Management Accounting and Organizational Control Essay

Management Accounting and Organizational Control - Essay Example A production can act as a department, manufacturing plant or a transportation firm. It depends on the work allotted to it. The activities of multiple productions units also will come under operational planning and control. The entity at higher level in the organisation will own all the production units involved. Supply chain system is used to coordinate the activities of all the production of all the production units that belong to higher entity. Now supply chain also comes under operational planning and control.1 Strategic planning and control is a policy that top executives of the company periodically review and plan the processes and in turn pass on down the organisation for the sake of implementation. This implementation involves operational planning and control. This means the OPC is a consequence of strategic planning and control. The OPC is dependent on strategic planning and control. The operations to be conducted depend on the strategies of the management. It includes mission, analysis, , situational analysis, strategic formulation, implementation and control. For the corporate organisation like AG Barr Plc strategy at corporate level with managing a portfolio of businesses is required. 2 A.G. Barr plc is the Britain's leading manufacturer of branded carbonated soft drinks. The products of the company include IRN-BRU, Tizer, D'N'B, and orangina. They have four production sites at Cumbernauld, Mansfield, Atherton and Pitcox. These manufacturing centres are supported by distribution centres that have their presence all over United Kingdom. The company produces variety of flavours in 330 mal cans and Orangina in famous bulby bottle in Atherton production site. Several sizes of PET bottles and containing soft drinks are produced in Cumbernauld and Mansfield production sites. In Cumbernauld site the company is producing 750 ml returnable glass bottle, which was first of its kind in UK. The Mansfield site produces 1 litre, 1.5 litre and 3 litre being exclusive for it. Barr is famous for producing environment friendly packs. Barr acquired Findlays Spring natural mineral water and it was now wholly owned subsidiary of the company. The production unit is at the foot of Lammermuir Hills. The sales centres deliver to small shop counters and distribution centres deliver to super markets, cash and carry and whole sale trade. 3. Evaluation of OPC Process in AG Barr Plc AG Barr is having four production centres and each centre is having its own specific bottle to manufacture. It will be difficult to manufacture all the types of bottles in

Capital budgeting decision Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Capital budgeting decision - Coursework Example Michael Evans investing in vineyard Garrison, Noreen, & Brewer, (2014) was a good decision. Growing a vineyard in an opulent estate where land is expensive was an enormous capital outlay. The property is utilized in investing in a less costly business decision of investing in vineyard plantation rather than real estate that is more capital intensive. Michael Evans opened a cooperative society business. He relinquished vineyard-growing business to other investors. Michael Evans made a wise business decision. Selling and lease back where he charged the new investors a one-off fee of $85,000 and an annual maintenance fee of $3,500 to process one bottle of wine Megan, (2014). Through this, he raised initial capital to fund his cooperative business investment. In conclusion, the cash flows of the new business line are guaranteed. The business may use this annual cash flow to invest in other long-term projects. Michael Evans is a realized the importance of the net present value of the assets and utilized opportunity to invest in a new business

Corporate Governance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Corporate Governance - Assignment Example The firing style of the companies in the past can be described upfront as high-profile dismissals (Feintzeig 2). At present, almost all the companies take fulfilment in declaring to the world that they fired an official. This is a way that the board can show that it is awake and willing to exercise its rights in ensuring that the company attains its goals and objectives. Fillings presented to the Securities and Exchange Commission by companies have many cases of CEIO terminations (Feintzeig 3). Companies are coming out declare that they are terminating the services of CEO’s and are giving the reasons for doing so. For instance, the COO of Yahoo Inc. was fired recently because the board and the Chief Executive Officer felt that the company did not need him. All this terminations seem to come after disappointing results and accounting problems such as the Hertz Global Holdings where the CEO, Frissora, was fired (Feintzeig 2). The firing of the CEO’s is presently seen as a way to show that the board of directors cares about the interests of the shareholders. Though sometimes the company may try to conceal the reasons for an executives firing or resignation, they increasingly give suggestions on what exactly happened (Feintzeig 3). Therefore, the board of directors is responsible for the progress of the organization and the shareholders too. An executive is fired for cause when he or she is guilty or perpetrates serious offences that affect the progress of the company. In this case, the fired executive loses his or her right to compensation. On the other hand, an executive is fired without cause when he or she is fired without having done any serious offence that affects the company progress or without any reasons or forced to resign by the company. In this case, the executive has the right to compensation and can claim bigger packages (Feintzeig 4). The stigma of being fired has changed over time. In the recent past, it was deemed as harmful to a

Analysis of Apple Inc - Multinational Technology Company Essay - 4

Analysis of Apple Inc - Multinational Technology Company - Essay Example The business environment Apple Inc. is very dynamic and competitive. The company in recent years has embarked on various strategies to not only boost their sells but likewise transform their organizational culture (Lüsted, 99). Apple Inc. as a company is devoted to ensuring their social responsibility is of highest standards in all that they do. In this regard, the companies they deal with or do business with are expected to use manufacturing processes that are environmentally responsible at any time their products are designed or manufactured, provide safe working conditions and treat employees fairly. Apple Inc. believes that they are supposed to control and own the main technologies behind their products (Ireland, 45). The company believes in to participate in the markets where they can positively and significantly contribution. Likewise, the company strives to design and manufacture high-quality; easy to use products and low cost that integrates high technology for their consumers. Through analysis, Apple Inc. company mission statement and vision ensure all-inclusive cultural environments that enable the company remain competitive. There exist a unique depth, breadth and tenure midst the Apple Inc. executive team who lead over 36,000 employees. Apple Inc. vision and mission statements incorporate the essence of the company. It explains the goals of the company today and reflects its future production targets. Apple Inc. Mission and vision statement is unique and echoes its company’s culture. Through critical analysis, Apple Inc. vision and mission statement describe their values. In other words, it’s Apple’s DNA (Lüsted, 90). With regard to analysis on Apple Inc. using various key models and tools and company reports, the company’s current strategic plans and direction are geared towards enhancing business culture and profitability.  Apple Inc. strategic plan of market penetration focuses more on the already existing market. Apple Inc. is today among most valued technological firm and the strategy is in line with this success. In addition, the company already has a large market share and is ruling the technological business in various segments.  

Final exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Final exam - Essay Example To undertake the responsibilities charged to the army, the US government deploys large military troops to maintain law and order as well as ensure that all the activities under the US control are run efficiently. According to the international law, the occupying powers in the stated territories should take all the measures within their power to restore law and order and to ensure that the safety of the public is maintained (Moten 157). One of the goals and objectives that the US military is supposed to accomplish in their services is the general protection of human life, through the implementation of the humanitarian law which protects human beings against life violation through murder, torture or inhuman treatment (Moten 179). They also uphold the humanitarian law by protecting the citizens from being taken hostages and ensuring that the personal dignity of the citizens is guaranteed. The US military also accomplishes the objective of caring for the sick and ailing people by providi ng food and medicine. The military ensures that the sick are collected and cared for, and that food and medical supplies are availed where they are inadequate. Another objective the US military accomplishes through Iraq and Afghanistan is applying adequate forces and correct procedures to enhance the prosecution of criminals involved in the violation of human rights (Moten 183). What type of government would be recommended in a non western nation? If asked to develop a government in a non western developing nation, I would recommend the establishment of a democratic government. Democracy means a rule by the people where the people govern. A democratic government is where the people are given a chance to elect the leaders of their choice to represent them. This type of government will allow the citizen to be directly involved in government decisions, an act which is not common in monarchy, dictatorial and communism systems. Unlike other forms of government such as dictatorial, commun ism and monarchy, democracy also ensures the change of government without violent behaviors. To prevent monopoly in the ruling authorities as practices in a monarchy and dictatorship governments, a democratic government allows elections after certain periods of time to ensure change of authority. Unlike in the other forms of governments, a democratic government gives the people a sense of pride having participated in the choosing of their ruling authorities (Moten 98). Democratic governments however have the disadvantage because the citizens may make the wrong choices while electing their leaders due to influence by the majority. What could be the reason why countries that are not democratic governments go to wars with each other? Unlike the democratic government where the citizens elect the leaders of their choice, countries practicing forms of government such as dictatorship, monarchy and communism are subjected to one kind of leadership. In dictatorship governments, the authority is held by one person who rules according to his beliefs. Dictatorship may lead to internal wars due to differences in the views of the leadership approach. In a communist type of government, all the economic activities are controlled by the central government. This may cause internal conflicts due to lack of economic independence by other citizens. A reason for conflicts in the communist government could be the scrabble for resources such as minerals and cash

The Speeches Of Acts Essay Example for Free

The Speeches Of Acts Essay The two-volume set of Luke-Acts was an ancient scholars attempt at defending Christianity as not only a religion, but also as a way of life. While the first volume focused on the life of Jesus, the second volume, focused on the origins of the Christian Church. The speeches found within the book of Acts are ordered in such a way to plainly demonstrate how Christianity progressed from one mans idea into the dominant religion of the time period in which Acts was written. Each speech given is representative of a theme found in the book of Acts. When studying the speeches from Acts, it is important to keep the broader context in mind. The book of Acts itself is about the spread of Christianity and its church throughout the Roman world. It was the story of a spiritual conquest that eventually spread throughout the entire known world. And as with any epic story, it was made up of many smaller stories. Most of these stories found in the book of Acts revolved around a singular speech or occasionally, a group of speeches. In the second volume of Luke-Acts, these speeches make up about one quarter of the entire text. By inserting these unbroken speeches into the book of Acts, the author was able to convey a sense of immediacy that did not normally exist to the reader. When these speeches are observed in their larger context however, they begin to take on an entirely new meaning and intent. This large group of speeches can easily be sorted into groups and themes by looking at who was orating, what their intent was, who the audience was, and what the audiences reactions were. Because Acts was about the spread of Christian Church, the speakers were predominately Jewish-Christians. Paul and Peter orated the majority of the speeches although they are only part of the many Christian advocates who were spreading the Christian message during this time period. Throughout the time frame that book of Acts hopes to frame, many things were happening that were not recorded. It is important to realize that every recorded event portrayed in Acts, surely created Christianesque ripples that flowed continuously outward from the apostles and other devout followers. Many times, Christian speeches and activities often spurred other speeches that were orated by non-Christians. These non-Christian speeches were mainly negative to the Christian cause and were often preemptive to floggings and violence. Even though these outlying speeches are legitimate, the authors function of these speeches remains fundamentally different than that of the pro-Christian speeches found in Acts. Therefore they should be viewed as mere reactions and complements to the Christian speeches rather than speeches themselves. Many of these negative reactions were spurred when Christian speakers attempted to convert devout Jews into Christians, especially early on in Acts. For example, when Paul spoke to a Sadducees council early on in the book of Acts, the reaction the apostles received was not only a speech negating their preaching, but also a beating at the hands of the council. (Acts 5.29-5.40). The apostles were not deterred by these set backs posed by the council however, and they became more persistent in their witnessing to Jews and non-Jews alike. One method used to persuade Jews to cross over into Christianity was the implementation of history in their arguments and speeches. In Acts 13.16-13.41 Paul explained Jesus Jewish origins and how the same Jews that shared his ancestry had eventually rejected him. This message was extremely effective to small groups of Jews, but when a large group amassed during the next Sabbath day, Paul and the apostles were inevitably rejected once again by the Jews. The apostles were not content with speaking only to Jews because in their opinion, God was universal in his love of humans. They hoped to eventually unify Gentiles and Jews under one religion in which all were equal. In hopes of spreading this message to potential Gentile converts Paul and Barnabas traveled to the town of Lystria and spoke to the inhabitants. (Acts14.8-14.20). By healing a crippled man in public, Paul and Barnabas gained the attention of many Gentiles, who immediately regarded them as the Hellenistic Gods Zeus and Hermes. After convincing the masses about the way of Christianity, they traveled outwards from Jerusalem still into yet another Gentile town called Derbe. This continual path away from Jerusalem into the outer world paralleled what the apostles were attempting to do with Gentiles. By allowing the Gentiles to maintain their customs and culture, the way of worshipping the one Christian god became more appealing to the majority of them than pertaining to the typical Roman Gods. The only thing that Christian law required of Gentiles and Jews was belief in the idea that repentance of sin resulted in the forgiveness of God. As the apostles continued to journey outwards away from Jerusalem, the notion of the Christian church spread with them. In some cases the word of Christianity spread faster than the apostles. When Paul traveled to Ephesus in Acts 19.1 for example, he was met with disciples of Christianity who had been baptized in the name of John, but not yet of Jesus. After Paul had spent considerable time in Ephesus, he began his journey back towards Jerusalem. Once Paul was back in Jerusalem, the style of speeches drastically changed from evangelistic to defensive. Now that Paul was back in the midst of the hub of Jewish activity, he was constantly questioned, attacked, provoked, and arrested. When Paul went on trial before King Agrippa in Acts 26.1-26.32 his speech had a different message than most of his previous ones. Paul attempted to pacify his accusers by reverting to his Jewish roots and demonstrating that he had disobeyed no laws while within the temple. Paul summed up his experiences with the Jews and Gentiles and eventually was allowed freedom once again. The purpose for Pauls arrest in the context of Acts, was to not only sum up the previous themes found in the volume, but to also demonstrate the justification of unity between Jews and Gentiles under the same God. After this was accomplished, Paul was allowed his freedom so that he could continue his travels and repeat all of the subsequent themes that came with his earlier travels. Once Paul was in Rome, he continued his preaching to the Gentiles. While in Rome, he was subject to much of the same treatment he had found elsewhere in the world. On one hand, much praise and jubilation followed him, but on the other, he was also eventually persecuted and sent to jail. He was eventually forced to basically repeat his earlier apologies and arguments to justify his freedom. As before, he was allowed release so he could continue preaching and teaching in Rome. (Acts 28.17 28.28) To summarize the book of Acts, once Paul had conquered Jerusalem in a spiritual sense, he set out to conquer Rome as well. These cities represent both the Jewish capital of the world and the Gentile capital of the world. Upon implementation of Christianity of any giving town, the apostles set out to other towns and cities in order to give their powerful speeches, which signified so much more than the words they contained. Works Cited Ehrman, Bart D., The New Testament: A Historical Introduction To The Early Christian Writers. New York: Oxford, 2000. Harvey, A. E., The New English Bible: Companion To The New Testament. Cambridge: Oxford, 1970. Meeks, Wayne A., et al. ed. The Harper Collins Study Bible. Vol. 44. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. Stendahl, Krister. Paul Among Jews And Gentiles And Other Essays. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1973.

Child Development Theories and Practice

Child Development Theories and Practice The Scottish Government (2010) has issued national guidelines for adults working with children from pre birth to three years informing them of the four key principles which promote positive outcomes for young children and families. Nine features have been identified to put the key principles into practice. The four key principles are rights of the child, relationships, responsive care and respect. Research has shown that birth to three years is a critical age for growth and brain development. The Scottish Government (2010 pg 15) note that Forming and reinforcing connections are the key tasks of early brain development. It is the early experiences and developing relationships that cause the connections in the brain to increase rapidly. It is essential that staff form warm and respective relationships with young children. Quality interaction with adults at this age is important in order for the child to develop cognitively. Attachment is seen as one of the features of the key principles. It is the process through which young children form close relationships with a few well known people ie parents or grandparents. Bowlby the theorist at the forefront of this theory maintained these relationships act as a lasting template for shaping the childs ability to make and keep successful relationships with family and friends. It is thought these early experiences with the first people who looked after us may shape our long term emotional wellbeing (Birch 2007). Mary Ainsworth (1969) built on Bowlbys work. She maintained that caregivers should be sensitively responsive, be aware of the young baby or childs signals and be able to interpret them accurately and respond appropriately and promptly. Through my observations it was apparent that the child had a strong attachment to both his parents, see appendix 1, observation 1. During my project I was open and approachable with both parents, finding out about the child s temperament, routines, likes and dislikes, making both parents and child feel comfortable in my company. According to Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010 pg 24) one of the most effective ways of demonstrating respect for children and families is where staff express a genuine interest in them. I have been able to witness the benefits of working with a family in a home environment and feel that home visits should be arranged in order that a relationship can be built up with parents, children and practitioners before younger children attend an early years setting. This should make the transition from home to the setting run smoothly, enabling the child to feel safe and secure in a new environment. According to Dryden et al (pg 81) Having a secure attachment to their primary carers and to a key worker in a nursery setting appears to impact on a childs ability to cope with major life changes. This emphasises the importance of stable and sensitive care for very young children in an ear ly years setting. Goldschmeid was influenced by Bowlbys work and introduced the keyworker concept (The Early Years Foundation Stage 2007). This approach sees an adult being responsible for the care of a small group of children, getting to know their routines well and tuning into their needs. Ratios of staff to children could be a challenge of the system. It is not always possible for the same person to attend to the needs of younger children. Also rotas and turnover of staff may mean that other colleagues in addition to a childs keyworker will be required to know childrens routines and preferences. There are various models that can be used to track the growth and development of children in the early years. The medical and checklist models can result in a deficit view of the child, focusing on what the child cannot do. Learning should always start with what the child can do. The conventional method of studying child development has been to use the Normative Development model. Mary Sheridan carried out research in the 1950s. This work was used to develop a framework for child development. This uses the milestones approach and suggests that children should be able to achieve certain things at a certain age. Although there are recognized sequences of child development it is thought that as children develop at different rates it is more appropriate to look at a childs development holistically (Dryden et al 2007). The EYFS (2007) has divided learning and development into the following six areas: Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication, Language and Literacy, Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy, Knowledge and understanding of the World, Physical Development and Creative Development (Department for Children, Schools and Families 2008) Observations and assessments should be completed in order that childrens development can be tracked and progression can be seen. It is important that there is a good record keeping system in place. Experiences offered during this project were not based on learning outcomes as this type of curriculum is not suitable for a child of this age. It is not appropriate to plan weeks in advance. By observing the child, together with information gained from parents I was able to go on to plan experiences based on his individual needs, see appendix 1, observation 3, I promoted play and supported and extended the childs learning where appropriate. I will take this into account when working in an early years setting, building childrens learning around their daily experiences and encouraging them to interact with others in the setting. Lev Vygotsky was a leading theorist of cognitive development whose thoughts are very current. He is seen as the founder of the social constructivist approach who be lieved that through social interactions with adults, children learn cultural tools and social skills. He felt that culture and community were essential elements of childrens cognitive development (Linden 2005). Children learn to think and put into practice their thoughts as a result of social interaction. Dryden et al (2005 pg82) notes the most important element of a high quality play and learning environment for babies and children up to three is the adult. I realize that I must provide an environment rich with child initiated learning to enable children to develop their language and cognitive skills and recognize that I will have to make reflection a part of my work routine. This will allow me to look at the opportunities of play that are provided and ensure children are being given the tools to make choices and decisions regarding their play and learning. Throughout my project I demonstrated to the child that I was interested in his learning by interacting with him and responding flexibly, tuning into his interests, enabling me to plan responsively for his learning. During observation 3, see appendix 1, the child was wrapping himself in curtains and on further discussions with his mother I learned that he liked to hide in the understairs cupboard and under tables and chairs. On reflection I thought this could be an envelopment/containment schema. Chris Athey (2003) identified schemas as a pattern of repeated actions. Children exhibit schemas when they are playing and trying to find out more about the world. Practitioners can use schema theory to interpret childrens actions and go on to support and extend childrens learning by providing appropriate resources. It may be difficult to explain schema theory to parents and I believe it may be helpful to use a video camera as a means of observation which may help the parents better understan d their childrens learning. Observation of childrens learning from both the home and setting can be shared and their learning taken forward from there. Working in partnership with parents is one of the features of the key principles in practice (Scottish Government 2010) Language acquisition is one of the key milestones in early childhood development. BF Skinner the theorist associated with Behaviourist Theory thought that children imitate the language of their parent or carers. The behaviourists believe that children learn through positive and negative reinforcement, using praise when a childs spoken word is recognized and ignoring unsuccessful attempts at speaking. This line of thought was challenged by Jerome Bruner a Social Interactional Theorist who believed that language development is both biological and social and that language is influenced by the desire of children to communicate with others. Bruner believed that through using a Language Acquisition Support System, various approaches can be used such as pointing out and naming objects and responding to childrens utterances all help children to acquire the language skills required for cognitive and social development. Bruner called this scaffolding the childs language acquisition (Birch 1997 ). I put this into practice during observation 2, appendix 1, talking to the child throughout, naming objects and responding to his gestures. The child seems to have good understanding of words but has a fairly limited vocabulary but this should increase rapidly around this age. After taking into consideration government initiatives and guidance, various theories of child development and my observations of a young child it has become apparent to me the importance of establishing a relationship between keyworkers, children and parents which is both respectful, responsive and nurturing. Research regarding the rapid development of babies brain development means practitioners must be aware of the impact of their practice on very young childrens social and cognitive developments. I realise the importance of continuing professional development in order to keep up to date with government legislation and any advances in child development which will help me make informed decisions regarding my practice. I believe it is important to put in place policies and procedures in early years settings that will facilitate the reflection on practice with practitioners, colleagues and parents.