Total Quality Management xxxxx Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Total Quality Management xxxxx Company - Essay Example oblems the company faced having atrophied somewhat due to its own success, a victim of its own success in a way, and also by the onset of competition chiefly from Apple with the iPhone and the Android army led by Samsung. Indeed, by the time the sale had been completed, Apple and Samsung had completely taken over the market for smart phones, generating the bulk of all profits for the entire industry, even as Nokia continued to tank in terms of both sales and profits. While the top top performers prospered, Nokia continued to bleed money from its unsuccessful attempts to hawk Microsoft Windows Phones and to revive its fortunes after the collapse of its Symbian handset business. What remains of the company afterwards, on the other hand, remains formidable, with the networks infrastructure business providing the bulk of all revenues. The two other groups, essentially patents and research and development on the one hand and the mapping business on the other, are deemed as forming the int ellectual heart of the Nokia business, and is expected to generate new businesses in terms of new product innovations, new mapping products, and new ways to monetize the large cachet of patents that Nokia owns. The idea is that having sold its handset business to Microsoft, which had been bleeding money and causing Nokia’s finances to collapse, Nokia can reboot itself and change course, with a new strategy that is able to leverage its intellectual property assets, its good name, and its very vital relationships within the industry (Cheng, 2014; Rockman, 2014; Thomas, 2014; Scott, 2014). The partnership with Microsoft began as a software deal, with Microsoft providing incentives for Nokia’s using Windows Phone software that amounted to some on-going cash infusions to support the use of the software for Nokia’s phones. The problem with that partnership is that Windows Phone was not ready to compete with iOS and with Android at the time of the sealing of the deal, and so even as

National Express rejects takeover bid from First Group (Financial Research Proposal

National Express rejects takeover bid from First Group (Financial Times, 29 June 2009) - Research Proposal Example 1.2 billion pounds to banks (Gill, 2009, p 1). The United Kingdom government has also complicated National Express financial woes by the government refusal to renegotiate the conditions for its East Coast rail franchise with the transport business. The hard-line position adopted by the government is attributed to East Coast rail franchise being the most lucrative in the United Kingdom serving the United Kingdom commercial hubs such as Edinburg and London. Besides, citing the government role in its financial crisis, National Express board also cited its quest to solve the ?1.2 billion debt as its first priority before reconsidering the bailout from FirstGroup limited. In, addition, National Express board viewed FirstGroup as their rival in the transport business and thus postulated a sellout of the company to FirstGroup as surrender to a business enemy. National Express boards were thus eager to retain the legacy of their company’s in the transport industry (Miller, 2011, p 85) . Despite, the rejection of FirstGroup offer, acquisition and acquisition provide the best bailout opportunity and option to rescue National Express from the current financial hardships. This research thus draws on the case sturdy of National Express and FirstGroup to rationalize on the best solution to solve a corporate organization financial solution. This involves an analogy acquisition and acquisition as a financial solution with other financial crisis solution mechanisms recommended in fiance and accounting. The research establishes higher financial crisis solution rationality from acquisition and acquisition formulated financial solution compared to other possible and readily available financial and accounting options. Literature Review An acquisition mimics government bailout to corporations during financial crisis. The similarity between acquisitions and acquisition is evident in the supply of a large amount of money to the corporation under financial crisis, which is subseq uently used to pay its bankruptcy threatening debts. These facts are manifest in the proposed acquisition between National Express and FirstGroup, whereby Nation Express was offered a large sum of money by FirstGroup to pay its 1.2 billion debts. The ?1.2 billion proposed buyout of National Express is comparative to the government’s financial bailout to financial corporation during the 2007-2008 global financial crises (Milmo, 2009, p 1). In United States, the government acquisition styled bailout totaled $13.9 trillion leading the government bailout to be considered as more of an acquisition buyout of the financial stricken institutions than a rescue bailout package (Birdsall & Fukuyama, 2011, p 31). Acquisitions and acquisition of financial stricken corporations is also licked to the nationalization of finically poor performing or financially endangered businesses by the government (Finkelstein & Cooper, 2010, p 116). The same financial crisis incident illustrates the role of nationalization which mimics acquisition and acquisitions in the rescue of financial institutions from bankruptcy during economic downturns. A typical example of this financial rescue strategy is illustrated by the nationalization of the Northern Rock Bank in the United Kingdom at the verge of its bankruptcy during the financial crises. The Northern Rock Bank case also illustrates the irrationality of the hard-line position by a corporation board or the corporate organization stakeholders,

Sustainability and the Balanced Scorecard Essay Example for Free

Sustainability and the Balanced Scorecard Essay Practices that are good for the environment and society may appear to have a negative impact on corporate profitability, but use of the balance scorecard can result in a clearer picture of the relationship among sustainable practices, corporate strategies, and profitability. This article explores three ways that sustainable practices can be incorporated into BSC and discusses issues that should be considered when selecting sustainability related measures, targets, and goals. It also examines ways to enhance both internal and external reporting of sustainability-related performance. Adopting green operating practices is certainly good for the environment, yet the implications of such practices for a business’s profitability may be viewed as both positive and negative. On one hand, by contributing to product differentiation in the market- place and enhancing organizational image to investors and customers (both current and potential), green practices may increase a company’s profitability. On the other hand, green practices may actually reduce profitability because of extra costs that result from implementation and continuation of sustainable practices. For example, installing solar panels on a building may lower monthly electricity bills, but, concomitantly, the reduced electricity bills may be more than offset by the high purchase and installation costs associated with the panels. The sustainability concept now runs rampant in business literature, but, unfortunately, there is no agreed- upon definition of sustainability or its underlying tenets. â€Å"Sustainable† or â€Å"green† practices will be found throughout the operations of a business. These practices can be included in the design features of an organization’s buildings, vendor  selection in the supply chain, production of goods and provision of services, and packaging features and distribution elements of those products and services, and the practices will be a significant consideration in a product’s ultimate disposal. The BSC typically reflect four interrelated perspectives of a company: financial, customer, international business prowess, and learning and growth. Each perspective has a series of performance measures, targets, and goals that reflect the firm’s long-term strategies. The financial perspective takes the viewpoint of the company shareholders and typically uses traditional financial measures such as operating cash flows, return on investment, and changes in operating income over time. The customer perspective addresses product and firm differentiation strategies as well as value creation from the viewpoint of the organizations client base. The international business processes perspective includes measures of the efficiency and the effectiveness of the firms operations. The learning and growth perspective focuses on the creation of organizational value through employees and innovative practices. The first method is to add a fifth perspective to the BSC. It may be the simplest approach for companies that want to emphasize sustainability as a key corporate value or a critical strategy. The sustainability perspective consists of social and environmental performance indicators that link with the other four BSC dimensions and highlights the importance of social, environmental, and economic responsibility as a corporate goal. This approach could allow management to establish less definitive measurements without compromising organizational aggregation. The second approach is sustainability-balanced scorecard (SBSC). A separate SBSC is an appropriate for many companies such as those existing BSC but want to measure or integrate sustainability without the disruption and cost of adopting a full-scale BSC. SBSC include the following four perspectives: sustainability, stakeholders, processes and learning. The sustainability perspective would emphasize the triple bottom line of economic prosperity, environmental quality, and social justice. The stakeholder perspective would  incorporate measures of business ethics, labor practices, and impact on society. The processes perspective would focus on specific organizational external and internal processes products, tools, and systems. The learning perspective would stress organizational synergy, training, and research and development. A strength of the SBSC is that a well-defined corporate sustainability strategy is not essential to its development. The third is integrating sustainability measures throughout the four perspectives. Management has to both define the metrics that are important in measuring progress towards organizational sustainability objectives, and how sustainability (or lack thereof) will affect the future. Incorporating new measures are important the firms financial well being as customer satisfaction, manufacturing cycle efficiency, and patent-generating research and development. The integration method also works well for companies that have adopted a more all-encompassing definition of sustainable practices that includes environmental, health, and social aspects. This article relates to accounting class because of the topics covered such as sustainability, triple bottom reports, return on investment, and balanced scorecard. The article concludes with developing sustainability metrics. These provide tangible guidance to how the strategies implemented help create shareholder value. There are three ways that sustainable practices can be incorporated into the balanced scorecard: adding a fifth perspective to the BSC, a sustainability-balanced scorecard, and integrating sustainability measures throughout the four perspectives. My perspective is, I know how important it is to be not only more â€Å"green† today, but as cost effective as possible. The three methods don’t look too complicated to be implemented. The article states at the end that companies are being pressured by stakeholders to become more transparent, and such transparency is becoming the norm rather than the exception. The 2008 KPMG international survey of corporate responsibility reporting found that, in 2008, nearly 80% of the worlds largest 250 companies issued some type of responsibility report. These responsibility reports included governance, ethical, environmental and social issues. It is now more important than ever to go green.

The World According To Garp English Literature Essay

The World According To Garp English Literature Essay The story is set in the past. It starts in the year 1942, when Jenny Fields injures a man at a movie theater. The exact date at the end of the story, is somewhat more difficult to determine. Garp was born at the end of the second World War, I think around 1944 or 1945. He lived to be 33 years old. The book ended when he died, so that should be in the year 1977. It quite easy actually to determine, because of the books first line: Garps mother, Jenny Fields, was arrested for wounding a man in a movie theater. Altogether the story takes about 35 years. The story is set in a couple of different places. It starts of in the US, when Garp is at Steering school, where his mother is head nurse. When he graduates from Steering, he decides to go to Austria, to develop himself as a writer. He lives in Vienna for about 1 or 2 years. Then he returns to the US. Their he decides he finally wants to marry the love of his live, Helen. For quite some time he lives with Helen, in a house of their own. The exact location isnt known. When the accident happens (for a precise description: see the summary), they go to live with Jenny, who is taking care of them at that moment. The last couple of years they live at Steering school (again), where Helen is teaching English. The story tells us about the life of an extraordinary man, T.S. Garp. He is the son of the famous feminist Jenny Fields, which will hunt him for all his life (and eventually is an indirect cause of his death). In his younger years Garp lived at Steering School, where his mother was head nurse. As soon as he graduates, he goes to Vienna with his mother, where he resides for about one or two years. Then he return to the US, to marry Helen. They bought their own house and lived happily for a couple of years. Then Garp finds out Helen is unfaithful. Then the accident happens and the Garps move in with Jenny, who starts nursing them. When the family Garp was ready to live by themselves again, they bought a house at Steering, where Helen starts teaching English. Eventually Garp was murdered by a feminist (for specific details see the summary). The storys main characters are: T.S. Garp, Helen Holm and Jenny Fields. T.S. Garp: Garp is the lead character in the story. Actually it is his story (which is quite obviously concerning the books title). The story is that of Garps life. What happens to him, what people are involved, and how it affects him mentally. He is a strange man in some ways. His ideas of what is normal, and what isnt, are different from the common perceptions. On the other hand he is a real funny guy. His sense of humor is real good (which makes the book much more fun to read). Helen Holm: Helen is the daughter of Garps wrestling coach Ernie Holm. Garp met Helen when he started wrestling, and he always liked her. But Helen said she would only marry a writer. Therefore Garp decided to become a writer. When Garp returns from Vienna, he started to live with Helen. They got two children: Duncan and Walt. Helen studied English and taught at a university, before she eventually taught English literature at Steering School. Jenny Fields: Jenny Fields is the mother of T.S. Garp. She became famous by writing the first feminist novel. This will be a disadvantage for Garp for all his life. He will always be knows (even with the sales of his own novels) as the son of à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦. Jenny was nurse a Boston Mercy Hospital during the second World War. There she met Garps father. When Garp was born, she took him to Steering, where she became head nurse. It was at Steering and Vienna that she wrote her famous book. She stopped being nurse as soon as she became rich and famous, and started working for charity. The books minor characters are: Duncan Garp, Walt Garp, Ernie Holm, Cushie Percy, Roberta, Ellen James, John Wolf and Dean Bodger. The message of the story is not so obvious in this story. You learn a lot about the different characters, what kind of people they are, and what theyre capable of. So maybe thats the message: people arent all bad, except some. You should always be aware of the dangers ahead. Thats what eventually killed Garp. But still, I think the author wrote this book to entertain people. He always making fun of characters, or making a quick little joke. I dont think he wrote it to learn the reader something. Its not that kind of story. The story ends with Garps death. Before he was murdered, the narrator says things like: If he noticed it, he might have prevented it. So he should have seen the danger ahead. He should have noticed something was wrong. Your Opinion Well of course, Garp is the most sympathetic character in the story. Besides him, Helen is always considered sympathetic by the narrator. So these two are the (main) characters, that I found the most sympathetic. Garp is a very humoristic man, but also a loving father and husband. He always good towards others, willingly to help someone if necessary. Helen is a somewhat strange woman. Is diffecult to explain in what way. Maybe she doesnt really show her emotions. But still, she is always kind and nice to others. The most unsympathetic characters are Pooh Percy and Mrs Ralph in my opinion. Pooh Percy is quite obvious: she kills Garp for some ridiculous reason. She jealous at him, therefore thinks her problems will be solved by killing him. Mrs Ralph is a lot less obvious. Her attitude isnt that of an unsympathetic person. But still, she neglects her son Ralph, and tries to get Garp in trouble by seducing him. Shes full of self-pity, and tries to get advantage out of others. When I read the story I was constantly surprised. You really dont know whats going to happen. Garp as a person is unpredictable, but his environment might be even more unpredictable. Thats an important element for the story, because it inflicts on Garps personal life. On the other hand, the story is full of humor. Not only jokes that Garp makes, but also events that take place. Irving writes with a great ironic tone in his story, which I consider is brilliant. My favorite part of the book is where Garp is trying to catch the child molester. The child was raped in the park by a man with a mustache, so Garp went of and soon he saw a man with a mustache: Garp yelled at the figure, an elderly gentleman with a white mustache, who looked over his shoulder at Garp with an expression so surprised and ashamed that Garp was sure hed found the child molester. He thundered through the vines and small, whiplike trees to the man, who had been peeing and was hastening to fold himself back into his trousers. He looked very much like a man caught doing something he shouldnt have done. I was justà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the man began, but Garp was upon him and thrust his stiff, cropped beard into the mans face. Garp sniffed him over like a hound. If its you, you bastard, I can smell it on you! Garp said. Funny thing is, that the man wasnt involved in the rape at all. He was just taking a leak over there. Imagine, youre just taking a leak, someone yells at you, is sniffing your genitals and accuses you of being a child molester. Irving did make me aware of certain things, that I probably already knew before I read the book. The world is unpredictable, you dont know what lies ahead. This novel is a great example of what can happen. This message becomes clear by the storyline in the novel, but also by the short stories that Garp wrote. They are strange, especially the world according to Bensenhaver. This is a great example of strange things that can happen to you. But if this message is important? I dont really know. It probably is, but you dont learn this kind of ethics by reading a book. I gained by gaining more experience in life, not by reading a book. If I could ask Irving a couple of questions, It would be these: how did you manage it to make up such a story, where everything is unpredictable but afterwards explainable? Because thats the strength of the novel. Afterwards everything makes sense. Every event is for the sake of the novel. I would like to know if it was all Irvings imagination or he did it otherwise. why didnt you make the story that long? Its getting quite boring the last hundred pagesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Like I said, the last hundred pages are just too much. I think its also for the sake of the book. how did you manage to write a novel within a novel? You can see the similarity in Garps writing style and Irvings, but there are some differences. Is this done purposely, or not? C. Sumamry The story starts with the life of the nurse Jenny Fields. She doesnt like men and she loathes the feeling she calls lust. Because shes a nurse and cares a lot about people, she wants to have a child but she doesnt want to have anything to do with a man, she isnt searching for sex or a relationship, so it seems almost impossibleto get pregnant. But in a very special way, she manages to get pregnant. When the baby is born she calls him T.S. Garp because this was the fathers name, and the only thing he was able to say. She stops working at the hospital and finds a job, as a nurse, at Steering, a school for boys. Garp grows up there and when he is old enough he attends school there too. The Percy familie that lives at Steerings too, has a dog called Bonkers. It is not a very friendly dog, one day he bites a piece out of Garps ear. Stewart Percy isnt nice eather, he refuses to put the dog down. Garp doesnt care much for sports but he is obligated to preform at least one sport. His mother chooses wrestling for him and becomes friends with the coach. The coach has a daughter, Helen, and garp is fond of her, but she isnt really interested in him. Garp is a talented wrestler, but he decides that he wants to become writer and when he has finished high school, Garp and Jenny leave for Vienna. A few days before they leave, Garp and Cushie Percy, Stewart daughter, have sex in the infirmary. On their way there, Garp meets Bonkers and bites off a piece of the dogs ear. Garp and Jenny both start writing in Austria. Jenny is writing a book about her life as a nurse and her opinion on lust. Garp is about eighteen years old now and often visits the whores in Vienna. he likes women and sex and this is very weird for Jenny because she cant imagine why someone would enjoy anything like that and she finds it peculiar that her son can have these feelings while she loathes thins like that. Garp writes a lot to Helen because she promised him that if he writes something she likes, she will marry him. In the beginning he ony writes letters, the real writing of a book, hasnt really started. Finally he finishes a stroy called the pension Grillparzer Helen really likes it. She also read Jennys book and she really liked that too. Garp finishes a whole book, Procrastination. Jenny and Garp fly back to the U.S. and Helen and Garp get married. Jenny and Garp find a publisher for their books. His name is John Wolf. Jennys book turns out to be a huge succes. It is found to be a controversial book about feminsme. Jenny doesnt really like this label but she does like it that her book is such a succes. She has a lot of fans, including a group of women who call themselves Ellen Jamesians, after a girl who got raped and got her tongue cut off. The women have also cut their tongues off and arent able to say a word. Garp finds them really weird but his mom takes care of everyone. She becomes very popular, even the nurse dress she always wears is copied by many women. Garps book doesnt become as succesfull as his moms work but it isnt a failure either. Garp and Helen have a child, a boy called Duncan and Jenny and Garp move. Onde day, Garp hears that Cushie Percy has died in childbirth. He calls Stewart Percy to offer his condolences but what he doesnt know is that Cushie died motns before, and he is calling Percy on the day Bonkers died. Stewart thinks that tis is another one of Garps cruel jokes. Garp writes a second novel, called Second Wind of the Cuckold, the success of it is smaller than that of his first novel, and Helen takes on a second job. Their friends, the Fletchers, have marital problems and the Garps try to help them. But this doesnt really work out. For a while, Garp is involved with Alice and Helen with Harrison Fletcher. Jenny introduces them to Roberta Muldoon, she used to be a man and a famous football player but she got surgery and now shes a woman, and Jennys bodyguard. Garp and Roberta become close friends and play a lot of squash together Helen and Garp have a second child, a boy again, they call him Walt. Because Helen works a lot, Garp takes care of the house keeping. He cookes, cleans the house, does the laundry and takes care of the children. He is often very worried about them and when Duncan spends the night at a friends house, he doesnt trust it because he thinks the mom is verry sloppy and isnt able to take good care of her child. He goes there in the middle of the night and finds the house to be very dirty. The mother is drunk and tries to seduce him but he doesnt fall for it and takes Duncan home. One day he finds Helen reading a story written by one of her students, called Michael Milton. He isnt like Garp at all and that is what attracts Helen to Michael. An ex-girlfriend of Michael tells Garp that his wife is having an affaire. Garp is very angry and forbids Helen to see Michael again and tells her to phone Michael to break with him. He gives Helen the time for it by taking the children to a movie but he calls to their house to check if shes still home. When she doesnt answere the phone he drives home like a maniac though the weather is very bad. He crashes into Michales car, Helen and Michael are inside of it. Walt is killed and Garp, Helen Duncan and Michael are seriously injured. The Garps move to Jennys house and she nurses them. While the family gets well, Garp starts writing again. In his new novel he puts all his grief. While he is writing the book, Helen and Garp have a third child, a girl and they call her Jenny. John Wolf reads the first chapter of Garps new book, but he really dislikes it and doesnt want to publish it. Theres a woman called Jillsy Sloper, she cleans Johns office and he often gives her a novel to criticize it. She reads Garps new book and she doesnt like it but she isnt able to put it away and finishes it, something she rarely does, so John decides to publish the book anyway. John writes the jackets of the book himself and is afraid that Garp wont approve them. He is also affraid of bad reviews and he advices the Garps to go on a holiday abroard.They decide to go to Vienna and they have a great time there, until Roberta calls them to tell that Jenny Fields got killed, someone shot her. The Garps fly immediately back home. The funeral that is organised for Jenny will be the first feminist funeral ever, and not even Garp is allowed to come, but Roberta dresses him in womens clothes to make sure no-one will recognise him. But Bainbridge Percy, Cushies younger sister recognises him anyway. She accuses him of murdering her sister. Garp runs away and takes the next plane home. On the plane he meets the real Ellen James. She lost her parents a little while ago and she was on her way to see Jenny Fields. Garp allows her to come and live with his family. When he is back at steerings, the dean tells him that both Stewart Percy and Helens father have just died. The Garps decide to stay at Steering. Helen will teach and Garp will be the new wrestler coach. Jennys house is turned into a foundation supporting all women with problems that is runned by Roberta.. Garp wants to keep the Ellen Jamesians out of the house because he thinks theyre insane. One day Garp is training with his wrestling team in the gym. Helen is also there, she is reading a book in the corner of the room. Then Bainbridge Percy wakls in and killes Garp by shooting him. Helen lives to be quite old and never remarries. Roberta looks after Duncan. Ellen James becomes a writer. Jenny Garp outlives all the others and becomes a doctor.

Harry Potter: Good or Evil? Essay -- Essays Papers

Harry Potter: Good or Evil? Throughout adolescents, a child is taught to use his or her imagination. A child is read stories of a talking cat or a silly old bear while still young and naà ¯ve. The child is read such stories to encourage use of his or her creativity. The ideas of such characters are for pure amusement and are obviously fictional. Unfortunately, today there are issues of censorship that stifle a person’s creativity. The most recent book being criticized by censors is J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Censors claim that the reading of such novels encourages witchcraft, and therefore should be banned. Although critics of the Harry Potter series are well intentioned in their ideas of banning this novel in schools, the actual banning of the novel is far more destructive. What these critics fail to recognize is that the reading of such an imaginative novel allows for children’s creativity to flourish, rather than allowing them to turn to negative forms of entertainment. T he banning of certain novels in schools is extremely important in today’s society, but only when the novel is destructive to a child’s upbringing. In past history, such classics as Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird, and J.D. Salinger’s Catcher In The Rye have been banned. Critics justified their actions by stating that such novels are inappropriate for school age children. Critics have now targeted the highly creative Harry Potter series. At the beginning of the school term the American Library Association was bombarded with complaints from parents about potentially harmful content in the series. Unfortunately, opinions vary and there is no simple answer. Although citizens of the United States are given the right to Freedom of Press under the First Amendment, this does not allow schools to incorporate every piece of literature within the curriculum. Schools are torn because as Linda Harvey states in â€Å"USA Today†, â€Å"No school includes everything. Few public schools would accept books advocating drunken driving, bulimia or rape. And itâ₠¬â„¢s rare to find novels in school libraries about teens who proclaim salvation through Jesus Christ† (Harvey). Reading material that encourages such horrendous acts as drunk driving and rape should be the focus of the countries problems, rather then a child’s fantasy series that only encou... ...children to communicate with furniture.’ And we all know where that can lead, don’t we† (Blume)? Works Cited Blume, Judy. â€Å"Is Harry Potter Evil?† The New York Times. 22 Oct. 1999. 17 Nov. 2000 http://www.lexis-nexis.com/universe. Cain, Michael Scott. â€Å"Crazies At The Gate.† Portals Reading, Writing, and Critical Thinking. Eds. Mary T. Segall and William R. Brown. Fort Worth, Texas: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999. 599-608. Harvey, Linda. â€Å"Protect our Kids.† USA Today. 6 Sept. 2000. 17 Nov. 2000 http://www.lexis-nexis.com/universe. Plato. â€Å"On Censorship of Literature for School Use.† Portals Reading, Writing and Critical Thinking. Eds. Mary T. Segall and William R. Brown. Fort Worth, Texas: Harcourt Brace College Publishers, 1999. 586-589. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter And The Sorcerer’s Stone. New York: Scholastic Inc, 1998. Schmidt, Dominic. â€Å"Choice, Not Censorship, Is the Issue Over ‘Harry Potter’ in School.† Los Angeles Times. 7 Nov. 1999. 17 Nov. 2000 http://www.lexis-nexis.com/universe. â€Å"Harry Potter faces biggest foe yet in book censors.† USA Today. 6 Sept. 2000. 17 Nov. 2000 http://www.lexis-nexis.com/universe.

Exploring Teacher Pay Incentives Essay examples -- education reform, t

This study analyzes four articles’ study findings as well as authors’ conclusion on the teachers’ incentive pay issue based on the studies presented by the authors. Those articles include Steele, Murname and Willnett (2009) that seek to analyze the effect of incentives on teachers’ retention. In the article, a natural experiment done in California between the year 2000 and 2003 involving an incentive of $20,000 that was called the Governor’s Teaching Fellowship (GTF) analyzes the incentives’ effect on talented teachers’ attraction and retention in low-performing schools. In addition, Fryer (2011) is the other article presenting an analysis of teacher’s incentives’ effect on students’ success in terms of attendance, academic performance or graduation. The article utilizes a school-based random trial involving more than 200 public schools in New York. Further, the analysis reviews an article by Figlio and Kenny (2006) which is a documentation of students’ performance’s relationship with teachers’ performance incentives. The study utilizes United States data combining the authors’ survey that was conducted in 2000 with National Education Longitudinal Survey on students and schools in regard to teachers’ pay incentives. Finally, Nael (2011) is an article on an analysis of education incentive schemes through a review of empirical studies that evaluates educators’ performance pay programs. Thus, the article will provide a suitable review on designs of student’s achievements measures and teachers’ performance metrics. Article 1: Relationship between teacher pay incentives and student’s performance Figlio & Kenny (2006) presents the first systematic documentation of the relationship that exists between students’ performance and the ... ...g jobs at the existing pay. In addition, incentives would retain the teachers as they would not be motivated to look for alternative jobs. (Barron & Lynch, 1987) Works cited Barron, J. & Lynch, G. Economics. London: Richard D. Irwin Inc, 1987. Print. Figlio, N. D. & Kenny, L. â€Å"Individual Teacher’s Incentive Programs and Student’s Performance†. NBER Working Paper 12627, October 2006. Print. Fryer, G.R. â€Å"Teachers Incentives and Students Achievement: Evidence from New York City’s Public Schools†. NBER Working Paper 16850, March 2011. Print. Neal, D. â€Å"The Design of Performance Pay In Education†. NBER Working Paper 16710, January 2011. Print. Steele, J., Murname, R. & Willnett, J. â€Å"Do Financial Incentives Help Low Performing Schools in Attracting and Keeping Talented Teachers? Evidence from California†. NBER Working paper 14780, March 2009. Print.

Ferguson Foundry Limited

————————————————- Case: Ferguson Foundry Limited (FFL) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Date: March 10 2013 To: Mark Ferguson, President From: Carl Holitzner Re: FFL’s Lower-Than-Budgeted Profit for the Fiscal Year Ended May 31 2010 The major issue is determining why Ferguson Foundry Limited’s (FFL) actual profit was $367,600 lower than budgeted, despite selling 2,000 more wood stoves (12,000 instead of 10,000 units). This will be explained using Variance Analysis to demonstrate the underlying reasons why the company failed to meet its president’s expectations.FFL profit for 2010 was below budget due to many factors both production and marketing related. From a production perspective, there were 3 major areas of concern all of which were unfavorable with respect to Variance Analysis (As shown in Exhibit 3): 1. Direct Labor 2. Variable Overhead 3. Fixed Cost The $139,2 00 unfavorable Direct Labor Variance can be attributed to many reasons however it is most likely linked to the management team. Due to the early retirement of the sales manager, the production manager being hospitalized and the accountant quitting, it can be understood that inefficiencies were bound to arise.Without proper management, labor reduced overall productivity of the company, as these workers took 121,200 hours to produce 12,00 stoves rather than the standard 120,000 hours that it should have taken. This reduced Net Income by $18,000 (Labor Yield Variance calculation). Secondly, the problem arising from Direct Labor also transcends to the Variable Overhead, as it is used as its cost driver. As a result, the $69,600 unfavorable Variable Overhead Variance can also be attributed to the more hours undertaken to produce the 12,000 stoves.With the lack of an inefficient management team, overhead could have accumulated through inefficient use and/or the budget could have not even accurately portrayed current rates for overhead items. The third problem with regards to the production perspective concerns the increase in fixed costs. In particular, the fixed manufacturing cost increased by $30,000 over budgeted costs, which in turn resulted in a reduction of net income by the same amount. This could have resulted due to several reasons such as additional machinery being required to handle the increased sales volume.However at this point it is unclear given the information provided and so further investigation must be conducted in an effort to better budget for future fixed costs. From a marketing perspective, there were also 3 major areas of concern all of which were unfavorable with respect to Variance Analysis: 1. Price 2. Fixed Cost 3. Sales Mix In analyzing the price changes, although it was beneficial to increase the sell price of the Basic Wood Stove ($300 to $325), this income benefit was significantly outweighed by the reduction in sell price of the Del uxe Wood Stove ($800 to $700).In the end, the price changes of both products resulted in a $300,000 reduction in profit (Sales Price Variance). Another reason for FFL’s lower than budgeted profit, although obvious and minor, had to do with the increase in selling and administration cost. As can be seen in Exhibit 3 by the Fixed Selling & Administration Budget Variance, an increase in the fixed costs reduced net profit by $7,000. The third problem area, concerning the marketing perspective, involved the difference in sales mix from actual to budget.FFL actually sold more Basic Wood Stoves and fewer Deluxe Wood Stoves than budgeted. Unfortunately, the Deluxe Wood Stove possessed a higher standard contribution margin per unit than the Basic ($210 to $80). Therefore the difference in the mix of sales caused FFL’s net profit to be reduced by $234,000 (Sales Mix Variance). Ultimately, more market research must be conducted to better understand consumer wants and needs and th us be able to efficiently budget company products accordingly to reach profitability goals. APPENDIX EXHIBIT 1| | BASIC (Actual)| BASIC (Std. | DELUXE (Actual)| DELUXE (Std. )| Selling Price| $325| $300| $700| $800| Variable Costs:| Direct Materials| $67. 50| $70. 00| $171. 00| $190. 00| Direct Labor| $104. 00| $90. 00| $248. 00| $240. 00| Overhead| $52. 00| $45. 00| $124. 00| $120. 00| Sell & Admin| $15. 00| $15. 00| $40. 00| $40. 00| Total Variable Costs| $238. 50| $220. 00| $583. 00| $590. 00| Contribution Margin| $86. 50| $80. 00| $117. 00| $210. 00| CONTRIBUTION MARGINS TABLE| Illustration of some calculations involved: *Using the Actual Results Table Provided in Exhibit AActual Unit Selling (Basic) = Sales Revenue ? Sales Volume (units) = $2,340,000 / 7,200 units = $325 Unit Direct Materials (Basic) = Direct Materials Cost ? Sales Volume (units) = $486,000 / 7,200 units = $67. 50 *Using the Unit Cost Standards Table Provided in Exhibit B Std. Unit Direct Labor (Basic) = DL Std . Qty. Per Unit x DL Std. Rate Per Hr. = 6 hrs. x $15. 00 per hr. = $90 APPENDIX EXHIBIT 2| For the Year Ended May 31 2010| | ACTUAL| FLEX-BUDGET VARIANCE| FLEX BUDGET| SALES-VOLUME VARIANCE| STATIC BUDGET| TOTAL VARIANCE| Quantity (units)| 12,000| | 12,000| | 10,000| |Sales Revenue| $5,700,000| ($300,000)| $6,000,000| $250,000| $5,750,000| ($50,000)| Variable Costs| $4,515,600| ($99,600)| $4,416,000| ($181,000)| $4,235,000| ($280,600)| CM| $1,184,400| ($399,600)| $1,584,000| $69,000| $1,515,000| ($330,600)| Fixed Costs| $919,500| ($37,000)| $882,500| | $882,500| ($37,000)| Net Income| $264,900| ($436,600)| $701,500| $69,000| $632,500| ($367,600)| FLEXIBLE BUDGET REPORT| GIVEN CALCULATED FILL IN THE BLANK VARIANCES: ($) = UNFAVORABLE & $ = FAVORABLE Illustration of some calculations involved for Flex Budget: Flex Sales Revenue = Std.Sell Price Per Unit x Actual Sales volume (units) Basic Wood Stove = $300 x 7,200 units = $2,160,000 Deluxe Wood Stove = $800 x 4,800 units = $3,840,000 Total Flex Sales Revenue = $6,000,000 Flex Variable Costs = Std. Variable Price Per Unit x Actual Sales Volume (units) Basic Wood Stove = $220 x 7,200 = $1,548,000 Deluxe Wood Stove = $590 x 4,800 = $2,832,000 Total Flex Variable Costs = $4,416,000 Flex Fixed Costs = Static Fixed Costs APPENDIX EXHIBIT 3| | FLEX BUDGET VARIANCE| SALES VOLUME VARIANCE| SALES VARIANCES| | | | Sales Price| | $300,000 U| -| Sales Mix| | -| $234,000 U|Sales Quantity| | -| $303,000 F| Sales Volume | | -| $69,000 F| TOTAL SALES VARIANCE| | $300,000 U| $69,000 F| | | | | VARIABLE COST VARIANCES| | | | Direct Materials| | $109,000 F| -| Direct Labor| | $139,200 U| -| Overhead| | $69,600 U| -| Selling & Admin| | $0| -| TOTAL VARIABLE COST VARIANCE| | $399,600 U| -| | | | | TOTAL CM VARIANCE| | $399,600 U| -| | | | | FIXED COST VARIANCES| | | | Mfg. Budget| | $30,000 U| -| Sell & Admin Budget| | $7,000 U| -| TOTAL FIXED COST VARIANCE| | $37,000 U| -| | | | | TOTAL VARIANCE| | $436,600 U| $69,000 F| | | | | VA RIANCES TABLE| U = UnfavorableF = Favorable APPENDIX Illustration of some calculations involved in creating Exhibit 3: SALES VARIANCE Section Sales Price Variance = Actual Units sold x (Actual Sell Price – Budgeted) Basic Wood Stove = 7,200 x ($325-$300) = $180,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = 4,800 x ($700-$800) = $480,000 U Total Sales Price Variance = $300,000 U Sales Mix Variance = (Actual Sales Mix % – Budgeted) x Actual total units sold x Budgeted CM per unit Basic Wood Stove = [(7,200/12,000)-(4,500/10,000)] x 12,000 x $80 = $144,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = [(4,800/12,000)-(5,500/10,000)] x 12,000 x $210 = $378,000 UTotal Sales Mix Variance = $234,000 U Sales Quantity Variance = (Actual total units sold – Budgeted) x Budgeted Sales Mix % x Budgeted CM per unit Basic Wood Stove = (12,000-10,000) x (4,500/10,000) x $80 = $72,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = (12,000=10,000) x (5,500/10,000) x $210 = $231,000 F Total Sales Quantity Variance = $303,000 F Sales Volume Variance = (Actual Sales Volume – Budgeted) x Budgeted Cm per unit Basic Wood Stove = (7,200-4,500) x $80 = $216,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = (4,800-5,500) x $210 = $147,000 U Total Sales Volume Variance = $69,000 F Ferguson Foundry Limited ————————————————- Case: Ferguson Foundry Limited (FFL) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Date: March 10 2013 To: Mark Ferguson, President From: Carl Holitzner Re: FFL’s Lower-Than-Budgeted Profit for the Fiscal Year Ended May 31 2010 The major issue is determining why Ferguson Foundry Limited’s (FFL) actual profit was $367,600 lower than budgeted, despite selling 2,000 more wood stoves (12,000 instead of 10,000 units). This will be explained using Variance Analysis to demonstrate the underlying reasons why the company failed to meet its president’s expectations.FFL profit for 2010 was below budget due to many factors both production and marketing related. From a production perspective, there were 3 major areas of concern all of which were unfavorable with respect to Variance Analysis (As shown in Exhibit 3): 1. Direct Labor 2. Variable Overhead 3. Fixed Cost The $139,2 00 unfavorable Direct Labor Variance can be attributed to many reasons however it is most likely linked to the management team. Due to the early retirement of the sales manager, the production manager being hospitalized and the accountant quitting, it can be understood that inefficiencies were bound to arise.Without proper management, labor reduced overall productivity of the company, as these workers took 121,200 hours to produce 12,00 stoves rather than the standard 120,000 hours that it should have taken. This reduced Net Income by $18,000 (Labor Yield Variance calculation). Secondly, the problem arising from Direct Labor also transcends to the Variable Overhead, as it is used as its cost driver. As a result, the $69,600 unfavorable Variable Overhead Variance can also be attributed to the more hours undertaken to produce the 12,000 stoves.With the lack of an inefficient management team, overhead could have accumulated through inefficient use and/or the budget could have not even accurately portrayed current rates for overhead items. The third problem with regards to the production perspective concerns the increase in fixed costs. In particular, the fixed manufacturing cost increased by $30,000 over budgeted costs, which in turn resulted in a reduction of net income by the same amount. This could have resulted due to several reasons such as additional machinery being required to handle the increased sales volume.However at this point it is unclear given the information provided and so further investigation must be conducted in an effort to better budget for future fixed costs. From a marketing perspective, there were also 3 major areas of concern all of which were unfavorable with respect to Variance Analysis: 1. Price 2. Fixed Cost 3. Sales Mix In analyzing the price changes, although it was beneficial to increase the sell price of the Basic Wood Stove ($300 to $325), this income benefit was significantly outweighed by the reduction in sell price of the Del uxe Wood Stove ($800 to $700).In the end, the price changes of both products resulted in a $300,000 reduction in profit (Sales Price Variance). Another reason for FFL’s lower than budgeted profit, although obvious and minor, had to do with the increase in selling and administration cost. As can be seen in Exhibit 3 by the Fixed Selling & Administration Budget Variance, an increase in the fixed costs reduced net profit by $7,000. The third problem area, concerning the marketing perspective, involved the difference in sales mix from actual to budget.FFL actually sold more Basic Wood Stoves and fewer Deluxe Wood Stoves than budgeted. Unfortunately, the Deluxe Wood Stove possessed a higher standard contribution margin per unit than the Basic ($210 to $80). Therefore the difference in the mix of sales caused FFL’s net profit to be reduced by $234,000 (Sales Mix Variance). Ultimately, more market research must be conducted to better understand consumer wants and needs and th us be able to efficiently budget company products accordingly to reach profitability goals. APPENDIX EXHIBIT 1| | BASIC (Actual)| BASIC (Std. | DELUXE (Actual)| DELUXE (Std. )| Selling Price| $325| $300| $700| $800| Variable Costs:| Direct Materials| $67. 50| $70. 00| $171. 00| $190. 00| Direct Labor| $104. 00| $90. 00| $248. 00| $240. 00| Overhead| $52. 00| $45. 00| $124. 00| $120. 00| Sell & Admin| $15. 00| $15. 00| $40. 00| $40. 00| Total Variable Costs| $238. 50| $220. 00| $583. 00| $590. 00| Contribution Margin| $86. 50| $80. 00| $117. 00| $210. 00| CONTRIBUTION MARGINS TABLE| Illustration of some calculations involved: *Using the Actual Results Table Provided in Exhibit AActual Unit Selling (Basic) = Sales Revenue ? Sales Volume (units) = $2,340,000 / 7,200 units = $325 Unit Direct Materials (Basic) = Direct Materials Cost ? Sales Volume (units) = $486,000 / 7,200 units = $67. 50 *Using the Unit Cost Standards Table Provided in Exhibit B Std. Unit Direct Labor (Basic) = DL Std . Qty. Per Unit x DL Std. Rate Per Hr. = 6 hrs. x $15. 00 per hr. = $90 APPENDIX EXHIBIT 2| For the Year Ended May 31 2010| | ACTUAL| FLEX-BUDGET VARIANCE| FLEX BUDGET| SALES-VOLUME VARIANCE| STATIC BUDGET| TOTAL VARIANCE| Quantity (units)| 12,000| | 12,000| | 10,000| |Sales Revenue| $5,700,000| ($300,000)| $6,000,000| $250,000| $5,750,000| ($50,000)| Variable Costs| $4,515,600| ($99,600)| $4,416,000| ($181,000)| $4,235,000| ($280,600)| CM| $1,184,400| ($399,600)| $1,584,000| $69,000| $1,515,000| ($330,600)| Fixed Costs| $919,500| ($37,000)| $882,500| | $882,500| ($37,000)| Net Income| $264,900| ($436,600)| $701,500| $69,000| $632,500| ($367,600)| FLEXIBLE BUDGET REPORT| GIVEN CALCULATED FILL IN THE BLANK VARIANCES: ($) = UNFAVORABLE & $ = FAVORABLE Illustration of some calculations involved for Flex Budget: Flex Sales Revenue = Std.Sell Price Per Unit x Actual Sales volume (units) Basic Wood Stove = $300 x 7,200 units = $2,160,000 Deluxe Wood Stove = $800 x 4,800 units = $3,840,000 Total Flex Sales Revenue = $6,000,000 Flex Variable Costs = Std. Variable Price Per Unit x Actual Sales Volume (units) Basic Wood Stove = $220 x 7,200 = $1,548,000 Deluxe Wood Stove = $590 x 4,800 = $2,832,000 Total Flex Variable Costs = $4,416,000 Flex Fixed Costs = Static Fixed Costs APPENDIX EXHIBIT 3| | FLEX BUDGET VARIANCE| SALES VOLUME VARIANCE| SALES VARIANCES| | | | Sales Price| | $300,000 U| -| Sales Mix| | -| $234,000 U|Sales Quantity| | -| $303,000 F| Sales Volume | | -| $69,000 F| TOTAL SALES VARIANCE| | $300,000 U| $69,000 F| | | | | VARIABLE COST VARIANCES| | | | Direct Materials| | $109,000 F| -| Direct Labor| | $139,200 U| -| Overhead| | $69,600 U| -| Selling & Admin| | $0| -| TOTAL VARIABLE COST VARIANCE| | $399,600 U| -| | | | | TOTAL CM VARIANCE| | $399,600 U| -| | | | | FIXED COST VARIANCES| | | | Mfg. Budget| | $30,000 U| -| Sell & Admin Budget| | $7,000 U| -| TOTAL FIXED COST VARIANCE| | $37,000 U| -| | | | | TOTAL VARIANCE| | $436,600 U| $69,000 F| | | | | VA RIANCES TABLE| U = UnfavorableF = Favorable APPENDIX Illustration of some calculations involved in creating Exhibit 3: SALES VARIANCE Section Sales Price Variance = Actual Units sold x (Actual Sell Price – Budgeted) Basic Wood Stove = 7,200 x ($325-$300) = $180,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = 4,800 x ($700-$800) = $480,000 U Total Sales Price Variance = $300,000 U Sales Mix Variance = (Actual Sales Mix % – Budgeted) x Actual total units sold x Budgeted CM per unit Basic Wood Stove = [(7,200/12,000)-(4,500/10,000)] x 12,000 x $80 = $144,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = [(4,800/12,000)-(5,500/10,000)] x 12,000 x $210 = $378,000 UTotal Sales Mix Variance = $234,000 U Sales Quantity Variance = (Actual total units sold – Budgeted) x Budgeted Sales Mix % x Budgeted CM per unit Basic Wood Stove = (12,000-10,000) x (4,500/10,000) x $80 = $72,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = (12,000=10,000) x (5,500/10,000) x $210 = $231,000 F Total Sales Quantity Variance = $303,000 F Sales Volume Variance = (Actual Sales Volume – Budgeted) x Budgeted Cm per unit Basic Wood Stove = (7,200-4,500) x $80 = $216,000 F Deluxe Wood Stove = (4,800-5,500) x $210 = $147,000 U Total Sales Volume Variance = $69,000 F Ferguson Foundry Limited CASE ANALYSIS: FERGUSON FOUNDRY LIMITED (FFL) EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Introduction After reviewing the financial statements for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2010, Mark Ferguson, President of Ferguson Foundry Limited’s (FFL), was disappointed with the results. Operating Income was $367,600 below expectation, despite having sold 2,000 wood stove units greater than budgeted. To determine which areas FFL’s actual performance was better or worse than expected, a variance analysis will be conducted.However, it is important to note that variance analysis alone can only emphasize areas that need improvement, and not determine the reason for these discrepancies. A further investigation is warranted once determining the issues outlined through variance analysis. Analysis – Qualitative and Quantitative There are many areas within FFL’s production which have been proven to be unfavourable, and where immediate improvement is necessary. Of particular concern is the variable overhead, where an unfavorable variance of $180,600 was discovered (Appendix F).Within this variance, the variable overhead costs, both manufacturing and non-manufacturing of the Deluxe model are what seem to be causing inefficiencies. The Deluxe model accounts for $157,200 of the $180,600U mentioned above. Other Key Areas of Concern Outlined Through Variance Analysis: * Appendix I: Although the selling price of the basic model increased by $25, a $100 reduction in the selling price of the Deluxe model counterbalanced this increase, and negatively affected income. Appendix E: The difference between the budgeted and actual sales mix had an adverse effect on revenues. The Deluxe model had a greater CM/unit of 210, and was budgeted at 55% of the sales mix, however, it only ended up accounting for 40% of the actual sales mix. * Appendix H: The market share of FFL resulted in being less than expected (10% to 9%), in a market which was larger than expected/budgeted (133,333 to 100,000 uni ts). Recommendation and Implementation We recommend a proper rectification of the issues with regards to FFL’s unfavourable variances.Firstly, is it of utmost importance to have all the necessary components of management (i. e. supervisors, directors, and managers) on the job and ready to manage. Once FFL has the personnel to solve these significant issues, the following must be corrected, in order: Direct labor inefficiencies and high overhead costs, most importantly. Then, they can â€Å"fine tune† and solve higher than usual selling and administrative expenses and high fixed overhead costs. Further instructions with regards to solving these issues are outlined in Appendix K.However, if FFL is not capable of reorganising the company by itself, external help is necessary to implement specific changes that will improve FFL’s bottom line. REFERENCES Bhimani, Alnoor et al. Management and Cost Accounting. Pearson Education Limited, 2012. Print. APPENDIX A DIRECT MA TERIAL VARIANCES Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX B DIRECT MATERIAL VARIANCES CONTINUED *540,000 + 912,000 = 1,452,000 *315,000 + 1,045,000 = 1,360,000 Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX C DIRECT LABOR VARIANCESNote: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX D DIRECT LABOR VARIANCES CONTINUED Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX E SALES VARIANCES 7200/12000 = 0. 6 4500/10000 = 0. 45 Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX F VARIABLE OVERHEAD VARIANCE *Variable Selling & Administrative Expenses are labeled as Non-Manufacturing in this table. Total Variable Overhead for Basic and Deluxe = 27,000U + 18,000F = 9,000U Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX G FIXED OVERHEAD VARIANCE *750,000 ? 115,000 = 6. 217 Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX H MARKET VARIANCES Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX I VARIANCE OVERVIEW Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPE NDIX J ANALYSIS OF THE UNFAVORABLE VARIANCES Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable Note: $421,300 represents the sum of all unfavorable variances that have brought down the company’s annual earnings. Note: F = Favorable and U = Unfavorable APPENDIX K RECOMMENDATIONS: REDUCING THE TOTAL UNFAVOURABLE VARIANCE