Management and Leadership Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Management and Leadership Paper - Essay Example Likewise, the discourse aims to propose recommendations and strategies that organizational managers and leaders can use to create and maintain a healthy organizational culture; through the support of the concepts discussed in the course module. Differentiation between Managers and Leaders The executive team of Westgate Resorts is composed of the founder and president, David A. Siegel; as well as five other officers: Jim Gissy, the Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing; Barry W. Siegel, the Executive Vice President of Sales; Tom Dugan, the Chief Financial Officer; Mark Waltrip, the Chief Operating Officer; and finally, Michael E. Marder, the organization’s General Counsel (Westgate Resorts). These members of the executive team could be considered both leaders and managers. The differentiating factor between managers and leaders are the nature of roles and responsibilities that each person is entrusted with. As managers, they are expected to be knowledgeable in underta king functions of planning, directing, organizing and controlling facets of the organization that are entrusted to them. For instance, Tom Dugan, as Chief Financial Officer, is also a manager in terms of planning, directing, organizing and controlling crucial aspects pertaining to the finances of the Westgate Resorts. Thus, all people under his tutelage: finance and accounting personnel, are expected to abide by their respective roles and responsibilities relating to the funds of the Westgate. According to Martires and Fule, â€Å"managers are concerned with the creation of an environment for performance. They achieve goals through the efforts of other people. They have to influence the behavior of other people in order to get things done. This requires leadership, and, managers have to be leaders as well† (150). Within the organization, some groups or teams could assign leaders, but who are not necessarily managers. Roles and Responsibilities of Managers and Leaders As previ ously mentioned, managers have primary roles and responsibilities that pertain to functions of planning, organizing, directing and controlling the department or people concerned of a specific area: marketing, sales, finance, administration, human resources, and customer service, among others. Thus, at Westgate Resorts, the Executive Vice President for Sales, Barry W. Siegel’s role and responsibilities include: â€Å"oversee(ing) the company's multiple sales resorts. He is responsible for the strategic planning, cost/profit analysis, development of staff, corporate identity, and development of procedures and performance standards† (Westgate Resorts par. 1). Concurrently, Mark Waltrip, the Chief Operating Officer, also assumes the responsibilities of both manager and leader through his focus diverse areas such as: â€Å"corporate leadership, sales, marketing, real estate development, project acquisitions, construction, resort operations, asset management, procurement se rvices, information technology and human resources† (Westgate Resorts par. 1). Thus, Waltrip ensures that all areas are operated in a unified and collaborative manner, avoiding conflicts and chaos, to ensure that a smooth process and a health organizational culture is

Teen Pregnancy Essay Example for Free

Teen Pregnancy Essay Media does not give a realistic image of Teen Pregnancy In the United States, teenage pregnancy has become a common occurrence with three out of ten girls getting pregnant before the age of twenty (Dooley). Most young teenagers feel as if conception will never come from their scandalous deeds but, in fact, it happens more often than what they think. The increasing media coverage on television programming, such as 16 and Pregnant and the movie, Juno, is showing the young adolescents, it is okay to be pregnant. The series 16 and Pregnant and the movie Juno, are both based upon teenagers getting pregnant and going through the television reality of having a child. Both the television show and move are examples of the Medias image of teen pregnancy. Some individuals believe that these shows and movies are not a realistic image of pregnancy. Television Media is not showing the real emotional aspects of putting a baby up for adoption, they are not showing the struggles a single mother actually goes through and they are portraying baby bumps as if they were fashion accessory. In the television series 16 and Pregnant, one of the teenagers decides to give their baby up for adoption. In the series, the media doesn’t provide the viewers with a twenty-four-seven base image, of her going through each of the steps, to give up the baby. What they show is different clips of the teenager, which provide some of her experience. People believe that this show, 16 and Pregnant, has given young teenagers who are sexually active and are not using protection, a good reality check. That is not what they are doing though, what they are doing is showing it is okay to just give up their child as a way out, showing it is easy to just give up their child and live happily ever after. Even in the movie Juno, the main star becomes pregnant and at first wants to do an abortion but then quickly changes her mind and decides to give the baby up for adoption, when being in the abortion clinic was more like being in a tattoo parlor. The teenage girl, in the movie, looks in a newspaper and finds a random family, with no emotions at all; and decides that is the family her baby is going to. â€Å"You realize it [Juno] is just a superior romantic comedy that bears no relationship to reality† (Horin). Giving up a baby for adoption is a lot harder than it has been shown on television. My friend went through giving her daughter up for adoption; she was also a teen mother. Not once did her experience look anything like the show 16 and Pregnant or the movie Juno, that is because, her experience was reality. During her pregnancy, she had a hard time juggling school and going to and from Dr Appointments. My friend’s family wasn’t supportive of her decisions, like the families on television. She was actually in the pregnancy alone, the father of the baby was not there for moral support, nor was her family there. She had to provide DNA testing to find the father of the baby to make sure he would sign off all rights to her daughter, and then she had to pick out a family that the adoption clinic provided. Adoption is an all out emotional experience, not once does a young individual feel no emotions, to such a enormous life changing decision. Once the decision is decided and the paper work is complete, there is no going back. Another reason that television media doesn’t show a realistic image of teen pregnancy is because they mislead what a single mother is. When a young individual is still in high school and they get pregnant there is no guarantee that they will still be allowed to attend the high school they are currently going to. As a single parent, they will need to have a high school diploma, that way they can get a career, to be able to support a child alone. Now a day, even with no college education it is simply hard to find a good job. As a single parent there is no proof that their child’s father or child’s mother will play the role they are supposed to. In my personal situation I got pregnant at the age of 18 and I had my daughter when I was 19 years old; I didn’t get my GED until I was 20 years old. As a single mother it is the hardest job I believe I will have to face. When I was pregnant I watched the movie Juno and the show 16 and Pregnant, I thought being a parent was going to be easy. When my daughter was 4months, her father took himself out of our lives. I do not have any information on his whereabouts. I filed child support, believing that he would have to pay, I was wrong. Being a single mother isn’t as easy as it is described on television. Where a single mother files child support and two weeks later they are receiving payments from the father. I have been fighting with child support for over a year to get my child’s father to pay child support. Every situation is not going to be like reality television where everything works out perfectly and everyone lives happily ever after. There is going to be hard times about relationships, money, and family issues. Life, they [teens] need to know, is no Hollywood movie (Horin). Baby bumps have become a huge trend in fashion news. When attending a store and standing in the checkout line, individuals usually see magazines like, â€Å"OK! † and â€Å"People,† gossiping about who is pregnant and about their baby bump. Media provides an image of pregnancy as a fashion accessory because they constantly talk about who is pregnant and how beautiful they are with a baby bump. When young adolescents see the media image of pregnancy they believe that being pregnant is just a way to become beautiful and famous. For example, the television series, 16 and Pregnant gives young adolescent the image of baby bumps being a fashion accessory. The television series 16 and pregnant is about six pregnant teenagers who go through every day struggles, during pregnancy and even after they have had the baby. This show is supposed to make young adolescents become more aware of what they will have to go through if they become pregnant. Little does the media know, the image that a young individual gets is, they can become pregnant and become famous. Jill Palomo explained in an article: â€Å"I have witnessed adolescent girls saying statements like â€Å"If only I was pregnant, I could be famous† or â€Å"MTV doesnt make having a baby as a teenager look too hard. † It is sad that instead of the initial goal, being to show teenagers the harsh reality of pregnancy, it has now turned glamorous. † Despite how anyone feels on the concern, teen pregnancy has multiple consequences that the television media does not portray. Adoption is an answer to get their way out of not raising a child but doesn’t mean they will be emotionally okay with their decision the rest of their life. Even if a teenager decides they are going to keep the baby, there is no guarantee the father or family will be there to help raise that child and they will then have to learn to be a single mother. A young individual should not get pregnant just because it is a fashion trend with the media. I wouldn’t be the one to believe that television is a great way to get an image of the experience of being a parent. I have watched the television shows and movies about teen pregnancies, I am convinced they have everything handed them, and the meida puts off that it is okay to be a teenage mom. My knowledge comes from the real life version of being a young single mother.

The Aicpa Code Of Professional Conduct Indicates That Threats To Independence Accounting Essay

The Aicpa Code Of Professional Conduct Indicates That Threats To Independence Accounting Essay According to Auditing and Assurance Services (2011), the general purpose of Rule 101, Independence, is that a member in public practice shall be independent in the performance of professional services as required by standards promulgated by bodies designated by Council. Rule 101 relates primarily to audit and attest engagements. Auditing and Assurance Services (2011) states that auditors should preserve independence, the mental attitude and appearance that auditors are not influenced by others in making judgments and decisions, by a) avoiding financial connections that appear that the auditors wealth depends on the outcome of the audit and b) avoiding managerial connections that make it appear that the auditors are involved in management decisions for the audit client (thus auditing their own work). Auditing and Assurance Services (2011) further states that covered members (in a position to influence can attest engagement) are prohibited from having any financial interest in clients that could affect their audit judgment (independence in fact) or would appear to others to have an influence on their judgment (independence in appearance). In addition, immediate family members are under the same restrictions as the auditor. The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct has the following guidelines in regards to covered members: A covered member cannot: Have a direct financial interest in a client Have a material indirect financial interest in a client Be a trustee or administrator of an estate that has a direct or material indirect financial interest in a client. Have a joint investment with a client that is material to the covered member. Have a loan to or from a client, any officer of the client, or any individual owning more than 10 percent of the client (except as specifically described in interpretation 101-5). Participate on an attest engagement if they were formally employed by the client in a position to influence the audit or acted as an officer, director, promoter, underwriter, or trustee of a pension or profit-sharing trust of the client. A covered members immediate family cannot: Have a direct financial interest in a client. Have a material indirect financial interest in a client. A covered members close relatives cannot: Have a key position with a client Have a material financial interest in a client that is known to the covered member. Have a financial interest in a client that allows the relative to have a significant influence in a client. Be in a position to influence the audit. A partner or professional employee cannot: Be associated with a client as a director, officer, employee, promoter, underwriter, voting trustee, or trustee of a pension or profit-sharing trust of the client. The AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) has a three step risk-based approach to evaluate whether a practice or relationship poses an unacceptable risk to CPAs independence. The steps are: 1) Identifying and evaluating threats to independence; 2) Determining whether safeguards eliminate or sufficiently mitigate the identified threats; 3) Determining whether independence is impaired. (Auditing Assurance Services (2010)). The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct indicates that threats to independence include: Familiarity threat CPAs having a close or longstanding relationship with a client. Adverse interest threat CPAs acting in opposition to clients Undue influence threat Attempts to coerce or otherwise influence the CPA member Self-review threat CPAs reviewing their own work Financial self-interest threat CPAs having a financial relationship with a client Management participation threat CPAs taking on the role of client management or otherwise performing management functions Advocacy threat CPAs promoting a clients interest or position. According to Auditing and Assurance Services (2011), the general purpose of Rule 102, Integrity and Objectivity, states in the performance of any professional service, a member shall maintain objectivity and integrity, shall be free of conflicts of interest, and shall not knowingly misrepresent facts or subordinate his or her judgment to others. Accounting and Assurance Services (2011) states that Rule 102 applies not only to CPAs in public practice but also to CPAs working in government and industry. The rule requires integrity and objectivity in all types of professional work tax practice and consulting practice as well as audit practice for public accountants and all types of accounting work performed by CPAs employed in corporations, not for profit organizations, governments, and individual practices. The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct indicates that in addition to integrity and objectivity, Rule 102 emphasizes 1) being free from conflicts of interest between CPAs and others; 2) representing facts truthfully in reports and discussions; 3) not letting other people dictate or influence the CPAs judgment and professional decisions. Conflicts of interest cited in Rule 102 refer to the need to avoid having business interests in which the accountants personal financial relationships or the accountants relationships with other clients might tempt the accountant to fail to serve the best interests of a client or the public that uses the results of the engagement. The phases shall not knowingly misrepresent facts (Interpretation 102-1) and shall not subordinate his or her judgment to others (Interpretation 102-4) from the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct emphasizes conditions people ordinarily identify with the concepts of integrity and objectivity. The prohibition of misrepresentations in financial statements (Interpretation 102-1) applies to the management accountants who prepare companies statements. Government and industry CPAs should not subordinate their professional judgment to superiors who try to produce materially misleading financial statements and fool their external auditors per Auditing Assurance Services (2011). In addition, government and industry CPAs must be candid and not knowingly misrepresent facts or fail to disclose material facts when dealing with their employers external au ditor. Government and industry CPAs cannot have conflicts of interest in their jobs and their outside business interests that are not disclosed to their employers and approved. Rule 102 has two other applications according to the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct. One concerns serving a client advocate (Interpretation 102-6), which occurs frequently in taxation and rate regulation practice and in supporting clients positions in FASB and SEC proceedings. Client advocacy in support or advancement of client positions is acceptance only so long as the member acts with integrity, maintains objectivity, and does not subordinate judgment to others. The other application is directed specifically to professors. They are supposed to maintain integrity and objectivity, be free of conflicts of interest, and not knowingly misrepresent facts to students (Interpretation 102-5). What do you see as the significance of this section for accountants? Integrity is one of the essential pillars of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Code of Professional Conduct. The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct describes the  accounting professions public as consisting of clients, credit grantors, governments, employers, investors, the  business  and financial community, and others who rely on the objectivity and integrity of CPAs to maintain the orderly functioning of commerce. A distinguishing mark of the accounting profession is acceptance of its responsibility to honor the public trust. Lenders, investors, government agencies, and other members of the business community rely on the integrity of certified public accountants to help preserve the proper functioning of commercial activities. (Integrity: Still a Hallmark of the Public Accounting Profession? (n.d.)) Active and aspiring public accountants ought to embrace the obligation to act in a way that warrants the faith that the entire public reposes in the work they do or will do. Accountants must remain free from conflicts of interest and other questionable business relationships when conducting accounting services. Failure to remain objective and independent may hamper an accountants ability to provide an honest opinion about a companys financial information. There is a clear directive in the principle: Service and the public trust should not be subordinated to personal gain and advantage. (On Integrity, (n.d.)) Integrity and ethics in the accounting industry came to the forefront during the accounting scandals of 2001. Several major publicly held companies, such as Enron, committed serious accounting fraud that misled employees and the general public about each companys financial health. Upon investigating, government regulators found inappropriate relationships between auditors and their clients. Auditors gave management advice on accounting procedures and conducted external audits, resulting in a lack of independence. Accountants from these firms also engaged in unethical behavior by manipulating accounting information. (Integrity Ethics in the Accounting Industry (n.d.)) Per the AICPA: Failure to follow rules of conduct can result in expulsion from the AICPA. This by itself does not prevent a CPA from practicing public accounting, but it certainly is a weighty social sanction. All expulsions from the AICPA for a violation of the rules are published in the CPA Newsletter, a publication that is sent out to all AICPA members, and in The Wall Street Journal. Where do you see situations in an accounting practice that would make the contents of this section particularly relevant? Offer examples of such situations. Independence: Applying the independence rules for an audit: The people who are prohibited from having financial and managerial relationships with the client are the audit engagement team, the people in the chain of command, the covered persons in the public accounting firm, close family members, and immediate family members. (Auditing Assurance Services (n.d.)). Integrity and Objectivity: Assume that an auditor believes that accounts receivable may not be collectible but accepts managements opinion without an independent evaluation of collectability. The auditor has subordinated his or her judgment and thereby lacks objectivity. Now assume that a CPA is preparing the tax return for a client, and as a client advocate, encourages the client to take a deduction on the returns that the CPA believes is valid, but for which there is some but not complete support. This is not a violation of either objectivity or integrity, because it is acceptable for the CPA to be a client advocate in tax and management services. If the CPA encourages the client to take a deduction for which there is no support but has little chance of discovery by the IRS, a violation has occurred. That is a misrepresentation of the facts; therefore, the integrity of the CPA has been impaired. In regards to freedom from conflicts of interest, it means the absence of relationships that might interfere with objectivity and integrity (AICPA Code of Professional Conduct). For example, it would be inappropriate for an auditor who is also an attorney to represent a client in legal matters. The attorney is an advocate for the client, whereas the auditor must be impartial. Apparent conflicts of interest may not be a violation of the rules of conduct if the information is disclosed to the members client or employer (AICPA Code of Professional Conduct). For example, if a partner of a CPA firm recommends that a client have the security of its Internet website evaluated by a technology consulting firm that is owned by the partners spouse, a conflict of interest may appear to exist. No violation of Rule 102 occurs if the partner informs the clients management of the relationship and management proceeded with the evaluation of that knowledge (AICPA Code of Professional Conduct). Examples of conflict of interest per Auditing Assurance Services (n.d.): CPA is engaged to perform litigation support services for a plaintiff in a lawsuit filed against a client CPA is in a personal financial planning engagement, recommends client investment in business in which the CPA has a financial interest. CPA provides tax services for several members of a family who have opposing interests. CPA performs management consulting for a client and has a financial or managerial interest in a major competitor. CPA serves on a city board of tax appeals, which hears matters involving clients. CPA refers a tax client to an insurance broker, who refers clients to the CPA under an exclusive agreement. CPA charges a contingent fee to a client for expert witness litigation support services when the fee can be affected by the opinion the CPA expresses. Offer a list of five sources that you intend to consult in researching your choice. You may include resources on the AICPA website besides the section of the code you have chosen, but only list the AICPA website as one of your five sources. I plan on searching the numerous articles located on the following websites: AICPA.com CPAJournal.com NYSSCPA.org AccountingWeb.com WSJ.com AccountingToday.com In addition, I will be utilizing the NEC library online and also my textbooks from my prior NEC courses. The Auditing Assurance textbook used as a reference in this paper is from the NEC auditing course.

Discussion Surrounding Global Alliances Operating in the Airline Indust

The international aviation industry is arguably one of the most competitive and cut-throat businesses in the world today. Characterised by high revenue but notoriously thin profit margins, modern international airlines are constantly searching for methods to gain advantages over their competitors and attract new customers. One of these methods which has become popular since the late 1990s is that of the global airline alliance. Today there are three major alliances in operation, each containing different member airlines. These alliances offer airline customers various advantages over travel with a traditional carrier. Nevertheless, these advantages have been criticised by some as being anti-competitive, there are several examples of airlines that prefer to remain unaligned, and have become extremely successful. Who are these alliances, why are they so popular, and why are they so strongly criticised by some? The Star Alliance was founded in May 1997 by five airlines from three different continents, and today is the largest and oldest of the three major alliances in operation today. It features the highest number of member airlines of any alliance, and also the greatest number of flights and destinations served (Star Alliance, 2011). It is also independently rated by Skytrax (2011) as the world’s best airline alliance, having additionally won the award every year it has been presented except for 2010, when the award went to Oneworld. Furthermore, the Star Alliance is probably the most useful for New Zealand based frequent fliers, as New Zealand’s principal airline, Air New Zealand is a member. Air New Zealand frequent fliers are able to take maximum advantage of co-ordinated scheduling, frequent flier points, and international lo... ...df O’Sullivan, M. (2010, September 17). Virgin hints at signing up to Skyteam. The Sydney Morning Herald, p. Business 3. Oneworld. (2011). An introduction to Oneworld: The alliance that revolves around you. Retrieved 17 September 2011 from http://www.oneworld.com/content/factsheet/W1_2011-01%20Introduction%20to%20oneworld.pdf Rodrigue, JP. (2005). Market share of world airline traffic. Retrieved 18 September 2011 from http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch3en/conc3en/airalliances.html Skytrax. (2011). World Airline Awards. Retrieved 17 September 2011 from http://www.worldairlineawards.com/Awards_2011/alliance2011.htm Star Alliance. (2011). Star Alliance: About. Retrieved 17 September 2011 from http://www.staralliance.com/en/about/ United Airlines. (2011). Star Alliance. Retrieved 18 September 2011 from http://www.united.com/page/article/0,6867,1519,00.html

The History Of The Refrigerator

Before refrigerators were produced, people were forced to cool their food with ice, snow,  or nearby rivers and springs. Most people also had to can, salt, and pickle their food to preserve  their meals. During these times, inventors were working towards the creation of the refrigerator.In 1758, Benjamin Franklin experimented with the effects of evaporation on temperature. With  the help from chemist John Hadley, both men were able to find a way to drop thermometers temperature below freezing. Franklin and Hadley’s work was soon picked up by the American  inventor, Oliver Evans.Using principles drew up by Franklin; Evans drew the design for a  refrigerator in 1805. Jacob Perkins modified Evan’s design and built the first practical  refrigerating machine in 1834. Soon after, John Gorrie used Evan’s design to build a refrigerator  to make ice to cool the air for his yellow fever patients in 1844.Over 30 years later German  engineer Carl Von Linde di scovered the process of liquefying gas which is part of basic  refrigeration technology. From the 1800s until the 1920s, refrigerators used  toxic gases as  refrigerants. With research developed, corporations discovered a less dangerous refrigerant  called Freon. Freon soon became the standard for almost all home kitchens.  Carl Von Linde was born in 1842 and was the son of a Lutheran minister.He studied  science and engineering at the Federal Polytechnic in Zurich, Switzerland. His research led to the  development of the first compressed-ammonia refrigerator. In 1917, Linde formed the Union  Carbide and Carbon Corporation.On January 1, 1913, the first electric refrigerator in the United States was invented by  Fred W. Wolf. The refrigerator was an air-cooled refrigeration unit mounted on top of an ice box  and was called the Domelre. Exactly two years after the Domelre was created, the first self-container refrigerator was built by the Guardian Refrigerator Comp any.The company struggled  and produced less than 40 appliances in two years. The company was purchased by General  Motors and the business was renamed Frigidaire. In 1918, the first Frigidaire refrigerator was  produced. There were more than 200 different refrigerators on the market by 1920. Ice cream  cabinets were added to models in 1923, soda fountain equipment in 1924, and water and milk  coolers in 1927.One million refrigerators were produced by 1929. In 1947, GE was the first  company to introduce the two-door refrigerator-freezer combination. By 2005, 99.5 percent of  homes had refrigerators.  The refrigerator has changed the world in many ways. We are now able to preserve our  Foods such as fruits and vegetables for longer periods of time and beverages are now able to be  kept cool. Without refrigeration, medicines and vaccinations would not have been able to be  developed. Refrigeration is also used for air conditioning in homes, public places and lar ge  warehouses.Even those beautiful Valentine’s Day roses would not be able to be delivered  without refrigeration. Just imagine school without air conditioning, everyone would smell  horrible from sweating all day. Everyone’s favorite ice creams would not have been created  without the freezer. Long car rides would be dreadful without an air conditioner.Refrigerators use refrigerants to carry heat away from the inside of the fridge. This is  done by injecting the refrigerants into a tube inside the refrigerator in liquid form and it slowly  begins to vaporize. Taking heat away makes the temperature cooler. When the liquid is done  vaporizing, it travels to a coil on the outside of the fridge where it releases heat and becomes a  liquid again. The process starts over again.After researching the history of the refrigerator, I have learned how much it has impacted  the world and how much people take it for granted. I would have never been able to enjoy my  favorite ice creams or drinks if it was not for the refrigerator. I would not be able to preserve my  favorite foods or keep my fruits and veggies fresh.My favorite Eleven slushies would not even  exist. Some people do not take the time to realize the importance of the refrigerator and how  much of a difference it has made in America.

Basic pc recording essays

Basic pc recording essays First thing's first - what is your purpose of recording on a PC? Are you doing it for fun? Are you an up-and-coming producer? Or are you trying to upgrade your current recording setup? I will be covering the aspect of simple, basic recording on a PC. Read on. Let's take a look at how sounds get recorded into your computer and get spit out of your speakers. Whether you have a set of turntables, a microphone, drum machine, sampler, etc., you will need to somehow plug your gear into your computer's sound card. Let's say you have a SoundBlaster Live soundcard installed on your PC. When you take a look at the soundcard, you can see that it has an input and output. But they're not RCA plugs, what are they? 1/8 inch. So what you'll need to do is get some wires that have 1/8 inch at one end and RCA at the other end. You need the sound to travel like this: RCA OUT of your drum machine, sampler, etc., If you have multiple pieces of gear and you would like to hook them all up together, you'll need to either connect all of them to a mixer and then go to your soundcard, or connect them via MIDI, but I won't get into all of that this time. The sound is now able to pass through the soundcard and recorded into your computer. It then sends the sound out of the soundcard, through the OUT slot. That's where you hook up another wire going from the soundcard's OUT to the IN of your amp. There are too many to name, but even the most basic soundcard will do nowadays, but it all depends on what you want to accomplish and how good you want the sound to be. As long as the soundcard is full-duplex and has the basics like IN, OUT, MIDI IN, MIDI Out, SPDIF Out (to connect to a DAT machine for example), then you'll be fine. Once the sound reaches your computer, you must have some kind of software program that can record it. Windows has a b ...