Intercultural Communications Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Intercultural Communications - Research Paper Example From the day of its discovery until today, coffee has been a part of many nations’ customs and occasions. With a considerable market share, coffee, regardless of its kind, proves to be an interesting part of every culture, and that is why it is an important subject of research in the field of social studies. Tracing back the roots of coffee culture leads to rediscovering history, particularly how customs and traditions have evolved with the presence of the famous beverage. Coffee  is one of the most popular beverages in the world (Villanueva et al. 20-40). It would be difficult to find a restaurant, hotel, or any place that is not serving coffee. The popularity of coffee makes it an important part of human culture. Likewise, people cannot easily ignore its popularity due to its marketability and health benefits. A brief background of coffee, its origin and evolution is beneficial to know how it has become a part of human culture. Coffee is sourced from roasted  seeds of th e  coffee plant commonly known as coffee beans. The earliest trace of coffee dates back to the ninth century A.D. in southern Arabia (Weinberg and Bealer 75). Then from Ethiopia, it spread to Egypt and Yemen, then to Persia, Northern Africa, Turkey, and Armania, then to Italy and the rest of Europe; to Indonesia; and to the Americas (Meyers). Aside from being a part of many households’ breakfast, coffee has taken part in important historical occasions. For instance, it was employed in religious ceremonies in Africa and Yemen. Likewise, coffee has attracted much global attention as it was banned in  Ottoman Turkey in the 17th century due to political reasons (Hopkins). Moreover, it was also implicated in revolutionary political activities in Europe (Hopkins). These incidents associated with coffee make it a controversial beverage, a really important part of human history and culture. As a commodity, coffee is one of the most important agricultural products in the world. Mo re than 80 countries cultivate coffee (â€Å"Coffee Drinking Culture†). Likewise, coffee was at the top of agricultural export for 12 countries in 2004 (FAO Statistical Yearbook, 24) and was the world's seventh-largest legal agricultural export by value in 2006. To date, its production amounts to US$14 billion yearly (FAOSTAT Core Trade Data). The important role that coffee has played throughout history asserts the practice of drinking coffee as part of the universal culture. Due to its flavor, aroma, and energizing effects, coffee has become a popular beverage to complement home meals, and also serves as a socializing medium among people of different cultures. The role of coffee as a socializing medium may be referenced to the Les Deux Magots, a cafe formerly located in Rue de Buci in France. This cafe used to be the social hub of many literary writers in the 1900s. The place served as a venue for their meetings, literary sharing, and story telling. Indeed, in his book title d, â€Å"A Movable Feast† Ernest Hemingway (72), a world-acclaimed writer recalls his memories of Les Deux Magots as it used to be a rendezvous for all literary enthusiasts in the early 1900s. in Hemingway’s story, he and his friends used to go to Les Deux Magots for coffee before going home finally. Moreover, other literary authors such as Steve Matchett, Abha Dawesar, Vladimir Nabokov, and Craig Ferguson have their own reminiscences of the place in their own respective works. This shows not only the

Ethical Issues and Planning the Audit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethical Issues and Planning the Audit - Essay Example The audit revealed certain flaws in the internal control. If after the auditor has undertaken alternative procedures to assure himself on the reliability of the report there is no assurance that the financial statement is reliable for use by any user. John the auditor may have discovered the poor internal control procedures of the company on inventories and he believes that the valuation method used in estimating the inventories will compromise the integrity of the report and a potential investor to take a risk beyond what he is willing to take if he knew the true values of the inventories. The use of estimates in the valuation of inventories instead of the cost or market which ever is lower rule is a violation of the generally accepted standard. The deviation from the standard must be disclosed and it is the duty of the auditing firm to show the effect on the inventory and on the overall reliability of the financial condition of the company under audit. Is the inventory material in relation to the overall assets of the firm, or of the current assets Was there a physical count made and was the auditor present during the physical count and such count was used in th computation of the inventory These are all considered in assessing whether the opinion of the auditor is unqualified, or a disclosure is necessary. Despite these once there is deviation from the standard of reporting is presenting the inventory values that materially affect the accuracy of the values reported it is the auditor's duty to report. John should submit his report and the outcome of his meeting with Chandler on the matter of substitution by Chandler to the firm's quality assurance board. The report should clearly state that John's findings and the alternative procedures he did, considering the poor internal and complaints of customers on merchandise defects, etc., have not cured the unreliability of the financial report. The Board will be the final arbiter that will decide whether indeed a disclosure is necessary in the report in the "Notes to financial statements" section, or a qualified opinion. Chandler may have ulterior motives in making an unqualified opinion and scope of work, etc. Question 2: Planning the Audit To: Audit Partner Re: Potential problem areas and their impact on the audit plan for Moss Green Ltd. We have undertaken the initial steps in our audit of the above-mentioned client through interviews of their key management officers who might likely be our sources of vital information and approval on items that will be included in the audited financial reports. The officers are Mr. Tom Green the managing director and Wendy Chong who is in charge of the financial affairs of the client particularly the management of the investments and foreign funds that are hedged to secure foreign currency fluctuations. We are concerned on possible problems in the presentation and disclosures of accounts. We learned from the previous auditor that Tom Gross does not have much interest on the financial affairs and he has delegated these to Wendy Chong. The possible problem with Wendy Chong is her refusal to allow disclosures on certain investments that has implications on valuation and contingent liabilities, particularly on hedged accounts. The concern is much more because Wendy enjoys a incentive compensation scheme which my tempt