Herman Case

Companies† list in both 2008 and 2010. The three high-technology organizations selected for these lists were Microsoft, Cisco, and Google. Unlike most firms, especially those in mature industries and most of its office furniture rivals, Herman Miller had pursued a path distinctively marked by reinvention and renewal. This path had served it well over the decades. It survived the Great Depression early in its history and multiple recessions in the 20th century In the early part of the 21st century, it recovered from the dot. Com bust.In 201 2, Herman Miller once again was facing turbulent and uncertain economic conditions. Would its propensity for using innovation to reinvent and renew its business once again allow the company to flourish and grow? How far and how fast might the company be able to push its annual revenues above the 201 1 level of $1. 6 billion? COMPANY BACKGROUND Herman Miller's roots went back to 1905 and the Star Furniture Company, a manufacturer of traditiona listic bedroom suites in Zealand, Michigan. In 1909, it was renamed Michigan Star Furniture Company and hired Dirk Jan De Pre as a clerk.De Pre, became president in 191 9 and four years later convinced his father-in-law, Herman Miller, to purchase the majority of hares; De Pre renamed the company Herman Miller Furniture Company in recognition of Millers support. In 1 927, De Pre committed himself to treating â€Å"all workers as individuals with special talents and potential. † This occurred after he visited the family of a millwright who had died unexpectedly. During the visit, the widow read some poetry Upon asking the widow who the poet was, De Pre was surprised to learn it was the millwright.This led him to wonder whether the millwright was a worker who wrote poetry or a poet who worked as a millwright. This story was part of Herman Miller's corporate culture, which intended to generate respect for all employees and fueled the quest to tap the diversity of gifts and skill s held by all. In 1 930, the United States was in the Great Depression and Herman Miller was in financial trouble. As De Pre was looking for a way to save the company, Gilbert Rhode, a designer from New York, approached him and told him about his design philosophy.Rhode then asked for an opportunity to design a bedroom suite for a fee of $1 ,OHO. When De Pre reacted negatively to such a fee, Rhode suggested an alternative payment plan-?a 3 percent royalty on the furniture sold-?to which De Pre agreed, figuring that there as nothing to lose. A few weeks later, De Pre received the-first designs from Rhode. Again, he reacted negatively. In response, Rhode wrote De Pre a letter explaining his design philosophy: â€Å"[Horst,] utter simplicity: no surface enrichment, no carvings, no molding, [and second,] furniture should be anonymous.People are Important, not furniture. Furniture should be useful† Rhodes designs were antithetical to traditional designs, but De Pre saw merit in th em and set Herman Miller on a course of designing and selling furniture that reflected a way of life. In 1 942, Herman Miller produced its first office furniture-?a Gilbert Rhode sign referred to as the Executive Office Group. Rhode died two years later, and De Pre began a search for a new design leader. After reading an article in Life magazine â€Å"about designer George Nelson, De Pre hired Nelson as Herman Miller's first design director.In 1 946, De Pre hired Charles and Ray Names, a husband-and-wife design team based in Los Angels. In the same year, Charles Earn sees designs were featured in the first one-man furniture exhibit at New Work's Museum of Modern Art. Some of his designs became part of the museum's permanent collection. Many sources were helpful in providing material for this case, m ¶SST articulacy employees at Herman Miller who generously shared their time and viewpoints about the company to help ensure that the case accurately reflected the company's practices and culture.They provided many resources, including internal documents and stories of their personal experiences. In 1 950, Herman Miller, under the guidance of Dry. Carl Frost, a professor at Michigan State University, became the first company in the state of Michigan to implement a Scansion Plan, a productivity incentive program devised by labor expert Joseph N. Scansion. Underlying the Scansion Plan were the principles of equity and justice for everyone in the company† Two major functional elements Of Scansion plans were the use of committees for sharing ideas on improvements and a structure for sharing increased profitability.The relationship between Frost and Herman Miller continued for at least four decades. During the asses, Herman Miller introduced a number of new furniture designs, including those by Alexander Gerard, Charles and Ray Names, and George Nelson. Specifically, the company introduced the first molded fiberglass chairs and the Names lounge chair and ottoman (see Exhibit 1). The Names designs were introduced on NBC Home Show with Arlene Francis, a precursor to the Today show. Also in the asses, Herman Miller began its first overseas foray, selling its products in the European market. In 1 962, D. J.De Pre became chairman of the board and his son, Hugh De Pre, became president and chief executive officer. D. J. De Pre had served for more than 40 years as the president of Herman Miller. EXHIBIT 1 Names Lounge Chair and Ottoman During the 1 sass, Herman Miller introduced many new designs for both home and office. The most notable design was the Action Office System, the rolls first open-plan modular office arrangement of movable; panels and attachments. By the end of the 1 sass, Herman Miller had formed a subsidiary in England with sales and marketing responsibility throughout England and the Scandinavian countries.The company also established dealers in South and Central America, Australia, Canada, Europe, Africa, the Near East, and Japa n. In 1 970, Herman Miller went public and made its first stock offering. The stock certificate was designed by the Names office staff. The company entered the health/science market in 1 971 and introduced the Oregon chair, its first design eased on scientific observation and ergonomic principles, in 1976. In 1 979, in conjunction with the University of Michigan, Herman Miller established the Facility Management Institute, which pioneered the profession of facility management.The company continued to expand overseas and introduce new designs throughout the asses. By 1 977, more than half of Herman Miller's 2,500 employees worked outside the production area. The Scansion Plan therefore needed to be overhauled, since it had been designed originally for a production workforce. In addition, employees worked at multiple U. S. And overseas locations. In 1 978, an ad hoc committee of 54 people from nearly every segment of the company was elected to examine the need for changes and to make recommendations.By January 1979, the committee had developed a final draft. The plan established a new organization structure based on work teams, caucuses, and councils. All employees were given an opportunity to discuss the new plan in small group settings. On January 26,1 979,96 percent of the employees voted to accept the new plan. After 18 years as president and CEO, Hugh De Pre stepped down; his younger brother, Max De pre, became chairman and chief executive officer n 1980. In 1981, Herman Miller took a major initiative to become more efficient and environmentally friendly.Its Energy Center generated both electrical and steam power to run its 1 -million-square-foot facility by burning waste. 2 In 1983, Herman Miller established a plan whereby all employees became shareholders. This initiative occurred approximately 10 years before congressional incentives fueled employee stock ownership plan (ESP.) growth. In 1 984, Herman Miller introduced the Aqua chair, a second chair base d on ergonomic principles; many other designs followed in the 1 9805. In 1987, the iris non-De Pre family member, Dickered, became chief executive officer.By the end of the decade, Time magazine had recognized the Aqua chair as a Design of the Decade. Also, in 1989, Herman Miller established its Environmental Quality Action Team, whose purpose was to â€Å"coordinate environmental programs worldwide and involve as many employees as possible. † In 1990, Herman Miller became a founding member of the Tropical Forest Foundation and was the only furniture manufacturer to belong. That same year, it discontinued using endangered rosewood in its redrawing Names lounge chair and ottoman, and substituted cherry and walnut from sustainable sources.It also became a founding member of the U. S. Green Building Council in 1994. Some of the buildings at Herman Miller were used to establish Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LED) standards. Because of its environmental efforts, He rman Miller received awards from Fortune magazine and the National Wildlife Federation in the 1 9905. Also in the 1 sass, Herman Miller again introduced some groundbreaking designs. In 1 994, it introduced the Aaron chair (see Exhibit 2), which almost immediately was added to the New York Museum of Modern Art's permanent sign collection.In 1999, the Aaron chair won the Design of the Decade Award from Businesslike and the Industrial Designers I Society of America. In 1 992, J. Kermit Campbell became Herman Miller's fifth CEO and president. He was the first person from outside the company to hold either position. In 1995, Campbell resigned and Mike Evolved was promoted to CEO. Evolved, just 39 years old, had been with a company called Meridian for seven years before Herman Miller acquired it in 1990, so when he became CEO he had been with either Herman Miller or its subsidiary for 12 years.At the time, the industry was in a slump and Herman Miller was being restructured. Sales were ap proximately $1 billion annually. EXHIBIT 2 The Herman Miller Aaron Chair In 1 994, the company launched a product line called Herman Miller for the Home to focus on the residential market. It reintroduced some Of its modern classic designs from the asses, asses, and asses as well as new designs. In 1998, it set up a specific website (www. Home. Com) to tap into this market. Attachments took additional marketing initiatives to focus on small and midsized businesses.It established a network of 1 80 retailers to focus on small genuineness and made a 3-D design computer program available to midsized customers. In addition, its order entries were digitally linked among the company and its suppliers, distributors, and customers to expedite orders and improve their accuracy 3 THE FIRST DECADE OF THE 21ST CENTURY The first decade of the 21 SST century started off spectacularly for Herman Miller, with record profits and sales in 2000 and 2001.The company offered: an employee stock option pla n (ESP.) in July 2000, and Time magazine selected the Names molded ply'. Judd chair a Design of the Century. Sales had ore than doubled in the six years that Mike Evolved had been CEO. Then the dot. Com bubble burst and the terrorist attacks of September 1 1 , 2001, shook the U. S. Economy. Herman Miller's sales dropped by 34 percent, from more than $22 billion in 2001 to less than $1. 5 billion in 2002. In the same two years, the company saw a decline in profits from a positive $144 million to a negative $56 million.In an interview for Fascinating magazine in 2007, Evolved said, â€Å"One night went to bed a genius and woke up the town idiot† Although sales continued to drop in 2003, Herman Miller returned to reparability in that year. To do so, Herman Miller had to drop its long-held tradition of lifelong employment; approximately 38 percent of the workforce was laid off, and an entire plant in Georgia was closed. Mike Evolved and Brian Walker, then president of Herman Mill er North America, met with all the workers to tell them what was happening and why it had to be done.One Of the workers being laid off was so moved by Evolved and Walkers presentation that she told them she felt sorry for them having to personally lay off workers. To replace the tradition of lifelong employment, Evolved, tit input from many others, developed what the company referred to as â€Å"the new social contract. † He explained it as follows: We are a commercial enterprise, and the customer has to be on center stage, so we have to first figure out whether your gifts and talents have a match with the needs and wants of this commercial enterprise.If they don't, then we want to wish you the best, but we do need to tell you that I don't have a job for you right now. As part of the implementation of the social contract, the company redesigned benefit plans such as educational reimbursement and 401 (k) plans to be more portable. This done to decrease the cost of changing job s for employees whose gifts and talents no longer matched customer needs. Herman Miller's sales and profits began to climb from 2003 to 2008. In 2008, even though sales were not at an all-time high, the company's profits had reached a record level.Walker became president in 2003 and CEO in 2004. Evolved became chairman of the board in 2004. Then Herman Miller was hit by the recession of 2009. Sales dropped by 1 9 percent, from approximately $2. 0 billion in 2008 to approximately $ 1. 6 billion in 2009. In the same years, profits dropped from $1 52 million to $68 million. In March 2009, Mark Churchman, director of external communications at Herman Miller, predicted that the changes made to recover from the 2001-2003 recession would help the company weather the recession that began in late 2007.HERMAN MILLER IN 2012 Herman Miller had codified its long-practiced organizational values and published them on its website on a page titled â€Å"What We Believe. † Those beliefs, liste d as follows, were intended as a basis for uniting all employees, building relationships, and contributing to communities: ; Curiosity & Exploration: These are two of our greatest strengths. They he behind our heritage of research- driven design. How do we keep our curiosity? By respecting and encouraging risk, and by practicing forgiveness. You can't be curious and infallible.In one sense, if you never make a mistake, you're not exploring new ideas often enough. Everybody makes mistakes: we ought to celebrate honest mistakes, learn from them, and move on. ; Engagement: For us, it is about being owners-? actively committed to the life of this community called Herman Miller, sharing in its success and risk. Stock ownership is an important ingredient, but it's not enough. The strength and the payoff really come when engaged people own problems, solutions, and behavior. Acknowledge responsibility, choose to step forward and be counted.Care about this community and make a difference in it. ; Performance: Performance is required for leadership. We want to be leaders, so we are committed to performing at the highest level possible. Performance isn't a choice. It's up to everybody at Herman Miller to perform at his or her best. Our own high performance-?however we measure it-?enriches our lives as employees, delights our customers, and creates real value for our shareholders ; Inclusiveness: To succeed as a company, we must include all the expressions of human talent and potential that society offers.We value the whole person and everything each of us has to offer, obvious or not so 4 obvious. We believe that every person should have the chance to realize his or her potential regardless of color, gender, age, sexual orientation, educational background, weight, height, family status, skill level-? the list goes on and on. When we are truly inclusive, we go beyond toleration to understanding all the qualities that make people who they are, that make us unique, and most important, that unite us. Design: Design for us is a way of looking at the world and how it works-?or doesn't.It is a method for getting something done, for solving a problem. To design a solution, rather than simply devising one, requires research, thought, sometimes starting over, listening, and humility. Sometimes design results in memorable occasions, timeless chairs, or really fun parties. Design isn't just the way something looks; it sinusitis the way something works, either. ; Foundations: The past can be a tricky thing-?an anchor or a sail, a tether or a launching pad. We value and respect our past without being ruled by it. The stories, people, and experiences in Herman Miller's past form a unique foundation.Our past teaches us about design, human compassion, leadership, risk taking, seeking out change and working together. From that foundation, we can move forward together with a common language, a set of owned beliefs and understandings. We value our rich legacy more for what it shows us we might become than as a picture of what we've been. ; A Better World: This is at the heart of Herman Miller and the real reason why many of us come to work every day. We contribute to a better world by pursuing sustainability and environmental wisdom.Environmental advocacy is part of our heritage and a responsibility we gladly bear for future generations. We reach for a better world by giving time and money to our communities and causes outside the company; through becoming a good corporate citizen worldwide; and even in the (not so) simple act of adding beauty to the world. By participating in the effort, we lift our spirits and the spirits of those around us. ; Transparency: Transparency begins with letting people see how decisions are made and owning the decisions we make. So when you make a decision, own it.Confidentiality has a place at Herman Miller, but if you can't tell anybody about a decision you've made, you've probably made a poor choice. Without tran sparency, it's impossible to have trust and integrity. Without trust and integrity, its impossible to be transparent All employees were expected to live these values. Management Mike Evolved remained chairman of the board in 2012, and Brian Walker was president and CEO. Walker's compensation was listed by Bloomberg Businesslike as $693,969 in 2011. The magazine listed compensation for Coos at four competitors as ranging from $778,000 to $973,000.Walker and our other top executives at Herman Miller took a 10 percent pay cut in January 2009 and, along with all salaried workers, another 10 percent cut in March 2009. The production workers were placed on a work schedule that consisted of nine days in two weeks, effectively cutting their pay by 10 percent as well. That the executives would take a pay cut before salaried workers, and one twice as much as that required by workers, was just one way human compassion was practiced at Herman Miller. However, most employees' pay cuts and furlou ghs were ended in June 201 0 when the company's financial performance began to improve.By U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations, a publicly traded Company had to have a board of directors. By Herman Miller's corporate policy, the majority of the 14 members of the board had to be independent. To be judged independent, the individual as a minimum had to meet the NASDAQ National Market requirements for independent directors (NASDAQ Stock Market Rule 4200). In addition, the individual could not have any â€Å"other material relationship with the company or its affiliates or with any executive officer of the company or his or her affiliates. Moreover, according o company documents, any â€Å"transaction between the Company and any executive officer or director of the Company (including that persons spouse, children, stepchildren, parents, stepparents, siblings, parents-law, children- in-law, siblings-in-law and persons sharing the same residence) must be disclosed to the Board of Directors and is subject to the approval of the Board of Directors Or the Nominating and Governance Committee unless the proposed transaction is part of a general program available to all directors or employees equally under an existing policy or is a purchase of Company reduces consistent with the price and terms of other transactions of similar size with other purchasers. † Furthermore, â€Å"It is the policy of the Board that all directors, consistent with their responsibilities to the stockholders of the company as a whole, hold an equity interest in the company. Toward this end, the.Board requires that each director will have an equity interest after one year on the Board, and within five years the Board encourages the 5 directors to have shares of common stock of the company with a value of at least three times the amount of the annual retainer paid to each director. † In there words, board members were held to standards consistent with Herman Mill er's corporate beliefs and its ESP. program. Although Herman Miller had departments, the most frequently referenced work unit was the team. Paul Murray, director of environmental health and safety, explained the relationship between the team and the department as follows: At Herman Miller, team has just been the term that has been used since the Scansion Plan and the De Peres brought that into Herman Miller. And so I think that's why we use that almost exclusively.The department-? as a department, we help facilitate the other teams. And so they aren't just department driven. Teams were often cross-functional. Membership on a team was based on the employee's ability to contribute to that team. As Gave Wing lead chemical engineer for the company's Design for the Environment division, described it, You grab the appropriate representative who can best help your team achieve its goal. It doesn't seem to be driven based on title. It's based on who has the ability to help us drive our init iatives towards our goal. Teams were often based on product development. When the product had been developed, the members of that team were redistributed to new rejects.New projects could come from any level in the organization: One way in which leadership was shared at Herman Miller was through the concept of â€Å"talking up and down the ladder. † Workers at all levels were encouraged to put forth new ideas. Herman Miller environmental specialist Rudy Barrels said, If they try something they have folks there that will help them and be there for them.. That requires a presence of one of us or an e-mail or just to say, â€Å"Yeah, I think that's a great idea. † That's how a tot †¦ In the organization works. Because Herman Miller workers felt empowered, a new manager could run onto some startling behavior. Paul Murray recalled, can remember my first day on the job. I took my safety glasses 0 if . ND an employee stepped forward and said, â€Å"Get your safety glass es back on At [Company X, Company there was no way they would have ever talked to a supervisor like that, much less their supervisor's manager. It's been a fun journey when the workforce is that empowered. The company's beliefs were also reinforced through the Employee Gifts Committee and the Environmental Quality Action Team. True to Herman Millers practice of shared leadership, the Employee Gifts Committee distributed funds and other sources based on employee involvement. Jay Link, manager of corporate giving explained the program as follows: Our first priority is to honor organizations where our employees are involved.We believe that it's important that we engender kind of a giving spirit in our employees, so if we know they're involved in organizations, which is going to be where we have a manufacturing presence, then our giving kind of comes alongside organizations that the/re involved with. So that's our first priority. In addition, all Herman Miller employees could work 16 pa id hours a year with a charitable organization of their choice. The company set goals for the number of employee volunteer hours contributed annually to its communities. Progress toward meeting those goals was reported to the CEO. The Environmental Affairs Team, formed in 1 988 with the authorization of Max De pre, had responsibility for such activities as recycling solid waste and designing products from sustainable resources.One of the team's successes was in the reduction of solid waste taken to landfills. In 1 991, Herman Miller was sending 41 million pounds of solid waste to landfills. That figure was down to 24 million pounds by 1 994 and to 3. 6 million pounds by 2008. Such improvements were both environmentally friendly and costiveness. Herman Miller's beliefs carried over to the family and the community. Gave Wing related, â€Å"I've got the worst lawn in my neighborhood. That's because don't spread pesticides on it, and don't put fertilizer down. † He went on to say that he and his wife had to make a difficult decision in the summer of 2009 6 because Herman Miller had a policy â€Å"to avoid PVC [polyvinyl chloride] wherever possible. In restoring their home, they chose fiber cement board over PVC siding even though the fiber cement board was considerably more costly. Wing said, â€Å"Seven years ago, I didn't really think about it. † Rudy Barrels was involved in a youth soccer association that raised money to buy uniforms by collecting newspapers and aluminum cans. Barrels said, â€Å"When I'll speak they'll say, ‘Yeah, that's Rudy. He's Herman Miller. You should-?you know we're goanna have to do this. â€Å"‘ The company's beliefs carried over to all functional areas of the business. Some of them were obviously beneficial, and some were simply the way Herman Miller chose to conduct its business.

Pop culture

In this 21 SST century, pop culture has become a hot topic among the society. The reasons that the community concerned about it are the pop culture influences the content of media and how we think, dress and act. It's well known that pop culture Is a way of life or normally known as the latest trends and styles of the youthful generation adopt and follow in this 21st century era. Incidentally, the word â€Å"pop† refers more specifically to something containing qualities of mass appeal.Hence, the pop culture Is referring to things that happen around us every day whether on clothes, movies, music, education or entertainment. As we all known, the Influence of pop culture, especially from western country, Is now widespread namely In dressing, mannerisms, food, books, entertainment and even education. The youth of today are affected by pop culture In almost every aspect of life whether It Is music, media, celebrities, fashion, and even literature. These kinds of things have become top priority for youth generation of today's world.In my opinion, pop culture brings more ad than good. This is because pop culture will affect the youth generation whose mind are easily influenced and corrupted like in the way they dress. Many of them will follow the fashion of west, such as clad in low cut tops, low waist jeans and in short very revealing outfits. They mimic western style of clothing as well free intermingling of sexes. This is because they will follow and play in the field of entertainment which is under the influence of westernizes.For example, the youth will visit video arcades, discotheques, nightclubs and other places of entertainment which they find it is exciting and fulfilling. Thus, they will expose themselves to the morally deficient elements at this kind of places. Others than that, they will pick up bad habits such as smoking, drinking alcohol and others behaviors that is unsuitable for people of such a young age. Besides, they will also expose themse lves to abuse and exploitation.Further, the cinema which is a part of the pop culture will also bring the negative influences to the youth generation. As an illustration, youth will tries to imitate, performs different stunts, copying styles, acting in the same way after they had watch the movies. They not only will consider the actor or the film stars as their Gods, but also catch the negative aspects shown in the movies Like violence. This will lead them no interest In their study and discontinue their studies.In conclusion, the Olin addition, the children from these families will also disrespect towards their parent and using slang language In front of their parents because of the western pop culture. The pop culture Is not only affects the youth generation and family, but It's also affects the whole community. For example, a community will radically forget their religious value besides they will slowly lose their heritage and tradition when they are In favor of western pop cultu re.Additionally, the food culture of a community will also be Influenced. For Instance, previously In Malaysia, only the ethnics food was given importance, but now the food culture importance, has drastically changed. Today's pop culture food habits include having Pizzas, burgers, Italian food or Mexican food. While the main focus of food is on fast food culture which is contain of high calories and will lead to obesity and others disease like heart out generation across the world, but it also brings some positive influences to our country.For example, a country which is ethnically and religiously diverse will become a more diversity, racial equality and tolerance with the influences of pop culture. Hence, the war or quarrel among the citizens can be avoided. On the whole, the pop culture is all around us and influences our life and culture. Depending on the day it is, the influence may be a good one. But for me, I still believe that pop culture brings more bad than good influences to us because it will affect the morality of the youth generation who is easily be affect. Pop Culture Position Essay Pop culture is a Plus for Students Every day a great number of good and bad events are happening such advances in technology, weather changes, wars, bad politicalchoices, economics effects, unfair treatments at work, charities, and so on which are researched and transmitted trough media. Media‘s information maybe not always be accurate or freely expressed, sometimes it can be distorted and as a result an entire nation can be guide wrong or good through a few persons’ analysis. Then, Why not push American population to do their own study? Pop Culture would be a plus here. The developing of this new field, pop culture, is a great opportunity to expose million of students to actual events, where they will expand and apply their researches and critically skills and as a result will corroborate media’s information. As students are in the process to learn how to think critically, and express accurately; then enforce them to think independently and make them evaluate if all what is outside is valuable. Actually, there is a fever for plastic surgery, and Wood cites in her essay some reasons like, â€Å"†¦Undergo cosmetic surgery in order to improve their lives. †(119) â€Å"Plastic surgery, he says, is â€Å"a tool. It can be used to customize your appearance in the same way you customize your car, or your pets, or the way you dress in Prada versus Dolce. †(123) I wonder in what moment people learnt to devaluate themselves and became a fake shadow of another person. After a practiced surgery, people is really happy, and all surgery have been successful are topics that matter at the moment of follow the wave. Eventually, if we teach the scholar to think critically the actual topics, they can analyze the negative and positive sides of different subjects and choose their best evaluation by themselves. In brief, Pop Culture is a worthy academic subject matter in this century and for the futures. It encourages being aware of existing events, new tendencies and how they influence in population’s behaviors. As Lee quotes, â€Å"The study of popular culture†¦is the future. †(7) Schools must reinforce it to have future generations which analyze and think critically about their decisions in today’s world, not just influence by media and mass. Works Cited Wood, Gaby. â€Å"Meet Marnie. † Mirror on America. Ed. Mims, Joan T. and Elizabeth M. Nollen. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006. 118-126. Lee, Eric. â€Å"Sclock Waves Felt across U. S. Campuses. † Mirror on America. Ed. Mims, Joan T. and Elizabeth M. Nollen. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006. 118-126. However, my concerned is; Medias are free of influences of the big guys in this county, they are really telling us the entire true in all matters. Or journalists are limited to say only what their supervisors allow to them. Medias has a big influence in us because we never take the time to see if what they say is truth. We also and specially students should be more involved in what is happening now. Popular culture is the best ways to develop skills to collect, evaluate, corroborate and inform realities that surround the world. Using this method we’ll be updated, have accurate information, and can formulate logical opinions or solutions.

Knowledge Worker Paper-Terence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Knowledge Worker Paper-Terence - Essay Example The comparison includes their responsibilities, function, and their role. Increasingly, the paper defines my experience at Syndicate Marketing Company and how the company reflected the function of knowledge workers (Jemielniak, 2012). Knowledge workers are also referred to as free agents, human capital, or even the knowledge entrepreneurs. They constitute one of the fastest rising sectors of the workforce in the globe. The concept was first introduced by Peter Drucker in 1959, who defined knowledge workers as high-level workers who make use of their analytical knowledge and theoretical knowledge from their formal education to innovate services and products. According to Peter Drucker, knowledge is contagious and grows like an organism. The knowledge itself needs to be served and assimilated but not merely stored. The knowledge innovation created the knowledge management, which underwent revolution in 1990 to support the workers to come up processes and standard tools. Focusing on knowledge is declared as one of the values for human social and economic development. Initially, wealth was measured in terms of land. During the second wave, wealth was measured in terms of capital ownership like factories. Increasingly , the ability to own wealth was measured at the rate in which a person owns knowledge and how he employs the knowledge in creating new goods and services. The innovation was reflected on the security and cost on the product. In the knowledge era, 2 per cent of working population works on land, 10 per cent of them work on industries, while the 78 per cent are knowledge workers. The knowledge worker acquires, manipulates, interprets, and applies information to carry out complex, unpredictable, and multidisciplinary work (Davenport, 2005). The core of a firm is characterized by the knowledge workers. The firms use the knowledge, judgment,

Organic Vs Convetional foods Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Organic Vs Convetional foods - Research Paper Example Conflicting ideas have emanated on the use of organic foods over conventional leading to a heated debate between organo-skeptics and those in favor of organic technology. The debate emanates from those who say that its worth to spend more money on Organic Foods because of their overall health benefits, and those who urge people to save money and buy conventional food products. My choice of organic versus conventional foods debate is related to the fact that I live New York City that is characterized by Health revolution. I have lately witnessed the closure of old restaurants in order to give way to the new ones offering organic foods. Additionally, supermarkets that offer all-organic experience have been popularized more compared to those trading on conventional food products. The New York Times reports a new study from researchers at Stanford University that suggests that there is minute nutritional variation between organic fruits or vegetables over their more expensive counterpart s. This has sparked the debate on the superiority of the two forms of food products in related to nutritional as well as non-nutritional factors. THE DEBATE The debate surrounding organic versus conventional foods revolves around three issues namely productivity, benefits and costs. The recent trend in the increased popularity of organic products among Americans has nothing to do with the perceived nutritional superiority. The Stanford study focused more on nutrients that contribute minimally to the reasons leading to the debate. According to the American Prospect (2008), many people perceive that organic food products are healthier than conventionally produced food products. However, organo-skeptics portend that it is not worthy spending more money buying organic foods when one can purchase cheaper conventionally produced products. The opinion of the organic lobbyists is based on the fact that organic production is devoid of fertilizers or pesticides use. This leads to the assumpti on that pesticides residues cannot be deposited in the foods products. The absence of pesticides implies that the products develop a natural defense mechanism. Scientists suppose that the defense factor occurs in the form of natural chemicals called phenols. The supporters claim that the chemicals act as antioxidants. Organic fruits and vegetables are becoming popular in the supermarkets because of the notion that the antioxidants they possess protect the body from cancers and heart disease. However, organo-skeptics portends that the natural pesticides may possess negative impacts on the body health. They insist that there is no proof for any health gains from organic foods. According to organic lobbyists, this is disputable because lack of such evidence can be attributed to the absence of appropriate research studies on the topic. Organo-skeptics claim that the use of manure in production of organic fruits and vegetables has led to contamination of food products with bacteria E. Co li. Critics associate the presence of these harmful pathogens with food poisoning. However, research has shown that composting the manure for a precise period of time and maintaining it at an exact temperature reduces bacterial composition (Lester, Manthey and Buslig 4474-80). Supporters of organic farming argue that safety strategies are already in place to ensure that the risk of food poisoning is minimized. Supporters of the use of

Theory and Philosophy of Nurse Practitioner Term Paper

Theory and Philosophy of Nurse Practitioner - Term Paper Example The various theories of nursing contribute to better clinical practice and enhance the experiences of nurse practitioners in providing optimal care to the patients and contribute to the nursing profession (Alligood, 2014). Medicine and effective healthcare is a science as well as an art that applies scientifically proven theories into practice with state of the art personal skills and exemplary behavioral traits. It is a science because nursing education empowers individuals with specialized knowledge and expertise for optimal healthcare outcome of patients. It exploits scientific knowledge to alleviate pain and promote patients’ welfare. At the same time, it is an art as personal skills, attitude and empathy of nurses become critical ingredients that help build constructive relationships with patients and promote trust that lead to improved patients’ outcome. They facilitate integration of a holistic approach by promoting physical, mental and social well-being of the patients and ethically delivered care to medically sick people. Thus, making special efforts to understand people and incorporating values in their interaction, nurses develop the art of interacting with patients, carer and other stakeholders. The two most important theories of nursing that I like to apply within clinical environment are: theory of value based practice; and evidence based practice. The theory of values based practice becomes hugely pertinent in the current environment of rapid globalization when the changing dynamics of society necessitate better understanding of cross-cultural values and ethically delivered care. Globalization has ushered in pluralistic society where people comprise of different race, color, culture and nationality. Cultural competencies of nurses considerably facilitate them to build relationship with patients which expedite

How are overbearing sports parents harmful to children Coursework

How are overbearing sports parents harmful to children - Coursework Example This research will begin with the statement that sports play an instrumental role in the development of a child. They are not only critical for physical growth, but sports are also important for the psycho-social development of a child. Therefore, all the children who are of school going age i.e. 5 to 16 years of age are encouraged to participate in physical activities like sports, aerobics and even dancing. The involvement of children in different forms of physical training helps them in gaining confidence, it optimizes their muscular and skeletal growth, and it also helps them in winning friends. The types of sports or physical activities may vary across cultures, however, it is universally accepted that children must be encouraged to participate in sports actively alongside their education. The reason behind encouraging young minds to involve in sports is to teach them the skill of balancing life and work. Children who abstain themselves from sports are often find complaining in t he later life about isolation and other associated psychological issues like depression, anxiety and frustration. It has been proved medically, sports during adolescence and early years of adulthood helps individuals in fighting frustration and depression, which is very common among young people these days. Sports activate serotonin release and uptake, which circumcises the accumulation of testosterone, a hormone released in state of stress and anxiety, and it is a cause biochemical cause of aggression among youth.

Evaluation of Aphrodite Greek Restaurant in Greater London Assignment

Evaluation of Aphrodite Greek Restaurant in Greater London - Assignment Example   A deferential Maitre d’ guides the customer to a table or the Bar, either directly or through the adjacent cloakroom. The front half of the cloakroom is divided into two by a lit-up wall, which has the figurines of the twelve Greek Gods in bas-relief, six on each face. Entrance from there into the restaurant is through a red-curtained doorway or into the bar through a blue-curtained doorway. Food is served both indoors and on the terrace, weather permitting. The terrace features Doric columns and a fountain around a statue of Aphrodite, â€Å"the Greek goddess of Love, Beauty and Eternal Youth†, epitomizing the Restaurant complex. The new tables and chairs have an elegant marble look about them. Crisp Greek linen is used, with embossed The comprehensive Menu Card is elegantly designed with bold lettering; items and prices can be read easily. It lists dishes from across the country, like Moussaka (stuffed tomatoes, aubergines or paprika), maridaki (fish) and Britzoles (chops). A separate barrel-shaped card provides the equally comprehensive Wine List. Lighting is automatically controlled to maintain a fixed luminosity. The walls feature discreet Hellenic art. The non-slip floor is dark brown wood that pales inwards into cream-colored marble. The Centre-piece is a Harp which provides mellifluous live music, reminiscent of the Seas around Greece. sets. The well-stocked bar displays many types of the traditional Greek drink, Ouzo, with its strong aroma of aniseed. Though colorless, Ouzo turns milky white when ice or water is added.

REGULATION AND MANAGEMENT IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY Essay - 1

REGULATION AND MANAGEMENT IN THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY - Essay Example This implies that most people in the corporate cultures tend to thrive long within the industry by becoming emotionless. For instance, most corporates have manifested this personality when those individuals managing the corporates have failed to maintain the ethical standards. This has often benefited a few individuals who become rich while those at the bottom end up being thrown on the streets when the corporates begin a downward spiral. The corporate governance is in dire need of regulation if the rights of the citizenry, as well as the integrity of the state are to be maintained. This is particularly important due to the fact that psychopaths have a tendency to taint nearly all the circles that they come into when establishing a contact. This implies that psychopaths can taint the state too, which is charged with the responsibility of establishing the extent of ethical and legal limits of the corporate behavior. This contamination of the state may occur in myriad ways. For instance, the intense corporate lobbying, in addition to the financial donations that corporates tend to extend to the state among other spheres of social influence, they may sometimes influence those in charge of making and overseeing the implementation of the law. To fully understand the link that likens corporate governance to a psychopath, Ullman (2004) provides diagnostic criteria for the same. To begin with, he points out that just like a psychopath; corporates tend to fail to conform to the set social norms and regulations that pertain to the practicing lawful behavior. This is commonly indicated by their repeated acts that pose clear grounds of arrest. This is mainly manifested through the ability of corrupt corporations to find their ways into powerful and key areas of the state using ways that go beyond the social norms. Some of these ways include seeking loopholes in the law to establish their claims, stock shares manipulation

Language and its relation with apes Essay Example for Free

Language and its relation with apes Essay When we talk about language it means the language that we use for communication. Humans have used different types of language in past for communication and the language that we speak today has been eventually achieved after lots of changes. It has been said that using language for communication has differentiated humans from other animals on this earth. Talking about language includes sign language, spoken language and other languages used for communication. Language should be differentiated with speech because speech involves production of sound from the voice box whereas anguage means a way commonly used for communication and to express one with each other in society. All animals use some form of communication or other but researchers don’t classify it as language. But it has been seen that some of the animals like dolphins, apes, chimpanzees etc. can communicate using the language used by humans. Dolphins are even found calling each other by names. As far as apes are concerned great ape language has even evolved by the researchers while teaching gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees. It is seen that they communicate with each other using sign language or physical tokens. These usages of different types of tools to communicate indicate their ability to use language. When we go back into the past we find that in the beginning the language was not related to speech and can be said to be a type of sign language. Many researchers have made studies and have come to the conclusion that apes can understand sign language and can easily communicate with humans if trained to do so. A chimpanzee was caught in the wild and was named Washoe. When she was ten months old, she was handed over to a husband and wife involved with the researcher’s team. It is a fact that chimpanzees are fully dependent till two years of age and semi dependent up to four years of age. They made the environment like a deaf parent would make for their child and then started experiment on Washoe. There was at least one of the researchers with her when she was awake and tried a lot of techniques in order to teach her sign language and how to communicate with humans. Before project Washoe, attempts to teach animals the voice language had failed so the researchers tried to teach her the American Sign language in which they succeeded to a far extent. While teaching Washoe, when she used to learn any language properly she was rewarded so that it encouraged her and initially she was even taught to bring her hands together and touch her fingertips. Then the couple started teaching her to be more precise with her hands’ movements. In the first couple of years the couple were not sure whether she was really catching the language or not because sometimes she did not react to that but when she was shown the object she would make the correct sign for that. It was also seen that some of the things she used to name in her own way and continuously did the same. This also shows that chimpanzees applied their own wish and brain and not just copied what they were taught. It was concluded by the researchers that when humans started to communicate with the help of speech, their vocal tract developed and it eventually brought changes in the human brain too. The language that we use today to communicate can be found back 200,000 years ago where we find similarities in the language. But it was almost 50,000 years back from when sophistication of language started. The first step must have been the use of grammar in the language and the basis of today’s language must have eveloped. But it is still a matter of debate whether it developed gradually or suddenly because researchers have no proof for any of the two. Language is said to be unique human quality and researchers have found evidence that suggests that a sudden change took place somewhere in Africa around 50,000 years back. This brought some changes in human brain and some of the scientists have concluded that a group of Africans left and proceeded to colonize other parts of the world. This way similar language pattern spread and is now found in most parts of the world. There are ome researchers who believe that the language of today has eventually been achieved and has gone through different stages and the modern linguistics must have evolved since late eighteenth century. It depends upon the circumstances and surroundings and it has been proved by the researchers that chimpanzees when kept in supporting environment can learn and communicate in sign language with humans. The richness of our language for communication is considered as distinctive achievement because it provides us with the ways to express our feelings and emotions to others. Each and every achievement of umans can be credited to language because without it nothing could have been possible in the field of science and technology, philosophy, art and culture or any of the fields. There is language diversity found in this world and even market of language technology is also growing. Language has helped a lot in expanding different types of businesses throughout the world. Exchange of ideas and views become very important when it comes to business or any field that is concerned with the whole world. The use of computer and Internet has also brought the whole world quite close and even the diversity f languages can be bridged with the help of latest technology. Translations are done with the help of software and although they are less accurate than the work done by humans, they are cheap and easily accessible. It can almost be considered as revolution and this has been spreading widely through the help of computer. Initially language was thought to be a unique human quality and that must be because it gave every human to articulate and communicate easily with each other. Understand each other in a better way, which was a great achievement for humans and this helped them to ravel and know about different cultures and livings. Language is the base of all the developments and achievements in this world. If there were no collectiveness due to common language, there would have been nothing possible. All the developments either technical or in the art world are seen and enjoyed today just because a group of people were able to communicate and discuss on some point and then after a lot of studies and experiments were able to reach where we are today. Communication has also helped to pass on the ideas of one generation to other and in this way development has eventually eached and is further heading in future. The most important thing needed for communication is language as it is the base and without which it would have not been possible to communicate. It happens at many levels and in various ways but need of language is must. Language becomes the means that helps to communicate within the working team and thus helps achieve targets and success. Man is a social animal and he needs to communicate in order to remain attached to the society and every member of the society has his or her share in its development. Many scholars have given instances and tried to explain the importance of communication and its relation with language. Just to prove the significance of language there had been so many projects to teach languages to animals and men have succeeded in it. Some of the animals can understand and communicate in sign languages if taught in perfect age like chimpanzees and some can even speak too like parrots if taught at an early age can communicate with vocal expressions. Dolphins are found to call each other by names and they also communicate with their human companions and understand their instructions. Dolphins are found to respond to music too. Language is an organized form of communication, which can be conveyed through voice, signals, and gestures or written symbols. But just communication or its ways are not considered as language and this is the reason why the communication of animals is not considered as language. Humans speak and write language as a system of symbols and grammars or rules with the help of which the symbols are manipulated. Most of humans use sounds or gestures as communication tools and language is considered to be exclusively as mode of communication for humans only.

Physicians Clash over Medical Ethics in Death Penalty Cases Essay Example for Free

Physicians Clash over Medical Ethics in Death Penalty Cases Essay The news clipping is mainly about the dilemma doctors face. They are trained to save people. They did not choose their profession to punish law-violating citizens. Specifically, this topic has been given hype by Dr. Marc Stern who quit on his job of being the head doctor in the state of Washington’s prison whose responsibilities included maintaining the lethal injection table in order for the next death sentence. In the past several years, according to the article, medical ethics and death penalty has clashed. There are a number of instances in the past where doctors bailed out of the execution causing delay in the death penalty; case in point: Michael Morales. The article also stated that the problem does not stop here. This ethical dilemma against professional participation needs careful and further study. Capital punishment and justice would be difficult to serve if all doctors are concerned about ethics. Experts went as far as predicting capital punishment could end because of this ethical issues. Ethical dilemma The whole article is about ethical dilemma. Doctors do not want to continue participating in capital punishment (overseeing death penalties) as this poses ethical issues for them. Most of them belive the punishment is cruel and unusual. Also, doctors are trained to save lives and not to end it. Personal thoughts on the matter I understand that being an object to end another person’s life when one is trained to help save it could have severe impact on one’s conscience. The human world has become civilized enough over the course of history to preserve one another. It is even more emphasized in a doctor’s profession where preservation of mankind has been his chosen field and career. However, if all doctors feel this way, I can see the nation revolting. Without a trained professional in the death sentence chamber, there is no way an execution will happen. I can foresee various forms of protests because somehow, justice must be served according to the laws of the state. The person in death sentence was found guilty of an offense that demerits him his life. The family and friends of his victim/s have turned into the law for support to the injustice done to them. The law cannot fail these people because doctors cannot do their state-given responsibilities. There must be some doctors out there that are willing to do the job. I am not saying that the state must find conscienceless professional so that the death penalty can still be observed. There must be some doctors in the field that understand their moral obligations and their obligations to the state. Like it or not, the prosecution must be finished. They cannot let the convicted criminal die in the hands of non-professionals nor can they let the families and friends of the victims live in injustice.

The Ottawa Charter For Health Promotion Social Work Essay

The Ottawa Charter For Health Promotion Social Work Essay Health, Wellbeing and Quality of Life is defined in different ways due to circumstances of the person it represents comparing age and gender brings different results as so does the economic status of the person and what social class they belong Blaxter (1990) study of health and lifestyle of 9000 people in the UK showed that a percentage of people could not tell when they were healthy only that they knew when they are unwell peoples perceptions of health show in studies that the elderly define health and quality of life as being able to move around where as a younger person might think running a marathon or going to a gym make you healthy. Disease can have a major negative impact on health and wellbeing feeling that a label has been placed on someone makes them feel that they are now classed as defective and this knocks confidence to improve their situation and they fail to regain a better quality of life Exploring different sectors of society we see a bigger picture that health, wel lbeing and quality of life means different things to everyone Elderly people have experienced many changes over the years physically and mentally their bodies no longer agile as when they were young making simple tasks around the home a challenge mobility has one of the biggest impacts stair climbing and general moving around safely in the home impact on how the older person feels their quality of life is now compared to how they were younger physical impairments sight and hearing loss weakening of limbs and arthritic conditions makes the person feel they can no longer lead a fulfilling life and fear losing their independence With health promotion to improve the quality of life of elderly people service improvements can be put into place including community care and day centres (Hubley and Copeman 2010 p104) provisions to make the home safer and providing equipment such as walking aids and stairlifts which the local authority may help to fund also the local council can supply nutritious meals through its meals on wheels service ensuring the elderly person gets hot food. Another major factor in the United Kingdom that affects quality of life and health is housing according to the World Health Organization the conditions of living in insufficient housing has contributing factors to numerous avertable maladies amongst these include respirational problems, nervous system, diseases of the heart and cancer So for the lower class people those who fall into the scale of poverty, homeless including those living in temporary accommodation and the unemployed their quality of life will be impaired as there are very little options in where they reside with council and housing waiting lists at an all-time high over 1.7 million households are currently waiting for social housing (Shelter 2012) private rented accommodation is another option but with unscrupulous landlords looking to make easy money and not maintaining their properties people are living in dangerous and unhealthy conditions properties may have damp issues which affect the respiratory system causing such ailments as asthma and bronchitis as well as suffering more colds and flu although these are treatable with medication or by moving home then a person can regain a better quality of life another problem facing the lower class is stress living in unsuitable accommodation or in a poor run-down neighbourhoods with anti-social problems such as drug abuse and noise the stress can put a strain on family relationships causing arguments and unhappiness the area may not be safe for children to play out and this affects the quality of life not only of adults but children suffer too and this may affect their schooling by ill health causing time off on the other scale of the ladder we see people who are in steady employment and have the finances to purchase their own property in areas of their own choosing these people have a better quality of life and health as they have the finances for improved medical and health treatment and with the satisfaction of achievement of having better things owning a home, career, financial security, car and holidays Most have found they are in the sector who are enjoying health, wellbeing and quality of life A decent home is fundamental to peoples well-being (Shelter 2007) One of the most traumatic and stressful things a person can go through in life is finding themselves homeless there are many reasons why this may happen a private landlord may decide to sell the house they have been leasing out or it could be a breakdown of a relationship or having to flee domestic violence there have been a significant amount of homes being repossessed as people cant keep up the mortgage payments due to job loss, ill health or financial problems There are also other reasons why a person might find themselves homeless such as a person from another country seeking asylum in the UK everyones experience of homelessness is different for some people they will find themselves staying with family or friends others especially families who cannot be found a home immediately will be placed in temporary accommodation where they may have to share facilities such as bathroom and kitchen this can make a person feel degraded accommodation may not be found in the local vicinity meaning people may be far away from family and friends and they can feel isolated For those not so fortunate to have temporary accommodation because of issues such as mental health, drug and alcohol abuse these people may find themselves sleeping rough on the streets or squatting in unsafe and unsanitary conditions the charity St Mungos based in London hold a survey of the homeless people who attend their centre each year and the findings show that there is very poor health amongst the homeless people as shown in their 2012 survey 64% had a physical health condition and 70% were suffering mental health problems (see Appendix A,B and C) the survey clearly shows that most of the homeless people suffered a poor quality of health for some a change is possible with medication to improve mental health or people addressing their addictions and seeking help from medical or self-help group taking responsibility will empower the person to lead a better life with the possibility of getting a home and job a person can then gain back a good quality of life Everyone has a responsibility for their own health and well-being for others higher up the social ladder this is easier as they have safer cleaner living conditions and access to private medical care and facilities where this may be impossible for others such as the homeless and gypsys who are constantly moving around and may not have access to facilities education can play a good part in giving advice to these sectors especially on the importance of childhood vaccinations to prevent the spread of diseases and infections such as chicken pox, Measles and whooping cough and provide advice to the elderly who may need care for arthritis and other ageing conditions with health promotion members of the community who are trusted can relay the information and help improve the communities health. the Government and National Health Service have set up many schemes to help people with addictions, healthy eating, exercise and unemployment initiatives Charitys such as Shelter provide help on hous ing crisis and homelessness and Age UK help promote advice and services to help the elderly community It is possible with knowledge to make changes and to some degree people can experience health, wellbeing and quality of life. Appendix A, Appendix B, Appendix C ,

sting of prejudice Essay -- essays research papers

Sting of Prejudice   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the novel To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee there are many characters whose lives and thoughts about one another are distorted by prejudice and stereotyping. Three of the many characters whose lives were affected by prejudice are Bob Ewell, Tom Robinson and Dolfus Raymond. Bob Ewell’s mind is distorted in his view of other races. Tom Robinson is a victim of prejudice and is treated unfairly because of the color of his skin. The third character Dolfus Raymond is not accepted by the community because he is married to a black woman. These are three very different men whom by choice or circumstance are forever affected by the hatred associated with prejudice and stereotyping.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bob Ewell is a man who is consumed by hatred, he is very poor and thinks very little of the black people in the community. Bob believes â€Å"that all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings† (17). Prejudice in Maycomb is both racial and socio-economic. â€Å"The Cunninghams don’t like the Ewells† (226) because they consider them lower class. The â€Å"Ewells hate and despise the colored folks.† (226) The trial has given Bob Ewell the opportunity to not only persecute a black man but to feel in a very public way that he is superior and more believable to the jury because of his race.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  &nb...

The Scarlet Letter :: Literary Analysis, Hawthorne

When someone makes a mistake, they usually try to hide the truth to avoid the consequences. The Puritans had a very stringent society in which all sins were met with harsh punishment. In The Scarlet letter, by Nathanial Hawthorn, Hester Prynne and Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale commit adultery, but the public only knows about Hester’s sin; Dimmesdale’s remains hidden. However, by hiding his sin, Dimmesdale suffers much more than Hester does. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorn shows that the repercussions of a â€Å"secret sin† are much worse than those of a revealed sin. Hester’s punishment comes from society, so it is not nearly as painful as it could be. One part of Hester’s punishment is to stand on the scaffold – in shame – for three hours. The scaffold is a place where â€Å"iniquity is dragged out into the sunlight† (57) and the truth is revealed, so everyone in the Puritan town knows that Hester is guilty of the sin. While her punishment is denigrating, it is not as bad as the punishments usually are, for she does not have to undergo â€Å"that gripe around the neck† (58). The other part of her punishment is to wear, for the rest of her life, a scarlet â€Å"A† on her dress. The A, for adulterer, is meant to be a stigma for everyone to see and mock. However, Hester beautifully embroiders the mark with gold-thread and wears it with pride. The mark stays with her after she leaves the scaffold and finds a home on the edge of town. She is originally scorned and avoided, but she is needed: S he sews for the governor and soldiers for public ceremonies. Due to the passage of time, her usefulness, and her acceptable behavior (she never battles with the public nor complains), Hester is forgiven and her sin is forgotten. Seven years after receiving the â€Å"A,† people change the meaning of the letter from â€Å"adulterer† to â€Å"able,† and instead of referring to her as a sinner, the townspeople refer to her as one who is â€Å"so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted† (169). Society feels that Hester had already served enough punishment, and she eventually becomes a respected woman in the town. Since the truth about her sin is known, Hester is able to overcome society’s punishment; eventually she regains the acceptance, and even the admiration, of the Puritan townspeople.

Prom Nights from Hell Chapter Thirteen

Miranda sat in the car watching the power boat disappear on the horizon, taking Sibby wherever she was going. You have no time to relax, she reminded herself. Deputy Reynolds might be headed for prison, but he can still talk, and you know he lied about how he found you, which means someone at Chatsworth knows something, and then there's the question of who put the bounty on your head and- Her cell phone rang. She reached across the seat to grab her suit jacket and tried to jam her hand into the pocket to get the phone, but the handcuff bracelet kept getting caught. She turned the jacket over and dumped everything onto her lap. She caught it on the last ring. â€Å"Hello.† â€Å"Miranda? It's Will.† Her heart stopped. â€Å"Hi.† Suddenly feeling shy. â€Å"Did you, um, have fun at prom?† â€Å"Parts of it. You?† â€Å"Me too. Parts of it.† â€Å"I looked for you after the bomb threat, but I didn't see you.† â€Å"Yeah, it got kind of hectic.† There was a pause and they both started talking at once. He said, â€Å"You first,† and she said, â€Å"No, you,† and they both cracked up and he started, â€Å"Listen, I don't know if you were planning to come to Sean's place for the after-party. Everyone is here. It's fun and all. But-† â€Å"But?† â€Å"I was wondering if maybe you'd want to get breakfast instead. At the Waffle House? Just the two of us?† Miranda forgot to breathe. She said, â€Å"That would be completely fantastic.† And remembering she wasn't supposed to be too eager, added, â€Å"I mean, that would be okay, I guess.† Will laughed, his warm-butter-melting-on-break-fast-treats laugh, and said, â€Å"I think it would be completely fantastic, too.† She hung up and saw that her hands were shaking. She was having breakfast with a guy. Not just a guy. With Will. A guy who wore space pants. And thought she was hot. And possibly crazy. Which, p.s., accessorizing with handcuffs is not exactly going to help. She tried again to snap the bracelets with her hand but she couldn't. Either these weren't normal cuffs or knocking out ten people in one night-actually eight, since she'd done two of them twice-was the limit of her strength. Which was interesting, her strength having limits. She had a lot to learn about her powers. Later. Right now, she had half an hour to find some other way to get the cuffs off. She started shoving things from her lap back into the pocket of her suit jacket so she could drive, then stopped when she saw an unfamiliar box. It was the one Sibby had given her when they met-could it seriously be only eight hours ago? What had she said, something odd. Miranda remembered it now, Sibby handing her the name sign and the box and saying, â€Å"This must be yours.† But with the emphasis different. â€Å"This must be yours.† Miranda opened the box. Inside, nestled in black velvet, was a handcuff key. Are you ready to own your future? It was worth a try.

Course work 3: communication plan Essay

Introduction It is extremely important to understand that companies around the world communicate with the world outside their realm in some capacity and these companies also have to communicate with forces and people within the companies as well. Fundamentally, what we are trying to say here is that just like people companies also want to talk to other companies and the public at large and the firms want to know what their general perception is in the minds of the people especially those who are considered their costumer base. A beginning point has to be related to what the company wants to achieve out of the communication plan or the talk between the company and outside stakeholders and other components of the society. This will depend on the vision and mission statement of the company. For example the case in point is the retail organization that is about to launch a new range of clothing line designed by a super model; now the mission statement must be such that it highlights what the company stands for and in very precise words readers should clearly know what are the believes of the company. An example of a mission statement for the retail store is: â€Å" We deliver high quality products for our customers; the product lines are trendy and hip this idealogy gives us the freedom to experiment with futuristic designs and ideas. We assure our customers style with sense. † (MissionStatements. com, n. d. ) The vision of a company like the retail firm is like a dream or a stretched mission which might be achieved or which the company envisages for the future so that it could become a great company. The vision leads to the mission statement and then we have the objectives and goals of the company which are followed by the development of strategy. The whole plan of how the company will communicate with the outside world begins with the vision and mission statement. Communication in the Business World Communication is a way of transmitting messages from the sender to the receiver. In a typical business setting senders use a particular medium to send the message which is ultimately received by the receiver. There is a possibility that the message might go through noise and other disturbances before getting to the final destination. In certain cases the communication process is impacted by noise because of the medium chosen by the sender. For internal business purposes i. e. within the organziation the people of the firm might use media such as oral or written but the selection depends on a number of important factors such as the length of the message, importance and legal signficance of the message and other factor such as the trust level between two employees who are communicating. All these and other factors play a critical role in determining which kind of media will be used. (Gelder, 2005) Just like the process that has been described for internal communication within the organization we see that firms talk to outside stakeholders and members of society as well. The communication with the outside public is many ways a reflection of how the firm’s staff communicate within their own company. This is because the culture of any organization greatly impacts its mind set towards how it will communicate with the outside world. The critical thing here is that firms believe in their way of doing things and therefore the communication plans are more or less known to be based on existing values and culture of the company. Therefore if the issues related to communication plans have to be discussed one must look at the way the culture of the organization is organized and how does the company communicate internally. Retail Organizations and Branding Retail firms are directly involved with costumers unlike manufacturing companies therefore retailers can have a greater impact on how to measure the performance of their advertisement and other promotional material that are directed at consumers. Branding is a crucial aspect when we talk about a high-end product line designed by a top model. One of the most common practices in the retail industry is that when superstars or super models launch product lines designed by them they tend to give their own name to these product lines. The advantages to such an approach include: instant recognition for the brand, people relate to the brand just like they relate to the artist or model, consumer base relates all the qualities and traits of the super model to the product lines. For instance if the super model that designed the clothing line is someone like Gisele Bundchen then people will attach traits such as funky, sexy, classy and trendy with the product line. (Keller, Lewi, 2008) Such a strategy has been successful for many brands such as JLO (Jennifer Lopez’s product line) and therefore we suggest such a strategy for the retail organization as well since we feel that it is important to distinguish this topline brand from the other offerings of the company. Some of the problems that might be faced when using such an approach is that the brand might loose that sense of innovation and style. Even though it is designed by a top model but that does not necessarily means that it would be of the highest quality therefore it is extremely important to maintain the quality of the product because ultimately that would be the deciding factor in repeat purchases or that urge in customers to come back next season and see the new collection. This product line must be branded based on some distinguishing feature. This is important as it will allow people to know what to expect from the product and what they will get from the product. All great brands have a tendency of focusing on one important factor for example when Google became successful it was only a search engine with no other prominent services; similarly Rolex is known for great watches which are for occassions and great moments in ones life because they are special watches (quality, life, style etc) Essentially the point is that the new product line must be distinguished on the lines of being cool, hip and trendy and absolutely new from all previous brands. The product line should be advertised in such a way that it seems as if it is the new cool thing in the clothing and lifestyle industry. Just look at how Levi’s was made a cultural icon for teenagers in a similar sense this brand should be advertised in a such a way toward rich and ambitious youngsters that it becomes a part of there daily lifestyle. Before any major advertisment campaign could begin it must be ensured that the target market is identified and the company decides whether the upper class or the middle class or even both will be targeted by this product line. Will there be differntiated product lines for both segments? We suggest that should not take place because it will confuse the brand concept; the diversification can be done later when the brand name is established with one target market. Once the target market has been decided upon the firm needs to plan the promotional strategy accordingly; the pricing strategy should also complement the promotional stand and the distrubution strategy should complete the project in such a way that the target audience receive maximum expousre to the product line.

Teenage Drinking

Lots college students each year die in alcohol-related accidents both traffic crashes and other types of accidents. Students suffer injuries under the influence of alcohol. Not does Drinking cause accidents but also assaults and rapes. Alcohol interferes with academic performance too. About half of college students report academic consequences from their drinking, including missing class, falling behind, doing poorly on exams or papers, and receiving lower grades overall. Alcohol consumption poses problems not only for the drinking students themselves but also for their friends and fellow students and for a campus in general.Many of these things happen simply because people confuse myths with facts. As college students we can come together to change these things. We can help people realize what’s true and what’s not. I can still be in control! This not true because drinking does impairs your judgment, which increases the like-hood that you will do something you'll later regret such as having unprotected sex, being involved in date rape or some sort of assault, damaging others property like their car or house; or being harmed by others. Sometimes there is no physical damage its can be verbal.When you drink you tend to move and function slower than normal and your speech is slurred. These simple things can make a big difference. I'd be better off if I learn to â€Å"hold my liquor. † If you have to drink more and more large amounts of alcohol to get a buzz or get high, you are developing a tolerance for alcohol. This increases your chances of developing several serious problems, including alcoholism. People often say that they have a high tolerance for their alcohol which is why they can hold it better. That is not true.Your body has just gotten use to the alcohol and after so long you are going to want more than just those 3 beers that normally get you drunk. Now it could increase to 6 or 7 beers. I have to drink to fit in! Your peers don't drink as much as you think they do. Some college students only drink little or no alcohol on a weekly basis. Some people often think that they have to drink to have fun as well. If you have to drink to have fun than you’re not really having fun. People who get completely wasted at party are only doing it to fit in as well. They should just be themselves.

Project on Budgetary Control Essay

1. A budget is concerned for a definite future period. 2. A budget is a written document. 3. A budget is a detailed plan of all the economic activities of a business. 4. All the departments of a business unit co-operate for the preparation of a business budget. 5. Budget is a mean to achieve business and it is not an end in itself. 6. Budget needs to be updated, corrected and controlled every time when circumstances changes. Therefore it is a continuous process. 7. Budget helps in planning, coordination and control. 8. Different types of budgets are prepared by industries according to business requirements. 9. A budget acts a business barometer. 10. Budget is usually prepared in the light of Past Experience. 11. Budget is a constant endeavor of the Management. 2 PREPARATION OF BUDGETS 1. Definition of objectives: A budget being a plan for the achievement of certain operational objectives, it is desirable that the same are defined precisely. The objectives should be written out; the areas of control demarcated; and items of revenue and expenditure to be covered by the budget stated. This will give a clear understanding of the plan and its scope to all those who must cooperate to make it a success. 2. Location of the key (or budget) factor: There is usually one factor (sometimes there may be more than one) which sets a limit to the total activity. For instance, in India today sometimes non-availability of power does not allow production to increase inspite of heavy demand. Similarly, lack of demand may limit production. Such a factor is known as key factor. For proper budgeting, it must be located and estimated properly. 3. Appointment of controller: Formulation of a budget usually requires whole time services of a senior executive; he must be assisted in this work by a Budget Committee, consisting of all the heads of department along with the Managing Director as the Chairman. The Controller is responsible for co-ordinating and development of budget programmes and preparing the manual of instruction, known as Budget manual. The Budget manual is a schedule, document or booklet which shows, in written forms the budgeting organisation and procedures. The manual should be well written and indexed so that a copy thereof may be given to each departmental head for guidance. 3 4. Budget period: The period covered by a budget is known as budget period. There is no general rule governing the selection of the budget period. In practice the Budget Committee determines the length of the budget period suitable for the business. Normally, a calendar year or a period coterminous with the financial year is adopted. The budget period is then sub-divided into shorter periods—it may be months or quarters or such periods as coincide with period of trading activity. 5. Standard of activity or output: For preparing budgets for the future, past statistics cannot be completely relied upon, for the past usually represents a combination of good and bad factors. Therefore, though results of the past should be studied but these should only be applied when there is a likelihood of similar conditions repeating in the future. Also, while setting the targets for the future, it must be remembered that in a progressive business, the achievement of a year must exceed those of earlier years. Therefore what was good in the past is only fair for the current year. In budgeting, fixing the budget of sales and of capital expenditure are most important since these budgets determine the extent of development activity. For budgeting sales, one must consider the trend of economic activity of the country, reactions of salesmen, customers and employees, effect of price changes on sales, the provision for advertisement campaign plan capacity etc. 4 Meaning of Budgetary Control: The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England and Wales has defined the terms ‘budgetary control’ as â€Å"Budgetary control is the establishment of budgets relating to the responsibilities of executives of a policy and the continuous comparison of the actual with the budgeted results, either to secure by individual action the objective of the policy or to provide a basis for its revision.† It is the system of management control and accounting in which all the operations are forecasted and planned in advance to the extent possible and the actual results compared with the forecasted and planned ones. Budgetary Control Involves: 1. Establishment of budgets 2. Continuous comparison of actuals with budgets for achievement of targets 3. Revision of budgets after considering changed circumstances 4. Placing the responsibility for failure to achieve the budget targets. The salient features of Budgetary Control System are as follows: 1. Determining the objectives to be achieved, over the budget period, and the policy or policies that might be adopted for the achievement of these ends. 2. Determining the variety of activities that should be undertaken for the achievement of the objectives. 3. Drawing up a plan or a scheme of operation in respect of each class of activity, in physical as well as monetary terms for the full budget period and its parts. 5 4. Laying out a system of comparison of actual performance by each person, section or department with the relevant budget and determination of causes for the discrepancies, if any. 5. Ensuring that corrective action will be taken where the plan is not being achieved and, if that be not possible, for the revision of the plan. In brief, it is a system to assist management in the allocation of responsibility and authority, to provide it with aid for making, estimating and planning for the future and to facilitate the analysis of the variation between estimated and actual performance. In order that budgetary control may function effectively, it is necessary that the concern should develop proper basis of measurement or standards with which to evaluate the efficiency of operations, i.e., it should have in operation a system of standard costing. Besides this, the organization of the concern should be so integrated that all lines of authority and responsibility are laid, allocated and defin ed. This is essential since the system of budgetary control postulates separation of functions and division of responsibilities and thus requires that the organization shall be planned in such a manner that everyone, from the Managing Director down to the Shop Foreman, will have his duties properly defined. Objectives of Budgetary Control System: 1. Portraying with precision the overall aims of the business and determining targets of performance for each section or department of the business. 2. Laying down the responsibilities of each of the executives and other personnel so that everyone knows what is expected of him and how he will be judged. Budgetary control is 6 one of the few ways in which an objective assessment of executives or department is possible. 3. Providing a basis for the comparison of actual performance with the predetermined targets and investigation of deviation, if any, of actual performance and expenses from the budgeted figures. This naturally helps in adopting corrective measures. 4. Ensuring the best use of all available resources to maximize profit or production, subject to the limiting factors. Since budgets cannot be properly drawn up without considering all aspects usually there is good co-ordination when a system of budgetary control operates. 5. Co-coordinating the various activities of the business, and centralizing control and yet enabling management to decentralize responsibility and delegate authority in the overall interest of the business. 6. Engendering a spirit of careful forethought, assessment of what is possible and an attempt at it. It leads to dynamism without recklessness. Of course, much depends on the objectives of the firm and the vigour of its management. 7. Providing a basis for revision of current and future policies. 8. Drawing up long range plans with a fair measure of accuracy. 9. Providing a yardstick against which actual results can be compared. Working of a budgetary control system: The responsibility for successfully introducing and implementing a Budgetary Control System rests with the Budget Committee acting through the Budget Officer. The Budget Committee would be composed of all functional heads and a member from the Board to 7 preside over and guide the deliberations. The main responsibilities of the Budget Officer are: 1. To assist in the preparation of the various budgets by coordinating the work of the accounts department which is normally responsible to compile the budgets—with the relevant functional departments like Sales, Production, Plant maintenance etc.; 2. To forward the budget to the individuals who are responsible to adhere to them, and to guide them in overcoming any practical difficulties in its working; 3. To prepare the periodical budget reports for circulation to the individuals concerned; 4. To follow-up action to be taken on the budget reports; 5. To prepare an overall budget working report for discussion at the Budget Committee meetings and to ensure follow-up on the lines of action suggested by the Committee; 6. To prepare periodical reports for the Board meeting. Comparing the budgeted Profit and Loss Account and the Balance Sheet with the actual results attained. It is necessary that every budget should be thoroughly discussed with the functional head before it is finalized. It is the duty of the Budget Officer to see that the periodical budget reports are supplied to the recipients at frequent intervals as far as possible. The efficiency of the Budget Officer, and through him of the Budget Committee, will be judged more by the smooth working of the system and the agreement between the actual figures and the budgeted figures. Budgets are primarily an incentive and a challenge for better performance; it is up to the 8 Budget Officer to see that attention of the different functional heads is drawn to it to face the challenge in a successful manner. Advantages of Budgetary Control System: 1. The use of budgetary control system enables the management of a business concern to conduct its business activities in the efficient manner. 2. It is a powerful instrument used by business houses for the control of their expenditure. It in fact provides a yardstick for measuring and evaluating the performance of individuals and their departments. 3. It reveals the deviations to management, from the budgeted figures after making a comparison with actual figures. 4. Effective utilization of various resources like—men, material, machinery and money is made possible, as the production is planned after taking them into account. 5. It helps in the review of current trends and framing of future policies. 6. It creates suitable conditions for the implementation of standard costing system in a business organization. 7. It inculcates the feeling of cost consciousness among workers. 8. It helps the principal of management by exception to apply. 9. Management which has developed a well ordered budget plans and which operate accordingly, receive greater favour from credit agencies. 9 Limitations of Budgetary Control System: 1. Based on Estimates: Budgets may or may not be true, as they are based on estimates. 2. Time factor: Budgets cannot be executed automatically. Accuracy in budgeting comes through experience. Management must not expect too much during the development period. 3. Cooperation Required: Staff co-operation is usually not available during budgetary control exercise. The success of the budgetary control depends upon willing co-operation and teamwork, 4. Expensive: Its implementation is quite expensive. No budgetary programme can be successful unless adequate arrangements are made for supervision and administration. 5. Not a substitute for management: Budget is only a managerial tool. It cannot substitute management. 6. Rigid document: Budgets are considered as rigid document. But in reality, firm’s affairs continuously change under inflationary pressure and changing government policies. 10 ZERO BASE BUDGETS The technique of zero base budgeting suggests that an organisation should not only make decisions about the proposed new programmes, but should also review the appropriateness of the existing programmes from time to time. Such a review should particularly be done of such responsibility centres where there is relatively high proportion of discretionary costs. Costs of this type depend on the discretion or policies of the responsibility centre or top managers. These costs have no direct relation to volume of activity. Hence, management discretion typically determines the amount budgeted. Some examples are: expenditure on research and development, personnel administration, legal advisory services. Zero base budgeting, as the term suggests, examines or reviews a programme or function or responsibility from ‘scratch’. The reviewer proceeds on the assumption that nothing is to be allowed. The manager proposing the activity has, therefore, to justify that the activity is essential and the various amounts asked for are reasonable taking into account the outputs or results or volume of activity envisaged. No activity or expense is allowed simply because it was being allowed or done in the past. Thus according to this technique each programme, whether new or existing, must be justified in its entirety each time a new budget is formulated. It involves: 1. Dealing with particularly all elements of mangers’ budget requests 2. Critical examination of ongoing activities along with the newly proposed activities 3. Providing each manger a range of choice in setting priorities in respect of different activities and in allocating resources. 11 Process of Zero Base Budgeting: The following steps are involved in Zero base budgeting: Determining the objectives of budgeting: The objective may be ‘to effect cost reduction in staff overheads or it may be to drop, after careful analysis, projects which do not fit into achievement of the organizations objectives etc. Deciding on scope of application: The extent to which zero base budgeting is to be introduced has to be decided, i.e. whether it will be introduced in all areas of the organisation’s activities or only in a few selected areas on trial basis. Developing decision units Decision units for which cost-benefit analysis is proposed have to be developed so as to arrive at decisions whether they should be allowed to continue or to be dropped. Each decision unit, as far as possible should be independent of other units so that it can be dropped if the cost analysis proves to be unfavourable for it. Developing decision packages : A decision package for each unit shou ld be developed. While developing a decision package, answers to the following questions would be desirable: †¢ Is it necessary to perform a particular activity at all? If the answer is in the negative, there is no need to proceed further. †¢ How much has been the actual cost of the activity and what has been the actual benefit both in tangible as well as intangible forms? †¢ What should be the estimated cost of the level of activity and the estimated benefit from 12 such activity? †¢ Should the activity be performed in the way in which it is being performed, and what should be the cost? †¢ If the project or activity is dropped, can the unit be replaced by an outside agency? After completing decision packages for each unit, the units are ranked according to the findings of cost benefit analysis. Essential projects are identified and given the highest ranks. The last stage is that of implementing the decision taken in the light of the study made. It involves the selection and acceptance of those projects which have a positive cost-benefit analysis or which are capable of meeting the objectives of the organization. The above analysis shows that zero base budgeting is in a way an extension of the method of cost benefit analysis to the area of the corporate budgeting. Advantages of Zero Base Budgeting: †¢ It provides the organization with systematic way to evaluate different operations and programmes undertaken. It enables management t o allocate resources according to priority of the programmes. †¢ It ensures that each and every programme undertaken by managers is really essential for the organization, and is being performed in the best possible way. †¢ It enables the management to approve departmental budgets on the basis of cost-benefit analysis. No arbitrary cuts or increase in budget estimates are made. †¢ It links budgets with the corporate objectives. Nothing will be allowed simply because it was being done in the past. An activity may be shelved if it does not help in achieving the goals of the enterprises. 13 †¢ It helps in identifying areas of wasteful expenditure and, if desired, it can also be used for suggesting alternative courses of action. †¢ It facilitates the introduction and implementation of the system of `management by objectives’. Thus it can be used not only for fulfillment of the objectives of traditional budgeting, but also for a variety of other purposes. It is contended that zero base budgeting is time consuming. Of course, it is true, but it happens only in the initial stages when decision units have to be identified and decision packages have to be developed or completed. Once this is done, and the methodology is clear, zero base budgeting is likely to take less time than the traditional budgeting. In any case, till such time the organization is properly acclimatized to the technique of zero base budgeting, it may be done in a way that all responsibility centre’s are covered at least once in three or four years. Zero base budgeting as a concept has become quite popular these days. The technique was first used by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 1962. Texas Instruments, a multinational company, pioneered its use in the private sector. Today, a number of major companies such as Zerox, BASF, International Harvester and Easter Airlines in the United State are using the system. Some departments of the Government of India have recently introduced zero base budgeting with a view to making the system of budgetary control more effective. 14 PERFORMANCE BUDGETS Performance budgeting (or programme budgeting) has been designed to correct the shortcomings of traditional budgeting by emphasizing management’s considerations/ approaches. Both the financial and physical aspects are incorporated into the budget. A performance budget presents the operations of an organisation in terms of functions, programmes, activities, and projects. In performance budgeting, precise detainment of job to be performed or services to be rendered is done. Secondly, the budget is prepared in terms of functional categories and their sub-division into programmes, activities, and projects. Thirdly, the budget becomes a comprehensive document. Since the financial and physical results are interwoven, it facilitates management control. The Main objectives of Performance Budgeting are: (i) to coordinate the physical and financial aspects; (ii) to improve the budget formulation, review and decision-making at all levels of management (iii) to facilit ate better appreciation and review by controlling authorities (legislature, Board of Trustees or Governors, etc) as the presentation is more purposeful and intelligible; (iv) to make more effective performance audit possible; and (v) to measure progress towards long-term objectives which are envisaged in a development plan. Performance budgeting involves evaluation of the performance of the organisation in the context of both specific, as well as, overall objectives of the organisation. It presupposes a crystal clear perception of organisational objectives in general, and short-term business objectives as stipulated in the budget, in particular by each employee of the organisation, irrespective of his level. It thus, provides a definite direction to each employee and also a control mechanism to higher management. 15 Performance budgeting requires preparation of periodic performance reports. Such reports compare budget and actual data, and show variances. Their preparation is greatly facilitated if the authority and responsibility for the incurrence of each cost element is clearly defined within the firm’s organisational structure. In addition, the accounting system should be sufficiently detailed and coordinated to provide necessary data for reports designed for the particular use of the individuals or cost centres having primary responsibility for specific cost. The responsibility for preparing the performance budget of each department lies on the respective Department Head. Each Department Head will be supplied with a copy of the section of the master budget appropriate to his sphere. For example, the chief buyer will be supplied with the copy of the materials purchase budget so that he may arrange for purchase of necessary materials. Periodic reports from various sections of a departme nt will be received by the departmental head that will submit a summary report about his department to the budget committee. The report may be daily, weekly or monthly, depending upon the size of business and the budget period. These reports will be in the form of comparison of budgeted and actual figures, both periodic and cumulative. The purpose of preparing these reports is to promptly inform about the deviations in actual and budgeted activity to the person who has the necessary authority and responsibility to take necessary action to correct the deviations from the budget. 16 FUNCTIONAL BUDGET A functional budget is one which is related to function of the business as for example, production budget relating to the manufacturing function. Functional budgets are prepared for each function and they are subsidiary to the master budget of the business. The various types of functional budgets to be prepared will vary according to the size and nature of the business. The various commonly used functional budgets are: †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ †¢ Sales budget Production budget Plant utilisation budget Direct-material usage budget Direct-material purchase budget Direct-labour (personnel) budget Factory overhead budget Production cost budget Ending-inventory budget Cost-of-goods-sold budget Selling and distribution cost budget Administration expenses budget Research and development cost budget (xiv) Capital expenditure budget Cash budget 17 Illustration: Sales Budget: Sales forecast is the commencement of budgeting and hence sales budget assumes primary importance. The quantity which can be sold may be the principal budget factor in many business undertakings. In any case in order to chalk out a realistic budget programme, there must be an accurate sales forecast. The sales budget indicates for each product: 1. The quantity of estimated sales and 2. The expected unit selling price. These data are often reported by regions or by sales representatives. In estimating the quantity of sales for each product, past sales volumes are often used as a starting point. These amounts are revised for factors that are expected to affect future sales, such as the factors listed below. 1. Backlog of unfilled sales orders 2. Planned advertising and promotion 3. Expected industry and general economic conditions 4. Productive capacity 5. Projected pricing 6. Findings of market research studies 7. Relative product profitability. 8. Competition. 18 Once an estimate of the sales volume is obtained, the expected sales revenue can be determined by multiplying the volume by the expected unit sales price, the sales budget represents the total sales in physical quantities and values for a future budget period. Sales managers are constantly faced with problem like anticipation of customer requirements, new product needs, competitor strategies and various changes in distribution methods or promotional techniques. The purposes of sales budget is not to attempt to estimate or guess what the actual sales will be, but rather to develop a plan with clearly defined objectives towards which the operational effort is directed in order to attain or exceed the objective. Hence, sales budget is not merely a sales forecast. A budget is a planning and control document which shows what the management intends to accomplish. Thus, the sales budget is active rather than passive. A sales forecast, however, is a projection or estimate of the available customer demand. A forecast reflects the environmental or competitive situation facing the company whereas the sales budget shows how the management intends to react to this environmental and competitive situation. A good budget hinges on aggressive management control rather than on passive acceptance of what the market appears to offer. If the company fails to make this distinction, the budget will remain more a figure-work exercise than a working tool of dynamic management cont rol. 19 The sales budget may be prepared under the following classification or combination of classifications: 1. Products or groups of products. 2. Areas, towns, salesmen and agents. 3. Types of customers as for example: (i) Government, (ii) Export, (iii) Home sales, (iv) Retail depots. 4. Period—months, weeks, etc Example of Sales Budget: XYZ Ltd. Sales Budget for the Year Ended 31 March XXXX Particulars Units Selling Price (P.U) Total Sales Value (Rs.) Product A Product B Total 5000 10000 75 80 375000 800000 1175000 20 LEADING TO THE PREPARATION OF THE MASTER BUDGET When all the necessary functional budgets have been prepared, the budget officer will prepare the master budget which may consist of budgeted profit and loss account and budgeted balance sheet. These are in fact the budget summaries. When the master budget is approved by the board of directors, it represents a standard for the achievement of which all the departments will work. On the basis of the various budgets (schedules) prepared earlier in this study, we prepare below budgeted income statement and budgeted balance sheet. Illustration: Floatglass Manufacturing Company requires you to present the Master budget for the 31 March 2012 from the following information: Sales: Toughened Glass Bent Glass Direct Material Cost Direct Wages Factory Overheads: Indirect Labour Works Manager Foreman Rs. 500 per month Rs. 400 per month 2.5% on Sales Rs. 600000 Rs. 200000 60% of Sales 20 workers @ Rs. 150 per month 21 Stores and Spares Depreciation on Machinery Repairs and Maintenance Other Sundries Administration, selling and Distribution Expenses Rs. 12600 Rs. 3000 Rs. 8000 10% on Direct Wages Rs. 36000 per year Solution: Master Budget for the Year Ending 31 March 2012 Particulars Amount (Rs.) Sales: Toughened Glass Bent Glass Total Sales Less: Cost of Production: Direct Material Direct Wages Prime Cost (A) Fixed Factory Overhead: 480000 36000 516000 600000 200000 800000 Amount (Rs.) 22 Works Manager’s Salary Foreman’s Salary Depreciation Light and Power Total Fixed Factory Overhead (B) Variable Factory Overhead: Stores and Spares Repairs and Maintenance Sundry Expenses Total Variable Factory Overhead (C) Works Cost (A+B+C) Gross Profit (Sales- Works Cost) Less: Administration, Selling and Distribution Expenses Net Profit 6000 4800 12600 3000 26400 20000 8000 3600 31600 574000 226000 36000 190000 23 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE BUDGET: The capital expenditure budget represents the planned outlay on fixed assets like land, building, plant and machinery, etc. during the budget period. This budget is subject to strict management control because it entails large amount of expenditure. The budget is prepared to cover a long period of years and it projects the capital costs over the period in which the expenditure is to be incurred and the expected earnings. The preparation of this budget is based on the following considerations: 1. Overhead on production facilities of certain departments as indicated by the plant utilization budget. 2. Future development plans to increase output by expansion of plant facilities. 3. Replacement requests from the concerned departments 4. Factors like sales potential to absorb the increased output, possibility of price reductions, increased costs of advertising and sales promotion to absorb increased output, etc. Merits/Advantages: 1. It outlines the capital development programme and estimated capital expenditure during the budget per iod. 2. It enables the company to establish a system of priorities. When there is a shortage of funds, capital rationing becomes necessary. 3. It serves as a tool for controlling expenditure. 4. It provides the amount of expenditure to be incorporated in the future budget 24 summaries for calculation of estimated return on capital employed. 5. This enables the cash budget to be completed. With other cash commitments capital expenditure commitment should also be considered for the completion of the budget. 6. It facilitates cost reduction programme, particularly when modernization and renovation is covered by this budget. 25 FIXED AND FLEXIBLE BUDGETS Fixed Budget: According to Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England, â€Å"a fixed budget is a budget designed to remain unchanged irrespective of the level of activity actually attained†. A fixed budget shows the expected results of a responsibility center for only one activity level. Once the budget has been determined, it is not changed, even if the activity changes. Fixed budgeting is used by many service companies and for some administrative functions of manufacturing companies, such as purchasing, engineering, and accounting. Fixed Budget is used as an effective tool of cost control. In case, the level of activity attained is different from the level of activity for budgeting purposes, the fixed budget becomes ineffective. Such a budget is quite suitable for fixed expenses. It is also known as a static budget. Essential conditions: 1. When the nature of business is not seasonal. 2. There is no impact of external factors on the business activities 3. The demand of the product is certain and stable. 4. Supply orders are issued regularly. 5. The market of the product should be domestic rather than foreign. 6. There is no need of special labour or material in the production of the products. 7. Supply of production inputs is regular. 8. There is a trend of price stability. Generally, all above conditions are not found in practice. Hence fixed budget is not important 26 in business concerns. Merits/advantages: 1. Very simple to understand 2. Less time consuming Demerits/Disadvantages: 1. It is misleading. A poor performance may remain undetected and a good performance may go unrealized. 2. It is not suitable for long period. 3. It is also found unsuitable particularly when the business conditions are changing constantly. 4. Accurate estimates are not possible. Flexible Budget According to Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England,†a flexible budget is defined as a budget which, by recognizing the difference between fixed, semi-variable and variable costs is designed to change in relation to the level of activity attained.† Unlike static (fixed) budgets, flexible budgets show the expected results of a responsibility center for several activity levels. You can think of a flexible budget as a series of static budgets for different levels of activity. Such budgets are especially useful in estimating and controlling factory cos ts and operating expenses. It is more realistic and practicable because it gives due consideration 27 to cost behaviour at different levels of activity. While preparing a flexible budget the expenses are classified into three categories viz. 1. Fixed, 2. Variable, and 3. Semi-variable. Semi-variable expenses are further segregated into fixed and variable expenses. Flexible budgeting may be resorted to under following situations: 1. In the case of new business venture due to its typical nature it may be difficult to forecast the demand of a product accurately. 2. Where the business is dependent upon the mercy of nature e.g., a person dealing in wool trade may have enough market if temperature goes below the freezing point. 3. In the case of labour intensive industry where the production of the concern is dependent upon the availability of labour. Merits/ Advantages: 1. With the help of flexible budget, the sales, costs and profit may be calculated easily by the business at various levels of production capacity. 2. In flexible budget, adjustment is very simple according to change in business conditions. 3. It also helps in determination of production level as it shows budgeted costs with classification at various levels of activity along with sales. Hence the management can easily select the level of production which shows the profit predetermined by the owners of the bu siness. 4. It also shows the quantity of product to be produced to earn determined profit. 28 Demerits/Disadvantages: 1. The formulation of flexible budget is possible only when there is proper accounting system maintained, perfect knowledge about the factors of production and various business circumstances is available. 2. Flexible Budget also requires the system of standard costing in business. 3. It is very expensive and labour oriented. Need for flexible budget: 1. Seasonal fluctuations in sales and/or production, for example in soft drinks industry; 2. A company which keeps on introducing new products or makes changes in the design of its products frequently; 3. Industries engaged in make-to-order business like ship building; 4. An industry which is influenced by changes in fashion; and 5. General changes in sales. 29 Illustration: A factory which expects to operate 7,000 hours, i.e., at 70% level of activity, furnishes details of expenses as under: Particulars Variable Expenses Amount (Rs.) 1260 Semi- Variable Expenses 1200 Fixed Expenses 1800 The semi-variable expenses go up by 10% between 85% and 95% activity and by 20% above 95% activity. Construct a flexible budget for 80, 90 and 100 per cent activities. Solution: Particulars Budgeted Hours Variable Expenses Semi-Variable Expenses Fixed Expenses Total Expenses Recovery Rate Per Hour 70% 7000 1260 1200 1800 4260 0.61 80% 8000 1440 1200 1800 4440 0.55 90% 9000 1620 1320 1800 4740 0.53 100% 10000 1800 1440 1800 5040 0.50 30 Difference between Fixed and Flexible Budget: Fixed Budget Flexible Budget It does not change with actual volume of It can be recasted on the basis of activity activity achieved. Thus it is known as rigid level to be achieved. Thus it is not rigid. or inflexible budget. It operates on one level of activity and under It consists of various budgets for one set of conditions. It assumes that there different levels of activity. will be no change in the prevailing conditions, which is unrealistic. Here as all costs like – fixed, variable and Here analysis of variance provides useful semi-variable are related to only one level information as each cost is analyzed of activity so variance analysis does give useful information. If the budgeted and actual activity levels differ Flexible budgeting at different levels of significantly, then the aspects like cost activity facilitates the ascertainment of ascertainment and price fixation do not give a cost, fixation of selling price and tendering correct picture. of quotations. a meaningful basis of not according to its behaviour. Comparison of actual performance with It provides budgeted targets will be meaningless comparison of the actual performance with specially when there is a difference the budgeted targets. between the two activity levels. 31 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 ICAI Module on Cost Accounting 2 Newsletters and opinions published by ICAI 3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Budget 4 www.icai.org