Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Public and Private Finance in Property Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words
Public and Private Finance in Property - Essay Example ncreased consumption levels, reduction in unemployment rate, increased exports, growth in corporate profits as well as increased foreign direct investments. The British government does not only depend on tax revenue to fund its budget but also other sources which include state owned organizations, privatizations, foreign direct investments, sale of assets. The British government own several corporations, which forms a commendable source of revenue to the government in form of profits. For instance, the UK government own the postal service company- Royal mail, train-operating company-East Coast, and education holding company- BPP Holdings. The British government has been involved in a number of privatizations whereby the government relieve its ownership and interest in parastatal to private investors. An example of such privatization includes that of the British rail in 1993. British government is major player in local business and this is evident through participation in sovereign we alth funds. The UK government own motorways, harbours, airport terminus and sewer lines that forms an important source of revenue to the government when members of the public use these infrastructure. The government has also in a number of occasions disposed off its assets to get additional revenue in order to fund its operations. Government Expenditure The UK government has been experiencing a number of challenges with its expenditure patters for a long period. It is quite unfortunate that the UK government’s total expenditure for its fiscal years have always surpassed its revenue (Parliament, 2012). This trend has remained like this for a considerable period. The government has been forced in most cases to borrow surplus funds from the public in order to meet its expenditure need.... The British government does not only depend on tax revenue to fund its budget but also other sources which include state owned organizations, privatizations, foreign direct investments, sale of assets. The British government own several corporations, which forms a commendable source of revenue to the government in form of profits. For instance, the UK government own the postal service company- Royal mail, train-operating company-East Coast, and education holding company- BPP Holdings. The British government has been involved in a number of privatizations whereby the government relieve its ownership and interest in parastatal to private investors. An example of such privatization includes that of the British rail in 1993. British government is major player in local business and this is evident through participation in sovereign wealth funds. The UK government own motorways, harbours, airport terminus and sewer lines that forms an important source of revenue to the government when memb ers of the public use these infrastructure. The government has also in a number of occasions disposed off its assets to get additional revenue in order to fund its operations. The UK government has been experiencing a number of challenges with its expenditure patters for a long period. It is quite unfortunate that the UK government’s total expenditure for its fiscal years have always surpassed its revenue (Parliament, 2012). The government has been forced in most cases to borrow surplus funds from the public in order to meet its expenditure need.
Monday, October 28, 2019
Think Tanks in the United States Essay Example for Free
Think Tanks in the United States Essay A think tank (also known as a policy center) is a non-profit research institution that conducts studies on public policy (Columbia University Libraries, n. pag.). Aside from public policy analysis, a think tank also engages in developing solutions for national or commercial problems (Rohrer, n. pag.). Although there are some think tanks that are strictly nonpartisan (their research on public policy issues are not affected by political outcomes), think tanks are generally regarded as organizations that provide intellectual support to political parties and or politicians. Hence, a think tank is considered as an important part of the American political scene (Columbia University Libraries, n. pag.). However, think tanks affect American foreign policy and economic development abroad by coming up with ethnocentric and xenophobic perspectives. In some cases, American think tanks create unsustainable, violent and even genocidal policies, majority of which the US government imposes on Third World countries. Worse, the civilian nature of these organizations allows them to escape accountability for their detrimental ideas (Hayes, 3).            In the article A Litany of Horrors: America’s University of Imperialism (2008), Chalmers Johnson wrote that the RAND Corporation, one of the oldest existing think tanks in the US, was â€Å"the premier think tank for the US’ role as hegemon of the Western world (Johnson, n. pag.). To support his argument, Johnson detailed the history of RAND’s active participation in US military intervention since it was founded after World War II. During the Cold War, RAND perpetuated the â€Å"arms race†between the US and the Soviet Union by urging the latter to create huge demands for weapons such as atomic bombs, nuclear submarines, intercontinental ballistic missiles and long-range bombers. In the 1960s and the 1970s, RAND’s anti-Marxist rhetoric heavily influenced the US to get involved in the Vietnam War and to establish puppet governments in Third World countries that included the Philippines, Thailand, Chile and Taiwan (Johnson, n. pag.).            RAND was also heavily involved in the Iraq War in 2002. During 9/11, former Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci was the co-chair of the RAND Center for Middle East Public Policy Advisory Board and was also a member of the RAND Board of Trustees. However, he was likewise the chairman of the Carlyle Group, a defense contractor with strong connections to the Saudi Royal Family and the Bin Laden clan. Other key players in the Iraq War that held important positions in the RAND Corporation were Paul Wolfowitz, Condoleeza Rice and Donald Rumsfeld (Here in Reality, n. pag.).            Aside from the RAND Corporation, other American think tanks that were also occupied with the promotion of American foreign policy and economic development abroad were the National Institute for Public Policy (NIPP) and the Project for a New American Century (PNAC). Akin to RAND, the administration of the NIPP and the PNAC are both composed of unilateralist ideologues, most of which are former executives, consultants or major shareholders of the country’s biggest defense contractors. Some of the individuals who were connected to these think tanks went on to become government officials. Hence, it should no longer come as a surprise if US military intervention has increased in the previous decades (Ciarrocca Hartung, n. pag.).            The NIPP has strong ties with the nuclear weapons industry. Most of the members of its advisory board were formerly connected with the arms and nuclear divisions of major defense contractors. Kathleen Bailey, for instance, worked as an analyst for the Lawrence Livermore nuclear weapons laboratory for six years. Robert Barker, meanwhile, worked for the weapons laboratory of Lawrence Livermore for 30 years. Charles Kupperman was Lockheed Martin’s vice president for its national missile defense programs (Ciarrocca Hartung, n. pag.).            The leadership of the PNAC is made up of William Kristol (editor of the Weekly Standard), Robert Kagan (senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, contributing editor at the Weekly Standard and columnist for the Washington Post) and Bruce Jackson (a longtime Lockheed Martin executive). Founded in 1997, PNAC’s principles were based on â€Å"the Reagan administration’s success (in ending the Cold War)†and called for the revival of â€Å"a military that is strong and ready to meet both present and future challenges†(Ciarrocca Hartung, n. pag.). It must be noted that the founding document of PNAC was signed by major players in the Bush national security team, such as Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. Furthermore, PNAC’s deputy director Thomas Donnelly was hired by Lockheed Martin in 2003 (Ciarrocca Hartung, n. pag.).            Given the background of RAND, PNAC and NIPP, it is very clear that there is a conflict between the objectives of think tanks and American foreign policy (which focused mainly on promoting American values abroad). Most of the think tanks that are affiliated with the US government are also connected with companies that benefit financially from war. It is therefore just a matter of common logic to assume that think tanks like RAND, PNAC and NIPP will advise the US government to wage war on other countries (no matter how flimsy the justification is) simply because the defense contractors that they are connected with will earn immensely from doing so.            Furthermore, there are some US politicians who are likewise affiliated with organizations that profit from war. Former President George Bush, Sr., for instance, is a former Senior Advisor in the Carlyle Group. Former Secretary of State and Secretary of Treasury James Baker, meanwhile, was former Carlyle Senior Counselor. Carlyle Managing Director Richard Darman also happens to be the White House Budget Advisor (Here in Reality, n. pag.). It is very obvious that their affiliation to Carlyle makes them view war as an avenue for profit, and not as an atrocity that claims countless innocent lives.            While think tanks are excellent sources of information and ideas, conflict of interest arises when these institutions affect government policy. Think tanks doing business and making money while advising the US government at the same time should be considered as a grave cause of concern. Indeed, what will think tanks do when private business clash with public policy? What will be their stand when the very same government official that they supported is criticized for applying the ideas that they have formulated? Works Cited Ciarrocca, Michelle and Hartung, William. â€Å"The Military-Industrial-Think Tank Complex:            Corporate Think Tanks and the Doctrine of Aggressive Militarism.†January-February The Business of War. 9 June 2008 http://www.multinationalmonitor.org/mm2003/03jan-feb/jan-feb03corp2.html. Hayes, Peter. â€Å"The Role of Think Tanks in Defining Security Issues and Agendas.†Nautilus Institute. 21 October 2004. 8 June 2008 www.nautilus.org/collaborative/essay/2004/1021_Hayes.pdf. Johnson, Chalmers. â€Å"A Litany of Horrors: America’s University of Imperialism.†29 April TomDispatch.com. 8 June 2008 http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/174925/chalmers_johnson_teaching_imperialism_101. â€Å"Meet the Carlyle Group.†n.d. Here in Reality. 09 June 2008 http://www.hereinreality.com/carlyle.html. Rohrer, Finlo. â€Å"Just What Is A Think Tank?†15 January 2008. BBC News. 08 June 2008            http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7189094.stm. â€Å"The People We Pay to Think.†n.d. Here in Reality. 09 June 2008            http://www.hereinreality.com/news/rand.html. â€Å"Think Tanks Policy Centers.†n.d. Columbia University Libraries – Lehman Social Sciences Library. 08 June 2008 http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/indiv/lehman/guides/ttanks.html.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Chomsky and Knowledge of Language Essay example -- Philosophy of Langua
The linguistic theory of Chomsky has changed the long, traditional way of studying language. The nature of knowledge, which is closely tied to human knowledge in general, makes it a logical step for Chomsky to generalize his theory to the study of the relation between language and the world-in particular, the study of truth and reference. But his theory has been controversial and his proposal of "innate ideas" has been resisted by some empiricists who characterize him as rationalist. In our view, these empiricists make a mistake. In the present paper we attend to his position regarding linguistics as a science of mind/brain, which we believe is an important aspect of his theory that has not been paid enough attention or understood by his opponents. In turn, this will help to clarify some of the confusions around his theory. Finally we will discuss some of the debatable issues based on the outlines we draw. 1 Chomsky's linguistic theory is based on the following empirical facts: "child learns language with limited stimuli", or the problem of poverty of evidence. (1) The input during the period of a natural language acquisition is circumscribed and degenerate. The output simply cannot be accounted for by the learning mechanism only, such as induction and analogy on the input. The output and input differ both in quantity and quality. A subject knows linguistic facts without instruction or even direct evidence. These empirical facts, "knowledge without ground", (2) are expressed: "Knowledge of language is normally attained through brief exposure, and the character of the acquired knowledge may be largely predetermined." (3) This predetermined knowledge is some "notion of structure", in the mind of the speaker , which gu... ... but can hardly exist apart from languages, how could it be in the mind prior to language? What are those ideas? (Goodman, 1969, p.141) (24) He adds an interesting points: "Nevertheless, I think that what is significant in his paper is the fact that he believes that a genetic account is relevant to certain fundamental epistemological questions lying at the foundation of language." (Harman, 1969, p.170) (25) Quine, 1969, p.95. Also Lewis, Davison, Searle (Chomsky, 1986). (26) Quine, 1972. (27) The state SL is attained by setting parameters of So in one of the permissible ways, this is essential part of what is "learned," yielding the core, and adding a periphery of marked exceptions on the basis of specific experience, in accordance with the markedness principles of So. (28) Nagel, 1969, p.172. (29) Chomsky, 1986, p.269. (30) Danto, 1969, p.136.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Cost Management Test Questions & Suggested Solutions
Management Test Questions & Suggested Solutions by L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Question: 1 Bharata Ltd is considering proposals for design changes in one of a range of soft toys. The proposals are as follows: (a) Eliminate some of the decorative stitching from the toy. (b) Use plastic eyes instead of glass eyes in the toys (two eyes per toy). (c) Change the filling material used. It is proposed that scrap fabric left over from the body manufacture be used instead of the synthetic material which is currently used.The design change proposals have been considered by the management team and the following information has been gathered: (a) Plastic eyes will cost Rs. 15 per hundred whereas the existing glass eyes cost Rs. 20 per hundred. The plastic eyes will be more liable to damage on insertion into the toy. It is estimated that scrap plastic eyes will be 10% of the quantity issued from stores as compared to 5% of issues of gla ss eyes at present. (b) The synthetic filling material costs Rs. 80 per tonne. One tonne of filling is sufficient for 2,000 soft toys. c) Scrap fabric to be used as filling material will need to be cut into smaller pieces before as and this will cost Rs. 0. 05 per soft toy. There is sufficient scrap fabric for the purpose. (d) The elimination of the decorative stitching is expected to reduce the appeal of the product, with an estimated fall in sales by 10% from the current level. It is not felt that the change in eyes or filling material will adversely affect sales volume. The elimination of the stitching will reduce production costs by Rs. 0. 60 per soft toy. (e) The current sales level of the soft toy is 3,00,000 units per annum.Apportioned fixed costs per annum are Rs. 4,50,000. The net profit per soft toy at the current sales level is Rs. 3. Required: (i) Using the information given in the question, prepare an analysis which shows the estimated effect on annual profit if all thr ee proposals are implemented, and which enables management to check whether each proposal will achieve an annual target profit increase of Rs. 25,000. The proposals for plastic eyes and the use of scrap fabric should be evaluated after the stitching elimination proposal has been evaluated. (ii) Calculate the ercentage reduction in sales due to the stitching elimination at which the implementation of all three design change proposals would result in the same total profit from the toy as that earned before the implementation of the changes in design. Question:2 ABC Ltd manufactures a simple garden tool.At present the company is working at full capacity producing the three components A,B,C one of each being required for the assembly of the tool. All the machines are capable of making all the components. Current cost data concerning and hundred tools are as follows: Machine Hours 10 16 20 46 Variable Cost Rs. 6 32 32 42 142 Fixed Cost Rs. 10 2 32 22 76 Total Rs. 36 44 64 74 218 250 Comp onents – A Components – B Components – C Assembly Selling Price The management is engaged in preparing next year's budget an increase in sales is to be provided for. The factory already has to work at full machine capacity to meet current demand and no increase in the present machine capacity can be effected for over 12 months. Though facilities involving variable costs can be increase data very short notice. It is decided that one of the components will have to be bought out. The following quotations have been received: L.Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 1 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS Components A B C Price per 100 tools Price per 100 tools Price per 100 tools Rs 36 46 54 The Sales manager feels sure that he can sell at least 50% more tools than at present and probably 75% more provided the factory capacity is available. You are required to prepare a report for management giving your recommendations as to which com ponent should be ordered from outside supplied for the coming year if production is increased by 50% and 75% respectively.Question : 3 The Chakrapani Ltd's Cost behaviour is as follows: Production range in units 0- 20000 20001 – 65000 65001 – 90000 90001 – 100000 Fixed cost Rs. 160000 Rs. 190000 Rs. 210000 Rs. 250000 At an activity of 70000 units per year, variable costs total 280000. Full capacity is 100000 units per year. Required: (1) Production is now set at 50000 units per year with a sales price of Rs. 7. 50 per unit. What is the minimum number of additional units needed to be sold in an unrelated market at Rs. 5. 50 per unit to show a net profit of Rs. 3000 per year? 2) Production is now set at 60000 units per year. By how much may sales promotion costs be increased to bring production up to 80000 units and still earn a net profit of 5% of total sales if the selling price is held at Rs. 7. 50? (3) If net profit is currently Rs. 10000 with fixed costs at R s. 160000 and a 2% increase in price will leave units sold unchanged but increase profits by Rs. 5000. What is the present volume in units? Question: 4 The manager of a business has received enquiries about printing three different types of advertising leaflet.Information concerning these three leaflets is shown below: A Selling prices per 1000 leaf lets Estimated printing costs: Variable per 1000 leaflets Specific fixed costs per month 40 2,400 70 4,000 130 9,500 100 B 220 C 450 In addition to specific fixed costs a further Rs. 4,000/- per month would be incurred in renting special premises if any or all of the above three leaflets were printed. The minimum printing order would be for 30,000 of each type of leaflet per month and the maximum possible order is estimated to be 60,000 of each leaflet per month.Required (i) Examine and comment upon the potential profitability of leaflet printing. Make whatever calculations you consider appropriate. (ii) Assuming that orders have been re ceived to print each month 50,000 of both leaflet A and leaflet B calculate the quantity of leaflet C which would need to be ordered to produce an overall profit, for all three leaflets of Rs. 1,800/- per month. L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 2 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (iii) It is possible that a special type of paper used in printing leaflets will be difficult to obtain during the first few months.Three estimated consumption of this special paper for each type of leaflet is: Leaflet Leaflet Leaflet A B C 2 packs per 6 packs per 6 packs per 1000 leaflets 1000 leaflets 1000 leaflets Advise the manager on the quantity of each leaflet which should be printed in order to maximise profit in the first month, if 50,000 of each type of leaflet have been printed there remains unfulfilled order of 10,000 for each type of leaflet and there 170 packs of special paper available for the rest of the month. What will be your reaction if the pr inting quantity is to be pack of 1000 leaflets.Question: 5 For the past 20 years a charity organisation has held an annual dinner and dance with the primary intention of raising funds. This year there is concern that an economic recession may adversely affect both the number of persons attending the function and the advertising space that will be sold in the programme published for the occasion. Based on past experience and current prices and quotations, it is expected that the following costs and revenues will apply for the function. (Rs. ) Costs: Dinner and dance: Hire of premises Band and entertainers Raffle prizes Photographer Food at Rs. 2 per person (with a guarantee of 400 persons minimum) Programme: Revenues: Dinner and dance: A fixed cost of Rs. 2,000, plus Rs. 5 per page Price of tickets Average revenue from : Raffle Photographs Programme: Average revenue from advertising Rs. 5 per person Re. 1 per person Rs. 70 per page Rs. 20 per person 700 2,800 800 200 A sub-committee, formed to examine more closely the likely outcome of the function, discovered the following from previous records and accounts: No. of tickets sold 250 to 349 350 to 449 450 to 549 550 to 649 No. of past occasions 4 6 8 2 20 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 3Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS No. of programme pages sold 24 32 40 48 No. of past occasions 4 8 6 2 20 Several members of the sub-committee are in favour of using a market research consultant to carry out a quick enquiry into the likely number of tickets and the likely number of pages of advertising space that would be sold for this year's dinner and dance. You are required to: (a) Calculate the expected value of the profit to be earned from the dinner and dance this year; (b) Recommend, with relevant supporting financial and cost data, whether or not the charity should spent Rs. 00 on the market research enquiry and indicate the possible benefits the enquiry could provide. NB: A ll workings for tickets should be in steps of 100 tickets and for advertising in steps of 8 pages. Question: 6 The budgeted production for period 7 in the finishing department of a pottery manufacturer is, 4,500 cups, 4,000 saucers and 6,250 plates. In one standard hour a direct operative is expected to be able to finish either, 30 cups, or 40 saucers, or 25 plates.During period 7, 400 direct labour hours were worked and actual production was, 4,260 cups, 6,400 saucers and 3,950 plates. Required: Using the above information calculate for period 7: (i) The productivity of the direct operatives; (ii) An appropriate ratio expressing the department's actual production relative to that budgeted; (iii)Another ratio which you consider may be useful to management and explain the meaning of the ratio you have calculated. Question: 7 The Bashyam Co Ltd manufactures a variety of products of basically similar composition.Production is carried on by subjecting the various raw materials to a numb er of standardised operations, each major series of operations being carried out in a different department. All products are subject to the same initial processing which is carried out in departments A, B and C; the order and extent of further processing then depending upon the type of end product to be produced. It has been decided that a standard costing system could be usefully employed within Bashyam and pilot schemed to be operated for six months based initially only on epartment B, the second department in the initial common same of operations. If the pilot scheme produces useful results then a management accountant will be employed and the system would be incorporated as appropriate throughout the whole firm. The standard cost per unit of output of department B is: Rs. Direct labour (14 hours at Rs. 2 per hour) Direct material (i) (ii) Output of department A (3 kg at Rs. 9 per kg) Acquired by and directly input to department 4 Sreeram Coaching Point Rs. 28 27 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONSB material X (4 kg at Rs. 5 per kg) Variable overhead (at Rs. 1 per direct labour hours worked) Fixed production overheads (i) Directly incurred by department B – (note 1) manufacturing overhead (per unit) (ii) Allocated to department B general factory overhead (per unit) 3 8 11 14 20 47 Note 1. Based on normal monthly production of 400 units. In the first month of operation of the pilot study (month 7 of the financial year), department B had no work in progress at the beginning and the end of the month. The actual costs allocated to department B in the first month of operation were: Rs.Direct labour (6,500 hours) Direct materials (i) (ii) Output of department A (1,400 kg) – (note 2) Material X (1,000 kg) Variable overhead Fixed overhead (i) (ii) Directly incurred manufacturing overhead Allocated to department B – (note 3) 1,600 2,900 4,500 Rs. 59,000 Note 2. Actual cost of output of departm ent A. Note 3. Based on the actual expenditure on joint manufacturing overheads and allocated to departments in accordance with labour hours worked The production manager feels that the actual costs of Rs. 59,000 for production of 500 units indicates considerable inefficiency on the part of department B. e says, ‘I was right to request that the pilot standard costing system be carried out in department B as I have suspected that they are inefficient and careless – this overspending of Rs. 9,000 proves I am right'. Required: Prepare a brief statement which clearly indicates the reasons for the performance of department B and the extent to which that performance is attributable to department B. the statement should utilize variance analysis to the extent it is applicable and relevant. Question: 8 (i) Mathanakesari Ltd manufactures and sells a single product.In the quarter to 30 November 2002 sales of 10,000 units were budgeted at a unit selling price of Rs. 5 and a unit c ontribution of Rs. 1 (after charging variable costs). The budget had been prepared in the previous spring, and proved to be inaccurate. Actual sales for the November quarter were 7,000 units at a unit selling price of Rs. 8, giving a unit contribution of Rs. 3. You are required to calculate appropriate sales margin variances on the basis of this information. (ii) When reviewing the results for the quarter to 30 November the sales manager ascertained several additional facts.The total market for the product nationally had been only 45,000 units during the quarter, and not 50,000 units as Mathanakesari had originally anticipated. Mathanakesari had previously maintained a 20% share L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 5 Sreeram Coaching Point Rs. 14,000 21,000 11,500 32,500 8,000 COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS of the market for many years, adopting a policy of matching the market price. An index of the selling price levels of competitors' products had risen to 140, instead of remaining at the level of 100 as originally budgeted.Mathanakesari's variable costs (all materials) had risen in line with the change in the appropriate commodity price index, which had gone up from the expected level of 100 to an actual level of 125. You are required to calculate a set of variances to take appropriate notice of this additional information, and to discuss their significance. Question: 9 From past experience a company operating a standard cost system has accumulated the following information in relation to variances in its monthly management accounts: Percentage of total number of variances. 1) Its variances fall into two categories: Category 1: those which are not worth investigating Category 2: those which are worth investigating 64 36 100 (2) Of category 2, corrective action has eliminated 70% of the variances, but the remainder have continued. (3) The cost of investigation averages Rs. 350 and that of correcting variances averages Rs. 550. (4) The ave rage size of any variance not corrected is Rs. 525 per month and the company's policy is to assess the present value of such costs at 2% per month for a period of five months.You are required to: (a) Prepare two decision trees, to represent the position if an investigation is: (i) Carried out; (ii) Not carried out; (b) Recommend, with supporting calculations, whether or not the company should follow a policy of investigating variances as a matter of routine; (c) Explain briefly two types of circumstance that would give rise to variances in Category 1 and two to those in Category 2; (d) Mention any one variation in the information used that you feel would be beneficial too the company if you wished to improve the quality of the decision-making rule recommended in (b) above.Explain briefly why you have suggested it. Question: 10 Vishwakarma is a builder. His business will have spare capacity over the coming six months and he has been investigating two projects. Project A Vishwakarma i s tendering for a school extension contract. Normally he prices a contract by adding 100% to direct costs, to cover overheads and profit. He calculates direct costs as the actual cost of materials valued on a first-in-first-out basis, plus the estimated wages of direct labour. But for this contract he has prepared more detailed information. Four types of material will be needed: Matl.Quantity (units): Needed Already for contract in stock 1,100 150 600 200 100 200 300 400 6 Price per unit: (in Rs. ) Purchase Current Current price of Purchase resale units in stock price price 7. 00 40. 00 35. 00 20. 00 10. 00 44. 00 33. 00 21. 00 8. 00 38. 00 25. 00 10. 00 Sreeram Coaching Point Z Y X W L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS Z and Y are in regular use. Neither X nor W is currently used; X has no foreseeable use in the business, but W could be used on other jobs in place of material currently costing Rs. 6 per unit. The contract will la st for six months and requires two craftsmen, whose basic annual wage cost is Rs. 16,000 each. To complete the contract in time it will also be necessary to pay them a bonus of Rs. 700 each. Without the contract they would be retained at their normal pay rate, doing work which will otherwise be done by temporary workers engaged for the contract period at a total cost of Rs. 11,800. Three causal labourers would also be employed specifically for the contract at a cost of Rs. 4,000 each.The contract will require two types of equipment: general- purpose equipment already owned by Vishwakarma, which will be retained at the end of the contract, and specialized equipment to be purchased second-hand, which will be sold at the end of the contract. The general-purpose equipment cost Rs. 21,000 two years ago and is being depreciated on a straightline basis over a seven-year life (with assumed zero scrap value). Equivalent new equipment can be purchased currently for Rs. 49,000. Second-hand pri ces for comparable general-purpose equipment, and those for the relevant specialized equipment, are shown below.General – purpose equipment Purchase Resale Price Price (Rs. ) (Rs. ) Current After 6 months: If used for 6 months If not used 15,000 19,000 12,600 16,400 7,000 8,000 5,800 6,500 20,000 17,200 Specialized equipment Purchase Resale Pricep Price (Rs. ) (Rs. ) 9,000 7,400 The contract will require the use of a yard on which Vishwakarma has a four-year lease at a fixed rental of Rs. 2,000 per year. If Vishwakarma does not get the contract the yard will probably remain empty. The contract will also incur administrative expenses estimated at Rs. 5,000.Project B If Vishwakarma does not get the contract he will buy a building plot for Rs. 20,000 and build a house. Building costs will depend on weather conditions: Weather condition Probability Building costs (excluding land) A 0. 4 Rs. 60,000 B 0. 4 Rs. 80,000 C 0. 2 Rs. 95,000 Similarly the price obtained for the house will depend on market conditions: Market condition Probability Sale price (net of selling expenses) D 0. 7 Rs. 1,00,000 E 0. 3 Rs. 1,20,000 Vishwakarma does not have the resources to undertake both projects. The costs of his supervision time can be ignored.Requirements: (a) Ignoring the possibility of undertaking project B, calculate: (i) The price at which Vishwakarma would tender for the school extension contract if he used his normal pricing method, and (ii) The tender price at which you consider Vishwakarma would neither gain nor lose by taking the contract. (b) Explain, with supporting calculations, how the availability of project B should affect Vishwakarma's tender for the school extension contract. L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 7 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Question: 11 Narendran Products has two main products.X and Y, which have unit costs of Rs. 12 and Rs. 24 respectively. The company uses a markup of 33? % in establishing its selling prices and the current prices are thus Rs. 16 and Rs. 32. With these prices, in the year which is just ending, the company expects to make a profit of Rs. 3,00,000 from having produced and sold 15,000 units of X and 30,000 units of Y. This programme will have used all the available processing time in the finishing department. Each unit of X requires an hour of processing time in this department and every unit of Y correspondingly requires half an hour.Fixed overhead was Rs. 3,60,000 for the year and this has been charged to the products on the basis of the total processing hours used. All other cots may be assumed variable in relation to processing hours. In the current year it is estimated that Rs. 60,000 of the fixed overhead will be absorbed by X and Rs. 3,00,000 by Y. With the existing selling prices it is considered that the potential annual demand for X is 20,000 units and that for Y, 40,000 units. You are required to comment critically on the product mix adopted b y Narendran Products.Calculate what would have been the optimal plan given that there was no intention of changing the selling prices. (a) For the forthcoming year increased capacity has been installed in the finishing department so that this will no longer be a constraint for any feasible sales programme. Annual fixed overhead will be increased to Rs. 4,00,000 as a consequences of this expansion of facilities, but variable costs per unit are unchanged. A study commissioned by the Sales Director estimates the effect that alterations to the selling prices would have on the sales that could be achieved.The following table has been prepared: X Price Demand (‘000) Rs. 13. 50 30 Rs. 18. 50 10 Rs. 29. 00 60 Y Rs. 35. 00 20 It is thought reasonable to assume that the price/demand relationship is linear. Assuming that the company is now willing to abandon its cost plus pricing practices, if these can be shown to be deficient, you are required to calculate the optimal selling price for each product and the optimal output levels for these prices. State clearly any assumptions that you find it necessary to make.Question: 12 Division A of a large divisionalized organization manufactures a single standardized product. Some of the output is sold externally whilst the remainder is transferred to Division B where it is a subassembly in the manufacture of that division's product. The unit costs of Division A's product are as follows: (Rs. ) Direct material Direct labour Direct expense Variable manufacturing overheads Fixed manufacturing overheads Selling and packing expense – variable 4 2 2 2 4 1 17 Annually 10,000 units of the product are sold externally at the standard price of Rs. 0. In addition to the external sales, 5,000 units are transferred annually to Division B at an internal transfer charge of Rs. 29 per unit. This transfer price is obtained by deducting variable selling and packing expense from the external price since this expense is not incurred for internal transfers. Division B incorporates the transferred-in goods into a more advanced product. The unit costs of this product are as follows: L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 8 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS (Rs. Transferred-in term (from Division A) Direct material and components Direct labour Variable overheads Fixed overheads Selling and packing expense variable 29 23 3 12 12 1 80 Division B's manager disagrees with the basis used to set the transfer price. He argues that the transfers should be made at variable cost plus an agreed (minimal) mark-up since he claims that his division is taking output that Division A would be unable to sell at the price of Rs. 30. Partly because of this disagreement, a study of the relationship between selling price and demand has recently been made for each division by the company's sales director.The resulting report contains the following table: Customer demand at various selling prices: Divisi on A Selling price Demand Division B Selling price Demand Rs. 80 7,200 Rs. 90 5,000 100 2,800 Rs. 20 15,000 Rs. 30 10,000 Rs. 40 5,000 The manager of Division B claims that this study supports his case. He suggests that a transfer price of Rs. 12 would give Division A a reasonable contribution to its fixed overheads while allowing Division B to earn a reasonable profit. He also believes that it would lead to an increase of output and an improvement in the overall level of company profits.You are required: (a) To calculated the effect that the transfer pricing system has had on the company's profits, and (b) To establish the likely effect on profit of adopting the suggestion by the manager of Division B of a transfer price of Rs. 12. Question: 13 Companies RP, RR, RS and RT are members of a group. RP wishes to buy an electronic control system for its factory and, in accordance with group policy, must obtain quotations from companies inside and outside of the group. From outside of th e group the following quotations are received: Company A quoted Rs. 33,200. Company B quoted Rs. 5,000 but would buy a special unit from RS for Rs. 13,000. To make this unit, however, RS would need to buy parts from RR at a price of Rs. 7,500. The inside quotation was from RS whose price was Rs. 48,000. This would require RS buying parts from RR at a price of Rs. 8,000 and units from RT at a price of Rs. 30,000. However, RT would need to buy parts from RR at a price of Rs. 11,000. Additional data are as follows: (1) RR is extremely busy with work outside the group and has quoted current market prices for all its products. (2) RS costs for the RP contract, including purchases from RR and RT, total Rs. 2,000. For the Company B contract it expects a profit of 25% on the cost of its own work. 9 Sreeram Coaching Point L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (3) (4) RT prices provide for a 20% profit margin on total costs. The variable cost s of the group companies in respect of the work under consideration are: RR: 20% of selling price. RS: 70% of own cost (excluding purchases from other group companies) RT: 65% of own cost (excluding purchases from other group companies) You are required, from a group point f view, to: (a) Recommend, with appropriate calculations, whether the contract should be placed with RS or Company A or Company B; (b) State briefly two assumptions you have made in arriving at your recommendations. Question: 14 An industrial group of companies includes two divisions: A and B. the output of Division A is product A, two units of which are used by Division B for every one of its product B. Division B has first call on Division A's output but there is a separate market outside the group for the balance of Division A's output. All the output of Division B is sold outside the group.The maximum capacity of Division A is 1,30,000 units of A and that of Division B is 50,000 units of B per annum. Each divi sion maintains a stable level of stocks throughout the year. The group would like to examine the results of using different bases of transfer pricing under different scenarios (ie situations that could be expected to arise). The bases of transfer pricing are Absorbed standard cost Market price Variable cost plus a lump sum of 80% of Division A's fixed cost Scenario Number Product A Market price Total Demand (per unit) (thousand units) Rs. 5 23 29 30 25 35 100 70 130 Product A Rs. 20 Rs. 5 Product B Rs. 12 Rs. 18 (Exclusive of 2 units of Product A) 100 90 90 AS MP VC Product B Market price Total Demand (per unit) (thousand units) Rs. 40 30 30 Costs per unit are: Variable cost Fixed cost Budgeted volume in units per annum Part 1 1,00,000 40,000 You are required to calculate the profits shown by Division A and by Division B for the following seven situations: Scenario 15 23 29 MP MP Basis of Transfer pricing VC VC VC AS AS L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 10 Sreeram Coaching PointC OST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS Part 2 Assume that Division B receives an overseas order for 20,000 units of B that will in no way influence its other clientele. (a) As manager of Division B state, with supporting calculations, whether you would recommend acceptance of the order in the following two situations: Scenario (i) 23 (ii) 29 Price per unit (ex factory) Rs. 55 Rs. 65 Basic of transfer pricing AS MP (b) If you were Managing Director of the whole group state, with very brief reasons, whether you would recommend acceptance of the orders in (a) (i) and (a) (ii) above.Question: 15 Vista Electronics manufactures two different types of coils used in electric motors. In the falls of the current year. Erica Becker, the controller, compiled the following data. Sales forecast for 2000 (all units to be shipped in 2000): Product Light coil Heavy coil Raw material prices and inventory levels: Raw Material Expected Inventories January 1, 2000 32,000 lb. 29,000 lb 6,000 units Desired Inventories December 31, 2000 36,000 lb. 32,000 lb. 7,000 units Anticipated Purchase Price in Rs. 8 5 3 Units 60,000 40,000 Price Rs. 65 Rs. 95Sheet metal Copper wire Platform Use of raw material: Raw Material Sheet metal Copper wire Platform Direct-labor requirements and rates: Product Light coil Heavy coil Amount Used per Unit Light Coll Heavy Coll 4 lb 2 5 lb 3 1 unit Hours per Unit 2 3 Rate per Hour Rs. 15 20 Overhead is applied at the rate of Rs. 2 per direct-labor hour. Finished-goods inventories (in units): Product Expected January 1, 2000 20,000 8,000 Desired December 31, 2000 25,000 9,000 Light coil Heavy coil L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 11 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONSManufacturing overhead: Overhead Cost Item Purchasing and material handling Depreciation, utilities and inspection Activity-Based Budget Rate Rs. 25 per Rupee of sheet metal and cooper wire purchased. Rs. 4. 00 per coil produced (either type) Shipping Rs. 1. 00 per coil shipped (either type) Rs. 3. 00 per direct-labor hour General manufacturing overhead Required: Prepare the following budgets for 2000. 1) Sales budget (in Rupees). 2) Production budget (in units). 3) Raw-material purchases budget (in quantities). 4) Raw-material purchases budget (in Rupees). ) Direct-labor budget (in Rupees). 6) Manufacturing overhead budget (in Rupees). Question: 16 Toronto Business Associates, a division of Maple Leaf Services Corporation, offers management and computer consulting services to clients throughout Canada and the northeastern United states. The division specializes in website development and other Internet applications. The corporate management at Maple Leaf Services is pleased with the performance of Toronto Business Associates for the first nine months of the current year and has recommended that the division manager.Ramachandran, submit a revised forecast for the remaining quarter, as the division has exceeded the annua l plan year-to-date by 20 percent of operating income. An unexpected increase in billed hour volume over the original plan is the main reason for this increase in income. The original operating budget for the first three quarters for Toronto Business Associates follows. TORONTO BUSINESS ASSOCIATES 20Ãâ€"1 Operating Budget 1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter Total for first three QuartersRevenue: Consulting fees: Computer system consulting Management consulting Total consulting fees Other revenue Total revenue Expenses: Consultant salary expenses Travel and related expense General and administrative expenses Depreciation expense Corporate expense allocation Total expenses Operating income 3,86,750 45,625 1,00,000 40,000 50,000 6,22,375 1,24,500 3,86,750 45,625 1,00,000 40,000 50,000 6,22,375 1,24,500 3,86,750 45,625 1,00,000 40,000 50,000 6,22,375 1,24,500 11,60,250 1,36,875 3,00,000 1,20,000 1,50,000 18,67,125 3,73,500 4,21,875 3,15,000 7,36,875 10,000 7,46,875 4,21,875 3,15,000 7, 36,875 10,000 7,46,875 4,21,875 3,15,000 7,36,875 10,000 7,46,875 12,65,625 9,45,000 22,10,625 30,000 22,40,625 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 12 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS Howell will reflect the following information in his revised forecast for the fourth quarter. Toronto Business Associates currently has 25 consultants on staff, 10 for management consulting and 15 for computer systems consulting. Three additional management consultant have been hired to start work at the beginning of the fourth quarter in order to meet the increased client demand. †¢ The hourly billing rate for consulting revenue will remain at 90 per hour for each management consultant and 75 per hour for each computer consultant. However, due to the favorable increase in billing hour volume when compared to the plan, the hours for each consultant will be increased by 50 hours per quarter. †¢ The budgeted annual salaries and actual annual salaries, paid monthly, are the same: 50,000 for a management consultant and 46,000 for a computer consultant.Corporate management has approved a merit increase of 10 percent at the beginning of the fourth quarter for all 25 existing consultants, while the new consultants will be compensated at the planned rate. †¢ The planned salary expense includes a provision for employee fringe benefits amounting to 30 percent of the annual salaries. However, the improvement of some corporate wide employee programs will increase the fringe benefits to 40 percent. †¢ The original plan assumes a fixed hourly rate for travel and other related expenses for each billing hour of consulting. These are expense that are not reimbursed by the client, and the previously determined hourly rate has proven to be adequate to cover these costs. †¢ Other revenue is derived from temporary rentals and interest income and remains unchanged for the fourth quarter. General and administrative expense have been fa vourable at 7 percent below the plan; this 7 percent savings on fourth quarter expenses will be reflected in the revised plan. †¢ Depreciation of office equipment and personal computers will stay constant at the projected straight-line rate. †¢ Due to the favourable experience for the first three quarters and the division's increased ability to absorb costs, the corporate management at Maple Leaf Services has increased the corporate expenses allocation by 50 percent. Required: 1) Prepare a revised operating budget for the fourth quarter for Toronto Business Associates that Ramachandran will present to corporate management. 2) Discuss the reasons why an organization would prepare a revised operating budget. Question: 17 Ford ltd. anufactures and sells 15,000 units of a raft, RF17, in 2001. The full cost per unit is Rs. 200. Ford earns a 20% return on an investment of Rs. 18,00,000 in 2001. Required: (1) Calculate the selling price of RF17 in 2001. Calculate the markup perce ntage on the full cost per unit of RF17 in 2001. (2) If the selling price in requirement 1 represents a markup percentage of 40% on variable costs per unit, calculate the variable cost per unit of RF17 in 2001 (3) Calculate ford's operating income if it had increased the selling price to Rs. 230. at this price ford would have sold 13,500 units of RF17. Assume no change in total fixed costs. Should ford have increased the selling price of RF17 to Rs. 230? 4) In response to competitive pressure, ford must reduce the price of RF17 to Rs. 210 in 2002, in order to achieve sales of 15,000 units. Ford plans to reduce its investment to Rs. 16,50,000. If ford wants to maintain a 20% return on investment, what is the target cost per unit in 2002? L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 13 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS ; SOLUTIONS Question: 18 Amrutha, president of PAL Electronics (PE), is concerned about the prospects of one of its major products. The president h as been reviewing a marketing report with Krishna, marketing product manager, for their 10-disk car compact disk (CD) changer.The report indicates another price reduction is needed to meet anticipated competitors' reductions in sales prices. The current selling price for their 10-disk car CD changers is Rs. 350 per unit. It is expected that within three months PE's two major competitors will be selling their 10-disk car CD changers for Rs. 300 per unit. This concerns Amrutha because their current cost of producing the CD changers is Rs. 315, which yields a Rs. 35 profit on each unit sold. The situation is especially disturbing because PE had implemented an activity-based costing (ABC) system about two years ago. The ABC system helped them better identify costs, cost pools, cost drivers, and cost reduction opportunities.Changes made when adopting ABC reduced costs on this product by approximately 15 percent during the last two years. Now it appears that costs will need to be reduced considerably more to remain competitive and to earn a profit on the 10-disk car CD changers. Total costs to produce, sell, and service the CD changer units are as follows: 10-Disk Car CD Changer Per Unit Material Purchased components All other material Labor Manufacturing, direct Setups Materials handling Inspection Machining Cutting, shaping, and drilling Bending and finishing Other Finished-goods warehousing Warranty Total unit cost Rs. 110 40 65 9 18 23 21 14 5 10 Rs. 315 Amrutha has decided to hire Damodar, a consultant, to help decide how to proceed.After two weeks of review, discussion, and value engineering analysis, Chandran suggested that PE adopt a just-intime (JIT) cell manufacturing process to help reduce costs. He also suggested that using target costing would help in meeting the new target price. By changing to a JIT cell manufacturing system, PE expects that manufacturing direct labor will increase by Rs. 15 per finished unit. However, setup, material handling, inspec tion, and finished goods warehousing will all be eliminated. Machine costs will be reduced from Rs. 35 to Rs. 30 per unit, and warranty costs are expected to be reduced by 40 percent. Required: (1) Determine PAL Electronics' unit target cost the Rs. 300 competitive sales price while maintaining the same percentage of profit on sales as is earned on the current Rs. 350 sales price. 2) If the just-in-time cell manufacturing process is implemented with the changes noted, will PAL Electronics meet the unit target cost you determined in requirement (3)? Prepare a schedule detailing cost reductions and the unit cost under the proposed JIT cell manufacturing process. Question: 19 The management of Alliance Enterprises recently decided to adopt a just-in-time inventory policy to curb steadily rising costs and free up cash for purposes of investment. The company anticipates that inventory will decrease from Rs. 36,00,000 to Rs. 6,00,000, with the released funds to be invested at a 12 percent return for the firm. Additional data follow: L. Muralidharan, FCA. Grad. CWA. , 14 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS †¢ Reduced inventories should produce savings in insurance and property taxes of Rs. 27,000. †¢ Alliance will lease 75 % of an existing warehouse to another firm for Rs. 2 per square foot. The warehouse has 30,000 square feet. †¢ Because of the need to handle an increased number of small shipments from suppliers, Alliance will remodel production and receiving-dock facilities at a cost of Rs. 6,00,000. The construction costs will be depreciated over a 10-year life. †¢ A shift in suppliers is expected to result in the purchase and use of more expensive raw materials.However, these materials should give rise to fewer warranty and repair problems after Alliance's finished product is sold, resulting in a net savings for the firm of Rs. 25,000. †¢ Three employees who currently earn Rs. 30,000 each will be di rectly affected by the just-in-time adoption decision. Two employees will be transferred to other positions with Alliance; one will be terminated. †¢ Reduced raw material inventory levels and accompanying stockouts will cost Alliance Rs. 70,000. Required: (1) Compute the annual financial impact of Alliance's decision to adopt a just-in-time inventory system. (2) If the just-in-time system is implemented in proper fashion, what is the likelihood of excessive raw material stockouts?Briefly explain. (3) Adoption of a just-in-time purchasing system will often result in less need for the inspection of incoming materials and parts. Why? (4) In comparison with a traditional purchasing system, why does a just-in-time system give rise to an increased number of small shipments to the buying firm? Question: 20 The product structure and the lead times for a finished product ‘X' are given in figure below If 100 units of X are required in week 12 and if none of the components, sub-asse mblies and the end product are either on hand or on order, compute the amounts and dates of the planned order releases for all the components and sub-assemblies.Assume that there is no particular order size and therefore all the order quantities are lot for lot. X, LT = 2 P (1), LT = 3 Q (2), LT = 1 R (3), LT = 3 S (2), LT = 3 P (2), LT = 3 R (3), LT = 3 Question: 21 S (2), LT = 3 The lead time to procure Paracetamol from a supplier is four weeks. At present, 54 kg of the drug is available with us. There is also a scheduled receipt of 45 kg of it in four weeks. The production requirements of paracetamol over the next nine weeks are as: Week Amount in kg 1 24 2 3 29 4 11 15 5 – 6 5 7 19 8 27 9 18 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS If we use an order quantity of 45 kg, when shall we release the orders for Paracetamol?Question: 22 Having attended a CIMA course on activity-based costing (ABC) you decide to experiment by applying the principles of ABC to the four products currently made and sold by your company. Details of the four products and relevant information are given below for one period: Product Output in units Costs per unit: Direct material Direct labour Machine hours (per unit) A 120 (Rs. ) 40 28 4 B 100 (Rs. ) 50 21 3 C 80 (Rs. ) 30 14 2 D 120 (Rs. ) 60 21 3 The four products are similar and are usually produced in production runs of 20 units and sold in batches of 10 units. The production overhead is currently absorbed by using a machine hour rate, and the total of the production overhead for the period has been analysed as follows: (Rs. Machine department costs (rent, business rates, depreciation and supervision) Set-up costs Stores receiving Inspection / Quality control Materials handling and despatch 10,430 5,250 3,600 2,100 4,620 You have ascertained that the ‘cost drivers' to be used are as listed below for the overhead cost shown: Cost Set up costs Stores r eceiving Inspection / Quality control Materials handling and despatch Cost Driver Number of production runs Requisition raised Number of production runs Orders executed The number of requisition raised on the stores was 20 for each product and the number of orders executed was 42, each orders being for a batch of 10 of a product. You are required. a) To calculate the total costs for each product if all overhead costs are absorbed on a machine hour basis; (b) To calculate the total costs for each product, using activity-based costing; (c) To calculate and list the unit product cost from your figures in (a) and (b) above, to show the differences and to comment briefly on any conclusions which may be drawn which could have pricing and profit implications. Question: 23 Sumantra Technology Ltd. ,. manufactures several different types of printed circuit boards; however, two of the boards account for the majority of the company's sales. The first of these boards, a television circuit board , has been a standard in the industry for several years. The market for this type of board is competitive and price-sensitive. Sumantra plans to sell 65,000 of the TV boards in 2001 at a price of Rs. 50 per unit. The second high-volume product, a personal computer circuit board, is a recent addition to Sumantra's product line. Because the PC board incorporates the latest technology it can be sold at a premium price. The 2001 plans include the sale of 40,000 PC boards at Rs. 300 per unit. L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 16 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Sumantra's management group is meeting to discuss how to spend the sales and promotion Rupees for 2001. The sales manager believes that the market share for the TV board could be expanded by concentrating Sumantra's promotional efforts in this area.In response to this suggestion, the production manager said, â€Å"Why don't you go after a bigger market for the PC board? The cost sheets that I get show that the contribution from the PC board is more than double the contribution from the TV board. I know we get a premium price for the PC board. Selling it should help overall profitability. †The cost-accounting system shows that the following costs apply to the PC and TV boards. PC Board Direct material Direct labour Machine time Rs. 140 4 hr. 1. 5 hr. TV Board Rs. 80 1. 5 hr. .5 hr. Variable manufacturing overhead is applied on the basis of direct-labor hours. For 2001, variable overhead is budgeted at Rs. 1,20,000, and direct-labor hours are estimated at 2,80,000. The hourly rates for machine time and direct labor are Rs. 10 and Rs. 14, respectively. The company applies a material-handling charge at 10 percent of material cost. This material-handling charge is not included in variable manufacturing overhead. Total 2001 expenditures for direct material are budgeted at Rs. 1,06,00,000. Andrew Fulton, Sumantra's controller, believes that before the management group proceeds with the discussion about allocating sales and promotional Rupees to individual products, it might be worth while to look at these products on the basis of the activities involved in their production.Fulton has prepared the following schedule to help the management group understand this concept. â€Å"Using this information,†Fulton explained, â€Å"we can calculate an activity-based cost for each TV board and each PC board and then compare it to the standard cost we have been using. The only cost that remains the same for both cost methods is the cost of direct material. The cost drivers will replace the direct labor, machine time, and overhead costs in the old standard cost figures. †Budgeted Cost Procurement Production scheduling Packaging and shipping Total Machine setup Hazardous waste disposal Quality control General supplies Total Machine insertion Manual insertion Wave-soldering Total In Rs. ,00,000 2,20,000 4,40,000 10,60,000 4,46,000 48,000 5, 60,000 66,000 11,20,000 12,00,000 40,00,000 1,32,000 53,32,000 Required per Unit Parts: Machine insertions Manual insertions Machine setups Hazardous waste disposal Inspections L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 17 Cost Driver Number of parts Number of boards Number of boards Number of setups Rupees of waste Number of inspections Number of boards Number of insertions Numbers of insertions Number of boards Budgeted Annual Activity for Cost Driver 40,00,000 parts 1,10,000 boards 1,10,000 boards 2,78,750 setups 16,000 Rupees 1,60,000 inspections 1,10,000 boards 30,00,000 insertions 10,00,000 insertions 1,10,000 boards PC Board 55 35 20 3 . 35 lb. 2 TV Board 25 24 1 2 . 02 lb. 1 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONSRequired: (1) Identify at least four general advantages associated with activity-based costing. (2) On the basis of Sumantra's unit cost data given in the problem, calculate the total contribution margin expected in 2001 for the PC board and the TV board. (3) On the basis of an activity-based costing system, calculate the total contribution margin expected in 2001 for the PC board and the TV board. (4) Explain how a comparison of the results of the two costing methods may impact the decisions made by Sumantra's management group. Question: 24 Calton Ltd. make and sell a single product. The existing product unit specifications are as follows: Direct material X: Machine time: Machine cost per gross hour: Selling price: 8 sq. etres at Rs. 4 per sq. metre 0. 6 running hours Rs. 40 Rs. 100 Calton Ltd. , require to fulfil orders for 5,000 product units per period. There are no stocks of product units at the beginning or end of the period under review. The stock level of material X remains unchanged throughout the period. The following additional information affects the costs and revenues: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) 5% of incoming material from suppliers is scrapped due to poor receipt and storage organisation. 4% of material X i nput to the machine process is wasted due to processing problems. Inspection and storage of material X costs Rs. 0. 10 pence per sq. metre purchased.Inspection during the production cycle, calibration checks on inspection equipment, vendor rating and other checks costs Rs. 25,000 per period Production quantity is increased to allow for the downgrading of 12. 5% of product units at the final inspection stage. Downgraded units are sold as ‘second quality' units at a discount of 30% on the standard selling price. Production quantity is increased to allow for returns from customers which are replaced free of charge. Returns are due to specification failure and account for 5% of units initially delivered to customers. Replacement units incur a delivery cost of Rs. 8 per unit. 80% of the returns from customers are rectified using 0. hours of machine running time per unit and are re-sold as ‘third quality' products at a discount of 50% on the standard selling price. The remaini ng returned units are sold as scrap for Rs. 5 per unit. Product liability and other claims by customers is estimated at 3% of sales revenue from standard product sales. Machine idle time is 20% of gross machine hours used (i. e. running hours = 80% of gross hours). Sundry costs of administration, selling and distribution total Rs. 60,000 per period. Calton Ltd is aware of the problem of excess costs and currently spends Rs. 20,000 per period in efforts to prevent a number of such problems from occurring. (6) 7) (8) (9) (10) Calton Ltd. is planning a quality management programme which will increase its excess cost prevention expenditure from Rs. 20,000 to Rs. 60,000 per period. It is estimated that this will have the following impact. (1) A reduction in stores losses of material X to 3% of incoming material. (2) A reduction in the downgrading of product units at inspection to 7. 5% of units inspected. (3) A reduction in material X losses in process to 2. 5% of input to the machine pr ocess. L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 18 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (4) A reduction in returns of products from customers to 2. % of units delivered. (5) A reduction in machine idle time to 12. 5% of gross hours used. (6) A reduction in product liability and other claims to 1% of sales revenue from standard product sales. (7) A reduction in inspection, calibration, vendor rating and other checks by 40% of the existing figure. (8) A reduction in sundry administration, selling and distribution costs by 10% of the existing figure. (9) A reduction in machine running time required per product unit to 0. 5 hours. Required: (a) Prepare summaries showing the calculation of (I) total production units (pre-inspection), (ii) purchases of material X (sq. metres), (iii) gross machine hours.In each case the figures are required for the situation both before and after the implementation of the additional quality management programme, in order t hat the orders for 5,000 product units may be fulfilled. (b) Prepare profit and loss account for Calton Ltd for the period showing the profit earned both before and after the implementation of the additional quality management programme. (c) Comment on the relevance of a quality management programme and explain the meaning of the terms internal failure costs, external failure costs, appraisal costs and preventation costs giving examples for each, taken where possible from the information in the question. Question: 25 Destiny Products makes digital watches. Destiny is preparing a product life-cycle budget for a new watch, MX3. Development on the new watch is to start shortly.Estimates about MX3 are as follows: Life-cycle units manufactured and sold Selling price per watch Life-cycle costs R & D and design costs Manufacturing Variable costs per watch Variable costs per batch Watches per batch Fixed costs Marketing Variable costs per watch Fixed costs Distribution Variable costs per ba tch Watches per batch Fixed costs Customer-service costs per watch Ignore the time value of money. Required: (1) Calculate the budgeted life-cycle operating income for the new watch. (2) What percentage of the budgeted total product life-cycle costs will be incurred by the end of the R & D and design stages? Rs. 280 160 Rs. 7,20,000 Rs. 1. 50 Rs. 3. 20 Rs. 10,00,000 Rs. 15 Rs. 600 500 Rs. 18,00,000 Rs. 10,00,000 4,00,000 Rs. 40 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 19 Sreeram Coaching PointCOST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (3) An analysis reveals that 80% of the budgeted total product life-cycle costs of the new watch will be locked in at the end of the R & D and design stages. What implications does this finding have for managing MX3's costs? (4) Destiny's Market Research Department estimates that reducing MX3's price by Rs. 3 will increase life-cycle unit sales by 10 percent. If unit sales increase by 10%, Destiny plans to increase manufacturing and distribution b atch sizes by 10% as well. Assume that all variable costs per watch, variable costs per batch, and fixed costs will remain the same. Should Destiny reduce MX3's price by Rs. 3?Show your calculations. Question: 26 A first batch of 25 transistor radios took a total of 250 direct labour hours. It is proposed to assemble another 40 units. What will be the average labour per unit in this lot? Assume that there is 85% learning rate. Question: 27 Bhakatavatsala & Co, a fire arms manufacturer, has designed a new type of gun and a first lot of 25 guns assembled for test purposes had the following costs: Direct materials Direct labour Variable overheads Fixed overheads Total costs 24,500 22,500 16,875 11,250 75,125 Proportional to direct labour BSF being satisfied with this gun have asked the lowest bid for supply of 1,000 guns.The company will pass on the benefits of learning of 85% to the client in setting the bid. The company will set a selling price to earn 40% gross profit margin. Determ ine the unit price that should be bid. Question: 28 One unit of product A contributes Rs. 7 and requires 3 units of raw material and 2 hours of labour. One unit of product B contributes Rs. 5 and requires one unit of raw material and one hour of labour. Availability of the raw material at present is 48 units and there are 40 hours of labour. (a) Formulate it as a linear programming problem. (b) Write its dual. (c) Solve the dual with Simplex method and find the optimal product mix and shadow prices of the raw material and labour.Question: 29 The simplex tableau for a maximization problem of linear programming is given here: Product Mix Cj 5 0 xj x2 S2 cj zj cj – zj Xl 1 1 4 5 -1 x2 1 0 5 5 0 S1 1 -1 0 5 -5 S2 0 1 0 0 0 Quantity (bi) 10 3 Answer the following questions, giving reasons in brief: (a) Is this solution optimal? (b) Are there more than one optimal solution? (c) Is this solution degenerate? L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 20 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEME NT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS (d) Is this solution feasible? (e) If S1 is slack in machine A (in hours / week and S2 is slack in machine B (in hours / week), which of these machines is being used to the full capacity when producing according to this solution? f) A customer would like to have one unit of product x1 and is willing to pay in excess of the normal price in order to get it. How much should the price be increased in order to ensure no reduction of profits? Question: 30 Management of Ranga Ltd are very much worried about the continuing recession in the country. The company has 7 divisions (A to G). they have decided to close four divisions namely A,B,C and D and transfer some of the employees to the remaining divisions. Personnel at the units to be closed have signified a willingness to move to any of the three remaining units and the company is willing to provide them with removal costs.The technology of production is different to some degree at each unit and retr aining expenses will be incurred on transfer. Not all existing personnel can be absorbed by transfer and a number of redundancies will arise. Cost of redundancy is given as a general figure at each unit is to be closed. Number employed A-200 B-400 C-300 D-200 Rs. thousands per person Retraining costs Transfer to : Unit E Unit F Unit G Removal costs: Transfer to : Unit E Unit F Unit G Redundancy payments 2. 5 2. 4 2. 5 6. 0 3. 6 4. 6 2. 7 5. 0 3. 4 3. 4 3. 3 6. 0 3. 7 1. 7 2. 7 7. 0 0. 5 0. 6 0. 5 0. 4 0. 4 0. 3 0. 6 0. 6 0. 7 1. 3 0. 3 0. 3 A B C D Additional personnel required at units remaining open: E-350 F-450 G-200.To use the transportation method to obtain an optimal solution to the problem of the cheapest means to transfer personnel from the units to be closed to those which will be expanded. Question: 31 A management consulting firm has a backlog of 4 contracts. Work on these contracts must be started immediately. 3 project leaders are available for assignment to the contrac ts. Because of the varying work experience of the leaders, the profit to consulting firm will vary based on the assignment as shown below. The unassigned contract can be completed by subcontracting the work to an outside consultant. The profit on the subcontract is zero. Finds the optimal assignment.Contract Project Leader A B C L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 1 13 15 6 21 2 10 17 8 3 9 13 11 4 11 20 7 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Question: 32 The tit-fit Scientific Laboratories is engaged in producing different types of High-class equipments for use in Science labs. The company has two different assembly lines to produce its popular product â€Å"P†. Processing time (minutes) Assembly A1 Assembly A2 10 0. 10 0. 20 11 0. 15 0. 40 12 0. 40 0. 20 13 0. 25 0. 15 14 0. 10 0. 05 Use the following Random(Rn. ) no's, generate data on the process times for 15units of the item and complete the expected process time for the product. 13 4 7476 4943 Question: 33 A project consists of 7 activities. The time for performance of each of the activity is as follows:Activity A Immediate Time 3 4 5 B 4 4 4 4 4 C A 1 1 1 D B,C 4 5 E D 3 4 5 6 F D 5 7 G E,F 2 3 Probability 0. 2 0. 6 0. 2 0. 1 0. 3 0. 3 0. 2 0. 1 0. 15 0. 75 0. 10 0. 8 0. 2 0. 1 0. 3 0. 3 0. 3 0. 20 0. 80 0. 5 0. 5 8343 1183 1915 3602 9445 5415 7505 0089 0880 7428 3424 9309 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 22 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS a) Draw a network and identify critical path using expected time. b) Simulate the project for 5 times using Rn. no's and find critical paths? 8 99 57 57 77 Question: 34 A small maintenance project consist of jobs in the table below. With each job is listed its normal time and a minimum or crash time in days. The cost in Rs. Per day of each job is also given: Job(i-j) 1-2 1-3 1-4 2-4 3-4 4-5 Normal days 9 8 15 5 10 2 Crash days 6 5 10 3 6 1 Cost/Day 40 50 60 20 30 80 13 93 33 12 37 09 18 49 31 34 20 24 65 96 11 73 22 92 85 27 07 07 98 92 10 72 29 00 91 59 a) What is the normal project length and minimum project length? b) Determine the minimum crashing cost of schedules ranging from normal length down to, and including, the minimum length schedule. c) Overhead costs total Rs. 115/day. What is the optimum length schedule in terms of both crashing and overhead cost?Question: 35 Allocate the men efficiently to the jobs given below and Find out the time required to complete the project. No. of persons: 4 Job (I-j) 1-2 1-3 1-5 2-3 2-6 3-4 4-7 5-6 6-7 tn 10 6 5 0 8 10 10 7 5 Men 1 2 3 0 1 2 3 1 2 L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 23 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Suggested Solutions L. Muralidharan, FCA. , Grad. CWA. , 24 Sreeram Coaching Point COST MANAGEMENT – TEST QUESTIONS & SOLUTIONS Answer to Question No. 1: Elimination of decorative stitching cost. Cost Loss of contribution due to fall in sales (WN-1) 1,35,000 Net benefit = 27,000/(a) Substituting glass eyes by plastic eyes.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Online School vs. Public School Essay
Sloan Consortium stated that, â€Å"More than one million students attended classes via the Internet in 2008. Of those million, around 200,000 were enrolled in full-time virtual schools, meaning they attend all of their classes online.†I have been doing Online Schooling for two years but before that I went to public school. Online schooling is a better choice than public schooling because you have more control, there is no drama, and you have more free time. I prefer online homeschooling because I can control my pace. I get to decide when I want to work and I don’t have to study all day, everyday like I normally would. The course schedule is also up to me; courses can be done one at a time or in groups. During my first year at an online school I did five courses at one time. It’s now my second year and I am doing one course at a time, which I definitely prefer. At Public schools, course schedules are picked for me and I would have no control. You also can’t control what is going on in your school environment. One of the best things about online school is that there is never any drama. I really hate gossiping, which is a big problem at public schools. Because I only interact with other kids from my school by way of the internet there is no pettiness between us. Kids my age fight over friends and boyfriends or girlfriends. There’s nothing to fight about when you live as far away from each other as we do. At normal schools though, you see everyone everyday. When your constantly with the same group of people, someone’s feelings are always getting hurt and there is constant arguments. Many of situations involve your â€Å"friends†. If your friends with someone you can’t be friends with anyone they don’t like, which can get very complicated. 3 When doing school online, you have much more free time. If I stay caught up, I’m able to do things after school and on the weekends. When I was in public school, I had far too much homework to do anything. Now I’m able to take a few days off for vacation or because I’m sick and not have to worry about falling far behind. While at public school all of my time was filled by homework, but now I’m able to spend hours after school with my horse or just relaxing. Some of my family has expressed concern about me not interacting with children my age because I don’t go to public school. Because of online schooling, I’m able to hang out with my friends at our barn. Before I switched I never saw any of my friends outside of school because I never had the time. Online schooling is a much better choice than public schooling. The benefits of online school far outweigh those of public schooling. With Online schooling you have so many more choices, everything is up to you! There are many different schooling choices but online schooling has made my life easier and stress free. I definitely suggest that you look into online schooling as an alternative to public school. It may not be right for everyone, but it might be right for you.
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
Free Essays on I Want A Wife By Judy Brady
Who wouldn’t want a wife? Judy Brady will tell you exactly why you would want a wife. Written in 1970, I Want a Wife still rings as true today as it would have thirty years ago. Brady will tell you what a wife is good for and what the wife should and shouldn’t do. This essay is a very witty and satirical view of the classic role women play in families. Judy Brady paints a picture of somebody who will satisfy your every need and want, someone who will provide for you. Someone who will bring home the bacon, take care of the children, plan outings and gatherings. Someone who will do everything for you - needs - wants - wishes - you name it, and a wife will do it. If that wife should become unacceptable, or a better wife should come along, the previous wife is completely disposable. A wife is the perfect accessory to anyone’s life. Now, if you could package the idea of a wife that Judy Brady describes, you would have the perfect product. A Wife takes on every needed personality and puts it to good use. A wife is a mother, a secretary, a nurse, even a maid. The â€Å"Wife†would be sold out across the nation. Back ordered as soon as it hit the shelf. Mix the idea with some creative advertising and you would have the most profitable product ever. Just think, big neon signs outside stores flashing - wife sold here. Upgrade every year and add a new trait, and you would never worry about a consumer base. Brady’s idea of a wife is something - that despite your sexual preference - everybody would want. Brady shows us that you can be completely selfish and the wife would stay by your side and support your decision. You would never have to worry about it talking back or drinking too much and embarrassing you at company parties. This perfect product would be completely disposable. Nobody wants last years model. Compare the idea of a wife to a computer. Every year a new model comes out, and a large portion of the consumer base thr... Free Essays on I Want A Wife By Judy Brady Free Essays on I Want A Wife By Judy Brady Who wouldn’t want a wife? Judy Brady will tell you exactly why you would want a wife. Written in 1970, I Want a Wife still rings as true today as it would have thirty years ago. Brady will tell you what a wife is good for and what the wife should and shouldn’t do. This essay is a very witty and satirical view of the classic role women play in families. Judy Brady paints a picture of somebody who will satisfy your every need and want, someone who will provide for you. Someone who will bring home the bacon, take care of the children, plan outings and gatherings. Someone who will do everything for you - needs - wants - wishes - you name it, and a wife will do it. If that wife should become unacceptable, or a better wife should come along, the previous wife is completely disposable. A wife is the perfect accessory to anyone’s life. Now, if you could package the idea of a wife that Judy Brady describes, you would have the perfect product. A Wife takes on every needed personality and puts it to good use. A wife is a mother, a secretary, a nurse, even a maid. The â€Å"Wife†would be sold out across the nation. Back ordered as soon as it hit the shelf. Mix the idea with some creative advertising and you would have the most profitable product ever. Just think, big neon signs outside stores flashing - wife sold here. Upgrade every year and add a new trait, and you would never worry about a consumer base. Brady’s idea of a wife is something - that despite your sexual preference - everybody would want. Brady shows us that you can be completely selfish and the wife would stay by your side and support your decision. You would never have to worry about it talking back or drinking too much and embarrassing you at company parties. This perfect product would be completely disposable. Nobody wants last years model. Compare the idea of a wife to a computer. Every year a new model comes out, and a large portion of the consumer base thr...
Monday, October 21, 2019
The understanding of what has happened in Great Britains economy over the last two years
The understanding of what has happened in Great Britains economy over the last two years Introduction The Great Britain has experienced one of the most devastating crises since 2007 following the famous economic catastrophe that hit the entire Europe. The crisis has come to be known as the European crisis since has affected most of the countries that lie within the euro zone.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The understanding of what has happened in Great Britain’s economy over the last two years specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Since the United Kingdom is one of such countries, it has also been affected by the disaster. Researchers have indicated that the root of this financial crisis is the inability of most of the European countries to repay their financial debts. With such a calamity, countries must be bailed out through the help of third parties. Great Britain has enacted various economic policies to emancipate itself from the crisis. The Bank of England has also enacted various economic pacts in an effort to get Britain and other European nations out of the crisis. The European crisis emanates from both the government and the private sectors’ inability to repay their debts. Both the British government and the Bank of England have been trying to revive this economy but with little success. However, the crisis is not yet solved. In fact, over the last two years, the Great Britain has experienced a double recession. Therefore, the paper seeks to discuss the question of whether the British government and the Bank of England have been successful in running the economy over the last two years. The paper also endeavours to describe and evaluate the main macroeconomic policies that have been used by the British Government and the Bank of England over the last two years. The Extent of Success of the British Government and the Bank of England in Running the British Economy over the last two Years The British government and the Bank of England have not been successful in ru nning the British government in the last two years. Although the British economy has experienced a recession since the year 2007, this downturn has doubled in the past two years. In fact, within the last three years, this economy has sunk twice. Worse still, the rate of unemployment has increased especially in the financial and construction quarters. The beginning of the crisis in England was in 2007. In this year, government and private sectors’ debt started rising very fast because of the increased levels of private and government debts in the world and the downgrading of debts owed by government in various states in Europe. Because of the increase in property bubble, the private sector easily became autonomous. This impact was also attributed to bailouts by various banks in Europe including the Bank of England. The Bank of England was responding to instructions from the government of England in reaction to stopping the post bubbles effects of the economy. At this point, in dividual states in Europe have begun to tackle the problem individually. Consequently, the crisis has threatened to split the European Union.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Surprisingly, the Bank of England being one of the most established banks in Europe has contributed to the current recession problem facing its country. This bank helped Greece to cover its financial position for a long duration leading to the worsening of the crisis, which still affects the United Kingdom today. The inability to sustain the wages and pensions by the government of Greece led to accumulation of debt. This debt crisis has negatively affected the United Kingdom over the last two years. However, Greece tried to conceal its fiscal position through the aid of major well-established banks in Europe. Some banking institutions benefited from this action although it was short lasted sinc e the crisis soon became so glaring. Since the Bank of England is one of the largest banks in Europe, it had a hand in the formation of this crisis. For this reason, its efforts to solve this crisis over the last two years have not born any fruits. The crisis continues to grow from bad to worse. The government of the United Kingdom has been trying to end this crisis with no success. The greatest hindrance has been the use of a single legal tender by the whole European Union. Since the euro zone uses one currency though with a variation in taxation and public pension system, the government of England cannot respond to this crisis with competence. The Bank of England has been struggling to clear its debts over the last two years. Most banks in the European region have big debts, which make them have their solvency questioned. This issue has influenced more negatively on the economy of England. The rate of inflation has doubled followed by a cut in tax limitation meaning that the two h ave not been successful. It is also clear that the government of England and the Bank of England have not been successful in their efforts to end the economic crisis facing their nation in the last two years. In fact, the two have contributed to the worsening of the crisis witnessed in the last two years. According to Deirdre (2008), in 2008, the Bank of England experienced a decline in mortgage up to the 70% mark. It was only in 2010, 2011 followed by 2013 that the economic crisis in Europe grew from bad to worse. The European countries including the United Kingdom are therefore trying various intervention methods though they have not yet succeeded. Such methods include the creation of European financial stability facility, banks writing off 53.3% debts from individual creditors, and the creation of European fiscal compact.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on The understanding of what has happened in Great Britain’s economy over the last two years speci fically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Some of the countries that were worst affected by the European crisis were Greece and Portugal. However, the United Kingdom has also been affected by this crisis. The bank of England has been spearheading efforts to bail out various banks in Europe in a bid to end the European crisis (Gore, 2010). Today, the government of England is still working out policies to ensure that European countries work together towards ending the financial crisis. The government is doing so by working out plans to integrate the European Union banking administration with an all-inclusive oversight and insurance in an effort to save the collapsing banks. The Bank of England is also working in tandem with the central bank of the European Union. As Gary points out, the European Union’s central bank is also checking on money flows through the provision of lower rates of interest (2009). This bank is also working hard to salvage the i mpact of the crisis. Over the last two years, this effort has been done by giving the failing banks cheap loans. The government of England just like other governments in Europe has also begun implementing the Euro plus Pact. This strategy shows that the government of England is dedicated and committed to see the success of the pact. Therefore, the government has been working hard to end the current financial crisis in England. This pact aims at changing the political standing, the monetary position, and the competitive ability of the European region. The government of England through its economists has also advised that the country should embark on addition on investments on the public and levying of friendly taxes that consider growth especially on wealth, property, private sector, and financial institutions. This strategy has been implemented over the last two years although there is no tangible positive effect from it so far. The European crisis threatens the unity of the Europea n Union. The government of Europe has also been advocating for increase in European Investment bank funds. Such political-economic decisions have also influenced politics and leadership in some European countries, for example, Greece, Ireland, and France. One can therefore deduce that the government of England and the bank of England have invested in methods of ensuring that their nation gets out of the European crisis. However, their efforts have not been effective. It is even predicted that this recession may continue up to 2014. The Main Macroeconomic Policies used by the British Government and the Bank of England over the Last Two Years There are various macroeconomic policies that have been used by the British Government and the Bank of England over the last two years to address the issue at hand. The policies are based on the premise that product market and labour keep on changing implying that the recession that England is facing is temporary. The economy of Britain may have remained in recession since 2007 due to the rigidity of prices and wages.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More These two facets can make the economy stagnate below its full potential for a long time. According to Fried (2012, p.100), the major drawback to enactment and implementation of policies geared towards economy recovery are reduction of nominal wages and prices. For example, every trade union will completely go against the reduction of wages while employing companies would celebrate wage reduction in order to cut on cost. The government of England has enacted policies to ensure consumer confidence in the economy by encouraging consumers to spend their disposable income. This policy also involves consumer protection, which regulates consumer financial services and products to attain similar standards. The consumer protection agency also ensures that accurate information is disseminated to the consumers concerning products and even services. This strategy will protect customers from hidden charges, deception, and abusive conditions during the exchange of goods and services. Should consu mers put confidence in their economy, the rate of recession would decrease. The government has also put measures to reduce the amount of income tax available for disposal thus increasing buyers’ confidence to spend their income rather than to save it. The second policy being implemented by the bank is the formulation and execution of monetary policies. The Bank of England has cut the interest rates severally over the last two years aiming at stimulating the demand for loans by consumers or borrowers. When the interest rates are reduced, people will develop the confidence to borrow and spend their income. According to Conway (2008), the heavy borrowing has led to a huge economic deficit impact in Great Britain. People also gain confidence to invest in the economy. This policy is also used to ensure that England develops at the same level with other members of the European Union. The other policy that has been enacted by England’s government is the fiscal policy. The gov ernment has come up with fiscal policies that expand on the previous policies because such policies can help an economy get out of recession. Fiscal policies also involve correction of key aspects of the regulatory framework that control elements like accounting standards, capital rules, and credit controlling agencies. The policies also help in solving the question of unemployment. Unemployment resulted from inability of the governments in England to repay their debts hence reducing the available income to pay employees. However, regardless of these policies, this problem still affects England. Through such fiscal policies, governments are able to reduce crowding in the economy because the policies make the government spend its funds as a way of reducing the amount spent by those in private investments as applied by the British government. The government of England has also worked very hard to control deflation through price regulation across the country. It is important to manage depreciation since customers will withhold their money when they realise that prices of various goods are likely to go down in the future. This situation can retard the economy. To avoid it, the government enacts micro-prudential supervision, which will supervise and regulate thrifts, banks, holding companies, and the non-bank institutions. This strategy majorly covers the financial organisations and utilities of financial markets. The government of England has also enacted policies to guard its economy against supply shocks under the premise that, when the prices of supplies hike very much, prices of goods and services shift. Hence, there is a reduced economic growth and increased inflation. This policy also includes the enactment of Macro-prudential supervision where countries create financial stability oversight councils to identify the risks that may threaten the financial wellbeing of the nations or promote market discipline and communication. For example, this supervision has provided the economy with a financial cushion from losses of both non-financial and financial institutions in case of a crisis. It has helped to heighten response to threats that may emerge in the financial wellbeing of the countries. Conclusion In conclusion, the United Kingdom has faced economic recession since 2007 because of the wider European crisis that has been ongoing. The European crisis is the economic crisis that has affected most countries in the European zone since they become unable to re-finance their debts without the intervention of third parties. Efforts by the Government of the United Kingdom and the Bank of England have not been able to overcome the menace. Although the bank has intervened severally in a bid to cut down the interest rates, the recession has grown to worse. This crisis has made the Bank of England unable to pay its wage bills and or even control its lending rates. Out of the credit boom initiated by big banks, global equities and real estate resul ted in a dangerous lending behaviour across Europe (Foldvary, 2008). It has also reduced profits in many financial institutions in England. In England, the government has taken various measures in the form of policies in a bid to ensure that it cushions its nation from the effects of this recession in the form of macroeconomic developments in the country’s economy. The government of England has also enacted policies to guard its economy against supply shocks. The government of England has also worked very hard to control deflation. The other policy that has been enacted by England’s government is the fiscal policy as discussed amongst other policies. References Conway, E 2008, Gordon Brown policies piling up budget deficit, viewed on https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/2795798/Gordon-Brown-policies-piling-up-budget-deficit.html Deirdre, H 2008, ‘Nationwide warns of recession as house price drop doubles’, The Times, 11 Aug., p. 5. Foldvary, F 2007 , The Depression of 2008 , The Gutenberg Press, London. Fried, J 2012, Who Really Drove the Economy Into the Ditch, Algora Publishing, New York. Gary, D 2009, ‘Bank ‘prints’ Â £75bn and cuts interest rates in half’, The Times, 5 March, p. 4. Gore, C 2010, The global recession of 2009 in a long-term development perspective’, Journal of International Development, vol. 22 no. 6, pp. 714-38.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
Critical Analysis of Your Own Writing
Critical Analysis of Your Own Writing Critical Analysis of Your Own Writing Critical Analysis of Your Own Writing By Guest Author This is a guest post by Alice Peterson . If you want to write for Daily Writing Tips check the guidelines here. So you think you have something to say? How do you get past the stymieing effect of self-analysis? Is this good enough? Will your target audience be provoked to the point of discomfort? Are you â€Å"okay with that?†American literature today is in danger of being hampered by the three-minute attention span. Educators are being taught that that there is a â€Å"generational culture†(isn’t that an oxymoron? I’ll save that for a later article) wherein our audience no longer has the abstract-thinking ability to solve a complex problem. Our literary contributions are bound to suffer. How can we sidestep this problem and improve our critical thinking skills for writing? Here is I challenge I have for you: attempt to read the passage below and answer the following questions in four minutes. Are the characters consistent with their time and place? Is the dialogue appropriate to both the audience of the writer and the character? Is the writing original and thought-provoking? Some might call Big J a megalomaniac. Although a tradesman by day, he threw lavish outdoor parties on weekends in his fishing village of Golly Me for anyone who would listen to his bombastic diatribes against the status quo. He was known for preparing local cuisine with few calories but full satiety, for this strategy ever-expanded his circle of close friends. Tonight, with a full belly and the feeling of being in an exclusive club, I felt a sense of purpose and renewed energy in my middle age. I was ready to hear Big J’s pronouncements for the week. â€Å"I am the alpha and the omega,†he broadcast to 5,000 of us with only a megaphone to help his voice carry. Heads in the crowd restlessly turned right-to-left and left-to-right. Confused faces repeated the words in their native English. Sure, Big J is the smartest guy in the room. Few of us had been to college and studied foreign languages. What was he talking about? It was Greek to me. 1. â€Å"Why here, why now?†This is the simplest tool of critical thinking. Why did I have the character suddenly speak in a language foreign to his fictional audience? No one in my story was well-travelled, or had been to college yet. They might not even read well or at all. Perhaps it was to establish J as â€Å"the smartest guy in the room,†well-travelled and culturally astute. I have to determine if this anachronism detracts from the scene, or if it is worth it so I can later sell simple fish trinkets that are coincidentally shaped like the Greek letter alpha. 2. What about the first paragraph? Is it realistic to say low-calorie, highly satisfying food is a crowd pleaser? We are in a fishing village, so the local cuisine is fish. We know most fish contains protein and healthy fats which do produce a full feeling for fewer calories than meals heavy in carbohydrates. 3. What about the megaphone? Have I ever been at an outdoor event at the back of a crowd of 5,000 and heard the entertainment clearly over a megaphone? Personally, I am not a fan of the outdoor concerts with sophisticated electronic s and speakers. Just a few hundred people or so between myself and the stage will greatly reduce my acoustical enjoyment. Although we all look for time-savers throughout our day, practice is truly the best way to improve skills. This exercise probably took you between four and five minutes to complete. Keep applying this tool to everything you read and write, and you will be rewarded with expert skills, and maybe a little discomfort. Alice Peterson serves on the editorial review board for the Journal of Neuroscience Nursing. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Use â€Å"That,†â€Å"Which,†and â€Å"Who†"Wracking" or "Racking" Your Brain?Glimpse and Glance: Same or Different?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)