Banking Regulation and Risk Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Banking Regulation and Risk - Coursework Example The debit and credit cards are also offered to the customers depending on the kind of services they need from the institutions. Finance is a crucial sector in the field of financing which is the funding to the customers in order for them to be successful in life. It is also logic that the customers need techniques for them to manage their financial activities. When I say about banking, it is the financial institutions that are working on different kinds of business. For one to understand the challenges and risks of banking, it is good to understand the types of business involved in the banking system. This depends on the type of banks running the business whereby some banks carry out different functions depending on the size of the bank. Some banks are large and offer a large number of services to the customers which have complex functions that are more specialized. It is not all the banks that have same financial activities and functions but they vary depending on the kind of services the customers need. Banking is usually divided in the following types; It is a bank that deals with the maintenance of the country’s economy. Without the central bank the country can not have a stable economy. The banks normally deal with the circulation of the buying and selling currencies in the country and it controls the interest rates of the amounts. The bank also acts as the last resort lender to other banks when they face trouble. It is a bank that is separate from other banks in the country. Retail banks are the banks at the streets where many people in the country access the banks. The banks collect deposits from the customers and give saving facilities to them and they pay interests on the accounts. The banks also lend the customers with money and charge them a certain amount of interest depending on the rates. the banks also provide other services to the customers. This are banks that have

Discussion question Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Discussion question - Research Paper Example istinguish the roles and jurisdiction for nurses employed in the areas of informatics, education, advanced clinical practice, research, health policy, and administration. I used face-to-face interactions, contextual materials (audiovisual elements), and other interactive methods to acquaint myself with and achieve the course competencies. These gave me a practical experience of some of the theoretical concepts covered in class and allowed me to marry theory and practice to create a sound foundation for achieving the competencies. I intend to grow further in the course competencies I achieved, and I have already created a plan to support this objective. First, I will be more active in classroom sessions so that I assimilate as much information as I can. This will also help me to nurture an innate understanding of the coursework (McCoy & Anema, 2012). Secondly, I will participate in more practical activities – including internships – that will equip me with the practical skills required to grow further in the areas of competence. Finally, I will participate in more group activities like discussions and assigned group work to sharpen my theoretical comprehension of the course

A point in life Essay Example for Free

A point in life Essay I have come to a point in life that many people have not. I have made a firm decision to recommit myself to pursuing my dreams. While there are those who believe that with an ounce of luck and a ton of persistence anything can be accomplished, I believe that there is no reason to expend so much energy and rely on luck. I believe in taking hold of my destiny and carving out a future for myself based on the decisions that I make in life. Life is simply too short and too precious to be left to luck alone. This is why I have chosen to apply for a course in Nursing at the Saint Xavier University. I have always wanted to help change the world. As a child, I believed that if everyone did their own little part in taking that extra step to help others, the world would be a much better place for everyone. The stark reality of it all hit me not long after that but it did not lessen my resolve. I figured that if so many people I knew did not want to do their part in changing the world then I would probably have to do their share. This is where my motivation to pursue nursing comes from; the drive to go the extra mile just to make a difference in this world. I see my goal in life as similar to that of Nurse Leader Mary Breckenridge in that I know that nursing plays a very important role in the world today. There are few jobs and professions that are as rewarding as nursing. While other jobs may get more publicity, the role that nurses play in the health care industry is highly valued and appreciated. My motivation has to do with the fact that nursing is one of the ways by which I am able to do something that I really want to do in my life and that is to care and help other people. More importantly, I greatly feel that by taking up nursing I will be able to make a difference in this world much like Mary Breckenridge has done. Pursuing my career in nursing is just the first step in my plan. Much like Nurse Leader Mary Breckenridge has done, I too want to be just more than a nurse. I would like to have the opportunity to take a bigger role in making the world a better place to live. My main philosophy in life is to lead by setting an example. I cannot expect others to do what I myself would be willing to do but that does not mean that I cannot hope that others will see the example that I have shown them. This philosophy is one of the many forces that drive me to pursue my dream of pursuing a career in nursing and of becoming so much more in life. The chance to help those who are less fortunate in life, the chance to help people like myself, the opportunity to be of service to humanity; these are the reasons why I have selected nursing as the profession that I will pursue; for, as Eleanor Roosevelt once said, â€Å"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 

Accountability Representation Control Three Pillars of Organizational effiency

Accountability Representation Control Three Pillars of Organizational effiency Accountability, representation and control are often perceived as the three different entities; however, they are three interconnected topics which form the base of the organization. They function on the various aspects of the accounting which is a diversified field and can be studied under these three heads in more detail. I have tried to illuminate the major aspect of all these three topics with respect to accounting and then how these issues are applied in the recent economic debacle. To begin with first I would like to bring the notion of accountability and then representation and then control and lastly, the recent financial failures. Accountability: An Introduction Accountability breeds responsibility. This famous quote by Steven R. Covey gives the meaning of accountability in rather general terms. The concept of accountability can be defined as the process through which a person is held answerable for his actions and deeds.. Under the umbrella of the organization the notion of accountability can be stated as the phenomenon through which whether a person at the higher level of hierarchy or at the lower level is accountable for his works and services that he renders to the organization. Accountability from the organizational perspective bears great importance as it is the measure through which the performance of the organization and a person serving can be judged and analysed. Accountability has different forms which can be studied and understood by the findings of John Roberts (1991). He tries to explore different contemporary forms of the accountability and the possibilities in which accounting can be perceived. First, the individualising form of accountability can be studied in which the accountability contributes in making the realization of the image an individual perceives about it. (John Roberts,Page No. 358,1991). This perspective helps a person to polish his senses and action thereby improving his image that is noticed by others. Second view of accountability that Roberts illustrates is the socialising form in which a person can improve its performance and efficiency by interacting with some of the experienced people in the organization. Accountability institutionalizes the use of accounting through which it operates in the organizations and firms. How Accountability Works? Accountability within the organizations mainly works through three different levels of accounting. They are auditing, management accounting and financial reporting (Lightfoot, 2009 Accountability,2009 Available on https://blackboard.le.ac.uk/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_2_1url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_3872_1%26url%3D)). Financial reporting and management accounting aspect of accounting has been dealt in detail in representation and control part respectively. The third and more applicative form in which accountability holds in the organizations is the auditing in which companies accounts are checked and verified by some agency or authority assigned for it is covered in detail here. When it comes to organizational perspective the application of accountability expands. From the past there has been a practice in business and organizations to maintain the accounts of each and every transaction that takes place in the organization. In mode rn era this system has become more advanced and transparent. The organizations can be judged or held responsible economically on the grounds of the accounts or financial statements that they produce. This involves the concept of auditing of company accounts. Audit serves as a vital economic process and play an important role in serving the public interest by strengthening the accountability and reinforcing the trust and confidence in financial reporting ((Available on http://www.icaew.com/index.cfm/route/139474/icaew_ga/Technical_and_Business_Topics/Thought_leadership/Audit_Quality_Forum/Agency_theory_and_the_role_of_audit/pdf, 2005) ,2005). Auditing of accounts are generally performed by the people employed by the owner of the company, these persons are called auditors, agents or stewards. They generally work in the interest of the company with focus on the economic performance of the institution. This phenomenon is called as agency theory which suggests that because of the informa tion asymmetries people employ agents or stewards who works for the benefit of the company. Auditing gives a clear idea of accounts and also imparts the correct information to the shareholders. In UK, the auditing system was enforced after the application of Company Law Act 1985 where each and every registered company were supposed to produce an annual audit. (Available on http://www.icaew.com/index.cfm/route/139474/icaew_ga/Technical_and_Business_Topics/Thought_leadership/Audit_Quality_Forum/Agency_theory_and_the_role_of_audit/pdf,2005) . Interplay between Accounting and Accountability Accounting can be defined as the process of identifying, measuring and communicating the financial information about the entity to permit informed judgments and decisions by users of information. ( American Accounting Association as quoted in Atrill and McLane , Page No.5, 2002). Initially there were cruder forms of accounting first one was double entry system which was a binary system method used for recording the events in which all the debits and credits were represented in the tabular form and the second was bookkeeping which was the maintenance or the summary of all the financial transactions taken place.(Arizona, 2001). Accountability often comes to play where there is some accounting failures or discrepancies and the company or the person producing the account is held responsible. Historical perspective of Accounting The topic of emergence of accounting and some other new fields in accounting which has helped in making the inefficiencies of the individual visible and thus holding them responsible using the techniques of accounting viz standard costing and budgeting. Moreover, the authors have underpinned the notion of improving the individual performance by using these forms of accounting that emerged over the years. The studies of the accounting past reveal that the concept of accounting has changed over the years as per the nature and the requirement of the changing business scenario (Miller and OLeary 1987). One advantage of studying the concept of accounting from historical perspective is that a person can analyse where the accounting concept went in discord with respect to the demanding environment and these views can be elucidated and worked out at present. Representation an Overview Representation from the purview of accounting can be further studied as financial accounting is an important branch of accounting which deals with the accounting outside the organization as company . This comes under the financial aspect of accounting. Financial statements or reports can be defined as the [tool] which provide a picture of the financial position and performance of the business. (Atrill and Mclaney,2008:Pg No. 38)There are various objectives of producing financial statements such as informing the investors or creditors about the current positioning of the company, to keep a record of all the economic transactions taking place within the company, to help managers in taking decisions etc.( Lightfoot,Chapter No.7 Representing accounting 2009). There are three forms of financial statements produced viz. cash flow which is the net movement of the cash taking place over a period of time often referred to as the difference of cash in and cash out (Atrill and Mclaney,2008; Ge offrey Lightfoot Chapter 2 Representation of accounts and representation of theories of accounting. ,2009), the income statement which is also called as profit and loss statement and is the statement of sales and related costs(Atrill and Mclaney,2008; Geoffrey Lightfoot,2009) and finally the balance sheet which is the amount of assets and amount owed externally( Geoffrey Lightfoot, Chapter 2 Representation of Accounts and representation of theories of accounting : PageNo 5). All three aspects form the basis of the financial reporting of the organization. These are the methods which every company follows while producing their financial statements. Uses of Accounting: Creative accounting Companies often use these in a fraudulent way to produce accounts. These kinds of accounts are called as creative accounts and the practice is called creative accounting (Atrill and Mclaney,2008). It can be defined in a more specific way as the alteration in the accounting rules that raises concerns over the quality of published financial statements that is in line with what company wants others to see rather than what is fair and true regarding the financial position and performance. (Atrill and Mclaney,2008).There are mainly four methods of creative accounting which an organization can adopt. First, is the overstating revenues in which companies tend to exaggerate the revenues (total amount of money that a company receives by selling off goods or providing services). This is a core issue reported in many of the recent financial failures. Second is the massaging expense in which the directors handle the future costs of assets (anything that can furnish the money in the present or f uture; it can be tangible or intangible) skilfully which can in return make it possible to derive a consistent profit figures in the future. Third is the hiding or concealing of any losses or liabilities(help to make financial statements look in a great position. There has been a number of instances in the past of organization that this form of creative accounting has been adopted by the companies such as Enron Corporation failure was mainly because of this where they tried to hide their falling assets values ( Atrill and Mclaney,2008: Pg No.183). The notion was to represent the company accounts statements in a falsified way so that it may look healthier. Lastly, it can be overstating assets which are projecting the high values of asset than the fair market value which is again a spurious method of accounting. These practices are very much reported in the companies in recent past. But the major roll back in the history of accounting came after the Enron failure broke out in the year 2001 which caused the investors to lose money, a law was passed in the US in the year 2002 called the Sarbanes and Oxley Act (SOX) whose main objective is safeguarding the interest of the investors by completely revolutionising the financial reporting system (Ritto,2008). This law helps in keeping a check on the recording derivatives (that derive their value from the underlying assets) transactions. (Cunningham,2006:40) Key feature used by Enron Company to forge its accounts. Furthermore, many of these topics have been argued by a number of authors who have studied these topics in detail and have drawn various inferences ( Chwastiak and Young 2005;McSweeney1997). McSweeney has tried to focus on the authenticity of the financial reports that a company produces and termed it as representational faithfulness (McSweeney1997). These authors suggest that there are various conditions in which these financial reports cannot be trusted. McSweeney(1997) analysed two texts derived from US Fin ancial Accounts Standards Boards statement of financial accounting concept No.2:qualitative characteristic of accounting information(1980),and Tom Lees Cash Flow accounting(1984).( McSweeney1997: Pg No 694). In both of these texts McSweeney tried to reiterate that the representational faithfulness can be achieved only if the financial reports that are published should match with the economic transaction, events and circumstances that it purports (McSweeney1997: Pg No 695). Moreover, he argues that the representational faithfulness depends upon how well informed the reader is, if the reader has all the information then he can judge the authenticity and faithfulness of the representation himself. In addition to that he also gives the notion that the representation may be imprecise or in other words the accounting representations cannot always be accurate, it may vary but the question here is how much this variance must be considered. McSweeney affirms that impression can be a conseque nce of choice or to be unavoidable(McSweeney1997:page no 697).However, later on in the article when he studies the second text of Tom Lee in which Lee suggests that the Cash flow accounting can be a solution which offers accurate financial reporting without ambiguities. However, there are some authors who remain cynical in approach when it comes to discussing the annual reports that the companies produce (Chwastiak and Young,2005). They suggest that companies often do not care when it comes to projecting the profit maximisation in the annual reports. The financial reports are regarded as the dominant discourses which are always concerned to depict the profit maximisation without considering any other aspects like the earth hazards, human and animal hazards etc. He name these practices silencing of injustices (Chwastiak and Young,2005;Page No.534). Control Control can be defined as the method by which something is monitored or dominated. From organizational perspective the concept of control involves management accounting which is the branch of the accounting that deals with the nuances of management in the companies. It involves the notion of corporate governance which includes all the processes used to gain control over a firm.Control involves mainly two key features viz. future planning and decision making. Control can be accessed by the managers who have the related expertise in the relevant field however, Armstrong investigates that there has been a change in the recent management system which contradicts with the findings of the F J Taylor of scientific management which opines that the managers often have related experience in their relevant field and also Henri Foyal who also strengthens this view (Armstrong,2001). However, he further suggests the techniques in management system that completely revives the management system cove red in detail in latter part of the essay. Means and Measures of Control There are mainly two ways through which organizational control can be achieved. First is the budgeting and the other one is cost accounting. Budget Control Often control in the companies is achieved through proper future planning. This involves the budgeting where the future planning regarding the budgets of the companies are predicted and calculated and then the variances from the calculated performance and actual performance is calculated (Atrill and McLaney, 2008). As budgets are a sort of representation we can see the amalgamation of both the fields that is representation and control in one field. The main aims of budgeting are the monitoring variance, synchronization of activities in the organization, planning resource allocation (Geoffrey Lightfoot, Chapter4 Management Control and Control of Management 2009). Additionally, it also helps in the judgment of managers performance where it serves both as the measure of accountability and control as well (Geoffrey Lighfoot,Chapter 5 Management Control and Labour Processes 2009) Managers are also involved in the process of risk management where they can be held accountable in predicting the difference between the prepared budget and the variances. This is an important factor of failure of financial institutions. Budgetary control pattern can be further studies under two control systems: Feedback control system:- In this system first the budget is prepared and then the comparison between the actual performance and the prepared budgetary performance are juxtaposed and then the third step is the response to the variances and exercising control. It is a very useful measure by which the senior level management exercise the control and accountability over the junior level of managers in their budget preparation therefore, pressing towards the objectives of the business(Atrill and McLaney,2008;Glautier and Underdeum, 2001). Feedforward control system:- In this system anticipations are made as to where the prepared budget can go wrong. In this type of forecasting practice it is possible to know the short comings of the prepared budget and then actions would be taken on those areas and improved budget can be prepared (Atrill and McLaney,2008;Glautier and Underdeum ,2001). Activating based costing method (ABCM) This is another method which serves as a measure of planning and control. This involves the allotment of the costs and the services. This was formulated as a measure to revamp the obsolete process of the cost management system that involves the inefficiency of specifically predicting the production and services costs or convey the useful information for decisions. This is again an area where the concept of control and accountability is related as the managers performance can be measured based on the decision making of inaccurate data. ( Glautier and Underdeum, 2001).This is the technique that Armstrong consider in his paper as a modelling process which was developed to curb the inaccuracy of the previous accounting systems which comprises of single allocation base to the overheads costs.(Armstrong,2001). Senses of Control Senses of control imply various factors which can affect the organization working and its performance. It can be distributed into two fields viz. internal control or management control which are the process formulated to convey the reasonable assurance as regards to the attainment of the objectives of the organizations and external control (Cunningham,2006). These can be further classified in to two categories. They are as follows: Bureaucratic Control:- It refers to the usage reward, policies and rules that augments the performance of the employees in the organization. ( Available on http://www.strategic-control.24xls.com/en112 accessed on 09.12.2009) Clan Control:- It implies the use of the informal measures to enhance the efficiency of the employees working in the organization. ( Available on http://www.strategic-control.24xls.com/en112 accessed on 09.12.2009) The second type of control mechanism is external control in which the functioning of the organization is affected by some external factors. This involves market control process which employs the usage of price competition to judge the outputs. For market control system to operate there must be a reasonable degree of competition in goods or services it should be possible to clearly mention the requirements. (Barnat, 2005). Financial Institution failure All the three issues that we have discussed are the major factors which comes into play in the recent collapse of financial institution. Financial crunch or the recession of 2008 was mainly due to the failure of financial institutions. A financial institution can be defined as an institution which provides financial services to its clients. The recent failure of market was mainly caused due to the fall of Lehmans brother which was global financial player and dealt in a range of financial services like investment banking, fixed income sales, research and trading. It was in the month of September 2008 that it filed for bankruptcy with $639 billion assets and $619 billion in debt, its bankruptcy surpassed all the other reported bankruptcy like that of Enron and World.com.( http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/lehman-brothers-collapse.asp?viewed=1,2009). The reason of the failure of Lehman brothers was that during the economy boom time in US in the year 2005, it owned a stak e in the ownership of five mortgagers (acquired) including some of those who had tarnished image of credit history such as BNC mortgage, and Aurora Loan services, which were major subprime lenders at the same time Lehman also reported a record high of revenue earnings in the previous years enabled it to mount the profit rate 56% from 2004 to 2006. After the credit crisis broke out in 2007, it continued to its policy of lend more money in acquisition (Mortgage back securities) in order to boost up more profits. But due to credit crunch Lehman brother had to suffer losses(http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/lehman-brothers-collapse.asp?viewed=1,2009). It was here that the higher managerial authorities must have been held accountable. The argument of Chwastiak and Young seems relevant here that the financial entities are only concerned with the profit maximization. Secondly, the second factor of failure of Lehman brothers its high leverages value (usage of debt to fortify the investment in order to maximise the profit (loss)) (http://www.investopedia.com/articles/economics/09/lehman-brothers-collapse.asp?viewed=1,2009)). Here the problem with the recording derivatives can be seen in which the Lehman failed. The third factor was the risk management failure in which the senior management failed in assessing the risk of the future and therefore, failed from the internal control perspective. Besides this there are other examples also like the failure of Merrill Lynch, Arthur Andersen etc. that failed to comply with the three issues viz accountability, representation and control. These three topics are very vital in respect to the organizations as it forms the three pillars on which the functioning of an organization is based. However, often these issues are overlooked and the companies suffer losses and eventually market collapses thereby undermining the public interest. However, after the recent failures and crisis the governments have taken up controls over economy in the recession hit countries and are trying to revive the global market scenarios. Nonetheless, it cannot be achieved until these issues are strictly considered with compliance.

World War II :: World War II History

World War II The Treaty of Versailles faltered to heal the bitter mess that formed between countries in World War I. It left Germany in a terrible position and gave them a desire for dictatorship. Germany had been ordered to disarm its military and put strict rules on when and how the Germans could rearm. In 1931, Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany. He later rejected the treaty and establish military conscription. Mussolini also became dictator of Italy, while this was occurring. He decided to invade Ethiopia in 1935. Since Ethiopia had lesser power than that of Italy's, they became under complete Italian control. The news of Germany's rearmament soon reached France. Hitler then became interested in joining the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in order to protect its security. He then pushed his plan for lebensraum and annexed Austria by force in 1938. Following this, Hitler threatened Czechoslovakia, ordering persecution of the German minorities there. Hitler and Mussolini agreed to the Germans occupation of Sudentenland in September 1938. Then in March 1939, peace broke down when Hitler conquered the rest of Czechoslovakia. He soon afterward started to make orders to Poland, but they resisted at every turn. Notwithstanding the conflict with Britain and France, Hitler decided to invade Poland. In return, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. Hitler made an announcement to start a pact with the Soviet Union. As the Germans occupied Poland, the Soviets invaded the eastern part of the country with plans to take Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania in 1940. They also took Finland in 1941 and disgrace the Russian military. Japan was also changing things in the Pacific. They had plans to conquer China and expand the Japanese Empire into southeast Asia. As this was happening, the Germans took on an approach of blitzkrieg, or lightening war. Since the Germans had no old weapons to deal with, they could easily outfit their troops with the best of weapons. Hitler then attempted to gain air control over the British Royal Air Force and prepare for an invasion, but the British successfully defeated the German air forces. Overturned with his downfall to take Britain, Hitler turned to the Soviet front, but was defeated as well in 1942. In 1941, the Japanese thought it was the right time to expand into Greater East Asia. The attacks on Pearl Harbor and the Philippines brought the United States into the war and turned the war for the Allies.

The Parmenidean Paradox Of Motion Essay -- essays research papers

Philosophical thought begins with the Milesians, where intellectual curiosity propelled thinkers like Anaximander and Heraclitus to attempt to explain the phenomena of the universe by means of specific physical elements. During the 6th century BC, Eleatics, like Parmenides and Zeno, had rejected physical phenomena and propounded metaphysical paradoxes that cut at the roots of belief in the very existence of the natural world. Parmenides uproots the theories of his predecessors by bearing to light the logical possibilities of any philosophical inquiry. He argues that that the only things about which we can inquire about must exist, else our search is fruitless. Through deductive reasoning, Parmenides proves that if something exists, then it cannot come to be or perish, change or move, nor be the subject to any imperfection. His proteges were left with an enormous problem: how could one reconcile Parmenides’ rejection of change with the possibility of giving a rational account of the changing world of sense experience? By accepting only certain parts of his doctrine of being, his successors ultimately fail in their attempts to explain the changing universe in light of the Parmenidean paradox. How does Parmenides draw the conclusion that if something is, then it is unchanging? A more formal examination of his arguments regarding subjects of inquiry shows how he comes to the conclusion that all is one. The only ways of inquiry there are for thinking: the one, that it is and that it is not possible for it not to be, is the path of Persuasion (for it attends upon the Truth), the other, that it is not and that it is necessary for it not to be, this I point out to you to be a path completely unlearnable, for neither may you know that which is not (for it is not to be accomplished) nor may you declare it (Curd fr.2 ll.3-8, pg.45). Parmenides’ subject of inquiry, as show in the fragment, either you must assume that your subject is or it is not. Careful consideration of the statement ‘is not’ shows that it is impossible to point out what does not exist, because it has no attributes or true predicate. Parmenides concludes that if something does not exist, then its non-existence cannot allow for it to come into being or perishing, because if it comes to be, then formally, it previously did not exist. Since we cannot know anything about things that do not exist, coming... ...rmenidean doctrine that substances are uncreated and eternal; however, by positing that there are four creative and two controlling substances, he dubiously maintains that combination and separation, through their endless cycles bring about a whole. If Empedocles were to follow the Parmenidean notion of being absolutely, then his separation and combination would never take place, because each element would be continuously attracted and negated, so that no combination could ever take place.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Pluralists want to reconcile everything that they perceive through their senses with the Parmenidean idea of an uncreated, eternal, unchanging whole. The problem of such a task lies in the fact that Parmenides’ notion of being goes against everything that our sense experience tells us. With our eyes we see motion and change every day, be it our own self-motion or that of others around us. Furthermore, we experience coming-into-being and perishing through the cycle of birth and death. The Pluralists would had made better progress in extrapolating their own ideas if they would have either sided completely with Parmenides or taken means to discredit his work.

Quality Customer Service and IT

In times past quality service was not important to managers and staff that worked for the County of San Bernardino. However due to the proliferation of corruption and mismanagement taxpayers are demanding more for their dollar. It is a known fact that when local government is run efficiently more people can be put to work. The money saved from this can in turn be used to benefit the local cities. Civic improvements can be made instead of paying for people to sit at home. To create this quality service information technology needed to be implemented. This where the BAS or (Business Applications and Support) division enters the picture. The mission of BAS is to provide quality computer software support through a customer service oriented methodology. A while back, before ITSD, there were ASU (Automated Systems Unit) analysts who lead and coordinated automation projects. They would gather up the requests from the different SSG divisions/departments, do a preliminary analysis, write a work order stating the request and/or problem that was to be solved through automation. The work order would then find its way to ISD (Information Services Department) where it would be assigned to a programmer analyst who would do an in-depth analysis with the help of the ASU analyst and define the requirements for the automation project. The programming would begin and soon, a new program was created and deployed. The requests and problems soon began to multiply and expand until it was like a virtual snowstorm of requests, too many for one small unit to keep under control. Help arrived around 1990 in the form of the Automation Project Administrator – the first of the Automation Coordination Specialists gathered together to relieve some of the burden falling on ASU. The Automation Project Administrator soon gathered in a handful of Automation Coordination Specialists who took on much of the job of the initial analysis of automation requests and problem definition. They met with the users, defined the problem, wrote the initial work order, which then went to ASU to forward to ISD, and often worked with the ISD programmers. The two units, ASU and ACU, found themselves still unable to keep up with the many automation requests, particularly since ASU had years before branched out into computer hardware requisition and maintenance. Then came Information Technology and Support Division (ITSD). ASU and ACU merged into one entity, a small (but growing) and mighty automation division. ASU became Systems Operations and Support (SOS) and ACU became BAS – Business Applications and Support. The BAS Analysts do in-depth analyses of computer software requests, working with the users and their management, write detailed functionality and design specs and work with the programmers to make sure that the final product is what the user requested and will meet the needs of the department. Support nearly all software applications within SSG, including the TAD Mainframe Benefit Issuance System; GAPPS, CWS/CMS and a myriad of PC based applications as well as intranet/internet. A change in technology has occurred in the past, and will continue at increasing rate. What will we use in five short years, in ten years†¦. the future of office automation will be achieved by all of us working together. This is important in this day and age when quality customer service is the buzzword for all branches of civil service. The attached chart shows what the long-term plan is for the County of San Bernardino. These improvements will enable the line worker to put more people to work and less people on the public dole.