Project on Budgetary Control Essay Essays

Project on Budgetary Control Essay Essays Project on Budgetary Control Essay Paper Project on Budgetary Control Essay Paper 1. A budget is concerned for a definite future period. 2. A budget is a written papers. 3. A budget is a elaborate program of all the economic activities of a concern. 4. All the sections of a concern unit co-operate for the readying of a concern budget. 5. Budget is a mean to accomplish concern and it is non an terminal in itself. 6. Budget demands to be updated. corrected and controlled every clip when fortunes alterations. Therefore it is a uninterrupted procedure. 7. Budget helps in planning. coordination and control. 8. Different types of budgets are prepared by industries harmonizing to concern demands. 9. A budget acts a concern barometer. 10. Budget is normally prepared in the visible radiation of Past Experience. 11. Budget is a changeless enterprise of the Management. 2 Preparation OF BUDGETS 1. Definition of aims: A budget being a program for the accomplishment of certain operational aims. it is desirable that the same are defined exactly. The aims should be written out ; the countries of control demarcated ; and points of gross and outgo to be covered by the budget stated. This will give a clear apprehension of the program and its range to all those who must collaborate to do it a success. 2. Location of the key ( or budget ) factor: There is normally one factor ( sometimes there may be more than one ) which sets a bound to the entire activity. For case. in India today sometimes non-availability of power does non let production to increase inspite of heavy demand. Similarly. deficiency of demand may restrict production. Such a factor is known as cardinal factor. For proper budgeting. it must be located and estimated decently. 3. Appointment of accountant: Formulation of a budget normally requires wholeclip services of a senior executive ; he must be assisted in this work by a Budget Committee. dwelling of all the caputs of section along with the Managing Director as the Chairman. The Controller is responsible for co-ordinating and development of budget programmes and fixing the manual of direction. known as Budget manual. The Budget manual is a agenda. papers or brochure which shows. in written forms the budgeting administration and processs. The manual should be good written and indexed so that a transcript thereof may be given to each departmental caput for counsel. 3 4. Budget period: The period covered by a budget is known as budget period. There is no general regulation regulating the choice of the budget period. In pattern the Budget Committee determines the length of the budget period suited for the concern. Normally. a calendar twelvemonth or a period coextensive with the fiscal twelvemonth is adopted. The budget period is so sub-divided into shorter periods- it may be months or quarters or such periods as coincide with period of trading activity. 5. Standard of activity or end product: For fixing budgets for the hereafter. past statistics can non be wholly relied upon. for the past normally represents a combination of good and bad factors. Therefore. though consequences of the yesteryear should be studied but these should merely be applied when there is a likeliness of similar conditions reiterating in the hereafter. Besides. while puting the marks for the hereafter. it must be remembered that in a progressive concern. the accomplishment of a twelvemonth must transcend those of earlier old ages. Therefore what was good in the yesteryear is merely just for the current twelvemonth. In budgeting. repairing the budget of gross revenues and of capital outgo are most of import since these budgets determine the extent of development activity. For budgeting gross revenues. one must see the tendency of economic activity of the state. reactions of salesmen. clients and employees. consequence of monetary value alterations on gross revenues. the proviso for advertizement run program capacity etc. 4 Meaning of Budgetary Control: The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England and Wales has defined the footings ‘budgetary control’ as â€Å"Budgetary control is the constitution of budgets associating to theduties of executives of a policy and the uninterrupted comparing of the existent with the budgeted consequences. either to secure by single action the aim of the policy or to supply a footing for its alteration. † It is the system of direction control and accounting in which all the operations are forecasted and planned in progress to the extent possible and the existent consequences compared with the forecasted and planned 1s. Budgetary Control Involves: 1. Constitution of budgets 2. Continuous comparing of actuals with budgets for accomplishment of marks 3. Revision of budgets after sing changed fortunes 4. Puting the duty for failure to accomplish the budget marks. The outstanding characteristics of Budgetary Control System are as follows: 1. Determining the aims to be achieved. over the budget period. and the policy or policies that might be adopted for the accomplishment of these terminals. 2. Determining the assortment of activities that should be undertaken for the accomplishment of the aims. 3. Pulling up a program or a strategy of operation in regard of each category of activity. in physical every bit good as pecuniary footings for the full budget period and its parts. 5 4. Puting out a system of comparing of existent public presentation by each individual. subdivision or section with the relevant budget and finding of causes for the disagreements. if any. 5. Guaranting that disciplinary action will be taken where the program is non being achieved and. if that be non possible. for the alteration of the program. In brief. it is a system to help direction in the allotment of duty and authorization. to supply it with assistance for doing. gauging and be aftering for the hereafter and to ease the analysis of the fluctuation between estimated and existent public presentation. In order that budgetary control may work efficaciously. it is necessary that the concern should develop proper footing of measuring or criterions with which to measure the efficiency of operations. i. e. . it should hold in operation a system of standard costing. Besides this. the organisation of the concern should be so incorporate that all lines of authorization and duty are laid. allocated and defined. This is indispensable since the system of budgetary control postulates separation of maps and division of duties and therefore requires that the organisation shall be planned in such a modethat everyone. from the Managing Director down to the Shop Foreman. will hold his responsibilities decently defined. Aims of Budgetary Control System: 1. Portraying with preciseness the overall purposes of the concern and finding marks of public presentation for each subdivision or section of the concern. 2. Puting down the duties of each of the executives and other forces so that everyone knows what is expected of him and how he will be judged. Budgetary control is 6 one of the few ways in which an nonsubjective appraisal of executives or section is possible. 3. Supplying a footing for the comparing of existent public presentation with the preset marks and probe of divergence. if any. of existent public presentation and disbursals from the budgeted figures. This of course helps in following disciplinary steps. 4. Guaranting the best usage of all available resources to maximise net income or production. capable to the confining factors. Since budgets can non be decently drawn up without sing all facets normally there is good co-ordination when a system of budgetary control operates. 5. Co-coordinating the assorted activities of the concern. and centralising control and yet enabling direction to deconcentrate duty and delegate authorization in the overall involvement of the concern. 6. Engendering a spirit of careful premeditation. appraisal of what is possible and an effort at it. It leads to dynamism without foolhardiness. Of class. much depends on the aims of the house and the energy of its direction. 7. Supplying a footing for alteration of current and future policies. 8. Pulling up long scope programs with a just step of truth. 9. Supplying a yardstick against which existent consequences can be compared. Working of a budgetary control system: The duty for successfully presenting and implementing a Budgetary Control System rests with the Budget Committee moving through the Budget Officer. The Budget Committee would be composed of all functional caputs and a member from the Board to 7 preside over and steer the deliberations. The chief duties of the Budget Officer are: 1. To help in the readying of the assorted budgets by organizing the work of the histories section which is usually responsible to roll up the budgets- with the relevant functional sectionslike Gross saless. Production. Plant care etc. ; 2. To send on the budget to the persons who are responsible to adhere to them. and to steer them in get the better ofing any practical troubles in its working ; 3. To fix the periodical budget studies for circulation to the persons concerned ; 4. To follow-up action to be taken on the budget studies ; 5. To fix an overall budget working study for treatment at the Budget Committee meetings and to guarantee followup on the lines of action suggested by the Committee ; 6. To fix periodical studies for the Board meeting. Comparing the budgeted Net income and Loss Account and the Balance Sheet with the existent consequences attained. It is necessary that every budget shou ld be exhaustively discussed with the functional caput before it is finalized. It is the responsibility of the Budget Officer to see that the periodical budget studies are supplied to the receivers at frequent intervals every bit far as possible. The efficiency of the Budget Officer. and through him of the Budget Committee. will be judged more by the smooth working of the system and the understanding between the existent figures and the budgeted figures. Budgets are chiefly an inducement and a challenge for better public presentation ; it is up to the 8 Budget Officer to see that attending of the different functional caputs is drawn to it to confront the challenge in a successful mode. Advantages of Budgetary Control System: 1. The usage of budgetary control system enables the direction of a concern concern to carry on its concern activities in the efficient mode. 2. It is a powerful instrument used by concern houses for the control of their outgo. It in fact provides a yardstick for mensurating and measuring the public presentation of persons and their sections. 3. It reveals the divergences to direction. from the budgeted figures after doing a comparing with existent figures. 4. Effective use of assorted resources like- men. stuff. machinery and money is made possible. as the production is planned after taking them into history. 5. It helps in the reappraisal of current tendencies and framing of future policies. 6. It creates suited conditions for the execution of standard bing system in a concern organisation. 7. It inculcates the feeling of costconsciousness among workers. 8. It helps the principal of direction by exclusion to use. 9. Management which has devel oped a good ordered budget programs and which operate consequently. have greater favor from recognition bureaus. 9 Restrictions of Budgetary Control System: 1. Based on Estimates: Budgets may or may non be true. as they are based on estimations. 2. Time factor: Budgets can non be executed automatically. Accuracy in budgeting comes through experience. Management must non anticipate excessively much during the development period. 3. Cooperation Required: Staff co-operation is normally non available during budgetary control exercising. The success of the budgetary control depends upon willing co-operation and teamwork. 4. Expensive: Its execution is rather expensive. No budgetary programme can be successful unless equal agreements are made for supervising and disposal. 5. Not a replacement for direction: Budget is merely a managerial tool. It can non replace direction. 6. Rigid papers: Budgets are considered as stiff papers. But in world. firm’s personal businesss continuously change under inflationary force per unit area and altering authorities policies. 10 ZERO BASE BUDGETS The technique of zero base budgeting suggests that an administration should non merely do determinations about the proposed new programmes. but should besides reexamine the rightness of the bing programmes from clip to clip. Such a reappraisal should peculiarly be done of such duty Centres where there is comparatively high proportion of discretional costs. Costss of this type depend on the discretion or policies of the duty Centre or top directors. These costs have no direct relation to volume of activity. Hence. direction discretion typically determines the sum budgeted. Some illustrations are: outgo on research and development. forces disposal. legal consultative services. Zero base budgeting. as the term suggests. examines or reviews a programme or map or duty from ‘scratch’ . The referee returns on thepremise that nil is to be allowed. The director suggesting the activity has. hence. to warrant that the activity is indispensable and the assorted sum s asked for are sensible taking into history the end products or consequences or volume of activity envisaged. No activity or disbursal is allowed merely because it was being allowed or done in the past. Therefore harmonizing to this technique each programme. whether new or bing. must be justified in its entireness each clip a new budget is formulated. It involves: 1. Covering with peculiarly all elements of mangers’ budget requests 2. Critical scrutiny of on-going activities along with the freshly proposed activities 3. Supplying each trough a scope of pick in puting precedences in regard of different activities and in allocating resources. 11 Procedure of Zero Base Budgeting: The undermentioned stairss are involved in Zero base budgeting: Determining the aims of budgeting: The aim may be ‘to consequence cost decrease in staff operating expenses or it may be to drop. after careful analysis. undertakings which do non suit into accomplishment of the organisations objectives etc. Deciding on range of application: The extent to which zero base budgeting is to be introduced has to be decided. i. e. whether it will be introduced in all countries of the organisation’s activities or merely in a few selected countries on test footing. Developing determination units Decision units for which cost-benefit analysis is proposed hold to be developed so as to get at determinations whether they should be allowed to go on or to be dropped. Each determination unit. every bit far as possible should be independent of other units so that it can be dropped if the cost analysis proves to be unfavorable for it. Developing determinatio n bundles: A determination bundle for each unit should be developed. While developing a determination bundle. replies to the undermentioned inquiries would be desirable: Is it necessary to execute a peculiar activity at all? If the reply is in the negative. there is no demand to continue farther. How much has been the existent cost of the activity and what has been the existent benefit both in tangible every bit good as intangible signifiers? What should be the estimated cost of the degree of activity and the estimated benefit from 12 such activity? Should the activity be performed in the manner in which it is being performed. and what should be the cost? If the undertaking or activity is dropped. can the unit be replaced by an outside bureau? After finishing determination bundles for each unit. the units are ranked harmonizing to the findings of cost benefit analysis. Essential undertakings are identified and given the highest ranks. The last phase is that of implementing the determination taken in the visible radiation of the survey made. It involves the choice and credence of those undertakings which have a positive cost-benefit analysis or which are capable of run intoing the aims of the organisation. The above analysis shows that zero base budgeting is in a manner an extension of the method of cost benefit analysis to the country of the corporate budgeting. Advantages of Zero Base Budgeting: It provides the organisation with systematic manner to measure different operations and programmes undertaken. It en ables direction to apportion resources harmonizing to precedence of the programmes. It ensures that each and every programme undertaken by directors is truly indispensable for the organisation. and is being performed in the best possible manner. It enables the direction to O.K. departmental budgets on the footing of cost-benefit analysis. No arbitrary cuts or increase in budget estimations are made. It links budgets with the corporate aims. Nothing will be allowed merely because it was being done in the yesteryear. An activity may be shelved if it does non assist in accomplishing the ends of the endeavors. 13 It helps in placing countries of uneconomical outgo and. if desired. it can besides be used for proposing alternate classs of action. It facilitates the debut and execution of the system of `management by objectives’ . Thus it can be used non merely for fulfilment of the aims of traditional budgeting. but besides for a assortment of other intents. It is contended that zero base budgeting is clip devouring. Of class. it is true. but it happens merely in the initial phases when determination units have to be identified and determination bundles have to be developed or completed. Once this is done. and the methodological analysis is clear. zero base budgeting is likely to take less clip than the traditional budgeting. In any instance. till such clip the organisation is decently acclimatized to the technique of zero base budgeting. it may be done in a manner that allduty centre’s are covered at least one time in three or four old ages. Zero base budgeting as a construct h as become rather popular these yearss. The technique was foremost used by the U. S. Department of Agriculture in 1962. Texas Instruments. a transnational company. pioneered its usage in the private sector. Today. a figure of major companies such as Zerox. BASF. International Harvester and Easter Airlines in the United State are utilizing the system. Some sections of the Government of India have late introduced zero base budgeting with a position to doing the system of budgetary control more effectual. 14 PERFORMANCE BUDGETS Performance budgeting ( or programme budgeting ) has been designed to rectify the defects of traditional budgeting by stressing management’s considerations/ attacks. Both the fiscal and physical facets are incorporated into the budget. A public presentation budget presents the operations of an administration in footings of maps. programmes. activities. and undertakings. In public presentation budgeting. precise detention of occupation to be performed or services to be rendered is done. Second. the budget is prepared in footings of functional classs and their sub-division into programmes. activities. and undertakings. Third. the budget becomes a comprehensive papers. Since the fiscal and physical consequences are interwoven. it facilitates direction control. The Main aims of Performance Budgeting are: ( I ) to organize the physical and fiscal facets ; ( two ) to better the budget preparation. reappraisal and decision-making at all degrees of direction ( thre e ) to ease better grasp and reappraisal by commanding governments ( legislative assembly. Board of Trustees or Governors. etc ) as the presentation is more purposeful and apprehensible ; ( four ) to do more effectual public presentation audit possible ; and ( V ) to mensurate progress towards long-run aims which are envisaged in a development program. Performance budgeting involves rating of the public presentation of the administration in the context of both specific. every bit good as. overall aims of the administration. It presupposes a crystal clear perceptual experience of organizational aims in general. and short-run concern aims as stipulated in the budget. in peculiar by each employee of theadministration. irrespective of his degree. It therefore. provides a definite way to each employee and besides a control mechanism to higher direction. 15 Performance budgeting requires readying of periodic public presentation studies. Such studies compare budget and existent informations. and demo discrepancies. Their readying is greatly facilitated if the authorization and duty for the incurrence of each cost component is clearly defined within the firm’s organizational construction. In add-on. the accounting system should be sufficiently detailed and coordinated to supply necessary informations for studies designed for the peculiar usage of the persons or cost Centres holding primary duty for specific cost. The duty for fixing the public presentation budget of each section lies on the several Department Head. Each Department Head will be supplied with a transcript of the subdivision of the maestro budget appropriate to his domain. For illustration. the main purchaser will be supplied with the transcript of the stuffs purchase budget so that he may set up for purchase of necessary stuffs. Periodic studies from assorted subdivi sions of a section will be received by the departmental caput that will subject a drumhead study about his section to the budget commission. The study may be daily. hebdomadal or monthly. depending upon the size of concern and the budget period. These studies will be in the signifier of comparing of budgeted and existent figures. both periodic and cumulative. The intent of fixing these studies is to quickly inform about the divergences in existent and budgeted activity to the individual who has the necessary authorization and duty to take necessary action to rectify the divergences from the budget. 16 FUNCTIONAL BUDGET A functional budget is one which is related to map of the concern as for illustration. production budget relating to the fabrication map. Functional budgets are prepared for each map and they are subordinate to the maestro budget of the concern. The assorted types of functional budgets to be prepared will change harmonizing to the size and nature of the concern. The assorted normally used functional budgets are: Gross saless budget Production budget Plant use budget Direct-material usage budget Direct-material purchase budget Direct-labour ( forces ) budget Factory overhead budget Production cost budget Ending-inventory budget Cost-of-goods-sold budget Selling and distribution cost budget Administration disbursals budget Research and development cost budget ( xiv ) Capital outgo budget Cash budget 17 Illustration: Gross saless Budget: Gross saless forecast is the beginning of budgeting and hence gross revenues budget assumes primary importance. The measure which can be sold may be the chief budget factor in many concern projects. In any instance in order to chalk out a realistic budget programme. there must be an accurate gross revenues prognosis. The gross revenues budget indicates for each merchandise: 1. The measure of estimated gross revenues and 2. The expected unit merchandising monetary value. These informations are frequently reported by parts or by gross revenues representatives. In gauging the measure of gross revenues for each merchandise. past gross revenues volumes are frequently used as a starting point. These sums are revised for factors that are expected to impact future gross revenues. such as the factors listed below. 1. Backlog of unfilled gross revenues orders 2. Planned advertisement and publicity 3. Expected industry and general economic conditions 4. Productive capacity 5. Projected pricing 6. Findingss of market research surveies 7. Relative merchandise profitableness. 8. Competition. 18 Once an estimation of the gross revenues volume is obtained. the expected gross revenues gross can be determined by multiplying the volume by the expected unit gross revenues monetary value. the gross revenues budget represents the entire gross revenues in physical measures and values for a future budget period. Gross saless directors are invariably faced with job like expectancy of client demands. new merchandise demands. rival schemes and assorted alterations in distribution methods or promotional techniques. The intents ofgross revenues budget is non to try to gauge or think what the existent gross revenues will be. but instead to develop a program with clearly defined aims towards which the operational attempt is directed in order to achieve or transcend the nonsubjective. Hence. gross revenues budget is non simply a gross revenues prognosis. A budget is a planning and control papers which shows what the direction intends to carry through. Thus. the gross revenues budget is active instead than passive. A gross revenues prognosis. nevertheless. is a projection or estimation of the available client demand. A prognosis reflects the environmental or competitory state of affairs confronting the company whereas the gross revenues budget shows how the direction intends to respond to this enviro nmental and competitory state of affairs. A good budget flexible joints on aggressive direction control instead than on inactive credence of what the market appears to offer. If the company fails to do this differentiation. the budget will stay more a figure-work exercising than a on the job tool of dynamic direction control. 19 The gross revenues budget may be prepared under the undermentioned categorization or combination of categorizations: 1. Merchandises or groups of merchandises. 2. Areas. towns. salesmen and agents. 3. Types of clients as for illustration: ( I ) Government. ( two ) Export. ( three ) Home gross revenues. ( four ) Retail terminals. 4. Period of Gross saless Budget: XYZ Ltd. Gross saless Budget for the Year Ended 31 March XXXX Particulars Units Selling Price ( P. U ) Total Gross saless Value ( Rs. ) Product A Merchandise B Total 5000 10000 75 80 375000 800000 1175000 20 Lead TO THE PREPARATION OF THE MASTER BUDGET When all the necessary functional budgets have been prepared. the budget officer will fix the maestro budget which may dwell of budgeted net income and loss history and budgeted balance sheet. These are in fact the budget sum-ups. When the maestro budget is approved by the board of managers. it represents a criterion for the accomplishment of which all the sections will work. On the footing of the assorted budgets ( agendas ) prepared earlier in this survey. weprepare below budgeted income statement and budgeted balance sheet. Illustration: Floatglass Manufacturing Company requires you to show the Master budget for the 31 March 2012 from the undermentioned information: Gross saless: Toughened Glass Bent Glass Direct Material Cost Direct Wages Factory Overheads: Indirect Labour Works Manager Foreman Rs. 500 per month Rs. 400 per month 2. 5 % on Gross saless Rs. 600000 Rs. 200000 60 % of Gross saless 20 workers @ Rs. 150 per month 21 Shops and Spares Depreciation on Machinery Repairs and Maintenance Other Sundries Administration. merchandising and Distribution Expenses Rs. 12600 Rs. 3000 Rs. 8000 10 % on Direct Wages Rs. 36000 per twelvemonth Solution: Master Budget for the Year Ending 31 March 2012 Particulars Amount ( Rs. ) Gross saless: Toughened Glass Bent Glass Total Gross saless Less: Cost of Production: Direct Material Direct Wages Prime Cost ( A ) Fixed Factory Overhead: 480000 36000 516000 600000 200000 800000 Amount ( Rs. ) 22 Works Manager’s Salary Foreman’s Salary Depreciation Light and Power Total Fixed Factory Overhead ( B ) Variable Factory Overhead: Shops and Spares Repairs and Maintenance Sundry Expenses Total Variable Factory Overhead ( C ) Works Cost ( A+B+C ) Gross Profit ( Sales- Works Cost ) Less: Administration. Selling and Distribution Expenses Net Net income 6000 4800 12600 3000 26400 20000 8000 3600 31600 574000 226000 36000 190000 23 Capital EXPENDITURE BUDGET: The capital outgo budget represents theplanned spending on fixed assets like land. edifice. works and machinery. etc. during the budget period. This budget is capable to rigorous direction control because it entails big sum of outgo. The budget is prepared to cover a long period of old ages and it undertakings the capital costs over the period in which the outgo is to be incurred and the expected net incomes. The readying of this budget is based on the undermentioned considerations: 1. Operating expense on production installations of certain sections as indicated by the works use budget. 2. Future development programs to increase end product by enlargement of works installations. 3. Replacement petitions from the concerned sections 4. Factors like gross revenues possible to absorb the increased end product. possibility of monetary value decreases. increased costs of advertisement and gross revenues publicity to absorb increased end product. etc. Merits/Adv antages: 1. It outlines the capital development programme and estimated capital outgo during the budget period. 2. It enables the company to set up a system of precedences. When there is a deficit of financess. capital rationing becomes necessary. 3. It serves as a tool for commanding outgo. 4. It provides the sum of outgo to be incorporated in the hereafter budget 24 sum-ups for computation of estimated return on capital employed. 5. This enables the hard currency budget to be completed. With other hard currency committednesss capital outgo committedness should besides be considered for the completion of the budget. 6. It facilitates cost decrease programme. peculiarly when modernisation and redevelopment is covered by this budget. 25 FIXED AND FLEXIBLE BUDGETS Fixed Budget: Harmonizing to Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England. â€Å"a fixed budget is a budget designed to stay unchanged irrespective of the degree of activity really attained† . A fixed budget shows the expected consequences of a duty centre for merely one activity degree. Once the budget has been determined. it is non changed. even if the activity alterations. Fixed budgeting is used by many servicecompanies and for some administrative maps of fabrication companies. such as buying. technology. and accounting. Fixed Budget is used as an effectual tool of cost control. In instance. the degree of activity attained is different from the degree of activity for budgeting intents. the fixed budget becomes uneffective. Such a budget is rather suited for fixed disbursals. It is besides known as a inactive budget. Essential conditions: 1. When the nature of concern is non seasonal. 2. There is no impact of external factors on the co ncern activities 3. The demand of the merchandise is certain and stable. 4. Supply orders are issued on a regular basis. 5. The market of the merchandise should be domestic instead than foreign. 6. There is no demand of particular labor or stuff in the production of the merchandises. 7. Supply of production inputs is regular. 8. There is a tendency of monetary value stableness. Generally. all above conditions are non found in pattern. Hence fixed budget is non of import 26 in concern concerns. Merits/advantages: 1. Very simple to understand 2. Less clip devouring Demerits/Disadvantages: 1. It is misdirecting. A hapless public presentation may stay undetected and a good public presentation may travel unfulfilled. 2. It is non suited for long period. 3. It is besides found unsuitable peculiarly when the concern conditions are altering invariably. 4. Accurate estimations are non possible. Flexible Budget Harmonizing to Chartered Institute of Management Accountants of England. †a flexible budget is defined as a budget which. by acknowledging the difference between fixed. semi-variable and variable costs is designed to alter in relation to the degree of activity attained. † Unlike inactive ( fixed ) budgets. flexible budgets show the expected consequences of a duty centre for several activity degrees. You can believe of a flexible budget as a series of inactive budgets for different degrees of activity. Such budgets are particularly utile in gau ging and commanding mill costs and operating disbursals. It is more realistic and operable because it gives due consideration 27 to be behavior at different degrees of activity. While fixing a flexible budget the disbursals are classified into three classs viz. 1. Fixed. 2. Variable. and 3. Semi-variable. Semi-variable disbursals are farther segregated into fixed and variable disbursals. Flexible budgeting may beresorted to under following state of affairss: 1. In the instance of new concern venture due to its typical nature it may be hard to calculate the demand of a merchandise accurately. 2. Where the concern is dependent upon the clemency of nature e. g. . a individual covering in wool trade may hold adequate market if temperature goes below the freeze point. 3. In the instance of labour intensive industry where the production of the concern is dependent upon the handiness of labor. Merits/ Advantages: 1. With the aid of flexible budget. the gross revenues. costs and net income may be calculated easy by the concern at assorted degrees of production capacity. 2. In flexible budget. accommodation is really s imple harmonizing to alteration in concern conditions. 3. It besides helps in finding of production degree as it shows budgeted costs with categorization at assorted degrees of activity along with gross revenues. Hence the direction can easy choose the degree of production which shows the net income predetermined by the proprietors of the concern. 4. It besides shows the measure of merchandise to be produced to gain determined net income. 28 Demerits/Disadvantages: 1. The preparation of flexible budget is possible merely when there is proper accounting system maintained. perfect cognition about the factors of production and assorted concern fortunes is available. 2. Flexible Budget besides requires the system of standard costing in concern. 3. It is really expensive and labour oriented. Need for flexible budget: 1. Seasonal fluctuations in gross revenues and/or production. for illustration in soft drinks industry ; 2. A company which keeps on presenting new merchandises or makes alterations in the design of its merchandises often ; 3. Industries engaged in make-to-order concern like ship edifice ; 4. An industry which is influenced by alterations in manner ; and 5. General alterations in gross revenues. 29 Illustration: A mill which expects to run 7. 000 hours. i. e. . at 70 % degree of activity. furnishes inside informations of disbursals as under: Particulars Variable Expenses Amount ( Rs. ) 1260 Semi- Variable Expenses 1200 Fixed Expenses 1800 The semi-variable disbursals go up by 10 % between 85 % and 95 % activity and by 20 % above 95 % activity. Construct a flexible budget for 80. 90 and 100 per cent activities. Solution: Particulars Budgeted Hours Variable Expenses Semi-Variable Expenses Fixed Expenses Total Expenses Recovery Rate Per Hour 70 % 7000 1260 1200 1800 4260 0. 61 80 % 8000 1440 1200 1800 4440 0. 55 90 % 9000 1620 1320 1800 4740 0. 53 100 % 10000 1800 1440 1800 5040 0. 50 30 Difference between Fixed and Flexible Budget: Fixed Budget Flexible Budget It does non alter with existent volume of It can be recasted on the footing of activity activity achieved. Thus it is known as stiff degree to be achieved. Thus it is non stiff. or inflexible budget. It operates on one degree of activity and under It consists of assorted budgets for one set of conditions. It assumes that there different degrees of activity. will be no alteration in the prevalent conditions. which is unrealistic. Here as all costs like – fixed. variable and Here analysis of discrepancy provides utile semi-variable are related to merely one degree information as each cost is analyzed of activity so variance analysis does give utile information. If the budgeted and existent activity degrees differ Flexible budgeting at different degrees of significantly. so the facets like cost activity facilitates the ascertainment of ascertainment and monetary value arrested development do non give a cost. arrested development of selling monetary value and tendering right image . of citations. a meaningful footing of non harmonizing to its behavior. Comparison of existent public presentation with It provides budgeted marks will be meaningless comparing of the existent public presentation with specially when there is a difference the budgeted marks. between the two activity degrees. 31 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 ICAI Module on Cost Accounting 2 Newsletters and sentiments published by ICAI 3 hypertext transfer protocol: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Budget 4 World Wide Web. icai. org

Quotes to Help Celebrate Teachers Day

Quotes to Help Celebrate Teachers' Day A good teacher plays the role of an educator, guide, inspirational guru, and a friend. They gently  nudge the slow learners to climb a steep learning curve, and they engage with the bright minds to delve deeper into concepts  and thereby meet their need to be ahead of others. Teachers tap the fertile mind of young children and plant the seed of curiosity in them. This inculcates the values of self-learning, exploration, and philosophical inquiry. Many young children take the spark of imagination to unimaginable heights. Little origami enthusiasts grow up to become  engineers of cutting-edge technology. Kids  suffering from dyslexia grow up and  became famous surgeons. What Is World Teachers Day? Also known as International Teachers Day, World Teachers Day is held officially each year on October 5 in Canada and more than 100 countries worldwide, but in the United States, it’s held on the first Tuesday of the first full week in May. According to UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), it’s a special day to remind the world that education is a fundamental right that requires qualified teachers - who by the way - are always in demand, especially in remote, rural areas of the world. The day marks the beginning of set standards for teachers and their commitment to the profession to help improve the lives of children. The following quotes are from some famous people in honor of teachers and the lofty profession of teaching: American historians (Henry Brooks Adams, Jacques Barzun); American author (Ken Blanchard); American operatic tenor (Robert Brault); Australian physician (Helen Caldicott); theoretical physicist (Albert Einstein); writers (Johann Wolfgang von Goeth, Nikos Kazantzakis, Dan Rather), Boy Scout administrator (Forest Witcraft); and Irish poet (William Butler Yeats). Henry Brooks Adams A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops. Jacques Barzun In teaching, you cannot see the fruit of a days work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years. Ken Blanchard Your role as a leader is even more important than you might imagine. You have the power to help people become winners. Robert Brault The average teacher explains complexity; the gifted teacher reveals simplicity. Helen Caldicott Teachers, I believe, are the most responsible and important members of society because their professional efforts affect the fate of the earth. Albert Einstein It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe A teacher who can arouse a feeling for one single good action, for one single good poem, accomplishes more than he who fills our memory with rows and rows of natural objects, classified with name and form. Nikos Kazantzakis Ideal teachers are those who use themselves as bridges over which they invite their students to cross, then having facilitated their crossing, joyfully collapse, encouraging them to create bridges of their own. Dan Rather The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called truth. Forest Witcraft A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank, but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child. William Butler Yeats Education is not the filling of a pail but the lighting of a fire.

Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Being a Major Movie Review

Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet Being a Major Departure from Shakespeare's Original Work - Movie Review Example Innovation is presented for a more marketable modern audience while retaining the old Shakespearean themes, such as love versus hate, youth versus age, and destiny versus determination. Despite its tremendous success, critiques ranged from admiration to disgust (â€Å"Romeo and Juliet: Of its Time and of Ours†). Nevertheless, Luhrmann has ultimately given the audience what is possibly the most dedicated of all film adaptations in upholding the persona of both Shakespeare and his play. As Shakespeare probably projected, all succeeding adaptations would be free-spirited and packed with the younger generation’s impulsivity; a challenge to power; and a rebellion. The boldness and extremism of Luhrmann's wild editing, spectacular art direction and humor rebel against authority and sensibility and likewise matched the bravado of the lead characters, Romeo and Juliet (â€Å"Romeo and Juliet: Of its Time and of Ours†). ... The director shot scenes at great angles and always-moving camera effects and used unusual shooting memos such as "macro slam zoom" and "distorted out-of-focus close-up," to provide a more or less frenzied energy. Rap, modern hip-hop, rock, electric guitar, Western sound themes and Latin chants throughout the movie give a characteristically teenaged attitude (â€Å"Romeo and Juliet: Of its Time and of Ours†). Shakespeare, according to Luhrmann, used every musical variety and poetry to satisfy the much diversified viewers in the Globe Theater. In the 1996 adaptation, Luhrmann echoes this in his film, informs the public against the foolishness of meaningless family disputes and cleverly revises it for the 20th century, however, preserving its crucial ethical fight as it relates easily to the young audiences (Gibbs). â€Å"Poetry is the most effective means of instruction, as poetry can â€Å"teach†¦not only by delivering forth his very being, his causes and effects, but a lso by making known his enemy, vice, which must be destroyed, and his cumbersome servant, passion, which much be mastered† (Duncan-Jones 220). Although much of the Shakespearean poetry is lost in Luhrmann’s film due to cuts, the plot remains unharmed. This dismayed several critics but quite a few intellectuals sided with Luhrmann, revealing that Shakespeare’s language and script are intended to be used as a starting ground for his stories, rather than just being a stationary writing (â€Å"Romeo and Juliet: Of its Time and of Ours†). Dissimilarities are aplenty between Shakespeare’s original and the outrageously lively Luhrmann version. Whereas in the play, sex is an acceptable expression of love, particularly for the young;

Macro Economics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Macro Economics - Research Paper Example In details, the discussion seeks to establish the effects of fiscal, GDP, monetary, international trade, and demographic policies in real-estate business sector in the U.S.A economy. In the year 2008, the U.S economy faced a stiff slant as its domestic businesses slumped in performances due to inflation of the dollar unit. The government responded to the situation by resolving the dollar crisis and implementing long-term solutions to recover the economic deficits (McDonald & Stokes, 2013). Uncle Dan’s resolution to engage in real-estate business is for the good of the US society since the developed structures will provide direct and indirect job opportunities to many citizens in the nation (Capozza & Van, 2011). Statistics indicate that the US real-estate sector has in the past 3-year period contributed to the economy at a rate of 5%, 7%, and 8.6% respectively (Sanders & Order, 2011). Arguably, the real-estate economic segment serves to benefit the US economy through net contributions in the provision of working space for offices and other businesses that are invested within the rental premises. Therefore, a resolution to engage in real-estate business will serve to benefit the majority of the people and the investor will accrue profitable returns at the short and long run periods. Mainly, such benefits will be present in Uncle Dan’s real-estate business to the extent that he will provide commercial and residential premises to attract different customers with different needs and preferences (Deng, Quigley, & Order, 2004). The resolution further seems to be influential to the overall GDP rate of the economy. Economical reviews indicate that real-estate business’ contributions to the grand economic revenues at $2.15 trillion (LaCour-Little, 2008). Reviews concerning the business practices reflected in the real-estate field of business denote the profound growth rate and it is evident that the business is yet

History of Internet Essay Example for Free

History of Internet Essay The term ‘Internet’ was coined on October 24, 1995. However the origin of the internet and related concepts are much older. The present day Internet is the revolutionized face of the nascent day communication system and is the most successful examples of benefits of sustained investment and commitment to information infrastructure (Leiner et al. , 2003). The unprecedented integration of collaboration, dissemination embarked by a series of gradual changes that the society has undergone with respect to the communication and connectivity needs. As described by Kristula (1997), it was in 1957 that the USA formed ARPA (Advanced Research Projects Agency) within the DoD (Department of Defence) to establish US lead in science and technology applicable to the military. Until 1960’s, the computers operated almost exclusively in batch mode, where programs were punched on stacks of cards and assembled into batches for the data to be fed in the local computer center. The need for the time sharing system had already set the stage for research and development work to make the time sharing possible on the computer systems. In an article, Hauben (1995), stated that the time sharing system led the foundation for the Interactive Computing, where the user could communicate and respond to the computers responses in a way that batch processing did not allow. Both Robert Taylor and Larry Roberts, future successors of Licklider as director of ARPAs IPTO (Information Processing Techniques Office), pinpoint Licklider as the originator of the vision which set ARPAs priorities and goals and basically drove ARPA to help develop the concept and practice of networking computers. Licklider has been described as the father of modern day network, having laid the seeds of the Intergalactic network, the initial prototype of the Internet today. The vision of the interconnection and interaction of diverse communities guided the creation of the original ARPANET. The APRANET pioneered important breakthroughs in computer networking technology and the ability to collaborate and use dispersed resources (Winston, 1998). In 1962, Paul Baran, a RAND research worker introduced the concept of ‘Packet Switching’, while working towards the need of the U.  S. government to take command and control of any kind of nuclear attack. Packet switching was crucial to realization of computer networks and described breaking down of data into ’message blocks’ known as packets / datagrams, which were labeled to indicate the origin and the destination. Baran’s scheme was aided by telephone exchange methodology being used by information theory. The data was now sent in discrete packages around a network to achieve the same result – a more even flow of data through the entire network. The same concept also developed by British computer pioneer Donald Watt known as Davies’s Pilot Ace. Baran’s Distributive Adaptive Message Blockswitching became Watt Davies’s ‘Packet Switching’. The first host connected to the ARPANET was the SDS Sigma-7 on Sept. 2, 1969 at the UCLA (University of California in Los Angeles) site. It began passing bits to other sites at SRI (SDS-940 at Stanford Research Institute), UCSB (IBM 360/75 at University of California Santa Barbara), and Utah (Dec PDP-10 at the University of Utah). This was the first physical network and was wired together via 50 Kbps circuits. ARPANET at this stage used NCP (Network Control Protocol). By 1973, development began on TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) and then in 1974, the term ‘Internet’ was used in a paper on TCP/IP. The development of Ethernet, in 1976, supported high speed movement of data using coaxial cables and led the foundation for the LAN (Local Area Network). Packet satellite project, SATNET, went live connecting the US with Europe. Around the same time, UUCP (Unix –to-Unix Co Py) was being developed by ATT Bell Labs. The need to link together those in Unix Community triggered the development of the Usenet in 1979. Using homemade auto dial modems and the UUCP, the Unix shell and the find command (that were being distributed with the Unix OS), Bellovin, wrote some simple shell scripts to have the computers automatically call each other up and search for changes in the date stamps of the files. The Usenet was primarily organized around News net and was called as the ‘Poor Man’s ARPANET’, since joining ARPANET needed political connections was costly too. Woodbury, a Usenet pioneer from Duke University, described how News allowed all interested persons to read the discussion, and to (relatively) easily inject a comment and to make sure that all participants saw it. However, owing to the slow speed, the coding language was soon changed to ‘C’, thus becoming the first released version of Usenet in C programming popularly known as A News. By 1983, TCP/IP replaced NCP entirely and the DNS (Domain Name System) was created so that the packets could be directed to a domain name where it would be translated by the server database into the corresponding IP number. Links began to be created between the ARPANET and the Usenet as a result of which the number of sites on the Usenet grew. New T1 lines were laid by NSF (National Science Foundation). The Usenet took an unexpected explosion, from 2 articles per day posted on 3 sites in 1979, to 1800 articles per day posted at 11000 sites by 1988. By 1990, the T3 lines (45 Kbps capacity) replaced the T1 lines and the NSFNET formed the new backbone replacing the ARPANET. The beginning of 1992 marked the establishment of a chartered Internet Society and the development of the World Wide Web. The first graphical user interface, named ‘Mosaic for X,’ was developed on the World Wide Web. By 1994, the Commercialization of the Internet emerged in the form of the first ATM (Asynchronous Transmission Mode) was installed on the NSFNET. The free access of the NSFNET was blocked and fee was imposed on domains. This describes the series of events that shaped the history for the past two decades, ever since Internet came into existence. The Internet technology is continuously changing to accommodate the needs of yet another generation of underlying network technology. Hoping that the process of evolution will manage itself, we look forward to a new paradigm of Internet Services.

Luxembourg :: essays research papers fc

Location Luxembourg is located in Europe and is bordered by Belgium, Germany and France. On a map, it is located at 50 N latitude and 6 E longitude. Luxembourg is very small. It is only 998 square miles, which is roughly the size of Orange County, California. All the country is inhabited, with most people living in the southern part. The Flag The flag of Luxembourg was adopted in 1845. The colors come from the Coat of Arms of Luxembourg and are red, white and blue. The flag is simply three horizontal stripes from top to bottom. The Land and People Luxembourg has two distinct regions. The Ardennes, or northern region, is mountainous. The Bon Pays, or southern region, is mostly fertile farmland. The climate is cool and moist, with snow in the mountains. There are rich deposits of iron ore creating many jobs in the steel industry. There is also fertile farmland to the south, also creating many jobs in farming. The people of Luxembourg have no native costume. They borrow much of their culture from Belgium, Germany, and France. Today, modern Luxembourgers dress like other Europeans. The people of Luxembourg like to eat smoked pork and beans, and sometimes saurkraut. Smoked ham is available all year round, and pastries are a Luxembourg favorite. Some of these pastries include rolls, muffins, cupcakes, and a special dry cake translated "Random Thoughts". Luxembourg makes beer and wine which is sold there and in other nearby countries. The buildings in Luxembourg vary from place to place. Some villages have charming old houses hundreds of years old, though in the cities there are many modern apartment and office buildings. For recreation, a Luxembourger might ride a bike, or hike in the countryside. A favorite sport of the people is volleyball. For transportaion they have railroads and highways for cars and buses. There are bike trails and hiking paths as well. Luxembourg doesn't have a culture all its own, because it ties in with its neighboring countries, Belgium, Germany, and France. The natural resources of Luxembourg are: iron ore, which is processed into steel, farm products such as wheat, corn and livestock, and grapes which are grown for winemaking. Technology The main industries of Luxembourg are steel and winemaking. Farming is also an important industry, especially with such crops as corn, wheat and livestock. The steel is exported and crops are exported, as well as used in Luxembourg. Also the wine made in Luxembourg is exported and sold there. Culture There is a lot of culture in Luxembourg. There are many art galleries featuring work from the expressionist painter, Joseph Kutter, and also that of Edward Steichen, a well

Ethics and Amtrak

The Amtrak case study is a horrible accident that occurred in 1993. I feel the entire cause of the accident was a series of events that could not have been known. The stakeholders in this care are the Amtrak employees, customers and land owners of the railway lines. The biggest interest of the stakeholders would be loss of life. No one wants to be involved with the loss of a human life. And I am sure there are several financial reasons for the interest, as well. To begin with, corporate social responsibility functions as a built-in, self-regulating mechanism whereby business would monitor and ensure its support to law, ethical standards, and international norms. The legal obligation Amtrak has is to provide a safe service for its customers. They need to show the customers that they put every effort into providing a safe and dependable service. Economically Amtrak needs to clear up this disaster and correct the problems so the customers will continue to use Amtrak. If this situation is not handled correctly it could have ruined the company. Ethically Amtrak needs to seriously improve it tracking and emergency response procedures. When they couldn’t really determine where the train, in my opinion, was the biggest problem with the EMS reaching the crash. Philanthropic is showing concern for humanity, especially by performing charitable actions such as donating money. I feel if Amtrak agreed to pay for the services of the people who died in the accident, that would be a good start. Finally, my recommendation for this case is simple. Figure out what went wrong and what went right. Correct all the wrongs and make sure the corrections stay in place. They also need to determine some type of checks and balances for these new procedures. I understand accidents happen, but, Amtrak needs to take every precaution to ensure this does not happen again. I feel if the current managers and supervisors had a stronger sense of morals this accident would have been much easier to deal with. In fact, this accident might not have happened if the current administration had enforced stricter rules. I also feel that a situation like this can destroy a transportation company if it’s not handled properly. The company needs to get the customers confidence back at any cost, because no customers no revenue. I feel Amtrak has a long way to go to repair the faults in their company, however at least admitting they need help or have problems is the first step in correcting the issues.

Consumerisuim

Consumerism describes the effects of connecting personal happiness with purchasing material properties and consumption. Today people buy more stuff to feel happy and pleased with themselves. Teenagers and kids go out wearing bags from well-known brands which are more than a thousand dollars for a bag and their only ten years old. Consumerist society views people as numbers rather than people, it encourages direct satisfaction, it leads to debt, and it lowers obvious costs.These are some negative effects of consumerism. In the consumer's society, they see other people as numbers. All they think about is how to let them spend their money. This is a negative thing because some poor people would like to be in this society but due to their level they can't reach it. They would love to have a lot of money to buy whatever they want but they can't offer the money. In this society all their families should wear stuff that shows the price of It so people can see their wealthy and they are In the right place.Consumerist Society people, it encourages direct satisfaction, It leads to debt, and It lowers obvious costs. Is how to let them spend their money. This Is a negative thing because some poor people would Like to be In this society but due to their level they can't reach It. They would love to have a lot of money to buy whatever they want but they can't offer the money. In this society all their females should wear stuff that shows the price of It so people can see their wealthy and they are In the right place.

Understanding Place Value, Basic Math Concepts

Understanding Place Value, Basic Math Concepts Place value is an extremely important concept that is taught as early as kindergarten. As students learn about larger numbers, the concept of place value continues throughout the middle grades. Place value refers to the value of the digit based on its position and can be a difficult  concept for young learners to  grasp, but understanding this idea is essential for learning math. What Is Place Value? Place value refers to the value of each digit in a number. For example, the number  753 has three places- or columns- each with a specific value. In this three-digit number, the  3  is in the ones place, the  5  is in the tens place, and the 7  is in the hundreds place.   In other words, the  3  represents three single units, so the value of this number is  three. The  5  is in the tens place, where values increase by multiples of 10. So, the  5  is worth five units of 10, or  5 x 10, which equals 50. The  7  is in the hundreds place, so it represents seven units of 100, or 700. Young learners grapple with this idea because the value of each number is different depending on the column, or place, in which it resides. Lisa Shumate, writing for the website of Demme Learning, an educational publishing company, explains: Regardless of whether dad is in the kitchen, the living room, or the garage, he is still dad, but if the digit  3  is in different locations (tens or hundreds place, for example), it means something different. A  3  in the ones column is just  3.  But that same  3  in the tens column is  3 x 10, or 30, and the  3  in the hundreds column is  3 x 100, or 300. To teach place value, give students the tools they need to grasp this concept. Base 10 Blocks Base 10 blocks are  manipulative sets designed to  help students learn place value with blocks and flats in various colors, such as small yellow or green cubes (for ones), blue rods (for tens), and orange flats  (featuring 100-block squares). For example, consider a number such as  294.  Use green cubes for ones, blue bars (which contain 10 blocks each) to represent 10s, and 100 flats for the hundreds place. Count out four green cubes representing the  4  in the ones column, nine blue bars (containing 10 units each) to represent the  9  in the tens column, and two 100 flats to represent the  2  in the hundreds column. You dont even have to use different-colored base 10 blocks. For example,  for the number 142, you would place one 100 flat in the hundreds place, four 10-unit rods in the tens column, and two single-unit cubes in the ones place. Place Value Charts Use a chart like  an image  atop this article when teaching place value to students. Explain to them that with this kind of chart, they can determine place values for even very large numbers. For instance, with a number such as 360,521: the  3  would be placed in the Hundreds of Thousands column and represents 300,000 (3 x 100,000); the  6  would be placed in the Tens of Thousands column and represents 60,000 (6 x 10,000); the  0 would be placed in the Thousands column and represents zero (0 x 1,000); the   5  would be placed in the Hundreds column and represents 500 (5 x 100); the  2  would be placed in the Tens column and represents 20 (2 x 10), and the one would be in the Units- or ones- column and represents 1 (1 x 1). Using Objects Make copies of the chart. Give students various numbers up to 999,999 and have them place  the correct digit in its corresponding column. Alternatively, use different-colored objects, such as gummy bears, cubes, wrapped candies, or even small squares of paper. Define what each color represents, such as green for ones, yellow for tens, red for hundreds, and brown for thousands. Write a number, such as 1,345, on the board. Each student should place the correct number of colored objects in the corresponding columns on her chart: one brown marker in the Thousands column, three red markers in the Hundreds column, four yellow markers in the Tens column, and five green markers in the Ones column. Rounding Numbers When a child understands place value, she is usually able to round numbers to a specific place. The key is understanding that rounding numbers are essentially the same as rounding digits. The general rule is that if a digit is five or greater, you round up. If a digit is four or less, you round down. So, to round the number 387 to the nearest tens place, for example, you would look at the number in the ones column, which is  7.  Since seven is greater than five, it rounds up to 10. You cant have a 10 in the ones place, so you would leave the zero in the ones place and round the number in the tens place,  8, up to the next digit, which is 9. The number rounded to the nearest 10 would be 390. If students are struggling to round in this manner, review place value as discussed previously.

The Shack Discussion Questions

'The Shack' Discussion Questions The Shack by William P. Young is a story about Mack, a man whose daughter is kidnapped and brutally murdered. A few years after her murder, Mack receives an invitation from God to meet Him at the shack where they found his daughters bloody clothes. Mack goes and works through the meaning of suffering as he spends the weekend with the Trinity. Spoiler warning: This study guide reveals important details about The Shack by William P. Young. Finish the book before reading on. Were you drawn in by the plot of The Shack?Why do you think Macks encounter with God took place at the shack? If God were to invite you somewhere, where would it be? (In other words, where is the center of your doubt and pain)?Do you think suffering makes people closer to God or causes them to distance themselves from Him? What has been the pattern in your life?Were you satisfied with Gods answers to Mack about suffering? Do you struggle with believing God is good in light of all the tragedy in the world?How is Youngs description of God different from your concept of God? What parts of his description did you like and what parts didnt you like?Did The Shack change any of your opinions about God or Christianity?What were some of the things The Shack teaches about God, faith, and life that you disagreed with?Would you recommend The Shack to a friend?Rate The Shack on a scale of 1 to 5.

Catherine the Great and enlightened absolutism in Russia Coursework

Catherine the Great and enlightened absolutism in Russia - Coursework Example They also condemned those, who lived under the rules of doubtful traditions, full of irrationality and superstitions. Enlighteners did not deny the existence of God, in spite they tried to explain it rationally, and attacked institutions of Church because of their conservatism and corruption. Acceptance of God within the Enlightenment has led to the image of wise and rational absolute monarch as an ideal governing system - a view that has been accepted by many rulers of that time. The term "enlightened absolutism" dates back to 1847 when the historian Wilhelm Roseler first used it to describe the policy of certain European rulers in 1760-1790 (Henderson, 2005). Frederick II of Prussia (1740-1786), Charles III of Spain (1759-1788), Catherine II of Russia (1762-1796), Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II (1765-1790), Gustavus III of Sweden (1771-1792) - all these rulers were absolute monarchs, and all of them were influenced by principles of the Enlightenment. This doctrine applied by monarchs in governing their countries put much greater emphasis on rationality in compare with arbitrary rules of their predecessors. However, there were significant differences in understanding the Enlightenment among rulers. Shaped by the geographic, demographic and cultural specifics, enlightened absolutism has taken a unique form in every state where it was embraced. Although smaller than it is today, Russia occupied a large territory stretching from Baltic Sea to Alaska (East to West) and from Arctic Ocean to Caspian Sea without the access to Black Sea (North to South) by the middle of 18th century. At that time the population of the country was about 18 million people (Riasanovsky, 1999). Such vast lands and huge population were always hard to control from a single centre. Monarchs had to rely greatly on nobles, which had almost unlimited power within their domains, especially in distant regions of Russia. Such great power given to nobles complicated the concept of enlightened absolutism, according to which a ruler must have absolute control. Typically for European absolutist states of that time, Russian treasury was supplied mainly through the increase of taxes (direct or indirect), while the main sources of expenditure were army and navy, governance, and court maintenance in the descending order. Only a small part of budget was planned for th e development of culture, education, and sciences. Such internal policy was implanted by nobles, and even if a monarch wanted, it was almost impossible to go against their interests. Meanwhile, concerns of serfs, which comprised about half of Russian population, were left out of account. The excessive protection of nobles' interest has led to the continued existence of serfdom cancelled only in 1861 in Russia. Cultural factors had a positive influence on the development of enlightened absolutism policy. Although the majority of Russian population was uneducated, the belief in 'a kind and fair tsar' was always a part of cultural tradition in imperial Russia. Nobles were often set off against the monarch in the eyes of peasants. At the same time, fascination with the European culture and the rise of the Enlightenment caused the spread of ideas among educated classes attacking serfdom as a retrograde and economically unprofitable system. The intrusion of Church

Moblie Phone Insurance Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Moblie Phone Insurance Research - Essay Example To this effect, a host of insurance companies created mobile phone insurance to provide cover for phones that are lost, damaged or stolen. Several companies have presented different options that make it easy to provide insurance cover for the mobile phones, and people have to choose dependent on the cover that suits them best, as well as the benefits that emanate from such dealings (Cai, Li, Xia, & Giannelli 2010: 49). Several ways of looking at the way of dealing with such an issue is actually dependent on the person making the payments. Some people will be content by knowing that they have an extra source of security for their expensive gadgets. The problem is that this peace of mind could come at an extra cost that they ought to have reduced at the very start by choosing the best MPI in the market. Some, however, will see the money paid to be quite high and unrealistic. They will wish to have their phones remain as they are without any cover (Brignall 2012). Nonetheless, it is important to understand that when companies are designing their MPIs, they are aware that customers will require different covers and will come up with different gadgets that vary in price. The company must understand this and place it into consideration as a way of appealing and satisfying their employees. The goal is to assure them that they will get the best through their indulgence and utility of covers from their companies (Cai, et al. 2010: 78-79). The delivery of services must meet the clients’ needs; hence, a need to work on carrying out their feasibility studies to understand what is missing. For instance, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) carried out a survey seeking to understand the impact MPIs have on clients (King & Carey 2013: 212). There were existing gaps brought about by ineffective product governance in companies, the products were not tailored to meet the needs of the consumers, the terms and conditions were unfair or