Emerging Technologies in Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Emerging Technologies in Accounting - Essay Example For the order to be recorded for the delivery date requested, the valid product ids and quantities will need to be entered after the event. If the delivery date requested also needs to be checked for feasibility, the database must have information on the 1) Stocks available for the products ordered; 2) List of all orders scheduled between now and the requested date for the products; 3) Balance capacity available for fulfilling this order. No obligations would be recorded in the Accounting books at this stage. However, the Company accepts the obligation to supply the products by the delivery date; and the customer accepts the obligation to receive and pay for the goods as per the order’s terms. Event b: When the system schedules the production of goods the information needed from the database are 1) Free stocks available for each product ordered; 2) Bill of materials required for the products ordered; 3) Stocks of raw materials available; 4) Production operations to be performed and the time required for each operation; 5) Machinery, Equipment, and Labor required for the operations and their availability Event c: For the system to schedule raw material orders from the vendors, the information needed in the database are 1) Raw material requirements for the goods, based on Bill of Materials; 2) Preferred vendors for the raw materials; 3) Vendor rates; 4) Lead time for supply of the raw materials. Event d: For the raw materials to be received and stored, the database should have information relating to 1) The order placed with the vendors, i.e., Vendor Id, Order No, Order date, Desires Delivery date, Raw material id, quantity, price, Delivery terms, and Payment terms; 2) Goods acceptance details based on inspection of the raw materials supplied.

Chapter Three Assignment Essay Example for Free

Chapter Three Assignment Essay Grants-in-aids are federal funds provided to states and localities. Grants-in-aid dramatically increased in scope in the twentieth century and were attractive to state officials for various reasons, however, categorical grants are another form of grants-in-aid which are to be used for a specific purpose defined in a federal law, substantively or procedurally, with little to no freedom on how it is to be spent, and often requires local matching funds. The main concern with categorical grants is the huge amount of conflict between elected state and local officials and the specialists of their own bureaucracies as well as those in the national government’s administrative agencies (pg. 131), including a rising public backlash against government unfunded mandates. There are seven common criticisms with categorical grants: The proliferation of project grants conflicts with equalizing governmental resources, restricting categorical aid uses distorts state and local policy priorities, state and local leaders gradually yielding policy initiative to aid granters, the national government not aiding all public services, the fact that states and localities are required to put up matching funds to receive aid, the applications being difficult to apply for and often needing to be resubmitted due to technicalities, and the coordination of hundreds of grants spread across too many agencies (pg. 132). Very few actions for change have been taken in reform surrounding the grant-in-aid system, although general revenue sharing and block grants were introduced as solutions to the major problems of the system, as well as the movement for citizen participation in administrative decision making and achieving better coordination among proliferating aid programs (pg. 138).

Creating Value For Customers Marketing Essay

Creating Value For Customers Marketing Essay Marketing has often been defined in terms of satisfying customers needs and wants. Critics however maintain that marketing goes beyond that and creates needs and wants that did not exist before, According to these critics, marketers encourage consumers to spend more money than they should on goods and services they really do not need. Marketing process can be explained as creating value for customers and building customer relationship by doing this the organisation makes profit The various elements of marketing process can be classified as follow Understanding the market place and customers needs and wants. Design a customer driven marketing strategy Construct marketing program that delivers superior value Build profitable relationships and create customer delight Capture value to create profits and customer equity Fig 1 Understanding the market place and customers needs and wants is achieved through in-depth market research and thereby identifying a product gap or needs gap. This will involve trends , how to make things easier , comfortable, better and user friendly. In the early 80s there were few or no mobile phones. A thorough market research has created the need for mobile phones, then came the massive first generation mobile phones. This were later followed by smaller ones and this days we can see the smart phones with in built cameras, time online movies and news ability to actual work from your mobile Samsung note to the new tablets. Every day specialist market research companies, innovators, technicians and scientist all work hand on hand to create a new niche market or brand that makes our lives much more comfortable. Even the pay as you go concept became apparent as people could not continue to pay the incredible high cost then been charged by manufacturers who were looking at ways to cove r the cost of their research and development. So the critics may not be far from the truth but the ideal is marketers coming with ways and products that makes our lives easy. Design a customer driven marketing strategy. Marketing strategy is a long term means of achieving a corporate objective. If we take the example of the mobile phone industry where the likes of Samsung, IPhone, Nokia are in serious competition each as to design a marketing strategy to capture a share of the market. Like a military personnel will define the art of going to warfare. Subhash C. Jain in his book marketing , planning and strategy said within a given environment, marketing strategy deals essential with the interplay of three forces known as the strategic three Cs: the customer, the competition and the corporation. He says marketing strategies focus on ways in which the corporations can differentiate itself from its competitors, capitalizing on its distinctive strengths to deliver better value to its customers. He further concluded that a good marketing strategy should be characterized by (a) clear market definition; a good match between corporate strengths and the needs of the market and (c) superior performance , relative to the competition, in the key success factors of the business.  [1]   Construct marketing program that delivers superior value : This refers to the marketing mix that is the 4ps the Usually referring to E. Jerome McCarthys  [2]  Ã‚  4 P classifications for developing an effective marketing strategy, which encompasses: product, price, placement (distribution) and promotion? When its a consumer-centric marketing mix, it  has been extended to include  three more Ps: people, process and physical evidence, and  three Cs: cost, consumer and competitor. Depending on the industry and the target of the marketing plan, marketing managers will take various approaches to each of the four Ps. The benefits and cost of marketing orientation Market orientation is the understanding of customers requirement and creation of marketing mix which will meet these needs. Market driven means the firms capability to understand, attract and keep valuable customers G. Armstrong and P. Kotler define marketing as social and managing process by which the individuals and groups procure what they need by creating and exchanging values with others.  [3]   A market-oriented company is in a position to achieve competitive advantage thanks to its unique innovative approach to customers. In addition to this, according to the opinion of P. R. Dickson, a competitive advantage should be understood in the sense of dynamics of competition. He expresses disagreement with the standpoint of neoclassic theory of market equilibrium and claims that the main characteristic of the market is its disequilibrium. He sees marketing as a science and skill of creating changes (disequilibrium) in the market in the manner that would provide for the changes that are beneficial for the company. Various responses of salespersons and customers to changes in supply and demand, thinks Dickson, create possibilities that could be used by the company that understands market. He underlines the importance of adjusting company to the market occurrences.  [4]   Benefits and cost of market orientation Figure 2: Customer relationship groups Source: G. Armstrong, P. Kotler, Marketing: An Introduction, 7. ed., Pearson/Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2005, p. 25. The above summaries the benefits and cost of market Orientation other advantages are advantages Responding to Demand Building Customer Value Disadvantages Extensive and Expensive Research and Increasing Value Increases Cost Micro and Macro environmental factors that affect marketing Decision The micro environmental factors are factors that can be controlled by the organisation and relates directly with the business these are considered using the factors in fig 3 Micro Environmental factors Fig 3 Fig 4 shows how different public affects organisation. The public that affect the marketing decision of the yet they can be controlled and are regarded as micro are the relation with the following members of this public eg Financial public this is based on say for example the organisations annual returns. Fig 4 Macro Environmental Factors The Target market for mobile phones companies and IT companies are more likely to be the high income earning spectrum of the society or the new graduates and the city bankers and young people in the top echelon of society who will be able to afford the integrated packages that are about to be launched into the market very soon The package will include home entertainment, office package, security package, phone and video calls and financial/banking package all launched as one integrated hand held device. Market segmentation, and Target is followed by positioning, this should be developed and implemented by creating an image for the product, profiling the target market, High Tech gadgets like this integrated hand held device will be bought based on the technical specification what comfort or ease of doing a task it provide. Buying Behavior is the way and act of people involved in buying and using products. To understand we need to consider why a buyer will make a purchase. what factors influence will influence a buyer to buy a certain product. Buying Behavior refers to how people will behave when buying a certain product. A firm needs to consider and study buying behaviour and peoples reactions to the organisation marketing strategy has this will have great impact on the firms success. The marketing concept show how a marketing mix (MM) that satisfies (gives utility to) customers, hence it important to understand the what, where, when and how consumers buy. Stages of the Consumer Buying Process There are Six Stages to the Consumer Buying Decision Process (For complex decisions). Problem Recognition Information search The evoked set. Evaluation of Alternatives Purchase decision- Post Purchase decision Buying behaviour is often determined by the level of consumer involvement in the purchase decisions, the importance and level of interest the consumer decisions is determined by the motivation to seek information about the product or service. High involvement purchase such as buy a luxury car or other expensive items. Also the element of risk involved in the use of the product that is the social risk and the economic risk. The four type of consumer buying behavior are Routine Response/Programmed Behaviour Limited Decision Making Extensive Decision Making/Complex Impulse buying Routine Response/Programmed Behavior this are low involvement very little or no decision effort is required E.g. A can drink Limited Decision Making This are product bought occasionally example are like clothing but not brands Extensive Decision Making/Complex: This involves unfamiliar, expensive and infrequently bought goods. It involves a high degree of economic performance, and psychological risk. e.g. cars, homes, computers, it also involves a lot of time seeking information and deciding. and consumers will go through all six stages of the buying process. Impulse buying, this are purchase which are unplanned it like buying chewing gum in the conner shop without actually thinking about it. Also prices at time lead to impulse buying. They are usually low valued items. Ethan Lyon,(http://sparxoo.com/2009/06/18/how-to-define-your-market-position/) said The goal of market positioning is to find the ideal opportunity in the market based on customer needs, market forces and financial and strategic considerations. Once the market opportunity is identified then the organisation can further develop its product and elevate its brand to deliver outstanding value. To clarify the market position, the firm will need to find an overarching theme, then define the details. Brand Idea-The idea is an aspirational concept it defines the idea of what the company.For eample the Samsung note goes with the concept of designed for human Value Proposition- A customer or a consumer buyers the Samsung note they see high value and high quality Differentiating Attributes-Samsung has distinguished itself from Apple by targeting the main stream yet providing quality and comparable or better phones than those provided by Apple

Polylactide :: Polymer Plastic Environment Biodegradable

Polylactide: A New Perspective In the past decades, many polymers are non-biodegradable and require an excessive and strenuous recycling process. However one polymer, polylactide, is renovating the roles of commonly known polymers as time passes by. Polylactide has led to the introduction of other possible ways to create plastics that are more environmental friendly to the community. With this sole introduction, polymers in petrochemical-derived products are greatly affected in that they are no longer an extreme threat to the atmosphere, which is something very crucial for a future healthy planet environment. However, polylactide is an expensive polymer and it is only commonly found in the biomedical field and rarely in the public world. In the recent years, polylactide has been found in items that consist of plastic substances such as in wrapping paper in packaging and has emerged in other consumer products (Morgan). The purpose for this paper is to introduce the polymer, polylactide, in the public world in order for scientists, or even civilians, to pursue and gather some interest in the evolution of polylactide as a polymer chain used in production of biodegradable plastics. Polylactide has just recently been under production by the company Nature Works. Nature Works, located in Blair, Nebraska, is the largest producer of polylactide in the world. Polylactide is the polymer of the future because it has the characteristic of being biodegradable. Although it is not cost efficient in the beginning of production, the material will degrade naturally in the environment in less than ninety days or can be recycled easier and safer with less percentage loss. The United States recorded 46 billion pounds of plastics were produced in 1989. The same year 225 million pounds of plastics were recycled. This means more than 45 billion pounds of plastics are still in use by Americans or have been abandone d in an unsanitary manner in the environment. By increasing the amount of individuals doing research on polylactide and altering the combinations with additional or subtraction of functional groups, polylactide can change the way the world recycles, manages waste, and improve the health of our planet and species living in sensitive habitats (Cleaning). In the figure below, you can see that lactic acid (CH3C2H2O(OH)2) can be obtained on the basis from renewable starch containing resources, such as, corn, wheat, or sugar cane, by fermentation, or by chemical synthesis of renewable resources.

Reproductive Health Bill Essay

The Reproductive Health Bill is a law in the Philippines that guarantee universal access to methods on contraception, fertility control, sexual education, birth control and maternal care. This bill or law is to provide the poor with reproductive health services, including access to contraceptives, and sex education to school children. That is why the priests and the church officials are not in favour of this bill because for them it is against the law of GOD, and some people disagree to use it because there is a rumours that after you use contraceptives you’ll get sick. In my point of view, I thought this argument is unnecessary for me to know because I’m just a student and I thought at first this bill is useless to the people after I read it, it is useful to the Philippines. This bill must be known to all the Filipinos out there. To me, I guess I am a Pro-RH bill because I am aware to what is happening to country right now, it can help our country seize the blooming population of our country and I believe that lazy and irrelevant parenthood is one of the main problem why there is POVERTY. We can build a nation that can provide need to our family. A nation that can follow fast to the new century and can never be left behind. Because of POVERTY, our country is being pulled down. And this bill can help for the couples married or unmarried because it contributes more to the knowledge to couples to have a good family planning. We all know that couples demand to have sexual intercourse and so by these, they can ensure a happy family and will not boost in numbers. And another thing is the Sex Education, to me I approve this so the students can help especially, their young minds to decrease the pregnancies of teens. I know I’m against the church and the law of God but I can see the future, if the population keep increasing fast trash will increase also, it is like in the movie â€Å"Wall-E†, so for me I agree to this bill. Another thing, if the church always agree to the laws of the government there would be many laws that can  help this country. I’m not saying that I’m against the church and God, I’m also a Catholic but we must see that our country is IMPROVING.

Time Management in College Five Golden Rules [Guest Post]

Time Management in College Five Golden Rules [Guest Post] Do you like to learn? I do! Every hour spent at the university was great fun to me. I love to broaden my knowledge, acquire new skills and use them later in practice. However, mastering knowledge of all subjects is extremely time-consuming, especially when each of them refers to different issues, which not always overlap. Therefore, if students want to get good scores in many disciplines, they should admit that time-management in college is crucial! Meeting deadlines is one thing, and keeping the quality of the assimilated content high enough is another. Both issues are significant for students. The reason is that their combination is what makes students successful. I have to admit that I have experienced some slips in my life and terrible pangs of conscience due to the result not meeting my obligations frustrates me greatly because it conflicts with my inner need to be perfect in everything. Today, however, I am no longer the same person who started their adventure with studies. Today, I understand how valuable every minute of my day is. Thats why I try to use these 24 hours to the maximum, so as not to have any regrets that I wasted my time because I was too lazy. If you also want to boost your efficiency, check out five golden rules of time-management in college! #1 Learn to Say No Probably each of us at least once in their life found themselves in a situation in which the number of tasks to perform overwhelmed psych them out. Such moments particularly love to attract people who would like to have their project done by someone else as if those were walking with a loudspeaker and announcing they eagerly relieve their fellowmen in carrying out their duties. I am well aware that saying no is not the simplest thing to do; however, its paramount for time-management in college. We usually do not want to risk the consequences of refusing our help our college friends. After all, we may also need it one day, right? That is why the way in which we communicate this refusal is so crucial – find some practical advice on how to say no so that nobody will consider us to be a chuff! Believe me, if you finally start to devote 100% of your learning time to do your job, you will quickly feel the difference! It will allow you to focus as much as possible on what you can and take your exams without blinking an eye. #2 Do Not Distract Yourself Improving your skills of time-management in college is a challenge to many students. Lets face the truth: whenever we sit down to learn, everything starts to tempt twice as much. Social media, a book, an episode of a favorite TV series (especially when a difficult exam is approaching fast), even hunger starts to get worse than usual. I know it better than you think – as soon as you start learning, the sounds from the outside become much more intense and disperse the barely achieved concentration. Thats why whenever I start learning, I turn off my wi-fi and put my phone away at a safe distance, much longer than the length of my arm, and also behind my back. When someone calls, I have the opportunity to get up and move. Whats more, I no longer check my Facebook account compulsorily reading the same entry three times. This way it is reliable and the results, although difficult to achieve, are incredibly satisfying – I do not waste time on staring at my smartphone and consuming a million different pieces of information. I focus much better on the content to learn for a test or an exam, so I am also more satisfied with their results! Besides, I have learned not to check now and then if I have received a message. It was incredibly difficult for me because I try to answer my friends questions as soon as possible. From experience, however, I know that immediately after any distractions connected to the phone, it is the news that distracts me the most. #3 Prepare a List Of Tasks One of the most important principle of time-management in college is creating to-do lists. Did you know that we are doing much better when we stick to the established plan? Mastering the confusion is the easiest way to concentrate because knowing our next steps allows us to control the time we spend on it. Of course, chaos can also be creative and develop creativity, but unfortunately, this is not a good solution, not in the long run. By placing tasks in a more rigid framework, our efficiency is increased – and that is what it is all about! Here, I have something of a sub-item for you, that is, use tools!Task lists can be drawn up in many ways. The easiest way is, of course, to take a piece of paper and a pen, but I prefer the application for a smartphone. I have already tried Todoist, Asana, Trello, Podio, and TimeCamp, so I know exactly how much time I need to learn a particular subject or to complete another project. I also enter data regularly into my calendar (Calendar for Mac OS). On top of all I have a notebook at hand, which I use to note down some ephemeral ideas and thoughts. #4 Set Yourself a Time Limit When we learn or write some essays for classes, we often encounter the same type of tasks. Notes or scripts are usually of a similar size, so we can determine how long it will take us to prepare them, including any preparation – just as in the case of learning for a particular subject. Again, I will mention the time tracking tools, such as TimeCamp – just turn them on when you start learning, and the application will count the minutes and hours spent on that activity by itself. Doing so definitely makes it easier for students to manage their time because they are able to divide their day in such a way that any of their duties is fulfilled at the expense of the other. Imagine how lucky it will be to learn of three subjects instead of two? I would be proud of myself, would you? You should! Following the rules of time-management in college means no more missed deadlines. #5 Take a Break And the last but not the least rule of time-management in college is taking breaks! Our brain needs rest. Imagine working persistently out at a gym, putting yourself through the hoops there achieve the desired results. It is impossible for you to withstand it without even a short break! The same goes for the mind – it, too, needs rest to work correctly. That is why it is so vital to take a break from time to time while creating something, which is a typically intellectual effort. For me, it usually means two minutes spent with my eyes closed, preparing a meal or, more and more often, a series of simple physical exercises. These small pauses will allow you to enhance your focus and give you the strength to do more work so that you will finish it much faster! If youve missed our blog on helpful time-management activities for students, check it out now, so that you had a complete picture on how to manage your time. Author: Ola Rybacka Ola is a Community Manager at TimeCamp a time tracking software company  and a new media maniac. Shes a Ph.D. and speech therapy student, treats the university as the second home. Likes reading science fiction and fantasy books, prefers rock and celtic music, loves sitting in the kitchen and cooking for her friends and family.  Find her on Twitter here: @pidzuchna

Philip Caputo, A Rumor of War

Philip Caputo, A Rumor of War Free Online Research Papers Philip Caputo was raised in Westchester, Illinois. He spent his fishing, hunting, and dreaming of â€Å"danger, challengers, and violence† (Caputo 5) in the Cook and DuPage County forest preserves. Tired of his dull life, Philip wanted excitement and a â€Å"chance to live heroically† (5). While attending Loyola University, Caputo rummaged through the Marine Corps recruiting material. Subsequently, he joined the Marine Corps Platoon leaders Class, attended Officer Candidate School, received his B.A. in English, and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant on February 2, 1964. Lieutenant Caputo was with the first ground combat unit to land in Vietnam in March of 1965 ( ). He went from a â€Å"boot brown-bar† (Caputo 33) to a seasoned infantry officer during his sixteen month tour of duty. Caputo started writing A Rumor of War in 1967 while living at the Bachelor’s Officer Quarters at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He did not finish the book until September of 1976 in Pine Creek, Montana. After leaving the Marine Corps, he worked for the Chicago Tribune as a Foreign Correspondent. He was extremely busy reporting in areas such as Saigon and Lebanon that he did not have time to work on his first book; â€Å"the manuscript often lay in a drawer for months. There was a period, in the early 70’s, when I didn’t look at it for more than a week or two a year† (Caputo 347). A Rumor of War tells the story of the Vietnam War from the soldier’s perspective. Caputo puts everything into perspective by describing every detail of war through his personal experience. This account allows readers to have a better understanding of the reality of war and what these young men endured. Caputo has since written several novels including Horn of Africa, Del Corso’s Gallery, and Means of Escape. He currently lives in Connecticut and works as a Contributing Editor for Esquire Magazine. In the past Philip has written for The New York Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and The Los Angeles Times. He was also a member of the Pulitzer Prize winning team covering election fraud during his time at the Chicago Tribune. The overall critical reviews of Philip Caputo’s A Rumor of War are outstanding. Christopher Lehmann-Haupt of The New York Times hailed the book as â€Å"singular and marvelous, one that, tells us, as no other book that I can think of has done, what it was actually like to be fighting in that hellish jungle† (Contemporary Authors Online). The heartfelt and brutal honesty in Caputo’s writing had William Broyles of Texas Monthly declare â€Å"Not since Siegfried Sassoon’s Classic of World War I, Memoirs of an Infantry Officer, has there been a war memoir so obviously true, and so disturbingly honest† (Amazon). The magnitude of this story had John Gregory Dunne write â€Å"To call it the best book about Vietnam is to trivialize it†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Amazon). Brian King of Clio’s Eye stated A Rumor of War â€Å"reflects much of the pain and ambivalence the nation came to know to well† (1). The general consensus regarding Philip Caputo’s works following A Rumor of War is excellent as well. The praise for Indian Country Caputo’s most recent novel is overwhelmingly positive. The New York Times Book Review states â€Å"Caputo is a fine action writer, controlling the sweep of the narrative with musical skill† (Vintage). The acclaim for Horn of Africa states â€Å"Philip Caputo, from Vietnam onwards, has understood the hardest truths of the modern world better than almost anybody† (Vintage). John Gregory Dunne claims that Caputo’s first collection of short fiction Exiles â€Å"will make the strongest among us weep† (Vintage). The book takes place in Japan and Vietnam. Okinawa, Japan is Caputo’s first duty station after graduation from Basic School. He was assigned to 2nd platoon, C Company, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines where he served as Platoon Commander for a rifle platoon. There was nothing exciting about Camp Schwab; a camp that consisted of â€Å"ranks of concrete barracks and chain linked fences which looked more like a minimum security prison than a home† (Caputo 30). A short Taxi ride into town was the closest thing to civilization (Caputo 30). The streets of Heneko were lined with bars which had ridiculous names such as Bar New York, Club California, and the Blue Hawaii Lounge. Heneko was a place the Marines could rid themselves of the boredom of the isolated base. When the Marines were not unwinding, they were dreaming of action. In the weeks to follow, the Marines of One-Three would gear up and gear down in anticipation of going into Vietnam. Apparently the North Vietnamese had crossed into South Vietnam with the intent of overrunning the country. Excitement and confusion followed. The news of going in to Vietnam changed daily, along with â€Å"weeks of alarms and counter-alarms, stand-tos and stand-downs† (Caputo 37). In March they would finally land in Danang and set up a defensive posture in conjunction with the ARVN. The Marines would quickly learn that Vietnam was totally different than the place they were used to. The toughest battle they faced in the first month in the theater was not with the Viet Cong, but with Vietnam’s climate and wildlife. The mosquito netting and the insect repellant they brought with them â€Å"proved ineffective against the horde of flying, creeping, crawling, buzzing, biting things,† (Caputo 57) that they encountered. The heat and humidity were just as bad â€Å"the terrain and the climate and the attendant diseases were more of an adversary than the Viet Cong† (CNN). From noon until dusk the sun was relentless. Accompanied by a hot wind, it baked everything in sight including the Marines. The dense jungle canopy that they traversed through was also a major obstacle, which at times was so dense that it was impenetrable. The little bit of light that filtered through the foliage managed to â€Å"bathe everything below in a greenish twilight† (Caputo 83). Things could be hear moving around the under brush, but not seen. The monsoon season seemed endless and diseases such as malaria and dysentery were commonplace. The jungle of Vietnam was in itself a battle that was being lost. William â€Å"Wild Bill† Campbell was the platoon sergeant for 2nd platoon. A picture perfect Marine who was a veteran of the Korean War. He stood 6’3’’ and weighed 220 pounds. Campbell ate, slept, and breathed Marine Corps. Being a Veteran of the â€Å"frosin chosin† he was respected by his peers and subordinates alike. He was not a man of paperwork and sometimes he did not follow the Uniformed Code of Military Justice. Campbell would rather punish his men in different ways, which kept their records clean and kept them eligible for promotion. One of Campbell’s biggest passions was close-order drill. He had been previously assigned to Parris Island, South Carolina as a Drill Inspector. It was a skill that he had perfected. Given the opportunity, Campbell would march his platoon around the parade deck for hours. Sergeant Campbell didn’t like officers. He ran his platoon as he saw fit. In his eyes, he was the platoon commander and Caputo was just an â€Å"unavoidable nuisance† (Caputo 30). Campbell was considered a lifer, someone who was more motivated than the average Marine and in it for the long haul. Murph McCloy was also a Lieutenant with One-Three. He was a modest man from Kentucky. McCloy had already been with the unit before Lieutenant Caputo had arrived. Murph and Caputo became friends almost immediately. They hung out together on liberty and talked about anything to keep their minds off of the Vietnam War. They were together drinking beer in Okinawa when the call came in to head out for Vietnam. McCloy had done a pervious tour in Vietnam as an observer with the ARVN. Familiar with Danang he was eager to show Philip around the foreign town. They sat down to have dinner with the Commanding Officer of the ARVN battalion McCloy had served with the first night they had liberty. They found their way down to a brothel that McCloy used to frequent. Upon arrival they ran into three Marines from Charley Company who were just coming out. Murph, who was stunned, covered for both of them by saying â€Å"Lieutenant Caputo and I are checking to make sure you men are taking care of yourselves. We hope you’re taking precautions† (Caputo 143). A major theme in A Rumor of War is the men who fight in the war and the moral extremes that they confront along the way. War is a time that changes men. Things which are not accepted as normal behavior during peace time can be found here and are often considered ordinary or usual. As the book unfolds, Caputo observes acts of violence that do not seem right. One time, early in the conflict, he catches a young Marine trying to cut off the ears of a dead Viet Cong as a trophy. He stops the act immediately, but as he thinks about the act he understands why the young Marine was doing this. Another incident that happens is with the South Vietnamese. It was difficult to trust them because of the intelligence which stated how the Viet Cong were embedded in the South. When military operations went wrong the South Vietnamese people were blamed for aiding the Viet Cong, and the consequences for such Snafu’s included killing innocent people â€Å"Well, if it’s dead and Vietnamese, it’s VC† (CNN) or burning entire villages to the ground. These acts were not right. However, when a Marine was killed, it was not uncommon for anger to take over in committing extreme acts of violence. At the beginning of the Vietnam War, 2nd Lieutenant Philip Caputo was a man who believed in the ideals of heroism, serving his country, and being a part of something meaningful. He believed that the Marine Corps stood for all the right things: Honor, Courage, Commitment! Michael Steele states in regards to Caputo’s heroism â€Å"he bought the bullshit about heroism, the patriotic war. So, he goes and joins the Marines, and he records this embittering process† (Steele 6). Caputo maintained this point of view only for a short time. As his company goes to war and his men start dying, he realizes it was not all it was cracked up to be. As his men begin to doubt the fact that they will win this war, so does Lieutenant Caputo, being an officer he tries to maintain his military bearing, but in the end he tells a Marine â€Å"I’m not supposed to say this to you, but I don’t either† (CNN)! The imagery of military weapons and foreign lands are intense. Caputo does not fail in describing every detail of weapons firing and munitions exploding. During one firefight â€Å"three Marines managed to sound like a small army, with Crowe’s shotgun roaring loudly. Then came the flat dull blasts of 40mm as Allen laid down a barrage with his grenade launcher† (Caputo 265). After another fire fight, Caputo’s platoon was getting shelled â€Å"a sound as of lightening striking a tree, a splitting sound. The earth shuddered† (Caputo 270). Caputo also managed to capture Vietnam as if you were standing right next to him. Visions of everlasting green jungle canopies and a variety of blood sucking insects accompany you down his vivid trek through the jungle. Caputo describes the vegetation on a mission: the Cordiller spread out before us, and it was the most forbidding thing I had ever seen. An unbroken mass of green stretched westward, one ridgeline and mountain range after another, some more than a mile high and covered with forests that looked solid enough to walk on. It had no end. It just went on to the horizon. I could see neither villages, nor fields, roads, or anything but endless rain forests the color of old moss. The mosquitoes were terrible. They were so bad that the Marines would stay up instead of sleeping to try and take their mind off of the little bloodsuckers. In the jungle however, there were bigger animals to be afraid of. The â€Å"humid wilderness where the Bengal tiger stalked and the Cobra coiled beneath its rock† (Caputo 82) was just as dangerous without the Viet Cong present. As a member of the Marine Corps I can relate to some of the experiences Caputo illustrates in his novel. The training he went through prior to Vietnam carries on today. I spent a year overseas and understand the difficulties of being an American in a strange land. This novel â€Å"was first published in 1977 and has remained in print ever since† (Neiburg 4). A Rumor of War â€Å"remains a standard text on the Vietnam War† (Key West 1) and Caputo is â€Å"an important and perceptive commentator on what can happen when human beings struggle† (Key West 1) . William Spanos of Boundary 2 indicates the importance of Caputo’s message in his article â€Å"9/11 and the forgetting of the Vietnam War†. Spanos writes: it is imperative that intellectuals who oppose the United States’ representation and conduct of the ‘war against terrorism’ retrieve the forgotten memory of the Vietnam War as Caputo’s deeply backgrounded, representative text articulates it†¦it is not simply its spetcral witness to the terror of America’s exceptionalist ‘search and destroy’ mentality that, despite the sustained attempt to obliterate it from history, continues to haunt the present American government†¦(Spanos 63)Spanos continues to argue that the American action taken in Vietnam will persist in today’s war on terror â€Å"the United States will no doubt succeed in its military mission to defeat the Taliban and to re-create an Afghanistan nation-state in its own image as it did- several times- in Vietnam in the early years of the war† (Spanos 63). â€Å"Caputo, Philip,† 17th Annual Key West Literary Seminar. 12 Apr. 2005 â€Å"Caputo, Philip,† Amazon. 18 Mar. 2005 â€Å"Caputo, Philip,† Contemporary Authors Online. 2005. Thomason Gale. 12 Apr. 2005 â€Å"Caputo, Philip,† Vintage. 18 Mar. 2005 â€Å"CNN Cold War –Interviews: Lt. Philip Caputo,† CNN Interactive. 18 Mar. 2005 King, Brian. â€Å"Rumor of War: Reality of Combat.† 12 Apr. 2005 Neiberg, Michael S., et. al. â€Å"A Rumor of War A Conversation with Philip Caputo at 58.† Commentary Magazine Summer 2000:64. 18 Mar. 2005 Spanos, William V. â€Å"A Rumor of War: 9/11 and the Forgetting of the Vietnam War.† Boundary 2 2003: 29-66. Duke University Press. 12 Apr. 2005 Steele, Michael. Interview with Mike Steele. 18 Mar. 2005 â€Å"Writers Try to Make Sense of the Vietnam-Book Boom,† The New York Times 4 Aug. 1987: C17. 12 Apr. 2005 Research Papers on Philip Caputo, "A Rumor of War"Book Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XHonest Iagos Truth through DeceptionTrailblazing by Eric AndersonUnreasonable Searches and SeizuresMind TravelHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Essay19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite Religion