Kite Runner Essay Redemption Essay

Thesis Statement- The protagonist, Amir, must atone for the sins of his past to enable the creation of new relationships in the future. First Body Paragraph Q1 â€Å"I never thought of Hassan and me as friends†¦ history isn’t easy to overcome. Neither is religion. In the end, I was a Pashtun and he was a Hazara, I was Sunni and he was Shi’a, and nothing was ever going to change that. Nothing† (Hosseini 27) Despite the fact that Amir has spent his entire life in Hassan’s company he does not consider Hassan to be his friend. This is because of social status. Hassan religion is seen to be below Amir and this is why they will never be able to be friends. Hassan does not understand this and takes every opportunity to please Amir, to make him happy. The two boys grew up together, they learned to crawl together, and they later taught each other how to ride a bicycle. But history and religion override all of the mitigation factors in this relationship, and Amir has decided that he doesn’t value this relationship to be anything more than a master and his servant. Q2 â€Å"I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be. I could step into that alley, stand up for Hassan- the way he’d stood up for me all those time in the past- and accept whatever would happen to me. Or I could run. In the end, I ran† (pg 82) Amir was always trying to please Baba, to make him proud, to seek his approval. Amir was finally able to do this when he won the Kite Flying tournament. Baba had never been so proud. The only task left was for Hassan to run and find the winning kite. After a period of time Amir went to look for Hassan. He found him in the alley with Assed, and other bullies. Hassan had the winning kite, but there was a price to pay for this kite. Nothing is free in this world. Amir witnessed an act of unwavering loyalty from Hassan, as Hassan was being raped in order to keep the kite. Amir had the opportunity to step in and protect his companion, but instead chose to close his eyes. This was the  price he had to pay to receive Baba’s affection, and this haunts Amir for his entire lifetime. Q3 â€Å"Mostly, I remember this: His brass knuckle flashing in the afternoon light; how cold they felt with the first few blows and how quickly they warmed with my blood†¦ for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace. I laughed because I saw that, in some hidden nook in a corner of my mind, I’d ever been looking forward to this† (302) Amir has found Hassan’s son with Assef, leader of the Taliban and rapist. Assef issues a challenge for the boy and Amir accepts, this is Amir’s way of forgiving himself for all of his past sins. He is finally being punished for never stepping in and trying to protect Hassan because of his cowardice. With each physical injury that Assef inflicts Amir is forgiven more and more. This incident will make it possible for Amir to atone himself of his sins and create a future relationship with Sohrab, Hassans son and his part nephew. Second Body Paragraph Q1 â€Å"Maybe he would call me Amir Jan like Rahim Khan did. And maybe, just maybe, I would finally be pardoned for killing my mother† (60) Baba, Amir’s father, loved his wife. When she died during child birth it broke his heart. This created initial discord between Amir and Baba. One that was never able to abolish itself. Amir had different interests than Baba; this made it difficult for Amir to please Baba, which made it impossible for Amir to forgive himself for killing his mother at birth. Q2 â€Å"That was when I understood the depth of the pain I had caused, the blackness of the grief I had brought onto everyone, that not even Ali’s paralyzed face could mask his sorrow† (113) Ali grew up with Baba from childhood, and although Ali was their servant they had a long history together. Amir unable to express his feelings to anyone about watching Hassan be raped due to his loyalty has depleted his ability to function. The only way for Amir to rid himself of this guilty is to eliminate its source despite the pain and  anguish it may bring to others. When Ali and Hassan left, Babe cried. This created yet another emotional barrier between Baba and Amir. Q3 â€Å"It’s the happiest day of my life, Amir, he said, smiling tiredly†¦ he watched me joking with Shariff, watched Soraya and me lacing our fingers together, watched me push back a loose curl of her hair. I could see his internal smile.† (175) Amir and Baba left Afghanistan, they went to America. Together they went, leaving behind their part and moving forward together. Both creating new relationships, Baba at the flee market and at his new job, and Amir with Soraya. Leaving their homeland allowed them to forgive each other for the previous mistakes in their own relationship and move forward together in a fresh start. Third Body Paragraph Q1 â€Å"The car jerked forward and I felt a tiny hand on my forehead†¦ Sohrab was sobbing† (306) The relationship between Amir and Sohrab is just beginning to develop. They have no past behind them and this will allow them to create their relationship from scratch, no former life holding them back. Amir has redeemed himself and can now create a meaningful future with Sohrab. The memory of Sohrab’s father, Hassan, is not forgotten, but is transformed into a new opportunity to learn from the past and make the right choice. Q2 â€Å"A kinship exists between people who’ve fed from the same breast. Now, as the boy’s pain soaked through my shirt, I saw that a kinship had been taken root between us too. What had happened in that room with Assed had irrevocably bound us† (336) When Amir found Sohrab with the Taliban men he was determined to finally do the right thing, he would leave that building with the child. He was finally receiving the retribution that he deserved for all the times he didn’t stand up to protect Hassan that he just stood and watched. Amir needed to feel punished for all of his buried sins, then he would be redeemed. Amir was able to rescue Sohrab, however ultimately he was rescuing himself. Now a relationship between the two of them is starting to kindle. Q3 â€Å"It was only a smile, nothing more†¦ But I’ll take it. With open arms. Because when spring comes, it melts the snow one flake at a time, and maybe I just witnessed the first flake melting† (391) Amir was finally able to transport Sohrab into America. Amir is learning the roles of a friend, as well as a parent. This relationship between Amir and Sohrab has not been a smooth development, as many relationships are not. There have been roadblocks and situations which have been difficult to remedy, but eventually as time continues to roll on, they will have developed a meaningful relationship. One that was built on trust, friendship and love

International student essay Essay

The relations between the representatives of various cultures, either social or economical grow stronger with each passing year due to the globalization. In my opinion, the opportunity to get to know the other cultures and lifestyles through communication with its representatives is invaluable, as no books, movies or reports about the chosen country, can present such complete and accurate information, as people can. The circumstances were that China became the country were I got my first serious working experience, after graduating with a major in Chinese and English from the acclaimed Daewon Foreign Language High School. I spent two years working in this country, and that was when I became interested in China, in the opportunities that the diverse and multiple populations of these state presents to the businessman, in the peculiarities and technologies of its fast-growing economy. That was when I felt that Chinese economics was growing, and I realized it had the potential for becoming the world’s biggest and most powerful one. It was than that I felt I was interested in establishing business relationships and working in that country. Considering these facts, I feel I would like to study with a person who grew up in China, in a state, whose social system and economy are very different from that in my country of origin. My opinion is that for to work successfully in a foreign country, you should be well acquainted with its language, cultural patterns, and the way of life, as they influence business directly. Communication with the person who spent his/her childhood and youth in the country of my interest would help me to have an insight into the specifics of life in China. Unfortunately, in the present time I have little opportunities of practicing Chinese, and studying with a person of Chinese origin would also improve my language skills. I believe that people can and, moreover, should study from each other, share their experiences, as it is the most convenient way to get the most valuable practical knowledge. I hope that while studying in the University of Texas in Austin both my classmates and I will have a chance to benefit from communication with students with various cultural and academic backgrounds.

An Examination of the Power of the Dark Side

Entrepreneurship does have a Dark Side and It Is powerful, Indeed. With rare exceptions, the literature about entrepreneurship Is positive and supportive and implies that uniform benefits accrue to the economy, to businesses, and to individuals as a result of entrepreneurship. This is only half the story. A small number of researchers have examined the dysfunctional aspects of entrepreneurship and pointed out that a Dark Side definitely exists (Sets De Varies, 1985; Solomon & Winslow, 988; Winslow & Solomon, 1987; 1989).This paper will look at those who turned to the Dark Side for their very existence. The authors have surveyed prisoners who have been convicted of a felony and who are serving sentences In a Federal Prison in the Midwest. The participants were enrolled In a continuing education course Involving entrepreneurship and small business startup Ideas and they all espoused a desire to â€Å"go straight† when their sentences had been served. How did they become criminal s? Did they view their criminal satellites as entrepreneurial ventures? Will they become legitimate entrepreneurs in the future?Can entrepreneurship education alleviate the problems faced by these offenders when released and is there a greater or lesser chance of acidifies when these inmates are given the opportunity to study entrepreneurship while still incarcerated? If they exist, are Dark Side Entrepreneurs different from main stream Entrepreneurs? These were the questions which drove our research. A major problem facing society today Is the Impact that the growing number of inmates serving sentences have on the economic vitality of our nation.The problem has been exacerbated because our Jails are not only filled with first time-offenders but with a large population of repeat offenders, those returned to prison because nee were unmade to malting a crime-Tree Testily rater Deluge released. According to the Bureau of Justice (2000), in the United States released prisoners were re-a rrested at an average rate that was greater than 60%. The high percentage of re-arrested former prisoners is a clear indication that Just serving one's sentence is not a deterrent to committing more criminal acts.The economic cost to society and to those directly affected by criminal activity is tremendous. According to the Bureau of Justice (2000), one of every fifteen people in the U. S. Will be incarcerated. That figure is staggering. During the past 25 years, the penal system in the United States has implemented a strategy of â€Å"lock ‘me up and throw away the key. † As a result, there has been an unprecedented growth in the prison population in the number of incarcerated inmates even though the crime rate has been decreasing.Further exacerbating the situation is that incredibly high rate of recidivism. According to the Three State Recidivism Study (Stouter, Smith, and Tracy, 2001) released inmates reported that less than half had a Job awaiting them after they we re freed from prison. While most (about 87% of those who had received training hill in prison and 83% of those who did not participate in training) believed that they had a place to stay after they were released, the remainder were released as homeless, left to roam the streets, mostly in urban areas.The economic cost of incarceration and the cost to society of criminal activity, plus the lost wages due to imprisonment of convicted workers and the cost of providing welfare for their families is creating a substantial burden on local, state and federal budgets. The combination of rising costs multiplied by an ever greater number of incarcerated inmates is putting pressure on the penal system to find an alternative, deter strategy for success after release. Is there a strategy that can lead to a lower prisoner population through a decrease in recidivism?

Information systems security management Research Paper

Information systems security management - Research Paper Example In 1915, there were 250 automobile manufactures in the United State that were utilizing information technology on large bases. By the 1994, this figure had increased up till 500 automobiles. In the field of telecommunication, around 2000 radio stations across the United States were found (Laudon, 2011). In 1925, these radio stations were broadcasting to local neighborhoods and run by non-professionals. By the year 1990, only 500 independent stations were functioning. Therefore, it is clear that the e-commerce will follow the same pattern along with some noticeable difference that is discussed further (Laudon, 2011). The development in the field of e-commerce has been increased significantly, but it is also not obvious that this field will tend to grow on this rate forever. Moreover, its growth will be limited in future as it is confronting its own fundamental limitations. For example, the B2C e-commerce is still a small part around 3% of the net retail market. In fact, in 2008, all t he B2C e-commerce will approximately equal to the annual revenue under recent projections. This research includes Wal-Mart, which is the world’s largest and most effective retailer. On the contrary, with the only 3% of the entire retail sales, it is now introducing online methods (Laudon, 2011). Early Years of E-Commerce E-Commerce Today Technology-driven Business-driven Revenue growth emphasis Earnings and profits emphasis Venture capital financing Traditional financing Ungoverned Stronger regulation and governance Entrepreneurial Large traditional firms Disintermediation Strengthening intermediaries Perfect markets Imperfect markets, brands, and network effects Pure online strategies Integrated, multi-channel bricks-and-clicks strategies First mover advantages Strategic follower strength; complimentary assets Figure 1.1 1.1 Emphasizing Privacy One more study shows that online companies emphasize and focus more on online privacy policy rather than any other aspect. Even onli ne security is considered as the second option. Moreover, the study also concluded that online customers are more worried about their privacy rather than online threats as they are considered to be in control. In addition, the study also demonstrated a comparison between the two decades, i.e. 1999-2001 and 2005-2007, which highlighted the factors that are mentioned previously (Parayitam, Desai, & Desai, 2008). 1.2 Focusing on Customer Demands However, study concluded one interesting factor, i.e. the rankings and ratings of policies created for the Internet continues to focus on demands of the web users. Moreover, consumer privacy continues to be on top in both the decades (Parayitam, Desai, & Desai, 2008). The amplified awareness by the contributors, i.e. legislators and advocates, shows that the interest level is comparatively high. 2 Technology Infrastructure E-commerce is also described as the development and growth of digital computing, and communications technology is at the co re of modern technology of global digital economy. In order to understand the future of the digital e-commerce, we need to understand the technological basics on which it is dependent. The e-commerce is, basically, a technological motivated phenomenon that depends on a cloud of information technologies. Moreover, the fundamental ideas from computer science have developed this over for a

Strategic plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Strategic plan - Essay Example In this case, I will come up with strategies that minimize costs, reduce waste, meet the market demand and enhance customer satisfaction. The other key concept in strategic management is analyzing the formulated strategies. This concept involves strategy formulation, monitoring and implementation (Jeffs, 2008). In this case, the analysis will involve in-depth external and internal analysis of the weaknesses and strengths of a business. Strategy formulation requires taking a specific course of action that helps meet targeted goals. Strategy implementation requires management to put the formulated strategy into practice (Jeffs, 2008). Finally, strategy monitoring involves the evaluation of the implementation process to achieve the desired results (Jeffs, 2008). In future, I will formulate strategies that facilitate growth, sustainability and expansion of my business. These strategies include keeping books of accounts and having a focused management. I will implement my strategies by acquiring assets, operational machinery, and an efficient workforce. Finally, I will monitor the strategies by having a strong internal con trol framework. The internal control framework will include having internal audits and effective risk assessment. I will also ensure that I adapt to the dynamic technological changes for quality services and

Path of Light Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Path of Light - Lab Report Example Light travels in a straight path at 300, 000km per second or at proximately 186, 000miles per second; however the velocity of light is considered slower in glass and water (Katz, Small and Silberberg, 2012). Objects and devices prevent the travel of light in a straight line causing refraction commonly referred as the bending of light (Minnaert, 2013). In the first experiment testing the movement of light in a straight line without any obstruction or not encountering any interface, the light path is considered extremely straight. Thus, it is deduced that whether light travel in water, air, glass, and diamond or any other object it moves in the straight line until it meets an object or a different medium. It is believed that it travels a constant speed c referred to as the speed of light. This c is calculated to be 300,000 kilometers per second (Katz, Small and Silberberg, 2012). It is realized that light is emitted or reflected by visible objects. It is also noted that when objects reflect light, it moves in all directions. It is believed that the reflected light forms the image in our eyes (Fleming, JÃ ¤kel, and Maloney, 2011). The path of light is regarded straight, and it is belied to travel at a constant speed in a uniform material until it encounters an object or another material. In the first experiment, it is shown that light travel straight until it meets another object where it becomes refracted making it bend (Katz, Small and Silberberg, 2012). In the second experiment, we make a pinhole viewer that is used to allow light from the source through small holes made in the aluminum foil. When viewed through it is realized that there is a bright light on the tape that creates an image (Minnaert, 2013). In conclusion, the experiment shows how light travels through objects. Besides, it shows how light travels in a straight line unless destructed by objects where it is emitted (Katz, Small and Silberberg,

Case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words - 4

Case study - Essay Example In this segment, the major focus will be on Sony’s journey of inevitable change that has made it reach where it is today. Perhaps the first change that the company experienced in the millennium was the appointment of Howard Stringer in 2005 as the chief executive. Apart from Stringer being the first non-Japanese to head the firm in over a half a century, he had a history with some of the fiercest competitor of the Sony Corporations. Despite this, he was the best choice to turn around company’s dwindling profits. Organizational analysts were sceptical of his approach of streamlining the operations of the business and the massive job cuts. The new chief executive included several other ambitious techniques that previously never existed in the company. For instance, he scraped off entire lines of production such as production of cathode ray tube (CRT) television sets. Change was also inevitable in the composition of human resources for Sony over the years. This is partially a step of business strategy and partially for skills that the company required for its future plans. The laying off of about 10,000 employees as a cost cutting measure had a direct impact on the company’s short term in terms of public perception. However, this was necessary to turn around numbers for the company. Human resource in major companies is a key element for their success or failure as Marshak (2005, p97) illustrates. This is because all decisions are made and implemented by directors and employees respectively. Therefore, chief executives and company directors aim at hiring the best and retaining the most productive employees at all times. In light of these, the employee restructuring of Sony was implemented by eliminating human resource that was either too obsolete or redundant in their work. This is a change that most of other multinationals are experiencing today. Thirdly, cultural change is another dynamic that Sony has experienced over the years. The CEO himself

Personal Development Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Personal Development Plan - Assignment Example This personality type compels individuals to be responsible and punctual. They tend to go great lengths to do things they believe in. This includes helping in any way to benefit their loved ones: family or friends. ISFJs’ hate confrontation but will stand up against anyone who hurts those they love. Following tradition is vital, including respecting authority. Practical, these people act according to the stored information shaping their mindset. This differs only when they deal with people who cause them to replace sensibility with feeling: concern and values.If you feel that this result does not portray your personality adequately – suggest what you think your personality is. State which parts of the result you agree with most and those you don’t. For the answer below only right about the traits you agree with.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I agree with most of the traits of my personality. It is true that I would do anything in my power to protect the ones I love and keep th em happy. My family considers me a good caretaker, especially when someone falls ill. However, it’s also true that I am sensitive to the smallest of things. This overtly sensitized me ends up hurt because it’s impossible for me to confront people. A stout traditionalist, I am very aggravated when an authority is challenged. I am also very paranoid under stress and can think the most horrific outcomes of my decisions. Also, a strong belief system makes people with ISJF to respect authority while maintaining their practicality. Weaknesses associated with this personality type are: ISJF compels some individuals in developing certain data, which they refuse to question when rushed into decisions. This rigidness often causes them to make wrong judgments. ISJFs’ need appreciation for what they do; if their contributions are unacknowledged they become bitter and aggrieved. It can also lead to severity while supporting authority which can create problems if the hierarchy makes a wrong decision. These individuals are very aware of the outcomes of situations and do not function well under stress by imagining overly negative outcomes, without realizing the ramifications for those around them. 2. Learning preferences. (Honey and Mumford) Activist 3 Reflector 12 Theorist 18 Pragmatist 10 What are your relative strengths (in terms of learning preference?) I am better at being a theorist. I believe in following facts and figures that have been long established. There are rigid facts that have to be followed and if their complexities can be solved it ensures that my decisions are perfect. What are your relative weaknesses (in terms of learning preference?) My weakness would be in being an activist. I am incapable of allowing experiences to shape and dominate me. Also, I believe in following a strict regime while learning and am not open to a lot of brainstorming. Suggest three things that you could do to develop your weaknesses 1. I could try to enjoy what I am doing instead of constantly concentrating on the outcome. 2. Instead of working alone I could choose a group which would open me up to new ideas 3. I should stop trying to perfect everything I learn because life is

1880-1929 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

1880-1929 - Essay Example This migration fuelled economic activities thus leading to urbanization. This progressive era saw the 15th and 16th Amendments being passed that served to free the black American community from chains of slavery and discrimination. It is also these amendments that gave the black men opportunity to participate in electoral voting. However, women had to wait until 1920 before they earned their rights to participate in electoral processes. The progressive legislations were clearly a product of grassroots pressure from abolitionists and women rights movements. Women suffrage movements had by 19th century gained momentum and little could have been done to tone their demands down. All they wanted was their rights just as the African Americans demanded for them. After the war, it was evident that most blacks were still being victims of segregation as most of their basic freedoms were curtailed. Secondly, the industrialization has just taken its roots and most of the workers felt they were working under deplorable conditions. Statistics gathered in the same period revealed that most employees had succumbed to death due to injuries or illnesses relating to their workplaces. Labor movements soon shaped up and calls for the end of child labor, improved working conditions, and better pay became the order of the

College List Essay Example for Free

College List Essay Pg. 211 Check Comprehension 1. The speaker addresses the happy leaves, the happy lines, and the happy rhymes. The listeners are asked to deliver what he feels to the women he loves. 2. In Sonnet 35 the speaker wants the same type of visual devotion from his wife as he is to her. 3. In Sonnet 35 the speaker compares his eyes to narcissus and his own-self infatuation. 4. In the first four lines the speaker writes his wives name in the sand twice and then the tide washes the names away both times. One speaker is Edmund Spenser and the other is his wife. Critical Thinking 1. The Physical and emotional state of the speaker is evolved around the desire of having the girl because he doesn?t have her he is starving and becoming unhealthy emotionally, he is depressed because his heart is throbbing without her. 2. The ?object of their pain? that the speaker is talking about is the inability for his wife to give affection to him, but he gives it to her. 3. It expresses morality and poetry as being the same because once it is written it begins to fade and morality begins to fade also. 4. Pg 213 Check Comprehension 1. In sonnet 31 the speaker addresses the moon. 2. In sonnet 31 the moon appears to the speaker weak, sickly, and pale. The speaker believes that the cause of the moons sadness is that it does not receive the love that it deserves. 3. The six benefits that the speaker attributes to sleep are the certain knot of peace, the baiting place of wit, the balm of woe, the poor man?s wealth, the prisoners release, and the indifferent judge between the high and low. 4. In sonnet 39 the speaker wants to sleep to shield or escape his sorrow. Critical Thinking 1. The connection between the appearance moon and the thoughts that the speaker utters is that they both have pale and sickly faces that look very sad. 2. The speaker is seeking escape from his sorrow though sleep by using it as a shield. 3. Judging by what is said in each sonnet you can make the conclusion that each speaker is yearning for his love because they got into a fight and were separated. 4. The speakers lover might scorn the moon because of it?s love for her. 5. Sonnet 39 talks about his desire to sleep are related to how people still deal with problems. People believe psychologically that it heals their problems.

Agency Theory Versus Stewardship Theory Accounting Essay

Agency Theory Versus Stewardship Theory Accounting Essay Jensen and Meckling (1976) defined an agency correlation as a contractual set-up under which the business owner or the principal engaged a manager or the agent to execute some service on his behalf and may usually entail some decision making exclusively by the agent. The agency theory revolves on the basic proposition about humans, which deals with principals and agents as self-oriented focusing on exploiting their personal advantage (Corbetta and Salvato, 2004; Chua, Steier and Chrisman, 2006). Shleifer and Vishny (1986) explain the agency context in which the financiers needed the agents specialization to obtain maximum returns from their funds, meanwhile the managers since they do not have enough capital on their own would utilize the finances of its principal. Agency theory described managers as opportunistic (Wasserman, 2006) by seizing its optimum advantage for his appointment and role as the mover in the firm for its own benefit, at the expense of the principal (Shulze, Lubatk in Dino, 2003). Both parties goal is to gain that personal advantage in every way possible with the least outlay and expenditure. These expenditures are defined as agency costs (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). This is the total of cash outflows made by the principal for its organization be it in budget proportions, auditing, or employee honorariums; the expenses incurred by the agent for income generating projects and the marginal loss due to the decline in the expected income of the principal as caused by the resulted deviation of motives between the agents resolution and the main goal of the principal to obtain maximum returns from its investments. Thus, high conflicting of interests between the principals and agents that resulted from information asymmetry is the main statement in an agency theory (Davis, Schoorman and Donaldson, 1997). Asymmetry of information between the two parties is displayed when the manager align his capabilities with the expected outcome, result and rationality of the princip al (not knowing his own abilities) leads to satisfying decision-making on the part of the principal while this is an example of adverse selection for the agent (Karra, Tracey and Phillips, 2006). More often than not, this leads to a number of non-satisfactory overall performances of the manager which will in due time lead to the destruction of the firm and the reputation of the agent (Jensen, 2004). As well as for the principals, their incapability of selecting candidates that acts appropriately in all circumstances are proofs of adverse selection. The outcome always entails an ambiguous job description on both parties. Nevertheless, there are still some factors that the agency theory fails to point out, other than motivational or self-gratitude. These maybe are the intrinsic inability or low ability, poor knowledge on business and misinformation of agents that resulted in their failure to deliver high performance for their principals (Davis, Schoorman and Donaldson, 1997). Moral hazard as described by Chrisman, Chua and Litz (2004) is another agency problem confronted by the corporate governance. Its another kind of opportunism which includes utilizing, seizing and assuming all extra benefits from a delegated authority to rule in behalf of the principal. Since it is difficult for the principal to monitor agents, this authority is undeniably has a chance of being abused or misused by the managers. This problems solution is to adapt a good monitoring system and internal self-governance by the principal which entails agency cost (Eisenhardt, 1989). As discussed by Berle and Means in 1932, a company does not behave based with the conventional model in which the agents must act in the best interest of the owners of the firm. Most likely as a consequence, the principal then would guarantee that the managers would act in their best interest. The idea of formulating a contract is relied upon by the agency theory to align the motives of both parties concerned. The goal is to balance the intention by allocating maximized values for shareholders and added incentives and benefits for the managers. Committee audits and performance evaluations by the board may act as effective authority tool for monitoring and scrutinizing potentially opportunistic agents (Mustakallio, Autio and Zahra, 2002). This internal governance system as a solution to ensure the compliance of the agents bounded by the contract will simultaneously be given to a non-executive sect who will be composed of auditors, supervisors and other structural arrangements. This non-executive part of the ownership structure serves as the middle man interconnecting the principal and the agent having a role in monitoring, thereby extending an enormous effect in the change or variation in control (Denis, 2001). In relation to corporate governance, legitimate actions against deceits and other modes of fraudulence may provide some fortification on the part of the principal. Economic analysis suggests that incorporating these solutions to the firm may considerably eliminate opportunism. But there are still factors that need to be considered in this special structure of the firm that is created for internal governance of which other forms of opportunism may arose in those entrusted with responsibility to check on the managers of the firm. The study made by Yermack in 1999 suggests that the board particularly its composition as an authority to monitor managers has an effect on the governance mechanism. The study on the effect of small board of directors in a company got the significant result that there is a positive correlation of this small size to greater market valuation of a company. Meanwhile, Hannifa and Hudaib (2006) stands with the result of Yermack showing results based on more than 300 companies listed in Malaysia which proposed that a large board is less efficient in auditing the performance of the managers compared to a smaller one. Moreover, this huge composition of the board is quite expensive for the companies to maintain in terms of honorariums, commissions and compensation. But in terms of profit and company growth, the large board may seem to be of importance because of the diversity in experiences, knowledge and accountability. Nevertheless, the study made by Guest in 2009, showed a strong result on the non-relation of the large board size to the firm performance however they also robustly imply that they dont suggest to restrict large boards to obtain a better firm performance. All these efforts executed by principals to avoid agency problems, minding the fact that there are still managers that wont deliver exactly what theyre expected to, entails agency costs as discussed. Often, the goal of the principal is to minimize agency costs and focus on profit even if not in growth. Here comes the conflict of organizing the principal-agent relationship (Shapiro, 2005) wherein the idea is exemplified but the measures are often inadequate, thus the alignment of the interests of the principal and manager is hardly ever absolute. A control-oriented firm is then considered necessary under agency theory which suggests that agents will not act to take full advantage of the returns to the principal if and only if systematic self-governance mechanisms are implemented in the firm to protect the shareholders interest (Jensen and Meckling, 1976). Stewardship theory In 1993, Block believes that firms implementing stewardship by front-running service instead of self-interest are those that are most effective in corporate governance. He believes that both the firm and individual needs will be greatly achieved by establishing trust-relationships and treating subordinates as partners. Preston (1998) added a definition of Stewardship Theory to exemplify humane duties owed to all partners that recognizes the importance of a systematic fit of corporate governance considering the elements of its environment. Hosmer in 1996 identifies the need to augment the economic and social responsibilities in governance by recognizing the moral and ethical issues inherent in the stewardship theory. The managers role in stewardship theory is to maximize the potential of the firm and to pursue long-term wealth acquisition with organizational and individual desires best accomplished by assessing collective ends (Hosmer, 1996). The goal is on assuming accountability and responsibility for the organizational community. The model of a manager should be as a steward whose behavior is ordered and organizational; whose collectivistic behavior is of higher reverence than individualistic, self-serving conduct (Albanese, et al 1997). They exemplify that man being intelligent makes rational, not irrational decisions, unlike agency proposers who dispute stewardship. Stewardship theory view employees as assets of the firm as the agency did but they differ in their treatment of the human natures motivation and ability of control. A true steward is driven by his need of self-actualization, growth and achievement without being opportunistic and self-interested in his performance (Mejia et al., 2001). Stewardship ideology proposes that corporate governance structures should exercise advanced authority and prudence. (Davis et al, 1997) .The proponents discussed that high-level of authority and discretion is attained when the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) also assume the position of Chairman of the Board. Stewardship principle argues that the issue is whether or not the ownership structure assists and facilitates in the management achievement of high corporate and firm performance. When the CEO is also the chairman of the board, the organization will be facilitative of this objective letting them assume apparent, clear and objective role expectations and authorize and empower higher and greater management. Thus, stewardship theory is not centralized on self-motivation through own financial gain, but the assumption of two roles as the chairman, at the same time as the manager of the corporation will produce superior results and maximized returns to the shareholders than separation of the roles of the chair and CEO as exemplified by the agency theory. Duality of these roles is considered a functional from in stewardship perspective. According to Fama (1980), being an effective steward of their firm, CEOs and managers are also effectively managing their own assets and careers. Stewardship, however, has its own set of limitations and gaps. Since it is trust-based relationships, it assumes underlying informal agreements and not most of the time, the functional logic or prà ©cised obligations (Mejia et al., 2001). Some authors ( Habbershon, 2006; Miller and Miller, 2005) argue that altruism mainly a compliment of stewardship might be influential in establishing an enormous network for the firm in its early stages, as employing a wide network of trustees or of relatives in cases of a family corporation (less concerned on their specifications) minimizing agency costs compared to a non-family member (Mejia et al., 2001).However, in the long run as the firm becomes more established, the need for well adept and professional managers arise to cope up with the competition thereby expect an increase in the agency costs. In essence, the organizations over all environment systems influence the inclination of managers. In an organization which houses the philosophy for self-actualization and involve employee-owners association, managers are inclined towards the stewardship perspective. Furthermore, collectivist behavior and non-power distance cultures encourages stewardship principles (Davis, Schoorman and Donaldson, 1997). Agency Theory vs. Stewardship Theory Agency theory concentrates primarily on the association between the principal and the agents in corporations, having a formal and contractual nature of relationship however with the presumed goal indifference and incongruence of interest (Sharma, 1997). Meanwhile, Stewardship theory is involved mainly in analyzing the importance of the co-existence of trust-based relationships along with agency relations in firms (Corbetta and Salvato, 2004). The stewardship approach, which encompasses commitment and trust to shared goals and desires exhibited by the principal and the manager alike, aligns the interest of the two parties (Albanese, Dacin and Harris, 1997). In 1997 Davis, Shoorman and Donaldson provided two key points that differentiated the Agency and Stewardship theories. These are the motivation and power comparison. In an agency type, the manager is motivated by personal interests and extrinsic rewards. In the stewardship, the manager is motivated by the human need for intellectual growth, achievement, and self-actualization, and by intrinsic rewards. In an agency theory, the power is institutionally directed while in the stewardship, it is based on personal ability and power to run the particular organization. Davis, et al (1997) argue that the two theories are not mutually exclusive but create a link between agency and stewardship relationships. Clearly, the stewardship theory provided a room for the failures and gaps in the agency theory. A manager of a firm may choose what type of inclination he is up to particularly in decision making as long as these three assumptions are supplemented. First the decision must be mutually agreed upon by both the principal and the agent. Secondly, it will always depend on the situation, and third objective is the expectations of the parties involved. Basing on the result of their study of 22 matrices on the possibilities of the actuations of the principal and agent, the agent can either opt to perform in an agency or in a steward fashion, and so can the principal. There can be four possibilities of outcome in the governance using the link between agency and stewardship and depending on the choice of the concerned parties. Two of which are a concrete exa mple of the agency theory where both have selected to uplift their self-interests and a true stewardship principle which maximize organizational performance. Other two possibilities of outcome which will result in one party taking advantage over the other and one recourse to injustice will result to low performance on the other party. When the principal acts as the steward and the manager acts as an agent, and on the other hand when the principal becomes opportunistic and the manager acts as a steward, which could pave the way for the frustration and declined feelings of self-worth to the aggravated party. The study on the relationship of these theories is very broad, thereby some wouldnt agree to the findings of Davis. According to Albanese, Dacin, and Harris (1997) there is a distinction between agency theory and the agency problem of divided self interest. They discussed that stewardship simply refined and advanced agency theory, it does not present an alternative. Eisenhardts (1 989) review shows that agency theory was continually developed and is studied thoroughly with the incongruent self-interests of the principal-agent as the fundamental supposition. Summary The agency model and stewardship model of the firm provide two different angles for understanding the governance of a firm, its decision making, its internal relationships, and its external relationships. This review advocates that the principal or manager acting as a steward, and employing people with similar expectations, is more in line with the traits needed for an organization to succeed like proper motivation, personal and company growth and self-actualization, thus increasing the potential for maximizing the performance of the firm. Moreover, the advantage of the stewardship model over that of the agency is that it presents managers an organized different array of motivations which could potentially include the interests of all relevant firm movers (Preston 1998).

Background Of Rolls Royce Information Technology Essay

Background Of Rolls Royce Information Technology Essay Information Technology now a day is growing in rapid pace. Almost every sector and the activities in this world are being attached with the Information Technology. Business organisations cannot survive in this competitive world without using some form of technology however, they must have to use technology strategically in order to keep their existence for a long term. In this essay I am going to present the case of one of a large, power engine manufacturing organisation ie, Rolls Royce. This essay will discuss about the scenario of Rolls Royce with its system before the implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system, why the organisation felt need for implementation of ERP and what are the business advantages they are able to get with the strategic implementation of ERP and how. Introduction: Todays business organisations find themselves in a more vibrant and competitive environment. Business leaders have responded to these by laying more emphasis on technology so as to continue with smooth and efficient running of businesses and gaining competitive advantages. Computer based information systems have been very popular in recent years, organisations like Rolls Royce have stake most of the business operations on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP). ERP is an information system that integrates financial, material and human resources of an organisation, it also facilitate information flow between different business functions and connection to external stake holders. This paper will seek to desert the implementation of ERP by Rolls Royce, understand the business needs of ERP, and last but not the least the aftermath implementation of ERP. Background of Rolls Royce: Rolls-Royce is a multinational company which manufactures power solutions for the customers in aerospace, marine and energy markets. The founders of this company are Henry Royce and Charles Rolls. The brand name Rolls Royce came after their surnames. The company came into existence about 100 years before. It is first established with the intension of manufacturing the best car in the world. Later on Rolls Royce organisation slowly expands its business in various markets, its name and brand was extended and now it has its manufacturing industries situated in 20 different countries and has its customers in more than 120 countries.  [1]   Now it has became one of the worlds largest power engine manufacturing companies. One of the main reasons behind their success is the strategic use of technology to compete in this business world. Though its main headquarter is in UK 45 % of their employees are based outside the UK. They are running a civil aerospace business from UK with emerging capabilities in Germany and the US. They are growing up day by day. All the transactions, interdepartmental coordination, coordination with their supplier, consumers and customers are maintained well and effectively and it is possible for them only by using modern technologies to communicate, gather and process the information. [Rolls-Royce Group plc, Annual report 2009]. They look forward to their customers need for the next 30 to 40 years and do research in the technology to stay competitive. They are having good market strength with many products and many customers. It produces goods as well as provides services to its customers in fact, services are the most important part of their business it accounts for nearly above half of their revenue every year. So there is the great importance of real time data management which enables them to be predictive and they can immediately react to the issues related to the engine that comes for the service.  [2]   Information System: Information Technology (IT) and Information System (IS) are part of each other. Information system is the computerized program which collects data, processes it and gives the useful information. This information can be used for various purposes to add up the value in the business. It can be used for report generation, planning, decision making, business operation and which further will lead the organisation to obtain competitive advantage. Figure: Strategic Framework  [3]   Information technology has become one of the largest components where organisations are investing their capital. Most of the business organisation are wisely investing large amount of their money in information systems. The wise choice of investment can outperform competitors and if it was the poor choice then it will be nothing more than wasting their valuable capital. [Laudon (2006)]. Today the world is getting smaller and smaller this is because of the information technology and hence competition in the businesses is rising day by day. So to gain the competitive advantage, strategic use of information system is the must no matter it is smaller business organisation or the larger. According to Brooks (2003), adding value to the business means to extend products, decrease the cost, improve the quality of services and products and so on. The reason for adding value to the business is to attract more customers, and keep organisation in a better place in the market. The use of Information technology and information system has become the efficient and more common way for adding value to the organisations of todays business world. Only the use of IT system is not sufficient to add value and to take competitive advantage of it, the strategic use of IT System is the most. According to WU J (n.d.), ERP system is such a strategic tool, which integrates information and infor mation-based processes within and across functional areas in an organization. Rolls Royce was using information system since long. It was using 1500 systems before using ERP (SAP R/3), many of those systems were built internally by Rolls-Royce in last two decades. Those systems were costly to operate and not easy to maintain. They didnt give precise and steady result because these systems were not centralised and using the values from different systems will give inconsistent result. Looking at all these problems Rolls-Royce formed a partnership with electronic data services (EDS) in 1996 and EDS was responsible for the development of ERP for Rolls Royce [Yusuf Y, Gunasekaran A and Abthorpe MS (2004)]. Though there are many implementation difficulties such as cultural difficulties (Training of new system to the employees), business difficulties (modification of working to fit in the ERP) and technical problem (transferring of previous records into the new system and to reach the consistent stage), Rolls Royce needs to implement the ERP because they knew the nec essity of the centralised, robust, accessible and accurate system to gain the competitive advantage and to improve their supply chain. ERP combines all departments together into a single system in a single computer. It uses internet technology and it can be accessed by authorised department and authorised personnel anytime from anywhere so interdepartmental communication can be done easily and efficiently and hence optimizes the time and the cost. Impacts of ERP Implementation in Rolls Royce: According to the annual report (2009) of Rolls Royce Our process excellence and improvement journeys continued throughout 2009. Our joint venture engine overhaul facilities, Hong Kong Aero Engine Services Limited (HAESL) and Singapore Aero Engine Services Limited (SAESL), were the latest to benefit from the rollout of the enterprise resource planning (ERP) and SAP process systems. Rolls Royce has implemented and is making use of information systems very efficiently and effectively that is why they are in the apex of success today. Rolls Royce is making use of ERP for communication, decision making, to manage their business operations, improve value chain, to reduce competitive forces and as a whole to gain competitive advantage. We will now discuss one by one how Management Information System (MIS) like ERP will help the business organisation to gain the advantages maintained above and we will see the impact of using ERP in the Rolls Royce. Communication One of the critical factors which lead the organisation towards its success is the effective communication (intra-organisation and inter-organisation). Employer and managers of todays business organisation must have to be familiar with the effective communication techniques for the success of the organisation. And effective communication has become an important tool for the organisations success. ERP boost the communication between the functional boundaries within the organisation. Rolls Royce is efficiently and effectively using this advantage provided by ERP. Rolls Royce is also a service provider to its customers. When customers demand services to be delivered in more timely and perfect way, organisations must overcome functional boundaries to meet this challenge. Rolls Royce is widely spread in different countries and all of its organisational functions are not carried out in a single place. ERP helps the effective communication within different departments and between their suppliers, customers as well as with their partner organisations. And this obviously adds value to the organisation by reducing the research time, providing the accurate and the optimized reports and minimizing the communication cost. Lets take an example, Rolls Royce uses Suppliermanager website to pull together all the information their supplier needs. They are using SABRe which shows the external part of the Rolls-Royce Quality Management System, and is applicable to all its suppliers or partners who are providing products or services that effect upon Rolls-Royce and its customer requirements.  [4]  By using these strategy of using information system and providing the information, Rolls Royce is minimizing the cost and time for the communication. Decision Making Decision Making is one of the important factors in every business organisation. Again the decision is made with the help of report generated by the Information System. One of the major advantages of using good information system like ERP is that it increases the speed of decision making within an organisation and provides the circumstances to make faultless decisions in strategic, managerial as well as operational level. Lets take the case of Rolls Royce, the legacy systems used in Rolls Royce did not provide accurate, consistent and accessible data that was required for good and timely decision-making and performance assessment. Those old systems mostly did not fit to the modern manufacturing environment. But in the ERP system a data warehouse (integrated collection of data) is created. Data is stored centrally and is extracted from different databases. The data is monitored, edited and then finally standardised for future use. The data is kept in a logical and user friendly format. It also allows nontechnical users to queries the databases which allow and provide the management information for business intelligence and helps Rolls Royce for operational, managerial and strategic decision making [Yusuf Y, Gunasekaran A and Abthorpe MS (2004)]. Business Process Management Business Process is the set of activities carried out by a business organisation that is initiated by an event, transforms information, materials, or business commitments, and produces an output [Harmon (2003)]. Business Process Management is the process of managing the activities of business process. One of the major benefits of using ERP is the business process automation. So, ERP can be very useful for the management of business process, in fact, ERP itself defines the business process because the organisations business process is integrated in the ERP system. Rolls Royce had also faced difficulties to change their business process in order to fit the SAP. But they need to implement the ERP to automate their business process, to access accurate management information in less time and to add value in their supply chain. Value Chain Figure: Value Chain in an Organisation [adapted from: Porter ME (1985); Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Free Press] The value chain model includes the exact activities in business organisation where we can apply the competitive strategies [Porter ME (1985)] and where we can implement the information system effectively to gain competitive advantages. These activities of the organisation defined by value chain model are distinguished in two different categories Primary activities and Supportive activities Primary activities are those activities which are involved in the process of production and distribution of the organisations product and the services. Those activities shown by the value chain model are inbound logistics, operations, outbound logistics, sales and marketing and services. Inbound logistics define the receiving and storing of the materials for the production of the goods. Operations define the process to convert the inputs to the end products. Outbound logistics define the storing and distribution of end product. Sales and marketing describes the promotion and selling of the outbound logistics and last but not the least is the services which includes after sale repair and maintenance of the end products. Supportive activities support for the successful outcome of the primary activities which includes; infrastructure of organisation (administration and management), human resources (recruitment, hiring and training of employees), technology (technology used for the impro vement of product and production process) and procurement (gathering inputs for the organisation) [Laudon (2006)]. ERP system connects every department of the organisation with each other so every activity can be monitored at any time. The information about those activities provided by ERP system is used to find the point in the value chain where the cost can be lowered and value can be added. Moreover, it can be used to tie up the organisations supporting bodies such as suppliers, customers, partner organisations and distributers and the value chain of the organisation will be linked with the value chain of its supporting bodies. The use of the information system for the linkage between value chains will enable the organisation to reduce the cost for inventory and to response the customers demand promptly. Competitive Forces Figure: Competitive Forces [adapted from: Porter ME, Harvard Business review, January 2008] According to Porters competitive force model there are five major forces that are acting upon any business organisation which tries to diminish the organisations performance and these forces must be made ineffective by the organisation in order to survive in the market. These five forces are: Possibility of new entrance of competitor Bargaining power of customer Bargaining power of supplier Substitute products or services Position of the existing competitors Different strategies can be applied to reduce these forces. And use of information system can make ease for the organisation to determine the strategy that should be applied in order to gain the competitive advantage. Rolls Royce has very low risk of new entrants. Because of their brand name and their well establishment make hard for the possible competitor to compete with Rolls Royce. The high initial investment cost will also discourage the threat of new entrants into this market. Rolls-Royce collects real-time data of their engines which are operating all around the world. By analysing, sharing and acting upon this information, they can optimise the performance of their engines in service [Rolls-Royce Group plc, Annual report 2009]. They have such a good information system to take care of the services needed by their customers, which reduces the bargaining power of customers and threat of substitute product and services. Information system in Rolls Royce and their direct communication with the suppliers are also helping them to maintain good relationship with their suppliers minimising their bargaining power. Rolls Royce is operating its business in a very competitive market in response to its competitors such as Pratt and Whitney, General Electric, CFM International. That is why they invest large amount of money for research and technology to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Rolls Royce has developed a balanced business portfolio and continues to maintain a steady focus on improvement in operational performance by modernisation of its facilities and focusing on managing the costs of operations and products. Continual investment in technology and strong protection of intellectual property, together with the establishment of long-term customer relationships, allow the Rolls Royce to make its products and services different from its competitors [Rolls-Royce Group plc, Annual Report 2009]. One of the examples for their investment in technology is the implementation of ERP removing their old systems investing huge amount of money in it. Competitive Advantage In a simple sentence, we can define competitive advantage in the business term as the advantage gained by a company in the market competition with their competitors. Any organisation can gain competitive advantage over their competitor by the following means: Reducing their production cost and then the cost of their product, Improving the quality of their product, Providing good after sale services, By differentiating their products from the product of their competitors, Growth of the company Companies that successfully alter their business around IT can achieve a significant window of competitive advantage [Tapscott D (2004)]. This doesnt mean that all those companies who use IT and IS in their business processes can gain competitive advantage but, the organisation who smartly and strategically use IT and IS will certainly gain the competitive advantage. Rolls Royce is operating in the market which wants them to deliver increased value in terms of cost, quality and delivery performance. So they always try to minimize the cost, increase the quality of their product and promptness in services. Management information system like ERP implemented in Rolls Royce provides the relevant information which directly or indirectly helping them to achieve those advantages. ERP benefits Rolls Royce to control the business operations and helps costs reductions. It is used for real time data management which also helps them to provide good and on time service to their customers. For instance, real time data management enables them to be more predictive they can know when engines are going to come along and they can provide the exact down time for the aircraft and the maintenance. According to the article by Ashford W (2007), the CIO of Rolls Royce, Mr Jonathan Mitchell states that We have traditionally operated factories independently, but the standa rdisation of systems and processes means we can now operate more effectively at the global scale. ERP is the integrated system for business processes so, moving of the factories, expanding the business and production throughout the globe is not so difficult. They have got a different department for the research purpose only, which always works on how to add value to the products? They are trying to make their product different from other competitors by inventing the engines that produce less pollution and without the processed information provided to them it wont be possible for them to carry out these tasks. Conclusion: The niche behind the success of Rolls Royce in its market place is the implementation of the latest technologies and the information system in its business processes, which provide a message to those who think that, investment in the IT and the IS is nothing but just waste of the organisations capital. Rolls Royce were using many systems since long however, looking at the feasibility and importance of ERP in strategic decision making, business process and connecting their departments as well as business functions, they invested large amount of money for developing and implementing ERP system replacing the old systems. The smart integration and implementation of Information System and Information Technology in a business organisation and its processes will lead it to the competitive advantage in its industry. Its very difficult to find any organisation which has faced up to the failure in spite of strategic implementation of IS in its business processes.

Selling Your Used Car Essay -- essays research papers fc

Process Essay Thesis: The majority of the American population has very little, or no understanding of the used car trade. A simple understanding on when and where to sell, how to get your car ready, writing a classified ad, negotiating, and making a contract.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With consumer demand rising and supply constrained by several factors, including the tendency of new-car owners to hang on to them longer, prices for used vehicles have been climbing steadily. According to one recent study, nearly three times as many shoppers now want to buy a used, rather than a new, vehicle. (Dalglish)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In trying to find the perfect buyer, your options include: new-car dealers, used-car dealers, and friends and strangers. New-car dealers are generally eager and ready to buy. They are incredibly picky about every aspect of a car’s condition. New-car dealers will be choosy about the make and model, preferring newer models in relatively good condition.(Makower) They will pay a relatively low price for the car. Used-car dealers are also eager to buy and incredibly picky about every aspect of a car’s condition. But they aren’t very choosy about the cars they buy. However, they will pay a rock-bottom price for the car. Friends and strangers are usually eager and ready to buy. They will be much less picky, and rely more on your word for information. They will be choosy about the car, but will already be interested in the car through your ad. You will get the best price, through negotiations, but you have to work harder. The best time to sell is in t he springtime when the weather turns nice. Other good times are in September when kids are going off to college; and in the dead of winter, when there is no competition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  It is possible to turn the average used-car into a saleable commodity in just a few hours. You should dress up your car, regardless of the condition you normally keep it in. You want to make it clean, neat, and even smelling nice. You must do this to the entire car, inside and out, from one end to the other. Most car buyers understand that appearance is a good indicator of how well someone treated the car overall. Nine important steps to take are: washing and waxing, painting and touching up, cleaning your tires, a thorough cleaning of the interior, gather all the important documents, steam... ...importantly, make copies of everything you sign. The bill of sale is the basic car-buying document that records the transaction. The following should be included: the date of the sale, year and make and model of the car, state registration, VIN number, odometer reading, amount sale is for, extra conditions, and the buyer’s and seller’s names and addresses and phone numbers. Make sure that each party gets a copy of the bill of sale.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A large percentage of the population uses the automobile regularly. The majority of the population, over 90%, has little or no understanding of the car buying art. (Robertson) Many people feel that selling their car themselves can be a real hassle. But, if you can realize that you will get several hundred dollars more than what a dealer might offer you, it just may be worth a little effort and time on your part. Works Cited Dalglish, Brenda. â€Å"Better Than New: used-car prices jump as consumer demand grows.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Maclean’s 10 Jul. 1995: 22-24 Makower, Joel. How to Sell a Used Car. New York: Perigee Books, 1988. Robertson, C.B. How to Deal on an Automobile. Lyons: Blue Mountain Publisher, 1988.

Renaissance Country House Poetry Essay examples -- Poem Poetry Poet Es

Renaissance Country House Poetry Country house poetry is a sub-genre of Renaissance poetry and was first written during the seventeenth century. It was closely linked to patronage poetry, in which poets (sometimes outrageously) flattered patrons in order to gain sponsorship and status. At this time, many houses were built in the countryside as a display of wealth, and as a retreat for the courtier when overwhelmed by the court and city life. Country houses were not, originally, just large houses in the country in which rich people lived. Essentially they were power houses - the houses of a ruling class. As such they could work at the local level of a manor house, the house of a squire who was a little king in his village and ran the county. They could work at a local and national level as the seat of a landowner who was also a member of parliament. Basically, people did not live in country houses unless they either possessed power, or, by setting up in a country house, were making a bid to possess it. Country house poems generally consisted of complimentary descriptions of the said country house and its surrounding area which often contained pastoral detail, and praised cultivated nature. The purpose of the central part of this essay is to assess the effectiveness of Renaissance 'country house' poetry as social criticism. Country house poems were written to flatter and please the owner of the country house. Why did poets do this? Until the nineteenth century the wealth and population of England lay in the country rather than the towns; landowners rather than merchants were the dominating class. Even when the economic balance began to change, they were so thoroughly in control of patronage and legislation, so strong throu... ...ely that people read country house poetry to be provided with political or social insights, so it is likely that many of the allusions were lost on the majority of readers. Endnotes 1 The Penguin Book of Renaissance Verse 1509-1659, p.420 2 Ibid. p.420 3 Life in the English Country House, Mark Girouard, p.7. 4 The Penguin Book of Renaissance Verse 1509-1659, p.420 5 Ibid.p.421 6 Ibid.p.421 7 Ibid.p.421 8 Ibid.p.421 9 Ibid.p.422 10 Ibid.p.422 11 Ibid.p.422 12 Ibid.p.422 13 The Description of Cooke-ham, Renaissance Verse, p.414. 14 The Penguin Book of Renaissance Verse 1509-1659, p.417 15 Ibid.p.418 16 Marvell's "Upon Appleton House", Robert Markley, p.91. Bibliography Mark Girouard. Life in the English Country House, Yale University Press, 1978. Maclean, Landry and Ward. The Country and the City Revisited, Cambridge University Press, 1999.

America’s Crossroads

The fifty year span between 1870 and 1920 in United States history found our great, growing nation struggling with many economic, racial and social crisis. Rules were made and broken. Walls were built and torn down. Lines were drawn and crossed. With a huge cultural chasm yawning out across an invisible landscape, rocked on its foundations by a civil war, the United States of America stood at a crossroads, It was now entering uncharted territory. Would it let the torrent of differences and alienation between itself and its vanquished other half divide the nation forever? Or would it have the fortitude, forbearance, and mercy to begin the heart-rending task of putting the pieces back together again and truly becoming â€Å"one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all†? Though emotionally exhausted from its assuredly un-civil war, and except for the decimated South, the nations economic health was excellent. New opportunities abounded for the young and enterprising in the large cities that were growing ever larger thanks to the flood of immigrants searching for the American dream. And in this new post-Civil War era standards remained static in many areas, were raised in others, and certainly, most glaringly in the political-economic arena, fell in others. Great wealth, power, and prosperity accumulated quickly after the Civil War, and everyone wanted a hand in it. However, because standards were so lax in the political-economic area, a preoccupation with material and monetary gain increased. Men whose principal claim to this newfound wealth and power (characteristics certainly envied) was through corruption and ruthlessness. A good example of one of these men was â€Å"†¦ John D. Rockefeller in oil. He saw a marketplace of huge integrated companies, cooperating to avoid competition. The virtue of this new form of production, for Rockefeller, was its efficiency. Then he [Rockefeller] set out to eliminate competition: they could sell out to him at his price: they could become his agents; or they could be destroyed† (261 Carol Noble). Not just another term for â€Å"survival of the fittest†, efficiency and being efficient would revolutionize the industrial age, its people, and its culture. The humming and expanding continent, for all its corruption and crudities, embodied progress, and nothing would stand in its way. Rockefeller would go on to speak prophetically about the social changes to come: â€Å"The day of combination is here to stay. Individualism has gone, never to return† (261 Carol Noble). As individualism was being ground up and replaced under the heels of industrialism, another â€Å"-ism†, racism, and second-class citizenship towards immigrants, blacks, and anyone with a different religion, remained unchanged. People from all walks of life that had come to the land of opportunity were increasingly forced into working alongside one another. â€Å"Corporate leaders well understood and the exploited the ethnic groups within the labor force† (265 Carol Noble). Pitting blacks against whites, whites against whites, Swedes against Slovaks, and Catholics against Jews, the fat cat's just sat back and laughed. â€Å"They deliberately worked to deepen resentment between them† (265 Carol Noble). This, to me, is a very repulsive side to the new industrial age and its efficiency. These so-called â€Å"leaders† exploited many honest, hardworking people because of their ethnicity, low-class, and ignorance. Spurred on by their greed, their bosses greed, and greedy human nature in general. Treating people like they were animals in search of the almighty buck. To a small degree in their defense, America had never been here before. It never had industries, corporations, and things of this nature. It now had large railroads connecting the nation to make â€Å"†¦ it possible for regional specialization to be linked to the national economy† (260 Carol Noble). This was all new and people took advantage of it like hogs to slop. No discipline, no planning or thinking ahead. It was all going to last forever is what they probably thought. However, one people, one race, had been here before. Subjected to unheard of treatment, domination, and abuse for the past four hundred and some odd years, African-Americans did not know what to do with their new found freedom. â€Å"This child race had received total guidance from the whites during the period of slavery† (252 Carol Noble). Though they were not considered slaves anymore, they might as well have been. Ostracized to a ridiculous extent in almost every conceivable area, blacks were still hated by southern whites like Adolph Hitler hated the Jews. â€Å"This crusading prejudice produced rigid forms of social segregation between 1890 and 1910† (254 Carol Noble). Many people thought segregation would work just fine. Many others did not. Among them were the ones who could actually do something about it †¦ the â€Å"leaders†. Many of them â€Å"†¦ advocated the deportation of blacks, [while] other northern leaders listened to more extreme proposals, such as â€Å"to emasculate the entire Negroe race† (255 Carol Noble). These prejudice men would roll over in their graves at the progress blacks would go on to make by the latter half of the twentieth century versus the late nineteenth century. Blacks were not going to be held down m, and the squashing of the individual who, in the words of Andrew Carnegie, didn't have â€Å"the special talent required† to create and keep capitol (46 Kammen). A lot of these so-called â€Å"untalented† people were of course of the working class and the new efficiency invading the culture had them reeling. On top of all the myriad of changes and unstableness in the workplace was a new type of management by Frederick W. Taylor. â€Å"‘Taylorism' became an international byword for social control and for programs designed to make men function like machines† (87 Kammen). Of course men are not like machines and so cannot function like them. Standards were not being raised in this critical backbone area of industry due to â€Å"Taylorism†, and labor America voiced it with â€Å"†¦ growing labor unrest and major strikes, especially in 1911-12† (87 Kammen). Workers, it turned out, had brains and wanted to use them. Many of the people that were working at the turn of the twentieth century were woman, as the new efficiency permeating society pushed them out of the home and into the work force. They also campaigned against inequality and male double-standards. Tired of staying at home anyway, women were becoming more outspoken and independent. â€Å"Increasing numbers of young women attended colleges, choosing to become teachers, librarians, and social workers† (242 Carol Noble). Chafing under restraint, women flexed their way into public life and changed the way they were viewed. In summary, change happens in all areas of life and at all times of life. It establishes itself as unpredictable, unreliable, maddening. Like the butterfly theory of flapping its wings in Tokyo and creating a rainstorm in Central Park, change is the weather of history. One thing influences another and another, producing good and bad. In life, human nature is the constant; it is what affects change.

Statement and Topic Sentence

Cause/Effect Outline Your introduction should: get your readers' attention state the title and author of the novel indicate historical context as applicable clearly identify the cause/effect relationship in the thesis Organize the body of your essay to fit the cause/effect relationship you are analyzing. For an essay that examines one effect with multiple causes l. Introduction A. Please write out your thesis statement using a complete sentence. II. Body paragraph #1† Topic sentence identifies cause#l A. supporting details (details†examples/textual support)B. supporting details C. concluding sentence Body paragraph #2† Topic sentence identifies cause #2 A. supporting details Ill. ‘V. Body paragraph #3† Topic sentence identifies cause #3 A. supporting details V. Conclusion For an essay that examines one cause with multiple effects paragraph #1 †Topic sentence identifies effect #1 Body paragraph #2† Topic sentence identifies effect #2 A. suppor ting details ‘V. Body paragraph #3† Topic sentence identifies effect #3 A. supporting details paragraph #1† Topic sentence identifies cause #1 ‘V.Body paragraph #3† Topic sentence identifies effect #1 A. supporting details V. Body paragraph #4† Topic sentence identifies effect #2 VI. Conclusion OR a. Please write out your thesis statement using a complete sentence. II. Body a. supporting details b. supporting details c. concluding sentence Ill. Body paragraph #2†Topic sentence identifies effect #1 a. supporting details ‘V. Body paragraph #3†Topic sentence identifies cause #2 V. Body paragraph #4†Topic sentence identifies effect #2 Remember, these are Just models to help you organize your essay.You may have more or fewer body paragraphs or supporting details. Do not feel like you have to force your essay to fit these examples exactly! Also remember, topic sentences and concluding sentences make assertions, Your conclusion sh ould: Restate your thesis (without using the same exact wording) Broaden from your character's examples to the larger historical and world context Leave the reader with a call-to-action/larger lesson that connects to your thesis but is applicable to the world (don't mention the book)

Classic Pen Company Case

A VOTRE SANTE: PRODUCT COSTING AND DECISION ANALYSIS IN THE WINE INDUSTRY Priscilla S. Wisner Department of Accounting and Information Management College of Business University of Tennessee 638 Stokely Management Center Knoxville, TN 37996 Phone: 865. 974. 1714 Email: [email  protected] edu Case: A Votre Sante Page 1 of 17 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=1659912 BACKGROUND A Votre Sante (AVS) is a small, independent winery owned by Kay Aproveche. Kay has a relationship with a grower who grows two types of wine grapes, a Chardonnay and a generic white grape.AVS buys the grapes at the point that they have ripened on the vine. AVS is responsible for harvesting the grapes and all further processing of the grapes into wine. In 2010, AVS earned an operating margin of almost $100,000 on sales of $848,000, for an 11. 6% margin (see Exhibit 1). The process of winemaking is fairly simple, yet requires much attention to process details. After the grapes are harvested, they are brought to the winery for washing and crushing. The crushing process separates the juice from the pulp, skin and stems.The juice is used to make the wine; the pulp, skin and stems are recycled back onto the fields whenever possible or otherwise disposed of. The amount of wine generated from the grapes is dependent each year on a number of climatic and growing factors such as temperature, length of growing season, rootstock and fertilizers used. Once the juice is extracted, it moves into the fermenting process. The Chardonnay wine grape is fermented using oak barrels; the oak in the barrels gives flavor to the Chardonnay wine.The barrels are expensive ($500 each), but are sold after four years for $200 apiece to another smaller winery. The juice fermenting in each barrel results in the production of 40 cases of wine. The generic white grape juices are fermented in a holding tank; a full tank would result in the production of 1,500 cases of wine. The fermenting process takes place in a temperaturecontrolled environment; however, each fermenting method results in some wine loss through evaporation. Kay Aproveche estimates that theChardonnay will lose approximately 10 percent of its volume through the fermentation process, while the generic white will lose approximately 5 percent of its volume. Harvest takes place in the late summer and early fall months; typically, the time elapsed from harvest to final sale is about 11 months. Case: A Votre Sante Page 2 of 17 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstract=1659912 PRODUCT INFORMATION AVS bottles three wines: a Chardonnay-Estate, a regular Chardonnay and a Blanc de Blanc.Data related to the three wines is as follows: Chardonnay-Estate contains only Chardonnay grapes that are grown for AVS; the expected sales price is $22/bottle. The market demand for Chardonnay-Estate wine is estimated to be 24,000 bottles for 2010. Regular Chardonnay is blended by combining the Chardonnay wine left over after bo ttling the Chardonnay-Estate with the fermented generic wine; the blend mixture is two parts Chardonnay grapes and one part generic grapes. The expected sales price is $16/bottle.Blanc de Blanc wine is made from all remaining generic white grapes; the expected sales price is $11/bottle. All three wines are bottled at AVS using one bottling line. In a typical year, AVS bottles enough Chardonnay-Estate to meet the predicted market demand, then bottles the regular Chardonnay after blending all remaining Chardonnay wine with the necessary amount of generic grapes. The Blanc de Blanc is the last wine to be bottled, using all remaining generic white grapes. Kay again expects the wines from this harvest year to sell out.ADDITIONAL OPERATIONAL AND COST DATA Chardonnay Grapes 2009 harvest – 100,000 pounds purchase price of $85,500 expected loss in volume through fermentation and bottling – 10% Case: A Votre Sante Page 3 of 17 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn. com/abstr act=1659912 Generic White Grapes 2009 harvest – 60,000 pounds purchase price of $38,500 expected loss in volume through fermentation and bottling – 5% Wine-making Chardonnay grapes are fermented in oak barrels; each barrel results in the production of 40 cases of wine Barrels cost $500 apiece, and can be used for our years and sold for $200 each at the end of four years; assume that you have to purchase all new barrels for the 2009 harvest Generic white grapes are fermented in the holding tank; the tank can hold up to the equivalent of 1,500 cases of wine Bottling Requires 36 pounds of grapes (post-fermenting) for one case (12 bottles) of wine In the bottling process, the wine is put into bottles, with both corks and labels added during this process. The materials cost associated with the bottles, corks and labels are estimated to be $2. 50/bottle. Direct Labor Harvest labor is paid an average of $7. 5 / hour. It is estimated that 80 pounds of grapes can be harvested e ach hour. Crush labor is paid an average of $8. 00/hour. It is estimated that it will take 300 hours to crush the grape harvest. Overhead Expenses Administrative rent and office expenses – Estimated to be $20,000 / year. Depreciation is charged based on the following equipment schedule: Case: A Votre Sante Page 4 of 17 Equipment Tractors Crushers Holding Tank Bottle Lines Cost $15,000 $6,000 $40,000 $10,000 Est. Life 10 years 10 years 20 years 10 years 5 years Other Production Equipment $15,000Indirect Materials – Part of the wine-making process involves introducing yeasts and other additives into the wine to help the fermentation process and to help balance the flavors in the wine. Indirect production materials average $1. 55 per case of wine. Lab expenses – Lab expenses of $8,000 are incurred for lab supplies and equipment. The lab is used by the production supervisor and the wine master to test the grapes and wine at various stages of production. Liquor taxes – AVS is required to pay a liquor excise tax of $3/bottle on every bottle of wine sold.Production office – AVS pays a part-time person to help administer the production function. This person orders supplies, reviews and approves production invoices, and performs other administrative functions. The production office budget is estimated to be a flat rate of $12,000. Sales and related – Kay’s sister, Bebe Cadadia, is paid $30,000/year on a contract basis to sell AVS wines. She works through distributors, who are paid $2/bottle for each bottle sold. Supervision – Kay’s brother, Kan Pai, supervises the production of wine from the harvest through the bottling processes. His salary and benefits total $55,000 annually.Case: A Votre Sante Page 5 of 17 Utilities – Utilities costs are incurred primarily to maintain a constant temperature in the fermenting process. These are expected to be $5,500. Waste treatment – After crushing, the pul p, skins and stems that are left over must be disposed of. One-half of the waste can be recycled back onto the fields as a compost material; the other one-half must be disposed of at a landfill dumping cost of $2,000. A winemaster is employed to help formulate and test the wines. This is done on a contract basis; AVS pays the winemaster $5,000 for each type of wine that is formulated.Kay’s role is to manage the AVS business. Her annual salary and benefits total $75,000. CASE QUESTIONS 1. Create a single company-wide contribution margin income statement for AVS that includes each expense category. Also calculate the average revenue and net income for one bottle of wine. (Note: Do not break out the variable or the fixed costs by type of wine. ) 2. Another grower has available 20,000 pounds of Chardonnay grapes from the 2009 harvest. AVS has the opportunity to buy the juice from these grapes (they have already been harvested and crushed).If AVS could blend these grapes with the generic white grapes (using the 2:1 blend formula) to produce a new Chardonnay wine to be priced at $14/bottle, and required a 15% return on sales for this wine, what is the maximum amount that AVS would pay for a pound of grapes? 3. Other than the cost of the grapes, what factors would you consider to support your purchase of the grapes, and what factors would cause you to reject buying the grapes? 4. Kay Aproveche recently read an article about Activity Based Costing (ABC) and is intrigued by the costing methodology.She would like to be able to better assign costs to each of AVS’s products, and has collected the following information about AVS activities. Use this Case: A Votre Sante Page 6 of 17 information, along with the information given in the case, to construct a product cost analysis using ABC. Assume that AVS did not buy the grapes referred to in Question 2. Harvesting activity – The Chardonnay grapes can be harvested at the average rate of 71. 5 pounds/hour, while the generic white grapes are harvested at the rate of 100 pounds/hour.Includes costs related to tractors and harvest labor. Crush activity – Relates to the pounds of grapes crushed. Includes costs of crusher equipment and crush labor. Fermenting Activities – Barrel costs relate to the Chardonnay wines by the percentage of wine used in each wine type. Holding tanks relate to the Blanc de Blanc and the Chardonnay regular wines by the percentage of wine used in each wine type. Lab and Supervision Activities – Kan Pai estimates that these activities are split 60% Chardonnay-Estate, 25% Chardonnay regular and 15% Blanc de Blanc.Other production activities and costs not directly associated with a specific wine – allocate according to the number of bottles produced of each wine. Administrative activities – Allocate according to sales revenues. 5. Write a brief memo to Kay Aproveche that explains what ABC is, and that discusses both the benefits and costs of doing an ABC analysis. What would you recommend to Kay Aproveche regarding the ABC analysis? Case: A Votre Sante Page 7 of 17 Exhibit 1 A Votre Sante Income Statement – 2010Sales Chardonnay – Estate Chardonnay (non-Estate) Blanc de Blanc Total Revenues Product Costs Grapes Bottle, labels, corks Harvest labor Crush Labor Indirect Materials Depreciation Lab expenses Production office Utilities Waste treatment Wine Master Supervisor Barrels Total Product Costs Gross Margin Administrative & Sales Costs Administrative rent & office Liquor taxes Sales commissions Sales manager Administrative salary Total Fixed Costs Operating Margin price $ 22 $ 16 $ 11 # bottles 24,000 $ 9,000 16,000 49,000 $ $ 528,000 144,000 176,000 848,000 124,000 122,500 14,500 2,400 6,329 8,100 8,000 12,000 5,500 2,000 15,000 55,000 4,725 380,054 467,946 $ $ 44. 8% 55. 2% $ $ $ 20,000 147,000 98,000 30,000 75,000 370,000 97,946 11. 6% Case: A Votre Sante Page 8 of 17 TEACHING NOTE: A VOTRE SA NTEThe A Votre Sante (AVS) case is multi-faceted in that it requires students to incorporate operational measures into product costing results, and also to understand cost accounting from a variety of perspectives, such as: Product versus period costs Variable versus fixed costs Activity based costing Relevant costs and opportunity costs Additionally, the case questions require both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the business issues faced by AVS. AVS has been used in a graduate-level managerial accounting class for MBAs, and would be most appropriate for an advanced undergraduate or a graduatelevel accounting or MBA course. The detail in the case is rich enough to support a variety of analyses.Alternative uses could be to have the student construct a cost of goods manufactured statement or a traditional financial statement, both of which reinforce the differences between product and period costs. Students must know the difference between product and period costs to success fully complete the ABC analysis, but they could be made more explicit by requiring the statements. Additionally, alternative decision analysis questions could be developed using the variable and fixed cost structures described in the case. Case question number two is only one example of a potential decision analysis question. The following discussion contains the answers to the questions listed in the case, and does not detail the solutions to alternative questions. Case: A Votre Sante Page 9 of 17Question 1: Contribution Margin Income Statement To develop the contribution margin income statement, you first have to calculate the number of bottles of wine produced by AVS. This number is dependent upon the yield from the grapes. The relevant calculations are as follows: Chardonnay Grapes 100,000 10,000 10% 90,000 Generic Grapes 60,000 3,000 57,000 Yield: Pounds harvested Loss in processing Yield Bottles of wine produced: 5% Chardonnay Estate Regular pounds of grapes: Chardonnay grapes Generic grapes Total pounds of grapes Bottles (3 lb. / bottle) 72,000 72,000 24,000 18,000 9,000 27,000 9,000 Blanc de Blanc 48,000 48,000 16,000 Total 90,000 57,000 49,000The contribution margin income statement (Teaching Note Exhibit 1) is fairly straightforward, with the following concepts / calculations causing the most difficulty: The inclusion of liquor taxes and sales commissions in variable costs: These are both period expenses, but are clearly based upon the number of bottles sold, and therefore are included in the variable costs. Where to include the wine master expense: Since the wine master is paid according to number of blends, not number of bottles, this expense is listed as a fixed cost. Arguably, it could be listed as a variable cost, given that the cost will be based on the number of wines produced.As part of the discussion we will examine the rationale behind listing wine master as a fixed or a variable expense. Barrel expense: The case states that the barrels pro duce the equivalent of 40 cases of wine. A case of wine is post-fermentation/bottling and therefore after the 10% loss has occurred. The Case: A Votre Sante Page 10 of 17 barrels contain the wine at the start of the process. Therefore, there have to be enough barrels to hold all the wine at the beginning of the process, not at the end. This factor results in 63 (62. 5) barrels being required for the harvest1. Question 2: Additional Purchase Opportunity, Quantitative Analysis Case Question 2 asks what is the maximum amount that AVS would pay to buy an additional pound of Chardonnay grapes.There are three parts to calculating this answer: the benefit from the additional Chardonnay wine to be sold, the relevant costs related to producing this wine and the opportunity cost of not producing as much Blanc de Blanc wine. Teaching Note Exhibit 2 displays the calculations relevant to this decision. Chardonnay regular wine requires a 2 to 1 mixture of Chardonnay and Blanc de Blanc wine. There fore, the 18,000 pounds of Chardonnay grapes will be combined with 9,000 pounds of generic grapes. The 27,000 pounds of grapes will result in an additional 9,000 bottles of Chardonnay regular wine being produced. However, it will also result in a 3,000-bottle decrease in the amount of Blanc de Blanc wine produced, since some generic grapes will now be used for the Chardonnayregular wine.Question 3: Additional Purchase Opportunity, Qualitative Analysis The following factors would support AVS’s decision to purchase the additional grapes: Potential increase in market share Diversification of suppliers Ability to leverage fixed costs over more production If quality of purchased grape is perceived to be better To block a competitor from buying the grapes 1 Each case of wine requires 36 pounds of grapes (post-fermenting). A barrel holds the equivalent of 40 cases of wine (post-fermenting), or 1,440 pounds of grapes (40 x 36). To convert the post-fermenting grapes to prefermenting g rapes, they must be divided by . 9, or 1,440 / . 9 equals 1,600 pounds of grapes. The harvest of 100,000 pounds of grapes therefore requires 62. 5 barrels for storage (100,000 / 1,600). Case: A Votre Sante Page 11 of 17Ability to focus time and effort on wine making (rather than harvesting and crushing) Creates an incentive for the current grower to control costs The following factors would support AVS’s decision to reject the grape purchase: Poor quality of the grapes An additional AVS Chardonnay wine creates confusion in the marketplace Lack of control over the harvest and crush process Lack of confidence in the additional sales forecast Inability of the current capacity (e. g. bottling line, space) to support additional production Inability to use the additional barrels purchased in future years Cannibalization of the current Chardonnay, Chardonnay-Estate or Blanc de Blanc sales Reliability concerns with the new supplier Other hidden costsQuestion 4: ABC Quantitative Analy sis Teaching Note Exhibit 3 contains the ABC product costing analysis, and shows both the per product line and per unit costs. The ABC outcome demonstrates that the Chardonnay-Estate is the most profitable wine for AVS, the Chardonnay-Regular is marginally profitable, and the Blanc de Blanc is not profitable. While Blanc de Blanc is not profitable, a product-line contribution analysis would need to be completed to determine if Blanc de Blanc has a positive contribution margin, and therefore contributes to covering fixed costs of AVS. Case: A Votre Sante Page 12 of 17 Question 5: ABC Qualitative Analysis The first part of this question asks for an explanation of ABC, and a discussion of the benefits and costs of an ABC analysis.Relevant points are that ABC is a method of assigning costs that first assigns costs to the activities identified in the business, and these costs are assigned to the cost objects (in this case, the three wines) in a manner which reflects each cost object†™s use of the activity. Using ABC to assign costs is especially beneficial where there exists either variation in processes or variations in cost object requirements. It is also useful as a tool to calculate activity or process costs, which can act as a benchmark against which to judge future improvements. A well-defined ABC cost allocation will provide more accurate costing information than a less-sophisticated cost allocation system. The costs of ABC are that it is a time-consuming process and it requires a comprehensive knowledge of the entire operation to successfully complete.For a small company such as AVS, software costs would be minimal; the ABC system could easily be constructed using a spreadsheet program. After looking at the results of the ABC analysis, it is clear that the Chardonnay-Estate wine is driving the profitability of AVS. The Blanc de Blanc is the poorest performer; recommendations to Kay Aproveche would be to explore both pricing and cost control opportunit ies for the Blanc de Blanc wine. One â€Å"rule of thumb† used in the wine industry is that the price of a bottle of wine is approximately related to the cost of a ton of grapes by a factor of 100 to 1. If you multiply the $11 price per bottle by 100, the result is $1,100.AVS pays $1,283 for a ton of generic grapes, which suggests that AVS is not receiving enough value for Blanc de Blanc wine relative to the price of the grapes. Perhaps AVS is paying too much for this grape, or they are underpricing the wine. The answer to this cannot be fathomed by data in the case, and is subject to many other variables (such as strength of the harvest and strength of the wine market); however, it is mentioned here as performance measure that is used in the industry. Although some students will suggest that AVS discontinue producing Blanc de Blanc, because it has a Case: A Votre Sante Page 13 of 17 positive contribution margin it would not be to AVS’s benefit to discontinue this wine without having a better substitue.Looking at the line item costs, students should note that the costs for bottles, labels and corks are the same for each of the wines, which may not be correct or appropriate. Students should question whether this makes sense, and note that AVS might decrease costs in the Blanc de Blanc line by buying lower-priced bottles, labels and corks. Another interesting piece of information from the cost analysis is the Wine Master cost and how large it is on a per-unit basis when the number of bottles is low. This helps demonstrate to the students how volume creates economies of scale, and often leads into a discussion about how to expand product lines without incurring additional fixed costs, especially when initial volume is expected to be low.Summary The AVS case is based upon actual wine industry data, although the data has been simplified to reinforce the teaching points and concepts. It is also true to the wine making process, with the exception of AVS ’s process of making the Chardonnay regular wine from the fermented Chardonnay and Blanc de Blanc wines. This can be done, but most commonly the juice from the wine grapes is combined at the start of the fermenting process, so that they can ferment together. Because of the different yield rates in the fermenting process, the case had the wines ferment separately and blend at the end. The case can be taught in a 75-minute class, or by omitting the decision analysis question 50 minutes would be sufficient.I have also used it to teach the differences between the financial income statement reporting (product and period costs) and the contribution margin income statement reporting (variable and fixed costs), and then assigned decision analysis and/or the ABC costing as an additional assignment. Case: A Votre Sante Page 14 of 17 Teaching Note Exhibit 1: Contribution Margin Income Statement Sales Chardonnay Chardonnay – Estate Blanc de Blanc Total Revenues Variable costs Grap es Bottle, labels, corks Harvest labor Crush Labor Indirect Materials Liquor taxes Sales Barrels Total Variable Costs Contribution Margin Fixed Costs Administrative rent & office Depreciation Lab expenses Production office Sales Supervisor Utilities Waste treatment Wine Master Administrative salary Total Fixed Costs Operating Margin price $ 22 $ 16 $ 11 # bottles 24,000 $ 9,000 16,000 49,000 $ 528,000 144,000 176,000 848,000 avg. revenue per bottle: $ 17. 1 $ 124,000 122,500 14,500 2,400 6,329 147,000 98,000 4,725 519,454 328,546 61. 3% 38. 7% $85,500 + 38,500 # bottles x $2. 50 2,000 hours x $7. 25/hour 300 hours x $8/hour # bottles x 1. 55/12 $3/bottle $2/bottle 63 barrels x $300/4 years $ $ $ 20,000 8,100 8,000 12,000 30,000 55,000 5,500 2,000 15,000 75,000 230,600 97,946 11. 6% $ 2. 00 per bottle $ $ Case: A Votre Sante Page 15 of 17 Teaching Note Exhibit 2: Decision Analysis, Additional Grape Purchase Yield Chardonnay grapes 20,000 2,000 18,000 9,000 pounds loss (10%) yield 2 p ounds of Chardonnay grapes per bottle (along with 1 pound of generic grapes) 9000 bottles @ $14 / bottle bottlesAdditional Chardonnay Product Line Revenue: $ 126,000 Costs: generic grapes $ 6,079 bottles, labels, corks 22,500 indirect material 1,163 liquor taxes 27,000 sales distribution 18,000 barrels 975 wine master 5,000 Total costs: $ 80,716 Gain from new Chardonnay $ 45,284 Lost Sales of Blanc de Blanc Wine Revenue: $ 33,000 Costs: generic grapes $ 6,079 bottles, labels, corks 7,500 indirect material 388 liquor taxes 9,000 sales distribution 6,000 Total costs: $ 28,966 Lost Contribution Margin $ 4,034 Net Impact Required Return Total Net Benefit Pounds of Grapes Maximum Price $ $ 41,250 $ 18,900 $ 22,350 20,000 1. 12 9000 pounds x. 6754 / pound $2. 50 / bottle $1. 55 / case $3 / bottle $2 / bottle 20,000 pounds / 1, 600 each blend 3000 bottles @ $11 / bottle 9000 pounds x. 6754 / pound $2. 50 / bottle $1. 55 / case $3 / bottle $2 / bottle 15% per poundCase: A Votre Sante Page 1 6 of 17 Teaching Note Exhibit 3: Activity Based Costing Income Statement C – Estate Sales Revenue Driver Grapes pounds of grapes Bottle, labels, corks # bottles Harvest labor harvest labor hours 1 Tractor Depreciation harvest labor hours 1 Crush Labor pounds of grape crushed2 Crush Equip. Depr. pounds of grape crushed2 Indirect Materials # bottles Lab and Supervision # bottles Liquor taxes # bottles Sales # bottles Wine Master # blends Barrels percentage of wine3 Holding Tank percentage of wine4 Other Production Expenses Depreciation # bottles Prod. Office # bottles Utilities # bottles Waste treatment # bottles Administrative Expenses Admin.Salary % of sales revenue Admin rent & office % of sales revenue Sales % of sales revenue # bottles rev. /bottle 24,000 22 $ 528,000 68,400 60,000 8,117 840 1,200 300 3,100 37,800 72,000 48,000 5,000 3,780 308,537 1,959 5,878 2,694 980 11,510 46,698 12,453 18,679 77,830 Total Expenses Operating Margin 397,877 $ 130,123 24. 6% $ $ product l ine data C – Reg. B de B 9,000 16 144,000 23,180 22,500 2,717 281 442 111 1,163 15,750 27,000 18,000 5,000 945 316 117,403 735 2,204 1,010 367 4,316 12,736 3,396 5,094 21,226 142,946 1,054 0. 7% $ $ 16,000 11 176,000 32,421 40,000 3,666 379 758 189 2,067 9,450 48,000 32,000 5,000 1,684 175,614 1,306 3,918 1,796 653 7,673 15,566 4,151 6,226 25,943 209,231 (33,231) -18. % $ Total 49,000 $ 848,000 124,000 122,500 14,500 1,500 2,400 600 6,329 63,000 147,000 98,000 15,000 4,725 2,000 601,554 4,000 12,000 5,500 2,000 23,500 75,000 20,000 30,000 125,000 750,054 97,946 11. 6% $ $ 22. 00 $ 16. 00 $ 11. 00 2. 85 2. 50 0. 34 0. 03 0. 05 0. 01 0. 13 1. 58 3. 00 2. 00 0. 21 0. 16 0. 00 12. 86 0. 08 0. 24 0. 11 0. 04 0. 48 1. 95 0. 52 0. 78 3. 24 16. 58 5. 42 $ 24. 6% 2. 58 2. 50 0. 30 0. 03 0. 05 0. 01 0. 13 1. 75 3. 00 2. 00 0. 56 0. 11 0. 04 13. 04 0. 08 0. 24 0. 11 0. 04 0. 48 1. 42 0. 38 0. 57 2. 36 15. 88 0. 12 $ 0. 7% 2. 03 2. 50 0. 23 0. 02 0. 05 0. 01 0. 13 0. 59 3. 00 2. 00 0. 31 0. 00 0. 11 10. 98 0. 08 0. 24 0. 11 0. 04 0. 48 0. 97 0. 26 0. 39 1. 62 13. 08 (2. 08) -18. 9% per-unit data C – Estate C – Reg. B de B Case: A Votre Sante Page 17 of 17