Deception Point Page 51

â€Å"A decade. And not only is the NASA space station not yet fully operational, but the project so far has cost twenty times your bid. As an American taxpayer, I am sickened.† A grumble of agreement circled the room. Sexton let his eyes move, reconnecting with the group. â€Å"I am well aware,† the senator said, addressing everyone now, â€Å"that several of your companies have offered to launch private space shuttles for as little as fifty million dollars per flight.† More nods. â€Å"And yet NASA undercuts you by charging only thirty-eight million dollars per flight†¦ even though their actual per flight cost is over one hundred and fifty million dollars!† â€Å"It's how they keep us out of space,† one of the men said. â€Å"The private sector cannot possibly compete with a company that can afford to run shuttle flights at a four hundred percent loss and still stay in business.† â€Å"Nor should you have to,† Sexton said. Nods all around. Sexton turned now to the austere entrepreneur beside him, a man whose file Sexton had read with interest. Like many of the entrepreneurs funding Sexton's campaign, this man was a former military engineer who had become disillusioned with low wages and government bureaucracy and had abandoned his military post to seek his fortune in aerospace. â€Å"Kistler Aerospace,† Sexton said, shaking his head in despair. â€Å"Your company has designed and manufactured a rocket that can launch payloads for as little as two thousand dollars per pound compared to NASA's costs of ten thousand dollars per pound.† Sexton paused for effect. â€Å"And yet you have no clients.† â€Å"Why would I have any clients?† the man replied. â€Å"Last week NASA undercut us by charging Motorola only eight hundred and twelve dollars per pound to launch a telecomm satellite. The government launched that satellite at a nine hundred percent loss!† Sexton nodded. Taxpayers were unwittingly subsidizing an agency that was ten times less efficient than its competition. â€Å"It has become painfully clear,† he said, his voice darkening, â€Å"that NASA is working very hard to stifle competition in space. They crowd out private aerospace businesses by pricing services below market value.† â€Å"It's the Wal-Marting of space,† the Texan said. Damn good analogy, Sexton thought. I'll have to remember that. Wal-Mart was notorious for moving into a new territory, selling products below market value, and driving all local competition out of business. â€Å"I'm goddamned sick and tired,† the Texan said, â€Å"of having to pay millions in business taxes so Uncle Sam can use that money to steal my clients!† â€Å"I hear you,† Sexton said. â€Å"I understand.† â€Å"It's the lack of corporate sponsorships that's killing Rotary Rocket,† a sharply dressed man said. â€Å"The laws against sponsorship are criminal!† â€Å"I couldn't agree more.† Sexton had been shocked to learn that another way NASA entrenched its monopoly of space was by passing federal mandates banning advertisements on space vehicles. Instead of allowing private companies to secure funding through corporate sponsorships and advertising logos-the way, for example, professional race car drivers did-space vehicles could only display the words USA and the company name. In a country that spent $185 billion a year on advertising, not one advertising dollar ever found its way into the coffers of private space companies. â€Å"It's robbery,† one of the men snapped. â€Å"My company hopes to stay in business long enough to launch the country's first tourist-shuttle prototype next May. We expect enormous press coverage. The Nike Corporation just offered us seven million in sponsorship dollars to paint the Nike swoosh and ‘Just do it!' on the side of the shuttle. Pepsi offered us twice that for ‘Pepsi: The choice of a new generation.' But according to federal law, if our shuttle displays advertising, we are prohibited from launching it!† â€Å"That's right,† Senator Sexton said. â€Å"And if elected, I will work to abolish that antisponsorship legislation. That is a promise. Space should be open for advertising the way every square inch of earth is open to advertising.† Sexton gazed out now at his audience, his eyes locking in, his voice growing solemn. â€Å"We all need to be aware, however, that the biggest obstacle to privatization of NASA is not laws, but rather, it is public perception. Most Americans still hold a romanticized view of the American space program. They still believe NASA is a necessary government agency.† â€Å"It's those goddamned Hollywood movies!† one man said. â€Å"How many NASA-saves-the-world-from-a-killer-asteroid movies can Hollywood make, for Christ's sake? It's propaganda!† The plethora of NASA movies coming out of Hollywood, Sexton knew, was simply a matter of economics. Following the wildly popular movie Top Gun-a Tom Cruise jet pilot blockbuster that played like a two-hour advertisement for the U.S. Navy-NASA realized the true potential of Hollywood as a public relations powerhouse. NASA quietly began offering film companies free filming access to all of NASA's dramatic facilities-launchpads, mission control, training facilities. Producers, who were accustomed to paying enormous on-site licensing fees when they filmed anywhere else, jumped at the opportunity to save millions in budget costs by making NASA thrillers on â€Å"free† sets. Of course, Hollywood only got access if NASA approved the script. â€Å"Public brainwashing,† a Hispanic grunted. â€Å"The movies aren't half as bad as the publicity stunts. Sending a senior citizen into space? And now NASA is planning an all-female shuttle crew? All for publicity!† Sexton sighed, his tone turning tragic. â€Å"True, and I know I don't have to remind you what happened back in the eighties when the Department of Education was bankrupt and cited NASA as wasting millions that could be spent on education. NASA devised a PR stunt to prove NASA was education-friendly. They sent a public school teacher into space.† Sexton paused. â€Å"You all remember Christa McAuliffe.† The room fell silent. â€Å"Gentlemen,† Sexton said, stopping dramatically in front of the fire. â€Å"I believe it is time Americans understood the truth, for the good of all of our futures. It's time Americans understand that NASA is not leading us skyward, but rather is stifling space exploration. Space is no different than any other industry, and keeping the private sector grounded verges on a criminal act. Consider the computer industry, in which we see such an explosion of progress that we can barely keep up from week to week! Why? Because the computer industry is a free-market system: It rewards efficiency and vision with profits. Imagine if the computer industry were government-run? We would still be in the dark ages. We're stagnating in space. We should put space exploration into the hands of the private sector where it belongs. Americans would be stunned by the growth, jobs, and realized dreams. I believe we should let the free-market system spur us to new heights in space. If elected, I will make it my personal mission to unlock the doors to the final frontier and let them swing wide open.† Sexton lifted his snifter of cognac. â€Å"My friends, you came here tonight to decide if I am someone worthy of your trust. I hope I am on the way to earning it. In the same way it takes investors to build a company, it takes investors to build a presidency. In the same way corporate stockholders expect returns, you as political investors expect returns. My message to you tonight is simple: Invest in me, and I will never forget you. Ever. Our missions are one and the same.† Sexton extended his glass toward them in a toast. â€Å"With your help, my friends, soon I will be in the White House†¦ and you will all be launching your dreams.†

A Monologue for Love Essay

What becomes of the broken hearted? Nothing. You think you know love — then that love turns out to be an egotistical self-involved bastard who’s no braver than the house mouse living in your walls waiting ’til you least expect it. I’ve made mistakes before. But nothing compares to the ones made with him. The ones made in his arms, his unloving false arms’ embrace that somehow once made me feel warm and made heart be tender. And in that false embrace I made mistakes under false illusions. Illusions that this.. boy, this child, could love me and make me feel like a woman! A woman I am not, I am but a child, a girl who has been broken by the same boy too many times and more. I tried to end it once, twice, and ended it be on the fifth. But this was all too little too late, as he had touched me and I him. And is it so much to ask that I be loved again? It must have been for once another man loved me — A man this time. Not a child, a boy. A man. And this man I turned down. I gave him false reason. For the real reason was that I did wish to be with this man — but I was too afraid. The fear growing inside of me, a seed planted by a boy. And in the heat of the moment I fell for that man only to wake the morrow to tell him it cannot be. Months later now, I thought I had convinced myself of this false reason. But in a moment of peace, no distractions to cloud my judgment, my heart caught up to my head and told me of the real reason. And now I am dead. The seed has stopped growing. But its venomous flower has already bloomed and done its damage. I am but one of many broken hearted souls with many mistakes done and many more to proceed, to follow. And I ask of you now — What should a girl do? When she no longer welcomes love — But instead wishes it she had never kn own?

A Commentary on “The Last Verse” Essay

The article titled â€Å"The Last Verse â€Å"by Burkhard Bilger that appeared in the New Yorker on April 28, 2008 basically talks about the hardships and sacrifices that one encounters if he seeks to pursue folk music, the kind of music that passes from generation to generation.   Interestingly, the author tells the story based on the experiences of   Ã‚  two individuals who were driven to seek folk music by differing motives: one for inspiration and the other for preservation. Both Lance Ledbetter and Art Rosenbaum are avid fans of folk music but Ledbetter was more attracted to it due to its obscurity. Rosenbaum believed that folk music is part of the traditional American culture and wanted to preserve it while Ledbetter appreciated the inspiration that folk music can trigger in music artists. But no matter how different their motives had been, both had personally witnessed and experienced the hardships and sacrifices that each had to go through just to obtain and produce it. This is mainly because folk music ,in its purest, unadulterated , traditional form are sung only by old folks ( using crude , ordinary or unlikely instruments in some cases)   who live in the most isolated places one can imagine , a place where technological advancement had not yet   made a deep impression.    And when they get to find the desired old folk singer, they   have to deal with their eccentricities (perhaps due to old age) and worse of all, when they do record an album they have to be prepared for low sales but may   be consoled by rave reviews with University archives as avid fan( Bilger, 2008, pp. 52- 61). Nevertheless, the story rightly told in print what most people knew or felt   all along, that folk music is a thing of the past   or that in the face of technological advancement and modern taste, it just had to remain in the background if not disappear altogether. Like all other works or art, music had to evolved, and along with its evolution is the incorporation of technologies that can easily adjust sound recordings with the tip of the finger.   In other words, when one listens to the music one cannot truly appreciate its originality or the context it was made because it had been improved, edited and transferred with the help of technology, removing most of its human touch in the process. Bilger relates that in original recorded folk music one can either hear â€Å"the hollow thump of the artist’s palm against the guitar†¦ the intake of his breath†¦the murmur of voices in the background or the clacking of pool balls† (Bilger, 2008, pp. 61-62). The difficulties of obtaining recorded music unsullied by modern technology are just proof of the reality that folk music, in its unadulterated form, is closely tied to the past.   Folk music somehow symbolizes life in the past when it was more relaxed, pure, no nonsense and perhaps carefree. Folk music, like other antique artifacts, are man’s last attempt to hold on to the kind of life what our forefathers had known for thousands of years , generations after generations, before life changed so   quickly   the moment man invented modern technology. Since folk music is â€Å"the sound and spirit of the forgotten world† it is no wonder then that the new generation did not appreciate it as much as those who had gone before us (Bilger, 2008, p 57).   Modern music had many genres and folk music can still be part of it but at this time it is very much improvised, revised, edited and often than not just as source of inspiration presented with all the embellishments that modern technology can muster for commercialization. Folk music alone in its purity just cannot thrive in our world, like what Ledbetter had done, it had to be repackaged beautifully to make it to hopefully sing again.   The title of Bilger’s article had a subtitle â€Å"Is there any folk music still out there?†.   Ledbetter and Rosenbaum found out that there still was through the old folks they painstakingly sought but as these old folk music carriers die, the next generation will just have to settle themselves to hearing folk music that are   compiled   and preserved in University Archives for it is there that the oral tradition of transferring music finally ends. Question : Why is it difficult for folk music to thrive in modern times? Work Cited Bilger, Burkhard. â€Å"The Last Verse: Is there any folk music still out there?† The New Yorker 28 April 2008: 52-63.

LOreals Garnier Nutritioniste Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

LOreals Garnier Nutritioniste - Essay Example L’Oreal is a French cosmetics company engaged in the production and marketing of a range of perfume, make-up, hair and skin care products. The company operates in over 130 countries, though primarily in Europe and in North America. It markets a total of 19 global brands in different markets in form of three major categories which are: Cosmetics, The Body Cosmetics have four segments namely professional products, consumer products, luxury products and active cosmetics. Consumer products are defined as the segment that sells products through mass-market retailing channels such as supermarkets. Garnier is another example considered a consumer product.A few other brands of L’Oreal are L’Oreal Paris, Maybelline, Redken, Lancome, SoftSheen Carson, Ralph Lauren, Giorgio Armani, Viktor, and Rolf. L’Oreal has a strong brand portfolio resulting in not only steady revenues and profits but a competitive advantage in the marketplace. However, the global cosmetics busin ess is intensely competitive with companies vying for market shares. In some instances, increased competition may result in price reductions, reduced profit margins and loss of market share. Its mission is to help men and women around the world to realize that aspiration and express their individual personalities to the full. As a company that believes in good corporate citizenship, L’Oreal is keen to contribute to projects that serve the wider community and that reflect the values it has upheld for almost a century.

Airline Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Airline Operations - Essay Example As a report a year after the 9/11 attacks stated, "the costs of the terrorist attacks have been borne disproportionately by a few industries, especially airlines, tourism and insurance" (Makinen, 2002, p. 2). First of all, no airlines flew anywhere in the United States for one week after the 9/11 attacks. This involved a backlog in flights and plane maintenance/positioning that took months to overcome once flights started. The US Congress gave the airlines access to $15 billion, in the form of $5 billion in short-term emergency assistance and $10 billion in loan guarantees. However, the attacks of 9/11 seem to have sped up economic woes that were already occurring, and led to major reorganizations such as the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of US Airways (Makinen, 2002, p.2). Reports for airline finances in 2002 were dismal, with US Airways filing for bankruptcy and United Airlines soon following suit. However, several airlines such as JetBlue reported better earnings than expected, solidifying a trend that had been occurring in recent years. One of the major results of th... One of the major results of the 9/11 attacks, and one that has yet to fully return to normal, was the rapid decrease in the amount of business travel on airlines. Business travelers were some of the most profit-making customers for airlines, and these often offset the barely breaking even or loss-making performance associated with vacation related and other consumer travel. This loss of business travel may be related to the fact that telecommunications technology has meant that real-time meetings through video conferencing has become the norm rather than the exception. The fact that 9/11 occurred, making business travelers less certain about flying because of safety concerns may have compounded a situation that was already occurring with the rapid advance in communications technology. Large corporations have also learned that they "don't need to pay those higher, unrestricted fares . . . there is always going to be some business travel that needs flexibility to change flight plans . . . but the policy of many large corporations will be to book in advance to save money or to justify it when you don't" (Corridore, 2004, p.1). The traditional airlines such as United and American have also been facing great competition from low-cost competitors such as Jet Blue, that have started to move into transcontinental flights. For example, JetBlue offers numerous non-stop California-East Coast flights for little more than $100 one-way. A customer can also change their flight (through changing the time or just canceling) up to a minute before the flight with a nominal ($25) charge and the remaining balance to be used for future flights (jetblue, 2006) . The increased use of web-sites that have been created from scratch with the idea of making buying/changing a flight very

Reference library on memory management Research Paper

Reference library on memory management - Research Paper Example Apart from many advantages, virtual memory and paging have various disadvantages as well. One of the challenges is the extra resource consumption, i.e. overhead for saving page tables in the memory (Null & Lobur, 2010). In environments where numerous applications are operating, the page table occupies a significant part of the physical memory. However, this challenge can be addressed by paging the page tables; this is a complex and confusing task (Null & Lobur, 2010). These challenges are not significant as compared to benefits of virtual memory and paging offers. Advantages of virtual memory and paging are easy to understand. For instance, programs are not limited to the physical memory present on the system, as virtual memory allows executing individual programs possessing larger virtual address space when compared to available physical memory (Null & Lobur, 2010). This process helps the programmers to avoid worrying about physical address space boundaries. Moreover, virtual memory also facilitates multi-tasking by executing more than one program simultaneously, and, as a result, system throughput and CPU utilization enhance. The limited size of pages and frames eases the tasks for placement and allocation for the operating system. Moreover, the paging process facilitates the operating system to protect and share the page on specific permissions (Null & Lobur, 2010). ... Moreover, the physical memory remains intact and is not divided into any sort of fixed or equal size partition. Whenever there is a requirement of copying a segment in the physical memory, free memory is analyzed by the operating system, and after finding a chunk it is adequate enough to store an entire segment (Null & Lobur, 2010). Likewise, every segment possesses a base address that provides an indication of its location in the memory along with bound limits reflecting its size. Now every program incorporating various segments is now linked to a segment table instead of a page table. Likewise, the segment table incorporates the assembly of base for every segment (Jipping, 2007). The role of virtual memory in smart phone operating systems is also vital. For programming and designing virtual memory for a smart phone operating system, logical-segment addresses and physical-segment- addresses is the prime focus. Likewise, the segments are tagged with numbers, and these tags are incorp orated within a logical address. For instance, a typical address format will be a , in which the segment number is the starting part of the address and the offset is identified as the last part of the address. Memory Management Technique for Paging on Distributed Shared Memory Framework The two analogous computer classes, i.e. shared memory and distributed memory, are symbolized by the DSM Systems (Hine, Mitrani, Tsur, & Gaines, 1979). This system works by providing shared memory generalizing in the system that further physically distributes the memory and thus combines the rewards of both the approaches. In fact, the DSM system is described as a memory system that physically distributes but is

Organisational Effectiveness at Google and P&G Essay

Organisational Effectiveness at Google and P&G - Essay Example Employee swapping produces risks of reduced morale and poor alignment of cultures. Nonetheless, this case showed that Google and P&G can learn from one another’s cultural values and practices, so that they can both enhance their organisational effectiveness. Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Competing Values Model 4 Overview 4 Applications 4 Employee Swapping 5 P&G and Google’s Employee Swapping 5 Conclusion 7 Reference List 8 Introduction The construct of organisational effectiveness is an important concept in organisational studies because organisations commonly aspire to improve or attain organisational effectiveness. Organisational effectiveness, however, is hard to measure because it does not possess a universally-agreed definition. As a result, several scholars criticised its significance to organisations, such as Steers (1975) and Hannan and Freeman (1977). Quinn and Rohrbaugh (1983) offer a model of effectiveness criteria i n â€Å"A Spatial Model of Effectiveness Criteria: Towards a Competing Values Approach to Organizational Analysis.† They conducted a two-part exploratory investigation on how individual theorists and researchers conceive the construct of organisational effectiveness. The first study included seven experts, while the second used 45 theorists and scholars. Findings showed that organisational effectiveness can be constructed using three axes of values: control-flexibility, internal-external, and means-ends. These values pertained to the critical issues of â€Å"competing values† in defining and measuring effectiveness, which has been embodied in the competing values framework (CVF) (Quinn and Rohrbaugh 1983, p.370). This paper applies the Competing Values Approach to Google and Procter & Gamble (P&G), as well as employee swapping. Competing Values Model Overview The Competing Values Approach is composed of three competing values, and they are control-flexibility, internal -external, and means-ends. These values offer four mid-range theories of organisational analysis: open systems model, human relations model, internal process model, and rational goal model (Quinn and Rohrbaugh 1983, p.369). The human relations model highlights on flexibility and internal focus. The open systems model concentrates on flexibility and external focus. The rational goal model prioritises control and external focus, while the internal process model emphasises stability and control (Quinn and Rohrbaugh 1983, p.371). Applications Procter & Gamble. P&G is described as having an internal process model with hierarchical and market attributes. It uses information management and communication to attain the ends of stability and control (Quinn and Rohrbaugh 1983, p.371). In terms of culture, it possesses a mixture of market and hierarchical cultures. It has a market culture because employees behave according to clear objectives and are rewarded through their achievements (Hartnel l, Ou and Kinicki 2011, p.679). The company’s main values are communication, competition, and achievement. P&G is effective in gathering customer and competitor information and developing the competitiveness of its products (Robbins, Judge and Campbell 2010, p.480). P&G is also hierarchical because of rules and regulations that clearly define roles and responsibilities. Behaviours are characterised with conformity and predictability, which it wants to change by swapping employees with Google (Robbins,

Multinationaltransnational Corporations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Multinationaltransnational Corporations - Essay Example Globalization leads to a situation in which national borders are becoming increasingly irrelevant for a number of reasons. For example, the outsourcing of many different manufacturing and service industries to Asia has led to the growth of a middle class in some regions of the world that had not previously seen them. Just as archaic globalization started with ease of transport provided by domesticated animals, so ease of communication through computer networks has enabled the remarkable system in which an American calling a service line in America may well be linked to a service center in India for a computer problem. Indeed, if silk was the original driving force of the original, archaic globalization, it is computerization that is the fuel and engine for current globalization. The labor and economic laws of one country may be essentially bypassed by the multinational company that locates different sectors of its activities within different countries. The "Asian Tigers" such as Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore, have used this flow of money and services into their country to develop their own indigenous industries. Car manufacturers in Japan have used their superior design and production techniques to come to a point where they may soon occupy the dominant position within the American automobile market, a fact that would have been virtually unthinkable forty years ago. Again, it is automation and computerization of design and manufacture that has enabled companies such as Toyota and Honda to expand almost exponentially. The process of globalization have enabled these companies, founded and based within the Asian country of Japan, to prove their undoubted superiority over products manufactured in the West. The same can be argued for a whole host of products from cameras to computer games. This computerization is not only an engine through the outsourcing of various business functions to countries with much lower labor costs by advanced countries, but has also enabled more sophisticated supply chains that can react of market changes with much greater sensitivity. The development of massive multinational corporations for whom national borders are less important than their business models have led to a "shrinking" of the world. Wal-Mart, the largest and most successful retailer in the world, imports much of its merchandise from Asia, and is also seeking to open new stores within that region. Wal-Mart, an ostensibly "American" company, is in many ways actually an Asian (specifically Chinese) company is the source of labor and production is regarded as the defining factor. Another manner in which multinational companies are threatening national sovereignty is through the development of large, international or even regional trade areas that are specifically designed to ignore national borders. For example, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) makes a huge region, ranging from Canada to Mexico and into Central America that multinational cor

Operations Management in Manchester Airport Essay - 1

Operations Management in Manchester Airport - Essay Example It is evidently clear from the discussion that the prices for durations of parking are advertised on a large bulletin board and thus, no delays due to bill problems for passengers. The parking time at Manchester airport takes approximately 20. There is a large parking area and thus it is uncommon to miss parking space. Security inspection- with the 9/11 attacks, security in airports have been beefed up. Manchester airport is no different and it security operations through. The security procedures take about 3minutes. The delay however is worthwhile. The procedures involve a pat down and screening by X-ray machines for dangerous equipments. Those with dangerous weapons are arrested by the standby police and taken to the nearby Manchester Airport police station. The above security check is for entrance to the airport and not for boarding flights. Queuing- queuing is a security procedure as well as a measure to maintain order. Those in the queue are closely monitored by CCTV cameras whi le they line up to go and purchase or confirm tickets. This is a fundamental operation activity as it helps maintain order in the airport. The time taken in the queue depends on the number of passengers in the airport. But approximately staying in the Queue cannot take more than 10 minutes. The number of teller stations to which passengers buy or confirm tickets are many and thus efficient operation. Ticket buying and confirmation- The airport has a self check-in ticket kiosk which allows one to insert an id and credit card for validation. The boarding pass then prints itself automatically; this reduces the queues at the counters. They also allow one to view the itinerary and select seats. The process takes approximately 5 minutes. According to McGregor theory of operation management, time is an essential factor, all operations are supposed to be time inclusive. The introduction of self-check-in tickets in the airport is thus in line with the McGregor theory. Document Verification- In an international airport such as Manchester, the human traffic is unimaginable. The logistics therefore in of ensuring that everyone is he/she claims to be is thus a nightmare. This operation is both complex and time consuming. It should thus be handled carefully because if handled wrongly could increase the occurrence of a security breach. The counters in Manchester airport are up to the task. The airport has 30 counters for verifying travel documents and thus reduce the delays at this operational stage. Because of the many counters this process takes approximately two minutes. Waiting bay- The passengers then have to wait for approximately 20 minutes in the waiting bay, this is where the non passengers are left. The ticket is used to ensure only those travelling enter into the next section. The time taken here is because of saying goodbyes. The passengers enter into the center of the airport or the terminuses, while those coming to wave the goodbye go out through another sectio n. Those going out get out through n exit door to avoid confusion. This is operation is helpful as it enables security to monitor movements. Eating/feeding- Tax free hotels inside the hotels ensure that those travelling eat what they want. The hotels offer all types of food. The area is a wireless networking gateway. The food is necessary for long distance travelers who do not want to take food in the plane.

Manac Plc Essay Example for Free

Manac Plc Essay The assignment Background information You are the financial director of a large, ficticious company called Manac plc, which produces and sells a range of standard electrical goods. Production and sales take place across a number of countries. The company uses standard costing and absorption costing as part of its approach to strategic management accounting. The Board of Directors is concerned that the company is not meeting its budgeted target profits; the managing director takes the simple view that more sales mean more profits and that the products have not been priced to sell in sufficient numbers. While you are aware that this is a possibility you recognise that the real reason for the lower than expected profits may be more complex. You have therefore decided to conduct a full review of variances to identify those areas which have not met budgeted expectations. Assignment Requirements While this review is underway and to improve the board of directors understanding of the issues involved, you have decided to produce a report to the board of directors which addresses the following 3 topics: i. The models and concepts affecting the pricing decisions taken by organisations, critically reflecting upon their usefulness (maximum mark 33%). i. The role of standard costing and variance analysis in management accounting and a critically discussion of the value and limitations of variance analysis as a means of identifying key areas which have contributed to the overall profit figure (maximum mark 33%). iii. The advantages and disadvantages of introducing an Activity Based Costing syst em to replace the current Absorption Costing system (maximum mark 34%). The report should include critical evaluation of the models and concepts proposed outlining their merits and limitations. You may incorporate logical assumptions with regard to the company and use numerical examples to illustrate the models and concepts that you propose to adopt The University policy on cheating collusion and plagiarism will be applied to this piece of work. Guidance: Students are encouraged to be inquisitive and innovative in their approach as to what should be included in this report the following may be of some use in providing guidance as to what could possibly be included, although this is in no way meant to be prescriptive. The aim of the ssignment is to help you understand how key areas of strategic management accounting are demonstrated in practice by a large, international company. This will include investigating topics from throughout the course linked to the above issues. Some of the principles, concepts ad models will be more relevant to your chosen approach than others and so it is likely that different students will formulate different approaches to the problems. This is n ormal, it is not expected that all of the course content will be used in the analysis, concentrate on that which you feel is most important. As part of your work you might find it helpful to briefly explore the underlying theory behind the key areas of investigation that you identify before applying them to report. With a total of 3,000 words you do not have a lot of room for long introductions so assume you are writing to a sophisticated audience who has a working knowledge of strategic management accounting and is well versed in business theory. Numerical example for illustrative purposes may be of use but should not be the main thrust of the work. If used they should be to provide evidence to support your findings from your other analysis of position and policies. If other sources are used remember to reference everything! Please avoid relying too heavily on descriptive sections reproducing information available from course material or the set text. It is your own logical, evaluation of the situation, the interpretation of course material and presentation, with critical analysis, of a coherent strategic plan that will attract high marks. Marking Guide The learning outcomes for this module assessed by this piece of work are Knowledge 1. Critically evaluate a range of key strategic management accounting models and concepts. . Critically understand of specific analytical skills in key areas within management accounting at local and international level

Globalisation Effect On Unemployment And Economy Economics Essay

Globalisation Effect On Unemployment And Economy Economics Essay The ever growing impact of Globalization highly supported by the technological innovations on the global market, created new approach and understanding in the labour market. The restructuring of economic and corporate systems resulted of dismantling the traditional institutions, organizations and social protection, paving the way to further insecurity in jobs i.e. incomes for the exerted human power, not only in poor the countries, but in the rich and developed countries as well. The global competition among the corporations, the raise of the number of world inhabitants, technological contribution on production and services, moreover; the global economic issues, led to immense pressure on employers to adopt more flexible, non-standard labour policies with more and growing unwarranted work arrangements. To sustain in these turbulent waters, is the game of adaptation to the ever evolving social and economic uncontrollable macro environment. Since the old and new theory Survival of the fittest is still the most accurate, the only way for both employers and the employees to reach a win-win situation is through finding the perfect common denominator, through which an employee will secure his life and the employer his business. The right balance between the opportunities and threats will be by captivating advantages of opportunities and trying to avoid the threats. As an employer or employee, to survive this never-ending game, the opportunities are there to be seized. Through rapid changes and adaptations, common denominators can be innovated. The emergence and the impact of Globalization Technologys contribution The 21st century is guided by a new era in enterprises ongoing quest for increasing profit through a significant competitive advantage over the rivals. For the first time in history, we can now claim to live in One World. Globalization has removed many of the gaps that have existed between and among nations. While the physical divide is still present, the impact of the Information Highway on how we communicate and live in the present day is simply staggering. Through globalization, cultural exchange is now open and dynamic. Economies have also been merged, with the economic life of an Asian country affecting other nations in other parts of the world, and vice versa. Rapid improvements in information technology have allowed us to exchange information and communicate almost everywhere, anywhere, and anytime. The nature of business and how it is done had also improved by leaps and bounds all because of globalization. MNCs as tools for globalization Since technology is the main driving force of globalization, MNCs struggled heard to monopolize it. From the invention of the machines, then the aviation industry to the invention of the internet they all served as means for dominance. Just the nature of the tool varied from the hard to the soft power. The symbols of the modern soft means i.e. IMF, WB, internet, language, International business laws and regulations, WTO etc. are the humble servants of the Economic and Financial might of MNCs. These facts led the Big Brands to be the synonym of globalization. The global markets and the labour force These breakthroughs in communication have revolutionized business, commerce, and even the personal lives and relationships of millions of people. Indeed, globalization has produced a new age of connectivity in culture, society, economy, social life, technology, and politics. Globalization, as a general term, is best understood as the spread of ideas about the environment, democracy, human rights, and less complicated issues like fashion and fads. The mass marketing of computers and the wide availability of Internet services have brought many parts of the world together, as if we are all rush on a single pattern or web of daily life. Countries today do not just export raw materials or the usual projects. Global exchange is now taking place as the market of ideas, manpower recruiting through the use of technology. Because of the electronic media, vast amounts of important personal information can reach any parts of the globe in no time. Business establishments, whether big or small, are using the Internet in many ways to build or expand their companys recruitment system through their website or through mediators. With the ever improving technology, new labour markets blossom, high demand for cheap labour, and also greater competition. Making investments in information and communication technology is now a must for any business enterprise. Globalization and the Internet have created many advantages for organizations around the world. This advantage can be utilized while avoiding many business or geographical obstacles by using Internet properly. Employment and globalization For many, globalization is equated with economic interdependence. At the dawn of the 21st century, the scale and magnitude of global economic interaction appears to be unprecedented. The volume of capital flows far exceeds that of the past. The developing world, too, have increasingly become a part of global trade and capital flows. Contemporary patterns of economic globalization suggest the emergence of a new international division of labour. In short, the world has reached a stage in which one can meaningfully refer to one global economy. The question is whether globalization processes have reduced or exacerbated wealth inequalities  within developed countries and developing  ones. While markets will produce winners and losers, liberals argue that the openness accompanying globalization will benefit all. Others see the potential to produce widening disparities. The short answer is that the effect of globalization has been both positive and negative and is dependent on a range of domestic and international factors. Extensive evidence also exists to support the claim that economic interdependence is related to more peaceful relations. States, for example, that trade more with each other are less likely to go to war. The direction of the cause is less clear, however. In other words, does greater trade lead to peace or does peace lead to greater trade? The greater ties from interdependence have been argued to lead to both greater cooperation and conflict. The relationship is, in fact, most likely nonlinear. Variations of the working methods and the Human Recourses Competitive advantage and the competitors Competitive advantage can come in one or combination of the following factors where labour force has very significant role in almost every one of them: Price, Experience, service, Quality, Location, Customer service oriented. The better your business performs against one of these factors, the more likely you are to succeed. Being the low cost provider of a good or service can be a quick path to gaining more business or market share than your competitors. The more efficient firms labour force is the more are the chances to compete in this category. Certainly a firm will need a lower labour, materials or overhead cost, because an organization may find that their competitors are willing to cut prices in response. After all no one can expect that a competitor will let the rival take their customers away without a fight. So if an organization is willing to go down this path it would be better to be certain that they truly do have lower costs, supported mainly by low paid employers or specially arranged non-standard forms of employment. Service can also be serious differentiator and competitive advantage. If a firm can respond quicker, get it done quicker, or get there sooner, customers may prefer it over the competitors even though it costs them more. Yet; these maneuvers heavily rely on well experienced dynamic workforce who will create the much needed differentiation alongside the existing processes and the procedures. Quality is important in almost every industry. Customers do not like to pay good money for work that has to soon be redone or have to purchase a new unit that fails prematurely. Most products are somewhere in between the super and bad quality and the astute business person will seek to produce the highest quality within his means. This detail is also highly related to the workforce and its ability to create quality business with the least cost possible. Over the long term producing higher quality is almost always less expensive as organizations dont have to deal with as many returns, or as much scrap, or rework. Location can also be a competitive differentiator. If a firm best suitable location in town, then people will have buy from you unless they are willing to drive longer distances to get it. Getting the goods or the services to the customers by certain delivery employees is a kind of location based selling. Prices might be higher than normal but not so high that people refuse to buy. If firms distant service competitors charge for travel time, other things being equal, organizations can charge more money but not so much more that it pays the customer to use competitors products or services. Customer Service base can also be a competitive advantage. Something is highly related to the employees and their attitudes towards the customers, even if this will cost the firms the cost of training and developing such employees. So what if you are a little more costly, or even a little slower? Most people hate change. The prospect of needing to invest the time and energy to build the necessary trust with one of firms competitors can be a real deterrent. We live in a changing world. New competitors with better products or service arrive on the scene almost daily. When demand for firms product or service slacks or increases, it is highly related to the workforce. It is true that the overhead cost, product quality and the price has their significant role, yet the core of these will remain the workforce who are the most significant determines of organizations competitiveness. Standard employment and Nonstandard form of employment. Nonstandard form of employment is usually defined in negative terms in contrast to so-called standard employment. It is, a category that includes relatively varied forms of employment, and these need to be explicitly differentiated in a detailed analysis. The standard employment terms are more or less the same in different countries, moreover they are identical in most common markets like the GCC, organizations do not utilize any part time employees as per the GCC labour law, an employee can only work and operate in companies that sponsor work permitresidency. However companies extend the service of special consultants that work on projects basis. The standard employment is mainly characterized by the following features: Full-time employment with an income sufficient for survival, Permanent employment contract, Integration into the social security system (particularly health and pension plan), Work relationship and employment relationship clarified, Employees subject to direction by the employer. For the functioning of the labour market it is significant that compared with typical forms of employment, whatever their differences, increases the potential flexibility of businesses and, to some extent also of the employees concerned. Nonstandard form of employment deviates from in terms of at least one of the standard criteria: Part-time work, with regular weekly working hours less than under regular contractual level and pay reduced accordingly. Marginal employment, which represents a specific variety of part-time work defined in terms of payment below a certain level. Mini jobs, employees are paid according to hours of service theyve exerted. Limitation of weekly working hours to a maximum amount has been abolished. Fee basis/freelancers, based on experience, internships. Agency work, which is different from all other forms because of the tripartite relationship between the employee, the agency and the company hiring the worker. This peculiarity results in a differentiation between the employment relationship (between the agency and the employee) and the work relationship (between the company and the employee). Self-employment is intended to replace the traditional freelancer category (for example lawyers or doctors even merchandisers), It is not always easy to differentiate between employment and self-employment as the lines between the two can be rather fluid. The workforce and the employment market Individual features can appear in combination form thus, for example, agency workers or part-time workers can at the same time have a fixed-term employment contract. The constant and the obvious are the ever growing bargaining power of the employers due to vast amount of labour supplied and the scarcity of jobs offered. The fearful part is the gap that is steadily and constantly growing between the two. Among many reasons these points could shed the light upon the most significant: Population growth. Production industry is shrinking worldwide except for China and Germany. World economic crisis. Technology Urbanism These major macro aspects are among the most significant factors that are widening the gap among the employers and the employees resulting in high unemployment rates. Moreover; they are creating new unconventional means of employment which usually benefit the employer. Future of Non-standard forms of employment The profiles of a typical forms of employment not only generate the above problems during an individuals working life (above all in terms of income, employability and employment stability), but also creates significant long-term problems in terms of social security. The consequences go beyond the labour market and affect individuals post-work lives, with a considerable impact on social security, especially pensions. In welfare states, such systems are very much focused on working life and strictly linked to the criteria of standard employment (financed through contributions of employers and employees and based on the principle of equivalence). Analysis of the resulting social problems renders the traditionally strict demarcation between labour market and social policy obsolete. Any approach to reform requires integrated solutions. The accumulation of social risks means that, compared to people in standard employment, those in a non-standard employment are more likely to be only on low wages (due to advanced age) and are therefore more often in receipt of governmental or social organizations welfare. The analysis of macro environment as for the organization The macro environment of the organization is the uncontrollable part of external forces that might affect the vision and the strategy of any organization. The macro environmental elements which mainly consist of Political, Economic, and Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) aspects and forces might affect the organization either positively or negatively in the growth era of non-standard forms of employment. The positive effects will be considered as opportunities and the negative ones as threats. Opportunities: The non-standard form of employment will open the doors for the new blood from the same or totally new workforce market to pour in the organization; this will bring in the new knowledge, new ideas and innovations a new and dynamic approach to the conducted business. The result of flexible working hours will add efficiency to the production and the outcome since the old boring 9 to 5 system does not exist in the non-standard form of employment. The twenty-first centurys organizations are shifting from communality to diversity to increase dynamism and innovative thinking system among the employees. The high level of shifting hours where lot of employees will leave the job at certain hours and come back later on wouldnt be achieved if advanced IT systems and software didnt exist, since its almost impossible to calculate the total working hours of each employee and calculate the payments accordingly. This whole flexible workforce structure will reduce the labour cost of the organization. For example, instead of paying overtime for working during the night, replace those employees with another who can and willing to work at nightshifts. Furthermore, the organization will save vast amounts of retirement pension funds which will remove a heavy burden from the companys shoulders. The reduction of the labour cost will provide a major competitive advantage for the organization which will lead the competitors to adopt the same strategy. New Strategy, new blood, new technical and IT know how, along with talented educated dynamism from both sexes and innovations that they will add to the organization will be considered as major opportunities for any given organization, especially when theyll have an weaponless army of employees not registered in any form of labour unions etc. since they are not the conventional (standard) form of employees. Threats The non-standard form of employment will spread quickly due to the competition among the rivals; this will result to certain instability in the economy and therefore economical fluctuations. These facts will lead to inevitable inflation to the economic system resulting raise in wages (working hours honorary), therefore rise in rents and expenses so the sequence of the vicious circle will be inevitable, backfiring on the organization in itself. Laws and regulations plus the labour unions who will lobby against the non-standard form of unemployment will be considered a major threat for an organization where in most countries especially in the GCC countries the employment should be on the standard basis, since any employee will be registered under the name of a specific kafeel (Guarantor: could be the organization or the name of the business owner) and where very strict universal and local laws are imposed on the employers especially what concerns the human rights or juveniles related issues. The most threatening fact will be the employee high turnover rates within the organization which will result mainly of knowledge loss i.e. losing knowledge out of companies, moreover; increased turnover triggers diminished effectiveness in corporations. High turnovers will cost companies large amounts of money to recruit new ones (Advertising, mediating agencies, the time for hundreds CVs screenings, selecting, interviewing etc.) while retaining employees through incentives and trainings will cost much less. Such means can be used to cut attrition and increase retention numbers. Working hard at keeping employees through learning and development, retention and persistency rates, an organization not only will cut attrition, but also theyll build a priceless vault of knowledge and loyalty towards the organization. Synopsis: Opportunities Threats New workforce market Cheap labour Competitive advantage More effective production New blood, new know how Diversity Technology and IT Experience / Know how Strategic Imperative (must) High / selected competencies Flexible working hours No Labour unions / home restrictions Gender balance (if applicable) Production and incentives No retirement / pension problems No aging workforce Inflation Raise of wages Rents and inflation Social issues Political issues War Economic crisis Laws and regulation Shared knowledge and experience Less loyal employees Money based relationship Labour unions Human rights / juvenile Reputation Very high labour turnover rate The analysis of macro environment as for the individual The fact of the rise of non-standard forms of employment is considered to be at the macro environmental level of the individual where the uncontrollable several external forces are affecting the plans and life of any person. As discussed previously, the macro environmental elements which mainly consist of Political, Economic, and Social, Technological, Environmental and Legal (PESTEL) aspects and forces might affect the individual either positively or negatively. The positive effects will be considered as opportunities and the negative ones as threats. Opportunities: The non-standard forms of employment will open new horizons as for the individual where he or she might find a chance of being hired to a certain job or position that wasnt handy before, the odds are bigger since the constant change in the workforce at any given organization will increase the probability of job vacancies. Mostly in the underdeveloped countries and due to high levels of unemployment, chances of being hired are scarce and where nepotism and interventions are the only recruiting factors, individuals find fairness and equal chances for being hired through non-standard forms of employment. Usually when hired by non-standard forms of employment higher (per hour compensation) than fixed wages are expected even if the paid amount is considered cheap labour (effective) as for the hiring organization. The real challenge will be extending as much as possible the hours of being hired. Flexible hours will create the chance and the opportunity for the employee to be able to pursue another interest during or after the traditional 9 to 5 working hours. An employee could continue his / her education at the university, or pursue even higher education if possible. Time flexibility will allow the employees to spend more hours with their families or look after a hobby they like. Technology is considered an opportunity for many employees where the job could be accomplished without or by minimum physical presence at the office. Thanks to the technology virtual offices can easily be setup among employees hundreds of kilometers apart. Even traveling to host/home countries for short period of time is possible due to active, dynamic and low cost communication means. Any task could be accomplished within two days for example and the employee could return to his office and continue the job after a while. This would have never accomplished if there wasnt this technological breakthrough. One of the most annoying aspects for the new recruits especially for the fresh graduates is obtaining experience, mainly where there are high unemployment rates and starting a career is a hard task to be achieved. With non-standard forms of employment, chances will be granted for the fresh graduates to acquire working experience even for short period of time. This will allow them to look for the next vacancy empowered with a certain experience theyve acquired, levering their chanced to be reemployed. It is obvious that being involved and living with active job demands will increase the standard of living for any individual and his/her family. The higher the income generated will be resulted in higher spending due the high potential of the disposable income. Furthermore with the help of non-standard form of employment the employee might have the chance of being promoted and he/she might be invited on the same basis to operate on the other outlets due to the expending strategies that their organization might adopt, or be invited to help a franchisee to inaugurate certain tasks. Non-standard form of employment offers variety of experiences to the employees due to the fact that they will experience several types of carriers during their productive life span. The versatility acquired by the employees will increase the chances of being rehired since the adaptive attitude that theyll foster will be considered added value to the new recruiting organization. Threats The most dominant threat as for the non-standard form of employment will be the retirement where the dynamism of youth will diminish gradually and the chances of being employed will decease. This will add immense pressure on the individual therefore the society will be effected and eventually the state. The constant fear of the absence of safe and steady income will push the employee to a certain austerity measures on his/her spending, therefore consumers spending index will decrease resulting a standstill or slowing the markets normal cycle, which in itself will create a hassle in the marketplace resulting in more job cuts. Furthermore countries economical system is balanced upon the spending power of the population backed by the banking system through micro or medium loans. These loans are hypothecary i.e. based on certain guarantee to the bank, which in most of the cases are, the fixed salaries presented to the banks through certain documents which are approved by their organization. Technology and new machinery are spreading like the fire in the woods; this will affect the job market resulting raise in the unemployment figures, especially for low competency based positions. Uncertainty, lack of income and unconventional working hours will surly affects the lifestyle of any individual especially on those who have a family. On the long run such occurrences will have its devastating consequences on the social structure of that country, which in itself will backfire of the whole economy. Any kind of riots or wars will result a total standstill of the income in case of non-standard form of employment due to the fact that is based on the hours spent in job. The greed of employers could lead to exploitation of the employees by several means. One of the most famous among them is the so called trial period, where the employee agrees to be testes on job for an unpaid certain period of time. The result could be the extension of this period or the employer keeps testing employers for two moths then another employee for another two months and so on. This whole non-standard system will definitely alter the unemployment rates where lots of people will be considered as employed, which in fact they are not. The frequent change of the employees due to the fact that they can be easily substituted will result in total change in organizations values and personnel attitudes where the factor of loyalty will be considered an obsolete theory. Synopsis: Opportunities Threats New Job opportunities Equal and fairness Higher per hour / wages More flexibility / freedom Technology/ Communication means Transport and low cost airlines Learning curve and experience Constant demand of new recruits Career path in various organizations Raise the standard of living Franchising, expansion Versatile employee Retirement and pension No more safe and continues Income Technology new machinery Cultural identity Family issues War and riots Exploitation / misuse Unemployment real figures Values and attitudes Easily substituted Conclusion The global turbulent economy affected widely by the globalization factors and theories, sharpened the competition reducing the profit margins. Moreover, because of the greater employment risk and/or the short periods of employment involved, when they lose their jobs. The differences between agency workers and those in standard employment are particularly striking, with the exception of those on marginal wages. After getting job-less approximately one agency worker in two receives the lower Type 2 unemployment benefit, whereas the figure is only one in seven in the reference group. The main reason for this drastic difference is the fact that the previous period of employment subject to compulsory social insurance was not of sufficient duration. In addition, any claim to Type 2 unemployment benefit presupposes that savings above a certain threshold are first used for the purpose of subsistence. In these circumstances the greater degree of individual responsibility for old age provisions demanded of employees becomes unfeasible. What is relevant in the long term in both individual and collective terms is the insufficient integration of such individuals into the pension insurance system. The low levels of contributions made as a result of long periods of part-time work or an entire working career spent on mini-jobs but also unemployment after the expiration of fixed-term jobs results in individuals only having a claim to pension benefits that are inadequate for subsistence purposes. The changes that have occurred in types of employment increase the risk of poverty in old age for the individuals concerned. For years, this issue was regarded as having been solved in Germany, but it could re-emerge in the future unless appropriate measures are taken. And from a collective point of view, the necessary top-up transfer payments represent a considerable drain on public budgets and bring with them the risk of gradual erosion of the basis for contributions.