Animal Farm Essay Example

Animal Farm Essay Example Animal Farm Essay Animal Farm Essay Essay Topic: Literature We have watched two different versions of Animal Farm, by George Orwell. One version was a real film, directed by John Stephenson in 1999. The other version that we watched was an animation, the first feature length animation made in England, directed by Joy Batchelor and John Halas in 1954. I am going to review each two versions by comparing the techniques and direction used by each film maker. I am then going to explain which one I preferred and explain why. At the moment, I prefer the real life film as I think it is a lot clearer to children and it is a lot more interesting. I will start by comparing the opening of each film. In the animation, the film opens with a bright countryside view; the manor farm is highlighted in black to capture peoples eyes. An American narrator starts telling the story; I think this is quite misleading as the animals on the farm, voiced by Maurice Denham, are English. The narrator however, is quite useful as he immediately explains the story and introduces us to most of the leading animals. This is perfect for young children watching the film. The real life film however, starts in a completely different way. It uses a flashback to introduce us to the story. The colour is incredibly dark, almost black and white. The director uses pathetic fallacy by using thunderstorms, rain and howling wind to reflect the animals moods. It is clear straight away the mood of the film. Instead of using a narrator and a voiceover, the film uses the sheepdog to tell the story from her point of view. I think this is a much better way of doing it as it is more personal and is a much clearer way of understanding the story. The farm is shown as a dark and unhappy place. I think the flashback works well for people who havent read the book before, and dont know the story. The animation uses happy, cheerful music to portray the farm and pans around the farm showing each animal. As the camera becomes closer to the farmhouse, the lighting becomes darker and the colours a lot more bold and dark. The music becomes a lot more sinister and chilling. For people who have read the book, this will be easier to understand as they know what type of person Mr. Jones is. Mr Jones is shown dark and unpleasant. The music is very slow. Another way the directors have shown the characterisation of Mr. Jones is to show all the animals expressions as being sad and upset. In the real film, the flashback is explained by the sheepdog and shows the farm how it used to be. Mr. Jones is shown to be very loud, a drunk and yelling at all the animals. However, Mr. Jones in the animation is a lot more sinister and fearful. Mr Jones, rather than being shown as a cruel man, the director has chosen to emphasise more on him being a bad farmer and being quite ill-tempered. The real film has also added an extra character of Farmer Jones wife. She is portrayed as cruel and grumpy as well. I think this ruins the tough and mean characterisation of Mr. Jones as he appears to be fearful of his wife. Overall though, I think the wife is a good idea as it makes the story more complex. Now I will concentrate on the 2 films portrayal of the death of old major. In the animation, the timescale is incredibly quick from where Old Major thinks he is going to die, and his actual death. In old majors speech, the music is very built up and victorious. Old Major is straight away made out to be the leader of the animals by his high positioning over them. He also is the only animal in the spotlight. All the animals are shown to be united and kind to each other. The speech is good and meaningful, its also quite self-explanatory. Each actors voice fits the animal well. For example, the pigs voice has a posh accent, whereas the lower animals are incredibly common. This helps emphasise the main characters in the story. However, the animals all make animal noises when they talk. This may be good for young children, but to adults, it can be quite annoying. During Majors speech, the directors use flashbacks to show the harshness of Mr. Jones, they also use sinister music. Old major is killed by a gun shot by the farmer. The lighting changes colour at the shot, this emphasises the power of it. In the real film, the animals are all organised throughout the meeting, every animal knows their place. As like in the animated film, the animals voices all suit their own characters. Again, the pigs have the posh accent, and the rats, the common accent. The change in voices is a lot clearer in this film than in the animation. Old Major represents a war time leader, maybe Winston Churchill. During the speech, the spotlights are again focused on Old Major, however the camera angle is now set to underneath the platform he is stood on, to emphasise the power old major has. This could also be portrayed as looking up at old Majors from the sheepdogs perspective. The camera angle pans round the barn of only the animals feet. This is very effective as it is not a usual camera shot. It also shows each animal in their place and listening to Old Major. The camera also only focuses and zooms in on the main animals that we have already been introduced to. The meeting of the animals is broken up with a scene in the farmhouse, showing Farmer Jones and Pilkington discussing money problems. I think this part is useful as it explains to younger children what is going on for a later part in the film. However the next scene with Farmer Jones and Pilkingtons wife is not useful at all. It doesnt further the animal plot. It is not appropriate for children either. I think the director could have used a different scene, or not used this all together. Mr Jones is also responsible for Old Majors death, as he shoots him. The death is not emphasised as much as the animation. There is no sinister music at all. Now I will focus on the revolt against Farmer Jones and how the two films have represented this. In the animation, the timescale is again very short, and the animals are shown to be without food instantly. There is no explanation for this, but hints are given that Farmer Jones is to blame for this. All the animals faces are furious which is easy to show in the animation. It is shown to be the pigs idea to break into the food shed to steal the food. Mr. Jones, behind them, is shown in a very dark shadow. There is also a massive build up of music. The animals retaliate; they all have the same facial expression which emphasises the unity of them all. Farmer Jones runs away after hardly any fighting and brings back farmers straight away. The overpowering of Manor Farm is set up to look like a real battle. The camera flicks between the line of animals, and the line of farmers approaching the farm. The music is a lot louder than before. The animals with the main parts, for example: Boxer, Napoleon, Snowball and Squealer are all shown up in a much brighter light and colour. For the real life film, the camera starts off by zooming out to catch all of the animals in one shot. Mr Jones is shown always in silhouette. This emphasises the evil within him. Napoleon is shown in this version to be a lot less evil. His facial expressions are softer and not as bold. However in the animation, he is a dark coloured pig with a permanent frown. The director for this film has really expanded the film by adding extra scenes to emphasise certain events and to help explain to children. For example, part of Old Major offered to the sheepdog as food and the dog whining. I think this is good if you havent read the book, if you have read the book it can become quite annoying. Pathetic fallacy is used again to represent the animals mood. When the animals break into the food shed, it is shown by the camera zooming in to only the animals hooves. However it is still obvious what the animals are doing. The breaking is a lot more detailed and realistic. The camera follows a goat into the shed to see all the animals eating the food. The music becomes very loud and dramatic and as soon as Mr. Jones speaks. This is very powerful and chilling. There is also a brief pause to add tension. The camera angle becomes very shaky to show complete chaos. The next part I am going to discuss is the animals first look in the farmers house. The animation shows Mr. Jones house to be a dark, massive and unfriendly place. It is shown from the animals view of quite low to the ground and the enormity of the staircase is emphasised. Incredibly scary and chilling music is also played. This shows how the animals are feeling. Upstairs, there is silence apart from clocks and record players etc. Only the main characters are shown to be looking at his belongings. Here we also see the first glimpse of Napoleon being greedy and selfish by eating all the food. The real life versions portrayal of Mr. Jones house uses not as good effects but is shown in a lot more detail. Again, the farmhouse is incredibly big and slightly scary music is played. You do not get the same effect of terror as in the animation. The director adds another scene where a pig opens a cupboard to show Old Majors head. The camera zooms in very shakily and suddenly with horror music playing. It then immediately switches to the animals racing out of the house. The following part to exploring the farmhouse is the reading of the rules. I will now look at how the directors have portrayed this. The rules are shown to have been written by Snowball in red on the side of the barn. The camera scrolls down each one, emphasising them all. Snowball reads each one out at the same time so smaller children can also understand what is happening. Victorious music is also played to show how war-like the situation is. Also, the sign that used to be Manor farm is now emphasised as Animal farm. The American narrator also explains what the animals are doing in every scene as speech is not used as much. The real film shows the rules in a completely different way. As snowball reads out the rules, the camera is focused at Napoleon creating him the leader, wearing his rosettes. This portrayal is not as good as it is the rules that the viewer needs to concentrate on to notice that they change throughout the film. The next part to analyse is Snowballs banishment from Animal farm and the events leading up to it. In the animated film, the spotlight is now placed on Snowball. This shows that Snowball is taking the place of Old Major. As the camera runs through various scenes, the pigs sources of power become obvious. For Napoleon, his power is using the dogs, and for Snowball, his power is the plan of the windmill. Napoleon has very dark/black dogs. This emphasises whose side they are on as they look incredibly evil. As Snowball tries to explain his plan, Napoleon speaks out against it. The dogs chase Napoleon out of the farm, into the bushes and the dogs then walk. During the chase there is very dramatic noise played and as soon as the dogs come back, the music softens and becomes a lot slower. The directors use a cliff-hanger and dont let you know if Snowball has been killed, or merely banished. Afterwards, Napoleon claims the plan of the windmill to be his own. The real life version of Animal farm shows Napoleon to only speak out against the plan; he does not claim it as his own. I think this is a better way to portray it as it is more realistic and believable. Squealer is used in this version to change the favour of Snowball to Napoleon; this is not used in the animation. The chase of Snowball is much more effective and detailed. The chase is from the dogs perspective, looking at Snowballs back. The music is incredibly fast and dramatic, and also the scenery towards the sides is fast, this emphasises the speed and emergency of the chase. In this film, it is obvious that Snowball has only been banished, he has not been killed. The next part of the two films I am going to look at is Boxers death. In the animation, Boxer is hit by a rock that fell from the windmill. It uses pathetic fallacy again with rain and dark conditions. The animation shows that the pigs are obviously planning something else for Boxer, instead of sending him to the hospital. All the pigs have very soothing and calming voices to encourage persuasiveness. The animation shows a lot better how all the animals stick up for each other. There is a greater sense of unity than in the real film. On the van for Boxer, there is an obvious symbol (a skull and crossbones) to show the van is not for the hospital. As soon as the symbol is shown, the music changes and becomes more sinister and dramatic. As the animals stop chasing the van, the music slows as well. The animals faces are all furious or really upset. These facial expressions are the first symbol that the animals dont trust Napoleon anymore. The narrator explains what has happened a lot more clearly than the animation shows it. In the real film, the symbol on the back of the van is not as clear. The fight to keep Boxer out of the van is longer, with the sheepdog and the donkey chasing the van for longer. The camera angle is set inside the van and the music is again, very fast. Now I shall talk about the ending of both films, before finally moving onto small details about each film that I think improve each one. In the animation, the film finishes by showing how much the pigs and the farm has developed. The timescale is a lot more apparent and all the animals are a lot more frail and thinner. The animation shows as them not being able to walk as well. The animation shows the pigs with Mr. Jones face on each of them. This is very obvious for small children to show that there is no difference between them. The film finalises with a cliff-hanger, we dont know if Napoleons reign is defeated or not. It is usually a great way to end a film but as this is based on a book, it isnt very good for those who have read it because they know what is going to happen anyway. But if you havent read the book, it is a good way to wonder about what happens next. In the real life film, the ending is much more dramatic. The animals are shown to have run away and lots of slow and sad music is played. The pigs are shown more and more to be socialising with humans. For example, Pilkington and Pilkingtons wife visit the house and they behave more and more alike. The pigs revert the name of the farm back to Manor Farm to emphasise that the farm has come full circle to the pigs becoming the equivalent of Farmer Jones. Another way this is shown is by using a special effect of the camera by mixing the face of Napoleon and Pilkington together to show there is no longer anything different about them. The beginning of the film now makes much more sense as the ending is practically identical to the flashback at the beginning. This film actually shows that Napoleon has been defeated by representing this by the falling of a statue of him. Also, another way the director has represented this is by using triumphant music to show the animals were victorious. The lighting now becomes a lot lighter and the music is a lot more peaceful. Finally, I am going to look at the small fine points that benefit to each films overview. In the animation, the director has used a very small character of a duckling for various purposes. In some cases, the duckling is used for comedy to keep the viewer entertained. For example, in Mr. Jones house when it is trying to climb up the stairs. It can also be used for linking purposes. Instead of the camera just jumping scenes, it uses this character to link them together. I think this benefits to the films reputation of being a childrens film but I cannot see adults enjoying this. In the real film, the director uses Squealer the pig as a way of convincing everyone to be on Napoleons side. This is not used in the animation. I prefer having Squealer in the film as it makes it more interesting. Squealer is also a very different colour to the other pigs so that he can easily stand out. Towards the end of the film his voice becomes more and more hypnotic and calming as he has to try even harder to persuade the animals to stay with Napoleon. This version of the film also uses a broadcasting principle to inform the animals what is happening. It is shown in the barn in flickering black and white. It has been use as we can familiarise with it as bearing bad news and being of importance to us. The broadcasts are the equivalent of the animations narrator as it sums up what has been happening on the farm. I like the idea of as the film progresses, fewer and fewer animals are watching the broadcast, until finally there are no animals left. The film that I have preferred is the real life version. I like the way the director adds more scenes to the film because if you have read the book, it is still interesting and it keeps you entertained. The animation skipped out to many important scenes, for example, the execution of the farmyard animals who had betrayed Napoleon. I preferred the realistic views of the film with the animals view points and expressions. I thought it was more comical as well. I liked the idea of the broadcasting as it was familiar to me and it modernised the book. The real film also was a lot more explanatory towards adults and children as well. However I do think that the animation is still a lot more suited towards younger children, it is just not suitable for adults and teenagers. I also liked the music more in the real film because in the animation, I often thought there was a lot more music than speech and it just became boring after a while. The real film is a lot more modern and I can relate to it a lot more that then film produced in the 50s. Overall, I think that the real film is a much better film in most ways.

Why Projcts Fail in Airbus-A380 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Why Projcts Fail in Airbus-A380 - Essay Example However, these constraints can also be properly addressed through the right management process. The work at hand tries to elaborate this point. However, crucial to this analysis is the inclusion of important aspects or components of the modern management theory. The modern management theory has a significant link to the actual explanation of the failure associated with the Airbus A380 project. For this reason, the work at hand also includes the common approaches involved in the modern management approaches. However, more than this, the factors in modern management theory is necessary for inclusion because the entire discussion pertains more to the actual factors involved in the failure of Airbus A380 project. Airbus A380 project is a highly technical project, but its nature has nothing to do with the prevailing thought regarding the right implementation of the factors involved in the modern management theory. For this reason, the work at hand has significantly included the remarkable thought concerning on how planning, coordination, organising, command or communication and control should be critically considered in the case. This is the rationale of the work at hand and in order to implement this, the actual problems faced by Airbus A380 project prior to its failure were critically discussed. The actual strength of the analysis lies on the point that the work at hand has remarkably consulted various reliable academic articles as the bases of the argument. However, the limitation lies on the fact that there are only few studies trying to reflect on the kind of problems or failure that Airbus A380 project faced. For this reason, another substantial feature of the discussion reflects on the ability of the proponent to intuitively relate the prevailing concepts linked to the modern management theory and the case of Airbus A380 project failure. Moreover, the main argument in the paper lies on the point that

Health Administarion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 12

Health Administarion - Essay Example When the information is released publicly and available for scrutiny by various people, it improves the quality of the health care organization even more due to the lack of secrecy. It also enables trust to be built between the public and the health care organization staff which is necessary health care service deliveries (Green and Bowie, 34). With public release of such sensitive information, there is a likelihood of the privacy of the organization’s privacy being breached. This is especially so when the quality measurement data released is done so electronically due to the hacking into the systems once there results are made available to the general public. Privacy is important and especially concerning health records and hence breach is very risky (Green and Bowie, 108). The other risk is that the reception of the data may be the opposite of the expectation. If the quality measurement report is too superb and opposite of what is the reality in most health care organizations, the report may be jeered and the trust between the organization and the public ends up widening, hence the quality ends up dwindling even

Ethics Religion And Sustainable Production Marketing Essay

Ethics Religion And Sustainable Production Marketing Essay Building an efficient ethical supply chain requires applying strict measures which comprises of identifying, forming and maintaining good supplier relationship with both upstream and upstream. It is important that companies build a viable ethical supply chain as well encourage good working condition in accordance to existing labor laws in other improve brand image and build a strong reputation. In todays business world, building ethical supply chains is extremely vital as it also comes with a lot of benefits attached to the practice. Ethical supply chain is the practice of providing goods and services to customers while sure that the rule to ethical code is adhered to (Beamon, 2005) The world is becoming a global marketplace and companies must ensure that they have morally strong brand image and create a well trusted supply chain so as to add value not only to their brand but to their image in general, with the wide spread of internet and effective communication consumers are becoming aware of what is actually involve in production and distribution of goods and services. With the increasing rate of climate change people are becoming more conscious of how to care for the environment and the ways of how resources are being exploited. Interestingly, in these recent economic downturns big multinationals companies such as Kraft, Nestle and Starbucks have all managed to form strategic partnership with Rainforest Alliance for Ethical Sourcing of Coffee beans, according to (IGD.com, 2009) Kraft started working with Rainforest Alliance to show support as part of their contribution towards sustainability and helping the environment, shortly after gaining great experience Kraft successfully expanded more work with Rainforest Alliance and included other brands and with this, a total of 150,000 farmers benefited by gaining improved working conditions and better wages, they also helped to protect 70,000 acres of coffee farmland and helped protect rainforest plant and animal species as reported by (IGD.com, 2009) Nestle announced in 2005 to support sourcing its coffee beans ethically after bagging the title in the UK of being the most unethical company and partly responsible for driving down prices of coffee beans at the expense of poor small farmers, they decided to make a serious commitment to support Fair trade and fight poverty, invest in community projects such as improving schools and clinics, providing clean water and repairing roads. Fair Trade label is particularly strong and popular in the United Kingdom, The United States Starbucks made a pledge to make all of its popular espresso brand Fair Trade by the end of 2009 on the other hand, Nestlà © who happens to be a bigger brand with numerous has also join the bandwagon and made commitment to the mass consumer market like its number one rival Kraft, whose brands such as Maxwell house and Kenco has made sure all its coffee beans are from Rainforest Alliance certified farms. (Russell, 2009) Starbucks made a commitment to ethical sourcing in 2009, and has become one of the largest buyers of fair-trade coffee, they also made a decision to have 100% of its coffee certified or verified by an independent third party, such as TransFair USA. To show their commitment to the sustainability, they have planned to invest in communities by doubling loans to farmers by 2015. According to Starbucks, (starbucks.co.uk, 2011)responsibly grown, ethically traded coffee means working with farmers to produce coffee in ways that help provide benefits to their business, their communities and the environment. This falls in line with the Fair Trade objectives, which states that, coffee bean growers should be adequately compensated for their harvest. In addition, Fair Trades primary objectives is ensure that its sets standards for farmers organizations and labor are adhered to by all, they also work in the interest of small-scale producers and help them work in an organized manner, such as in a co-op and make sure all decisions are made democratically and not influenced. In Fair Trade, the farmers are allowed to form unions. While in the Rainforest Alliances standard, they do not get involved with the cooperation of farm workers, and are somewhat laidback. The Rainforest Alliance does not have any existing baseline premium for wages, and they only maintains the low wage bar set by local governments (Trauben, 2009) 2. According to research expert, (Johnson, 2010) who carried out a research in the UK to understand what consumers actually wants, in his studies he discovered that food is the most misunderstood area of public policy, as it accounts for 10% of household expenditure and is linked to 12% of employment, 70% of land use and 20% of energy use in the UK. He also mentioned that demand for food is higher than supply bearing in mind price, quality, availability and access such as logistics issues which play a very vital role in supply chain. (Doane, 2001) Defined ethical consumption as the purchase of a product that concerns a certain ethical issue human rights, labor conditions, animal well-being, and environment it is chosen freely by an individual consumer. With growing trends and change in lifestyle consumer behavior and expectations have changed, due to various issues which ranges from Self-interest to Purchasing Power. People are getting busier and barely have to cook and therefore have to rely on instant junk foods, maintaining a healthy diet is increasing becoming a difficult task but it is important to make sure that they consume ethically by making sure they are well informed of the food being sourced in a sustainable way. Sending out clear information to create awareness should be encouraged by the government so as to enable the food retailers provide more knowledge and give more information to improve the eating habit of consumers said the Chief Executive of Wm Morrison Supermarkets (Philips, 2010) it is the fourth biggest grocery retailer in the UK and has 479 stores with a strong focus on fresh products. However, having access to affordable healthy foods should be greatly encouraged and not excluded economically from enjoying healthy meals as these tends to be more expensive. With the recent economic downturn more people have very little disposable income to spend on buying food stuff as price for simple basic commodities such as rice witnessed an increase in price globally. (Philips, 2010) also said Key to the affordability of food is choice. Supermarkets offer wide choice in order not only to meet customers expectations but also to drive competition. This encourages innovation to help ensure excellent quality as well as to keep prices down. The conclusion of the research carried out by the (Johnson, 2010) is that consumers have growing expectations and it is the responsibility of the supermarkets to act sustainably, and not increase prices of more healthier foods, Fair trade products should be made affordable and serve as an economically sustainability initiative which helps the environment and must be backed by clear information and honest Fair Trade labeling of products so that consumers have clear knowledge of where the products originates from and the environmental impact. Consumers are becoming more aware of brands that practice responsible sourcing and procurement, carbon footprints and favorable ethical trade practices. Brands who adopt ethical sourcing are perceived as being environment friendly, these ethical firms avoid actions that may somewhat negatively influence, or appear to influence, supply management decisions for sourcing of resources. 3. Recommendations to help cure the ills of the coffee market would be as follows: a) Ethical Consumption should be encouraged in great measures so as to make consumers use their purchasing power as a means to change questionable ills of the coffee market business as well as the severe oversupply of low cost substandard coffee beans. According to (Jeremy, 2007) Fair Trade is defined as a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency, and respect that seek greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of marginalized producers and workers especially in the South. One complaint amongst many coffee drinkers is that the quality of Fair Trade coffee varies widely. The fact that the growers are guaranteed a minimum price for their product may have unintended consequences, one being that there is no incentive to improve quality. b) Reward companies that practice high ethical standards to set an example for other unethical companies to change their ways of doing business, for example according to a recent study carried out by (Remi Trudel et el, 2012) in trying to understand how much more would consumers be willing pay for an ethically produced product? and also how much less would consumers be willing to pay for the product they think is unethical? 97 coffee drinkers were radomly chosen for the experiment and were told about the companys production standards, the result from the experiment showed that people punished unethical goods with a bigger discount than they rewarded ethical ones with premiums. c) Consume authentic ethical products d) Always check labels and investigate popular brands to understand its history of productionand encourage fairness in labor.

How Important Are Customer Expectations

Customer expectations are very important because depending on their satisfaction, they are more likely to return for service or refer other customers. The company needs knowledge if satisfaction is rising and which are the areas in which customers are satisfied so the company can continue with that same service. There needs to be an observation when customer's satisfaction level is changing since it affects their expectations and or perceptions. Constant diligence in observing your customers' environment and your own can affect their satisfaction level. A good way to exceed service quality to switch from service provider mentality to being the customers. Observe what would be your expectations as a customer. For the most part, customer will not demand service that is in executable, it is usually reasonable. Customers like to be treated with courtesy, appreciation and listened to as well. Customer service includes not only how the customer is treated, it is the entire process of obtaining the product and after the product has been purchase. Acknowledgement of voicemail and service request is a very important factor. Customers many times have questions on the product, it is essential for them to obtain correct responses and together with friendliness and dedicated attention. Due to the economic status of this nation there has been many jobs positions that has been made to the minimum amount of employees needed. Customers do not like to wait for service, therefore, once they receive service it should be the best quality to make them feel it was worth the time they waited to obtain the service. ttp://www. nkarten. com/mce. html The company also needs knowledge in the areas in which the customers are not satisfied, they need to track and cout the frequency of complaints and if they are the same or similar complaints. Company may opt to send periodically Mystery Shoppers. A survey to customers is a good idea because it give them the opportunity to express their experience and also to make suggestions. When Customer satisfact ion has been met or exceeded, it leads to company loyalty and product repurchase. Customer should be inform about changes made as the direct result of listening to their needs. All survey of customer service should be made available to all employees to make them aware of the positive and negative feedback and changes could be made accordingly. Quality measure should both be made internal and external. Customer service should be such that it exceeds that of competitors. Proper training to employees should be given so they can provide excellent customer service. The company should also look for ways for the employees to be happy with their employment, so they can offer unique happiness as they perform their duties. Many times if employees encounter work problems such as conflicts with their superiors, coworkers and or disappointed because they would like to have the opportunity to advance professionally, this does affect their performance in a negative way. Employees needs must be met, company have to communicate with them as they have to with their customers. Problems at work has to be approach and resolve. http://www.qualitydigest.com/sept00/html/satisfaction.html

Altria’s Contingent Liabilities

Altria Group is the parent of Philip Morris USA Inc. and John Middleton, Inc. , which produces and sell cigarettes and other tobacco products. Altria also owns Philip Morris Capital Corp, which maintains a portfolio of finance leases. On March 30, 2007, Altria Group distributed all of its remaining interest in Kraft Foods Inc. to its stockholders. It also completed the spin-off of its subsidiary Philip Morris International Inc. As of Dec. 31, Altria declared $57,211,000,000 in total assets, and debts of $38,657,000,000. A mounts owed by Altria's consumer products units total $33,054,000,000, with $17,782,000,000 constituting as current debts. Accordign to its balance sheet, Altria's liabilities include short-term borrowings; accrued liabilities for marketing, taxes, employment costs, and settlement charges; dividends payable, accrued pension and healthcare costs, and long-term debt. It is Altria's obligation to report all liabilities in its balance sheet in accordance with the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (U. S. GAAP). For example, if Philip Morris obtains a EUR1. 5 billion, 364-day term loan, expiring Dec. 2, 2008, from Bank of America, it is expected to list in its balance sheet that it has debts of EUR1. 5 billion on account of the term loan. If Bank of America asserts that an additional EUR500 million is due on the term loan due to Philip Morris' violations of its covenant that Philip Morris should limit allowed debt expenditures, but Phillip Morris disputes the claim, Philip Morris need not include BofA's claim in its balance sheet. BofA's claim will still be subject to arbitration or litigation, and courts may rule in favour of Philip Morris. Hence, Altria does not disclose these types of events in its balance sheet. Altria, however, has fiduciary duties to disclose to shareholders all potential liabilities that may become actual liabilities in the future. These include liabilities that are contingent, disputed or un-liquidated. For Atria's case, some of these liabilities will likely include pending lawsuits filed against the company. Pending lawsuits are subject to trial, may be sent to appeal after a ruling is served, may result to settlement between parties, may end up being dismissed, or may end up with monetary judgment, either substantial sums or de minimis amounts, against the defendant. Because of the varied possible outcomes, Atria maybe unable to provide reasonable estimates on the debts they may incur as a result of these lawsuits. Regardless, shareholders have to be aware of the potential losses they may incur as a result of these contingencies. Investors also have to be aware of potential risks the company is facing. Hence, contingencies and other   potential liabilities are listed as footnotes to financial statements. In its Annual Report, Altria discussed contingencies to its financial statements. It stated that legal proceedings are pending or threatened in various U. S. and foreign jurisdictions against Altria and its subsidiaries on account of tobacco-related issues. However, it admitted that its management is unable to estimate the possible loss that could arise from an unfavorable outcome of any of these cases. Accordingly, Altria has not provided any amounts in its financial statements for unfavourable outcomes of pending litigations. For tobacco-related lawsuits that have been resolved through settlements, Altria included these items in its balance sheet because its liabilities on account of those disputes have already been determined. For example, Altria has stated settlement payments it owes on account of the Master Settlement Agreement reached by PM USA with 46 states and other governments for health care cost recovery and other claims. REFERENCES â€Å"2007 Annual Report. † Altria Group, Inc. http://www. altria. com/download/pdf/investors_AltriaGroupInc_2007_AnnualRpt. pdf

Leadership, a Gender Comparison - 2709 Words

Introduction â€Å"Don’t just stand for the success of other women – insist on it.† (Gail Blanke, 1999, p.138) The purpose of this project is to construct a gender comparison of women in senior management with a view to identifying why women appear to be more successful in reaching this level in some sectors more than others. In particular the author wants to analyse the IT sector where research (Feyerherm et al, 2005) suggests that women are apparently more successful in reaching senior management positions. Why is this happening at the current time, particularly in the USA and not in the United Kingdom (Catalyst Report, 2013, Grant Thornton International Business, 2013). Traditionally the ‘glass ceiling’ (Bryant, 1984) has been cited as a major cause of this disparity, yet a number of women are creating cracks and breaking this ‘ceiling’ becoming role models who are being noticed and admired by other ambitious women across the globe. This is particularly evident in the IT sector and this project will look at some of the factors that may explain the phenomenon. Wajcman (1998, p.2) points out, â€Å"the usually hidden processes and tensions of gender relations at work are likely to be more visible in high technology multi-nationals where women are breaking new ground†. However while this tension exists, it appears to be less of a hindrance in the IT arena compared to more traditional sectors where, embedded culture, a history of dominant male management and negativeShow MoreRelatedLeadership and Management- an Annotated Bibliography808 Words   |  4 PagesAdler, M. A. (1994). Male-Female power differences at work: A comparison of supervisor and policymakers. Sociological Inquiry, 64(1), 37-55. * This article spoke of the positions of power between men and women, and how policymakers and supervisors distribute that power to men and women. 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