Accounting Theory Concepts with Critical Analysis

Question: Discuss about theAccounting Theory Concepts with Critical Analysis. Answer: Introduction of Accounting Theory Concepts Accounting theory concepts are referred as doctrine or elementary accounting postulates. These concepts can be said as rules implement as guides to actions. A concept is general and recommends a guide. There are many probable events in accounting but rules could not be approved for every conceivable ultimately (Hub Pages, 2011). Some significant accounting concepts are as follows: The Accrue Concept: According to accrue concept, profits acquired by conducting events are affects only to the equity of owner. It specifies that the profits should be recorded when sales occurred, whether cash from sales due accrue or is in arrears. It can be said that it is same as matching concept of accounting. Expenditures are also concurrently known at the time of event conducted and it is not compulsory to know at the time of cash paid. This concept holds that revenue which was earned and cost which was incurred that produces revenue have to be match and reported for the accounting period. Business Entity: Business and owner of business are different so all the transactions which occurred in business can be documented as they affect the business and are different from the owner. But in the case of company, difference can be maintained easily. Because under companies, laws and rules follow according to the business and company has its own personality. Company can sue by its own name in place of sue by name of all its owners or shareholders because company has its own existence. Company is treated as entity with separate existence from the proprietary business. Quantifiable / Money Measurement: This concept says that under accounting, every item should be assessable in terms of money (i.e. in cent and in dollar). Each item in accounting should be placed in the terms of money. The cause behind it is that money can be accepted in value and as medium of exchange. Duality: It is based on the principle of book keeping of double entry system. Each transaction occurs by debit and credit items. For example, if an asset purchased in cash then asset will be debited or cash will be credited. As per double entry system, each transaction affects two items. Periodicity: Generally, accounting period is of one year, although for the purpose of management, some time reports are prepared for short period of time which is known as interim statements. Until the final liquidation of business, the results cannot be measured appropriately. So, accounting period of one year is used to measure or evaluate the changes in financial position of business. Realization: Under this concept, revenue recognized in an accounting period is discussed. The four categories of realization are as follows: Revenue can be identified at the time of scale Revenue can be identified during production period Revenue can be identified at the time of production is completed Revenue can be identified consequent to the sale (for example, at the time of collection of cash). Revenue can be recognized at different points of time. For example, at the time of production of goods, at the time of delivering the goods, or at the time when transaction is completed. In most of the cases, choice depends on norms of industry. Historical: The concept of historical cost tells that the base of accounting recognition of all asset attainment, providing or receiving services, incurred expenses and all other transactions is cost. So this concept refers that acquisition cost of assets are maintained throughout the process of accounting (Miss CPA, 2012). Analysis of Annual Report of Common Wealth Bank of Australia Common wealth bank of Australia which is listed corporation under Australian ASX is taking as topic this report. As per annual report of 2015 of Common wealth bank, they are practicing accounting policies which are (Financial Report, 2015): Financial statements are prepared as per International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) issued by International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Concept of periodicity is applicable while preparing financial report. The annual report prepared yearly. Financial report has been created as per historical cost concept, except some assets and liabilities evaluated at fair value. In financial report, amounts have been rounded as per ASIC, to the closest million dollars. Financial statements are presented in Australian dollars, which is functional and presentation currency of common wealth bank. Foreign currency transactions are also occurring in functional currency. Income and expenses are offset in income statement while assets and liabilities are offset in balance sheet. Revenue is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable. Profit before income tax of bank increases from $M 11,007 to $M 11,670 in 2015 with compare in 2014. And profit of group are 10,645, 11,997 and 12,612 in year 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively which is also increasing. Net profit after income tax increases from $M 8,442 to $M 8,976 and net profit attributable to equity holders of bank remains same as net profit after income tax because there non controlling interest is absent. The increasing profits showing good financial position. Total comprehensive income net of income tax of bank is increases from $M 8,883 to $M 9,488 in 2014 to 2015. And income of group is $M 8,558, $M 9,303 and $M 9,799 in year 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. It can be said that income of bank and groups of bank is increases. As per the balance sheet, total assets increases from $M 830,877 to $M 920,167 in 2014 to 2015 and total liabilities increases from $M 782,442 to $M 868, 420 in 2014 to 2015. Hence, net assets and total shareholders equity increases from $M 48,435 to $M 51,747 in 2014 to 2015. Dividend distributed at the end of half year. Dividend per share is 164, 200, 183, 218, 198 and 222 cents per share from December 2012 to June 2015. Dividend payout ratio was 77.4% in 2013 which decreases in 2014 to 75.5% and then increases in 2015 to 75.7%. On the yearly basis, dividends per ordinary shares of group are 364, 401 and 420 (in cents per share) in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. Dividend per share is also showing growing trend of groups of bank. Earnings per share are distributed as basic earnings per share and fully diluted earnings per share. Basic earnings per ordinary share are 474.2, 533.8 and 557.0 (in cents per share) in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. While fully diluted earnings per share are 461.0, 521.9 and 542.7 (in cents per share) in 2013, 2014 and 2015 respectively. Both earnings are increases in current year with compare to previous year. It reflects the sound financial position of groups of Common wealth bank. It is beneficial for investors or shareholders. As per cash flow statement, net cash provided by operating activities while net cash used in investing and financing activities. Finally, cash and cash equivalent decrease from $M 6,432 to $M 1,321 in 2014 to 2015. And this effects on cash and cash equivalent at the end of year. Bank adopts the risk management framework to manage risk. Accounting standards are followed by the bank while preparing financial report for the year ended 20 June 2015. Conclusion Financial statements under financial report are showing good financial position of bank. All the accounting standards and accounting concepts are followed while preparing financial report. All the obligations are meeting by bank while preparing financial report. The directors are accountable for preparing the financial statements. These statements are prepared in accordance with laws and regulations which are applicable and accepted by bank. Accounting standards required fair presentation of financial statements for each financial year and as per annual report financial position, financial performance and cash flows showing fair presentation. Here, accounting policies are selected and applied properly by the directors. The true and fair presentation of financial statements enhances believe of investors in bank. All the information provided in the report included accounting policies which provide relevant and reliable information of bank. As per sound financial position, it can be ass essed that bank ability to continue as going concern. Recommendation The financial position of bank is good and sound as its profits are increasing. Dividend per share and earnings per share increases with good rate, which is beneficial for investors and shareholders to invest in the bank. Income and profits are increases which show that bank performing well in market. Assets are more than liabilities which reflect sound financial position and also tell bank can easily meets its obligations. References Hub Pages, (2011). Accounting Theory Concepts, Assumptions And Conventions. Retrieved on 30 August 2016 from: https://hubpages.com/business/Accounting-Theory-Concepts-Assumptions-And-Conventions Financial Report (U.S. Version) Year ended 30 June 2015. Commonwealth Bank of Australia [AU]. Retrieved on 30 August 2016 from: https://www.commbank.com.au/content/dam/commbank/about-us/shareholders/us-investors/docs/US_Annual_Report_2015.pdf Miss CPA accounting and finance tips, (2012). Basic Accounting Principles And Concepts. Retrieved on 30 August 2016 from: https://misscpa.com/basic-accounting-principles-and-concepts/

What Would You Do When Confronted with Injustice free essay sample

One example of a social injustice is when a person commits a crime for the first time or gets in trouble with the law for the first time, gets prosecuted to the fullest but a person who is a convicted criminal keeps getting away with the crimes they are committing. Social injustice continues to resurface all around, taking new forms as society grows and changes. In the book Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck, George, Lennie and Candy, are constantly working towards conquering their dreams and are held back by Curleys selfishness. A few example of social injustice is racism and sexism. Racism is shown when the white men shun Crooks for being an African-American. They treat him differently and make him sleep in a barn away from all the other workers. This still goes on in our society today. Sexism is an important theme in the book. It is also an injustice where the workers mistreat Curley’s wife because she is a female. We will write a custom essay sample on What Would You Do When Confronted with Injustice or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The workers call her a â€Å"tramp† and many other vulgar names because she wears red shoes and is the only female character in a male-dominated story. Another category that would fall under injustice is discrimination against Homosexuality. One of the biggest social injustices going on in the world today is the discrimination against gay and lesbian individuals. For a long time in many (but not all) societies, homosexuals have been persecuted, physically attacked, denied rights to housing, jobs, love and most other things that a good society offers merely because of their orientation. We have â€Å"Gay Pride† because it is necessary for homosexuals to express the pride they have in themselves as individuals. Everyone has a right to have pride in their selves. I have a gay friend who gets bullied every single day for being a homosexual. I’ve watched kids taunt and bully him for years, at school and outside of school. I do the best I can to stand up and be there for him but since he came out of â€Å"the closet. † Hes has been very lonely and quiet and not himself anymore. Also, he has been isolating himself from people close to him, including parents, and I sometimes get scared of what might happen to him if his emotions get the best of him. I sometimes call him at night just to make sure hes fine and when I call him sometimes he would break down and then I would cry because it just breaks my heart knowing someone I love is like this. I know this isnt something you can get over so quickly, but I just cant stand seeing him like that. I dont know what else I can do for him, apart from just being there for him. Does this make you angry? I do feel angry about injustice and I believe that people have been and will continue to be subjected to injustice in most societies. The result will be that many people will feel bad about themselves. The only way to fix an injustice is to learn from the mistakes and act upon them as they are presented in the future. If I was confronted with an injustice, I would do the same thing I did for my friend as I would for myself; stand up against it. I would never allow somebody get in my head and tear me down. With all of the past bulling, it has made me the strong young lady that I am today. I like to stand up for my beliefs. Even if nobody approves of my beliefs, the hold the right to formulate their own opinions and to honor mine. People learn and grow through past experiences and those have definitely outlined my beliefs today. Social injustices will be around forever. It is up to us to learn from them.

Human Resources Management in Business free essay sample

Human resources department is a part of business that deals with its staff. The department is seen as part of strategic management, in the effort to achieve the goals of the business, and is crucial to the businesss success. Some of the human resources departments responsibilities include recruitment, retention, selection, job enlargement/enrichment, motivation and leadership, job role allocations, training, and payroll appraisals. The departments decisions are influenced by, however, internal issues for workforce planning. One of the issues could be the cost of its operations. The business would want to minimize cost, so any decisions made by Human resources should be cost-effective. Another issue could be the companys business strategy, for example when the company want to expand, the Human resources department would have to recruit more employees; if the company wants to cut costs and increase profit, the department would have to consider reducing the number of staff. We will write a custom essay sample on Human Resources Management in Business or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page It is also responsible for training current employees for any new equipments. There are also external factors that affect how workforce planning is carried out. These external factors include government actions that affect the business environment. For example, the government can impose new minimum wages that would increase the Human resources departments spending on wages payment. The education situation of the country can also affect Human resources, as education is the means that workers gain their skills; without proper education, Human resources wouldnt be able to recruit highly skilled workers without paying large salaries or recruit foreign nationals. An important external factor is the economic situation of the economy. If unemployment rates are high, Human resources would be able to recruit new employees much easier and cheaper than when the economy is in boom, which makes labour more expensive. The age ranges of the labour force can affect Human resources decisions, since they dont want to recruit too old of employees who are going to retire soon. The business often want more young employees who can potentially contribute to the company for a long period of time, and can also be more innovative. Another external factor is technology advancements, as this may result in the introduction of new equipments into the company. The Human resources department would then have to organise training for their current staff to enable them to work with the newly acquired machineries. There are many benefits to Human Resources planning. One of the most important purpose of the Human Resources department is to motivate staff. This can be done by means of promotions, training, and rewards. Another benefit is that Human Resources help import important skills into the business through the process of recruitment. Human Resources would compose a recruitment process that selects the right people for the business. Without a Human Resources department, a firm cannot efficiently recruit employees that they need. Also, the department helps the business plan the right number of workers. They make sure that there are no redundancy or shortages of labour in the company, and if there is any, Human Resources would fix this either by cutting or recruiting staff. Human Resources department also ensures smooth operations in regards to labour management. This means they make sure that employees arrive when they are needed, and are allocated to the right tasks, and that each workers know their role within the business. In addition, they resolve whatever arguments that may arise between the workers and company management, making sure that the employees are clear of company regulations, and that management are clear of their workers conditions. Finally, the Human Resources department ensures that no laws are broken in regards to labour employment. For example, the recruitment process must not violate discrimination laws. All necessary laws are briefed to staff to ensure no illegal activities are conducted within the company. Before selecting staff for any position, key skills needed for that particular job need to be identified, creating a list of criteria for candidate selection. British Sugar is one of the largest provider of sugar products in the UK. Their Human Resources department has been directed to recruit three new production managers, as part of the companys expansion project in China. The Human Resources department has identified the key skills for a potential production manager: Confidence: the manager needs to be confident in handling large responsibilities, whether it be meeting production deadlines, ensuring worker safety etc. They need confidence to be able to make decisive actions, taking the initiative without too much dependence on higher directives. As they direct the production process, confidence is also needed for negotiating with suppliers, making the best deals for the factory. Technical skills: a production manager has to be sufficiently knowledgeable about the production technology of their factory, to be able to understand and resolve technical problems should they arise. Technical knowledge of a manager does not have to be detailed, but must be sufficient to issue correct directives to the factorys engineer force. High technical skills is preferred, as the manager will be more likely to be innovative in improving production methods of the firm. Communication skills: a good production manager is able to communicate to all different divisions of the company. They are quick to absorb information from different levels of the company, whether it be top management or floor workers, and then provide quick and effective feedback. Communication skills are crucial in a manager, as it helps him ensure the coordination between different elements of the company. Problem-solving skills: the production manager should be able to independently deal with problems within their factory. They will be extremely resourceful in coordinating factory or company-level efforts to solve problems. This requires an intelligent person that can improvise upon their resources to damage-control and reverse the problem and put the factory back onto its original course. Motivating staff is an important part of company operation, as it ensure the employees do their best and be productive while working for the company. There is a variety of reasons why employees would want to work harder in their working environment. Such reasons could be money, bonuses, power, working with friends, social aspects of work, the need to provide for family, promotion, team work, and promotion. Frederick Taylor’s theory of motivation simply stated that all workers are worked by money. This means that in order to better motivate employees, the employer simply just has to raise their pay, and this would make them work harder. Taylor introduced the Theory of Scientific Management, which said that workers are naturally lazy and need close supervisions and control. The theory also says that managers should break down work to the simplest tasks to their employees. Workers also need adequate training and equipment to perform their simple tasks as efficiently as possible, then they would be paid according to the amount of products they had produced. The theory is often applied in mass production lines which involves repetitive tasks. Elton Mayo later introduced a new theory of motivation of his own. He believed that money is only part of the worker’s concern, and social needs are more important in motivating workers at their work place. Mayo published the Human Relation school of thought, which encourage managers to focus more on social interactions between workers. Mayo went further in his studies and conducted his own experiment at the Hawthorne factory in Chicago. From these series of experiments, he concluded that although physical conditions worsened, they do not affect the productivity of the Hawthorne workers. Instead, social factors such as better communication between workers and managers, better involvement in employees’ lives from their manager, and team work was what improved productivity levels. In the 1950s, Abraham Maslow introduced the Neo-Human Relation school of thought. This new theory focus on the employee’s psychological needs, which are structured into five different levels of needs. The theory says that once a lower level of needs is satisfied, would then the worker could be motivated by an upper level of needs. These levels of needs in lower to higher order are physiological needs, safety needs, social needs, esteem needs, and self-actualisation respectively. Managers also need to realise that each worker moves up this ladder at a different pace, and therefore might need different sets of incentives from worker to worker. In financial-related type of motivations, the most common motivation is salaries and wages. Salaries are what permanent employees are paid monthly or annually. Wages, on the other hand, is what is paid to workers per hour they have worked. These can motivate the employees, for the harder they work, the more they would earn. A piece rate system is when an employee is paid a fixed rate for each unit of production; In other words, they are paid by results, which motivate them to achieve better results. Commission and fees are similarly dependent on the results of the workers. Commission is a percentage of the sale revenue, and fees are fixed amounts that are earned after sale. The more the employee sells, the more commission or fees they get, motivating them to sell more. Fringe benefits are any non-wage payment or benefit such as pension plans, profit-sharing programs, vacation pay, and company-paid life, health, and unemployment insurance. Having these extra benefit with their jobs can make the employees feel more secure and work harder. Performance-related pay or pay by performance is money paid relating to how well the employee works. This would motivate them by giving them knowledge that the better they perform in their field, the better their assessment would be and the more they would be paid. Profit sharing is another way of motivating staff, it consists of a plan that gives employees a share in the profit of the company. Each employee receives a percentage of those profit based on the companys earnings. This makes staff work harder, knowing the more their company earns, the more they would get in shared profit. Share ownership is when employees who have worked in the company for a long time are given part of the business as shares. These shares would give the employees power, and they get to take part deciding how the company is run. Other than financial motivations, there are non-financial ones that could boost motivation while costing minimal for the business. Job redesign involves restructuring the elements including tasks, duties and responsibilities of a specific job in order to make it more encouraging and inspiring for the employees. Job enlargement is basically increasing the employees work load, so that they feel more responsible and work harder. Job rotation is when employees are moved between two or more jobs in a planned manner. The purpose of this is to expose the employees to different experiences and wider variety of skills to enhance job satisfaction and to cross-train them. Job enrichment is a variation of job enlargement. Job enrichment adds new sources of job satisfaction by giving the employee additional authority, autonomy, and control over the way the job is accomplished. Team work is a Cooperative effort by the members of a group or team to achieve a common goal. Working in a team may motivate employees to do better to fulfill their part on the team. External link for employees motivating can be found here: http://www. forbes. com/sites/glennllopis/2012/06/04/top-9-things-that-ultimately-motivate-employees-to-achieve/ The fundamental method which British Sugar would use to motivate their staff is to make them feel safe. Feeling safe would clear the employees minds from external worries, helping them to focus more on their tasks and try harder to achieve. This method would include providing their employees with adequate facilities to work in. This means that British Sugars factories and offices would to the most basic safety regulations such as fire safety, electrical safety, and protection from hazardous conditions inside their factories. British Sugar would also make sure that their facilities have appropriate security measures to protect employees and their possessions safe. This method of motivation is one of the most basic levels of Maslows hierarchy of needs. Another method that British Sugar uses is providing extra employee benefits beside their regular salaries and wages. They would give company cars for manager and directors, along with free O2 mobile phones. British Sugar also looks after their employees by providing them with free healthcare in the form of free check-ups with company nurse, eyesight tests and glasses, and subsidised scheme with AXA. Families of employees can also enjoy company benefits with provided child vouchers and team meals for spouses. British Sugar’s factory workers are also provided with free safety work wear. There are numerous other benefits that employees can enjoy working for British Sugar, which includes sports clubs, gym facilities, free parking†¦etc. A popular method of motivation from Taylor’s school of thought is recognition. British Sugar would give out tokens of appreciation and to recognise employees/teams that have made a significant contribution over and above that reasonably expected. Company managers would award their employees with vouchers, meals, bouquet of flowers, or bottles of wine to boost their work morale. Long Service Awards are given to employees with significant length of service. Annual bonuses of ? 400, ? 600, ? 800, and ? 900 are given to employees who have served 20, 30, 40, or 45 years in the company respectively. British Sugar also use chances of promotion to encourage their employees. This is a process known as internal recruitment. When a position is open, employees are often promoted to fill the position instead of recruiting new people externally. This keeps the employees motivated to work harder, knowing there are chances of future promotion. Another method of motivation used by British Sugar is performance management. Performance management is a proactive and continuous process of communicating and clarifying role responsibilities, performance expectations and priorities in order to ensure mutual understanding between managers and employees. To ensure the proper functioning of the business, British Sugar would have to maintain a high level of cooperation and satisfaction in its employees. Making employees cooperate would increase productivity, reduce labour turnover, and make sure that they can maintain the quantity and quality of work they are capable of. One of the methods of doing this is by communication. This method involves staying in touch with the staff to make sure they are updated with company information. When staff have the information that they need for their job, they will be more likely to be oriented towards their tasks, and be able to do it correctly and more efficiently. Communication with employees can be done by many means. It includes emails, which are quick, efficient, and reliable. Face-to-face communication is an important form of communication, often in the form of meetings; however it has time and distance limitations , for example a manager might not have the time to see all of his employees to talk about new policies, while he could just send them all an email. There are other methods such as telephone calls, which can be made easily over long distance or face-time technology that allows employees to communicate despite the long distance. Another way of improving employees cooperation and commitment in the business is making them more involved in it. In British sugar, this is know as the â€Å"quality circle†. British Sugar would engage its employees group discussions, where groups of workers meet and discuss the good and bad side of the issues that they face. The employees would try to resolve their problems together, and discuss ways to improve how they work and how the company works. This method generates a feeling of involvement, employees would feel that they are a contributing part of a team, and therefore view their work more positively and become more inclined to cooperate with other employees as well as the company managers. Clear employment contracts also help boost staff cooperation and commitment. A clear contract would have to explicitly explain the details of the job, such as explaining the roles and duties that the employee is expected to carry out, along with the hours of work required. The business would also need clearly identified procedures such as disciplinary policies or grievance policies. A clear pay structure that explains basic time as well as overtime is essential. All of these will reduce arguments in the company, enabling more efficiency and cooperation within the business. Motivational methods are a way of getting more cooperation from staff. Motivated employees would perform better while feeling better about their prospects than demotivated ones, therefore cooperating more in their work. Similarly, training and charity links should also be used to boost the morale of workers. Training would increase the employees motivation and performance, as well as charitable activities such as helping out the local community. A well-motivated workforce with high morale is more likely to cooperate with the company and to each other. The culture of the business itself will also affect how its employees cooperate. If the company has a culture of cooperation and an atmosphere of teamwork, then the employees are more likely to have more cooperation in their work. Training in a large organisation such as British Sugar is carried out extensively. An example of British Sugars training operation is their Graduate scheme, a scheme in which British Sugar finds apprentice in universities. The company would offer university graduates a period of vocational training, with the assurance of a job at the end of their training, in addition to have year-long job placements for engineering students. British Sugar also organises over 1000 training courses every year involves all levels from senior managers to new apprentices and our seasonal workers. The company encourages its sites to play an active role in local communities through media visits, schools activities, agricultural and environmental events. British Sugar have regular dialogues with leading and local non-government organisations. They also organise sponsorships and charitable funds, allocated to their employee fundraising activities through a Supporting YOU to support others programme. Measuring the workforce can be done by a number of ways. This is generally looking at the key indicators in the business workforce such as labour productivity, health and safety, labour turnover and absenteeism. Labour productivity is how much the workers produce in terms of goods and services per hour worked. In the business, it can be measured by looking at the efficiency of individual or teams. However, this method should be used with cation, because there are factors that could affect labour productivity such as the age of machinery, type of sector that the business is in or whether production is automated or labour-intensive. If machineries are old, they wouldnt be able to produce as much, therefore being the cause of low labour productivity. A business in the secondary sector would be more productive than one in the tertiary sector since manufacturing makes more products than service. Similarly, a business that has automated production will be much more productive than one with labour-intensive production, since machines are able to mass produce more products than individual workers. A business can try to improve labour productivity by using motivational tools such as bonuses. Training can also be used to add productivity to workers, and business plans help staff work more efficiently. The business can also buy new equipments to improve productivity of their workers. Another measurement is health and safety. As it is one of the motivational factor, the quality of health and safety at the workplace can affect the staff. The better the health and safety standard, the better the staff will perform. The business must consider the possible causes of poor health and safety, such as poor equipment, dangerous environment and also the poor training in the matter. Labour turnover can also be used to measure a companys workforce. Labour turnover is the proportion of staff leaving the business over a period of time, usually each year. A company can lose their staff due to de-motivation, retirement, social factors, better opportunity elsewhere ,or that the employee wants to start their won business. Staff leaving can also be involuntarily as their positions become redundant or they are fired due to performance. A high labour turnover is generally not good because it spawns many problems such as the loss of productive capacity, the costs and the time taken to recruit new staff, and the extra training and induction programmes to new employees. However, new staff can bring benefits such as introduction of new ideas to the business, or more efficient workers. Absenteeism is another measurement to the companys workforce, as it tells managers how much their staff go on break from work. This can be a substantial problem for the business, because production output will suffer if employees are absent, projects will run into delays, and the quality of products affected due to the lack of staff. There are many other costs associated with absent staff, such as sick pay, and temporary staff pay, which is often expensive. Absenteeism also cause de-motivation in the business, as other employees will have to take the work load of the absent employees. To lower the level of absenteeism, the business can issue fines to absent staff, improve the safety of the work environment so staff would want to be at work, and improve their motivational methods. British Sugar uses a range of performance indicators to evaluate and improve their performance. SMART targets are a set of criteria that are based on the specific words: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-specific. These criteria are applied in the process of making goals and objectives, to maximise the business chances of obtaining them. Punctuality is the characteristic of being able to complete a required task or fulfill an obligation before or at a previously designated time. Attendance is the frequency with which a person is present. An appraisal system, or performance management, is a proactive and continuous process of communicating and clarifying role responsibilities, performance expectations and priorities in order to ensure mutual understanding between managers and employees. It is very useful as it is both a motivational strategy and a review system where mangers can assess their employees. The appraisal system would fulfill the employees social and recognition needs according Maslow theories, motivating to work harder to achieve more and be more recognised. The system is not without flaws, however. The appraisal system can be very costly, requiring a lot of administrative work, and is time-consuming. It is also exposed to favouritism. Managers can tend to trust and praise some employees more than others, causing distrust discontentment among team members.

Watership Down Quotes

'Watership Down' Quotes Watership Down is a novel by Richard Adams. Its popular on many high school reading lists. The work is an allegory: a fantasy about a group of rabbits in search of a warren. Here are a few quotes from Watership Down. The Threarah doesnt like anything he hasnt thought of for himself.- Richard Adams, Watership Down Note: This quote refers to the chief rabbit, and it tells us a little bit about the leadership in the rabbit community. This is the type of example that the younger generations have to followthe leaders they have to look up to. Its very self-centered  and does not consider what is best for the community. El-ahrairah, your people cannot rule the world, for I will not have it so. All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a Thousand Enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.- Richard Adams, Watership Down Note: This quote reminds us of many of the trickster-like tales and legends. In Watership Down, the quote is derived from Dandelions myth. As in many of the other mythic tales were familiar with in literary history, gifts are given: intelligence (cunning), speed (runner), and strength (digger). Rabbits need dignity and above all the will to accept their fate.- Richard Adams, Watership DownTheyd altered what rabbits do naturally because they thought they could do better.- Richard Adams, Watership Down Note: Animals in the wild will act (and react) in certain ways that seem natural, but are also part of learned responses. When they learn that those behaviors are no longer required, some animals begin to act in unnatural ways. They could have comfortable burrows (for example), but buck rabbits wont (cant) dig. Their (natural) way of life has been changed. I think we ought to do all we can to make these creatures friendly. It might turn out to be well worth the trouble.- Richard Adams, Watership DownThe truth is, youre just a silly show-off.- Richard Adams, Watership DownWe all have to meet our match sometime or other.- Richard Adams, Watership DownI have learned that with creatures one loves, suffering is not the only thing for which one may pity them. A rabbit who does not know when a gift has made him safe is poorer than a slug, even though he may think otherwise himself.- Richard Adams, Watership DownIf a rabbit gave advice and the advice wasnt accepted, he immediately forgot it, and so did everyone else.- Richard Adams, Watership DownIf my authority goes, where will yours be in half a day.- Richard Adams, Watership Down

How can we define authorship in TV Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How can we define authorship in TV - Assignment Example Given this argument, it follows that the identification of the technical competence of the director would enable critic and viewers alike to determine the quality and artistic value of the TV program. Auteurism however has been criticized in its application to film and TV show making because the creation of a film or show involves a lot of people in its production process that it would be difficult to say that a certain individual was solely responsible of the authorship or creation of the film (Moran 1999). Moreso, in a Hollywood setting where a multitude of people had to work and collaborate together to create a film. We can cite for example the film The Big Sleep (1946) which was a product of collaboration with different film makers. It involved novelist Raymond Chandler who wrote the novel which was the basis of the film, Howard Hawks, screenwriters William Faulkner, Leigh Brackett and actors Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall (Lev 1988) all were distinguished artists in their own right. It is also important to note that the film made a last minute revision in January of 1946 invites discussion about authorship because it clarifies when and who decides for the change of the fi lm indicating ownership of the film (Lev 1988). This is an important notion of auteurism because it highlights the complicity in according authorship in a film as argued by the critics of auteurism. In contemporary setting in creating a TV program various creative people are involved to complete the production. It involves Director,  Producer,  Creator,  Executive producer,  Assistant producer,  Researcher,  Star,  Writer, all of which have creative inputs to complete the production of a TV program. Such, if we are to determine authorship in the strict meaning of the word, it would be difficult to assign it to a single individual because no individual can complete a TV program by himself.   We can however infer to the

A Worn Path Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

A Worn Path - Essay Example The setting of the story as written by the author is based on the Natchez Trace as well as the town of Natchez. Phoenix who is the protagonist in the video is an elderly Black American woman who subsequently goes on a heroic quest to rightly procure medicine for her beloved ill grandson. Throughout the story, the author uses different literary devices in order to make the story interesting. The Video also delivers the unforgettable character in the Black American woman, who does not even know when she was born. From the video, critics are well evident throughout the storyline. The various literary devices that are highly used in the video include allusion, metaphor, imagery, Simile and alteration. Allusion is a literary device that is used in the main character of the story, Phoenix. The name of phoenix is the similar to the mythical bird that subsequently raises the air and eventually bursts into flames. This bird is consumed by fire and when it gets burnt, a new phoenix spring emerges from the ashes. The old black woman is also old to walk in the difficult on her way to Natchez to get the medicine for her grandson. However, her age does not matter as the only thing that she believes in is that she has to have his medicine or die while trying. Metaphor is another literary device that is used in the video. From the video, it is quoted that the black woman walked slowly, a little side to side with a well-balanced heaviness, and with the lightness of the pendulum in the grandfather clock. Through such use of literary device, the author makes the character as well as the story to come into life. The Black old woman ambles in the cold, while she walks on the path multiple times for the sake of her grandson. However, due to his old age, her footing is quite unsure and she is seen to waver from side to side while walking. Imagery is also evident in the video. Throughout the

Questions on strategic management Research Paper

Questions on strategic management - Research Paper Example In addition, understanding the business environment through research and other relevant actions ensures identification of strategic factors (Cherunilam 55). This move only makes sure that the international firms will be able to learn more about the business environment. And once they do, it would be easy for them to embrace some changes having the bottom line within the formulation of actual strategic actions. Knowing the business environment is important because this is one appropriate move in order to know the necessary actions the international firms need to initiate. Multiculturalism for instance is a core value that needed to be integrated especially among corporations having business activities in the international setting. 2. Compare and contrast trend extrapolation with the writing of scenarios as techniques. (Support your answer with an example). Trend extrapolation is quantitative in nature. Information can either be represented in a quantitative format or with numerical va lue. Graphs and other quantitative representations can be used for this purpose (Cornish 86). The writing of scenarios on the other hand is qualitative in its form, as this could also turn out historical. Although both trend extrapolation and writing scenarios are techniques that could turn out historical in nature, for they involve the need to look into past events or data. However, they vary in their actual presentation for it would be easy to interpret data transformed into information presented in graphical forms. For example, understanding the past trend of sales generated by a certain product offering could be both implemented through trend extrapolation and writing scenarios techniques. Both are actually capable of presenting the necessary and relevant information. However, for the convenience of using and interpreting information, there is a good way to find it more possible with trend extrapolation. On the other hand, trend extrapolation may be complex enough as this techni que unlike the writing scenarios, requires mathematical implementation. Trend extrapolation may be complex, for it would also require the right number of data in order for the obtained information to be statistically relevant. 3. How might a firm’s management decide whether it should continue to invest in familiar technology or in new but untested technology? What factors might encourage or discourage such a shift? (Support your answer with an example). There are many factors associated with making this decision, but one of them include efficiency. Firms are looking forward to efficient output in order to maximize opportunity and to generate revenue and eventually profit. The next consideration is productivity. Productive output today requires the use of technology, in order to hit the required volume of production necessary to help the entire business operation to continue operate. On the other hand, there is also a need to achieve competitive advantage so there is also a ne ed to consider whether to embrace new but untested technology or remain with the most familiar one. There are familiar technologies nowadays that could continue to provide firms with the achievement of the above mentioned factors at a higher remarkable cost saving. So for this reason, a company would be able to choose