Hertz Corporation

ALTRIA GROUP, INC. (MO) 10-Q Quarterly report pursuant to sections 13 or 15(d) Filed on 07/26/2012 Filed Period 06/30/2012 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D. C. 20549 FORM 10-Q (Mark One) y QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the quarterly period ended June 30, 2012 OR ? TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the transition period from o Commission File Number 1-08940 Altria Group, Inc. (Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter) Virginia 13-3260245 (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) (I. R. S. Employer Identification No. ) 6601 West Broad Street, Richmond, Virginia 23230 (Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code) Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (804) 274-2200 Former name, former address and former fiscal year, if changed since last reportIndicate by check mark whether the re gistrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ? No ? Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T ( §232. 05 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ? No ? Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of â€Å"large accelerated filer,† â€Å"accelerated filer† and â€Å"smaller reporting companyâ₠¬  in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Large accelerated filer ? Accelerated filer ? Non-accelerated filer ? (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) Smaller reporting company ?Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ? No ? At July 16, 2012 , there were 2,032,833,474 shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock, par value $0. 33 1/3 per share. Table of Contents ALTRIA GROUP, INC. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page No. PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION Item 1. Financial Statements (Unaudited) Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011 3 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 and 2011 5 Three Months Ended June 30, 2012 and 2011 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Earnings for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 and 2011 7 Three Months Ended June 30, 2012 and 2011 8 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stoc kholders’ Equity for the Year Ended December 31, 2011 and the Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 9 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 and 2011 10 Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements 12 Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 61 Item 4. Controls and Procedures 99 PART II – OTHER INFORMATIONItem 1. Legal Proceedings 100 Item 1A. Risk Factors 100 Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds 100 Item 5. Other Information 101 Item 6. Exhibits 102 Signature Signature 103 – 2- Table of Contents PART I – FINANCIAL INFORMATION Item 1. Financial Statements. Altria Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (in millions of dollars) (Unaudited) June 30, 2012 December 31, 2011 Assets Consumer products Cash and cash equivalents $ Receivables 1,528 $ 3,270 256 268 Leaf tobacco 799 934 Other raw mater ials 184 170 Work in process 269 316 Inventories:Finished product 432 Other current assets 1,779 1,207 Deferred income taxes 359 1,684 1,207 468 Property, plant and equipment, at cost 607 5,143 Total current assets 7,131 4,750 2,512 2,131 Goodwill 4,728 2,619 Less accumulated depreciation 2,216 5,174 Other assets 12,098 6,486 Investment in SABMiller 5,174 12,088 Other intangible assets, net 5,509 472 1,257 31,494 33,385 3,012 Total consumer products assets 3,559 Financial services Finance assets, net Other assets 41 Total Assets $ 18 3,053 Total financial services assets 3,577 34,547 $ See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements.Continued – 3- 36,962 Table of Contents Altria Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Continued) (in millions of dollars, except share and per share data) (Unaudited) June 30, 2012 December 31, 2011 Liabilities Consumer products Current portion of long-term debt $ Accounts payable 600 $ 600 335 503 Marketing 5 81 430 Taxes, except income taxes 218 220 Accrued liabilities: Employment costs 110 225 Settlement charges 2,184 3,513 Other 1,217 1,311 Dividends payable 836 7,643 13,089 Long-term debt 841 6,081 Total current liabilities 13,089 Deferred income taxes 5,074 4,751Accrued pension costs 1,139 1,662 Accrued postretirement health care costs 2,367 2,359 Other liabilities 606 602 28,356 30,106 1,764 Total consumer products liabilities 2,811 Financial services Deferred income taxes Other liabilities 119 3,141 30,239 33,247 33 32 935 Total liabilities 330 1,883 Total financial services liabilities 935 Contingencies (Note 11) Redeemable noncontrolling interest Stockholders' Equity Common stock, par value $0. 33 1/3 per share (2,805,961,317 shares issued) Additional paid-in capital 5,647 Accumulated other comprehensive losses 5,674 24,334 Earnings reinvested in the business 3,583 (1,674) (1,887) Cost of repurchased stock (773,116,613 shares in 2012 and 761,542,032 shares in 2011) (24,969) (24, 625) Total stockholders’ equity attributable to Altria Group, Inc. 4,273 3,680 2 3 Noncontrolling interests Total stockholders’ equity 4,275 Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity $ 34,547 See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements. – 4- 3,683 $ 36,962 Table of Contents Altria Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings (in millions of dollars, except per share data) (Unaudited) For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2012Net revenues $ 2011 12,134 $ 11,563 Cost of sales 3,878 3,825 Excise taxes on products 3,560 3,618 Gross profit 4,696 4,120 1,130 1,272 Marketing, administration and research costs Asset impairment and exit costs 37 3 Amortization of intangibles 10 11 3,519 2,834 Operating income Interest and other debt expense, net 586 Earnings before income taxes 572 (743) Earnings from equity investment in SABMiller (344) 3,676 Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests 1,224 2,421 Net earnings 2,6 06 1,255 Provision for income taxes 1,382 (1 ) Net earnings attributable to Altria Group, Inc. (1) $ ,420 $ 1,381 Basic earnings per share attributable to Altria Group, Inc. $ 1. 19 $ 0. 66 Diluted earnings per share attributable to Altria Group, Inc. $ 1. 19 $ 0. 66 $ 0. 82 $ 0. 76 Per share data: Dividends declared See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements. – 5- Altria Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings (in millions of dollars, except per share data) (Unaudited) For the Three Months Ended June 30, 2012 Net revenues $ 2011 6,487 $ 5,920 Cost of sales 2,086 2,030 Excise taxes on products 1,907 1,918 Gross profit 2,494 1,972 596 671 16 1Marketing, administration and research costs Asset impairment and exit costs Amortization of intangibles 5 Earnings from equity investment in SABMiller 1,295 293 Interest and other debt expense, net 5 1,877 Operating income 294 (223) Earnings before income taxes (155) 1,807 581 Net earnings 712 1,226 Provision for income taxes 1,156 444 Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests (1 ) Net earnings attributable to Altria Group, Inc. — $ 1,225 $ 444 Basic earnings per share attributable to Altria Group, Inc. $ 0. 60 $ 0. 21 Diluted earnings per share attributable to Altria Group, Inc. $ 0. 60 $ 0. 21 0. 41 $ 0. 38 Per share data: Dividends declared See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements. – 6- Table of Contents Altria Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Earnings (in millions of dollars) (Unaudited) For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 Net earnings $ 2,421 2011 $ 1,382 Other comprehensive earnings, net of deferred income taxes: Currency translation adjustments — 1 61 64 154 135 Benefit plans: Amounts reclassified to net earnings SABMiller: Ownership share of SABMiller's other comprehensive earnings before reclassifications to net earningsAmounts reclassified to net earnings (2 ) 5 152 205 2,634 Comprehensive earnings Comprehensive earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests 140 213 Other comprehensive earnings, net of deferred income taxes 1,587 (1) Comprehensive earnings attributable to Altria Group, Inc. See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements. – 7- $ 2,633 (1) $ 1,586 Table of Contents Altria Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Earnings (in millions of dollars) (Unaudited) For the Three Months Ended June 30, 2012 Net earnings $ 2011 1,226 $ 444Other comprehensive earnings, net of deferred income taxes: Currency translation adjustments — 1 39 32 (23) 78 (5) 1 Benefit plans: Amounts reclassified to net earnings SABMiller: Ownership share of SABMiller's other comprehensive (losses) earnings before reclassifications to net earnings Amounts reclassified to net earnings (28) 112 1,237 Comprehensive earnings Comprehensive earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests 79 11 Oth er comprehensive earnings, net of deferred income taxes 556 (1) Comprehensive earnings attributable to Altria Group, Inc. See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements. 8- $ 1,236 — $ 556 Table of Contents Altria Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the Year Ended December 31, 2011 and the Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 (in millions of dollars, except per share data) (Unaudited) Attributable to Altria Group, Inc. Common Stock (1) Earnings Reinvested in the Business Accumulated Other Comprehensive Losses Cost of Repurchased Stock Non-controlling Interests Total Stockholders’ Equity $ 935 Balances, December 31, 2010 Additional Paid-in Capital $ 5,751 $ 23,459 $ $ (23,469) $ $ (1,484) 3 5,195 — — 3,390 — — 1Other comprehensive losses, net of deferred income tax benefit — — — (403) — — (403) Exercise of stock options and other stock award a ctivity — (77) — — 171 — 94 Cash dividends declared ($1. 58 per share) — — — — (3,266) Repurchases of common stock — — — — — (1,327) Other — — — — Net earnings Balances, December 31, 2011 (3,266) — — (1) 935 5,674 23,583 3 3,683 — — 2,420 — — — 2,420 Other comprehensive earnings, net of deferred income taxes — — — 213 — — 213 Exercise of stock options and other stock award activity — (27) — — 16 — (11) Cash dividends declared ($0. 82 per share) — — — — — (1,669) Repurchases of common stock — — (360) — (360) Balances, June 30, 2012 (1) (1,669) — — — — $ 935 $ 5,647 $ 24,334 — $ (1,674) (24,625) (1) Net earnings (1) Other (1,887) (1,327) 3,391 — $ (24,969) (1) $ 2 (1) $ 4,275 Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and for the year ended December 31, 2011 exclude $1 million and $2 million, respectively, due to the redeemable noncontrolling interest related to Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars, which is reported in the mezzanine equity section in the condensed consolidated balance sheets at June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011 , respectively.See Note 11. See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements. – 9- Table of Contents Altria Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (in millions of dollars) (Unaudited) For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 2011 Cash Provided by (Used In) Operating Activities Net earnings (loss) – Consumer products $ 2,311 – Financial services 110 Net earnings $ 1,962 (580) 2,421 1,382 Depreciation and amortization 113 121 Deferred income tax provision 299 132 (743) (344) (34) (24) (456) — Adjustm ents to reconcile net earnings to operating cash flows: Consumer productsEarnings from equity investment in SABMiller Asset impairment and exit costs, net of cash paid IRS payment related to LILO and SILO transactions Cash effects of changes: Receivables, net 2 Inventories (12) 95 Accrued liabilities and other current assets (94) (251) Income taxes 130 (64) Accounts payable 5 58 Accrued settlement charges 58 (1,329) (1,398) Pension plan contributions (514) (209) Pension provisions and postretirement, net 85 122 Other 90 121 Financial services Deferred income tax benefit (1,270) PMCC leveraged lease charges 7 Decrease to allowance for losses 10) Other liabilities (income taxes) 1,437 Other (529) 490 — 505 (21) See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements. Continued – 10- 23 (85) Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities 479 Table of Contents Altria Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Continued) (in millions of dollars) (Unaudited) For the Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 2011 Cash Provided by (Used In) Investing Activities Consumer products Capital expenditures $ Other (39) $ (3) (40) 1 Financial services Proceeds from finance assets 552 129 510 0 — Net cash provided by investing activities 1,494 Cash Provided by (Used In) Financing Activities Consumer products Long-term debt issued Repurchases of common stock (360) (575) (1,674) Dividends paid on common stock (1,589) Issuances of common stock — 29 Financing fees and debt issuance costs — (23) (133) (155) (2,167) (819) Other Net cash used in financing activities Cash and cash equivalents: Decrease (1,742) Balance at beginning of period (250) 3,270 Balance at end of period $ 1,528 See notes to condensed consolidated financial statements. – 11 – 2,314 $ 2,064Table of Contents Note 1. Background and Basis of Presentation: Background At June 30, 2012, Altria Group, Inc. ‘s direct and indirect wholly- owned subsidiaries included Philip Morris USA Inc. (â€Å"PM USA†), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes and certain smokeless products in the United States; John Middleton Co. (â€Å"Middleton†), which is engaged in the manufacture and sale of machine-made large cigars and pipe tobacco, and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of PM USA; and UST LLC (â€Å"UST†), which through its direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries including U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company LLC (â€Å"USSTC†) and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Ltd. (â€Å"Ste. Michelle†), is engaged in the manufacture and sale of smokeless products and wine. Philip Morris Capital Corporation (â€Å"PMCC†), another wholly-owned subsidiary of Altria Group, Inc. , maintains a portfolio of leveraged and direct finance leases. In addition, Altria Group, Inc. held an approximate 27. 0% economic and voting interest in SABMiller plc (â€Å"SABMiller†) at June 30, 2012, whi ch is accounted for under the equity method of accounting. Altria Group, Inc. s access to the operating cash flows of its wholly-owned subsidiaries consists of cash received from the payment of dividends and distributions, and the payment of interest on intercompany loans by its subsidiaries. In addition, Altria Group, Inc. receives cash dividends on its interest in SABMiller if and when SABMiller pays such dividends. At June 30, 2012, Altria Group, Inc. ‘s principal wholly-owned subsidiaries were not limited by long-term debt or other agreements in their ability to pay cash dividends or make other distributions with respect to their common stock.Share Repurchases In October 2011, Altria Group, Inc. ‘s Board of Directors authorized a $1. 0 billion share repurchase program, which Altria Group, Inc. intends to complete by the end of 2012 . During the six and three months ended June 30, 2012, Altria Group, Inc. repurchased 11. 9 million shares (aggregate cost of approximate ly $360 million , and $30. 16 average price per share) and 2. 0 million shares (aggregate cost of approximately $66 million , and $32. 37 average price per share), respectively. As of June 30, 2012 , Altria Group, Inc. had repurchased a total of 23. million shares of its common stock under this program at an aggregate cost of approximately $688 million , and an average price of $29. 01 per share. The timing of share repurchases under this program depends upon marketplace conditions and other factors, and the program remains subject to the discretion of Altria Group, Inc. ‘s Board of Directors. Basis of Presentation The interim condensed consolidated financial statements of Altria Group, Inc. are unaudited. It is the opinion of Altria Group, Inc. ‘s management that all adjustments necessary for a fair statement of the interim results presented have been reflected therein.All such adjustments were of a normal recurring nature. Net revenues and net earnings for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the entire year. These statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and related notes, which appear in Altria Group, Inc. ‘s Annual Report to Shareholders and which are incorporated by reference into Altria Group, Inc. ‘s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Balance sheet accounts are segregated by two broad types of businesses.Consumer products assets and liabilities are classified as either current or noncurrent, whereas financial services assets and liabilities are unclassified, in accordance with respective industry practices. During the second quarter of 2012, Altria Group, Inc. determined that it had not recorded in its financial statements for the three months ended March 31, 2012, its share of non-cash gains from its equity investment in SABMiller, relating to SABMiller's strategic alliance transactions with Anadolu Efes and Castel that were closed during the first quarter of 2012.Because Altria Group, Inc. did not record these gains, it understated by $342 million, $222 million and $0. 11 earnings from equity investment in SABMiller, net earnings/comprehensive earnings, and diluted earnings per share attributable to Altria Group, Inc. , respectively, for the three months ended March 31, 2012. Additionally, Altria Group, Inc. understated its investment in SABMiller, long-term liability for deferred income taxes and total stockholders' equity by $342 million, $120 million and $222 million, respectively, at March 31, 2012.There was no impact on net cash flows from operating, investing or financing activities for the three months ended March 31, 2012. Altria Group, Inc. assessed the materiality of – 12- Table of Contents Altria Group, Inc. and Subsidiaries Notes to Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements (Unaudited) these understatements in accordance with the Securities and Exchange Commission 's (â€Å"SEC†) Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 99 â€Å"Materiality† and determined that the impact was not material to Altria Group, Inc. ‘s financial statements as of and for the three months ended March 31, 2012.Accordingly, Altria Group, Inc. has determined that it is appropriate to revise its first quarter 2012 financial statements and has reflected this revision in the financial statements as of and for the six months ended June 30, 2012. Financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2012 reported in future filings will reflect this revision. Altria Group, Inc. ‘s chief operating decision maker has been evaluating the operating results of the former cigarettes and cigars segments as a single smokeable products segment since January 1, 2012.The combination of these two formerly separate segments is related to the restructuring associated with the cost reduction program announced in October 2011 (the â€Å"2011 Cost Reduction Program†). A lso, in connection with the 2011 Cost Reduction Program, effective January 1, 2012, Middleton became a wholly-owned subsidiary of PM USA, reflecting management's goal to achieve efficiencies in the management of these businesses. Effective with the first quarter of 2012, Altria Group, Inc. ‘s reportable segments are smokeable products, smokeless products, wine and financial services.For further discussion on the 2011 Cost Reduction Program, see Note 2. Asset Impairment, Exit, Implementation and Integration Costs. Effective January 1, 2012, Altria Group, Inc. adopted new authoritative guidance that eliminated the option of presenting components of other comprehensive earnings as part of the statement of stockholders' equity. With the adoption of this guidance, Altria Group, Inc. is reporting other comprehensive earnings in separate statements immediately following the statements of earnings. Note 2.Asset Impairment, Exit, Implementation and Integration Costs: Pre-tax asset impa irment, exit and implementation costs for the six and three months ended June 30, 2012 consisted of the following: For The Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 Asset Impairment and Exit Costs For The Three Months Ended June 30, 2012 Implementation (Gain) Costs Total Asset Impairment and Exit Costs Implementation Costs Total (in millions) Smokeable products $ 23 $ (12) $ 11 $ 16 $ 9 $ 25 Smokeless products 14 5 19 — — — General corporate — (1) (1 ) — — — Total $ 37

Compare How Duffy and Armitage Write About Violence in Salome and Hitcher Essay

‘Salome’ and ‘Hitcher’ both use a first person persona and with that, give us insight into their feelings and the theme of violence throughout both poems. In ‘Salome’, Duffy’s character uses a nonchalant tone with no remorse when depicting her actions, which is also present in ‘Hitcher’ too. Salome had ‘done it before’ and will ‘doubtless do it again’ but is oblivious of the repercussions of what she has just stated. She is a promiscuous character and is unaware of what she has done until the last stanza, whereas the narrator in ‘Hitcher’ is fully conscious of his actions. He ‘lets him have it’ and is proud of his actions and his ability to not swerve while attacking the hitchhiker. His colloquial manner represents that he sees it as an entertaining story and how he is unaffected by his actions. Near to the conclusion of ‘Salome’ she decides to clean up her act, becomes repentant of how she has behaved. In comparison, Hitcher just drives away from the body and is ignorant as to his fate; he does not care if he’s alive; he just ‘lets him out’. His casual description of how the body bounces and disappears questions his mental stability and his possession of a conscience. Salome also defends herself, describing the man as a ‘beater or biter’, proposing that she reacted in self-defence although she could also be referring to herself. The plosive ‘b’ also portrays the violence involved with those words. At the end of ‘Hitcher’, the concluding couplet is sarcastic and ironic, seeing as the intended recipient is no longer with him. He recalls thinking ‘Stitch that’ as if the hitchhiker got what he deserved. To him, it’s a joke. Similarly, Salome states ‘ain’t life a bitch’, which is also ironic, as the person she is speaking to is dead. She doesn’t care; he could be any old Simon Andrew or John. Hitcher’s reference to the weather is normal, which shows how his behaviour hasn’t impacted him; the murder was the therapy for his anger as his outlook is now pleasant. The fact that he and the hitchhiker were of the same age wasn’t of particular consequence to him, they both had the same opportunities, yet vastly different paths. The mention of this shows how he can crack at and given moment, and his attention for the inconsequential. Salome’s therapy for her hangover was her maid’s ‘innocent clatter’, so unlike Hitcher’s methods. The fact that Salome calls her maid ‘innocent’ shows how naà ¯ve and unknowing she is about Salome. She’s Salome’s opposite. The rhythmic repetition of the ‘er’ sound emulates the sound of her footsteps which soothes Salome after her night on the ‘batter’. This shows the violence which ensued last night and all the aggression, as well as inverting the female stereotype or passiveness.

Modern leaders still use Machiavelli's The Prince approach to, Essay

Modern leaders still use Machiavelli's The Prince approach to, politics - Essay Example This classic of political science has retained its relevance down the five centuries it has survived to come down to us, and leaders of various reputes have been acquainted with it, and consciously or sub-consciously followed its principles. Modern leadership in the twentieth and twenty-first century are no exception, and examples of Machiavellian wisdom abound from Stalin and Hitler, to Ronald Reagan, Nixon and George Bush. One of the most striking pronouncements that Machiavelli made was absolutely revolutionary in terms of accepting facts as they are, and not what they ought to be or portrayed to be in traditional political philosophies. He claims to talk about what really goes on behind the corridors of power and what a political aspirant should basically learn in order to get to the top: Because how one ought to live is so far removed from how one lives that he who lets go of what is done for that which one ought to do sooner learns ruin than his own preservation: because a man who might want to make a show of goodness in all things necessarily comes to ruin among so many who are not good. Because of this it is necessary for a prince, wanting to maintain himself, to learn how to be able to be not good and to use this and not use it according to necessity.( Machiavelli, 1513) Joseph Stalin, a totalitarian leader was a self-confessed admirer of Machiavelli, and sought to maintain his supremacy through being "not good". He validated torture and oppression by plainly declaring that anyone who did not agree with him was in fact and "enemy of the state" and deserved to be punished as such: Stalin originated the concept "enemy of the people." This term automatically rendered it unnecessary that the ideological errors of a man or men engaged in a controversy be proven; this term made possible the usage of the most cruel repression, violating all norms of revolutionary legality, against anyone who in any way disagreed with Stalin, against those who were only suspected of hostile intent, against those who had bad reputations. ( Russian Institute-orgname, 1956) But on the other hand, Stalin brilliantly followed the other machiavellian concept of appearing to be very good, where Machiavelli strictly instructs a political aspirant to always appear totally benevolent, "A prince, therefore, must be very careful never to let anything slip from his lips which is not full of the five qualities mentioned above: he should appear, upon seeing and hearing him, to be all mercy, all faithfulness, all integrity, all kindness, all religion". Stalin really took care to create a myth around himself about being a caring humanitarian gentleman, despite actually being a merciless and manipulative despot: As brutal despots have learned throughout the centuries, and as Machiavelli counseled, Stalin could show himself to be a caring, even benevolent father figure. .....Even today, among some older Russians a strong nostalgia persists for "Uncle Joseph," a kindly, all-seeing, and all-caring man who never really existed but lives on that way in the myths that still surround him. (Dvoretsky, Fugate, 1997) Another devotee of Machiavelli was the infamous Hitler, the scourge of our modern times who deceived the Germans into believing their superiority as the

Advanced Cross-Cultural Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Advanced Cross-Cultural Communication - Essay Example ; (2) Why was the homestay mother rude to me?; and (3) Why was she refusing my help? The first question was analyzed using theories related to non-verbal miscommunication and parochialism. The second question was addressed using theories related to high- and low-context culture. The third question was answered based on the theory of individualism and collectivism as well as the high- and low-context culture. It was concluded that the root cause of miscommunication in cross-cultural encounter is â€Å"parochialism†. Therefore, this report highly recommends the need to provide our future business people with opportunity to learn different the ways on how they can increase their awareness particularly with regards to the relationship between cultural background and the use of non-verbal cues such as facial expression, body distance, gestures, etc. Table of Contents Executive Summary .................................................................................................. ........ ii 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 1 2.0 Research Process ................................................................................................... 2 3.0 Findings and Discussion ........................................................................................ ... .................................................................................................. 9 5.0 Recommendations ................................................................................................... 10 References ........................................................................................................................... 11 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................ 12 Appendix I – Full Critical Incident Report .......................................................................... 14 Appendix II – Summary of Continuum from High-Context to Low-Context Culture ........ 16 Appendix III – Comparison of the General Characteristics that Affect Communication between people from High- and Low-Context Countries ............................ 16 1. Introduction When I first arrived in New Zealand back in 2001, I had to live in a â€Å"homestayâ € . Back then, I could not speak any word in English. In order to communicate with people who live with me at the homestay, I had to learn the use of body and sign language. Even though I was able to express my personal thoughts and opinion through the use of body and sign language, there were several occasions I encountered miscommunication between me and my homestay mother. (See Appendix I – Full Critical Incident Report on page 14) The rationale and main objective of this report is to analyze and discuss the relevance of several existing cross-cultural theories on the critical incident presented on Appendix I. In the process of completing this report, the student is expected to conduct a literature review with regards to the concept and application of cross-cultural theories. By doing so, the student

Covering the measurement and calculation of Real GDP Assignment

Covering the measurement and calculation of Real GDP - Assignment Example The goods as well as the services produced in a certain country and brought to the market have some price. Some experts regard GDP as the price of the total output. The GDP can be calculated in the following ways. Cumulative figure of all income within an economy or the total spending made by all the participating agents within the same economy is referred to as GDP. Both the spending and the income will roughly be the same. It should be kept in king that Gross Domestic product and Gross National product is not the same thing. The market value of the goods as well as services produced within a particular time period by the residents of a particular country is regarded as the GNP. It allocates the production based on the ownership. Three approaches can be used in order to determine the GDP. They are- the income approach, the expenditure approach and the product approach. The product also called as the output approach sums the total produced within the economy in order to attain the va lue of GDP. The expenditure approach assumes that the products produced must be bought by someone and so the total value of the product must be matched by the total expenditure of the people in purchasing things. The last approach takes into consideration that the value of the products must be equal to the incomes of the factors of production. It determines the value of GDP by calculating the sum of the income of the producers. The expenditure method: Where, C= Consumption, I=investment, G=government expenditure, X=exports, M=imports. The reciprocal circulation of income between the producers as well as the consumers is referred as the circular flow of income. From the circular flow of income the following equation is derived: Leakages=Injections (Tucker, 2010, p.429). i.e. S+T+M=I+G+X where, S= net savings, T=net taxes, M= import expenditure, I=Investment, G=government expenditure, X=export expenditure. It following equation can also be derived from the above: (S-I) + (T-G) = (X-M) . If the value of the left hand side of the equation is negative, then it must have been financed from somewhere. The right hand side of the equation denotes the current account balance. Therefore, (S-I) + (T-G) = (X-M) + foreign savings The production method consists of three stages. In the first step the gross value of the output produced domestically is estimated. The second step involves determination of the value of intermediate consumption while in the third step the value of the intermediate consumption is subtracted from the gross value in order to arrive at the net value. The total of the gross added value in various activities related to the economy is referred to as GDP at factor cost. The sum of the indirect taxes and GDP at factor cost subtracted from subsidies will give GDP at producers’ price. There are two methods to determine the gross output of any sector. The gross output can be determined by multiplying the products of each sector with the respective price s prevailing in the market and add them up. It can also be determined by manipulating data on sales as well as inventories from companies records and again add them up. According to the income approach, GDP is calculated by summing up the incomes that firms are required to pay to the households for providing the production factors namely wages, interest, rents as well as profits.

Market gorvenment analysis Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Market gorvenment analysis - Article Example Additionally, they should look forward to promote confidence and integrity in public administration. They must avoid any situations where their private interests and public interest conflict and those that are seen as a potential conflict in fulfillment of their duties and responsibilities. In instances where conflicts between public and private interests conflict cannot be avoided they must be well disclosed and managed. This essay discusses some of the philosophical views on the conflict between private interest and public interest. This framework can be simply summed up. Buyers attempts to capitalize on their gains from goods and services that are commonly referred to as maximizing utility. Similarly, individuals look forward to offer labor to companies that wish to employ them by balancing the gains they are getting from offering their services (wages) with the disutility linked with the labor itself (loss of leisure time). People make choices at the margin and this leads to the theory of demands for goods and services and supply of factors of production. On the other hand, producers make an effort to produce products such that the cost of producing the incremental unit is equal to the revenue it gains (Heilbruner, 1999). In this way, producers act in a way that maximizes profits. The neoclassical perspective therefore involves agents be it individuals, households or firms and all of them are subject to conditions. Adam Smith was the major contributor to the neoliberal perspective and his works sought to address the motivation behind economic activity, policies that should be followed by states to increase their wealth and the mechanism behind price increases and distribution of wealth. He stated that so long as the forces of demand, supply, competition and prices should be left free of government intervention. This perspective gives emphasis to pursuing

Why Racism Should Not Occur Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Why Racism Should Not Occur - Essay Example American people throughout the history of the nation’s slavery marks the begging of the racial prejudice and discrimination that presented the blacks and the other minority groups, especially the immigrant minorities, as inferior (Tiffany Gee & Takeuchi, 2008). Thus, due to the social status, they held during the period of American colonization as slaves, the prejudice, stereotyping and color bigotry has continued to rule the mind of many, resulting to the persistent increase in the reported cases of racial hate incidences throughout the country. On the other hand, due to the identity that such minority groups have been given as inferior throughout the history, they have also turned against the dominant groups, by discriminating and prejudicing against them as well (Kivel, 1996). However, the most disturbing thing about racism is that it does not appear to be perpetrated by individuals alone, but also the media that is a very influential tool in the society. The media has been seen to contribute to racism through biased reporting in relation to the prevalence of high crime rates in the minority groups as opposed to the dominant groups (Banton, 1988). This has resulted in unbalanced social construction, with the minority groups, most especially the African Americans being stereotyped as crime-prone than the rest of the communities. The impact of this is that such minority groups have in turn adapted crime as the tool for revenge against the marginalization. One can be forgiven for asking the question; where does racism happen? The answer to this would also be equally disturbing, because racism is all over the society, whether in the schools, on the streets, in churches and even in the high political offices such as the parliament and the Congress.

Family and egalitrarian partnership with a family nurse Essay

Family and egalitrarian partnership with a family nurse - Essay Example The family also comprises of various individuals with dissimilar personalities; hence, uniqueness of each household. In the research study compiled by Bell (2009), family therapy by an egalitarian nurse is one that is aimed at sustaining and promoting health to those suffering from particular infections. This is an suggestion that family therapy is one that makes sure the broad well being of the family is put under examination as well as proviso of maintenance skills on a long term basis. On another viewpoint, it would be reasonable to indicate that some family conditions may be a simpler sign of what the entire family goes through. Dealing with the infection on an individual perspective, in this case, is an indication that the syndrome is dealt with on behalf of the family, which is not obliging. This explains why there is need to deal with the infection on the family level not the person, which is only possible through the help of an egalitarian family nurse. Services offered by a family nurse can, therefore, be indicated to break the sequence of recurrence of various conditions in the individuals. As a result, family nurses offer proper assessment and handling of family infections, a feature which reduces the effects of an individual affecting the entire family. A good example would be psychotherapy on one person in the family who is diabetic. Certainly, the whole family benefits if therapy is administered effectively by the family nurse. This essay shall aim at emphasizing that families are in the best position to decide their own health goals and to accomplish them through identifying and further developing their potency as an egalitarian partner with a family nurse. This means that the family members are free and are not restricted to inquire or interact with the nurse regarding their medical condition. Fundamentally, this work shall focus on bringing out the view that family nurses have been of huge benefit in dealing with family infections. Body In the argument by Bell (2009), family nurses have a chance to proficiently assess the family as a unit. The care offered at the family level has been termed as one that targets all the participants in the family unit, which is inclusive of the members of the family, the whole family and the cultural systems that surround the relations (Bomar, 2004). An analysis of these structural systems that surround the family, a democratic relationship between the family and the family nurse allows for open interaction in the course of offering medical help; and consequently, possibility for appropriate health interventions. The family, can in this instance, be interpreted as a complex unit that needs long-term intervention. On another point of view, Bell (2009) emphasizes that the relationship between the family nurse and the family members becomes a collaborative one, since the nurse believes in the legitimacy of the structural component of the family. The kind of therapy that is being offered by th is clinician at this moment is one that is directed towards ensuring the family becomes competent in administering the therapy proposed, as opposed to the general care that is more directed to pathology (Bell, 2009). Additionally, the family members feel that the nurse and the family members believe that information on the family is in safe hands, hence respect between the two parties (Bell, 2009). Confidence in the family nurse is reinstated as the family members

Human Rights Violation in China Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Rights Violation in China - Assignment Example The essay begins with a definition of internet regulation and the condition in China and then proceeds to state the conclusion before giving the premises to support it. Counterarguments can be very effective tools to elaborate an argument in an essay. Counterarguments are opposite arguments that help the reader to view the other side of the argument in question. This way, counterarguments help to give the reader both sides of an argument so that they can fully understand what is at stake and help them make the right decision. Counterarguments help to strengthen the writer’s argument especially when the counterarguments are weaker than the arguments being spearheaded by the writer. In the essay, counterarguments have been used to help strengthen the main argument of the essay and also to provide both sides of the argument to enable readers to understand the argument better (Wolterstorff 210). The main argument in the essay is that the Chinese government should not restrict internet use because it violates people’s rights and limits access to information. Several counterarguments have been used in the essay to help strengthen the argume nt and these include â€Å"The government has the right to control and govern the internet according to its own rules and laws within the borders,† and â€Å"Internet censorship system is also very instrumental in safeguarding the Chinese culture against being eroded by the western culture as seen in other countries.† In an essay, the use of various sources helps the writer to read from a wide range of materials thereby getting a big range of ideas to enrich the essay. Credible sources help to give weight to an argument by effectively quoting from materials researched by renowned authors. In the essay, various sources were used to help enrich the content of the arguments.

Heroes Essay Example for Free

Heroes Essay Basically, heroes have a vision for society and their principles function as a catalyst that motivates the society. In addition to having ideas, heroes are brave. Unlike other people they have tremendous energy and patience to struggle with the adversity. Most people settle for the status quo because in reality they dont want to put themselves in danger or risk themselves for others. Heroes are brave enough to take risk for people and society and they never try to escape from hardship. In an article Heroism Must Mean More Than Sympathy, Nicholas Thompson (2002) writes, Heroes could earn that title simply for incredible acts of ravery several steps above the call of duty. He states that heroes do more than there is their duty. Most people simply perform their duty and focus on themselves for their own betterment. Heroes are remarkably brave in comparison to people in general. They genuinely make effort to protect right of society and people. For example, Amar Singh Thapa, a General of army in Nepal during British colonization in India and many other countries of Asia proved his bravery. At the time of British colonization in Asia, British army attacked the territory of Nepalese land. General Amar Singh Thapa fought against powerful British troop. In spite of lack of food for few days he continued war. At last British Army could not fight in such a hardship and Amar Singh won war against British. General Thapa protected country from British colony and saved Nepalese sovereignty and land. All Nepalese are proud of his bravery and his bravery is an exemplary in Nepal. For his bravery Nepalese admire to call him national hero of bravery. In other words, heroes act bravely in order to protect society and people by taking undesirable risk in their life. Finally, heroes have special skill and talent. Their skill and talent is enables them change the society in forward direction. Their creation and innovation are noteworthy. A person becomes hero because of his or her potential skill and talent to work for society (Brown, 1990; Psychology Today, 1995). Heroes have extraordinary skill and talent, which attract society and helps the society a great deal. For an example, Bill Gate has special talent and skill in development of computer software. Before Bill Gate developed software, computers were barely in use in public. The application of his software in the operating system in computers brought a big change in todays world. People admire such a skilled and talented person who brought a total change in this world. His outstanding talent and skill in software is praiseworthy. Mostly people emulate other’s work and learn from others. Since heroes posses special skill and talent, they are naturally creative and innovative. New inventions and creative thinking always attract a community if it can help society to move in right direction efficiently. For such promising work, they deserve to be called a hero. Heroes always help society and individuals to change and are a role model in society. Over all heroes have some characteristics in common that influence society and individuals. They live in heart and mind of people because of their extraordinary principles, bravery, skill and talent. References Browne, R. (1990). Heroes and Heroines. Detroit: Gale Research Inc. How to be great? What it takes to be a hero? (1995, November-December). Psychology Today,28, 46. Thompson, N. (2002, January 15). Heroism must mean more than sympathy. The Oregonian. Tollefson, T. (1993, May-June). Is a hero really nothing but a sandwich? Utne Reader.

Analysing Reviews and Development of SMEs in Ghana

Analysing Reviews and Development of SMEs in Ghana The dynamic role of Small and Medium scale Enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries towards employment generation and income creation has OVER TIME been highly emphasised by several authors (Kayanula and Quartey 2000, OECD 2004). While it is generally accepted that SMEs are important contributors to the domestic economy, not many governments have framed policies to enhance their contribution or increase their competitiveness (UNCTAD 2005). Previously insulated from international competition, many SMEs are now faced with greater external competition and the need to expand market share. As indicated by OECD 2002, SMEs fast-changing technologies and globalising economies are putting increased pressures on firms to reorganise their structures to enhance adaptability and flexibility. Upgrading the skills of all types of employees is hence central to firm performance in SMEs which must be able to adapt quickly to evolving markets and changing circumstances, but which often have limited resources. Indeed there is preliminary evidence that competence development activities can reduce the failure rates of small firms, which are far more likely to fail than larger firms, particularly in the early years (OECD 2002). 1.2 SMEs in Ghana: Definition and Role towards Economic Development As per statistics from the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa 2010, Ghana ¿Ã‚ ½s GDP grew at an annual rate of 5.4 per cent between 2001 and 2007. Such impressive performance was partly contributed to the robust growth of the SME sector in Ghana. Available data from the Registrar General in Ghana indicates that 90% of companies registered are micro, small and medium enterprises (Mensah 2004). This target group has been identified as the catalyst for the economic growth of the country as they are a major source of income and employment. Analogous to the situation in other countries though, Kayanula and Quartey 2000 state that there is no single, uniformly acceptable, definition of a small firm in Ghana as these firms differ in their levels of capitalisation, sales and employment. Hence, definitions which employ measures of size (number of employees, turnover, profitability, net worth, etc.) when applied to one sector could lead to all firms being classified as small, while the same size definition when applied to a different sector could lead to a different result. Kayanula and Quartey in their research however identified a number of common definitions used when referring to SMEs in Ghana that could be used for purposes of this essay. These definitions are summarised below: The Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) considers firms with less than 10 employees as Small Scale Enterprises and their counterparts with more than 10 employees as Medium and Large-Sized Enterprises. An alternative criteria used in defining small and medium enterprises is the value of fixed assets in the organisation. However, the National Board of Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) in Ghana applies both the fixed asset and number of employees ¿Ã‚ ½ criteria. It defines a Small Scale Enterprise as one with not more than 9 workers, has plant and machinery (excluding land, buildings and vehicles) not exceeding 10 million Cedis. From these definitions however, it would be prudent for purposes of this essay to note that the process of valuing fixed assets in itself poses a problem as continuous depreciation in the exchange rate often makes such definitions out-dated. It is further noted that SMEs in Ghana can be categorised into urban and rural enterprises. The former can be sub-divided into `organised ¿Ã‚ ½ and `unorganised ¿Ã‚ ½ enterprises. The organised ones tend to have paid employees with a registered office whereas the unorganised category is mainly made up of artisans who work in open spaces, temporary wooden structures, or at home and employ little or in some cases no salaried workers. They rely mostly on family members or apprentices. Rural enterprises are largely made up of family groups, individual artisans, women engaged in food production from local crops. The major activities within this sector include:- soap and detergents, fabrics, clothing and tailoring, textile and leather, village blacksmiths, tin-smithing, ceramics, timber and mining, bricks and cement, beverages, food processing, bakeries, wood furniture, electronic assembly, agro processing, chemical based products and mechanics (UNECA 2010, Kayanula and Quartey 2000). Among their many roles, SMEs in Ghana have been crucial in mobilising funds which otherwise would have been idle (Kayanula and Quartey 2000). The authors further point out that SMEs have been recognised as a seed-bed for indigenous entrepreneurship, are labour intensive, employing more labour per unit of capital than large enterprises and promote indigenous technological know-how. Furthermore, due to their regional dispersion and their labour intensity, argument goes that small scale production units can promote a more equitable distribution of income than large firms in Ghana. They also improve the efficiency of domestic markets and make productive use of scarce resources and thus facilitating long term economic growth. 1.3 Challenges facing SME Growth and Competitiveness in Ghana Despite the wide-ranging economic reforms instituted in the country to promote SME development, SMEs in Ghana still face a variety of constraints (UNECA 2010, Kayanula and Quartey 2000). Mensah 2004 drew up a basic profile on such SME challenges: SMEs are dominated by the owner/manager who takes all major company decisions. The entrepreneur possesses limited formal education, access to and use of new technologies, market information, and access to credit from the banking sector is severely limited. Furthermore, management skills are weak, thus inhibiting the development of a strategic plan for sustainable growth. Kayanula and Quartey in addition note that SME competitiveness in Ghana is mainly constrained by the following factors: 1. Limited access to finance remains a dominant constraint to small scale enterprises in Ghana. Credit constraints pertaining to working capital and raw materials are often cited by small firm and these partly stem from the fact that SMEs have limited access to capital markets, both locally and internationally. 2. SMEs have difficulties in gaining access to appropriate technologies and information on available techniques. This limits innovation and SME competitiveness. This fact is ascertained by UNCTAD 2005 which notes that most SMEs also lack the technical know-how and financial resources needed to acquire state of the art technologies and equipment required to improve productivity and to become internationally competitive. 3. Regulatory Constraints: Although wide ranging structural reforms have improved, prospects for enterprise development remain to be addressed at the firm-level. High start-up costs for firms, including licensing and registration requirements, can impose excessive and unnecessary burdens on SMEs. The high cost of settling legal claims and excessive delays in court proceedings adversely affect SME operations. In the case of Ghana, the cumbersome procedure for registering and commencing business were key issues often cited. 4. Of actual importance to this essay however, is the insufficient supply of skilled workers among SMEs in Ghana that limits specialisation opportunities, raises costs, and reduce flexibility in managing company operations. This is coupled with the lack of entrepreneurial and business management Skills: Lack of managerial know-how places significant constraints on SME development. Mensah 2004 in conclusion notes that SMEs in Ghana have not been able to take full advantage of Government-sponsored business support services. This paper therefore seeks to identify the possible implications for strengthening SME competitiveness through competence development that could be attained through the acquisition of knowledge, skills and new abilities. Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Competence: Definition of the Concept Studying a concept such as competence is very complex as the concept is used differently by many people (Awuah 2007). According to the author, the term competence can be defined as the ability of a firm to develop and manage relations with key suppliers, customers and other organizations. The term is further defined by the UN as the possession of a set of skills, related knowledge and attributes that allow an individual to perform a task or an activity within a specific function or job (UN 2007, UNIDO 2002). A graphical display of how the UN explains competence is displayed in figure 1 that follows: A more practical definition for the term competence is provided by the European Commission which defines competence as the combination of human knowledge, skills and aptitudes serving productive purposes in firms and contributing to their competitiveness (EC 2003). From the EC definition, we notice that the possession of necessary skills and abilities should be able to provide a firm with a certain competitive advantage over its competitors. In this paper therefore, the term competence will be used to mean the ability to demonstrate knowledge, skills, experience, and attributes necessary for a firm to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. In general, competence in a job means being competent at all aspects of each function or competency required to be performed within the role. The term competency is graphically explained in figure 1. Several authors such as EC 2003 and Moe 1995 distinguish between competencies at individual and organisational level. Individual competencies imply a person ¿Ã‚ ½s internal cognitive abilities and skills. Such competencies may be gained through education and experience in the work place (Nordhaug 1992). On the other hand institutional competence is more than the sum of competences of the individuals. It consists of institutional qualities such as the ability to mobilize teamwork and synergistic effects of interactions between individuals (Moe 1995). EC 2003 however cautions that a high level of individual competence does not automatically result in a high level of organisational competence and therefore an optimal degree of organisational competence requires a transfer mechanism that facilitates interplay between an individual and the organisations frameworks and routines. Figure 1: Definition of Competency Source: UNIDO 2002, Page 9 In this regard, Nordhaug 1992 adds that much expertise based on practical experience is accumulated by individuals working within any company. To transform the experiences of the individuals into institutional knowledge is a great challenge to which there hardly exists any universal solution. The goal therefore must be to embed this experience in the organization in such a way that it is at any time available to those who need it, even after the individual who made it has left the company. In contrast to many contemporary authors, UNIDO 2002 distinguishes competencies as being managerial, generic and technical. Managerial competencies are considered for staff with managerial or supervisory responsibility in any firm, including directors and senior posts. It is further noted that some managerial competencies could be more relevant for specific occupations however they are applied horizontally across a firm for example analysis and decision making and team leadership. Generic competencies are considered essential for all staff regardless of their function or level for example communication, programme execution and linguistics. Technical or functional competencies on the other hand are specific competencies that are considered essential to perform a job within a defined area of work for example environmental management, finance management and human resource management among others. In conclusion, UNIDO 2002 notes that any function within a firm requires a set of essential managerial/generic and technical/functional competencies to be performed effectively. 2.1 Competence Development in SMEs 2.2.1 Definition of Competence Development Competence development is defined by Koch, Gill and Ellstr ¿Ã‚ ½m 2006 as an overall designation for the various activities that can be used to affect the supply of employee competence and skills on the internal labour market. In this definition, it should be pointed out that the term competence development is sometimes also used to denote the individual learning processes through which competence is developed. A simpler definition is provided by the EC, which defines competence development as the measures taken by any enterprise to develop its competence base Competence development in this case refers to activities that are planned and organized in order to foster learning as a primary aim, but also to activities that have learning as a secondary and perhaps unintended outcome. According to the EC, any enterprise can develop its competence base by a number of different possible measures, that is to say, by recruiting the right competence from outside or by developing the human resources the organisation already possesses. This goal can be obtained from a double perspective: first of all, through the development of the competence base of its human resources, basically through different forms of formal and non-formal learning such as training courses, internal seminars, work groups, assistance to expos. This kind of perspective was termed by Nordhaug 1992 as the Development of in-house competence, which represents the measure a firm takes to develop their competence status available within their in-house human resources. Further more competence development activities may be formal through internal or external courses that are deliberately planned and organized as means for work place learning. These activities may or may not result in a certificate, a diploma or a mark that is recognized by the educational system or on the external labour market. In many cases, courses are carried out to meet more specific needs at the workplace, and do not result in some kind of formally recognized certificate or mark. Workplace learning through formal activities are usually financed by the employer and carried out during working hours. In contrast, informal competence development may occur through the participation of the individual in development projects at the workplace, staff-meetings, job rotation and team-based work among others. Such activities are generally characterized by a low degree of planning and organization from the perspective of learning. The second approach is through obtaining the desired competence externally. Examples include the recruitment of new employees, the purchase of consultant services or co-operation with other external stakeholders. Nordhaug 1992 complements this approach by noting that external competence acquisition, where firms acquire (buy or by other means get access to) different external competencies that are outside the enterprises boundaries that they internally lack but may be regarded as essential for the optimal performance of the firm. Relating to the work of Griffiths et al 2007, the definition of competence development in this paper will emphasize the focus on the continuous updating and building of both individual and organisational knowledge, skills and abilities. 2.2.2 A Four Stage Model of Competence Development To simplify analysis, a model of competence development which consists of four stages is presented in this section: Figure 2: Competence Development Model Adapted from Griffiths et al 2007: Page 134 According to the figure above, the cycle of competence development starts with a process of orientation, in which the learner determines which competences that need to be developed. Once this decision has been made, the learner has a choice. One very quick route, typical for informal learning and competencies related to leisure activities, is to go directly to the competence development activities, based on the learner ¿Ã‚ ½s interests and only very little knowledge of their current proficiency level. The other route, more related to formal learning and to professional development is to proceed by collecting evidence, which shows the learner ¿Ã‚ ½s current proficiency level. After the learner has collected this evidence, they can again choose: either they can have their proficiency level officially recognized by others, or they can go directly to the competence development activities. Again, the latter route is the more informal learning route. Griffiths et al 2007 emphasizes assessment by others is the point where the formal learning route starts, where previous learning, which might have been either informal or formal, is turned into a formal recognition. When the cycle is passed through for the first time, the moment of assessment carried out by others is often referred to as intake assessment. The model is supplemented by Ogrean 2009 who notes that through orientation and assessment, the model serves as the basis for ensuring that the organisation is well positioned to achieve its vision and strategic goals. 2.3 Challenges towards SME Competence Development An introductory picture into the challenges facing SME competence development is provided by EC 2003 that notes that specific SME research and studies taking a more holistic view of competence development in SMEs are very difficult to find. As a result, the share of SMEs participating in competence development is lower than the respective one for larger enterprises (Mandl and Dorr 2004). SMEs are however not only constrained by limited information on competence development. According to Mandl and Dorr 2004 and EC 2003, smaller companies are indeed confronted with a wider range of barriers hindering the engagement in competence development than larger ones. The most important one they note constitutes the lack of time to both, strategically plan and participate in respective measures due to the dominance of the daily business. Mandl and Dorr 2004 specifically note that limited financial and human resources constitute the main barriers for SMEs to engage in competence development activities. Generally, employees are too much involved in the daily business life to have time to engage in qualification measures and due to the restricted number of employees no proxy is available in many cases. It is further noted that SMEs are often sceptical towards external advice and training as they are not informed about what is offered and/or are unsure about the quality or the price-performance ratio. Furthermore, the programmes offered do in most of the cases not correspond exactly to their needs. Stone 2010 observes that small firms often report difficulty accessing training tailored to their needs in terms of type and quality, scheduling and location. Additionally, SMEs fear that higher qualified employees will leave the company because of a lack of incentives such as higher salaries and career chances in larger enterprises. Larger firms often pay higher wage rates, so formal qualifications are perceived by many small employers as more valuable to employees than the business itself (Stone 2010). This is worsened by the fact that these firms lack competence development specialists in the company: very few SMEs indeed dispose of experts in the field of competence development leading to a lack of a systematic competence development scheme in these firms. This barrier is also mentioned in terms of lacking plans and personnel for conducting the training or identifying the company competence needs Another obstacle identified from empirical research (Stone 2010) is that that small employers commonly lack information on what training is available to them, as well as evidence of the benefits of training to set against perceived and real barriers to training activity. Even where they perceive training to be of value, releasing employees for especially formal training is more difficult for smaller employers. Lost working time is an especially important constraint with respect to owner-manager training. According to OECD 2002, for a variety of reasons, smaller firms are less likely than larger enterprises to provide external training to all grades of workers, including managers. In addition to financial constraints, information gaps make smaller firms less aware of the benefits they would obtain from management training and few see training as a strategic tool. Due to higher turnover in managerial staff, small firms may not realise the same benefits from training investments as larger firms. Chapter Three: Competence Development for SME Growth and Competiveness in Ghana 3.1 Competitiveness: Definition and Concept Competitiveness can be assessed at either the national or the enterprise level (UNCTAD 2005). At the national level, competitiveness has been defined as a nation ¿Ã‚ ½s ability to produce goods and services that meet the test of international markets while simultaneously maintaining and expanding real incomes of its people over the long term. The ability to compete in international markets is usually thought to be dependent on macroeconomic policies and conditions (trade policies and exchange rates among others) as well as on a nation ¿Ã‚ ½s comparative advantage that is its factor endowment (land, labour and capital). At the enterprise level, competitiveness is the ability to sustain a market position by, supplying quality products on time and at competitive prices through acquiring the flexibility to respond quickly to changes in demand and through successfully managing product differentiation by building up innovative capacity and an effective marketing system (UNCTAD 2005). The difference between the competitiveness of an enterprise and that of a nation is that the enterprise will cease to exist if it remains uncompetitive for long whereas a nation never goes out of business no matter how badly it is managed or how uncompetitive it is. When a nation loses its competitiveness, this is reflected in its deteriorating welfare conditions rather than elimination from the market. To achieve continuous competitiveness, enterprises must transform their ways of competing: they must shift from comparative advantages such as low-cost and labour, to competitive advantages, namely the ability to compete on cost and quality, delivery and flexibility. Such competitiveness may depend on the business environment, sophistication of company operations and inter-firm cooperation. According to UNCTAD 2005 however, since an enterprise does not produce in a vacuum, its competitiveness can only be measured within various types of market territories at the sub national, national and supra-national levels. The optimization of its capital resources (finance, technology, labour) commands its ability to penetrate each of these three market territories. In general, OECD 2004 identifies that it is up to the SMEs to implement competitive business operating practices and business strategies. However, the options available to SMEs are also closely related to the quality of institutions, markets and organizations that constitute the business environment. These will however depend on the efficiency and effectiveness of institutions, markets and organizations that encourage or discourage SMEs to take their cues for learning new ways of doing business, compare their own competitive characteristics with those of their rivals, and makes their decisions to invest, including the i ntroduction of innovations into their business strategies. In conclusion, UNCTAD 2005 notes that competitiveness is embodied in the characteristics of the firm, namely through: the current efficiency and effectiveness of the use of resources; the willingness and the ability to relate profitability to growth of capacity through continued investment. Although the authors concur with the view that competitiveness is created at the firm level, it is also emphasized that this is partly derived from a systemic context, emerging from complex patterns of interactions between government, enterprises and other actors, and will therefore exhibit different forms in each society. In addition, external competitiveness can be achieved by firms through exports, sustaining diversification and/or better quality of production, upgrading technology and skills, and expanding the base of domestic firms to compete regionally and globally. A firm is competitive in external markets depending on its ability to supply quality products on time and at competitive prices and to respond quickly to changes in demand by building up innovative capacities and market strategies. 3.2 Linking Competence Development Activities to SME Growth and Competiveness In the current competitive and complex economic environment, human capital is increasingly recognised by both countries and by business organisations as a key engine for growth and competitiveness (L ¿Ã‚ ½fstedt 2001, EC 2003, Moe 1995). Moe further identifies that companies will rarely be allowed to benefit significantly from competitive advantages in terms of monopolies or privileged access to certain raw materials, special means of production or protected markets. The success of any company will depend on its ability to compete in the management of resources and in exploiting markets which are in principle available to all. Competitiveness in the market-place, as well as for the best people, will also increasingly depend on the environmental qualities of the company. Thus, the key to success is in a superior ability to recruit, develop and mobilize human resources. The best way to adapt to the changing environment and new requirements is to increase the organizations competence and to use it in the best possible way (L ¿Ã‚ ½fstedt 2001). Against such a background of globalisation and competition, the availability of up to- date knowledge, also within the smallest enterprises, is of increased significance not only for the individual company but also for the economy as such (Mandl and Dorr 2004). The authors further note that the current economic environment is characterised by global competition, fast technology developments, shorter product life cycles, more demanding consumers and changing enterprise structures through merges, alliances and take-overs. Thus, the new growth theories make economic growth dependent on the rate of accumulation of both physical and human capital, defined by the levels of knowledge, skills and competencies of the workforce (EC 2003) Another important concept of how SME competitiveness could be advanced through competence development is provided by Koch, Gill and Ellstr ¿Ã‚ ½m 2006, who argue that competence development can result into increased individual and organizational performance. This view is supported by Stone 2010; in his famous quotation that  ¿Ã‚ ½Firms that train their workers are significantly less likely to close than those that do not ¿Ã‚ ½ (Kock, Gill and Ellstr ¿Ã‚ ½m 2006). In addition to this, Fretwell 2002 notes that employee morale is created by and directly proportional to the degree of employee competence supported by leaders throughout the organization. Employee morale within an organization in turn has a direct impact on the satisfaction level of its customers and the companys ultimate success. When relationship-based leaders promote core competency development of its workforce throughout the organization, an opportunity exists for ensuring high employee morale and customer satis faction, an increase in employee and customer retention rates, and a positive long-term outlook for the companys successful performance. Common knowledge suggests that employee morale has a direct impact on the satisfaction level of an organizations primary external customers. In general, firms that are able to invest in the development of their human capital and the improvement of organisational capabilities will be able to gain a competitive advantage need to survive in today ¿Ã‚ ½s competitive world. 3.3 Implications for SMEs in Ghana A clear analysis of the prevailing environment for SMEs in Ghana indicates that the combined forces of globalisation, technological progress and growing market demand pose a challenge to SME competitiveness. However, there are a number of ways in which small firms can get around this situation. To support analysis, several implications for SMEs in Ghana have been identified through the framework for SME competitiveness as displayed in the figure that follows: According to ECA 2001, the framework distinguishes between factors that are internal and external to the enterprises. The large circle in the centre of the diagram captures the key internal requisites and processes that might lead to increased competitiveness in enterprises. These inputs are often called technological capabilities and they are defined as the knowledge, skills and efforts required for firms to bring about an indigenous process of technological development. ECA further emphasizes that such capability acquisition cannot be taken for granted and often requires purposeful and cumulative efforts aimed at assimilating and modifying existing technologies, adapting them to local conditions. This is especially the case in Ghana since major innovations are still concentrated in technologically advanced countries. Figure 3: Framework to support SME Competitiveness Source: ECA 2001 Page 12 On the other hand, marketing capabilities are required to make the product available and attractive to the buyer. They include activities concerned with establishing a marketing channel from the factory to the buyer (direct sales or intermediaries), organising the logistics (related to mode and speed of transport), promotion (advertising, branding) and after sales service. Further more, research has shown that capability building and competitiveness also depend on factors external to the firm. As shown in Figure above, this external context is given first by the type of network or cluster to which the firms belong. It is now well recognised that the lonely enterprise is doomed and the quality of relationships with other producers, suppliers and customers is critical for learning and competing (ECA 2001). The framework further identifies clustering to facilitate the mobilisation of financial and human resources. In summary, clusters and networks constitute the immediate external context in which SMEs operate. The benefits of clustering are widely acknowledged: the spatial and sectoral concentration of firms generates externalities, favours inter-firm cooperation and constitutes a niche for effective policy support. This fact is reaffirmed by UNCTAD 2005, that observes that the competitive pressure of globalization brings about the need for SMEs to come together in order to survive and grow. The formation of trade associations and industrial groups/clusters are accordingly being promoted. A commendable example of such clustering for competitiveness is observed in the Ghana metalwork cluster in Suame that has generated positive externalities for SMEs, namely access to markets, labour market pooling and significant technological spill-overs. OECD 2010 for example further suggests that SMEs acquire new knowledge and skills that will enable them to obtain the ideas they require for innovation and the markets to exploit them. A major message is that small firms do not innovate by themselves but in collaboration with suppliers, customers, competitors, universities, research organisations and others. These networks will then help them overcome some of the obstacles to innovation linked to their small size. Needless to say however, the quality of their local entrepreneurship environments, strength of local technology partners, and the quality of local science-industry linkages is critical to SME com

Symbols and Symbolism Essay - Symbolism in The Great Gatsby :: Great Gatsby Essays

Symbolism in The Great Gatsby Symbolism is what makes a story complete. And it is used through "The Great Gatsby." Virtually anything in the novel can be taken as a symbol, from the weather, to the colors of clothing the characters wear. There are three major symbolic elements used in the novel, they are water, colors, and religion. Water to me seems to mean "wasted, and or lost time." I believe this because of several reasons. One being that he is separated from Daisy by an island sound. Gatsby wishes that the island sound be gone so that there will be no obstacle between him and Daisy, and he also wishes for time to be gone, the island sound seems to represent the distance of "lost time." Another is that in one of Gatsby's parties people start dancing in the water, displaying how they waste their time day after day with no real purpose. Gatsby's only purpose and ambition in life was to get back with Daisy, but after he starts to realize that it will not happen and that he has been consumed by wasted time he goes for a swim inside a pool he had never before used and is murdered. Another symbolic element is color. Several colors if not all are symbolic in the great Gatsby the more noticeable being white, green, and yellow. The first time Nick meets his cousin Daisy at Tom's and Daisy's home, she was dressed totally in white. So as the house and its furnishings are also tuned in light shades. This fact might be interpreted as beauty, cleanliness, wealth, innocence, virginity and also laziness. Daisy's color is white, she wears white dresses and recalls her "white girlhood", and this use of color helps her to characterize her as the unattainable "enchanted princess" who becomes personified as Gatsby' s dream. The green light at the end of Daisy's Buchanan' s dock, becomes a key image in "The Great Gatsby." The initial appearance of the green light occurs when Carraway sees Gatsby for the first time, standing in front of his mansion and stretching out his arms to `a single green light, minute and far away that might have been the end of dock' (p.

Analysis of King Solomons Mines and its Undertone of Sexism Essay

Analysis of King Solomon's Mines and its Undertone of Sexism During the nineteenth century, women were viewed as inferior to men. Men also saw women as prizes as well as possessions. We can see this undertone in the book King Solomon's Mines by H.Rider Haggard. Here, the writer uses Lyn Pykett's essay "Gender, Degeneration, Renovation: Some Contexts of the Modern" as the backbone for the comparison and discussion. As Allen Quartermain and company gets closer and closer to the diamonds, the description of the scenery is very feministic: "For the nipple of the mountain did not rise out of its exact center."(Haggard 101) As someone had pointed out that the map included in the book also has a hint of a female body, if turned upside down. The Sheba's breasts resemble the breasts of a female, and the location of the diamonds and treasures, which is further down the map, signifies the private of a female. "Woman is a wholly sexual creature, to be defined entirely in terms of sexual relations and the reproductive function."(Pykett 23) When a man meets a woman, his ultimate goal is to get, as Haggard implied in the book, the treasures of the woman; therefore, one can also relate to the scene where Allen Quartermain and company makes a great effort to reach Sheba's breasts. During that phase of the trip, they face many hardships, such as starvation and dehydration. This part of the book could be in terpreted as the time when a woman tells her man to slow down because she is not ready to be intimate, yet man, like the characters in the book would continue to strive to their ultimate goal. It is also important to note that after the characters reached Sheba's breasts; they found a stream, killed an inco and had a big feast. Here is a quote from Allen Quartermain after the treat, complementing the view of Sheba's breasts: "I know not how to describe the glorious panorama which unfolded itself to our enraptured gaze. I have never seen anything like it before, nor shall, I suppose, again."(Haggard 104) Another point that should be observed is the fact that the road to the treasure becomes wide and smooth: "It was a very different business traveling along down hill on that magnificent pathway†¦. Every mile we walked the atmosphere grew softer and balmier, and the country before us shone with a yet more luminous beauty"(Haggard 107). This part of the literat... ...he sick-room as swiftly, gently, and with as fine instinct as a trained hospital nurse. Day and night she watched and tended him."(Haggard 246) Also, Pykett's essay stated that during that time of the century, women's movement was fighting for the political and social position of women. "The developing scientific culture of the nineteenth century provided a range of very authoritative discourses which claimed to speak about woman and by extension, about and for women."(Pykett 20) This movement is surely against "man" and the norm during that time period. It seems like Haggard does not fully agree with this movement. Therefore, one can certainly identify the where about, the birth of this untainted character Foulata. In all, one can get an impression of anti-feminism from Haggard. For he believes the old traditional way. Where, men dominate. Such believe can be interpreted through his story and characters in King Solomon's Mines. Work Cited Haggard, H. Rider. "King Solomon's Mines." 1989. Oxford, New York: Oxford World Classics 1998 Pykett, Lyn. "Gender. Degeneration, Renovation: Some Contexts of the Modern." In Engendering Fiction (London: Arnold, 1995): 14-

Hamlets Sanity Essay -- Shakespeare Hamlet

Hamlet's Sanity Throughout Shakespeare?s play, Hamlet, the main character, young Hamlet, is faced with the responsibility of attaining vengeance for his father?s murder. He decides to feign madness as part of his plan to gain the opportunity to kill Claudius. As the play progresses, his depiction of a madman becomes increasingly believable, and the characters around him react accordingly. However, through his inner thoughts and the apparent reasons for his actions, it is clear that he is not really mad and is simply an actor simulating insanity in order to fulfill his duty to his father. Hamlet only claims madness because it allows him to say and perform actions he otherwise would be prohibited from, while keeping people from taking his actions seriously. This seems to be part of his initial plan that is first mentioned when he asks Horatio and Marcellus not to make any remarks in relation to his ?antic disposition (1.5.192).? Hamlet?s madness allows him to talk to Claudius, Gertrude, Ophelia, and Polonius in a manner unsuitable for a prince. He is often disrespectful and insulting in his remarks. Although his acting backfires during his speech to Gertrude, Hamlet is able to severely criticize her for her actions because she thinks he is insane. During the play he also makes many sexual innuendos and even blatantly sexual remarks towards Ophelia such as ?That?s a fair thought to lie between maids? legs (3.2.125).? His convincing insanity act gives him the chance to vent his anger towards Ophelia for her abandonment. Similarly, in another scene, he is able to tell Polonius his true feelings through his guise. Upon Polonius deciding to ?take leave? of Hamlet, Hamlet replies, ?You cannot, take from me anything that I will more willingly part withal (2.2.233).? Furthermore, Hamlet uses his madness as almost an excuse, and definitely part of his apology, towards Laertes for his murdering of Polonious. Would a madman be able realize he was mad and call his actions uncontrollable? Were it not for his ?madness? he would have been reprimanded rather than feared, pitied, or ignored. Hamlet?s madness redirects attention away from what he is thinking about his father?s death, and puts it on why he has gone insane. This allows only himself to know what he is truly thinking, does not require him to answer any questions as to why he might be acting strange, a... ...th him in case he is biased. A madman would not have had the foresight, reason, or possibly even care, to think in this very organized fashion. Even when questioning whether ?to be or not to be (3.1.64)? Hamlet is sane in his thinking. He measures the ?pros and cons? of his situation, and although at this point he appears mad to most everyone, he is most definitely sane in thought. Hamlet can be considered no worse than an eccentric, determined, and possibly single-minded man, who was made so by his father?s murder and his request for revenge. His feigned madness is maintained because it allows him to continue with his plans. This madness is not, however, sustained when guard is unnecessary. Maybe Hamlet thought too much, but he thought as a sane man would. He commits no actions without reason, and he is far too astute and organized to be proclaimed mentally unstable. Hamlet?s portrayal of a madman is also very complex because it allows not only his points to be made, but in a believably insane way, which contrasts greatly with the expected ramblings of a truly insane person. Bibliography: Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. Cyrus Hoy. 2nd ed. New York: Norton, 1992.

APC 309 Strategic Management Accounting

Module Title: Strategic Management Accounting Module Code: APC309 Individual assignment SUNDERLAND BUSINESS SCHOOL Date: 16/04/2011 Introduction: As Gowthope (2005, p. 148) said that: â€Å"A budget is a plan, expressed in financial and/or more general quantitative terms, which extends forward for a period into the future. Budgets are widely used in organisations of all types and sizes. † –Budgeting actually refers to the process that, after the strategic plan of the business has been made, companies made a short term plan (usually one year) to meet the strategic purpose. Traditional budgeting has offered a lot of contributions in so many years? ractice; no one has a better summary of all advantage of traditional budget as (Umapathy, 1987, p. xxii): â€Å"I believe that budgeting provides managers with a wonderful opportunity to rejuvenate their organisations. There is no other managerial process I am aware of that translates qualitative mission statements and corporat e strategies into action plans, links the short term with the long term, brings together managers from different hierarchical levels and from different functional areas, and at the same time provides continuity by the sheer regularity of the process. . So, many organisations use a „traditional budget? –the short term plan that meet the strategic purpose of the organisation- because of the easiness of preparation and its simplicity to coordinate budget across various departments. But it seems it is more and more unsuitable for the modern business. In this paper, I will give a brief induction for traditional budgeting; and then discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the traditional budgeting; last I will explain and evaluate the alternative approach that will be more accurate and work for today? dynamic markets. In the second part I will tackle the working capital concept by giving some ways to improve parts of Working capital in XYZ limited which is a medium sized manuf acturing business. Today, reducing costs, improving quality, and saving time through all parts of an organisation are the mantra of executives in every industry. In their pursuit of those goals, however, they tend to overlook working capital productivity because it is an indirect measure. They see it as a narrow financial calculation and miss its link to the overall systemic performance of an organisation. As a result, executives forfeit a powerful lens to track improvements across the company. Section 1: Budget and Budgeting: â€Å"Budget reflects a choice – not an easy choice, but the right choice. And when you think about it, the only choice. The choice to take the responsible, prudent path to fiscal stability, economic growth and opportunity. † –George E. Pataki. An American politician. The use of budgets dates back to 1920 where it was used as a financial tool for business enterprises (Hofstede, 1968, p. 20). The budget is an indispensable management tool or as Horngren, T. et al, (2000, p. 178) said: â€Å"the most widely used accounting tool for planning and controlling organisations†. A budget is an estimated plan over a given period of time expressed in monetary terms for the allocation of funds and distribution of scarce resources through internal communication to get the planned activities done. When used properly a well designed budget can be a helpful tool in decision-making, it can ensure the controlling process and performance measurements, facilitate communication, and can act as a motivational tool. (Highered. mcgrawhill, accessed 2011) â€Å"Budgeting may be defined quite simply as the process of compiling budgets and subsequently adhering to them as closely as possible† (Maitland, 2000, p. 1). Though budgeting process is complex, time consuming and requires a lot of decision-making (refer to Appendix, figure. for an outline of the budgetary process), it is an essential part of the strategic planning process that helps communicating the goals of the organization and facilitates, coordinates and controls various departments of the organization in order to steer the company to its desired goals, it involves the annual cycle to plan actions, better coordination and allocation of resources, and at the end measuring and controlling performance with regard to the pla ns agreed. Traditional Budgeting Approach (TBA): There are various methods to prepare a budget. Here we are concerned with the traditional approach to budgeting known also as the incremental budgeting which involves basing next year? s budget on the current year? s results plus an extra amount for estimated growth or inflation (APC309 Workbook, 2008). It is claimed that in many organisations the traditional budgeting remains widespread, and that 99% of European and US companies are using budgets and have no intention of abandoning them, it was also stated that over 60% of those companies claim that they are not highly satisfied with their current budgeting systems and are continuously trying to improve the budgeting process to meet the demands set for management in creating sustainable value (report: Better Budgeting, 2004, p. 2-3). From this perspective it is obvious that traditional budgeting approach and budgets in general hold many benefits as well as problems. Implementing TBA on a static market: When implemented within businesses, such technique will be more suitable for firms where each year? s performance and activities are similar to the previous one and conditions are predictable, an active market that can take up large sales which do not change much in relation with changes in prices and where demand is slack. If we take an example of a company „A? operating in a static market, let? s say that our company is selling „sugar?. So for such company using the TBA (Traditional Budgeting Approach) will be perfect and will work well because first, sugar is a necessary good so the market demand is steady i. e. the buying behavior of sugar does not change much, it is a food basic that people consume on a daily basis, the market demand in this case is predicted and quite unchanged, so „A? an constantly base its expenditures and estimated revenues on those of previous year and that makes it suitable for our company here to be using an annual budget based on historical data, thus, will make it easier to compare actual results with budgets and monitor organizational functions. Second, senior managers won? t be forced to spend an amount of time reviewing budgets. Again, focusing on the benefits of TBA we can say that this approach enhance controlling and is asy to prepare and understand , administratively unambiguous and simple to operate, so this method is cheap. It is probably the simplest method that ensures a quick and low preparation costs, however, I would insist on the point that for any business it? s good to provide and introduce change gradually, therefore, the only major weakness that would limit our company „A? is the fact that senior managers will never be able to have a general and overall picture of the performance, and also some people will be offended when it comes to supervision, humans tend o work at their lowest possible standards especially when there is lack of motivation and rewards, as a matter of fact the budgetary control touch on the culture of blame and mistrust, plus there is a fact that scarce resources will not be allocated effectively and efficiently so that would create an obstacle and prevent employees from performing at their best, and their creative spirit would then be stamp down. Implementing TBA on a dynamic market: â₠¬Å"Fixed budgets don? t work today. A budget is a too static instrument and locks managers into the past – into something they thought last year that it was right. To be effective in a global economy with rapidly shifting market conditions and quick and nimble competitors, organisations have to be able to adapt constantly their priorities and have to put their resources where they can create most value for customers and shareholders. † Juergen H. Daum. (A management and executive adviser) As Juergen explained, budgeting tools that were created to serve businesses back in the manufacturing era where production costs and revenues were foreseeable will not be effective in today? s „information age? where the market is globalised. This traditional annual budgeting system is not suitable or relevant in rapidly changing markets, many companies believe that budgets do not deal with intangible assets like brands and knowledge and fail to focus value (Davies T. and Boczko T. 2005 p. 408). In today? s global market where conditions and demands are unpredictable and hard to be determined in advance, an event like 9/11, the Arab? s revolution, and the earthquake that hit Japan will definitely change the way organisations do their businesses especially those big companies that are opened to the global market, in this matter, adopting a raditional budgeting approach will cause more damages. Considering a company „B? operating in a typical dynamic changing market let? s assume here that „B? is a hotel business where each year? s activities and number of tourists accommodated are completely different than the previous year and hard to be predicted, this kind of businesses system is changeable, adjusted constan tly and boost employees to give their best with waking up their creativity spirits, our company „B? needs a full use of its potentials and should keep innovating in order to survive in its market and that would not be achieved if employees and managers are not motivated. For „B? to become the success that all companies are striving to reach today, it has to avoid relying on historical performances or fix their employees performance on fixed budget to deliver the planned outcome, and if adopting any method of budgeting it should do so by designing it on a „bottom-up? basis. So, in a dynamic market a use of TBA would cause more problems to such companies. TBA is inaccurate for our company „B? where each year is very different to the previous one in terms of activities, cost, and market demand. Here, I would suggest the use of the ZBB (Zero Based Budgeting) approach since the number of tourists change according to seasons and unexpected events worldwide, it will be beneficial to re evaluate all of the company? s activities from a zero base annually and respond to any condition changes within the environment each year. Thus, inefficient and inaccurate activities will be removed and any wasteful cost will be cut which means a better allocation of resources, also, this technique promotes the bottom-up of budgeting which will automatically lead to bring up the motivation of employees. Nevertheless, the weakness of this method is that each pound spent must be justified, and if we have a big company which held too many activities, using a ZBB will generates more work that is hard to managed, and because decisions are made at the budget time, it will be difficult to react and deal with changes that might occur during the year, so here as a suggestion the company while performing the zero based budget may use a rolling budget every year. Furthermore, it will be challenging especially for private organisations that have indefinable activities and discretionary cost to be put into decision packages. There were some argues about the traditional budgeting approach being as a barrier to change. For that Hope and Fraser (1997) suggested a new alternative process to budgeting which is termed as â€Å"Beyond budgeting approach†. They claimed that this approach will free people from the top-down performance contract and allows a use of knowledge and best allocation of resources to satisfy customers and beat competitors. This alternative way of budgeting is about the development of leadership principles and help decision making to be made. The thing about it is that this model does not lead to change in some parts but require a systems transformation. (Refer to appendix, figure: 2 for a budgeting and beyond budgeting model). However, even with this model that will break managers free from the annual performance of budgeting, it has a disadvantage that it underpinned their organisation? s performance transformation. To alleviate all those limitations, companies must seek for alternatives approaches that combines and put in practice the benefits of each approach without forgetting to give priority to employees and managers? otivation, the human aspect behavior plays a crucial part in every business because success of any company nowadays rely on its number one asset which is the human labor (knowledge, know-how, expertise, experience†¦.. etc. ). Section 2: Working Capital: Nowadays, the market requires companies to diversify its products and services within a short time delivery, so, companies are striving to keep o n track with global markets? need and competition from other rivals in order to meet the customers? expectations and satisfy their needs. For that, companies will have to focus its resources and potentials to create the business? value, satisfy the shareholders and balance between its liquidity and profitability, this will be through improving all forms of cash flow and increasing their working capital productivity. In an article from (tutor2u, accessed 2011) working capital is: â€Å"The period of time which elapses between the point at which cash begins to be expended on the production of a product and the collection of cash from a customer† (Refer to appendix, figure. 3 for working capital cycle) Working capital is the concern of all firms; it is defined as the current assets minus the current liabilities (working capital = current assets – current liabilities). While in the APC309 Workbook, (2008) it was said that: â€Å"Working capital required because the company has to pay for goods and services before recovering the money from customers, and represented by the difference between current assets and current liabilities. † Company XYZ: a manufacturing business: Considering XYZ Limited, a medium sized manufacturing business. For such manufacturing businesses, XYZ needs to spend cash to purchase raw materials (inventories) and manufacture them. While waiting for the finished goods to be sold it needs to stock them. After selling the goods it can incur some costs. And before receiving the revenue (cash) it waits for the cash receipts from the customers (accounts receivable) and can delay the payments to vendors (accounts payable). So, working capital is an important source of cash throughout the business cycle. (Refer to Appendix, figure. 4 for a diagram of the Working capital cycle in manufacturing firms). Improving XYZ’s working capital: Focusing on working capital will help XYZ? s manager to create lasting value, examine the organisation? productivity and efficiency, and XYZ will become stronger. Starting with the following formula: (working capital = current assets – current liabilities) to analyze the operating cycle of XYZ in order to improve its working capital. Liquidity assessment: cut-down the operating cycle. Shorten XYZ? s operating cycle and cash holding costs by maintaining a cash balance, this would be done through a trim of the stock on hand – the XYZ company however should pay attention not to be in short of stock which will affect it badly and will be unable to meet its customers? emand-, also, make a consignment of stock obtained, lowering the time needed to manufacture the goods and selling them, and a cut down of cost which will definitely increase their cash. Stock when necessary: reduce inventories. Inventory surplus is one of the ways to neglect any cash sources, so in order to boost cash flow; XYZ would better reduce production time and its inventories and lowering them to avoid over production. By a reduction in inventories meaning made a consignment of stock, managing the supply chain and varying the goods manufactures. Also, to increase profitability, XYZ can benefit from cutting costs through this reduction in both inventories and warehouse space needed. Accounts receivable funding: get paid now. Until the customer pays XYZ, the sale is not considered as achieved. The working capital cycle must be completed or the company will regret making the sale if the customer went away without paying. So, XYZ should take into consideration terms of payments, invoices and well manage the cash. Some ways to improve the cash will be speeding up cash collection, ameliorate the reduction of payment terms and collection processes, besides, a strong credit control and a rigorous collection procedures will help to positively improve profitability. While collecting past due cash, XYZ should secure favorable payment terms, obtain payments, approve new customers and maintain a good relationship with clients that pay on time while keep an eye and be careful from both doubtful and risky clients. Accounts payable: negotiating the best agreements possible. While dealing with suppliers, XYZ should rethink payment terms and avoid early payments. Paying its suppliers before the due date is strongly unacceptable and better be avoided, and accomplished within or after the due date. Raising terms and procedures of payments, and optimizing discount is highly recommended. Seeking an increase in cash flow operation and the company? s profitability will be achieved by asking for longer credit terms from suppliers, and if possible take inventories on consignment. Other ways to improve working capital can be to consider leasing when thinking of purchasing equipments this will improve the amount of cash in short term only but can lead to additional costs in long term. Also, consider outsourcing and benefit from price differences. And always negotiate and try to get discounts, besides there is the possibility of converting debtors? cash into factoring or utilizing a bank loan or overdraft. For a XYZ Limited to have working capital the current assets must exceed the current liabilities, it is managing the use of both current assets and current liabilities to improve the company? s short-term liquidity. There is a direct connection between working capital cycle and business performance. Hence, the most important thing that? s needed to improve and have an efficient working capital cycle is not actually focusing on components of balance sheet that are: inventory, accounts receivable, and accounts payable but is the business cycle TIME that is measured from the time we identify the customer? s need, till we receive the payment of the finished product. Then, by reducing any necessary cash or inventory we will succeed to reduce our working capital cycle. Almost any business performance improvement effort influences the working capital (W. C) cycle productivity of the business here talking about XYZ and will also affect other businesses that deals either directly or indirectly with it. For example if XYZ did not succeed in collecting cash from its clients it cannot be able to pay its suppliers and debtors and that will be bad since the relationship between them and XYZ will be sensitive so, that would build a miss trust and XYZ will find difficulties to be supplied or get credits this later will cause trouble because it will not have any raw materials and the business will then stop operating. Taking XYZ limited as a manufacturing business, any of the ways to improve its W. C that was mentioned above will help cut down costs and boost overall working capital productivity by shrinking inventories and driving down accounts receivable. Also, the results behind paying suppliers before the due date would lead to reduction in working capital productivity. XYZ and should closely track its competitors? improvements to ensure that it is performing better. Furthermore, it can be useful to benchmark itself with regard to other industries for perceptions and opportunities to improve working capital productivity and cash flow. Benchmarking the performance of XYZ? system as a whole more accurately with regard to benchmark with other companies in the same sector would be of benefits. References: -APC309 Module Workbook, 2008. „Strategic Management Accounting Version 1. 0?. University of Sunderland. -Davies T. and Boczko T. , 2005. „Business Accounting And Finance. Second Edition.? Mc Graw Hill Education, p. 408. -Drury C. , (2001) „Management Account ing for Business Decisions. Second Edition.? Thomson Learning. -Gowthope C. , (2005) „Management Accounting for non specialists, 2nd Edition?. Thomson Learning, p. 148. -Hofstede G. H. , (1968) „The Game of Budget Control?. Koninklijke Van Gorcum & Comp. N. V. , Assen, p. 20. -Hope J. and Fraser R. , (1997) „Beyond budgeting: breaking through the barrier to „The third wave. Management Accounting, London. -Horngren Charles T. , Foster G. , Datar M. (2000) „Cost Accounting: A Managerial Emphasis, 10th edition?. Upper Saddle River (NJ). Prentice Hall, p. 178. -Lucey T. (1996) „Management Accounting, 4th Edition?. London: Letts, p. 108. -Maitland I. (2000) „Budgeting for Non-Financial Managers: how to Master and Maintain Effective Budgets?. London. Pearson Education, p. 1. -Satish B. M. (2002) „Working Capital Management and Control: Principles & Practice?. New Age International (P) Limited, Publishers. Web sites: ? Behavioral Aspect of Budgeting: http://highered. mcgraw-hill. com/sites/dl/free/0074711717/57451/Budgeting_Ch09. pdf [Accessed the 25th February 2011] ? Better Budgeting: A report on the Better Budgeting forum from CIMA and ICAEW. (2004), Chartered Institute Of Management Accountants. P. 2-3 http://www. cimaglobal. com/Documents/ImportedDocuments/betterbudgeting_techrpt_2004. pdf [Accessed the 28th February 2011] ? The Beyond Budgeting Round Table (BBRT) www. bbrt. org [Accessed the 5th March 2011] ? Beyond budgeting http://www. juergendaum. com/bb. tm [Accessed 5th March 2011] ? Working capital cycle http://tutor2u. net/business/finance/workingcapital_cycle. htm [Accessed 20th March 2011] http://blog. maia-intelligence. com/2009/06/15/working-capital-management-and-bi-part-ii/ [Accessed 20th March 2011] Appendix: Source: Lucey, 1996, p. 108. Figure. 1: Outline of the budgetary process. Figure. 2: From traditional budgeting model to the emerging management model „beyond budgeting? Source: http://blog. maia-intelligence. com Figure. 3: Working capital cycle. Source: tutor2u. net [accessed 20th March 2011] Figure. 4: working capital cycle for a manufacturing firm