Avoiding Power Abuse When the Actions of the President Have to Be Restricted by the Congress

Avoiding Power Abuse When the Actions of the President Have to Be Restricted by the Congress There is no doubt that a state leader enjoys impressive power. With political, economical, financial and even social issues under control, a political leader can possibly turn into a dictator[1].Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Avoiding Power Abuse: When the Actions of the President Have to Be Restricted by the Congress specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Despite the fact that in the resent-day world, the leader of a state controls every single sphere of the life of the state, the restrictions imposed on the leader by qualified exceptionalism principle allows for making sure that no power abuse is taking place. In his article, David Rudenstine explains where the power abuse that can be currently observed in a number of states stems from. According to Rudenstine, the seeds of constitutional dictatorship were planted in a governmental system since Ancient Rome. As Rudenstine explains, the principle in accordance with which the leader of a stat might consider authoritarian regime as a means to lead the state out of a crisis â€Å"is rooted in the Roman Republic.†[2] In their turn, Owens and Loomes analyze the work of the U.S. Congress without the references to earlier political practices, as well as without analyzing a particular political situation. According to Owens and Loomes, as long as the policy of qualified expectations persists in the U.S. government and the Congress has its impact on the President’s actions, democracy is safe.[3] Despite the work of the Congress, however, power abuse can possibly take place unless strong moral principles are established, which will help coordinate the steps of the government[4]. The aforementioned Congress does not necessarily speak from the perspective of people. Rather, Congress considers what will be most favorable for the state. After all, the members of the Congress often dispute and rarely come to terms: â€Å"American voters c an become frustrated by the inability of their leaders to move forward.†[5] However, it cannot be denied that the Congress controls the actions of the President, thus, preventing him/her from making the steps that conflict with the interests of the U.S. population: â€Å"Even today, Congress limits the Presidents powers.†[6] In addition, the way in which the Congress limits presidential power also leaves much room for thoughts. Stacey Kaper gives a very graphic example of the failure of the Congress to voice the opinion of the nation by explaining that the Congress should â€Å"provide the president with explicit self-defense authorization to address specific emerging threats,†[7] yet it never does. Perhaps, one of the key reasons for this is that â€Å"we expect too much of government†; however, it is the duty of the state representatives to take care of people, and it is necessary to make sure that they attend to their duties.Advertising Looking for research paper on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More On the other hand, it cannot be denied that for an average person, connecting with the Congress for the latter to translate their demands into reforms is extremely hard. As Independence Hall Associations explains, USA is â€Å"far too large a country to operate effectively as a direct democracy.†[8] With that being said, it can be assumed that the existence of Congress is justified, especially when such issues as waging war are at stake: â€Å"The implication often given is that these powers are somehow incompatible.†[9] Although there are a number of opportunities for abusing power for a man/woman in presidency, it seems that dictatorship is highly unlikely to occur in the states where restrictions are provided. While it is important to trust the person chosen democratically to rule the state, it is essential to show that gaining presidency mean s taking responsibilities. As long as the reminders of the responsibility of being a state leader exist, democracy is going to be the basic principle of governing the state. Bibliography Independence Hall Associations. â€Å"American Political Attitudes and Participation.† In  American Government. Philadelphia, PA: Independence Hall Association, 2008. ushistory.org/gov/index.asp. Independence Hall Associations. â€Å"How Do Citizens Connect with Their Government?† In American Government. Philadelphia, PA: Independence Hall Association, 2008. ushistory.org/gov/index.asp. Independence Hall Associations. â€Å"Congress: The People’s Branch?† In American  Government. Philadelphia, PA: Independence Hall Association, 2008. ushistory.org/gov/index.asp. Independence Hall Associations. â€Å"The Presidency: The Leadership Branch?† In  American Government. Philadelphia, PA: Independence Hall Association, 2008. ushistory.org/gov/index.asp. Kaper, Stacy. â€Å"How to Restrict the President’s Power to Wage War.† National  Journal 6, no. 15 (2013): 37.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Avoiding Power Abuse: When the Actions of the President Have to Be Restricted by the Congress specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Machiavelli, Nicolo. The Prince [Excerpts]. 1513. fordham.edu/halsall/source/prince-excerp.asp Owens, John E. and Burdett A. Looms. â€Å"Qualified Exceptionalism: The US Congress in Comparative Perspective.† The Journal of Legislative Studies 12, no. 3–4 (2006): 258–290. Rogers, William. â€Å"Congress, the President, and the War Powers.† California Law  Review 59, no. 5 (1971): 1194–1214. Rudenstine, David. â€Å"Roman Roots for an Imperial Presidency: Revisiting Clinton Rossiter’s 1948 Constitutional Dictatorship: Crisis Government in the Modern Democracies.† Cardozo Law Review 34, no. 3 (2013): 1063–1078. Footnotes Nicolo Machiavelli, The Prince [Excerpts], 1513, fordham.edu/halsall/source/prince-excerp.asp David Rudenstine, â€Å"Roman Roots for an Imperial Presidency: Revisiting Clinton Rossiter’s 1948 Constitutional Dictatorship: Crisis Government in the Modern Democracies,† Cardozo Law Review 34, no. 3 (2013): 1063. John E. Owens and Burdett A. Looms, â€Å"Qualified Exceptionalism: The US Congress in Comparative Perspective,† The Journal of Legislative Studies 12, no. 3–4 (2006): 258–290 Independence Hall Associations, â€Å"American Political Attitudes and Participation,† in American  Government, Philadelphia, PA: Independence Hall Association, 2008. ushistory.org/gov/index.asp. Independence Hall Associations, â€Å"Congress: The People’s Branch?,† in AmericanGovernment, Philadelphia, PA: Independence Hall Association, 2008, ushistory.org/gov/index.asp. Independence Hall Associations,  "The Presidency: The Leadership Branch?,† In  American Government, Philadelphia, PA: Independence Hall Association, 2008. ushistory.org/gov/index.asp. Stacy Kaper, â€Å"How to Restrict the President’s Power to Wage War,† National  Journal 6, no. 15 (2013): 37. Independence Hall Associations, â€Å"How Do Citizens Connect with Their Government?,† in American Government. Philadelphia, PA: Independence Hall Association, 2008, ushistory.org/gov/index.asp. William Rogers, â€Å"Congress, the President, and the War Powers,† California Law Review 59, no. 5 (1971): 1194–1214.

Rolling budgets Essays

Rolling budgets Essays Rolling budgets Essay Rolling budgets Essay Given the speed of change and general uncertainty in the external environment, shareholders seek quick results. Companies typically report to shareholders every three months, compared with the normal six months. Rolling budgets involve evaluating the previous twelve months performance on an ongoing basis, and forecasting the next three months performance. We see our budget as a forward looking plan that sees our direction and destination point, other documents such as the balance sheet and the profit loss account allows us to look back and reflect our progress telling us where we have been and how we got to this current position. The companies budget is a fixed type budget and is prepared annually by the contracts manager, finance manager and the 5 leisure centre managers (budgeting team), it is review every month throughout the year to reflect our progress. The budget allows our centre managers to co-ordinate and control the activities of the organisation effectively, it also allows them to implement the business plan as well. The budget is a key management tool for decision making and the steps below that we follow allows the managers to know where they are going. The budget consists of: Income/sales which is based on new members joining the fitness suite, activity levels, patronage users, secondary spends plus the management fee that is paid to us from the council. Expenditure which is based on wages, utilities, repairs and maintenance, admin, marketing etc. Capital expenditure works which include new health and fitness studios, DDA works, building improvements and information technology Once each centres budget is completed the contract manager who is responsible for the 5 leisure centres and the support team co-ordinates the individual budgets into a master budget. The centre manager also co-ordinates the budget down to there duty managers, this shows them what they can spend on certain items and what the income levels should be. When the agreed budget is in place we have several financial procedures to follow this allows us to control the budget daily and is quite easy to run. Each centre manager regularly monitors progress and checks for variances, they fill in a daily income and expenditure spreadsheet which allows them to compare the actual and budgeted results. The budgeting team meet up at the end of each month to view the budget, this allows managers to react on major variances in terms of the likely impact upon the organisations overall budget. The budgeting team can then discuss what revisions are needed to get the budget on its original course. A couple of criticises of a fixed budget is that it works less well when organisations face large or highly correlated risks, or when the financial year is too short to smooth out the natural variability due to repeated chance occurrences. When such uncertainties emerge, the timing of decisions within the financial year takes on added importance. Fixed budgets also provide obvious incentives for over-spending near the end of the financial year. These adverse incentives are then aggravated by the complicated signalling games that take place between central authorities and their subordinates. Ironically, under spending may be taken, as a sign of incompetence that needed work has not been done. While it is difficult to spend every last penny and some lapses are always going to occur, the magnitude of these lapses makes it extremely uncomfortable for three reasons * Significant under spending makes it difficult to justify any increases in these appropriations. * There are concerns that clients needing services are not getting them * Some astute budget analyst is going to notice a pattern and reduce the appropriations, figuring that if we dont spend it we must not need it. A fixed budget does control costs on expenditure levels in our organisation, i. e. if a duty manager is given a certain amount to spend, once that money has gone he can not spend anymore, this keeping a tight control on the budget, on the other hand If a manager needed more sports equipment for a activity to take place and his budget has been spent, this would effect the customer and may prevent them from taking part in the activity. This shows that the budget process can be a barrier to performance. At current the budgeting team have made certain assumptions in determining the original budget (mainly utilities, maintenance and repair costs). If we used a flexible budget adjustments can be made throughout the year to ensure that we operate the centre within the budget we have set, using the knowledge we gain through the operation of the business. I. e. Single loop feedback involves making corrections to current activities in order to get back on course and double loop feedback involves amending the original plans so that they more accurately reflect current business reality. The budget process that we put together is time consuming and costly to put together it is also based on guesswork and unsupported assumptions. Managers spend far to much time analysing their budgets, and other parts of the business seems to suffer. I. e. the front line staff and the customers, how can a manager know what the customers want when he is stuck in the office analysing his budget and not communicating with the customers. Unsupported assumptions and guesswork takes place because he does not communicate and involve his staff in the budgeting process. One of the ways we could improve the system and the control of income and expenditure would be to have site specific administration and expenditure controls to be updated and to be reviewed constantly. The introduction of a new till system will enable us better interrogation of income figures to be undertaken, enabling us to market facilities more effectively and to receive more accurate information regarding users.

Analyzing the Statement of Cash Flows Assignment

Analyzing the Statement of Cash Flows - Assignment Example Therefore, Net Income is the position of a company’s business based on matching incomes versus expenditure but cash flow will only reflect actual movement of money without any considerations for the accruals (Epstein, 2014). A comparison of the Cash from operating activities to the Net Income for techno in 2008 stands at a ratio of 177,387/242,329= 0.73 and 2009 stands at 24,525/316,354= 0.08. Therefore, Techno had a 73% rate in 2008 and it dropped to 8% in 2009. This is a low quality income showing a great imbalance. The time taken to convert any credits or accruals to cash is stretching an indication of a pending problem that may lead to crippled operations. The first red flag is the declining number of receivable from $-49,704,000 in 2008 to $-288,174,000 in 2009. This deterioration is emphasized by a minimal decline in inventory over the two years. The Net Income figure is also overrated because the Accrued liabilities have almost doubled over the two years which puts the company at a delicate position if the creditors demand instant payment ((Epstein, 2014)). This position would not be the same in 2008 because the Cash from Operating Activities $177,387,000 was enough to cover the accrued liabiliti es of $41,079,000. Techno has also engaged in heavy borrowing both in short-term and Long-term in 2009 to probably support the business from the weak position confirmed by the declining ratio between a 73% rate in 2008 and it dropped to 8% in