (Fortin, 1999). Having a profile of global Internet users constitutes a first step needed to build Web site content appropriate for different buyers. Since online industries are able to reach target market without cultural boundaries, they can provide products and services to different countries. Thus, this aim to test the propositions that Internet buyers’ beliefs, attitudes and Internet behavior will vary among global regions, and between countries within a world region, as well as depend on the amount of time they spend on the Internet.             Having been able to realise this stance, the researcher has observed a great need by online shopping service providers to understand the habits and preference by customers. Attempting to find and analyse the differences among the buying behaviour of online shoppers such as those from England and Turkey.  Primarily, the main goal of this research proposal is to investigate across cultural online buying behaviour of people of England and Turkey.   3)    Background Internet usage is as diverse as the medium itself. Most people use it for visiting amusement websites featuring music, film and television. Other people use it for eroticism or pornography website while others use it for online shopping. Online shopping is the fastest growing Internet use today. GVU (1998) reports that there are 40% of total users who have been using the Internet for shopping and that number of online shoppers has reached 20 million which is still expected to increase. This widespread use of the Internet is supported by the results of NUA Online Surveys (2002) which reported that as of September 2002, there are 605.60 million online. It showed that the European region has the most number of users with 190.91 million online while the Middle East has the least number of people online with just 5.21 million users. The other results are as follows: coming in as second is the Asia/Pacific region with 187.24 million users; Canada and United States of America running third with 182.67 people online; Latin America with 33.35 million users and Africa with 6.31 million.   E-commerce and the emergence of new markets There are varied definitions of e-commerce but they all suggest in some way of the usage of electronic means to conduct business. Perhaps one of the most concrete definitions is given by Eckersley, Harris and Jackson (2003) which states that e-commerce is either a free or paid exchange of information translated into goods and services using electronic means in any stage of the supply chain, be it within the organisation, between businesses, between businesses and consumers or even between the government and private sectors. Moreover, Laudon and Laudon (2003) specifically noted examples of the means of conducting e-commerce as the Internet, networks and other digital technologies. The word commerce in the term strengthens the definition that the concept is part of a range of activities wherein no direct payment involved within the supply chain. The supply chain expresses the distribution of goods, services and information flows between the players within or among the industries (Eckersley, Harris & Jackson, 2003). An example of this is a furniture manufacturer where the supply chain involves parts, raw materials or services supplied by other companies. If the manufacturer exercises total control and optimises its supply chain, then it will reduce all transaction costs which will then turn into a competitive advantage for the company because it is at the core of the chain. Since e-commerce is a growing phenomenon in the business, many companies now feel that there is a need to have Internet presence even if not as a business format (Leckenby & Hong, 1998). This can be attributed to the increase in customer perception that a lack of Internet presence represents obsolete business methods and this can lead the consumer to choose other products instead (Peeples, 2002). In addition to this, most purchasing decision may be based on the information provided by the websites whether or not the actual final transaction was done online. This trend has changed the way businesses considered the Internet. It wasn’t just an inexpensive way to reach new target markets because to complete the buying process, there is still the need for traditional advertising and promotions. Thus, the practice is to include the websites to give consumers the chance to access additional information for the product. In this perspective, the Internet gave new meaning to companies as a useful and effective method of disseminating information to aid in the buying process. However, e-commerce does not guarantee profit because despite its popularity, there are still others who do not buy into shopping online. An example of this is the decline of online purchases in 2000 because of the widely publicized Christmas delivery failures in 1999 (Watson, 2001). With the uncertain dynamics of e-commerce, companies then need to formulate a business strategy which can easily adapt to these changes. There are many studies that have been conducted analysing consumer buying behaviour but there are only few studies that attempt to study the buying behaviour of England and Turkey.   Rationale 4)    Literature Review Customers are said to be loyal when their buying behavior remains consistent to one type of item and completely ignore the pleas of competitors. Indeed, it is a known fact that customer loyalty is beneficial to businesses (Bailey and Schultz, 2000). Customer buying behavior is yet another factor that affects consumer choices and trends. Recognizing consumer behavior’s essentiality to business, marketers attempt to develop means on assessing or measuring how a customer behaves (Bailey and Schultz, 2000). Consumer buying behaviour is said to be different in business-to-business context in a way that consumer buying behaviour tends to have varying attitudes regarding the needs and purpose of buying while the business-to-business approach is an approach which is more on supplier-company relationship. Business to business is one of the categories of online marketing that has been characterized as profit-oriented whose aims is to obtain information and retain information that uses different type of motivation in which it has a shorter route of channel in terms of distribution.  In B2B it seeks to realize transactions that necessitate performed financial and commercial activities via the internet while in consumer buying behaviour in tends to follow their desires based on customer self-need. For instance, in buying new sports shores, the individual customer tends to follow their personal attributions than the business attributions. Accordingly, consumer buying behavior is concerned with the buying of products and services by households and individuals for personal consumptions. For instance, when the individual buyer purchase their daily needs or commodities like foods, clothing and others.  Herein, the main influence of consumer behaviour includes personal aspect, social, cultural and psychological factors.  On one hand, business to business buying behavior is a type which is referred to as industrial buyer behaviour or organizational behavior. Accordingly, business-to-business buying behavior engage in a decision making process in which a company establish the need for purchase goods and services and determine, assess and select among alternative brands as well as suppliers. For instance, if the company would want to acquire small businesses that have good reputation in the market, they will buy all the rights of the products.  Herein, unlike in consumer buying, business to business buyers and sellers tends to negotiate and impact each other in identifying the form of the final business transaction and other elements of the interaction. Another study made by Beck and Lynch (2001) has attempted to address the question of how differences in beliefs, attitudes, perceptions and Internet buying behaviour can vary in different regions and levels of Internet usage. Their study showed that it is not enough for a company to put their business online to make it a global company without researching the continually changing consumer behaviour of online shoppers. Due to the plethora of differences between cultures and countries, many customers may not be willing or able to interpret the context or culture of the message that a company puts across. Creating an online local feel for a company is a hard task considering the number of languages and cultures of international consumers, but a necessary one for survival and growth of the business. Other studies have addressed the existence of a typical global Internet consumer, a direct contrast to the diversity that Beck and Lynch (2001) studied (Alden, Steenkamp and Batra, 1999; Hannerz, 1990). These studies provide support to abovementioned characteristics about age, gender, occupation and salary. They also advocate that the typical global consumer emerged from the onset of the global market. 5)    Design 6)    Research Problems       The emergence and astonishing growth of the internet is easily one of the most important developments in societies around the globe. The World Wide Web, specifically, is the core mechanism or powerful technology that facilitates any electronic commerce transactions and provides marketers outstanding capabilities such as unlimited global reach with the elimination of obstacles created by geography, time zone and location (Bandyopadhyay, 2001). Along with the change brought by the internet in the way business and marketing is done is also the existence of the diverse buying behaviour of individuals across regions. The analysis of the online buying behaviour of these people (England and Turkey) can be important findings for online marketing techniques that can be used by different industries.   7)    Research Aims and Objectives             The main goal of the research is to determine the habits and profiles of customers of online shopping from England and Turkey. The study attempts to achieve the following objectives: 1.      To know the perception of the people from England and Turkey regarding their shopping preferences. 2.      To know the website preferences of the respondents in their online shopping? 3.      To determine the relationships between certain profiles and the spending habits can be useful to target value added customers 4.      To assess ways on how to improve better the online shopping at an affordable and efficient services.    8)    Research Questions The study is conducted to analyse the online buying behaviour of people from England and turkey. Specifically, the dissertation aims to answer the following queries: 1.                    What are the shopping preferences of the customers of online shopping in terms of the types of services and goods? 2.                    How important do you think is the requirement of the web site to you convince they are safe and secured? 3.                    What is presently missing and needed in online shopping? 4.                    What is the relationships between certain profiles and the spending habits can be useful to target value added customers   9)    Limitations of the Proposal This research endeavour will focus primarily in the investigation of the online buying behaviour of individuals from England and Turkey. The study examined the differences of the buying behaviour of this people in terms of buying through the internet. This research will cover the topics on the intensive differences among the attitudes, cultural aspects and influences for these individuals. The information that will be gathered for this study will be derived from primary and secondary resources. The primary source of data will come from a self-administered survey questionnaires prepared by the researcher, which will be distributed to the participants of the study. The respondents of this study will be selected from England and Turkey, The secondary sources of data will come from published articles from social science journals, theses, and related studies on consumer behaviour and online shopping. Time will be the greatest limitation to this research, which may hinder long-term outcome objectives. Environmental factors, such as socioeconomic factors, are beyond the control of the researcher and can create many variables within the research. As this study will be utilizing a small sample of participants, the results may not effectively represent the general population.   10) Methodologies For this study, data analysis will be done step by step. Every piece of information will be analysed carefully, and the text will be sub-divided into meaningful units. Information will be condensed to formulate answers to the researcher’s questions. Once the data was collected and collated, the final task will be the interpretation of the results. The study emphasizes that a great deal of caution will be considered in drawing conclusions from the data                Primary data are the result of survey questionnaire provided to the respondents. Secondary data, on the other hand are based on the literatures related to the case. Myers (1997) enumerated sources of written data which include published and unpublished documents, company reports, memos, letters, reports, email messages, faxes, newspaper articles and so forth. The primary data frequently gives the detailed definitions of terms and statistical units used in the survey. These are usually broken down into finer classifications. The respondents were requested to answer the inquiries in the survey-questionnaire, each grading the statements using the Likert scale.  The equivalent weights for the answers will be:   Range                                                Interpretation 0.00 – 1.49                                        Very Important 1.50 – 2.49                                        Important       2.50 – 3.49                                        Neutral 3.50 – 4.49                                        Not Important 4.50 – 5.00                                        Not very important               In the Likert technique, a set of attitude statements are presented, where subjects of a study are asked to express agreement or disagreement using a five-point scale. The degree of agreement is given a numerical value ranging from one to five, thus a total numerical value can be calculated from all the responses.     11) Bibliography     Alden, DL, Batra, R & Steenkam, J 1999, ’Brand positioning through advertising in Asia, North America, and Europe: The role of global consumer culture’, Journal of Marketing, vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 75-87. Bailey, S., & Schultz, D. (2000). Customer/Brand Loyalty in an Interactive Marketplace. Journal of Advertising Research, 40(3), 41. Beck, JC & Lynch, PD 2001, ‘Profiles of Internet buyers in 20 countries: evidence for region specific strategies’, Journal of International Business Studies, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 725-729. Bienstock, CC 1998, ‘Distribution considerations in marketing to high-tech consumers’, In AC Reddy (ed.), The emerging high-tech consumer: A market profile and marketing strategy implications, Quorum Books, Wesport, CT. Creswell, JW 1994. Research design: Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage. Eckersley, PM, Harris, L & Jackson, P 2003, E-business fundamentals: managing organisations in the electronic ages. Routledge, New York. eMarketer 2001, ‘The eGlobal report 2001’, eMarketer, viewed February 22, 2008, <http://www.emarketer.com>. GVU 1998, ‘WWW user’s survey of 1998’, Georgia Institute of Technology, viewed February 22, 2008, <http://www.gvu.gatech.edu>. Laudon, KC & Laudon, JP 2003, Essentials of management information systems, 5th edn, Prentice Hall, New York. Leckenby, JD & Hong, J 1998, ‘Using reach/frequency for Web media planning’, Journal of Advertising Research, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 7-20. NUA 2002, ‘Internet Survey: how many online’, NUA ClickZ, viewed February 22, 2008, <http://www.nua.ie/surveys/>. Peeples, DK 2002. ‘Instilling consumer confidence in e-commerce’, Advance Management Journal, vol. 67, No. 4, pp. 26-31. Watson, M 2001, ‘Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse’, Fortune, January 2001, viewed February 22, 2008 <http://web5.infotrac.college.com>.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Dissertation Proposal on Online Buying Behaviour: Across Cultural Study Between England and Turkey

Online Buying Behaviour: Across Cultural Study Between England and Turkey 1) Summary This research proposal aims to analyse ...

Literature Review :How does growing up as an adolescent in a violent environment make you become cruel to animals?

How does growing up as an adolescent in a violent environment make you become cruel to animals?               Most studies focused on the developmental relationship between animal cruelty and violent behavior in the future. However, the study takes a different path and investigates growing up in a violent environment as a determinant of animal cruelty. The range of literature reviewed provides different ideas and perspectives to the research topic. The common approach to the investigation of violent environment and animal cruelty is quantitative in order to determine a link. However, the current study employs the qualitative approach to derive a better understanding of the relationship. The sources reviewed comprise qualitative studies related to the topic investigated.             Arkow (1997) used the interpretive philosophical tradition explained the close relationship of child protective services and animal protection movement and the additional link between domestic violence intervention programs and animal protection programs. The setting of the investigation is the social welfare and legal services in the United States. The purpose of the research is to determine and establish the linkages among these programs in order to derive a better understanding of the co-occurrence of various issues, particularly animal cruelty, child abuse and spousal violence. The study reviewed the nature of national programs focusing on these issues. Results that animal abuse forms part of the web of symptoms of dysfunctional families supporting the importance of the interface of these programs for effective intervention programs. Researcher bias emerges from the subjective selection of the elements used to assess these programs. This study would benefit from the consideration of actual cases of children and young people involved in animal abuse and tracing their family environment.             Flynn (2000) utilizes the interpretive philosophical tradition in investigating the focus of family professionals on animal abuse as this comes up in their dealings with clients or patients. The setting of the research is the social services, particularly the practice of professionals working with families in the United States. The purpose of the study is to determine reasons for family professionals to focus on the issue of animal cruelty and recommend changes in policies on family counseling and other forms of intervention. The data collection method is review of the results of various empirical studies. Results showed that one of the seven reasons that compel family professionals to focus on animal abuse is the link to interpersonal and family violence. Researcher bias emerges from the selection and interpretation of the results of empirical studies. The study would benefit from a specific focus by drawing primary data such as through case studies.              Duncan and Miller (2002) also employed the interpretive philosophical tradition in investigating the abusive family context of animal cruelty among children and adult violence. The setting of the investigation is global by considering different studies made on the topic. The purpose of the study is to explore the different theories explaining the family context as a justification for animal cruelty. The data collection method is secondary research by collecting and reviewing different theories explaining this phenomenon. Results showed that while theories indirectly link family environment and animal cruelty and directly connect family environment and adult violence. This implies the need for empirical studies investigating the relationship between family environment and animal cruelty since existing theories are unable to link directly the two variables. Researcher bias possibly emerges from the reliance on the discretion of the researcher over the selection and review of theories on the topic.             Becker and French (2004) employed phenomenology as the philosophical tradition in investigating the relationship of child abuse and domestic abuse with animal cruelty. The setting is the United States and Canada since the study considered literature on the topic from these geographical settings and considered a program established in the United States, the Links Group that advocates services focusing on the issues of child abuse and animal abuse. The purpose of the study is to draw themes from existing studies on the topic and investigate the nature of the Links Group as a manifestation of the link between child abuse and domestic abuse on animal cruelty. The method of data collection is secondary research and case study of the Links Group. Literature shows that an abusive family environment, whether children directly experience the violence or witnesses domestic violence, the children are likely to exhibit abusive behavior commencing with animal cruelty based on the progressive theory of violent behavior. The Links Group emerged to develop therapy involving integrative solutions addressing both child abuse and domestic violence and animal cruelty. However, this is problematic as expressed through the difficulties in balancing the competing interests of child and animal welfare. Bias possible possibly emerges from the interpretation of the case study data using only one group or program. An area for expansion would be the focus on children undergoing treatment to understand further the relationship of child abuse and animal cruelty in support of recommendations for better integrative policies and programs.              Currie (2006) also employed the phenomenological philosophical tradition in investigating the engagement in animal cruelty of children exposed to domestic violence. The setting of the study is a community welfare center in the United States. The purpose of the study is two-fold. One is to determine whether the children exposed to domestic violence would exhibit cruelty to animals. The other is to determine whether the age and gender of children exposed to domestic violence influenced the propensity of involvement in cruelty to animals. The data collection method is observation and interview with workers of the community center. Results showed that the children of women with a history of domestic violence have a greater likelihood of engaging in animal cruelty when compared to women without a history of domestic violence. Age and gender have no intervening role in the involvement in animal cruelty. Researcher bias likely emerges from the interpretation of the researcher of observations. An area for expansion would be the consideration of specific cases of families with a history of domestic violence and children involved in animal cruelty.             The studies support the link of the exposure of children to a violent family environment and involvement in animal cruelty. However, there is limited explanation of the link. This supports the purpose of the current investigation to investigate the link in-depth based on the accounts and descriptions of families with a history of domestic violence and children involved in animal abuse. References Arkow, P. (1997). Relationships between animal abuse and other forms of family           violence. Protecting Children, 13(2), 4-9. Becker, F., & French, L. (2004). Making the links: Child abuse, animal cruelty,      and domestic violence. Child Abuse Review, 13(6), 399-414. Currie, C. L. (2006). Animal cruelty by children exposed to domestic violence.      Child Abuse & Neglect, 30(4), 425-435. Duncan, A., & Miller, C. (2002). The impact of an abusive family context on          childhood animal cruelty and adult violence. Aggression and Violent      Behavior, 7(14), 365-383. Flynn, C. P. (2004). Why family professionals can no longer ignore violence        toward animals. Family Relations, 49(1), 87-95.     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Literature Review :How does growing up as an adolescent in a violent environment make you become cruel to animals?

How does growing up as an adolescent in a violent environment make you become cruel to animals? Most studies focused on th...

Literature Review on Auditing

Literature Review   Overview             In any current business organisation, progress that the company is making is recorded as basis for, among a host of other essential things, decision-making and as a benchmark for measuring the firm’s performance for the period under scrutiny. A financial situation analysis or evaluation is one such yardstick that documents current and future financial situation in an attempt to determine a financial strategy to help achieve organisational goals.  With regards to this, this paper will review some issues related to auditing as guidance of determining the financial situation of a business. Actually, auditing in any businesses is the inspection and verification of the accuracy of financial records and statements. Private businesses and all levels of government conduct internal audits of accounting records and procedures. Internal audits are conducted by a company’s own personnel to uncover bookkeeping errors and also to check the honesty of employees. In large companies, internal auditing is an ongoing procedure. A company that trades stock on a registered stock exchange or is preparing to issue new shares of stock must submit to an external audit. These companies are known as publicly traded companies. Moreover, an external audit is used to give the public a true statement of a company’s financial position. It is made at least once a year by public accountants who are not regular employees of the company. The auditors make sure that the company has followed proper accounting procedures in its financial records and statements. They compare the current financial statements with those of the previous year to determine whether the statements are calculated consistently. If they are not, they present a distorted picture of the company’s financial position. The auditors also inspect real estate, buildings, and other assets to see if their value is overstated. Debts and other liabilities are checked to see if they have been understated.   Auditing             Auditing practice has a much longer history than many of the other developments that can be considered and the large firms of accountants, in which many financial auditors work have become influential advisory institutions throughout the world.  Thus, auditing has provided the model which has influenced the design of auditing practice in many other fields. Although environmental, medical, or value for money audits are conceived as distinct from financial auditing, the latter continues to exert its normative influence as a centre of gravity for debate and discussion. And it is in the context of auditing that the dependency of acts of verification on judgment and negotiation is most apparent.  With this consideration, the paper of Ball & Shivakumar (2008) reviewed and estimated the importance of profits in providing new information to the stock market.  And through auditing procedure, they found out that their subject company have contributed more to return volatility in recent years may show that earnings has increased importance as a source of new information.  Apparently, Jenson KL & Payne JL 2005 argued that audit quality and quality fees in response agency costs is also important in auditing and even in any business. Using advanced auditing methods related to employing auditors with high skills in industry experience. Advanced methods have little impact on audit fees, but in some cases increase of quality not necessarily related with higher audit fees. It is not apparent that not focusing on fees conducts to great increase in audit quality. Auditing methods is a tool that control audit quality in response to agency costs.             On the other hand, Dye and Sunders (2001) argued that financial standards are also important with regards to auditing practices. From their paper, the illustration of entering competition in accounting standards is obvious. With this, they found out two contrasting points of view. The first one sees that financial statements in public firms are made by directors who see accounting standards as draw back and increase risks. So they chose to depend on existing standards. They scarcely have innovative accounting methods which makes hard to carry out analysis of social cost-benefit. Apparently, the second point of view sees competition is a good matter as it enhances firms to be more sensitive to their customers and to take necessary measures immediately and add value to firms. Competition remove problems faced by firms and increase effectiveness of standards and remove of monopoly as it occurred multipart market, which make available healthy environment for investment and permit opportunity for them to make their financial statements and to reach a lawful agreement on these accounting standards.             With regards to investors’ protection, auditing creates good role and function. The study of Newman, Patterson & Smith (2005) found that an increase in auditor penalties for undiscovered expropriation lead to total investment increase although of increase of audit fees. Also an increase in insider’s penalties. Therefore, the probability of audit failure will be low in such environments.  Actually, their study aimed at investigating the relation between audit quality and long audit partner tenure. Auditing is subject to expectations and demands which are, justifiably or otherwise, often disappointed (Kealey, Lee & Stein 2007). Nevertheless, Malone & Roberts (1996) pointed out that the official procedural knowledge base of auditing has evolved in response to scandals and corporate failures in such a way that the essential puzzle of what audits produces their effectiveness remains hidden from view as an article of faith. Finally despite, and probably because of, this puzzle it is argued that financial auditing maintains itself as an institutionally credible system of knowledge. Notwithstanding crisis and scandal it satisfies the aspirations and demands of a variety of regulatory programs. Particular audits may fail but the system as such cannot. The possibility of effective auditing is necessarily presupposed by regulatory intentions. Traditionally, analytical auditing has applied itself to the domain of finance, but organisations are increasingly finding value from internal audits that monitor other aspects of their activity. Environmental and social audits, for example, have been championed by firms in response to the ethical concerns of both shareholders and the public in relation to the company’s impact upon the locality. Analytical auditing is growing in importance too, partly in response to recent major scandals such as the collapse of banks, and also in order to monitor the increasingly complex demands being made upon accountants (Hogan & Jeter 1999).             However, auditing remains something of a mystery to those outside of the profession, and has become more specialised as accounting has become more sophisticated. For example, while best practice has evolved certain tools for analytical review or establishing audit trails, an element of subjective judgment remains as auditors decide what evidence to include. Further, rules of thumb can never be ruled out. Audit risk has developed as an issue too, as the models for reducing the probability of mistakes being made on sampling, for example, become more subtle (Bedard, Deis, Curtis & Jenkins 2008). In connection to this, the study of Low (2004) imposed a proposition that auditor knowledge on the client’s industry improve auditor’s ability to discern audit risks. The results indicted that auditor’s knowledge on the client’s industry improve their audit risk assessments and affects directly on the nature and perceived quality of their audit planning decision. Aside from this, the study found that Auditor’s knowledge on client’s industry influence directly on the way in which auditor modify audit procedures. With this, the subsequent section will review issues related to the auditor and its function.   The Auditor’s Responsibility and Fees             The auditor play significant role in the development of a certain business.  Actually, auditors are responsible in the analysis of the financial standing of a certain business (Craswell, Francis & Taylor 1995). Here are some of the factors that influencing auditor’s responsibility.                                                       Actually, various accounts from published financial statements are evaluated in relation to each other to form performance indicators, which are then compared to ‘established’ standards which are handled by the internal auditor and forensic accountant with approval of the management of a certain firm. And since such analysis is difficult, fees also crucial to this job. Actually, the study of Craswell, Francis & Taylor (1995) revealed that specialised audit firms get great fees than other non-specialised audit firms. Generally, large audit firms get higher fees than smaller firms. The study reported that specialised audit firms require high rewards plus fees, this indicated that implicitly that this increase in equal to higher quality.  For the last several years, businesses have seen the rapid growth of the number of firms offering financial situation analysis services. This serves as a proof that more and more organisations are realising the importance of the analysis of their financial situations in order to keep up with the demands of the business world nowadays.             And with regards to the issue of fees, auditors are making reasonable fees because of the issue of responsibility and risks. The study of Khurana and Raman (2004) which is related to the litigation risks and financial reporting credibility of big4 companies and non big4 in Anglo-American countries shows that the exposure to suit case is the driver for perceived audit quality than brand name fame protection. Moreover, their study revealed that that there is a relationship between audit quality and suit case risk and level of damage facing the auditor and that decrease of auditor litigation risk could has unintended results for perceived audit quality in USA. This study identified the degree of responsibility of an auditor in accordance to their profession as stated in the paper of Simunic & Stein (1996); Geiger & Raghunandan 2002; and Venkataramna, Weber & Willenborg (2008). Moreover, Schwartz (1997) study presents the impact of legal responsibility of external auditors on audit quality and investment level. And the effect of damage measures on investments. He indicated that the legal regime of civil responsibility which achieves the highest level of audit effort and quality, not necessarily achieves a socially optimal investments level. And liability payments not only induce auditors to exert the due care to achieve audit quality, but also provide insurance for investors against investment losses.                         He argued that inability of auditors to predict the standard of due care to be used in the evaluation of their work, may motivate them to increase their efforts in order to reduce the litigation risks.                                               In connection to this, the study of Abbot, Parker &Peters (2006) revealed that audit fees reduced with income reduction discretionary accruals, vice versa.  They also identified that the increase in audit fees for positive discretionary accruals is huge for firms with higher price earnings, which may be due to auditor s’ prejudice, as this prejudice resulted from irregular law suits. Meaning, audit risk model does not explain sufficiently auditor attitude with regard to audit planning and investment and that litigation risk component of auditor production function useful to maintain higher audit quality.   The Auditor in Action             Financial evaluation is very vital to the development of a certain organisation since it is the distinction whether the certain organisation are growing or not (Kwon, Lim & Tan 2007). With these the management should have a good collaboration to their internal auditor.  In the case of auditing fraud, the management may conduct an investigation with the help of forensic accountant (Anderson, Jennings, Lowe & Reckers 1997).  With this, it is very important for a forensic accountant to maintain fairness in reporting since the financial standing of a business can be evaluated by simply looking at the financial statements of a certain organization (Hooghiemstra R & Manen JV 2004). Financial statements are, according to Jenson & Meckling (1976), the universally accepted tools for analysis of a business entity, therefore Managerial Behavior, Agency costs and ownership structure which builds the firm should be carefully evaluated. If properly understood, they let the users know how good a company looks and how well it has been doing. They are, at best, an approximation of economic reality because of the selective reporting of economic events by the accounting system, compounded by alternative accounting methods and estimates (Dopuch, Ingberman & King 1997). The purpose of financial statements is to provide users (business owners, lenders, managers, suppliers, customers, attorneys and litigants and employees and job seekers) with a set of financial data that, in summary form, fairly represents the financial strength and performance of a business (Titman & Trueman 1986; Breton& Taffler 2001; and Sephen & Higgegeist 1999). They reveal opportunities and provide protection against financial pitfalls. Ideally, financial statements analysis provides information that is useful to present and potential investors and creditors and other users in making rational investment, credit risk monitoring and other similar decisions (Bedard, Deis, Curtis & Jenkins 2008). Further, they are comparative measurements of risk and return to make investment or credit decisions as they provide one basis for projecting future earnings and cash flows.             In line with the practices of an auditor, the auditor should be alert to the fact that audit procedures applied for the purpose of forming an opinion on the financial statements may bring instances of possible noncompliance with laws and regulations to the auditor’s attention. For example, such audit procedures include reading minutes; inquiring of the entity’s management and legal counsel concerning litigation, claims and assessments; and performing substantive tests of details of classes of transactions, account balances, or disclosures (Mayhew & Pike 2004). The auditor should obtain written representations that management has disclosed to the auditor all known actual or possible noncompliance with laws and regulations whose effects should be considered when preparing financial statements. When the auditor becomes aware of information concerning a possible instance of noncompliance, the auditor should obtain an understanding of the nature of the act and the circumstances in which it has occurred, and sufficient other information to evaluate the possible effect on the financial statements. When evaluating the possible effect on the financial statements, the auditor considers different things that include the potential financial consequences, such as fines, penalties, damages, threat of expropriation of assets, enforced discontinuation of operations and litigation; whether the potential financial consequences require disclosure; whether the potential financial consequences are so serious as to call into question the true and fair presentation given by the financial statements. When the auditor believes there may be noncompliance, the auditor should document the findings and discuss them with management (Mayhew & Pike 2004).             The auditor should consider the implications of noncompliance in relation to other aspects of the audit, particularly the reliability of management representations. In this regard, the auditor reconsiders the risk assessment and the validity of management representations, in case of noncompliance not detected by the entity’s internal controls or not included in management representations. The implications of particular instances of noncompliance discovered by the auditor will depend on the relationship of the perpetration and concealment, if any, of the act to specific control activities and the level of management or employees involved (Geiger & Raghunandan 2002). The auditor should, as soon as practicable, either communicate with those charged with governance, or obtain audit evidence that they are appropriately informed, regarding noncompliance that comes to the auditor’s attention. However, the auditor need not do so for matters that are clearly inconsequential or trivial and may reach agreement in advance on the nature of such matters to be communicated. If in the auditor’s judgment the noncompliance is believed to be intentional and material, the auditor should communicate the finding without delay. The auditor may conclude that withdrawal from the engagement is necessary when the entity does not take the remedial action that the auditor considers necessary in the circumstances, even when the noncompliance is not to the financial statement (Raghunandan K & Rama DV 1999).             In accordance to this development, extensive accounting and auditing procedures must be practiced by auditors with collaborations to management. This includes everything from audits of accounting management policies and procedures to internal reviews of quantitative exposure measurement models. In essence, this process involves the evaluation whether or not its management process is working properly and efficiently. This must be done to assess if the company addresses the problems and risks being identified in the first process. Without this step, businesses would not be able to come up with policies and regulations regarding standards, and would not be able to know if their measuring, monitoring and controlling processes are effective enough to suggest improvement of their operation and profit.             In the case of fraud particularly a financial fraud, a forensic accountant may come to the scene. Forensic accounting synthesizes understanding of business information, financial reporting, accounting and auditing standard and procedures, investigation and information gathering techniques to support litigation processes (Raghunandan K & Rama DV 1999). Although mostly involved in crime solving situations, forensic accounting is increasingly being used to prevent illegal transaction and fraudulent deterrence (Raghunandan K & Rama DV 1999).  In spite of this role, a forensic accountant should avoid biasness and maintain fairness in reporting. The role of forensic accountant is vital since it could affect the standing of the business and at the same time the reliability of the internal auditor (Raghunandan K & Rama DV 1999).   Literature Review Synthesis             Actually, most of decision theory is normative or prescriptive, i.e. it is concerned with identifying the best decision to take, assuming an ideal decision taker who is fully informed, able to compute with perfect accuracy, and fully rational. However, since it is obvious that people do not typically behave in optimal ways, there is also a related area of study, which is a descriptive or positive discipline, attempting to describe what people will actually do. Furthermore it is possible to relax the assumptions of perfect information, rationality and so forth in various ways, and produce a series of different prescriptions or predictions about behaviour, allowing for further tests of the kind of decision-making that occurs in practice. Even though these decisions making is essential, some flaws still exist especially in making business decision and that is through biased perception. Basically managers often suffer from biased decision and some of it is in the type called confirmation bias.             In fact, one of the keys for a successful organisation is good management. This reflects to a good manager, a good manger that is not only good in overall business process but an honest and transparent in terms of financial reporting. Can you imagine an organisation, a company, or any other organisation succeeds without good governance?             The management and internal auditors plays an important role in any organisation.  This importance lies on the fact that they have good collaboration in able to protect and organise the relevant data in any organisation. With this, their work and role must be given emphasis, including the approach that they can use to improve. In the case of financial fraud, auditors should be aware to the work of a forensic accountant which is actually responsible in finding glitches in financial reports. Thus, it is vital for forensic accountant to be fair in giving reports.             If these people created good and honest accounting practices, the financial standing will indicate very significant effects on business sustainability, even amidst the threats of unrest. Therefore, we could conclude that the business strategies such financial evaluation could still be expected to improve business sustainability faster than average. However, even though there is a good collaboration among them, there still a need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in approaches in the business process.             In an age where the financial system has become simultaneously more complex and more accessible to the unsophisticated investor, it is essential that the challenge of effective management is addressed. On the other hand, harmful incentive structures, conflicts of interests, and the absence of transparency seem to be key issues in addressing shortcomings in current management. In addition, the interests of minority shareholders have to be protected as larger investors may abuse their power. These problems can effectively be addressed by the use of forensic audits after major bankruptcies or suspected accounting frauds, by encouraging whistleblowers, by fostering of a process of diluting ancillary links between audit firms and their audit clients as well as between investment analysts and their clients. Greater transparency in the process of credit rating by the relevant agencies is also required. Other suggestions for reform include measures to tackle concentration in the provision of audit services, perhaps by lowering entry barriers.   References:   Abbot LJ, Susan Parker S & Peters GF 2006, Earnings Management, litigation risks and asymmetric audit fee response. Auditing J Practice and Theory, Vol 25(1), pp. 85-98.   Anderson JC, Jennings MM, Lowe DJ & Reckers. PMJ 1997, The mitigation of hindsight bias in judges evaluation of auditor decision. Auditing J Practice and Theory. Vol 16 (2), pp. 20-37.   Ball R & Shivakumar L 2008, How much new information is there in earnings? Journal of Accounting Research Vol. 46, No 5, pp. 975-1016.   Bedard JC, Deis DR, Curtis MB & Jenkins JG 2008,Risk monitoring and control of audit firms: A research synthesis. Auditing: A journal of Practice &Theory. Vol 27 (1), pp. 187-218.   Breton G. & Taffler RJ 2001. Accounting information and analyst stock recommendation decisions: a content analysis approach. Accounting and Business Research. Vol. 31, No. 2.   Brian W. Mayhew BW & Pike JE 2004, Does investor selection of auditors enhance auditor independence? The Accounting review. Vol. 79, No. 3, pp. 797-822.   Carey P & Simnett R 2004, Audit partner tenture and audit quality, The Accounting Review. Vol. 81, No.3, pp. 653-676.   Craswell AT, Francis JR, Taylor SL 1995, Auditor brand name reputations and industry specialisations. Journal of Accounting and Economics. Vol. 20.   Dopuch N, Ingberman DE & King RR 1997, An experimental investigation of multi-defendant bargaining in ‘joint and several’ and proportionate liability regimes. Journal of Accounting and Economics. Vol 23.   Dye RA & Sunders S 2001, Why not allow FASB & IASB standards to compete in USA? Accounting Horizons. Vol.15, No. 3.   Dye RA 1995, Incorporation and the audit market, Journal of Accounting and Economics. Vol 19.   Geiger MA & Raghunandan K 2002, Auditor Tenure and Audit Reporting Failures. Auditing: A journal of Practice &Theory. Vol 21, No.1.   Hogan CE & Jeter DC 1999, Industry Specialisation by Auditors. Auditing: A journal of Practice &Theory. Vol 18, No.1.   Hooghiemstra R & Manen JV 2004, Non-executive directors in Netherlands: another expectations gap? Accounting and Business Research. Vol. 34, No. 1.   Jenson KL & Payne JL 2005, Auditing procurement : Managing audit quality and quality fees in response agency costs. Auditing J Practice and Theory, Vol 24(2), pp. 27-48.   Jenson MC & Meckling WH 1976, Theory of the firm: Managerial Behavior, Agency costs and ownership structure. Journal of Financial Economics. 3.   Kealey BT, Lee HY & Stein MT 2007, The association between audit-firms tenture and audit fees paid to successor auditors: Evidence from Arthur Andersen. Auditing J Practice and Theory. Vol 26 (2), pp. 95-116.   Khurana IK & Raman KK 2004,Litigation risks and financial reporting credibility of Big4 versus non Big 4 audits: Evidence from Anglo-American countries. The Accounting review. Vol. 79, No.2, pp. 473-495.   Krishnam J & Zhang Y 1999, Auditors litigation risks and corporate disclosure of quarterly review report. A journal of Practice &Theory. Vol 24, supp, pp. 115-138.   Kwon S, Lim C & Tan P 2007, Legal systems and Earnings quality: the role of auditor industry specialisation. Auditing: A journal of Practice & Theory. Vol 26 (2), pp. 25-55.   Low K 2004, The effects of industry specialisation on audit risk assessments and audit planning decision. The Accounting review. Vol. 79, No. 1, pp. 201-214.   Malone CF & Roberts RW 1996, The title: Factors Associated with Incidence of Reduced Auditing, Quality Behaviors. Auditing: A journal of Practice &Theory. Vol 15, No.2.   Newman P, Patterson ER & Smith JR 2005, The role of auditing in investor protection, The Accounting review. Vol. 80, No. 1, pp. 289-313.   Pae S & Yoo  S 2001, Strategic Interaction in Auditing: An Analysis of Auditors’ Legal liability, Internal Control System Quality, and Audit Effort. The Accounting Review. Vol. 76, No.3   Raghunandan K & Rama DV 1999, Auditor Resignations and the Market for Audit Services. Auditing: A journal of Practice &Theory. Vol 18, No.1.   Schwartz R 1997, Legal Regimes, Audit Quality and Investment. The Accounting Review. Vol 72, No.3.   Sephen A & Higgegeist S 1999, Financial reporting and auditing under alternative damage apportionment rules. The Accounting review. Vol. 7, No.3, pp. 347-369.   Simunic DA & Stein MT 1996, The impact of litigation risk on audit pricing: A review of the economics and the evidence. Auditing: A journal of Practice & Theory. Vol. 15, supplement.   Titman S & Trueman B 1986, Information quality and the valuation of new issues, Journal of Accounting and Economics 8 (June).   Venkataramna R, Weber JP & Willenborg M 2008,  Litigation risks, audit quality and audit fees: Evidence from Initial Public Offerings (IPO). The Accounting review Vol. 83, No.5, pp. 1315-1345.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Literature Review on Auditing

Literature Review Overview In any current business organisation, progress that the company is making is recorded as basis...

The Influence Of Academic Facilities On Academic Performance Research Proposal

Title                 The title for the proposed study is The Influence Of Academic Facilities On Academic Performance. This paper will show the goals and objectives of the study and the different procedures, instruments and approaches to be used in order to achieve these goals and objectives.   Background of the Study/Literature Review                 There are different studies which show the connection between academic facilities with the academic performance of students. The Minister of Education, Science and Sports, Papa Owusu-Ankomah of Ghana called on the students to take advantage of the different academic facilities offered by the government in order to improve their academic performance. The government of Ghana mainly focuses on investing on the school facilities in order to help the learning process of the students. For instance, in 2007, the government invested a total of 650 for its six-classroom block via the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for Prempeh College in Kumasi (Ghana News Agency, 2007).                 The study of Adedipe (2007) showed that the lack of physical resources, which include lecture halls, halls of residence, laboratories, libraries and other academic resources commonly result to poor academic performance, because it breeds over crowdedness (cited in Fabiyi and Uzoka, 2009). In addition, the study of Fabiyi and Uzoka (2009) indicated that planning and design of educational facilities for schools, colleges and universities have influence towards the outcome of learning. In addition, according to Earthman (2002) and Schneider (2002) the design of school building and components has influence over the learning process of the students, because it can create an ambiance that will permit or hinder learning procedures. The correlational study of Earthman (2002) showed a strong and positive connection between the entire condition of school building and the achievements of the students.   Aims and Objectives                 The main aim of the study is to evaluate the influence of academic facilities on academic performance of the students. In line with this the following are the specific objectives of the study: ·         To describe and analyze the different direct and indirect impact of academic facilities towards the learning process of the students; ·         To analyze the current academic facilities problems in Ghana; and ·         To assess how the students perceive about the academic facilities in their respective school and how it affects their studies.   Methodology The research study to be used in the proposed study will be descriptive method. According to Creswell (1994) it intends to present facts about the nature and status of a situation as it exists at the time of the study. In addition, it also concerns with the relationships and practices that exist, beliefs and processes that are ongoing, effects that are being felt or trends that are developing (Best 1970). Therefore, it can be helpful in order to describe the current conditions and situations based on the impressions and perceptions of the respondents of the study (Creswell 1994). Both qualitative and quantitative data will be gathered for this study. This is to ensure that both non-statistical and statistical data will be used in order to support the findings and result of the study. Data Collection                 Surveys will be implemented in the study. Surveys are the most common form of research method for collection of primary data (Commonwealth of Learning, 2000). One of its purpose is to describe, e.g., to count the frequency of some event or to assess the distribution of some variables such as proportion of the population of different age groups, sex, religion, castes and languages, knowledge, attitude and adaption of practices about particular issues, and other information of similar nature about the population (Commonwealth of Learning, 2000). Survey interview and questionnaire will be used in this study, which will be used in order to gather primary data. On the other hand, secondary data will be gathered from different online libraries and databases which include BMJ, EMERALD, SCIENCE DIRECT, EBSCO, QUESTIA and GOOGLE BOOK. Sampling Population                 The target population is 300 students from 3 schools in Ghana of 3 levels (elementary, secondary and higher education). The students will be selected via random selection process. Data Analysis                 The data results of the study will be analyzed by determining their corresponding frequency, percentage and weighted mean. The following statistical formulas will be used: 1.             Percentage – to determine the magnitude of the responses to the questionnaire.                 n % = ——– x 100              ;               n – number of responses                 N                                            N – total number of respondents 2.            Weighted Mean                 f1x1 + f2x2 + f3x3 + f4x4 + f5x5 x = ———————————————;                                 xt where:                 f – weight given to each response                                 x – number of responses                                 xt – total number of responses   References   Best, J. W. (1970). Research in Education, 2nd Ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, Inc.   Commonwealth of Learning. (2000). Manual for Educational Media              Researchers: Knowing your Audience. Vancouver, Canada:     Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA).   Creswell, J.W. (1994). Research design. Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.   Earthman, G. I. (2002). School facility conditions and student academic achievement. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA’s Institute for Democracy, Education & Access (IDEA).   Fabiyi, A. and Uzoka, N. (2009). State of physical facilities in Nigerian Universities: implication for repositioning tertiary institutions for global competition. Retrieved on 29th November, 2010, from http://www.herp-net.org/   Ghana News Agency (2007, March 21). ‘Use facilities to improve academic performance – Minister’. GNA. Retrieved 29th November, 2010 from www.modernghana.com   Schneider, M. (2002). Do school facilities affect academic outcomes? Washington, D. C. National Clearing House for Educational Facilities. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

The Influence Of Academic Facilities On Academic Performance Research Proposal

Title The title for the proposed study is The Influence Of Academic Facilities On Academic Performance. This paper will ...